Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois - ESCONI

NYT: Was This Dinosaur More Subaquatic Killer or Giant Wading Bird? #dinosaurs #spinosaurus #fossils #cretaceous #Aftrica

A life reconstruction of spinosaurus foraging in water.Credit...Bob Nicholls

The New York Times' Science column Trilobites has a story about a new theory as to how Spinosaurus made a living.  Spinosaurus lived about 100 million years ago, during the Cretaceous Period, in what is now North Africa.  Its bones were first discovered in 1915.  Ever since, due to some bizarre features, there have debates about how the animal lived.  Back in 2014, paleontologist Nizar Ibrahim announced the discovery of a new specimen and proposed that it lived an aquatic lifestyle, partially due to its dense bones, tail configuration, and short hind limbs.  Last year, Dr, Ibrahim's team bolstered that theory when they published another paper.  This one described the discovery of a finned, eel-like tail.  Now, a new paper in the journal Palaeontologica Electronica co-authored by Dr. Thomas Holtz and Dr. David Hone, proposes that Spinosaurus lived like a gigantic wading bird.

“Real aquatic pursuit predation is a very challenging lifestyle,” said Thomas Holtz Jr., a predatory dinosaur specialist at the University of Maryland and a co-author of the new paper. Aquatic predators like otters, sea lions or sharks have compact, smooth bodies that reduce underwater drag.

According to David Hone, a paleontologist at Queen Mary University of London and a co-author with Dr. Holtz, earlier research by Dr. Ibrahim’s team had shown that spinosaurus had a relatively small number of tail muscles, Dr. Hone said, even fewer than crocodiles, which also tend to have trouble with drag and aren’t particularly effective at pursuing prey underwater. With its tall sail and bulky limbs, spinosaurus would have produced tremendous drag in anything but the deepest water, making swift subaquatic chases extremely difficult.

Instead, the team points to a different set of traits. Spinosaurus had nostrils back on its long snout, like a heron, Dr. Hone said, rather than atop its face, like a crocodile. It had broad feet, like a stork, as well as a head and neck adapted for a strong downward strike. Isotopic evidence from spinosaurus teeth also suggests that at least some individuals were eating fully terrestrial prey, perhaps including other dinosaurs.

PBS Eons: The Pandemic That Lasted 15 Million Years #virus #paleontology #mammals #dna

 

PBS Eons has a new episode.  This one is very relevant as it's about a fossil genes left from an ancient pandemic during the Eoncene.

Our DNA holds evidence of a huge, ancient pandemic, one that touched many different species, spanned the globe, and lasted for more than 15 million years.

The paper we discuss throughout the episode: Diehl, W., Patel, N., Halm, K. and Johnson, W., 2016. Tracking interspecies transmission and long-term evolution of an ancient retrovirus using the genomes of modern mammals. eLife, 5. https://elifesciences.org/articles/12704

Produced in collaboration with PBS Digital Studios: http://youtube.com/pbsdigitalstudios

 

Fossil Friday #41: Hooded Tick Spider #fossils #spider #Pennsylvanian #FossilFriday

This is the "Fossil Friday" post #41.  Expect this to be a somewhat regular feature of the website.  We will post any fossil pictures you send in to [email protected].  Please include a short description or story.  Check the #FossilFriday Twitter hash tag for contributions from around the world!

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Today's fossil is a "hooded tick spider" from the Pennsylvanian Period of Illinois.  It belongs to a group of animals called ricinuleids, which is an extant group of spiders.  The specimen was found by ESCONI member Ben Riegler in Vermilion County, IL.  The fossil was discovered in a concretion embedded in an outcropping of the Energy Shale, which is located between the underlying Herrin No. 6 Coal and the overlying Anna Shale.  The stratigraphic unit dates to between 306 to 308 million years ago.  Ben noticed this fossil was significant and donated it to the Illinois State Museum in 2015.  Recently (December 2020), it was described as a new species, Curulioides bohemondi in a paper in the Journal of Paleontology.  Congratulations, Ben, awesome find!

A new, giant ricinuleid (Arachnida, Ricinulei), from the Pennsylvanian of Illinois, and the identification of a new, ontogenetically stable, diagnostic character

Abstract

A new fossil ricinuleid, Curculioides bohemondi n. sp., from the Pennsylvanian Energy Shale of Illinois is described from a single specimen. It is the largest ricinuleid species yet described, living or extinct. The Energy Shale represents a new geographic locale for fossil ricinuleids, a sparsely distributed group. The species is distinguished from other members within the genus by the possession of very large (0.09 mm) carapace tubercles at a very low (30 mm-2) density. Statistical analyses are performed on extant and fossil ricinuleids to determine how their tubercles change throughout ontogeny, culminating in the recovery of a new ontogenetically stable diagnostic character: the tubercle coefficient (a measure of the size of the tubercles relative to body size).

