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I'm not a brachiopod specialist by any means but have gradually acquired quite a few Carboniferous ones, both found and bought, and I'd like to start a thread for some of the more interesting (IMO) specimens that have hooked me into trying to learn more. The IDs are often traditional so I'd welcome any input from more knowledgeable folk such as Adam @Tidgy's Dad. As usual, detailed information is scattered around many journals. I'll start with a pair of Spirifer striatus recently acquired from an old collection. It's notable for its size, these being typical. The second partial specimen shows a crystal covered brachidium, rather broken up before mineralisation. Mississippian, probably Asbian Stage, Derbyshire, England The species is an old but valid one, Martin (1793), and these are from the same area as his type specimens. (There's a similarly large US species, S.logani, that I've been shown from the Keokuk Limestone of Missouri. I couldn't find any on the forum though.) specimen 2, with brachidium

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cydj2g7mer9o

So today I went on my first ever fossil hunting trip, to an abandoned quarry called Hope Quarry near Castleton in Derbyshire, UK. I had no idea whether I would actually find anything or not, but I did find a few things of interest, and the quarry is huge, so in one day I only explored a small part of it. Here are some pictures of the quarry itself, and some of the fossils I found. I would recommend this place, as I am sure there are some fantastic fossils in there just waiting to be found, and I'll be heading back as soon as I can. It is so addictive, I could have stayed there all day and all night just searching. Here is a picture I took when I arrived, before I made my way down into the quarry. Great view, just don't fall over the edge... haha! Here is a picture taken at the bottom, poor quality because I rushed the shot and didn't put on my lens to filter out the glare of the sun. My bad! And here are my fossil finds, if anyone could try to ID them, that would be a great help. With me being a newbie, I have no idea what they are, except for the obvious fossil shells I collected. Fossil 1: A nice Brachiopod Not sure what these 2 are, maybe poorly preserved crinoid stems, although they are much larger than any others I found at this site. And here is my favourite find of the day, crinoid stems that are fairly well preserved, and I brought them home on a huge chunk of rock to display them in my room. Weighed a ton. And finally, I found this large piece of rock with many fragmented Brachipods. I thought it looked quite cool, and was going to leave it behind, but decided to take it home with me anyway. Hope you enjoyed the quick report, it was my first fossil hunting trip, the first of many I hope. Cheers Alex