Trilobite site in Montana

[RJB]

My youngest son has been doing some research and has found a trilobite site out in the middle of what I name as 'No where's ville'.   Hes going to drag me out there next week.  7 hours of driving, 3  or 4 hours of splittin shale and back home for dinner and bed.  Not looking forward to all that driving, but excited to get out and about digging for old bugs.  Will update this once we get back.  Wish us luck.

 

RB

[Monica]

Good luck!!! 

 

[Kane]

Never figured you for a trilobite hound! It does sound exciting (if exhausting), but any day out in the field has got to be better than staying around the house. Good luck out there, Ron, but don't overdo it - let your son do most of the harder work!

[Miocene_Mason]

Good luck!

[Darktooth]

Geez Montana has dinos AND trilos ?! I gotta move! Good luck and keep us posted.

[Tidgy's Dad]

Good luck! 

Take it easy but have fun and find lots of trilos! 

[crabfossilsteve]

Go find some great bugs.  I met a fellow decades ago who did some research on some trilobites out there, but never got where.   Wish I had.  Look forward to seeing what you find.

[ynot]

Good for You to get out.

Good luck!

Looking forward to the trip report, take lots of picts.

[Raggedy Man]

Sounds like a blast Rob! Seems your youngest son and I have something in common...lol

[DevonianDigger]

Very cool, Ron! Looking forward to seeing what you find! Have fun!

[MeargleSchmeargl]

7 hours ago, RJB said:

My youngest son has been doing some research and has found a trilobite site out in the middle of what I name as 'No where's ville'.   Hes going to drag me out there next week.  7 hours of driving, 3  or 4 hours of splittin shale and back home for dinner and bed.  Not looking forward to all that driving, but excited to get out and about digging for old bugs.  Will update this once we get back.  Wish us luck.

 

RB

If that was my situation, I'd be gunning it for Montana without a hesitation. No need for your son to drag you when you're one step ahead of them!

 

Did he mention the formation name?

[MeargleSchmeargl]

5 hours ago, Darktooth said:

Geez Montana has dinos AND trilos ?! I gotta move! Good luck and keep us posted.

Georgia also does! Trilos in the NW and dinos (in limited supply) by the 'bama border at the fall line.

[Paciphacops]

6 hours ago, Darktooth said:

Geez Montana has dinos AND trilos ?! I gotta move!

 

Dinos and trilos AND grizzly bears! 

[ynot]

Just now, Paciphacops said:

 

Dinos and trilos AND grizzly bears! 

And moss agate and crystal scepters and ammonites, OH MY!

[Darktooth]

46 minutes ago, ynot said:

And moss agate and crystal scepters and ammonites, OH MY!

Lets not forget sapphires!

[ynot]

4 minutes ago, Darktooth said:

Lets not forget sapphires!

OH NO, can not forget thuse (what was that again?).

[piranha]

On 5/7/2018 at 2:04 AM, RJB said:

My youngest son has been doing some research and has found a trilobite site out in the middle of what I name as 'No where's ville'.  

Hes going to drag me out there next week.  7 hours of driving,...

 

RB, I'm curious where you are collecting, please give us an update on the formation.

Here is a list of Montana trilobite references.  A little light reading in your spare time!  

   

 

 

Bonem, R.M. 1971
Dresbachian faunal zones in Pilgrim Formation of south-Central Montana.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Bulletin, 55(8):1391-1392

 

Bonem, R.M. 1972
Stratigraphic and faunal studies of the Pilgrim Formation in south-central Montana. pp.11-17 
Montana Geological Society, pp.11-17

 

Brezinski, D.K. 2005
Paleobiogeographic patterns in late Mississippian trilobites of the United States with new species from Montana.
Annals of Carnegie Museum, 74(2):77-90

 

Campbell, I., Sharp, R.P., & Gale, H.R. 1937 

A new locality for Middle Cambrian fossils near Noxon, Montana.

