It's been five days since my last (small) outing. That's the longest trip blank since those days between April 6 and 11. That is something I intend to remedy today with a local visit. But, for now, some loose ends as I continue on my rolling 2020 trilobites of Ontario tour. Not four bugs, but the same Trypaulites sp. pygidium under four different lighting conditions. This was found out my backyard spot on May 7. There was not much else to be had in the material, but I gave it a go for a number of hours. A trilobite worker informed me that this is likely a new species of Odontocephalus, and requested I post some photos of the pygidia showing the caudal spine with the prongs or notch. Of course, none of my material has it 100% complete given the nature of this material and the depositional environment. Suggestions to find complete specimens are well intentioned, but it is not as though I've been lazy or leaving such things in the field! Problematizing things further would be the fact that the water level at this location is once again rising, so it will be any number of months before it goes down -- if not until next spring. Still, very neat to have examples of what may be a new species. I have my doubts until it is written up which, if history is any precedent when it comes to Ontario bugs, could be sometime in the next few decades!
As promised, the update is wee. There are some major trip plans being made for the end of this month and into June, including some new sites and serious prospecting work that will see me in more farflung parts of the province. I'm very much hoping to add some Ordovician and Silurian trilobites to this year's tour! Comments are closed.
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Kane Faucher
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February 2024
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