Tag: fossil
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ESCONI Flashback Friday #14: George Langford
As part of the run up to ESCONI’s 70th Anniversary, here is Flashback Friday post #14. If you have pictures or stories to contribute, please send them over to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! Jim Konecny wrote this piece for the June 1994 edition of the ESCONI Earth Science News. This year marked the 55th anniversary of George’s…
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ESCONI Flashback Friday #9: Illinois State Fossil – The Tully Monster
As part of the run up to ESCONI’s 70th Anniversary, here is Flashback Friday post #9. If you have pictures or stories to contribute, please send them over to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! The following article appeared in the 50th Anniversary issue of the newsletter. Unfortunately, Francis Tully (yes! an ESCONI member!) didn’t live to see it,…
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ESCONI Flashback Friday #7: Matthew Galloway’s Exciting Discovery June 2000
As 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…
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ESCONI Flashback Friday #6: Field Trip to Pit 11 September 1976
As 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…
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ESCONI Flashback Friday #5: Dinner With Dr. Frederick Schram in August, 2011
As part of the run up to ESCONI’s 70th Anniversary. Here is Flashback Friday post #4. If you have pictures or stories to contribute, please send them over to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! Mary Fairchild did an excellent report about her dinner with Dr. Frederick Schram in August, 2011. There is much to enjoy in the report,…
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Flashback Friday #4: Braceville Trip 05/16/2009
As part of the run up to ESCONI’s 70th Anniversary. Here is Flashback Friday post #4. If you have pictures or stories to contribute, please send them over to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! Sometimes referred to as “Worm Hill”, the Braceville spoil pile dates to at least the 1880s. ESCONI hasn’t been going here since then, but…
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NPR The Indicator: Selling a T-rex on eBay
NPR’s “The Indicator” podcast has an episode about a baby T-rex for sale on eBay. They do a good job of describing the situation. The podcast is an excellent way to learn about the economics. They have short informative episodes daily. Check it out!
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2019 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show March 23th and March 24th – Preview #15, Macroneuropteris (Mazon Creek)
Tomorrow is the 2019 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show! Here are a few more pictures of live auction material Macroneuropteris scheuchzeri (Mazon Creek)
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2019 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show March 23th and March 24th – Preview #13, Laveineopteris rarinervis (Mazon Creek Fern)
Another preview of material for the live auction at the 2019 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show… Laveineopteris rarinervis (Mazon Creek Fern)
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2019 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show March 23th and March 24th – Preview #12, Neuropteris vermicularis (Mazon Creek Fern)
Another preview of material for the live auction at the 2019 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show… Neuropteris vermicularis (Mazon Creek Fern)
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2019 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show March 23th and March 24th – Preview #11, Alethopteris serlii (Mazon Creek Fern)
Another preview of material for the live auction at the 2019 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show… Alethopteris serlii (Mazon Creek Fern)
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2019 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show March 23th and March 24th – Preview #7, Alethopteris (Mazon Creek Fern)
Another preview of material for the live auction at the 2019 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show… Alethopteris sullivanti from the Mazon Creek biota.
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2019 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show March 23th and March 24th – Preview #6, Crenulopteris (Mazon Creek Fern)
Another preview of material for the live auction at the 2019 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show… Crenulopteris acadica from the Mazon Creek biota.
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2019 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show March 23th and March 24th – Preview #2, Mazon Creek Plant
Another preview of material for the live auction at the 2019 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show. This very nice Crenulopteris subcrenulata will be offered up for auction.
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New Prehistoric Shark Species Discovered Alongside Sue the T. Rex Named for ESCONI’s Karen Nordquist
CREDIT: (C) VELIZAR SIMEONOVSKI, FIELD MUSEUM ESCONI member and past president Karen Nordquist was honored by having a shark named for her. The details are in this Smithsonian.com article. The freshwater shark Galagadon nordquistae lived alongside SUE the T. rex, about 67 million years ago. More information is in the press release from the AAAS.…
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Fossil Park Proposal For Lone Star Quarry Near Oglesby, IL
In late October 2018, the old Lone Star quarries near Oglesby, IL (owned by Buzzi-Unicem) were acquired by the state with the intent of annexing them to existing nearby state parks. A proposal to create a fossil park in a portion of those quarries has been submitted to IDNR. There will be other groups with…
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Reminder: ESCONI General Meeting on October 12th, 2018
The October General Meeting will be held on October 12th, 2018 at the College of Dupage, Room 1038B TEC in the Tech Ed building. The topic is “The Mazon Creek Cnidarian Essexella: The World Turned Upside Down” by Dr. Roy Plotnick from the University of Illinois – Chicago. See you all there!
