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Half-tonne birds may have roamed Europe at same time as humans
Read more: Half-tonne birds may have roamed Europe at same time as humansThe Guardian has a post about large flightless bird that might have roamed Europe at the same time. Researchers discovered the fossilized thigh bone of a giant bird in a cave on the Crimean peninsula. It belonged to an animal called Pachystruthio dmanisensis, which lived between 1.5 and 1.6 million years ago. This bone and others were described in a paper in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Analysis of the 40cm-long bone and others found with it date the remains to between 1.5m and 1.8m years old, suggesting the birds may have been part of the local wildlife when Homo erectus,…
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Field Museum: Meet Earth’s smallest superheroes!
Read more: Field Museum: Meet Earth’s smallest superheroes!The Field Museum has a new exhibit. It’s called “Fantastic Bug Encounters”. Everything you ever wanted to know about bugs. There’s very informative displays with bunches of specimens, spiders, insects, myriapods, and many less well known types. They have a live bug zoo, where you can pet a hissing cockroach or let a millipede crawl up your arm. Check it out and get a whole new appreciation for bugs! Bugs are all around us. Whether they’re flying, crawling, or digging deep below our feet, they live fascinating lives that we often don’t see. Now, step into a larger-than-life version of…
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PBS Eons: When the Synapsids Struck Back
Read more: PBS Eons: When the Synapsids Struck BackPBS Eons has a great video about the ancestors and evolution of the mammals and the Permian Mass Extincton. Synapsids were the world’s first-ever terrestrial megafauna but the vast majority of these giants were doomed to extinction. However some lived on, keeping a low profile among the dinosaurs. And now our world is the way it is because of the time when the synapsids struck back.
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ESCONI Events July 2019
Read more: ESCONI Events July 2019Field trips require membership, but visitors are welcome at all meetings! Sat, July 13th ESCONI Field Trip, Ordovician Hard Rock Quarry in Roscoe, IL, 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM - Details here ESCONI Junior Meeting – No meeting until September. Have a great Summer! ESCONI General Meeting – No meeting until September. Have a great Summer! ESCONI Paleontology Study Group Meeting – No meeting until September. Have a great Summer! Be ready for Show & Tell in September!
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ESCONI Flashback Friday #8: Field Trips for 2007
Read more: ESCONI Flashback Friday #8: Field Trips for 2007As part of the run up to ESCONI’s 70th Anniversary, here is Flashback Friday post #8. If you have pictures or stories to contribute, please send them over to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! Here is the Field Trip list for 2007. Generally, in the past, we kicked off the season at Jacob’s Geodes in March with a trip that coincided with the MAPS show, which at one time was held in Macomb, IL. Other familiar places on the list are Braceville and St Paul, IN. We’ve been visiting Braceville for more than 20 years. Lone Star Quarry was a place we visited…
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The Brain Scoop: Ghost Lineages!
Read more: The Brain Scoop: Ghost Lineages!There’s a new episode of The Field Museum’s “The Brain Scoop” Youtube channel. This one is about ghost lineages, species that we know had to exist, but have no fossil evidence. There is a great explanation of the concept. Dr. Brandon Peecook thought he had made a major paleontological discovery that was going to alter decades of prior research in the field. Then, right before he was about to present his findings, he got a phone call that changed everything. This episode is funded in part by the National Science Foundation! Check out the other episodes in this series:…
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ESCONI Student Research Grant 2019 recipient
Read more: ESCONI Student Research Grant 2019 recipientThe recipient of the ESCONI Student Research Grant for 2019 (administered by the Paleontological Society) is Lane Allen, an MS student at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, TX. The title of his research is "Paleolimnological Assessment of Harmful Algal Bloom Trends in Texas Lakes". Congratulations! Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) are responsible for economic losses in tourism and fishing industries. The environmental factors that drive bloom formation and toxin production are not well understood. By identifying the environmental stressors that prompt HABs, lake management strategies can be improved to reduce HABs and unhealthy lake occurrences. This project will investigate the dynamics…
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Mammals and their relatives thrived, diversified during so-called ‘Age of Dinosaurs’
Read more: Mammals and their relatives thrived, diversified during so-called ‘Age of Dinosaurs’Phys.org has an article about Mammals during the “Age of Dinosaurs”. In a paper in Trends & Evolution, a review paper summarizes the latest fossil evidence of the state of Mammals and their relatives during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. It seems that Mammals were flourishing and experienced a couple ecological radiations during this time. Paleontologists are trying to dispel a myth about what life was like when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. The false narrative has wormed its way into books, lectures and even scientific papers about this long-ago era. The myth’s focus isn’t on dinosaurs. Its main characters are…
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ScienceMag: Fossils in Burmese amber offer an exquisite view of dinosaur times—and an ethical minefield
Read more: ScienceMag: Fossils in Burmese amber offer an exquisite view of dinosaur times—and an ethical minefieldScience Magazine has an interesting piece about the troubled nature of Burmese amber. Dating to about 99 million years ago, Burmese amber has revealed almost unbelievable fossils, from bird wings, to whole lizards, a host of insects, even a feathered dinosaur tail! Over 1000 new species have been described in recent years. Additionally, the article discusses the seamier side of collection, unsafe mines, devastated rain forest, and ethic insurgency. Some 99 million years before this spring market and about 220 kilometers away in what is now Myanmar, a balmy seaside forest echoed with the calls of strange creatures. The…
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Happy Cephalopod Week 2019!
