Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois

Fossil Friday, Mazon Creek

Fossil Friday #304: A Heartwarming Tully Reunion

This is the “Fossil Friday” post #304. 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! For Valentines Day, we have a nice heartwarming Tullymonster reunion story we received from long-time ESCONI member and Mazon Creek Collector Jim Alann. Jim has sent us many contributions for Fossil Friday over the years, all of them memorable! Here’s Jim’s story… “Here is a heartwarming tully monster reunion story that every Mazon creek fossil…
Read more: Fossil Friday #304: A Heartwarming Tully Reunion
Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday #304 – Lizzadro Field Trip in January 1971

This is Throwback Thursday #304. 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! email:esconi.info@gmail.com. The Lizzadro Museum was originally located in Wilder Park, Elmhurst, IL. It was opened on November 4th, 1962 by its founder Joseph Lizzadro. In all that time, it has been dedicated to the Lapidary Arts. ESCONI has had a long history of cooperation with the Lizzadro Museum. There has been many field trips over the years with one held on January 16th, 1971.…
Read more: Throwback Thursday #304 – Lizzadro Field Trip in January 1971
Calendar of Events

ESCONI February 2026 General Meeting – February 13th, 2026 at 8:00 PM – “Diggin’ Illinois: A hands-on introduction to the fascinating archaeological record of Illinois.”

Dale Simpson of the University of Illinois’ Prairie Research Institute will present “Diggin’ Illinois: A hands-on introduction to the fascinating archaeological record of Illinois.” The meeting will be held on February 13th, 2026 at 8:00 PM via Zoom. Illinois has a rich and varied archaeological record that spans some 13,000 years. In this hybrid presentation, we will first explore this record in lecture format, then interact with hands-on stations that include different archaeological materials from the Land of Lincoln. After experiencing “Diggin’ Illinois”, participants will foster a better appreciation for our state’s culture history, in addition to the materials archaeologists…
Read more: ESCONI February 2026 General Meeting – February 13th, 2026 at 8:00 PM – “Diggin’ Illinois: A hands-on introduction to the fascinating archaeological record of Illinois.”
Calendar of Events, ESCONI Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show

2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #4: Halite

This is the preview post #4 for the 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show Live Auction. The ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show for 2026 will be held on March 21th and 22nd at the DuPage Fairgrounds in Wheaton, IL, which is the same location as last year. All details can be found here. Today’s preview is a beautiful piece of Halite from Searles Lake, Trona, California. Halite are natural crystallized salt, sometimes referred to as “rock salt”. Its chemical makeup is sodium chloride. It forms as evaporite deposits in saline lakes and watercourses, or as bedded sedimentary rock.
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #4: Halite
Mazon Creek, Mazon Monday

Mazon Monday #308: Acitheca polymorpha

This is Mazon Monday post #308. What’s your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at email:esconi.info@gmail.com. Acitheca polymorpha is an extinct species of the class Filcopsida. It is one of the rarer species of fern found in the Mazon Creek fossil localities. The classification of Acitheca polymorpha (Pecopteris polymorpha) has been problematic. Leo Lesquereux figured Pecopteris polymorpha as Pecopteris miltoni in 1879. A. polymorpha was described by Adolphe-Theodore Brongniart (1801-1876) as Pecopteris polymorpha in 1831. Brongniart, a French paleontologist, is considered by many to be the father of paleobotany. He described many Carboniferous plants. P. polymorpha was moved to the genus Acitheca in…
Read more: Mazon Monday #308: Acitheca polymorpha
Around the Web

Netflix: “The Dinosaurs”… Coming March 6th, 2026

Netflix has a new dinosaur documentary “The Dinosaurs”, which premiers on March 6th, 2026. The trailer is on Youtube. Welcome to The Dinosaurs – an epic journey into a lost world. From executive producer Steven Spielberg, Amblin Entertainment, and the award‑winning team behind Our Planet, this groundbreaking documentary series follows the rise and fall of the dinosaurs across hundreds of millions of years. Narrated by Academy Award–winner Morgan Freeman. Watch The Dinosaurs – only on Netflix, March 6. Watch on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81612720
Read more: Netflix: “The Dinosaurs”… Coming March 6th, 2026
Around the Web

PBS Eons: When Ancient Weeds Fooled Us

PBS Eons has a new episode. This one is about evolution of weeds. Ancient weeds began mimicking early crops again and again over the course of the agricultural revolution, as ancient farmers made similar mistakes in different places at different times.And it turns out, some of our closest plant friends today actually started out as uninvited guests that hid their true identity. From a certain evolutionary point of view, these plants tricked us into domesticating them. But this mimicry came with a dark side – along with some accidental plant friends emerged an accidental plant enemy, too.
Read more: PBS Eons: When Ancient Weeds Fooled Us
Calendar of Events

