Mazon Creek: Westphalian, Illinois

List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
Hallucigeniidae
Haug et al. 2012
Eurypterida - Adelophthalmidae
Adelophthalmus mazonensis Meek and Worthen 1868
Plotnick 1997
Dipnoi - Gnathorhizidae
Eastman 1908
Holotype MCZ 5090a/b
Coelacanthimorpha - Coelacanthiformes - Rhabdodermatidae
Eastman 1902
unclassified
Myxini
Bardack 1991 1 specimen
unclassified
Alloiopteris sp. Potonie 1897
Asolanus sp. Wood 1860
Pinopsida - Cordaitanthales
Cordaites sp. Unger 1850
Neuropteridae
Linopteris sp. Presl 1838
Pteropsida
Pecopteris sp. Brongniart 1822
Alethopteris sp. Sternberg 1825
unclassified
Dactylotheca sp. Zeiller 1883
Polypodiopsida - Hymenophyllales - Hymenophyllaceae
Polypodiopsida - Schizaeales - Schizaeaceae
Senftenbergia sp. Corda 1845
Polypodiopsida - Equisetales - Calamitaceae
Polypodiopsida - Equisetales
Annularia sp. Sternberg 1821
Polypodiopsida - Marattiales
Ptychocarpus sp. Weiss 1869
Polypodiopsida - Marattiales - Marattiaceae
Renaultia sp. Stur 1883
Zeilleria sp. Kidston 1884
Polypodiopsida - Osmundaceae
Stellatheca sp. Danzea 1956
Polypodiopsida - Gleicheniaceae
Oligocarpia sp. Goeppert 1841
unclassified
Myriotheca sp. Zeiller 1883
Pteridopsida - Filicales
Palmatopteris sp. Potonie 1893
Peltaspermopsida - Peltaspermales - Peltaspermaceae
Odontopteris sp. Brongniart 1825
Medullosaceae
Mariopteris sp. Zeiller 1879
Sphenopteridae
Sphenopteris sp. Sternberg 1825
unclassified
Crossotheca sp. Zeiller 1883
Ginkgoopsida - Callistophytales
Dicksonites sp. Sterzel 1883
Lepidodendrales - Lepidodendraceae
Lepidodendron sp. Sternberg 1820
Lepidophloios sp. Sternberg 1825
Sigillariaceae
Sigillaria sp. Brongniart 1822
unclassified
Desmopteris sp. Stur 1883
see common names

Geography
Country:United States State/province:Illinois County:Grundy
Coordinates: 41.0° North, 88.0° West (view map)
Paleocoordinates:8.9° South, 26.2° West (Wright 2013)
Basis of coordinate:based on nearby landmark
Geographic resolution:basin
Time
Period: Carboniferous Epoch: Pennsylvanian
10 m.y. bin: Carboniferous 4
*Period:Late/Upper Carboniferous *Epoch:Westphalian
Key time interval: Westphalian
Age range of interval: 318.7 - 307.4 m.y. ago
* legacy (obsolete) database fields
Stratigraphy
Formation:Carbondale Member:Francis Creek Shale
Lithology and environment
Primary lithology: "shale"
Includes fossils?Y
Environment:fluvial indet.
Taphonomy
Modes of preservation:concretion
Lagerst�tten type:conservation
Size of fossils:macrofossils
Preservation of anatomical detail:excellent
Articulated whole bodies:many
Associated major elements:many
Collection methods and comments
Reason for describing collection:paleoecologic analysis
Taxonomic list comments:Pfefferkorn 1979 compiled a list of genera (all plant organs) to compare Mazon Creek diversity to 3 other localities of similar age. This is a very general list integrating all MC pits, so need to add more Mazon Creek collections that parse out the taxon occurrences by pit. Check with Pfefferkorn to see if he has such data. Also Noe's papers.
Metadata
Database number:11189
Authorizer:H. Sims, R. Plotnick, M. Uhen, M. Smith, J. Flannery-Sutherland Enterer:S. Ostrowski, R. Plotnick, M. Uhen, H. Lindon, J. Flannery-Sutherland, M. Smith
Modifier:R. Plotnick Research group:paleobotany,paleoentomology
Created:2001-07-23 08:47:13 Last modified:2025-02-22 15:12:02
Access level:the public Released:2001-07-23 08:47:13
Creative Commons license:CC0
Reference information

Primary reference:
4126. H. W. Pfefferkorn. 1979. High diversity and stratigraphic age of the Mazon Creek flora (In M. Nitcki (ed.)). Mazon Creek Fossils. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL USA 129-142 [H. Sims/S. Ostrowski]

Secondary references:

35389 D. Bardack. 1991. First fossil hagfish (Myxinoidea): A record form the Pennsylvanian of Illinois. Science 254:701-703 [M. Uhen/M. Uhen]
9323 J. A. Dunlop. 1995. Redescription of the Pennsylvanian trigonotarbid arachnid Lissomartus Petrunkevitch 1949 from Mazon Creek, Illinois. The Journal of Arachnology 23(2):118-124 [D. Smith/A. Kinchloe/M. Clapham]
90850 C. R. Eastman. 1902. The Carboniferous Fish-Fauna of Mazon Creek, Illinois. The Journal of Geology 10(5):535-541 [J. Flannery-Sutherland/J. Flannery-Sutherland]
90732 C. R. Eastman. 1908. Devonian fishes of Iowa. Iowa Geological Survey Annual Report 18(6626):29-292 [J. Flannery-Sutherland/J. Flannery-Sutherland]
62954 J. T. Haug, G. Mayer, C. Haug and D.E.G. Briggs. 2012. A Carboniferous Non-Onychophoran Lobopodian Reveals Long-Term Survival of a Cambrian Morphotype. Current Biology 22(18):1673-1675 [M. Smith/M. Smith]
9398 A. I. Petrunkevitch. 1913. A monograph of the terrestrial Palaeozoic Arachnida of North America. Transactions of the Connecticut Acadamy of Arts and Sciences 18:1-137 [D. Smith/A. Kinchloe/M. Clapham]
9400 A. I. Petrunkevitch. 1949. A study of the structure classification and relationships of the Palaeozoic Arachnida based on the collections of the British Museum. Transactions of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences 37:69-315 [D. Smith/A. Kinchloe/M. Clapham]
85801 R.E. Plotnick. 1997. Eurypterids. In C. Shabica, C. and A. Hay (eds.), Richardson's Guide to the Fossil Fauna of Mazon Creek 208-210 [R. Plotnick/R. Plotnick]
9324 P. A. Selden and W. A. Shear. 1996. The first mesozoic Solifugae (Arachnida), from the Cretaceous of Brazil, and a redescription of the Palaeozoic Solifuge. Palaeontology 39(3):583-604 [D. Smith/A. Kinchloe/A. Kinchloe]