aek Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 Last week, after checking the weather wunderground numerous times, I decided to drive 3.5 hours from Chicago to St. Paul Stone Quarry. It was the last "open house" day according to the ESCONI website. I arrived at 7:45, the first and only person there. Shortly thereafter, after a brief safety instruction, I followed the manager to the collecting site, heaps and heaps of Waldron shale. Even though I dressed in layers, I still had to take breaks and warm up in the car for a few minutes, but I much rather prefer collecting in cold weather as opposed to hot summer sun with mosquitoes, any day. It didn't take too long to start finding fossils. Here are just a few of my finds: Eospirifer Platystrophia brachiopods with pyrite Platyceras niagarense encrusted with strophomenid, bryozoa and pyrite. front: back: Partial Dalmanitid Trilobite in matrix When prepping, it's really wonderful how the waldron "butter" shale just crumbles apart around the predictable morphology of an enrolled trilobite. The trip just wouldn't seem complete without a short drive east to the Cincinnati Arch roadcuts. I first went to South Gate and found a flexicalymene eroding right out of the cut. It is interesting to see the comparisons here. The trilobite on the left is from St Paul (Silurian) and has beautiful pyritized eyes. The one on the right is from South Gate (Ordovician). Both trilobites have 21 articulated segments; does this make them both the same age as "adults"? Interesting to note the difference in size, being 40 million years apart, same species.. Thanks for looking! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doushantuo Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 nice report,AEK. A word on terminology:Flexicalymene is a genus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 Nice report--great finds. Glad you got one last hunting trip in before winter's grip locks things down for several months. Both "roller" bugs are in the same genus. Are you certain they are the same species? When I got a chance to hunt the St. Leon roadcut in Indiana, I believe there were two species (or possibly subspecies) present there with different sizes. Cheers. -Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phevo Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 Those are some pretty spectacular finds especially with the pyrite, what do you do to keep the ironoxide from overtaking them? Over here we try to keep them dry and put them with some cotton bedding but they still succumb eventually Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vieira Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 Fantastic report. Thanks for sharing. And nice fossils too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 Nice report and finds. Thanks for sharing it. Keeping the pyrite dry, in an airtight plastic container, with a silica gel desiccant pack inside, should protect from pyrite disease. You can search the Forum for other threads about pyrite disease. Regards, 2 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...
Herb Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 nice finds "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...
piranha Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 Flexicalymene is an Ordovician trilobite. The calymenids are: Calymene breviceps The dalmanitid is: Glyptambon verrucosus 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aek Posted December 28, 2016 Author Share Posted December 28, 2016 7 hours ago, digit said: Nice report--great finds. Glad you got one last hunting trip in before winter's grip locks things down for several months. Both "roller" bugs are in the same genus. Are you certain they are the same species? When I got a chance to hunt the St. Leon roadcut in Indiana, I believe there were two species (or possibly subspecies) present there with different sizes. Cheers. -Ken Thanks, Ken. I'm fairly certain they're the same genus, however I am definitely not an expert. The one on the left is silurian age from the quarry and the little one on the right is ordovician from St Leon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aek Posted December 28, 2016 Author Share Posted December 28, 2016 7 hours ago, Phevo said: Those are some pretty spectacular finds especially with the pyrite, what do you do to keep the ironoxide from overtaking them? Over here we try to keep them dry and put them with some cotton bedding but they still succumb eventually Thanks, probably the same: keep dry, air tight container, possibly with silica, like Tim suggested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 8 hours ago, digit said: Both "roller" bugs are in the same genus. 44 minutes ago, aek said: Thanks, Ken. I'm fairly certain they're the same genus, however I am definitely not an expert. The one on the left is silurian age from the quarry and the little one on the right is ordovician from St Leon. They are certainly not the same genus. As I posted above; Flexicalymene is Ordovician. There is one species of calymenid from the Waldron Shale: Calymene breviceps 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aek Posted December 28, 2016 Author Share Posted December 28, 2016 28 minutes ago, piranha said: They are certainly not the same genus. As I posted above; Flexicalymene is Ordovician. There is one species of calymenid from the Waldron Shale: Calymene breviceps I see, it is an enrolled Calymene breviceps. Thank you for the information, I appreciate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 4 minutes ago, aek said: I see, it is an enrolled Calymene breviceps. Thank you for the information, I appreciate it. It's easy to be certain because Calymene breviceps occurs only in the Waldron Shale of Indiana and Tennessee. There is also a distinct feature to differentiate C. breviceps from other species of Calymene. The frontomedian glabellar lobe of C. breviceps protrudes over the cephalic anterior border. The attached photos illustrate that difference quite well. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aek Posted December 30, 2016 Author Share Posted December 30, 2016 A few more finds from St Paul, please correct me if these ID's are wrong.. Unicinulus stricklandi with some sort of epizoan annelid encrustation Eucalyptocrinus crassus calyx Leptaena with pyrite 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doushantuo Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 Nice macrofauna!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 Wonderful pyrite preservation! When I die, I want to be pyritized.... Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 Ive never been one much interested in brach's, but those are perty dang cool! By any chance are you going to clean up the shell? RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aek Posted January 11, 2017 Author Share Posted January 11, 2017 On 12/30/2016 at 3:30 AM, doushantuo said: Nice macrofauna!!!!!!!!! Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aek Posted January 11, 2017 Author Share Posted January 11, 2017 On 12/30/2016 at 9:38 AM, Uncle Siphuncle said: Wonderful pyrite preservation! When I die, I want to be pyritized.... Haha! Me too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aek Posted January 11, 2017 Author Share Posted January 11, 2017 On 12/31/2016 at 7:10 AM, RJB said: Ive never been one much interested in brach's, but those are perty dang cool! By any chance are you going to clean up the shell? RB Thanks, I know what you mean .. slowly making progress.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aek Posted January 11, 2017 Author Share Posted January 11, 2017 Glyptambon verrucosus compound eye 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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