Martin Family Fossil Collection, p. 9

Martin Family Fossil Collection Page 9: Craigleith, Ontario

Just like in Holzmaden, the Bituminous shale beds near Craigleith were once mined to produce crude oil. Today these shale beds are most well known for their fossils. The main fossils present in the shale are trilobites, bivalves, and crinoids. The trilobites would appear to be Pseudogygites latimarginatus (Upper Ordovician).

	The most common and easily recognizable fossil found at Craigleith is the trilobite's pygidium or tail section which was left intact when the trilobite molted.
	Sample of a complete, (though small) trilobite.
	Imprint of a larger, complete trilobite.
	Multiple trilobite fragments are often found when splitting open pieces of shale.
	Various samples of pygidium. (Yes, even the small piece near the 6 inch mark contains a fossil. See enlarged picture on right.)
	Pieces showing parts of the head of trilobites. The 'noselike' section is termed the glabella.
	Unidentified Bivalves.
	Crinoid stems in shale and free crinoid pieces. (Compare to the crinoid pieces from Grand Bend crin3.JPG )
	Unidentified fossil from Craigleith. It looks like a fossilized artichoke leaf. The broken section exhibits a series of growth rings. Suggestions are welcome.
	This section of a large Nautiloid (Dawsonoceras?) was rescued from the beach at Craigleith where a group of children were having fun breaking off sections of the fossil along the lines dividing the shell into chambers.

I can be reached at: [email protected] Last modified on November 14, 2001

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws