Month: May 2025
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Manitoba Museum: Introducing a NEW Fossil… from the Burgess Shale Comes Mosura fentoni”!
https://youtu.be/NiJFzNCbl98 Here is Dr. Joe Moysiuk, of the Manitoba Museum, introducting of a new fossil from the Burgess Shale… Mosura fentoni. There’s a new fossil in town! Meet “Mosura fentoni”. It was discovered by Curator of Palaeontology & Geology Dr. Joe Moysiuk, alongside colleagues from the ROM. Get to know this bizarre-looking little predator in…
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Fossil Friday #267: Annularia radiata
This is the “Fossil Friday” post #267. 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! —————————————————– We have a sweet little Annularia…
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Throwback Thursday #267: Old Cars
This is Throwback Thursday #267. 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! email:esconi.info@gmail.com. We have something a little different today. We post many old photos here and quite a few…
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New Species of Jurassic Herbivorous Dinosaur Discovered in China
SciNews has a story about the discovery of a new species of eusauropod. Jinchuanloong niedu lived during the Middle Jurassic Period some 165 million years ago. The fossil bones were found near Jinchang city, Gansu province, northwestern China. The specimen includes of a nearly complete skull with mandible, five cervical vertebrae and 29 caudal vertebae. …
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Mazon Tuesday #271: Chicago Tribune: The world’s best-preserved fossils are right outside Chicago
This is Mazon Monday post #271. What’s your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at email:esconi.info@gmail.com. We have a bonus Mazon Monday this week—though since this second post falls on a Tuesday, we’ll call it Mazon Tuesday. On Monday, May 26th, the Chicago Tribune published an article highlighting Mazon Creek, the Field Museum, and ESCONI—a…
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Mazon Monday #270: Braceville Field Trip Report for Spring 2025
This is Mazon Monday post #270. What’s your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at email:esconi.info@gmail.com. We had absolutely beautiful weather for both Saturday and Sunday, although it did get a little windy on Saturday. Attendance was excellent with very few no shows. Members who couldn’t make it, cancelled early to enable those on the…
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Geologists Stumble Upon Remains of Giant ‘Sea Monster’ in Mississippi, Likely the Largest Mosasaur Ever Identified in the State
Smithsonian Magazine has a story about the discovery of a very large mosasaur in Mississippi. The animal was about 30 feet long and lived about 66 million year ago. A single vertebra was more 7 inches wide. It was found sticking out of the mud of the Prarie Bluff Formation of Oktibbeha County in east-central…
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PBS Eons: Darwin’s Unexpected Final Obsession
https://youtu.be/hEkbSV8aYrs PBS Eons has a new episode. This one is about Charles Darwin and his quest to understand… worms. After having solved the small matter of evolution by natural selection – becoming one of the most famous scientists in the world in the process – Charles Darwin turned his focus to a different personal obsession……
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Fossil Friday #266: Latzelia primordialis
Alan Keith sent us photos of his recent centipede find from Pit 11. He collected this concretion this spring on one of his trips up north from Texas. Centipedes are one of the rarest animals in the Mazon Creek fossil deposit. An estimate of occurrence for centipedes was about 3 in 287,000 concretions in the…
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Throwback Thursday #266: Braidwood Area Historical Society III
This is Throwback Thursday #266. 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! email:esconi.info@gmail.com. We visited the Braidwood Historical Society last weekend to drop of some more chunks of coal. They…
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Video for ESCONI Paleontology Meeting May 2025 – “Platteville Oncocerid Nautiloids: Living on the Mohawkian Sea Floor”
Topic: Platteville Oncocerid Nautiloids: Living on the Mohawkian Sea FloorPresenter: John Catalani Although many Ordovician nautiloid faunas are dominated by straight-shelled orthoconic forms, this is not true for the incredibly abundant and diverse Platteville fauna. The Platteville nautiloid fauna consists of 9+ Orders with the Oncocerida accounting for 50+% of the published species. I will…
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This Dinosaur Had Feathers and Probably Flew Like a Chicken
The New York Times has an article about the Chicago Archaeopteryx. The Field Museum unveiled the its Archaeopteryx in the Spring of 2024. Since then, the fossil has been revealing its secrets… some of them were published recently in the journal Nature. Archaeopteryx specimens have, “maybe more than any other fossil, changed the way that…
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Mazon Monday #269: Belotelson magister
This is Mazon Monday post #269. What’s your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at email:esconi.info@gmail.com. Belotelson magister is the most common crustacean/shrimp fossil in the Mazon Creek biota. Fossil preservation of Belotelson magister varies with the most common presentation being a molt. It was described as Acanthotelson magister by Alpheus Spring Packard (1839-1905) in…
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Pokémon Fossil Museum is coming to the Field!
