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Showing results for '"Mazon Creek"' in topics.
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I had a nodule that I picked up at pit 11 a couple of weeks ago split open, however basically everything about it has me stumped. There are tiny dark speks that are iridescent, some turn blue, others green and one of them pink with different light angles. Are these bits opalized? I'd like to know before doing anything else to prep it since opal can be sensitive to moisture. I've heard of iridescence in a lingula specimen, but other than that I'm unfamiliar with any mazon material having iridescence, and I'm wondering how that could happen inside a concretion. Furthermore any ideas what it is? random plant matter? coprolite? blank with mineralization?
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This isn't the most well preserved fossil, but the indentations resemble a shrimp to me with the front pointing to the left and the tail curling under on the right. Am I seeing things or is anyone able to positively id this? Thanks.
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Hi all! I’ve had a much more productive sophomore season over at Pit 11 - had a lot of stuff pop open but not identifiable to my eyes. Any help is greatly appreciated! 1 - looks like essexella but like nothing I’ve see , and I have A LOT! 2. 3. 4. 5 - Not sure which one this is - got small legs like octomedusa but has the raised center like reticulomesuda 6 7 8 I’ve got quite a few more - I’m guessing most are not identifiable but posting is better than wondering! Thanks for looking! Pat K
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- Mazon creek
- Mazonia
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I was lucky enough to stop by mazon creek the other day. Had a great time and was lucky enough to find some very productive areas. I found one particularly large concretion(?) that was already opened. Identifying Mazon Creek fauna is an art and science, I do my best. Does anyone see anything here, know what it could be? I see some symmetry, and there seems to be a central structure with tentacles or something coming from the bottom. My guess is it is some kind of jellyfish? Maybe its nothing? Any help by those more versed in the Mazon Creek fauna would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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- Carboniferous
- illinois
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In years past I've collected the occasional fern fossil from the bed of Mazon Creek while fishing, and that's largely been the extent of my fossil collecting. Today I decided to take a short trip down to Mazonia Braidwood to collect fossils and look for morels. After some walking I did manage to locate some spoil piles and managed to bring home some interesting items. The item in question appears to be limestone with some interesting grooved marks in it. At first I thought it may be due to some piece of toothed mining equipment, but I don't think so, the grooves are too irregular and somewhat narrow. I'm thinking it may be tree bark. Thoughts?
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In this thread I will be posting my best finds from Mazon Creek localities - so far I’ve only visited Mazonia-Braidwood fish & wildlife area and the Braceville coal mine spoil pile. “Mazon Creek beds” is a colloquial term for a Pennsylvanian Lagerstätte preserved in the Francis Creek shale member of Carbondale formation in several areas of Northern Illinois, including Mazon creek itself. Back 310 million years ago, that area was a river delta that preserved remains of both aquatic and terrestrial organisms in siderite concretions, that now (in the Holocene) you can find and open yourself to reveal the fossils. It is typically divided into two separate biotas - Braidwood, which is largely terrestrial, and Essex biota that is more marine. So far, I have only collected at Essex localities. So, I will start with by far the most common organism in the Essex biota - Essexella ascherae cnidarian, that was first thought to be a jellyfish and is now considered a sea anemone. They mostly preserve as “blobs” of quite diverse shapes. Here are some of my favorites - first, two large specimens from Braceville. This plate preserves 8 small individuals, also from Braceville. These two smaller ones are from Mazonia, Tipple hill area. Note that if Essexella was an anemone, they are positioned upside down in the pictures.
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- illinois
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Hi all! Got a quick question for the Mazon Creek veterans - I've only been collecting for this season and last, but I've been out there 15 times or so now. On opening weekend I took my 17 y/o daughter and her friend, the girls and I hit a spot that was loaded w concretions. I did the 10 day soak and they are now going through 10 freeze/thaw cycles. I've never had concretions with this color - all the ones were rust colored, the outer layer and the inner concretions. These were rust colored also, but the outer shell flaked off and now they look like this. Has anyone that collected a lot of concretions noticed any patterns in the type of concretions that have better success rate? Basically I'm asking which ones to get my hopes up for -- haha! Last year I had a lot of nice shapes, and very little success. Heres a pic of one of them and a few of the haul from our trip and a pair of happy kids!
