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MAPS Expo XLVII – April 24-26, 2026 in Springfield, IL
Read more: MAPS Expo XLVII – April 24-26, 2026 in Springfield, ILThe 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
Read more: Fossil Friday #310: Mazon Creek ScallopAnother 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 modern day scallops?
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Throwback Thursday #310: History of the Thornton Quarry
Read more: Throwback Thursday #310: History of the Thornton QuarryRan 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
Read more: This crocodile ran like a greyhound across prehistoric Britain 200 million years agoScience 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
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show Recap – Displays and DemonstratorsWell, 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 feedback to esconi.info@gmail.com or esconiclub@gmail.com.
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Mazon Monday #314: Smithixerxes juliarum
Read more: Mazon Monday #314: Smithixerxes juliarumSmithixerxes 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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Live Auction Items For Sunday
Read more: Live Auction Items For SundayHere are the live auction on Sunday, March 22nd at 11:30.
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Scenes from Day 1 of the 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show
Read more: Scenes from Day 1 of the 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil ShowWe 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 things to buy at the 20+ vendors at this years show. We had some great auctions, both live and silent… hopefully, you were able to win something beautiful. And, there was great weather… how can you beat 80 degrees in March?!?
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ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Auction Items
Read more: ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Auction ItemsHere are the Live Auction Items.
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Today is the Day! ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show!
Read more: 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
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #40: Mazon Creek Asterophyllites and a Sphenopterid in a Riker MountLast 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
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #39: Fluorite and SphaleriteOne 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
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #38: Reticulopteris munsterii var. dawsonii from Mazon CreekHow 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
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #37: Alethopteris serlii from St. Clair, PennsylvaniaThis 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
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #36: Purple Fluorite from Cave-in-Rock, ILHere’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
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #35: Priscacara, sp. from the Green River Formation in WyomingWhat 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
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #34: Giant Moroccan TrilobiteHow 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
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #33: Laveineopteris rarinervis from Mazon CreekThis 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
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #32: Calcite from Ourey, ColoradoTime 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
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #30: Mazon Creek Achistrum, sp. ColonyAnother 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!
ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show
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Field trips require membership, but visitors are welcome at all meetings!
| Friday, June 12th | General Meeting – 8:00 PM via Zoom. Adrienne Stroup of The Field Museum will present “At the Intersection of Art and Science: Outreach in Natural History Museums”. |
| Saturday, June 20th | Paleontology Study Group – 7:30 PM via Zoom. Emily Hillan will present “New insights from Tiktaalik roseae: The role of legs before the origin of limbs”. |
| No meeting this month | Junior Study Group Meeting |
| No meeting this month | Mineralogy Study Group |