ESCONI Events for February 2026

Field trips require membership, but visitors are welcome at all meetings! Friday, February 13th General Meeting – 8:00 PM via Zoom Dale Simpson will present “Diggin’ Illinois: A hands-on introduction to the fascinating archaeological record of Illinois.” Saturday, February 14th Junior Study Group – 2:00 PM, Topic “Lighted Display Tracing Rock, Mineral and Fossil Specimens” by Finn Lutz, ESCONI Member Specifics of this meeting are available from Scott Galloway, 630-670-2591, gallowayscottf@gmail.com. The meeting will be in person at the College of DuPage Technical Education Center (TEC) Building – Room 1038A (Map). Saturday, February 21st Paleontology Study Group – 7:30 PM via Zoom Arvid Aase will present “Death to…
Read more: ESCONI Events for February 2026
Fossil Friday, Mazon Monday

Fossil Friday #303: Mounted Pecopteris notata

This is the “Fossil Friday” post #303. 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! Today, we have one of the rarer forms, Pecopteris notata. It’s not always present in Mazon Creek plant books, but Jack Wittry did include it in his latest flora book “A Comprehensive Guide to the Fossil Flora of Mazon Creek”. P. notata was described by Leo Lesquereux in 1858. The penultimate pinnae has a unique shape,…
Read more: Fossil Friday #303: Mounted Pecopteris notata
Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday #303: Looking Back At ESCONI For February 2026

This is Throwback Thursday #303. 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! email:esconi.info@gmail.com. 25 Years Ago – February 2001 50 Years Ago – February 1976 70 Years Ago – February 1956
Read more: Throwback Thursday #303: Looking Back At ESCONI For February 2026
Around the Web

PNAS: Can paleontologists pinpoint the dawn of the dinosaurs?

PNAS has an interesting news feature about the origin of the dinosaurs. When and where did they first appear? Evidence points to an amimal known as Lewisuchus admixtus that lived in what is now Argentina about 236 million years ago. There’s a small, but fierce, jawbone in Argentina’s national natural science museum in Buenos Aires. It’s 6 inches long and studded with backward-curving fangs that would have hooked into flesh to rip it open—teeth not unlike those of the fearsome Komodo dragon, says paleontologist Martín Ezcurra, a researcher at the museum. But this jaw is 236 million years old. It…
Read more: PNAS: Can paleontologists pinpoint the dawn of the dinosaurs?
Calendar of Events, ESCONI Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show

2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #3: Acanthotelson stimpsoni

This is the preview post #3 for the 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show Live Auction. The ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show for 2026 will be held on March 21th and 22nd at the DuPage Fairgrounds in Wheaton, IL, which is the same location as last year. All details can be found here. For today, we have another of the Mazon Creek fossils for the Live Auction at the 2026 ESCONI Show. This is an absolutely beautiful Acanthotelson stimpsoni collected from Pit 11. It’s very detailed with both legs and antennae present. Acanthotelson stimpsoni is a syncarid shrimp. It’s…
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #3: Acanthotelson stimpsoni
Mazon Creek, Mazon Monday

Mazon Monday #307: Arjan Mann on Fossil Nerds

This is Mazon Monday post #307. What’s your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at email:esconi.info@gmail.com. Episode #94 of the Fossil Nerds podcast is “The Marvelous Mini-Monsters of Mazon Creek with Arjan Mann”. Arjan is the Assistant Curator of Early Tetrapods at the Field Museum. He discusses his lab’s work, various ancient fish and tetrapods, gorganopsids, and (of course!) Mazon Creek. Check it out, it’s excellent! Paleontologist Arjan Mann’s research on early vertebrates and fossil fishes is highlighted through his role at the Field Museum of Chicago, where he works with some of the most important collections in the world. Arjan’s…
Read more: Mazon Monday #307: Arjan Mann on Fossil Nerds
Around the Web

Stunning Fossil Site Reveals Life Rebounding After Major Extinction Event

Science Alert has a story about the discovery of a new Cambrian lagerstatte in China. The site preserves an entire ecosystem in stunning detail. There are about 40 Cambrian sites worldwide that exhibiting exquisite preservation of rarely preserved, non-mineralized soft tissue. Add this newly discovered 512 million years old fossil site in Hunan, South China, named the Huayuan biota. Currently, 153 animal species are known, those animals span 16 major groups. The species diversity and preservation is said to rival the Canada’s Burgess Shale. The research was published in the journal Nature. But it’s not just any Lagerstätte; a team led…
Read more: Stunning Fossil Site Reveals Life Rebounding After Major Extinction Event
Around the Web

