The Pennsylvanian Period (Upper Carboniferous) is often called the “Coal Age” and spanned roughly 320–286 million years ago during the Paleozoic Era. It was named for coal-bearing rocks exposed in the American state of Pennsylvania. Outside the United States this interval is usually referred to as the Upper Carboniferous, from the Latin carbo (“coal”) – literally “coal-bearing.”

Many of the Pennsylvanian fossils shown here come from the Breathitt Formation, Magoffin Member, near Hazard, Kentucky, where richly fossiliferous shales and sandstones preserve a swampy, coal-forming landscape of seed ferns, lycopsids, horsetails, and associated marine invertebrates.

Scroll down and select the name of a particular fossil to view its image on its own page. Use your browser’s Back button to return to this page after viewing an image. Some images may be larger than your screen resolution; click on the image to expand it.

Blastoids (Echinodermata)

• No Pennsylvanian blastoids are currently illustrated.

Brachiopods

• Anthracospirifer – Breathitt Formation, Magoffin Member, Hazard, Kentucky
• Antiquatonia – Breathitt Formation, Magoffin Member, Hazard, Kentucky
• Composita – Breathitt Formation, Magoffin Member, Hazard, Kentucky
• Juresania – Breathitt Formation, Magoffin Member, Hazard, Kentucky
• Linoproductus – Breathitt Formation, Magoffin Member, Hazard, Kentucky
• Mesolobus – Breathitt Formation, Magoffin Member, Hazard, Kentucky
• Rugosochonetes – Breathitt Formation, Magoffin Member, Hazard, Kentucky

Bryozoans (Moss Animals)

• No Pennsylvanian bryozoans are currently illustrated.

Cephalopods (Mollusca)

• Temnocheilus – Breathitt Formation, Magoffin Member, Hazard, Kentucky

Clams (Pelecypods / Mollusca)

• Nuculopsis – Breathitt Formation, Magoffin Member, Hazard, Kentucky
• Plagioglypta – Breathitt Formation, Magoffin Member, Hazard, Kentucky
• Schizodus – Breathitt Formation, Magoffin Member, Hazard, Kentucky
• Septimyalina – Breathitt Formation, Magoffin Member, Hazard, Kentucky
• Wilkingia – Breathitt Formation, Magoffin Member, Hazard, Kentucky

Corals & Hydrozoans (Cnidaria)

• No Pennsylvanian corals or hydrozoans are currently illustrated.

Crinoids (Echinodermata)

• No Pennsylvanian crinoids are currently illustrated.

Vertebrata: Pisces (Fish)

• No Pennsylvanian fish remains are currently illustrated.

Plant

• Alethopteris – Hazard, Kentucky
• Annularia – Hazard, Kentucky
• Annularia radiata – Hazard, Kentucky
• Annularia sphenophylloides – Hazard, Kentucky
• Annularia stellata – Hazard, Kentucky
• Asterophyllites charaeformis – Hazard, Kentucky
• Asterophyllites equisetiformis – Hazard, Kentucky
• Asterophyllites equisetiformis – Hazard, Kentucky
• Calamites – Hazard, Kentucky
• Calamites cistii – Hazard, Kentucky
• Lepidendron – Hazard, Kentucky
• Lepidophyllum – Hazard, Kentucky
• Lescuropteris moorii – Hazard, Kentucky
• Mixoneura ovata – Hazard, Kentucky
• Neuropteris – Hazard, Kentucky
• Neuropteris scheuchzeri – Hazard, Kentucky
• Pecopteris candolleana – Hazard, Kentucky
• Pecopteris obliqua – Hazard, Kentucky
• Spenophyllum emarginatum – Hazard, Kentucky

Snails (Gastropoda / Mollusca)

• Bellerophon sp. – Breathitt Formation, Magoffin Member, Hazard, Kentucky
• Euphemites – Breathitt Formation, Magoffin Member, Hazard, Kentucky
• Shansiella – Breathitt Formation, Magoffin Member, Hazard, Kentucky
• Straparollus – Breathitt Formation, Magoffin Member, Hazard, Kentucky
• Strobeus – Breathitt Formation, Magoffin Member, Hazard, Kentucky
• Strobeus (second specimen), Breathitt Formation, Magoffin Member, Hazard, Kentucky
• Worthenia – Breathitt Formation, Magoffin Member, Hazard, Kentucky

Sponges (Porifera)

• No Pennsylvanian sponges are currently illustrated.

Trace Fossils

• No Pennsylvanian trace fossils are currently illustrated.

Trilobites (Arthropoda)

• No Pennsylvanian trilobites are currently illustrated.

Other Fossils

• No additional Pennsylvanian fossils are currently illustrated.

A Note About Fossil Names

Fossils are named like other biological species. The genus and trivial name (for example, Auloceras + undulata) together form the species name. The author’s last name appears in parentheses if the genus name has changed since the original description; it is not in parentheses if the original genus name is still used, as in Favosites niagarensis Hall. A subgenus is sometimes shown in parentheses: Favosites (Emmonsia) emmonsi Rominger, where Emmonsia was originally described as its own genus but has since been folded back into Favosites. If the species name is unknown, “sp.” follows the genus name (for example, Cyclonema sp.).

Fossil names can change as new research is published. We strive to use the most up-to-date names available for the specimens illustrated on our website.

Abbreviations

Common abbreviations used in locality information include: Co. for County, KY for Kentucky, IN for Indiana, IL for Illinois, OH for Ohio, and TN for Tennessee.

Fossil drawings © Michael Popp, 2009.