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  1. @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.
  2. Spent a couple days collecting at Mazonia/Braidwood last weekend. Found a couple areas with decent open concretions, excited to see what opens up in coming weeks. ID help very welcome on these open ones, thank you!
  3. 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!
  4. Sauropod19

    Mazon Pit 11

    Hello, it’s been awhile! I’ve been opening up some Mazon Pit 11 stuff and came across this thing. I try to keep myself pretty grounded when it comes to Mazon stuff, because I’m horribly bad at ID’ing anything in a concretion. That said, any chance this is an annelid worm? Thank you as always!
  5. apple3.14

    Unknown mazon creek worm

    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!
  6. Anomotodon

    Mazon Creek mysteries

    Hey everyone! Here are two of my findings from the most recent trip to pit 11 (Mazonia-Braidwood) that just opened. I would very appreciate any help with ID! 1. This is a worm-shaped structure that I don't think is a polychaete - I am not seeing any segmentation or jaws. The "gap" at the apex (closer to the center of the concretion) seems like some kind of a structure and at the base of it there seem to be some grains concentrated in a circle (see microscope pics). My working hypothesis is a barnacle, Illilepas damrowi, with the "gap" being a slit between the valves? Sorry for the lack of scale, still in search of my ruler. The fossil itself is about 2.5 cm long. Close-up of the slit. 2. I have absolutely no idea what this could be, but the shape seems defined enough to potentially be recognizable. Is this a plant bit? A segment from some arthropod? The fossil itself is only 5 mm. My first thought was a trilobite hypostome, but those obviously cannot be found in Mazon Creek deposits.
  7. Hi All! I had the chance to head out last Sunday with my kid and again for a few hours yesterday solo - both times we came back with very heavy backpacks. It’s not easy collecting, but neither of us mind the army crawl in the underbrush. We’re still learning what to take and what to leave - just my 3rd and 4th trip there (thanks to fellow member and friend tom_mo for showing us the ropes and getting me addicted!!) We look for the small water created gully’s in the steep hills, lots of these have been collected over the years but just as many have not it seems. Or maybe the good collectors have just left all the big Essexella and midsized open concretions! Ha It’s so exciting when we find a vein that has loads of nodules - very addicting! I do use a hand held 15$ Home Depot hoe/cultivator to disturb the surface and move moss and leaves, and sturdy gloves to sift through the piles - it really helps. Still have to clean and prep the open ones from yesterday and start soaking these for freeze/thaw - but here’s some pics of the trove from each trip! I’m going to start a separate thread with some questions I have for the long time Mazon Creek collectors - hope you have some time to help a newbie out! Thanks for stopping by! Patrick
  8. Sauropod19

    Mazon Pit 11 ID

    Hello again. I got the time to scrub off my finds from Friday and found one of interest (and a second that I haphazardly split open that I think is a dud). The top one’s shape remained after several rounds of intense scrubbing, and feels slightly 3D in the middle. Other views of top one: Is there anything in the top one or is it just suggestive mineral staining? Additionally, since there is a crevice present around the entire perimeter, would you recommend I try and pry it open or leave the concretion as is? Lastly, just so I can document the correct number of concretions collected on my permit, which of these four examples (if any) would you consider to be a concretion or half concretion. “a” and “d” are extremely thin, both likely part of the outer “shell” of a concretion. “b” is just an odd shape, and “c” is thick but flat. As always, thank you!
  9. Howdy all, I'm a pretty new fossil collector (but experienced GIS user) who has been doing some remote scouting of Mazon Creek locales based on some internet scrubbing. I will be heading to Pit 11 on Thursday. Would any of you more experienced collectors be willing to critique my marked spots via DM? I want to make sure I make the most of the trip!
  10. Patrick K.

