connorp Posted July 26, 2020 Share Posted July 26, 2020 Today I joined a local club on a trip to a dolomite quarry (Ordovician, Galena Group) in northern Illinois. This was the first trip of the year as the rest have been cancelled. The quarry was quite massive, so social distancing was not a problem. We hunted in rock piles in the middle of the quarry (very far from the high walls) that were scheduled for crushing. It was quite a beautiful place. Besides some hammering, all I heard were large birds that were circling above. The fossils found here are pretty standard for the Ordovician rocks in the area. The Galena Group here seems to be a lot more dolomized than further north in say Minnesota, so most of what is found are molds. Fisherites were somewhat common. They were quite massive so I only took home a small chunk of one I broke up. The most abundant fossils were these gastropods, I think Maclurites. They were everywhere but rarely came out complete. Hormotoma gastropods were also present. I believe this is a cranidia of the trilobite Thaleops. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted July 26, 2020 Author Share Posted July 26, 2020 A neat association of a gastropod in the top right, a cephalopod section to the left (a bit hard to see here), and a partial Thaleops cranidia below. This was my favorite find, I think it is a stromatolite. If so it's the first I've found in the field. It was absolutely massive so I had to break it up and only took a few smaller pieces home. Sledge hammering hard dolomite for almost 3 hours in 90F weather is quite exhausting, but it was nice to get out and visit a new spot. If anyone else was on this trip, please post your finds as well. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darktooth Posted July 26, 2020 Share Posted July 26, 2020 Nice finds! Good that you were able to get out an have a productive hunt. I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minnbuckeye Posted July 26, 2020 Share Posted July 26, 2020 Why are you laboring in the heat when you should be over in Grant County just easily picking up fossils? At least your finds are nice!!! I do not think your gastropod is a maclurite. I lean towards Holopea or maybe Liospira or maybe a few of each. Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted July 26, 2020 Author Share Posted July 26, 2020 54 minutes ago, Darktooth said: Nice finds! Good that you were able to get out an have a productive hunt. Thanks! 18 minutes ago, minnbuckeye said: Why are you laboring in the heat when you should be over in Grant County just easily picking up fossils? At least your finds are nice!!! I do not think your gastropod is a maclurite. I lean towards Holopea or maybe Liospira or maybe a few of each. Mike I know next to nothing about gastropods so thanks for the tips. I definitely want to head up there in the next couple weeks. This quarry was only 45 minutes from home though, so it was a quick trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misha Posted July 26, 2020 Share Posted July 26, 2020 Nice finds! Those gastropods are really nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica Posted July 26, 2020 Share Posted July 26, 2020 That's a nice variety of Ordovician finds - thanks for showing us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Praefectus Posted July 26, 2020 Share Posted July 26, 2020 I was out there too. The quarry was really hot and my mask was drenched with sweat when I left. I took a few pictures. The road into the quarry. Rock piles where the fossils were found. Birds. My dad said the turkey vultures were watching us. You can see him admiring the birds in cornnop's first picture. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Praefectus Posted July 26, 2020 Share Posted July 26, 2020 I was finally able to use my new rock hammer. Now for some finds. Bear with me on the IDs for these. I am not good at telling apart gastropods and brachiopods and such. A nice shell impression. Brachiopod??? 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Praefectus Posted July 26, 2020 Share Posted July 26, 2020 Found this thing. Not sure what it is. Fisherites. A few of the other collectors there found some really nice ones. Brachiopod? I can't tell. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Praefectus Posted July 26, 2020 Share Posted July 26, 2020 Another Fisherites. Swirly things. I'm guessing from the post above that these are also Maclurites. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hokietech96 Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 @Praefectus @connorp Great pictures! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smt126 Posted July 29, 2020 Share Posted July 29, 2020 I felt for the esconi members bearing that heat. I'm just hoping the braceville dig won't cancel as I think it's been 2 years since I've been able to make one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purduephotog Posted July 29, 2020 Share Posted July 29, 2020 On 7/26/2020 at 3:36 PM, connorp said: Sledge hammering hard dolomite for almost 3 hours in 90F weather is quite exhausting, but it was nice to get out and visit a new spot. If anyone else was on this trip, please post your finds as well. Herkimer same problem. Drill bits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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