To the West!

[Miocene_Mason]

Due to the current instability of the cliffs, I headed west Sunday. @EMP helped me out with a ton of info, so I knew I could hit a few sites in one day. My dad and I drove to Allegany County and got to Hunting. I messed up the directions so probably didn’t get to the exact site, but I found a few exposures of mid-late Silurian material, probably McKenzie and Tonoloway formations mostly. The yield was a huge amount of ostracods, some brachiopods. My dad saw a strange rock so I climbed some talus and picked it up. Upon closer examination it had not only ostracods, but tentaculitids on it!  Think that will be my IFOTM entry. My dad also found a beautiful calcite vug at one of the sites. I saw a bryozoan in one rock but I didn’t pick it up as the rock was too big. No trilobites, but for a few short stops not bad. I encountered some oriskany sandstone near as well, but as those who have hunted in it will know, it’s badly metamorphosed and almost never yields trilobites. After that, I continued to the conemaugh FM, a Carboniferous terrestrial unit. There was a water filled ditch right in front of the outcrop so I had to do some ninja moves over it here and there. The sandstone was mostly barren aside from a few fragments and the shake was too fragile to survive long but nonetheless I made it out with a few nice plant pieces. A day well spent, I returned home, fossils and a few good memories in tow.

I haven’t taken many pictures yet, but I will. Here are a few to whet your appetite.

 

 Vug and worn ostracods and brachiopods from Tonoloway limestone

[Nimravis]

Nice report, can’t wait to see the pics.

[Darktooth]

Glad you had a good time! Can you take a close up of the crystals?

[EMP]

Nice finds so far! That plate does look  like Tonoloway Limestone to me. 

 

Hate to be *that* guy, but it's spelled as the McKenzie Formation, and is middle Silurian. The Tonoloway is late Silurian. Ostracodes and brachiopods are common in both, but more common in the McKenzie than in the Tonoloway. 

 

Can't wait to see the other fossils, and glad I was of some help! 

 

[Peace river rat]

found this handy chart

[Miocene_Mason]

32 minutes ago, EMP said:

ice finds so far! That plate does look  like Tonoloway Limestone to me. 

 

Hate to be *that* guy, but it's spelled as the McKenzie Formation, and is middle Silurian. The Tonoloway is late Silurian. Ostracodes and brachiopods are common in both, but more common in the McKenzie than in the Tonoloway. 

Thanks! And pleas do be *that* guy, I need it to keep my thoughts straight. Though the first one I’ll blame on spell check. I’ll edit the post right now. 

 

6 minutes ago, Peace river rat said:

 found this handy chart

That’s a bit off-scale don’t you think?

 

3 hours ago, Nimravis said:

Nice report, can’t wait to see the pics.

I’ll get them up at some point tomorrow I think

 

2 hours ago, Darktooth said:

Glad you had a good time! Can you take a close up of the crystals?

I sure will!

[Peace river rat]

Just now, WhodamanHD said:

Thanks! And pleas do be *that* guy, I need it to keep my thoughts straight. Though the first one I’ll blame on spell check. I’ll edit the post right now. 

 

That’s a bit off-scale don’t you think?

 

I’ll get them up at some point tomorrow I think

 

I sure will!

I have no idea, do you mean the times are wrong? Really don't know much about it.

[Miocene_Mason]

6 minutes ago, Peace river rat said:

I have no idea, do you mean the times are wrong? Really don't know much about it.

Just that the around 2 million year long Pleistocene and the almost 100 million year long Cretaceous are the same size

I suppose it’s just trying to show everything, almost all of them are way off scale. 

[goatinformationist]

I try to stay off the scale too.  Is that bad?

[Monica]

Can't wait to see those tentaculitids...!!!

[Miocene_Mason]

19 hours ago, goatinformationist said:

I try to stay off the scale too.  Is that bad?

Certainly not, if I was a scale I’d want a break from being stepped on all the time!

[Miocene_Mason]

9 hours ago, Monica said:

Can't wait to see those tentaculitids...!!!

Your wish is my command! They are kind camera shy though, guess I need a better camera.

[Miocene_Mason]

This plates from Mckenzie FM I think BTW

[Miocene_Mason]

Here’s some pics from a big McKenzie plate, complete with tentaculitids, ostracods, and plant matter!?! Oldest I’ve found if it is.

[Miocene_Mason]

So many ostracods in this stuff! Went from finding my first to my hundredth in no time!

[Miocene_Mason]

Next up some beautifully shiny brachs also from McKenzie

[Miocene_Mason]

Close ups

[Miocene_Mason]

Worm burrows, an of you ichno people have a name for it?

[Miocene_Mason]

Worn Gastropod? from various angles

[Miocene_Mason]

[FossilSniper]

1 minute ago, WhodamanHD said:

That is definitely a gastropod- and not very worn at all!
It is similar to the ones I find.  

[Miocene_Mason]

Ostracods

[Miocene_Mason]

The inside of one and more

[Miocene_Mason]

The crystals and Carboniferous are not near me right now so those picture will have to wait a little. 

[FossilSniper]

1 minute ago, WhodamanHD said:

Ostracods

 

That's a very compact hash plate.
Fossil soup, I call 'em