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  1. Jeffrey P

    Trilobits from Formosa Reef, Ontario

    From the album: Middle Devonian

    Proteus (Crassiproetus) crassimarginatus Ptychoparid Trilobites Middle Devonian Amherstburg Formation Detroit River Group Formosa Reef Formosa, Ontario Some of these were generous gifts from Kane
  2. Dave Adams

    Anomalocaris appendage parts?

    Greetings. On 8/6/23 I was out around Pioche, Nevada looking for trilobites. I found a number of specimens and decided on a whim to bring some larger sections of trilobite-bearing shale home for context purposes. After sorting the smaller trilobite samples I sat down to inspect the larger shale pieces. There was one item that I could not identify and I wonder if it might be part of an anomalocaris grasping appendage. Below are two pictures, one is a close-up and one that is a larger shot containing a trilobite cephalon for comparative purposes. The spine at the end of the (maybe anomalocaris) lobe is not as long as most I’ve seen in pictures but I did find one from China that resembled the one in the picture rather closely. Would any of you kindly venture an opinion as to what I may have found? Thanks in advance.
  3. Brett Breakin' Rocks

    Denver Gem and Mineral Show

    Hello Everyone, It feels like Deja Vu .. but it is that time of year again .. again. Wait, have I posted this already. A photo dump, of the few photos I snapped, of some of my more interesting finds. The Crowne Plaza had some enourmous mineral specimens and some fantastic fossils on offer this year. Though most were way outside of my budget. But photos are FREE ! The cutest fake fossil ? Yes ... and I almost bought one. I kick myself still for not pulling the trigger. Selfies with minerals anyone ?? .. yes please. Children for scale. I like it and I'm sticking with it, because I'm a rebel. Who needs a proper scale anyway. 1 FINN Height Unit (well, you can't see his feet) My daughter found her favorite, but alas we could not roll this one home. Moroccan tooth. Most likely Auriculatus. Fantastic price for such a nice tooth. They are normally quite beaten up. My other Moroccan finds. I love these for stocking stuffers The dealer I frequent from South Carolina. They are black water divers and have the best cetacean teeth and other bits and pieces. Great for school visits etc ... this stuff is sold by the pound. A sloth tooth partial. Mastadon (or Gomphothere ? .. probably a Gomph tooth) Tooth Cusp Extinct Billfish Vertebra Cheers, Brett
  4. Hello all, I've been a fossil admirer for many years and finally pulled the trigger to get a few pieces of my own this week at the Denver show. Regrettably, I didn't do any research into fakes beforehand - didn't even cross my mind, as this is an organized and seemingly reputable event. I bought two trilobite fossils and one brittle star. Each was from a different vendor, all of whom were from Morocco. When I started doing some reading to try to confirm their species after I got home, I found many resources about fake fossils including this forum. I now suspect that all three of my fossils are fakes, as I can see what appear to be pinholes from resin bubbles on them. I've attached some photos. The larger trilobite I got from a guy who had tons of different-sized trilobites in various positions on different bits of stone, and it has visible cracks where it's been reassembled. However it seems to have clear pinholes across its head. The brittle star seems like the most obvious fake after learning more about fakes, given the color and shininess plus the couple of pinholes. I'm not really sure what to do at this point - I still admire these pieces and find them quite beautiful. If they're casts of real fossils they retain some of their interest for me. But it feels really bad to have been duped, potentially three times, in my first foray into fossil collecting. I have half a mind to go back and confront the vendors (I paid two of them with zelle and have their names and information) but I'm not sure what would be gained. Is there some way I could notify the venue so that other buyers don't get swindled? Curious to hear people's thoughts on whether these are indeed all fakes, and what you would do in my place. Currently I'm leaning towards considering it a lesson and keeping them as pieces of art, but the bad taste does linger. Thanks for your time!
  5. Hello to everyone, I am interested in collecting along Spring Creek in Alden, NY, and have read that the best sites are between RT 20 and Crittenden Rd. If anyone has recommendations or advice, I would be very appreciative. I am traveling up from Maryland and will visit several sites in addition. As this is my first post although having joined some time ago, hello to all. I have been an avid collector of fossils for many years and have finally set up a work station to begin the task of learning how to prepare specimens. Fossil Forum has been of great value to me in a multitude of ways. Thanks to all those who do the work to keep the site in great shape. Regards, SandyP
  6. Today I went to visit a friend of mine who purchased a flat of swatara gap material recently from an old collection. After hanging out and chatting for a bit he mentioned he had something to show me. He revealed a flat of incredible material to say the least, Two Acidaspis, a nearly perfect 3 inch Isotelus, and a massive Taeniaster flanked by two carpoids. The other specimens in the box were more common but impressively complete. I made an offer on the spot, after negotiating for a little we made a deal and I went home with the collection I knew most of the specimens had been collected by my good friend Kerry Matt as he had mentioned the specimens to me while collecting before. After talking to Kerry we agreed I’d return a few of the specimens to his collection in a trade. While I have all the specimens I thought I’d share them as they the species are often never seen from Swatara. See attached images of the specimens for the details. For context about Swatara Gap read: R.I.P Swatara Gap Top to bottom: Isotelus gigas: collected by Kerry Matt in 1984. Acidaspis cincinnatienis Acidaspis cincinnatienis Taeniaster spinosus with 2 carpoids belonging to the genus Ateleocystites. Ateleocystites Ateleocystites note the intact tube feet on the brittle star arm next to it.
  7. Andúril Flame of the West

