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Eastern KY


Lori LuvsFossils

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In an effort to redeem myself after posting my bug/leaf ID question (ha) I thought I would share some of the neat stuff I've been finding in Kentucky. Give me a few minutes, I'm going to have to upload 3-4 photos at a time.

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I got to talk with some life long miners. They told me they refer to these as spaceships. The foreign rock is disk shaped and can be as large as a car. When the blasting took place, these didn't break, rather flew out like a ship. Very dangerous for them. I'm thrilled to have found this piece and think maybe it was carried to the area via a glacier (?). thoughts?

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Alright, I'll stop there for tonight. I can't promise I won't share more another day though. ;) Oh, this piece was too large and awkward to fit on my scale. It's well over 60#

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Beautiful fossils, Lori. Perhaps someone familiar with the area; like Herb or Howerd I, will be able to explain your mystery piece. Thanks for sharing!

Finding my way through life; one fossil at a time.

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Lori,

I see allot of Calamites, Stigmaria,and some different types of ferns. :)

Nice 3-D preservation on some of them.

Can't help with the logs/stumps, but probably some decorticated Lycopsid

Great finds,all.

The "spaceship" may be a siderite concretion - it may have a fossil inside of it.

Look up "Freeze/Thaw Method" here on the forum.

Thanks for posting these!

Regards,

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

   MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png      PaleoPartner.png.30c01982e09b0cc0b7d9d6a7a21f56c6.png.a600039856933851eeea617ca3f2d15f.png     Postmaster1.jpg.900efa599049929531fa81981f028e24.jpg    VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png  VFOTM  --- APRIL - 2015  

__________________________________________________
"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."

John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~   ><))))( *>  About Me      

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Some very well preserved leafs for sure. Those disk thingy's look to be some sort of concretion. I wonder if anything can be inside? Good luck.

RB

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The concretions are often much harder than the surrounding rock.Not surprised to hear they survive the blasting. FYI, No glaciers during the Carboniferous Period.

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Thanks Rob! I welcome all incoming info. This is my first go at hunting KY other than looking for points 30+/- years ago. You know, it's just a state further than that road cut you & I tried to hunt. Maybe you can find the time to buzz down there one day. Rocks are heavy, I could use a hand. :P

Fossildude, I would love to know, but don't think I could make myself damage the first one I've found. I'm currently working with some Mazon nodules & will have to live with the mystery. :D

RJB, the plant material is very well preserved there.......or at least where I was hunting. I've used my digital microscope on a few pieces. AMAZING :drool:

ERose, Thanks for clearing that up. Any thoughts on why oddball rocks appear within the others? To me, it looks to contain Iron, but again, I'm brand new to hunting Kentucky. I've still got (2) 5 gallon buckets & a trashcan full of material to clean & drool over. I've not yet tried to look up much information. :popcorn:

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Any thoughts on why oddball rocks appear within the others? To me, it looks to contain Iron, but again, I'm brand new to hunting Kentucky. I've still got (2) 5 gallon buckets & a trashcan full of material to clean & drool over. I've not yet tried to look up much information. :popcorn:

Concretions can form around organic remains,... and sometimes those remain's preserve as a fossil.

concentric layers of rock/minerals build up around the remains, which can also sometimes be totally obliterated, as they didn't fair well early on in the fossilization process.

Regards,

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

   MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png      PaleoPartner.png.30c01982e09b0cc0b7d9d6a7a21f56c6.png.a600039856933851eeea617ca3f2d15f.png     Postmaster1.jpg.900efa599049929531fa81981f028e24.jpg    VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png  VFOTM  --- APRIL - 2015  

__________________________________________________
"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."

John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~   ><))))( *>  About Me      

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Thanks Lori for putting the spotlight on Kentucky. Those are some enviable Carboniferous age fossils. I've found small bits of Calamites in Mazon Creek nodules before. They were slightly inflated (not completely pressed flat into two-dimensional remnants) but they can't hold a candle to those lovely 3-D pieces--I'm in awe over that gorgeous 60 pound piece pictured above. If you ever need help lugging large fossils I'll bring my pickup truck and some back braces for us to wear (and a large bottle of ibuprofen). :P

You've just added Kentucky to my fossil radar--that would make for a fabulous road trip. I learn so much on this forum--so many places to go, so many things to hunt for....

Cheers.

-Ken

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Those nodules are called kettle bottoms by some locals, as stated they are often composed of siderite (iron carbonate) but I have found in some areas they are limestone nodules without the iron. They form in shale and siltstones after the sediment has been deposited, (Digenetic).

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Thanks PaleoWilliam, Amour, Tim, Marco Sr & Ziggy :D

Ken, a truck, backbrace & Advil. It's almost like you know me. :hearty-laugh: I sure wish you had been around for this trip. I had to leave a large piece behind. I'm hoping it's still there next trip up.

Howard, I do remember someone using the word "kettlebottom". Thanks for that info. Do you think the piece I'm holding in my hand (first photo) is a smaller version of the 92# tree section ? When I first picked it up, I thought it was a large crinoid, but after cleaning it, I changed my mind.

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I am not sure which picture 92 # is. Where you find plant fossils there is usually a lot and it is very hard to say they came from the same tree unless you can make them fit like a puzzle peice. There are crinoids found in the Pennsylvanian units of KY, but you typically would not find them with plant fossils since the plants fossils accumulated in Fluvial or lagoonal deposits and the crinoids would be in strictly marine. By the way very nice plant fossils!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Sorry I got distracted again (ha)

THANK YOU for all the nice comments. If you've never hunted KY, I don't think you'll be disappointed by adding it to your list.

Benownbey, I live in southern Florida. I would have liked the company, but I was already home by the time you extended the offer to hunt with me. Make no mistake, however, I don't have local (KY) experience. This was my first time in the coal fields. The picture I'm adding was taken on my 2nd day of hunting. I found a collapse, pulled out my hammer & bucket & turned the large rocks into small rocks. Once I found promising pieces, I started walking. In my long weekend adventure, I was able to find everything I posted (and more). I'm still working on some other pieces. The rocks up there are much harder than Florida sand. TeeHee

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