 

ESCONI Events February 2021

Field trips require membership, but visitors are welcome at all meetings!

Fri, Feb 12th	ESCONI General Meeting 8:00 PM Zoom - Topic: "Assessing the Early Mars Hydroclimate Using Paleolake Geometries” by Dr. Gaia Stucky de Quay, from the Jackson School of Geosciences at the University of Texas at Austin.  Zoom link
Sat, Feb 13th	ESCONI Junior Meeting 7:00 PM Zoom - Topic: “My Worthless Precious Gemstones” Specifics of this meeting are available from Scott Galloway, 630-670-2591, [email protected]. Contact Scott to get the Zoom link to attend the virtual meeting and find out how to join the Juniors Club.
Sat, Feb 20th	ESCONI Paleontology Meeting 7:30 PM Zoom - Topic: "Ammonite Fields Forever: from the Jurassic Coast to collecting on the beaches of North Yorkshire, England" by ESCONI members Andrew Young, Marie Angkuw, Deborah Lovely, and Rhonda Gates.  Zoom link.

 

Throwback Thursday #43: Description of a Rockhound #rocks #TBT #history #ThrowbackThursday #rockhounds

This is Throwback Thursday #43.  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 sent them to [email protected].  Thanks!

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They following poem appeared in the September 1960 edition of the newsletter.  It's by Vera Lang.  The South Bay Agatizer is the newsletter of the South Bay Lapidary and Mineral Society, which seems to be still going strong.  They were founded in 1948, just one year before ESCONI.  They hail from Torrance, CA and have an annual rock show.

 

Description of a Rockhound
by
Vera Lang
(South Bay Agatizer)

What is a Rockhound, did you say?
    They're folks like you and me,
Except they're crazy over rocks
    It's very plain to see.
Their pockets, cars, their homes and yards
    Give evidence of this craze.
They go off on some Rockhound trip-
    May not return for days!

They have an eagle eye for rocks
    That might be of some worth.
They find them if they have to dig
    Deep down into the earth.
They have sharp eyes that know the ring
    When pick hits agate true,
And when it does they dig and dig
    Till it comes popping through.

They take a pick and shovel too
    Wherever they may go
Just hoping that some day they'll find
    A prize gem worth some dough,
They're not afraid to lick a rock
    As all good Rochounds do
To see if it is good or bad
    Or maybe something new.

They skin their shins and tear their clothes
    And maybe break a leg
But do they stop? No! They may find
    Another thunder egg!
They dig and dig till almost dark,
    As they have done before,
Then load their cars and what a load-
    Don't dare take any more.

Then when a Rockhound reaches home
    With all his treasured store
He throws away and awful lot
    And then goes back for more.
Now you may wonder how I know
    Just what these Rockhounds do.
Well, I can tell you everything
    For I'm a Rockhound, too!

4.5 Billion Years in 45 Minutes on Wednesday, January 27th, 2021 at 6:00 PM CST (Zoom webinar) #geology #paleontology #fossils

The Forest Preserve of Will County has a Zoom webinar tonight, Wednesday, January 27th, 2021 at 6:00 PM CST.  It's called "4.5 Billion Years in 45 Minutes".

(Photo courtesy of Barb Ferry)

 

Please note this program is being offered virtually via Zoom. Using this Facebook Event page to indicate you are going does not mean you are registered for the event. You must register by using the link below.

 

Fossils tell the chronological story of lifeforms on earth. Learn how time is divided and discover the developments displayed in each major period. As we imagine times past, we will also look at Illinois’ contribution to fossil evidence.

 

This free webinar is designed for beginners wanting to grasp the geologic time scale. We will speed through time beginning with the formation of the Earth with simple language and fascinating photos. This presentation will be 45 minutes with additional time for questions and discussion at the end.

 

Fee: Free!
Age: All ages.

Registration is required: https://fpdwc.zoom.us/.../register/WN_8eiGAOJ3TBeOmX-MfG5RPQ

The meeting ID and password for the Zoom session will be sent via email after registration.

 

 

How did forelimb function change as vertebrates acquired limbs and moved onto land? #fossils #tetrapods #evolution #Devonian

Life reconstruction of the early tetrapod Pederpes showing the forelimb bones beneath the skin.  Credit: Image copyright 2021, Julia Molnar.

Phys.org has a piece about some new research that explored how early tetrapods used they newly acquired legs.  It's generally accepted that tetrapods migrated from water to land about 390 million years ago, during the Devonian Period.  And, while the stages in the transition are understood, this research was about function.... How did the animals move on land and how was it different than modern animals.  The research is detailed in a paper that appeared in the journal Science Advances.

When tetrapods (four-limbed vertebrates) began to move from water to land roughly 390 million years ago it set in motion the rise of lizards, birds, mammals, and all land animals that exist today, including humans and some aquatic vertebrates such as whales and dolphins.

