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Showing results for tags 'cambrian'.
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Olenellus getzi with a long axial spine!
cameronsfossilcollection posted a gallery image in Member Collections
From the album: My Kinzers Formation Fossil Collection
This ventrally preserved Kinzers bug was delicately prepped out by Jon Ginouves! I have previously uploaded this fossil to the album before it was prepared. -
Hi all, I haven’t been here in a while, but I still wanted to share some fantastic finds from this summer. As soon as I returned from Newfoundland, I hit the ground running, and now I finally have a chance to relax with a hectic semester coming to a close. For some background, my undergraduate thesis looks at the structures and stratigraphy of a small peninsula off the western coast of Newfoundland called Cow Head. On our long trek up there, we stopped at Green Point, a global geologic benchmark for the boundary between the Cambrian and Ordovician. The geologic features here were unmatched. After our time in Green Point, we drove to Cow Head and quickly began conducting our research. Part of the fieldwork on the stratigraphy side included fossil hunting. Cow Head was full of different fossils, including graptolites, brachiopods, gastropods, and even trilobites. Unfortunately, like the trilobites in Pennsylvania, these too have eluded me. I did, however, find a copious amount of graptolites and even two gastropods! The graptolites included species such as Monograptus, Didymograptus, Phyllograptus, and the Dictyonema. There was none more important than the Tetragraptus Approximatus. This little guy is Floian in age, found within the Ordovician Period, and you can only see this fossil in Ordovician rocks. This made finding it crucial because the Cambrian/Ordovician boundary has been questionable on the peninsula for quite some time. If we saw Tetragraptus, we knew precisely what age of rock we were working in and could even possibly pinpoint the contact with further interpretation of other data collected. (Tetragraptus is the guy that looks like " >< " it is a little small, so you'll have to bare with me) Other fossils found were not nearly as important but just as exciting to discover. A common fossil that we saw often was the Monograptus; fun fact, Monograptus was one of the last stages of graptoloid evolution before their inevitable extinction. Monograptus is known for its single, uniserial stipes with intricate thecae. Another graptolite we saw was the Dictyonema, which can be seen in the image below on the lower portion of the rock. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find an outstanding samples of the Dictyonema. Maybe that will be a mini goal when I return this summer. Moving on from the graptolites to the gastropods, there is something exciting about these fossils. At the time of deposition, Cow Head was on the shelf edge of the Iapetus Ocean, which is why we see the laminated shale and limestone beds. Since it was on the shelf edge, there were a lot of clastic flows that produced the conglomerates that we see today. The complicated thing about these gastropods is that they were found within a conglomerate, just like where the trilobites have been seen. That implies that the gastropods and trilobites are not in their original locality of deposition and that they began to fossilize before being deposited in a clastic flow. The left gastropod is a little harder to see than the right one, but they are still impeccable finds on the peninsula nonetheless. We will collect them this upcoming summer and bring them back for further analysis. (Yes, they are still up there. It was a hefty rock in the thick of the peninsula.) I managed to find a nice sample with a bunch of Phyllograptus. The only issue was it was a large sample, and it couldn’t fit in our bags (it was an hour into fieldwork, so we didn’t want to carry it all day), so we broke it up and will be gluing it back together soon. This is what happens when you’re doing a geologic project with three other geologist, and you’re the only one who cares about fossils! The last possible fossil I would like to mention is this (image below, referring to a dark object in the middle of the rock). I am stumped to identify it, I have done reading and haven’t been able to figure it out, and I don’t even know what we did with it! I will have to check my lab as soon as possible because I forgot this guy existed. I would love to get the dimensions to anyone who may have an idea… if it is even a fossil. Any insight is greatly appreciated! The figure below is a diagram showcasing all the graptolites that can be seen in the area. It is difficult to capture a good enough image, so diagrams are very helpful for untrained eyes. Those were all the fossils I managed to find during my time on Cow Head. There is still a long way to go with my thesis work, so if anyone is interested in how it’s going, please reach out! I would love to discuss it with anyone interested! I will be returning to Cow Head and exploring more of Newfoundland this upcoming summer, there are some remarkable fossils to be seen, and I am super excited to share them with you! Thank you for taking the time to read this hefty post, I hope you enjoyed it! I have one more planned for my time out in North Dakota and that’ll be the end of my novels as posts. Happy Fossil Hunting, Dawson
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From the album: Wheeler Formation
One of nicest Elrathia specimens from my expedition out west! -
From the album: Wheeler Formation
One of my favorite finds from the Wheeler. -
From the album: Wheeler Formation
Beautiful color on this one. Photographed wet. -
Menagerie multi plate - Asaphiscus, Elrathia, Bolaspidella + Agnostids!
cameronsfossilcollection posted a gallery image in Member Collections
From the album: Wheeler Formation
This was carefully prepped out with serendipitous results, as the main attraction was always the Asaphiscus. -
From the album: Wheeler Formation
Closeup of the Asaphiscus. -
From the album: Wheeler Formation
Look at that spine! -
From the album: Wheeler Formation
There are actually four bugs on this decent sized plate! -
From the album: Wheeler Formation
This bug was either thrown into an unnatural position during the burial process or is an uncommon example of enrollment in Cambrian trilobites! -
From the album: Wheeler Formation
Puny bug! -
From the album: Wheeler Formation
Here’s a closeup of that tiny cranidium. Jon is a master prep! -
From the album: Wheeler Formation
Nice reddish brown bug! -
From the album: Wheeler Formation
Beautiful dark red Elrathia molt. That small dot to the left of the bug is a cranidium belonging to a member of the same species! -
From the album: Wheeler Formation
Beautiful, large molt with a tinge of green. -
From the album: Wheeler Formation
Two cheekless red molts on a beautiful algae covered matrix. -
From the album: Wheeler Formation
Unsurprisingly thought this was an Elrathia when I found it. -
From the album: Wheeler Formation
Cheekless red Elrathia molt on a beautiful piece of rock. -
From the album: Wheeler Formation
Typical preservation without either of the helens nor the operculum. -
From the album: Pioche Formation
This is the main body fossil, the other juvenile I shared is the reverse. -
Orytocephalites + unknown ptychopariid Cranidium
cameronsfossilcollection posted a gallery image in Member Collections
From the album: Pioche Formation
Two uncommon bugs, if only it weren’t just the cranidium! The orytocephalites cranidium is truly miniscule, it's located towards the bottom of the screen in the center - underneath the larger ptychopariid molt piece. -
From the album: Pioche Formation
Perfect! Even has small axial spine holes! -
Ventral Nephrolenellus geniculatus
cameronsfossilcollection posted a gallery image in Member Collections
From the album: Pioche Formation
Nice orange bug on the same plate as the chief + terminatus. -
From the album: Pioche Formation
Look at that axial spine! The relief could be better, but this bug is complete! -
From the album: Pioche Formation
Beautifully prepped by Jon!