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Yesterday I visited Etobicoke creek (west end of Toronto) which exposes the ordovician Georgian Bay formation. The creek was abundant with trace fossils and plates of preserved ripples, as well as small orthocone nautiloids.

Just visited the American Museum of Natural History, and one piece I saw there was a pair of Ordovician Isotelus Trilobites:l (iowensis?) Seeing this, I remembered that Isotelus Trilos were something that I was looking for. Anyone know of a site in/near Georgia?

Had a great fossil expedition the other day. Found 3 rolled Isotelus trilobites.

I only recently got into collecting after being out hiking and literally tripping over a large coral fossil a couple years ago and the hunt has been on since! SO much to learn! I wish I'd have started 30 or 40 years ago. I haven't posted any of my finds as I've been trying learn a little first and see if I could identify some of these. I think I've got some of them and others I haven't found a name for, so I hope you don't mind me dumping several on you. Are all these Receptaculites Oweni? They were found in the Galena dolomite in the Dubuque area in what I think is the Fairplay member of the Dunleith. (30 or 40 feet above river level) The third photo of the slightly smaller one was found in a drainage ravine so I can't be sure the layer it came from, but I don't believe it had been carried very far if at all. It was 30 or 40 feet higher than the other two. Is the last one Ischadites Iowensis or another Oweni? Is there a good guide to these somewhere? These next are of a nautiloid I haven't found the name for. This was found in the Guttenburg member of the Decorah also in the Dubuque area near river level. It was in the outcrop about a foot above the top of what I think is the Spechts Ferry member. I also found quite a few Rafinesquina brachiopods laying around in the talus and the pygidiums of a couple different trilobite. I think one is Gabricerarus Mifflenensis and the other Isotelus? It looks a lot like the ones in the last photos of what I'm pretty sure are some Isotelus Iowensis I found near Elgin, IA). Are these Isotelus Iowensis? These were found near Elgin, IA in what I think is the Elgin member of the Maquoketa. About a foot above the Turkey river that day. You can actually make out what I assume are compound eyes? Being kind of new to this I'm amazed at the detail you can still see in some of these for something so old. I haven't found the name of these cephalopods yet either. They were found the same day and not far from the trilobites in Elgin and about 5 or 6 feet higher in the rock layer.

Hey guys I am curious if any of these are trilobite fragments. They are all very small and thin. Found in Ordovician rocks in Cincinnati. A piece was broken off because of too much water pressure so I outlined what it was like before. It is more brown colored. This piece is a pit more brown colored.

I just found this guy hiding in the back of my collection. No idea how long he’s been back there, but I’m pretty sure I found him on the shores of Lake Erie, on the Canada side. Looks to be a weathers trilobite to me, possibly Isotelus, but, admittedly, I know very little about these bugs. Hopefully some of the experts out there can clear things up. Thanks! JPC

I found this last month on a visit to an abandoned limestone quarry near Naponee, Ontario. Though I am not very familiar with the Trilobites of this area, I believe it's an Isotelus. If I'm wrong with this identification, please tell me. It looks like there could be more of it underneath the sediment, and there is some matrix covering the pleura. This limestone is flaky and darker than any I have seen before. How would I go about prepping this? Though I've heard many people use sand, should I use something less abrasive, like baking soda? Thanks for the help.

I purchased this Isotelus labelled as the species gigas. The bug is 1 1/8 inches long. A friend that collects, buys, and sells mostly Cincinnati fossils thinks it is really the species maximus. The fossil was collected in the Kope Formation of Brown . I just want to make sure I label it correctly in my collection database.

