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Georgia Trilobites - SITE OFF LIMITS NOW


Nimravis

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I did not think that I was going to have time to hunt Georgia Cambrian trilobites – Aphelaspis brachyphasis from the Conasauga Formation, but I did find a couple hours to collect. So this morning I left at  7 AM and drove one and a half hours to Murray County, Georgia to collect at a small exposure on the Consssuga River. It was a cold morning, 31°, even by my Chicago standards for October. 

 

The purpose for this visit visit was to gather some matrix for winter work. If you have a chance to visit this site, besides being abundant , many of your finds will have multiple trilobites on the mudstone. 

 

Below are a couple pics of the area, as well as some of the trilobites that I found. 

 

 

 

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NIce finds! I’d heard of Georgia trilos, but never actually seen them.

“...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

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46 minutes ago, WhodamanHD said:

NIce finds! I’d heard of Georgia trilos, but never actually seen them.

What is nice with this spot is that it is a very small exposure and the mudstone splits real easy and the trilobites are numerous . 

20 minutes ago, Bobby Rico said:

They are lovely wow :wub: . Great finds.

Thanks Bobby.

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4 minutes ago, Nimravis said:

What is nice with this spot is that it is a very small exposure and the mudstone splits real easy and the trilobites are numerous . 

24 minutes ago, Bobby Rico said:

Maybe I’ll get there someday, thanks for posting!

“...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

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45 minutes ago, Bobby Rico said:

They are lovely wow :wub: . Great finds.

I really like the look of a trilobite when they are in a nice size slab of matrix. Really nice colours to the mudstone too.

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29 minutes ago, Bobby Rico said:

I really like the look of a trilobite when they are in a nice size slab of matrix. Really nice colours to the mudstone too.

I agree. The other nice thing with this mudstone is that once I go through all of the matrix over the winter, I can cut it down to smaller pieces using a hacksaw– it cuts like warm butter. 

31 minutes ago, Foozil said:

Those are awesome!! :drool:

Thanks

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1 hour ago, Malcolmt said:

Very nice , a good days score....

The score will come when I go through the matrix this winter,  the trilobites I posted today were ones that just exposed themselves. I will post them in a couple months. 

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Wow!! Those are fantastic trilobites. An appropriate publication is:

 

Schwimmer, D.R., 2012. An Aphelaspis zone (upper Cambrian,

Paibian) trilobite faunule in the central Conasauga River Valley,

North Georgia, USA. Southeastern Geology. V. 49, No. 1, p. 31-41

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/289333517_An_aphelaspis_zone_Upper_Cambrian_paibian_trilobite_faunule_in_the_central_conasauga_River_Valley_North_Georgia_USA

 

Yours,

 

Paul H.

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Just now, Oxytropidoceras said:

Wow!! Those are fantastic trilobites. An appropriate publication is:

 

Schwimmer, D.R., 2012. An Aphelaspis zone (upper Cambrian,

Paibian) trilobite faunule in the central Conasauga River Valley,

North Georgia, USA. Southeastern Geology. V. 49, No. 1, p. 31-41

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/289333517_An_aphelaspis_zone_Upper_Cambrian_paibian_trilobite_faunule_in_the_central_conasauga_River_Valley_North_Georgia_USA

 

Yours,

 

Paul H.

Thanks Paul, I have that and I think that it is the only write up on that location. 

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Congratulations Ralph. Those are some excellent finds for such a brief search. I'll have to add this one to my bucket list. Thanks for sharing. 

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:faint:

 

I only wish I could find trilobites that beautiful and plentiful around here!  Congratulations on the wonderful finds!!!

 

Monica

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Amazing. 

Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt
behind the trailer, my desert
Them red clay piles are heaven on earth
I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt

Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers

 

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Those are impressive finds! Quite lovely.

 

That is some pretty hard core fossil hunting on a river at 31 degrees. Hope you were dressed warm enough. The thrill of the hunt and assurance of a good find is an excellent motivator though. I’m happy you found some good ones to make the trip and conditions worth it.

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Great report and photos, Ralph. :)

Good luck with the winter hunt. 

Thank you for posting this. 

Glad to see Jeffrey P and I were not the only ones out today.  ;)

    Tim    VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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3 hours ago, Jeffrey P said:

Congratulations Ralph. Those are some excellent finds for such a brief search. I'll have to add this one to my bucket list. Thanks for sharing. 

Jeff as an FYI those were just the ones that appeared during the collecting of the mudstone , there will be a great many more in the matrix. It is a great place to collect . 

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Well done, Ralph! I know I'd love to get my hands on some of that matrix. It does look very soft. Do you have to stabilize it after splitting to prevent it from drying out and cracking?

...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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If you inspect each piece carefully (a loupe or binocular microscope helps) you may find some agnostid trilobites.  I have a few complete ones from that site, but most are heads or tails (which look quite similar).  They are not nearly as abundant as the Aphelaspis but they are a nice surprise when they show up.

 

Don

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