Grand Isle, Vermont Trilobite

[Cluros]

Here is a photo of a 2 inch Calymene my wife found in Grand Isle , Vermont in October.

 

 

 

[Auspex]

Stunner!

Vermont is somehow not a place I associate with fossils...

[piranha]

It's actually a Flexicalymene senaria. Congrats on the great find!

[jgcox]

appears to be prepped did you do the prep ?

[jgcox]

Take a close look at the matrix and the edges of the trilobite. The right edge appears to be some sort of adhesive or paint also on the left side of the head appears to be some sort of mounting material. The matrix it is mounted on looks like a man made material you can see small marks that look like sculpting tool marks. Where did you find this what formation ? As someone who finds and preps trilobites this looks purchased.

[piranha]

Here is a photo of a 2 inch Calymene my wife found in Grand Isle , Vermont in October.

Take a close look at the matrix and the edges of the trilobite. The right edge appears to be some sort of adhesive or paint also on the left side of the head appears to be some sort of mounting material. The matrix it is mounted on looks like a man made material you can see small marks that look like sculpting tool marks. Where did you find this what formation ?

As someone who finds and preps trilobites this looks purchased.

Flexicalymene is one of the common trilobites in the Glens Falls Limestone at Grand Isle.

The trilobite doesn't look suspicious at all. As the OP already stated; it was found by his wife.

[jgcox]

I pointed out a few inconsistencies I see in this specimen. Enlarge the picture and you can see them for yourself. I applaud your acceptance of the OPs statement but unless you were with them when it was found or you prepped it then take it at face value. I may be wrong and I hope I am.

[piranha]

...I applaud your acceptance of the OPs statement but unless you were with them when it was found or you prepped it then take it at face value. I may be wrong and I hope I am.

According to that logic, do we need to be present when anyone finds something in order to verify its authenticity?

I'm perfectly satisfied to take the original statement at face value.

[Cluros]

I can assure you that my wife found it and I had it professionally prepped. I am currently having two more assessed for preparation. I'm offended that someone would call into question my post. Here are pictures taken the day my wife found it. I've spent years collecting in Vermont so it shouldn't come as a surprise that I can find decent trilobites. If the member who questions my integrity wants to they are more than welcome to meet me in Vermont and I will show them all of my prepped and unprepped trilobites.

[Cluros]

Does jgcox want to question my ventral prep?

[Cluros]

If it makes it easier here is a photo of the Calymene after being prepped in the same orientation as the photo I took in the field.

[jgcox]

it appears that having and voicing an option on the forum is no longer acceptable. I sated I could be wrong and stated my observations and the response was starting to get personal . Therefore due to a long collecting schedule and prep schedule I am taking a long sabbatical from the forum. Have fun and happy collecting.

[Fossildude19]

A fantastic trilobite and great prep. Well worth having it professionally done.

Thanks for posting this.

Regards,

[Cluros]

Thanks Tim and Pirahna. If you guys ever want to come up and collect with me in Vermont just let me know. I'm sorry that jgcox feels that way but I wasn't the one who questioned the authenticity of the trilobite or suggested that it had to be witnessed to be believed. Hopefully he will change his mind and continue to participate in the forum. It is a great resource for beginners and experienced collectors alike.

[squalicorax]

incredible bugs and prep! great work from a surprising site.

[JohnJ]

Thanks Tim and Pirahna. If you guys ever want to come up and collect with me in Vermont just let me know. I'm sorry that jgcox feels that way but I wasn't the one who questioned the authenticity of the trilobite or suggested that it had to be witnessed to be believed. Hopefully he will change his mind and continue to participate in the forum. It is a great resource for beginners and experienced collectors alike.

Well said, Cluros. Congratulations to your wife on an awesome find.

[nepri]

I've prepared hundreds, probably thousands of trilobites…including this Flexicalymene cf. granulosa? pictured here from Vermont. I don't normally prepare other peoples specimens, mainly because I don't have time, but this one was from Vermont so it was kind of special, and Cluros is a friend.

