The gastropod Bellerophon nodocarinatus (=Euphemites nodocarinatus) was named by Hall in 1858 in a geological report of Iowa. The name means knotty/lumpy kneels (or carina), characterized by the dual lumpy ridges visible from the anterior margin across the shell. Members of Euphemites have spiral lirae that appear in the aperture and extend toward theRead More →
Crosswise cells or rays are typical but often hidden components of the vascular tissue in plans. Fossil plants occur in the shale layers below the Brush Creek limestone. These sometimes preserve incredible detail, including detailed carbon films from plants living over 300 million years ago. While shale plant fossils areRead More →
Parallelodon carbonarius (Cox 1857) is a bivalve with distribution from the older Pottsville Group to the younger Conemaugh Group in Ohio and Pennsylvania. This is the first specimen of this species that I have found in over three years of searching through the Brush Creek limestone and the Pine CreekRead More →
An excellent specimen of Trepospira sphaerulata was recovered in late December 2021. It is a much better example of this species of Paleozoic gastropod, so I am replacing the content of this article with photos of it. New images should help future researchers search for an excellent example of thisRead More →
Cordaites and Calamites are two familiar plants in the Late Pennsylvanian fossil fauna. The two are similar as fossils, presenting as long horizontal grooves in rocks. Cordaites differs from Calamites as the latter has a termination of the groves with occasional perpendicular grooves coming from the presence of nodes. IRead More →
Timothy Conrad’s description of the Paleozoic gastropod Turbo insectus in 1835 was an open and shut case. In his historic, single sentence description, he described and figured a new species of the genus Turbo. His was the first report of North American marine fossils of the Pennsylvanian age. Unfortunately, thisRead 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 →
Endelocrinus murrysvillensis is a species of crinoid that was first described in 1967 by John James Burke. Crinoids are a long-lived class of invertebrates that have existed from Ordovician times to the current day. Nicknamed sea lilies, these beautiful sea creatures are often found as small disc-shaped fossils with aRead More →
If there is a common theme for discovery posts here, it is for the genera Metacoceras and Petalodus. In the past, I’ve numbered each specimen using roman numerals. As I’ve gained specimens, I may continue the sub numbering but will make fewer individual posts about particular specimens. Two new specimensRead More →
The Paleozoic gastropod (snail) Shansiella carbonaria (Yin 1932) is a common find in the Pine Creek limestone locality I search in Armstrong County. Specimens are easy to come by, and each is unique and visually pleasing to examine. Norwood & Pratten described this medium-sized snail more than 160 years agoRead More →