The earliest tetrapods originated from their fish ancestors in the Devonian period and are more than twice as old as the oldest dinosaur fossils. They resembled a cross between a giant salamander and a crocodile and were about 1-2 meters long, had gills, webbed feet and tail fins, and were still heavily tied to water. Their short arms and legs had up to eight digits on each hand and foot and they were probably ambush predators, lurking in shallow water waiting for prey to come near.

Scientists know how the fins of fish transformed into the limbs of tetrapods, but controversies remain about where and how the earliest tetrapods used their limbs. And, while many hypotheses have been proposed, very few studies have rigorously tested them using the fossil record.

Roy Plotnick: Exploring Chicago’s Geoheritage #paleontology #geology #fossils #Chicago

Palmisano Park, Chicago. Original quarry high wall in background.

Roy Plotnick has a new post over on Medium.  This one is about the Chicago's rich geological history.  There is a list of significant sites near Chicago that can be visited easily... even during a pandemic.

I recently participated in a workshop on America’s Geoheritage. What is geoheritage? One definition is that this an area with geologic features with “significant scientific, educational, cultural, and/or aesthetic value.[i]” One form of geoheritage sites is: “places where geologic features or landscapes played a role in cultural or historical events”. Although there is an unofficial list of geoheritage sites maintained by the National Park Service[ii], the naming of such sites is still in its infancy (thus the workshop). Many locations in Chicago and the surrounding region are prime candidates for eventual designation as culturally and historically significant geoheritage sites. I will discuss some that can be easily visited, even during a pandemic.

The geology and topography of Chicago were shaped by two major episodes in geologic history, separated by hundreds of millions of years. Some 420 million years ago, during the Silurian, the region and indeed most of North America was covered by a shallow tropical sea. Like shallow tropical waters today, in places reefs grew to the surface. Huge deposits of lime mud were deposited, which were transformed over time into the carbonate rock dolomite. These rocks have great economic value; they can be used for building stone, as gravel, or processed to form cement and plaster. Since these deposits were located close to the surface, numerous quarries sprang up across the region as the city grew. The oldest and longest surviving of these was the Bridgeport (Stearns) Quarry, located near 27th and Halsted St., which opened in 1833 and remained operational until 1970, when it was purchased by the city. Reaching a depth of 350’ and conveniently close, the former quarry was an ideal landfill site. After reaching capacity, it was transformed into an inviting park (Palmisano Park) that opened in 1998. One of the remarkable features of the park is a portion of the original highwall of the quarry, that you can go up to and touch in one area.

Mazon Monday #44: Insects Part 2 - Monurans #MazonCreek #paleontology #fossils #MazonMonday #insects

This is Mazon Monday post #44.  What's your favorite Mazon Creek fossil?  Tell us at email:[email protected].

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Monurans are an extinct order of wingless insects.  They are known from the Mazon Creek biota, other Carboniferous localities, and have been found in later deposits that date to the Permian.  They get their name for the single tail spike.  Their closest living relative today is the Silverfish.  In fact, some recent research suggests they may even be silverfish, instead of a distinct order as they are today. The species Dasyleptus is somewhat rare in the Mazon Creek biota.  It was described in 1957 by Sharov.  It's found in the more terrestrial localities, but might also be present in concretions from Pit 11.

Monurans (and silverfish) were mentioned in Creature Corner accompanied by a couple of drawings by Don Auler.

Monura and Silverfish

Among restaurateurs and homemakers, the sight of a silverfish scurrying over the plumbing engenders panic and revulsion. Yet this very ancient insect, a Thysanuran, and its sister group, the Monura (extinct), are prize finds for the paleontologist. Both creatures were members of the Mazon Creek biota.

The taxonomy of animals that are descended from an ancient arthropod-like creature can get quite "sticky". Authors have developed various phylogenetic charts. It is sufficient for our purpose to state that the wingless (Apterygote) and the winged (Pterygote) insects evolved from a common myriapod-like ancestor. Discoveries within the last 15 years have tentatively pushed the antiquity of the Hexapoda (Insecta) back to the Silurian. Myriapod-like animals, somewhat replaced by fluorapatite, were discovered in a dolomite quarry near Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1985.

One scenario for Insect development goes in order to escape predators the ancestors of insects used their clawed "legs" to climb the primitive low-growing plants near shore, acclimating themselves to a terrestrial existence. Myriapods (millipedes) and Hexapods (insects) split off from the parent group becoming inhabitants of swampy, then moist soil. Differentiation continued until the Monurans split off from the group that would produce Thysanura and winged insects. All three groups are found in the concretions of the Mazon Creek area.

Monuran Silverfish (primitive insect) Collection of Kathy Dedina

Reconstruction 1987 by Kukalova-Peck J.

Dasyleptus was mentioned in "The Mazon Creek Fossil Fauna" by Jack Wittry.

Monurans are an extinct primitive group of wingless, swamp- dwelling insects. Paleoentomologists consider them to be relatively plentiful in the fossil record. In fact, they are the most common insects in the Mazon Creek Fauna.

