Manticocerasman Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Last week I got a written permission from a quarry nearby that allowed me to visit the location, and I was allowed to bring a few extra people. So I a friend and his wife where going to join me on the field trip, they are particularly interested in trilobites and this might be one of the best spots in Belgium to find some, although complete specimens are still hard to find. The rendez vous point was the parking of the quarry, so I left early in the morning in not so great weather conditions: gray clouds, rain and lots of wind. I got to the place at 9 AM and waited a while for my 2 friends. Once everybody was ready we made the descent to the fossiliferous layers with of course some stops on the way down to make a few pictures. The rain and wind of the past week had an impact on the cliffs in the quarry, and at a few locations some rocks had fallen on the roads that led down in the pit. This is where I made my first finds, and this already made my day. In the middle of the road between some small rocks that fell of a higher part I picked up a complete but slightly damaged trilobite (Phillipsia ornata belgica) This was already one of the best finds I ever did at this location, but it only got better, A few feet next to the trilobite I found a primitive shark tooth! And we still had to get to the fossiliferous part of the quarry. Once at the spot that we were going to prospect we dropped our bags and started to search the slope and wall for corrals, brachiopods and trilobite parts. The rain cleaned up most of the slope, so the corals and brachiopods made easy pickings . the trilobite pygidiums where scarce, but we each still found a few of them. This is where we spent the rest of the day, until the slope became too muddy. We also tried to free a few rocks from the wall in the hope to get some extra stuff and this delivered mainly a few extra pygidiums. Here in the slope I found my 2nd more or less complete trilobite, but sadly half of the scale was lost in the mud. Still leaving the imprint in the matrix. The heavy wind did offer some funny notes during the day were we had to run after bags or boxes that where taken away by the wind. This trip proved to be one of the best I ever made at this location, hopefully I can make a few extra visits here in 2016. more pictures of the discoveries will follow ... Kevin 1 growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesuslover340 Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Very neat to see the pics! Those trilos look nice! Can't wait to see more pics! "Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another."-Romans 14:19 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Great write up, Kev! My interest in trilobites is really flared up now thanks to you! "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...
Jeffrey P Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Kevin, Very fine report and pictures. Those trilobites look super cool! I would love to see more of your finds from that day. Looks like you all had a spectacular time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dactyll Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Kevin.... I can imagine the excitement... Getting access to a quarry that isnt collected often its a great feeling in itself and finding specimens like that.... Even better... Great report and finds.... well done.... Cheers Steve... And Welcome if your a New Member... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Tough going, but great rewards! "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...
Manticocerasman Posted February 22, 2016 Author Share Posted February 22, 2016 Lets start with an update on the brachiopods: The 3 smaller ones are : Rhipidomella michelini early carboniferous: Tournaisian Soignies (Belgium) I still have to figure out the large one, it is the first time I found a specimen like this one. growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Great report and pics. Not ideal weather, but finding trilobites makes up for that. Thank for posting, Kevin. 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...
belemniten Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Great tour ! Next time i want to come with you Many greetings from Germany ! Have a great time with many fossils Regards Sebastian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manticocerasman Posted February 23, 2016 Author Share Posted February 23, 2016 THX everyone. A little extra update, the horn corals: Caninia cornucopiae early carboniferous: Tournaisian Soignies (Belgium) growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manticocerasman Posted February 23, 2016 Author Share Posted February 23, 2016 and better pictures of the trilobites: Phillipsia ornata belgica early carboniferous: Tournaisian Soignies (Belgium) Cummingella bellisima early carboniferous: Tournaisian Soignies (Belgium) growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David in Japan Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 Wow, as usual great report. I am so jealous of the great spot you have there. ~~~~~~~~~~~~〇~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Warmest greetings from Kumamoto、 Japan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 Nice finds! Thanks for the report! Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manticocerasman Posted February 23, 2016 Author Share Posted February 23, 2016 This are some pieces that could have been great: The first one was originally a complete specimen, but was found ex situ and was probably broken while digging. The last one was almost completely in the matrix, only revealing a part of the thorax, after removing the matrix around I found out the cephalon was missing.... growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgehiker Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 Great report. Thanks. It's a plus to see Tournaisian aged specimens. This is the same age as much of the most eastern of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. The high peaks to the west of Calgary are mostly Tournaisian and Visean ...then this changes a bit further west to Cambrian, etc ( Burgess Shale in British Columbia). Those are nice trilobites. I rarely find them. The only time I've found more than an isolated Tournaisian specimen is when there are rhipidomella brachiopods present. But these are not common. In areas of lots of brachs (up to 40 species) but usually no rhipidomellas. In other areas rhipidomella dominate. Also, for whatever reason, trilobites and blastoids aren't found at the same sites. Brachs can be difficult to identify from photos. But the one in your photo may be something like an Eomartiniopsis...they tend to be on the large size. Congrats on the shark tooth. I have to focus on them if I want find teeth rather than other fossils. I tend to find them on a flat rock surface but they are easy to overlook if searching for other things. Anyways, great to see specimens from the Lower Carboniferous of Belgium where a lot of earlier paleontology was based upon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manticocerasman Posted February 24, 2016 Author Share Posted February 24, 2016 Canadawest, Here the brachiopods are relatively common, especially the Rhipidomella , but the fossils I find the most in association with trilobite parts is the bryozoan Fenestella sp. The blastoids are a different story, I’ve never seen them here in Belgium, and I don’t know anybody who ever fond one here. But there are 2 specimens described in old literature. The shark teeth are also relatively rare, but each time I went to this location I somehow manage to find one. I found up to 4 different species, but there are only two specimens that I could identify. All those fossils are found in the upper part of the quarry in the softer rocks. But the exploitation here is for the crinoidic limestone just under those interesting deposits. The stone they extract is composed out of a huge amount of crinoid particles and an occasional coral or brachiopod and this stone is very durable. It is still used a lot in construction everywhere in Belgium This should give you technical data : http://www.pierrebleuebelge.be/images/biblio/biblio-74-710.pdf the top of this crinoidic limestone is alterated and some weathered spots deliver a fin gravel composed almost exclusively out of loos crinoid particles. I used to bring whole bags of this gravel at home to sieve and pick out the most beautiful stems. Sometimes even calyx parts where found. This weekend I found 2 extra plates and I have now enough parts to recreate a calyx: growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taj Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 (edited) hmmm .. too bad I'm right in this spot ( Mons and I just drove past Tournai coming there ) but staying less than 24 hours , and no time for a side trip ... Edited February 24, 2016 by taj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manticocerasman Posted February 25, 2016 Author Share Posted February 25, 2016 hmmm .. too bad I'm right in this spot ( Mons and I just drove past Tournai coming there ) but staying less than 24 hours , and no time for a side trip ... Taj, send me a pm next time you visit Belgium, I m sure I can show you some nice hunting spots growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taj Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 Thanks Kevin . I have a buddy from Normandy currently working in Mons too ... Was a little bit green passing all this signs on the road , Antoing , Benissart ... Alas , I reached my hotel at 10 30 PM and departed at 6 pm the following day to get my train at Lille at 8 pm.... But one day , I will find the time to get up there , one day .... 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