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I believe this to be Essoidia epiceron - but I am not sure. Any thoughts?

I have two of these - and I haven't a clue what they are....any thoughts appreciated.

Last item....not sure what this is either - but it is very well preserved.

We've all seen Charlie's great display case to house his excellent (and ever growing) collection of astounding Mazon Creek finds. My collection is (for the moment) a lot more meager but I'm happy with the pieces I have as they remind me fondly of a birthday spent excavating a chest-deep hole out in Pit 2. That's also where I first met (in person) Charlie, Rob and many other hunters (both on and beyond TFF). A nicer group of guys you'll never get to meet. I decided that the few nodules that I really liked deserved a better display than sitting closed-up on a desk in my office. The thing with Mazon Creek nodules is that when you've run them through dozens of freeze/thaw cycles and are fortunate to have them pop and reveal something nice inside, you want to display both halves of the split nodule. Charlie has come up with an excellent (and very crafty) method of making custom mounts out of plexi to display his pairs of nodule halves but I was looking for something simpler--(read that as, "within my limited crafting abilities"). I decided a shadowbox was a tried and true method of displaying collections of 3-D items so I'd go that route. I found some inexpensive (actually quite cheap) plastic shadowboxes at a local arts and crafts store in my area (Michael's, for those in the USA). My idea was to dress these up a bit customizing them to my needs. Below are a more or less step-by-step process of what I did to make display for my favorite Mazon Creek finds. First, the 3-pack of 8" x 8" shadowboxes and a nice textured paint to cover the ugly shiny plastic frame. -Ken

I'm wrapping up the finishing touches on my Mazon Creek cabinet. I made custom lexan shelves. Wrapped the backer with basket weave vinyl. And mounted rope lighting around it. One problem is the plastic doors. They're shot and i need to replace them with good ol' fashioned glass. I also made all of the custom mounts for my collection. I tried to utilize as much space as possible, so i made the mounts all different sizes. All of the mounts are cut lexan. I still have to make a few more, but 99% are done. And if i ever have the luxury of finding better examples of the specimens i have now, i can just keep cycling them into my main large display case. These are just my best finds to date. Flora side. Mainly pit 2. Fauna side. Mainly pit 11. Let me know if you have any questions on who, what, where and how. Thanks for lookin'

Hi Forum- So I have had a great fossil hunting year - but I must admit that Mazon Creek has been a challenge to say the least. I have been to the Mazonia-Braidwood area four times and have located what I believe are the Pit 11 spoils (I park in the parking lot, hike in a couple of miles and take the trail into the different spoil mounds)- and have collected a number of concretions. However, most of the best study grade fossils that I have found - have been found either already open or in pieces while actually combing the spoils. I have brought home nearly 100 concretions and have filled every freezer in our house (much to my wife's delight) - and proceeded with the freeze-thaw technique. A couple of questions that I have that I hoped would increase my yields: - most of the concretions I have found have a hard siderite shell that after a few days of freeze thaw technique becomes brittle and falls off leaving a nodule center that is typically gray (most #) or red (fewer #). In the throw-back piles, I see centers that are much darker closer to black - and those typically have better fossil matrix material. The gray or redish inner-portions rarely have produced fossils (sometimes there is flora debris). - Is there something I am missing in the collecting (such as specific locations within the Pit 11 area) or certain type of concretions to focus on? - Is there a better public location than the Mazonia-Braidwood area? Any advice is appreciated - I understand it takes a number of concretions to find a meaningful fossil - but any advice from some of the more experienced mazon creek hunters would be greatly valued. Also after four trips this year - I have yet to see anyone else on the mounds - or I likely would have asked some of these questions in person! Thanks - and happy hunting! Evan

It's been a while since I've posted something new here for ID confirmation. I've been spending more time recently doing coral reef surveys in far-flung Pacific locations than fossil hunting. Hoping real soon to cycle back to some intensive fossil activities. In the meantime I've been freeze/thaw cycling some of the last of the unopened Mazon Creek nodules that I still have. Most of the Braidwood Formation (terrestrial) nodules I collected back in June with the help of several TFF members have been opened and have revealed their contents (or lack thereof). I still have a small batch of Essex Formation (marine) nodules that I collected a few months before (April, 2014). Most of these peeled off several outer layers and then finally split revealing nothing of interest (save for a Essexella 'blob' jelly or two). The remaining Essex nods and a few elongated Braidwood nods that hint at fern contents within have been cycled some 20-25 times so far. Many of them simply resist splitting or flake off bits and pieces when persuaded with some light hammer taps along the edges. One of the odd shaped Braidwood nods split revealing a portion of a fern frond rachis with a few partial pinnae off to one side. Not one of the more jaw-droppingly beautiful ones so I haven't included any photos here. The other one was a nice reward for my persistence with these last nodules. It appears to be the anterior section of a polychaete worm. Looking through my Mazon Creek Fauna book I'm going to naively guess that this is likely a partial Didontogaster cordylina or 'Tummy Tooth Worm'. The distinctive jaws usually visible in the gut region don't seem apparent in this specimen but as it seems to be one of the most common polychaetes found and bears a resemblance to some of the photos in the book, this is where I'm starting my thought process. I welcome those with vastly more experience in Mazon Creek nods to chime in and set me straight if needed. I'm currently working on a shadowbox display for some of my favorite Mazon Creek nods from last year and this one has come along just in time to be included in the select few that will soon be immortalized upon my wall. Looking forward to any clarifying comments on the diagnosis of the identity of my most recent present from 300mya. Cheers. -Ken

Found in the Mazon Creek area.

