Vertebrate www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/webfossl/pages/vertes.htm
(1st page)
1. Delete title
2. Add banner at top: N/energy/greb/vertebrate_fossils/vertebrate_banner.jpg
3. Change text at end of first paragraph “…found in Kentucky.” To ..found in far western Kentucky,
although none have been found to date.”
4. Add the following text after “…not fossilized.” At the end of the second pargraph.
Vertebrate fossils are rare in Kentucky. Most reported fossils that look like bones, claws, or teeth, are
actually fossils of other types of animals or are pseudofossils. Pseudofossils are rocks that look like fossils,
but are not fossils. If you think you have found a fossil bone, look at the Recognizing fossil bones section
first. Look at the criteria for identifying fossil bones, and see if the fossil you have looks like the fossils
shown to determine if it is actually a bone or not. If after comparing your fossil to the other fossils, it
appears like your fossil may be a fossil bone, try to match it to the fossils shown below in Vertebrate fossils
found in Kentucky. If you have found a fossil bone in Kentucky, please call the Kentucky Geological
Survey (859) 257-5500, so that we can document and verify the find.
5. Make “Recognizing bone fossils” a bulleted subheading and link to the text and figure shown.
6. Make “Vertebrate fossils found in Kentucky” the second bulleted subheading but no links, heading only.
7. Under Vertebrate subheading, list the links shown, Pisces…to mammals, but place in alphabetical order.
8. after Pisces put in parentheses (fish and shark fossils)
9. after Amphibia put in parentheses (salamander-like fossils)
10. after Reptilia put in parentheses (lizard-like fossils)
11. after Dinosaur put in parentheses (not found in Kentucky so far)
12. after Aves put in parentheses (bird fossils)
13. after Mammals put in parentheses (mammoths, mastodons, and more)
Recognizing fossil bones
(2nd page)
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Add banner to top of this page
recognizing_fossil_bone.jpg
2.
At the end of the first paragraph, “after …fibrous or spongy texture” insert the image
real_bone_structure.jpg
3.
Move the picture that is there (mammoth and pores) after the text below it (ending with …when
examined closely.”
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Rewrite the first line of text as
Some bones are obvious, like the Pleistocene mammoth skull shown below.
5.
Delete “These are recognizable large bones.”
6.
Change “Most fossil bones have texture (see above right)…” to “Most fossil bones have texture (see
below right)…”
7.
After “…when examined closely.” Add the following text. This should still be above the moved
image.
“…closely, which is unlike other types of fossils.”
8.
Add the following text below the image of the mammoth skull and pores.
The location in which a fossil was found may also be a clue to the likelihood that it is actually a fossil bone.
Recognizable vertebrate fossils would not be expected in rocks older than the Devonian in Kentucky. If you
live in an area with Ordovician http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/webgeoky/pages/ordovician.html
or Silurian http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/webgeoky/pages/silurian.html
bedrock (see geologic map of Kentucky
http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/webgeoky/pages/geologymap.html),
and the fossil you found was in bedrock, it is not likely that it is a vertebrate fossil. The only vertebrate
fossils found in areas of central and northern Kentucky have been found in sediments of streams and
sinkholes (Pleistocene age), rather than bedrock. If you live in the Knobs region of Kentucky, where
Devonian-age
http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/webgeoky/pages/devonian.html
black shales form the bedrock, plates of bony fish called arthrodires
http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/webfossl/pages/placoderms.html
have been found, but can easily be confused with plant fossils such as logs, which also occur in the shales.
In Mississippian
http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/webgeoky/pages/mississippian.html
limestones, fossil shark teeth
http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/webfossl/pages/pisces.html#chondrichthyes have been found. In
Mississippian-age sandstones and shales fossil shark teeth
http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/webfossl/pages/pisces.html#chondrichthyes,
and amphibian bones
http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/webfossl/pages/vertes.htm#Ampnibia
have been found, but are very rare and may be confused with plant fossils. In Pennsylvanian-age
http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/webgeoky/pages/pennsylvanian.html
shales, fossil sharks teeth
http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/webfossl/pages/pisces.html#chondrichthyes
and fish bones
http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/webfossl/pages/pisces.html#osteichthyes
have been found, but are rare. Most occur as dark (bluish to black) fossils in dark gray to black shales.