Read more: Happy Cephalopod Week 2019!The last week in June is Cephalopod week! Wow, who knew?!? Check out these links to learn more about these fascinating animals!
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ESCONI Flashback Friday #7: Matthew Galloway’s Exciting Discovery June 2000
Read more: ESCONI Flashback Friday #7: Matthew Galloway’s Exciting Discovery June 2000As part of the run up to ESCONI’s 70th Anniversary, here is Flashback Friday post #7. If you have pictures or stories to contribute, please send them over to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! Here’s a report from Matthew Galloway’s discovery of an amphibian bone in the Lone Star Quarry on June 4th, 2000. What a find! Matthew Galloway’s Exciting Discovery Call it beginner’s luck. A ten (10) year old LaMoille boy was excited about going on his first field trip with the Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois (ESCONI), then he made an exciting discovery. “I joined the club because I wanted to…
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Giz Asks: Which Extinct Animal Would Have Made the Best Pet?
Read more: Giz Asks: Which Extinct Animal Would Have Made the Best Pet?Gizmodo has an interesting article in which they ask various researchers their favorite pet among extinct animal. You probably don’t want something that may eat you… what about a trilobite! All you need is a saltwater tank. With de-extinction hovering on the edge of being a thing, it is worth asking at least one question. That question is not “why?” or “is this a good idea??”—if it can be done, it will be, and that’s that. No—the question is: which formerly extinct animals should we domesticate? The cat/dog paradigm has reigned for far too long; whole new realms of cuteness and companionship…
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The Fossil Forum: Mazon Creek Pit 11 Report and Discussion
Read more: The Fossil Forum: Mazon Creek Pit 11 Report and DiscussionOver on the Fossil Forum, an ESCONI member, Ralph Jewel, has an fantastic report on Pit 11 collecting. He’s got a bunch of old and new pictures for comparison. Additionally, he has some maps and directions to show you where to collect. The Tipple, ESCONI Hill, Monster Lake, and Ponderosa Lake are all mentioned. Check it out! The Fossil Forum is a great resource!
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NYT: A School of Fish, Captured in a Fossil
Read more: NYT: A School of Fish, Captured in a FossilThe New York Times has a post about a fossil plate that includes a whole shoal of fish. The plate, which dates to about 50 million years ago, measures 22 inches by 15 inches. It contains a group of fish that belong to the extinct species called Erismatopterus levatus. All the details are in a paper that was published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Fish can band together, sometimes in the millions, to form a school or shoal. They will move as one, like a flock of birds, so long as each fish stays in line…
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Roy Plotnick: I am not Indiana Jones or why I am writing a book (it’s not for the money)
Read more: Roy Plotnick: I am not Indiana Jones or why I am writing a book (it’s not for the money)Roy Plotnick has an insightful blog post over on Medium. He discusses perceptions of paleontologists and Paleontology in general – who they are, what they do, and why it’s important. Check it out! If you’ve read any of his previous posts, you’ll know it’s a great read! The confusion with archaeologists is of somewhat understandable; scientists of both fields can spend a lot of time outdoors digging old stuff up from the ground. There are also strong overlaps in methods and concepts. Archaeologists and paleontologists are interested in dating what they have uncovered (although we rarely use carbon dating), in…
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ESCONI June General Meeting on June 14th, 2019 at 8:00 PM – The 1883 Diamond Mine Disaster – Photos
Read more: ESCONI June General Meeting on June 14th, 2019 at 8:00 PM – The 1883 Diamond Mine Disaster – PhotosHere are some photos from the June 2019 General Meeting. The presentation was given by Michele Micetich. Her program is about the Diamond Mine Disaster that occurred in 1883 at the Diamond No. 2 mine near Coal City, IL. Michele is curator of the Carbon Hill School Museum in Carbon Hill, IL. You can learn more on their website. The program was very good and it led to some lively discussions. Here are some pictures.
