This is the "Fossil Friday" post #149. Expect this to be a somewhat regular feature of the website. We will post any fossil pictures you send in to [email protected]. Please include a short description or story. Check the #FossilFriday Twitter hash tag for contributions from around the world!
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We have a gorgeous Mazon Creek worm fossil for your enjoyment today! It's a Rhaphidiophorus hystrix, which was known informally as the "Oliver Hardy" worm by old-time collectors. It was described in 1979 by Ida Thompson in her epic worm paper "Errant polychaetes (Annelida) from the Pennsylvanian Essex fauna of northern Illinois", which classified no less than ten Mazon Creek worm species. For more details, see Mazon Monday #121.
This specimen comes from Edgar Kooijman, who's active (and helpful!) on the Mazon Creek Facebook forums. He is a biology professor at Kent State University in Ohio. He acquired this beautiful fossil recently. He has quite a few other exquisite specimens as evidenced by some of his posts. Thanks for sharing, Edgar!
