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I've found a large number of similar looking, but fragmentary, multicuspid petalodont teeth in the LaSalle Limestone (Late Pennsylvanian) of Illinois. This is one of the more complete specimens I've found. I haven't been able to find a comparable specimen in literature, and was hoping somewhere here might have some thoughts.
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Hi all, I recently found this fossil, and I was hoping I could find some help here identifying it. I found it at Fort Sheridan in Illinois, and wasn’t expecting something that looked like it could be vertebrate. I’m familiar with the fossils with the area, and was surprised to find something like this. Any ID suggestions or suggestions for where to get it ID’d would be appreciated. Someone I talked to said it may be an amphibian/tetrapod fossil (potentially an egg) Description of fossil: small potato shaped rock with skull and thorax of specimen showing. “Feet” protruding from the bottom, and there appears to be a little hand covering the skull on one side. Little hand over face Top view showing little hand over right side of skull Right side view Left side view IMG_7547.MOV
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This is probably an extremely long shot, but I wanted to post these interesting pics in case they ring a bell for anyone. These were all found in a Late Pennsylvanian shale associated with the Herrin Coal, which generally preserves plant fossils. I’m not sure if they are fossils or diagenetic artifacts- the shale is baked on the spoil pile which can introduce unusual shapes. The first one is a strange pattern- it appears to be asymmetrical and doesn’t immediately match any plant parts I’m familiar with, but there are so many possibilities I might be missing something. It’s 5 mm wide. This next one is part and counterpart of a smooth cylindrical impression- the entire visible impression is about 15 mm long. These next three could be a result of the heating of the shale, which can produce bubbles and smooth surfaces like these, but it would unusual for that to be the case without any other distortion around it. The final impression comes from the other side of one of the pieces above and is similarly smooth-walled, but only a small portion is visible.
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Yesterday I took my second trip of the year to do some collecting at Pit 11. A little chilly, but once the sun came out it was a nice day. An idea of how overgrown it is, even this early in the year. The first find of the day A productive hillside A nice handful of concretions I broke my personal record and was able to collect about 3 gallons in the 6 hours I collected. Not many open finds, although I did find this fairly nice Annularia, hopefully a sign of things to come!
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Tomorrow (March 1st) is opening day for fossil hunting at Mazonia-Braidwood State Fish and Wildlife Area, also known as Pit 11 to Mazon Creek collectors. The weather has been on an excellent trend running up to now, with many days over the next week predicted to have highs in the 50s and even 60s, although a few days do have rain predicted as well (and things may already be muddy as the soil thaws too). Who is planning on heading out this week to kick off the season? I will be taking tomorrow off work to be there on opening day. I missed out on the 2021 season entirely, and actually haven't been to the park since March of 2020- my last trip there was one of my last activities before COVID hit. With any luck I will be able to make at least a couple of trips this year. With the warmer weather, be sure to watch out for ticks, and with potentially muddy conditions drive carefully- I have seen vehicles get stuck in the past. Finally, it's always a good idea to have your copy of the fossil collecting permit, either picked up outside the park office or printed from online: https://www2.illinois.gov/dnr/Parks/Activity/Documents/MZB_FossilPermit.pdf Best of luck to everyone and I hope to see some of you out there in the park! Please feel free to share your finds and reports in this thread as well.
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A nodule from Mazon Creek opened up this week and revealed a nice fossil. I believe it is a Neuropteris Seed Fern Leaf based on pictures examined. The curious thing is the additional leaves that exit the stem. Is this typical or representative of the species???
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My bucket of mazon nodules collected this summer have been sitting outside in the sub zero temperatures all winter. I was finally able to fetch the bucket and thaw them out recently. The nodule presented split completely different than other nodules that have opened. This one is a heptagon prism, VERY geometric, not split on a horizontal plane like I am used too . Is there a fossil present on the upper surface and have others experienced nodules opening up geometrical like this one? Thanks for looking Mike Front view Back view.
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I'm stumped on this one. Unfortunately it is not very well defined, but it seems like something interesting... I haven't found anything similar before. Any thoughts are appreciated. @stats @deutscheben @bigred97 @Nimravis @Mark Kmiecik @fiddlehead @flipper559
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I found this specimen in Middle Pennsylvanian black shale in Illinois. It measures maybe 8mm in the widest dimension. Honestly not even sure if it's a fossil, never seen anything like it. Any ideas? Part Counterpart
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Had this concretion open today. I'm pretty confident it's something vertebrate. Maybe a lungfish plate? @jdp @RCFossils Thanks for any help.
