Tag: fossils
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NPR: Mystery bidder buys T. rex nicknamed ‘Gus’ for a record $50 million
NPR has a story about the recent auction of “Gus” the Tyrannosaurus rex at Sotheby’s in New York. The winning bid of 50.1 million represents the highest price ever paid for a dinosaur. “Gus” was found by the late Gary “Gus” Licking, a cattle rancher in Harding County, South Dakota. The same county that has…
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PBS Eons: We found the head of the biggest bug ever
PBS Eons has a new short. This one is about Arthropleura, the giant millipede… or is it?
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Paleontologists Discover New Species of Titanosaur in Uruguay
SciNews has a post about a new species of titanosaur from Uruguay. Mesetasaurus protector lived between 86 and 72 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period. The paper describing this species was published in the journal Ameghiniana. The new species was a member of a group of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaurs known as Aeolosaurini, a lineage that…
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The 250-million year rise and fall of the dinosaurs | Steve Brusatte
Big Think has a video with Steve Brusatte, an American paleontologist, a professor of Vertebrate Palaeontology at the University of Edinburgh, and author of a few pop-science books. Steve grew up in Ottawa, IL. He’s spoken to ESCONI in the past. In this video, Steve discusses the origin and the evolution of dinosaurs, mammals, and…
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Mazon Monday #331: Recap of Tom Testa Day at the Carbon Hill School Museum
Back in Mazon Tuesday #328, we did a post about Tom Testa and his amazing Mazon Creek fossil collection. There was a great turnout at the Carbon Hill School Museum special event “The Legacy of Tom Testa” on June 25th, 2026.
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PBS Eons: The potato’s origin was a mystery…until now
PBS Eons has a new Youtube Short. This one is about the evolutionary origin of the potato.
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Fossil Friday #325: Radstockia kidstonii
Jeremy Zimmerman sent in photos of this breathtaking Radstockia kidstonii. R. kidstonii is a very rare true fern from Mazon Creek. Its pinnules and fertile structures are similar to the modern fern Marattia alata.
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‘Gus’ the T. rex presented in New York ahead of auction
Phys.org has an article about “Gus” the Tyrannosaurus rex. “Gus” lived during the late Cretaceous Period, about 67 million years ago. The fossil is about 61% complete by bone count and 75-80% by bone mass. It was discovered in Harding County, South Dakota in 2021. “Gus” is named after the late rancher Gary “Gus” Licking,…
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Scientists Discover the First-Ever Molecules Preserved Inside a 113-Million-Year-Old Pterosaur Fossil
SciTechDaily has a story about an exceptionally preserved pterosaur wing from Brazil. The animal lived about 113 million years ago, during the middle Cretaceous Period, in what is now northeastern Brazil. Its wing phalanx, which refers to the individual bone segments which make up the finger skeleton supporting the wing, was preserved in 3 dimensions…
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Mazon Monday #330: A New Mazon Creek Worm
While you were getting ready to celebrate our nation’s 250th birthday, a new fossil polychaete from Mazon Creek was being introduced to the world! It’s the first in annelid from Mazon Creek in over 20 years! Mazovermes magnaterminus was described in “The first new polychaete from the Mazon Creek fossil site in 20 years suggests…
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Inside the making of the world’s most modern natural history museum
National Geographic has an interesting story about the making of the new Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi. The museum opened in late 2025, with beautiful modern exhibits. This is the story of its making…
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Happy 4th of July… the 250th Edition!
What better way to celebrate the 4th of July than with some beautiful Annularia fossils?!? We have a variety of species here, so sit back and enjoy the fireworks!
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Fossil Friday #324: A Big Beautiful Acanthotelson stimpsoni
It’s not exactly fireworks, but this week’s beautiful Acanthotelson stimpsoni will leave you speechless. A. stimpsoni is a syncarid shrimp and one of the most common shrimp found amongst the fauna of Mazon Creek. Syncarida is a superorder of crustaceans. It consists of two extant orders Anaaspidacea and Bathynellacea, and one extinct order Paleocaridacea, to…
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2026 ESCONI Rock, Mineral and Fossil Swap and Sale – August 15, 2026 at College of DuPage
ESCONI is sponsoring a rock swap and sale event on August 15, 2026 at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn. The location is Parking Lot 4, south of the Health and Science Building, and adjacent to the prairie.
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After 35 Years, 152-Million-Year-Old Dinosaur ‘Big Al’ Returns Home To Wyoming
Cowboy State Daily has a story about “Big Al” the Allosaurus… He is headed home! “Al”, the star of the 2000 BBC documentary “Walking with Dinosaurs”, was found near Shell, WY in 1990. He lived about 152 million years ago during the Jurassic Period. A 2002 paper, “Record-Breaking Pain: The Largest Number and Variety of…
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Mazon Monday #329: Danville Spoil Pile May 2026
Saturday, May 2nd, 2026 was a fairly nice day. It was partly cloudy with some wind. It was a little cooler than previous trips.
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Fossil Friday #323: Laveineopteris rarinervis from the Mazon River
This is the “Fossil Friday” post #323. Expect this to be a regular feature of the website. We will post fossil pictures you send in to esconi.info@gmail.com. Please include a short description or story. Check the #FossilFriday Bluesky/Twitter hash tag for contributions from around the world! Marie Angkuw sent us these photos of a gorgeous…
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Video for ESCONI June 2026 Paleontology Study Group Meeting – “Factors controlling the distribution of Late Ordovician – Silurian crinoids.”
