I have previously written about the rare trilobite Spathacalymene on this blog site. It is found in the Silurian Massie (formerly Osgood) Shale of Southeast Indiana. Yet an even rarer trilobite from that formation is Calymene. I’ll describe one of them here....

Many fossil collectors will tell you that there’s a story behind each of their finds. They also have one or two specimens in their collection that are their favorite. I would like to share my story on my favorite fossil...

A couple decades ago, the historic Lowell Laudon collection appeared on the fossil market.  Lowell Laudon was a geologist who taught for 45 years at universities in Kansas and Wisconsin in the 1900s.  He also was an avid field geologist, discovering and...

The Walcott-Rust quarry (a creek exposure in New York) is a classic Ordovician site.  Much has been written about it and the famous Charles Doolittle Walcott who made major discoveries based on the specimens he collected there in the mid-to-late...

I have written about this rare trilobite previously on this blog site and in the Dry Dredgers Bulletin.  Thought I’d share a recently prepped specimen. However, I’ll start with a picture of a heart-breaking find in the field (commercial crushed...

Dating back to ~2003, a small group of Dry Dredgers has volunteered for the inaugural Dig with the Experts and the annual events since then at the Penn Dixie site. This year was no exception.   For those not familiar...

The 40th annual MAPS Fossil Expo was held April 6-8 in Iowa City, Iowa. This is the world’s largest fossils-only show. Many vendors had material for sale, there were several nice displays, and quality presenters spoke on a variety of...

In previous blogs, I've discussed the awesome Tucson Show (late January-early February) and all its fossil offerings (along with gems, minerals, jewelry, and so much more). Here I'll share pictures of a few of the amazing fossils that were for...

Two previous Dry Dredgers blogs (2/23/16 and 6/30/16) summarize field trips that Tom Bantel and I took to the Silurian Brassfield Limestone in Ripley County, Indiana. On those previous visits, we collected samples for stratigraphy studies being done by Dr....

This past weekend, I visited this show (the 41st annual event). It is held on the first weekend after Labor Day, at the Hancock County 4-H Fairgrounds in Greenfield, Indiana. I have not been there in many years due to...

Dating back to ~2003, a small group of Dry Dredgers has volunteered for the annual Dig with the Experts at the Penn Dixie site. This year was no exception.   For those not familiar with the site, the Penn Dixie...

The Devonian Silica Shale exposed in the Lafarge quarry in Paulding, Ohio has attracted collectors for decades. The shale is well known for its trilobites [in particular Phacops (Eldregeops)], plus brachipods, horn corals, small blastoids, crinoids, and fish material.  ...

The 2017 MAPS fossils-only show was held March 31 - April 2 in Iowa City, Iowa. That was the big draw to the Hawkeye State. But there is more: the birthplace of Buffalo Bill in LeClaire, IA museum of Antique...

Only one box full!  (Or maybe two.  That's all.)   In a previous Dry Dredgers blog (Goin' back to Tucson, 2/13/17), I introduced the vast array of fossils that are available at the Tucson Show (late January-February). It might be...

In early 2016, I reported on my “field trip” to the Tucson Show, a gigantic event that covers several weeks in January and February. Well, now it’s time to talk about my field trip to the 2017 show.   For...

EDITOR'S PREFACE Sadly, James Cox passed away after saving his final draft of this article on the BLOG. This is an excellent article that was featured in the April 2017 edition of MAPS Digest. We now have permission from MAPS to publish it on the...

At the end of November (28-30), the St. Paul, Indiana quarry held an open house for fossil collectors. Jim Cox (of the Dry Dredgers) happened to see a post about the event on Fossil Forum (thefossilforum.com), and passed the word...

I frequently collect the Massie (formerly Osgood) Shale of Southeast Indiana, usually in pursuit of the rare Spathacalymene nasuta (“snout-nosed”) trilobite. The search is made all the more difficult since the locality, a commercial quarry, has not exposed any new...

This is a quick post about a fossil hunting trip I made to the Martin Marietta Berkeley County Quarry (now closed) in South Carolina back in 1994.  This quarry was one of the biggest sources for mined limestone in the...

No, this isn't a question on a TV game show.   The beast I refer to falls into the category of echinoderms. And for this recently found Silurian cystoid specimen, I'm hoping someone can provide an answer to What's my...