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Does Anyone Own Large Isotelus Trilobites?


Kurufossils

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Hello, I've been recently fascinated by large isotelus trilobites. Does anyone on here own one and would like to show and talk about it, I would if I owned one but I don't see that happening anytime soon haha. This is the largest I've seen for sale so far that would've been 8 inches, would be nice to be able to find one but I don't have that luxury.

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A large prone is on my list, too. At best, I have a 2" roller and plenty of fragments. One pygidium piece I have is about 4" wide.

...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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I was lucky to be invited by one of our members to a quarry about four hours drive away on two occasions this year. I could live in that place! 

...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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@Kane Luckily you where able to come back with some nice finds then, oh yeah I know what you mean the dream is to own prime real estate within distance or in a locality, I feel like that's the best retirement and if it can happen earlier even better and the lucky are born into it. It would be amazing to pull a big one out of their, I never tried trilobite hunting (though I found a few parts in an unnatural locality, did you have to split open shale to find those?

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Living close to a good fossil site is a good retirement plan! ;)

 

The ones I collected were already weathered out, but the best and most intact ones can require splitting of some tough limestone!

And if you want to see some drool worthy Isos collected by some of our members, do a search on the forum - a lot of hits with some great specimens!

...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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My largest. Not quite complete, but I certainly wasn't going to leave it behind. I haven't done anything as far as prep work. This was found before I had a saw on top of a pile in the very bottom pit of a now off-limits quarry. I think it took be about 3 hours to get it to my car and likely got me a broken thumb when I slipped taking it off the pile. I say likely because I'm too stubborn to have gotten x-rays (they can't do anything for a busted thumb anyway.)

 

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There's no limit to what you can accomplish when you're supposed to be doing something else

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Here is a 3" enrolled one from Frankfort, KY.

Isotelus 5.JPG

Isotelus 6.JPG

Isotelus 7.JPG

Isotelus 9.JPG

Isotelus8.JPG

i1.jpg

I2.jpg

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"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

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2 hours ago, Northern Sharks said:

My largest. Not quite complete, but I certainly wasn't going to leave it behind. I haven't done anything as far as prep work. This was found before I had a saw on top of a pile in the very bottom pit of a now off-limits quarry. I think it took be about 3 hours to get it to my car and likely got me a broken thumb when I slipped taking it off the pile. I say likely because I'm too stubborn to have gotten x-rays (they can't do anything for a busted thumb anyway.)

 

Wow what an experience but definitely worth it, what a great find! I'd break a few bones for a neat specimen haha.

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Here is an isotelus doublure that I found 4 years ago . As you can see from this the actual trilobite would have been a monster.

Based on this I would extrapolate that the trilobyte could have been about 15 inches long and 7 or 8 inches wide.

 

 

 

Cropped_isotelus_doubl_2.jpg

 

I also have a fairly large one I found about 5 years ago up in the Brechin area near lake Simcoe. I will try to take a picture of it tomorrow if I get time.

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@Malcolmt Incredible! That surely would've been a monster isotelus from the size of that piece alone, thanks for sharing and looking forward to seeing your other specimen if you get time.

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Not yet , but it is a matter of days .:PMore seriously I 'll see this winter if some of the rocks collected this summer contain complete ones or only partial molds . But I have uncovered ridiculously huge and well preserved parts here in Quebec .. There are certainly monsters waiting to be discovered!

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I figured I better go get you a picture before I got caught up in other things. Please excuse the photography I have never claimed that to be my forte.

 

Here are the ones that I had that were easily accessible. QuarrymanDave here on the forum also has some that I prepped for him over the years

 

The large one at the top is approximately 9 inches long by 5 1/2 wide. Note the two juveniles besides the cephalon

 

Isotelus Overview

 

Here is a closer picture of the larger one

 

Isotelus_LArge_cropped.thumb.jpg.2b6b8ebc50432d10f2fffd5f86dcaea5.jpg

 

One of these days I will get around to fixing up the left eye. Just need to find one that is big enough.

