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Showing results for tags 'mazon'.
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Every once in a great while one gets lucky with a find. This one is difficult to photograph, but what follows got me pretty excited. Not in any of the books or guides I have found so far. Played with lighting a bit to make the features somewhat more visible.
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Just popped. I lack the skills to determine genus as I am new to Mazon Creek fossils.
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I'm taking a feather from @Nimravis and starting a thread about repairing Mazon Creek fossils. I use the freeze/thaw method, but I do tap them lightly once in a while. That usually isn't what causes concretions to fall apart. Water creeping into the rock finds all the weak spots and sometimes a concretion basically shatters. Some localities are have hardier concretion than others. I have found that Pit 2, 3, and 4 have great preservation, but Shadow Lakes isn't referred to as Shatter Lakes for nothing. Super glue is nice, but I generally use Elmer's Glue as you can easily dissolve the glue in water and try again. Here is the first installment... a Macroneuropteris scheuchzeri from Pit 3. Collected last year during the construction on IL 129, but opened this year via freeze/thaw. I used Elmer's Glue on this one. Cheers, Rich
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This just split this morning and I’m beyond happy. I’m really thinking it’s a millipede. Thoughts?
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So obviously it’s pretty poorly preserved but I’m pretty confident this is a worm (probably Fossundecima?) I’m just not 100% sure if im correct because of how hard it is to look at. Hope I’m not seeing things.
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- mazon
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The Quest for More Ferns: Mazon Creek, Wheeling, Centralia
bockryan posted a topic in Fossil Hunting Trips
Was able to visit Chicago over the 4th to visit a friend and just managed to sneak in (between torrential rains and everything else to do in Chicago) 4 hours or so of collecting at a site in the Mazon Creek. A few of the concretions have now opened nicely and hopefully more are on the way. First, have to very sincerely thank the Chicago-area Fossil Forum members who were unbelievably generous with their time (and in many cases, their fossils!) and who really helped a total Mazon novice have a successful trip! Here are some of the first finds, with lots more currently in the freezer including a whole bucket of Pit 11 material that was super generously given to me on my way out. Hopefully some more interesting finds await! The next weekend I also took a short trip to a site near Wheeling, WV composed of slate-like rocks in a pretty nice roadside stream that had great scenery and a lot of butterflies floating around. I didn't find a ton aside from one OK (broken) fern frond and some nicer hash plates, but it was a fun trip! And then lastly, I was able to clean up a few more finds from Centralia that are looking good, will likely return to that site soon. A question: is anyone familiar with any reasonable East-Coast sites for Mesozoic plants? I'm planning to investigate some streams in College Park, MD (luckily quite close to home) and then I've done some research on Triassic sites in North Carolina but I'm a little nervous about driving all the way down just to take a look. If anyone has any likely leads they would be appreciated Otherwise I will continue to update this thread as more things pop open from the freezer!
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- carboniferous
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Hi, I'm new to the forum and relatively new to fossil hunting. I've been collecting rocks for years, but only last year realized how easy it is to find fossils in my new state. I'm hoping the folks around here can help me identify what I find! I'll start with a nodule I collected at Mazonia-Braidwood State Park (IL) yesterday. Three views of the same fossil. Any thoughts on what this is?
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The first one is incredibly small and was really hard to photograph so I apologize for the quality. Looks like some kind of arthropod to me, like an insect nymph? On the last picture of it I circled what appears to be antennae. It’s was really hard for me to capture that on camera but it’s much more prevalent in person. Second seems to be some type of flora? But I think it’s poorly preserved and I’m not sure if it can be identified. Any opinions are appreciated. Thanks.
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- carboniferous
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This one opened today and looks a little funky. I’m guessing worm. Any thoughts?
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Ok I’m pretty sure this is a reach but I’m gonna keep thinking about it until I get clarification. Could this be Mazonova helmichnus? I very highly doubt it is and I’m pretty sure it’s just mineralization but I’d like to know in the off chance it is. Thanks!
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Mazon fossils donated to the Indiana State Museum
Sauropod19 posted a topic in Partners in Paleontology - Member Contributions to Science
I officially got notice that my Belotelsonid and trace fossil cf. Protovirgularia dichotoma were accepted into collections at the Indiana State Museum!
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- belotelson
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Hello again. I got the time to scrub off my finds from Friday and found one of interest (and a second that I haphazardly split open that I think is a dud). The top one’s shape remained after several rounds of intense scrubbing, and feels slightly 3D in the middle. Other views of top one: Is there anything in the top one or is it just suggestive mineral staining? Additionally, since there is a crevice present around the entire perimeter, would you recommend I try and pry it open or leave the concretion as is? Lastly, just so I can document the correct number of concretions collected on my permit, which of these four examples (if any) would you consider to be a concretion or half concretion. “a” and “d” are extremely thin, both likely part of the outer “shell” of a concretion. “b” is just an odd shape, and “c” is thick but flat. As always, thank you!
