This is the “Fossil Friday” post #295.  Expect this to be a regular feature of the website.  We will post fossil pictures you send in to esconi.info@gmail.com.  Please include a short description or story.  Check the #FossilFriday Bluesky/Twitter hash tag for contributions from around the world!

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We have a particularly special Mazon Creek fossil to share this week, a juvenile dvinosaur, possibly Isodectes obtusum. Tetrapods are exceptionally rare in the Mazon Creek biota, and this specimen is not only complete but also preserves muscle banding and soft tissue, making it especially remarkable.

This remarkable fossil was collected in the 1970s at Pit 11 by Joe Jobst, a geology teacher at Maine West High School in Des Plaines, Illinois.The fossil had been on loan to the Field Museum for years, where it unfortunately sat, until a chance conversation at the ESCONI Braceville field trip in September set things in motion for its official donation to the museum.

Joe’s daughter Jennifer sent us some photos of her father. Joe’s wife, Mary, and his family donated his collection to the Illinois State Museum in 2010.

Jobst was an influential teacher. One of his students, Fred Horn, sent him a nice letter thanking him for the extensive knowledge he gained in his class.

Thanks for sharing these great photos, Jennifer! And thank you for your generous donation to the Field Museum… every fossil helps add another piece to the paleontological puzzle.