Not much of an update this time around, but a few odds and sods, as well as some exciting developments I’m not allowed to talk publicly about yet. In the last week, I prospected a few sites that turned out to be rubbish, went back to one spot that was not very good, and ditto for another spot where the only thing I picked up were ticks. Yes, ticks. One got dug into my arm, and I had to pick off a few others. Fortunately, these were American dog ticks, or wood ticks, so not the Lyme disease carrying black-legged deer ticks. Here is a photo: I did multiple full body checks and threw all my clothes on high heat in the dryer. That was a creepy-crawly scare I could do without! I got nothing completed in the prep lab, as my midline tools are just not up to the tasks I need completed, so I have material that needs to be flipped to a preparator friend of mine. But, boy, it will be glorious! I also received in the mail the classic Moore “Treatise O,” which is 560 pages of trilo-bliss. I have read this and the 1997 revision cover to cover digitally, but it is nice to have and to hold the actual book, which I got for a song. My ongoing project to create a definitive field guide on Devonian trilobites continues apace. I mostly have the tedious stuff to complete, such as the stratigraphy sections. I will be accumulating images of each of the trilobites from many sources. I should be very clear and forthcoming that this is not “new research” involving new formal descriptions that introduce new species as I am simply not qualified to perform that kind of work. It is more of an aggregation of current and long unrevised knowledge.
There are so many multi-day trips in the works. I am hoping to tuck into the Silurian and Ordovician as the season continues to unfold. I’m 81 days deep into the season and have yet to wander outside of the Devonian, save for some very light poking around the Silurian back in April. I’m looking forward to hosting one of my favourite field comrades for some very daring adventures. I foresee camping, beer, and much hammering as we chew up the many of the back country miles. For now, I'll leave off with this Anchiopsis anchiops pygidium found in the heart of tick-land. No, I didn't bring it home, but that's an impressive caudal spine: Comments are closed.
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Kane Faucher
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February 2024
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