    Mazon Creek Pit # 11 ID Requests

    Hello all! Had a successful hunt with my 16 year old daughter last week, we both came back with heavy backpacks and smiles on our faces. I have a lot to freeze/thaw, but I had a few open partials (that were not Essexella ) that I was hoping were not weathered past ID'ing. These were covered in deposits and the edges are pretty rounded which leads me to believe some were open for quite some time - and I am not extremely gentle with those ones when prepping/cleaning. But still happy with the 3rd trip out ever! 1 - It has some bumps/raised areas close the the break and smooths out, and since it is broke, I can see the fossilized organism was pretty thick - maybe stick or fish tail? 2-pretty small - has that white fossil material that is not from the elements though - 3 - just a circle but has the white fossilized material 4 - worm of some sort - no visable mouth parts that I can see - 5 - another worm of sorts - # 6 - Stem? I so wanted it to be a blade! # 7 - Some sort of shrimp or molt? This one is strange - has a groove/indentation/valley that runs from the center of the object to the upper right corner in this first image - it is just odd looking. # 8 - Lastly this one - maybe one of those tunnels I read about in the Esconi book? just a little half circle valley that ends at the white deposit. Thanks in advance, I appreciate the help! Patrick
  11. My family (kids 4, 7 and 10) attempted our first foray for Mazon Creek fossils last week. We had a blast! Took it slow, explored the lay of the land and came back with around 300 concretions to freeze/thaw. Definitely a more ideal time of year to go with young kids, easier to see paths/where we were going and keep track of everyone, only one tick and no poison ivy etc. to worry about, just thorns. We ended up derailing onto some deer trails and bushwhacking through, but we also found some fun things that way. Main trails were very easy walking and the kids found enough concretions to stay entertained. GPS tracking was perfect, had whistles, camelbaks backpacks for all but the 4-year-old, snacks and rubber-coated gardening gloves plus a few kid-sized rakes. Permethrin on our clothes and picaridin lotion worked well. Pics below of some open finds (jellies, which for us novices is wonderful! We cleaned them up best we could, some are worn but that doesn't matter to a kid's collection!), then some unknowns. My husband found a great worm (we think!) of some kind. Pics below, and a few unknowns at the end. We spent Friday at the Field Museum to see their Mazon Creek exhibit. We hunted for a half day Wednesday and full day Thursday. A great weekend-type trip as a full week would be too tiring for us all. We will for sure go again, but may stick to spring before poison ivy etc. take hold. I'll update the post later with anything from our freeze/thaw cycles. Started soaking today! Few more pics next post.
  12. Hello All- I'm hoping to get some help with a few Mazon Creek concretions recently picked up around Braidwood/Mazonia. I believe this is pit 11. Have had some great help here in the past, so hoping to get some help with these 6 specimen below. I have an idea on some of the below but, but not sure if my eyes are seeing what I want to see- so curious to know if others see the same thing! thanks, -tom
  13. Hi all! Talk about pure luck, on my second trip to pit 11 ever, I found this crawfish(?)! It was in 3 pieces and I was lucky enough to find all 3. Needless to say I super excited…I’d have to guess it’s pretty a rare find. It cleaned up really well after a few 25% vinegar baths and the slightest brushing with a very soft artist paint brush. When it split at some point, part of the top didn’t separate with it, it was covering the tail which I reallllllly wanted to see . I noticed a small crevice on the side of the concretion and figured I might be able to get the imperfect separation to pop off. After a few partial freeze/thaws, that part popped off so I have full exposure of the body! I’d love an ID on this if anyone can help. Thanks in advance! Patrick
  14. Hello from Wisconsin! My husband and I are bringing our 10, 7 and 4 year old kiddos to the Pit 11 area at the end of next week for a couple days to try to find some fossil concretions. I have the Wittry book, joined ESCONI, and have read this forum thoroughly and am grateful for all the info provided by you wonderful experts, thank you! I am realistic however that a 4-year-old is going to limit just how much walking we can do, especially as it's rough terrain. Could someone please confirm whether it is okay to just park alongside the road *anywhere* around the Pit 11 area? Specifically W5000 North, Merchants Rd (route 6) and Kankakee? Trying to shorten our walking distances as much as possible, but don't want to be ticketed or towed! I could always have my husband drop us off and go park in the lots, but it would be good to be closer to the vehicle throughout the days for multiple reasons. Also, am I right to be concerned and cautious about venomous snakes? Seems like this would be prime territory, I know it's early spring so not as likely, but stepping into a copperhead den is a concern when exploring with young kids. Thank you so much for any feedback!
  15. FreePineland574

    Big Mazon Creek Shrimp?

