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I just finished a reconstruction of the Mahantango ecosystem, based off of fossils I have found at corresponding sites. This certainly does not cover all species in this formation, but many of the most prominent (Sorry no Dipleura, haven't done that one yet). I recently learned about Striacoceras and re-identified many of my orthocerids as this obscure genus. Striacoceras is the brown orthocone in the background. I included two crinoid genera, (left to right) Ancyrocrinus and Botryocrinus. an Eldredgeops searches for prey. There are several Mucrospirifer brachiopods, some Orthonota bivalves, a couple ammonoids (Tornoceras and Agoniatites), and some Pleurodictyum coral. In the distance, a shoal of Bactrites drifts. This is one of my first entire ecosystems.

After work had the chance to try out a new (to me) outcropping of the Mahantango. While the rock I split was mostly out of situ there was exposure along a cliff that I avoided just to be safe. This area seemed to be a different environment than Mahantango spots I have hunted in the past. There was more crinoids and even some horn corals. I managed to find a few trilobites, mostly Eldredgeops though I did find a partial Greenops. My highlights were the largest Mahantango Eldredgeops I have personally seen (though I am sure someone on here has a larger one!) as well as a completely free from matrix roller (I split him out of the rock and he just happened to pop out nicely) 6cm = 2.36in Perfectly enrolled and free from matrix Bummer this Greenops is missing its cephalon

I recently went to Penn Dixie for the first time and was not disappointed. Our tour guide first showed us the youngest rocks, then the pyrite. Here I found a tiny juvenile Tornoceras, Bactrites, and out guide showed us that individual septum can be found (see this post). I also found a fragment of a non-pyritized tiny Eldredgeops thorax. I found what HynerpetonHunter says is worm coprolites, and a few tiny brachiopods. Then, we went to the place where phosphate can be found. After that, we stayed a little at the place where fossils from the oldest layer were deposited in the soil, and I found a Naticonema gastropod, among the rarest fossils at the site! There were lots of brachiopods, crinoids, and rugose corals here. We then found some more corals, brachiopods, and trilobites at the most recent Dig with the Experts piles that were turned up for collecting. We walked towards the stream and on the other side found many bryozoans and coral (this time Favosites). I dropped my bucket of fossils but was able to find most of its contents again. We went to a place nicknamed "Crinoid Heaven", because of the sheer amount of crinoid columnals that can be found there. after that, we went to the original Dig with the Experts that was unearthed in 1993 (there wasn't much). After this, we went to where some trilobites are, but not as much as the recent Dig with the Experts site, so we went back. By this time our tour was over and we simply filled bucket after bucket of fossils. I found some Bellacartwrightia, Greenops, too many corals, and many, many Eldredgeops. I agree with Clary and Wandersee's (2011) rating of Penn Dixie as the top fossil park in the U.S. Below are some pictures of some of my favorite finds. First, some Eldredgeops. I prepped the top right cephalon with some dental tools. These can be found abundantly, but here are some of my best. ======================================= Some Bellacartwrightia. These are uncommon Asteropygines that are sometimes confused with Greenops. To prove that this cephalon belongs to Bellacartwrightia, look at its cephalon posterior border furrow - it continues down the genal spine, while it ends at the base of Greenops's. Directly above it is a juvenile's pygidium. Some more Bellacartwrightia pygidiums - on the same rock but on different sides. =================================================== A Greenops cephalon - the cephalon posterior border furrow ends at the base of the genal spine and does not deflect backwards. An enrolled Greenops in the matrix. Since Asteropygines have such this cuticles, I am going to wait to prep this one. Note: the scale bar is equivalent to 2 mm, not 1. ============================================= Now for the Gastropod! This is Naticonema, dorsal and ventral. ============================================ Mucrospirifer. ======================================= Placoderm bone? I am not that good with bones and any help would be appreciated on this one. I know more of these have been turning up lately, or at least being recognized. Penn Dixie was certainly worth the long drive and I very highly recommend it!

