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My second trilo hunt ever yields rare bug and strange mystery items.


fossilized6s

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I'm happy to report that the fossil Gods were kind. This is only my second trilobite hunt ever, and I found a gem. I also found some other things, some I know, some I don't.

First I'll post the ones I know. I'm posting this in "Fossil ID" and not "Trip reports", because I have more questions than answers.

A nice bit of Conulariid that goes through the matrix. I still need to finish the prep.

post-14584-0-01770800-1444673615_thumb.jpg

post-14584-0-31918600-1444673631_thumb.jpg

Cephalopod

post-14584-0-63660500-1444673684_thumb.jpg

Bivalve, gastropods, cephalopod

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post-14584-0-27075400-1444673840_thumb.jpg

A nice hash plate.

post-14584-0-51153800-1444673887_thumb.jpg

Now down to my mystery items. These are all from the Ordovician period.

Unknown Brachiopod

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#1 Big mystery item (eurypterid material???)

post-14584-0-87101500-1444674087_thumb.jpg

post-14584-0-86786200-1444674102_thumb.jpg

#2 Big mystery item (this has the exoskeleton look of a trilobite) I was thinking a single lateral pleural from a very large trilobite.

post-14584-0-04637600-1444674264_thumb.jpg

post-14584-0-15570000-1444674275_thumb.jpg

Continued.........

Edited by fossilized6s

~Charlie~

"There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why.....i dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" ~RFK
->Get your Mosasaur print
->How to spot a fake Trilobite
->How to identify a CONCRETION from a DINOSAUR EGG

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#3 mystery item (gastropod?)

post-14584-0-06846600-1444674472_thumb.jpg

post-14584-0-78000300-1444674482_thumb.jpg

#4 mystery trilobite bit(s)

post-14584-0-56872500-1444674538_thumb.jpg

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#5 mystery trilobite bit (I could not prep this anymore, it was getting too sticky)(this item also has an exoskeleton similar to a trilobite).

post-14584-0-93377300-1444674633_thumb.jpg

post-14584-0-11535800-1444674644_thumb.jpg

Now for my BEST trilobite find so far! Can someone please confirm this is a Dolichoharpes reticulatus.

Found

post-14584-0-85313200-1444674841_thumb.jpg

Prepped

post-14584-0-28652500-1444674852_thumb.jpg

post-14584-0-14083300-1444674865_thumb.jpg

~Charlie~

"There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why.....i dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" ~RFK
->Get your Mosasaur print
->How to spot a fake Trilobite
->How to identify a CONCRETION from a DINOSAUR EGG

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Your mystery items appear to be invert fossils from the Ordovician period. Perhaps you knew that. :P

Edited by Rob Russell

Finding my way through life; one fossil at a time.

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Your mystery items appear to be invert fossils from the Ordovician period. Perhaps you knew that. :P

Appears that way. Haha

I wish I knew more about the Ordovician period.

Does anyone know of a picture heavy book about the Ordovician period?

~Charlie~

"There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why.....i dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" ~RFK
->Get your Mosasaur print
->How to spot a fake Trilobite
->How to identify a CONCRETION from a DINOSAUR EGG

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Nice finds, Charlie! :D

I believe your mystery trilobite item is a hypostome, maybe from an Isotelus trilobite.

Can't wait to see what the rest are.

Regards,

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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#2 fragment of Isotelus

#3 free cheek of Ceraurus

#4 The small piece at the bottom of the last picture is a hypostome of Ceraurus

#5 hypostome pf Isotelus

  • I found this Informative 2
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Nice find Charlie!

How did you prep that neat trilobite cephalon?

Sure looks like Dolichoharpes to my untrained eye, but some features appear different to D. reticulatus. I'll leave that for the experts though. I just compared and contrasted with some online images and noted a few differences. Picture from AMNH website with yours for comparison. Bring on the trilobite experts!

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post-11936-0-79136200-1444677812_thumb.jpg

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Thank you, everyone for the help.

Doc mud, I prepped it with a needle and patience. This is broken up quite a bit and it appears to be different because of that, but I think it is the same if whole.

~Charlie~

"There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why.....i dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" ~RFK
->Get your Mosasaur print
->How to spot a fake Trilobite
->How to identify a CONCRETION from a DINOSAUR EGG

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Dolichoharpes reticulata is correct. This monograph has a comprehensive description:

 

Chatterton, B.D.E., & Ludvigsen, R. (1976)
Silicified Middle Ordovician trilobites from the south Nahanni River area, District of Mackenzie, Canada.
Palaeontographica Abt.A, 154:1-106
 
 
 
 
 
  • I found this Informative 4

image.png.a84de26dad44fb03836a743755df237c.png

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Those are some beautiful finds! I'm jealous.

Each dot is 50,000,000 years:

Hadean............Archean..............................Proterozoic.......................................Phanerozoic...........

                                                                                                                    Paleo......Meso....Ceno..

                                                                                                           Ꞓ.OSD.C.P.Tr.J.K..Pg.NgQ< You are here

Doesn't time just fly by?

 

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Thanks, guys.

Thank you, Scott for the confirmation.

~Charlie~

"There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why.....i dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" ~RFK
->Get your Mosasaur print
->How to spot a fake Trilobite
->How to identify a CONCRETION from a DINOSAUR EGG

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Any thoughts on mystery item #1???

Maybe a large Ceraurus "tail spike" off the pygidium?

Edited by fossilized6s

~Charlie~

"There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why.....i dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" ~RFK
->Get your Mosasaur print
->How to spot a fake Trilobite
->How to identify a CONCRETION from a DINOSAUR EGG

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Dolichoharpes reticulata is correct. This monograph has a comprehensive description:

Chatterton, B.D.E., & Ludvigsen, R. (1976)

Silicified Middle Ordovician trilobites from the south Nahanni River area, District of Mackenzie, Canada.

Palaeontographica Abt.A, 154:1-106

attachicon.gifDolichoharpes.pdf

You were one of the experts I had in mind Piranha :-)

I noticed in the monograph they used "aff." for the described specimens short for affinis or affinity to. I imagine I might be opening up a taxonomic can of worms, but what is intraspecific variation and when is it different enough to use aff.

I guess this comes from examining variation in multiple specimens and noting differences in the species affinis that don't fall within intraspecific variation but haven't resulted in the description of a new species.

Thanks for humoring the taxonomic curiosity of a trilobite newbie.

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Your "unknown brachiopod" is a gastropod, probably Pterotheca. See here, you'll have to scroll down a bit.

Don

Wow! I never would have thought that. Thank you, Don.

~Charlie~

"There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why.....i dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" ~RFK
->Get your Mosasaur print
->How to spot a fake Trilobite
->How to identify a CONCRETION from a DINOSAUR EGG

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Everyone else has beat me to the ids, but I probably wouldn't have been of much help anyway. Just wanted to say congratulations to your success on your new exploratory project.

 

Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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