Bornite, also known as Peacock ore, is a mineral that tarnishes to different colors, ranging from blue, yellow, and purple. This is the first sample of it I have found locally, right in my local shale pile. I have a feeling that I will be finding more of it nowRead More →
First described by G. H. Girty in 1912 as found in Oklahoma. This specimen was 3/4 exposed as attached to a rock. I am not positive, but I believe it would break into more than one piece if I attempted to remove it. I am always finding either Pseudorthoceras orRead More →
The very definition of a fossil includes objects that another material has replaced. These are called casts. Impressions are also fossils, such as the shape of a prehistoric fern leaf embedded in shale rock or the impression of a shell in limestone. Somewhat standard in Western Pennsylvanian fossils from theRead More →
First named by Alpheus Hyatt in 1883, Metacoceras is one of the two most common cephalopods I find in Parks Township. Pseudorthoceras is the other one, a narrow straight shelled genus. This specimen shows nice banding where the individual chambers are on the shell. The first photo shows the shellRead More →
February 2020 – I have updated this post. I received a more solid identification of Brachycycloceras after a visit to the Carnegie Museum. June 2020 – I am again updating this post. I shared the photo of CM 29726 with Royal Mapes, who said that the specimen is defiantly notRead More →
Seeing a 305 million-year-old prismatic surface on a piece of the shell seems remarkable to me. After all that time, the shell surface still presents with a shimmer that captures and refracts light in several different directions. The views below show edge details and a close-up of the individual standingRead More →
This specimen of Pseudorthoceras was exposed on the outside of a large piece of limestone in a local stream. It was several feet below the local layer, and likely fell into the stream a long time ago. A few swings of a sledge hammer and the 4 foot long stoneRead More →
Crinoid stems in Parks Township are typically discs. Rarely do you find them stacked 2 or 3 columns high. Crinoids are a living fossil, and several species are still alive today. While attempting to drop a huge piece of limestone from a steep hill, this 4cm long stem appeared. ItRead More →
I’ve found a large number of Metacoceras locally in Parks Township. Yet I haven’t found one quite like this specimen. Unique to this one, you can see the septal neck openings and the inner whorl channel. I also found a small piece of the next chamber, including the septal openingsRead More →
This combination piece came from hammering on already busted up Limestone. The Pseudorthoceras is long in comparison to most exposed specimens I find. Usually they are buried or the pieces that are exposed fall apart at the septal margins. The Metacoceras in this piece shows excellent septal suture lines andRead More →