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Hi there! I recently purchased an awesome Flexicalymene trilobite. After unwrapping it, there was a bonus surprise fossil! I didn't think too much of it prior to buying, and just thought it was a matrix blob from the seller's photo. But I'm pleasantly surprised! My first thought was that it was a piece of coral or some type of ocean plant. The info card that came with the trilobite states that it was found in Mt Orab, Ohio, USA in the Arnheim formation. Wondering if any of you cool cats would be able to identify what it is? I'm just curious and interested in learning more

OK, so guess who's using this Covid-related down time to post the topics he never got around to? In late 2013 I visited the Mt Orab "trilobite farm". This was my 3rd or 4th time (and final) and, as were most, I was always fairly lucky finding something. I usually just "dug" in the area where the flexis could be found, once stumbling on the partial Isotelus shown above. This day I decided to lend a hand on the area where Isotelus' were more prevalent. As at Penn Dixie, long crow bars were pounded into the layered shale so that massive pieces could be extracted. Those pieces were then methodically chiseled into smaller and smaller pieces in the hopes of uncovering an Isotelus. One partial was uncovered and folks oohed/aahed and commented about it. But at the end of the day it was laying in the scrap heap. I asked about it and was told by the "owner" of the property that since only a part of it was showing it wasn't worth his time to prep it further. As at many such spots, the impressive ones go to the owner. He told me I could have it. When I got home I wrapped it up good and pondered for a long time on how to prep it. 1 1/2 years later it still wasn't prepped (but still wrapped) and we moved into a big DIY house that I had to put a ton of time into. And the Isotelus was forgotten. And it stayed that way until this past fall/winter when I came across it among the boxes in my basement. "Oh yeah!" This was my first time prepping something so fragile but I decided on a plan. I'm a dremel and dental pick guy but I knew those were not the way. I used the dremel attachment with the sharp point as a chisel and slowly started to chip the dry shale. It worked remarkably well. The "lower" portion is the newly uncovered area. Once I got it completed I decided it needed a covering. It was too brittle and fragile to last. that's where I made my mistake !!!

Hey folks. My son and I will be going on a fossil collecting/USAF museum trip this weekend. We plant to go down to KY and collect. We are then going to head up Rte 62 to 68 which runs through Mt Orab. We all know the awesome trilos that come from that area. My question is this. Where in the area does one go? Just hit road cuts? If so, which particular roads? Any other tips as locations anywhere along that route would be appreciated. Thanks!

@isotelus I had the Privilege to be invited to dig at the Famed Trilobite Farm in Mt. Orab Ohio by Dan Cooper. Home of some of the best preserved trilobites in the world. I met Dan at a rest stop at 7 a.m. Saturday and we proceed to the location. I have never dug trilobites in Ohio so Dan was nice enough to show me the what to do and how to work with the matrix. I have only dug trilobites at Penn Dixie. If you ever get the chance to dig with Dan cancel whatever other plans you have, There is likely no one more knowledgeable about Ohio trilobites. It was a cool morning for August so we didn't have to worry about the usual August heat. We dug from 7 to about 11:30. So you know how when you go fishing you always come home and talk about the one that got away? I have two of those stories from Saturday morning. As we were pulling out some layers of shale what should appear but what would have been an 8 or 9 inch Isotelus laying prone. It was beautiful but it wasn't meant to be. As the layer was being pulled out it was clear that the Isotelus was too broken up and falling apart. There was really no way to save it.