Month: July 2024
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Fossil Hints That Jurassic Mammals Lived Slow and Died Old
A life reconstruction of Krusatodon. Not only are the specimens remarkably complete, but one belongs to a juvenile — making it the oldest known juvenile mammal fossil.Credit…Maija Karala The Trilobites column at the New York Times has a post about some unexpected discovery in some Jurassic mammals. Small mammals usually live fast and die young. …
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What defines a species? Inside the fierce debate that’s rocking biology to its core
Scientists have long debated whether the Florida panther is a North American cougar (Puma concolor couguar) or its own unique subspecies (P. c. coryi), ultimately settling on the former. The debate is part of a growing crisis in how scientists classify species. (Image credit: Maria Klos for Live Science) LiveScience has an interesting article about a…
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Mazon Monday #227: Ode to a Blob
This is Mazon Monday post #227. What’s your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at email:esconi.info@gmail.com. The poem below is about Essexella asherae, the iconic Mazon Creek cnidarian (see Mazon Monday #14). E. Asherae was named for Helen Asher (see Fossil Friday #158) by Merrill W. Foster in 1979 in “Soft-bodied coelenterates in the Pennsylvanian…
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Meet this 500 million-year-old, taco-shaped marine creature that has 30 pairs of legs
Researchers have uncovered more about the ancient marine creature Odaraia alata, which they say could have swum upside down to gather food among the spines along its legs. (Danielle Dufault/Royal Ontario Museum) We’ve got another post about a Cambrian animal, today. This one comes from CBC News and is about some recent research on Odaraia alata. …
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Fossil of Cambrian Long-Headed Chordate Unearthed in Utah
Nuucichthys rhynchocephalus was a pelagic organism with limited swimming abilities. Image credit: Franz Anthony. SciNews has an article about the discovery of the first chordate from the Great American Basin. Nuucichthys rhynchocephalus is a chordate and an animal that sheds light on early vertebrate evolution. N. rhynchocephalus lived during the Cambrian Period, about 505 million years ago. …
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Fossil Friday #223: Acanthotelson stimpsoni
This is the “Fossil Friday” post #223. 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! This week, we have a nice little…
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Throwback Thursday #224: Stephen J. Gould at the Field Museum
This is Throwback Thursday #224. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! This post originally appeared as Flashback Friday #17 back in the run-up to ESCONI’s 70th anniversary. On Thursday,…
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ESCONI Events July/August 2024
Field trips require membership, but visitors are welcome at all meetings! Sat, August 10th ESCONI Field Trip to Hamilton, IL for Railroad Creek Geodes Details can be found here. ESCONI General Meeting – no meeting ESCONI Junior Meeting – no meeting ESCONI Paleontology Study Group – no meeting. See you in September…
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34-Million-Year-Old Snake Discovered in Wyoming Changes Our Understanding of Evolution
The fossilized skeleton of the newly discovered snake species Hibernophis breithaupti, which lived 34 million years ago in what is now western Wyoming, reveals insights into the evolution and social behavior of its modern descendants. Credit: Jasmine Croghan SciTechDaily has a story about a newly discovered fossil snake species. Hibernophis breithaupti, was discovered in western Wyoming.…
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RRVGMS Rock Swap – Saturday, September 14, 2024 in Rockford, IL
ROCK MINERAL FOSSIL JEWELRY SWAP MEET Saturday, September 14, 2024 1665 Elmwood Rd. Rockford, IL 61103-1211 A-American Companies Bring it, Swap it, Buy it, and Sell it 9:30 am to 3:30 pm $25 for 10ft by 10ft space Rain or Shine Public Admission Free Sponsored by the Rock River Valley Gem & Mineral Society Contact…
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Mazon Monday #226: Historic Collectors – Jerry Herdina
This is Mazon Monday post #226. What’s your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at email:esconi.info@gmail.com. In January 1975 edition of the Field Museum Bulletin, there was a small blurb about the donation of a “Huge Coal Age Fossil Collection” to the Field Museum. It was vastly understated. Jerry Herdina (1905-1974) was a retired construction…
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T. rex’s Distant Relative Lived in Thailand 145 Million Years Ago
Isolated teeth of basal tyrannosauroid dinosaur from the Phu Noi locality, Thailand. Image credit: Chowchuvech et al. SciNews has a story about basal tyrannosaurs in Thailand durng the late Jurassic Period. Three isolated tyrannosaur teeth have been found in the Phu Noi locality, Kham Muang district, Kalasin province, northeastern Thailand. While other dinosaurs are known from…
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Brazilian researchers discover dinosaur fossil after heavy rains in Rio Grande do Sul
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Phys.org brings news of the discovery of what may be one of the most ancient dinosaurs. The specimen was found near a reservoir in the municipality of Sao Joao do Polesine in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul after heavy rains in May 2024. The bones are thought to…
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Fossil Friday #222: Macroneuropteris scheuchzeri
This is the “Fossil Friday” post #222. 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! —————————————————– Today, we have a Macroneuropteris scheuchzerii…
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Throwback Thursday #223: Eugene Richardson – Fossil Localities Old and New
This is Throwback Thursday #223. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! ——————————————————————————————- Eugene Richardson, Jr. wrote a nice little article for the May 1952 edition of the Chicago Natural…
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A Mammoth First: 52,000-Year-Old DNA, in 3-D
The New York Times has a fascinating article about woolly mammoth DNA. A 52,000 year old chunk of mammoth skin from the permafrost of Siberia as been used to generate a three-dimensional model of their genome. The research was published recently in the journal Cell. The experimental method used in this study could be used…
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NPR: A stegosaurus fossil could fetch $6 million at Sotheby’s. Should they be auctioned?
