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 esconi.info@gmail.com.  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!