I Found a Tully Monster!

I recently visited Mazon Creek, a famous fossil site in Illinois. Join me as I explain how to find fossils, and discover my own Tully Monster.
#fossildiscoveries #science #fossils #creationism #evolution
Image Credits:
Reconstruction of Tullimonstrum gregarium after McCoy et al. (2016)., Ta-tea-two-te-to, commons.wikime..., creativecommon...
Tullimonstrum gregarium, Nobu Tamura, commons.wikime..., creativecommon...
Artist's reconstruction of the enigmatic bilaterian Tullimonstrum gregarium, Entelognathus, commons.wikime..., creativecommon...
Reconstruction of the Tully Monster, or Tullimonstrum, as a lamprey-like invertebrate., PaleoEquii, commons.wikime..., creativecommon...
Tullimonstrum gregarium in a concretion from the Mazon Creek (Upper Carboniferous), Illinois., Wilson44691, commons.wikime...
Photos of Mazon Creek Coal Mine: ESCONI, www.esconi.org...

[@jserkiz06]

You are an outstanding presenter.

[@martinemjt]

he s a bright young man!

[@doombringer1505]

I stumbled upon this video by accident. I'll have to say, I was MESMERIZED by the content. I have subscribed to see other stuff you made. Good work!

[@nathans.3751]

An excellent video. Your delivery is excellent.

[@tamjammy4461]

Congratulations on your find. Especially since you took the trouble to clean an initially unimpressive find. Im sure I've probably thrown away my fair share of good fossils simply because i haven't looked closely enough at what I was holding. Its not as easy as some folks imagine. Sadly no Tullymonsters for me ( Im in England) but I have found myself a fair ammonite collection . And been lucky enough to visit Lyme Regis , where Mary Anning found many of our first icthyosaur and dinosaur fossils, so cant complain.

[@NewCreationClips]

Thanks! Your collection sounds cool, where do you collect ammonites? Is collecting allowed at Lyme Regis?

[@tamjammy4461]

I collect from anywhere that I visit! But I don't want to come across as any sort of expert. I'm pretty new to the fossil game. Me of my fossils come from the Yorkshire coast. I guess Whitby or Robin Hood's bay are the most famous places. There's a fair amount of jet around there and I have a couple of jet ammonites which I like. I've just started trying to clean some up , but don't have any professional equipment. I just use an engraving tool . Which works ok. As for Lyme Regis.... It's legal to collect nodules once they've fallen out of the cliff face. The ammonite pavement there is pretty spectacular, but was mostly covered in debris from a recent rockfall when I last visited . There are good videos on KZbin if you just search for ammonite pavement. It can be pretty dangerous right next to the cliffs though. The rockfall covering the pavement when I arrived had come down during the previous 24hrs, and I saw(and heard- - falling cliffs make a lot of noise !!) several smaller rockfalls during my visit. The main fossil collecting areas aren't so dodgy though as they're further out from the cliffs ( only idiots like me go too close😃) . Lots of small "golden" ( pyrite) ammonites. If you ever come to England I'd strongly recommend it ..... particularly if there's been a storm . The odd icthyosaur vertebrae and mammoth teeth turn up pretty regularly I'm told , but I've never found one. Well, let's dream. I haven't found one YET. Anyway, I enjoyed your fossil trip. Lakes look amazing . I live on a boat on the canal system over here and enjoy kayaking myself, though it's mostly just straight lines on the canals. Good way to see nature though.

[@douglasstemke2444]

Fascinating! I'm a bio prof and I have never heard of this species. Learn something every day

[@danacataldi5119]

really enjoyed the fossil and presentation.

[@lorikendrick5076]

I've heard of the Tulley Monster! I think it looks squidish. It took a long time for scientists to decide if it was real and what it was. I always thought it would be amazing to see a fossil of it. Congrats on finding one.

[@tecumsehcristero]

Thousands of years ago? I think you mean hundreds of millions.

[@johnscanlon8467]

'Creation' in the channel name may give a clue why geological time is obfuscated in this video.

[@tagberto]

If you check out his other videos you will see that he is a “young earth” creationist.

