This tiny gastropod is likely from the genus Glabrocingulum. First described by Thomas in 1940, Glabrocingulum has a geologic range of 353 to 205 million years ago. Being so small, it was difficult to identify via fossil plates alone. It has the raised edge with a bump pattern, but itRead More →
I went back to where I found the first Petalodus tooth, and the first rock I split open held another Pennsylvanian Petalodus tooth. This specimen is longer than the first one. It measures 1.5mm more narrow, however this is due to a chipped left corner. The limestone is a bitRead More →
This small gastropod was found embedded within limestone in what I now call my limestone pile. As I collect limestone from the surrounding hillsides, The pieces I can carry end up here. There are over 62,000 species of gastropods, and they first appear during the early Cambrian period of time.Read More →
Spines in Brachiopods rarely survive in the local rocks. While I believe I have found a few already separated, I rarely see one actually embedded on the shell. I found the 1mm long spine on this Brachiopod specimen I brought back this evening after freeing it from float limestone withinRead More →
Finding a possible Petalodus tooth is one of the gateway fossils that lead to my love of fossil hunting. My first find was a bust, but finally I have found the real thing. This piece came from the huge shelf rocks that outcropped inches from the creek bed locally. WeRead More →
Shansiella was first described by Yin in 1932. It can be identified as such by viewing it’s bands and a distinctive selenizone on the aperture opening. There are large numbers of Gastropod samples to be found in Limestone and shale, but I rarely do I find ones that are asRead More →
Most cephalopod specimens I find are small to medium in size. They range from 3-5 inches in diameter. This one was much larger. Found as a huge slab of limestone in the middle of Guffy Run, recent storms brought this rock to rest in the center of the stream. ItRead More →
Ever since I figured out what they were, Allopinna godleskya have been a personal favorite of mine. In examining the remaining shell material in these fossils, I have seen the prismatic layer on the shell hinge in at least two specimens. The specimens below show the detail. The layer inRead More →
This was one of my favorite specimens when I pulled it out of the huge chunk of limestone we were working on. You can clearly see the Metacoceras steinkern and there is a thickness of shell material on the inside of the half circle. In the middle portion there isRead More →
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 →