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@stats @Mark Kmiecik @RCFossils @Peat Burns @connorp @deutscheben@fiddlehead I had been in contact with a friend (Bob) of mine that I met over 30 years ago. I met him through my fossil mentor Walter. Bob and Walter would collect in the 70’s and 80’s with many well know collectors, including Francis Tully. The would also bring fossils to the Field Museum so Dr. Eugene Richardson and others, could ID some of their finds. In our talks over the last several months, he had spoke about selling his collection and I advised him that I would be interested. We came to an agreement on price and today I stopped by his house to get the collection. It contained an unbelievable amount of fossils, all prom Pit 11, with the exception of a couple that he collected at Pit 14, a place he only visited one time. I am going to post just a few pics of some of the fossils in his collection that he amassed over 30+ years of collecting. I have only looked at a small sample of what I purchased. Without further ado, here are a few of the fossils. A few flora pieces to begin with. As you can see from this sample, many of these are how he found them and they were never cleaned. Now to some of the fauna. This first piece is shown in the 1979 Matthew Nitecki book- Mazon Creek Fossils. This Titanoceras so. Cephalopod is shown on page 337, figure 1a - Lateral view of ventrolateral portion of body chamber. This was in the chapter “Middle Pennsylvanian Cephalopoda of Mazon Creek Fauna, written by W. Bruce Saunders and Dr. Eugene S. Richardson, Jr. Bob advised me that he found this piece at Pit 14 near a chiton that he also found there. Here is one of my favorites, Bandringa rayi. This shark was loaned to the Field Museum and Dr. Rainer Zangrel took a look at it. He stated that this specimen showed the mouth (white dot area). Here are a couple Tully pieces. The below one is cool because it shows the claw/mouth, folded over on the body. This looks like a spider. Here is a scorpion. A couple winged insects. Continued on next post.
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Just got back today from my first trip to Mazonia-Braidwood (pit 11) this year! I unfortunately couldn't make it on the opening weekend, and was afraid we won’t find anything this late - but I ended up being pleasantly surprised. By this point I ran out of concretions to freeze-thaw from last year, so I’m very excited for the next few months We decided to go back to the Tipple hill area. Here is what it looks like now - open, barren fields of rocks 99.9999% of which are not what we are looking for. What I found especially challenging about this area, is that there are numerous concretions that have perfect shapes, but are not actually the right type of rock - yellow/light orange. I haven’t seen them at other places within Mazonia. I tried cracking a few last year, but they just have quartz (?) crystals on the inside. I guess they are not actually from Francis Creek shale? I forgot to take pictures, but would be curious to hear from people familiar with this. And of course, here are a few dinosaur eggs (the right type of rock) in situ Here is the total haul. Probably not a lot for this site, but this is definitely the most productive pit 11 trip I’ve had so far. Even better, unlike my previous visits, this time I found quite a few fossils in already open concretions. Here is a shrimp molt Both halves of a Calamites I think this is a Cyperites leaf These two halves of Annularia whorls cracked on the drive home And, of course, a neat anemone - Essexella ascherae. Surprisingly, this is the only one we found (so far). Will keep this thread updated with new fossils as I freeze-thaw the remaining concretions. I will also be back to Mazonia this weekend, but will probably go to a different site. I’m hoping this will become a mega-thread of all of my future Mazon creek trips. Out of all of the fossil sites I ever collected at, this is genuinely one of my favorites, if not the favorite - amazing fossils you can’t find anywhere else, plus instant gratification from finding concretions is always followed by delayed gratification over months of opening them. Here are my past trips to Mazonia and Braceville in 2023:
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- concretions
- illinois
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We are slowing finding a few things in our freeze/thaws! Please help ID the six posted below. I am very much a novice on this so my guesses are likely not right, but I tried. 1 & 2: Annularia type? Second pic is how it is also visible from the other plane! It didn't split well, whatever was on top of it crumbled off in the freeze/thaw cycle instead of coming off as a smooth plane so I unfortunately don't have the other half. 3. Probably nothing? I think it's just an unusual fracture, kids are convinced it's more. 4. Coprolite? No clue. 5. Stepanospermum konopeonus? 6. Love this tiny fern! So hard to figure out what kind it is though. Help please! 7. Could this be a caulopteris? THANK YOU!
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Hello all! I’ve had the chance to get out a few times this year, collecting has been good! So far 3 trips, my daughter has a Tully, a friend found a half of one (hopefully posts it!) and we’ve had numerous random open fossils of various species. And LOTS of full concretions to freeze-thaw open. Here’s a few I was hoping to get confirmation on - I found some good clues in Jack Wittry’s book. 1) My daughter’s Tully - found open, covered in mineral deposits. 2) A large shrimp - weathered and probably open for a long time 3) Maybe an Orbiculoidea sp.? Pretty weathered but looks close to the books Lastly maybe an indeterminate discoidal cephalopod? I only have half of the fossil but it’s quite a deep concretion & shell shaped. Thanks for stopping by! Pat
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- mazon creek
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Hello all - I hope my fellow hunters were able to avoid the tics and enjoy the unseasonably warm weather and enjoy a great opening weekend! We came away with one FULL 5 gallon bucket of mostly unopened concretions - with a possible Tully and some nice plant material among the open concretions. Would anyone care to take a stab at this one that came out of pit 11? Thanks! Patrick
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Made it out to Mazonia for the opening day this year, and it was the first time I ever filled a bucket. Went back with my 4 and 5 year old and they found another 20 concretions themselves. A little chilly the first day but it kept the bugs dormant, great weather on the return trip. We got a nice open Alethopteris half as well.