Monurans have three pairs of stout, clawed, walking legs that are found on the thorax, with a pair of short bristly legs at each abdominal segment. A single tail-like process, as long as the bristled body, extends from the end of the abdomen, hence the mon (Greek meaning one) in the name.

There still needs to be a considerable amount of taxonomic Figure 58.1, monuran Dasyleptus modified after Shabica and Hay (1997). Scale bar = 10 mm. work done on this Mazon Creek form. No species name has ever been given, though an attempt was started but not completed by Dr. Frank Carpenter before his death. It has been suggested.and may turn out to be, that the Mazon Creek form should be removed from 'Dasyleptus' and placed into a different genus altogether.

To make matters even more confusing. the whole suborder of Monura has recently been reinterpreted. It is now believed by some authors that the members of 'Dasyleptus' represent juvenile silverfish, albeit of relatively large size. If this is so, it would remove them from their present position among the order consisting of bristletails and place them into the order composed of silverfish.

Preservation of the Apterygote insects, Monura and Thysanura, in concretions is usually poor. Distinguishing the two groups is not too difficult. Body segments of the Monurans are fairly uniform in size with no distinct thorax. Abdominal segments bear a pair of jointed, clawed "legs". Silverfish body has distinct thoracic segments and abdominal segments bear narrow, jointed bristle-covered appendages, "legs". Both groups have three pair of sturdy, jointed, clawed, walking legs on the front segments. Long antennae adorn the head. Conspicuous jointed bristles on the last segment of the Monura and several long bristles on the last segment of silverfish served as feelers and predator warning system. Thysanura ("tassel-tail"), silverfish, had found its niche early in the Paleozoic. It exists today virtually unchanged.

 

No post would be complete without a few pictures of real concretions from ESCONI members.  The first specimen belongs to Andrew Young and is from the Mazon River.  The second hails from Pit 2 and belongs to Rich Holm.

 

SciNews: 250-Million-Year-Old Archosauriform Footprints Found in Italy #Permian #triassic #fossils #Italy

Life appearance of the non-archosaurian archosauriform, the most suitable producer of Isochirotherium gardettensis. Image credit: Fabio Manucci.

SciNews has a story about fossil footprints from the early Triassic by a archosauriform.  Archosauriformes were animals that later evolved into archosaurs ("ruling lizards"), which includes dinosaurs, crocodiles, pterosaurs, and some other extinct groups, The tracks date to about 250 million years ago and were found on the Gardetta Plateau in the Western Alps.  For more, information, there was a paper published in PeerJ.

The paleontologists assigned the tracks to the new ichnospecies, Isochirotherium gardettensis, and interpreted them as produced by a large-bodied, predatory archosauriform, probably erythrosuchid, trackmaker.

They were made approximately 250 million years ago (Early Triassic epoch), soon after the Permian-Triassic mass extinction event.

“This new discovery provides further evidence for the presence of archosauriformes at low latitudes during the Early Triassic epoch,” the researchers said.

“It supports a model in which the Permian-Triassic mass extinction did not completely vacate low-latitude lands from tetrapods that therefore would have been able to cope with the extreme hot temperatures of Pangaea mainland.”

PBS Eons: The Reign of the Hell Ants #paleontology #insects #ants #fossils

 

There's a new episode of PBS Eons.  This one is about the Hell Ants... an extinct group of ants that might give us clues about eusociality.

This ancient species had the same six legs and segmented body that we’d recognize from an ant today. But it also had a huge, scythe-like jaw and a horn coming out of its head. This bizarre predator belonged to a group known as “hell ants.” But they’re gone now, and we’re still trying to figure out why.

Fossil Friday #40: Heterologus langfordorum #MazonCreek #FossilFriday #fossils #insects

This is the "Fossil Friday" post #40.  Expect this to be a somewhat regular feature of the website.  We will post any fossil pictures you send in to [email protected].  Please include a short description or story.  Check the #FossilFriday Twitter hash tag for contributions from around the world!

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Remember Heterologus langfordorum, a winged insect from the Mazon Creek deposit, mentioned in the Mazon Monday #43 post last Monday?  That species was recognized by this pair of wings.  

These fossil wings represent the holotype of the species, and now reside at Illinois State Museum.  The animal was described in 1944 by Frank Carpenter, who was curator of Fossil Insects at Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology for 60 years.  It was collected by George Langford Sr. and his son George Langford Jr. in June 1938 and was gifted to the museum by George in 1939.

CARBONIFEROUS INSECTS FROM THE VICINITY OF MAZON CREEK, ILLINOIS,

by CARPENTER. F. M.  Illinois State Museum (Springfield, Illinois), Scientific Papers, vol. III, Part 1: 9-0, 4 pis.

