| An explorer of Paleozoic paleontology examines richly fossiliferous outcrops of the lower Silurian to Lower Devonian Vaughn Gulch Limestone situated near Mazourka Canyon, Inyo County, California. Here can be collected numerous species of excellently preserved corals, crinoid stems, brachiopods, bryozoans, and a remarkable extinct species of dasycladacean algae (green algae) called Verticillopora annulata. Every piece of rock within view belongs to the middle Silurian Vaughn Gulch Limestone and is likely to contain prized coelenterate corals, in addition to many other silicified (replaced by the mineral silicon dioxide) invertebrate animal remains. |