Jump to content

An Unseasonably Cold ,wet Miserable Day

Malcolmt

By Malcolmt
in Fossil Hunting Trips

 Share

Recommended Posts

Malcolmt Regular Member

Malcolmt

Posted
Posted (edited)

Here it is May 24th and when I left the house this morning it was 3 degrees Celsius , minus 1 with the wind chill and to cap it all off, it was drizzling...... Thought twice about setting out and going at 6:00AM. Sorta glad I went.

I have not posted for a while because I started thinking that I was making these eurypterid things look too easy..... Believe me they are not... ask anyone who has had the good fortune to be able to hunt for them. It hard work and not for anyone who is out for instant gratification.

Got to the quarry , with coffee and muffins for the staff there. I was down at my pit that I have been working on for the last four weeks by 8:15AM. Unfortunately my pit had about a foot of water in the bottom of it. Was surprised that I was not the first to arrive , Lothar was just getting settled in as I arrived. Actually was a fairly crowded day for this locale , by 9:30 there were 7 of us (myself, Mr. T; Mr. S; Carl, Lothar, Kevin and his not so thrilled by the end of the day lady friend) I know for sure that I will never get my wife to the quarry in this lifetime so, props to him..... (Yes Peter it is the Carl of the ROM fish find fame)

Moved to higher ground to escape the water and wasted about 2 hours finding nothing. Came back to my pit around lunch time. Had my boots on so played in the water a bit. Did I mention it was cold and windy. Was finding a ton of heads, which is a always a good sign, larger debris tends to fall out at the same place. If you are only finding tiny bits you will never find large bits. Like sized fossils deposit in the current together.

Found a very nice paddle that was from a monster sized eurypterid. Looked like it might continue under a bedding plain , unfortunately it did not, based on the paddle size it would have been a 12 incher. Started splitting the rock all around the disarticulated paddle , thinking I might find the rest.... however no such luck

However within 1 foot of that large paddle I came across this little guy. (Actually it is not little at just over 6 inches it is typical of the size that you find at this site). What was not typical however was its state of preservation and its orientation. It is perfectly preserved and is a very well balanced specimen with no distortion or post mortem curving. Mr. S who is quite well know in the eurypterid collecting world commented that it was the nicest specimen he had seen in a number of years. I like that it appear to be fairly fat compared to its length.......

What do you think......

post-4886-0-67402500-1369442042_thumb.jpg

I think this one is pretty special a perfect positive and negative each removed as a single piece (which almost never happens) and it will become part of my permanent collection. (Sorry Roger, not giving this one away!!!!) Thanks to Mr T. for his rock saw...........

Unfortunately no one else had any luck today with the eurypterids although Mr T. found a massive innocolus plant, that was very nice. Terrible weather but a great day collecting with good people.

As always I have an open invitation out to any of you who want to come to the great white north here (Canada) and spend a day collecting eurypterids with me.....There are about 4 of us on the forum who are regulars hunting the elusive eurypterid.... Just think Shamalama if you had not forgot your passport you could very well have found this one............ Actually looking forward to your next trip up when you won't dare forget your passport.

Do I dare enter it in Fossil of the month????????

Edited by Malcolmt
Link to comment
Share on other sites
snolly50 Regular Member

snolly50

Posted
Posted

A wonderful creature. I am delighted your stoic persistence paid off. Thanks for the post.

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, also are remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. - Douglas Adams, Last Chance to See

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Missourian Regular Member

Missourian

Posted
Posted

Exquisite!

A day of eurypterid hunting is on my bucket list. I don't care if it's in the middle of a blizzard. :)

Context is critical.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
barefootgirl Regular Member

barefootgirl

Posted
Posted

Wonderful find and yes, if I found that I would enter it in find of the month!

In formal logic, a contradiction is the signal of defeat: but in the evolution of real knowledge, it marks the first step in progress toward victory.

Alfred North Whithead

'Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia!'

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Bullsnake Regular Member

Bullsnake

Posted
Posted

Love the report, Malcolm!

And an excellent picture of that amazing specimen!

Congratulations!

Steve

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Fossildude19 Regular Member

Fossildude19

Posted
Posted

Hardcore fossil hunting - pay off! :)

Great success!

Good job Malcolm - I know you work hard for these, ...

... but there must be an element of luck to this as well, , and you seem to be in the thick of it.

Congratulations on the FOTM worthy find.

