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Mazon Creek tetrapod larva and Orthacanthus tooth to the Field Museum


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I was lucky enough last week to be able to make my second donation to the collections of the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.
 

This donation consisted of two Mazon Creek finds from the river itself, both collected on the I&M Canal outing last year. The first is an extremely rare tetrapod larva.

 

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The second fossil is an exceedingly well-preserved Orthacanthus tooth, featuring serrations in the cusp, a very rare trait for Mazon Creek teeth of this sort. It may prove to be complete as well.

 

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I was able to visit the museum to make the donation this time and it was an honor to go behind the scenes and talk to professional paleontologists about these specimens and Mazon Creek collecting. Thanks again to @jdp for helping  make this possible! 

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Thank you so much for contributing to our science, Ben! This is such a neat little fossil, and such an important one! It was great seeing you and we had a blast looking for concretions with you in the Danville area!

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Excellent! Well done Ben!

Thanks for your contributions to science!

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    Tim    VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."
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Well done! Would love to see the Orthacanthus exposed if you ever learn what the museum does with it.

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Follow me on Instagram (@fossil_mike) to check out my personal collection of fossils collected and acquired over more than 15 years of fossil hunting!

 

 

 

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5 hours ago, historianmichael said:

Well done! Would love to see the Orthacanthus exposed if you ever learn what the museum does with it.

Thanks! It is actually being prepped right now, so I am excited to see what it reveals as well, and I will definitely share it here if I can.

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