RandyB Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 (edited) Newbie here, just getting started. Luckily I live close to St Clair and Deer Lake in Schuylkill County Pennsylvania so it's an easy induction into fossil collecting and something I can do with my son on the weekends. After recovering from Christmas I asked him if he wanted to go for a ride and we made our first foray to Deer Lake for Denovian fossil hunting. The unusually warm bright weather turned out to be the lead in to a pleasant afternoon of gathering our first fossils. Based on other postings here, I don't think we made any big finds, but it definitely gave my son the fossil bug and anything that gets him outside and off his electronic devices is a win. We found a variety of shell fossils, now we just need to get started figuring out what exactly we found... 1) Wasn't sure if these are trillobite's or something else entirely. The one on the rusty rock is shiny so hard to photograph. The weird thing to me was that it looks like the segments I think of when I think Trillo's but it tapers down to a point and I thought they all had rounded ends. Regardless, my kid found it just walking up the hill so I treated it as a great find and got him excited to be there. [EDIT: apparently these are pieces of an Orthonata, thanks Tim] 2) Brachiopod 3) Clam Edited December 28, 2014 by RandyB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandyB Posted December 28, 2014 Author Share Posted December 28, 2014 (edited) 4) another clam 5) I loved the rust staining on this, really made the shell patterns pop 6) Shells 7) reminds me of limpid shells I used to collect at the beach Edited December 28, 2014 by RandyB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandyB Posted December 28, 2014 Author Share Posted December 28, 2014 (edited) 8) clam/bivalve of some kind 9) Clam in matrix 10) shells 11) shells Edited December 28, 2014 by RandyB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandyB Posted December 28, 2014 Author Share Posted December 28, 2014 (edited) 12) This one has raised stem like branches across it. Not sure if maybe was some kind of coral or some plan or whatt? 13) A clam/bivalve edge sticking out. Thought this might make a good piece to practice getting something out of matrix that I won't be crushed if I completely flub 14) Lots of stem like or tube lines throughout this piece, also a small section of tiny bumps on the left edge, reminds me of the bumps on a basketball for grip 15) This was a small round rock in a field of jagged ones. I'm guessing it was a clam or something that got rounded off. My kid liked it so into the bucket it went Edited December 28, 2014 by RandyB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZiggieCie Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Great start for both of you. Every find is special; the fossil has been hidden from the sun for hundreds of millions of years, and now it is yours to enjoy and show. I treasure every fossil as once being alive and as important as any Dinosaur. I value my Bryozoans and Brachiopods as much as the Trilobites, to me they are ALL important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 ......I don't think we made any big finds... A sunny day spent kindling your son's sense of wonder...priceless! "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandyB Posted December 28, 2014 Author Share Posted December 28, 2014 Couple of alternate shots of the fossils from the 1st pic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 (edited) Your trilobite looking pieces have fooled many. They are actually a bivalve called Orthonata. Neat finds. Regards, Edited December 28, 2014 by Fossildude19 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandyB Posted December 28, 2014 Author Share Posted December 28, 2014 Thanks Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamalama Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Hey Randy, Welcome to the forum from a fellow PA collector! You found some nice pieces there at Deer Lake. Glad it is still producing despite the state removing much of the collecting area during their construction. Here are some ID's for you: 1. Like Tim said, these are pelecypods called Orthonota, a razor clam. 2.Brachiopod - Mediospirifer sp. 3. Another Pelecypod, possibly Grammysiodea sp. 4. Another Pelecypod called Leiopteria sp. 5&6. Brachiopods called Tropidoleptus carinatus 7. An inarticulate brachiopod called Orbiculoidea sp. 8. Another Orthonota clam 9. A pelecypod called Palaeoneilo 10 & 11. More Tropidoleptus carinatus. They are fairly common in the rocks at Deer Lake and often form large aggregations. 12. Not sure, maybe a broken shell warped by tectonics? 13. Not enough to tell for sure but possibly another Orthonota. They are very common at Deer Lake but are hard to get out intact. 14. Would need a more detailed picture but I see Bryozoan and Coral steinkerns (casts). 15. Likely another clam but I cant see any detail to give me an idea of which kind. I hope your son continues his interest in fossils. I cut my teeth in Deer Lake and St. Clair when I was a teen and just starting out in collecting. Dave 2 -Dave __________________________________________________ Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPheeIf I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPheeCheck out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandyB Posted December 28, 2014 Author Share Posted December 28, 2014 Thank you very much Dave, very much appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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