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Hi TFF! I have just found a very interesting fossil near my home which I suspect might be the articulated left and right pleura of a Triarthrus. I have already found other fragments of Triarthrus in the same rock outcrop. (Glabellas, pleura, cephalons, etc.) It may also be a graptolite or something similar.

Another fossil for ID! This time, I think that I have some possible orthocone nautiloids from the Billings Shale. I found these near a small construction site near my house. Although I suspect them to be cephalopods, they may also be Hylothids. Or, they could be something else entirely! I am not an expert on these faunas at the moment, so I may be wrong. Each photo is of a different specimen. Thanks in advance! More posts about the regional science fair are to follow.

Dear TFF members, As some of you may already know, I have been working on my science fair project concerning the Trilobite Pseudogygites latimarginatus for several months. This science fair project has been awarded a position in the Ottawa Regional Science Fair held at Carleton University this week. Your help has been instrumental in my success, and my appreciation cannot be expressed in words. As one way of thanking you all, I am inviting anyone on the forum who will be in or near Ottawa at the time to attend the fair. My project will be open to the public this Friday, April 6th, from 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm, and again this Saturday, April 7th, from 9:00 am - 11:30 am. It is titled, "The Impact of Environment on the Biodiversity of Pseudogygites latimarginatus." My project's number is 1101. I will also have some of my most prized fossils on display, as well as some edible specimens, for the Trilobite enthusiasts! I am not asking for anyone to go out of their way to see my project, this is just a simple invitation. Everyone is welcome.

Attention TFF members! I'm posting this to bring you an extremely important announcement! (For Me) For the past few months, I have been posting topics regarding Ottawa fossils and the Trilobite Pseudogygites latimarginatus. I have been doing this for research and information for my grade 8 science fair project. This experiment involved the relationship between Ordovician sedimentation and the average lengths of Pseudogygites latimarginatus. The title was, "The impact of Environment on the Biodiversity of Pseudogygites latimarginatus." Though, other possible titles included, "Another one Trilo-Bites the Dust," "Trilo-Bite Sized Science," "Don't Trilo-Bite the Hand that Feeds You," and "Trilo-Bite Me!" Last week, I fully assembled the presentation board and all other related displays. I presented my project to three judges (including professors and students from Carleton University) in addition to many other people who passed by. The following day, my school held an assembly which would announce the top 5 winners of the grade 8 science fair. After much delay and suspense on my part, it was announced that I had won first place in my grade! This means that I will get the opportunity to compete in the Ontario regional science fair this April! It turns out that one of the reasons why I won first place was because the teachers who were doing research on my project's nature (name pronunciation) stumbled upon my many posts on this website! I will continue to make posts on the forum. I think that I should give acknowledgement to all the TFF members who helped me achieve my goal, or contributed in any way! This includes all the people who helped identify my mystery fossils and gave fossil hunting advice and locations during these past few months. These are in no particular order. Thank you all! Acknowledgements: Kane Ludwiga Tidgy's Dad Fossildude19 WhodamanHD Manticocerasman Rockwood Auspex ynot abyssunder Arizona Chris erose Herb old bones snolly50 fossilDAWG caldigger Max-fossils Bobby Rico RyanDye

Hi again! I have another unidentified fossil from the Billings. It is a brown or dark yellow coloured streak. I think it must be some type of ichnofossil. To me, it reminds me of some fossils of Diplocraterion. It could also just be a streak made from another mineral, such as calcite. It is preserved alongside one almost full-length crinoid stem impression and one 3 dimensionally preserved specimen of the aforementioned animal.

Ok, let me explain this title. I was out for my second hunt in the Billings Formation yesterday and found this fossil. There have been many fossils that I could'nt exactly identify, but usually I have some inclination or hypothesis about its identity. This is not the case here. I am at a total and complete loss as to what this thing could possibly be. It is circular and ribbed. The first thing I thought when I saw this was "human fingerprint". I have put my own finger in the picture for scale. Looks like somebody stepped off the path in the Ordovician!

Another unidentified fossil from the Billings Shale Formation! This time, it's some kind of spiral shaped fossil. There are actually three in this one stone, and many more in other places, so they are fairly common. This fossil has a definite spiral shape, unlike the orthocone cross sections. Right now I think they are either some type of Gastropod, or a coiled ammonoid nautiloid cephalopod. Any ideas? I appreciate your help!

