Brachio Bill Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 Recently I have taken interest in fossil hunting after discovering a plethora of fossils from some farmland in Southern Indiana. It is my understanding the fossils are from the Devonian period. My grandsons (5 and 6 years old) and I have collected several specimens I’ve the last couple of months. I have been searching the Internet for weeks trying to correctly identify our finds and just when I think I have something identified —I find other possibilities. I would like to make displays for the grandkids and label our other collections appropriately. I am in hopes this community would help identify the specimens, and provide advice on how best to label the fossils. I appreciate any assistance that can be provided. Thanks. —Bill Shingleton PS: All the fossils depicted are from Jeffersonville, IN. 2 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 The phacopid trilobite and many of the other fossils are consistent with the preservation found in the New Chapel Chert of Clark County. Campbell, G. 1942 Middle Devonian Stratigraphy of Indiana. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America, 53(7):1055-1072 Whitlatch, G.I., Huddle, J.W. 1931 The Stratigraphy and Structure of a Devonian Limestone Area in Clark County, Indiana. Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science, 41:363-390 PDF LINK 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pefty Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 Piranha may be right about the New Chapel Chert, but a closely related formation is the Jeffersonville Limestone, whose fossils are expounded upon in this lovely KGS publication available free online: https://kgs.uky.edu/kgsweb/olops/pub/kgs/KGSXISP19reduce.pdf Falls of the Ohio State Park also used to host this webpage detailing the various fossils to be found there, in their outcrops of the Jeffersonville Limestone: https://web.archive.org/web/20120717004614/http://www.fallsoftheohio.org/fossils.html 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brachio Bill Posted August 7, 2020 Author Share Posted August 7, 2020 Thanks, Pefty! The KGS document is interesting. I really liked the archived weblink to the Falls of the Ohio. I am particularly interested in identifying the different Brachiopods we’ve collected, but unfortunately the links to the photos of “Brachiopods of the Falls area,” have either been removed or disabled. Of course that was archive from 2012. Thanks for the help and I’ll continue my research into identifying them. —BB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brachio Bill Posted August 7, 2020 Author Share Posted August 7, 2020 (edited) On 8/5/2020 at 1:16 AM, piranha said: The phacopid trilobite and many of the other fossils are consistent with the preservation found in the New Chapel Chert of Clark County. Campbell, G. 1942 Middle Devonian Stratigraphy of Indiana. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America, 53(7):1055-1072 Edited August 7, 2020 by Brachio Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brachio Bill Posted August 7, 2020 Author Share Posted August 7, 2020 Piranha, that corroborates what I was told about the area. Thanks for your help! —BB 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paleome Posted August 7, 2020 Share Posted August 7, 2020 What a magnificent collection of fossils! They will create a beautiful display! Your grandkids are very lucky! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aek Posted August 7, 2020 Share Posted August 7, 2020 Nice collection and photography. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pefty Posted August 7, 2020 Share Posted August 7, 2020 Linsley's excellent pictorial guide to fossils of this age from New York can be downloaded according to instructions found at the link below. Iirc the NY stratigraphic equivalent of the New Chapel Chert is the Delphi Station Member of the Skaneateles Formation of the Hamilton Group. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pefty Posted August 7, 2020 Share Posted August 7, 2020 Actually I bet Alan Goldstein at Falls of the Ohio would love to help you get those identified. Or at least could help resurrect that old website's photos for you. His publicly listed email address is park@fallsoftheohio.org Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brachio Bill Posted August 7, 2020 Author Share Posted August 7, 2020 57 minutes ago, aek said: Nice collection and photography. Thanks. The fossils were photographed using an iPhone Xr and then photoshopped and matted on a background using PicsArt app. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brachio Bill Posted August 7, 2020 Author Share Posted August 7, 2020 19 minutes ago, pefty said: Actually I bet Alan Goldstein at Falls of the Ohio would love to help you get those identified. Or at least could help resurrect that old website's photos for you. His publicly listed email address is park@fallsoftheohio.org You read my mind. :-) I actually emailed him last week asking if he would mind helping us label our fossils. There is a Falls tour this weekend that I’m hoping to go to and speak with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brachio Bill Posted August 7, 2020 Author Share Posted August 7, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, pefty said: Linsley's excellent pictorial guide to fossils of this age from New York can be downloaded according to instructions found at the link below. Iirc the NY stratigraphic equivalent of the New Chapel Chert is the Delphi Station Member of the Skaneateles Formation of the Hamilton Group. This is the kind of resource that I've been spent several weeks searching for on the internet! This is terrific --a little information overload-- but very much appreciated!! Edited August 7, 2020 by Brachio Bill Grammar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misha Posted August 7, 2020 Share Posted August 7, 2020 I am not sure I can help with getting you an ID, but I just wanted to say: These are some gorgeous fossils! Brachiopods are among my favorites Yours have wonderful color and amazing preservation, The photography is great too Good luck with your future hunts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brachio Bill Posted August 8, 2020 Author Share Posted