WTAE Pittsburgh

Shaun Blackham Snaps Photo Of Ancient Tree Visible Only From Water

Blackham was kayaking in Armstrong County in July when he spotted the strange pattern on the rock.

The 45-year-old, who said he grew up watching Land of the Lost, told Channel 4 Action News' Jennifer Miele that he new he had found something special.

"It's not too often you find something 300 million years old in your own backyard," Blackham told Miele.

Blackham, who is also a stand up comedian, joked he thought he was only fossil he would ever see. But the specimen he found is the real deal.

After sending photos to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, Blackham learned the 4-foot-long fossil, which is embedded in a rock adjacent to the Roaring Run Trail, is bark from a now-extinct lepidodendron tree.

Blackham said the fossil isn't visible from the trail and it's located close to some rapids. He speculated that boaters are likely focusing their attention on the water and have missed spotting the rare find.

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