Fossilized Insect Wing from Pennsylvania

Here are some images of an unknown insect wing that was found by KYANA Geological Society member named Dave. He does not live in the Louisville area but we are fortunate to have him as a member of our group.

This specimen was found in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania as part of a Delaware Valley Paleontological Society field trip. The wing is approximately 35 mm in length and 10 mm in width. The next picture was color adjusted to provide more contrast between the wing lines (veins) and the rock.

The books I have for Ohio say a common insect part to find is of cockroaches. I looked on the Internet and this wing does not resemble those. I was thinking maybe a dragonfly (Libellulium - order Odonata). Here is a website from Kansas talking about fossil insects. I wish the pictures were larger. Apparently, Kansas was a buzz of fossil insect activity because another webite (Winds of Kansas) is here.

This last picture was the wing embossed so the lines are more pronounced.

There is a discussion on fossil forum about this specimen here.

Taxocrinus colletti Crinoid Calyx

Here is a picture of a fossil that was in the winning display case at the GeoFair 2009 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

It was labeled as a Taxocrinus colletti crinoid calyx from the Middle Mississippian period. It was found in the Muldraugh Formation in Hardin County, Kentucky.

Odontocephalus Devonian Trilobite

This image was taken of a fossil in the Falls of the Ohio state park display case at the GeoFair 2009 located in Cincinnati, Ohio.

This rare whole trilobite is called Odontocephalus sp. from the Middle Devonian period. Note the intact forked tail and border around the cephalon. This trilobite is of the suborder Phacopina and the superfamily Dalmanitoidea.

It was found in the Jeffersonville Limestone in the Falls of the Ohio state park, Clarksville, Indiana. Just a note, fossil collecting in the park is prohibited. If it were, there would be no park!



This website has a nice set of pictures of an intact one at the Museum of Natural Science in Houston, Texas. The trilobite seems to be common to area now known as the state of Pennsylvania.

UPDATE (March 2011) - The Falls of the Ohio State Park web site has a nice write up on trilobites with the lead photo being the specimen pictured above.  Check it out by CLICKING HERE.