Closely related to modern horsetails, Calamites is an extinct genus that existed from the Carboniferous until the early Permian. Horsetails are one of several genera considered to be living fossils. They reproduce using spores, which were similar to Lepidodendron. Both Lepidodendron and Calamites produced cone arrangements of spores. This genusRead More →
My daughter found this Lepidodendron specimen during a quick expedition to explore exposed shale along a steep roadside hill. It was lying alongside the road on a raised dirt pile on top of the soil. PennDot probably unearthed this while making road repairs. This piece is from the neighboring GilpinRead More →
Macroneuropteris is a seed plant that has a temporal range only in the Carboniferous. I found this specimen in the talus near the lab. Most specimens I find are of small leaves, or large pieces of bark. This was more certainly a large leaf. I wanted to show the leafRead More →
Original Catalog No. 2019-04-LS-000 Identification as Pecopteris is very likely. This comes from a newly found shale landslide. The piece had fallen out of the hill and was lying on the ground. The rock is very fragile. The colors shown are rarer in this area, more commonly being a greyRead More →
Huge slabs of weathered shale and slate run down the local stream nearby. Lifting pieces can introduce you to many different fern fossils. There are bits of Lepidophylloides and pieces of Lepidodendron bark. The ferns could be Neuropteris or Pecopteris, and I am leaning towards Pecopteris. Ferns are preserved asRead More →