The ESCONI June 2026 Paleontology Study Group Meeting was held on Saturday, June 20th, 2026 at 7:30 PM via Zoom. Lincoln Shoemaker presented “Factors controlling the distribution of Late Ordovician – Silurian crinoids.” Lincoln Shoemaker is currently a master’s student at the University of Cincinnati where he is involved in multiple projects regarding the Late…
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Mazon Tuesday #328: The Legacy of Tom Testa
Michele Micetich, curator of the Carbon Hill School Museum, will host a special event on Saturday, June 27, 2026, celebrating the life and legacy of Tom Testa. A lifelong fossil collector with a passion for Mazon Creek fossils, Tom assembled one of the finest private collections of its kind. In 2015, he gave his collection…
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Mazon Monday #327: Direct development of stem tetrapods across the fin-to-limb transition
A significant paper on tetrapod development was published last week, and Mazon Creek fossils played a central role. “Direct Development of Stem Tetrapods Across the Fin-to-Limb Transition” by Jason Pardo and Arjan Mann of the Field Museum appeared in the journal Science. Lauer Foundation for Paleontology, Science, and Education also contributed to the study. The…
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ESCONI at the Coal City Library!
On June 4, ESCONI was at the Coal City Library to kick off summer with exhibits of fossils, geodes, and our popular dig box. Jody Gosain and Jim Bigler presented to over 150 people including 100 children. Interestingly, the library itself has three beautiful collection of Mazon Creek fossils donated by locals over the years.…
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Fossil Friday #322: Macroneuropteris scheuchzeri from Dresden
For this week’s Fossil Friday, we have a very nice Macroneuropteris scheuchzeri (see Mazon Monday #39). Macroneuropteris scheuchzeri is a fairly common seed fern, which is found in many Carboniferous fossil deposits. In some Mazon Creek localities like the Mazon River, it’s a dominant component of the flora. It was called Neuropteris scheuchzeri until 1977,…
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Video for ESCONI June 2026 General Meeting – “At the Intersection of Art and Science: Outreach in Natural History Museums”
The ESCONI June 2026 General Meeting will be held via Zoom at 8:00 PM on Friday, June 12th, 2026. Adrienne Stroup, Geological Collections, Vertebrate Paleontological Loan Manager, PaleoArtist/Scientific Illustrator from The Field Museum will be presenting “At the Intersection of Art and Science: Outreach in Natural History Museums.” Adrienne will talk about the vertebrate paleontological collections…
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ESCONI June 2026 Paleontology Study Group Meeting, Saturday, June 20th, 2026 at 7:30 PM via Zoom – “Factors controlling the distribution of Late Ordovician – Silurian crinoids.”
The ESCONI June 2026 Paleontology Study Group Meeting will be held on Saturday, June 20th, 2026 at 7:30 PM via Zoom. Lincoln Shoemaker will present “Factors controlling the distribution of Late Ordovician – Silurian crinoids.” Lincoln Shoemaker is currently a master’s student at the University of Cincinnati where he is involved in multiple projects regarding…
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Mazon Monday #326: More Mazon Creek at the 2026 CGMA Show
This is Mazon Monday post #326. What’s your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at email:esconi.info@gmail.com. Long-time ESCONI member Rich Rock had an amazing display of Mazon Creek fossils at the CGMA show. There’s a little a bit of everything here, from clams to ferns to spiders to an absolutely breathtaking Alethopteris serlii. Enjoy!
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‘Whoa’: 12-year-old boy finds 80-million-year-old fossil during educational field trip
KCTV 5 has the story of a 12 year old finding some prehistoric treasure. Corbin Bullard, a budding paleontologist, discovered the skull and some vertebrae of an 80 million year old tylosaurus on a 4-H Geology Club field trip to Sedgwick County, Kansas.
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The Field Museum’s Dinopalooza 2026, Saturday, June 13th, 2026
The Field Museum’s annual paleontology extravaganza “Dinopalooza 2026” is today! Come on out and join the fun!
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Fossil Friday #321: A Large Crenulopteris acadica from the Mazon River
Marie Angkuw sent us these photos of a beautiful Mazon Creek fern. It’s a Crenulopteris acadica from the Mazon River. Crenulopteris acadica is a common fern from Mazon Creek, but this one is very large with multiple fronds. Marie collected this one a few years ago at the I&M Canal Corridor Benefit. The concretion opened…
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ESCONI June 2026 General Meeting, Friday, June 12th, 2026 at 8:00 PM via Zoom – “At the Intersection of Art and Science: Outreach in Natural History Museums”
The ESCONI June 2026 General Meeting will be held via Zoom at 8:00 PM on Friday, June 12th, 2026. Adrienne Stroup, Geological Collections, Vertebrate Paleontological Loan Manager, PaleoArtist/Scientific Illustrator from The Field Museum will be presenting “At the Intersection of Art and Science: Outreach in Natural History Museums.” Adrienne will talk about the vertebrate paleontological…
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Mazon Monday #325: Braceville Spring 2026 Field Trip Report
We held our spring Braceville field trip a few weeks ago. The weather was nearly perfect… partly cloudy with temperatures in the high 70’s and low 80’s each day.
