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Petalodus12

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Hi all,

I’ve posted a few topics on the forum but have yet to show my entire collection, or my best finds. So here goes. A little background on me. I’ve been fossil hunting since I was very young, probably since I was 4 when I found a plant fossil in my backyard. Over the past few years as I have ventured into adulthood I have gotten very interested in the fossils of the Pittsburgh area. I will display my best finds here and periodically update the thread with new finds. As a note, many of the vertebrate fossils I have found are rare and may be important to science. I have been in contact with @jdp about this and will most likely be donating the most important ones to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. If any of my IDs seem strange or wrong please let me know, I am always learning and value new info. I guess I’ll start with the marine invertebrates. To start out we can start small, with brachiopods, cephalopods and horn corals. The first is a Linoproductus from the Ames Limestone, a classic Pittsburgh marine zone.

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The next are the bellerophontids Euphemites, primitive Gastropods that went extinct in the Mesozoic. The smaller one is sitting in the larger ones living chamber. 

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Here is one of my rarest finds, the insanely worn tail of a trilobite. From the Brush Creek Marine Zone.

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Now for the vertebrates. Most people don’t know that you can find shark teeth in Pittsburgh, but that is most definitely the case. Here is the tooth of Petalodus, a strange shark that is related to Chimaeras and went extinct during the Permian 

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Here is the tooth of a Paleoniscoid, an early ray finned fish. Their teeth and scales can be  found in the thousands in certain layers. From the black shale overlying the Duquesne limestone. It is under 4X magnification 

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Here are some more vertebrates. These are Orthacanthus teeth, also from the black shale. Orthacanthus was a strange shark with a cephalic spine and eel like body. Their teeth are rather common in the area, although large examples are uncommon. One is missing a cusp because of feeding damage. The smallest is under 4X magnification 

 

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On to some coprolites. These are incredibly common and are often very small, but are only found in layers where other microvertebrate material is common. The spiral shaped one is most likely from a fish or shark. The larger, white one is a cross section and shows fish scales. It could be from a larger fish, shark or amphibian. It is white in color due to its phosphate content.

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Here is one of my most interesting fossils, and it may be donated. It’s a skull bone from a megalichthyid, which are sarcopterygian fish closely related to rhizodonts. It may be from Ectosteorhachis as this is the only species that I know of from this region. All in all a great find.

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Two more finds, a Mooreoceras and another cephalopod, probably coiled. From the limestones of the Glenshaw formation.

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And thank you for sharing.

Some super finds there and a diverse group of creatures too. :)

Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

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Great stuff! That Mooreoceras is probably my favorite. 

The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.  -Neil deGrasse Tyson

 

Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. -Bill Nye (The Science Guy)

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1 hour ago, Petalodus12 said:

Now for the vertebrates. Most people don’t know that you can find shark teeth in Pittsburgh, but that is most definitely the case. Here is the tooth of Petalodus, a strange shark that is related to Chimaeras and went extinct during the Permian 

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What are the striations on it? Never seen them on a petalodus tooth before.

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44 minutes ago, connorp said:

What are the striations on it? Never seen them on a petalodus tooth before.

Not exactly sure.  They could be quirks of preservation.

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Here is something that I’ve posted before but I figure I should post again. It’s the neurocranium of a Ray finned fish, either a Haplolepid or Paleoniscoid. It is another one of the specimens that will most likely be donated. It was found in the black shale above the Duquesne Limestone, as were many of the verts. It’s probably one of my favorite fossils.

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Here is arguably the most intriguing thing I have found so far. As to not make conjectures all I can say is that this is a jumble of bones from something that is most likely not a ray finned fish or lungfish. Ribs are the only bones that I have been able to make a confident ID on. This may be wishful thinking on my behalf but to me it looks like lepospondyl remains, but I really have no clue. The only thing that really cues me on to lepospondyl is that in R.Lund’s 70s paper on the Duquesne Limestone, he mentions that very fragmented microsaur bones can be found. But as I said before, I really have no clue so any input would be great. 

 

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I mentioned earlier on in this thread that complete fish are very rare. This is very much the case. Many may know about the Linton locality and the stunning preservation of its fossils, including thousands of complete fish. In the Pittsburgh area this is the exception to the rule.  Freshwater Vertebrate remains are rarely found outside shales directly above coal seams and in freshwater limestones. These layers are often inconsistent in their distribution and are very thin (less than 4 feet thick). Plus, these layers are often associated with paleosols and fragile shakes that quickly weather into soil in Pittsburgh’s wet and forested region. So basically you can use all of the studies and geological maps you have but you may come to find that your prized layer is covered in forest, which is unfortunate, or a development or shopping mall (which is worse). All this being said, I have been very luck as to have found a jumbled up fish in the black shale above the Duquesne Limestone. It will most likely be donated. Needless to say I was ecstatic when I found it.

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My last vertebrate for today. It’s a possible lungfish tooth. Same layer as fish. It might not be a lungfish tooth, the length of the root throws me off. 

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My last post of today. Possible arthropod trackway, maybe millipede. Found in non marine, fluvial sediments in a hill in my front yard. I was one happy kid when I found this. From the sandstone above the Birmingham shale. Casselman Formation.

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DEFFINITLEY a invertebrate trackway (Diplichnites sp.) most likely produced by a small myriapod. Very nice!

 

 

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