Fossildude19 Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 (edited) Hello all! I was hoping that someone here can help to ID some Wheeler Shale trilobites. I bought a small Elrathia trilobite several years ago, from the Dinosaur State Park Museum store. I believe I paid around $6.00. When I got home, I decided that since the Trilo was sitting on a decent sized piece of rock, I would see if there were any more trilos entombed within the surrounding matrix. I was not disappointed! There were many smaller trilos in there, and I always figured that I had 1 or 2 agnostids, along with more Elrathias. Henry's recent trip to Utah to dig in the Wheeler shale has brought this item back to my attention. Now I am not so sure they are all Elrathia, and would like to have someone confirm either way - yea or nay. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks for looking. Regards, Specimens numbered for ease of ID. Close ups : 1 & 2 3 4 5 & 6 7 & 8 Continued.... Edited February 25, 2012 by Fossildude19 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 IPFOTM -- MAY - 2024 _________________________________________________________________________________ "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...
Fossildude19 Posted February 25, 2012 Author Share Posted February 25, 2012 Continued... 9 10 11 and 12 Thanks again for any help. Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 IPFOTM -- MAY - 2024 _________________________________________________________________________________ "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...
Fossildude19 Posted February 25, 2012 Author Share Posted February 25, 2012 Oh, and here is the original Trilobite with the rest of the group. Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 IPFOTM -- MAY - 2024 _________________________________________________________________________________ "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...
Kosmoceras Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Wow! A lot for that price! Nice one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacob Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Wow thats an awesome price, best bargain i've ever seen. All but 10 look like Elrathia to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Hi Tim, Many of those appear be Bolaspidella housensis... Congrats on a great group of bugs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xonenine Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 thats alot of bug bang for six bucks Tim! Very nice! :Bananasaur: "Your serpent of Egypt is bred now of your mud by the operation of your sun; so is your crocodile." Lepidus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted February 25, 2012 Author Share Posted February 25, 2012 Thanks Thomas, Jacob, and Carmine. Gotta love a bargain! Scott, thanks for that ID. I figured you might be the one to straighten this out for me. I didn't think they all looked like Elrathia. Any ID on the agnostid? There are a few from there, no? And could you possibly point out which are the Bolaspidella housensis? I'm afraid the distinctions ellude me. Thanks again for the help. Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 IPFOTM -- MAY - 2024 _________________________________________________________________________________ "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...
JimB88 Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 thats cool. I once did that with some Green River material (bought an insect, a conefly and when I removed some flakes of matrix I found a hemoptera.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted February 25, 2012 Author Share Posted February 25, 2012 (edited) thats cool. I once did that with some Green River material (bought an insect, a conefly and when I removed some flakes of matrix I found a hemoptera.) That's cool, Jim. Neat to discover some more fossils when you thought you only got one! I found a total of 13 mostly complete to complete trilos, and multiple pieces in the one rock!. 14 trilobites for 6 bucks,... not bad. Regards, Edited February 26, 2012 by Fossildude19 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 IPFOTM -- MAY - 2024 _________________________________________________________________________________ "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...
piranha Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 The easiest way to differentiate Bolaspidella housensis from Elrathia kingii is the number of thoracic segments; 15 in B. housensis and 13 in E. kingii. The two examples in numbers one and two that you posted are easily counted and correct for Bolaspidella. A few of the others are more difficult to deduce from the photos and a bit flexed or distorted in the thoracopygidium. The agnostid and others will be best evaluated with the aid of a 10X loupe and specimens in hand and with the assistance of the following paper that I'm forwarding to your email inbox: RE: Late Middle Cambrian Faunas from Western Utah Journal of Paleontology, Vol. 38, No. 3 (May, 1964), pp. 510-566 Author: Richard A. Robison 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted February 25, 2012 Author Share Posted February 25, 2012 The easiest way to differentiate Bolaspidella housensis from Elrathia kingii is the number of thoracic segments; 15 in B. housensis and 13 in E. kingii. The two examples in numbers one and two that you posted are easily counted and correct for Bolaspidella. A few of the others are more difficult to deduce from the photos and a bit flexed or distorted in the thoracopygidium. The agnostid and others will be best evaluated with the aid of a 10X loupe and specimens in hand and with the assistance of the following paper that I'm forwarding to your email inbox: RE: Late Middle Cambrian Faunas from Western Utah Journal of Paleontology, Vol. 38, No. 3 (May, 1964), pp. 510-566 Author: Richard A. Robison Scott, thank you, very much, for the clarification,... and the paper. I am well on my way to discovering the differences for myself. Teach a man to fish ...(...or ID trilobites ) Best regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 IPFOTM -- MAY - 2024 _________________________________________________________________________________ "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...
Sinopaleus Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Lovely association Tim! I thought I saw something special in those trilobites. Bolaspidellas are nice Congrats on your trilos! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullsnake Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Congratulations, Tim! Awesome accidental additions to your collection. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted February 26, 2012 Author Share Posted February 26, 2012 (edited) Congratulations, Tim! Awesome accidental additions to your collection. Thanks Steve. I think so too. Lovely association Tim! I thought I saw something special in those trilobites. Bolaspidellas are nice Congrats on your trilos! Thanks Henry. It was your recent adventure that brought this to my mind, and made me want to ID my museum store finds. Regards, Edited February 26, 2012 by Fossildude19 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 IPFOTM -- MAY - 2024 _________________________________________________________________________________ "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...
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