Jump to content

Fossil Hunting In Lower Ny East Fishkill


Umbro

Recommended Posts

SO my Borther and went fossil hunting on a friends property in or on the border of dutchess county and putnam county in the town of east fishkill. We found some interesting bedrock in the region, mainly igneous and metamoprhic rocks I think. We did notice a gray light kind of rock. We though it might be from the early cambrian period. We think it might be a collection of fossils.

This is what we found

post-3475-0-08487600-1331734227_thumb.jpg

post-3475-0-83686000-1331734215_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you carmine I appreciate the link! My brother has been on the place many times before and the owner actually had a big slab with a trace fossil inside of it...

we think it might be Ichnofossil Gordia

post-3475-0-79853300-1331742958_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think that is Cambrian and possibly Trilobite bits and pieces? I've heard of a certain area called Trilobite mountain on the eastern side of the Hudson valley that is know for Cambrian trilobite fossils.

That is a nice trace fossil too!

Edited by Shamalama

-Dave

__________________________________________________

Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPhee

If I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPhee

Check out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dave, good eye if you can spot any trilobites in that hash... I'm still looking blink.gif:P

Dutchess County actually has a mix of late Cambrian and early Ordovician trilobites. The Cambrian bugs are found in the West Castleton-Hatch Hill formations (Elizaville Fauna), and the Ordovician bugs are in the Fort Cassin, Halcyon Lake, Rochdale, Tribes Hill formations (Beekmantown Group). If anyone would enjoy having these papers please send me a PM with email address and will be happy to send them. :D

RE: Tribes Hill–Rochdale formations in east Laurentia: proxies for Early Ordovician

(Tremadocian) eustasy on a tropical passive margin (New York and west Vermont)

Geological Magazine January 2012 149 : pp 93-123

Authors: Ed Landing, Jonathan M. Adrain, Stephen R. Westrop

Dresbachian Trilobites from the Taconic Sequence, Eastern New York State

Journal of PaleontologyVol. 58, No. 3 (May, 1984), pp. 834-842

Author: George Theokritoff

image.png.a84de26dad44fb03836a743755df237c.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dave, good eye if you can spot any trilobites in that hash... I'm still looking blink.gif:P

Dutchess County actually has a mix of late Cambrian and early Ordovician trilobites. The Cambrian bugs are found in the West Castleton-Hatch Hill formations (Elizaville Fauna), and the Ordovician bugs are in the Fort Cassin, Halcyon Lake, Rochdale, Tribes Hill formations (Beekmantown Group). If anyone would enjoy having these papers please send me a PM with email address and will be happy to send them. :D

RE: Tribes Hill–Rochdale formations in east Laurentia: proxies for Early Ordovician

(Tremadocian) eustasy on a tropical passive margin (New York and west Vermont)

Geological Magazine January 2012 149 : pp 93-123

Authors: Ed Landing, Jonathan M. Adrain, Stephen R. Westrop

Dresbachian Trilobites from the Taconic Sequence, Eastern New York State

Journal of PaleontologyVol. 58, No. 3 (May, 1984), pp. 834-842

Author: George Theokritoff

I'm interested in these papers. For the record we were in the southern part of dutchess county on a small mountain / large hill.

I noticed several rocks had possible burrow marks in them i'll post the picture in a bit to show.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dave, good eye if you can spot any trilobites in that hash... I'm still looking blink.gif:P

I could be wrong but some of the curved shaped reminded me of free cheeks from Olenellus type trilos.

Aha! I found the reference I was thinking about: from Fossilsites.com:

Stissing Mountain, Dutchess, NY, In quartzite overlain by limestone, Cambrian Lower, Hyolithellus;Trilobites-Olenellus

And here is a paper, that I can't access, which references the area: Two Upper Cambrian (Trempealeau) trilobites from Dutchess County, New York

And an article on Jstor (which I can't access either): Dresbachian Trilobites from the Taconic Sequence, Eastern New York State

Edited by Shamalama

-Dave

__________________________________________________

Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPhee

If I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPhee

Check out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like the Cambrian calligraphy.

Way to coin a phrase! May I use it?

"There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant

“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley

>Paleontology is an evolving science.

>May your wonders never cease!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here are a few parts I could find in the hash that were readily recognizable as trilobite. They look Cambrian to me, but I'm not readily knowledgeable on them.

