Page 4: Trace Fossils
The shale itself had some very interesting trace fossils on
it. Unidentified nodules that are weathering out in interesting ways. Can you
tell what made these traces? Please excuse the water drops on the camera lens.
(Next 3 pictures below.)
Was the traces above made by trilobites? Probably not, but they make you
look twice!
There was a layer on this site where the shale is COVERED with
trace fossils. The traces are of varying shapes and types. On the sample below,
the tracks of some animal, have a square-shaped profile or cross-section. These
tracks are usually short in length. What soft bodied animal had that shape? A
better question: Will we ever know?
A close-up (below) of same rock
We found some wonderful examples of millimeter ripples in
laminate shale surfaces. Some say this is the actual ocean bottom
(sediment-water interface) which would show us a beautiful snapshot of time. It
may be, though, that it's the result of shearing of layers of sediment under the
ocean floor, caused by storms or seismic events (see Pflueger 1999, Brett 1999).
The rock below doesn't show it well, but there is strong
evidence of seismic (earthquake) activity on this site. It has caused
deformations called Seismites. The rock below is broken and shows a
cross-section of what I think are some of these deformations.
Next Page: More Fossils Found: Trilobites
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: Fossils Found: Brachiopods and Bivalves
Page 3: Fossils Found: Bryozoans
Page 4: Fossils Found: Trace Fossils
Page 5: Fossils Found: Trilobites
Photos From Past Field Trips to Maysville, KY
September 2003
April 2001
April 2000
Back to Field Trip Index
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