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Tag: gastropods

VanPS presentation: “Fossil hunting at Penn Dixie Fossil and Nature Park , New York”

The Vancouver Paleontological Society (VanPS) meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 7 pm, PST will be live streamed on Zoom, and paid members of VicPS are invited to attend.

Topic: Fossil hunting at Penn Dixie Fossil and Nature Park , New York

In the summer of 2022, John Fam (Vice chair of the Vancouver Paleontological Society) and his family visited the Penn Dixie Fossil & Nature Park in upstate New York. This park is managed by the Hamburg Natural History Society and encourages the public to learn about paleontology through collecting of fossils. Here anyone can find and keep a variety of fossils such as trilobites, brachiopods, corals, crinoids, bryozoans, bivalves and gastropods. The fossils are all from the Devonian period approximately 380 million years ago. Please attend this free talk to hear more about John’s wonderful experience at Penn Dixie.

VicPS members may attend the presentation by Zoom. Zoom meeting details have been emailed to all paid members of VicPS.

August 21 field trip

When: Sunday, August 21, 2022, 9 am departure

Travel: Meet at Helmcken Park & Ride at 9 am to arrange carpooling.

Exposure: Please see the email sent to paid VicPS members for details.

Exposure: Please see the email sent to paid VicPS members for details.

Equipment: Geological hammer, chisel and safety equipment (gloves, goggles, safety helmet advisable) and footwear suitable for wading. Bring water, snacks/lunch and sunscreen.

Please RSVP to Jerri Wilkins if you plan to participate

July 17th field trip

When: Sunday, July 17th, 2022, 7 am departure

Travel: We are going a little further afield on this trip, so set your alarm clock! Meet at Helmcken Park & Ride at 7 am to arrange carpooling. Or meet us outside the Courtenay Museum at 10 am.

Exposure: Please see the email sent to paid VicPS members for details.

Exposure: Please see the email sent to paid VicPS members for details.

Access: This site is not as easily accessible as other sites; some hiking and scaling of the riverbank is required and current water height in that section of the river is unverified. Good mobility, alertness and care required.

Equipment: Proper footwear for hiking and riverside collecting. Basic hammer and chisel (like equipment used on shales at Mt. Tzouhalem and Chemainus River). Bring the usual daytrip essentials: hat, sunscreen, insect spray, jacket, lunch, water and an endless supply of curiosity!

Please RSVP to Jerri Wilkins if you plan to participate

May 6 Field Trip report: Muir Creek

VicPS member Jerri Wilkins led the field to Muir Creek on May 6, and reports on the event:

Breaking rock at Muir Creek.

The VicPS took its first field trip of the season to Muir Creek, a 25 MYA late Oligocene site of the Sooke Formation, Carmanah Group. Under the gaze of two curious seagulls and overseen by a lone sea lion rock-basking at the tide line, six VicPS members and two guests tackled the beach-strewn soft sandstones in search of strand-line fauna. A handful of fresh sandstone blocks had fallen near the cliffs and dozens of chunks were scattered across the low tide zone, providing ample opportunity to find the usual abundance of Bruclarkia, Mytilus and clams of various sizes. An impressive horizon of gastropods on the underside of a large slab enticed two members to race against the tide to carefully split off part of the slab as a take away.

Several large tree trunks with patches of coalified wood remain deeply imbedded in the beach, and as per usual, no signs of crustaceans among the proliferation of shells, to Roy’s chagrin. Newest member Carol was amazed at the profusion of fossils and the father and son guests listened intently to instructions and meticulously freed a cockle. The search focused from where the cliffs begin on the Muir Creek end of the beach to the point just shy of Kirby Creek. Bright sun and warm temperatures made for a beautiful day for the first field trip of the season. Looking forward to a REDACTED trip in June, providing REDACTED.

To find out where we’re headed in June, become a member of VicPS!