[@tecumsehcristero]

@@tagberto I’m an Eastern Orthodox Christian and young earth creationism is a blasphemy against the Christian god. This kid is an ultimate heretic and he probably loves Israel too. He is no Christian. Christianity is against Creationism

[@OmarHernandez-nd5wh]

Hes a Christian not an atheist that believes in millions of years you have no proof of that man!!!!

[@chiselready9320]

@@Simonjose7258well, he is smarter than you are.

[@Gregemio]

Looks like it would have been an ambush predator that buried its body in the sediment with just its eyes and mouth sticking out ... this is the same way I get my food and it really freaks people out when I do it in the supermarket.

[@cedarwaxwing3509]

@@Gregemio Funny!

[@dickdastardly5534]

I think I had to fend you off wiith rolled up copy of health and fitness as you lurched towards my groceries in aisle 224 😮

[@mikanropp96]

Hell yeah! Great vid, nice listening to someone who's passionate about their finds! ^^

[@NewCreationClips]

Thanks so much for watching, glad you enjoyed!

[@merryhunt9153]

Thanks for the information. In the 1950's my family went fossil hunting in the strip piles, and I still have the beautiful fern fossils we found. Just a word to anybody who wants to visit your site - it sure looks like an easy place to get lost in. Keep careful track of where you have gone with your kayak.

[@241sail6]

I used to go fossil hunting there in the 80s. I got a lot of nice specimens but the ticks were way too abundant for me so I found other areas.

[@NewCreationClips]

Awesome! I can confirm that there are still lots of ticks at Mazon Creek. I got several when I went. If you don't mind sharing, where else do you collect?

[@jimmartin8853]

Well done kid. I think you have a future in video. 👍

[@manofthewest67]

It's good to see someone not face deep in a computer screen and actually out and about, i hope you can make a living from your hobby and work for one of the big institutions one day, All the greats started small, good luck to you, a very interesting video. I subscribed, i want to see what else you have been doing.

[@NocturnalIntellect]

Good stuff, young man. I’ve been collecting out there for a few decades, and have many tullys. I even tattooed one to my left forearm. So if you ever see a guy…. I’m sure you’re familiar with ESCONI. They have a field trip to a private pile two weekends a year. I’ve been many times, but haven’t been for at three years. Finding other spots is very difficult, and most likely would require seeking permission to access places on private land. There used to be a campground In Wilmington that allowed collecting, but closed around five years ago. I’ve heard some of the old timers have regained permission to go back in there, but like I mentioned it’s been at least three years since I’ve been in that loop. I got into artifacts these last few years. Hahaha.

[@visumexcipio]

Good work in the vid! Im an old geezer and id never heard of this critter

[@denisemurray412]

Google Earth is good. But you should invest in a drone to help eliminate those needless searches. You can pin a spot, and when you finish that spot, mark it, record the coordinates and move on.

[@markykid8760]

Why do you believe all the other scientific analysis about the creature, if you’re going to show such disrespect to the chronology of the earth? The science which puts this at hundreds of millions of years old is MUCH MORE certain than any specifics on this creature. You will not find such answers in the bible my friend. It was written by humans. Keep using your head, you’re clearly a smart guy.

[@BotsWeekendCovers]

Fantastice video young man. You hooked me for the whole vid. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

[@youtubernaz1scensoredbythe201]

As a child, I had a dream about swimming in a lake and being very afraid of all the strange looking creatures in the water with me. Years later, when I learned about all the prehistoric animals, I was shocked to be able to recognize them all. They were exactly the same as the creatures that I dreamed about. To this day, I believe I was given a peak into our history.....

[@kareno8634]

No, you're just that *Old.* lol ; } my 1st time on Planet~E; Imagine, compare those here before, ... they just Know. Hard for me, trying to Learn of All the Fascinating items upon it, thrilled over every little piece other 'ignore', is telling. Hope i recall some for next time. *Cheers!*

[@michaelbondt8202]

thousands of years ago? Tullymonster existed hundreds of Millions of years ago

[@matthiasmorse5263]

yall i mean,, the tully monster IS thousands of years old......... its just a LOT of thousands

[@carmengreenwood566]

Met Mr. Tully at the Field Museum in Chicago. Very interesting.