Annals of the Entomological Society of America, Volume 37, Issue 3, 1 September 1944, Page 364, https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/37.3.364

Published: 01 September 1944

Frank Carpenter wrote one of the chapters on Mazon Creek insects in the "Richardson's Guide to The Fossil Fauna of Mazon Creek".  H. langfordorum does have a small mention on page 191, which includes a picture of the holotype shown above.

Heterologus langfordorum Carpenter (1944) of the family Cacurgidae is the largest of the Protorthoptera from Mazon Creek (Figures 14A.24, 14A.25). The forewing is elongate oval; SC is very straight, and RS is more extensive than M. Cross veins were numerous but did not form a network.

ESCONI member Marie Angkuw sent along the following picture of a breathtaking H. langfordorum.  You might remember that she had a beautiful Annularia fossil featured here last week.  Both were collected during the same trip to the Mazon River and they opened up via freeze/thaw at around the same time.

Congratulations, Marie... what a haul and what a trip!   Well, at least there is one of us that can't say she never finds anything...

 

Throwback Thursday #42: A Trilobite Tale #TBT #history #trilobite #ThrowbackThursday

This is Throwback Thursday #42.  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 sent them to [email protected].  Thanks!

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We have another poem out the stacks of past ESCONI newsletters.  This one is from January 1960.  It's called "A Trilobite Tale" and was submitted by Edward T Tonray.

A Trilobite Tale

Hark to the plight of the Trilobite
  That roamed the Silurian waters.
    What caused his fright was the Eurypterid's bite,
      That had taken his sons and daughters.

They met the thief 'neath a crinoid sheaf
  Under the breakers foam.
    They came to grief on the coral reef
      That long has been their home.

The Trilobite stung cause he lost his young
  Dashed with a wild lunge
    But his foe sprung and his teeth stung
      As he caught him in full plunge.

Now this ocean bug who'd been so smug
  As through the sea he'd cruise
    Died like a mug in the Euryperid's hug
      There in the primordial ooze.

The Cephalopod had a shell to ward
  Off the mean Eurypterid.
    But the Gastropod not so strongly shod
      Just slithered away and hid.

The Eurypterids grew in numbers too,
  And they were big and mean.
    And the Trilobite gave up the fight
      And soon vanished from the scene.

                           By Edward T. Tonry

 

Field Museum Reopening Saturday, January 23rd, 2021 #museum @FieldMuseum @SUEtheTrex #paleontology #archaeology #science

Opening Saturday, January 23 for exploration

See the world’s wonders at the Field Museum. The health of our guests and staff is always our top priority. We welcome you back to safely explore around the world in nearly half a million square feet of open gallery space, right here in Chicago. We will be reopening to the general public on Saturday, January 23. Join us this weekend or visit next Monday, January 25 or Thursday, January 28 during Illinois residents Free Days. We will be open Thursdays through Mondays and, in compliance with state and city guidelines, capacity will be limited to 25%. Safety protocols are in place including required face masks for guests and increased cleaning procedures. We look forward to welcoming you to see the world’s wonders at the Field Museum.

Lizzadro Museum Virtual Lecture March 20th at 2:00 PM, 2021: Sharks at Mazon Creek by Jack Wittry #fossils #MazonCreek #sharks

Jack Wittry, Collections Associate at the Field Museum and author of the Mazon Creek Fossil Flora and Fauna books, presents the Mazon Creek fossil shark nurseries and discusses the controversy surrounding this topic. His new book on Mazon Creek plants will be available for signing after the lecture.

March 20th, 2021 at 2:00 PM
60 minutes – Virtual Lecture
All Ages – Free program
Program will be on Zoom (password: lapidary)

 

Mazon Monday #43: Insects Part 1 #fossils #MazonCreek #MazonMonday #insects

This is Mazon Monday post #43.  What's your favorite Mazon Creek fossil?  Tell us at email:[email protected].

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The insects of Mazon Creek are a hugely, complex subject.  We'll take the next few posts of Mazon Monday to cover this topic.  There will be information from multiple sources along with some breathtaking pictures and drawings.

Insects are rare in the fossil record.  It's currently thought that they evolved in the lower Silurian, with the oldest fossil, which is contested, dating from the Devonian Period, perhaps 400 million years ago.  That specimen seems to be fairly derived and thus points to an earlier origin, probably along side the earliest land plants maybe in the upper Ordovician but certainly by the lower Silurian time periods.  By the Carboniferous, there was an extensive radiation with fossils found throughout the coal deposits for which the period is known.  More detail can be found on Wikipedia.

