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so I know that in order to hunt for fossils at the braidwood area you need a permit (https://www2.illinois.gov/dnr/Parks/Activity/Documents/MZB_FossilPermit.pdf), but i’m not entire sure how to get one when i search up online a PDF comes up that can be filled out. Do i just fill this form and then send it to the DNR? Also, who can get the permit? Like, would it be limited to scientists/professionals or can the general public sign up for it too? Any clarification would be really appreciated. Also, let’s say I got the permit. What would be the best places to go if I wanted to look for fossils mainly from the essex biota?
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Hello! I recently went to Mazon creek and was in the process of thawing my concretions when I saw this, and was wondering if y’all could help me ID it. I’m thinking maybe a shrimp, but am not very familiar with the fauna (or flora for that matter) of the area. Thank you!
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Here are the last of recently collected Mazon material with fossils already showing. More to come as the freeze-thaw cycles take effect. Thanks as always @Nimravis @stats @RCFossils @deutscheben @Mark Kmiecik @Runner64 Specimen 1 (4.1 cm long) — A fern, found as is. Enough detail for an ID? Specimen 2 (9.1 cm long) — Macroneuropteris? Found as is. Did a light vinegar wash. Specimen 3 (2.7 cm in diameter) — Found already split. D and E illuminated to show relief. Now that my copy of Wittry's Fauna has arrived, I wonder if this might be Essexella asherae, as there appears to be a semi-circular feature above a more rectangular feature, perhaps most visible in C and E. Specimen 4 (~15.5 cm in diameter) — Found already split. I cannot make much sense of this. Maybe a jumble of plant pieces? D and E illuminated to show relief. There seem to be some fossily features, like 3 or 4 repeated ridges in the bottom right of D, a long linear feature in the upper right of D (some of the material here is dirt, I realized after taking the photos). The patches of different color in B don't obviously correspond to the different relief elements in D.
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- essexella asherae?
- fern
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I had a great, brief opportunity to collect Mazon nodules at a private site. I'm new to this deposit, but really excited to start understand the material. I've started the freeze-thaw on the bulk of specimens, and ordered my copies of the Wittry books, but will post a few specimens that were already exposed or split at the time of collection. Thanks for your help in advance @Nimravis @stats @RCFossils @deutscheben @Mark Kmiecik @Runner64 Specimen 1 (6cm nodule diameter): found as a half, already split. As a newbie, I'm not sure if this anything, but following your guidance to post everything ( @Runner64 @Mark Kmiecik : this is the specimen I thought had superficial resemblance to the example you posted in the other thread). The light region in the middle has some relief to it, as evident in D. There may be a feature that looks a bit like a flower, with a "central disc" and 3 or 4 radiating "petals" with repeating geometric patterning near one edge, visible in B on the bottom right, and in D on the right. Specimen 2 (5.5cm on longest axis): Already quite exposed, with apparent 3d preservation. The bundle of tube-like branches converges at the bottom of A, E. F, H and J offer the view of that bottom. There maybe be a "stalk cross section" of sorts, with a pale central disc and a circumference of notches at the base (best seen in J). There are "tubercles" protruding through the matrix and on the branches (C, D, E). Between this "stalk cross section" and the tube-like branches, there seems to be a rough bark-like structure (H and J). In addition to an ID, I'd love advice on if/how this should be prepped further. The matrix has a network of cracks in it. As I was handling the piece, a small corner of mostly matrix popped off (a small knob of red matrix in F and J is gone in H, revealing a bit of that bark-like structure, but also damaging it a bit, I think). Should I use consolidant to protect it? Can the large large flap of matrix in A and I be removed? Is this a job for an air scribe (which I don't have). I have the sense there may be more tube-like branches under thin regions of matrix in the C and D views (possibly all the way around? G possibly shows the ends of the black branches at the broken top of the piece). Looking forward to hearing what you all think.
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This worm(?) is vexing me. I've got some clues, but none of them seem to add up to a definitive ID. Any ideas? These photos are from the vendor's listing of the specimen. Yes, I've been through the books, several times. I'm far from an expert in MC material, so any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
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The Francis Creek Shale in northeast Illinois is best known for producing Mazon Creek concretions. However, the shale itself also contains an extremely diverse and well preserved flora (and fauna occasionally). Unfortunately, the shale is extremely soft, and quickly weathers to clumps of clay. This makes collecting from the shale very challenging, and most collectors don't even bother trying. On a recent trip I found some fresh chunks of shale and decided to try and save some of the plants. Even working with fresh shale, it was still very hard to extract anything. Larger pieces crumbled easily, flat surfaces flaked as they dried, and some fossils were destroyed just by accidentally brushing a finger against them. These specimens represent what I was able to save. They have been sitting out for over a week now and seem stable as long as they are not handled, but only time will tell if they last. Crenulopteris acadica Crenulopteris subcrenulata Neuropteris fimbriata (seed fern pinnule) Lepidostrobophyllum lanceolatus (cone bracts) On the left is a fern I am unsure of, any thoughts are appreciated. On the right is Stigmarioides. I have not found many examples of this taxa in concretions but it seems fairly common in the shale. I think this is also Stigmarioides. Many of the scars are plugged with pyrite - it was bright gold when I first split the shale but oxidation has darkened it. Hopefully these will last, but if not I wanted to post photographs in case they don't.
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- carboniferous
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@stats, @fiddlehead, @Mark Kmiecik, @deutscheben, @connorp @RCFossils and any other member. Here is a piece that I cannot put my finger on and don’t recall seeing one before. Any help would be appreciated.