    Adventures in the Needmore Shale

    Hello everyone, A couple of weeks ago I had the chance to visit a more distant fossil locality - an opportunity that I took to collect some Paleozoic fossils among the scenic Appalachians of eastern West Virginia. Heading out west, I planned to visit a new exposure of the Needmore Shale that I suspected had the potential to produce some nice trilobite specimens. Unfortunately, upon arriving at the locality rain was coming down in droves, effectively ending any chance of prospecting the locality. Hoping to escape the rain, I made my way farther south toward the well known Lost River road cut in the vicinity of Wardensville, West Virginia. As I had hoped I did manage to escape the rain, and I was left with a few hours to search for some Devonian fossils among the fissile green shale. I had only been to the Lost River locality once before late last year, and I had managed to secure the trilobites which had proven rather elusive in the more fossiliferous rocks of the Mahantango. The rain, which did seem to have swept through the area shortly before I arrived, had turned the fine rock dust that coated the talus piles into slippery mud. Above the treacherous talus piles, a large vertical exposure of the Needmore Shale held trilobites and a variety of other shallow marine fauna that had once inhabited a Devonian reef. Here are the finds from both trips I have taken to the Lost River locality: A few small brachiopods from the locality. Unlike other Paleozoic localities I have had the opportunity to visit, brachiopods do not seem to be extremely common at the road cut. I only came across them occasionally, with most being so small they were hard to identify without the aid of a magnifiying glass. A spiral gastropod preserved in iron oxide that contrasts quite nicely with the dark green matrix. On the most recent trip I found the two above specimens exposed on the surface of the shale. They seem like they could be the central lobe of trilobite pygidiums with the other two sections having weathered away. Any insight into what these might be would be greatly appreciated . Rugose coral The specimen above is intriguing. The roundish shape seems to suggest a fossil, though it could very well have a geological origin. I apologize for the poor photographs of the above specimen, but it was incredibly difficult to get the camera to focus on it properly. When I came across this fossil whilst splitting shale, I was quite confident that I had come across a trilobite due to the black calcitic appearance and the 'ribbing' that seemed to define the fossil. Yet after extracting and cleaning the fossil, it does not resemble a trilobite and is very faint even after the shale dust was removed. Any suggestions as to what it might be would be very welcome . Some assorted Dipleura ribs. Some trilobite ribs, likely either belonging to Dipleura or Eldredgeops rana. Eldredgeops rana pygidium preserved in a light yellow color. Enrolled Eldredgeops rana consisting of the body with a partial cephalon (first two images) and the pygidium on the reverse side (last image). The trilobite is flattened, which may be a result of the tectonic forces acting on the rock during the uplift of the Appalachian mountains. Another Eldredgeops rana specimen with considerable relief from the surrounding matrix. This specimen was found in association with a few others, though if it possessed a cephalon it was lost among the chips of shale. A prone Eldredgeops rana molt found on the first outing to the road cut. Positive and negative of an Eldredgeops rana molt. Thanks for taking a look!
  8. Family and I took a trip to Beltzville State Park earlier this week. We stayed around the lake, looking along the shoreline and wading through water. Found some pretty cool Middle Devonian fossils. My wife lucked out with two Trilobite pieces, one of which is a really nice head imprint. I'm still working on identification, so please bare with me. Any help of course is appreciated. Coin is 22mm Shoreline Trilobite head (Phacops rana?) surrounded by Crinoid stems Trilobite (Phacops rana?) - lower abdomen Crinoid stems Crinoid stems Pleurodictyum tabulate coral (?) and brachiopod Crinoid stems Brachiopods and I'm not sure what the orange/black dotted impression is.
  9. ChasingGhostsYT