[@penzman5385]

The holes on each side really look like those of a lamprey, the body and tail also.

[@angfast5647]

Well produced video. I'll keep watching.

[@janicegelbhaar7352]

I have an oblong rock that my brother found in the Guadalupe mountains when he was in New Mexico, it has a complete fern leaf one on each side of the rock. It is in safe keeping as it will be passed to my son one day.

[@Sweetlyfe]

Hey I really enjoyed your video, you have a great presenting style, I was surprised with your subscriber number, because you were so good. I’ve subbed. G’day from Australia.

[@newcreationinchrist1423]

God bless you brother! 😊🙏✝️🕊️

[@NewCreationClips]

Thank you!

[@pokeweed10k15]

Did he say youd find them thousands of years ago?

[@Rawshella]

Your last picture of the Tully looks to me like it could be an ancestor of modern squid.

[@evanjohnson9269]

Bro the tully monster is hundreds of million years old. Not thousands

[@VincentNajger1]

Hundreds of millions. Maybe he has religious family he's trying not to get all flustered and confused? Oh.....I just noticed the channel name. Definitely religious. This poor kid must get confused.

[@koltoncrane3099]

Idk. I remember reading how a creature was found that’s a fossil scientists use to judge different layers of geology. Like five of em have been found alive. Not many but a few.

[@koltoncrane3099]

Vincent Also you can be religious and believe the earth is billions of years old and that there were people here before Adam. The Bible literally tells Adam replenish the earth which implies the earth was once filled. You’re totally right a lot of religious people are closed minded or wrong! But think it’s wrong to say they’re wrong about everything. It’s like saying scientists are right about everything. We all know scientists lie from time to time like the transition evolution fossil in the UK scientists said was an early human that ended up being pig bone and the scientists lied their azzz off. Profit faucci another scientist or expert in his emails admitted some of his recommendations did nothing but was a psychological thing. Cloth masks didn’t work like n95 he admitted but still promoted it. Anyone that’s ground rust for hours on end knows a cheap n95 mask is cheap and worthless. Maybe for a short time it’s time but eventually you move as you work and the mask doesn’t stay closed then air gets in. A half or full 3M respirator mask actually sticks to your face cause of the rubber material and has straps. The scientists could have promoted that. I did find a few doctors that literally explained it well, but only a couple.

[@evanjohnson9269]

@koltoncrane3099 Yeah, that's why we call them living fossils....they hardly change. To deny what's been established by science and blatant evidence is foolish

[@jackkennedy9475]

I have a science degree, for years thought Darwin’s theory was fact until recent scientists saying law of large numbers prevents evolution, modification and similar types yes but an ape over millions of years will not turn into a homo sapien. This still perplexed me so did more research. Turns out sequencing too soon or too late as no effect. But it does seem that, a modification of a species can happen via environment. Example Japanese crabbers tossed back crabs with black dots. After several years almost all had black spots. This is not evolution, rather removing many of the non black spotted crabs resulting in more black spotted crabs.

[@cedarwaxwing3509]

This is an excellent video and quite current in regards to the ongoing investigations of the Tully monster’s taxonomic affinities. However, your otherwise scientifically accurate video (nice discussion of concretions, BTW) struck a jarring note when you said that these creatures lived “thousands” of years ago. Tully monster fossils are found in strata from the upper Carboniferous period (formerly known as the Pennsylvanian), which were deposited between 323 and 299 million years ago. All economic coal seams in the Upper Carboniferous in the Illinois Basin were deposited during this period, which was marked by rising and falling, relatively shallow seaways. Sediment input came from the erosion of one of the Appalachian mountain building episodes to the east. As sea levels rose and fell (probably driven by Gondwana glacier formation and melting, which drove eustatic change by segregating seawater into continental glaciers and then releasing it during cyclical freeze/thaw events), shorelines shifted landward and seaward. Rising sea levels flooded low-lying shore environments, creating swamps and bogs. Coal was formed in oxygen minimum zones when organic materials didn’t completely decompose. As sea levels continued to rise, the coal swamps retreated landward, and the previous shorelines transitioned to more purely marine environments, with various marine fauna. Areas of fresh-water input (river mouths) created deltas that prograded and retreated with sea level changes and often a more fresh-water fossil assemblage is found near those areas. All of this time, the basin itself was subsiding, transporting organic materials into higher realms of temperature and pressure, resulting in the coal seams and sometimes even oil and gas. Erosion (and slight structural uplift) has since brought these sediments to the near surface around the periphery of the Illinois Basin.