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- francis creek shale
- illinois
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Hello. I’m currently at Mazon and after about 1 1/2 hours of intermittent hiking and searching, I found a hillside that seems to be rife with concretions. I’m somehow lucky enough to have a tiny bit of cell service. I am concerned, however, that I have stumbled upon someone’s discard pile rather than a concretion gold mine. Most of the 100+ concretions were found either on the surface or very slightly embedded in the soil within a 30 foot radius, and most have jagged edges and are only half a concretion. A couple have even been larger than my hand. As such, I know it is difficult to tell without being here, but is it more likely that I’ve found an area where concretions have been exposed and opened naturally or have I stumbled upon someone’s recent search area? Thank you! P. S. I brought these together in one pile from around to demonstrate the majority of my finds. In situ: Large:
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It has been a couple of years since we went last, but is it too late this year to head back out to Pit 11 area? We have always looked around Monster Lake. The finds are so so, but wondering if there is somewhere else we should try or just stick to that area. Thanks, Todd
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Black shale collected at a private club. I’m not sure just a linear artifact of the shale or a linear structure of something.
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Hello everyone! My name is Paul and I have recently started collecting (or at least trying) and I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on opening Mazon creek concretions. I made my first two trips last weekend and I think I have some concretions and have been using the freeze thaw method of opening. There are a few I gathered that seem to have what I've been calling an "egg" inside and I am wondering if this is just a rock with an outer layer, or worth freeze thawing until it finally pops. I attached photos of a few of these, one which I stripped of the entire outer layer, and also a picture of my prized blob! Which is the only fossil I have found so far lol. Any help is much appreciated!
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Hello All- I'm hoping to get some help with a few Mazon Creek concretions recently picked up around Braidwood/Mazonia. I believe this is pit 11. Have had some great help here in the past, so hoping to get some help with these 6 specimen below. I have an idea on some of the below but, but not sure if my eyes are seeing what I want to see- so curious to know if others see the same thing! thanks, -tom
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Hey all was outside today at Pit 11. Came across this piece open. Possibly the back half of a tully monster? Will try cleaning more once home if it will help. Thanks in advance. @Nimravis@RCFossils@connorp @Mark Kmiecik
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Hello, I recently went to Mazon Creek for the first time. I have done some fossil hunting with my dad but really had no idea what we were doing. I found a couple other people searching for fossils and I joined them. Below is what I found. I know one is a Crinoid piece. The other two I am unsure if they are fossils. If anyone can give me some feedback, that would be great. As I said, I am new to the hobby so I was hoping to find others in the Mazon Creek area that would be interested in going on a trip there. If you are interested or have any advice you can give, that would be great.
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Hello, new to the hobby. Anyone from the Chicago area? Looking for someone to teach me how to find fossils. Went to Mazon Creek and found a couple things but would be nice to learn more.
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Hello. I found this piece during my first visit to Mazon last year and just got around to asking about it. I believe it may be tracks of some sort, as they look vaguely like other arthropod ichnofossils. I was wondering if anyone may be able to confirm my suspicions and possibly ID what kind of animal it could be. I understand this second part is difficult without anything else to go off of, and I apologize for lower camera quality than the other images I’ve seen here. Thank you!
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Saturday, October 15th, 2022 was the ESCONI Mazon Creek Open House. It was a great day with about 100 visitors to enjoy a event devoted to Mazon Creek fossils. There were numerous forum members in attendance.@connorp @bigred97 @flipper559 @fiddlehead @RCFossils @Roby @Hurtlady @jdp to name a few. For a full report with videos of 3 of the 4 presentations, please visit the ESCONI website. The fourth video will be posted after the research is published. Recently, we've had a few historical posts about the Mazon Creek Open House events in the past, Mazon Monday #133 and Throwback Thursday #132. @Nimravis supplied me with quite a bit of the historical material. Thanks, Ralph! Paul Mayer and Jack Wittry were on hand from the Field Museum. They provided two display cases of fossils, including the holotypes of Essexcella asherae and Lascoa mesostaurara. Random photos from the day. And, more fossils!
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- mazon
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so I know that in order to hunt for fossils at the braidwood area you need a permit (https://www2.illinois.gov/dnr/Parks/Activity/Documents/MZB_FossilPermit.pdf), but i’m not entire sure how to get one when i search up online a PDF comes up that can be filled out. Do i just fill this form and then send it to the DNR? Also, who can get the permit? Like, would it be limited to scientists/professionals or can the general public sign up for it too? Any clarification would be really appreciated. Also, let’s say I got the permit. What would be the best places to go if I wanted to look for fossils mainly from the essex biota?
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Hello! I recently went to Mazon creek and was in the process of thawing my concretions when I saw this, and was wondering if y’all could help me ID it. I’m thinking maybe a shrimp, but am not very familiar with the fauna (or flora for that matter) of the area. Thank you!
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2022-09-17 ESCONI Field Trip to a Spoil Pile Near Danville, IL
stats posted a topic in Fossil Hunting Trips
On September 17th, 2022, ESCONI held a field trip to a coal mine spoil pile near Danville, IL. It was a fairly hot day with temperatures in the upper 80's. However, it was a productive field trip. There had been quite a bit of work on the hill this summer and it was looking quite different from the spring. The road to the top went around from the left instead of the right. There weren't as many exposed fossils in "Red Dog" found this time, but concretions were readily available for collecting. There were a few Forum members present. @deutscheben @connorp I'm sure I'm forgetting a few, please announce yourself! Here are some photos of the trip. Some of the photos were taken with a drone. I need to take some more photos of fossils, so stay tuned... I'll post concretions if/when they open. There was a bunch of poison ivy all around outside of the hill. Mushrooms were plentiful. And, of course fossils!
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