Mazon Creek: Westphalian D, Illinois
collected by R. L. Moodie, P. Turnbull, among others 1871, 1953

List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
Enoplea - Chromadorida - Nemavermidae
Tullimonstrum gregarius n. gen., n. sp.
Richardson 1966
Pseudophlegethontiidae
Turnbull and Turnbull 1955 1 individual
FMNH PR 281
    = Phlegethontia cf. longissima Fritsch 1875
McGinnis 1967
Anderson 2003
FMNH PR 281 is type
Phlegethontiidae
Gregory 1948 8 specimens
USNM 17097 (type); MCZ 2204; FMNH MCP 501*, PR 400*, PR 624, PR 831, PR 1145, PR 1358; asterisks mark specimens reported from Mazon Creek by either McGinnis (1967; as P. cf. P. longissima) or Lund (1978, Ann. Carnegie Mus.; as A. mazonense) but not at all mentioned by Anderson (2002, J. Paleont.); FMNH specimens without asterisk are reported by Anderson (2002) only
Reptilia - Protorothyrididae
1 individual
YPM 796 (type)
unclassified
Mann et al. 2021 1 individual
Holotype: FMNH 1309, part and counterpart of a siderite concretion containing a virtually complete skeleton and soft body impression in dorsal and ventral views
Molgophidae
Mann et al. 2019 1 specimen
Holotype: FMNH PR 4203, a single part concretion containing a nearly complete cranial and postcranial skeleton, preserved as a mould of the dorsal aspect, anterior limbs poorly developed, posterior limbs only represented by single left femur, tail incompletely preserved posteriorly
Carroll et al. 1998
USNM 4313
Archeriidae
Moodie 1912
Yale U. Mus. No. 793 (126) (Not 26 as in Moodie, 1912)
Amphibia - Temnospondyli
Schoch and Milner 2014
FMNH UC2000 (Holotype)
Amphibia - Temnospondyli - Eobrachyopidae
Schoch and Milner 2014
FMNH PR1036
Amphibia - Temnospondyli - Amphibamidae
Cope 1865
YPM 794 (Neotype: almost complete skeleton in part and counter part. Holotype was destroyed in a fire)
Moodie 1909
Mazonerpeton longicaudatum n. sp. Moodie 1912
Schoch and Milner 2014
YPM 795 (Holotype)
Amphibia - Temnospondyli - Branchiosauridae
Moodie 1910
YPM 803 (Holotype: skull (length 0.5cm) in ventral view)
see common names

Geography
Country:United States State/province:Illinois County:Grundy/Will
Coordinates: 41.3° North, 88.1° West (view map)
Paleocoordinates:5.1° South, 23.3° West (Wright 2013)
Basis of coordinate:based on political unit
Geographic resolution:local area
Time
Period: Carboniferous Epoch: Pennsylvanian
Stage: Moscovian 10 m.y. bin: Carboniferous 4
Key time interval: Westphalian D
Age range of interval: 309.8 - 307.4 m.y. ago
Stratigraphy
Formation:Carbondale Member:Francis Creek Shale
Stratigraphy comments: "Francis Creek Shale above Morris (no. 2) Coal, Carbondale Formation, Westphalian D, Middle Pennsylvanian" (Carroll & Baird, 1972)
Baird et al. (1985) refer to the no. 2 coal as Colchester or Croweburg Coal Member.
Lithology and environment
Primary lithology:current ripples,deformed bedding silty mudstone
Secondary lithology:nodular siderite
Includes fossils?Y
Lithology description: "Concretions occur typically in laminated to weakly rippled, silty mudstone deposits which typically show little or no evidence of bioturbation. Small-scale sedimentary structures in nodule-bearing sequences include climbing ripple drift, and soft-sediment load-failure..." (Baird et al., 1985 p.90). Note that this is a general description of the fossil bearing strata of the Francis Creek Shale Member which does not refer specifically to the occurences in the Mazon Creek area proper.
Environment:deltaic indet. Tectonic setting:foreland basin
Geology comments: "...these indicate rapid and often episodic mud deposition in interdistributary bay and prodelta settings." (Baird et al., 1985 p.90)
Taphonomy
Modes of preservation:mold/impression,concretion,soft parts,replaced with other
Size of fossils:macrofossils
Preservation of anatomical detail:good
Spatial resolution:parautochthonous
Collection methods and comments
Collection excludes:species names,ichnofossils
Collection methods:mechanical,survey of museum collection
Reason for describing collection:taxonomic analysis
Museum repositories:FMNH,MCZ,USNM,YPM
Collectors:R. L. Moodie, P. Turnbull, among others Collection dates:1871, 1953
Metadata
Also known as:Mazon Creek Vertebrate Fauna, Braidwood Fauna, pit 11
Database number:79598
Authorizer:J. Mueller, R. Butler, M. Uhen, E. Dunne, M. Carrano Enterer:J. Dummasch, M. Carrano, T. Liebrecht, M. Uhen, E. Dunne
Modifier:T. Liebrecht Research group:vertebrate
Created:2008-03-14 06:17:43 Last modified:2025-02-22 15:12:02
Access level:authorizer only Released:2011-03-14 06:17:43
Creative Commons license:CC0
Reference information

