Fern Fossil Imprints

Fern fossil imprints from the Pennsylvanian Period found in eastern Kentucky.

Dendrites - A Pretty Pseudofossil

The black plant looking shapes in these pictures are dendrites. Sometimes referred to as pseudofossils or ferns, they are mineral formations created by water making its way into rock fissures. The water evaporates or flows off and leaves these black (manganese oxide) shapes behind.

The shapes remind me of images I have seen from graphed fractals in mathematics. This rock was found in Louisville, Kentucky (Jefferson County) while looking for fossils in the Silurian and Devonian rock layers. The rock layer is sometimes referred to as the Louisville or Jeffersonville limestone layer.

Conularia

Here is an ancient sea creature I am trying to draw. It is called a Conularia and existed in the Mississippian Period. It is not known what it actually looked like some thought it might be some sort of jellyfish that floated around. Specimens have been found where the tip or apex had a stem on it. So it might have been like a crinoid with tentacles.

Check out this link at Harvard for more information about this creature.

The Louisville Fossils site also has an entry.




These creatures can might also be referred to as Paraconularia. You can find some more images of the Conularia on the KYANA Geological Society website:

http://www.kyanageo.org/Fossils/mississippian/other/Conularid_Coral_Ridge1.jpg

http://www.kyanageo.org/Fossils/mississippian/other/Conularid_in_nodule_Coral_Ridge.jpg

http://www.kyanageo.org/Fossils/mississippian/Corals/conularia.jpg

This link shows a nice specimen from Missouri.

Fossilized Fern

Here is an image of an ancient fern. I am not sure if it is stored in coal or shale.

Fossil Festival at Falls of the Ohio State Park

Every year the Falls of the Ohio state park in Clarksville, Indiana has a fossil festival. This year I got to volunteer there for the KYANA Geological Society and it was a great time. I think over 300 people participated in our educational activity and hopefully learned some things about geology and paleontology.