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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.

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.

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