Pecopteris Fern- Carboniferous - 309 MYA - Mazon Creek Illinois USA

Price includes display box, the item you receive will be of similar quality to the one shown above! These Pecopteris fern fossils come from the renowned Mazon Creek Formation in Illinois, an exceptional fossil site famous for preserving an incredible array of plant and animal life from the Carboniferous period, around 300 million years ago. Pecopteris ferns, recognizable by their feather-like fronds, thrived in the swampy, coal-forming forests of ancient Illinois. The fossils are often found in nodules, where the rapid burial and mineralization allowed for the detailed preservation of these prehistoric plants. While Pecopteris refers to the shape and pattern of the fern’s leaves, several species fall under this classification, making exact identification of the species tricky. These ferns are a glimpse into a time long before the age of dinosaurs, when vast forests of primitive plants dominated the landscape, contributing to the formation of the coal deposits we find today. Their delicate structure and detailed preservation offer a fascinating window into Earth's deep past and the lush environments that existed millions of years ago. Size: 1.5 to 3 inches long