A recent fossil find in the CBS area has plenty of people talking.

Krista Elliott posted pictures to the Beachcombers of NL Facebook page of some amazingly preserved trilobite fossils she found.

Dr. Rod Taylor, a post-doctoral researcher at Memorial University, a palaeontologist and a former interpreter at the Manuels River Interpretation Centre, says while commonplace in the area, the trilobite fossils are interesting nonetheless.

Taylor says most of the fossils in the CBS area involve the moulted shells of long-extinct trilobites as they grew. Over time, the shells are covered with sediment and eventually become fossils.

Taylor says fossils found in the Manuels River area are protected and cannot be disturbed, but similar fossils can be found in other areas if you’re lucky and know where to look.

He advises fossil hunters and beachcombers outside protected areas to let others know what they’ve found—just in case they’re scientifically valuable.

Check-in with experts at MUN or with the Interpretation Centre in Manuels says Taylor, just in case you’ve found a species that hasn’t been discovered in the area before or an organism that’s new to science.