We were around the Lost River in West Virginia, the Keyser fossil formation of the late Silurian to early Devonian period. This is around 400 million years ago. Silurian is one of my favorite geological periods, because there are interesting sea life, even ginormous sea scorpions that were larger than a human!
The fossils we found there were brachiopods (mollusks that look like modern clams), crinoid stems (crinoid is an underwater plant that looks like an anemone). and of course — the trilobites. All trilobites we found here were headless. May be we can find a full specimen next time!
But… there was one problem. We couldn’t find enough fossils on the surface! So we decided to start mining the great trilobite mines. After about 20 minutes, I found an orthoceras!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Orthoceras are squid-like mollusks.
This place is famous for its trilobite fossils. Trilobites are invertebrates with an exoskeleton, which are now extinct. They are relatives of the Roly-Poly bugs and Horseshoe crabs, which are a living fossil (see my blog on saving them in Delaware). The first trilobite I ever found was smaller than a penny, it was a fragment without a head and two lobes missing. But it is still beautiful!
We met very nice people there who knew paleontology. I discussed fossils with them and they gave me a BIG trilobite that they just found on the site next to our car!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I called it the Hope Trilobite, like the Hope Diamond (which I saw at the Smithsonian Museum when I was little).
And now… Presenting….The most precious specimen of all…. The BEAUTY TRILOBITE!
We found it together: one person saw it, the other picked it up, and I identified it. It is well-preserved, large, but also headless. 🙁
And now…Presenting….The biggest specimen of all finds at that site… the GIGANTO TRILOBITE!!!! It has only two lobes and no head, but it is still so cool! I found it in the rocky outcrop of shale.
Finally, this is the C14 Trilobite. This is the number of this fossil in my collection. It is embedded in a big piece of rock. It is also a tail, no head. :/
This site is by far my most favorite in West Virginia (so far). We went there 3 times and it was very hot (around 100F) and we had to climb a tough mountain, so it was double hard. But it was all worth it! I hope we go back soon and find access to the Lost River itself!!!
it is funny and it is cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
These are truly great finds! Congrats!! It is amazing how much we can learn from carefully observing and searching! 🙂
Джони, а почему последняя фотография не загружается?
This adventure was so much fun! (Still many fossils to sift through.) Lets go again soon. 🙂
Totally cool
thank you !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Супер! Просто молодцы! Желаю вам обоим интересных поисков и удачных находок!