You Wouldn’t Want to Butt Heads With This Small Dinosaur

The New York Times’ Trilobites column has a story about the discovery of a new dinosaur in Mexico. The animal, Xenovenator espinosai, was discovered in 2000 in the Cerro del Pueblo formation in northeastern Mexico by Martha Aguillón-Martinez. It lived about about 73 million years ago when the area was a marshy coastline. The animal’s description was published in the journal Diversity. A team of paleontologists recently described a set of thick bones on top of the dinosaur’s braincase that fused together into a knobby bump. The scientists proposed that the new dinosaur, named Xenovenator (or “strange hunter”) espinosai, used…
Read more: You Wouldn’t Want to Butt Heads With This Small Dinosaur
Fossil Friday, Mazon Creek

Fossil Friday #302: A Beautiful Macroneuropteris scheuchzeri from Braceville!

This is the “Fossil Friday” post #302. 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! For this week, we have a beautiful pyritized Macroneuropteris sheuchzeri (see Mazon Monday #39) from Braceville. Plant fossils are relatively rare from Braceville, as it’s a marine Mazon Creek locality (see Mazon Monday #130). This stunning specimen was sent in by long-time ESCONI member Ralph Jewell. That’s Ralph’s car next to the Braceville spoil pile…
Read more: Fossil Friday #302: A Beautiful Macroneuropteris scheuchzeri from Braceville!
Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday #302: More Old Cars

This is Throwback Thursday #302. 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! email:esconi.info@gmail.com. In Throwback Thursday #267, we posted field trip photos that showed old cars from the 1950s and 1960s. With the frigid weather this week and last… here’s another group of photos to get everyone thinking of spring. It’s just around a few more corners. Just think come March 1st, it will be time to get out and find some nice Mazon Creek fossils!…
Read more: Throwback Thursday #302: More Old Cars
Member Posts

Collecting Echinoids (Sea Urchins) in North Jutland, Denmark

Today, we have an interesting guest post from long-time ESCONI member Marie Angkuw. Marie is part of the Lyme Regis Babes as John Catalani has named them. Marie, Rhonda Gates, Jann Bergsten, and Deborah Lovely have taken numerous trips to Europe to collect fossils. They’ve been to Lyme Regis (multiple times), Whitby, Yorkshire, and the Isle of Wight. This time it was Marie, Jann, and Rhonda on a trip to Denmark to collect echinoids! Here is their story as told by Marie. Collecting Echinoids (Sea Urchins) in North Jutland, Denmark By Marie Angkuw I don’t think there are too many…
Read more: Collecting Echinoids (Sea Urchins) in North Jutland, Denmark
Calendar of Events, ESCONI Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show

2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #2: Fluorite, Galena, and Barite From Bingham, NM

This is the preview post #2 for the 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show Live Auction. The ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show for 2026 will be held on March 21th and 22nd at the DuPage Fairgrounds in Wheaton, IL, which is the same location as last year. All details can be found here. In addition to the Tully Monsters we posted in December, we have some absolutely beautiful mineral specimens for the 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show Live Auction. For this preview, we have a 20 lb. piece of Fluorite, Galena, and Barite from the Royal Flush…
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #2: Fluorite, Galena, and Barite From Bingham, NM
Mazon Creek, Mazon Monday

Mazon Monday #306: Drevotella proteana

This is Mazon Monday post #306. What’s your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at email:esconi.info@gmail.com. Drevotella proteana is believed to be a hydrozoan. It lived during the Pennsylvanian Period. Fossils of this soft-bodied animal are known only from the Mazon Creek fossil deposit, where exceptional preservation allows such delicate organisms to be recorded. Hydrozoans are cnidarians and include jelly-like forms within the subphylum Medusozoa. Drevotella proteana was formally described by Matthew Nitecki and Eugene Richardson, Jr. in the paper “A New Hydrozoan From the Pennsylvanian of Illinois,” published in Fieldiana: Geology. Abstract Drevotella proteana, a new genus and species…
Read more: Mazon Monday #306: Drevotella proteana

Friday, February 13th	General Meeting – 8:00 PM via Zoom Dale Simpson will present “Diggin’ Illinois: A hands-on introduction to the fascinating archaeological record of Illinois.”
Saturday, February 14th	Junior Study Group – 2:00 PM, Topic “Lighted Display Tracing Rock, Mineral and Fossil Specimens” by Finn Lutz, ESCONI Member Specifics of this meeting are available from Scott Galloway, 630-670-2591, gallowayscottf@gmail.com. The meeting will be in person at the College of DuPage Technical Education Center (TEC) Building – Room 1038A (Map).
Saturday, February 21st	Paleontology Study Group – 7:30 PM via Zoom Arvid Aase will present “Death to Discovery: Taphonomy of the Fossil Lake Lagerstatten (Green River Group).“
No meeting this month	Mineralogy Study Group

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