Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois

Fossil Friday #339: A Breathtaking Lycopod Cone

We saw quite a few very nice Mazon Creek fossils last week at the 2026 Mazon Creek Fossil Day. One of the most notable was the lycopod cone brought in my Merry Jo Montgomery. The fossil was found earlier this summer by her daughter, Laura Adamczyk.

Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday #339: The Rocks We Live On

For today, we have an article written by Billy Kelly for the October 1955 edition of the ESCONI. Bill wrote many articles for the newsletter over the years. He and his wife Wylma were very generous with their time. They went on many field trips, including this one to Silvania, OH in 1959 (see Throwback Thursday #33).

Calendar of Events

ESCONI October 2026 Paleontology Study Group Meeting, Saturday, October 17th, 2026 at 7:30 PM via Zoom – “Depositional and Lithostratigraphic Characterization of the Lower Maysvillian Calloway Creek Formation”

The ESCONI October 2026 Paleontology Study Group Meeting will be held on Saturday October 17th, 2026 at 7:30 PM via Zoom. Enrique Clark will be presenting “Depositional and Lithostratigraphic Characterization of the Lower Maysvillian Calloway Creek Formation.” The upper Ordovician (lower Maysvillian) Calloway Creek formation of central Kentucky consists majorly of fossiliferous limestones with interbedded minor shales. This project aims to characterize distinct facies of the Calloway Creek and determine their depositional implications alongside their correlative relationships to equivalent horizons. Furthermore, an overview of the fossil fauna will be conducted to further explain the paleoecological characteristics and their relationships to…

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Happy National Fossil Day!

Today is National Fossil Day! Have a look at the National Park Service website for more information. The Field Museum will be doing their annual event… and it’s a free day! During 2026 we will celebrate the 17th National Fossil Day! Join paleontologists, educators, and students in fossil-related events and activities across the country in parks, classrooms, and online during National Fossil Day. National Fossil Day is an annual celebration held to highlight the scientific and educational value of paleontology and the importance of preserving fossils for future generations.

Calendar of Events, ESCONI Videos

Video for the ESCONI October 2026 General Meeting – Lazaro Vinola from the Field Museum Presenting Live from the Dominican Republic

For the October General Meeting, we are doing something new. Lazaro Vinola from The Field Museum presented live from the field in the Dominican Republic. For this meeting, Lazaro’s team will be processing sediment for microfossils. During the first half of the trip, they will stay at a small motel in the town of Oviedo, in the town of Pedernales. Members will have a chance to ask questions about field work… the location challenges, the fossil excitement, and the documentation tedium. Here’s a quick image that sums up Lazaro’s description of the team’s fossil hunting in the Dominican Republic… bees…

Calendar of Events, Mazon Creek, Mazon Monday

Mazon Monday #344: Recap for Mazon Creek Fossil Day 2026

Mazon Creek Fossil Day 2026 at the Coal City Public Library was a huge success! We had a great turnout and some wonderful fossil displays. Many attendees brought fossils of their own, either to have them identified or simply to share their finds with fellow fossil enthusiasts.

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This surprising mammal fossil is giving scientists something to chew on

NPR has a story about a new Jurassic mammal from China. The animal, Megacauda sungei , was described recently in the journal Nature. The fossil remains are incredibly detailed and show an animal capable of chewing and swallowing its food and suckling, traits shared by all mammals. The fossil was about the size of a chihuahua, but somewhat hard to discern from the rock surrounding it. “The fossil itself is actually very dark,” explains Luo. “The bones are black, the slab [is] dark. And it’s kind of difficult to have beautiful photographs.” One of his collaborators, Chang-Fu Zhou of Shandong University…

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Northwest Illinois Rock Club’s 2026 Annual Rock Show – November 14th and 15th, 2026

The Northwest Illinois Rock Club’s Annual Rock Show will be November 14th and 15th, 2026 in Freeport, IL. Find out more on their website at nwilrockclubfrpt.blogspot.com.

Fossil Friday, Mazon Creek

Fossil Friday #338: A Braceville Surprise!

Jeff Allen recently sent us photos of a fossil he found at Braceville. The specimen is Stigmaria, the underground rooting structure associated with arborescent lycophytes such as Sigillaria and Lepidodendron.

Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday #338: A Very Special Book

Recently, Matt Brown, McCarter Collections Manager, Fossil Vertebrates at the Field Museum, showed me a book that is special on several levels.

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Palaeocast Episodes 175/176: Insect Gigantism

We haven’t posted about Palaeocast in a little while. Recently, David Marshall posted two episodes about “Insect Gigantism.” These podcasts feature an interview with insect physiologist Prof. Jon Harrison from Arizona State University. Harrison discusses new theories on why insects were so large during the Carboniferous… it may not have been the higher concentration of Oxygen. The Carboniferous period is host to some of the largest arthropods to have ever lived. Giant taxa such as the griffenfly Meganuera and the millipede Arthropleura are almost talismanic and are often depicted in reconstructions of the period. Since many other groups also have…

Calendar of Events

ESCONI October 2026 General Meeting, Friday, October 9th, 2026 at 8:00 PM via Zoom – Lazaro Vinola from the Field Museum Presenting Live from the Dominican Republic

