Month: March 2026
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2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show Recap – Photos from the Show
Here is an assortment of the friendly, smiling people from the show! Thanks to the volunteers, thanks to the vendors, thanks to the ESCONI members , thanks to everyone that came out. There’s lots of familiar faces in these. It was great seeing old and meeting new friends… we hope everyone had a good time!
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Mazon Monday #315: Another Langford Book Inscription
From time to time, we run across some old book inscriptions. Back in Mazon Monday #18, we highlighted a few… Well, here’s another interesting inscription.
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A large tyrannosaurid from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) of North America
The journal Nature Scientific Reports has a paper about a new large tyrannosaur from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) in North America. The unnamed animal lived from about 74 to 75 million years ago in what is now New Mexico, USA. Abstract The Tyrannosauridae emerged as the dominant large predators in Laurasia during the Late Cretaceous.…
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MAPS Expo XLVII – April 24-26, 2026 in Springfield, IL
The Mid-America Paleontology Society (MAPS) 2026 Expo XLVII is being held from April 24th to 26th, 2026 at the Joe Orr Building on the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Illinois. The topic for the show is “Fossil Preparation and Archiving”.
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Fossil Friday #310: Mazon Creek Scallop
Another small concretion with a treasure inside… this one has a scallop (see Mazon Monday #35). This one is Aviculopecten mazonensis. There’s no information about where this concretion was collected, but Pit 11 is very likely. We ran across it while preparing for the 2026 ESCONI Show. Do you think these were as tasty as…
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Throwback Thursday #310: History of the Thornton Quarry
Ran across this interesting episode of “It’s History” on Youtube…. “Why This Highway Runs Through Chicago’s Biggest Hole”. It’s about the Thornton Quarry and one of the founders of Chicago, Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard, who is the namesake of Hubbard Street in Chicago.
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This crocodile ran like a greyhound across prehistoric Britain 200 million years ago
Science Daily has a story about a newly discovered Triassic reptile from the UK. The animal, Galahadosuchus jonesi, lived about 215 million years in what is now Gloucester, UK. It was probably a fast, land-dwelling predator.
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2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show Recap – Displays and Demonstrators
Well, that sure went by fast! We put in quite a bit of work to get ready and then it was over in a flash. The results and photos are still coming in, so we’ll do the recap in a few posts. We hope you made it out and had a great time. Please, send…
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Mazon Monday #314: Smithixerxes juliarum
Smithixerxes juliarum is among the rarest animals found in the Mazon Creek fossil deposit. It belongs to an extinct group of arthropods known as the euthycarcinoids, which ranged from the Cambrian to the Triassic periods. Some researchers believe euthycarcinoids may have been amphibious, capable of venturing between water and land.
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Scenes from Day 1 of the 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show
We had a great day today at the 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show. Hopefully, you were able to join us. We had more attendees at day 1 than we had for both days last year! There were great friends and great times… it’s always fun to catch up with everyone! There were great…
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Today is the Day! ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show!
Here are some scenes from the show setup… just 2 hours to showtime!
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2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #40: Mazon Creek Asterophyllites and a Sphenopterid in a Riker Mount
Last preview… a Riker Mount with a Mazon Creek Asterophyllites and a Sphenopterid… both are beautiful fossils. Today is the day… come out at 10 AM and see all the auction items for yourself!
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2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #39: Fluorite and Sphalerite
One last chunk of beautiful fluorite… nice purple crystals on a bed of sphalerite. Sounds and looks tasty! If you are up this late (or is that early), you deserve a tasty preview… just a few hours until the show starts!
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2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #38: Reticulopteris munsterii var. dawsonii from Mazon Creek
How about another Mazon Creek seed fern? This one is Neuropteris jacksonii (see Mazon Monday #250). If you are reading this… today is the day!
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2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #37: Alethopteris serlii from St. Clair, Pennsylvania
This preview is of a chunk of shale from St. Clair, PA. This piece contains numerous examples of Alethopteris serlii, a seed fern also found in Mazon Creek localities. We are getting very close now… inside 12 hours away!
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2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #36: Purple Fluorite from Cave-in-Rock, IL
Here’s yet another beautiful chunk of fluorite from Illinois. This one is purple and was collected from Cave-in-Rock, IL. many years ago. Come and see it tomorrow… less than a day away!
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2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #35: Priscacara, sp. from the Green River Formation in Wyoming
What fossil show is complete without a Green River fish? Here is a nice Priscacara, sp. These fish date to the Eocene, about 50 million years ago. We have other Green River fish, come on out and see them!
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2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #34: Giant Moroccan Trilobite
How about a giant Moroccan trilobite for something different? Come on out… we will have other trilobites at the show.
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2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #33: Laveineopteris rarinervis from Mazon Creek
This is a beautiful specimen of Laveineopteris rarinervis (see Mazon Monday #81) a seed fern commonly found in the Mazon Creek fossil deposit. Come on out and check it out tomorrow!
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2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #32: Calcite from Ourey, Colorado
Time for another beautiful mineral specimen. This is calcite from Ourey, Colorado. Come on out tomorrow… there is something for everyone!
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2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #30: Mazon Creek Achistrum, sp. Colony
Another Mazon Creek beauty… this is a nice Achistrum, sp. colony, which is a sea cucumber. You can see at least three mouths in the fossil. See Mazon Monday #29. Come on out and see for yourself, tomorrow, yes, tomorrow! Less than a day away!
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2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #31: Crinoid Plate from the Bangor Formation in Northern Alabama
Another crinoid plate from the Bangor Formation in Northern Alabama. This plate has multiple crinoids and other fossils like Archimedes bryozoans. Tomorrow is the day!
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2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #29: Crystalline Copper from Southwest Africa
This chunk of crystalline copper is from southwest Africa. Tomorrow is the day!
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2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #28: Coelocanth Scale from Pit 11
Here’s beautiful example of a Coelocanth scale Mazon Creek’s Pit 11 locality. Look closely, the preservation is very detailed. Did we mention the tomorrow is the show… see you there!
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2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #27: Rare Wisconsin Jellyfish from Marathon County, Wisconsin
Jellyfish, which have no hard parts, are very rare in the fossil record. This species Hiemalora stellaris was found in the Cambrian rocks of the Blackberry Hill Deposit of Marathon County, Wisconsin. Come on out tomorrow and it can be yours!
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2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #26: Azurite from the Daye District, Ezhou Prefecture, Hubei Province, China
What a beautiful blue! The specimen of Azurite hails from the Daye District, Ezhou Prefecture, Hubei Province, China. Less than a day until the door open!
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2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #25: Calomostachys Cone
We have a bunch of Mazon Creek fossils this year… here’s another nice cone – Calomostachys, sp. One day away from the show… are you coming?!?
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2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #24: Yellow Fluorite from Hardin County, IL
We have some real nice pieces of fluorite for this year’s show. Here is a beautiful yellow specimen from Hardin County, IL. Tomorrow is the day… come on out!
