This is the "Fossil Friday" post #215. 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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Ok, it's not from Mazon Creek, but is from the Pennsylvanian Period. This absolutely stunning millipede, Myriacantherpestes sp., from the famous Hamilton Quarry in eastern Kansas. That quarry is considered a Late Carboniferous lagerstatte. It's produced unusually well preserved fossils of plants, vertebrates, and invertebrates, including large winged insects, water scorpions, and, of course, stunning millipedes (see Fossil Friday #134 for another millipede). This deposit is a little younger than Mazon Creek at about 295 million years ago. The depositional environment shows it to have been a river estuary.
This beautiful specimen was on full display (and for sale!) by Doug DeRosear of DeRosear Fossils at the CGMA show on Memorial Day weekend. The fossil is about 6 in (15 cm) long. It was found around 1980 and purchased by Doug. Thanks for sharing, Doug!
