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I've been looking at the records of the Carboniferous Eugenodontid Chondrichthyan Edestus in Illinois (famously referred to as the coal shark) in Illinois and I've found that there are a large amounts of reports from Underground mines at Sparta and Coulterville, Randolph County Illinois. I also found a record from fossilworks.org simply listed as "Coal mines of western illinois" at the coordinates 38.7° N, 90.0° W. http://www.fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?a=collectionSearch&taxon_no=34453&max_interval=Carboniferous&country=United States&state=Illinois&is_real_user=1&basic=yes&type=view&match_subgenera=1 O. P. Hay. 1909. On the nature of Edestus and related genera, with descriptions of one new genus and three new species. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 37:43-61 I'm wondering what are the actual best pits and mines by Sparta and Coulterville Illinois to find Edestus fossils, which ones and either still open or (if closed) still accessible, what safety precautions should one take if fossil hunting in one of these mines or pits, and is Mecca Quarry on the Indiana-Illinois border a good place to find Edestus specimens?