My father was an artist who did quite a bit of sculpture in wood and stone. Unfortunately I did not inherit his ability to draw and sculpt. He always said that he basically knew what was hiding in the piece of wood or soapstone from the time he saw it. He said the animal or abstract work was always in there it was just waiting for him to take the crud off what was obstructing the view. Well prepping trilobites is very much like that . You need to figure out the best way to present the bug really before you start the prep. You need to visualize the end product. Here is a Platteville isotelus that I received from a client in a 2 to 3 pound hunk of matrix. Not a lot to see at first but definitely a bug that is just screaming "Let me out of here"..... Also a bug that is desperately in need of a prep. Any time you can see an eye or better yet two eyes on an isotelus you pretty much know that there is a good chance that it will be complete I started by trimming the matrix down to a size and shape that would be condusive to prepping and wound have a nice asthetic shape when complete. I wanted the bug to be 3D when complete so I use a dremel to make a grid pattern around the fossil. These pedestal islands then just pop off with my ARO scribe leaving a matrix that is not just square edges. Square edges look horrible on a complete fossil, just not natural looking. This takes all of 5 minutes as opposed to perhaps a good hour if I had used just a scribe. I also minimize the potential for the matrix to fracture through the fossil by doing it this way. Just be careful not to cut too deep As per usual this was prepped under a scope using a comco MB1000 unit and a variety of scribes (Aro, Seally, 9361 and a Pferd) The abrasion material was previously used 40 micron dolomite with mostly a . 030 and . 018 nozzle tip. This is about 45 minutes into the prep The extra pygidium on the bug was removed and will be added back beside the bug at the end of the prep. Progress is being made about an hour into prep About 15 minutes later it is starting to get 3D Almost done at this point Pretty much finished except for adding that extra pygidium back beside the bug then final cleanup to remove any tool marks and packing up to ship There is zero restoration or gluing on this trilobite, although the right eye is dis-articulated it is 100% complete. Total time invested ... about 2 hours ...............cost to client $45 US plus shipping. Original estimate was $50 so pretty close. The finished bug is 35 mm long from nose to end of pygidium. The matrix now weighs about 1 1/2 pounds which is always important to watch out for. Anything over about 4 pounds is stupid expensive to ship from Canada. The suture on the right side of the eye has dis-articulated a bit from the bug but it is all there and shows how clean the sutures can come apart.

About a month ago, I headed out on two fossil trips to the well-known St. Leon roadcut in Indiana. I was hunting in the Liberty formation (late Ordovician) with the sole goal of finding some nice trilobites (which I definitely achieved!). Along with multiple rare trilobites, I was able to find some excellent examples of other fossils. The spoils were totally awesome, and I am itching to go back. I hope you enjoy. Best for last.

@piranha, could you assist me in identifying this Isotelus to species? l

Last weekend, I decided to venture out to my favorite site to find trilobites. It is a site better visited during dry weather, but I couldn't wait! I do not know which was muddier, the truck or me when I packed it up. Here is the location without the mud visable. This material is best approached by splitting larger slabs of matrix. The result is always a bunch of trilo-bits. This is a nicer hash plate found that day

On Sunday, my family and I decided to head out for a fossil excursion to spend out day.@Uncle Siphuncle pointed out a good fossil site for me to find trilobites at a road cut in St. Leon, Indiana. Thanks a ton!! Unfortunately, as it had rained for quite a while that day, we had to wait until well after noon to reassure ourselves that we would not need to fossil hunt in the rain. Luckily, this also meant we got fresh picks before the other collectors! Here is the haul from the day: (I hope to bring back more over the course of the week!) Top to bottom: (1) Random pieces of the trilobite Isotelus (sp.). (2) The largest piece of trilobite that was found that day at the site. Although the piece is large, this is just a tiny, tiny fragment of the real trilobite! It is included at the bottom of image #1. (3) The best find of the day. It is a piece of the rear-half of the trilobite Flexicalymene (sp.). I do not know the specific specie, but the most abundant trilobite found at the site is Flexicalymene meeki, so it is safe to assume that the trilobite is F. meeki. After staring at the trilobite piece for some time, I extrapolate that it is approximately ~2/5ths of the trilobite which it once was. It is indeed very small! (4) Fossilized gastropods: (5) Fragments of orthoceras. These tend to be larger! ( (6) A handful of associated crinoid stem segments. The 2.4 cm one is quite long for a piece found detached from a matrix. I like it! —————————————— Overall, I think that our trip to the site had not met its maximum potential. We thoroughly examined every foot of ground that we covered- but this was only a short strip of land roughly 20 * 60 feet. Time was not available for a longer hunt. I estimate that we covered less than 5% (!) of the total fossiliferous area available to us that day— next time, I hope to find more than just ~1/3rd of a trilobite! -FS

