Fossil Claw Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 @isotelus I had the Privilege to be invited to dig at the Famed Trilobite Farm in Mt. Orab Ohio by Dan Cooper. Home of some of the best preserved trilobites in the world. I met Dan at a rest stop at 7 a.m. Saturday and we proceed to the location. I have never dug trilobites in Ohio so Dan was nice enough to show me the what to do and how to work with the matrix. I have only dug trilobites at Penn Dixie. If you ever get the chance to dig with Dan cancel whatever other plans you have, There is likely no one more knowledgeable about Ohio trilobites. It was a cool morning for August so we didn't have to worry about the usual August heat. We dug from 7 to about 11:30. So you know how when you go fishing you always come home and talk about the one that got away? I have two of those stories from Saturday morning. As we were pulling out some layers of shale what should appear but what would have been an 8 or 9 inch Isotelus laying prone. It was beautiful but it wasn't meant to be. As the layer was being pulled out it was clear that the Isotelus was too broken up and falling apart. There was really no way to save it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted August 27, 2017 Author Share Posted August 27, 2017 Some photos of the location. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted August 27, 2017 Author Share Posted August 27, 2017 The second story of the one that got away has a little happier story. Dan was splitting a large piece of matrix and found the attached enrolled Isotelus. While it is beautiful, it is not complete by any means. Dan gave it to me to practice prepping on. Had it been more complete it would have easily been the find of the day. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted August 27, 2017 Author Share Posted August 27, 2017 Finds I brought home include lots of flexicalymene retrorsain matrix prone and rolled, lose enrolled, as well as partial enrolled isotelus, an isoetalus cephalon, and some nice isotelus pygidiums. The larger partial enrolled isuleous fell apart when I was trying to stabilize it. Haven't decided if I can save it yet. All in all it was an awesome daying of hunting one-on-one with Dan. Thank you for the invite. Dan may post the finds he brought home later. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 Nice finds! Hope you can save that roller! Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 Nice finds! Looking forward to seeing them prepped out, Please post pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolmt Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 Cool finds... very fortunate to have been able to go there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted August 27, 2017 Author Share Posted August 27, 2017 30 minutes ago, Malcolmt said: Cool finds... very fortunate to have been able to go there Absolutely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil-Hound Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 @Fossil Claw I would try to save the roller. It's a monster. Nice finds! Do or do not. There is no try. - Yoda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 Amazing trilobites, Dom!!! Congratulations!!! Monica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted August 27, 2017 Author Share Posted August 27, 2017 1 hour ago, Fossil-Hound said: @Fossil Claw I would try to save the roller. It's a monster. Nice finds! That's the plan. Just need to think about how before I touch it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 I assume you guys know the best method to get out large chunks with intact Isotelus, so I wonder, were those broken pieces of Isotelus the result of an unfortunate choice in where to split the rock to get large chunks out, as opposed to the methods you were using (which are obviously good enough to get out the smaller rollers and such)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey P Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 Wow! A year's worth of trilobites in just four and a half hours. Big congratulations. Hope this isn't your last visit there. Thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 Nice finds and great pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted August 28, 2017 Author Share Posted August 28, 2017 58 minutes ago, Wrangellian said: I assume you guys know the best method to get out large chunks with intact Isotelus, so I wonder, were those broken pieces of Isotelus the result of an unfortunate choice in where to split the rock to get large chunks out, as opposed to the methods you were using (which are obviously good enough to get out the smaller rollers and such)? The big enrolled one that Dan found that I'm going to try to save was just an unfortunate splits. The large one that fell apart was in a layer that was pretty crumbly and fragile. That layer had rollers falling out of it vs ones that were in hard Matrix. The Matrix about 8 to 10 inches lower was harder and need to be split while the upper Matrix was pretty flaky and fragile. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aek Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 Wow, interesting stuff, great opportunity you had! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil-Hound Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 20 hours ago, Fossil Claw said: That's the plan. Just need to think about how before I touch it. Don't think just do. Nike: Just Do It. Do or do not. There is no try. - Yoda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted August 29, 2017 Author Share Posted August 29, 2017 Okay so I took out the your scribe and dug out the back end some more so I can see more of when I had to work with. I also started laying out and dry fitting pieces You orientation of the cephalon with the rest of the body almost makes me wonder if it's an enrolled one laying on top of another one. Any more experienced preppers have an opinion on that question? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrguy54 Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 "almost makes me wonder if it's an enrolled one laying on top of another one. " It does look that way. The pygidium would be underneath the rolled section. Great find. I really love going there. It can get/be very sloppy at times but you seem to have had a great weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 Looks like you had a very fun and very productive trip!!! How nice! RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JUAN EMMANUEL Posted September 2, 2017 Share Posted September 2, 2017 Wow nice trilobites and parts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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