Striatopora bellistriata coral from the Jeffersonville limestone

These next coral specimens from the Jeffersonville limestone near Louisville, KY I did not find myself but rather I purchased them from a seller on E-bay.  Below are four small sections of what I believe are Striatopora bellistriata.

While the specimens were sent to me with only a label stating Striatopora sp., I am fairly certain these are S. bellistriata. In Stumm's book "Silurian and Devonian Corals of the Falls of the Ohio". I found only two reliable species listed on page 69 and plate 75.  The first possible species, S. cavernosa, can be ruled out due to the description requiring that the:

"Corallites ... opening almost at right angles to branches"

The specimens I have do not show that growth habit. Instead the corallites open at an angle to the branches similar to Stumm's description of S. bellistriata:

 "Corallites opening obliquely to surface, 2-3mm in diameter. Calyx walls erect or slightly spreading..."

There are three other species listed but they appear to have minor differences to S. bellistriata or are too poorly preserved to distinguish otherwise.
 

Here is a closer view of one of the coral sections.

And a couple of natural cross sections of the branches.

These specimens are from the Jeffersonville formation (Devonian, Eifelian stage) and come from near Louisville, KY 

References: Stumm, E. C. (1964). Silurian and Devonian corals of the falls of the Ohio. New York: Geological Society of America.

Emmonsia ramosa coral from the Jeffersonville limestone

Among the more common corals that I have found from the Jeffersonville formation near Louisville, KY are these Emmonsia ramosa specimens.  I used the book by Erwin Charles Stumm; "Silurian and Devonian Corals of the Falls of the Ohio". to help ID and found a possible match on pages 67-68, pl 70, fig. 1-3. Here are a number of similar looking specimens.

 

Most of the specimens I have form finger or column like growths (like the those on the far left and far right of the photo above). Those seem to best fit Stumm's description for Emmonsia ramosa.

"Corallum dendroid, growing in typical staghorn pattern with branches 1-3cm in diameter. Corallites opeing at right angles to surface of branch, polygonal, relatively thick walled, 1-2mm in diameter."

Some of the pieces that look similar have differing growth patterns and corallites sizes so I will need to look at them more closely to see if I have other species.

Here are a few closer views of one of the pieces with better preservation. You can see some of the edges of the corallites have the squamulae (vertical line like growths that helped support the animal) preserved.

These next two pictures are views of natural cross sections through the coral.

I collected these specimens from the Jeffersonville formation (Devonian, Eifelian stage) near Louisville, KY 

References: Stumm, E. C. (1964). Silurian and Devonian corals of the falls of the Ohio. New York: Geological Society of America.

Brevispirifer gregarius brachiopod from the Jeffersonville limestone

Perhaps the most important brachiopod know from the Jeffersonville limestone formation in Kentucky is Brevispirifer gregarius. It is a common constituent of the formation and even has a zone within named after it due to the abundance of fossils.  B. gregarius is a small Spiriferid type brachiopod that is roughly half moon shaped when viewing the dorsal surface of the brachial valve. The two valves are both convex with the pedicle valve a bit more than the brachial. The interarea of the pedicle valve is slightly recurved with a well defined "V" shaped foramen. The surface of both valves have coarse radiating ribs and a fold/sulcus feature.

I've seen exposures of the B. gregarius zone in the Jeffersonville formation that is full of dis-articulated valves. Whole specimens can be found but are generally the exception rather than the rule. These diminutive brachiopods must have been densely packed on the seafloor to have so many shells be found. Interestingly I have only ever found the dis-articulated pedicle valves to be able to collect in the colluvium.

Specimen #1 - Brachial valve with Beekite rings

 

Anterior

Pedicle valve

Posterior view

 

Another posterior view with the shell rotated 180 degrees.

Specimen #2 - Brachial valve

Anterior

Pedicle valve

 Posterior

Left profile

Right profile

 These next two pictures are of a partial, dis-articulated pedicle valve interior.

Another dis-articulated pedicle valve interior.  The difference in features could be a result of incomplete preservation and replacement by the Quartz. Both were collected from the same horizon in the same roadcut.

I collected these specimens from the Jeffersonville formation (Devonian, Eifelian stage) near Louisville, KY 

Thamnopytchia vermicula coral from the Jeffersonville formation

One of the more recognizable corals that I have found from the Jeffersonville formation is Thamnopytchia.  I've found it before in the similarly aged Mahantango formation (see link below) in Pennsylvania as well as in New York.  I identify this coral by the round, finger like growth, the regularly spaced corallites, and the surface ornamentation that looks like small dots or bumps.

Since this is from the Jeffersonville limestone I chose to refer to the book by Erwin Charles Stumm; "Silurian and Devonian Corals of the Falls of the Ohio". to help ID and found a possible match on page 70, plate 75, fig. 14-16, 18-20. to Trachypora vermicula.  Past research has informed me that the genus Trachypora is no longer used and is now called Thamnopytchia. Therefore I will label these specimens as Thamnopytchia vermicula.

This is the largest piece I have found to date and it shows evidence of preservation by the Beekite form of quartz.

