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Triarthrus Fossil Hunting Video:

Fossil Hunting for Triarthus Trilobites in the Utica Shale of Central New York

A few of us fossil nuts, including Larry of DVPS, made our way to the Ordovician Utica shale of Central New York in search of Triarthrus trilobites.

Triarthrus are plain looking trilobites that lived on the ocean floor in deep water and anoxic (low oxygen) conditions. Because of the low oxygen and deep water environment, the diversity of life in this shale is low. Other life includes deep water graptolites, some cephalopods, and a few gastropods.

The Utica shale is a dark grey shale found along many creek beds throughout central New York. The part of the Utica shale we collected in is called the Dolgeville Formation. This shale splits into thin layers. Some layers contain preserved fossils. Often the fossils are graptolites and heads of Triarthus trilobites that have accumulated by the slow deepwater currents. Sometimes a whole Triarthrus can be found. This was our goal, to find complete Triarthrus trilobites. Usually a person can find about 1 Triathrus trilobite ever hour or so of searching. We explored a couple creeks in the area that exposes the Utica shale, then on the way back, we took a side trip to Niagara Falls to see the massive Niagrara Escarpment.

To learn more about Triarthrus trilobites, including images of soft body preservation, head over to the Triarthus Gallery.

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Fossils Found from the Trilobite Fossil Hunt

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Recommended Books and Fossils:

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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! There are countless species and 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 countries. It's fun just to browse through the inventory and look at all the different types!

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