Ohio Fossils
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~ns3 STA TE OF OHIO DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES · DIVISION OF GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 54 OHIO f OSSILS COLUMBUS NINTH PRINTING 1970 STATE OF OHIO DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES DIVISION OF GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Horace R. Collins, Chief BULLETIN 54 OHIO FOSSILS BY AURELE LA ROCQUE AND MILDRED FISHER MARPLE COLUMBUS 1955 NINTH PRINTING 1970 FRONTISPIECE. Phacops rana milleri, an almost complete specimen from the Silica formation near Sylvania, Ohio. X 2. 75 (See page 92). CONTENTS Preface Page Chapter 1. Introduction . 1 What fossils are . 1 Where fossils are found 1 Uses of fossils . 1 How fossils are found 1 Where and how to collect 2 Kinds of fossil preservation 2 How fossils are named . 3 Classification and identification 4 Use of keys 4 Technical terms . 5 Name changes . 5 Cleaning and preparation 5 Cataloguing . 6 Basic references 6 Chapter 2. The story of Ohio's rocks 8 General . 8 Classification of Ohio's rocks . 13 Pre-Cambrian time: the beginning 13 Cambrian time: the age of trilobites 14 Ordovician time: the age of bryozoan reefs 14 Silurian time: the rise of the corals . 17 Devonian time: the rise of the fishes . 19 Mississippian time: the great sandy deltas 21 Pennsylvanian time: the coal forests 23 Permian time: the end of the seas in Ohio 26 The great gap in the record 26 Pleistocene time: the glaciers 26 Chapter 3. The main kinds of fossils 29 The Plant Kingdom . 29 General ..... 29 Phylum Thallophyta 29 Phylum Bryophyta 30 Phylum Pteridophyta 30 Phylum Arthrophyta 31 Phylum Lepidophyta 31 Phylum Pteridospermophyta 31 Phylum Cycadophyta 31 Phylum Coniferophyta 32 Phylum Angiospermophyta 32 The Animal Kingdom 32 General .... 32 Phylum Protozoa 33 Phylum Porifera 34 Phylum Coelenterata 34 iii Page Phylum Platyhelminthes 35 Phylum Nemathelminthes 35 Phylum Trochelminthes 36 Phylum Bryozoa 36 Phylum Brachiopoda 36 Phylum Mollusca . 36 Phylum Annelida 38 Phylum Onychophora 38 Phylum Arthropoda 39 Phylum E chinoderma 40 Phylum Chordata . 41 Chapter 4. Ordovician fossils 44 Collecting localities 44 The commoner fossils 45 Books for further study 55 Chapter 5. Silurian fossils 56 Collecting localities 56 The commoner fossils 57 Books for further study 73 Chapter 6. Devonian fossils 74 Collecting localities 74 The commoner fossils 74 Books for further study 94 Chapter 7. Mississippian fossils 96 Collecting localities 96 The commoner fossils 97 Books for further study 104 Chapter 8. Pennsylvanian fossils 105 Collecting localities 105 The commoner fossils 105 Books for further study 119 Chapter 9. Pe rm ian fossils 120 Collecting localities 120 The commoner fossils 120 Books for further study 121 Chapter 10. Pleistocene fossils 122 Collecting localities 122 The commoner fossils 122 Books for further study 136 References cited 137 Index 145 PREFACE Every year hundreds of people pick up fossils in Ohio and become interested in them. If their interest is more than casual, they want a book that will tell them something about their finds. Books about fossils are many, but most of them are written in disappointingly technical language. That is why we have tried to write one that would be understood by the non-profes- sional. We hope this book will provide an introduction to the subject and answer the many questions usually asked about fossils. It is not meant to be a complete account of Ohio pale- ontology; it deals only with the commoner species, the ones that anybody is likely to pick up in Ohio. We hope it will at least open the door to the subject of paleontology, the study of fossils, a fascinating hobby that can be enjoyed without extensive training or equipment. To simplify searching, technical terms not usually found in dictionaries are explained in the text and listed in the index. The "you" for whom this book is written and to whom it is addressed includes all Ohioans interested in fossils. May you have as much fun reading and using it as we had writing it. During the preparation of this bulletin we have had much help and encouragement which it is a pleasure to acknowledge. Dr. J. E. Carmar. allowed us to draw on his thorough and detailed knowledge of Ohio stratigraphy and paleontology; his kindly and searching criticism of the manuscript is much appreciated. Mr. R. E. Lamborn and Miss Pauline Smyth of the Ohio Division of Geological Survey read parts of the manuscript and contributed information on topics with which they are particularly familiar. Mr. W. C. Brown, also of the Survey, gave us much good advice on many points important to the non-geologist. Dr. J. M. Schopf, of the United States Geological