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Should I preserve this. And, please tell me how I should preserve this.

Hello everyone! Today I ventured out to the Mazonia-Braidwood State Fish and Wildlife Area for my first time, and it was… something. This post is going to serve as both a journal of my day, and as a request for assistance as I try to figure out what exactly a concretion looks like. Once I got my permit outside the office (which is just down Huston Rd a bit from the IL-53 and Huston Rd intersection; this is for people like myself who struggled to find an address or location of the office), I headed to Mazonia south unit, where I went to fossil hunting site 3. There were not really any exposed rocks here, so I went deeper into the brush. I spent two hours picking up random rocks that looked remotely orange and red, until I realized that I was probably looking for the wrong types of rock in general. I had seen a ton of pictures online of concretions from Mazon creek, but all of them were of the fossils people found on the inside, which left me befuddled about what the outside looked like. I walked around until I found a place with cell service and planted myself on rock so I could watch a couple YouTube videos of people who had visited the area before. I learned a little about what I should be looking for, but I was still very confused. I managed to find the rock below, which looks vaguely like a fossil and gave myself some false hope, but I believe it’s probably just the way minerals formed on the rock that are deceiving: As morale dwindled, I made my way back toward the parking area and decided to walk a bit down the road. I found a neat little skull in a ditch as I was walking: As I kept going, I started stopping at some small exposures within a few feet of the road, and that is actually where I saw what I now understand to be the nodules I should be looking for. It was one of the two below: It made me feel a bit better that I found an actual concretion, as I went much of the afternoon without seeing any rock exposures. I have come to believe that fossil hunting site 3 may have a dearth of concretions, though I may be incorrect. Anyway, after finding the first concretion, I found a few similar rocks. However, I’m not entirely sure if they are potentially fossil containing material or if they’re just rock: They all have the dark red sections that I associated with iron, so I took them with. That is about the extent of what I grabbed that I thought were concretions, though I realize now that not all of those are even concretions. As I was wrapping up a mostly forgettable day, in the last roadside stop before my car, I came across this: I asked elsewhere on the interwebs and was informed that it might be a trackway, which I would think would be from an insect. However, if it is something else, please do let me know. Regardless, I was thrilled with this. I didn’t know what it was, but I did know it wasn’t something I had ever collected. In fact, today was the first day I have ever collected fossils from organisms that lived on land. It more than made up for the cold, gloomy weather and the disappointment I had experienced earlier. Just make sure to know generally what you should be looking for before you get there, unlike me. Now to my big question. How do I differentiate concretions from any regular old weathered rock? Are they typically round to some extent, as I see on others’ posts, or do they sometimes occur as jagged shapes? Are spherical rocks more likely to be regular rocks, whereas concretions are generally flatter in a dimension? I understand their shapes and sizes are diverse, but are there any patterns that tend toward a concretion over any a generic rock? As I finish up this topic, I do have one question about the two oval concretions I showed in my hand. Are the theoretical fossils inside the “egg” shape that lies inside the shell, or would they be on the outside of the egg shape? In other words, once I remove the rest of the shell from each of them, do I do the freeze-thaw cycles on the rock inside the shells? Thank you for reading and helping, and I apologize for all the questions!

Hello everyone! My name is Lily and I'm happy to be joining the forum. I think I may have found my first fossil! I don't want to get my hopes up but I'm pretty excited. Out of my 20 years on this Earth of picking up random rocks in hopes of finding a fossil, I think I finally did it. I found it in Southern Illinois about 30 mins from STL, MO while I was gardening for my grandma. I dug a shallow hole for the plant & hit the rock. I can try to get clearer pictures if needed. Let me know if you need any more information as well. I'd like to know everything you can tell me about it! Thanks so much

Today I drove 6 1/2 hours - 340 miles (Round trip) to meet up with about 20-25 other ESCONI ( Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois). This site visited was a shaft mine on private property and we were allowed to collect for 5 hours, making for a long day when you add in the drive time. I believe that the fossils found at this location are about 600,000 to 1 million years younger than the fossils found at Mazon Creek. If I am wrong, one of the Forum menders that were in attendance can correct me. As usual, I may miss a name, but here are some that I knew were present: @stats , @deutscheben , @flipper559 , @jdp . I had missed out on the trips to this location last year and really wanted to attend this year after seeing the pieces of bark that were found in the red dog shale that is found at this location as well as concretions. The red dog shale has the fossils baked into the shale as a result of a fire that occurred on the shat mine about 6 years ago. This pieces found are really pretty. This shaft mine was in operation from 1904 though 1946 and was owned by several different companies, including the Peabody Coal Company that ran the strip mining operation around Pit 11, etc. It was a hot day, first time this year we were in the 80’s and the wind was a constant 25 mph and gusts had to hit 35 mph. This post will be picture heavy and will most likely take a few posts. I will start with a lot of pictures of the area and the collectors, one I finish that, I will add pictures of my finds at the time that I found them. Most of my finds I did keep, since it was my first time there and I wanted a representation of the fossils found at the location. I know that some types of fauna can be found, but I only found flora, and most of that was bark, which I liked a lot more than ferns, etc. Now on with some pics- A pic of me- thanks @deutscheben

