Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois - ESCONI

Dino-Sore: Smithsonian Paleontologist Diagnoses Ancient Ailments in the Museum’s Dinosaurs #fossil #dinosaur #paleontology @SUEtheTrex @FieldMuseum

Several of the most prominent dinosaur skeletons in the museum’s Deep Time fossil hall, including Camptosaurus (foreground) and Diplodocus (background), exhibit signs of ancient injuries and disease. Jack Tamisiea, NMNH

Smithsonian Magazine has an interesting post about dinosaur injuries.  Not injuries to humans, although getting dinosaur bones out of the ground can be physically challenging, but injuries to dinosaurs evident in their bones long after they have died.  SUE, the T. rex at the Field Museum in Chicago, has numerous bone pathologies including broken ribs, arthritic vertebrae, a fibula that probably suffered from infection, and much more.

Sometimes time doesn't heal all wounds. Between mangled shoulder blades, fused vertebrae and hollowed out hips, several of the National Museum of Natural History’s dinosaur specimens still display the signs of diseases and injuries that date back more than 150 million years to the late Jurassic period.

According to paleontologist Matthew Carrano, the museum’s curator of Dinosauria, the signs of these ancient traumas are vital clues to what life was like during the Mesozoic. “It’s cool to think about how these animals were dealing with pathogens 80 or 100 million years ago,” he said.

But pinpointing prehistoric pathologies is no easy feat. Because paleontologists predominantly study fossilized bones, they can only diagnose diseases that leave marks on the animal’s bones. This makes it difficult to discover traces of ailments like stomach bugs, pneumonia or soft tissue injuries. And only certain types of clues make it into the fossil record. “It has to be this kind of middle of the road problem where it's not so small that it didn't leave a mark, but it's not so big that it killed the animal before it had time to affect the skeleton,” Carrano said.

PBS Eons: It's Becoming Very Clear That Birds Are Not Normal #fossil #paleontology #birds #evolution #bird #dinosaur

PBS Eons has a new video over on Youtube.  Birds are wierd.

A new discovery raises an important question: from an evolutionary perspective, who really has the stranger wings?

ESCONI Events Map 2023 #events #schedule #paleontology

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

Sat, May 6th	ESCONI Field Trip to Braceville, IL for Mazon Creek  Fossils.  ***Trip Full*** Details are here.
Sun, May 7th	ESCONI Field Trip to Braceville, IL for Mazon Creek Fossils.  ***Trip Full*** Details are here.
Fri, May 12th	ESCONI General Meeting 8:00 PM - Topic: “About the Falls of the Ohio State Park” by Alan Goldstein, Park Interpretive Naturalist and Paleontologist. Zoom link
Sat, May 13th	ESCONI Junior Meeting - 6:30 PM at College of DuPage - Topic: TBA Specifics of this meeting are available from Scott Galloway, 630-670-2591, [email protected]. The meeting will be in person at the College of DuPage Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038A (Map).
Sat, May 20th	ESCONI Paleontology Meeting 7:30 PM - Topic: "Echinoderms of the Platteville and Galena Formations", by John Catalani This meeting will be hybrid with both Zoom and in person available at the College of DuPage Tech Ed (TEC) Building, Room 1038B (Map). Zoom link

 

Fossil Friday #158: Helen Asher Cnidarian #fossil #paleontology #MazonCreek #FossilFriday #jellyfish #anemone #pit11 #cnidaria

This is the "Fossil Friday" post #158.  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, we have a historically significant Mazon Creek fossil.  If you visit Pit 11, it's almost a given that you will find an Essexella asherae.  Whether it's a jellyfish or an anemone, it's a common Pit 11 fossil.  Both are extremely rare in the fossil record.   They have no hard parts, being just soft tissue... not much more than a bag of jelly-like fluid.  Here's a description from NOAA.

Fascinating, elegant, and mysterious to watch in the water, take a jellyfish out of the water, and it becomes a much less fascinating blob. This is because jellyfish are about 95 percent water.

Lacking brains, blood, or even hearts, jellyfish are pretty simple critters. They are composed of three layers: an outer layer, called the epidermis; a middle layer made of a thick, elastic, jelly-like substance called mesoglea; and an inner layer, called the gastrodermis. An elementary nervous system, or nerve net, allows jellyfish to smell, detect light, and respond to other stimuli. The simple digestive cavity of a jellyfish acts as both its stomach and intestine, with one opening for both the mouth and the anus.