For the October General Meeting, we are doing something new. Lazaro Vinola from The Field Museum will be presenting live from the field in the Dominican Republic. Earlier this year, you may recall Lazaro found a Tully Monster on his first visit to Pit 11. We used the fossil for Fossil Friday #319. For this meeting, Lazaro’s team will be processing sediment for microfossils. During the first half of the trip, they will stay at a small motel in the town of Oviedo, in the town of Pedernales. Members will have a chance to ask questions about field work… the…

Mazon Creek, Mazon Monday

Mazon Monday #343: 1990 Mazon Creek Open House

The Mazon Creek Open House was first held in early 1984. It was an extension of the Mazon Creek Project at Northeastern Illinois University. Both the Mazon Creek Project (see Mazon Monday #5) were sponsored by Northeastern Illinois University.

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Found On Newcastle Ranch, ‘Rex Jr.’ Could Be Most Important T. Rex Ever Discovered

Cowboy State Daily has a story about “Rex Junior.” First discovered in the 1950’s on a ranch near Newcastle, Wyoming, a partial skeleton of a sub-adult T. rex may be the most important T. rex that has or will ever be found. That is the opinion of paleontologist Paul Sereno. Sereno said “this specimen from the newly discovered mummy zone will redefine what we know about T. rex, inside and out.” Sereno encountered Rex Junior at the top of a hill near Newcastle in the 1990s. It eroded out of the Lance Formation, a 67-million-year-old layer of rock dating to…

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Sternberg Museum in Hays to close by year’s end

More horrible museum news… this time the Sternberg Museum in Hays, Kansas. See the story at KWCH News 12. The fundraising campaign started by the Fort Hays State University Foundation can be found here. HAYS, Kan. (KWCH) – The Sternberg Museum in Hays will be closing before the end of the year. The President of Fort Hays State University, Tisa Mason, shared a statement with the school sharing details on the decision to close the historic museum. The statement shares that the public-facing operations of the Sternberg Museum will close on Dec. 18 as part of the university’s Strategic Budget…

Fossil Friday, Mazon Creek

Fossil Friday #337: A Different View of Lepidostrobus

Lepidostrobus is a cone from lepidodendron tree. It was named in 1828 by Adolphe-Theodore Brongniart (1801 – 1876), who was a French paleontologist, considered by many to be the father of paleobotany. He also named Lepidostrobophyllum which are the individual cone bracts of which Lepidostrobus is the whole reproductive organ. See Mazon Monday #202.

Calendar of Events

ESCONI Events for October 2026

Field trips require membership, but visitors are welcome at all meetings! Friday, October 9th General Meeting – 8:00 PM via Zoom. Lazaro Vinola from The Field Museum will be presenting live from the field in the Dominican Republic. Saturday, October 10th Junior Study Group Meeting – 2:00 PM at College of DuPage, TEC, Room 1038A Earthquakes! Junior members will watch videos about earthquakes, make seismographs and test them. Specifics of this meeting are available from Scott Galloway, 630-670-2591, gallowayscottf@gmail.com. Saturday, October 10th Mazon Creek Fossil Day Details are here. Saturday, October 17th Field Trip to Danville for Carboniferous Fossils Details…

Mazon Creek, Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday #337: Looking Back At ESCONI for October 2026

ESCONI highlights from 25, 50, and 70 years ago

Calendar of Events, Mazon Creek

Reminder: Mazon Creek Fossil Day 2026 – Saturday, October 10th, 2026 – Coal City Library

The 2026 Mazon Creek Fossil Day will be held on Saturday, October 10th, 2026 at the Coal City Library from 10 AM to 3 PM. See you there! Previous events

Around the Web

T. Rex, King of the Dinosaurs, Had a Body Temperature of 97 Degrees

The New York Times has a story about recent T. rex research. There’s been a long running debate about whether dinosaurs were warm or cold blooded – endothermic or exothermic. New research, published recently in the journal Science Advances, adds a little evidence to the warm blooded side. Scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles, used a geochemistry techniques on fossilized teeth, including two from “Thomas”, a T. rex at the National History Museum of Los Angeles County. They looked at carbon and oxygen bonds in a the T. rex teeth. Bonds of the heavier isotopes act as a…

Friday, October 9th	General Meeting – 8:00 PM via Zoom. Lazaro Vinola from The Field Museum will be presenting live from the field in the Dominican Republic.
Saturday, October 10th	Junior Study Group Meeting – 2:00 PM at College of DuPage, TEC, Room 1038A Earthquakes! Junior members will watch videos about earthquakes, make seismographs and test them. Specifics of this meeting are available from Scott Galloway, 630-670-2591, gallowayscottf@gmail.com.
Saturday, October 10th	Mazon Creek Fossil Day Details are here.
Saturday, October 17th	Field Trip to Danville for Carboniferous Fossils Details are here.
Saturday, October 17th	Paleontology Study Group – 7:30 PM via Zoom Enrique Clark will be presenting “Depositional and Lithostratigraphic Characterization of the Lower Maysvillian Calloway Creek Formation.”
No meeting this month	Mineralogy Study Group

Mazon Creek Fossil Day – October 10th, 2026!

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