Caleb Posted June 9, 2013 Share Posted June 9, 2013 (edited) On Saturday, June 8th, I was going to meet forum member Bev at around 8:30am to pick up a rare trilobite and help ID some other stuff and do a little collecting. I had a wedding to get to that afternoon and the weather for Sunday did not look good at all so I left home a little early to get some extra collecting time in. I left home at 5am and was on the rocks right around 6:30. I had originally wanted to hit a Maquoketa Formation site, but the hwy was under construction with long detours so I stopped at a cut in the Galena formation I hadn't been to in a while. Here is my (poor) attempt at making a panoramic shot of the site: At the bottom of the cut lies the Cummingsville Formation that has thick shale beds between sections of limestone. Lots of brachs, horn corals, and bryozoan can be found loose in the shale beds. Edited June 10, 2013 by Caleb Caleb Midwestpaleo.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caleb Posted June 9, 2013 Author Share Posted June 9, 2013 (edited) While there I picked up 2 pieces. The first was a hash plate full of fun stuff and quite exciting for me. The trilobite I had come down to pick up from Bev is a rather rare one, a Celtencrinurus spicitus. In the 35+ years (father) and 18 years (me) we have been collecting this area we have only found two parts of this trilobite between us. My father had found a free-cheek a while ago and I found a cephalon last year. I can say I was taken by surprise when I found another cephalon. Not only that, but there were 6 other parts of the rare bug on the plate! (annotated plate on next post) I also found a laid out Anataphrus borreaus, which doesn't happen very often, they are quite often enrolled. Edited June 10, 2013 by Caleb Caleb Midwestpaleo.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caleb Posted June 9, 2013 Author Share Posted June 9, 2013 Here's the slab with things labeled. 1 Caleb Midwestpaleo.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bev Posted June 9, 2013 Share Posted June 9, 2013 The labels didn't come through, just the numbers. I would LOVE a copy of this pic with the labels! Bev The more I learn, I realize the less I know. BluffCountryFossils.NET Fossil Adventure Blog Go to my Gallery for images of Fossil Jewelry, Sculpture & Crafts Pinned Posts: Beginner's Guide to Fossil Hunting * Geologic Formation Maps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caleb Posted June 9, 2013 Author Share Posted June 9, 2013 In the upper right of the photo are the names that match the numbers/colors. Red=Trilobite, Green=Other. Caleb Midwestpaleo.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Russell Posted June 9, 2013 Share Posted June 9, 2013 Nice hash, Caleb! That crinoid is sweet! Finding my way through life; one fossil at a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bev Posted June 9, 2013 Share Posted June 9, 2013 Thanks! Wonderful hash plate! And I too love the crinoid! The more I learn, I realize the less I know. BluffCountryFossils.NET Fossil Adventure Blog Go to my Gallery for images of Fossil Jewelry, Sculpture & Crafts Pinned Posts: Beginner's Guide to Fossil Hunting * Geologic Formation Maps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caleb Posted June 12, 2013 Author Share Posted June 12, 2013 After putting the slab under a scope, I realized I had some things misidentified and some things I had missed all together. Here is the final annotated photo with 13 different species of trilobites represented, some of which are not recorded as being in the Galena Formation(but are found in similar aged formations elsewhere). Caleb Midwestpaleo.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 That's just ridiculous! Thirteen species of trilobites?! Veritable Mulligan Stew! "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...
piranha Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 Super sleuthing on all those IDs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caleb Posted June 12, 2013 Author Share Posted June 12, 2013 I am shocked at the diversity of trilobites on this plate. Right now we have 28 species in our fauna list and the fact that 13 of them reside on this one plate is amazing! 3 specimens on this plate are not in our fauna list, so now the count is 31. I guess it's time to update my website... Another very nice thing about this piece is that this plate came out of the bedding plane, it was not in float. The Cummingsville/Galena contact is exposed at this site, so I will be able to take a measurement and document exactly how many feet/meters above the Cummingsville/Galena contact this slab was collected. 1 Caleb Midwestpaleo.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 (edited) Boy you must have a good eye to see all that! Still it appears that you missed a trilo pygidium between the green 'ones' and 'fours' near the top. Edited June 12, 2013 by Wrangellian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caleb Posted June 12, 2013 Author Share Posted June 12, 2013 Boy you must have a good eye to see all that! Still it appears that you missed a trilo pygidium between the green 'ones' and 'fours' near the top. Yup, there's a few on there I didn't mark, I got lazy... That one in particular is a Calyptaulax pygidium and should be marked #5 with the cephalon to the south-east. Caleb Midwestpaleo.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 Nice trip report. I'd hit the brakes if I saw those interbedded limestones and shales. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PennyT. Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 Bonanza! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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