This is Throwback Thursday #173. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc ...), please sent them to [email protected]. Thanks!
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Earlier this week, we posted Mazon Monday #172 Glaphurochiton. In that post, it was mentioned that chitons tended to be found in larger assemblages. In fact, a few ridges in Pit 11 were referred to as "Chiton Hills".
Chitons are very ancient animals ranging from the Late Cambrian to the present. G. concinnus specimens were found in at least two concentrations at Pit 11, which were nicknamed Chiton Hills by collectors. Chitons are also known from other Pennsylvanian-age sites in the United States. Modern chitons spend much of their time in the dark, attached to the undersides of submerged objects, feeding on algae. They are considered to be the most primitive of all living mollusks.
Well, here's a few photos of one of the hills. These photos were taken in May 1984 by Tom Testa.
This label was on the back of one of the photos
These photos are courtesy of the Carbon Hill School Museum's Tom Testa Collection. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), his fossils reside at the Field Museum, but the Carbon Hill School Museum has many of Tom's photos and documents. The museum is located in Carbon Hill, IL. It has many historically significant photos, artifacts, and documents of the Coal City, Braidwood, and Wilmington area. The curator, Michele Micetich, is very knowledgeable. Visit her this summer for a trip back in time to the coal mining days of yesteryear!