Fossilized reptile and amphibian tracks
http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/webfossl/pages/vertes.htm# Reptilia
have also been documented. Reptile and amphibian bones could also be found, but could easily be confused
with plant fossils and siderite nodules, which are abundant. Mammal bones
http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/webfossl/pages/mammals.html have been found in the Quaternary-age
sediments of Kentucky, mainly in old floodplain deposits, sinkholes, and in some caves, but are not found
in bedrock.
9.
Follow with these bulleted items.
Did I find fossil teeth, claws, or horns?
Did I find fossil rib, leg, or arm bones?
Did I find fossil skin impressions?
Did I find a fossil egg or turtle shell?
Identifying fossils by descriptive terms (How would you describe the shape?)
http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/webfossl/pages/fossilid2.html#terms
Vertebrate fossils found in Kentucky
http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/webfossl/pages/vertes.htm
6. Here is text and figures for bulleted links in number 5 (3rd page)
Did I find fossil teeth, claws, or horns?
Possibly the most misidentified fossils are fossil teeth, claws, and horns. Many people find rocks and fossils
they think are dinosaur claws or teeth. No dinosaur fossils have been found in Kentucky. There are many
types of fossils that have tooth or horn-like shapes. Some of these non-bone fossils are abundant in
Kentucky and easily confused with claws or horns.
[insert picture notbone_horn_corals.jpg]
Horn corals have horn, tooth, and claw shapes. They often have wrinkles or segments on the exterior,
which are not seen in bones. In cross section, they have radiating lines that also are not seen on bones.
Click here for more pictures of horn corals to compare with your fossil.
http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/webfossl/pages/rugosecorals.html
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[insert picture notbone_cephalopods.jpg]
Cephalopods can have horn-like shapes. They were actually the shells of squid-like animals. The exterior of
the cephalopod shells is often segmented, which is not seen in bone. Sometimes, the interior cast or mold of
a cephalopod shell is preserved as a fossil. This forms a smooth tubular fossil that could be misidentified as
a fossil horn or bone. Internal molds and casts tend to have a smooth or irregular interiors, but are not
polished on their exterior, or have the interior spongy texture typical of bone. Click here for more pictures
of cephalopods to compare with your fossil.
http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/webfossl/pages/cephalopods.html
[Insert space]
[insert picture notbone_plants.jpg]
Many plant fossils have tubular shapes that can be confused with horn, tooth, and claw fossils. Fossil
Calamites, were a type of reed. These may have lines or ridges along the length of the fossil that may
appear similar to the lines seen on some horns. These fossil reeds, however, are generally segmented,
unlike bone. They also lack a spongy interior, which is typical of bone. Click here for more pictures of
plant fossils to compare with your fossil.
http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/webfossl/pages/pennsylvanianplants.html
[Insert space]
[insert picture fossil_horn_shapes.jpg]
In Kentucky, true fossil horns are rare. In northern Kentucky, bison fossils have been found. In most cases
the horns are still attached to the skull. Horns exhibit elongate lines or ridges aligned along the long axis of
the fossil. There are bumps toward the base of the horns, similar to cow and deer antlers. The interior of the
horns has a spongy texture. Tusks of mammoths and mastodons, which have been found in Kentucky are
horn shaped, but are actually teeth (see below).
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[insert picture fossil_teeth_shapes.jpg]
In Kentucky, fossil teeth from fish, reptiles, and mammals have been found, but are rare. The exterior
surfaces of most fossil teeth are smooth, and may have a polished appearance. Some teeth are sharp and
serrated. Others are not. Reptile and fish teeth tend to be sharp, and often triangular to cone-shaped. They
are generally very small (millimeters to 2 cm). Mammal teeth are more diverse in shape, but usually have
the appearance of modern mammal teeth with roots and crowns. In fact, it can be difficult for the amateur
collector to differentiate the teeth of relatively modern horses and cattle from fossil horses and bison.