Creek Bug Eldredgeops rana (Trilobite) Middle Devonian, Moscow formation New York I found this trilobite in Sept. 2019 and never shared it. Or did I Anyway, I was hiking in a stream going from one location to another and found this trilobite after my girlfriend stepped on it Not her fault really. She's busy looking out for spiders, webs to spiders, and giant web wrapping people up spiders. I saw the telltale black of the trilobites exo and knew what it was (note the algae staining on the matrix). This site isn't a place where we go to collect bugs. This is our fossil coral location with the occasional trilobite. The bugs at this site tend to be on the big side and this is no exception. Your average complete Eldredgeops from NY is around an inch. If this bug was outstretched, it would be 3.1" or 78.74mm. I cleaned it up a little but the matrix that is still on the trilobite is very hard. My main focus was, is there a pygidium or not, so that had to be dug out. I think the coolest thing about this specimen is that it survived millions of years and who knows how long as a waterworn cobble in a stream after some cute girl steps on it. Happy Collecting

Hello from Moscow, Russia I bought this trilobite years ago on that auction site. I dont have clear info about it. Probably Eldredgeops rana from Sylvania?

As indicated in an earlier post, I found lots of trilobites while on the field trip with the NYPS on Saturday. At DSR I found lots of greenops cephalons and pygidiums and even a few 60 percenters. I also found a few Eldredgeops pygidiums and one well preserved cephalon at DSR. (And a couple random Dipleura pieces). At the second spot, which was brand new to the NYPS, I found tons of greenops. I found 30+ greenops. Mostly cephalons, pygidiums or thoracic segments. I managed to find 3 or 4 60% completes and 5 or 6 fully completes. No Eldredgeops at the second spot. The layer I was in must have been a Greenops layer.

Hey everyone! Happy to finally be making another entry. Over the last couple of weeks I've been reading Richard Fortey's "Trilobite" and thus itching to get back into the field and see some for myself. Driving from New York to Chicago I decided to make a pit stop at Ohio's Paulding Community Fossil Garden and try my luck at finding some eldredgeops fossils. Here's what the garden looks like when you arrive: You're basically wading through fossils step after step. Here's the best of what I found, excluding some nice surface-collected brachiopods I've been handing out to friends here in Chicago. I have a few questions about what I've found, if anybody could give me their input it would be very much appreciated!! A lot of little bits. Crushed Eldredgeops rana cephalon about 1.75" wide. What I assume is a juvenile Eldredgeops rana? Size is about that of a dime. Tried to get to the surrounding shale using a pin vise but yielded scarce results. I'd be really grateful for any suggestions from more experienced preppers! Small, nickel sized brachiopod with something that looks to be stuck onto it! Anybody encounter this before?? I would attempt to prep off some of this muck but I don't want to risk damaging anything. Is a pin vise enough? A brush and some sort of solution maybe? Thanks for looking! I'm in Chicago as I write this, and just this morning paid a visit to the legendary Dave's Down To Earth Rock Shop in Evanston. There are walls littered with incredible stones, ancient tools and fossils. Everywhere. Imagine my surprise when encountering a familiar face.

I picked up this nice Eldredgeops rana trilobite mortality plate couple days ago. From the Middle Devonian windom shale western NY. so much going on in this plate it’s hard to capture it all and pictures don’t do it justice.

Just thought I'd share some finds from a club trip to the Devonian of Iowa last Sunday. It was a good trip. A nice clam. This Greenops disintegrated shortly after exposure. Crassiproetus sp. Before After. Enrolled Greenops sp. and Eldredgeops noorwoodensis Group shot

Hello forum folks I went to DSR again yesterday 10/05/19 as I had another free day to go collecting. I may not being able to fossil hunt until the end of the month so I had to take advantage! I have been noticing the phyllocarids are coming from certain intervals lower in the quarry...could be nothing....could be somthing....before I assumed I figured I should test it. I knew the exact bedding plane my last Echinocaris came from so I planned on opening a shelf on that bedding plane. My thought was if I could find another phyllocarid on that bedding plane maybe it could mean something....clearly not enough data to make any final assumptions but heck who wouldn’t dig a bedding plane that has produced lol. I was still specifically upset I couldn’t find the missing piece to my phyllocarid from last trip so I did some scanning I initially. I knew it was a waste so I got to work on the bedding plane I desired. before I got started I moved a lot of over burden and got some nice slabs moving. Loving the wedge and sledge combo....so much easier on my body physically. anyway....I found this Echinocaris punctata about 30 minutes into clearing off the shelf. Same bedding plane!!! Only about 1-2 feet from the one I found last trip. Bingo!! I’m going to show a few close ups...this is a really interesting specimen. It appears to be A double carapace folded in half. You can see the margins of the other half and some spots actually fold over slightly that confirm this. It would be great to reveal the other side but I would have a very thin, flattened, fragil specimen. also.....I’m feeling like the boy who cried wolf here but are these mandibles I see on the top left part of the specimen (Seen below)? The margins aren’t as easy to see but it’s clear there are some type or serrations on each part. Here is a close up that does a decent job showing what I’m talking about. They are really non photogenic because of the rust on the shale between the mandibles. It messes with the margins visually. It was still really messy with debris/rubble when I found it so I wasn’t sure where the counterpart was under the rubble. Foolishly it’s on a slab I left behind and I’m going to try and rush out after work to grab it this week. I found this another foot away from the phyllocarid above. When I found this I immediately thought I had a rhinocaris phyllocarid but now I’m not so sure? Unless someone can say for sure. Just doesn’t look right. here is a close up.....it has some lines running across it that make me question what this is. So for now I’m not sure. I found this Rhinocaris sitting out in the open so I have no idea what layer it came from. I’m positive this is a Rhinocaris and it’s very different from the other unknown specimen I found. Here is a reference photo for people who are unsure what phyllocarids are. I really think this specimen is special like the one I found last trip. Also, I do find it interesting that this was on the same bedding plane and very close to the last Echinocaris phyllocarid. More field work will help tell the tale. More to come....my trilobite finds from DSR and I found a layer with all Eldredgeops!!! Really awesome. Stay tuned for part 2

