Wrangellian Posted December 11, 2019 Share Posted December 11, 2019 2 hours ago, Nimravis said: I don’t think it is rare, but I have never found one. It can't be common, then - you've been thru a lot of concretions! I've never heard of it (but that doesn't say much I suppose). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica Posted December 11, 2019 Share Posted December 11, 2019 Congrats, Ralph, on the new species addition to your Mazon Creek fossil collection!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted December 11, 2019 Author Share Posted December 11, 2019 9 hours ago, Monica said: Congrats, Ralph, on the new species addition to your Mazon Creek fossil collection!!! Thanks Monica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted December 11, 2019 Author Share Posted December 11, 2019 15 hours ago, Wrangellian said: It can't be common, then - you've been thru a lot of concretions! I've never heard of it (but that doesn't say much I suppose). I really have to look into how common or uncommon they are, and yes I have gone thru thousands of concretions and never came across one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCFossils Posted December 11, 2019 Share Posted December 11, 2019 27 minutes ago, Nimravis said: I really have to look into how common or uncommon they are, and yes I have gone thru thousands of concretions and never came across one. They are definitely uncommon. I have probably found a dozen or so over the years. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted December 11, 2019 Author Share Posted December 11, 2019 1 hour ago, RCFossils said: They are definitely uncommon. I have probably found a dozen or so over the years. Thanks Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Rico Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 Hi Ralph @Nimravis I just spent a good half an hour looking though your very interesting thread with Mrs R (she asked about how your endeavours was going) . We was wondering if you had a top 5 finds, almost like an end of year review? very enjoyable thread and if I don’t see you around merry Christmas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted December 21, 2019 Author Share Posted December 21, 2019 50 minutes ago, Bobby Rico said: Hi Ralph @Nimravis I just spent a good half an hour looking though your very interesting thread with Mrs R (she asked about how your endeavours was going) . We was wondering if you had a top 5 finds, almost like an end of year review? very enjoyable thread and if I don’t see you around merry Christmas. Wow that would be an endeavor trying to pick things out, although I really like some of the flora that I found, most people like the Fauna. So if it was Fauna it would have to be the fishes, I believe I have found 3 during this thread and some of the larger fish scales plus the one insect with wings. I do have to get back at it, I tried last weekend, but it was really cold out and my hands were killing me. Hope you and your family have a great Christmas. We bought some poppers for my grandkid did he can try them. I know my mom use to get them as a kid in Glasgow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Rico Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 On 21/12/2019 at 1:48 AM, Nimravis said: Wow that would be an endeavor trying to pick things out, although I really like some of the flora that I found, most people like the Fauna. So if it was Fauna it would have to be the fishes, I believe I have found 3 during this thread and some of the larger fish scales plus the one insect with wings. I do have to get back at it, I tried last weekend, but it was really cold out and my hands were killing me. Hope you and your family have a great Christmas. We bought some poppers for my grandkid did he can try them. I know my mom use to get them as a kid in Glasgow. Nice we call them Christmas crackers, kids do love them. I did also like the lungfish scales but some of the plant material is just beautiful the Lepidodendron bark is my favourite. thanks again for the years entertainment and edification. al the best Bobby 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted December 30, 2019 Author Share Posted December 30, 2019 Believe it or not, but today in the Chicagoland area it was 58 degrees, but like many things in Chicago that can change and tomorrow it might hit 32 degrees if we are lucky. But since today was a nice day I decided to Whack open a few concretions. Today was another day with not many finds and some that I will have to look at better to see what they may be, but I believe that they are nothing special. Here was my best find of the day, a not very good Annularia. Here is a concretion that was not whole, but if it was it would have been a nice whole Neuropteris. Here are a couple Myalinelle meeki clams. Here is a Mazonomya mazonensis clam- Here is some bark and plant material- Here are a couple things that I need to look at closer, but probably is nothing. This may possibly be a Cyclus americanus. I also tried a couple hammers today, but nothing feels as good as my trusty Estwing (Center), the balance and feel in my hand cannot be matched- lol. And if you are wondering if I smash the concretions to bits, the answer is not, the pieces that you see in the below picture are shards and the outer coating of many of the concretions- these are just pieces that drop to the floor. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 As always, the photos are truly appreciated. How many duds this time around? Most folks starting out would love to find an Annularia or Neuropteris like that. Amazing how picky we can get after cracking open twenty or thirty thousand of them, ain't it? 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...
