Malcolmt Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 (edited) Here it is May 24th and when I left the house this morning it was 3 degrees Celsius , minus 1 with the wind chill and to cap it all off, it was drizzling...... Thought twice about setting out and going at 6:00AM. Sorta glad I went. I have not posted for a while because I started thinking that I was making these eurypterid things look too easy..... Believe me they are not... ask anyone who has had the good fortune to be able to hunt for them. It hard work and not for anyone who is out for instant gratification. Got to the quarry , with coffee and muffins for the staff there. I was down at my pit that I have been working on for the last four weeks by 8:15AM. Unfortunately my pit had about a foot of water in the bottom of it. Was surprised that I was not the first to arrive , Lothar was just getting settled in as I arrived. Actually was a fairly crowded day for this locale , by 9:30 there were 7 of us (myself, Mr. T; Mr. S; Carl, Lothar, Kevin and his not so thrilled by the end of the day lady friend) I know for sure that I will never get my wife to the quarry in this lifetime so, props to him..... (Yes Peter it is the Carl of the ROM fish find fame) Moved to higher ground to escape the water and wasted about 2 hours finding nothing. Came back to my pit around lunch time. Had my boots on so played in the water a bit. Did I mention it was cold and windy. Was finding a ton of heads, which is a always a good sign, larger debris tends to fall out at the same place. If you are only finding tiny bits you will never find large bits. Like sized fossils deposit in the current together. Found a very nice paddle that was from a monster sized eurypterid. Looked like it might continue under a bedding plain , unfortunately it did not, based on the paddle size it would have been a 12 incher. Started splitting the rock all around the disarticulated paddle , thinking I might find the rest.... however no such luck However within 1 foot of that large paddle I came across this little guy. (Actually it is not little at just over 6 inches it is typical of the size that you find at this site). What was not typical however was its state of preservation and its orientation. It is perfectly preserved and is a very well balanced specimen with no distortion or post mortem curving. Mr. S who is quite well know in the eurypterid collecting world commented that it was the nicest specimen he had seen in a number of years. I like that it appear to be fairly fat compared to its length....... What do you think...... I think this one is pretty special a perfect positive and negative each removed as a single piece (which almost never happens) and it will become part of my permanent collection. (Sorry Roger, not giving this one away!!!!) Thanks to Mr T. for his rock saw........... Unfortunately no one else had any luck today with the eurypterids although Mr T. found a massive innocolus plant, that was very nice. Terrible weather but a great day collecting with good people. As always I have an open invitation out to any of you who want to come to the great white north here (Canada) and spend a day collecting eurypterids with me.....There are about 4 of us on the forum who are regulars hunting the elusive eurypterid.... Just think Shamalama if you had not forgot your passport you could very well have found this one............ Actually looking forward to your next trip up when you won't dare forget your passport. Do I dare enter it in Fossil of the month???????? Edited May 25, 2013 by Malcolmt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolmt Posted May 25, 2013 Author Share Posted May 25, 2013 Here is a bit of a close up picture..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snolly50 Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 A wonderful creature. I am delighted your stoic persistence paid off. Thanks for the post. Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, also are remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. - Douglas Adams, Last Chance to See Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Exquisite! A day of eurypterid hunting is on my bucket list. I don't care if it's in the middle of a blizzard. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barefootgirl Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Wonderful find and yes, if I found that I would enter it in find of the month! In formal logic, a contradiction is the signal of defeat: but in the evolution of real knowledge, it marks the first step in progress toward victory. Alfred North Whithead 'Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia!' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullsnake Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Love the report, Malcolm! And an excellent picture of that amazing specimen! Congratulations! Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erose Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 FOM! FOM! Get's my vote hands down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Hardcore fossil hunting - pay off! Great success! Good job Malcolm - I know you work hard for these, ... ... but there must be an element of luck to this as well, , and you seem to be in the thick of it. Congratulations on the FOTM worthy find. 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...
Raistlin Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Oh man that thing is amazing. I am super envious. Too bad about the weather, but what a wonderful outcome. RobertSoutheast, MO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Impressive! I was out today myself and the weather stopped me (cloudburst), now I feel like a bit of a wuss, it was pleasant otherwise. Oh well. I know how hard fossiling is - I found a nice ammo and still haven't gotten it out after 2 days (well 1.5 days).... the saw will help me if I can get one in time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Sharks Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Hey Malcolm, I know what you said, but you're finding these things with the frequency of horn coral at Arkona. Seriously though, that is a stunner, and I know the odds of finding such a piece are slim. I really should try to get back down there this season. Oh,FOTM entry for sure There's no limit to what you can accomplish when you're supposed to be doing something else Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Andy- Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 What a delightful creature to add to one's collection! Looking forward to meeting my fellow Singaporean collectors! Do PM me if you are a Singaporean, or an overseas fossil-collector coming here for a holiday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lissa318 Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Wow very nice!!! Congrats!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 The Eurypterus King strikes again.... Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimB88 Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Those are beautiful Malcolm! Fantastic finds! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trilobiteruss Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 Great finds Malcolm! Definately a FOM! enter it you would get my vote! Russ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilcrazy Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 Malcolm, Sounds like the weather didn't cooperate; but the Eurypterids did. Kudos for your braving the elements and patience to wait for "instant gratification". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 Those are gorgeous! "Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe" - Saint Augustine"Those who can not see past their own nose deserve our pity more than anything else." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 Don't know what happened to post above, but can't fix it. Sorry. "Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe" - Saint Augustine"Those who can not see past their own nose deserve our pity more than anything else." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 (edited) Hi Malcolm, just noticed this post now, although I posted a comment in your gallery as soon as I noticed your exquisite find. S. was probably drooling, which must have increased the precipitation factor even more. I would have been, at any rate, but I'd never have thought in a hundred years that you'd release that humdinger out of your possession. I've got the feeling that the entire northern hemisphere is wallowing in the floods at the moment. I just had to call off an excursion into the Wutach due to weather. Normally the rain doesn't bother me that much, but those sites on the slopes in the woods turn into a pigsty under such circumstances and that's no fun at all. As far as our female counterparts are concerned, unless they're endowed with an equal interest to ours such as many of our participants here in the forum, it's adviseable to invite them along only when you can offer them balmy weather, a deck chair with lots of reading material, suncream and an umbrella, good quantities of liquids and hors d'oevres and last but not least, a reliable vehicle just in case they get the spontaneous urge to get away and go shopping. PS. I'd also recommend that you enter your find in the FotM. Although I've got something in there myself this month you'd get my vote anyway. Edited May 26, 2013 by Ludwigia Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgcox Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 Malcolm, Heading up with the Dry Dredgers in a couple of weeks hope to get a chance to collect with you again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 Hi Malcolm, If you find any extra orphan eurypterids that need a good home please send one my way.... ....as a courtesy you can use the attached prepaid "Eurypterus Express" postage stamps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 Congratulations, Malcolm, on your extraordinary find! You have certainly earned 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 More sharing options...
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