    Trilobites from the Gull River Formation

    Howdy folks! I recently had a family trip to Ontario, and found a few rock exposures throughout Kingston to rummage around for fossils. I was digging into the Ordovician aged Gull River Fm, which has chert-like rock that I still find somewhat difficult to process. I managed to snag a little bit of rock to add to the weathering pile, and today I’ve found some interesting specimens. I’m looking at two unidentified pygidiums, and I believe I’m looking at half a Cephalon on the final slide. If anyone has literature they don’t mind sharing on the formation I’d love to read up, and I’d appreciate a little help ID’ing especially the Cephalon in question.
  10. Hi everybody. I live in Wisconsin and primarily collect dinosaur fossils (which unfortunately I can’t find in Wisconsin) but I have recently really been having the urge to search for fossils myself so I’m wondering if anyone has info on Wisconsin fossils. I know there is a spot in Waukesha where some unusual fossils were found and a spot near platville where some great trilobites are found. Does anyone know how to get access to collect at these types of sites or any other good options? Also just out of curiosity, is Wisconsin a rarely collected state which could leave many potential new things to find?
  11. From the album: Middle Devonian

    Greenops sp. Phacopid Trilobites One on right 3/4 inch Middle Devonian Lower Ludlowville Formation Ledyard Shale Hamilton Group Spring Creek Alden, N.Y.
  12. From the album: Middle Devonian

    (left) Naticonema lineata Platycerid Gastropod 7/8 inch (right) Greenops sp. Folded Phacopid Trilobite 7/8 inch Middle Devonian Moscow Formation Windom Shale Hamilton Group Smokes Creek Blasdell, N.Y.
  13. From the album: Middle Devonian

    Bellacartwightia sp. Folded Phacopid Trilobite on left 1 1/4 inch long total Partial specimen on the right 1 inch long Middle Devonian Moscow Formation Windom Shale Hamilton Group Penn Dixie Quarry Blasdell, N.Y.
  14. From the album: Middle Devonian

    Eldredgeops rana Prone Phacopid Trilobite 3/4 inch Middle Devonian Moscow Formation Windom Shale Hamilton Group Penn Dixie Quarry Blasdell, N.Y.
  15. From the album: Middle Devonian

    Eldredgeops rana Phacopid Trilobites (rolled, folded, and prone specimens) Middle Devonian Moscow Formation Windom Shale Hamilton Group Penn Dixie Quarry Blasdell, N.Y.
  16. I am looking for Dinosaur material I don't have of good quality. For now I have two items I am looking to trade let me know if you are interested.
  17. Howdy! Last week, @KompsFossilsNMinerals and I were invited by Dan Cooper to go collect the Walcott-Rust Quarry this week, so today we both got up bright and early to make the trek out to the central Mohawk Valley for the day. After fueling up on some pancakes from Denny’s, we made the last leg of the trip to the site, which is far from easy to find or get back to! It wasn’t long before Chris and I had both found a nice crinoid calyx, and the day just kept getting better! I mainly surface collected in the piles of weathering rock around the quarry, while Chris and the rest of the guys worked to get down to and peel up some more chunks of the Ceraurus layer. I had heard that the site was pretty difficult at times, so my hopes of finding anything weren’t too high, but not one of us left home empty handed! Collecting at this site has been a dream of Chris and I’s, so this was such an amazing opportunity for us!!
  18. Just now getting through some camera rolls and specimen photo-taking of a two week trip in May. I covered about 2000 miles across Ontario and Quebec, and this is a sample of what I saw and/or collected. I won't be mentioning any specific sites, so I'll just number them. Site 1: Pleurocystites Pleurocystites close-up A crappy Calyptaulax Possibly a Flexicalymene senaria, disarticulated impression. Leaverite. A busted, incomplete cheirurid. Leaverite. Large Isotelus gigas cheek. (Also leaverite ) Looking very carefully, just about complete and really smashed Isotelus gigas. The chisel tip is an inch wide, so the trilobite is about 5.5 inches. Not worth taking home, either. This I did take home. Not sure if this will be a complete Bumastoides. A big Gabriceraurus. The head is there, but smashed in. A c-grade bug.
  19. Andúril Flame of the West