I was looking at a collection of older Mazon Creek material and saw this item. I hadn't seen anything like it. Anyone know what this is?

Well im heading down to Mazon creek in a few weeks. Forum members Digit (Ken) and Rob Russell should be meeting me down there. I think we're going to dig the Park, but it's still up in the air. Feel free to join us on our hunt, it would be nice to finally meet some members! Things to bring. -bug spray and/or tick spray -shovel, gardening claw, rock hammer or pick-axe -water, snacks, etc. -bucket/s (big or small) -backpack to help carry everything -gloves -cake it will be Ken's Birthday!!! ^^^^Feel free to add to the list^^^^ Again it's June 7 th 2014. 9 a.m. exit 236 on I55 Coal City exit @ the Shell station on Johnson rd Rte.113. Hope to see you out there! Weather update if you're interested http://m.accuweather.com/en/us/chicago-il/60608/weekend-weather/348308

I and other members will be heading to Fossil Rock campground to hunt pit 2 on Sunday October 19th 2014. Hopefully the weather will corporate and we can get our buckets filled! Come and join us. It doesn't matter if you've never done it before, i will be happy to teach you what to look for and how to be successful in your 300mya scavenger hunt. We will meet at the Shell gas station in Coal City @ 8-8:30am. It's just west of rt.55 on 113. Hopefully this link will help http://goo.gl/maps/z6m7q Supplies you need and may want. -shovel, pickaxe, rockhammer (basically a good and sturdy digging device). We will be digging through hard shale. -a pair of gloves to keep from collecting blisters -a pair of extra clothes and boots/shoes definitely helps on the ride home. -a bucket, backpack, rock bag (anything that will handle about 5lbs-50lbs worth of rocks) -water is a must, water, water, water -snacks and food is up to you -hiking boots, old pair of shoes, etc. They will get dirty. -i would say bug spray, but being so late in the year hopefully they won't be too crazy. -also it's $5 a person to dig at the campground. This pit is great for very well preserved plants, wood, insects and horseshoe crabs. I have found some awesomely preserved stuff there. These are some of the hardest nodules you will collect anywhere in the Mazon Creek area, and sometimes they take over 30+ freeze/thaw cycles to pop. As i stated above, we WILL be digging, so eat your Wheaties. You can hike around and try and surface collect, but since the spoil piles aren't that tall it may be a waste of time. Here's a live weather link to check the weather for that day. http://m.accuweather.com/en/us/coal-city-il/60416/weather-forecast/332818 Hope to see you there!

I've been freeze/thawing my pit 2 nods from my last trip to Mazon Creek and I've found some pretty cool stuff so far, but im wondering about these two. These are the positive impressions of two split nods. Both share a semi circular base, which leads me to believe they could be poorly preserved horseshoe crabs. I haven't found one yet, so i have nothing in-hand to compare them to. These are pretty small, and are cell phone shots, so don't hurt yourself straining your eyes too bad. Any help is appreciated! Mystery #1 Mystery #2 ...........or they could be poorly preserved trigonocarpus sp. Honestly i have no clue.....

So i went with my local club (ESCONI) to a hill they lease for two weekends out of the year for a dig about a month ago. It's nicknamed "Fan Worm Hill" in Braceville, IL. This hill is a old spoil pile from the coal mining, and is filled with nodules from the Essex fauna. We get to dig there, so i was very excited to go! I killed my body and collected about two 5 gallon buckets full. Sadly, most are poorly preserved blanks, jellys or bivalves. I did find one decent polychaete worm and cool associated Jellyfish though.... But now i may have found one of the most interesting pieces in my Mazon fauna. It looks similar to the Sea Cucumbers i find from the South Unit, but i really don't think it is. It's too inconsistent in form and texture. So, I believe it to be a pyrite encrusted piece of coprolite. If anyone has knowledge of Braceville nodules id love to get a confirmation. Thanks for looking! For your amusement, Golden Poop.....

