2020 Ontario Trilobite Hunting

[Kane]

The brachs I mentioned. Same rock, both sides. 

The lithology places this outcrop as likely being DeCew, which is generally sparsely fossiliferous. The good stuff would be above and below this layer. The "above" no longer exists at this location, and the below is not exposed and likely well below the waterline. 

[Kane]

So off we went to visit another spot. This one would not be a prospect, but a "look but don't take" conservation area.

This is the locally famous Devil's Punch Bowl, with strata running from the upper Ordovician to the middle Silurian. It is hard to convey the size of this hole. We didn't venture to the base this time, but may next time. The views are quite nice.

[Kane]

Deb was feeling a bit of vertigo from our viewing platform, and I wanted to have a closer look at the Lockport Fm that was just underneath us. She stayed up and had a nibble, while I eased myself carefully down, mountain goat that I am. When I say take it slowly, I mean it -- that is one nasty, far drop to the right of those loose rocks.  

[Kane]

Views down below my feet and over my head.

- One loose rock revealed more dead ladybugs than most people's basement window sills. 

- In a small cavern, looking up I could see the impression of a nautiloid. 

[Malcolmt]

Looks promising too bad its a conservation area  

[Malcolmt]

Where you hammer is looks promising

[Kane]

As there is no excavation allowed (nor would it be safe), it was a nice view of the rocks. So off we went to the next destination to younger rocks: the Bois Blanc Formation, Lower Devonian.

 

While Deb pulled over at one spot, I did a very quick field recon. Plenty of big corals, rugose and tabulate. Also, the typical Bois Blanc blue chert:

[Kane]

But it was not the spot I wanted. We drove to a slightly different location on my map where I hit upon my good spot.

 

The first area was a lot of this stuff -- coral, coral, and more coral. Yes, coral can be neat... in moderation.  

I continued on from this spot...

 

[Kane]

The first picture next to the big coral looks positively crinoidal. The second picture is just the margin left of a trilobite with the coral the pygidium was resting on. But that was good enough proof to me that there would be trilobites in this material.

[Kane]

Some pretty neat items here. I noticed that the finds were getting better in the very calcareous layers that took on a blue-grey colour, very reminiscent of Verulam Formation material. In the first photo there is an obvious phacopidae roller (Bois Blanc Fm lists Burtonops cristata as the only one of those, with maybe another being a Viaphacops pipa). Just a sidenote: these two were both Phacops (P. cristatus and P. pipa), but taxonomic entanglement has separated them at genus level. Sadly, there may not be enough diagnostic detail on these to determine either way, compounded by the fact they are very similar. 

 

I am unsure about the long "horn" on the left of it... compressed horn coral? Gastropod? Something even better? I know what I would like it to be... But, no, it is near p1 that it's one of those long platycerids, which makes sense given the presence of the crinoids. 

[Malcolmt]

Now thats starting to look very nice

 

[Malcolmt]

Road trip once this self isolation snarge is over!!!!!

[Kane]

There's a nice pygidium with a glabella to its left. Possibly Burtonops sp. I assume this odd impression on the side of the same rock is bryozoan. Terataspis grandis fragment.

[Kane]

And, finally, some at-home closeups of a few of those finds above. Keep in mind, I only spent 45 minutes there, so I can only imagine what I could do with a whole day. 

 

It's a fantastic spot, but with one major wrinkle. I will need to move fast to get what I can before the site is gone forever due to development which will start as soon as construction companies are given the go-ahead to resume. That could be a few weeks from now. There is still quite a bit of stuff to go through. 

 

So, in all, not a bad day. A good mix of nice weather, some adventure, exploration, site-seeing, nature (plenty of lovely snakes, flowers, bugs, birds, daffodils), and even a new site even if it is time-limited. So, yes, going back there ASAP!

 

Aye, @Malcolmt -- I think this site will be off limits by the time isolation is over.  

[Monica]

Congrats on the successful recon mission today, Kane!  And best of luck gathering more fossils before the site is no longer available 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Love these reports.

That big Hole in the ground looks amazing. 

The Devil must imbibe a lot of punch. 

Some really intriguing finds too and good luck with stripping the place before it's buried forever. 

[FossilDAWG]

The trilobits are neat, but I'm really envious of that crinoid.

 

Don

[Kane]

11 hours ago, Monica said:

Congrats on the successful recon mission today, Kane!  And best of luck gathering more fossils before the site is no longer available 

Thanks.  The pressure is on... Now if only the weather would cooperate. 

10 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

Love these reports.

That big Hole in the ground looks amazing. 

The Devil must imbibe a lot of punch. 

Some really intriguing finds too and good luck with stripping the place before it's buried forever. 

Thanks, Adam.    It is quite the hole. There are some much better pictures of it online from the base of it. There's a house right next to it... with no fence. With the steady process of erosion, I could see that home being subject to some sudden and unpleasant relocation.  

9 hours ago, FossilDAWG said:

The trilobits are neat, but I'm really envious of that crinoid.

 

Don

They did overshadow the finds there, for sure! They might clean up nicely, although no apparent stalk/stem. All that means is a need to find a few more, complete.

[fifbrindacier]

That's a pity this site will close and be constructed !

[Kane]

58 minutes ago, fifbrindacier said:

That's a pity this site will close and be constructed !

It is.  

But, the way I see it, the sustainable survival of a site has a lot working against it. It could be development, appropriation by a conservation authority, or collected to the point of exhaustion. There is much more chance of a site becoming non-viable the longer the time interval! I'll just be grateful for the opportunity -- brief as it may be! 

[FossilNerd]

Looks like a promising site! Fingers crossed that you get the opportunity work it over thoroughly before it is lost! 

[Jeffrey P]

Great report so far Kane. I love your systematic exploration of potential sites in your province. You have already made some amazing discoveries. Also nice to see Devonian material that we don't usually get to see. Keep them coming.

[piranha]

Ordovician - Silurian - Devonian ... A Canadian Cornucopia of Paleozoic riches!

 

This monograph is indispensable:

 

Bolton, T.E. 1957

Silurian Stratigraphy and Palaeontology of the Niagara Escarpment in Ontario.

Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir, 289:1-145  PDF LINK

[Kane]

Thanks, Jeffrey.  Oddly enough, I have not touched any Hamilton Gp yet this year; that is usually the first and most commonly accessible material!

 

Thanks, Scott! A classic from Bolton is always in season. I am far from done investigating our sliver of Silurian here!

[JUAN EMMANUEL]

On 2020-04-18 at 7:06 PM, Kane said:

So off we went to visit another spot. This one would not be a prospect, but a "look but don't take" conservation area.

This is the locally famous Devil's Punch Bowl, with strata running from the upper Ordovician to the middle Silurian. It is hard to convey the size of this hole. We didn't venture to the base this time, but may next time. The views are quite nice.

 

Nice of you to visit Steeltown, Kane. There's actually a hidden pathway on the road at the top of the escarpment just off the Punchbowl Market. The path goes diagonally parallel to the escarpment and leads down to the bottom, which can be a bit of a workout to go up or down on. From there, pathways are available that can take you to the lower falls and to the base of the upper falls. If you follow the path north when you get to the bottom it will take you past to cross an empty railway and out unto a residential street with houses from the 1920s or 1940s. Follow the street and it will eventaully lead you to King Street of Stoney Creek's old towne. 

 

As for collecting, I've had people see me collect rocks with a hammer and newspapers (no excavation though) and none of said folks have taken me collecting rocks as an issue. I would say polluters leaving trash is the worse issue around there. If this is a conservation area, should it even be a concern if I collect some samples? I do have some rocks from this locality.