This is Mazon Monday post #10.
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Euproops rotundatus from Crockhey, Westphalian A Collection: Lee Cherry
Fossiliferous Pennsylvanian siderite concretions are known from multiple locations around the world. The most well documented sites are:
- Mazon Creek / Francis Creek Shale, Will and Grundy County, IL, 307 mya
- Energy Shale, Carterville and Georgetown, IL., 306.5 mya
- Mansfield formation, Pike County, IN., 315-320 mya
- Chieftain No. 20 Flora / Dugger Formation, Vigo County, IN., 305.5 mya
- Stanley Cemetery Flora / Brazil Formation, Green and Vigo County, IN., 313 mya
- Knob Noster, Missouri, Knob Noster, MO., 309 mya
- Okmulgee, Oklahoma, Okmulgee, OK., 309 mya
- Crockhey, United Kingdom, 315 mya
- Coseley, United Kingdom, ~300 mya
- Bickershaw, United Kingdom, 313 - 304 mya (Westphalian, Upper Carboniferous)
- Foord Seam Shale, Stellarton Basin, Nova Scotia, Canada, 313 - 304 mya (Westphalian, Upper Carboniferous)
- Sosnowiec, Poland, 313 - 304 mya (Westphalian, Upper Carboniferous)
- Montceau-les-Mines, France, 313 - 304 mya (Westphalian, Upper Carboniferous)
Some of these localities were described in a paper by Baird, Sroka, and Shabica in 1985, titled "Mazon Creek-Type Fossil Assemblages in the U.S. Midcontinent Pennsylvanian". A post on the Fossil Forum by user Stocksdale does a good job summarizing these localities with convenient links back in 2014.
All of these concretionary deposits occurred in shale layers directly above a coal layer. They contain similar plant and animal fossils with varying degrees of preservation. A quick Google search of "indiana fern fossils" will yield many matches as the fossil were very plentiful. For animals, spiders, insects, and other arthropods were fairly common along with a good assortment of plants at Crockhey, Coseley, and Bickershaw. Knob Noster was known for Eurypterids and plants similar to the Mazon Creek flora.
We will add more details on these sites in future posts.