The reason people pay for professional preparation on certain fossils is to get a clean, artistic, finished piece. The lighter color circle around the bug is done to highlight the trilobite and involved no paint, no composite-it's all natural…organic if you like. I'll give a brief rundown on how this prep went.

When preparing a large buried trilobite in micritic limestone like this one, the preparation process leaves a lot of unsightly deep scribe grooves and air abrasion dents in the surrounding matrix. These need to be cleaned up and it's not an easy job to do. A lot of grinding, scribing and polishing. The color of the matrix inside the circle is created when the air scribe is applied with a landscaping tip attached. What may appear as composite is simply impact marks from the air scribe, like a micro hammer hitting the rock thousands of times a minute. There is a small patch of matrix close to the trilobite that isn't white. The reason for this is even though a micro jack scribe could have gotten close enough to match the color of the rest of the outlying circle without damaging the trilobite-----well this is a one off trilobite from Vermont. The specimen is not necessarily replaceable and therefore I didn't like the risk of getting that close to the pleura. Having plenty of experience with trilobites in micritic limestone I know the bug may be hollow and geodized internally, meaning high frequency vibrations from an air scribe that close to the exoskeleton may cause the pleura to literally explode. It just wasn't worth it even though I agree it sticks out like a sore thumb.

I suppose the best compliment in fossil prep is the disbelief that the specimen is even real. There are some incredible preparation artists out there and even my prep pales in comparison to those pros.

Edited November 3, 2014 by nepri

[Oxytropidoceras]

It was written:

"Vermont is somehow not a place I associate with fossils...”

Go look at:

Welby, C. W., 1962, Paleontology of the Champlain

Basin in Vermont. Special Publication no. 1. Vermont

Geological Survey, Montpelier, Vermont. 88 pp.

http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/geo/pdfdocs/Welby_1962_Paleo.pdf

http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/geo/sppubs.htm

Erwin, R. B., 1957, The geology of the limestone of Isle

La Motte and South Hero Island, Vermont. Bulletin no. 9.

Vermont Geological Survey, Montpelier, Vermont. 94 pp.

http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/geo/bull9sheroimages/Erwin_1957sm.pdf

http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/geo/bulletins.htm

Goodsell Ridge Fossil Preserve

239 Quarry Road

Isle La Motte, Vermont 05463

http://www.ilmpt.org/ilmpt/The_Goodsell_Ridge_Preserve.html

The Chazy Reef on Isle La Motte

http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/geo/chazytxt.htm

http://www.ilmpt.org/ilmpt/The_Chazy_Reef_on_Isle_La_Motte.html

There is more stuff at

http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/geo/catalog.htm

What I find interesting is that fossils have even been

found in some of the metamorphic rocks of Vermont.

In no specific order, go see:

Doll, C. G., 1984, Fossils From the Metamorphic

Rocks of the Devonian-Silurian Magog Belt in

Northern Vermont. Vermont Geology. vol. 3, 16 pp.

http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/geo/GMGVTSoc/VTGS_1984.pdf

Boucot, A. J., Metamorphosed Middle Paleozoic

fossils from central Massachusetts, eastern Vermont,

and western New Hampshire. Bulletin Geological

Society of Amwerica. vol. 69, pp. 855-870

http://gsabulletin.gsapubs.org/content/69/7/855

Cady, W. M., 1950, Fossil Cup Corals from The

Metamorphic Rocks of Central Vermont.

American Journal of Science. vol. 248, pp. 488-497.

http://www.ajsonline.org/content/248/7/488.extract

Finally, I have seen mention of Lower Cambrian

trilobites being found in the slates of western

Vermont. Unfortunately, I have lost track of the

source of this information.

Yours,

Paul H.

Edited November 3, 2014 by Oxytropidoceras

[fossilcrazy]

I've have Jones'ed this Cambrian Vermont bug from the Parker Shale.

Glad VT is a fossil producer and not all Igneous and Metamorphic.

It almost seems a few feathers are floating in the air.

