Fossils
What is a fossil?
A fossil is the remains, trace, or imprint of a plant or animal that has been preserved in the earth's crust since some past geologic time
Geology of Kentucky
Kentucky Fossil Facts
17 inch Cephalopod extracted from a roadcut in Garrard County
Cephalopods
Nautiloid Cephalopod from Lincoln Reef
Age of Kentucky Fossils

Most of Kentucky's fossils are very ancient, and most are much older than the dinosaurs. Fossils are the same age as the sedimentary rocks that contain them, and the sedimentary rocks at Kentucky's surface range from 505 million to less than 16 million years old. A geologic map of Kentucky shows the distribution of these different age rocks. Not all ages are found in Kentucky, and the missing Permian through Cretaceous period is a mystery.
Types of Kentucky Fossils

The Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Mississippian, and some of the Pennsylvanian rocks of Kentucky began as sediments laid down in shallow tropical seas; consequently, the fossils found in them are types of marine shellfish (invertebrates). The most common types include corals, moss animals (bryozoans), lampshells (brachiopods), trilobites, clams (pelecypods), snails (gastropods), shell-bearing squid-like animals (cephalopods), and sea-lily animals (crinoids).

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Mass-extinction of sea life in Kentucky