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A couple months ago I received a message from a friend letting me know of an opportunity to collect a usually inaccessible Mazon Creek site. The area used to be a popular with collectors but has since been reclaimed as a subdivision. A house was finally being built on one of the last undeveloped lots, and this meant spoil piles while the foundation was being laid. I initially planned to go later in the week, but instead decided to wake up early the next day and drive down. This ended up being a lucky decision, as the foundation was filled that very next night. The site was not superbly productive - I only gathered about a gallon of concretions for the two hours I was there. I have finally finished processing them, and although I did not find anything super rare, I am still thrilled to be able to add specimens from this site to my collection. The site Some in situ concretions Here are the finds I kept. Most of the other concretions were blanks or had poor quality plant bits. Annularia inflata Annularia radiata Radicites columnaris (an indeterminate root) A nice three-dimensional Myalinella meeki bivalve
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Burpee Museum of Natural History - Rockford, Illinois
connorp posted a topic in A Trip to the Museum
Over the weekend I spent some time at the Burpee Museum of Natural History in Rockford, Illinois. My primary reason for visiting was to check out their local Ordovician fossils, but I was quite surprised by how large and comprehensive the museum was. Lots of great fossils and cool dioramas, definitely worth a visit if you're in the area. Diorama of the Ordovician sea Trilobites Crinoids and an edrioasteroid Cephalopods Bivalves and gastropods Receptaculitids- 16 replies
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I've been spending a lot of time lately studying the Mazon Creek flora, and am continuously astonished by the diversity and quality of specimens that can be found. I don't think we see enough plants on the forum, so I figured I would go ahead and share some of my favorite finds. First is a specimen I recently shared, and a fitting start to the thread. This is Crenulopteris acadica, the most common true fern found in the Mazon Creek flora. It has been the most common plant I find, accounting for probably half my finds. Next is a favorite of mine. This is a section of Calamites (probably C. cisti) encrusted by a number microconchids. I always enjoy finding concretions with associations of different species. Last for now is a specimen of the rare seed fern Callipteridium neuropteroides with great coloration.
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I was inspired by @Mark Kmiecik and his quality photographs to finally learn some basic image editing. I had this beautiful Crenulopteris acadica fern open yesterday and figured it would be a good specimen to make a first attempt. Let me know your thoughts.
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For the most part, fertile ferns are rare in the Mazon Creek flora. The only exception being Diplazites, of which ~1/2 of all specimens are fertile. This is my first non-Diplazites fertile fern. I really like the interplay between the white mineral deposits, the brown matrix, and the scattered pyrite crystals - a very artistic specimen I think. My best guess is that this is Cyathocarpus hemitelioides, but I am not positive. Close up of a fertile pinnule Close up of sterile pinnules at the base
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Hi all. I found some pretty cool boulders of calcite littered with crinoid impressions in a public park in Danville, IL back in late August, but left everything until I got approval from their park department to remove them. I finally heard back last month, but didn't get around to going until today. I found a few interesting things that I'll post when they're cleaned up, but I probably won't even begin the process until Thursday. In the meantime I took a photo of a trace fossil that was sitting near the top of one of the specimens. I can identify most of the things in the pieces, but am stumped by this one. I probably should have gotten a ruler for measurement, but I snapped it after picking my son up at school and had to do it quickly. The photo didn't come out as clearly as I had hoped, and can retake it if necessary. It came from Vermillion County, which makes it Pennsylvanian. Any ideas?
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Late August found me traveling to Mazon Creek for a wonderful hunt. See @RandyB's topic, Mazon Creek 8-28-21. The trip allowed a little free time to slip off and explore the road cut in Oglesby, Illinois. This is a very fossiliferous exposure and was enjoyable to explore. The fact I found shark teeth and crinoids makes me think this was a combination of Pennsylvanian La Salle Limestone unit 3 and unit 4. Even though my poor photos do not show it well, the brachiopods are very nice. But unfortunately, identification has been difficult. For those of you, like me, who enjoy geodized fossils, this formation is a great site to visit. Other brachiopods that I couldn't definitively identify. #1 #2 #3 #4 #5
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The smaller specimen pictured opened this morning and reminded me of the larger specimen which I found earlier this year. They are very similar looking. My first thought was Cordaites borassifolius due to the linear striations, but the specimens are fragmentary and the preservation is not great so they could also just be indeterminate wood fragments. I don't think I've seen a Cordaites specimen in person before so I am not positive either way. Any thoughts are appreciated.
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I collected this specimen last year but still can't decide on an ID, it's pretty fragmentary. Any thoughts are appreciated. @bigred97 @flipper559 @stats @Nimravis @deutscheben
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Since they are so common, I don't keep many coprolites unless I notice they have interesting inclusions. This is one of the more interesting inclusions I've found to date. It measures maybe 2mm in length. I believe it is the branchiopod Pemphilimnadiopsis ortoni (what a name!), and was hoping for a second opinion. @deutscheben, I know you've found some of these before. Any thoughts are appreciated.
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Hi I don’t believe this is yet fossilized, but need your help on an ID. From far northeast Illinois. Any idea?
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Here are two interesting Mazon Creek flora nodules that popped yesterday. I believe they are both assigned to Rhacophyllum. If so, I am excited, I have not come across this "genus" before. Rhacophyllum cornutum Rhacophyllum fucoideum I am pretty confident on the IDs but confirmation is always great. I am quite interested however in the second specimen. It appears that there is a root-like structure emanating from the central base. I cannot find many images of R. fucoideum online so I am not sure if this is significant or not. As usual, any thoughts are appreciated.
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This concretion opened today. I cannot decide if it a poorly preserved syncarid or more hopefully a partial centipede (Mazoscolopendra?). Any thoughts? @RCFossils @Nimravis @flipper559 @bigred97
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- mazon creek
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