I collected these two very small brachiopods in the LaSalle Limestone (Pennsylvanian) of Illinois. I have collected in this formation dozens of times and have not come across either before, and was hoping for some help with the IDs. @Tidgy's Dad @deutscheben @cngodles Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

so just recently i was going on a trip to look for fossils, trilobites specifically. On the trip i was able to find plenty of goodies; brachiopods, bryozoa, etc… But i never found any trilobites—well, except a possible pygidium. I did my digging at Savanna, IL, which from what I could find was known for finding lots of trilobites; and complete ones at that. Was I doing something wrong on my trip? I guess what i’m asking is there some way to more easily find trilobite fossils? Like, is there a way to tell what areas are likely to have trilobite fossils or what rocks would have them? on a similar note i’ve seen plenty of instances of people splitting rocks and finding lots of fossils that way; but i found almost all of my fossils just sitting in the open; any time i tried splitting a rock it would just shatter into bits, not to mention i wouldn’t really find anything inside. Is there a way to tell which rocks might have a fossil of some sorts in it? Or a way to split a rock so that any fossil in it would be exposed. Or i guess the better question would be what kinds of rocks are even worth trying to split into, and does this change based on a given locality? any advice would really be appreciated!

I've found a large number of similar looking, but fragmentary, multicuspid petalodont teeth in the LaSalle Limestone (Late Pennsylvanian) of Illinois. This is one of the more complete specimens I've found. I haven't been able to find a comparable specimen in literature, and was hoping somewhere here might have some thoughts.

Hi all, I recently found this fossil, and I was hoping I could find some help here identifying it. I found it at Fort Sheridan in Illinois, and wasn’t expecting something that looked like it could be vertebrate. I’m familiar with the fossils with the area, and was surprised to find something like this. Any ID suggestions or suggestions for where to get it ID’d would be appreciated. Someone I talked to said it may be an amphibian/tetrapod fossil (potentially an egg) Description of fossil: small potato shaped rock with skull and thorax of specimen showing. “Feet” protruding from the bottom, and there appears to be a little hand covering the skull on one side. Little hand over face Top view showing little hand over right side of skull Right side view Left side view IMG_7547.MOV

This is probably an extremely long shot, but I wanted to post these interesting pics in case they ring a bell for anyone. These were all found in a Late Pennsylvanian shale associated with the Herrin Coal, which generally preserves plant fossils. I’m not sure if they are fossils or diagenetic artifacts- the shale is baked on the spoil pile which can introduce unusual shapes. The first one is a strange pattern- it appears to be asymmetrical and doesn’t immediately match any plant parts I’m familiar with, but there are so many possibilities I might be missing something. It’s 5 mm wide. This next one is part and counterpart of a smooth cylindrical impression- the entire visible impression is about 15 mm long. These next three could be a result of the heating of the shale, which can produce bubbles and smooth surfaces like these, but it would unusual for that to be the case without any other distortion around it. The final impression comes from the other side of one of the pieces above and is similarly smooth-walled, but only a small portion is visible.

Yesterday I took my second trip of the year to do some collecting at Pit 11. A little chilly, but once the sun came out it was a nice day. An idea of how overgrown it is, even this early in the year. The first find of the day A productive hillside A nice handful of concretions I broke my personal record and was able to collect about 3 gallons in the 6 hours I collected. Not many open finds, although I did find this fairly nice Annularia, hopefully a sign of things to come!

Tomorrow (March 1st) is opening day for fossil hunting at Mazonia-Braidwood State Fish and Wildlife Area, also known as Pit 11 to Mazon Creek collectors. The weather has been on an excellent trend running up to now, with many days over the next week predicted to have highs in the 50s and even 60s, although a few days do have rain predicted as well (and things may already be muddy as the soil thaws too). Who is planning on heading out this week to kick off the season? I will be taking tomorrow off work to be there on opening day. I missed out on the 2021 season entirely, and actually haven't been to the park since March of 2020- my last trip there was one of my last activities before COVID hit. With any luck I will be able to make at least a couple of trips this year. With the warmer weather, be sure to watch out for ticks, and with potentially muddy conditions drive carefully- I have seen vehicles get stuck in the past. Finally, it's always a good idea to have your copy of the fossil collecting permit, either picked up outside the park office or printed from online: https://www2.illinois.gov/dnr/Parks/Activity/Documents/MZB_FossilPermit.pdf Best of luck to everyone and I hope to see some of you out there in the park! Please feel free to share your finds and reports in this thread as well.

