CHAPTER 8. PENNSYLVANIAN FOSSILS 



Collecting Localities 



The Pennsylvanian rocks of Ohio are exposed in an irregular crescent extending from the 

 Ohio River in Lawrence County to Geauga County in the north and Trumbull County in the north- 

 east. Throughout this area, fossiliferous beds are exposed although they yield fossils in 

 variable abundance. It would be pointless to attempt to list all good collecting localities in the 

 area, for the catalog would occupy many pages and involve tedious repetition. For those who 

 seek details on localities within a particular county, the following references will provide 

 specific information. 



Athens: Condit (1912, p. 104); Belmont: Condit (1912, p. 181); Carroll: Condit (1912, p. 209), 

 Lamborn (1942); Columbiana: Condit (1912, p. 217), Morningstar (1922, p. 13), Stout and Lamborn 

 (1924); Coshocton: Morningstar .(1922, pp. 78, 107), Lamborn (1954); Gallia: Condit (1912, p. 74), 

 Stout (1916); Guernsey: Condit (1912. p. 165); Harrison: Condit (1912, p. 185); Hocking: Condit 

 (1912, p. 122), Morningstar (1922, p. 126); Holmes: Morningstar (1922, p. 79), White and 

 Lamborn (1948); Jackson: Morningstar (1922, pp. 26-27, 145), Stout (1916); Jefferson: Condit 

 (1912, p. 197), Lamborn (1930); Lawrence: Condit (1912, p. 61), Morningstar (1922, p. 49), 

 Stout (1916); Licking: Mark (1911), Morningstar (1922, pp. 44, 70); Mahoning: Morningstar (1922, 

 pp. 35, 82, 83-85, 111), Lamborn (1942); Meigs: Condit (1912, p. 90); Monroe: Condit (1912, p. 

 164); Morgan: Condit (1912, p. 129); Muskingum: Mark (1911), Condit (1912, p. 142), Morningstar 

 (1922, pp. 39-44, 146), Stout (1918); Noble: Condit (1912, p. 155); Perry: Condit (1912, p. 122), 

 Morningstar (1922, pp. 55, 97-99), Flint (1951); Pike: Stout (1916); Portage: Morningstar (1922, 

 p. 81); Scioto: Morningstar (1922, pp. 18, 22, 37-38, 49-50, 96), Stout (1916); Stark: Morning- 

 star (1922, pp. 81, 110); Summit: Morningstar (1922, pp. 25, 81, 145); Trumbull: Morningstar 

 (1922, p. 20); Tuscarawas: Condit (1912, p. 178), Morningstar (1922, pp. 44, 78); Vinton: Stout 

 (1927); Washington: Condit (1912, p. 154); Wayne: Conrey (1921). 



The Commoner Fossils 



PLANTS . The Pennsylvanian rocks of Ohio contain many coal seams which were 

 produced by accumulation of plant remains. Plant fossils are particularly abundant in the 

 shales and sandstones associated with the coals of Ohio. All phyla of the plant kingdom except 

 the Angiosperms and possibly Cycadophytes are represented. The Mississippian and Permian 

 plant fossils are very similar to those of the Pennsylvanian but are not as abundant. For that 

 reason, the account of Late Paleozoic plants given here applies to all three systems. More 

 extensive treatment may be found in Arnold (1947), Crookall (1929), and Walton (1953). Many 

 of the species have been described by Newberry (1873) and Andrews (1875). 



The plant material which can be collected from the Upper Paleozoic rocks of Ohio 

 consists of roots, logs, twigs, leaves, cones, spore-bearing organs, and isolated spore coats 

 of a variety of plants. A simplified classification of fossil plants has been given in chapter 

 3. Some of the commoner forms are noted below. 



The first five genera may be true ferns (Pteridophyta) or seed ferns (Pteridospermophyta). 

 The first four are fern-like fronds beautifully and abundantly preserved in Pennsylvanian black 

 shales; the last two are trunks and twigs thought to be true ferns. 



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