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June 2020 in the Eramosa


Kane

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A year ago I was able to hook up with my field comrade for some time in the Lagerstatte of the Silurian Eramosa in Ontario (northern section). This was a place where land and sea scorpions were found by the ROM. We did not find any. We obtained permission to enter quarries on account of connections and complying by safety rules. They do not let casual collectors in, so it was on account of those connections that we gained access.

 

These quarries specialize in flagstone. Much of it is blank. Our focus was on the rubbly upper portion of the Silurian.

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As stated, fossils are very sparse in this material. Gastropods are the dominant fauna in some horizons, but even then very sporadic. These are largely lagoonal facies.

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...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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cool.  Always fun to get access to special places.  What is that thing on the right side of the ast photo?

 

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Much of the material is either blank or riddled with burrows. Our contacts with quarry owners was to direct us to spots where the rock was below grade for flagstone, which means more fossiliferous content, such as coral reefs. Some layers had these concretions that were mostly calcite or quartz that others make into rock ashtrays. 

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The uppermost shale layers had some orthocone nautiloids, but little else. There are horizons with tiny brachs. The best we found were some plant bits. I came away with maybe a handful of fossils from several different quarry visits. The Silurian in Ontario is not exactly generous. All the same, we are thankful to the quarry owners who let us in. :) 

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...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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So apart from some gastros and plant bits, our trip was a complete bust. It was great to collect in a Lagerstattebut we didn't have much luck although we spread ourselves across four quarries in six days. It was quite parsimonious strata, as 99% of it is completely devoid of fossils. 

 

Not every trip is a winner, but we had good times. After we had our fill, we moved on to Ordovician exposures. :P We spoke to a few quarry workers who had found sea and land scorpions, but they had the advantage of working that material for years, 40 hours a week. 

 

@jpc I think that piece is likely a cephalopod of some sort, methinks.

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...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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I didn't expect such response for a failed trip!

 

I have been on some very good trips since, but I need to hold off until the season is over. This year, I've been quite far and found some fantastic things, but can't talk about them yet. I've been actively collecting since February and posted virtually nothing compared to last year (this was my only "secret" trip, although some sites from last year and their finds remain secret). 

 

I hate the cloak and dagger of it. Up here we have many mercenaries just looking for a new honey hole. :( Deep pockets for leases, shady connections, or just fleecing sites has wrecked a lot of opportunity up here. Even posting some finds puts some areas under radar. That is just the nature where outcrops are few, and quarry access is almost nil. 

 

It sucks not being able to say where I go, or even what I find. Since a lot of what we do here is share what we find, it hurts not to do so. :( Otherwise, I just find fossils and keep them shut up in my house, like I'm hiding them. The only reason I could share this trip was because we found nothing gainful. 

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...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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Unfortunately the only secret site I have is my basement..............lol

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If you go to the "right quarry" in the "right strata", you can find something new everyday and in most cases scientifically important specimens. There was a time you got permission to collect, from the quarry owner, not the ROM. There was a rich history of collecting in just a few months back in the day. Now, it seems politics is very much part of the access to the Eramosa and being American leaves you very much out of the loop now. In the interest of cooperation and volunteering, it has become "sorry but, we can't discuss the reasons your help is not accepted." In the past, I was always forth coming if one of my specimens was needed in a study.  I've become less and less inclined to donate requested specimens in a one way relationship. 

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Edited by fossilcrazy
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My fovorite fossil from the Bruce Penninsula is a very pretty Uniramian. This is one reason I miss the Eramosa.

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2 hours ago, fossilcrazy said:

If you go to the "right quarry" in the "right strata", you can find something new everyday and in most cases scientifically important specimens. There was a time you got permission to collect, from the quarry owner, not the ROM. There was a rich history of collecting in just a few months back in the day. Now, it seems politics is very much part of the access to the Eramosa and being American leaves you very much out of the loop now. In the interest of cooperation and volunteering, it has become "sorry but, we can't discuss the reasons your help is not accepted." In the past, I was always forth coming if one of my specimens was needed in a study.  I've become less and less inclined to donate requested specimens in a one way relationship. 

Aye, much of that is true. Fortunately, our permission came directly from quarry owners. They are all small mom and pop quarries up there, clustered together in the same area. We found exactly where the ROM had been digging, but it was cleaned out, the productive layers stripped. Some folks got in their heads that the big tax receipts issued by the museum = the going rate of the fossils. That can create problems. :( 

 

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...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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Interesting trip and report! I know, the Silurian stratas in Ontario are barren and I've had my own shares of disappointments here in Hamilton. Here in the Mountain of Hamilton, just south east of the city, the Eramosa formation creates karsts, but as far as I know there have not been any fossils of any value found there.

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