Fossils


Welcome to My Fossil pages. These pages contain photos and descriptions of some of the fossils in my collection. I have been collecting fossils for about 50 years. My collection contains a variety of fossils from all over the world, but it is dominated by US and Canada fossils and more specifically by fossils from Ontario, Canada. This is mainly due to the proximity of Ontario to my home. In my high school years, I was introduced to the collecting localities at Arkona, Ontario. (Thanks to Barbara and Barbara for the introduction). I spent many years collecting those pits with my buddy Mike. Those were great collecting years. We collected so many crinoids that to this day, we are still prepping specimens collected in the 80's. Eventually the pits at Arkona ceased quarrying and the locality became less productive. At about that time, I was introduced to the quarries at Brechin, Ontario and since that introduction have spent a significant portion of my time collecting in those quarries. For about 20 years I collected at Brechin Localities. Those quarries yielded a huge number of fossils specimens. I have kept the very best or most unusual for my collection. Even with keeping only the best, the specimens from Brechin make up about 40% of my collection. Crinoids dominate the Brechin fauna and thus the collection is dominated by crinoids. I want to thank Sean, Forest, and Bob G. for collecting with me all those years. You made the drive up to Brechin a lot easier. Unfortunately in 2009 the good quarries near Brechin closed to collecting and eventually by 2016 all the quarries closed to collectors. Now I have to move on to other localities. It will be interesting where the future will lead me.

My collection also contains a significant number of specimens from the Burlington Limestone. This is the result of meeting Margaret on the piles at Sylvania, Ohio and becoming very good friends. Margaret lived in St. Louis and therefore the introduction to Burlington fossils was a natural result. Also, it didn't hurt that Forest (my Brechin buddy) was an avid collector of Burlington crinoids and together we have made many more trips to those localities.

I also have a nice collection of crinoids from Alabama. I would like to thank Stan, Bill, Paulette and Bob H. for making all those trips possible.

In my early years of collecting, Steve and I spent many weekends collecting at the Pit #11 site and surrounding areas near Braidwood, Illinois. I have a small but nice collection from that area and have dedicated a page to those fossils. For those not familar with the area, the fossils are known as Mazon Creek fossils, named after the original site on Mazon Creek.

When I first started collecting, my buddy Steve and I wrote an article for a magazine called "We Collect Fossils and Friends". I have to admit that 50 years later those words are still true. The number of friends I have as a direct result of fossil collecting is significant and highly cherished. Thank you all for making my collecting experience so enjoyable. And finally, I would like to thank my wife Stef for putting up with all the fossils and friends that go along with them. I know that you have spent many weekends alone (or with the cats) while I galloped off to do more digging. How many fossils are enough? It is never enough. There is always something new to discover.

Now, I hope you enjoy viewing my fossil collection on line as much as I enjoyed collecting and preparing them. I have also added a section called "Before and After." On this page, I describe the tools I use to prepare fossils and then show specimens before they are cleaned and after preparation.

If you have any questions about any of the specimens, please feel free to contact me at paleojk@gmail.com

Note: At the bottom of this page I have a link to extra fossils that are for sale. Take a look and if interested, please contact me.

All photographs on these web pages are not to be copied or used for any purpose without my written permission.

Arthroacantha
Glyptocystites
Ceraurus
Mesolimulus
Scaphites
Archimedes
Crinoids
Echinoderms
Trilobites
Arthropods
Mollusks
Other Fossils


Fern
Tully
Mazon
Creek


Glyptocrinus
Before & After


Fern
Tully
Tully
FOSSILS
for
SALE



2nd Printing of Silica Book Now Available. Click On Image.


Back to the top

Go to page 2


This page has been viewed times.