OK, I think I am kind of bending the rules on what constitutes paleo reconstuctions here. For the past few months I have been doing work and research for a Trilobite (Pseudogygites Lantimarginatus) themed science fair project for school. Now that it is February, the actual presentation of the project is approaching quickly. Since I enjoy baking and arts and crafts, and because I am a firm believer in the effectiveness of bribery, I wanted to incorporate something extra into my project. After hours of scouring the internet for all things Trilobite, I found a template for these Trilobite shaped cookies. After one night of hard work and over fourteen nights of doing nothing, the cookies are finally finished! Enjoy! (The pictures)

Greetings again TTF! The Billings formation is just filled with stuff that I can't identify! This time, I have found some glossy, cylinder-shaped things in the Billings Shale. I know that conodont elements are known from some parts Ontario and Quebec, but I think that it might be a belemnite as well. They seen to be associated with crinoid stems, brachiopods, and one Pseudogygites Lantimarginatus pygidium. They are each roughly one centimetre long. They are in the centre of the first picture and the second picture.

It's a UTF! I found this in an exposure of the Ordovician aged Billings Shale Formation. It's clear that it is a Trilobite fixigena, but I was wondering if a Trilobite genus can be identified from one alone? I have found three distinct forms of Trilobite in this formation: Pseudogygites pygidiums, Isotelus fragments, and Triarthrus head pieces. Any ideas? Thank you very much!

I found this weird looking fossil on a trip to an exposure of the Billings Shale formation of Ottawa, Ontario. This formation is late Ordovician in age. It looks either circular or spiralish in shape. Does anyone know what this might be? Crinoid stem? Ammenoid? Nautiloid? Gastropoda? UFO Imprint? I really appreciate it!

Was checking out the riverfront in downtown Ottawa and came across this fossil. Any ideas on what I may be? It's Ordovician strata, could It be a headplate from a bony fish species?

Well, since moving to Ottawa, I haven't had the chance to go out fossil hunting. There wasn't a whole lot of info on the web about the geology here. So my wife and I decided to buckle up and find a spot ourselves (without any hammers or chisels). We tend to be very lucky people, but I was surprised by the THOUSANDS of trilobites we came across in a matter of 20 minutes. We were on the shoreline of the Ottawa river, we found a certain type of shale that was just crawling with them. If any lucky soul goes to the spot where we left all the remnants of our hunt, they will sure be having a good day. I'm especially excited that I was able to find trilos. Coming from Kansas, we don't really have them (although I've found a few). I'm excited to traverse the Canadian wilderness collecting fossils and upsetting my wife with all of the rocks I bring home. None of the bugs we found were complete, although we did our darnedest to find some. But here are a few pictures of our trip! (This is an extremely small fraction of what we found) What a beautiful time immersing ourselves inthe beauty of mother earth. Cheers! Dylan http://cubeupload.com/im/p9S7Pq.jpg http://cubeupload.com/im/fK7zCw.jpg http://cubeupload.com/im/FEPxWk.jpg http://cubeupload.com/im/oe0G9h.jpg http://cubeupload.com/im/UkGZgh.jpg http://cubeupload.com/im/XM2CcW.jpg http://cubeupload.com/im/CYZbv7.jpg http://cubeupload.com/im/uCxGoB.jpg http://cubeupload.com/im/hdg0G2.jpg http://cubeupload.com/im/hQhHyo.jpg http://cubeupload.com/im/EbMeHi.jpg http://cubeupload.com/im/HcPfNe.jpg http://cubeupload.com/im/m1mxaX.jpg http://cubeupload.com/im/MvHYCg.jpg http://cubeupload.com/im/ckSAYq.jpg http://cubeupload.com/im/cFeL7a.jpg http://cubeupload.com/im/xGyceQ.jpg http://cubeupload.com/im/9E62H7.jpg

