Doug D. Posted January 24, 2015 Posted January 24, 2015 I'm back with more mystery trilobites from eBay. These were supposedly collected in Wyoming. The largest is just under 1 inch in length.They remind me of the commercially popular Ellipsocephalus hoffi from the Czech Republic. Do these trilobites also belong to the Ellipsocephalidae, and does it make sense that they would be from Wyoming? As always, I appreciate any thoughts on the subject- thanks! Doug
piranha Posted January 24, 2015 Posted January 24, 2015 It's not that mysterious, you solved it already, they are clearly Ellipsocephalus hoffi. The erroneous info "collected" in Wyoming probably means they were acquired by purchase in Wyoming. It's not unusual to see something like this, with no bad intentions by the seller, simply passing along the best info available. I have seen countless other examples with inaccurate info, that obviously did not originate from the specified region on the accompanying label. 1
enoscrawler Posted January 24, 2015 Posted January 24, 2015 Dont know about the origin but cool piece
Doug D. Posted January 24, 2015 Author Posted January 24, 2015 Thanks, piranha. Some of my attempts to pick up the odd North American trilobite through eBay have worked out better than others- I'm still telling people about the Ogygopsis klotzi! But I happy to have E. hoffi, and like enoscrawler says, it's a cool piece.
old dead things Posted January 24, 2015 Posted January 24, 2015 As far as I know, there are no trilobites collected in Wyoming. I have collected Wyoming for many years and have yet to find any trilobites.I have heard rumors of some locations in the Black Hills in northeast Wyoming and even checked one place, but did not find any trilobites. Jim
jpc Posted January 24, 2015 Posted January 24, 2015 Agree with old dead things... mostly. There are some to be found in Yellowstone... in the park, so off limits to everyone pretty much As many great fossils as there are in our great state, trilobites are not amongst them..
piranha Posted January 24, 2015 Posted January 24, 2015 On 1/24/2015 at 7:11 AM, old dead things said: As far as I know, there are no trilobites collected in Wyoming. I have collected Wyoming for many years and have yet to find any trilobites.I have heard rumors of some locations in the Black Hills in northeast Wyoming and even checked one place, but did not find any trilobites. Jim Not true, there are actually quite a few trilobite species from Wyoming. Here is a bibliography of all the significant publications on this topic: Carl Colton Branson (1937) Stratigraphy and fauna of the Sacajawea Formation, Mississippian, of Wyoming. Journal of Paleontology, 11(8):650-660 Deland, Charles R. & Shaw, Alan B. (1956) Upper Cambrian Trilobites from Western Wyoming. Journal of Paleontology, 30(3):542-546 DeLand, Charles R. (1954) Cambrian stratigraphy and upper Cambrian trilobites of the southwestern flank of the Wind River Mountains, Wyoming. M.A. Thesis, University of Wyoming Denson, Norman M. (1942) Late middle Cambrian trilobite faunas and stratigraphy of Alberta, Montana, Wyoming and Utah. Ph.D. Thesis, Princeton University, 195 pp. Durkee, Edward F. (1953) Cambrian Stratigraphy and Paleontology of the East Flank, Bighorn Mountains, Johnson and Sheridan Counties, Wyoming. University of Wyoming, 170 pp. Chamberlain, C.Kent (1970) Permian Trilobite Species From Central Wyoming and West Texas. Journal of Paleontology 44(6):1049-1054 Gordon, Mackenzie, Jr. & Yochelson, Ellis L. (1975) Gastropoda, Cephalopoda, and Trilobita of the Amsden Formation (Mississippian and Pennsylvanian) of Wyoming. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 848-F Grant, Richard E. (1958) Cambrian faunas of the Snowy Range formation, southwestern Montana and northwestern Wyoming. PhD Thesis, University of Texas, 553 pp. Grant, Richard E. (1965) Faunas and Stratigraphy of the Snowy Range Formation (Upper Cambrian) in Southwestern Montana and Northwestern Wyoming. Geological Society of America Memoir, 96:1-171 Lochman, Christina & Hu, Chung-Hung (1960) Upper Cambrian Faunas From the Northwest Wind River Mountains, Wyoming. Part I. Journal of Paleontology, 34(5):793-834 Lochman, Christina & Hu, Chung-Hung 1961 Upper Cambrian Faunas From the Northwest Wind River Mountains, Wyoming. Part II. Journal of Paleontology, 35(1):125-146 Lochman, Christina & Hu, Chung-Hung (1962) Upper Cambrian Faunas From the Northwest Wind River Mountains, Wyoming, Part III. Journal of Paleontology, 36(1):1-29 Saltzman, Matthew R. (1999) Upper Cambrian carbonate platform evolution, Elvinia and Taenicephalus zones (Pterocephaliid-Ptychaspid biomere boundary), Northwestern Wyoming. Journal of Sedimentary Research, 69(4):926-938 Schwimmer, David Richard (1973) The Middle-Cambrian biostratigraphy of Montana and Wyoming. PhD Thesis, State University of New York at Stony Brook Schwimmer, David Richard (1975) Quantitative taxonomy and biostratigraphy of Middle Cambrian trilobites from Montana and Wyoming. Mathematical Geology, 7(2):149-166 Shaw, A.B. (1956a) A Cambrian Aphelaspis Fauna from Steele Butte, Near Boulder, Wyoming. Journal of Paleontology, 30(1):48-52 Shaw, A.B. (1956b) Notes on Modocia and Middle Cambrian trilobites from Wyoming. Journal of Paleontology, 30(1):141-145 Stitt, James H. (2000) Additional information on lowest Ordovician trilobites from the uppermost Deadwood Formation, Black Hills and Bear Lodge Mountains, South Dakota and Wyoming. Journal of Paleontology, 74(2):360-362
old dead things Posted January 24, 2015 Posted January 24, 2015 I said, "As far as I know", I am so sorry that I wrote an opinion. Now that I have been properly corrected I will read the literature so that I can be more informed.
piranha Posted January 24, 2015 Posted January 24, 2015 I said, "As far as I know", I am so sorry that I wrote an opinion. Now that I have been properly corrected I will read the literature so that I can be more informed. Please don't take my comments personally, there's no need for any apologies! But your opinion was followed up with partial agreement by jpc. Unfortunately, if left unchecked it only does a disservice to potential researchers going forward. Opinion, rumors and collecting for many years in Wyoming are all fine, but no substitute for a simple check of Wyoming trilobites on Google or Google Scholar.
jpc Posted January 26, 2015 Posted January 26, 2015 (edited) Well. Jim. Looks like we have to go get some trilobites. Thanks, piranha. Edited January 26, 2015 by jpc
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