 

Here is a group that  @QuarrymanDave  and I found before they were prepped

 

59ba8ed1d860a_CroppedDaveandMalcolm.thumb.jpg.f92eab42b2b978dc5d79c7c87308dff1.jpg

 

Here are some that were found earlier this year that I prepped for someone from the New York Paleontology Society

 

Isotelus_2017_and_ceaurus_Bowmanville_prepped.thumb.jpg.8f2d54e0dc53e17042e0bccc4832020c.jpg

 

Here is a blind one miraculously getting its sight back again

 

59ba909b6dc8d_Isotelusalmosthaseyesagain.thumb.jpg.9106d98615595b34f10749171dcde2c1.jpg

 

Well that's it going to go do a bit of prepping, hope you got your fill of Isotelus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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that is some collection Malcomt :envy:

"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

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On 9/14/2017 at 10:08 AM, Malcolmt said:

I figured I better go get you a picture before I got caught up in other things. Please excuse the photography I have never claimed that to be my forte.

:envy::default_faint:

 

I keep throwing money at my screen but nothing is happening. :D:P 

...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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I have only rollers and all small. I do have a hypostome that would have been from a 14-16 inch specimen. Probably Isotelus maximus from the Whitewater Formation in Dayton, Ohio.

 

Most of the Cincinnatian giants are in museums. I've been told that the biggest ones are often found upside down and have to be prepped by first building a base on top, flip over and prep "up" to the shell.  The largest Isotelus species is I. rex and it is found up on the Hudson Bay I think.

 

Malcolm, how do you find the Ontario specimens? Up or down?

 

 

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Eric...

 

My experience for the complete  isotelus which really is limited to two superb collecting locations is that 30% are probably fully enrolled, 20% are partially enrolled and 50% are essentially prone. At these two locations it is very rare to find a complete one upside down. Partials are a bit of a different story. In my gut would say that the partials which are  usually just cephalons or pygidiums are 70% dorsal 30% ventral. These are all just my gut estimates I have never really tried to collect this data. As you can see from my previous pictures all of these specimens were dorsal. I suspect that the shape of these tends to have them end up ventral side down when in a current. The one location was I believe a burial event that covered a large area so I would expect that they would be somewhat found as they were in real life, dorsal side up. But then inverted ventral versus dorsal could very well be my own collecting bias... I tend not to be all that excited about ventral isotelus as they do not look that great when prepped unless you build a new base, invert and prep form the other side. I do that with other rarer trilos but can't say I have ever done it for an isotelus. Heck I gave away a really nice ventral 4 inch complete isotelus about a month ago becausee it was in a 50 pond block and I did not feel like getting bringing my saw over to where it was.

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@Malcolmt those are some very nice specimens.

 

@Ryann10006 you should PM @Darktooth I believe he may be able to show you some good sights. I can't recall if Isotelus are his specialty but I know he has a knack for larger trilobites.

Do or do not. There is no try. - Yoda

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13 minutes ago, Fossil-Hound said:

@Malcolmt those are some very nice specimens.

 

@Ryann10006 you should PM @Darktooth I believe he may be able to show you some good sights. I can't recall if Isotelus are his specialty but I know he has a knack for larger trilobites.

Actually @Fossil-Hound the large trilobites you are refering to are Dipleura dekayi, with the biggest I have found at 6 and a half inches. Not  quite as big as those Isotelus, but still very nice finds. And yes, I am always willing to show people great New York locales, but at this time we are having one of the best salmon runs in years. That's where my focus is gonna be for awhile.

Dipleurawhisperer5.jpg

I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie.

 

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25 minutes ago, Darktooth said:

Actually @Fossil-Hound the large trilobites you are refering to are Dipleura dekayi, with the biggest I have found at 6 and a half inches. Not  quite as big as those Isotelus, but still very nice finds. And yes, I am always willing to show people great New York locales, but at this time we are having one of the best salmon runs in years. That's where my focus is gonna be for awhile.

 

Ah yes that is what those are called. 6.5 is really big compared to the Cambrian and Devonian trilobites I find. Just remember when you take him out to blind fold him. :ptero:

Do or do not. There is no try. - Yoda

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@Darktooth A large dipleura dekayi is just as nice, that must've been a sight to behold at 6.5. Also trimerus and especially of course the Arctinurus boltoni are just as lovely, That's awesome, to bad I'm trapped in NYC and pretty far from any trilobite sites that I know of, besides the accidental mini deposit in my area which is pretty much cleaned, I unfortunately have to depend on the ebay shale to come across any for now haha.

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