Trip to Oglesby and Mazon Creek 7/16/2023

[Joseph Fossil]

On Sunday, I finally went again the Mazon Creek and later a Bond Formation rock formation of Pennsylvanian age, around 300 Million Years ago, in Braidwood, Illinois and Oglesby, Illinois with three friends after some scheduling adjustments. The trip was awesome and we collected a pretty impressive fossil haul.

 

At Mazon Creek, We mainly hunted for fossils around the shores of local power plant cooling pond (which despite apparently having water temperatures that day of 100 degrees Celsius, still had a decent amount of birds resting on-top). We saw also a large rock pile on the other side of the lake, which we tried to get to on foot, but after an hour of walking decided to head back and try our luck next time. We then went to Oglesby.

 

 

I'm still cleaning most of the Mazon Creek fossils, so for now I'll be showing my and my friends findings from the Oglesby site.

It was pretty hot and got a little cut up on the rocks, but the fossil haul collected was awesome!!!

 

 

Small jumping spider we found at the Oglesby site.

 

 

 

 

 

A piece of either coral or Brachiopod one of my friends found in Oglesby. Anyone got an ID for this specimen?

 

 

 

 

Pretty Impressive Crinoid Stems collected as part of the day's Oglesby fossil haul!!!

 

 

 

 

 

But this next specimen is probably one of my favorites from this recent fossil haul. It's a partial Ctenacanthiform tooth tip (Possibly Gilkmanius sp.) on a limestone slab with some brachiopod fossils also attached (of which I put it recently under a dissecting scope). Based on the thickness and size of the tooth, the shark it came from must of been a pretty decent sized animal when alive!!!

 

 

 

A pretty descent Neospirifer brachiopod specimen!!!

 

 

 

 

This next specimen was truly an unexpected find for myself as I've seen a Ctenacanthiform tooth from the bond like this in person before (most I've collected and heard about are of a black coloration where this is a mixture of black, grey, and brown). I must say it's very beautiful and definitely from a Ctenacanthiform shark!!!

 

But I'm curious as to what Ctenacanthiform species it could've come from? Any thoughts on its ID you guys?

 

 

[EMP]

The coral/brachiopod unknown looks like the inside of a brachiopod, maybe a chonetid or a productid, it's hard to tell exactly.