This Kind Of Activity Will Get St. Clair, Pa Closed For Everyone.

[erose]

Oh, Thanks Tim, I didn't see that. I was going to St. Clair on Sunday, but decided to try Carbondale instead, partly due to the weather reports (70% chance of rain at St. Clair and only 30% at Carbondale) and partly because I never went to Carbondale before. Amazing how similar the fossils are, just different colors.

Yes, the fossils are almost identical. The white waxy mineral is Pyrophilite and as far as I know is very seldom found associated with fossils. Can anyone identify other locations with Pyrophilite preservation?

Edited October 8, 2013 by erose

[Scylla]

I was told that St. Clair was the only place in the world with fossils preserved in this way. I did notice slight white flakes of some mineral in one of my Carbondale rocks, but nothing like the St. Clair ones. Both sites are Llewellyn formation.

[Fossildude19]

... Can anyone identify other locations with Pyrophilite preservation?

I was told that St. Clair was the only place in the world with fossils preserved in this way. I did notice slight white flakes of some mineral in one of my Carbondale rocks, but nothing like the St. Clair ones. Both sites are Llewellyn formation.

I actually have some plant fossils from the Rhode Island formation, a site in Massachusetts (no longer available) that may be covered with pyrophyllite.

Here are some of them.

Not positive that the mineral on these is pyrophyllite, but it is very similar in appearance. The white does seem to come off as well.

Also, I believe there is a site in Germany?? with similar preservation as well.

I think Paleoflor has some fossils from there.

Regards,

Edited October 9, 2013 by Fossildude19

[Jeffrey P]

Just got back from St. Clair. Spent three hours collecting Thursday morning. There was off and on light rain. Not a soul there besides me and no gunshots were heard. Garbage situation was substantially better than it was in June. I picked up a few of the scattered pieces including a beer carton. I still believe it is mostly local folks that trash the place. Any open lands I've seen that are not designated parklands tend to be trash receptacles, especially lands that have been already damaged by industrial activity and strip mining. As far as the fossil collecting, still excellent!!! Found some nice fern plates.

[Jeffrey P]

I actually have some plant fossils from the Rhode Island formation, a site in Massachusetts (no longer available) that may be covered with pyrophyllite.

Here are some of them.

IMG_1918-2.jpg

IMG_1924-2.jpg

IMG_1929-2.jpg

Not positive that the mineral on these is pyrophyllite, but it is very similar in appearance. The white does seem to come off as well.

Also, I believe there is a site in Germany?? with similar preservation as well.

I think Paleoflor has some fossils from there.

Regards,

About that closed site in Massachusetts. I think it's in or near Attleboro. I've heard they found fossil amphibian tracks there as well as excellent plant remains. I've seen fossils from there for sale on E-Bay. Even though it's closed I'm curious about the history of collecting there and what was found, why it was closed. The fact that there was a very significant Pennsylvanian age site in Massachusetts seems to be a well guarded secret. Any information on that?

[Fossildude19]

About that closed site in Massachusetts. I think it's in or near Attleboro. I've heard they found fossil amphibian tracks there as well as excellent plant remains. I've seen fossils from there for sale on E-Bay. Even though it's closed I'm curious about the history of collecting there and what was found, why it was closed. The fact that there was a very significant Pennsylvanian age site in Massachusetts seems to be a well guarded secret. Any information on that?

Actually, Jeffrey, these were from an active quarry in Plainville, Massachusetts.

Sometime last year,( I think, ... living 2 hours away, I had only been there twice, and so I don't know the whole story.) they started to make it known that collectors were not welcome. I don't know what happened to change their minds, as previous to 2012, collecting used to be tolerated on Sundays when the quarry was closed.

This was the site that amphibian trackways were found as well. I never found any, but the plants were well represented.

As far as the Attleboro site, I have heard of it, but have never been. New Englanders are notoriously a fairly tight lipped bunch. I guess it's a genetic thing, here.

But there are many references online to the Plainville site, as that was where I had heard of it.

Regards,

[Jeffrey P]

Actually, Jeffrey, these were from an active quarry in Plainville, Massachusetts.

Sometime last year,( I think, ... living 2 hours away, I had only been there twice, and so I don't know the whole story.) they started to make it known that collectors were not welcome. I don't know what happened to change their minds, as previous to 2012, collecting used to be tolerated on Sundays when the quarry was closed.

This was the site that amphibian trackways were found as well. I never found any, but the plants were well represented.

As far as the Attleboro site, I have heard of it, but have never been. New Englanders are notoriously a fairly tight lipped bunch. I guess it's a genetic thing, here.

But there are many references online to the Plainville site, as that was where I had heard of it.

Regards,

Thanks for the info. I'll look up the Plainville site. I'm pretty sure the Attleboro site is also closed. Given how tight-lipped New Englanders are the whole idea of these significiant Carboniferous sites in eastern Massachusetts is a revelation. One usually associates them with the Appalachians and the Midwest though I've also been to and heard of significant sites in Nova Scotia as well.

[Fossildude19]

Thanks for the info. I'll look up the Plainville site. I'm pretty sure the Attleboro site is also closed. Given how tight-lipped New Englanders are the whole idea of these significiant Carboniferous sites in eastern Massachusetts is a revelation. One usually associates them with the Appalachians and the Midwest though I've also been to and heard of significant sites in Nova Scotia as well.

There are also some sites in Rhode Island for carboniferous plants.

I haven't been, but know people who have - there are a few threads here on the forum about the Cory's Lane site, and the Plainville Mass. site as well.

Regards,

[Jeffrey P]

There are also some sites in Rhode Island for carboniferous plants.

I haven't been, but know people who have - there are a few threads here on the forum about the Cory's Lane site, and the Plainville Mass. site as well.

Regards,

Tim;

I suspect that Attleboro and Plainview are the same sites. The descriptions are similar (Plant fossils, amphibian tracks, closed) and the two towns are next to one another in an area where town boundaries are rarely distinct, so there may have been confusion about which town the quarry was in. Anyway, the finds you posted, as well as others I've seen express what an incredible collecting site this must have been. You're fortunate to have been there twice and collected some great fern material. I'm guessing you probably have other material from there as well. I and probably others were misled to believe that Southern New England was totally barren of good fossil sites except for "Triassic" dinosaur footprint fossils in the Connecticutt River Valley and some fragmentary Cambrian trilobite remains in the South Boston area. The area's geological and paleontological diversity is becoming more apparent.