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A Pleasant Afternoon in Schoharie County, N.Y.


Jeffrey P

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Sunday was the warmest and most pleasant day so far this spring. I decided on a solo venture up north to Schoharie County, N.Y. My destination was two road cut sites which expose the Lower Devonian Kalkberg Formation, part of the Helderberg group. The primary attractions here are the abundance and diversity of fossils, and very good preservation. The first road cut site is immense and I spent about three hours surface collecting. Most of my finds were brachiopods, some very nice specimens of Leptanena rhomboidalis, Discomyorthis oblata, Meristella, sp., Costistroponella sp., and a variety of Rhynchonellids. Also found a gastropods internal mold, an Enterolasma strictum, a rogose coral, and a 8 by 7 inch Favosites helderbergiae, a tabulate coral colony. 

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Trilobites are generally not a primary pursuit of mine in Kalkberg. What I usually find is pretty fragmentary- pygidiums and thorax pieces of Phacopids and Dalmanitids. Inspired in part by Kane and his pursuit of rare trilobites from lesser known formations, I made a special effort and it paid off. I found this Phacopid cephalon on the right but the one on the left with the ornamentation and the very long genal spine looks especially intriguing. 

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The second stop was a site I frequently pass on my way to Middle Devonian sites further west. Sometimes I make brief stops there. Sunday I spent over an hour surface collecting. Being the same formation many of the same fossils can be found there, including a number of Rhynchonellids and Discomyorthis. Also found a number of tiny Coelospira concava, and the spiriferids, Howelella cycloptera and Megakozlowskiella perlamellosa. I found a section of a nautiloid, the first one I've found in the Kalkberg in quite a few years. Also a very tiny Phacopid trilobite thorax and pygidium. All in all a very pleasant and productive day: 

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Yum Yum! :drool::envy:

Really fantastic selection of brachiopods. 

I too am intrigued by the spiny trilobite. 

 

Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

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Nice collection of goods Jeff! Yesterday was a great day to be outdoors.

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I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie.

 

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Well done, Jeffrey! 

I do wonder if the long genal spined bug may in fact be a Kettneraspis. There are two reported in the Kalkberg: Kettneraspis tuberculata and a Kettneraspis sp. My guess is it is the K. tuberculatus on the basis of the ornamentation. That might be worth some prep! Fantastic find -- no less so because trilobites are not so abundant in this formation. :dinothumb::trilo:

 

The phacopid may be a match for Paciphacops logani

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Glad you were able to get out, Jeff!

Great finds, all around. Those trilos are great, and the gastropod may be my favorite!

Thanks for the virtual trip. :) 

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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I agree with the Ketternaspis suggestion.  Looks like it might be almost all there!

 

Don

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Wow nice Jeff!! :envy:
that Kettneraspis is quite the find! Congratulations. Nice trip and all around great finds.  

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Nice stuff, Jeff!  I especially like the Leptaena brachiopods, but those trilobites are awesome, too!!!

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On 5/4/2020 at 11:46 AM, Kane said:

Well done, Jeffrey! 

I do wonder if the long genal spined bug may in fact be a Kettneraspis. There are two reported in the Kalkberg: Kettneraspis tuberculata and a Kettneraspis sp. My guess is it is the K. tuberculatus on the basis of the ornamentation. That might be worth some prep! Fantastic find -- no less so because trilobites are not so abundant in this formation. :dinothumb::trilo:

 

The phacopid may be a match for Paciphacops logani

I know those cuts well (wink wink) and any identifiable trilobite fragment at all is a good find.  Jealous for sure.

 

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Glad you were able to get out and hunt Jeff!  
A nice diverse group of finds. :) 

The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.  -Neil deGrasse Tyson

 

Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. -Bill Nye (The Science Guy)

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On 5/4/2020 at 9:59 AM, Tidgy's Dad said:

Yum Yum! :drool::envy:

Really fantastic selection of brachiopods. 

I too am intrigued by the spiny trilobite. 

 

Thank you Adam. The Kalkberg is truly a brachiopod paradise. I'm guessing at least a couple dozen species are present and one can often find specimens free of the matrix. Trilobites are far less common, but the possibility of adding a new species to the collection definitely exists.