I was just curious as to if anyone knows how to get in touch with someone about possibly being able to dig at Walcott as a guest, as it’s a private quarry, or if someone else knows where to find the gold bugs with appendages. I am hoping someone can point me to where there is isotelus or Ceraurus as it’s my favorite Trilos. Any help is appreciated. Even if you know a guy that knows a guy that knows a worker there lol. Thank you, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Courtesy of Dan Cooper from the Facebook Trilobites group, a rare Isotelus eye with lenses preserved. The claim for this specimen is ~1000 eye lenses, but with all due respect, much closer to ~5000 lenses. Do the math! table from: Rose, J.N. (1968) The eyes of Isotelus and Nileus. Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science, 74:178-185

My story will be a bit(could be too much) long, so I put this report separately from @Kane's report. I'm not sure I can do this or not 'cause this is my first time to write same topic from others'. If I should not do this, I apologize administrator for making bothersome Before I start my story, I convey my profound and huge gratitude to @crinus for taking me quarries(these travels were my very first visiting to not only quarries, but also Ontario's fossil site!) and giving a lot of nice fossils to me what he found, and to @Northern Sharks for giving a nice specimen to me what he found as well from Brechin quarry and organizing Bowmanville journey(I didn't know that until seeing from @Kane's report. I'm not sure that you set the all plans), and to @Malcolmt for giving a complete crinoid to me, which is my first complete crinoid possessing arms and stems, and finally to everyone that I've met on this travel for welcoming me *Plus - My report will be incomplete 'cause I don't know that much about Ontario's geological information and some species' scientific names. So, I'll appreciate greatly if you guys tell me about right information and help me to correct it I revised this post a loooot of times 'cause I realized that it was not report, but a proper diary(Too Much Information.. and still, it's like a diary..) Well.. Now then, I'll begin my long story with some pictures though I couldn't make to take that many pictures of quarries and people. As for the Brechin quarry, I forgot to take my phone and there was no time to take DSLR out from my bag. And as for the Bowmanville quarry, I was so concentrating to find fossils that I forgot to take pictures *Date : Oct.21&22.2017 *Location : Brechin quarry & Bowmanville quarry *Records of formation : Brechin quarry - D -----> Upper Verulam Formation(There was a "cluster" of fauna that I think it's different from below one. Color was bright grey and somewhat yellowish) DD -----> Middle Verulam Formation(Bluish and grey rocks with vurnerable condition) DDD -----> Lower Verulam Formation(Brown and grey rocks) DDDD -----> Upper Bobcaygeon Formation(Alternates between sublithogenic and medium calcarenitic limestone, but also includes some brown lithographic limestone and bluish fine-grained limestone in minor thicknesses)[*] [Buried under the ground] Middle Bobcaygeon Formation(Grey and brown, very fine grained to sublithogenic, sparsely fossiliferous limestone, with some fine-grained limestone in the upper part)[*] [Buried under the ground] Lower Bobcaygeon Formation(Brownish grey, fine- and medium-grained limestone)[*] (Reference - [*] Bobcaygeon formation - Weblex Canada. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://weblex.nrcan.gc.ca/html/001000/GSCC00053001579.html @Northern Sharks informed me! Thank you! ) Bowmanville quarry - D -----> Blue Mountain Formation (I couldn't get there.) DD Upper Lindsay formation DDD Level 2 (?) DDDD Level 3(?) - Lower Lindsay formation (Below as well. The quarry was so biiiiiig!!) - - *Geological Age - Middle Ordovician These all rocks are what I took. Maybe I took a lot of fossils even if it is only a small part of trilobites. I just so excited that I found Ontario's trilobites directly, not through internet store or pictures! Well.. Now I'm worried the weight.. Could I take these whole fossils?... I should have considered about it, not just collect unnecessary things by my instinct. It was not a clever move.. That crinoid(at 11 O'clock-wise) is not what I found these quarries. I found it from Scarbourough bluffers park before. To begin, the beginning of the day(Oct.21) I've met @crinus first at the very early morning of the day(For me. 'cause I'm not the early bird type). Actually, we met from Ebay. I won his two auction and I asked him that would you wait for me until I get to Canada in order to reduce shipping cost. Then, he offered me to go to quarries with him! Anyway, we arrived there around at 8:30 AM and there were 4 or more people had already arrived. I've met @Malcolmt and two other people(Sorry, I can't remember the name. My poor memory..) on near the greenish and bluish pond in the quarry. After handshaking, @crinus and I went to the piles of rocks, which is near the pond. We climbed up the piles of rocks and met @Northern Sharks on there. He found one complete Calyptaulax sp. and dropped it from his hand while we were greeting each other(yet, fortunately, the trilobite was alive with small crack on the pygidium(if my memory is correct)) After the greeting, @crinus and @Northern Sharks went to another place and I remained there, which was that @Northern Sharks found a trilobite, and looked for trilobites with hammering big rocks. I found a horn coral, which is Lambeophyllum profundum Conrad, 1843, the cephalon part of Ceraurus sp. , and a loooot of brachiopods and so on It came from lower Verulam formation. This one is Lambeophyllum profundum Conrad, 1843( @Northern Sharks and @FossilDAWG informed me! Thank you! ) Ceraurus globulobatus? I don't know the exact name of this specimen.. This one maybe came from the middle Verulam formation because of its color. Though I found this from the lower Verulam formation area.

