My Fossil Museum

[Pachyrhinosaurus]

Though I'm still collecting toy dinosaurs, my interests have shifted to where fossils have become my primary collecting interest. My collections consist of both vertebrate and invertebrate though the majority of my fossils are of the latter. My fossil collection started in 2011 when I was given some pieces from my father's collection of rock samples.

The first of which is this piece of matrix with brachiopod impressions. I've been told it comes from Pennsylvania.


These pieces have very faint fern impressions on them and are part and counterpart.


This was my first trilobite. Elrathia kingii from Utah.


The first fossil that I had bought for myself was a Neuropteris fern fossil from St. Clair, Pennsylvania. I bought it later that summer at The North Museum of Natural History and Science which I had been visiting since I was in elementary school.



Over the next few months or so I bought some other fossils from their gift shop:




For Christmas that year I got my second trilobite. Also Elrathia kingii, it remains my largest of the species.


In January of 2012 I built some shelves to house my emerging collection.


In the years since, my collection has expanded and diversified to an extent I would not have imagined at that time. I'll post more of my collection eventually a few pieces at a time.

[Crackington]

Very nice collection and I look forward to seeing more, I particularly liked your trilobites. Do you have any fossils that you have found yourself?

[Neosodon]

Those mollusk looks really cool.

[Halichoeres]

Cool collection! And they look very attractive mounted above the palmettos.

[Pachyrhinosaurus]

Thanks!

And they look very attractive mounted above the palmettos.

They're actually cycads. Unfortunately they don't look this nice anymore but I'm doing what I can to take better care of them.

Do you have any fossils that you have found yourself?

These gastropods and the brachiopod are among my findings from the Devonian Manhantango fromation of Pennsylvania. Most of the material I brought home wasn't as nice but I did find a few trilobite heads.


I haven't been out in the field much though since most of the fossil localities in my area are closed to public collecting. Hopefully this year I can get out to a few more places.

The trilobites in my avatar are from Nevada and represent two different species. Olenellus gilberti on the right and Olenellus chiefensis on the left. This is my only association with different species of trilobites together on the same plate.

[Halichoeres]

Oh, those are cycads! That's even cooler. I'm sorry to hear they aren't thriving.

[Pachyrhinosaurus]

My collection features an assortment of local fossils from my home state of Pennsylvania. These two were found in York County, PA.

Olenellus thompsoni


The enigmatic echinoderm, Camptostroma roddyi. These are most often found single, and such an assemblage is very rare. Some of them have feeding appendages preserved.


Another trilobite, this time from Ontario, Canada, Pseudogygites latimarginatus.

[Halichoeres]

Man, those are great! I had never heard of Camptostroma--definitely seems like an odd animal.

[Pachyrhinosaurus]

A very unique animal, indeed. Some of my fossils are primarily of regional interest and aren't as well-known outside of my area.

This trilobite is a very special new addition to my collection. Odontocephalus ageria, Devonian age, from Perry County, Pennsylvania.



Odontocephalus is perhaps the most sought-after trilobite from Pennsylvania. The locality where these were found is long closed. Most odontocephalus fossils were prepared with acid which destroyed the outer shell, and then either painted brown or left bare. My example was prepared with the proper equipment and retains the original black shell. At over four inches in length, it's one of the larger odontocephalus that have been found. I would consider this to be the best trilobite fossil in my collection.

[Avian]

A very unique animal, indeed. Some of my fossils are primarily of regional interest and aren't as well-known outside of my area.

This trilobite is a very special new addition to my collection. Odontocephalus ageria, Devonian age, from Perry County, Pennsylvania.


Odontocephalus is perhaps the most sought-after trilobite from Pennsylvania. The locality where these were found is long closed. Most odontocephalus fossils were prepared with acid which destroyed the outer shell, and then either painted brown or left bare. My example was prepared with the proper equipment and retains the original black shell. At over four inches in length, it's one of the larger odontocephalus that have been found. I would consider this to be the best trilobite fossil in my collection.

Beautiful trilobite! I have never heard of this genus, but that fossil is preserved very well. I guess you are one of the lucky ones to obtain a properly prepared one?

[Halichoeres]

That's a great specimen. I wonder what they were doing with that grill up at the front!

[Pachyrhinosaurus]

Thanks. I've heard other collectors refer to it as a cow-catcher. I can certainly see the connection.

The skull of an oreodont, Merycoidodon culbertsoni, from the Oligocene epoch of South Dakota.

[Libraraptor]

You have some cool pieces there in your fossil collection!

[Pachyrhinosaurus]

You have some cool pieces there in your fossil collection!

Thank you. I have found that choosing which fossils to add to my collection, and which to display, is almost an art in itself.

[Pachyrhinosaurus]

Recently, I was inspired to look over my fern fossils from the Llewellyn formation of St. Clair, Pennsylvania. These ferns are known for their distinctive contrast with white fossils on gray matrix. The first fossil I purchased for my collection was a small piece of these ferns, and since then I have acquired quite a few nice plates of them. Unfortunately, the site has been closed to collecting for some time and I was never able to make it up there myself. These are the highlights of my St. Clair fern collection, including several species of ferns, lepidodendron bark, Sphenophyllum fronds, and seed pods.

[Shonisaurus]

Those fern fossils are beautiful, my congratulations Pachyrhinosaurus for your fossils.

[Tyto_Theropod]

Stunning fossil collection, @Pachyrhinosaurus.  Makes me want to get back into the hobby.  Those St Clair fossils are beautiful - you could almost say nature's works of art.
They remind me of the ones you get in the east of Scotland, a location I collected from several times.  I hope you've got all the stratigraphic/locality details recorded so they don't lose their scientific value!

[Pachyrhinosaurus]

Thanks!

Stunning fossil collection, @Pachyrhinosaurus I hope you've got all the stratigraphic/locality details recorded so they don't lose their scientific value!

I retain all the locality information that I know about each item. While for many I know the exact site where they were found, for others I may only know the state or country.