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Fossil Friday #340: Hexaphyllostrobus negauneeana from Pit 3
Read more: Fossil Friday #340: Hexaphyllostrobus negauneeana from Pit 3Marty Houdek brought some very nice fossils for his display at the Mazon Creek Fossil Day event. One of his best was a very rare Hexaphyllostrobus negauneeana from the area of Pit 3 in Braidwood. H. negauneeana was described in July of 2025 by some of our friends at the Field Museum (see Mazon Monday #277).
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Throwback Thursday #340: Happy 152nd Birthday, Charles Knight!
Read more: Throwback Thursday #340: Happy 152nd Birthday, Charles Knight!Charles Knight was born on October 21st, 1874. That would make him 152 today. Unfortunately, he passed away on April 15th, 1953 at the age of 78. Knight was an American wildlife and paleoartist during the early 1900s. He is probably best known for his many detailed paintings of dinosaurs and prehistoric life created for multiple major museums in the United States. The Field Museum has an interesting Photo Archive page about Charles Knight.
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What Can Four-Winged Dinosaurs Teach Us About Birds?
Read more: What Can Four-Winged Dinosaurs Teach Us About Birds?The New York Times’ Trilobites column has an interesting story about four-winged birds. A new paper in the journal Nature Communications describes a new Microraptorinae, Norellraptor barsboldi, named for the late paleontologist Mark Norell. This new animal lived about 121 million years ago in what is now northeastern China. More than 120 million years ago, a small creature soared across the Cretaceous skies above China. Was it a bird or a pterosaur or … a four-winged raptor? Researchers recently examined a remarkably well-preserved skeleton of such a dinosaur — it sported sharp claws, a mouthful of teeth and twice the…
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Video for ESCONI October 2026 Paleontology Study Group Meeting – “Depositional and Lithostratigraphic Characterization of the Lower Maysvillian Calloway Creek Formation”
Read more: Video for ESCONI October 2026 Paleontology Study Group Meeting – “Depositional and Lithostratigraphic Characterization of the Lower Maysvillian Calloway Creek Formation”The ESCONI October 2026 Paleontology Study Group Meeting was held on Saturday October 17th, 2026 at 7:30 PM via Zoom. Enrique Clark presented on “Depositional and Lithostratigraphic Characterization of the Lower Maysvillian Calloway Creek Formation.” The upper Ordovician (lower Maysvillian) Calloway Creek formation of central Kentucky consists majorly of fossiliferous limestones with interbedded minor shales. This project aims to characterize distinct facies of the Calloway Creek and determine their depositional implications alongside their correlative relationships to equivalent horizons. Furthermore, an overview of the fossil fauna will be conducted to further explain the paleoecological characteristics and their relationships to accompanying facies.…
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Mazon Monday #345: Danville Field Trip Report
Read more: Mazon Monday #345: Danville Field Trip ReportESCONI held a field trip to a Danville area spoil pile on October 17th, 2026. Although the day started sunny but crisp with temperatures in the 30’s (!), it was a very clear day with plenty of sun and temperatures in the 50’s. Collecting on the old spoil pile was very productive. Plant fossils were found in great abundance and Ben Riegler found a very nice insect wing!
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Incredibly Rare “Jodi” The Nanotyrannus At The Center Of Heated T. Rex Debate Goes Up For Auction At Sotheby’s
Read more: Incredibly Rare “Jodi” The Nanotyrannus At The Center Of Heated T. Rex Debate Goes Up For Auction At Sotheby’sIFLScience has a story about another dinosaur up for sale at Sotheby’s. This one is named “Jodi” and is a Nanotyrannus. It was discovered by rancher Jodi Pierson in 2019. It was found just a few miles from the famous “Dueling Dinosaurs.” With 191 bone elements, including an almost complete skull with 35 teeth, Jodi is in remarkable shape considering her age. The larger number of teeth in Nanotyrannus fossils is one of the key pieces of evidence for it belonging to a different species, along with the smaller number of tail bones. At 2 meters (6.5 feet) tall and…
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PBS Eons: The Biggest Extinction You’ve Never Heard Of
Read more: PBS Eons: The Biggest Extinction You’ve Never Heard OfPBS Eons has a new video. This one is about the mass extinction caused by the migration of India during the Paleogene. In the early 20th century, it was discovered there was a point in the fossil record where most European mammals just…vanished, only to be replaced with others native to Asia. While you’ve probably never heard of this extinction, it was the biggest one since the end of the dinosaurs, nearly taking out our primate ancestors, and by extension, us.