These simple invertebrates are members of the phylum Cnidaria, which includes creatures such as sea anemones, sea whips, and corals. Like all members of the phylum, the body parts of a jellyfish radiate from a central axis. This “radial symmetry” allows jellyfish to detect and respond to food or danger from any direction.

Jellyfish have the ability to sting with their tentacles. While the severity of stings varies, in humans, most jellyfish stings result only in minor discomfort.

We looked at E. asherae way back in Mazon Monday #14.  And, just recently, a paper by ESCONI member Roy Plotnick questions the classification of Essexella asherae as a jellyfish and identifies it as a sea anemone... see Mazon Monday #155.

This particular specimen isn't the best example of E. asherae, but it has something missing from the ones you till find in Pit 11.  Helen Asher is the namesake of Essexella asherae.  She was a prolific collector.  She sold and gave away many examples of the eponymous animal.  Quite often, she would sign or at least offer to sign the specimen.  Too bad more people didn't take her up on the offer, as there aren't many examples of these.

This interesting specimen was sent in by long time ESCONI member Jim Alann.  Thanks for sharing, Jim!  The signature makes this fossil priceless!

Throwback Thursday #159: Field Museum Photo Archives #history #TBT #ThrowbackThursday #FieldMuseum @SUEtheTrex #dinosaur #triceratops

This is Throwback Thursday #159.  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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Here's a few photos from the Field Museum Photo Archives over on Tumbler.  Unfortunately, the photo blog hasn't updated since 2015, but there are still many good photos to browse!

Dinosaurs this time...

Fossil Friday Triceratops.

© The Field Museum, CSGEO17032, Photographer Charles Carpenter.

Triceratops skull. Late Cretaceous, on exhibit. Geology specimen P12003. Field Columbian Museum.

8x10 glass negative

1905

International Dinosaur Month!!!

Fossil Friday, Anchiceratops.

Anchiceratops is rare compared to other ceratopsians in the area, and usually found near marine sediments.

© The Field Museum, GEO79876.

Anchiceratops, frill and horns skull posterior part of view.

North America Canada Alberta Edmonton

8x10 negative

6/10/1940 

Fossil Friday, Duck billed dinosaur excavation.

© The Field Museum, CSGEO45123.

George F. Sternberg and Anthony Dombroski using shovels and pick axes to excavate a fossil of duck billed dinosaur.

Marshall Field Paleontological Expedition Geology Paleontological North America Canada Alberta Belly River Formation.

5x7 glass negative

6/1/1922 

Fossil Friday, Protoceratops.Protoceratops was approximately 1.8 meters (6 ft) in length and 0.6 meters (2 ft) high at the shoulder. 

© The Field Museum, GEO81445.

Protoceratops andrewsi skeleton. Late Cretaceous from Djadochta beds, Gobi Desert, Mongolia. Hall 38 Case 42. Preinstallation Geology specimen P14046.

8x10 negative 

7/1/1954 

Fossil Friday Lambeosaurus, a duck billed dinosaur.

© The Field Museum, GEO81550.

Lambeosaurus skull, lateral view of duck-billed dinosaur. Family: Hadrosauridae. Late Cretaceous. Geology specimen UC1479.

8x10 negative

3/25/1955 

 

The Story Behind the Smithsonian’s Newest Gem: the Exquisite Lion of Merelani #gem #mineral #gemology #smithsonian

The Lion of Merelani is the world’s largest square-cushion cut tsavorite gem with 177 glimmering facets. Jeff Scovil, courtesy of Bridges Tsavorite

Smithsonian Magazine has an article about the Museum's new gemstone.  The Lion of Merelani is the world's largest square-cushion tsavorite gem.  It has 177 stunning facets.  This gorgeous stone will take up residence in the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals next to the Hope Diamond, the Whitney Flame Topaz, and the Carmen Lucia Ruby.  All are breathtaking stones!

With more than 10,000 gems, the Smithsonian’s National Gem Collection is brimming with breathtaking stones like the scintillating Whitney Flame Topaz, the radiant Carmen Lúcia Ruby and the iconic Hope Diamond. But mineralogist Jeffrey Post, the National Museum of Natural History’s curator-in-charge of gems and minerals, thinks the collection's newest addition will stop museum visitors in their tracks.

“Things like this get people to stop and look,” Post says of the Lion of Merelani, a glowing green gem unveiled this week in the museum’s Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals. The new showstopper is the world’s largest square-cushion cut tsavorite (the first "t" is silent) gem with 177 glimmering facets.

