Creek Bug

October 30, 2020

Creek Bug

Eldredgeops rana (Trilobite)

Middle Devonian, Moscow formation

New York

I found this trilobite in Sept. 2019 and never shared it. Or did I :zzzzscratchchin: Anyway, I was hiking in a stream going from one location to another and found this trilobite after my girlfriend stepped on it :DOH: Not her fault really. She's busy looking out for spiders, webs to spiders, and giant web wrapping people up spiders. I saw the telltale black of the trilobites exo and knew what it was (note the algae staining on the matrix). This site isn't a place where we go to collect bugs. This is our fossil coral location with the occasional trilobite. The bugs at this site tend to be on the big side and this is no exception. Your average complete Eldredgeops from NY is around an inch. If this bug was outstretched, it would be 3.1" or 78.74mm. I cleaned it up a little but the matrix that is still on the trilobite is very hard. My main focus was, is there a pygidium or not, so that had to be dug out. I think the coolest thing about this specimen is that it survived millions of years and who knows how long as a waterworn cobble in a stream after some cute girl steps on it.