Same specimen rotated 120 degrees from above photo

Same specimen rotated 120 degrees from above photo

A cross section through the coral that shows the "V" shaped corallites.

 

These next two specimens preserve some of the surface ornamentation of the coral.

Compare these specimens to some that I've collected from the Mahantango formation of Pennsylvania.

I collected these specimens from the Jeffersonville formation (Devonian, Eifelian stage) near Louisville, KY 

References: Stumm, E. C. (1964). Silurian and Devonian corals of the falls of the Ohio. New York: Geological Society of America.

Hadrophyllum orbignyi coral from the Speed Limestone

 There is a small "button" coral that can be found in the Devonian rocks near Louisville, KY.  It's called Hadrophyllum orbignyi and is most commonly found in the Speed Limestone formation. I've received a number of specimens from my friend Mike P. that he has collected, but I have not found any myself.  

Below are two specimens that are preserved by quartz. The preservation process is not terribly good but the basic features of the coral are preserved. You can recognize the septa and fossula (the wider gap at 12 o'clock in the first specimen). Fossula is from the latin word for ditch or trench which is a good description of the feature in rugose corals.

I call these types of fossil coral "buttons" because they are small, round and have a flat profile.  Compare these to the species Microcyclus thedfordensis that is found in the Arkona formation of Canada.

 Specimen #1 dorsal surface

Ventral surface

Profile

Specimen #2 dorsal surface

Profile

Ventral surface

 

These specimens were found in Clark County, Indiana near Louisville, KY. They come from the Speed Limestone which is middle Devonian in age (Givetian stage). Thanks to Mike P. for the specimens!

Megastrophia concava brachiopod from the Jeffersonville formation

Among the largest brachiopods know is Megastrophia concava which is somewhat common in lower to middle Devonian aged rocks.  The shell is typically oval to rectangular in shape, has a convex pedicle valve, a convex brachial valve and a straight hinge line. It is a member of the order Strophomenida and is related to Strophomena, Leptanea, and others with a similar shell morphology.  This specimen is preserved by chert/beekite and only a partial internal/external cast of the pedicle valve is visible.

Pedicle valve

Anterior - most of the edges of the fossil near the margin show the exterior radial ribs.

Right profile

Posterior showing the internal cast where the muscles were attached (triangular shapes). The round bubbly shapes are Beekite which is a form of quartz.

I found this specimen near Lousiville, KY and believe it comes from the Jeffersonville Limestone, dated to the Devonian period (Eifelian stage).

Possible Atrypidae type brachiopod from the Louisville formation

The single specimen below is the only one I have found from the sediments near Louisville. I believe that it is an member of the family Atrypidae and may in fact be a member of the genera Atrypa. It looks very similar with a rounded outline to the shell, a more deeply curved brachial valve than pedicle valve, and has radial ribs that look typical. However the anterior margin has a sulcus that is confined to the forward 1/3 of the two valves. It does not continue all the way to the beak on the pedicle valve.  I have seen examples of Atrypa with a similar feature but generally the pedicle valve is much flatter than in this specimen.

Brachial Valve

Anterior

Pedicle valve (the broken section does not help with the ID)

Posterior

Left profile

Right profile

This specimen was found in an area that had mixed residual soils from the Jeffersonville limestone (Devonian) and Louisville limestone (Silurian) formations near Louisville, KY.  Based on my experience with the preservation styles of the two formations, I think this came from the Lousiville limestone (Homerian to Gorstian stage of the Silurian).

Fenestellid type bryozoans from the Jeffersonville formation

I have one example of Fenestellid type Bryozoans from the Jeffersonville formation. The specimen below has pieces of the fan like, lacy skeletons impressed on the chert.  Unfortunately the preservation is not fine enough to preserve enough of the zooids to try and ID to the generic level.

 

I found this specimen near Lousiville, KY and believe it comes from the Jeffersonville Limestone, dated to the Devonian period (Eifelian stage).

Brachiopods and Worm tube on a Pelecypod from the Jeffersonville limestone

Multispecies specimens are always cool to collect. Sometimes it is just bedrock with a hash of many different species, other times it is a potential example of how life lived. The example below, from the Jeffersonville limestone, is in the latter category. It's a large unknown pelecypod shell that has a couple of brachiopods and a possible worm tube growing on the surface. 

The specimen

There is not enough of the pelecypod visible it ID it 100% but it could be related to Actinopteria sp. or Cornellites sp.  You can see at least three spirifirid type brachiopods that appear to be attached to the shell in life position.

I believe that the brachiopods are juvenile Mediospirifer audaculus based on the shape of their shells and how they are positioned on the pelecypod. M. audaculus has a flat to slightly sloping interarea and this is how I would expect it would look when laying flat.

Also on this specimen is what appears to be a worm tube, or possibly a very large Tentaculites sp.  If it is a worm then it might be Cornulites sp.

All in all, this is one of my favorite specimens from the Jeffersonville limestone and was collected on my first trip to the Louisville area back in 2007.

I found this specimen near Lousiville, KY and believe it comes from the Jeffersonville Limestone, dated to the Devonian period (Eifelian stage).