This is the “Fossil Friday” post #277.  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 #FossilFriday Twitter hash tag for contributions from around the world!

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Jim Alann recently sent us a photo of his personal favorite Mazon Creek plant find.  The absolutely stunning specimen of Alethopteris sullivantii was collected from Cinder Ridge (NICC Pit 1) in 2005. Pit 1 was also known as the Greer School, which trained construction workers to operate heavy equipment. The area was known for its abundant and beautiful plant fossils.  The cherry red coloring is natural and adds to the beauty of this gorgeous fossil.

Alethopteris sullivantii is an extinct seed fern (Pteridospermatophyta) which belongs to a group of plants that disappeared during the late Cretaceous Period. This species was first described by Leo Lesquereux in 1869 and named in honor of William Starling Sullivant (1803–1873), an American botanist and close colleague of Lesquereux. Together, they co-authored two editions of Musci Boreali-Americani Quorum Specimina Exsiccata (1856, 1865), a work documenting mosses native to eastern North America.  For more information see Mazon Monday #37.