Hello, I've been recently fascinated by large isotelus trilobites. Does anyone on here own one and would like to show and talk about it, I would if I owned one but I don't see that happening anytime soon haha. This is the largest I've seen for sale so far that would've been 8 inches, would be nice to be able to find one but I don't have that luxury.

Better late than never, here's a report from June 4th. As some of you knew, and now all of you, I'm the trip coordinator for the collecting trips into the St Marys quarry in Bowmanville ON to collect in the ordovician Lindsay/Cobourg formations. There is also some Verulam fm. at the bottom and Whitby fm. at the top of the quarry. We had 20 people show up for the annual spring fossil dig and in keeping with tradition, it was raining. I, and about half the crowd, started on a large pile on level 3. Almost immediately, the first trilobite was found, an enrolled Isotelus. After a quick preliminary look all over the pile, as I made my way back to get my saw to cut out the first roller, I found his older sibling –same orientation but a bit larger. Not a bad start; one hour in and 2 bugs for me. After hearing that not much was being found on level 2 or 4, several of us continued on the same pile and a surprising amount of stuff came out of it that we all missed the first time around. I cut out 3 prone Isotelus for 2 first timers, another ¾ complete one for another rookie and what may be a really nice one for myself, almost entirely buried so fingers crossed. Several others were found and I left a couple that were just a bit too far gone. One collector spent most of his time in the Whitby Shale at the top of the quarry and was rewarded with a nice Pseudogygites trilobite, the only one of this species found. My find of the day however was a beautiful crinoid (Iocrinus subcrassus) sitting on a rock clear as day with about an hour left in our allotted time. How everyone, myself included, missed it up until now was beyond me, but I won’t complain. This makes it 3 straight trips for me bringing home a crinoid, 3 different species as a bonus, after going years without ever seeing a decent one at this site.

I would like to introduce myself and my work. I grew up on a small farm in southwestern Ohio loaded with great locations for the collection of ordovician fossils. I earned my BA in geology and taught fro approximately 30 years. I retired from education in 2015 and have been working as a sculptor since. I do some animal and wildlife work, some fantasy sculptures and some paleontology themed pieces. I aways try to have my pieces looking and behaving in a lifelike and believable fashion as well as being technically accurate. My sculptures are created in clay, I then make rubber molds, cast a wax in the mold and then have the wax cast in bronze in a foundry. Sculpting in bronze is more expensive than resin but the material is strong and incredibly durable. I am currently working on another sculpture of a heteromorphic ammonite that I also need help with. Let me first attach sample of my sculptures to show you my work. Thank you.

Last weekend took advantage of beautiful weather after a week of rain to check out the Platteville formation in SW Wisconsin. Here are some of my finds..please let me know if any of these ID's are incorrect.. Sinuites, extremely common . Ordovician sea floor Beloitoceras, measures 1.5" continued....