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Lizzadro Museum: Moving Sale – Friday & Saturday June 21 & 22, 2019
Read more: Lizzadro Museum: Moving Sale – Friday & Saturday June 21 & 22, 2019Lizzadro Museum Moving Sale! 2-Day Moving SaleFriday & Saturday June 21 & 22, 201910 a.m. to 4 p.m. ROCK BOTTOM PRICES!! Items for sale include:Lapidary Materials – slabs, rough & polished stoneMineral Specimens – assorted sizesRocks & FossilsFurniture, Cabinets, Fixtures & More! **All Sales Final** Sold items must be removed from the premises by 5 p.m. Saturday June 22nd, 2019 Methods of payment accepted: Visa/Mastercard/Discover and Cash More details here!
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ESCONI Flashback Friday #6: Field Trip to Pit 11 September 1976
Read more: ESCONI Flashback Friday #6: Field Trip to Pit 11 September 1976As part of the run up to ESCONI’s 70th Anniversary. Here is Flashback Friday post #6. If you have pictures or stories to contribute, please send them over to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! Kathy Dedina had some great pictures from past ESCONI events. Here are a series of pictures from a Pit 11 field trip in September 1976. Notice the lack of vegetation! It looks much different today.
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ESCONI Field Trip to an Ordovician Hard Rock Quarry in Roscoe, IL July 13th, 2019
Read more: ESCONI Field Trip to an Ordovician Hard Rock Quarry in Roscoe, IL July 13th, 2019There will be a field trip for ESCONI members on Saturday, July 13, 2019 to an Ordovician, hard-rock quarry in Roscoe, IL (north of Rockford). We visited this quarry before in May 2017. The trip starts at 9 AM and ends at 12 noon. Rules are as follows: To sign up for this field trip, send me (Dave) an email with the number of members attending. My email address is: fossil54@att.net No phone calls please. Do NOT call the quarry. I will confirm via return email within 24 hours. If you do not hear back from me within that time,…
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Field Museum: Meet a Scientist: Mazon Creek Fossils June 28th, 2019 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Read more: Field Museum: Meet a Scientist: Mazon Creek Fossils June 28th, 2019 11:00 AM to 1:00 PMLearn about Illinois fossils including the Tully Monster! Every Friday from 11am to 1pm, meet members of our scientific staff in the Grainger Science Hub and learn about their latest discoveries and newest research. They’ll bring real artifacts and specimens from the museum’s collection of nearly 40 million objects. You never know what you might discover when you meet a scientist, from natural habitat restoration to preparing new mammal species for installation. This program is free with museum admission. Join us for this hands-on opportunity to learn what our scientists do every day.
ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show
Most Recent Post
- PBS Eons: The Chaotic Race to Name T. rex
PBS Eons has a new episode. This one is about the controversial history of the name Tyrannosaurus rex.
- About ESCONI
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Field trips require membership, but visitors are welcome at all meetings!
| Friday, April 10th | General Meeting – 8:00 PM via Zoom. Jessica Hull will present “Life in the Devonian Period, The Age of Fishes.” |
| Saturday, April 11th | Junior Study Group Meeting – 2:00 PM, in person at the College of DuPage Technical Education Center (TEC) Building – Room 1038A (Map). Katherine Howard will present on Sand and Sediment Collecting. Specifics of this meeting are available from Scott Galloway, 630-670-2591, gallowayscottf@gmail.com. |
| Saturday, April 18th | Paleontology Study Group – 7:30 PM via Zoom and in person at the College of DuPage, TEC, Room 1038B (Map). Keith Robitschek will present “Digging the Marl of the Lance Formation.” |
| No meeting this month | Mineralogy Study Group |
| No meeting this month | Junior Study Group |