The brachiopod Isogramma Meek and Worthen (1870) is challenging to identify when found by inexperienced collectors. These fossils appear as a half circle of sharp, equal-spaced concentric growth lines. All specimens appear flattened, making them difficult to identify as dimensional brachiopod shells. The shells are concavo-convex in life, but dueRead More →
The following are six cataloged specimens of Composita from the Brush Creek limestone within the Glenshaw Formation. Specimen CG-0258 is unique within the group, as it comes from a modified soft limestone and preserves features inside of the shell. Composita Sulcus Views The sulcus on Composita is very apparent andRead More →
Norwood and Pratten first described Antiquatonia portlockiana in 1855 as Producti portlockianus. 1976 the species was rearranged as Antiquatonia portlockiana by Douglas C. Brew and Stanley S. Beus. Specimens of Antiquatonia Portlockiana from Armstrong County Brachiopods have been a less-than-common find at the Pine Creek locality. Gastropods, Cephalopods, and RugoseRead More →
If I find a large convolute cephalopod in local Brush Creek Limestone, it’s usually the genus Metacoceras. Each find is a unique opportunity to study the genus as a whole. It’s the luck of the draw that determines how each will present itself, once a rock hammer breaks open aRead More →
I still have only found two examples of the genus Neospirifer locally. I spent three or more hours on this one, carefully removing excess parts of the limestone matrix. I’ve been getting more patient with the air scribe, turning it down to work on more delicate areas. There are wellRead More →
Yet again, I need to reverse the identification of the specimens below. I will be altering the article, but the specimen referenced found in the Brush Creek limestone is not E. longispinus, but Kozlowskia splendens. L. longispinus is found in the late Mississippian of European and U.K. rocks. Eomarginifera longispinusRead More →
Kozlowskia splendens is a species of brachiopod described in the Brachiopods of Ohio book. The species is reported from the Brush Creek limestone. I originally wrote this post about specimen CG-0008, but it turned out to be Eomarginifera longispinus. The difference? The so-called ears of the shell. This is theRead More →
Pulchratia is a genus of brachiopod known from the Late Carboniferous through the end of the Permian. After doing some visual research with local fossil plates, I settled on the genus Pulchratia. I considered Juresania, which is a sister genus within the Echinoconchidae family, but Pulchratia fit better. This isRead More →
I have seen a few specimens of Neospirifer locally, however none this large and in as good as shape. I have settled on this being the genus Neospirifer (Fredricks 1919), or at least something from the Spiriferidae family. The prominent groove down the middle of the shell with two raisedRead More →
The Brachiopod genus Composita was existent from 376 to 252 million years ago. Like a large majority of the genera that I collect, the Permian-Triassic Extinction event caused them to go extinct. This specimen was collected in April of 2019 was identified early on by J. Harper, a trusted expertRead More →