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- alethopteris
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I've been spending a lot of time lately studying the Mazon Creek flora, and am continuously astonished by the diversity and quality of specimens that can be found. I don't think we see enough plants on the forum, so I figured I would go ahead and share some of my favorite finds. First is a specimen I recently shared, and a fitting start to the thread. This is Crenulopteris acadica, the most common true fern found in the Mazon Creek flora. It has been the most common plant I find, accounting for probably half my finds. Next is a favorite of mine. This is a section of Calamites (probably C. cisti) encrusted by a number microconchids. I always enjoy finding concretions with associations of different species. Last for now is a specimen of the rare seed fern Callipteridium neuropteroides with great coloration.
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- carboniferous
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I found a possible millipede in my Mazon Creek freez thaw pile outside today!
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Today I went through a few small containers of concretions that were collected in the late 70’s / early 80’s. These were not collected by me, these are from a collection that I purchased last year from a friend. These were in multiple freezer/ thaw cycles. A lot popped today, mainly Essexella asherae and possibly another species. A decent Tully Monster also opened- it has the neck, transverse bar with eyes and a nice body. A couple shrimp, worms and a leech. Annularia- A large fern concretion that did not open very well. A few other pieces of flora. Back to more freeze and thaw, I have a lot more to go.
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- essexella asherae
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Hello, Could I get an ID on this mazon creek unknown? It has pretty high relief and strong segmentation with makes me think arthropod like a millipede, but I don't see any legs so maybe it's an annelid worm or something.
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- francis creek shale
- illinois
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Kids and I went out to Mazonia Braidwood last spring. Been freezing/thawing nodules and found one that has us stumped. Would appreciate some expert input! My son asked me to also post the other one to see what you guys think. Thanks in advance!
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I'm updating a display of Mazon Creek fossils that has been in our biology department for a long time. I would appreciate any help with identification and naming. (There were quite a few misspellings in the original display. I see one I missed - Asterotheca miltunii should be miltoni (or miltonii?))
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- fern relatives
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Here is a few of my Lucky finds for 2019 Mazon Creek fossil collecting season. I will try to keep adding to it as time and posting ability permits. My wife and I collected 14 times in 2019 at 4 different areas. We had a great time, met many great people, learned a great deal, on our adventures. Anyhow, I'll give this a try, and apologize in advance for the less than perfect photos. Phil
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Hi - I was recently given some concretions from Mazon Creek in Grundy County, IL. to open. I have been able to mostly identify some fauna specimens using the Mazon Creek books. However, not able to identify this one using the book or searches on the internet. Looks like a gold fish to me. Any ideas?
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This mazon creek pit 11 concretion opened a couple days ago and looks kind of like a ribbon worm but the preservation is different than examples I've been able to find. Any insight would be appreciated thanks. Also my word suggestion prompted me to say Happy Thanksgiving!
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- braidwood mazonia area
- mazon creek
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I will be using this thread to post what I have found fossil hunting in the Mazon Creek area, including the ESCONI Braceville pile, Mazonia/Braidwood, and any other sites I get a chance to explore. Although I had been to Mazonia a few times previously with virtually no luck, my first successful trip was with ESCONI last September at the private spoil pile they have access to. These first fossils are all from there. I have tried to give the best IDs I can- please jump in if you think I have anything wrong. I also forgot to put something in for scale on this first batch of photos, my apologies. First are three that I believe to be Essexella asherae, all very different looking though. The first is quite large, 7.5 cm across, and I love the red color. Next are two Achistrum sp., the first is my favorite fossil I have found from Mazon Creek thus far- curled up neatly in the nodule and nearly complete. The second is partially pyritized- I couldn't find any similar examples online, so it seems fairly unusual. Here are a few Mazonomya mazonensis, the top one is adorably petite- the shell is less than 1 cm across. This is small impression fossil of some bark- I'm still learning to ID the Pennsylanian flora, so I'm not sure exactly what this would be called. This appears to be a trace fossil, possibly a tunnel of some sort? I believe this is a coprolite. Finally, a few incomplete worms. The first I have identified at the tail end of Didontogaster, while the second nodule seems to have a few thin worm-like fossils preserved- perhaps Flabelligeridae sp.?
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- Braceville
- Illinois
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This was found in the southern unit of the Mazonia Wildlife Management area in northern Illinois. Ma nature had already opened it, so it may be in kind of rough shape. Is there enough here to identify it ?
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Hi, I'm new to the forum and relatively new to fossil hunting. I've been collecting rocks for years, but only last year realized how easy it is to find fossils in my new state. I'm hoping the folks around here can help me identify what I find! I'll start with a nodule I collected at Mazonia-Braidwood State Park (IL) yesterday. Three views of the same fossil. Any thoughts on what this is?
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