Malcolmt Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 (edited) I was at my usual site near Niagara Falls hunting eurypterids on Friday with two other collecting friends from the USA and although it was not a great day for eurypterids, the day turned out pretty good. As far as eurypterids go all I found was the following specimen but it has excelent paddle preservation that is folded over the body like an egyptian mummy. The coxa from the underside are also folded over and visible which is very unusual for a dorsally preserved specimen. What turned out to be the find of the day was that I found a horseshoe crab. As a pleasant surprise Peter from the forum( Pleecan) showed up just as I found this. Which was fortunate for me as after he ate his lunch he got out his rock and cut both of these out for me. I also have the counterpart to the crab but have not got a picture of it at this point, it is still in the trunk of my car. This is an order of magnitude rarer than the eurypterids at this site. I am aware of about 50 eurypterids collected this year that were over 80% complete. I am only aware of this and one other horseshoe crab being found this year. The following pictures were taken in situ by a well known and respected collector at this site Sam and are quite hard to see. (Perhaps Peter will do some magic and post an enhanced version.) I was actually quite surprised to have noticed it. It was about 1 foot from the partial eurypterid that is shown above. It was on the same bedding plane as the eurypterid about 1 foot to the southwest. . This was found in the Williamsville A formation of the Bertie waterlime. So the age is Upper Silurian At about 35 millimeters in length I am told that it is very large for this location where they are more normally 10 to 15 millimeters in size. My assumption at this point is that it is a Pseudoniscus clarkie Technically it is probably not correct to call it a horseshoue crab. Any other thoughts...... I have also heard of these called bunaia woodwardi but some believe these to be the same species. They are listed as separate in my book Fossil Ecosystems of North America. Edited November 11, 2012 by Malcolmt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erose Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 That is really cool. Does this quarry produce scorpions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 My assumption at this point is that it is a Pseudoniscus clarkie Technically it is probably not correct to call it a horseshoue crab. Any other thoughts...... ...Both Pseudoniscus and Mesolimus (the horseshoe crab) are Merostomata belonging to the order of the Xiphocerida, so I think you're allowed to use the term at least in everyday language in the same way as we tend to lump everything that belongs to the subclass of the Ammonoidea under the name Ammonite. Congratulations on this very rare find! The chances for such a find tend to increase proportionately in relation to the number of visits to a site, and you're getting up there, I would say! The folded up Eurypterid looked to me at first glance like a macrocephalic sitting Buddha sitting on a glass plate and photographed from underneath. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullsnake Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 Very,very cool Malcolm! Congratulations! Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scylla Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 Congrats Malcolm that is a beautiful fossil! Thanks for posting it. ...The folded up Eurypterid looked to me at first glance like a macrocephalic sitting Buddha sitting on a glass plate and photographed from underneath. Um, yea. It looks like every macrocephalic sitting Buddha sitting on a glass plate photographed from below that I've ever seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 Congrats Malcolm that is a beautiful fossil! Thanks for posting it. Um, yea. It looks like every macrocephalic sitting Buddha sitting on a glass plate photographed from below that I've ever seen. Good to see that you also have a flexible imagination Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 Really nice. "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"_ Carl Sagen No trees were killed in this posting......however, many innocent electrons were diverted from where they originally intended to go. " I think, therefore I collect fossils." _ Me "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."__S. Holmes "can't we all just get along?" Jack Nicholson from Mars Attacks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 Not a eurypterid.... darn. The consolation prize is a rare xiphosuran. Very nice catch. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 This is an exciting find! I am very happy for you "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 More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 Fascinating... Is this something that you will be able to work your prepping magic on? Can't wait to see the results.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolmt Posted November 12, 2012 Author Share Posted November 12, 2012 Looked at the counterpart today with Peter when we were out hunting. The counterpart is musch better than the picture posted here. The counterpart has some nice detail. The fossil is really very delicate and other than a tiny bit of prep around the margins of the head shield I am not sure at this point that it is worth risking. I will get a better sense when I look at it under a scope this week sometime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Malcolm - Congratulations on the rare find - your collecting this year has been truly impressive. Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trilobiteruss Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Congrats on an awesome find Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamalama Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Wow! that is really cool looking. Glad your hard work paid off again. -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 McPheeIf I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPheeCheck out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleecan Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Malcolm: I would just leave it... the carapace is ultra thin... the air abrasion unit may cause damage. PL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quarryman Dave Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Darn! it sounds like I missed a terrific outing. Is it possible that the horseshoe crab could be a trilobite? Quarrycomber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolmt Posted November 12, 2012 Author Share Posted November 12, 2012 No it is definately a horseshoe crab , the counterpart that I will try to take a picture of today makes it quite obvious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleecan Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Reprocess Malcolm pics... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
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 accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now