stats Posted January 1, 2020 Share Posted January 1, 2020 1 hour ago, Mark Kmiecik said: As always, the photos are truly appreciated. How many duds this time around? Most folks starting out would love to find an Annularia or Neuropteris like that. Amazing how picky we can get after cracking open twenty or thirty thousand of them, ain't it? I agree. I have this exact conversation all the time with some of my collector friends. Our standards have been raised quite a bit as we open more and more concretions. I don't have anything like some of the great collections of the past or even some of the great ones out there now, but I do give away some concretions now that in the past would have been some of my best specimens. Even my wife comments on it. She'll say I should give something away to a family member or a neighbor and I'll want to wait for something better. She likes to say that any fern looks awesome to someone who has never seen one before. I guess it's a natural process that we improve as our choices expand. Cheers, Rich 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted January 1, 2020 Share Posted January 1, 2020 1 minute ago, stats said: I agree. I have this exact conversation all the time with some of my collector friends. Our standards have been raised quite a bit as we open more and more concretions. I don't have anything like some of the great collections of the past or even some of the great ones out there now, but I do give away some concretions now that in the past would have been some of my best specimens. Even my wife comments on it. She'll say I should give something away to a family member or a neighbor and I'll want to wait for something better. She likes to say that any fern looks awesome to someone who has never seen one before. I guess it's a natural process that we improve as our choices expand. Cheers, Rich Exactly -- Each time I look at the first two or three dozen MC specimens I collected, I think "Why did I even bother picking them up?". 2 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...
Nimravis Posted January 1, 2020 Author Share Posted January 1, 2020 6 hours ago, Mark Kmiecik said: How many duds this time around? Probably around 50 this time Mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted January 1, 2020 Author Share Posted January 1, 2020 4 hours ago, stats said: Our standards have been raised quite a bit I also agree, it is surprising the stuff that I use to keep versus now, but all of it was always special because it was an actual fossil and so old. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stats Posted January 1, 2020 Share Posted January 1, 2020 12 hours ago, Nimravis said: I also agree, it is surprising the stuff that I use to keep versus now, but all of it was always special because it was an actual fossil and so old. That's what started us dumping fossils at the ESCONI Braceville trips. I didn't want to just throw it away, couldn't keep it, and couldn't give them away fast enough. Giving them away en mass at Braceville feels like sharing and taking them back home at the same time. Cheers, Rich 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sjfriend Posted January 1, 2020 Share Posted January 1, 2020 1 hour ago, stats said: That's what started us dumping fossils at the ESCONI Braceville trips. I didn't want to just throw it away, couldn't keep it, and couldn't give them away fast enough. Giving them away en mass at Braceville feels like sharing and taking them back home at the same time. Cheers, Rich When I moved back to Alaska from California I was leaving hundreds of pieces behind. So I had my local paleontology club (Fossils For Fun, in Sacramento) come out and see what they wanted for donations/raffle prizes. The president kept saying "are you sure we can have this piece?" They hauled off 3 truckloads. Moving can make you really high grade. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 All the regulars at my favorite watering hole had a decent Mazon Creek collection back in the day. 2 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...
stats Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 5 hours ago, Mark Kmiecik said: All the regulars at my favorite watering hole had a decent Mazon Creek collection back in the day. Where was that? Cheers, Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 17 hours ago, stats said: Where was that? Cheers, Rich Flanagan's. Roselle, Il. 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...
stats Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 5 hours ago, Mark Kmiecik said: Flanagan's. Roselle, Il. I think I remember that place. I lived in Bloomingdale for a few years back in the 1990's. Where was it? I didn't realize Mazon Creek fossils would be that popular. I wish I got involved a long time ago. My grandfather took me fishing to the Braidwood club back in the 1960's and 1970's. Unfortunately, I wasn't aware of the fossils then! Cheers, Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 On 1/3/2020 at 8:55 PM, stats said: I think I remember that place. I lived in Bloomingdale for a few years back in the 1990's. Where was it? I didn't realize Mazon Creek fossils would be that popular. I wish I got involved a long time ago. My grandfather took me fishing to the Braidwood club back in the 1960's and 1970's. Unfortunately, I wasn't aware of the fossils then! Cheers, Rich On Irving, south side of the street, 1/4 mile west of Roselle road. I used to fish Mazon Creek in the 70's. Didn't know about the fossils until the 80's. Didn't start collecting seriously until 1990. 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...
TheRocksWillShoutHisGlory Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 On 6/5/2019 at 11:40 AM, jdp said: Another new Mazon tetrapod: https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlz026/5511658 This is a really cool post, and shouldn't it have it's own thread? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted February 22, 2020 Author Share Posted February 22, 2020 It has been a while since I whacked open any concretions, so after I finished climbing today I decided that I would open some since it was a nice 48 degree day outside. I did not find much, but here are my finds. It would not be Mazon Creek without a lot of duds and pyrite inclusions. Annularia- Lepidodendron Leaf Scars- Misc. bark / Flora- Possible worm- Coprolite ?- Myalinella meeki- Mazonomya mazonensis- This one was found opened in the bucket and will clean up very nicely. Essexella asherae- This piece was also found open in the bucket. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted February 22, 2020 Author Share Posted February 22, 2020 Mazonomya mazonensis- Cleaned up 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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