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The remains of Swatara Gap - Searching for Cryptolithus in the PennDOT piles.

Martinsburg Formation
Ordovician
2004

An avid collector notified me of the poor situation at the Swatara Gap site in Lebanon county, PA. PennDOT is widening part of I-81 where the site is (was) situated. As a result, the famous road cut has been removed. Fortunately, PennDOT delivered some of this material to a nearby park so fossil collectors could still look through it. This limited supply of material is being depleted at a fast rate. The avid collector, Bill, suggested that I visit this site before it is gone. Taking him up on the offer, we decided to meet him on Sunday at the Swatara Gap remains.

After getting lost and stuck in construction, we arrived at the Swatars site at the state park over an hour late. Bill had already left the site, assuming we were a no show. I noticed some other people collecting there. These were scouts for the upcoming DVPS trip. Later on that day, I met someone who said Bill was there earlier waiting for some fossil people... :(

Although depressed about standing up a fellow fossil collector, we proceeded to collect for some odd hours. Most rocks had fragments of Cryptolithus. By the end of the day, we found 2 complete lace-collar trilobites, or Cryptolithus trilobites, a bunch of nice lace-collar cephalons, a flexicalymene missing a head, some brachiopods, and a little straight shelled nautiloid. We also saw someone find 2 starfish on 1 slab, which was a very nice find. I'm glad I made the trip!

For information on the Cryptolithus from Swatara Gap, go to the Cryptolithus Trilobite Page.

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Additional Images and Fossils Found

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Recommended Books

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Trilobite: Eyewitness to Evolution
by Dr. Richard Fortey, 2001

Dr. Fortey is a famous natural history writer from the British Museum of Natural History. He brings trilbites to life in this well crafted and enjoyable narrative. He merges science and history together to show us the big picture about trilobites. It's a nice read for anyone interested in Trilobites.

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Trilobites: Common Trilobites of North America (A NatureGuide Book)
by Jasper Burns, 2000

Jasper Burns has some great illustrated fossil guide books. This one is on the Trilobites of North America. It has detailed illustrations of 41 species of North American trilobites and includes information about trilobite paleobiology, vision, growth, extinction, and much more! It's a nice little resource book for those interested in North American trilobites. It's also a very inexpensive book. Check it out!

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The Trilobite Book: A Visual Journey
by Dr. Riccardo Levi-Setti, 2014

This is an updated (2014) hardcover (kindle available) of his famous 1994 book. It now has color images instead of black and white ones. The images are of prefectly prepared trilobites from all over the world. this book is geared toward the beginner and does not get overly technical. However, it's wonderful just to see the pictures and is a must for any trilobite enthusiast.

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Trilobites for Sale:

Trilobites from Fossil Era
Trilobite fossils are some of the most beautiful and collectible fossils in the world! There are countless species of trilobites. They make beautiful display and conversation pieces. Common ones make very affordable for gifts to fossil and paleontology enthusiasts. Fossil Era has a huge selection of top quality trilobites from many states and many countries. It's fun just to browse through the inventory and look at all the different types!