Page 4: Fossil Found while Surface Collecting
Some of the best Flexicalymene were found on the surface in the reject piles.
The next two pictures show a pair of Flexicalymene retrorsa that were climbing
over one another when they died. One can only speculate as to what these
trilobites were doing at the time. This layer has such a high population of
Flexi's that you could say they really were "climbing all over each
other."
The Flexi below was found still encased in hard shale, providing an external
mold of the specimen. Cindy has supplied us with a clearer picture of this
specimen if you click on the small pic. You can also see the other fossils Cindy
found that day at
http://nebulagirl.com/fossils/
.
This Flexi shares the matix with a spectacular Echinoderm. Whether this is a
crinoid, seastar or edrioasteriod will have to wait until the specimen is
professionally cleaned.
There were many "micro-Flexi's" found.
I'm not sure what kind of trilobite this one is. It's shaped like an Isotelus.
The pictures to follow show the vast quantities of Flexicalymene and other
fossils found on the surface.
Picking up items from the tray above, some of the specimens are individually
pictured below. The first picture shows a pair of matching Isotelus genal
spines, one rotated 180 degrees of the other.
Then we have two pictures of the eyes of the large Isotelus trilobite.
Here's a black clam. When digging them directly out of the clay, the delicate
shell is preserved as this black material. Clams found on the surface are
typically without this black coating because it weathers away almost
immediately.
This lucky surface collector found what I think might be the rare gastropod that
Steve Felton is looking for in the Arnheim formation. It resembles a Cyclonema
but has cross ridges as shown below. BE SURE TO CONTACT STEVE FELTON AT
cycloshf@fuse.net
IF YOU FIND ONE OF THESE!!!
Although many more fossils were found but not pictures, that's all for now! If you found something on this trip and would like it pictured or mentioned, email me, Bill Heimbrock, at billheim@drydredgers.org .
Next Field Trip: June 14, 2003: Search for Noids, Pods and Zoas!
Mt. Orab 2003 Direct Page Links
Page 1:
Diggers and Surface Collectors
Page 2:
Fossils Found While Digging: Flexicalymene and Other
Fossils
Page 3:
Fossils Found While Digging: Isotelus maximus
Page 4:
Fossils Found while Surface Collecting
For More Information:
A Pictorial Demonstration of How to Dig Trilobites
Some Trilobites of the Cincinnatian
Past Mt. Orab Field Trips:
2002
2001
2000
Back to the Field Trip Index
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