Hi there, I am Tom a 31 year old (mostly) mineral collector and am looking to hopefully find someone who is looking to possibly go on some mineral or fossil collecting trips I am married and like to on mineral collection trips with my wife since it is something we both enjoy. Unfortunately she works so much that we do not get to go very often. We are up to meeting some other people to go with if the circumstances are there. She is 27 I am 31, we are both working professionals, I do not drive due to being Epileptic, she does, and is willing to drive on some occasions if someone else is willing to. I am willing to pay my share in gas and food and to share my best spots with someone who is interested in collecting minerals/gemstones etc. I have done 100s of hours of research and visited 50+ abandoned mines close to Ottawa or Gatineau. No guessing or wasting time at spots that are no good would be spent if you go collecting with me or my wife. All of the spots are within 1 to 4 hours of Ottawa and I can show you how to distinguish different minerals and teach you about geology...Even if you have limited fossil knowledge I am willing to share my best spots for minerals if you are genuinely interested. If you are not willing to physically go on collecting trip eventually we will exchange info about my hits and misses for minerals if you are also willing to share with me about fossils locations or mineral spots... That is pretty much it... -Tom-

Hey Everyone! Been cruising these forums for a while now and I first want to say thanks to everyone who chips in to help budding fossil enthusiasts like myself. Tons of really great info here! I've been able to identify most of what I have been coming across in Ottawa but this one - not sure. I've been researching a ton of stuff on fossil preparation and am super anxious to get started and was wondering if this IS a fossil, what would also be the best way to prepare it? I'm thinking it is a graptolie of some sort that's been split in half. Was thinking I could "glue" it back together and dremel it out or something. Anyway - have a look and let me know your thoughts. Looking at them again - might just be quartz

So basically I'm planning on starting my journey of fossil hunting, but I have no idea what to look for. I live beside an inactive Quarry that I don't believe has ever been picked through for fossils before so it is an ideal place to start. I was just wondering if maybe you guys could post photos of things that I should keep an eye out for? So i can familiarize myself with different types of fossils. I will obviously know a fish when I see one but I also don't want to miss our on the small stuff due to my ignorance. I live outside of Ottawa in a rural area, so anyone who is familiar with this location would be a great help! I posted these in another topic but for anyone who hasn't seen them this is the quarry I will be going to. I want you to treat me as if i'm your child going hunting for the first time!