A nodule from Mazon Creek opened up this week and revealed a nice fossil. I believe it is a Neuropteris Seed Fern Leaf based on pictures examined. The curious thing is the additional leaves that exit the stem. Is this typical or representative of the species???

My bucket of mazon nodules collected this summer have been sitting outside in the sub zero temperatures all winter. I was finally able to fetch the bucket and thaw them out recently. The nodule presented split completely different than other nodules that have opened. This one is a heptagon prism, VERY geometric, not split on a horizontal plane like I am used too . Is there a fossil present on the upper surface and have others experienced nodules opening up geometrical like this one? Thanks for looking Mike Front view Back view.

I'm stumped on this one. Unfortunately it is not very well defined, but it seems like something interesting... I haven't found anything similar before. Any thoughts are appreciated. @stats @deutscheben @bigred97 @Nimravis @Mark Kmiecik @fiddlehead @flipper559

Need a little assistance identifying this. THANKS!

I found this specimen in Middle Pennsylvanian black shale in Illinois. It measures maybe 8mm in the widest dimension. Honestly not even sure if it's a fossil, never seen anything like it. Any ideas? Part Counterpart

Had this concretion open today. I'm pretty confident it's something vertebrate. Maybe a lungfish plate? @jdp @RCFossils Thanks for any help.

A couple months ago I received a message from a friend letting me know of an opportunity to collect a usually inaccessible Mazon Creek site. The area used to be a popular with collectors but has since been reclaimed as a subdivision. A house was finally being built on one of the last undeveloped lots, and this meant spoil piles while the foundation was being laid. I initially planned to go later in the week, but instead decided to wake up early the next day and drive down. This ended up being a lucky decision, as the foundation was filled that very next night. The site was not superbly productive - I only gathered about a gallon of concretions for the two hours I was there. I have finally finished processing them, and although I did not find anything super rare, I am still thrilled to be able to add specimens from this site to my collection. The site Some in situ concretions Here are the finds I kept. Most of the other concretions were blanks or had poor quality plant bits. Annularia inflata Annularia radiata Radicites columnaris (an indeterminate root) A nice three-dimensional Myalinella meeki bivalve

Hi! It turns out that my property is full of fossils and I’ve decided to try to collect some. While my ultimate goal is to find a wooly mammoth tooth…I’m a realist and every little crinoid earns my fascination.

Over the weekend I spent some time at the Burpee Museum of Natural History in Rockford, Illinois. My primary reason for visiting was to check out their local Ordovician fossils, but I was quite surprised by how large and comprehensive the museum was. Lots of great fossils and cool dioramas, definitely worth a visit if you're in the area. Diorama of the Ordovician sea Trilobites Crinoids and an edrioasteroid Cephalopods Bivalves and gastropods Receptaculitids

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.

I was inspired by @Mark Kmiecik and his quality photographs to finally learn some basic image editing. I had this beautiful Crenulopteris acadica fern open yesterday and figured it would be a good specimen to make a first attempt. Let me know your thoughts.

For the most part, fertile ferns are rare in the Mazon Creek flora. The only exception being Diplazites, of which ~1/2 of all specimens are fertile. This is my first non-Diplazites fertile fern. I really like the interplay between the white mineral deposits, the brown matrix, and the scattered pyrite crystals - a very artistic specimen I think. My best guess is that this is Cyathocarpus hemitelioides, but I am not positive. Close up of a fertile pinnule Close up of sterile pinnules at the base

Hi all. I found some pretty cool boulders of calcite littered with crinoid impressions in a public park in Danville, IL back in late August, but left everything until I got approval from their park department to remove them. I finally heard back last month, but didn't get around to going until today. I found a few interesting things that I'll post when they're cleaned up, but I probably won't even begin the process until Thursday. In the meantime I took a photo of a trace fossil that was sitting near the top of one of the specimens. I can identify most of the things in the pieces, but am stumped by this one. I probably should have gotten a ruler for measurement, but I snapped it after picking my son up at school and had to do it quickly. The photo didn't come out as clearly as I had hoped, and can retake it if necessary. It came from Vermillion County, which makes it Pennsylvanian. Any ideas?

Late August found me traveling to Mazon Creek for a wonderful hunt. See @RandyB's topic, Mazon Creek 8-28-21. The trip allowed a little free time to slip off and explore the road cut in Oglesby, Illinois. This is a very fossiliferous exposure and was enjoyable to explore. The fact I found shark teeth and crinoids makes me think this was a combination of Pennsylvanian La Salle Limestone unit 3 and unit 4. Even though my poor photos do not show it well, the brachiopods are very nice. But unfortunately, identification has been difficult. For those of you, like me, who enjoy geodized fossils, this formation is a great site to visit. Other brachiopods that I couldn't definitively identify. #1 #2 #3 #4 #5