Noah’s Trilobite trips!

[NoahW24]

Hi all,

 

I went on my first fossil hunt today! Destination was the DSR quarry near Hamilton, NY. We had great fall weather and the leaves are really starting to turn. 
 

Here’s who we encountered:

 

 

[NoahW24]

First off we have some Greenops trilobits: 

 

I had high hopes for this feller but alas, just a cephalon. He is however my first ever trilobite, and has a free cheek and eye facets so I am very happy regardless! Here’s pre and post removal: 

[NoahW24]

Next up, we have some trilobutts! 
 

One greenops, and what I think is from a Dipleura. Prep is still in-progress, so if I’m lucky it may be a cephalon yet-

 

 

[NoahW24]

Moving forward from the bugs, there was an excellent crinoid piece which I would be thoroughly interested in getting ID opinions on: 

[NoahW24]

And how could we forget the brachiopods 

this guy was a real chonkster, and there was great shell diversity around: 

 

 

[NoahW24]

And finally some contemporary critter encounters, I’m told this feller may be a baby pine snake, and some Hymenoptera which I have not ID’d but who was loving the fall color palette. 
 

 

[Al Dente]

16 minutes ago, NoahW24 said:

And finally some contemporary critter encounters, I’m told this feller may be a baby pine snake

Young snakes can be difficult to identify because they can have different patterns than adults. I think this one is a young Eastern Garter Snake. You can see it is starting to develop the characteristic stripes of a garter snake. Pine snakes don’t make it as far north as New York.

[Tidgy's Dad]

Love the brachs! 

[Jeffrey P]

Congratulations on your first trilobites. Partial Greenops and Dipleura are most common at DSR. Eldredgeops are also sometimes found. Complete ones are of course less common. I average about one every other time I go there. The brachs are Mucrospirifer mucronatus and Rhipidomella penelope, two of the more common brachs there. Over all there are over 20 species of brachs there, plus over 20 species of bivalves. Crinoids are uncommon there and those found are invariably unidentified small pieces of stems like yours. On a TFF outing once, a participant found a small partial crinoid that included the head and part of the stem. I also saw a calyx a NYPS member found once. Such specimens are beyond rare. Thanks for sharing. 

[NoahW24]

8 hours ago, Al Dente said:

Young snakes can be difficult to identify because they can have different patterns than adults. I think this one is a young Eastern Garter Snake. You can see it is starting to develop the characteristic stripes of a garter snake. Pine snakes don’t make it as far north as New York.

Thanks for the intel! I have herpetologist friends but I am still working on my own repertoire. Coming from the midwest, this was actually my first wild snake encounter! What a treat- 

[NoahW24]

2 hours ago, Jeffrey P said:

Congratulations on your first trilobites. Partial Greenops and Dipleura are most common at DSR. Eldredgeops are also sometimes found. Complete ones are of course less common. I average about one every other time I go there. The brachs are Mucrospirifer mucronatus and Rhipidomella penelope, two of the more common brachs there. Over all there are over 20 species of brachs there, plus over 20 species of bivalves. Crinoids are uncommon there and those found are invariably unidentified small pieces of stems like yours. On a TFF outing once, a participant found a small partial crinoid that included the head and part of the stem. I also saw a calyx a NYPS member found once. Such specimens are beyond rare. Thanks for sharing. 

Thanks for the overview on the local residents! The Greenops are a real thrill, one of my favorite species, and I can’t help but see the free cheeks like bunny ears. I’ll get pictures of some of the other bivalves I was seeing, like a smooth dark black mussel and another with deeper clam-like ridges. Is the fauna pretty similar at the Geer road quarry or are the ratios/composition different? I’m looking into there for my next trip-

[NoahW24]

6 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

Love the brachs! 

They are a delight! 

[fossilhunter21]

Nice finds! 

 

Thanks for sharing!

[FossilDAWG]

Unfortunately, crinoid stems are only very rarely identifiable.

 

DSR is a great site!

 

Don

[Jeffrey P]

1 hour ago, NoahW24 said:

Thanks for the overview on the local residents! The Greenops are a real thrill, one of my favorite species, and I can’t help but see the free cheeks like bunny ears. I’ll get pictures of some of the other bivalves I was seeing, like a smooth dark black mussel and another with deeper clam-like ridges. Is the fauna pretty similar at the Geer road quarry or are the ratios/composition different? I’m looking into there for my next trip-

Geer Road is Upper Ludlowville Formation while DSR is a little younger Moscow Formation. That said, the fauna are essentially the same. From my experience, trilobites are more common at DSR.