American Journal of Science, 204:411-421

 

Deiss, C. 1936
Revision of type Cambrian formations and sections of Montana and Yellowstone National Park.
Bulletin of the Geological Society of America, 47(8):1257-1342

 

Deiss, C. 1939
Cambrian stratigraphy and trilobites of northwestern Montana. 
Geological Society of America, Special Paper, 18:1-135

 

Denson, N.M. 1939
Trilobites from the Park shale of Montana and Yellowstone National Park.
M.A. Thesis, Montana State Universit, 73 pp.

 

Denson, N.M. 1942
Late middle Cambrian trilobite faunas and stratigraphy of Alberta, Montana, Wyoming and Utah.
Ph.D. Thesis, Princeton University, 195 pp.

 

Dorf, E., & Lochman, C. 1940
Upper Cambrian formations in southern Montana. 
Bulletin of the Geological Society of America, 51(4):541-556

 

Duncan, D.C. 1937
Upper Cambrian trilobites from Montana and Yellowstone National Park.
M.S. Thesis, University of Montana, Missoula, 121 pp.

 

Easton, W.H. 1962
Carboniferous formations and faunas of central Montana. 
U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper, 348:1-157

 

Grant, R.E. 1958
Cambrian faunas of the Snowy Range formation, southwestern Montana and northwestern Wyoming.
PhD Thesis, University of Texas, 553 pp.
 
Grant, R.E. 1965
Faunas and stratigraphy of the Snowy Range Formation (Upper Cambrian) in southwestern Montana and northwestern Wyoming.
Geological Society of America Memoir, 96:1-171

 

Hanson, A.M. 1957
Cambrian of Crazy Mountain Basin.

Montana Geological Society, pp. 48-53 

 

Hanson, A.M. 1961
Cambrian system in the Big Horn Canyon area.

Montana Geological Society, pp. 51-57 

 

Hu, C.H. & Li, I.L. 1971
Ontogenies of four proparian trilobites from the Upper Cambrian, Montana, USA (with a description of Vernaculina lushihi, n.sp.). 
Proceedings of the Geological Society of China, 14:165-184

 

Hu, C.H. 1972
Ontogeny of three Cedaria zone trilobites from Upper Cambrian, Montana. 
Transactions and Proceedings of the Palaeontological Society of Japan, 85:245-259 

 

Kauffman, M.E. 1965
Cambrian stratigraphy in the Drummond-Garnet Range area.

Montana Geological Society, pp. 79-88 

 

Kobayashi, T. 1935
The Briscoia fauna of the late Upper Cambrian in Alaska with descriptions of a few Upper Cambrian trilobites from Montana and Nevada. 
Japanese Journal of Geology and Geography, 12(3-4):39-58

 

Kurtz, V.E. 1976
Biostratigraphy of the Cambrian and lowest Ordovician, Bighorn Mountains and associated uplifts in Wyoming and Montana. 
Brigham Young University Geology Studies, 23(2):215-227

 

Lochman, C., & Duncan, D. 1944
Early Upper Cambrian faunas of central Montana.
Geological Society of America, Special Paper, 54:1-181

 

Lochman, C. 1949
Paleoecology of the Cambrian in Montana and Wyoming.
In: Report of the Committee on a Treatise on Marine Ecology and Paleoecology, pp. 31-71

 

Lochman, C. 1950
Status of Dry Creek Shale of central Montana.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Bulletin, 34(11):2200-2222

 

Lochman, C. 1950
Upper Cambrian faunas of the Little Rocky Mountains, Montana.
Journal of Paleontology, 24(3):322-349

 

Lochman, C., & Duncan, D. 1950
The Lower Ordovician Bellefontia fauna in Central Montana.
Journal of Paleontology, 24(3):350-353

 

Lochman, C. 1957
Paleoecology of the Cambrian in Montana and Wyoming. 
Geological Society of America Memoir, 67:117-162

 

Lochman, C., & Hu, C.H. 1962
An Aphelaspis Zone faunule from Logan, Montana. 
Journal of Paleontology, 36(3):431-441

 

Lochman, C. 1964
Upper Cambrian faunas From the Subsurface Deadwood Formation, Williston Basin, Montana. 
Journal of Paleontology, 38(1):33-60

 

Lochman, C. 1965
Lower Ordovician (Zone D) faunules from the Williston Basin, Montana.
Journal of Paleontology, 39(3):466-486

