Tag: fossils
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PBS Eons: Could This Sperm Whale Eat The Meg?
There’s a new PBS Eons. This one is about Sperm Whales and the fearsome shark Megalodon… who would eat who?!? Unlike in fiction, giant whales do not emerge fully-formed from the ocean deep. So, where did Livyatan melvillei come from? How did such a large predator live? And what caused the titan to die out?…
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Mazon Monday #266: Rhacophyllum cornutum
This is Mazon Monday post #266. What’s your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at email:esconi.info@gmail.com. Rhacophyllum cornutum was described by Leo Lesquereux in 1879. Lesquereux was a Swiss-born bryologist and a pioneer of American paleobotany. Lesquereux is credited with naming the Mazon Creek fossil deposit in his 1870 report “Report on the Fossil Plants…
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Jurassic Sea Monster Resurfaces: Rare Fossil Unveils Secrets of Plesiosaur Evolution
SciTechDaily has a story about the discovery of a new plesiosaur in Gernany. The fossil specimen is a remarkably preserved Plesiopterys wildi from Holzmaden’s Posidonienschiefer Formation. It sheds light on the diversity of plesiosaurs during the early Jurassic Period about 180 million years ago. The research was published in the journal PeerJ Life and Environment.…
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Video for ESCONI Paleontology Meeting April 2025 – “A New Cincinnatian Crinoid Species: Discovery, Research, Publication and Working with the Pros”
The April 2025 Paleontology Group Meeting was held on April 19th, 2025. It was a Zoom presentation by Jack Kallmeyer titled “A New Cincinnatian Crinoid Species: Discovery, Research, Publication and Working with the Pros”. Jack’s program will not be a tedious review of the features of the new species of crinoid that he discovered. Rather,…
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Fossil Friday #262: Rhacophyllum cornutum
This is the “Fossil Friday” post #262. Expect this to be a somewhat regular feature of the website. We will post any fossil pictures you send in to esconi.info@gmail.com. Please include a short description or story. Check the #FossilFriday Twitter hash tag for contributions from around the world! —————————————————– Rhacophyllum cornutum is a rare Mazon…
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Video for ESCONI General Meeting April 2025 – “Geological Framework of Indiana”
The April 2025 General Meeting was held via Zoom on April 11th, 2025. Our speaker was Todd Thompson. Todd is the Director and State Geologist of Indiana. His presentation will give an overview of the geology of Indiana, focusing on structures, stratigraphy, and paleogeography through time.
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Mazon Monday #265: Historic Collectors – John and Lucy McLuckie
This is Mazon Monday post #265. What’s your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at email:esconi.info@gmail.com. John McLuckie, a prominent figure in the history of Mazon Creek fossil collecting and an early member of ESCONI, was well known—along with his wife Lucy—for their extraordinary fossil collection. The two are pictured together on the left in…
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Fossil Friday #261: Crossotheca boulayi
This is the “Fossil Friday” post #261. Expect this to be a somewhat regular feature of the website. We will post any fossil pictures you send in to esconi.info@gmail.com. Please include a short description or story. Check the #FossilFriday Twitter hash tag for contributions from around the world! —————————————————– We have one of the rarer…
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Throwback Thursday #261: Roger Bohn
This is Throwback Thursday #261. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! We are saddened to share that Roger Bohn (1932–2024) passed away in October 2024. Roger served as ESCONI’s…
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Scientists shed light on life and times of ‘Fiona’ the pregnant ichthyosaur
Phys.org has a story about Fiona, the pregnant ichthyosaur. Fiona lived about 131 million years ago during the early Cretaceous Period. Her remains were discovered a few years ago in a glacian ice field in Patagona. Her story was published in a paper in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Fiona is the only fully preserved…
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Mazon Monday #264: Crossotheca boulayi
This is Mazon Monday post #264. What’s your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at email:esconi.info@gmail.com. Crossotheca boulayi is one of the rarer seed ferns in the Mazon Creek fossil biota. It was first described as Alethopteris hymenophylloides by Leo Lesquereux in 1870. The name was changed to Crossotheca boulayi by Charles Rene Zeiller (1847-1915). …
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7,000-Year-Old Skeletons From the ‘Green Sahara’ Reveal a Mysterious Human Lineage
Smithsonian Magazine has a story about two mysterious skeletons found in Libya. As recent as 5,000 year ago, the area of the Sahara desert was a lush and green landscape with lakes and rivers. The land sustained a diverse variety of animals. It shouldn’t be surprising that humans were also lived there. Recently, 15 human…
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PBS Eons: Pandas in North America?
PBS Eons has a new video. Pandas in America?!? How? How did a relative of the red panda end up in North America? What can this tell us about how long ago – and how many times – North America was connected to Europe and Asia?