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Fossil Friday #339: A Breathtaking Lycopod Cone
Read more: Fossil Friday #339: A Breathtaking Lycopod ConeWe saw quite a few very nice Mazon Creek fossils last week at the 2026 Mazon Creek Fossil Day. One of the most notable was the lycopod cone brought in by Merry Jo Montgomery. The fossil was found earlier this summer by her daughter, Laura Adamczyk.
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Throwback Thursday #339: The Rocks We Live On
Read more: Throwback Thursday #339: The Rocks We Live OnFor today, we have an article written by Billy Kelly for the October 1955 edition of the ESCONI. Bill wrote many articles for the newsletter over the years. He and his wife Wylma were very generous with their time. They went on many field trips, including this one to Silvania, OH in 1959 (see Throwback Thursday #33).
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ESCONI October 2026 Paleontology Study Group Meeting, Saturday, October 17th, 2026 at 7:30 PM via Zoom – “Depositional and Lithostratigraphic Characterization of the Lower Maysvillian Calloway Creek Formation”
Read more: ESCONI October 2026 Paleontology Study Group Meeting, Saturday, October 17th, 2026 at 7:30 PM via Zoom – “Depositional and Lithostratigraphic Characterization of the Lower Maysvillian Calloway Creek Formation”The ESCONI October 2026 Paleontology Study Group Meeting will be held on Saturday October 17th, 2026 at 7:30 PM via Zoom. Enrique Clark will be presenting “Depositional and Lithostratigraphic Characterization of the Lower Maysvillian Calloway Creek Formation.” The upper Ordovician (lower Maysvillian) Calloway Creek formation of central Kentucky consists majorly of fossiliferous limestones with interbedded minor shales. This project aims to characterize distinct facies of the Calloway Creek and determine their depositional implications alongside their correlative relationships to equivalent horizons. Furthermore, an overview of the fossil fauna will be conducted to further explain the paleoecological characteristics and their relationships to…
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Happy National Fossil Day!
Read more: Happy National Fossil Day!Today is National Fossil Day! Have a look at the National Park Service website for more information. The Field Museum will be doing their annual event… and it’s a free day! During 2026 we will celebrate the 17th National Fossil Day! Join paleontologists, educators, and students in fossil-related events and activities across the country in parks, classrooms, and online during National Fossil Day. National Fossil Day is an annual celebration held to highlight the scientific and educational value of paleontology and the importance of preserving fossils for future generations.
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Video for the ESCONI October 2026 General Meeting – Lazaro Vinola from the Field Museum Presenting Live from the Dominican Republic
Read more: Video for the ESCONI October 2026 General Meeting – Lazaro Vinola from the Field Museum Presenting Live from the Dominican RepublicFor the October General Meeting, we are doing something new. Lazaro Vinola from The Field Museum presented live from the field in the Dominican Republic. For this meeting, Lazaro’s team will be processing sediment for microfossils. During the first half of the trip, they will stay at a small motel in the town of Oviedo, in the town of Pedernales. Members will have a chance to ask questions about field work… the location challenges, the fossil excitement, and the documentation tedium. Here’s a quick image that sums up Lazaro’s description of the team’s fossil hunting in the Dominican Republic… bees…
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Mazon Monday #344: Recap for Mazon Creek Fossil Day 2026
Read more: Mazon Monday #344: Recap for Mazon Creek Fossil Day 2026Mazon Creek Fossil Day 2026 at the Coal City Public Library was a huge success! We had a great turnout and some wonderful fossil displays. Many attendees brought fossils of their own, either to have them identified or simply to share their finds with fellow fossil enthusiasts.
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This surprising mammal fossil is giving scientists something to chew on
Read more: This surprising mammal fossil is giving scientists something to chew onNPR has a story about a new Jurassic mammal from China. The animal, Megacauda sungei , was described recently in the journal Nature. The fossil remains are incredibly detailed and show an animal capable of chewing and swallowing its food and suckling, traits shared by all mammals. The fossil was about the size of a chihuahua, but somewhat hard to discern from the rock surrounding it. “The fossil itself is actually very dark,” explains Luo. “The bones are black, the slab [is] dark. And it’s kind of difficult to have beautiful photographs.” One of his collaborators, Chang-Fu Zhou of Shandong University…
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Northwest Illinois Rock Club’s 2026 Annual Rock Show – November 14th and 15th, 2026
Read more: Northwest Illinois Rock Club’s 2026 Annual Rock Show – November 14th and 15th, 2026The Northwest Illinois Rock Club’s Annual Rock Show will be November 14th and 15th, 2026 in Freeport, IL. Find out more on their website at nwilrockclubfrpt.blogspot.com.
