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Catskill Formation, Pennsylvania 2


Paul1719

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This is continuing the first post. The Tioga site is a near shore exposure of the entire Catskill formation.

So besides the general Holoptychius and bothriolepis fauna, lungfish have been described from a skull table and tooth plates. Here is a tooth plate from Dipterous fliescheri. A similar plate was described from the Troy, PA area. 

DSCN7933.thumb.jpg.a010a0230ad7abd91652a4b4e9535e7b.jpg

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Is that a scale attached at the upper right, Paul? 

    Tim    VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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Hey Tim! that is a little bivalve that attached itself to the toothplate. This is right near the shoreline and if you go to the Lock Haven formation you find only marine fossils. Here is a typical specimen from those sediments.

LockHavenFm.thumb.jpg.e43c88329891c51c1a2b1ac1ac2f8503.jpg

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South of Tioga is the massive road cut between Blossburg and Covington. This also represents a near shore environment and exposes most of an undifferentiated Catskill. Holoptychius and Bothriolepis dominate the fauna but also includes a Tristichopterid recently redescribed and renamed from the Porolepiform, Holoptychius to Langleiria. 

So Holoptychius is very prevalent and here are a few exceptional fossils. The first is an example of a very young fish and kind of an example of freak 3d preservation. 

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This is a much older individual with beautiful preservation.

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Here is an impression of an articulated Bothriolepis. Preservation detail is spectacular with the lateral lines and seems between plates very clear. Plates when they are retained are fragile and mostly exposed viscerally.

BlossburgBothriolepis.thumb.jpg.48b83af9fd3d5554d35d3beae6139527.jpg

This is a head shield with well defined orbital foremen.

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Here are medial dorsal plates.

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Langlieria was present and these are scales (mostly visceral but one dermal exposed) and some head plates.

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This was an articulated Phyllolepis shield. Unfortunately, it flew apart before I could save it. Only a few plates are still there.

DSCN7959.thumb.jpg.f2cbc4d771bce069fa12d57b46885ef8.jpg

 

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Coming back down Rt15 towards Williamsport are plenty more road cuts and a few more productive sites. So on the East side of the Cogan House exit is the site know as the lower Steam Valley because the sediments are quite a bit older than those on the West side. Here we find more Holoptychius/Bothriolepis fauna. I went here with my son Ian quite a few years ago, 2013? Most of what I found this summer is the lag deposits that have been well worked so mostly small bits and pieces but in 2013 we were working a lens that is now gone but had some well preserved specimens.

Here is an example of some partially articulated Bothriolepis plates with a little lepidotrichia .

BothriolepusRt15d.thumb.jpg.d6d2ee6b8dcd9e61333ccfcc0973c902.jpg

There were also quite a few pectoral appendages 

Rt15BothriolepusPect01.thumb.jpg.1a874a9868babe00eecd9f11cb16b434.jpg

and fin material.

RT15CH03.thumb.jpg.4010fe83ba58191435a79a9c3027d314.jpg

 

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This is a Gyracanthus spine. Gyracanthus has been associated with tetrapod finds at Red Hill and Trout Run North.

CoganHouseSpine.thumb.jpg.6da716fab288f7b89d74393a59a5ba00.jpg

 

 

 

Rt115CH02.jpg

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  • 1 year later...

Great pictures, thanks for posting

 

There are two recent papers about the taphonomy, sedimentology, and paleogeography of these deposits. they are:

 

Broussard, D.R., Treaster, C.J., Trop, J.M., Daeschler, E.B., Zippi, P.A., Vrazo, M.B. and Rygel, M.C., 2020. Vertebrate Taphonomy, Paleontology, Sedimentology, and Palynology of a Fossiliferous Late Devonian Fluvial Succession, Catskill Formation, North-Central Pennsylvania, USA. Palaios, 35(11), pp.470-494.

 

and 

 

Broussard, D.R., Trop, J.M., Benowitz, J.A., Daeschler, E.B., Chamberlain Jr, J.A. and Chamberlain, R.B., 2018. Depositional setting, taphonomy and geochronology of new fossil sites in the Catskill Formation (Upper Devonian) of north-central Pennsylvania, USA, including a new early tetrapod fossil. Palaeogeography, palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology, 511, pp.168-187.

 

Other papers by David R Broussard, Lycoming College

 

Other papers by John A. Chamberlain, Jr City University of New York

 

Yorus,

 

Paul H.

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