Survey, read the part of the text dealing with fossil plants and his advice on that subject is gratefully acknowledged. Mr. R. S. Bowman gave us much information on Silurian fossils. Dr. E. S. Thomas, Curator of Natural History at the Ohio State Museum, gave us his impressions of the text from the standpoint of a naturalist. Our colleagues in the department of geology at the Ohio State University, Drs. C. A. Lamey, J. O. Fuller, R. P. Goldthwait, H. J. Pincus, M. P. Weiss, and S. E. White, have read the manuscript in its final stages and have contributed useful information on many points. Finally, we realize that in spite of much care and revision we may have made inadvertent errors or failed to mention or emphasize pertinent topics. We shall be grateful to anyone who will be good enough to call our attention to these faults and we shall endeavor to correct them in later editions of this bulletin. v he Ohio Division of Geological Survey published the first edition of "Ohio Fossils" in 1955. It was readily received by hobbyists and students Tand the demand necessitated reprintings in 1956, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963, and 1965. With the 1966 and 1970 edi- tion, the number of copies published totals over 30,000. INTRODUCTION CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION NHAT FOSSILS ARE. Fossils are the remains of past life. The definition covers a wide field for it includes the bones and tusks of huge animals like the mastodon and mammoth and the tiniest shells of one-celled animals sometimes found literally by the millions in the rocks. Anything that is a clue to past life is included: trails and footprints, worm burrows, fossil leaves, tree trunks, and seeds, and the almost invisible spores of fungi. WHERE FOSSILS ARE FOUND. In Ohio, fossils are around us everywhere. They are found in all 88 of the counties of the state; the only difference between one county and another is the age and type of fossils found and their abundance or scarcity. On city streets people walk on fossils every day, for some of the old sidewalks are made of slabs of limestone that contain fossils. Even in our buildings, fossils are present in numbers: the walls of the State House in Columbus contain fossils; the stone walls and chimneys of houses and the gravel in our driveways are often crammed full of them. USES OF FOSSILS. Fossils are useful in three ways. To mankind in general, they are the evidence of animals of the long-distant past, the only clue to the nature of the life of millions of years ago. They show the appearance of different life forms one after another. Fossils are the documents from which development of life in the past can be traced. Fossils have a practical use too. Different kinds of fossils are found in the successive layers of rocks. The rocks can be recognized by their fossils. Some beds can be identified by their fossils even though they are separated by miles of ocean or by areas covered by soil or glacial debris. Even the layers far under the surface of the earth, when they are penetrated by the drill of the oil seeker, can be identified as to age by the fossils they contain. Some of the fossils brought up by the drill are broken but others are so small and so numerous that they can be identified. HOW FOSSILS ARE FOUND. In some parts of the state, fossils are so large and numerous that everybody knows about them. Elsewhere, fossils are not so obvious and they must be looked for with more care. The terms abundant, common, and rare are used as a matter of convenience throughout this book. We realize that their meaning varies greatly, as we found out when we compared statements in other publications with our own experience on some of the species of Ohio fossils. It seems best, therefore, to define our particular understanding of these terms so that you will not be misled by our statements. For us, abundant fossils are those that are so numerous in a particular formation and so widely distributed that they are bound to turn up in the majority of collections. Common fossils are numerous at some localities and not at others; or they may be widespread in most localities but they do not form a high proportion of any collection. Rare fossils are those that are found only occasionally. The main equipment of the fossil hunter is a pair of sharp eyes, a good stock of patience, and a few tools. The main tool is a hammer. It should be a fairly stout one, preferably with a chisel or point on one end of the head and a flat, square face on the other. A few cold chisels of assorted sizes may be useful in particularly hard rocks. The fossil hunter also needs a stout haversack to carry his finds, newspapers and tissue paper to wrap them in, and some pieces of paper to label them with.