The most recent understanding of the evolution of insects is based on studies of the following branches of science: molecular biology, insect morphology, paleontology, insect taxonomy, evolution, embryology, bioinformatics and scientific computing. It is estimated that the class of insects originated on Earth about 480 million years ago, in the Ordovician, at about the same time terrestrial plants appeared.^[1] Insects may have evolved from a group of crustaceans.^[2] The first insects were land bound, but about 400 million years ago in the Devonian period one lineage of insects evolved flight, the first animals to do so.^[1] The oldest insect fossil has been proposed to be Rhyniognatha hirsti, estimated to be 400 million years old, but the insect identity of the fossil has been contested.^[3] Global climate conditions changed several times during the history of Earth, and along with it the diversity of insects. The Pterygotes (winged insects) underwent a major radiation in the Carboniferous (356 to 299 million years ago) while the Endopterygota (insects that go through different life stages with metamorphosis) underwent another major radiation in the Permian (299 to 252 million years ago).

...

The Carboniferous (359 to 299 million years ago) is famous for its wet, warm climates and extensive swamps of mosses, ferns, horsetails, and calamites.^[17] Glaciations in Gondwana, triggered by Gondwana's southward movement, continued into the Permian and because of the lack of clear markers and breaks, the deposits of this glacial period are often referred to as Permo-Carboniferous in age. The cooling and drying of the climate led to the Carboniferous rainforest collapse (CRC). Tropical rain forests fragmented and then were eventually devastated by climate change.^[20]

Remains of insects are scattered throughout the coal deposits, particularly of wings from cockroaches (Blattodea);^[21] two deposits in particular are from Mazon Creek, Illinois and Commentry, France.^[22] The earliest winged insects are from this time period (Pterygota), including the aforementioned Blattodea, Caloneurodea, primitive stem-group Ephemeropterans, Orthoptera, Palaeodictyopteroidea.^[17]:399 In 1940 (in Noble County, Oklahoma), a fossil of Meganeuropsis americana represented the largest complete insect wing ever found.^[23] Juvenile insects are also known from the Carboniferous Period.^[24]

Very early Blattopterans had a large, discoid pronotum and coriaceous forewings with a distinct CuP vein (a unbranched wing vein, lying near the claval fold and reaching the wing posterior margin). These were not true cockroaches, as they had an ovipositor, although through the Carboniferous, the ovipositor started to diminish. The orders Caloneurodea and Miomoptera are known, with Orthoptera and Blattodea to be among the earliest Neoptera; developing from the upper Carboniferous to the Permian. These insects had wings with similar form and structure: small anal lobes.^[17]:399 Species of Orthoptera, or grasshoppers and related kin, is an ancient order that still exist till today extending from this time period. From which time even the distinctive synapomorphy of saltatorial, or adaptive for jumping, hind legs is preserved.

Palaeodictyopteroidea is a large and diverse group that includes 50% of all known Paleozoic insects.^[12] Containing many of the primitive features of the time: very long cerci, an ovipositor, and wings with little or no anal lobe. Protodonata, as its name implies, is a primitive paraphyletic group similar to Odonata; although lacks distinct features such as a nodus, a pterostigma and an arculus. Most were only slightly larger than modern dragonflies, but the group does include the largest known insects, such as the late Carboniferous Meganeura monyi, Megatypus, and the even larger later Permian Meganeuropsis permiana, with wingspans of up to 71 cm (2 ft 4 in). They were probably the top predators for some 100 million years^[17]:400 and far larger than any present-day insects. Their nymphs must also have reached a very impressive size. This gigantism may have been due to higher atmospheric oxygen-levels (up to 80% above modern levels during the Carboniferous) that allowed increased respiratory efficiency relative to today. The lack of flying vertebrates could have been another factor.

Mazon Creek has played a vital part in the understanding of insect evolution as it has produced more evidence than any of the other deposits.  At one time, there were nearly 150 species belonging to 30 families and 102 genera from the concretions of the Francis Creek Shale.  That number as come down a little as more fossils are found and we better understand the animals which have been found. That's a huge amount of diversity... and makes you wonder why we don't find more if them.

The "Richardson's Guide to The Fossil Fauna of Mazon Creek" is a great resource for all the fossil animals that have been found in the Mazon Creek biota.  The book has two chapters on insects. One is by the legendary Frank Carpenter, who was curator of fossil insects at the Harvard Museum of  Comparative Zoology for 60 years.  The other chapter was written by Jarmila Kukalova-Peck, another giant in the study of insect origins.

George Langford was familiar with the insects of Mazon Creek.  He devoted no less than 26 pages to them in his second book "The Wilmington Coal Fauna and Additions to the Wilmington Coal Flora", accompanied by his exquisitely detailed drawings.  Here are a couple of his original handwritten pages.

Heterologus langfordorum Carpenter - Holotype; now on exhibit at the Illinois State Museum.

We'll have more to say about Heterologus langfordorum for the next Fossil Friday.  Stay tuned!

 

 

 

 

Researchers Announce World's First Dinosaur Preserved Sitting On Nest of Eggs With Fossilized Babies #dinosaurs #eggs #fossils

An attentive oviraptorid theropod dinosaur broods its nest of blue-green eggs while its mate looks on in what is now Jiangxi Province of southern China some 70 million years ago. Artwork by Zhao Chuang, PNSO.