NPR has a story about a Stegasaurus going up for auction at Sotheby’s on Wednesday, July 17th, 2024. The animal has been named “Apex”. At 11 feet tall and 27 feet long, it’s considered one of the most complete specimens of Stegosaurus ever found. The specimen was discovered in Colorado and is expected to fetch…
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Mazon Monday #225: Lepidostrobus foliaceus
This is Mazon Monday post #225. What’s your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at email:esconi.info@gmail.com. Lepidostrobus foliaceus is one of the rarer forms of Lepidostrobus, which is the cone structure from a lepidodendron tree. L. foliaceus was named by Leo Lesquereux in 1870. Lesquereux (1806-1889) was a Swiss-born bryologist and a pioneer of American…
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Amazing Discovery: Fossil Collector Unearths the Most Complete Dinosaur in the UK Since 1923
An artist’s impression of the dinosaur. Credit: John Sibbick SciTechDaily has a story about a new dinosaur found on the Isle of Wight. The animal, Comptonatus chasei, lived about 125 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period. It was found by fossil collector Nick Chase and named for him. Nick has tragically died of cancer. The…
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ESCONI Field Trip to Hamilton, IL for Railroad Creek Geodes on August 10th, 2024
There will be a field trip to Vickers Geodes in Hamilton, IL on August 10, 2024. Hamilton IL is across the Mississippi River from Keokuk Iowa. The address is 511 South 9th St. The geodes at this location range from golf ball to basketball in size! They are in shale and need to be dug…
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Fossil Friday #221: Edestus heinrichi Shark Tooth
This is the “Fossil Friday” post #221. 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! Another contribution to Shark Week…. an Edestus…
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Throwback Thursday #222: Matthew Galloway’s Exciting Discovery June 2000
This is Throwback Thursday #222. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! This was originally posted as part of the run up 70th Anniversary as Flashback Friday #7. We are…
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Field Museum: Sixty-million-year-old grape seeds reveal how the death of the dinosaurs may have paved the way for grapes to spread
Lithouva – the earliest fossil grape from the Western Hemisphere, ~60 million years old from Colombia. Top figure shows fossil accompanied with CT scan reconstruction. Bottom shows artist reconstruction. Photos by Fabiany Herrera, art by Pollyanna von Knorring. The Field Museum scientists have been busy… first a giant salamander-like creature and now finely aged wine,…
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The Last Stand of the Woolly Mammoths
Mammoths remained on Wrangel Island, about 80 miles from the Siberian coast, for about 6,000 years after they vanished from the rest of Asia, Europe and North America.Credit…Beth Zaiken Carl Zimmer has an article about the last of the Woolly Mammoths over on the New York Times. A small population of mammoths on Wrangel Island…
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Mazon Monday #224: Holmacanthus keithi
This is Mazon Monday post #224. What’s your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at email:esconi.info@gmail.com. In keeping with Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, we have a Mazon Creek shark… Holmacanthus keithi for this week’s Mazon Monday. Holmacanthus keithi was named for Keith Holm, who found the holotype in Pit 11 in the early…
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The Poozeum in Williams, Arizona
Atlas Obscura has a story about the opening of a new museum in Williams, Arizona. It’s dedicated to the study of coprolites, which is fossilized poop. Dinosaurs did it, birds do it, bees do it, fish do it… even we do it, all animals do it. Mazon Creek coprolites are fairly common. So, what does…
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This Bigheaded Fossil Turned Up in a Place No One Expected to Find It
Left: Artist’s rendering of Gaiasia jennyae. Credit: Gabriel Lio. Right: Skeleton, including the skull and backbone, of Gaiasia jennyae. Credit: C. Marsicano. The New York Times has a story about a new stem tetrapod. Gaiasia jennyae lived 280 million years ago, which is about 40 million years before the evolution of the dinosaurs. It lived…
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Fossil Friday #220: Annularia inflata
This is the “Fossil Friday” post #220. 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! Annularia inflata is out Fossil Friday for…
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Throwback Thursday #221: Looking Back at ESCONI for July 2024
This is Throwback Thursday #221. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! 25 Years Ago – July 1999 50 Years Ago – July 1974 70 Years Ago – July 1954…
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Lokiceratops, a Horned Dinosaur, May Be a New Species
An artist’s reconstruction of Lokiceratops rangiformis, a new species of ceratopsian recovered from the badlands of northern Montana.Credit…Sergey Krasovskiy for the Museum of Evolution in Maribo, Denmark The New York Times has an article about the discovery of a fossil skull that might represent a new species of ceratopsian dinosaur. Lokiceratops rangiformis, lived about 78…