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On 5/4/2020 at 10:07 AM, Darktooth said:

Nice collection of goods Jeff! Yesterday was a great day to be outdoors.

Thanks Dave. That day was awesome, both weather wise and for the collecting. We'll see what tomorrow brings. 

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On 5/4/2020 at 12:46 PM, Kane said:

Well done, Jeffrey! 

I do wonder if the long genal spined bug may in fact be a Kettneraspis. There are two reported in the Kalkberg: Kettneraspis tuberculata and a Kettneraspis sp. My guess is it is the K. tuberculatus on the basis of the ornamentation. That might be worth some prep! Fantastic find -- no less so because trilobites are not so abundant in this formation. :dinothumb::trilo:

 

The phacopid may be a match for Paciphacops logani

Thanks Kane for the ID help on those trilobites. The Kettneraspis was a very special find for me. I thought the first Kalkberg site had nice potential for good Lower Devonian trilobites. Your pursuit of rarer trilobites in Ontario's lesser known Devonian formations was an inspiration for me. 

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On 5/4/2020 at 12:51 PM, Malcolmt said:

Nice trilo finds... Looks like might be a Ket…

Thanks Malcolm. 

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On 5/4/2020 at 1:30 PM, Fossildude19 said:

Glad you were able to get out, Jeff!

Great finds, all around. Those trilos are great, and the gastropod may be my favorite!

Thanks for the virtual trip. :) 

Thanks Tim. Hoping we'll be collecting together again soon. 

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On 5/4/2020 at 2:24 PM, FossilDAWG said:

I agree with the Ketternaspis suggestion.  Looks like it might be almost all there!

 

Don

Thanks Don. Won't know how much of the Kettneraspis is there until it's prepped. That species has been on my bucket list, but I never thought I would find one, especially in New York. 

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On 5/4/2020 at 8:51 PM, Al Tahan said:

Wow nice Jeff!! :envy:
that Kettneraspis is quite the find! Congratulations. Nice trip and all around great finds.  

Thanks Al. I had a small hope of finding a Kettneraspis when I collected at Theisen's Quarry in Oklahoma, but I never would have imagined finding one here. 

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On 5/6/2020 at 7:12 AM, Monica said:

Nice stuff, Jeff!  I especially like the Leptaena brachiopods, but those trilobites are awesome, too!!!

Thanks Monica. It was by far my best day for Leptaena brachiopods which are common but usually found broken. Found a number of good complete specimens. Of course finding the Kettneraspis tends to overshadow that. 

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On 5/6/2020 at 1:43 PM, erose said:

I know those cuts well (wink wink) and any identifiable trilobite fragment at all is a good find.  Jealous for sure.

 

Thanks Eric. Yeah, I'm usually looking more for the brachiopods in the Kalkberg because the trilobite material is so fragmentary. However, at the first site I suspected that better trilobite material was there and if I searched carefully I might get lucky. 

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On 5/6/2020 at 8:57 PM, FossilNerd said:

Glad you were able to get out and hunt Jeff!  
A nice diverse group of finds. :) 

Thanks Wayne. I spend a lot more time collecting in New York's Middle Devonian, but the Lower Devonian Kalkberg also produces incredible diversity. Herb showed me fossils from a site in Tennessee that were about the same age and looked very similar. 

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2 hours ago, Jeffrey P said:

Thanks Wayne. I spend a lot more time collecting in New York's Middle Devonian, but the Lower Devonian Kalkberg also produces incredible diversity. Herb showed me fossils from a site in Tennessee that were about the same age and looked very similar. 

There are some locations in the Arbuckle region of Oklahoma that have virtually the same fauna as the Lower Helderberg Group.

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17 minutes ago, erose said:

There are some locations in the Arbuckle region of Oklahoma that have virtually the same fauna as the Lower Helderberg Group.

Are you talking about Clarita? I visited Theisen's Quarry about a year and a half ago on my way to Texas. I did note that there were many species in common (especially brachiopods) with New York's Kalkberg. One can compare specimens from both in my collection drawers. 

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