Tag: fossil
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Mazon Monday #317: Pohlsepia Revisited — Not an Octopus After All
A new paper “Synchrotron data reveal nautiloid characters inPohlsepia mazonensis, refuting a Palaeozoic origin for octobrachians” in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences refutes the classification of Pohlsepia mazonensis as an octopus and reclassifies it as a soft-bodied nautiloid as Paleocadmus pohli.
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Fossil Friday #312: Sublepidophloios protuberans with a spray of Cyperites bicarinatus
At first glance, today’s fossil might look like a cone. But, closer examination reveals it to be a nice specimen of Sublepidophloios protuberans with a spray of Cyperites bicarinatus at the top. Sublepidophloios protuberans is a species of lycopsid branch (see Mazon Monday #316) and Cyperites bicarinatus was the sterile leaves for the Lycopsida (see Mazon…
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ESCONI April 2026 General Meeting via Zoom – “Life in the Devonian Period, The Age of Fishes”
The April 2026 General Meeting will be held on April 10th, 2026 at 8:00 via Zoom. At the meeting, Jessica Hull will present “Life in the Devonian Period, The Age of Fishes.” The Devonian Period was a crucial moment in the history of life. In this presentation, Jessica Hull will bring fossils to life by…
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Mazon Monday #316: Sublepidophloios protuberans
Today, we have Sublepidophloios protuberans, which is a species of lycopsid branch. It’s very common, actually the most common form of lycopsid bark in the Mazon Creek fossil flora.
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Fossil of Pincer-Wielding Crawler Reveals Origins of Spiders, Scorpions and Others
The Trilobites column over at the New York Times has a interesting story about the origin of chelicerates – spiders, scorpions, mites, horseshoe crabs, and others. Chelicerates are a diverse group of arthropods that consists of more than 120,000 known species. Member of this group are classified by having a pair of appendages called chelicerae.…
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Fossil Friday #311: Dung Beetle Balls from the Oligocene
Today’s contribution comes from our old friend Ralph Jewell. Back in the 1990s, Ralph was interested in the Oligocene fossils of the Brule Formation, which dates to 34-40 million years ago. This region is sometimes referred to as the White River as the Brule Formation is a member of the White River Group.
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ESCONI Field Trip to Danville Shale Pile Fossils – Saturday, May 2nd, 2026
An ESCONI field trip to the Danville IL Shale Pile for Pennsylvanian fossils is scheduled for Saturday May 2nd, 2026 starting at 10 AM. This is on private property and there is an attendance limit of 25 people. The gate will be secured once we are in and locked when we leave. Plan on being…
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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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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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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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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 #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 #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 #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 #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 #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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Fossil Friday #309: Acanthotelson stimpsoni
Today, we have a cute little Acanthotelson stimpsoni (see Mazon Monday #52) from the Mazon River. Acanthotelson stimpsoni is a syncarid shrimp. It’s the most common shrimp found in the Braidwood fauna.
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2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #23: Macroneuropteris scheuchzeri terminal pinnule
Preview 23 is a nice terminal end of a Macroneuropteris scheuchzeri from Mazon Creek. To learn more see Mazon Monday #39. Saturday will be here before you know it…
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2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #16: Calamostachys Cone
A the rarer side, we have a nice Calamostachys cone for preview #16. Calamostachys was one of the cones of Calamites (see Mazon Monday #99). Less than 6 days left until the show… how quickly time flies!
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2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #15: Macroneuropteris scheuchzeri
For this preview, we have a beautiful Macroneuropteris scheuchzeri (see Mazon Monday #39). This was collected from one of the Morris localities.
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Fossil Friday #308: Beautiful things in small packages…
For this week, we have a nice and detailed orbicular pinnule from a Macroneuropteris scheuchzeri. The concretion is very small., but the “hairs” are there. Unfortunately, they may not show up in the photos. This concretion was collected from Pit 2 and opened via freeze/thaw. Check out the last photo to see the size and…
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2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #12: Crinoids from the Bangor Formation in Alabama
Here’s a gorgeous plate of crinoids from the Bangor Formation of Western Alabama. These fossils date to the Upper Mississippian Chestertian Series. There are a couple other fossils on the piece, including Archimedes bryozoans and other crinoid calyxes. Come on out and check it out in less than two weeks!
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Mazon Monday #312: Sigillaria tessellata
Sigillaria tessellata is an extinct species of spore bearing, arborescent (tree-like) lycophyte from the Mazon Creek fossil deposit. Arborescent lycophytes (or scale trees) belong to the group Lepidodendrales. Sigillaria is known from as early as the Middle Devonian. It went extinct during the Early Permian Period.
