Tag: MazonCreek
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Fossil Friday #17: Mazon Creek Alethopteris serlii
This is the “Fossil Friday” post #17. 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! What’s your favorite Mazon Creek plant fossil? …
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Mazon Monday #18: Langford Book Inscriptions
This is Mazon Monday post #18. Book inscriptions were much more common in the past. As owner of a book, which was a valuable possession. you might add your name to the inner cover. A recent Langford purchase by ESCONI member Roy Plotnick, reminded us of the historical significance of these inscriptions. Many of the…
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Fossil Friday #16: Macroneuropteris With Insect Damage
This is the “Fossil Friday” post #16. 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! —————————————————– Plant fossils with insect damage are…
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Mazon Monday #17: One Fish, Two Fish, Three Fish, Many Fish…
This is Mazon Monday post #17. There are a few types of fish known in the Mazon Creek biota. And while, the classification has changed since the creature corner article on fish, which appeared in March 1989. It’s still interesting and instructive. Here is the text and a few drawings. The following two concretions are…
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Mazon Monday #16: Adelophthalmus mazonensis
This is Mazon Monday post #16. Maybe it’s their size (early Devonian species could be almost three meters long!) or their similarity to scorpions (they’re called sea-scorpions) or their rarity (they are fairly scarce in the fossil record), it’s hard to say why, but Eurypterids were fascinating animals. There is currently only one known Mazon…
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Mazon Monday #15: Mazon Creek at the Field Museum
This is Mazon Monday post #15. The Field Museum has one of the most extensive collections of Mazon Creek specimens, both flora and fauna. The Field Museum has long been a big part of the study of this locality, with such historical giants as George Langford and Eugene Richardson working there. Currently, Jack Wittry works…
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Fossil Friday #13: Annularia
This is the “Fossil Friday” post #13. 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! —————————————————– How about some Annularia for the…
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Mazon Monday #14: Essexella asherae
This is Mazon Monday post #14. Essexella asharae is the most common animal fossil you will find in the Mazon Creek biota. In the Essex biota, it has been estimated to be over 40% of finds. Specimens come in many forms with varied preservation. While there was a recent paper about whether it is a…
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Mazon Monday #13: Belotelson magister
This is Mazon Monday post #13. Belotelson magister is the most common crustacean/shrimp fossil in the Mazon Creek biota. They can be found fairly readily and can range from a partial, to a molt, and sometimes even a full body. Most of the shrimps found in Pit 11 are Belotelsons. It was described way back…
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Fossil Friday #11: Mazon Creek Ferns
This is the “Fossil Friday” post #10. 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! —————————————————– Here are some nice Mazon Creek ferns. …
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Throwback Thursday #12: George Langford Night, June 13th, 1958
This is Throwback Thursday #12. 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! June 13th, 1958 was George Langford Night. It celebrated the publication of “Fossil Flora and Fauna of the…
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Mazon Monday #12: Tully: Monster vs Method
This is Mazon Monday post #12. This video by the Field Museum details some of the modern research methods used to study the Tully Monster fossils, and actually many of the other fossils in the FM collection. This research led to the conclusions that you have heard a few years ago… the Tully Monster is…
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Fossil Friday #10: A Mazon Creek Scorpion!
This is the “Fossil Friday” post #10. 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! This beauty was contributed by Phil Anderson. …
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Mazon Monday #11: Mazon Creek Collections Database
This is Mazon Monday post #11. The Illinois State Museum in Springfield, IL has a significant collection of Mazon Creek fossils. Most of the collection stems from a collection donated by George Langford in the 1930s. The Mazon Creek Collections Database is a digitzed resource accessible on the museum’s website. In it, you will find…
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Fossil Friday #9: Alethopteris serlii from the Mazon River
This is the “Fossil Friday” post #9. 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! Here is a stunning Alethopteris serlii from…
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Ticks, Ticks, Ticks, Ticks, Ticks 2020!
