Results of a recent hunt in some old Coal tailings

I've been very busy these last few weeks going collecting and that has caused me to be a little backed up on the blog. Once the weather turns cold I will have more time to focus on writing entries. In the meantime, posts may be a little more sporadic and focused on what I'm finding in the field. Today is just such a post and I'm showing off some Lepidodendron bark impressions that I found this past weekend near Gilberton, PA. They were collected from some old coal mine tailings piles. The coal mines in Schuylkill County, where Gilberton is located, exploited the anthracite coal seams of the Llwellyn formation which is Upper Carboniferous in age (Kasimovian-Gzhelian stage of the ICS or Upper Westphalian to Stephanian stage in Europe).

I first found this hunk of sandstone with a very nice bark impression. The sandstone is normally grey but is stained yellow-orange by iron deposits.

Next I found this larger piece which is in shale. It is damaged some but I brought home a couple of pieces with better definition.

Then I found this branch impression of what I think in Sigillaria. It's hard to see from the photo but there is curvature to the fossil. It was too delicate to remove so it was left in place.

Lastly I found this partial log (or stump?) partially buried in the pile. Once I excavated it I found that it was about 20" wide, 18" tall and 8" thick. No detail remained on the cast so I couldn't tell what kind of tree it was.

Unfortunately the piece was too heavy for me to try and haul back to my car, let alone lift it into the trunk. It must have weighed more than 100 lbs! It would have looked nice in my yard but I left it behind for some other, more enterprising collector to find.

Howellella elegans brachiopod from the Wenlock formation

This tiny brachiopod is Howellella elegans from the Silurian aged (Wenloch epoch, Sheinwoodian to Homerian stage) Wenlock formation, near Dudley, England. It's a spiriferid type brachiopod with a wide hinge line, a protruding, beak-like Umbo and very coarse plication with somewhat prominent growth lines. This specimen has a very shallow but wide sulcus and is generally rectangular in shape. I found a similar looking shell in the Keyser formation.

Brachial valve

Anterior

Pedicle valve

Posterior

Profile

Meristella obtusa brachiopod from the Wenlock Formation

Contrasting with the small brachiopod in yesterday's post, today I have Meristella obtusa from the Silurian aged (Wenlock epoch, Sheinwoodian to Homerian stage) Wenlock formation, near Dudley, England. The shell is smooth and round, about the same ratio wide as it is long. There is a wide but shallow sulcus and a heavily recurved umbo on the pedicle valve.

Brachial valve

Anterior

Pedicle valve

Posterior

Profile

I have featured several species of Meristella on my blog before like Meristella atoka from the Haragan formation, Meristella haskinsi from the Centerfield mbr. of the Ludlowville formation, and Meristella arcuata from the Onondoga limestone.

Stegerhynchus lewissi brachiopod from the Wenlock Fm.

This tiny brachiopod is Stegerhynchus lewissi from the Silurian aged (Wenloch epoch, Sheinwoodian to Homerian stage) Wenlock formation, near Dudley, England. It's a rhynchonellid type brachiopod as evidenced by the lack of a wide hinge line, a protruding, beak-like Umbo and coarse plication. This specimen has a very shallow but wide sulcus and is generally rectangular in shape. Compare this miniscule species with the giant Stegerhynchus stricklandi from the Waldron shale.

Brachial valve

Anterior

Pedicle valve

Posterior

Profile

Amphistrophia funculata brachiopod from the Wenlock Fm.

Amphistrophia funculata is a strophomenid type brachiopod from the Silurian aged (Wenlock epoch, Sheinwoodian to Homerian stage), Wenlock formation, near Dudley, England. It has the typical arrangement of valves with the pedicle valve being convex and the brachial valve concave. To me this looks very similar to a Strophomena sp. brachiopods from the Ordovician. Fine radial ribs decorate the surface and the shell makes a sharp turn along the margin to grow perpendicular to the previous direction. The hinge line is straight with a very long and narrow interarea between the valves.

Pedicle valve

Anterior

Brachial valve

Posterior