The site is relatively accessible and I'm not keen to inspire private collectors to poach the site, so my details will be limited. Most of the material is not really the envy of collectors as it is generally disarticulated, broken open in section, and ridiculously difficult to prepare. The fossils are found in shale beds that crop out in various parts of southern New Brunswick.
An outcrop of Carboniferous shale that is quite typical of the region. Fossil vertebrates appear to come from only a few restricted horizons in the formation.
The site is relatively rich and surprisingly more diversity is found here than we had previously expected from this fauna. Sadly, the tetrapod continues to elude us.
The partially articulated skeleton of an undetermined genus of lobe-finned fish is seen in section on the side of a large boulder.
Hopefully, the data from this work will help us understand both the diversity and paleoecology of vertebrates that lived shortly after the Devonian. This site has equivalent age counterparts all over the Atlantic provinces of Canada, each of which has different kinds of animals living in it. This could provide some information on how animals are distributed across different environments during this time which should be crucial in understanding what these ancient communities were like.
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