This post is a little late as we are fast approaching the peak of tick season. But, as the weather gets warmer (and hopefully, dryer), you will probably be spending more time outside looking for fossils, minerals, etc. in the woods, fields, and quarries. One creature you may encounter is a tick. Ticks are arthropods,…
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Mazon Monday #10: Pennsylvanian Siderite Concretionary Fossil Sites
This is Mazon Monday post #10. Fossiliferous Pennsylvanian siderite concretions are known from multiple locations around the world. The most well documented sites are: Some of these localities were described in a paper by Baird, Sroka, and Shabica in 1985, titled “Mazon Creek-Type Fossil Assemblages in the U.S. Midcontinent Pennsylvanian”. A post on the Fossil…
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Mazon Monday #9: Acanthodes beecheri
This is Mazon Monday post #9. Acanthodes beecheri is the subject of this Species Spotlight. Some of the material in this post was provided by David Duck. Dave has a deep appreciation and interest in the Mazon Creek fauna and flora. He has even constructed 3-D models of quite a few of the Mazon animals,…
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Mazon Monday #8: Testajapyx thomasi
This is Mazon Monday post #8. Testajapyx thomasi is the subject of this Species Spotlight, You may recognize the name of this species. It is named for ESCONI member, Tom Testa. Tom is a prolific, some might even say legendary, Mazon Creek collector. A great part of his collection resides in the Field Museum and…
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Fossil Friday #6: Fossils From The Mazon River
This is the “Fossil Friday” post #6. 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! Here are various Mazon Creek fossils from…
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Mazon Monday #7: Ancient ‘Tully monster’ was a vertebrate, not a spineless blob, study claims
This is Mazon Monday post #7. This is about one of the favorite Mazon animals, the Tully monster. Phys.org has an article about some new research about the Tully Monster. The Tully Monster was first discovered by Francis Tully in 1955. He was fossil hunting in Pit 11 of the old Peabody Coal Company’s strip…
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Fossil Friday #5: Esconites zelus
This is the “Fossil Friday” post #5. 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! For this week’s Fossil Friday, we have…
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Mazon Monday #6: Esconites zelus
This is Mazon Monday post #6. A fellow member sent me some pictures of some recently opened Esconites zelus. Got interested in where and when it was first described, here are some highlights. Esconites zelus, Species Spotlight Esconites Temporal range: Carboniferous Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Annelida Class: Polychaeta Order: Eunicida Family: Eunicidae Genus: †Esconites…
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Mazon Monday #5: The Mazon Creek Project
This is Mazon Monday post #5. Some of the information in this post was provided by John Liskey, former ESCONI member, who has generously donated fossil, mineral, and assorted junior material. Thanks, John! ———————————————————– The Mazon Creek Project was a program sponsored by Northeastern Illinois University. Founded in the 1960s, by the late Eugene Richardson…
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Mazon Monday #4: Belotelson Shrimp
This is Mazon Monday post #4. These pictures are of a specimen of Belotelson magister collected by ESCONI member Rich Holm in late summer 2019 in Mazonia South Pit 11. It is a crustacean that lived about 307 mya. It was first described by Packard in 1886 from Mazon Creek material. Description: The Mazon Creek…
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Mazon Monday #3: Mazon Creek Fossils
This is Mazon Monday post #3. The following article by Mary Fairchild first appeared here. It’s a great historical summary of collecting Mazon Creek Fossils. Additionally, the slideshows of fossils hold some amazing specimens. There’s mention of everyone from George Langford Sr. to Eugene Richardson to Jack Wittry and many other notable researchers in between. …
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Mazon Monday #2: The Vanishing Mother Lode of Mazon Creek
The Friday, July 2nd, 2004 edition of The Reader featured an article titled “The Vanishing Mother Lode of Mazon Creek”. The full text of the article is available online. Unfortunately, it doesn’t include the pictures. This article was written by Mike Sula, no relation to long time ESCONI member Rob Sula. The article does a…
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Throwback Thursday #1: “If I Could Turn Back Time: ESCONI Rock Club” by Mary Fairchild
Mary Fairchild wrote this article back in 2006. Her and her family were heavily involved in ESCONI in the late 1990s and 2000s. Actually, Jim served as president of ESCONI from 2006 to 2008, along with various other positions. He currently serves as auctioneer at the annual ESCONI shows. As you will read, they have…
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Mazon Monday #1: The Tully Monster
The Tully Monster, or Tullimonstrum gregarium, has long been one of the most popular Mazon Creek fossil specimens. The reasons are unclear… maybe it’s the strange shape of the animal, or that it’s the State Fossil of Illinois, or the questions and controversy as to what type of animal it is. It is fairly rare,…
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2020 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show March 21st and March 22nd – Preview #6, Macroneuropteris scheuchzeri
This is the preview post #6 for the 2020 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show. The show is on March 21st and March 22nd, 2020. Show details can be found here. This one is a beautiful specimen of Macroneuropteris scheuchzeri. There is quite a but of detail. We have a bunch of Mazon plants this year. …
