Swatara rail trail fossils

[Josh H]

I recently came across a fossiliferous exposure along an old rail trail near Swatara State Park, PA. Most of the fossils there were brachiopods, but I also found several interesting fossils I couldn't identify. Fossils in this area are from the Middle Devonian Period, or so I've read. These two appear to be the same species, perhaps at different stages of development:

 

 

 

 

 

This last one (cast and mold) looks like a tooth, but I suspect it's really some kind of hyolith:

 

 

[marguy]

7 hours ago, Josh H said:

I suspect it's really some kind of hyolith

seem correct! marvellous fossils.

[Ludwigia]

Those first ones are also brachiopods, but you probably already know that and want to know the species, right?

[Rockwood]

These are correctly identified I believe. 

Internal molds of brachiopods can be tricky to identify further. @Tidgy's Dad  knows them pretty well though.

Edited December 18, 2021 by Rockwood

[Josh H]

4 hours ago, marguy said:

seem correct! marvellous fossils.

Great, thanks for confirming! 

 

3 hours ago, Ludwigia said:

Those first ones are also brachiopods, but you probably already know that and want to know the species, right?

Thanks! I wasn't sure, honestly. I had never seen brachiopods like this, and I couldn't find anything similar in any of the guides that I own. If anyone can identify the species, that would be cool, but I'm happy just knowing for sure that they're some type of brachiopod. 

 

 

3 hours ago, Rockwood said:

These are correctly identified I believe. 

Internal molds of brachiopods can be tricky to identify further. @Tidgy's Dad  knows them pretty well though.

Thanks! By "internal molds," do you mean that the two brachiopod specimens are molds of soft tissue structures inside the shell? Or do they represent the interior surface of the shell itself? 

[Rockwood]

11 minutes ago, Josh H said:

the interior surface of the shell itself? 

Yes. Internal to shell in form only. Soft part preservation is rare.

[Josh H]

38 minutes ago, Rockwood said:

Yes. Internal to shell in form only. Soft part preservation is rare.

That makes sense. Thanks again! 

[Ludwigia]

2 hours ago, Josh H said:

If anyone can identify the species, that would be cool,

 

I would hazard a guess at Schizophoria sp.

[Josh H]

1 hour ago, Ludwigia said:

I would hazard a guess at Schizophoria sp.

Great, thank you! 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Tricky, but Schizophoria is not a bad starting point. 

Love the hyolith. 

[Josh H]

21 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

Tricky, but Schizophoria is not a bad starting point. 

Love the hyolith. 

Thanks!