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The Pennsylvanian of Texas is a strange and exciting place. Even though I've been going at this whole fossil hunting thing for about a year and a half, my experience in this age of rock is extremely limited. And yet, many of my most prized specimens have come from such hunts. I've had the pleasure of visiting a few of the more prominent Pennsylvanian sites to be had around Central Texas, but now that I'm back up North, I thought it would be prime time to check out a spot that many have put in good words about. Another local collector, @PaleoPastels, had also been dipping her toes in the Paleozoic, so we decided to go for a group outing along with her entomologist roommate to the famous Lost Creek Reservoir in Jacksboro and a couple of Bridgeport localities! Unfortunately, @BobWill couldn't make it for that day, but he was nevertheless very helpful with providing guidance and advice on hunting the Finis Shale. Nothing beats first laying eyes on a distant exposure. The walk felt like an eternity! The day started off early and, after a bit of confusion , we managed to make it by about 9 am. The air had yet to be warmed by the sun, so we were all feeling a little chilly as we walked to the bluffs, simultaneously exchanging gifts and introducing ourselves. I was relieved to find that Lari was just as nice as her online personality made her out to be and we got straight to chatting about, well, fossils. Cole wasn't as big on fossils as Lari, but he still showed good enthusiasm. We weren't expecting trilos here, but I was crossing my fingers that we'd get some in Bridgeport to fulfill his entomology interests. Looking to the left and to the right on the Jacksboro slopes Once we reached the grey base of the bluffs on the far right end, we were all immediately hunched over, gathering up bits and pieces of the wide diversity of fauna present at the site. The ground was literally covered in millions of brachiopods, cephalopods, and gastropods. Some of my favorite things to pick up were snails of the order Bellerophontidae. They've got such a unique look to them that drastically differs from the gastropods of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic. A Pharkidonotus percarinatus gastropod still in matrix We steadily made our way to the left, scuttling up and down the slopes over and over again. The initial excitement had waned and the pace of finds slowed; Now we were really trying to focus on getting some of the rarer/cooler stuff. Throughout the morning, I had been yapping away about conularids: How strange they are, how I was really hoping to find one, how this was the one place where they were almost common, etc. I thought we'd have found one a lot sooner, but the lack of results and recent rain got me a little nervous, I must admit. I was starting to regret talking about them so much, especially when Lari and Cole began getting more interested in them. Surely this place was so big, it couldn't run out of them, right? A recreation of how I found the first conularid of the day Well, I guess the place is big enough because the first conularid of the day was at my feet before I knew it. It's beat up, but the enigma surrounding this animal is enough put it on the top shelf. Throughout the day, I found a handful more. I offered some to Lari, but she would not be satisfied until she found one on her own, which I understand. To find out if she and Cole scored any, you'll have to wait for her side of the story . Fimbrinia plummeri Not so far from the first conularid, I picked up my favorite brachiopod of the day. This specimen was extra shiny and had some nice pointy spines, warranting placement in my rares/delicates ziploc. I thought I had reached the peak of the day when I was forced to stop mid conversation. Inches from my face, I spotted the subtle glint of wrinkled enamel attached to an inconspicuous pebble. If I hadn't seen one of these featured on the forum last Spring, I'd probably have moved right past it. The first fragment I gazed upon was the largest and very clearly belonged to the shark, Glikmanius occidentalis. I hurriedly gathered two more smaller chunks and tried to reassemble the tooth. Glikmanius occidentalis cladodont shark. Don't worry, I figured out to flip that smaller fragment around by the time I consolidated everything! Unfortunately, the tooth crowns and a piece of the base were nowhere to be seen. There was a little valley next to it, so the other bits may have been washed away for all I know. Nevertheless, these teeth are simply awesome. I have a soft spot for shark teeth, so a charismatic find like this will always be a trip maker! I wonder if ones with cusps still attached have ever been found? Consolidated tooth. It's pretty, but I'll admit @historianmichael has me beat with his from earlier in the year! We rounded off our time in Jacksboro checking out the far left side of the exposure, mostly around the flats. There, pyritic cephalopod micromorphs could be found in excess. Shown below is my best specimen from that area: Wiedeyoceras pingue? Thus, our time at Jacksboro had run its course and the path was set for Bridgeport. Lari was kind enough to share some turkey jerky and the best blueberry muffin I've had in a long time. We all had some nice finds out of it, but I'm sure the place is a lot more productive if caught right after a storm. This spot is definitely due for a return. After identifying everything at home, I now have a list of over 55 unique species to show for the hunt! Bob and DPS have pooled together some great resources for researching IDs, but it was nevertheless an exhaustive (and satisfying) process. Bridgeport Prior to the trip, I did some recon and found a short list of cuts around Lake Bridgeport for us to visit. Since the day was already getting a bit late, I decided we should visit only the best two of the list which exposed what I believe to be the Bridgeport Shale. It was a pretty short drive and soon enough we were back together with our eyes glued to the ground at the first spot. We were on the look out for trilobites first and foremost. Within about 5 minutes, I found the first trilobutt! First trilobutt of the day I'm not sure if there is more trilobite within the nodule, but I will try to work it down and find out. Unfortunately, the trilobites did not start popping up like crazy as I had hoped. Instead, we were mostly collecting gastropods and the occasional horn coral. I did at least manage to find a pretty death assemblage of Trepospira snails. Trepospira snails I will say the red stone eventually gave me some bad flashbacks of Woodbine busts from the past. At times, it felt like I was hunting in a pile of unfossiliferous landscaping gravel. As we began wrapping up, I managed to pull a chunk of matrix with some trilobite material on top, but I wouldn't say it's anything too impressive. Trilobite material We took a short drive over to the second and final cut which exposed the same sort of rock. I got skunked at this spot, but Lari and Cole each managed to snag their own trilobite and had success splitting the various nodules. I was happy we all came out of Bridgeport with some trilobite material to show for it! The day felt like it was gone in a flash, but my body was definitely calling it quits. It was fun to meet up with another forum member and explore some unknown territory. A future second get-together is for sure in the cards after some rainy weather . Throughout writing this report, I've left out a lot of awesome finds so Lari can share them herself. So, keep an eye out for her side of the story! Anyways, here is an overview of the finds: Top L to R: Metacoceras sp., Gonioloboceras goniolobus, Brachycycloceras normale, and Euloxoceras greenei 2nd Row L to R: Pseudorthoceras knoxense, and Ephippoceras sp. Bottom L to R: Rugobactrites jacksboroensis, Wiedeyoceras pingue?, and Domatoceras sp.? Top L to R: Lophophyllidium spinosum, Paraconularia crustula, and Lophophyillidium plummeri 2nd Row L to R: Fusunilids, and Incrustospongia meandrica Bottom L to R: Fenestella sp., and Tabulipora sp. Note: Syringopora sp.? not pictured Top L to R: Rhipidomella carbonaria, Neospirifer dunbari, and Punctospirifer kentuckyensis 2nd Row L to R: Lissochonetes geinitzianus, Wellerella osagensis, and Neochonetes granulifer Bottom L to R: Meekella striatocoastata?, Crurithyris planoconvexa, and Hustedia mormoni Top L to R: Hystriculina texana?, Echinaria semipunctata, and Kutorginella lasallensis Bottom L to R: Composita subtilita, Kozlowskia splendens, Fimbrinia plummeri, Eridmatus texanus?, and Phricodothyris perplexa Note: Differentiating between Hysticulina and Kutorginella was a bit of a challenge. Top L to R: Glikmanius occidentalis, Archaeocidarid plate Bottom L to R: Various crinoid parts including a regenerating spine on the far right. The spine left of it has strange circle impressions on it. Top L to R: Nuculopsis girtyi, and Astartella concentrica Bottom L to R: Yoldia glabra, and Allorisma costatum? Top L to R: Cymatospira montfortianus, Knightites tennulieata, Pharkidonotus percarinatus, and Euphemites vittatus 2nd Row L to R: Euphemites multiliratus, Knightites tennulieata?, Trepospira illinoiensis, and Glabrocingulum grayvillensis Bottom L to R: Worthenia tabulata, Soleniscus primigenius, and Strobeus paludinaeformis Top L to R: Amphiscapha subrugosa, Donaldina sp.?, and unknown gastropod Bottom L to R: Pseudozygopleura semicostata, and Meekospira choctawensis Hashplates: Bridgeport: Thanks for reading!