    A Foray Into the Ordovician

    For some time, I have been wanting to check out some of the lesser known formations that exist in my local area. The Devonian Mahantango Formation and the Needmore Shale are undoubtedly fun to explore and yield some beautifully preserved specimens - something that can be seen in a number of posts on this forum - but I still had the itch to collect from something a bit more obscure. That opportunity presented itself in the Ordovician limestones that expose intermittently in western northern Virginia. A small body of literature exists describing these formations and analyzing their fauna, particularly the silicified trilobites they are best known for, but they do not seem to be nearly as thoroughly explored as nearby Devonian formations. Armed with my trusty Estwing, an overly chipped chisel, and the hope of uncovering some silicified trilobites, I headed over to one of the better known Ordovician exposures in the Virginia area. This particular exposure is quite large and unique due to the different formations it exposes. The road cut begins beside a small stream (in which limestones can also be found) and is composed of large, white largely unfossiliferous limestone. This limestone represents either the New Market Formation or the Lower Lincolnshire limestone. As one moves rightward along the exposure, the white limestones continue for some time before grading into significantly darker limestones. These, which are part of the Upper Lincolnshire limestone, have been interpreted to represent the Taconic orogeny which took place in the Appalachian region during the latter part of the Ordovician period. The dark Upper Lincolnshire continues for an appreciable distance as one travels right until it eventually transitions to the Edinburg limestone. The Edinburg limestone, which is composed of alternating beds of limestone and shale, also represents a period of rather intense deposition caused by erosion of the mountains that had formed during the Taconic orogeny. The Edinburg limestone at the exposure appears white to dusky grey due to weathering, but, interestingly enough, when it is chipped, the true jet black coloration of the limestone is revealed. The sequence continues past the bounds of the road cut that I explored, with an exposure of the Martinsburg Formation - which is yet younger than the Edinburg formation - exposing not far from the road cut. Here are a few pictures I took of the road cut. Unfortunately I did not have a chance to take more pictures, and I am not exactly sure as to the specific formations each photograph depicts. I briefly explored the Upper and Lower Lincolnshire limestones, but I did not find much with regards to fossil content. Most of my exploration was focused on the layers of the Edinburg limestone, which I had heard were the most productive with regards to silicified trilobites. Unfortunately, I do not believe that I recovered any silicified trilobites from the exposure. However, I did manage to find some silicified brachiopods in varying states of preservation and a number of other interesting fossils that I have not been able to identify. Now, let's delve into some of the finds . Brachiopod 1: Brachiopod 2: Brachiopod 3: Brachiopod 4: Brachiopod 5: Brachiopod 6: This particular brachiopod previously had more of the (silica?) coating, though I believe I inadvertently removed it by treating the specimen with concentrated vinegar. I would not want this to happen to any other specimens, but Brachiopod 3 and some of the others would certainly look very nice if some more of the limestone/mineral coating could be removed. Would there be a way to do this without physical preparation techniques (I do not possess the proper equipment for this and even if I did, I would be afraid of ruining the fragile specimens)? Brachiopod 7: This was one of the best preserved brachiopods that I found, which was quite ironic since it happened to be exposed to the elements right on the surface of the limestone. The photographs are not the best and I can certainly take more if they are needed. Brachiopod 8: Brachiopod 10: There were more brachiopods uncovered... but I think that is enough for one post. Now for some interesting microfossil hashplates that I decided to keep. Hash 1: Under the Microscope: Hash 2: Hash 4 Here I have included some photographs of some specimens that I have not been able to readily identify. Any help in identifying what organisms they are and even what genus/species they could be would be greatly appreciated! Below each one I have included a tentative guess as to what each fossil is. Unknown 1: I believe that this may be a weathered brachiopod viewed from the inside of the shell. Unknown 2: An interesting feature of the limestone or perhaps a preserve fragment of an arthropod/trilobite carapace? Unknown 3: I would guess that this piece would have the same origin as the specimen pictured directly above. Unknown 4: Same as the previous two unknowns? Unknown 5: One of the larger and more interesting specimens that I found at the exposure. I am not at all sure what it is, though I would guess that it might be part of a graptolite or bryozoan. I'd be very curious to hear what others think about this specimen in particular. Unknown 