[FossilDAWG]

Is the Greer Road site still open for collecting?  I thought it was closed, but maybe I'm mixing it with the Cole Hill Road site.

 

Don

[Sjfriend]

Great trip! Even partial trilobites are a good find! The snake is a garter snake (not sure the exact species). Western ones more my forte.

[Mainefossils]

Very nice report @NoahW24! I particularly like your trilobites, I see them so rarely in this area that it is a pleasure to see them here.  I agree with @Al Dente on the snake, this looks like a young Eastern Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis). They are a variable species - you will never see the same color pattern twice.  The insect is likely a Cicada Killer (Sphecius speciosus), though I am not sure; this species also has large color differences between individuals. Thanks for posting! 

[NoahW24]

On 10/11/2021 at 3:42 PM, Mainefossils said:

Very nice report @NoahW24! I particularly like your trilobites, I see them so rarely in this area that it is a pleasure to see them here.  I agree with @Al Dente on the snake, this looks like a young Eastern Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis). They are a variable species - you will never see the same color pattern twice.  The insect is likely a Cicada Killer (Sphecius speciosus), though I am not sure; this species also has large color differences between individuals. Thanks for posting! 

Thanks! I’m thrilled to have found some- first fossil hunt many years in the making! I think you’re right on the wasp-ID- Thanks for looking! I’ll have to try and get up to some sites in Maine! What do you tend to find there? 

[NoahW24]

On 10/11/2021 at 3:28 PM, Sjfriend said:

Great trip! Even partial trilobites are a good find! The snake is a garter snake (not sure the exact species). Western ones more my forte.

Thanks! No western hunts yet but hopefully someday soon I’ll be able to share some

snakes n shale from that part of the world! 

[Mainefossils]

12 hours ago, NoahW24 said:

Thanks! I’m thrilled to have found some- first fossil hunt many years in the making! I think you’re right on the wasp-ID- Thanks for looking! I’ll have to try and get up to some sites in Maine! What do you tend to find there? 

No problem!

 

Here in Maine, most of the fossils are Paleozoic - bivalves, brachiopods, corals, cephalopods, gastropods, and trilobites are generally what is preserved. The Presumpscot Formation preserves marine mollusk shells and rarely mammal remains from the last ice age. I have collected material from the Edmunds, Leighton, and Tarrantine Formations - I have also explored a site of the Eastport Formation, and am hoping to visit the Presumpscot Formation soon. Below is a thread-in-progress that lists some literature on Maine fossils - and if you are really interested in Maine's geology, Maines Fossil Record: The Paleozoic, by Lisa Churchill-Dickson is very good. It lists all the Paleozoic species that have been found in Maine, with references for every known formation. Also, Roadside Geology of Maine by D. W. Caldwell is another good reference book.

 

 Hope this helps! 

 

 

[hemipristis]

On 10/11/2021 at 4:34 AM, NoahW24 said:

And how could we forget the brachiopods 

this guy was a real chonkster, and there was great shell diversity around: 

 

 

imho, a sprifirid brachiopod like that alone was worth the trip (I have a soft spot for 'em).  

[NoahW24]

4 hours ago, hemipristis said:

imho, a sprifirid brachiopod like that alone was worth the trip (I have a soft spot for 'em).  

They are lots of fun! Here are a few additional angles- it’s a half shell and there’s no matrix around the bottom making it paper thin shell-only. Debating if I want to risk prepping more of the top 

[hemipristis]

16 hours ago, NoahW24 said:

They are lots of fun! Here are a few additional angles- it’s a half shell and there’s no matrix around the bottom making it paper thin shell-only. Debating if I want to risk prepping more of the top 

My advice is don't. You won't gain much on the aesthetics, and you risk damaging it

[KompsFossilsNMinerals]

On 10/11/2021 at 4:34 AM, NoahW24 said:

And how could we forget the brachiopods 

this guy was a real chonkster, and there was great shell diversity around: 

 

 

 

Great finds! I was there on Friday and found some similar specimens.