One of the “world’s best fossil sites” is located just an hour outside of the Windy City, according to Chicago Field Museum researchers.
Dr. Argan Mann, assistant curator of early tetrapods at the Field Museum, leads a lab dedicated to studying fossils found at Mazon Creek State Park, which the museum calls a “biological treasure trove.” The researchers are now sharing their discoveries with the public.
According to a museum news release, Mazon Creek saw large-scale coal mining in the mid-1800s, which revealed perfect impressions of plants and animals from prehistoric times.
“We are sitting on a goldmine of evolutionary information,” Mann said in the release. “We are so lucky that by happenstance of coal mining, geographical proximity, and the work done by early researchers to uncover the importance of these localities, all of the groundwork is here for someone to get their butt out there and start collecting to uncover the next evolutionary mystery.”
The variety and quality of the fossils gives researchers the unique opportunity to understand a pre-historic ecosystem, according to the museum.
Chicago Field Museum
“These fossils tell the story of an ancient inland sea, home to alien-looking plants and animals such as squid-like cephalopods, sea scorpions, and the bizarre-looking state fossil of Illinois, the Tully monster,” said the release.
Mann and his lab have partnered with the Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois to study the area. For a year, the researchers have collected fossils from the area, and in May, they visited the Braidwood spoil pile to excavate concretions, according to the museum.
Now, the lab’s findings have returned to the museum for study, and this week, the researchers are sharing their discoveries with the public during events at the museum.
From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, attendees can meet with researchers in the Grangier Science Hub. More information about the events is available on the museum’s site.
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