[@VincentNajger1]

the channel name. He's one of _them_ . Hopefully logic will prevail as he gets older and he gets some independence from his family.

[@cedarwaxwing3509]

@@VincentNajger1 Since I am a geologist from the Midwest, I am fascinated by anything to do with Tully Monster fossils. I clicked on the video without really looking at the channel name. The young man seemed to “talk the talk” about his geology knowledge but I stumbled over the “thousands of years” statement, hence my lengthy original post. I naively thought I was helping. It was only later that I looked at other videos on his channel (and also read comments like yours) and realized he’s a YEC with all of their painfully awkward efforts to shoehorn 4 billion years of earth history into 6,000 years because they are terrified that if facts don’t match their Bible, then their whole religion collapses (there are plenty of scientists that are religious believers, but they manage to separate their beliefs from the geological and biological facts that fuel serious science). I can’t help but think “what a waste.” This young presenter seems to be able to absorb facts, understands geological processes, and has an obvious passion for the science, but he will never have a career as a geologist, unless he manages to pretend to learn the science in order to pass classes to get a degree, and then his only job opportunities will be working for the Discovery Institute or Answers in Genesis. He’ll never have a shot at a job in academia, the oil or mineral extraction industries, or even in environmental geology for one reason: all of those professions require the gathering of data, the formulation of hypotheses, testing those hypotheses, and then formulating working (but modifiable) conclusions. Creationists start with their conclusion and then work backwards, cherry picking data and “ring-fencing” their hypotheses because they aren’t allowed to go beyond the constraints imposed by their Bible.

[@VincentNajger1]

@@cedarwaxwing3509 I didn't realise either until I heard the same line, then I read the channel name and figured he was YEC. I still watched the vid though lol.

[@cedarwaxwing3509]

@@VincentNajger1 Watch some of his others if you have the time. In the one about upper Midwest glaciation he all but admits that the evidence for multiple glaciation cycles makes it difficult to squeeze them all into “a few thousand years.” Others, like “evidence” for Noah’s flood and anything to do with evolution, are laughable. I hope he wakes up some day and puts what seems to be a pretty good brain to work.

[@ballbby3775]

What a odd looking creature,hard to believe something so odd ever existed. Loved the video man, certainly loved learning about such an odd creature.

[@ianchenofficial]

Wow. This is so interesting. I’ve never gone fossil hunting and this video was just captivating. Colour me jealous at your experience Peter! And congrats on the interesting find!! 🥳🎉

[@NewCreationClips]

Glad you found it interesting! You have to get out there man, there are a lot of cool places to explore.

[@tamjammy4461]

@@ianchenofficial Hi . Just thought I'd demonstrate that YECs and atheists can agree about stuff.... Peter's right. You've got to get out there!!. Lots of special places to visit and there really is something special about cracking open a fossil and realising that you're the first human ever to see the animal/ plant that's fossilised inside it.

[@ianchenofficial]

Yes you’re both right. I used to enjoy camping and hunting before I have a young family. Perhaps I’ll get back into that when my kids are older. But never fossil hunting(?). That looks cool. Though I wouldn’t know if I knew how to differentiate them from normal rocks.

[@bimmjim]

That's a nice bit of real science. Thanks. 🤓

[@janinacooper4199]

Excellent content!

[@MichaelExplorer]

Great video man!

