The highlight of my Temiskaming trip back in October ended up being the only decent find I made, but inasmuch as finding Rielaspis is cool (and I have a lovely multi-plate that attests to that and a number of singles), there are some trilobites in the Thornloe Fm that make one stand to attention. Certainly, a complete Distyrax or Stelckaspis are sensational finds on their own, but perhaps an even rarer standout would be the scutellid, Ekwanoscutellum. Fragments are sometimes encountered, mostly pygidia, but complete specimens are almost unheard of (a collecting friend of mine found a near complete one on the same trip, and only discovered that after he had been prepping). These scutellids are fairly large -- the largest trilobites in this formation -- and so are more subject to all sorts of forces that result in disarticulation rather than well composed preservation. Although my specimen is not complete, it is fairly close. Absent the cheeks (or maybe not?) and with exfoliation, it has its demerits. The initial state. And the negative where some of the shell stuck. I focused on where it was buried. The pustulose pygidium has come into focus, and the long pleurae are being steadily and carefully uncovered. I swapped between fine scribe and abrasion, with more of the latter. In all, I spent 15 hours, some of it a bit tricky. Parts of the shell are very thin. The final(?) result. I could not find the cheeks, but maybe I need to probe a bit more. There is still an opportunity for me to transfer some of the negative as well, but I don't feel very confident with my skills to do that. I've applied some consolidant to strengthen the shell and debate next steps. This one measures 8.5 cm, so a veritable giant for Thornloe Fm trilobites.
And this just in... another to add to my very big Russian trilobite collection, Asaphus kotlukovi. 7.8 cm. Comments are closed.
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Kane Faucher
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February 2024
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