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@RCFossils @fiddlehead @stats @Mark Kmiecik I am opening concretions right now and this one split with a nice little tap. It looks like flora, but I don’t recall this piece. If it was from a later time period I would say it was a pretty feather lol. Any help would be appreciated.
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Mazon Creek Fossil jelly fish
Unknowncat posted a topic in Is It Real? How to Recognize Fossil Fabrications
Hello everyone, I hope everyone is doing well I have recently started getting myself into collecting fossils and I came upon this lot of jellyfish fossils so I purchased them because they seemed interesting and it’s something I never had. Do these look fine ? To me they just look like stained rocks but that could just be because jellyfish are soft bodied organisms. Thanks for your input -
In the freeze that process it is common for concretions to flake, on a piece of the flaked off rock I came across multiple pectin fossils including a couple that are about 1mm and am asking for help identifying the species.
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- mazon
- mazon creek
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Hi folks, I went to the spoils pile with ESCONI pre-covid. I've had a bucket sitting out back ever since with concretions. Went through it today and banged a few together. I am not good at recognizing Mazon material, so I thought I would ask for some assistance here. I'm 99% sure 1A is a jellyfish, I haven't sorted out the name yet though. 1B appears to have some whiskers or antennae, so I'm hopeful it's some sort of shrimp or creepy crawly. The rest I'm kind of at a loss on. Any help appreciated!
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Hi! I’ve been working on opening some nodules from Mazon Creek, IL, and opened this one about an hour ago. I’ve been looking at pictures online of jellyfish and have seen some loosely defined like this nodule, though this is probably just a regular old concretion. What do you think? Thanks! P.S. In hindsight I realize that wetting this nodule down wasn’t particularly helpful lol
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Howdy folks. I had a question about soaking mazon creek nodules before starting the freezing process. I’ve had mine soaking in water for 2 days (prior to the first freeze, will be several more days), and there seems to be oil on the surface of the water. Is this normal, or is it something I should be concerned about? This is my first time doing this, and I just want to make sure I’m doing it right. It is just plain water, I’ve added nothing else to it. Thank you!!!
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- freeze thaw
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I just had a concretion pop after thawing out today. Lo and behold, it actually has something inside. I’m not really sure what to make of it. Any ID help would be greatly appreciated. It’s about 1.5 x 2 inches. One wet and one dry picture
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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???
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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.
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I was splitting open some Mazon Creek nodules I've had for a while about a half hour ago when this enigma popped out, I have no clue what it is. The nodule is from Pit 11.
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This is a half nodule with impressions of several leaves and what I believe is a stem connecting them, from Mazon Creek. Are they Cyclopteris?
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- 2 replies
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- concretion fossil
- illinois fossil
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Hello fossil hunters! I am asking for some help as a humble beginner. Yesterday I went out with my son (age 14) to a site just south of Braidwood, IL. We were collecting near Ponderosa Lake, to be more precise. This is our second trip out there. The first time we really had no idea what we were looking for, but now we are getting a little more experienced after reading a lot and digging around. In total we found around 60 intact (good shape, in my unprofessional view) concretions, as well as some interesting fragments. We had a nice time collecting yesterday in the cold. We were the only people out there. Maybe we are crazy! I am requesting help with an identification, and some general advice on how to best tackle opening the pile of concretions we found. First, this was one found awhile back and I believe it is similar to a find that connorp found: Macroneuropteris pinnule (see thread below) Secondly, we found some concretions that were already open. I just grabbed a few to have here since I have read that sometimes they contain jellyfish. I cannot determine anything by looking at these. Does anyone have an opinion on these? The coin is about 20mm in diameter for reference. Finally, I have read about the freeze/thaw method as well as using a hammer to crack them open. I will start out using the freeze thaw method. I separated them into groups of concretions that I though were good. The picture below shows them laid out on some paper towels in the kitchen. I just washed them off and am waiting to start the opening process. I have a few questions around both methods: Freeze/Thaw 1. I am going to keep them outside in a bucket in water for 20 days. Then I will start freezing them. How long do I need to keep them in the freezer? Also, once I take them out, do I just run hot water on them, or do I let it thaw in room temperature? Once I have determined if any have opened, do I need to re-soak the concretions again? or, just straight back in the freezer? Hammer 2. Does anyone have a good video of how to use a hammer on these things? I tried it on a few I had before and it was a disaster. I might be using the wrong hammer. I might need a chisel, too? I might not be hitting in the correct spot? This might seem basic to you pros, but I am really an amateur.
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- concretion
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A Mazon Creek nodule popped open a few days ago. At first I thought it was nothing. But in the right light, I have hope (hopefully not false hope) that this may indeed be a find. If this were my Ordovician matrix, I could envision a trilobite. Maybe it mimics a horseshoe crab!!!! During my hunt, I did get to see a horseshoe crab found by @flipper559 I will cross my fingers waiting for the experts to respond.
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Looking to possibly identify the fossil directly below the 1 inch mark of the measuring tape in the first photo. Any possibly insight would be appreciated. Other fossils on this specimen include coral, bivalves, etc.
- 6 replies
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- francis creek shale
- mazon
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First fossil? ever found from hitting rocks with hammer... I’m afraid to try to expose any more of it. Any ideas as to what it could be. First pics with ruler for scale and then without for better detail. I found it along Monster lake in an area where the sides had very recently eroded to expose lots of coal.