From the Field Museum: We’re thrilled to announce that the Pokémon Fossil Museum exhibition will make its North American debut at the Field Museum on May 22, 2026! This one-of-a-kind experience brings together the worlds of Pokémon and paleontology, inviting visitors to compare Fossil Pokémon like Tyrantrum and Archeops with real-world fossils, including SUE the…
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PBS Terra: Earth’s Worst Mass Extinction is Actually a Warning
PBS Terra has a new video. This one is about the Permian Mass Extinction. There is a surprising natural wonder in the middle of the vast West Texas desert: a prehistoric ocean reef built from the remains of ancient sea life. This fossil-rich landscape tells the story of Earth’s most devastating mass extinction—and can help…
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Fossil Friday #265: Sphenopteris spinosa
This is the “Fossil Friday” post #265. 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’s Fossil Friday is a…
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Throwback Thursday #265: Old Books at MAPS
This is Throwback Thursday #265. 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! email:esconi.info@gmail.com. Paul Gritis Books is a mainstay at the Mid-America Paleontology Society’s EXPO. He was there again in…
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CHICAGOLAND GEMS & MINERALS ASSOCIATION 48th ANNUAL SHOW · May 24th & 25th 2025
The 2025 show is on!Can’t wait to SEE you at the Kane County Fairgrounds!! Featuring nationally-known dealers of: jewelry, fossils, semi-precious and precious stones, lapidary arts and artists; there will also be geode splitting, silent auction, Kids Korner, “blacklight” fluorescent mineral display, exhibits, demonstrators, door prizes, and more! Show HoursSaturday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.Sunday…
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PBS Eons: There’s An Invisible Ocean Between These Fossils
There’s a new episode of PBS Eons. This one is about trilobites and what they show us about the history of the Earth’s continents. This is the hundred-year tale of how an unlikely bunch of bottom-dwelling marine critters helped reveal that ocean basins are basically reincarnated every few hundred million years.
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Mazon Monday #268: Pecopteris lanceolata
This is Mazon Monday post #268. What’s your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at email:esconi.info@gmail.com. Pecopteris lanceolata is a very rare variety of true fern found only in the Mazon Creek fossil deposit. It was first described as Alethopteris lanceolata by Leo Lesquereux in 1870. Later in 1879, Lesquereux reclassified this fern as Pecopteris lanceolata.…
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This 250-Million-Year-Old Reef Became a Mountain in Texas – And It’s Packed with Fossils
SciTechDaily has a piece about the Guadalupe Mountains, which span Texas and New Mexico. There are two National Parks in the Guadalupe Mountains, Guadalupe Mountains National Park and Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico. During the Permian Period, these mountains were part of a reef on the edge of a shallow sea. The area…
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Happy Birthday, David Attenborough! 99 ways he has inspired us, by Barack Obama, Billie Eilish, Morgan Freeman – and many more
The Guardian has a tribute to David Attenborough for his 99th birthday on May 8th. The tribute is a series of 99 birthday wishes from famous people thanking him for his inspiration. Chris Packham, Presenter, nature activistIt’s all about truth. Ask yourself, “Has David ever knowingly lied to me?” No, never. He may have told…
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Fossil Friday #264: Arctinurus boltoni from Caleb’s Quarry in NY
This is the “Fossil Friday” post #264. 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! —————————————————– We have something different today… a…
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Throwback Thursday #264: MAPS #5 and #31
This is Throwback Thursday #264. 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! email:esconi.info@gmail.com. MAPS EXPO 2025 starts tomorrow May 8th through 9th in Springfield, IL at the Joe Orr Building…
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Reminder: MAPS EXPO 2025 – May 9th-11th, 2025 in Springfield, IL
EXPO 2025 May 9th-11th, 2025 Hours: 9am-5pm Fri, 8am-5pm Sat, 8am-3pm Sun The Orr Building on the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, IL. The theme for the EXPO Digest 2025 is Extinctions. Download 2025 Flier EXPO 2025 Informational Newsletter
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ESCONI Field Trip to Mount Orab for Trilobites – Saturday, June 21st, 2025
This trip is full. We are taking names for a waiting list. ESCONI will have a field trip to Flat Run Fossils in Mt. Orab, Ohio on June 21st, 2025. Flat Run Fossils is a new pay-to-dig site in the famous Mt. Orab trilobite beds. For many years, thousands of gorgeous Flexicalymene and Isotelus trilobites…
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Mazon Monday #267: Danville Spoil Pile Field Trip Report for April 2025
This is Mazon Monday post #267. What’s your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at email:esconi.info@gmail.com. The spring trip to the Danville Spoil Pile was held on Satuday, April 26th. The day started out overcast and chilly with temperatures in the mid-40s and fairly brisk winds. By the end of the trip, the sun was…
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Paleontologists Describe New Species of Rhabdodontid Dinosaur
SciNews has a story about the discovery of a new rhabdodontid dinosaur species, Obelignathus septimanicus. Obelignathus septimanicus lived about 72 million years ago in the late Cretaceous Period in what is now southern France. Rhabdodontid dinosaurs were small to medium-sized, probably bipedal herbivores that grew to between 2 and 6 m (6.6-20 feet) in length. …
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ESCONI Events for May 2025
Field trips require membership, but visitors are welcome at all meetings! Sat, May 3rd ESCONI Mineralogy Study Group – 7:30 PM – Topic: “Herkimer Diamond Mines” by Elizabeth Thielen In-person at College of DuPage: Technical Education Center (TEC) Building – Room 1038B (Map). Fri, May 9th ESCONI General Meeting – 8:00 PM via Zoom – Topic: “Combining…
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PBS: The Ancient Tribes That Settled the Americas
PBS and the first Americans… how did they get here and when? As early humans spread out across the world, their toughest challenge was colonizing the Americas because a huge ice sheet blocked the route. It has long been thought that the first Americans were Clovis people, who arrived 13,000 years ago. But an underwater…
