The coiled cephalopod Tainoceras (Hyatt, 1883) has eluded me for years. They are missing for a good reason: the rocks I pull specimens from are too old to have them. Most coiled cephalopods I pull out of the rocks are from the genus Metacoceras (Hyatt, 1883), which compete with PseudorthocerasRead More →

Mahoningoceras

I started my research thinking this fossil was Mahoningoceras Murphy 1974, then later thought it was smashed, had straight flank sutures, and was a Millkoninckioceras Kummel 1963. I reversed this decision again after comparing it to Millkoninckioceras and refocused on Mahoningoceras. Yet, I received a photo of the holotype fromRead More →

Poterioceras curtum is a Pennsylvanian cephalopod first described by Meek & Worthen in 1860. I originally misidentified these as Ctenobactrites isogramma. This is not the first report of this species in Western Pennsylvania. A report from the Annals of the Carnegie Museum in 1947 features specimens from the Brush CreekRead More →

Finding specimens of the paleozoic cephalopod genus Domatoceras in local rocks is difficult. They exist, but the genera Metacoceras and Pseudorthoceras dominate the cephalopod fauna. They are large cephalopods with a narrow venter. The younger whorls are only slightly or not impressed into the umbilical walls. Big shells are hardRead More →