Rare fossils found in Kentucky (Trilobites, “Starfish”, Brachiopods, and more!)

We are heading down south to Maysville, Kentucky to do some rockhounding and fossil hunting. While in town for the holidays I had to visit the infamous Maysville roadcut which is brimming with RARE half a billion year old fossils. But why? Why is this place so special and why are there so many fossils here? To find the answer we will have to go WAY back to the Ordovician period. In this episode we will learn about the Great Ordovician BIODIVERSIFICATION Event (GOBE) and the Hirnantian glaciation. We will also about learn about the Ordovician Mass Extinction event where 85% of species went extinct.


Questions that will be answered in this video:

What was the climate like 500 million years ago?
What is the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event (GOBE)?
What caused the GOBE?
What ended the GOBE?
What the oldest extinction event?
How severe was Ordovician Mass Extinction?
What’s a geological formation?
What are trace fossils and ichnofossils?
How rare/common are fossils?
How do fossils form?
Why is the Maysville roadcut so AWESOME?!

You don’t need to be a rock-lover, fossil fan, or even outdoorsy to appreciate this amazing place. I highly recommend visiting if you have the chance…and taking a few fossil specimens while you are there.

This video is perfect for college students who are studying up for a paleontology exam or for people of all ages looking to expand their minds and learn about the wonderful world around us—and in this case—before us!

#rockhounding #fossilhunting #paleontology #geology #fossils #ordovician #womeninstem #education #rocklovers #climatechange


Resources:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/sc....

https://www.megalongcc.com.au/In...

https://www.britannica.com/scien...

https://www.nature.com/articles/...

https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org...

https://www.ucdavis.edu/climate/...

https://louisvillefossils.blogsp...

https://www.ordovicianatlas.org/...