Caleb Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 This past weekend my father and I decided to travel almost 4 hours to near Iowa City to attend a field trip put on by a rock club I am a member of. Although I'm mostly into Ordovician age trilobites, I decided that I could use a bit of a change. The field trip was a two part trip, the first part on Sat. where they talked about the geology of the area and gave us some collecting time at two local quarries, and the second part on Sun. was all collecting at one quarry. Since it was a 2 day trip, I decided to take the day off and drive down on Friday. On the way I hit up one of my spots in the Maquoketa Formation(Ordovician in age) and did a little collecting. There I found two trilobites: Anataphrus vigilans and a to-be-identified (sorry, no pics). I also found this interesting cluster of spines. The looks suggest some sort of echinoid, but the time period doesn't seem to agree(pic below). I'll post it in the ID needed to see if any of the echinoid experts around here can shed some light on it. At 9am Saturday morning, the real fun started. We got some schooling on the geology(Devonian age rocks) of the quarries we were in and then were set loose to collect. In the 4.5hrs of collecting, I collected 7 trilobites(all Phacops norwoodensis). On Sunday, we hit the mother load. My father and I collected for 7hrs and found oodles of trilobites including one Proetus and a Greenops. In total for the two days of collecting, we walked away with 35 trilobites of which only 2 weren't Phacops. It was a very exciting time and I can't wait till the next field trip in the spring. Quarry Proetus Phacops Caleb Midwestpaleo.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roz Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 I love that quarry! I am not certain but they do look like brachiopod spines to me.. :IMHO: Great trilobites, Caleb.... Welcome to the forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caleb Posted October 12, 2010 Author Share Posted October 12, 2010 I love that quarry! I am not certain but they do look like brachiopod spines to me.. :IMHO: Great trilobites, Caleb.... They do, but the only problem is that there arn't any brachs with spines in the Maquoketa formation that I know of. Of course, there isn't supposed to be spiny echinoids in there either Caleb Midwestpaleo.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 (edited) Caleb, Great finds! Could your 'spines' be Tentaculites? Just a thought - they kind of look like Tentaculites to me. Regards, PS - thanks for sharing the pic of the quarry! Oops! I guess being Ordovician they can't be Tentaculites - only around in the Devonian. Good luck with ID - I'll be interested to see what they are. Edited October 12, 2010 by Fossildude19 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caleb Posted October 12, 2010 Author Share Posted October 12, 2010 Caleb, Great finds! Could your 'spines' be Tentaculites? Just a thought - they kind of look like Tentaculites to me. Regards, PS - thanks for sharing the pic of the quarry! Hmm, I'll take a look into that. Thanks, Caleb Caleb Midwestpaleo.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bear-dog Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 Nice finds,looks like you had a grand time. Bear-dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frozen_turkey Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 (edited) WHAO WHAO that is an incredible place. And that sounds like an amazingly fun time you had. wonder why ive never heard of it before?.......i must find this place that you speak of......says frozen as he run to his car. Edited October 12, 2010 by frozen_turkey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamalama Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 Cool trip and neat Trilos. That quarry looks like fun! -Dave __________________________________________________ Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPheeIf I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPheeCheck out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keedler Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 Thanks for the site posts. Looked like a fun place to hunt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MB Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 Please, post photos when cleaneds http://www.mbfossilcrabs.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caleb Posted October 12, 2010 Author Share Posted October 12, 2010 It was a lot of fun collecting. It was a bit warm (mid 80's clear skies) but the trilobites kept us going all day. Only 7 or 8 more months till I can get in again... Is it April yet? Caleb Midwestpaleo.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dactyll Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 Caleb.....Great trip report and quarry pics ..... Looks like you did really well....post some photos when they cleaned up.... Cheers Steve... And Welcome if your a New Member... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alopias Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 Caleb , very nice trilos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snakebite6769 Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 is there a trip this April? If so when in April? what do I have to do to go get me some trilobites?! I am in Iowa for like two more weeks for work, then I have to go back East...I really want some trilos.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squalicorax Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 is there a trip this April? If so when in April? what do I have to do to go get me some trilobites?! I am in Iowa for like two more weeks for work, then I have to go back East...I really want some trilos.. Now I dont know where you can find Trilobites in Iowa at the moment. There is 2 quarry parks in Iowa that have good fossils in them. You have the Oskaloosa Quarry and the Rockford Fossil Prairire Park. Both have really great collecting although I am biased towards Rockford Fossil Park. Oskaloosa Quarry has plant and marine carboniferous material. I believe that it is here http://g.co/maps/74y2q The east half of Iowa has trilobites in Ordovician and Silurian Rocks. My Flickr Page of My Collection: http://www.flickr.com/photos/79424101@N00/sets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caleb Posted March 31, 2012 Author Share Posted March 31, 2012 is there a trip this April? If so when in April? what do I have to do to go get me some trilobites?! I am in Iowa for like two more weeks for work, then I have to go back East...I really want some trilos.. I'm not sure when the next trip into these Devonian quarries are this year. I will ask tomorrow at MAPS and find out though. Usually it isn't until May, but that's because it's normally too cold/wet to get into the quarries. You can check out the Cedar Valley Rock and Mineral Society though to see pictures of previous trips and sometimes a schedual for future trips. Caleb Midwestpaleo.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snakebite6769 Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 well I will be here in Iowa this week, and now I am scheduled to be in Illinois from April 23 to may 7th or so. I was kinda hoping to find some trilos I could prepare and give to my Kiddos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Nice finds, Caleb and thanks for showing them and the site too. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now