3/27/2019 trilobite dig at Penndixie

[JamesAndTheFossilPeach]

Great day overall found all of these plus a triple with 2 eldredgeops and 1 greenops which I gave to Devoniandigger to prepp

[JamesAndTheFossilPeach]

[JamesAndTheFossilPeach]

[JamesAndTheFossilPeach]

[JamesAndTheFossilPeach]

[DevonianDigger]

49 minutes ago, JamesAndTheFossilPeach said:

You should really include a ruler for scale, this photo doesn't do this guy justice!

[DevonianDigger]

I'll add mine as soon as I get them out of the car. Plus I'll post pics of his triple.

[Al Tahan]

Nice!!! I never gave PennDixie the attention it probably deserved when I lived in buffalo. I was too obsessed with the wanakah shale and the lake shore lol. 

 

I have goals to come and get a nice rana someday soon! I have found windom shale trilobites but at the lake shore and they were poorly preserved.

 

lots of envy!! 

 

[Malcolmt]

Leave some for us peasants!!!!!!

[Pagurus]

You did well!  Thanks for posting these.  It's always enjoyable, and informative, to see what others have found, even if it makes me a wee bit jealous!

[Peat Burns]

4 hours ago, JamesAndTheFossilPeach said:

[Monica]

4 hours ago, Peat Burns said:

 

I, too, love the orthoconic nautiloid - what a beauty!!!  It's a Spyroceras, correct?

[JamesAndTheFossilPeach]

1 hour ago, Monica said:

 

I, too, love the orthoconic nautiloid - what a beauty!!!  It's a Spyroceras, correct?

Yes you would be correct 

[JamesAndTheFossilPeach]

Here is the cephalopod next to a ruler for size reference.

[DevonianDigger]

Okay, finally got the rest of the goods out of the car. I took some photos of the bugs I found, as well as James' infamous triple.  This will take a few posts.

 

Here's my first of the day. Probably a little over an inch, but unfortunately the far side is folded underneath. It will still prep out alright, but alas is not a keeper for the cabinets. 

 

 

[DevonianDigger]

This is one of my favorite bugs that I've ever found. It's just a nice roller, not very big.

 

 

But...

 

 

Completely geodized with calcite crystals. They don't look very impressive in the photo, because I think there's still sodium bicarb residue all over them, I will have to wash it off and get another pic once it's finished being prepped.

 

[DevonianDigger]

There's this guy, who will be about 1.5 inches if he's complete, which I'm not sure about yet. There's a nice inverse that will, unfortunately, have to be destroyed in order to finish the prep on that actual bug.

 

[DevonianDigger]

This little fella looked fairly promising, a cute little <2cm prone. 

 

 

But of course, after a few minutes in the cabinet, it turns out that the right eye and surrounding area has succumbed to some unknown force. I can't tell yet if it's just a distortion, but it looks like something more interesting was at work. More time in the cabinet will tell! Nice colors though!

 

[DevonianDigger]

And... last but not least. The James triple. One beefy Eldredgeops rana, another smaller Eldredgeops roller, and what appears to be a complete, though distorted, Greenops barberi. 

 

[JamesAndTheFossilPeach]

Here’s the triple I just got a pic Devoniandigger is still prepping it.

[DevonianDigger]

And of course, what kind of person would I be if I didn't post a prep photo of this piece?

 

Two hours in the cabinet for some really tough work I was pleased to discover an addition G. barberi hiding in the matrix. He's all sorts of disarticulated, but actually, all the pieces are present, just badly damaged and very out of proper anatomical order. The complete Greenops may have a severely-damaged cephalon, but we're going to see what we can do!

 

[DevonianDigger]

9 minutes ago, JamesAndTheFossilPeach said:

Here’s the triple I just got a pic Devoniandigger is still prepping it.

 

Don't steal my thunder! I was building the suspense!

[PA Fossil Finder]

Wow, great finds! How are you prepping these? I've got a few trilobites from a previous trip to Penn Dixie that I'd like to prep as soon as it warms up outside but I'm a little unsure of how I should begin. 

[DevonianDigger]

Just now, PA Fossil Finder said:

Wow, great finds! How are you prepping these? I've got a few trilobites from a previous trip to Penn Dixie that I'd like to prep as soon as it warms up outside but I'm a little unsure of how I should begin. 

 

I prep with an air-scribe to clear off bulk matrix, then I use a self-contained dual canister micro sandblaster from Vaniman. I use Dolomite powder from Paleotools, (3.5 mohs at 44 microns) to work the matrix off around the fossils, and then I use the second pen with Sodium Bicarbonate, (2.5 mohs at 75 microns) to get the fine details. It's a slow go, but it's definitely the best way to prep trilobites. I just wish I could afford a Comco or an S. S. White.

[GroundViewer]

Wow! those are some beauties