Encrusters

ENCRUSTERS AND GROWTH PATTERNS REVEALED BY FOSSIL PREPARATION

These Devonian fossils, all of which are from New York State, are on loan from the personal collection of Gerald Kloc. Mr. Kloc is a Geological Technician in the Earth and Environmental Sciences department at the University of Rochester, New York, and is an avocational paleontologist and expert fossil preparator. He spent countless hours preparing these specimens in order to remove them from their surrounding rock matrix. Trilobites are one of his greatest passions. The fossils are from the Middle Devonian Ludlowville Formation (Hamilton Group) unless otherwise noted.

The exquisite details revealed by Mr. Kloc’s preparation work tells us much about the lives of Devonian marine animals and their interactions with each other. Some marine invertebrates (animals without backbones) grow on top of other animals and are called “encrusters.” Look for examples here. Also explore for interesting patterns of growth. For example, some corals show multiple instances of being knocked over in the ancient sea, only to start growing upwards once again.