[@jeremycanard5420]

Very neat and cute, Intriguing. . . and informative

[@johnbruce2868]

Very interesting video but lacking a clear description of the geological date (Ordovician, Jurassic, whatever) which would have been very helpful. Tullimonstrum is "about" 300 million years old, 'Pennsylvanian', thus Carboniferous, which makes sense of the coal deposits. "Had you visited the area thousands of years ago" (0.33) is an exceptionally bizarre description of a life form that is far (far!) older. Confusingly, the Lithostratigraphical divisions of the Carboniferous vary between continents and countries. There is no 'Pennsylvanian' in the UK and no 'Millstone Grit Group' in the USA. It's still a good idea to provide some clear geological date. Tullimonstrum is weird enough to pass for something pre-Cambrian / Cambrian, which would have been very misleading for your audience.

[@AdamosDad]

Later in the late devouring period, fish became obnoxious, clam-a-saurs and oyster-etts appeared as appetizers. Animals without backbones hid from each other or fell down.

[@robertolesen5782]

Good job Son. One of the better productions covering this fascinating enigma of a creature.

[@Treasuremonk]

Cool finds. BUT! If you flip over in deep water with those big boots and no PFD, you’re going to drown!

[@Eagle48]

I enjoyed your presentation. I’ve visited this place many times to fish and to hunt for fossils. Just an FYI, Mazon is pronounced “muh-ZAHN”. It’s also considered a river, not a creek.

[@PaIaeoCIive1684]

Although I'm more convinced by scientific explanations for the way the natural world is (my dissertation was in Palaeoecology!) I was impressed with this introduction to a famous fossil locality & famous fossil. Well presented/edited. I'll watch some more of your videos as an interesting perspective can come from any source.

[@privatedata665]

cool video , looks like awesome bass fishing there !

[@nazufani4016]

I am confused about the pronunciation of Mazon. My mom was born in Mazon, Illinois. She pronounced it Muzon same as the creek. 🤔

[@deanstites7811]

🎉very interesting.

[@awakenbeast2124]

Wow! I live within 20 miles of this place.

[@StevenHughes-hr5hp]

No one knows their maximum size. They could be the reality behind most every mythical lake monster.

[@karlstone6011]

Looks like the fossilized digestive tract of a larger creature. Maybe some sort of weed eating jelly fish.

[@DavidBall-v5i]

You need a "Bat Man" grappling hook on a rope to throw over the bank weeds to pull yourself to dry ground.😊❤

[@hillbilly4christ638]

Estwing makes a tool called a paleo pick. I highly recommend it.

[@dawnsalois]

The Edsel of Gondwana? Impractical design on that thing. No wonder nothing like it survived!

[@BoltRM]

Not all of my creations work out. You don't learn without making mistakes ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@ICESTORM667]

Im finding alot of scale trees in a very hard slate type tough rocks

[@tricandille]

Archeological true value of these fossils is lost for ever. Such a shame!!!!

[@matthiasstrunz1343]

That was the best ( if only) explanation of what a nodule is…thanks

[@dodden1]

100s of millions years ago,not thousands

[@Agatesforbrains]

Mebbe he is a creationist...

[@jeremycanterohioprospecting]

Yeah maybe that's what they taught you in the children's books but a lot of these fossils were fossilized about 10,000 years ago around the last ice age so maybe do some research before you start talking something crap 😉 I'm a prospector / paleontologist slash geologist slash construction worker slash entrepreneur slash your daddy

[@jeremycanterohioprospecting]

Some of the earlier fossils that he is finding in this area go back as late as 38,000 years ago 260,000 years ago😅 I've done the research I find fossils in the areas that I work when I do gold prospecting😅

[@dodden1]

@@jeremycanterohioprospecting quote Wiki" The Mazon Creek fossil beds are a conservation lagerstätte found near Morris, in Grundy County, Illinois. The fossils are preserved in ironstone concretions, formed approximately 309 million years ago in the mid-Pennsylvanian epoch of the Carboniferous period." Thats 3090 millennia.

[@SherryRector]

I did enjoy it and wasn’t it a wild and strange environment? More please.

[@lynettecockburn332]

Great and interesting video

[@UnwrittenSpade]

So glad I clicked this instant sub!!

