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[Jeffrey P]

I added to my collection of Vinlandostrophia brachiopods, plus a nice Cyclonema, gastropod:

[connorp]

42 minutes ago, Jeffrey P said:

Early that night I arrived in Elizabethtown. I spent the next few days staying with and visiting family, (also stopped by Herb's), but on Friday I headed up to Sulpher, Indiana to collect Mississippian aged fossils of the Salem Formation from a well known site there. I climbed and wandered around the steep slopes and cliffs being extra careful not to fall, definitely a big risk at this site. While there was plenty of fossil material scattered about I had to look very intently to find anything worthwhile. It appeared to have been picked over rather well.

I believe this site is the Big Clifty Formation. Most of it is unfossiliferous, except for the Indian Springs Shale Member around ~2/3 of the way up which is where most of your finds look like they came from. The shale layer is thin but there's a lot of lateral ground to cover. Great trip report

[Tidgy's Dad]

Love all the yummy brachiopods. 

The other stuff is pretty nice too! 

[Jeffrey P]

After dinner Sunday night TFF member and friend, Herb and I headed out to Hazard- deep in the coal country of southeastern Kentucky, about three and a half hours away. We spent the night at a hotel there. Next morning after breakfast at the Huddle House, we hit some Pennsylvanian sites around Hazard. Some sites were overgrown and in one case we bashed our way through thick and prickly vegetation only to find out the site was easily accessible behind a medical office.

[Jeffrey P]

We found a number of fossils at this site. Then we hit another site on the other side of town. 

[Jeffrey P]

That site proved to not be as productive. So what did we find? We were collecting Pennsylvanian plant fossils from the Four Corners  Formation- the Breathitt Group. I'm not great IDing fossil plants but I believe I have Asterophyllites, Sphenophyllum, Lepidophyllum, and Annularia. I was at first disappointed we didn't find any fossil ferns, but in retrospect I'm super glad we found what we did. 

[Jeffrey P]

[Jeffrey P]

[Jeffrey P]

[Jeffrey P]

[Jeffrey P]

Of course I had to bring back a section of Calamites trunk though I wish I could have found a 3D example. 

[Jeffrey P]

After a late lunch we headed back to Elizabethtown but on the way we stopped at a Pennsylvanian marine site just a few miles outside of town. It is The Magoffin Member of the Breathitt Formation:

[Jeffrey P]

[Jeffrey P]

All of the fossils were collected in the debris at the base of the outcrop. These are the bivalves I found; Schizodus wheeleri, Septimyalina, and Polidevcia and gastropods; Soleniscus, Strobeus, Straparollus, Bellerophon, and Worthenia.

[Nimravis]

Great report and nice finds.

[Jeffrey P]

And then there were the brachiopods; Antiquatoria, Juresania, Linoproductus, Composita, and Mesolobus.

[Jeffrey P]

Up to this point, the vast majority of my Pennsylvanian marine fossils were from my trip to Texas two years ago. I was happy to add more, especially from east of the Mississippi. Oh and this is my fossil collecting companion from Louisville, KY,  and TFF member, Herb:

[Jeffrey P]

The next day I got together with Wayne (Fossilnerd on the Forum) He lives in Elizabethtown, the town where I was staying and a number of my family members reside. I couldn't be this close and not get together with him. Also, my visit provided a wonderful excuse for him to get out and fossil collect. We decided to go visit the Mississippian site at Wax, a place I'd been to twice before. 

[Jeffrey P]

The site is an exposure of the Glen Dean Formation. Blastoids are the main event there. This was Wayne's first visit to the site and he found one that was the largest I've seen from there so far. He also gave me an inflated brachiopod. Most of the brachiopods from there are severely flattened.

[Jeffrey P]

After spending a couple hours there we then headed over to Leitchfield and a large roadcut that has been a favorite of mine. This was my fourth visit. It is roughly the same age and formation as the Wax site. Although Wayne had heard of the site before he had never been. 

[Jeffrey P]

[Jeffrey P]

This is Wayne doing his best to find excellent specimens:

[Jeffrey P]

Another, better picture. Wayne was already happy with the things he was finding there. 

[Jeffrey P]

Among the variety of finds were these rugose corals, Zaphrentoides spinulosum. They average about an inch or an inch and a quarter in length.

[Jeffrey P]

I always thought that blastoids were less abundant at Leitchfield than at Wax. Not so today though most of the specimens are crushed or damaged.