 

Lochman, C. 1966
Lower Ordovician (Arenig) faunas from the Williston Basin, Montana and North Dakota. 
Journal of Paleontology, 40(3):512-548

 

Merrill, G.P. 1893
The Paleozoic section in the vicinity of Three Forks, Montana. 
United States Geological Survey Bulletin, 110:1-56

 

O'Malley, D.P. 1985.
Trilobite biostratigraphy of the Gordon Shale in the southern part of the Libby Trough, Sanders County, Montana.
M.S. Thesis, Washington State University, 146 pp.

 

Ross, R.J. 1957
Ordovician fossils from wells in the Williston basin, eastern Montana.
United States Geological Survey Bulletin 1021M:439-510

 

Schwimmer, D.R. 1973
The Middle-Cambrian biostratigraphy of Montana and Wyoming.
Ph.D. Thesis, State University of New York at Stony Brook, 452 pp.
 
Schwimmer, D.R. 1975
Quantitative taxonomy and biostratigraphy of Middle Cambrian trilobites from Montana and Wyoming.
Mathematical Geology, 7(2):149-166

 

Theodosis, S.D. 1955
Cambrian system in northwestern Montana.

Montana Geological Society, pp. 64-69 

 

Thomas, R.C. 1987
Paleontology and carbonate petrology across the Marjumiid-Pterocephaliid biomere boundary, Southwestern Montana. 
M.S. Thesis, University of Montana, 147 pp.

 

Walcott, C.D. 1916
Cambrian Geology and Paleontology III, No.4 Relations vetween the Cambrian and Pre-Cambrian formations in the vicinity of Helena, Montana.
Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 64(4):259-302

 

Walcott, C.D. 1917
Cambrian Geology and Paleontology IV, No. 2. The Albertella fauna in British Columbia and Montana. 
Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 67(2):9-59

[RJB]

Wow, thanks everyone.  and @piranha, thanks for all the info.  I have always know that there were trilo sites here, and even found two of them, (both sites you are not alowed to dig) but never had the time to go. I was always busy with building and my crabs and ammonites.   Oh, and pirana, I will try and get the formation from you.  And ynot. lots of pictures for you. We leave this Sunday morning.  

 

RB

[Lmshoemaker]

On 5/7/2018 at 2:37 PM, piranha said:

 

RB, I'm curious where you are collecting, please give us an update on the formation.

Here is a list of Montana trilobite references.  A little light reading in your spare time!  

   

 

Lochman, C. 1964
Upper Cambrian faunas From the Subsurface Deadwood Formation, Williston Basin, Montana. 
Journal of Paleontology, 38(1):33-60

 

 

Huh, I'm surprised the Deadwood has fossils, we looked at it in Montana on our field camp and man it was completely barren of fossils.

[Wrangellian]

Hey Ron, Good luck in the hunt, and don't forget to bring back lots of spares for all of us if you find them - none of this "has to be perfect" baloney!

I'm curious what age/formation it is, too...

[piranha]

13 hours ago, Lmshoemaker said:

Huh, I'm surprised the Deadwood has fossils, we looked at it in Montana on our field camp and man it was completely barren of fossils.

 

 

As the title suggests, the trilobites are from subsurface core samples. 

[RJB]

  Ok, it was actually 9 hours of driving and 3 hours of splittin shale.  We did find some stuff, but its gunna take a couple of days before I can get to it.  It was tuff splittin shale with half a numb body but was really nice to get out into mother nature.  Nice day too.  Lots of nice warm sunshine and surrounded by trees. 

 

RB

[Peat Burns]

3 hours ago, RJB said:

  Ok, it was actually 9 hours of driving and 3 hours of splittin shale.  We did find some stuff, but its gunna take a couple of days before I can get to it.  It was tuff splittin shale with half a numb body but was really nice to get out into mother nature.  Nice day too.  Lots of nice warm sunshine and surrounded by trees. 

 

RB

 

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

[ynot]

Pretty place to hunt for trilobites! (or any other type of rock.)

 

Glad You got to get out on a hunt.