Olenellid heads are common in the Latham Shale. Complete trilobites are more rare. Olenellids were restricted to the Early Cambrian, and the olenellids in the Latham Shale are relatively late in the group's history. Shown at left is a complete specimen of the genus Olenellus , probably O. clarki . Although trilobites are the most common and most popular fossils in the Latham Shale, they are not the only fossils that have been found there.
Trace fossils left by worms and by trilobites are also fairly common.
Fossils can also be found in the rock layers above and below the Latham Shale. The grayish layer above the Latham Shale, the Chambless Formation, is rich in oncolites , which are formed by cyanobacterial growth. Oncolites are very similar to stromatolites , but instead of forming columns, oncolites form nearly spherical growths. The Chambless Formation is also rich in hyoliths and fragments of trilobites. Above the Chambless Formation, the shales and sandstones of the Cadiz Formation contain many trace fossils, and a few layers have fairly common trilobite remains.