6: Not at all sure what this is. To me it looks like it is a fossil, but it could very well be a mineral stain of some sort. Unknown 7: Upon first cleaning this specimen I thought that it might be a very weathered brachiopod. However, after inspection under the microscope it seems to me that it might simply be a mineral deposit or a geological feature. Unknown 8: An interesting piece of detritus found on the plate containing Unknown 5. Unknown 9: I would imagine that this is either an encrusting bryozoan, a sponge, or a fragment of trilobite cephalon. Unknown 10: Unfortunately I do not have a larger, better picture of this specimen. I will try to take another photograph of this one. I do believe that this might be some sort of fenestrate bryozoan. Although most of the specimens were smaller than those I am used to collecting, I was glad to have some interesting mysteries and to have the Ordovician represented in my collection. All of the micro photographs that I took were taken using a Celestron Microcapture Pro Microscope, which has been working phenomenally to view even some of the smallest fossils. I hope that you enjoy reading this post and I want to extend my gratitude in advance to any who help with identification of the specimens! (Edit: Not sure why these photographs keep appearing at the bottom of the post. Does anyone know how to fix this?)
  20. It's been a couple of weeks but it's taken me this long to take all the photos of my fossil finds from my trip to Oklahoma with the Paleontological Society of Austin! Our yearly trek to find Silurian, Devonian and Ordovician finds (not much of that in Texas!) was a great success again, thanks to our OK friends! Since it's just over a 6 hour drive for me, I went up early on Friday to hit a couple of "non field trip" spots before our "real" field trip on Saturday and Sunday. I had heard about a Permian site that I was excited to check out. It's a weird barren moonscape in the middle of a field. It was a bit warm.....and the sun radiating up from the baked clay was....intense. Fortunately a cold front was on the way so I kept reminding myself that the 90's of this Friday would recede into memory. But yeah...it was hot. There were bone bits everywhere....everywhere! But they were pretty crunched up. I didn't find much more than a few not-well preserved vertebrae, some okay bone bits, a few nice little amphib teeth and a couple of quite nice unbroken orthocanthus teeth. Tiny tiny ones, because all the big ones break easily. While I didn't find a lot of quality stuff initially, I did haul out about 60lbs of matrix so I can look through at my leisure at home! I learned a valuable lesson though...take two smaller buckets rather than one large bucket. It's a LOT easier to haul out two 30 lbs instead of one big haul a quarter mile over rough terrain! A little amphibian tooth: EDIT:...I thought these were Amphib teeth, but apparently....they are Orthocanthus Shark coprolites! hahahhha They are 1/4 inch each What is most amazing about these fossils is the color of the preservation. Astounding reds, yellows and purples. The little Orthocanthus shark teeth that were mostly complete. The Permian "moonscape": I decided to hit one other site before I headed to Ada where we were all meeting. It was the Ordivician site that I found a lovely Oklahomacystis echinoderm last year. The cold front had moved in and the temperature dropped almost 20 degrees and was just LOVELY hunting! I didn't find any more Oklahomacystis and wasn't finding much except a few nice brachiopods, but then I saw a crinoid calyx piece upside down (all I saw was the edges but I recognized it as crinoid) picked it up and got a nice surprise!! Too bad it's not the whole thing and just one segment, but I'll take what I get! It's a beauty...the geometric patterning is amazing. It is a Pleurocystites echinoderm. It's 1 1/4 inch wide. Early on Saturday, the whole group goes to Yellow Bluff which is a huge area above a creek and up a hillside. It's a great site with a plethora of fauna. It is completely possible to spend an ENTIRE day there! But first we had to drive through the pasture and the cows! They were nice cows. Yellow Bluff - It is primarily Silurian with a cap of Devonian at the very top of the hill. It is Henryshouse formation (which I keep wanting to call Harryhousen.... hahahha - that's for any of you old school animation lovers out there) And not only were the fossils abundant, so were the Missouri Primroses! A few nice finds in the field- A Gastropod Platyceras, Crinoid cup - I think this might be Ollulocrinus? A pink Brachiopod! Here's that pink brach again: I found a couple of Trilos, nothing quite good (last year I found the best one!!) but I did find one large one which still has lots of matrix on it, an interesting half a one, split vertically, not horizontally and then some others not very well preserved. This is an odd bit of crinoid : not sure what it is: So aside from the above pics of the in situ pieces, my only other really good find was this brachiopod Dictyonella. It was originally thought to have a bryozoan growing on it, but turns out it is actually the pattern of the brachiopod! There was also this cool bryozoan which I thought was a horn coral when