Tullymonster On Illinois License Plates

[RoadcutHannah]

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!

[RCFossils]

I recall there was an attempt to do a Tully license plate around ten years ago.

I wish you the best of luck and will send an email.