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Contributions to Zoology, 67 (4) 277-279 (1998) SPB Academic Publishing bv, Amsterdam Short notes and reviews The fossil fauna of Mazon Creek Hans-Peter Schultze Institutfür Paläontologie, Museum für Naturkunde, Invalidenstr. 43, D-10115 Berlin, Germany Keywords: Book review, Mazon Creek, fossil fauna Review of: Richardson’s Guide to the Fossil tematic collecting effort that tried to match that of Fauna of Mazon Creek, edited by Charles W. private collectors. Of great importance, however, & A. Illinois Shabica Andrew Hay. Northeastern was his connection to private collectors. This 308 University, Chicago, Illinois, 1997: XVIII + pp., connection enabled him to view all new finds and 385 4 1 faunal $75.00 figs., tables, list; (hard cover) photograph them. His access to these collections ISBN 0-925065-21-8. was of importance to specialists because it provided with them material for a description of the diverse Since the last the Mazon Creek fauna. century, area around Richardson was able to motivate his col- in northern 100 km in Illinois, about southwest of leagues to engage themselves the Mazon Creek has been known for its Chicago, Pennsylvanian fossils, but he himself compiled mostly raw data fossils. Mainly plant fossils were found along and photographs. He could not finish the project, Mazon Creek and in the coal of that and Charles Shabica open pits area Dr. W. took over the com- until the 1950s. Langford (1958, 1963) was the pilation of the book after Richardson’s death in first to give a compilation of the flora and fauna 1983. Shabica enlisted 24 authors to write short of Mazon Creek. listed and - He figured 60 genera articles for the book an immense task to collect 71 ofanimal fossils. As the coal all including species these manuscripts. Therefore, the book took a mining moved farther south, and Pit 11 was opened long time to be published. between and in the 1950s, the relationship plant The book itself contains 35 articles on different animal fossils in concretions 11 the iron drastically animal groupsand generalized articles. A chapter this the number of changed. In new book, animal on the history of the coal mining industry in northern recorded has increased three times over that Illinois genera precedes the geology and paleontology sec- of Langford (1963), omitting about another 130 tions. The mining of the Upper Pennsylvanian coal insect with unsafe genera. began very underground mining around The of the Pit is paleoenvironment 11 area con- 1850 and then switched to large scale strip mining in sidered to a coastal marine habitat the 1920s that extended 1976. represent (Essex up to Although whereas the old areas north and no fauna), collecting collecting took place on the talus dumps of the farther are considered freshwater east (Braidwood underground mines, the dumps of the open strip fauna) (Johnson & Dr. Richardson, 1966). The late mines permitted a much larger access to the iron- S. Eugene Richardson, Jr., curator of invertebrates stone concretions than along the Mazon Creek. at the Field Museum in focused his Six Gordon Baird deal with the Chicago, atten- chapters by geo- Mazon Pit tions on the new Creek locality 11, from logical setting, distributionof the fossils, diagenetic the 1950s his death. He collected to by himself, as processes and the paleoenvironment. He provides well with as colleagues and students, and he orga- a detailed analysis of the paleoenvironmental data nized with his students, but without success, a sys- and demonstrates that the division between fresh- Downloaded from Brill.com09/30/2021 07:16:35PM via free access 278 H.-P. Schultze - Short notes and reviews intro- of fresh water (Braidwood) and marine (Essex) fauna “estheriids” as indicators water whereas duced by Johnson & Richardson (1966) is still the the only figured one is from the marine deposits diverse of most reasonable interpretation. A better integration of Pit 11. The most arthropod group between thesearticles and some chapters on special Mazon Creek are the insects; unfortunately they have avoided in the book a few forms. groups would some contradictions, are represented by only since preconceived ideas from the authors with Theauthor provides a shallow plea for foregiveness life of their that with citation the of the and regard to the style creatures argue a at beginning article, from fresh the deals with these fossils were either washed down following paper a general theme, in of insect water or brought from the sea by storms. First, the origin wings and insect metamorphosis evidenced Mazon Creek insects one notices that nearly all described animal fossils as by (Kukalova- The Creek is characterized here are from one area, Pit 11 (even though rarely Peck). Mazon eurypterid cited throughout the book), which is clearly a coastal as exclusively freshwater dwelling, even though in marine deposit. The high diversity would contradict it occurs both faunas. Other arthropods (euthycar- as brackish