I found this in Texas, near Lake Bridgeport, in the Jasper Creek Formation, Canyon Group, Missouri Series, Pennsylvanian Sub-period. The flared lip, think shell and absence of obvious sutures or septa tell me it is more likely to be a Bellerophontid gastropod than a cephalopod. The open umbilicus and the large size is making a firm ID difficult. Any ideas?

Howdy all! A few more odd finds from the Bridgeport Pennsylvanian matrix. I could use your help! 1. Size 1/4 inch The first one looks maybe like one of the sponge Girtycoelia surrounded by ...something. A bryzoan perhaps? It does not look like any bryzoan i know, but i know very little about the Pennsylvanian (although I did get the Color Guide on CD! yay!) Close up 2. This thing: Size 1/16th inch. I thought it was a seedpod originally (which in my previous posts....yeah, those were indeed seed pods...finally crushed on of them). I tried to crush this one, but it didn't....sooo.... any thoughts? 3. And Lastly - this thing. - has a weird "dimpled" end? Found in both the Bridgeport and the Mineral Wells matrix. 1/4 inch Thanks for any help!

I woke up to 31F this morning...perfect kayaking conditions! Actually, winds were light, making the big water of Lake Bridgeport smooth as glass, so I stayed pretty dry on my 6 hour paddle trip into the Pennsylvanian Period. I canvassed a bunch of exposures above the waterline, and just as many below. The disconcerting factor since last trip a year or 2 ago was the explosion of zebra mussels. I don’t see a way of reversing this situation, and it hurts collecting more so than the onset of shoreline development. When water is up, they take over. And when it drops, forget about ever crawling for smalls again. All that said, I still found a ton of gastropods (for Roger Ludwigia’s entertainment), some horn corals, a few orthocone and coiled nautiloids, a couple nice goniatites, and one piece of pet wood. No trilobites this round but I did score a couple cruziana traces. More pics post prep. The matrix associations will be especially attractive. Figured below: Worthenia, cruziana, Aviculopecten, ornate orthocone nautiloid (?), Glaphyrites, and the total haul. @Ludwigia