Primary reference:
28608. R. L. Carroll and D. Baird. 1972. Carboniferous Stem-Reptiles of the Family Romeriidae. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 143(5):321-363 [J. Mueller/T. Liebrecht]

Secondary references:

28830 J. S. Anderson. 2003. A New Aïstopod (Tetrapoda: Lepospondyli) from Mazon Creek, Illinois. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 23(1):79-88 [J. Mueller/T. Liebrecht]
55379 R. L. Carroll, K. A. Bossy, A. C. Milner, S. M. Andrews, and C. F. Wellstead. 1998. Handbuch der Palaoherpetologie / Encyclopedia of Paleoherpetology Teil 1 / Part 1 Lepospondyli: Microsauria, Nectridea, Lysorophia, Adelospondyli, Aistopoda, Acherontiscidae. 1-216 [G. Lloyd/G. Lloyd/E. Dunne]
40834 E. D. Cope. 1865. On Amphibamus grandiceps, a new Batrachian from the Coal Measures. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 134-137 [W. Dahdul/B. Frable ]
28829 J. T. Gregory. 1948. A New Limbless Vertebrate from the Pennsylvanian of Mazon Creek, Illinois. American Journal of Science 246:636-663 [J. Mueller/T. Liebrecht]
77468 A. Mann, A. S. Calthorpe, and H. C. Maddin. 2021. Joermungandr bolti, an exceptionally preserved ‘microsaur’ from the Mazon Creek Lagerstätte reveals patterns of integumentary evolution in Recumbirostra. Royal Society Open Science 8(210319) [E. Dunne/E. Dunne]
69153 A. Mann, J. D. Pardo, and H. C. Maddin. 2019. Infernovenator steenae, a new serpentine recumbirostran from the ‘Mazon Creek’ Lagertätte further clarifies lysorophian origins. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society XX:1-12 [R. Butler/E. Dunne]
31050 H. J. McGinnis. 1967. The Osteology of Phlegethontia, a Carboniferous and Permian Aïstopod Amphibian. University of California Publications in Geological Sciences 71:1-46 [J. Mueller/T. Liebrecht/T. Liebrecht]
28743 R. L. Moodie. 1909. A contribution to a monograph of the extinct Amphibia of North America. New forms from the Carboniferous. Journal of Geology 17(1):38-82 [J. Mueller/T. Liebrecht/M. Carrano]
58523 R. L. Moodie. 1910. The alimentary canal of a Carboniferous salamander. American Naturalist 44:367-375 [R. Butler/E. Dunne/E. Dunne]
30634 R. L. Moodie. 1912. The Pennsylvanic Amphibia of the Mazon Creek, Illinois, Shales. Kansas University Science Bulletin 6(2):232-259 [J. Mueller/T. Liebrecht]
36492 E. S. Richardson. 1966. Wormlike fossils from the Pennsylvanian of Illinois. Science 151(3706):75-76 [M. Uhen/M. Uhen]
57795 R. R. Schoch and A. R. Milner. 2014. Handbook of Paleoherpetology Part 3A2 Temnospondyli I. [R. Butler/E. Dunne/E. Dunne]
31099 W. D. Turnbull and P. F. Turnbull. 1955. A Recently Discovered Phlegethontia from Illinois. Fieldiana Zoology 37(19):523-535 [J. Mueller/T. Liebrecht]