Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'Illinois'.
-
Hello, my name is Robert and I am an amateur collector, 71 yo. I live in midwestern llinois. In this area there used to be lots of old coal mines probably in the 1890s thru early 1960s. I have a nice collection of coal trees, from lepidodendron, sigillaria, calamites, etc. I have one piece that doesn't fit. The closest resemblance is the Archeaopteris which I don't know if there ever has been one find in Illinois. The outside piece of the wood is normal like modern trees. There is a stub branch that has a collar on it. If I can figure out how to send images I will try to send a pic. Robert
-
I had contacted someone to register myself regarding a private hunt in a creek. They serve a picnic afterwards. I was to receive verification a month ago and none has come. Does anyone know how to contact the couple offering this? I have lost their information. Mike
-
Hello all. New here from Illinois.
-
Hi! My son (10) has been very interested in Mazon Creek fossils for years, and has been asking to go down and try to hunt for fossils there. He’s quite serious, knows a lot about Mazon Creek for a kid, and has experience with both all-day hiking and moderately successful fossil-hunting. Is there any chance that someone does (or would do) a guided trip there? I would feel so much better trying the trip if we had more expert help. I know he can handle a long day in the sun hunting - but I honestly don’t have the skill to be 100% sure of what I’m doing, and I certainly don’t know exactly where to look, especially if the fossils might already be picked over by now. Do you know of any organized trips, or anyone who might be willing to take us out there for a fee? Thanks in advance!
-
Last summer I posted a trip report about finding some Pennsylvanian black shale in a river bed in East Central Illinois http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/106753-628-illinois-black-shale-trip-w-listracanthus/. I was able to visit the site again once more in the fall last year when the river was running much lower and collect more and larger pieces of the finely bedded and fissile shale. Since then I have been slowly splitting and going through the rocks I brought home, and finding many interesting fish parts- that is definitely the dominant fauna present, disarticulated and scattered fish remains. I have also found frequent inarticulate brachiopods, one piece of woody material and a few small poorly-preserved spiral shaped invertebrates- they could be gastropods or Spirorbis. In this thread I’ll be sharing my finds from the above-mentioned site, as well as any other ones I may find in my explorations in Illinois and Indiana.
- 51 replies
-
- 7
-
-
- black shale
- brachiopods
- (and 6 more)
-
I'll update this thread with my Mazon Collection over the next few weeks. With some good weather out yesterday, I managed to get my first fossil hunt in for the season and will post a report in this topic. I will be moving this upcoming summer which will put me even further from Mazon Creek so I have purchased a few pieces to fill in the genus/species I haven't found yet and will mention if I purchased a fossil. I still hold out hope to find some of these pieces I purchased eventually but will realistically be difficult if I only can make 1 trip a year. Fauna Tullimonstrum gregarium A weathered eye-bar I found on my first trip several years back. There is an eye spot evident under the right light. Still the only piece I have found at this point. Euphoberia armigera (Purchased) Acanthodian indet. (Purchased) Note: Under magnification the scales are present. Cyclus americanus What's a Mazon Creek thread without some Essexella asherae? I still like finding these guys despite the vast amount I have found. Here are a few of my favorites: Note: My largest piece, this is about 6-7 inches in diameter. A couple shrimp pieces. I believe Belotelson magister (Traded for the first one) Here is a cool insect wing from the order Palaeodictyoptera. (Purchased) Now I believe this piece may be a Dasyleptus sp. and if it isn't one, I would love to be corrected! Europops danae (Purchased) Mazonomya mazonensis I'll add to this thread with additional fauna and flora later and will continue to add as I go through freeze-thaw cycles.