    OK, so I am a complete newcomer to the world of fossils, and although I do have the references, I can't seem to pin this down. Appreciate any help I can get. Warren
  16. Yesterday I had the pleasure of getting out for one of the nicest opening days of the fossil hunting season at Mazonia-Braidwood State Fish and Wildlife Area that I’ve experienced. The sun was shining, the ground was relatively dry and temps were in the 40s-50s. And I only encountered 1 tick! I ran into a few other collectors over the course of the day, including @connorp. The park was mostly quiet as usual, with the sounds of birds and passing cars nearby, as well as the distant rumble of trains and planes. My hunting area for this trip was south of Monster Lake- after getting nearly skunked when it came to interesting fossils the last two years I wanted to go back to a site that had given me more success in the past. It’s about a one mile hike to get down to the collecting area, although I was able to pick up a few concretions on the way there. I’ve been using an 8 inch wide plastic rake the last few trips to clear leaves and litter from the ground and I have found it really effective. It’s a full length rake like this one: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Ames-60-in-handle-Collector-8-in-Poly-Shrub-Rake-2915900/204476248 so maneuvering it in the underbrush can be annoying sometimes, but since I’m already trying to fit a 6’3” frame through there it doesn’t make it notably more difficult to get around. Here are a couple concretions in an area where I didn’t clear things up: I didn’t find too many already split concretions- a few dirty plants I’ll share once I’ve had a chance to clean them up and some mystery things that may or may not prove to be anything (and one exciting find I will detail below). As usual, there were also plenty of split Essexella blobs to be found, but I didn’t bring any of those home. Towards the end of the day, I found myself at the base of a small hill that was veritably covered in both split and unsplit concretions. At first I thought it might have been a dump pile from a collector back in the day, but the number of unopened smaller concretions made me question that, as well as the next find I made- a very partial Tullimonstrum gregarium! It’s a wee one, but only the second example of our state fossil that I’ve found. Here is a wider shot of the hill where I found it: By this time I was starting to get pretty sore, so I decided to head back. I ended up with around 2 gallons of concretions, a pretty average day at Pit 11 for me. Here is my bucket at the end of the day: I’ve got about 10 gallons of other concretions in the queue ahead of these, so it may be a while before I start freezing and thawing them, but I will work on getting them cleaned up and ready to go in the meantime. As @Mark Kmiecik famously said about hunting Pit 11, I left “bruised and abused and grinning from ear to ear”. It’s a tough experience, but you can count on me keeping at it as long as I can. Anybody else planning to make it out to the park this week?
  17. 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!
  18. Starting in 2021, I've been going fossil hunting around the Mazon Creek area in Grundy County, Illinois. The site I visit the most so far is the fairly large Mazonia-Braidwood State Fish and Wildlife Area and at first, I would barley find anything. Then after visiting Monster Lake and another secret location in the area, I started finding more fossils. However, most are around 2-7 cm. In length and I'm still having difficulty getting IDs for them? Would anyone be able to help ID them? I think this could be some sort of Chondrichthyan or a lobe finned fish? Maybe part of a dragonfly wing or a plant? Plant fossil - Genera unknown currently? I don't know what this could be? The specimen here looks almost like a plant fossil. Worm fossil - genera unknown currently.
  19. About a week or two ago I received a phone call from a friend of mine, Marty H., I have known him for more than 30 years and met him through my fossil mentor, Walter. I have collected with Marty many times at Pitt 11 and Pit 4. The reason for his call was to tell me that he had about 10 bags of open concretions that he wanted to give to me. He knows that I like to take various fossils to the ESCONI Braceville Shaft Mine trip that is held 2 times a year. I was not able to make the trip in May due to vacation, hopefully I will make the one later in the year. The bags that he gave me contained fossils from Pit 11, Pit 4, Dresden Lake and Lintin, Indiana. These fossils were all collected in the early 1980’s. I went through the bags when I got home from work today to see what was inside. 95% of the fossils will end up at the ESCONI trip, but I did keep a couple large pieces of bark. The fossils include a bunch of Essexella asherae jellyfish, Pecopteris, Neuropteris, Annularia, worms, bark, coprolite, etc. Here are some of the hundreds of fossil pieces that he gave me. Thanks again Marty.
