deutscheben Posted February 18, 2023 Author Share Posted February 18, 2023 (edited) We may have had the last deep freeze of the season, so I started going through my buckets again. I am happy to have more flora from the Mazon River to show! First is a bit of mystery- I’m not sure if this is a really degraded Cyclopteris or Neuropteris or something else. Next is what I believe is some Calamites bark. Then a neat, very dimensional fern. ID update: all three following ferns are likely Crenulopteris- see post below for further detail. A smaller fern: Finally, my favorite of the bunch- I love the multiple colors and the preservation of this piece. Feel free to let me know if any of these IDs are off, I still struggle with pinning down many of them. More than 3/4 of my 5 gallon bucket of river finds still haven’t split, so I will be moving them in to cycle through the freezer now. We shall see what other treasures lay within! Edited February 19, 2023 by deutscheben ID update 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 (edited) At least according to the latest revision, Lobatopteris is not present in the Mazon Creek flora. The first two ferns are probably C. acadica. However I do find this presentation of ferns to be difficult to ID. The lateral veins are not visible and the pinna are not complete, leaving just the pinnule shape and midvein to go off of. This is usually the case with most fern fragments found. 3 hours ago, deutscheben said: We may have had the last deep freeze of the season, so I started going through my buckets again. I am happy to have more flora from the Mazon River to show! First is a bit of mystery- I’m not sure if this is a really degraded Cyclopteris or Neuropteris or something else. Next is what I believe is some Calamites bark. Then a neat, very dimensional fern. I think this is probably Lobatopteris? I’m not sure about an ID for this smaller fern, it’s a bit vague. Perhaps Crenulopteris or Pecopteris? Finally, my favorite of the bunch- I love the multiple colors and the preservation of this piece. I believe it is Cyathocarpus. Feel free to let me know if any of these IDs are off, I still struggle with pinning down many of them. More than 3/4 of my 5 gallon bucket of river finds still haven’t split, so I will be moving them in to cycle through the freezer now. We shall see what other treasures lay within! On the last one, what is the venation like? Is the pattern consistent across pinnules or do the veins randomly undulate? I can't tell from the picture. If the latter (which is my guess), then this is in my opinion a section of a mature frond of Crenulopteris subcrenulata. Edited February 19, 2023 by connorp 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deutscheben Posted February 19, 2023 Author Share Posted February 19, 2023 Thanks @connorp, I appreciate you taking a look. Here are some samples of the venation on the last piece: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted February 19, 2023 Share Posted February 19, 2023 @deutscheben Yes I do think this is C. subcrenulata. Similar specimen from the FMNH for comparison. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deutscheben Posted June 17, 2023 Author Share Posted June 17, 2023 Many months later, I am very nearly finished processing my Mazon River finds from last summer. As expected, I did not find anything as stunning as my shark and tetrapod materials from last year, but I am still very happy with these lovely plants. First are a number of what are probably Crenulopteris specimens. The next one is a tiny delicate example. And then finally, my largest and most complete one yet! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deutscheben Posted June 17, 2023 Author Share Posted June 17, 2023 Up next are some other plant specimens. This is a piece of nondescript inner bark with some nice dimension to it. Here is a lovely and small Annularia sphenophylloides. And another tiny one, I’m not sure what this fern is. Next is a large but common fertile Diplazites unita. This next one I can’t quite tell what type of fern it is. The two following ones don’t have great preservation, but they are different varieties from my most common finds. First is a fairly scrappy Odontopteris, my first specimen of this genus. And finally what might be a small Cyclopteris? It’s got quite a weird shape, likely due to the preservation. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deutscheben Posted June 17, 2023 Author Share Posted June 17, 2023 I have saved the best for last- I would consider the next piece my favorite of all of my finds from the river trip last year. It was also a lot more work to prepare than a typical Mazon concretion- when I noticed a crack appearing during the freeze thaw process, I tapped it and then the entire thing shattered into dozens of pieces. I have spent a lot of time fitting them back together and was able to mostly reassemble it. Here is my example of a complete Lebidostrobus cone, perhaps Lepidostrobus ornatus? I think part of the reason it split so chaotically is that the cone is preserved across multiple planes, with individual bracts viable on many of the surfaces where it broke. Although it makes for a less pleasing overall view than a typical flattened Mazon fossil, I find it fascinating to see all of the details on this partially exploded specimen. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 The one under your fertile D. unita looks to be a sterile D. unita. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deutscheben Posted June 23, 2023 Author Share Posted June 23, 2023 Thanks, @connorp! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted June 23, 2023 Share Posted June 23, 2023 On 6/17/2023 at 8:31 AM, deutscheben said: This could be a Neuropteris terminal pinnule? I've seen some that are severely misshapen and may be pathological? Mark. Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deutscheben Posted November 28, 2023 Author Share Posted November 28, 2023 It has been a somewhat quiet year for fossil hunting for me, but I have been slowly and steadily freeze-thawing my way through the concretions I have been able to collect. I have completed processing all of my finds from the ESCONI Braceville trips in the past few years, with nothing of particular note to show unfortunately. Next I have been working through my Pit 11 finds from my opening day trip this March. These started out slow, with the vast majority (80% or more) being complete duds as well. Thankfully there have been a few finds recently that have buoyed my hopes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deutscheben Posted November 28, 2023 Author Share Posted November 28, 2023 Although it has faint preservation, this dainty Esconichthys apopyris is the first of this species in my collection, which is always exciting. Next is a worm- this was actually found already split in the field, but I didn’t notice it until I was starting the freeze-thaw process. This is Paucijaculum samamithion, the arrow worm. The third faunal specimen is sort of unusual- preserving both a ghostly worm-like outline as well as a more 3-dimensional shape that does not coincide directly with the “worm”. Perhaps it a remnant of a burrow of some sort? I’d love to hear what others think. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted November 28, 2023 Share Posted November 28, 2023 Nice bladefish! 1 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM - APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigred97 Posted November 28, 2023 Share Posted November 28, 2023 Awesome! I'm not sure about the last one, it's interesting but I can't definitely say whether it is anything or not. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flipper559 Posted November 28, 2023 Share Posted November 28, 2023 Nice job Ben !! I've had a pretty quiet year as well. Maybe we'll both find something exciting this winter !! Rock On !! Phil 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deutscheben Posted November 28, 2023 Author Share Posted November 28, 2023 Thanks everyone! I also had a couple of tiny plant specimens split as well. First is what I believe may be Mariopteris hispida. Next is a single pinnule from sort of Neuropteris, I think? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted November 29, 2023 Share Posted November 29, 2023 44 minutes ago, deutscheben said: Thanks everyone! I also had a couple of tiny plant specimens split as well. First is what I believe may be Mariopteris hispida. Next is a single pinnule from sort of Neuropteris, I think? Ah, the joys of trying to identify super fragmentary plant remains. My favorite Mazon Creek activity. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stats Posted November 29, 2023 Share Posted November 29, 2023 Nice! Cheers, Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stats Posted November 29, 2023 Share Posted November 29, 2023 Just now, stats said: Nice! Cheers, Rich Fossil blot test. Cheers, Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted November 29, 2023 Share Posted November 29, 2023 I think that last plant is a Macroneuropteris macrophylla pinnule, judging by the offset of the proximal lobes. Mark. Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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