- 93 replies
-
- 12
-
-
-
- carboniferous
- illinois
- (and 3 more)
-
With the nicer weather last week, I was able to make two brief trips to kick of the year. There still ended up being a lot of snow on the ground, but it was manageable. My first trip was to one of my favorite sites, a roadcut in the Pennsylvanian LaSalle Limestone in Illinois. Lots of the usual stuff was found, but the two trip makers were a small Peripristis shark tooth and a Linoproductus mass mortality plate. Here's the tooth. I think it will clean up nicely. And here are the Linoproductus. There's around 50 individuals present, and they are all quite small compared to most Linoproductus specimens I find at this site. This is probably the best brach plate I've found here. Here's a random shot I took of the headwall. Most of the common brachiopod species at this site are visible. A few days later I had a couple hours free in the morning and checked out some new Ordovician spots in southern Wisconsin. Here's a neat roadcut I drove past, showing the contact between the Ancell and Sinnipee Groups. The lower unit is the St. Peter Sandstone and the upper unit is the Pecatonica Member of the Platteville Formation. The Glenwood Shale is the narrow shale unit between the two. The site I ended up hunting was in the Grand Detour Member of the Platteville. In this area it's mostly dolomite, and most fossils are internal molds. The preservation is thus not great, but splitting rock can yield nice mollusks on occasion. Here's a typical example of the molluscan hash. This large Ctenodonta was a nice treat. It's about 6cm at the widest dimension. The trip maker was a coiled nautiloid, the first I've found. I am not sure on the ID. It measures about 2cm in diameter.
- 10 replies
-
- 12
-
-
-
- brachiopod
- illinois
- (and 5 more)
-
Current forecast is perfect – rain all weekend but sunny and clear on Monday. Fingers crossed it stays that way! Hope to see some of you out there.
-
Location: Mazon Creek (Illinois) I think some or all of these may be jellyfish, but I'd like to defer to others. If they are not jellyfish, what are they? The last two photos are both sides of the same pieces. There appears to be something on both sides. Thank you for your time.
-
Another find in Pit 11 of Mazonia-Braidwood complex. Found already open on the ground. I was unable to find the other half. It looks a bit like the images of Neuropteris fimbriata and Cyclopteris trichomanoides in Jack Wittry's "The Mazon Creek Fossil Flora."
-
Pretty sure these are amphibian vertebrae. Found in Pit 11 in the Mazonia-Braidwood complex.
-
Hi All, Wondering if I can get some ID help with this, after reviewing various sources I am thinking Maclurites? Location: Belvedere Quarry (ESCONI trip 2020) Dolomite, Galena formation Thank you!
-
Hi All, I've been spending some time with family in Southern Illinois, in Madison County. In between eating too much for the holidays I've been exploring around the farm and the creeks for arrowheads and anything else I can find...while exploring one creek bed near some rather large cliffs I found what I am guessing is a fossilized shell, some kind of sea snail/whelk/conch. I don't know if this was an unwanted hermit crab someone tossed away, or a part of a shell garden that made it's way in there, or a legitimate fossilized shell. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks, D
-
I Like Poop- Mazon Creek Coprolites- A Visual Post
Nimravis posted a topic in General Fossil Discussion
Today I was looking at fossils that I have paid any real attention too in quite a while. I figured that I would try and organize some of them and I started moving containers and pulling out concretions that contained coprolites. The pieces that I was working with were larger pieces, and that is what this post will show. I have found coprolites in the Essex (Marine) and Braidwood (Fresh) biotas. Many collectors in the past would skip over coprolites, just like they did with Essexella asherea Jellyfish, but that is not me, I would pick them all up. Mazon Creek coprolites have been known to contain plant material, bone, fish scales, etc. Again, the following pictures will show some of the pieces in my collection and will not include smaller pieces or concretions that contain fecal pellets that are found associated with the leech, Coprinoscolex. @GeschWhat Lori, you might like this post. Here is a Spiral Coprolite and it should be long to a shark.
- 38 replies
-
- 13
-
-
- coprolites
- illinois
- (and 1 more)
-
This was collected at a private recreation club west of Pit 11 from old spoil hills. I have found Listracanthus spines from this type of black shale. I’m not sure if this is a large spine or something else. Thanks
- 8 replies
-
- 1
-
-
- black shale
- illinois
- (and 1 more)
-
Like in the title, I am unsure if this is even a fossil.