The Carnegie Museum of Natural History has announced an amazing dinosaur find.  The fossils are of an adult oviraptorid theropod dinosaur sitting on a nest of eggs,  The eggs include fossilized baby dinosaurs.  This specimen was found in the Jiangxi Providence of southern China.  The animal lived about 70 million years ago.  Ironically, oviraptors, whose name mean "egg thief", seem to have been attentive parents.  In the 1920s, when the first Oviraptor specimen was discovered, it was thought that dinosaurs did not tend their nests. That first specimen was discovered in a nest of supposedly Protoceratops eggs.  Those eggs are now thought to be Oviraptor eggs and the individual animal was probably an attentive parent.

A multinational team of researchers has announced a first for the world of paleontology: a dinosaur preserved sitting atop a nest of its own eggs that include fossilized babies inside. The scientific paper describing the discovery was recently published in the journal Science Bulletin. The primary authors are Drs. Shundong Bi, professor at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and research associate at Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH), and Xing Xu, paleontologist at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing. The research team also includes CMNH co-interim director and lead dinosaur paleontologist Dr. Matt Lamanna. CMNH scientific artist Andrew McAfee produced illustrations for the paper.
 
“Dinosaurs preserved on their nests are rare, and so are fossil embryos. This is the first time a non-avian dinosaur has been found, sitting on a nest of eggs that preserve embryos, in a single spectacular specimen,” explains Dr. Bi.
 
The fossil in question is that of an oviraptorosaur, a group of bird-like theropod dinosaurs that thrived during the Cretaceous Period, the third and final time period of the Mesozoic Era (commonly known as the ‘Age of Dinosaurs’) that extended from 145 to 66 million years ago. CMNH’s famous “Chicken from Hell,” Anzu wyliei, is another type of oviraptorosaur. However, whereas Anzu is part of the largely North American oviraptorosaur subgroup Caenagnathidae, the new fossil is a member of another major subgroup, the Oviraptoridae, which has thus far been found only in Asia. The new specimen was recovered from uppermost Cretaceous-aged rocks, some 70 million years old, in Ganzhou City in southern China’s Jiangxi Province.
 
The fossil consists of an incomplete skeleton of a large, presumably adult oviraptorid crouched in a bird-like brooding posture over a clutch of at least 24 eggs. At least seven of these eggs preserve bones or partial skeletons of unhatched oviraptorid embryos inside. The late stage of development of the embryos and the close proximity of the adult to the eggs strongly suggests that the latter died in the act of incubating its nest, like its modern bird cousins, rather than laying its eggs or simply guarding its nest crocodile-style, as has sometimes been proposed for the few other oviraptorid skeletons that have been found atop nests.

PBS Eons: What Happened to the World's Biggest Beaver? #paleontology #mammals #fossils

 

There's a new episode of PBS Eons.  This one is about Casteroides, which lived in North America up to about 10,000 years ago.

It’s important to us that you understand how big this beaver was. Just like modern beavers, it was semiaquatic -- it lived both on the land and in the water. The difference is that today’s beavers do a pretty special thing - one that the giant beaver probably didn’t, or couldn’t, do.

 

Fossil Friday #39: Annularia inflata #fossils #paleontology #MazonCreek #FossilFriday #plants

This is the "Fossil Friday" post #39.  Expect this to be a somewhat regular feature of the website.  We will post any fossil pictures you send in to [email protected].  Please include a short description or story.  Check the #FossilFriday Twitter hash tag for contributions from around the world!

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For this week, we have an absolutely gorgeous specimen of Annularia inflata.  Annularia is actually the leaves of a plant called Calamites.  Calamites is classified as a Sphenopsid.  Its closest living relative are the horsetails.  In life, the plant would have looked something like this, with some of them reaching tens of meters tall.

This photo was contributed by Marie Angkuw.  The beauty was found in the Mazon River during the Canal Corridor outing in August.  From what I understand, it was gently nursed along in freeze/thaw, only to open a few weeks ago.  This one is nice as it has all of the nice firework look that Annularia inflata is known for.  Congrats, Marie!

 

 

 

Throwback Thursday #41: Lemont Trilobites November 19th, 1950 #fossils #trilobites #TBT #history

This is Throwback Thursday #41.  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 sent them to [email protected].  Thanks!

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Today, we will revisit Flashback Friday #40.  It was posted originally as a Lemont Quarry trip in 1952.  But, after some digging, it seems to be a field trip to the Western Quarries Co in Lemont, IL on November 19th, 1950.  Here is the announcement in the November issue of the newsletter.

