Took the train out to my little hotspot and came back with mostly the same stuff from that site. I can safely say I've pretty much tapped out the accessible material, with the rest so dense that it will shatter rather than split on bedding planes. It is a rather unique and interesting environment, with ridiculously abundant brachiopods ranging from tiny to honking huge, as well as an equally ridiculous amount of rostroconchs. Trilobites just about always come out as fragments, as this was probably a tidal washout area. My plans to go far east to dip into some Ordovician this weekend have been scuppered by the Canada Day weekend motel rate markup; hard to justify the cost at this time when I am gearing up for a very expensive August trip that should prove more exciting by an order of magnitude. So unless some other good option comes my way, it looks like the national long weekend will see me at home. But in other fabulous news, I ordered three new scribes, which means I can get back to doing prep after a long hiatus! Ok, just some quickie finds: The better examples of the undescribed Odontocephalus sp. on the left, with the scrappier bits on the right. There were not as numerous this time around, and it is next to impossible to find one with the pygidial rostrum preserved. If only I had a nickel for every little bit of Coronura aspectans I encountered. These tease pieces were the more significant, with the majority of them showing as isolated thoracic segments. The one in the upper middle has a big one and a little one on the same rock (the reverse has the anterior "cowcatcher" denticles of Odontocephalus pictured in the previous photo). Other stuff. No, I didn't bother with the thousands of brachs, but I generally pick up a few better preserved rostroconchs, particularly if they are free of matrix. These ones are a bit dirty/chalky, and just need a wee wipe down. The one on the lower right has both the snout and hood preserved (just need to prep it out). Oh, and a medium spired gastropod steinkern on the upper left.
So, no great shakes, and probably not worth the train fare, but this was all that was really worth taking in eight hours. Comments are closed.
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Kane Faucher
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February 2024
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