I just emailed Secretary of State Jesse White, urging him to consider a Tully Monster/Mazon Creek specialty license plate for Illinois. If you think this is a good idea, please send him a message as well (he's got a great Facebook Page, and you can contact him here: http://www.facebook.com/jesse.white.14203?fref=ts)... Feel free to send him this letter: Dear Secretary White, First, keep up that great work - my family and I are grateful for all you do for Illinois. Also, the Jesse White Tumblers are the highlight of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which we look forward to seeing every year (those kids are amazing)! So, we have a lot of different license plates available here (like The Cubs, Route 66, Peace, etc) - but we really need one to correspond to the State Fossil; the Tully Monster. This fossil has been found only in Illinois and nowhere else. I've included the story below... Some Paleontologists believe the Mazon Creek Fossil Deposits are the 2nd most important in the world, just behind the Hell Creek Formation (where numerous dinosaurs, like the famous 'Sue' T-Rex were found). I think we need to have a License Plate that recognizes this vitally important fossil and the Mazon Creek Fossil Deposits. The Mazon Creek deposits are located in Will and Grundy Counties. They are some of the most important fossil deposits in North America because the soft parts of many organisms are preserved. The Tully Monster was designated as the State Fossil in 1989: The Tully Monster was a soft-bodied animal, and was probably an active, swimming carnivore... It is preserved as outlines and flattened forms in nodules of ironstone from several areas in Illinois. It lived in the ocean that covered much of Illinois during the Pennsylvanian Period (about 300 million years ago). The Tully Monster was first found by Mr. Francis Tully in 1958; he took the specimens to the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. The specimen defied identification and became known as the Tully Monster. The name stuck. When Dr. Eugene Richardson formally described the new animal, he gave it the name Tullimonstrum gregarium. Here is a photo of a Tully Monster: http://www.prehistoricstore.com/newitems/m1648.jpg Thank you for your consideration, and have a great day!

This guy popped last week. It's a nodule from pit 11. Im not sure what to make of it. Its a poorly preserved whatsit, that's all i can say. It could be coprolite, with maybe a seed inclusion (see left side half with round "thing" towards the middle right)??? Or it looked kinda shrimpy, but just the tail of a shrimp (but this could be wishful thinking). I don't know..... Any help or suggestions is very much appreciated. Thanks for looking.

So i found this guy already popped at pit 11 South Unit. To my surprise and untrained Mazon eye i saw what looks to be something associated with my Essex jellyfish. Any ideas? Any and all help is appreciated. Thanks!

Hey folks. I spent a few hours on the spoil pile yesterday, and found this little guy. Unfortunately I didn't find the other half. I believe its a K. Richardsoni, but I'd like to be certain. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Rob

Hey Folks, I wish I had a whole flat of these things to show you, but I'll leave that up to Nathan. I found this in a thawed container of nodules today after work. I was able to clean the positive side fairly well and notice a distinct center vein running the length of the leaf. If it is indeed a leaf. Which leads my guess to cyperites. Any thoughts or comments appreciated. Rob

I believe this one may be Trigonocarpus sclerotesta . And I think this may be a poorly preserved Didontogaster cordylina. Thanks for any help provided. Rob.

Hey folks, Here's one I found yesterday already opened. I'm not sure its identifyable. I just figured I try. . Thanks for looking, and any thoughts or comments.

I just found this little guy tonight. It's about 1/2"x1/4" and tappers down. It's overall shape looks like a clam. I have some ideas from Jack's Flora book, but nothing 100%. Any help is appreciated. Thanks for looking. Side shot Top view in matrix Micro shot of top hinge point Micro shot of texture

A big surprise for my saturday hunt in one of the coal spoil piles. I spotted a tiny bit of pattern on some sandstone sticking out. And with a little digging found a bunch of pieces of a cast from the same trunk. First lepidodendron I've ever found.

A little Dumb and Dumber humor for ya. But im hoping these are worms. These Mazon Creek nodules were found at pit 2. Now they look similar to a Coprinoscolex ellogimus or "leech" by hunters. But I've found nothing but vegetation thus far in my nodules from there. So they may just be a solitary pinnule from a Annularia, Asterophyllites or Lepidostrobophyllum. Please let me know what you see. Thanks.

Hey folks, I was delighted to find this gem in one of my thawed containers of nodules today when I got home from work. Its a nodule that I collected last year, and have been freezing/thawing it since January. It finally popped! I was hoping to get a positive ID on it, if possible. I looked over the specimens listed in my mazon Bible, but I can't seem to deferentiate one from the other. Lol. Thanks for any comments, or help.

While we were at the Field Museum my son saw a picture which showed Mazon Creek for fossil collecting. He begged me and begged me to take him there, which I did today with his 2 brothers. We walked for quite a while, searched along some of the water's edge, but didn't find anything but ticks. Everything is really over-grown. Does anyone have any tips of some good areas to go near(ish) to Chicago? We did research online and went to the wilderness area at the Mazonia Fish and Wildlife area, but it's such a big area, I never really felt like we were in the correct spot. My kids are still pretty young so we can't cover a lot of area, but I don't want to deter their interest. Any advice is appreciated.