FIELD TRIP TO LEMONT QUARRY - SUNDAY, NOV. 19  OBJECT: TRILOBITES

To reach quarry, follow Main Street from Downers Grove, south to Lemont, cross railroad tracks and turn left 4/10 mile to Shell gas station, then cross tracks on left and turn right. following rim of lake and continue 1-1/2 miles over winding rough road to Western Quarries Co. shack.  Foot path leads to old quarry which is reached by wood stairs.  Trilobites are found by prying up slabs of dolomite rock from floor of quarry.  Tools recommended: small crowbar, hammer, chisel, and safety goggles.  Meet at the quarry at 9:30 AM.

There is the field trip report in the December 1950 issue.  It sounds like they has a good day.

TRILOBITES OR BUST

That could very well have been the nae of our last field trip of the season because trilobites was the one and only thing we went after Sunday, November 19th. to the Naval Quarry near Lemont.  About twenty turned out and did we find trilobites!  One member gave away several to less fortunate members and still carried home 18.  And everybody had lots of fun.  Harry Nelson of Riverdale and Steve Norvell of Western Springs had maybe the most fun of all working as a team on the basis of one for you and one for me.  They really turned up a lot of the little beasties.  These trilobites were of the Calymene niagarensis (Silurian) type ather than the Bumastus trentonensis (Ordovician) type found in Thorton Quarry on the Sept. 24th trip.  Many specimens had excellent detail.

As usual, we had some visitors, and mighty glad we were to welcome them.  They included Mr. and Mrs. Pierce of Geneva and a lad named Lage from Downers Grove who walked off with the prize of the day, a curled-up trilobite.

Not sure where Western Quarries Co. was located in Lemont, but there were a few Western Stone Co quarries in Lemont.  The company was in business from the mid 1800's until it was dissolved in 1925.  There's a bunch of good historical information on this page.  There doesn't seem to be many clues to find the exact locality they visited.  It sounds like it was an abandoned quarry in 1950.

The Keepataw site was part of the vast holdings of the Western Stone Company, “the largest company of its kind in America,” according to Unrivaled Chicago: Containing an Historical Narrative of the Great City's Development and Descriptions of Points of Interest, published in 1896. 

The quarrying of limestone throughout the Des Plaines River Valley dates to the 1830s and 1840s when excavation of the I&M Canal between Chicago and LaSalle-Peru revealed extensive outcroppings of dolomite limestone. The formation of this valuable stone is described in the online publication, Architectural Resources in the Lemont Historic District. “Four hundred million years ago, Illinois was submerged under a Silurian sea where the shells of microscopic plants and animals accumulated and eventually formed strata of rock. In the Des Plaines River Valley, expanses of smooth-textured rock of the Sugar Run Dolomite lay just beneath shallow topsoil. Dolomite is a calcium-magnesium carbonate rock with properties very similar to limestone. Generally harder and finer grained than ordinary limestone, its suitability for building was recognized, and it began to be quarried in the 1830s. The excavation required for the building of the I&M Canal, which opened in 1848, uncovered additional stone beds. Local contractors were awakened to the potential richness of high-quality stone that could be so easily removed. Buff white when freshly quarried, dolomite can be polished to a smooth finish and was marketed as ‘Athens Marble’ and ‘Joliet Marble.’”

The popularity of dolomite as a building material grew during the 1850s as the I&M Canal and expansion of railroads facilitated transportation of the stone. “ … Joliet and Lemont, and to a lesser extent, Lockport, (became) prime suppliers of limestone to Chicago,” notes a report titled Historic Documentation Record, Western Stone Company prepared by the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority and written by Karen Poulson. “As local historian Fayette B. Shaw has written, ‘by the beginning of … 1856, there were 8 quarries being worked in and around Joliet, the smallest of which employed 5 men, the largest 48.’”

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Meanwhile, in 1905, Madden was elected to the U.S. Congress. Madden devoted more and more time to Washington, and by the time of his formal retirement from Western Stone in 1915, the end of the company was near. The Keepataw site, along with other properties, was sold off in 1918, and in its annual report of 1920, the company stated, according to Poulson, that it “had not actively engaged in operation of its plants for some time.” A Superior court decree formally dissolved the company on February 16, 1925. Throughout the years that followed, the property passed through a number of owners, including Vulcan Materials Company, which reportedly sought to resurrect quarrying operations in the 1960s and 1970s.

Remnants of another sort were discovered during an archeological survey by the Will County Historical Society in 1972. Called the Bluff Site because of its proximity to Bluff Road, this area once contained housing for Western Stone Company employees. Building foundations and artifacts from the period – doll parts, clay marbles, fancy glass, tableware and serving dishes – indicate that these were family dwellings comprising a “job town” from the period 1890-1910. 

According to the Historical Society report, these houses were of Swedish construction and were one and one-half story frame structures with a tar paper roof. “The ground floor was a combination living room and kitchen without a partition, and the second, or half-story, was a sleeping loft. The structure would have peaked out at 15 feet in height.”

Here are the photos from the original post.

Calymene niagarensis (Silurian)

Bill Allaway, first president of ESCONI, is wearing the fedora and Helen is seated next to him.