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Contributed this anomalocaris mouth to my university’s collection for research. Owner of the quarry said he only finds one every decade or so. Found in the Wheeler Formation in Utah (a Konzentrat-Lagerstätte where soft bodied organism can be preserved).

‘Golden’ (phosphate) fossils reveal new secrets; provide clues to Jurassic extinction event by: Eric Henrikson, KXAN News, Nexstar Media Inc., Texas, June 14, 2023 The paywalled paper is: Muscente, A.D., Vinnes, O., Sinha, S., Schiffbauer, J.D., Maxwell, E.E., Schweigert, G. and Martindale, R.C., 2023. What role does anoxia play in exceptional fossil preservation? Lessons from the taphonomy of the Posidonia Shale (Germany). Earth-Science Reviews, p.104323. Yours, Paul H.

Howdy! I’ve recently inherited a small amount of money, which I intend to spend on a high quality fossil. Merry Christmas to me! (I’m sure my Mom would approve…) I’ve always wanted a Solnhofen dragonfly. Attached are a couple photos of a specimen of interest, identified as Aeschnogomphus. I’ve requested UV photos if possible of specimen, which is in Europe. I know it’s essentially all real. But is there artistic enhancement? Seller says no repair, but can’t say whether it has been enhanced. It is very, very expensive, a once in a lifetime purchase. Probably a good investment. But perhaps too expensive to buy online…From someone I don’t know… I can provide website name or link if allowed on this Forum. I also have my eye on a Burgess Shale fossil as an alternative, authenticity guaranteed, from a very reputable guy I’ve purchased from before. Any thoughts at all would be much appreciated. Cheers!

Proposal to mine fossil-rich site in New Zealand sparks campaign to protect it https://phys.org/news/2019-06-fossil-rich-site-zealand-campaign.html http://theconversation.com/proposal-to-mine-fossil-rich-site-in-new-zealand-sparks-campaign-to-protect-it-118505 Scientist: maar not only 'outstanding' site By John Gibb, Otago Daily times https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/scientist-maar-not-only-outstanding-site https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/council-now-formally-opposed-expansion-mine Foulden Maar - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foulden_Maar Yours, Paul H.

The 11th annual Western Interior Paleontological Society (WIPS) Founders Symposium with the theme of Lagerstatten (exceptional preservation) is near. It promises to be a Who's Who of paleo experts presenting over two weekend days. More details can be found here: http://westernpaleo.org/symposiums/2019_pages/about-2019.php SPEAKERS Speakers are coming from across the country to tell us about Lagerstätten — famous deposits known for their exceptionally preserved fossils — from Canada's Burgess Shale to Colorado's own Florissant Formation. Paleontologists scheduled to date are: Derek Briggs (keynote) Yale University Konservat-Lagerstätten — Burgess Shale and beyond William Ausich The Ohio State University Crawfordsville Indiana: Research inspired by a crinoid Lagerstätte Brent Breithaupt BLM-Western Region Robledo Mountain Formation vertebrate and invertebrate trackways (Permian, New Mexico) John Foster Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum Cambrian Soft-body Preservation in the House Range Embayment Succession (Wheeler, Marjum, and Weeks Formations), Millard County, Utah Lance Grande Field Museum of Natural History-Chicago The Lost World of Fossil Lake. Snapshots from Deep Time James Hagadorn Denver Museum of Nature & Science Fossil Jellyfish: The Ultimate in Remarkable Preservation John-Paul Hodnett M-NCPPC Dinosaur Park The Late Pennsylvanian (Missourian) Denizens of Kinney Brick Quarry, a Lagerstätte from the Atrasado Formation in Central New Mexico Sharon Holte The Mammoth Site of Hot Springs Ongoing and New Research at the Mammoth Site — Over 40 Years of Discovery Frank Krell Denver Museum of Nature & Science High Quality Insect Preservation — Fossils in Amber (Baltic, Lebanon, Myanmar) and from the Messel Formation (Eocene, Germany), with emphasis on scarab beetles Martin Lockley University of Colorado-Denver (Emeritus) An Ichnological Konservat-Lagerstätten in the Cretaceous of Korea: The Fruits of an Innovation in Tetrapod Tracks Research John Maisey American Museum of Natural History (Curator Emeritus) The Santana Fossil Assemblages from Brazil Herbert Meyer Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument The Fossils of Florissant Roy Plotnick University of Illinois Mazon Creek:A Pennsylvanian Konservat-Lagerstätte in Illinois James Schiffbauer University of Missouri Through the Taphonomic Lens: Witnessing the Dawn of Animals at the Ediacaran-Cambrian Transition Hans-Peter Schultze Curator Emeritus, Natural History Museum, University of Kansas Solnhofen, a Window into the Jurassic Time Talk titles subject to change