[@truthisbeautiful7492]

Awesome!

[@Bob_Adkins]

They probably dabbled in the mud on the sea floor, much like ducks do in fresh water.

[@richardsuggs8108]

Really weird thing. Final answer.

[@jameskotansky9398]

Mazon is pronounced: Muh-zon .

[@seanjones7170]

100% spot on to you and all on deck. 100%

[@pauliewallnuts4741]

Just FYI. I don't care but I don't think kayaking collecting is allowed. They get weird there

[@jameskotansky9398]

The best sites are the islands on the lake

[@des711]

👍

[@hushantiquesvintage9756]

The black ones are easier to break.

[@whyis45stillalive]

Stay in school young man.

[@Acemechanicalservices]

Looked like some nice poison ivy

[@tornadochaser1969]

Your lucky...I wished .....

[@rbirkheimer59]

I love stuff like this. So lucky to have an area to find things like you do. That is a really weird thing. Hard to tell what other stuff you will find. Thank You! Ohio

[@Gapihamiha6]

It is chordata member

[@caleblepore9848]

An A-Mazon (read like "amazing") video! Tully monster is one of my favorite extinct animals!

[@seanjones7170]

DO NOT CHANGE

[@mikoyanfulcrum1]

Well done,..!!

[@leslyeschoenhuth1107]

Very interesting. Thanks for taking us with you to look for such a weird creature..

[@Simonjose7258]

Super cool.

[@TonyBMW]

Amazing

[@vebnew]

Cool

[@MrPetercooknh]

It’s the predecessor to the hammerhead shark… 😮

[@conradnelson5283]

Great video! Watched the whole thing

[@nathanbrummel9455]

Intriguing

[@The-Dark]

You would be a good youtuber if you weren't in denial about the age of the earth.

[@CrazyBear65]

I never heard of a Tully Monster before, but I remember Tully Blanchard.

[@williamdrichmond2]

Hey man I like the video. Im a Christian myself and am obsessed with fossils. I also have a biology degree. It was certainly hard going through college and hearing so much of evolution and the theories that surround my favorite passions, but I stayed grounded in the Word. They said things with so much confidence, yet the science behind the theories was lacking severely. I pray for everyone being raised up in a scientific field built on many falsehoods in public education, and hope that God leads them to truth. Cool channel man.

[@pearlanderson1913]

🐞I loved this video. However, please wear a life vest. Thanks. 🐞

[@pwsa8zpg]

Thousands?!! Stop being silly.

[@patriciasanchezwebb]

Go to the channel page if you are mystified as to why he keeps saying this is "thousands" of years old, not millions. This is how the "intelligent design" people get to the children. This is propaganda, not information.

[@Vernon-Chitlen]

So among other things atheists can tell children love includes men exchanging bodily fluids with other men.

[@RanEdgar-ok3wk]

I do believe in evolution I’m also not ruling out that there’s probably somewhere we go after you know-, and while I am not Christian or anything like that I do like this video you seem to be truly passionate about your fossils, there’s- proof for evolution heck it happens and is observable but honestly I’d love to talk about animals with you, and I love that you appreciate both beliefs :D ❤ you seem like a truly kind human good sir- Anyway anyway have a lovely night or day :D

[@Akapickles]

Proof of Evolution? I’ve never seen any in my 40 years. I’ve seen plenty of speculation, even read Darwin’s books, but it was all speculation. There is, however, proof of a large catastrophic worldwide flood creating the fossil record.

[@glennquagmire1747]

Very confused narrator, try over two or three hundred million years ago, sloppy work, 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@bouncerslabrealnature9143]

I was completely interested until you started talking too much.... explaining is ok but we don't see the things you see in your mind while you talk. Thank you 🙏

[@normai.m.330]

His explanations are informative for anyone that may not know why the area or fossils are there, how they got there and history of the area. Frankly, I am glad he's doing this. He's a natural teacher(or professor 😊).

[@brentmiller3951]

How did your sky daddy get that on the boat .the earth is older than your book suggests

[@atilax6452]

I know what it is.

[@johncastro7372]

Looks like a crab kinda