EXPLORING THE INFLUENCE OF WATER ENERGY ON THE TAPHONOMIC CONDITION OF RUGOSE CORALS AT THE FALLS OF OHIO, CLARKSVILLE, INDIANA

The Falls of the Ohio State Park (Clarksville, Indiana) is a 220-acre Devonian fossil bed, among the largest in the world. Between the months of August to October, the Ohio River level drops enough to expose the coral-rich limestone making it available for study. The current study is an examination the body size distribution of rugose corals in the Coral Zone of the Jeffersonville Limestone. Field work was conducted in the Fall of 2017. A series of transects, totaling 81 meters were examined and any fossils greater than 1 centimeter in size were identified, measured and their compass bearings were recorded.

The size distributions of each of the abundant rugose corals were examined, most of which showed an expected linear correlation between body width and length, as body length increased in size so did the width of the coral. However, in the genus Acinophyllum, the relationship showed a different pattern in which the width was consistent across a wide range of lengths. The pattern was predicted, as Acinophyllum is a small thin non-tapering rugose coral.

These observed patterns, while unsurprising, may also reveal some relevant taphonomic information, as the variation of lengths for a given width may show the degree to which the coral specimens were fragmented. This study will also examine orientations of the fossils at the Falls of the Ohio, in order to provide insight into not only how these fossils may have been fragmented, but also how potential ocean currents and water energy may have influenced their movement across the sea floor before being preserved.