August 8, 2020 On 8/6/2020 at 11:47 PM, Misha said: I am not sure I can help with getting you an ID, but I just wanted to say: These are some gorgeous fossils! Brachiopods are among my favorites Yours have wonderful color and amazing preservation, The photography is great too Good luck with your future hunts! Thanks for the comments, Misha. As a kid, when I was fortunate to find a fossil, the only specimens I found were small and mostly buried in matrix. I was shocked and amazed to find loose, intact fossils literally just lying in the dirt. My grandsons have a blast looking for “dinosaur bones” and I’m able to enjoy their enthusiasm and relive some childhood fun myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentuckiana Mike Posted August 9, 2020 Share Posted August 9, 2020 Thanks for sharing these pictures. Your photography is very good. Here are my guesses as to what you have found. #1 Not sure #2 Spinocyrtia (Platyrachella) oweni? brachiopod (I have also seen this identified as Orthospirifer) #3 Horn coral #4 Psuedoatrypa brachiopod #5 Spinocyrtia (Platyrachella) oweni? brachiopod #6 Maybe Bembexia gastropod #7 Bordenia knappi horn coral (Speed Limestone) #8 Pseudoatrypa brachiopod #9 Pseudoatrypa brachiopod #10 Atrypa brachiopod (maybe Silver Creek Member) #11 Not sure #12 Rock - could be trace fossil #13 Pelecypod fossil #14 Pseudoatrypa brachiopod #15 Bembexia sulcomarginata? gastropod #16 Paracylas elliptica pelecypod #17 botryoidal calcite #18 Pseudoatrypa brachiopod (maybe Silver Creek Member) #19 Modiomorpha concentrica pelecypod #20 Pseudoatrypa brachiopod #21 Not sure #22 Cupularostrum tethys brachiopod #23 Favosites colonial coral #24 geodized? crinoid stem #25 horn coral #26 Bembexia sulcomarginata? gastropod #27 Not sure #28 some type of coral #29 Thamnoptychia alternans branching coral (I have also seen this identified as Trachypora sp.) #30 Thamnoptychia alternans branching coral with a beekite pattern #31 Rock, possible trace fossil #32 crinoid stems #33 Phacops rana? trilobite cephalon (The way to tell if it is composed of chert/silica, put a drop of vinegar on the bottom non-fossil part and if it bubbles it is limestone and not chert) Good luck with your project. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brachio Bill Posted August 9, 2020 Author Share Posted August 9, 2020 2 hours ago, Kentuckiana Mike said: Thanks for sharing these pictures. Your photography is very good. Here are my guesses as to what you have found. #1 Not sure #2 Spinocyrtia (Platyrachella) oweni? brachiopod (I have also seen this identified as Orthospirifer) #3 Horn coral #4 Psuedoatrypa brachiopod #5 Spinocyrtia (Platyrachella) oweni? brachiopod #6 Maybe Bembexia gastropod #7 Bordenia knappi horn coral (Speed Limestone) #8 Pseudoatrypa brachiopod #9 Pseudoatrypa brachiopod #10 Atrypa brachiopod (maybe Silver Creek Member) #11 Not sure #12 Rock - could be trace fossil #13 Pelecypod fossil #14 Pseudoatrypa brachiopod #15 Bembexia sulcomarginata? gastropod #16 Paracylas elliptica pelecypod #17 botryoidal calcite #18 Pseudoatrypa brachiopod (maybe Silver Creek Member) #19 Modiomorpha concentrica pelecypod #20 Pseudoatrypa brachiopod #21 Not sure #22 Cupularostrum tethys brachiopod #23 Favosites colonial coral #24 geodized? crinoid stem #25 horn coral #26 Bembexia sulcomarginata? gastropod #27 Not sure #28 some type of coral #29 Thamnoptychia alternans branching coral (I have also seen this identified as Trachypora sp.) #30 Thamnoptychia alternans branching coral with a beekite pattern #31 Rock, possible trace fossil #32 crinoid stems #33 Phacops rana? trilobite cephalon (The way to tell if it is composed of chert/silica, put a drop of vinegar on the bottom non-fossil part and if it bubbles it is limestone and not chert) Good luck with your project. Mike, that has been very helpful. Thanks for all your assistance! I’m looking forward to finally getting the specimens labeled so me and my grandsons can go back in the field to hunt for more specimens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brachio Bill Posted August 23, 2020 Author Share Posted August 23, 2020 I have two more specimens that I’d like consultation from the group. The first I found in a dirt wall that had been excavated for a basement foundation. What is your opinion: rock or fossil? It has a rough, irregular surface. According to ROCKD, the stratigraphic unit is: Osgood/Brassfield formation, and the age is Early Silurian. This was found in Jefferson County, KY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brachio Bill Posted August 23, 2020 Author Share Posted August 23, 2020 Here is another fossil I’d like to have the group review and share your thoughts. This is another unidentified specimen found in the Devonian period from Southern Indiana, in the Chapel Chert formation. It appears to me to be a pelecyopod. What are your opinions? 1) top view (magnified x2 with white LED light source to enhance striation detail) 2) lateral view 3) scaled photo (1 cm) The bottom view is matrix-filled which leads me to believe the this is only one half of the animal. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentuckiana Mike Posted August 23, 2020 Share Posted August 23, 2020 I think it might the steinkern of a Megastrophia hemisphericus brachiopod fossil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brachio Bill Posted August 25, 2020 Author Share Posted August 25, 2020 Thanks, Mike! It’s my first steinkern. It never occurred to me that it could be an internal cast of an animal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pefty Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 I'm with Mike on Megastrophia, but the band of white visible across the top of the rock in the broken cross-section and the beekite texture of the fossil surface would seem to indicate that this rock is not only the sediment fill but also is capped the silicified shell itself. In contrast, if this were just a steinkern, then we would expect to see Megastrophia's strong muscle bounding ridge near the umbo of the brachiopod rather than continuation of the linear ribbing. Example: https://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/2012/01/megastrophia-internal-cast-from.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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