Well I'm on my way to Utah for a new career opportunity and looked up the LaFarge quarry in Paulding Co. last night. This quarry is supplied with dump trucks worth of shale from the LaFarge quarry that pulls directly from the Silica Shale formation Devonian era. The location is in the middle of nowhere and my wife gave me one hour to look around. Soon I had my five month old daughter, Clara, strapped to my chest in a baby carrier and I was quickly scrounging around looking for fossils. I can tell you that I was not disappointed though I did not locate a complete Eldredgeops roller I did walk away with some very large brachiopods and the largest horned coral I've ever collected. To anyone seeking to collect fossils in the mid-west or Ohio, this location is a must. All this came out in under an hour of searching and some of these pieces could look good after some light preparation. See descriptions below: This place is in the middle-of-nowhere Ohio. The parking lot was gravel with a portable outhouse. The nearest gas station was about twenty minutes away. I was talking to @Kane about conglomerates of fossil bits and he noted similar compositions at both Penn Dixie and Arkona. I know there's a scientific term for what this occurrence is but I can't seem to recall the word at this time. Regardless I find these settings interesting as they don't seem to preserve anything exceptional, certainly not a complete trilobite but it's neat to see so much life in one piece of sedimentary rock. This particular rock is full of pieces of bryozoans, crinoids, trilobites, and brachiopods. Someday I'll invest in an expensive microscope to examine these different pieces. I usually don't keep horned coral but I couldn't resist keeping this one. The interior calcium based structures have crystalized and it is by far the largest horned coral I've ever picked up or seen in person though they can get bigger. There were Eldredgeop cephalons and pygidiums everywhere. Similar to Penn Dixie this is a really good sign that potential complete pieces, particularly rollers are present. I believe the terms of the site are that tools such as hammers and chisels are not allowed as the shale pieces are small and brittle enough to break in hand. I believe that a few years ago access to the official LaFarge quarry was granted but that was recently retracted and a number of amateur paleontologists wrote letters to the company requesting something be done to continue to provide access to the site. I'm really glad LaFarge goes out of their way to dump some scraps for people to pick through. Site admission is free and you can keep whatever you find. Large piece of an Eldredgeops segment sticking out of the matrix surrounded by brachiopod pieces. What a scene this must have been during the Devonian. The camera doesn't do this pyritized piece of shale justice. Hopefully I'll be able to take some micro pictures later of the square crystals. One of the larger Eldredgeops pygidiums I've ever seen and I read some sources last night that the trilobites in the Silica Shale can be very large. Almost every trilobite piece I came across at the site was very large. This pygidium is almost an inch wide. There were many spiriferid strewn throughout the site. Most had both halves and exhibited excellent color. Large cephalon. More pyrite. The large horn coral. More pyrite amidst a conglomerate of fossil pieces. A complete brachiopod out of the matrix. Front view of the brachiopod. I'll have to ID this one after some cleanup and polish. I really like the color on the corals and fossils at the site. This is a light tan. Another large complete brachiopod. A long spiriferid with what appears to be both halves. This one should prep out nicely. The desert of farms and trees of western Ohio. Corn, trees, and farms all around. Another good sized Eldredgeops cephalon. Yet another horn. Large Eldredgeops cephalon poking out. Not complete but gives me hope that there might be some complete specimens at the site.