Nimravis Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Well I did not have much luck opening Mazon Creek concretions today, so I figured that I would try something about 190 Million years older, so tonight I was whacking Conasauga shale matrix from Murray County, Georgia, looking for Cambrian Aphelaspis brachyphasis trilobites. I did not go through much matrix tonight, but I did find a few trilobites, but the ones that I found do not represent the quality of trilobites that come from that location. As I continue to go through this matrix, I guarantee that I will find some pretty specimens and I will post my finds. Here is what I found tonight- 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darktooth Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 I have got a few pieces that I need to split. I thought that someone mentioned in a previous thread, that if you soak this matrix in water they would be easier to split. Is that correct? 3 I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Great finds, Ralph! I really enjoy seeing these. Thanks for posting them. I'll have to get some of mine photographed and posted. 1 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...
Nimravis Posted November 4, 2018 Author Share Posted November 4, 2018 2 hours ago, Darktooth said: I have got a few pieces that I need to split. I thought that someone mentioned in a previous thread, that if you soak this matrix in water they would be easier to split. Is that correct? That is correct- I always use a hammer first and if nothing presents itself, it soak it and it splits nicely. The problem with the soaking is that sometimes the pieces can be really thin. After soaking, I put it off to the side and it will dry hard again. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 I love these trilos and this matrix. It's great fun to work with and always some nice bugs to be found. Great fun. Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan 1000 Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Nice trilos! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darktooth Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 8 hours ago, Nimravis said: That is correct- I always use a hammer first and if nothing presents itself, it soak it and it splits nicely. The problem with the soaking is that sometimes the pieces can be really thin. After soaking, I put it off to the side and it will dry hard again. Thank-you I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted November 4, 2018 Author Share Posted November 4, 2018 Here are some finds from today, the super tiny ones are always my favorite- these are all Aphelaspis brachyphasis. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted November 4, 2018 Author Share Posted November 4, 2018 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Rico Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Fantastic I love them . The contrast from the bug to matrix is beautiful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted November 4, 2018 Author Share Posted November 4, 2018 33 minutes ago, Bobby Rico said: Fantastic I love them . The contrast from the bug to matrix is beautiful. I agree Bobby, that is one of my favorite things with these bugs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted November 4, 2018 Author Share Posted November 4, 2018 @Darktooth Today I soaked some smaller pieces after I used a hammer looking for trilobites. I only had these soaking for about 1/2 hours. The pieces split very easily, if nothing is found with these initial splits, I toss it. Here you see how think some of the pieces are after the soaking split. Can there be fossils still in these pieces? Yes, but this is as far as I go with them. I do not use a razor blade or knife, I just pull them apart with my fingers. Here are a couple finds from this process- the first one has the classic halo that surrounds some of them. Here is another one- So with the soaking process, I came away with two trilobites, one that is really nice. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darktooth Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 Very cool! Thanks for showing this. I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paciphacops Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 Thanks for sharing these. I visited the site this past Friday and brought a bucket of shale home. The pieces were already drying out yesterday, and did not split well. I'll try soaking and see what I can find. 1 "Don't force it, just use a bigger hammer" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted November 5, 2018 Author Share Posted November 5, 2018 31 minutes ago, Paciphacops said: Thanks for sharing these. I visited the site this past Friday and brought a bucket of shale home. The pieces were already drying out yesterday, and did not split well. I'll try soaking and see what I can find. Good luck and post what you find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paciphacops Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 10 minutes ago, Nimravis said: Good luck and post what you find. Will do. I found some nice trilos already, but some of the calcite is a bit leached so far. Still need to get pics. The very first rock I picked up and split was this one from just above the water. I think this is a negative (with shell) of a complete agnostid trilobite about 3 mm long. I could not find the positive. I did not see any other pieces of agnostids at all, but they are tiny and hard to see. 1 "Don't force it, just use a bigger hammer" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted November 5, 2018 Author Share Posted November 5, 2018 @Paciphacops nice find, those are really small and you have to look closely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted November 6, 2018 Author Share Posted November 6, 2018 Here are my finds from today- The first piece was found after soaking matrix that I already try to split with a hammer. When going through this matrix you really need to have a sharp eye, as some of the trilobites that are found at this location are the smallest that I have ever seen, here are some examples. An Agnostid portion (Red) and a Glabella from an Aphelaspis brachyphasis triloblite (Blue). Close-Ups- Another small one- And another one, it is located at the upper end of the pieces on the left. The Right shows the zoomed up pic. Here are some more finds- At this location, you can find a lot of "Free Cheeks" and Glabella's. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted November 11, 2018 Author Share Posted November 11, 2018 I have still be going through matrix and here are a couple more finds- 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 Some pretty nice ones there. I love the ones with halos as well. 1 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paciphacops Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 Some bugs in this last set are nice and big, relatively speaking. I tried splitting some of my Conasauga matrix after soaking in water for a couple of hours, and the splits were even worse than the drier matrix. As a test, I soaked a couple of pieces for several days, and those split cleanly and easily yesterday. I'm now soaking more, so I'll see how they turn out after a few days. 1 "Don't force it, just use a bigger hammer" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted November 11, 2018 Author Share Posted November 11, 2018 1 hour ago, Paciphacops said: Some bugs in this last set are nice and big, relatively speaking. I tried splitting some of my Conasauga matrix after soaking in water for a couple of hours, and the splits were even worse than the drier matrix. As a test, I soaked a couple of pieces for several days, and those split cleanly and easily yesterday. I'm now soaking more, so I'll see how they turn out after a few days. As an FYI, some will not split with fingers after soaking, but most do. As a further FYI, I take them out of the water and split with my fingers right away, if I find nothing I toss. And yes a couple have been big. Below is what I am looking for, but complete, this is the only portion I have found and I exposed it by soaking. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted November 13, 2018 Author Share Posted November 13, 2018 I spent about 1/2 hour going through some matrix and it was a day of little bugs. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted November 26, 2018 Author Share Posted November 26, 2018 Well since it is snowing in the Chicagoland area (expecting 6-12” tonight), I decided to go through some Conasauga matrix looking for trilobites, here are my finds. I know that they are not the sexist trilobites, but I do love being able to cut thru the matrix with a hacksaw. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeepTimeIsotopes Posted November 26, 2018 Share Posted November 26, 2018 On 11/4/2018 at 4:50 PM, Nimravis said: @Darktooth Today I soaked some smaller pieces after I used a hammer looking for trilobites. I only had these soaking for about 1/2 hours. The pieces split very easily, if nothing is found with these initial splits, I toss it. Here you see how think some of the pieces are after the soaking split. Can there be fossils still in these pieces? Yes, but this is as far as I go with them. I do not use a razor blade or knife, I just pull them apart with my fingers. Here are a couple finds from this process- the first one has the classic halo that surrounds some of them. Here is another one- So with the soaking process, I came away with two trilobites, one that is really nice. Isn't the halo due to the soft tissue decomposing and slightly changing the chemistry of the surrounding sediment? Each dot is 50,000,000 years: Hadean............Archean..............................Proterozoic.......................................Phanerozoic........... Paleo......Meso....Ceno.. Ꞓ.OSD.C.P.Tr.J.K..Pg.NgQ< You are here Doesn't time just fly by? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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