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McKay Group trilobite


connorp

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I recently received a nice trilobite from the Upper Cambrian McKay Group in BC, Canada. I found this little guy in the back and wanted to extract him so I could display them together. It was hard since the plate was pretty thin and the two trilobites lied on top of each of on either side. So this little guy got a little beat up.

 

Anyways, does anyone recognize the species? I am completely unfamiliar with the McKay Group.

 

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On 2019-05-21 at 9:38 PM, connorp said:

I actually bought the original trilobite from @MarcusFossils so hopefully he’ll know.

 

My best guess would be Orygmaspis , probably Orygmaspis mckellari due to the pointed anterior margin

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Website: https://www.instagram.com/paleo_archives/

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“It is by no means an irrational fancy that, in a future existence, we shall look upon what we think our present existence, as a dream.”

Edgar Allan Poe

 

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  • 1 month later...
3 minutes ago, DevonianDigger said:

@piranha Scott, any thoughts on this one? I have recently become the proud parent of this little fella and would like to give him a proper label.

Not seeing any pictures :)

 

Website: https://www.instagram.com/paleo_archives/

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“It is by no means an irrational fancy that, in a future existence, we shall look upon what we think our present existence, as a dream.”

Edgar Allan Poe

 

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2 minutes ago, MarcusFossils said:

Not seeing any pictures :)

 

The original photo in question. The possible Orygmaspis mckellari. I just completed a trade with Connor and this piece was one that we traded.

Jay A. Wollin

Lead Fossil Educator - Penn Dixie Fossil Park and Nature Reserve

Hamburg, New York, USA

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There are a few ID possibilities, but because it is poorly preserved and popped out of a nodule, some important diagnostic features are absent on this specimen: librigenae, macropleurae?, pygidium, etc.

image.png.a84de26dad44fb03836a743755df237c.png

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17 minutes ago, DevonianDigger said:

The original photo in question. The possible Orygmaspis mckellari. I just completed a trade with Connor and this piece was one that we traded.

 

Could you send pics of the other side? It would help me remember which site it came from

Website: https://www.instagram.com/paleo_archives/

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“It is by no means an irrational fancy that, in a future existence, we shall look upon what we think our present existence, as a dream.”

Edgar Allan Poe

 

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3 minutes ago, MarcusFossils said:

 

Could you send pics of the other side? It would help me remember which site it came from

 

Lol, yes. Although it might not be very useful as I literally just painted the collection number on the back and it's a very tiny piece.

 

5d1d2c1ecf3ca_20190703_1826432.thumb.jpg.f38122276fddccc0f17f7a6ebdb95710.jpg

Jay A. Wollin

Lead Fossil Educator - Penn Dixie Fossil Park and Nature Reserve

Hamburg, New York, USA

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34 minutes ago, DevonianDigger said:

 

Lol, yes. Although it might not be very useful as I literally just painted the collection number on the back and it's a very tiny piece.

 

 

 

Well, I'd label it as follows:

 

Orygmaspis sp. (spinula or mckellari)

Site 1 or 12 (probably 1)

Elvinia zone (and not the overlying Taenicephalus zone, which, oddly, the monograph seems to indicate Orygmaspis is restricted to. But I was finding them right at the very botton of Site 1, almost certainly in the Elvinia zone - see attached)

Bull River Valley, British Columbia, Canada

Upper Cambrian, Furongian

Collected: July 2017

 

image.png.97c442f88ed0f67579ac7e486a3af30f.png

 

  • I found this Informative 2

Website: https://www.instagram.com/paleo_archives/

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“It is by no means an irrational fancy that, in a future existence, we shall look upon what we think our present existence, as a dream.”

Edgar Allan Poe

 

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8 minutes ago, DevonianDigger said:

Thank you!

 

My pleasure!

 

Website: https://www.instagram.com/paleo_archives/

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“It is by no means an irrational fancy that, in a future existence, we shall look upon what we think our present existence, as a dream.”

Edgar Allan Poe

 

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6 minutes ago, piranha said:

Seems a stretch (literally).  The L/W ratio of the cephalon does not match.

 

The length of many Orygmaspis cranidium is around twice the height, which is roughly what I measure in this specimen?

Kendallina is another option, but Kendallina's eyes tend to be closer together 

Website: https://www.instagram.com/paleo_archives/

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

“It is by no means an irrational fancy that, in a future existence, we shall look upon what we think our present existence, as a dream.”

Edgar Allan Poe

 

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We will never know if this trilobite had macropleurae or not, the length of the genal spines, glabellar features, and the pygidium appears to be a lost cause as well. There are a bunch of look-alike possibilities with plenty of variability of different morphotypes, but in this case I would be hesitant to even apply a genus to this weathered study-grade specimen. :shrug:

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image.png.a84de26dad44fb03836a743755df237c.png

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