masonboro37 Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 (edited) Delightful report and pictures. I agree with Squalicorax, feel like I was on your trip too while reading. Thank you for sharing this adventure with us! Beautiful specimens too! Edited March 16, 2014 by masonboro37 Process of identification "mistakes create wisdom". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Given my experience you are lucky to find one whole trilobite so maybe not as important. do they mean complete ones or does that include partials? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trilobiteruss Posted March 17, 2014 Author Share Posted March 17, 2014 do they mean complete ones or does that include partials? Who knows, I just copied something I found in a link and saw that but do not have a clue. Knowing the weirdness we have discussed they probably mean either and have little clue about the issues. There are lots of parts, the shale is weathering and the debates have gone on all over about that issue. I did not bother to check, it is so remote. I think more of the issues I heard from my friends is they are starting to frown on big quarries and excavations more than a few slabs of parts... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trilobiteruss Posted March 17, 2014 Author Share Posted March 17, 2014 Ok thought folks would also like to see typical slabs we found at Marble Mts site. Lots of nice parts, but whole specimens rarer than hens teeth. Here are two nice slabs with parts of Olenellids.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey P Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Great trip report. Amazing finds and wonderful photos. Thanks for taking us there with you. I'm planning a trip out west in June and plan to collect in the Latham Shale at Frenchman's Mountain outsdie Vegas on our last day. Hope to find a cephalon or two or more. So, I read your report with great interest. Congratulations on a very successful trip and lots of great information. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRK Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 (edited) I used to collect the cambrian lathem shale in the marble mtns, quite intensely, when I lived down there in the early 1970s. Where, I was lucky enough to hit an exceptional pocket of complete trilo dorsal shields. I will agree with Russ, "complete trilobites are EXCEEDINGLY rare". One every few long days of work, is much more the norm. However this pocket was consistently producing 8-10 completes a day. Right up to the day I left. Unfortunately I haven't been back These are pics of that quarry Edited March 18, 2014 by PRK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trilobiteruss Posted March 18, 2014 Author Share Posted March 18, 2014 I used to collect the cambrian lathem shale in the marble mtns, quite intensely, when I lived down there in the early 1970s. Where, I was lucky enough to hit an exceptional pocket of complete trilo dorsal shields. I will agree with Russ, "complete trilobites are EXCEEDINGLY rare". One every few days is much more the norm. However this pocket was consistently producing 8-10 completes a day. Right up to the day I left. Unfortunately I haven't been back These are pics of that quarry Sounds like one of those "kill zones" my friend George talks about. Over abundant parts and higher than average whole specimens. You apparently hit one of those rare pockets... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRK Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 (edited) Possibly Russ. But none were very large, all were on the small side, under a couple inches but beautiful and rare complete specimens. actually, only found one fremonti, and it was only approx 3 in, Olenellus clarki were by far the most common, however we did find several different species along with many other cambrian rarities. Could have been a depression on the sea floor that protected the trilobites from water currents that could have been responsible for the dissarticulation of the complete dorsal shields Edited March 18, 2014 by PRK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Outstanding trip report. One really gets a sense of place for that corner of the Mojave. I particularly like how the outcrops are illustrated at all scales. Oh, and the trilobites are nice too. I love those lower Cambrian bugs. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trilobiteruss Posted March 20, 2014 Author Share Posted March 20, 2014 (edited) Here are the Latham bugs, and some from the lateral equivalents in CA and NV nearby for example my Bristolia bristolens are all Nevada bugs but definitely Latham equivalent. A friend wanted to see all my Latham bugs, so I shared in PM a rough draft list with this material, and thought it was worth including lateral equivalents like the Echo Shale ( upper Latham equivalent) at Emigrant Pass, Delmar Mb of Pioche in Nevada (same as Latham). Here is most recent correlation chart of the Upper Dyeran (upper Lower Cambrian) that has the Latham and correlatives in western Nevada and Mojave desert of southeastern California. Note that the Echo Shale in the Emigrant Pass is just under the Gold Ace Lmst the lateral equivalent of the Chambless Lmst in the Marble Mts. So Latham equals the Echo Shale thru base of the Eagle Mt. Shale Mb or the Carrara Fm in the Emigrant Pass site. In the Pioche region of Nevada my bugs here are from the Delamar Mb of the Pioche and that basically is equal also to the Latham Shale. The Combined Metals Mb of the Pioche is more or less lateral to the Chambliss Lmst also. Peachella iddingsi Walcott, 1884) Carrara Formation, Echo Shale Member, Late Lower Cambrian Tecopa Hot Springs, California Peachella iddingsi Walcott, 1884) Carrara Formation, Echo Shale Member (upper Latham), Late Lower Cambrian Tecopa Hot Springs, California Bristolia bristolensis Delamar Member, Pioche Shale Lower Cambrian Klondike Gap, Pioche, Nevada 2 inches Bristolia bristolensis Delamar Member, Pioche Shale Lower Cambrian Klondike Gap, Pioche, Nevada 4.5 inches Bristolia insolens Lower Cambrian, Latham Shale, Marble Mountains, near Cadiz, California with a partial O. nevadensis Bristolia bristolensis Delamar