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I have a nice little slab of Platteville Formation (Mifflin Member) from the Ordovician of SW Wisconsin that I received from @connorp late last year. I am working on a post that describes all of the great things in it, but want to get a couple of ID's cleared up so I can be more concise in that post. Here are three trilobite pieces found on the slab that I have taken a stab at an ID, but would love confirmation/correction. Hopefully there is enough there for some of our trilobite experts such as @piranha , @Kane or any others to offer some advice. Thanks for any insights anyone can offer. Each picture is numbered in the upper left. Mike Here is a picture of the small slab with the location of the trilobites in question numbered. The sharp eyed will see another trilobite cephalon in the lower portion of the slab. I am fairly certain that one is Gabriceraurus mifflinensis. Here is the first question. This looks like the best match I can find for species listed from that formation, but I'm not certain. I wish I could get this one a bit cleaner, but the matrix left is pretty hard and stuck to the pygidium. This one may be a stretch as there is not much there, but maybe enough to be recognizable (or maybe not). Thanks for any help.

I have a nice little slab of Platteville Formation (Mifflin Member) from the Ordovician of SW Wisconsin that I received from @connorp late last year. I am working on a post that describes all of the great things in it, but want to get a couple of ID's cleared up so I can be more concise in that post. Here are 8 brachiopods found on the slab, some of which I feel pretty good about the ID (but always open to corrections) and some I have no clue on. I have been through several posts by @Tidgy's Dad, @minnbuckeye, and others but still need some help. Thanks for any insights anyone can offer. Each picture is numbered in the upper left. Mike Here is a picture of the small slab I'm pretty sure on this one (#2 below) even though much of it is not visible, but I think the shape and coarse ornamentation gives it away for the species found in this formation. I am torn on this one and despite the beautiful preservation on the exterior. It would be really helpful to see the interior or even the hinge line. But I'm hoping this will be distinctive enough for the experts out there. Not really certain here, this was my best guess, but I could be way off. This one is hard as it is only partially exposed and right at the edge of the slab. Ornamentation is very similar to #3 above, but it has more curvature from what I can see. I'll try to put together some better pictures. This ID looks pretty good with the strong ridge down the center even though much of the shell is buried. I just don't know, there are several similar looking forms found in the formation. I wish I could get this cleaner, but that matrix is very hard at this point. But that ornamentation should be very distinctive, even if half of it is only peeking out. It almost looks more like some bivalves I have seen, but nothing like it in the Ordovician that I am aware of. Thanks again for any suggestion anyone can offer.

Sorry this report is late, but I wanted to wait until prep was complete as I always show unprepped finds lol. Back in May, Laura and I made an impromptu trip to Grant County Wisconsin for some trilobite action. We had spent nearly five hours hunting with only partials and some hash plates uncovered. I decided to sit in the middle of the site and take a break and let Laura search. Being bored, I started to pick up pieces of rock and brush off the dirt and broken pieces of matrix. To my utter shock, I brushed off some dirt and saw a cephalon emerge, with what looked like thoracic segments. I finished brushing off the dirt and was in shock. My first complete Ceraurus mifflinensis (Demott1987). I was not prepared at all and my wife said I sounded like a five year old opening every Christmas present I've ever wanted. Well here she is, Gabi in all her beauty. It was truely amazing to be the first human to see such a magnificent creature. Prep was completed by David Comfort July 1st. Thank you @piranha for connecting me with the world renowned prep master. Now prepped

Ive been looking over some Platteville plates for a trade with a member, but I am having issues with finding access to some images or papers. The image or paper i'm looking for is on a middle ordovician foram, Reophax blackriveranus n. sp. thats found in the Platteville formation- Mifflin member. Papers on other forams found in this formation would also be appreciated. If anyone is able to assist, I would be grateful. Thanks! Best regards, Paul

I was given a treat yesterday as my wife woke me up around 6am telling me go hunt as the weather was about to drop out and end the season. I arrived to my spots around 10am as I scouted several new sites along the way. I was finding the typical cephalopod fragments and brachiopod hash plates. As I started to head back to the TARDIS I noticed a small area that had been recently exposed from a rock slide, so I figured I'd better take a look. I'm glad I did. After moving some smaller rocks I noticed a familiar shape that stuck out like a sore thumb and had to walk away and come back just to make sure I was seeing what was there. And here it is. This definitely made the trip. My first complete Wisconsin ordovician crinoid! Unidentified crinoid Mifflin mbr, Platteville formation Middle ordovician Grant County, Wisconsin

My wife and I took a trip to Grant County here in Wisconsin on 9-11 as a tribute to the anniversary of the day that affected us all. We left around 6:30am-ish and arrived at our destination a little past 8am. It had been raining the past several days so our chances were good that slides had exposed new rock and washed away dirt from old. Upon inspection, the site looked fantastic, but the insects were out in full force. I began by just a quick walk around scouting and picking up pieces here and there; a few brachiopod plates and corals. Throughout the day we found many partials, but these were of specimens we did not currently have in our collection. I had intended to visit a few sites I had been to before. The site we were at was our first time there and the finds just kept coming so we stayed there the length of our hunt. Here are some pictures of the site and our trilobite finds. These were all found at one site in the span of 6 hours. I have tried to identify them the best I could so if I made an error feel free to correct me. Id rather have the correct name on the label than not. Mffln mbr-Platteville Formation Middle ordovician SW-Wisconsin Measurements are in centimeters Hermiarges aff. H.paulianus (Clark-1894)-Cephalon(On Right) Sceptaspis lincolnensis (Branson-1909)Pygidium(On left) Thaleops sp. With cephalopod and brachiopod association Ceraurinella templetoni n. sp. Amphilichas sp. Bumastoides milleri (Billings-1859) continued on next page...

I've been reading some posts lately about Trilobite hunting in Wisconsin. And Calebs posts and amazing finds kept popping up. The reason for my thread is to find out Caleb's old stomping grounds. All of his pictures and posts say SW Wisconsin. I know he liked to hunt the Platteville formation. Can anyone please help me to find some nice Trilo spots around here? I've never found a Trilo yet, .....i know right?! And if you don't want to post it in here for the World to see, please PM me. I'm looking for road cuts, outcroppings, maybe pits, etc. I also can't just drive out there (3hrs away) and drive around looking for road cuts. Now that i have kids, a house and other responsibilities it's really hard to get away. So this needs to be cut-and-dry, and planned. That is why i am calling on you for help. Any and all help is very much appreciated. Thanks, Charlie