Hinkcley man with Cambrian species named after him opens reservation-only fossil quarry
Thelxiope holmani.
It’s a new species of Cambrian era ocean bug.
It’s defined by its “broad-based sagittal spines, none hypertrophied, and straight to rounded thoracic tergopleural tips,” according to a 2020 academic paper authored by a couple of Harvard University scholars. It was found in the Wheeler Formation of Millard County’s House Range, comparable to Canada’s Burgess Shale or China’s Qingjiang Fossil Bed in Hubei Province for world-class paleontology, fantastic fossil finds from when those areas were covered by primordial ocean.
The term “trilobite” is most commonly associated with the multitude of life found in the fossil record from this time period, certainly Utah shale formations host a plethora of these three-lobed creatures. But study of these areas encompass all manner of ancient lifeforms, who’s imprint was left on science as silty ocean fl oor turned into limestone and shale with the passage of half a billion years.
Scientists study these creatures not just for what they tell us about the explosion of complex life that took place 500 million years ago, but what their evolution tell us about our own origins.
Holmani, this latest find, happened at a place called “A New Dig,” just up the road a stretch from a pretty famous old dig here called U-Dig.
Hinckley resident Clay Holman operates the new fossil quarry. The new old bug he found at the site sits today inside a collection at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University.
Holman joins Frank Beckwith and Robert Harris, prominent local rock hounds in their own right, whom had earlier fossil discoveries named in their honor, too.
Holman wants the world to know his quarry is open for business, and the business is discovery, with a pinch of seclusion, a dash of desert wildlife and a heap of curiosity.
A New Dig, unlike its nearby cousin, is open by reservation only. Holman says he is aiming to separate his operation from the older by offering a higher-end, curated experience, hosting one group, one family or one person at a time. And they can stay overnight if they want, have the place all to themselves, if they wish.
“I’m not trying to compete. I’m trying to offer something different,” Holman said. “It’s a little more high end. I love the fact that if a group comes, they’re not going to have to deal with other people.”
Holman smiles for a photo from the seat of the back hoe he uses to dig up fossil-bearing shale for visitors to chip away at.
Holman’s quarry sits on 40 acres of Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands (SITLA) property he first leased in 2006.
He has a deep understanding of the area, having once had a SITLA lease for marble and travertine mining, too.
“I had been out there since I was 17, off and on my whole life,” he said. The property is accessible by almost any vehicle, car or truck, and RVers can easily get their rigs situated for an overnight stay. Firewood is available. A nearby spring delivers fresh water to the area—Holman says it’s the best tasting water on the planet, so bring a mason jar to drink out of.
Holman is working on some individual tent camping sites on the property now ahead of what he predicts will be a busy summer. An old outhouse is maintained as the quarry’s restroom facilities.
Wild horses sometimes trek through the site and plenty of other wildlife make the experience richer. This latest go-round isn’t the first time Holman has tried to capitalize on his quarry’s unique setting.
“We tried for quite some time to be out here and let anybody in. It just got to a point where I wanted to see people have a more quality, personal dig,” he said.
One thing visitors can be certain of, they won’t be leaving A New Dig empty-handed. Holman said he likes to spend at least an hour or more with visitors when they arrive so they feel comfortable, get a good dose of the history and science they are diving into, and learn how to search the rock for fossils.
County officials Kevin Morris and Evelyn Warnick visited the quarry last year when a film crew interested in highlighting the quarry as a tourism attraction came to film.
Miners refer to it as a “pay streak,” ore-rich layers of gravel typically covered by lots of overburden. Holman digs down dozens of feet with a mechanical back hoe to reach the five-foot layer of fossil-bearing limestone shale.
The dug-up rock also has to cure a bit—a little rain or snow or lots of sun makes it easier to crack the rocks open with a hammer without damaging the fossils inside.
“If I dig it up and a good hard rain comes through, it happens almost instantly on fresh rock,” he says about the fossil-hounding process. “If it doesn’t rain, a good few months under the sun will also do the trick. Some rocks take a year to split open. But some of those are the very best, craziest stuff.”
Holman says the experience is not quite like anything else. And in this age of COVID, with travel restrictions and families itching for alternatives to crowded vacation destinations, a la Disney and such, the Hinckley man thinks people will really dig his, er, dig.
“To find something that is way older than the dinosaurs really makes people happy,” he said.
Holman says early comments from visitors so far have made him think he’s hit upon the perfect adventure for tourists to the area.
“It’s working. People are calling me. It’s such a different experience than U-Dig. They have the place to themselves, behind a locked gate,” he says. “Online we are starting to get some really kick-ass reviews. People who go there say there is no comparison. I really take time. If they come all that way, I want to make sure they score. Not just a few trilobites, or how many an hour or whatever. I want them to dive in.”
A New Dig is open online, too.
The website is anewdigfossils.com. Visitors can make reservations through the site or by calling or email using the site’s contact information. Holman also has an online store where visitors can purchase fossils found at the quarry.
The website has directions to the quarry as well, though following the signs to U-Dig, then going past it for about an eighth of a mile will deliver you to A New Dig as well.
Clay Holman holds a fossil find from his A New Dig quarry near Antelope Springs. The quarry offers exclusive access to fossil digs by reservation.
“The most common species of trilobite we find is Elrathia Kingii, but we also find Asaphiscus, Paronopsis, Brachiopods, and even soft bodied creatures,” according to information from the quarry’s website. “Since these layers hold an unread book over half a billion years old, we know the excitement of being able to find, hold, and own creatures from the Cambrian Era. Visitors are guaranteed to find fossils.”
Who knows, a visitor could find the next Thelxiope holmani.
Holman says that would be just fine with him.