Insert tusk photo (don’t have yet)
Large fossil tusks, such as those on mammoths and mastodons, are also teeth, and have been found in
Kentucky. These tusks may have a shiny, polished (ivory-like) exterior. This exterior may have fine cracks
in it, like the cracks in old porcelain. The polished surface, however, will only be a thin rind on the outside
of the tusk. Generally, when fossil tusks weather, they peel apart in concentric layers. Beneath the polished
outer layer will be more thin layers, of different textures. Some may be rough. Some may have the spongy
texture of bone. Others may be powdery. Other types of fossils, such as horn corals, which may have a
tusk-like shape, will not weather or split apart in concentric layers.


See more fossil shark teeth from Kentucky
http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/webfossl/pages/pisces.html#chondrichthyes
See more fossil mammoth teeth from Kentucky
http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/webfossl/pages/mammals.html
Did I find fossil rib, leg, or arm bones?
Many fossils of invertebrate (no backbone) animals have long shapes that have been confused with fossil
bones. Cephalopods [http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/webfossl/pages/cephalopods.html} have an
elongate shell. Most cephalopods are less than 12 inches in length, but cephalopods in excess of three feet
have been found in Kentucky. Horn corals
[http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/webfossl/pages/rugosecorals.html] also can have an elongate shape that
mimics the shape of a rib bone. Some horn corals at the Falls of the Ohio, near Louisville, are more than 4
feet long. Neither cephalopods or horn corals have the spongy interior typical of bone. Most horn corals
and cephalopods have wrinkled or segmented exteriors, also not common in bone.
[Insert space]
[insert picture notbone_long_fossils.jpg]
Some fossils that have been misinterpreted as fossil bones by amateur collectors.
[Insert space]
[insert picture notbone_long_fossils.jpg]
Some bone-shaped rocks have also been misidentified as bone. The mineral siderite may fill the holes left
by roots and invertebrate animal burrows forming tubular, long, and irregularly-shaped pieces that have
been misinterpreted as fossil bones by amateur collectors.
If the fossil you have is elongate, does the outside, long part of the fossil have a smooth or polished
appearance? Most elongate fossil bones are smooth with small cracks or breaks from compaction during
the fossilization process. They may have a very porous (spongy), or feathery (fine, radiating lines, grooves,
and chambers) texture, especially towards the thicker ends of the bone. Large fossil bones found in
Kentucky are most often mammal bones. As such, they have shapes similar to modern mammal bones. Arm
and leg bones will have ball-and-socket shapes toward the end just like human arm and leg bones. If there
are cracks or breaks in the fossil, the spongy interior texture can generally be seen, if the fossil is really a
fossilized bone.
[Insert space]
[insert picture fossil_long_shapes.jpg]
Elongate fossil bones tend to be smooth, almost polished in appearance. Leg and arm bones will end in a
rounded knob or protrusion, just like a human leg or arm bone.

See more fossil mammoth bones from Kentucky
http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/webfossl/pages/mammals.html
Did I find fossil skin impressions?
Many fossil skin impressions are reported in Kentucky. Sometimes they are reported as dinosaur or snakeskin impressions. No fossil animal skin impressions have been found in Kentucky. The reported skin
impressions are usually fossil plants. Both of Kentucky’s coal fields contain common plant fossils. Just as
the bark on trees today is varied, so was the bark-like outer coating of the lycopod
{http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/webfossl/pages/pennplantslycopods.html] trees that grew in the ancient
coal swamps that formed Kentucky’s coals. Lycopod trees were scale trees. They had a scaly outer bark,
similar to the scaly outer skin of a pineapple. Some reeds like Calamites had long striations on their outer
surface.
[Insert space]
[insert picture nonimpression_plants.jpg]
Fossil lycopod (a type of plant) had scaly bark that may have the appearance of snake skin.

See more fossil plants from Kentucky http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/webfossl/pages/plants.htm
Did I find a fossil egg or turtle shell?