  20. I live in Chicago and for a while I’ve been wanting to try Fossil Hunting in Mazon Creek. My first trip three weekends ago I tried to have myself prepared but still wasn’t quite sure what I was getting myself into. I hiked to the tipple area, there I had a really hard time telling rocks from concretions because especially in that area most of the rocks are covered in an orange rust. I collected 5 gallons of what I later realized were almost exclusively rocks. The trip was still worth it though because there were lots of these fast little lizards running around on top of the exposed coal, and I had never seen wild lizards in Illinois before. Since then, I’ve done a lot more research and went on two more trips. I mostly collected along the northern ridge of the southern section of Monster Lake. I spend nearly the entire time crawling on my hands and knees through thick undergrowth up and down ridges. I’m sort of used to off trail hiking like that so I wasn’t very bothered by the vegetation. For a beginner I think I’ve had good success, but I still have some questions about identifying the right kinds of concretions. In an ESCONI youtube video on Mazon Creek they mention that siderite plates and diagonal concretions are no good and should be left behind. Does anyone have any tips on how to better differentiate these? For the plates, unless it’s obviously thin I can’t quite tell. I’ve included pictures of examples of what I couldn’t quite tell were plates or not. And for the diagonals I’m honestly not sure at all. Other than that I’ve so far really enjoyed fossil collecting, and I intend to continue through the summer until I am either consumed by the undergrowth, or my limited freezer space creates a massive backlog. I’m lucky in that I haven’t gotten a single tick yet (and I check thoroughly). I treat all of my hiking clothing and equipment with permethrin and I wear both the Picaridin lotion and Deet spray. The bugs run from me. Here are some concretions that I wasn't sure if they were siderite plates or not. Here are some I was more certain about
  21. This is a statement that I often make to myself throughout the Summer and the vast majority of the time I decide to stay home. This was not the case in decades past and it is not because I am older and slowing down, which is definitely not the case, the main culprit is vegetation. Today I had the idea of going to the Pit and taking pictures of the area so new collectors can see areas that they collect at and also see the conditions that they will face in the summertime. I usually go to the Pit at the beginning of the fossil collecting season (March 1st), this is your best chance to find concretions since there is no foliage. Now I also am not saying that there are no fossils to be found in the summertime, I found some today and I was not really looking, it is just that much more difficult and when you add the ticks and mosquito's into the mix, it makes for a real fun day.- NOT. So this morning I left at about 8:00 am for the 45 mile drive to Pit 11, I brought a small backpack and a hammer along with my mountain bike, I was really glad that I brought it. I road up and down hills, road through mud and water and across flat lands with 3+ foot vegetation- after 4 hours I decided to leave. This Post is PICTURE HEAVY and will take SEVERAL POSTS to complete, so bear with me- I will include screen shots of aerial views as well as a couple pictures from about 20 years ago to show how things have changed. This post should also help the new comer get acquainted with the area the so they gain hopefully have better success when collecting. If others have pictures or other things that they will like to add, please feel free to do that. The first area that I stopped is an place that we use to call "Inside the cooling lakes". Years ago before they made this all access entrance, we had to enter on the other side of the cooling lakes at a location called "Fossil Gate". This was an area that was only opened on Saturdays and Sundays and it was manned by a guard from the Nuclear Power Plant. Cars would line up and when the guard opened the gate, you had to show your collecting pass and he would double check it against cards that they had with our signature. Once everything was cleared, you were free to drive in and find your area to collect. There were times when only me and my son were out collecting and the guard would wait in the shack until 4 pm when we left, it was pretty sweet. Mazonia / Braidwood State Fish and Wildlife Area This is an aerial shot of where you turn in for the Mazonia area that allows access into the cooling lakes. The island that you see below is Turino Hill and it is about the only place that is still free of vegetation on the sides of the hill. I collected this area a few times with a friend that had a boat, there are fossils to be found there. The other shot shows the parking lot where you will leave your car. After you park and you are getting ready to go collect, if you