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Fossil Friday #260: Lobatelson mclaughlinae
This is the “Fossil Friday” post #260. Expect this to be a somewhat regular feature of the website. We will post any fossil pictures you send in to esconi.info@gmail.com. Please include a short description or story. Check the #FossilFriday Twitter hash tag for contributions from around the world! —————————————————– Today, we have a very nice…
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252-Million-Year-Old Fossils Reveal Secrets of Triassic Life
SciTechDaily has an article about a new survey of the Triassic fossils from Germany. Researchers found interesting correlations between fossil animals and their associated palaeoenvironments with implications for modern day consequences of climate change and biodiversity loss. The study “Triassic terrestrial tetrapod faunas of the Central European Basin, their stratigraphical distribution, and their palaeoenvironments” was…
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The Dinosaur Database
The Dinosaur Database looks to be an interesting resourrce for all things dinosaur! Dinosaurs are categorized by region/continent and time period. A great place for dinosaur fans of all ages! Welcome to the internet’s largest dinosaur database. Check out a random dinosaur, search for one below, or look at our interactive globe of ancient Earth! Whether you are a kid,…
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Mazon Monday #263: Dinner With Dr. Frederick Schram in August, 2011
This is Mazon Monday post #263. What’s your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at email:esconi.info@gmail.com. Mary Fairchild did an excellent report about her dinner with Dr. Frederick Schram in August, 2011. There is much to enjoy in the report, including facts about early Mazon Creek research, the people that did research, and the collectors…
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Fossil Friday #259: Myriacantherpestes from Indiana
This is “Fossil Friday” post #134. Expect this to be a somewhat regular feature of the website. We will post any fossil pictures you send in to esconi.info@gmail.com. Please include a short description or story. Check the #FossilFriday Twitter hash tag for contributions from around the world! —————————————————– Today, we have a absolutely breathtaking Myriacantherpestes sp. from…
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A 30,000-Year-Old Fossil Frozen in Volcanic Ash Holds an Unbelievable Secret
SciTechDaily brings news of a unique fossil discovery in Italy. A 30,000 year old fossil of a vulture shows that soft tissue can be preserved in volcanic rock deposits. The research was published in the journal Geology. The vulture fossil was originally discovered in 1889 near Rome by a local landowner, who recognized its exceptional…
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Fossilized Evidence Reveals Extinction of Dinosaurs Led to Brief Epoch When Asteroids Ruled the Earth
It’s a few years old, but The Onion had a story about the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs… MÉRIDA, MEXICO—Shedding new light on a rarely discussed prehistoric era, paleontologists from the Ohio State University announced Friday they had uncovered fossilized evidence that confirmed the extinction of dinosaurs led to a brief epoch when asteroids ruled…
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Mazon Monday #262: Kankakeea grundyi
This is Mazon Monday post #262. What’s your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at email:esconi.info@gmail.com. Kankakeea grundyi was a bud used for vegetative reproduction, that, once shed, would grow a new fern. It has been associated with Crenulopteris acadica, as they have been found in association. It is rare and a usually found in…
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Refuge from the worst mass extinction in Earth’s history discovered fossilized in China
Live Science has an interesting piece about refugia during the “Great Dying”. The End Permian mass extinction was Earth’s worst with an an estimated 80% of life going extinct. A new paper “Refugium amidst ruins: Unearthing the lost flora that escaped the end-Permian mass extinction” in the journal Science Advances, describes a refuge from the…
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PBS Eons: The Arms Race That Made Insects Take Flight
PBS Eons has a new episode. This one is about the co-evolution of spiders and insects. Spiders and their ancestors have been driving an arms race that began before either stepped foot onto land and resulted in the first powered flight on Earth.
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Fossil Friday #258: Asterophyllites equisetiformis from Braceville!
This is the “Fossil Friday” post #258. This is a regular feature of the website. We will post any fossil pictures you send in to esconi.info@gmail.com. Please include a short description or story. Check the hash tag #FossilFriday on Twitter/X and Bluesky for contributions from around the world! We have another Calamites related specimen for…
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ESCONI Field Trip to Danville Shale Pile Fossils – Saturday, April 26th, 2025
This field trip is full Danville Field Trip Rules for Saturday, April 26th, 2025 An ESCONI field trip to the Danville IL Shale Pile for Pennsylvanian fossils is scheduled for Saturday April 26, 2025 starting at 10 AM. This is on private property and there is an attendance limit of 25 people. The gate will…
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‘This is a crisis’: A southern Utah city is set to build a power station on top of a premier dinosaur fossil site
The Salt Lake Tribune has a story about the potential loss of a “paleontological jackpot” in Utah. St. George, Utah has an amazing dinosaur locality that dates to the beginning of the Jurassic Period about 200 million years ago. Unfortunately, the city of St. George plans to build a new electric substation on one of…
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Mazon Monday #261: Bear Gulch Cyclids
This is Mazon Monday post #261. What’s your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at email:esconi.info@gmail.com. Who doesn’t like a nice cyclid fossil? Well, the Lauers (and friends) are here with a full plate of them… The fossil plate comes from the legendary Bear Gulch locality in Montana, US. The Bear Gulch Beds of the…
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Video for ESCONI February 2025 Paleontology Study Group Meeting – “How to Explore the Incredible World of Microfossils”
The February 2025 Paleontology Study Group Meeting was held on February 15th, 2025. Our speaker was Katherine Howard. Her title of her persentation was “How to Explore the Incredible World of Microfossils”. This presentation is geared for anyone who is interested in pursuing microfossils. Prepare to be amazed at the plethora of microfossils that can be…
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PBS Eons: Will We Survive The Future? (with John Green)
PBS Eons has another of their long form videos. This one is about the future… will we survive? Just because our ancestors have made it through every major period of upheaval in the Earth’s history so far doesn't mean that our survival through future changes is guaranteed. Humans have become a force of nature, but…
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Fossil Friday #257: Calamostachys tuberculata Cone from the Mazon River
This is the “Fossil Friday” post #257. This is a regular feature of the website. We will post any fossil pictures you send in to esconi.info@gmail.com. Please include a short description or story. Check the hash tag #FossilFriday on Twitter/X and Bluesky for contributions from around the world! —————————————————– We have a gorgeous Calamostachys tuberculata…