I picked it up, only realizing it was bryzoan as I photographed it! It's 1 1/2 inches in size! But I did bring home a bucket of matrix and am having fun going through it, so will post some of those at a later time. Oh, and there were scorpions out and about enjoying the cool weather too. Hopefully no scorps in my bucket of matrix..... if so, now they are Texas Scorps. So Sunday was Black Cat Mountain Day. If you are not familiar with the trilobites from Black Cat Mountain...you are in for a google treat. Of course, finding the rare trilobites is.....rare. But there are plenty of other amazing things to find at Bob's quarry! The Quarry is Devonian with Haragan and Bois D'Arc Formations. But the trilobites are of course, the favorite. While I love the rollers the best (not sure why, I just do) I actually found better "open" ones this time than rollers! All of these are about an inch long. Paciphacops sp. Kainops sp. and not sure what this one is...probably Kainops and a surprising find of a (sadly not complete, but more complete than the typical) Huntoniatonia huntonensis Usually you just find the pygidiums...they are ALL OVER THE PLACE and they get HUGE. The biggest pygidium I found was 2" x 2"...just the trilobutt! It would have been a monster trilo. But the brachiopods are almost as amazing as the trilos. My favorite is this Howollella (I think) covered in Beekite: This is a big silicified Anastrophia (1 inch) An interesting Meristella with some crystals Orthostrophia and a neat coral which I think is Syringaxon perhaps? And one of my favorites to find - straight shelled cephalopods. This by far the most intact one I found. They are usually only three or four chambers but can get to be almost an inch in diameter. This one is 5 inches long And finally , my other favorite find from Black Cat Mountain.....a beautiful bryozoan ring:
  21. Hello, welcome to my report of this last week fossil hunting in Morocco. I have been this last week in Morocco going to different localities looking for fossils. As I have never done fossil hunting before in morocco, I contacted with Mohand Ihmadi from Ihmadi Trilobites Centre, a local geologist that does fossil hunting tours. I talked to him about all the localities that I would like to visit and we planned a route together. If you ever want to do some fossil hunting in Morocco, I have to recommend getting in touch with Mohand, if you search for him or the center in google, the contact information will appear. I will try to divide this fossil hunting in the main 4 areas that we hunted: KEM KEM BEDS This location is near the dunes, and going there you will have beautiful views. Once you arrive there, you will start seeing the typical Kem Kem colors. First you can try to find microfossils filtering the sand. We also found some workers there, and they let us visit the caves they make to arrive to the layer where they find the fossils. Here is me and my dad in front of the cave entrance. And here more photos inside the cave: In Kem Kem it's very difficult to find the stuff you see online so the normal thing is to find some micro fossils or chunks. This is what we found in and hour or so: Probably if you search harder and during more time, you can find more stuff, but we were more casual about this. And obviously, you can also try to buy the stuff the workers have found. ORDOVICIAN LOCALITY FOR CALYMENE Another locality we visited, was a trilobite locality. A ordovician Locality. Here, with heavy machinery, they extract the first useless layer, and then you can start to manually search for the trilobites. Here, we found several as it's pretty easy. One of them is this next photo: DEVONIAN TRILOBITE LOCATION The other trilobite location was a devonian one. There you can find phacops sp. pretty easily and if you are lucky some other species. Here is the typical limestone where you have to break them, find the trilobite, glued back and prepared it. After this, we went to Mohand workshop and he teached me how to prepare them: We were lucky and found a Paralejurus spatuliformis that he is preparing for me and will send to me. OUED ZEM FORMATION The last stop was the Oued Zem formation. It's the formation where we found most fossils, and it's easy to work with the hammer and find it. It's near the phosphates exploitation ground. And here some of what we found: We visited some more places, but this were the main ones. In conclusion it was an amazing experience and Mohand was the best guide we could have asked for. If you are planning a similar trip to Morocco and have some doubts or questions don't hesitate to ask. And just as an extra. As we all know, all the Moroccan material has a reputation of being restored, composited and altered. And while that is sometimes true, after visiting this places and talking to the diggers there, I bought some pieces from them, without the intermediaries, and they were really honest about what reparations or things they did to the piece. So my conclusion is that a lot of times the international dealers are the ones buying pieces without caring about the state of this ones because a composited/restored piece will be cheaper and they think it will sell at the same price and will make more profit.
  22. Andúril Flame of the West