are facing the lake, you want to go down the road to your right. I have never found anything on the road to the left, except fishermen. Here is an aerial shot that shows the other islands that you can collect on if you have a boat. Here are a pictures of Turino Hill- On top of the hill there is a flag. Here is a picture of Turino Hill and the Nuclear Reactors to the right. A close up- Here is the road to the right, you can go past the chain blocking the path, it is there so no vehicles drive down the road. Again, before they made this entrance we had access to that road, only from farther down it- it saved a lot of walking. You can check for concretions along the shore, but at this time of the year it gets really rough to get to the shore as you continue down the road, as shown below. I crossed the chain and continued down the road on my bike for about 15 minutes until I arrived at an area that I use to collect at in the Summertime- it has really changed. Below are some older pictures of how it use to look. As you can see from the pictures above, there were plenty of places to collect concretions that were weathering out of the sides of the spoil piles. Here is an aerial shot of where this collecting area is. I will show pictures of how this area looks now in the NEXT POST.
  22. 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.
  23. This morning I decided to drive the 90 mile round trip to Pit 11 and do a little collecting. I only spent a few hours collecting and it was one of my least productive days ever. I headed past Godley, Illinois and made a right turn on 5000N, heading to the Mazonia South Unit. This below is a picture of the road as you head to the Monster Lake parking area. I park my car on the side of the road versus the parking lot when I am going to climb the tall hills near Monster Lake. The blue dot is where I park. The lake that is right next to the dot is Monster Lake. Here is what the parking lot looks like, I parked there when I was heading to the Tipple area. Here are a couple pictures of a frozen Monster Lake. After parking on the road I headed to the hill. It is very difficult climbing at this time of the year because of the mud and the ice. Even though it has been warmer over the last couple of days, ice still remains in place on the slopes. I use my Estwing stick to help me up these slick slopes. Up on top, I can see 5000N road and my car. Once on top, the area it totally overgrown (see below) and this is the only time of the year I will collect up here, it is too hard to see and navigate in the Summer. I do use a little rake that I cut down to 18” to move some leave. If you put the time in and you know the shape / color of the concretions, they can be found here. The below pics show concretions as I found them. A crack open half of an Essexella asherae Jellyfish. This was probably opened by a collector a 30+ years ago, when no one cared about the Jellyfish. A nice little Pecten clam, I only found the one half. After I collected this hill, I moved my car to the parking lot and then crossed the street and made the long trip to the Tipple Hill. Tipple Hill was alway a favorite of collectors and some great stuff came from that location. Here is the chain that you have to walk around to get to the hill. I travel light into this area, and I only bring a plastic bag for concretions. Back in the 80’s and 90’s, a couple of doctors from Chicago use to lease this are from Commonwealth Edison and the had a similar mobile home that they would use during hunting season. Sometimes they would open the chain so we could drive up to the Tipple area. hThe road keeps going. There use to be a short cut to the right, but that has since overgrown. Here are pictures of Tipple Hill, it always has a sulfur smell to it. They put this fenced in area about 30 years ago, no one really knew what it was for, but it did expose concretions then and still today. I don’t find much Flora at the Tipple, but on occasion I do. This look like a worn Annularia. There is a lot of petrified wood at the Tipple, I believe most suffering from pyrite disease, but I still pick some up for the ESCONI Braceville trip. A lot of coal is also found here. Even though I did not find a lot of concretions or opened fossils, it was still a nice day.
  24. TheRocksWillShoutHisGlory

    Mazon creek "coprolites"

    After cleaning the mud off of what I collected yesterday from pit 11, there are two that I suspect could be coprolites, possibly shark coprolites? These two were found in close proximity, but are both negative halves of separate specimens. I think I see little undigested bits, meaning it's not an egg case?
  25. TheRocksWillShoutHisGlory

    Mazon creek ID.

    I came back across this fossil after taking another look through my Mazon creek collection. It looks like some type of creature with a preserved trail? I had previously missed it, thinking it was part of plant material that it is associated with.
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