- What's goin' on everybody?
I'm Mark Vins and today I'm trading in my ball cap
'cause I'm goin' full Dr. Grant and taking you
on an adventure with me to find fossils 500 million years
in the making.
That's right today, we're looking for trilobites.
(dramatic music) (lion roars)
(lion roars)
(rocks crackling)
So today we decided to take a trek
about 50 miles outside of Delta, Utah.
And I gotta say, this is one of the coolest fossil sites
in the United States.
This place is absolutely chock-full
with all kinds of Cambrian-age fossils,
including the world-famous trilobite.
We're out here today to not only find one trilobite,
we have the opportunity to find dozens
and potentially some of the rarest in the world.
All right, so I don't think we could do this
with our bare hands.
I think we're gonna need some equipment to do this.
Two hammers is better than one.
So let's go this way, see what we can find.
Oh wow, check this out.
Cole here at U-Dig Fossils is showin' me how it's down.
I already found a great trilobite.
It's got a little chunk missing out of it,
but that's by far the best trilobite I've ever seen
come outta the ground
and he's tellin' me we're gonna find
a lot more of these today.
Now this shale at one point was at the bottom of an ocean.
That's why the trilobites are here.
So they know what they're doing here at U-Dig Fossils.
They've found a trilobite-rich layer
in the rock side and they've excavated it out
and made it easier for us to access
and split with our hammers.
So let's get in here and see what we can do.
There we go.
Oh!
- [Cole] Dude, that's a good one!
- First split!
Cole, first split.
This is a trilobite.
It's one of the more common species out here,
but this is a cheeker
because it has both of its head cheeks on.
Look at that.
First split and Cole's tellin' me it's a pretty good size.
So when you're looking for fossils,
you definitely wanna make sure you're searching
in the right geological layer
because you wanna be in the right period.
There are many species of trilobite
and if you stick around to the end of the video,
I'm gonna tell you, yes, you at home,
how you can take home one of these fossils
that we find today with a little giveaway contest
that we're doing.
But stick around the end, we'll talk more about that later.
We gotta keep searching for more fossils.
That is a nice one.
Whoa, Corey, look at that.
We got an Asaphiscus, guys!
A little bit more rare?
- [Cory] Yeah.
- A little bit more rare, all right!
Trilobites are actually arthropods
and their closest living relative is none other
than the horseshoe crab.
So if you guys remember
when we found a horseshoe crab up there in Maine,
their exoskeletons molt.
So sometimes what we're out here finding
in the fossils are molts
and those often are distinguished
by being fragments like this.
A lotta times, if it's a molt,
the cheeks are off so therefore cheekless.
Yup.
This is truly a one-of-a-kind treasure hunt out in Utah.
500 million years ago represents the very start
of the trilobite so these are some of the oldest trilobites
on earth and this species was the first species
to actually develop complex eyes.
And actually one of the first to also develop appendages.
So they're pretty sophisticated little creatures
for their time.
And I have to say pretty impressive
that we're actually able to find
this many still out here in Utah.
I'm havin' an absolute blast.
All right, so check this out.
I'm just diggin' down here.
This just popped right out.
Might be the biggest trilobite of the day, actually.
That's a cheeky trilobite,
that's what we're after right there, boom!
All right, well see that up there?
That is a snow storm coming in.
It may end up being rain by the time it gets down here,
but the temperature is dropping rapidly.
We gotta get our haul and get up and get some shelter
'cause it's about to dump.
Look at those.
That is all of them.
Oh my goodness.
What we're gonna do next is we're actually going
to clean up these fossils
to make them a little more presentation quality.
(upbeat music)
All right, just got back from the polishing wheel
and just look at these right here.
Dr. Grant, eat your heart out.
Those are some gems.
We dug these up in about three hours here
at the U-Dig Fossils trilobite quarry
and the good news is anybody can do this.
Yes, if you make it here to this quarry,
you pay a small fee.
They give you a bucket.
They give you a hammer.
They point you in the right direction
and then you can unearth one
of these prehistoric treasures for yourself.
Now, if you can't make it to Utah,
I still have some good news for you as well.
All of the fossils that we found today,
including these are up for grabs.
If you go to my TikTok page @bravemarkvins,
answer a few simple questions.
I'm going to pick about 40 winners.
Put the fossils in little bags like this.
I'm gonna DM you and ask for your mailing address.
And then just in a few days time,
you get a fossil in the mail.
Sound like a good deal?
I think so.
Well, let's get these trilobites to the car
'cause it's time to go home.
Man, I had an excellent time out here diggin' up
these prehistoric treasures.
Thanks you guys so much for joining.
I'm Mark Vins.
Be brave.
Stay wild.
We'll see ya on the next adventure.
All right, let's go.
(upbeat rock music)
(lion roars) (birds chirping)