which cinoids and and any interpretation environment, thylacocephalans) onychophorans would be characterized by an impoverished fauna. are known from Pit 11 only. few chonetoids and inarticulate Even Baird, however, demonstrates his own precon- A brachiopods, ceived ideas in his faunal he and echinoderms holothurian and one crinoid compilation, e.g., (a places lungfish and xenacanths in the freshwater specimen) are also known only from Pit 11. The environment, despite the fact that the lungfish body shape of the holothurian is visible and they mouth Conchopoma is known only from the marine Essex have a calcareous preserved ring. from three fauna (Pit 11) and the xenacanth teeth are The vertebrates are divided into chapters. both environments. The latter “versatility” is the Pit 11 has furnished very unique specimens of mod- for fishes and the snakelike em without hard skeleton: a case too many amphi- agnathans myxinoid bian Aornerpeton, which Baird figured in the fresh- and a petromyzontid, besides some other more fact either for the fish fauna water environment; they are in eury- questionable agnathans. Typical haline, or as marine fishes able to enter the rivers. are the specimens ofjuveniles and even coelacanths The description of the remarkably diverse and with yolk sacks. Only the chondrichthyans of Pit extremely well-preserved fauna begins with the 11 are presented, and the xenacanths known from Braidwood mentioned. Cnidaria (chapter 6) and is followed upon by the and Essex faunas are not othermarine such The fauna is what was chapters on groups, as polychaete tetrapod represented by nonannelid and The earlier named worms, worms, enteropneusts. Lepospondyli (Aistopoda, Nectridea, of bivalves is Microsauria and two description very taxonomically Lysorophia), temnospondyl and oriented and includes a description of two new taxa, one captorhinomorph reptile. The speci- species. These last authors contradict all paleoen- mens demonstrate the imprint of the body and in vironmental interpretational evidence and favor a some cases external gills. All the salt marsh, marshy estuary, or tidal flat. Two chapters describe problematica and co- other molluscs (polyplacophorans, gastropods, and prolites. The Tully Monsterknown through various cephalopods) are represented by marine forms. A specimens has not yet beenplaced definitively into coleoid with ten tentacles and double row of arm a major group of the animal kingdom. It has eyes hooks is a special rarity of Pit 11. that sit laterally on a bar on each side of the body, The form the main of the and with toothed “claw”. It arthropods part Mazon a long proboscis a may Creek fauna. They occur in both biota, but with be the most famous fossil of Mazon Creek (Pit the insects more diverse in the Braidwood fauna. 11). There are also horseshoe crabs, diverse arachnids, Of use at the end of the book is the listing of all and crustaceans in traditional classification (Remipedia, Malacostraca, Phyl- genera and species lopoda, and Maxillopoda). Here one would have (except for 130-150 insect genera). The insects hoped for more precise information on localities are listed partly, not including Richardson’s in- of the described forms. For example, Baird uses sects (Richardson, 1956). The list of Mazon Creek Downloaded from Brill.com09/30/2021 07:16:35PM via free access Contributions to Zoology, 67 (4) - 1998 279 fossils named in honour of collectors is incom- the of the publication fauna of Mazon Creek was for it plete; instance, does not even include all the long overdue. species named in honour of Richardson (e.g., Mazoscolopendra richardsoni, and Euphemites richardsoni ). References Fossils are extremely well preserved in the Ma- Creek ironstone concretions. zon Fossils preserved Johnson, R.G. & E.S. Richardson Jr., 1966. A remarkable with such fine details Pennsylvanian fauna from the Mazon Creek require an excellent reproduc- area, Illinois. J. Geol., 74: 626-631. and it that tion, is unfortunate the photographs are 1958. coal Langford, G., The Wilmington flora from a so badly processed. One can only imagine what is Pennsylvanian deposit in Will County, Illinois: 1-360 shown on some of the photographs with aid of the (ESCONI, Downers Grove, Illinois). accompanying drawing. One can old compare Langford, G., 1963. The Wilmington coal fauna and additions in 153 and to the coal flora photos Langford (1963: e.g., figs. 163) Wilmington from a Pennsylvanian deposit in Will Illinois: with those of the same specimens in the new book County, 1-200 (ESCONI, Downers Grove, Illinois). (figs. 14A.7 and 14A.24) and note the regrettable Mapes, G. & R. Mapes (eds.), 1989. Regional geology and differences; even the photos in the poorly presented of Paleozoic Hamilton in paleontology upper quarry area book on Mazon Creek by Nitecki (1979) are better. southeastern Kansas. Kansas Geol. Surv. Guidebook, Ser. It is a because Richardson went to extremes pity 6 [for 1988]: 1-273. In to get superior photographs of each specimen.