Many fossil eggs and turtle shells are reported in Kentucky. None (so far) have turned out to be fossil eggs
or turtle shells. Although it is possible that fossil eggs and turtle shells will someday be found in Kentucky,
all of the misidentified fossils that have been reported are actually concretions or man-made objects.
[Insert space]
[insert picture nonturtle_concretion.jpg]
Concretions are not fossils, but sometimes are confused with fossil eggs, turtle shells, and other bones.
Concretions are naturally occurring circular to oval-shaped mineral deposits in rock. Limestone concretions
are very common in Pennsylvanian-age strata of the Eastern and Western Kentucky Coal Fields. These
concretions can be more than five feet in diameter. They are commonly gray to tan in color, although small
concretions may be encased in coal, and shiny black in color. Sometimes the outer surface of concretions
are cracked into polygonal patterns or concentric lines that may have the appearance of growth lines on a
turtle shell. Siderite http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/webrokmn/pages/siderite.html is another type of
mineral that forms concretions. It is common throughout Kentucky. Generally siderite forms red, orange, or
brown concretions, from inches to a foot in length. Some concretions are oval to circular. Others have
irregular shapes that may look like horns, teeth, or claws. Siderite concretions sometimes fill the voids left
by burrowing organisms, called trace fossils. Geodes are another type of circular to oval-shaped rock.
These are mostly formed from concretions of quartz. Sometimes crystals form inside the concretions.
Geodes are common in some Mississippian-age strata.
[insert nonfossil_paintballs.jpg]
Some man-made objects are also misidentified as fossil eggs. Circular to oval ceramic balls have
periodically been found in creeks and soil in central and eastern Kentucky. Some were used in large vats
for mixing paints. Others were used for grinding purposes. One of the clues you can use to determine if an
object you find is one of these ceramic balls is to feel the weight of the object in your hand. Does it feel
heavy? Possibly, heavier than it should? These ceramic balls were made with barite, which is very dense,
so the balls are usually heavy. Also, because they are ceramic, they may feel cold or warm to the touch.
Ceramics hold in the temperature of their surroundings well.
Insert fossil_dinosaur_eggs.jpg
Fossil dinosaur eggs have never been found in Kentucky and are unlikely to ever be found here. Only far
western Kentucky, in the Jackson Purchase, has strata of the right age to yield dinosaur fossils. The image
above shows what dinosaur eggs look like. The only fossil dinosaur eggs that have been found in North
America, are found in the west. They are never found as isolated fossils, but are found in nesting sites, with
many eggs arranged in distinct patterns.
Images for amphibians in
N/Energy...greb/vertebrate_fossils/amphibians/
Amphibian bones http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/webfossl/pages/vertes.htm#Ampnibia
1. Insert after text:
anthrac_caudal_vert_thumb.jpg
Anthracosaur (a type of amphibian) caudal vertebrae, Hancock County.
2. Then link to full size figure and caption.
anthrac_caudal_vert.jpg
Anthracosaur (a type of amphibian) caudal vertebrae, Hancock County.
3. Link to amphibian footprint fossils (You will leave KGS Website)
http://www.uky.edu/OtherOrgs/KPS/images/footprint3sm.jpg
4. Link to Detail of anthracosaur (a type of amphibian) footprint
http://www.uky.edu/OtherOrgs/KPS/images/footprint2sm.jpg
N/Energy...greb/vertebrate_fossils/other fish
1.
2.
Go to placoderms at http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/webfossl/pages/placoderms.html
At the end of the text add these 2 thumbnails and short text next to the thumbnail
Dev_plac_plate_thumb.jpg
Placoderm plate, from Bulllitt County.
Dev_plac_plate_det_thumb.jpg
Detail of placoderm plate showing ornamentation.
3.
The link to full-scale picture and longer caption.
Dev_plac_plate_thumb.jpg
Placoderm plate, from Bulllitt County. University of Kentucky, Department of Geological Sciences
collection. Scale in centimeters.
Dev_plac_plate_det_thumb.jpg
Detail of placoderm plate showing ornamentation on outer bone layer to the right. University of Kentucky,
Department of Geological Sciences collection.