New York State And Ontario Trip Day 3

[Shamalama]

Day three - Euryptid quarry - My first day in Canada to be spent at a quarry in Silurian aged rocks where they find Euryptids. I was very excited to try and collect these fascinating arthropods and to also meet up with Crinus (Joe), Northern Sharks (Kevin) and Pleecan (Peter). After signing in we proceeded down into the quarry to a flat area where the Bertie formation is exposed in the floor of the pit. We were well away from the walls and working equipment so one could focus more on the fossils.

In order to find the Euryptids, two methods can be employed. The first involves chiseling up layers of rock from the floor and the second is to paw through the piles of discarded slabs. The rock splits fairly easily into 1/2 to 1 inch thick slabs but is often fractured into small pieces so that it's hard to get a large plate out. I picked a spot and started to pry up the rock hoping to find a Euryptid just sitting there waving to me. The weather was clear with a light wind and made for a beautiful collecting day. A few hours later I was having no luck with only a few random bits being found. I wandered around during some of my breaks and found a few pieces that others had left behind. Nothing complete, just random bits here and there.

The other collectors were having about as much luck and so we trickled one by one over to another part of the Quarry where Peter had some luck in the past finding some smaller Euryptids. The Bertie formation is the highest member of the Salina group and is composed of three members that are (in ascending order): Fiddler's Green, Sacajaquada and Williamsville. We were hunting in the upper portion of the Fiddlers Green member at both locations in the quarry but slightly different horizons. At this second site the rock had been blasted a few years ago but was never processed and so sat in the same position as when it came to rest.

What Peter had noticed the first time he visted was that scattered parts of Euryptids were common and it was not too hard to find whole or nearly complete fossils of small 2-4" animals. Everyone crawled over the rock and split random pieces until getting the hang of which layers were better. I found a number of small, isolated heads and other parts as well as one partial critter that was missing it's head and only had one swimming arm.

Joe found a nearly complete specimen that was missing only the head and arms and gave it to me.

He told me that he "only takes home the perfect stuff" which is not a bad philosophy for any collector. However, since this was my first trip to this site I took anything I could find! I also found many pieces of chert that had fossils inside. It was a pleasant pale blue color and contrasted nicely with the white fossils. There is no way to extract the fossils, but maybe if I find a big enough piece I could cut and polish it.

There were some other collectors there as well who had some good luck finding two complete 3" long specimens with arms splayed out! I headed out a little earlier than the 4pm time limit so that I could check out the Niagara Falls and then meet Joe and Kevin in Strathroy for dinner. Tomorrow we were going to Arkona!

Horseshoe Falls (Canadian side)

American Falls (USA side)

[Terry Dactyll]

Dave..... Great reports 1. 2 & 3, I have enjoyed reading them and looking at the pictures of your side of the pond... keep them coming and best of luck hunting...

Edited May 9, 2010 by Terry Dactyll

[Auspex]

Your effort to understand and communicate the stratigraphic nuances of these sites is greatly appreciated.

[pleecan]

It was great meeting you in person Dave. We all came away with some fossils.... the weather was perfect ... it was a good day!

Peter

[Northern Sharks]

Thanks for FINALLY posting the trip reports Dave. Now I can add my few pics. I came away from this site with a few pieces, mineral specimens included. Not much from the first area we were at except a mystery piece. No one could say for sure what it was, with one guess being a juvenile Phyllocarid. The preservation could be better, but I love a good mystery. Off to the trench where I came away with a partial eurypterid quite similar to Dave's and another piece that had me stumped. Peter told me it was the ###### appendage from a male eurypterid. The others laughed when I told them what I had found, but Dr Rudkin at the Royal Ontario Museum confirmed the ID (still waiting to hear back for a species determination). The poor soprano singing critter that lost this must have been quite a size based on pictures I've seen of other species. Nearing the end of the day, I found out a whole corner of the quarry was Devonian Bois Blanc Formation material. I tried to extact a large brach from a chunk of that Devonian rock, but it cracked. Next time, I hope to explore that area more in depth as pieces of the huge trilobite Terataspis have been found in that formation in the Niagara area. The only other thing that I took home from this site was a nasty sunburn that kept me warm all weekend.

[worthy 55]

Now that looks like a really great place to hunt.

[pleecan]

Hi Kevin:

That mystery piece could be a phyllocarid but the carapace is the wrong shape and the 3 prong tail missing I am leaning towards a horseshoe crab..... But it could be a super rare....

.. it could be an infant plant sprout just emerging from a seed pod.... neat to find out what Dr Rudkin has to say..... please keep use informed.

Peter

Edited May 9, 2010 by pleecan