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Fossil Friday #338: A Braceville Surprise!
Read more: Fossil Friday #338: A Braceville Surprise!Jeff Allen recently sent us photos of a fossil he found at Braceville. The specimen is Stigmaria, the underground rooting structure associated with arborescent lycophytes such as Sigillaria and Lepidodendron.
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Throwback Thursday #338: A Very Special Book
Read more: Throwback Thursday #338: A Very Special BookRecently, Matt Brown, McCarter Collections Manager, Fossil Vertebrates at the Field Museum, showed me a book that is special on several levels.
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Palaeocast Episodes 175/176: Insect Gigantism
Read more: Palaeocast Episodes 175/176: Insect GigantismWe haven’t posted about Palaeocast in a little while. Recently, David Marshall posted two episodes about “Insect Gigantism.” These podcasts feature an interview with insect physiologist Prof. Jon Harrison from Arizona State University. Harrison discusses new theories on why insects were so large during the Carboniferous… it may not have been the higher concentration of Oxygen. The Carboniferous period is host to some of the largest arthropods to have ever lived. Giant taxa such as the griffenfly Meganuera and the millipede Arthropleura are almost talismanic and are often depicted in reconstructions of the period. Since many other groups also have…
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ESCONI October 2026 General Meeting, Friday, October 9th, 2026 at 8:00 PM via Zoom – Lazaro Vinola from the Field Museum Presenting Live from the Dominican Republic
Read more: ESCONI October 2026 General Meeting, Friday, October 9th, 2026 at 8:00 PM via Zoom – Lazaro Vinola from the Field Museum Presenting Live from the Dominican RepublicFor the October General Meeting, we are doing something new. Lazaro Vinola from The Field Museum will be presenting live from the field in the Dominican Republic. Earlier this year, you may recall Lazaro found a Tully Monster on his first visit to Pit 11. We used the fossil for Fossil Friday #319. For this meeting, Lazaro’s team will be processing sediment for microfossils. During the first half of the trip, they will stay at a small motel in the town of Oviedo, in the town of Pedernales. Members will have a chance to ask questions about field work… the…
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Mazon Monday #343: 1990 Mazon Creek Open House
Read more: Mazon Monday #343: 1990 Mazon Creek Open HouseThe Mazon Creek Open House was first held in early 1984. It was an extension of the Mazon Creek Project at Northeastern Illinois University. Both the Mazon Creek Project (see Mazon Monday #5) were sponsored by Northeastern Illinois University.
Mazon Creek Fossil Day – October 10th, 2026!
Most Recent Post
- Fossil Friday #340: Hexaphyllostrobus negauneeana from Pit 3
Marty Houdek brought some very nice fossils for his display at the Mazon Creek Fossil Day event. One of his best was a very rare Hexaphyllostrobus negauneeana from the area of Pit 3 in Braidwood. H. negauneeana was described in July of 2025 by some of our friends at the Field Museum (see Mazon Monday #277).
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Field trips require membership, but visitors are welcome at all meetings!
| Friday, October 9th | General Meeting – 8:00 PM via Zoom. Lazaro Vinola from The Field Museum will be presenting live from the field in the Dominican Republic. |
| Saturday, October 10th | Junior Study Group Meeting – 2:00 PM at College of DuPage, TEC, Room 1038A Earthquakes! Junior members will watch videos about earthquakes, make seismographs and test them. Specifics of this meeting are available from Scott Galloway, 630-670-2591, gallowayscottf@gmail.com. |
| Saturday, October 10th | Mazon Creek Fossil Day Details are here. |
| Saturday, October 17th | Field Trip to Danville for Carboniferous Fossils Details are here. |
| Saturday, October 17th | Paleontology Study Group – 7:30 PM via Zoom Enrique Clark will be presenting “Depositional and Lithostratigraphic Characterization of the Lower Maysvillian Calloway Creek Formation.” |
| No meeting this month | Mineralogy Study Group |