    Dipleura vs Trimerus

    Hello all, In my investigation of the fauna of the Devonian Mahantango Formation, I have become quite interested in the trilobite Dipleura dekayi. I have not yet had the opportunity to encounter this bug on the field, but it’s size and strange appearance have draw my interest. From the sources that I have read regarding the Mahantango and Hamilton Group formations in Pennsylvania and New York, I have noticed that trilobites with a very similar appearance have been referred to the separate genera Dipleura and Trimerus. In Fossil Collecting in the Mid-Atlantic States, Jasper Burns seems to treat Dipleura and Trimerus as synonyms. However, Wikipedia (I am fully aware this is not the most reliable source) has separate pages for Dipleura dekayi and Trimerus dekayi. I have also heard more references to Trimerus when the specimens are found in the New York area and I vaguely remember a posting on the forum where the question of Dipleura vs. Trimerus was addressed but which post that was has escaped me. Here are the main questions that I have regarding this topic: 1.) Are Trimerus dekayi and Dipleura dekayi different valid trilobite species or are they synonyms? If they are synonyms, which would be the most proper to use? 2.) If Trimerus dekayi and Dipleura dekayi are two different valid species, how can they be differentiated? Does this depend on the region where the specimen was recovered? 3.) Are there other species of Trimerus present in the Mahantango Formation/Hamilton Group and how can they be identified and differentiated from Dipleura? Thank you in advance to all who view and comment on this post. I am very eager to learn more about Mahantango fauna and hopefully it will not be long before I find my first Dipleura/Trimerus in the field.
  23. Hello y’all! On Sunday, my close friend@KompsFossilsNMinerals and I met up once again to do some collecting at La Familia quarry in search of some good trilobites, and as always, we didn’t leave empty handed! We hit a few different sections of the strata, and we managed to have some level of success at every spot we worked.
  24. From the album: Middle Devonian

    Greenops sp. Phacopid Trilobite- squashed, partly enrolled- side view 1 and 1/2 inches long if prone Middle Devonian Moscow Formation Windom Shale Hamilton Group Deep Springs Road Quarry Earlville, N.Y.
  25. Jeffrey P

    Partial Prone Greenops from DSR

    From the album: Middle Devonian

    Greenops sp. Phacopid Trilobite- prone 1 and 1/4 inch long Missing part of glabella, end of one genal spine, and part of the pygidium Middle Devonian Moscow Formation Windom Shale Hamilton Group Deep Springs Road Quarry Earlville, N.Y.
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