A Bryozoan Fossil That Looks Like a Starfish

The Evactinopora quinqueradiata (Ulrich, 1890) bryozoan fossil is quite unique in that its cross section looks more like starfish than a bryozoan. This one is part of a very unique fireplace in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. It is made up a lot of fossils from a variety of places. Unfortunately, the creators of the fireplace have passed away making it difficult with identifications and where the specimens are from. The fossil was once part of the Lucien Pearson Beckner (1872-1963) collection. Colonel Beckner was director of the Natural History Museum at the Louisville Free Public Library.

The species was named by Edward Oscar Ulrich (1857-1944) in 1890 in the Illinois Geological Survey report.

Evactinopora grandis (Meeks & Worthen, 1868) bryozoan fossils like this are found in the Burlington Formation of Illinois and Missouri. This specimen is a five ray creature and at least 10 cm in diameter. It dates to the Mississippian Period (Osagean Series).

Learn more about these types of creatures at this website: http://lakeneosho.org/Evactinopora/index.html

Thanks to Kenny for identifying this fossil.

 UPDATE (12-4-2022): This appears to be an Evactinopora quinqueradiata (Ulrich, 1890) and not the E. grandis (Meeks & Worthen, 1868). Learn more at http://lakeneosho.org/Evactinopora/quinqueradiata.html

Thamnoptychia Branching Coral Fossil - The Fossil Fireplace

I originally was just going to highlight the branching coral fossil in the center of the picture but 3 other fossils are cemented in close proximity to it. The enrolled trilobite in the bottom left corner of the picture appears to be an Ordovician Period Flexicalymene sp. They tend to be found closer Cincinnati, Ohio USA.

The main coral appears to be a Thamnoptychia sp. It was probably found in the Jeffersonville Limestone of Clark County, Indiana, USA. The fossil in the top right corner is base of a floating crinoid. It was known as an Ancryocrinus sp. and were found in the Beechwood Limestone. These animals existed in the Middle Devonian Period.

The bottom of center picture has a blastoid fossil. It appears to be a Deltablastus sp. blastoid. They date to the Permian Period and are usually found in the Timor of southeast Asia.

These fossils are part of a very unique fireplace exist in a house in the city of Louisville Kentucky, USA. It was created by local geology professor from various fossil finds throughout his lifetime. I took a number of pictures of it and will blog about them in the near future.

Hexagonaria Coral Fossil at The Fossil Fireplace

This appears to be a Hexagonaria sp. coral fossil. It was probably found in the Jeffersonville Limestone of Jefferson County, Kentucky or Clark County, Indiana, USA. These animals existed in the Devonian Period.

This fossil is part of a very unique fireplace exist in a house in the city of Louisville Kentucky, USA. It was created by local geology professor from various fossil finds throughout his lifetime. I took a number of pictures of it and will blog about them in the near future.