[Auspex]

It was written:

"Vermont is somehow not a place I associate with fossils...”

Go look at:

Welby, C. W., 1962, Paleontology of the Champlain

Basin in Vermont. Special Publication no. 1. Vermont

Geological Survey, Montpelier, Vermont. 88 pp.

http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/geo/pdfdocs/Welby_1962_Paleo.pdf

http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/geo/sppubs.htm

Erwin, R. B., 1957, The geology of the limestone of Isle

La Motte and South Hero Island, Vermont. Bulletin no. 9.

Vermont Geological Survey, Montpelier, Vermont. 94 pp.

http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/geo/bull9sheroimages/Erwin_1957sm.pdf

http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/geo/bulletins.htm

Goodsell Ridge Fossil Preserve

239 Quarry Road

Isle La Motte, Vermont 05463

http://www.ilmpt.org/ilmpt/The_Goodsell_Ridge_Preserve.html

The Chazy Reef on Isle La Motte

http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/geo/chazytxt.htm

http://www.ilmpt.org/ilmpt/The_Chazy_Reef_on_Isle_La_Motte.html

There is more stuff at

http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/geo/catalog.htm

What I find interesting is that fossils have even been

found in some of the metamorphic rocks of Vermont.

In no specific order, go see:

Doll, C. G., 1984, Fossils From the Metamorphic

Rocks of the Devonian-Silurian Magog Belt in

Northern Vermont. Vermont Geology. vol. 3, 16 pp.

http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/geo/GMGVTSoc/VTGS_1984.pdf

Boucot, A. J., Metamorphosed Middle Paleozoic

fossils from central Massachusetts, eastern Vermont,

and western New Hampshire. Bulletin Geological

Society of Amwerica. vol. 69, pp. 855-870

http://gsabulletin.gsapubs.org/content/69/7/855

Cady, W. M., 1950, Fossil Cup Corals from The

Metamorphic Rocks of Central Vermont.

American Journal of Science. vol. 248, pp. 488-497.

http://www.ajsonline.org/content/248/7/488.extract

Finally, I have seen mention of Lower Cambrian

trilobites being found in the slates of western

Vermont. Unfortunately, I have lost track of the

source of this information.

Yours,

Paul H.

Thanks Paul!

It is appalling how much I have failed to learn over the years; just not enough "RAM" in the old lump of gray matter.

[FossilDAWG]

Beautiful specimen and beautiful prep! Thanks for showing it to us.

Have you had any luck with trilobites and echinoderms from the Chazy around there? I know there is a lot of diversity, but I had the impression that most of the older historic Lake Champlain collecting sites are now in parks, or upscale lakeshore private property. Evidently you've got access to some Trenton age sites, at least, and it's sure giving you some excellent material!

Don

[Cluros]

Just to clarify. Not all of Vermont is metamorphic. On the western fringe of the State there are Cambrian and Ordovician deposits. There is even a small section of Silurian material south of where I live. Attached is a Cambrian Agnostid that I collected from a formation listed as being void of fossils. Much more research is needed in our State.

[Cluros]

Hi Don. You are absolutely correct about the condition of collecting in the State. I spend a lot of time researching, driving around and talking to people. Any formation on the islands is difficult to access and requires time, effort and a lot of face time with people.

[jpc]

Hi Don. You are absolutely correct about the condition of collecting in the State. I spend a lot of time researching, driving around and talking to people. Any formation on the islands is difficult to access and requires time, effort and a lot of face time with people.

Nice trilobite, and great prep work.... I agree with the above statement about my beloved Wyoming as well. I have one trilobite I found in a microroadcut in VT years ago... still unprepped.

[Jeffrey P]

Thanks for posting your wife's spectacular find and also educating us about the geology/paleontology of your state. I've never collected in Vermont, though I visited a site across Lake Champlain in NY this summer. Your state's fossils have always intrigued me and I'm impressed with the efforts you've made to find available sites. Best of luck collecting. Congrats to your wife and for the amazing prep job. Take it as a compliment that its authenticity was doubted.