Arizona Chris Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 Hi all, Last weekend, me and paleo Wife found another fossiliferous outcrop in the Permian Fort Apache Limestone east of Payson, about a mile further down the Highway 260 trail. The past few days, we have been soaking the 35 pounds in limestone in 10% Muriatic, and have found more treasures in this localities rock than any other! In addition to the tiny microfossils I have been sharing with you from this area such as ostracods and tiny mollusks, we on occasion will find fragmentary bits of a trilobite called Anisopyge inornata. They preserve for some peculiar reason as yellow caramel colored translucent silica, and can be spotted easily in the sorting trays because of this. Tuesday night, a new batch came out of the pans from the coarse sieves, and we started going through it. I almost fainted when I found something we had never seen before in the sorting tray - We finally found the "Holy Grail" so to speak of the Fort Apache Limestone, a complete pygidium preserved in carmel colored silica! This "glass" trilobite is not a mold of the exterior or inside but a complete replacement of the original scleroprotein with silica, similar to how the trees in the petrified forest were preserved. Here are a few shots to share with you now, taken tonight of both the top and bottom sides. That huge 16 gauge nail in the photo - is actually a straight pin. The pygidium is about 3mm wide. So much more to come out of this amazing new site, I will share it with you as time permits! Top view at 10x Bottom View of the inside of the pygidium Me at the site last weekend Paleo Wife Unit searches for fossiliferous rocks... Well, thanks for looking, I hope you enjoyed this report! PS - Im still figuring out the focus stacking software, bear with me! 1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arizona Chris Paleo Web Site: http://schursastrophotography.com/fossiladventures.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 Amazing find! Thanks for sharing. Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 That's pretty cool, Chris! Congratulations on this find. Thanks for posting it. 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...
Miocene_Mason Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 Wow nice (and super rare) find! “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Rico Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 Wow nice find. Good one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arizona Chris Posted September 21, 2017 Author Share Posted September 21, 2017 The second complete pygidium was found a day later, preserved attached to the bottom of a shell bit, and we almost missed it. But the shell certainly protected it from the somewhat brutal acid bath and sieving process from becoming "trilo-bits" instead. The same batch also gave us the very first scaphopods, and a gorgeous calcareous sponge. (coming soon). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arizona Chris Paleo Web Site: http://schursastrophotography.com/fossiladventures.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamalama Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 I think I can almost see the terrace marks on the Pygidium underside shot... Unless those are beekite rings. Very nice! -Dave __________________________________________________ Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPheeIf I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPheeCheck out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/ 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