Cephalopod found in Pennsylvanian Limestone

This specimen is a Sea Pen. Originally, I was classifying local Sea Pen fossils as Pteronites, however over the past 50 years, the naming has started to change. The type species Pteronites was originally named for species found in England (McCoy 1842). In 1978, a new branch named Meekopinna (YanceyRead More →

Brachiopod Steinkern

Catalog Number: CG-0008 Update: This has been identified as Eomarginifera longispinus. This specimen came out with more detail than I’ve ever seen in a Brachiopod locally. I was knocking off eroded edges from a large piece of limestone when this showed up. Surprisingly, I was able to wiggle the specimenRead More →

Wilkingia

This specimen is probably Wilkingia. But it could also be Phestia. I compared photos from a quick web search of each and I found examples of Wilkingia to be far more comparable. Wilkingia lived from the Carboniferous until the Permian periods of time. This particular specimen is from eroded matrix,Read More →

A solitary type of coral found commonly in the local limestone/marine layer. I have been told the two examples below are perhaps of two different species. The first piece is assumed to be Stereostylus. The second piece that is split down the middle was thought to perhaps be Lophophyllidium. ThatRead More →

This specimen started out showing about 40-50% of itself within the Limestone matrix is was embedded in. I spent a good deal of time with the air scribe to free it. I am confident that it is Metacoceras, but I welcome other opinions. The raised spines along the top sideRead More →

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 →

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 →