From this post. Looks like the left genal spine and free-cheek

post-3840-0-12431400-1331826917_thumb.jpg

Cephalon from your imageshack link.

post-3840-0-49401500-1331826913_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/15/2012 at 4:37 AM, Shamalama said:

I could be wrong but some of the curved shaped reminded me of free cheeks from Olenellus type trilos.

I agree there is a good chance of something being a trilobite (looks like Caleb spotted one) but olenellid trilobites do not have free cheeks (librigenae) and are regarded as a primitive group because of the absence of facial sutures. I just sent you four papers that reference the Dutchess County trilobites plus another paper that describes 20 lower Cambrian localities for Olenellus in neighboring Columbia County and further north in Washington County. The Dutchess County formations appear to be restricted to a later Cambrian age and therefore exclusive of any olenellid trilobites.

 

Tribes Hill–Rochdale formations in east Laurentia: proxies for Early Ordovician

(Tremadocian) eustasy on a tropical passive margin (New York and west Vermont)

Geological Magazine - January 2012 149 : pp 93-123

Authors: Ed Landing, Jonathan M. Adrain, Stephen R. Westrop

 

Dresbachian Trilobites from the Taconic Sequence, Eastern New York State

Journal of Paleontology Vol. 58, No. 3 (May, 1984), pp. 834-842

Author: George Theokritoff

 

Lower Cambrian Agnostid Trilobites of North America

Journal of Paleontology, Vol. 41, No. 1 (Jan., 1967), pp. 189-196

Authors: Franco Rasetti and George Theokritoff

 

Systematics, Environment, and Biogeography of Some Late Cambrian

and Early Ordovician Trilobites From Eastern New York State

Geological Survey Professional Paper: 834 (1974)

Authors: Michael E. Taylor and Robert B. Halley

 

Left behind – delayed extinction and a relict trilobite fauna in the Cambrian–

Ordovician boundary succession (east Laurentian platform, New York)

Geological Magazine - July 2011 148 : pp 529-557

Authors: Ed Landing, Stephen R. Westrop, Björn Kröger, Adam M. English

image.png.a84de26dad44fb03836a743755df237c.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Way to coin a phrase! May I use it?

Absolutely.

I was going to post something about how the bug/snail/whatever was going through a mid-life crisis and decided to change direction, but it got too long.... :)

Context is critical.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the info and pdfs - btw Umbro is my "bro". Think I might take another trip and bring along my video gear :)

Here are a few parts I could find in the hash that were readily recognizable as trilobite. They look Cambrian to me, but I'm not readily knowledgeable on them.

From this post. Looks like the left genal spine and free-cheek

post-3840-0-12431400-1331826917_thumb.jpg

Cephalon from your imageshack link.

post-3840-0-49401500-1331826913_thumb.jpg

I agree there is a good chance of something being a trilobite (looks like Caleb spotted one) but olenellid trilobites do not have free cheeks (librigenae) and are regarded as a primitive group because of the absence of facial sutures. I just sent you four papers that reference the Dutchess County trilobites plus another paper that describes 20 lower Cambrian localities for Olenellus in neighboring Columbia County and further north in Washington County. The Dutchess County formations appear to be restricted to a later Cambrian age and therefore exclusive of any olenellid trilobites.

Tribes Hill–Rochdale formations in east Laurentia: proxies for Early Ordovician

(Tremadocian) eustasy on a tropical passive margin (New York and west Vermont)

Geological Magazine - January 2012 149 : pp 93-123

Authors: Ed Landing, Jonathan M. Adrain, Stephen R. Westrop

Dresbachian Trilobites from the Taconic Sequence, Eastern New York State

Journal of Paleontology Vol. 58, No. 3 (May, 1984), pp. 834-842

Author: George Theokritoff

Lower Cambrian Agnostid Trilobites of North America

Journal of Paleontology, Vol. 41, No. 1 (Jan., 1967), pp. 189-196

Authors: Franco Rasetti and George Theokritoff

Systematics, Environment, and Biogeography of Some Late Cambrian

and Early Ordovician Trilobites From Eastern New York State

Geological Survey Professional Paper: 834 (1974)

Authors: Michael E. Taylor and Robert B. Halley

Left behind – delayed extinction and a relict trilobite fauna in the Cambrian–

Ordovician boundary succession (east Laurentian platform, New York)

Geological Magazine - July 2011 148 : pp 529-557

Authors: Ed Landing, Stephen R. Westrop, Björn Kröger, Adam M. English

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...