Member, Pioche Shale Lower Cambrian Klondike Gap, Pioche, Nevada pos with Mesonacis fremonti cephalon Bristolia bristolensis Delamar Member, Pioche Shale Lower Cambrian Klondike Gap, Pioche, Nevada neg with Mesonacis fremonti cephalon Bristolia mohavensis. Sweet Pair Lower Cambrian Latham Shale Providence Mountains Summit Springs site in California Bristolia perryi Echo Shale Member (upper Latham equivalent) Carrra Formation Lower Cambrian Emigrant Pass, Nopah Range California Olenellus chiefensis Pioche Shale, "C" Shale Lower Cambrian Ruin Wash Chief Range Lincoln County, Nevada Olenellus gilberti Lower Cambrian Pioche Formation Lincoln Co. Nevada Olenellus gilberti Lower Cambrian Pioche Formation Lincoln Co. Nevada Olenellus terminatus Olenellinae Walcott, 1890 Olenellidae Walcott 1890 Pyramid Shale or Echo Shale Member Carra Formation (Pioche Shale), Lower Cambrian Nopah Range, Emigrant Pass Inyo County, California Both have nice pygidial or tail spines Olenellus clarki (Resser, 1928) Subfamily: Olenellinae (Walcott, 1890) Family: Olenellidae (Walcott, 1890) Locality: Providence Mountains, California Stratigraphy: Latham Shale Fm., Lower Cambrian Olenellus fowleri Lower Cambrian Pioche Shale Pioche, Nevada Olenellus transitans Lower Cambrian Echo Shale Emigrant Pass, California. This trilobite measures 1.5 inches and resides on a 7 x 4 x 2 inch slab - rare Olenellus nevadensis Lower Cambrian Delmar Member, Pioche Shale Klondike Gap, Pioche, Nevada 2.5 inches Olenellus nevadensis Lower Cambrian Delmar Member, Pioche Shale Klondike Gap, Pioche, Nevada Body is about 4 inches long a big one! Mesonacis fremonti Lower Cambrian Latham Shale Providence Mts. Kelso, CA Mesonacis fremonti Latham Shale, Lower Cambrian Providence Mtns. 3 1/16" in length including tail spine. Mesonacis sp. type A Lower Cambrian, Lower Latham Shale Waucoba Springs, California Mesonacis sp. Type A 3+ inches possibly an ancestral Mesonacis fremonti. Lower Latham, Lower Cambrian Waucoba Springs, Ca. Paranephronellus klondikensis Lower Cambrian Delmar Mbr-Latham Shale equivalent Pioche Shale, Klondike Group Panaca, Nevada. Size: ¾” on a 4 x 5 ½” plate. Paranephronellus klondikensis Lower Cambrian Delmar Mbr-Latham Shale equivalent Pioche Shale, Klondike Group Panaca, Nevada. Size: ¾” on a 4 x 5 ½” plate. Paranephrolenellus klondikensis Lower Cambrian Latham Shale - Delmar Mb Pioche Pioche, Nevada Edited March 20, 2014 by trilobiteruss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 Amazing stuff, Russ. I'd like to see the L Camb of the Kootenay region correlated in that chart... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trilobiteruss Posted March 20, 2014 Author Share Posted March 20, 2014 (edited) thanks, the chart is from this volume and specific article on Great Basin Lower Cambrian: Hollingsworth, J. S., Sundberg, F. A., and Foster, J. R., (editors), 2011, Cambrian Stratigraphy and Paleontology of Northern Arizona and Southern Nevada: Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin 67, 321 p. ARTICLE 7 TRILOBITE BIOSTRATIGRAPHY AND SEQUENCE STRATIGRAPHY OF THE UPPER DYERAN (TRADITIONAL LAURENTIAN “LOWER CAMBRIAN”) IN THE SOUTHERN GREAT BASIN, U.S.A. MARK WEBSTERDepartment of the Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, 5374 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637 <mwebster@geosci.uchicago.edu> Edited March 20, 2014 by trilobiteruss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRK Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 (edited) Hi Russ----ill add a couple lower cambrian trilos I've found over the course of many, many days of my tough digging the marbles. I can't choose between the two which one i like the best, so ill show both. BTW Russ, did you collect any cambrian nontrilobite fossils from the marble mtns while you were there? PS note the opisthothorax on the Olenellus clarki.(the green bug) Olenellus mohavensis (yellow bug) Edited March 21, 2014 by PRK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 Did archaeocyathids turn up in the area? Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redleaf101 Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 That was a pretty good darn report! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trilobiteruss Posted March 27, 2014 Author Share Posted March 27, 2014 Hi Russ----ill add a couple lower cambrian trilos I've found over the course of many, many days of my tough digging the marbles. I can't choose between the two which one i like the best, so ill show both. BTW Russ, did you collect any cambrian nontrilobite fossils from the marble mtns while you were there? PS note the opisthothorax on the Olenellus clarki.(the green bug) Olenellus mohavensis (yellow bug) Sweet bugs there, awesome! I saw lots of odd things, trails, algal remains? I know some archaeocyathids have been found there before I did not see any obvious ones. There were other odd things but i did not specifically collect many I think I have one or two odd slabs in my box that is at home. Saved them because they were odd right now do not recall but I need to look at my few slabs I kept again.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trilobiteruss Posted March 27, 2014 Author Share Posted March 27, 2014 That was a pretty good darn report! thanks wanted to make it useful and enjoyable for all here.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Russ, this indeed is quite the thread! Quite informational. Stunning complete bugs! Love seeing the outcrops and relations of the various strata. Brought back some really fond memories of chasing bugs down in that neck of the woods back in the 80's. Thanks! Regards, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
califossilhunter Posted July 3, 2016 Share Posted July 3, 2016 Awesome trip report! If you're ever in Inyo again, I highly recommend Mazourka Canyon -- the water has cut into the mountain, revealing a lot of fossiliferous strata. Well preserved Paleozoic invertebrate fossils, some 485 to 415 million years old, can be found in the canyon. Works Cited: https://californiafossils.org/2016/07/03/mazourka-canyon/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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