RARE Mazon Creek Arachnid Fossil Paratarbus

Description: The Mazon Creek deposits of the region near Braidwood, Illinois rival the other famous Lagerstatten of the Burgess Shale, Solnhofen, and Liaoning for the variety of detailed life preserved. Many exquisitely-preserved specimens are found in the ironstone nodules that make up the deposits. This fine specimen was found recently in Mazon Creek itself, and is of a spider-like arachnid known as Paratarbus. The Mazon Creek location has yielded some 250 arachnids as of the publication of Richardson’s guidebook, more than any other Paleozoic locality. While most are incomplete, the degree of preservation allows for interpretation of these ancestral creatures. Note that there are several preserved limbs, and the finely pustulated segmented abdomen is quite evident in this part/counterpart specimen, the first Mazon Creek arachnid I have been able to offer in 9 years.