This is the "Fossil Friday" post #252. Expect this to be a somewhat regular feature of the website. We will post any fossil pictures you send in to [email protected]. Please include a short description or story. Check the hash tag #FossilFriday on Twitter/X and Bluesky for contributions from around the world!
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Oligocarpia gutbierii is a herbaceous fern found in the Mazon Creek fossil biota. It belongs to a poorly understood group, which was an early member of the extant order Filicales. It was named for Christian August von Gutbier (1798-1866) who was a German paleontologist who described many Carboniferous plants and Permian animals. We looked at Oligocarpia gutbierii in Mazon Monday #252.
This colorful specimen was collected from Pit 3 in the spring of 2024. It recently opened via freeze/thaw. Get your buckets of concretions out there... it's going to get very cold this weekend!