A few weeks ago I was planning a trip to Ottawa Ontario and back, and many Forum members offered excellent advice on possible stops along the way. So, Here is how it all turned out. Stage 1: Georgia to Ottawa. My plan was to get on the road by 1:30 or 2 (as I had to give a lecture that ended at 12:30), and make enough progress so that I would be able to squeeze in a stop or two the following day and still arrive in Ottawa around dinner time. Alas it was not to be. Various work related issues which could not be ignored or deferred kept popping up, with the result that I hit the road just after 8 PM, 6 hours late. Despite driving until 3 AM, and hitting the road again by 7 after grabbing a 3 hr snooze, I was so far behind schedule I had to pass by the turnoffs to Gore, VA and Brookfield, NY without stopping. At least I have the information for another day. As it was I arrived in Ottawa just an hour behind schedule, having covered a little over 1200 miles in 22 hours (including the 4 hour stop). Along the way, about 1 in the morning, as I was sandwiched between tractor trailer trucks and going through a construction zone, one of the trucks launched a rock at my windshield, leaving me with a large crack that ran right across the center of my field of view. At least the windshield didn't totally shatter. Fossils collected: 0 Stage 2: Ottawa After spending Saturday and Sunday at my niece's wedding and visiting family, on Monday I had a day to revisit several sites where I had had success collecting when I lived in Ottawa in the 1970s and early 1980s. First up was a site on the Ottawa River shore. Immediately it was evident that the site had been recently visited by collectors, as rock layers were pried up and overturned along the length of the exposure. Nevertheless there is a lot of rock, much of it in the form of limestone cobbles covering the lower part of the shore. This is the kind of exposure that requires close inspection, and luck to have the light and view just right. My time was not wasted, as I spied a pebble with a complete trilobite looking up at me. Not just any trilobite either, but an especially rare species, Sceptaspis lincolnensis: This will take some prepping to free the thorax from the hard limestone, but it's all there except for the tip of the pygidium. Previously I had only ever found one free cheek and a couple of pygidia of this species, so I'm quite happy with this find. I also found what might be a complete Cerarus, and pieces of several other trilobites including a rare Amphilichus glabella. The site is Upper Ordovician, Sherman Fall horizon, Ottawa group. I then moved on to another Ottawa River shore site, where I previously found trilobites, complete crinoids, and rather water worn edrioasteroids. Again there was abundant evidence of previous rockhounds, and all I found was a tiny but complete Flexicalymene senaria. No photo as it needs a lot of prep still. The third stop was yet another shore outcrop, a site where I found (30 years ago) numerous edrioasteroids and cystoids. The outcrop was still there, but almost inaccessible due to prolific growth of hawthorns, complete with large spines. Eventually I was unable to make forward progress at all. I recalled, vaguely, that there was a path that ran about midway up the cliff/slope, so I started to climb. It was rough going as I had to move back and forth to find places where the slope was climbable and not vertical cliff, but even the most friendly path involved grabbing cedar trees and pulling myself up a very steep slope, mostly significantly steeper than a 45 degree angle. As I image most of us have discovered, at some point it is almost impossible to climb back down so I had no choice but to keep climbing. A couple of times I tried to pull myself up using a tree root or trunk that turned out to be unattached to the ground, and nearly launched myself into the void. I never did find the path I remembered, and after a 200 foot or so climb I reached the top of the cliff, where I found myself in back of the National Art Gallery in downtown Ottawa. All I had to do was scale a wrought iron fence, the kind with the nice sharp points on all the bars. Somehow I did that without leaving behind any of my anatomy. The ordeal was not all for naught, thankfully. I didn't find any edrioasteroids, but I did snag this: It's a very nice Cyclocystoides, again a rare find. Unfortunately it's missing a bit, but you can see that the central plates and the outside ring of tiny plates are present, as well as the main ring of large plates. Usually all you find is the ring of large plates, so this specimen is quite fine despite the missing bit. After that, I left the river and drove to a roadcut about 25 miles outside of town. Back in the day this roadcut exposed a couple of layers of very fine limestone with articulated crinoids, trilobites, and even starfish. The layers were exposed in large benches so there was a lot of exposure to search. As recently as five years ago I made a quick stop there and snagged a couple of Iocrinus specimens. This time the productive layers were completely stripped off, down to the massive and almost unfossiliferous limestone layers underneath. Not only was there not a crinoid calyx to be found, I saw only a couple of small pieces of stem. I left with nothing, a first for me from that locality. I'm glad I got to collect it 30 years ago, though even then it was past its prime as word of the site had circulated through the Ottawa U geology department. After that I headed home for dinner with the family. Still, despite everything I had pocketed a couple of rare species and I had spent a day in the sun, so I was happy. More in the next post. Don

Hello, I have a question that might only be able to be answered by speculation. I recently acquired a Green River, Wyoming fish plate (knightia) which is pictured below. It is an awesome piece and it seems like i'm always noticing something new. When I got it, i noticed there was a bulging area on the 'backside' of this plate that had been chipped away to reveal what looks like a fossil. The layer revealed is the same color as the knightia fish and has a unique texture. The bulge raises above its surroundings approximately 5-7mm and the overall diameter of the area is about 4-5 inches. Does anyone have any insight into what this might be? A flat, circular dome shaped fossil. The only thing that looks likely from what i see online is maybe the lateral portion of a stingray. A guy can hope right? What do you think? Any info or help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hello, I guess I'm not really sure what kind of info I can get from this, but I was hoping to determine what location this specimen might have been collected... I picked this specimen of petrified wood up at a pawn shop in Guelph. The employee said it had been in the shop for over 12 years, and the tag said 'found in Guelph, Ontario'. Whether this is accurate or not I don't know and I can't seem to find anything similar to it. It appears there are even 'sap' deposits that mineralized differently than the rest and there is significant crystallization over the whole surface of the specimen. Any information or direction would be greatly appreciated. Side A: Side B: Thanks!

Just found this place while trying to Google local fossil hunting sites. This is a hobby a revived a couple of years ago to share with my oldest daughter (9). She likes it and is getting better at spotting fossils, which is a step up from just wanting to bang rocks with a hammer the first few trips out . So, I am a newb to the site, and not quite a newb at fossil hunting. I hope to enjoy it here. Mr Messy