Unexpected Eurypterid hunting!!!

[Al Tahan]

Thanks don @FossilDAWG! I appreciate the feedback.

[caldigger]

1 minute ago, Al Tahan said:

Thanks Kane! I’ll be sure to post it in the FOM section tomorrow when I can get it 100% picture ready 

Heck, it was picture "perfect" ready in the shot of the rock split! 

[FossilDAWG]

BTW I think the rules are pretty clear.  Once in a while a very unusual situation comes up, like this one.  If anyone is uncertain how to interpret the rules in such a situation just ask a moderator.

 

No one has ever suggested that having to pay a parking fee (for example, at Brownies Beach in the summer), or pay for access to a site (such as Penn Dixie), in any way excludes a fossil you found yourself.

 

Don

[Al Tahan]

@FossilDAWG makes sense...I’m still fairly new to the forum and I did pay a good amount so I kept double/over thinking the whole thing 

 

Thanks Don! 

[DPS Ammonite]

17 minutes ago, FossilDAWG said:

BTW I think the rules are pretty clear.  Once in a while a very unusual situation comes up, like this one.  If anyone is uncertain how to interpret the rules in such a situation just ask a moderator.

 

No one has ever suggested that having to pay a parking fee (for example, at Brownies Beach in the summer), or pay for access to a site (such as Penn Dixie), in any way excludes a fossil you found yourself.

 

Don

I am very excited that Al’s find will eligible to be entered into the monthly fossil contest. It is an incredible find.

 

There are commercial quarries/ claims that require you to purchase you finds if they exceed a certain value. We should clarify our rules to allow purchased fossils if they were found by you. As written, our rules do not make this clear as demonstrated by the comment by Al Tahan.  “I had to buy but I also found  it so I don’t know how it works with fossil of the month qualifications lol.”

[FossilDAWG]

I'll check with the other moderators and see if they agree a clarification is in order.

 

Don

[Al Tahan]

@caldigger I know that wet look is nice!  I mean there is some rock dust in there a little I just gotta run it under water 1 more time lol. 

[JohnJ]

1 hour ago, Kane said:

They are quite clear, and have been finessed by staff over several years. 

 

Al, this would qualify as it was found by you. I love how the eurypterid has its arms up as if saying, “hooray for finding me!” Well done!

Indeed @Kane...well said!

 

Congratulations, Al!

 

The rules are quite clear.  Personally making the find supersedes any fee to own the find.  No other clarification is really needed.  

[PaleoNoel]

Well there goes my chances for IFOTM Regardless, congratulations on a fantastic find! I need to learn more about Lang's quarry as eurypterids are fossils close to the top of my bucket list.

[fossilized6s]

Beauty!! Congratulations on that! 

[DeepTimeIsotopes]

 Holy cow! That’s gorgeous   Many things have come and gone off my bucket list but eurypterids have always been on there. Spectacular find!

BTW how old are the rocks there?

[Ludwigia]

Picture perfect! There sure are some great specimens coming out of that quarry, but it's obvious to me that you usually have to work really hard to find them. You sure did bring Al good luck this time around.

 

[TqB]

Great story and wonderful specimen, Al. I've never used this emoticon before.. 

[Bobby Rico]

Hi Al great post indeed, very interesting and with lovely photos. I am really glad you purchased it . I think if you had not and he sold to someone else you would have regret it. Probably the nicest specimen I have seen for a long time, it does have some really great details.  First find wow. Thank you so much for sharing your story and good luck with fossil of the month.

 

Cheers Bobby 

[The Amateur Paleontologist]

@Al Tahan This is some excellent stuff - really neat report; and some beautiful fossils!!! Congrats on finding that stuff*   

I have to go collecting there one day...

-Christian

 

*what I'd call "ending the year in beauty and with a bang!"  

[ricardo]

Wonderful fossils! I´m glad you found those.

[Max-fossils]

Now that... 

I've got no words to describe how amazed I am by this find! Absolutely awesome!

Congratulations Al on this stellar fossil  

[t-tree]

3 hours ago, TqB said:

Great story and wonderful specimen, Al. I've never used this emoticon before.. 

 

I think a lot of us are envious in more ways than one!

A great find and addition to your collection .

 

John

[Monica]

Wow - excellent finds!!!  Congrats, and I'm happy to hear you had such an unexpected and great day out!!! 

 

Oh yes, I'm also 

[Fossildude19]

I agree with the other arguments put forth, Al. 

This is well within the rules for FotM.   

Good luck, it is a fantastic find.   

[Al Tahan]

6 hours ago, UtahFossilHunter said:

 Holy cow! That’s gorgeous   Many things have come and gone off my bucket list but eurypterids have always been on there. Spectacular find!

BTW how old are the rocks there?

The rocks are upper Silurian. I think many consider the fiddlers green member to be around 445-420 million years old. 

[Al Tahan]

@Ludwigia yea it was really lucky I won’t lie ha. We were out there for about an hour poking around. More recon than anything. 

 

@Bobby Rico yea I would have regretted not purchasing it for sure. To be clear I have found Eurypterid fragments and a small 3/4 specimen at the well known Litchfield roadcut but this was my first real legit “complete” and “wow!” Specimen. I had to have it lol. I always like having a “exemplary” specimen in my collection no matter what it is. 

 

Thanks @Max-fossils @t-tree And @Monica ....if I didn’t have to leave town immediately after going home I’d be staring at it over and over. I tend to do that with my favorite finds lol. For now I’m staring at photos 

 

@Fossildude19 and FOTM post is coming tonight! 

[MarleysGh0st]

Sweet!

 

I don't buy fossils, because the pleasure is in finding them, myself.  But in your situation, I'd have paid good money to keep that one, too.

[Jeffrey P]

Congratulations. That is a real super neat find. Well worth whatever you paid for it. Love that it's nearly complete. The detail on the arms is just awesome. Good luck on the FOTM contest. I would love to collect there someday since I have only one eurypterid fossil in my collection that's not even close to yours. .

[RJB]

 A truly magnificent find!  

 

RB