Regards,

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

   VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png    VFOTM  --- APRIL - 2015       MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png      PaleoPartner.png.30c01982e09b0cc0b7d9d6a7a21f56c6.png.a600039856933851eeea617ca3f2d15f.png     Postmaster1.jpg.900efa599049929531fa81981f028e24.jpg        IPFOTM -- MAY - 2024   IPFOTM5.png.fb4f2a268e315c58c5980ed865b39e1f.png

_________________________________________________________________________________
"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."
John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~   ><))))( *>  About Me      

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Raistlin Regular Member

Raistlin

Posted
Posted

Oh man that thing is amazing. I am super envious. Too bad about the weather, but what a wonderful outcome.

Robert
Southeast, MO

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Wrangellian Regular Member

Wrangellian

Posted
Posted

Impressive!

I was out today myself and the weather stopped me (cloudburst), now I feel like a bit of a wuss, it was pleasant otherwise. Oh well. I know how hard fossiling is - I found a nice ammo and still haven't gotten it out after 2 days (well 1.5 days).... the saw will help me if I can get one in time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Northern Sharks Regular Member

Northern Sharks

Posted
Posted

Hey Malcolm, I know what you said, but you're finding these things with the frequency of horn coral at Arkona. Seriously though, that is a stunner, and I know the odds of finding such a piece are slim. I really should try to get back down there this season.

Oh,FOTM entry for sure

There's no limit to what you can accomplish when you're supposed to be doing something else

Link to comment
Share on other sites
-Andy- Regular Member

-Andy-

Posted
Posted

What a delightful creature to add to one's collection!

Looking forward to meeting my fellow Singaporean collectors! Do PM me if you are a Singaporean, or an overseas fossil-collector coming here for a holiday!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
trilobiteruss Regular Member

trilobiteruss

Posted
Posted

Great finds Malcolm! Definately a FOM! enter it you would get my vote!

Russ

Link to comment
Share on other sites
fossilcrazy Regular Member

fossilcrazy

Posted
Posted

Malcolm, Sounds like the weather didn't cooperate; but the Eurypterids did. Kudos for your braving the elements and patience to wait for "instant gratification".

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ash Regular Member

Ash

Posted
Posted

Those are gorgeous!


"Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe" - Saint Augustine

"Those who can not see past their own nose deserve our pity more than anything else."

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ash Regular Member

Ash

Posted
Posted

Don't know what happened to post above, but can't fix it. Sorry.

"Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe" - Saint Augustine

"Those who can not see past their own nose deserve our pity more than anything else."

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ludwigia Regular Member

Ludwigia

Posted
Posted (edited)

Hi Malcolm,

just noticed this post now, although I posted a comment in your gallery as soon as I noticed your exquisite find. S. was probably drooling, which must have increased the precipitation factor even more. I would have been, at any rate, but I'd never have thought in a hundred years that you'd release that humdinger out of your possession.

I've got the feeling that the entire northern hemisphere is wallowing in the floods at the moment. I just had to call off an excursion into the Wutach due to weather. Normally the rain doesn't bother me that much, but those sites on the slopes in the woods turn into a pigsty under such circumstances and that's no fun at all.

As far as our female counterparts are concerned, unless they're endowed with an equal interest to ours such as many of our participants here in the forum, it's adviseable to invite them along only when you can offer them balmy weather, a deck chair with lots of reading material, suncream and an umbrella, good quantities of liquids and hors d'oevres and last but not least, a reliable vehicle just in case they get the spontaneous urge to get away and go shopping.

PS. I'd also recommend that you enter your find in the FotM. Although I've got something in there myself this month you'd get my vote anyway.

Edited by Ludwigia

 

Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jgcox Regular Member

jgcox

Posted
Posted

Malcolm,

Heading up with the Dry Dredgers in a couple of weeks hope to get a chance to collect with you again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
piranha Regular Member

piranha

Posted
Posted

Hi Malcolm,

If you find any extra orphan eurypterids that need a good home please send one my way....

....as a courtesy you can use the attached prepaid "Eurypterus Express" postage stamps! :P

post-4301-0-55158300-1369614636_thumb.jpg

image.png.a84de26dad44fb03836a743755df237c.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Auspex Regular Member

Auspex

Posted
Posted

Congratulations, Malcolm, on your extraordinary find! You have certainly earned it :)

"There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant

“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley

>Paleontology is an evolving science.

>May your wonders never cease!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...