-
I graduated college back in May, and since my graduate program did not start until September, I was fortunate to have quite a bit of time this summer to explore further away from home. I've been slowly prepping and cataloging over the past couple months, and figured I would share some of my favorite finds that I haven't shared yet. First up is dump piles of Silica Shale (Middle Devonian) in Paulding, OH. My university was not far from here, so this is really where I started fossil hunting. I've been here quite a few times, so most of what I found I already had in my collection. A new find for me, and my favorite, is a nice chunk of Protitanichthys placoderm armor. I visited family near Indianapolis in August, and headed out a day early to visit some classic sites. This is the view from a roadcut in Sulphur, IN that exposes the Indian Springs Shale (Mississippian). My first blastoid and first shark tooth of the day. Can you spot them? A small portion of the haul. Lots of blastoids (the main attraction), horn corals, and some brachiopods, plus a crinoid I have yet to identify. Next up was the famous St. Leon roadcut (Upper Ordovician). This was my second visit to this site. You need to get on your hands and knees to spot the tiny Flexicalymene rollers.
- 26 replies
-
- 15
-
-
- carboniferous
- devonian
- (and 7 more)
-
Good morning folks. I have just received a Trilobite from the Silurian Period of Kankakee, Illinois. It has not been identified by the seller and I'm wondering if someone here might know what species this is.
.thumb.jpg.e6e3a91e56a46086f2489ded0310b030.jpg)
.thumb.jpg.1cb4c3fbc459ee886d2e4a2ec17c419b.jpg)
.thumb.jpg.acf974075d21e6ebed29760427e65f8d.jpg)
.thumb.jpg.bc75f187dc61d7e70b6213cf5f7f180f.jpg)
.thumb.jpg.8f06a36a96fd886531e346bfb16723cf.jpg)
-
Hi, thanks in advance. Found near st Louis in illinois. It seems to have hematite or iron coating. I also collect bones and that sure looks like a fossilized bone. Really lightweight.
-
From the album: Trilobites
Fully inflated. Length of 44 mm. -
Hi all, this is one of the polychaete worms from the batch of Pit 11 concretions I'm working on. From what I can see of the conical jaws it most closely resembles Didontogaster corydylina but the jaws blend a bit together and aren't as distinct as some other specimens I've found. The body profile seems a little off (no swollen front section for one) so I wanted to ask for second opinions. Am I getting too hung up on the profile of a body that could just be more outstretched? I appreciate everyone's thoughts.
-
This bivalve came from an outcrop of the Bond Formation in Edgar County Illinois. Edit: After further research it seems to resemble something in the family Sanguinolitidae but without better references that is likely as far as I will get with it. Hopefully someone will have another idea or more experience with this strata and area.
-
Straight Shelled Cephalopod Identification (Pennsylvanian?)
Thomas.Dodson posted a topic in Fossil ID
I collected this little worn cephalopod in a stream in Peoria County Illinois. The area is primarily Patoka-Shelburn Formation Undivided (Pennsylvanian) but it wasn't found in-situ. I sectioned a piece for identification and the siphuncle seems large for the Pennsylvanian cephalopods known from the area. To my eyes it looks a lot like Actinoceras (which I guess would mean Ordovician) based on the position and size of the siphuncle. Does anyone have any other ideas?
-
This beautiful specimen came from the Clear Creek Formation (Devonian) of Illinois in Union County. Does anybody have any ideas for identification?
- 5 replies
-
- 2
-
-
- clear creek chert
- devonian
- (and 1 more)
-
Identification Help Requested ( Large Mississippian Bryozoa?)
Thomas.Dodson posted a topic in Fossil ID
Hi everyone, These unidentified specimens were collected in Union County, Illinois. It's from Mississippian strata, likely the Ste. Genevieve Limestone or St. Louis Limestone. I haven't been able to track down a proper map of this quadrangle yet. The smaller specimens resemble mound bryozoa like Prasopora and the cups of all of them display concentric layers like related bryozoans. There aren't any pores visible so I've been thinking about bisecting one of the smaller specimens to see if any radiating zooecia are visible. What does everyone else think? Does anyone have any idea on what they are?
.jpg.daeac00a0097d72b292d77561c79de79.jpg)
.jpg.af5d87bcf7f3e10c0d8f42eed9504577.jpg)
.jpg.3d88aa7f4f365edeed73a0a53cddbfed.jpg)
.jpg.8f81a5cecd3f0f6ce26a1963f95b4eea.jpg)
.jpg.b88c9cf3fd1ab371cedef33b734ea1af.jpg)
