Going by the fossil example shown on the Pennsylvanian Atlas of Ancient Life, I am calling this find a Pseudorthoceras. The rock was split into two pieces, and the photo is of them joined back up. The white markings are from an air scribe. Pseudorthoceras belongs to the class Cephalopoda.Read More →

Orthotetes

This brachiopod is beautifully centered in what is likely a concretion circle. The specimen was found in the high-hill shale. This layer contains a shale that I call mud stone. It comes out in larger pieces than thinner shale. The rock still splits rather easily, and it contains many concretions.Read More →

Antiquatonia portlockiana

Antiquatonia portlockiana was first described by Norwood and Pratten in 1855. The genus Antiquatonia includes eight distinct species. It has a surprisingly short age range of about 20 million years. The species has yet to be found outside of the Carboniferous Period. When I first found this brachiopod, I wasn’tRead More →

Composita was a genus of brachiopod from the Late Devonian up until the Late Permian. There are a few pieces of the original shell attached to the fossilized inside. This form of fossil is also known as a Steinkern. This species is very common in the local marine zones. ThisRead More →

Crinoid Stem

By far the largest Crinoid Stem I’ve found so far. This was in a thin triangle of Limestone and was easy to get out. I count six columns stuck together here. Crinoids are very common locally, however larger ones are more rare. I still would like to find a CrownRead More →