I checked the internet for the Niagara Falls area. They were calling for thunderstorms with rain off and on for the day. I looked out the door at 6:30 to see dark clouds and water on the car. To go or not to go. Well as I had already packed my lunch last night and the fact that the site was 130 koliometers away, I decided to chance it and was pulling out the driveway at 7:00AM. I came close to not going though because of the thunderstorm warnings. (Boy am I glad I did not cancel out) Well I arrived at the Eurypterid lagerstatten (Bertie Waterlime) at 8:30 after a 90 minute drive and quick stop at Tim Horton's (coffee) with the intention of staying until 4:00. I lifted bedding planes and split rock pretty much non stop until 3:00. Ok I did stop for 10 minutes at noon to eat my soup and drink my tea. By 3:00 I had pretty much found nothing. Couple tergites, a few fragments of tail and that was about it. I was pretty much worn out and my wrist and right shoulder ached. A 2 pound sledge gets mighty heavy after 6 to 7 hours. Quarryman Dave from the forum had been here as well but had headed home just before 3:00. Unfortunately he left before anyone found anything....... I think he was having about as much luck as the rest of us. There were 4 collectors on site today. So it was about 3:15 and I figured I would start to pack up and go home. Took some of my stuff back to the car and then went over to see how another collector ( we will call him Mr. T.) was doing. It was my intention to see how he was doing and say my goodbyes. Turns out he was having pretty much the same luck (or non luck ) as me. Then as I was standing there chatting with him he lets out a little sign of joy as he had just split open a slab and there was a complete paddle assembly from a quite rare eurypterid (not remites or lacustris). Now the delema do I leave after seeing somene else find something good. Well I think you all know the answer to that one. Even though it was now 3:25. I could not just leave essentially skunked on the day. I had to do at just a little bit more before I could leave. I was now a little pumped having seen a quite unusual looking and large paddle assembly found by Mr. T. , so I went to the first hole I had worked at 8:30 and started to work like a mad man. Well within 5 minutes I pried up a section and could just see the edge of a head,it looked like a brown blob but as I started to clear around it it started looking real nice. There was that it seemed to have a walking leg visible. Most heads do not have their walking legs attached. I was getting very excited by this point. I used my small fine chisel for a bit and got it to the following stage. It was sprayed with a little water to bring out the contrast for the picture. I then proceeded to excavate all around the fossil. I was very lucky that a seasoned Eurypterid hunter who we are calling Mr. T was there and he had a rock saw. He was able to cut me a pedastle around the slab I then proceeded to split extremely carefully the top over the rest of the eurypterid. It came off in 5 heartbreaking and breathtaking at the same time pieces (the tops almost always split wrong on you) because as each one was removed we could see more of the Eurypterid until finally we got off the piece over the tail. I was now staring at a virtually complete in pefect condition eurypterus lacustris. More amazingly it was perfectly prone, not twisted and had both swimming paddles as well. By this point it was 4:15 and we had a bit of a crowd looking on. One of the onlookers who I will call Mr. S.C. is a bit of an expert on eurypterids ( he really is) and he commented that it may be the nicest one he has ever seen come out of this locale. Regardless if it is or is not it sure looks nice to me. Dumb me was caught up in the momment though and did not take a picture of it complete in situ. I did however mark North on the slab itself so I do know the orientation. Mr. S.C. indicated that it was classic orientation based on where he believes the currents came from at this locale. Here is the picture of the slab after I got it home. There is no gluing , preparation or restoration of any kind on this specimen. You see it exactly as it was cut, pedastalled and then split out of the slab. The measurements were 45 mm at the widest point, 151 mm straight line head to end of tail and 44 mm tail length. Here are some links to higher resolution images The moral of the story. I was ready to pack up and go home. I was feeling sore and a bit sorry for myself for not really having found anything at all . But then someone elses find made me want to give it just 15 more minutes. Turned out to be my personal best fossil find ever and perhaps one that I will never equal again. It was found 1 foot from where I had been digging at 8:30 and had given up on by 9:30. It was about 2 inches below the surface level of the rock. I chose to dig in that spot solely because I could chat with Mr. T. who was a couple feet further over. Thank you Mr. T. for the rock saw it would not have come out in one piece without it. And it never did rain... not a speck..... In fact got a bit of a sunburn on my face and arms.