The Stratigraphy and Fossils of the Upper Ordovician near Cincinnati, Ohio
The Upper Ordovician strata in the tri-state region of southwest Ohio, southeastern Indiana, and northern Kentucky are among the most fossiliferous rocks anywhere in the world. Although preservation is generally limited to organisms with skeletons, their preservation is outstanding. These fossils and rocks have been intensely studied by professionals and amateurs for over 175 years. The diversity of organisms is extraordinary, with 470 genera and over 1200 species, although the taxonomy of many of these needs revision.
The stratigraphy of the type Cincinnatian is likewise fascinating and recent years have witnessed a shift from lithostratigraphic approaches, which have generated a confusing array of names, to sequence stratigraphic and event stratigraphic approaches. These innovations have ushered in fresh interpretations of these classic rocks and dramatically increased the resolution of correlation.
This website aims to document the described fossils of the type Cincinnatian, using the most recent taxonomy and illustrating genera wherever specimens have been encountered in museums. The website also aims to explain the complicated lithostratigraphy of the type Cincinnatian and outline the main advances in our recent sequence and event stratigraphic understanding.
