Parmorthis waldronensis

This brachiopod fossil appears to be a Parmorthis waldronensis (Foerste) of the Waldron Shale.  Found in Clark County, Indiana from the Middle Silurian Period.

While the Louisville Limestone and Laurel Member layers represented a warm, shallow, opaque sea the material found in the Waldron Shale shows evidences of a muddy environment.  These fossils are a dark grey and preserved quite well in the shale.  They also have some pyrite crystals.

The Waldron Shale was named in 1882 by Dr. M. N. Elrod in the Geology of Decatur County, 12th Annual Report Indiana Department of Geological and Natural History 1882 (pp. 109-111).  Dr. James Hall described the Waldron Shale fauna in the 28th Report New York State Museum in 1879 (pp.100-199; plates 3-34).  Information gleaned from The Stratigraphic and Faunal Relations of the Waldron Fauna in Southern Indiana by E.M. Kindle and V.H.  Barnett (1909).

It is referred to as Orthis elegantula (Dalman, 1828) [pages 285-286; plate 21] in the Indiana Department of Geology and Natural History Eleventh Annual Report by John Collett (1881), The paleontology starts on page 215 and was written by Professor James Hall, State Geologist of New York. A similar brachiopod fossil found in New York's Rochester Shale is referred to as Resserella elegantula (Dalman, 1828) in The Silurian Experience Field ID Guide by Paul Chinnici and Kent Smith (2009).

Microscope image of the ridges of the brachiopod magnified 40 times.

 This specimen has a small pyrite crystal attached to its side.  Below is a microscope view 40x showing the crystal.

View of bottom of one of the specimens.

Thanks to the Indiana State Museum collections database web site for help with identification of these specimens.  This posts contains pictures of three different brachiopod fossils. I am only about 50% sure of this identification for all three. Some of the fossils could also be a Rhipidomella hybrida (Sowerby).

Megistocrinus rugosus Calyx

Megistocrinus rugosus crinoid calyx drawings seen in Plate 38 of Contribution to Indiana Palaeontology Volume I Part I to XX by George K. Greene.  [Side note: When George Greene died in 1916 his collection of over 400,000 specimens was shipped to the American Museum in New York by train.]  The crinoids are described as being found in the Upper Devonian beds at the Falls of the Ohio.

The pictures with blue backgrounds are of a fossil fragment I found in the Jeffersonville Limestone of Clark County, Indiana. It appears to be the base of a crinoid calyx Megistocrinus rugosus. Note how wrinkled its surface is. The last image is of the inside of the cup. The fossil is from the Middle Devonian Period.  Thanks to Alan for the identification.

Pentremites with Brachioles

Certain areas of Crawford County, Indiana are famous for their Mississippian Period Pentremites blastoids.  What is somewhat rare is finding a blastoid with brachioles still attached.  Above is a picture of a very nice specimen with its brachioles and stem pieces pretty much intact.  The specimen is part of the invertebrate fossil collection at the Geier Collection Center of the Cincinnati Museum in Ohio.

The next Pentremites fossil shown in the following two pictures was found in Crawford County, Indiana in the Indian Springs Formation.  It has not been prepped yet but the base of the blastoid is visible along with the stringy brachioles.  Thanks to my cousin for providing the pictures.