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Check an Address Through Deep Time
There is an interesting page at dinosaurpictures.org, which will show you a location on earth through deep time. The Mazon Creek area looks about right for 300 million years ago. And, check out the young Rockies 66 million years ago.
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Trilobite of the Month – April 2018
Head on over to www.trilobites.info for the April 2018 “Trilobite of the Month”. It is Lanceaspis hammondi from the Lower Devonian of Morocco. Another interesting and unique trilobite from Morocco! Trilobites.info is a great resource for all things trilobite. There is even a book! The book is an adaptation of the website and it has…
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Trilobite of the Month – March 2018
The trilobites.info “Trilobite of the Month” is Goldius. The website trilobites.info is a great place to learn everything you ever wanted to know about trilobites. It’s constantly updated with new information. You can also order the website in book form. There’s tons of photos and references to help you identify your latest find. So, visit…
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Fossil tour of Chicago skyscrapers August 9 and September 13
From dabble, there is a paleontological tour of Chicago skyscrapers a few times this summer. The next dates are Sunday, August 9, and Sunday, September 13: https://dabble.co/chicago/science/classes/fossils-the-magnificent-mile-with-peter-kaplan ESCONI members are welcome to attend but please RSVP. If you prefer to do a self-guided tour, a .pdf of the guide booklet can be provided. Raise your…
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Rebellatrix
Via UPI – Ancestor of living ‘fossil fish’ described An ancestor of coelacanths, “living fossil” fish thought extinct until a live one was caught in 1938 off South Africa, has been identified, paleontologists say. Unlike living coelacanths, which are slow-moving fish with peculiar broad tails, the extinct ancestor had a tuna-like forked tail and was probably…
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Do You Know Who Owns This Fossil?
Need help! Do you know which member owns this fossil (and brought it to be photographed for the new book?) If so, please send email to esconiclub@yahoo.com or call Jack Wittry or reply in the comment section of this post or call a board member listed in the newsletter. Thank you! Click on photo to embiggen.
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Torosaurus Discussion in MSM
Interesting letter written for NYTimes in response to article “Triceratops’ Quiet Cousin, the Torosaurus, Gains New Legitimacy” (March 6) … The study by Nicholas Longrich and Daniel Fields falls short because cranial fusion cannot be confirmed by simple observation. High-resolution computer tomography and comparative cranial histology are required. Dr. Longrich and Mr. Field leave out skulls…
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Illinois Fossil Fan Site
A hobbyist has packed in quite a bit of information and links about Illinois fossil hunting.
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MicroRNA Used to Track Evolution to Fossils
Via Science News: …. The team’s microRNA sequencing results also agree with the order in which the different annelids and their relatives appear in the fossil record—something that previous hypotheses about their relationships had failed to do, said co-author Derek Briggs, Yale’s Frederick William Beinecke Professor of Geology and Geophysics. “This study is an elegant…
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General Meeting – Book Signing Too – This Friday 9/11
Just found out that Jack Wittry will be available before and after his presentation to sign his book, The Mazon Creek Fossil Flora. The book will be on sale for $65 hard cover, $35 soft cover at the General Meeting on Friday, September 11 at College of Dupage, Building K, Room 131, at 8:00 pm.…
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Fossilized iridescent colors
Via National Science Foundation (from geology.com) … A team of paleontologists and ornithologists has now discovered evidence of vivid iridescent colors in fossil feathers more than 40 million years old. The finding, published online August 26 in the journal Biology Letters, signifies the first evidence of a preserved color-producing nanostructure in a fossilized feather…
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Fossil Find by Indiana University
Via Chicago Tribune: BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana University scientists say they’ve discovered a “treasure trove” of fossils in a water-filled cave in the Dominican Republic. The IU archaeologists went on scuba diving treks in about 30 feet of water in the cave. They found stone tools, a remarkably preserved primate skull and the claws, jawbone…
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Fossil Auction in Las Vegas
From Art Knowledge News via geology.com: …One of the largest known Tyrannosaurus rex specimens ever discovered will be offered by international auctioneers Bonhams & Butterfields on Saturday, October 3, 2009 during the company’s first Natural History auction to be held at The Venetian ® in Las Vegas. The auction will contain approximately 50 lots of…
