This is Mazon Monday post #110. What's your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at email:[email protected].
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The hill. (photo from Ralph Jewell)
Back on April 23rd, 2022, ESCONI held our 4th field trip to a shale pile just outside of Danville, IL. The trip was a huge success, although a little hot at nearly 87 degrees. We were honored by the presence of four researchers of Carboniferous flora and fauna - ESCONI's own Jack Wittry of the Field Museum, Dr. Arjan Mann from the Smithsonian, Dr. Jason Pardo from the Field Museum, and Dr. Victoria Mccoy from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee.
The following field trip report was submitted by ESCONI Vice President and Assistant Field Trip Chairman Dave Carlson. For more information, please check Ralph Jewell's excellent account on the Fossil Forum. (Have you signed up for your free account yet?!?) Some of these photos were taken by Ralph Jewell.
I must start out by saying that in the years I have been organizing trips for ESCONI, I have never seen a trip fill up as fast as this one did. It took a mere 8 hours to fill all 25 spots available, and unlike most trips, nobody cancelled.
The weather was….great, more or less. I saw a temperature displayed on a bank in Oakwood, IL of 87 degrees, quite a difference from the freezing temps and snow that fell just a few days before in the suburbs. But, the wind was REALLY strong the whole day making climbing on the loose shale treacherous. The wind also had rumors flying. At one point I was asked to confirm that there were 97 people on the wait list. The real number was 20, which is still high.
We were joined on this trip by special guests Dr. Arjan Mann from the Smithsonian, Dr. Jason Pardo from the Field Museum and Dr. Victoria Mccoy from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee.
To give the recently worked areas of the hill some time to weather, we’ll wait until September to make another visit.
Andrew Young giving introductory comments, with Dr. Mccoy visible just to his left. (photo from Ralph Jewell)
L to R, Phil Anderson, Dr. Maarten VonHof, Dr. Pardo, Dr. Mann, George Witaszek. (photo from Ralph Jewell)
(photo from Ralph Jewell)
I had the impression that hunting was more difficult on this trip. Below are some of the specimens that were found.
Macroneuropteris scheuchzerii, from Sue Diblee.
Alethopteris sp., from Sue Diblee.
Mariopteris nervosa found by Rhonda Gates. Photo by Andrew Young.
Alethopteris zeilleri found by Roseann Szalkowski. Photo by Andrew Young.
Annularia inflata found by Katie Mitsui. Photo by Andrew Young.
Calamites schutzeiformis found by Mike Litt. Photo by Andrew Young.
Sphenophyllum emarginatum from Dave Carlson.
Macrostachya cone from Mike Litt.
Lycopsid branch scar found by Katie Mitsui. Photo by Andrew Young.
Lepidodendron bellii found by Valerie Anderson. Photo by Andrew Young.
Several colors and types of lycopsid bark, from Ralph Jewell.
