1.7" Ordovician Chaetetid Sponge (Solenopora) Fossil - Kentucky

This is a chaetetid sponge (Solenopora sp.) fossil from the Upper Ordovician Corryville Formation of Fleming County, Kentucky. It measures 1.7" wide and has been prepped free from the rock it was found in.

This is the same genus of sponge as the Jurassic-aged sponge fossils (Solenopora jurassica) found in Gloucestershire, England, locally known as "Beetroot Rock" because of their coloration. This genus of sponge existed for hundreds of millions of years, with specimens spanning from the Cambrian Period up into the Tertiary Period.