Palaeonisciform Fossil Donated By Johnathan Baldwin
In 2020, Johnathan Baldwin made a major breakthrough by discovering and donating an exceptionally rare, complete palaeonisciform fish fossil to the Kentucky Geological Survey (KGS). What is a Palaeonisciform? Belonging to the extinct order Palaeonisciformes, these ancient predators were among the earliest ray finned bony fish. They ruled local waters during the Carboniferous period (roughly 300 to 350 million years ago), back when Kentucky was located near the equator and covered by a shallow, warm tropical sea. The Palaeonisciform Fossil is a notable specimen of an extinct, primitive ray-finned fish. These fish, characterized by their ganoid scales and distinct tail shapes, thrived from the Devonian to the Cretaceous periods. The specific specimen donated by Johnathan Baldwin is currently housed in the paleontological collections of the Kentucky Geological Survey (KGS). The KGS serves as the official archive for the Commonwealth's geological and paleontology her...