In addition to its staggering size — the stone is more than twice as heavy as the Hope Diamond — the Lion of Merelani’s verdant hue makes it a rarity. The gem is a garnet, a group of silicate mineral crystals that have been used as precious gemstones since the Bronze Age 5,000 years ago. Most garnets are prized for their rich red hues — the word “garnet” comes from the Latin word for pomegranate, whose dark seeds resemble the crimson crystals.

Fossils reveal the long-term relationship between feathered dinosaurs and feather-feeding beetles #fossil #paleontology #dinosaur #feather #beetle #insect

Molt remains of feather-feeding beetle larvae intimately associated with downy feather portions from an unidentified theropod dinosaur in Early Cretaceous amber of Spain. Insets show the head with powerful mandibles of one of the larval molts (top) and the pigmentation pattern of feather second order branches (bottom), with the main stem of one feather at the right of the amber fragment. Amber fragment is only six millimeters across. Credit: CN IGME-CSIC

Phys.org has a story about an discovery in Mesozoic amber. The amber reveals a parasitic beetle feeding on some feathers.  The researchers were unable to determine if the relationship was one of mutual benefit or one-sided.  The amber is about 105 million years old from a Spanish locality near San Just.  The paper was published in the journal PNAS.

The main amber fragments studied, from the Spanish locality of San Just (Teruel), contain larval molts of small beetle larvae tightly surrounded by portions of downy feathers. The feathers belonged to an unknown theropod dinosaur, either avian (a term referring to "birds" in wide sense) or non-avian, as both types of theropods lived during the Early Cretaceous and shared often indistinguishable feather types. However, the studied feathers did not belong to modern birds since the group appeared about 30 million years later in the fossil record, during the Late Cretaceous.

When looking at modern ecosystems, we see how ticks infest cattle, frogs capture insects with acrobatic tongues, or some barnacles grow on the skin of whales. These are just a few of the diverse and complex ecological relationships between vertebrates and arthropods, which have coexisted for more than 500 million years. The way that these two groups have interacted throughout deep time is thought to have critically shaped their evolutionary history, leading to coevolution. Nevertheless, evidence of arthropod-vertebrate relationships is extremely rare in the fossil record.

 

Mazon Monday #161: Is the Tully Monster a vertebrate? #fossil #paleontology #MazonMonday #MazonCreek #tullymonster

This is Mazon Monday post #161.  What's your favorite Mazon Creek fossil?  Tell us at email:[email protected].

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Discovered in the 1950s and first described in a paper in 1966, the Tully monster, with its stalked eyes and long proboscis, is difficult to compare to all other known animal groups. Unique to Illinois in the U.S., it became its state fossil in 1989. Credit: Takahiro Sakono, 2022.

Phys.org has a story about the new Tully Monster paper that was published in the journal Paleontology last week.  The Tully Monster is the State Fossil of Illinois.  And, although it is a popular animal, its evolutionary ancestry has been problematic.  Since it's discovery in 1958 by Francis Tully, numerous theories of its evolutionary affinity have been proposed including arthropods, worms, vertebrates, mollusks, even conodonts. 

For more than half a century, the Tully monster (Tullimonstrum gregarium), an enigmatic animal that lived about 300 million years ago, has confounded paleontologists, with its strange anatomy making it difficult to classify. Recently, a group of researchers proposed a hypothesis that Tullimonstrum was a vertebrate similar to cyclostomes (jawless fish like lamprey and hagfish). If it was, then the Tully monster would potentially fill a gap in the evolutionary history of early vertebrates. Studies so far have both supported and rejected this hypothesis.

Now, using 3D imaging technology, a team in Japan believes it has found the answer after uncovering detailed characteristics of the Tully monster that strongly suggest that it was not a vertebrate. However, its exact classification and what type of invertebrate it was is still to be decided.

In the 1950s, Francis Tully was enjoying his hobby fossil hunting in a site known as Mazon Creek Lagerstätte in the state of Illinois, when he discovered what would later become known as the Tully monster. This 15-centimeter (on average), 300-million-year-old marine "monster" turned out to be an enigma, as ever since its discovery researchers have debated where it fits in the classification of living things (its taxonomic position).

Eugene Richardson, who first called it "Mr. Tully's monster" recognized it didn't fit into any known classification when he described it in 1966.  He famously wrote "While this obscure but plentiful animal is being studied, I prefer not to assign it to a phylum."  In a later paper with Ralph Gordon Johnson, they wrote "There is no compelling reason to assign Tullimonstrum to any of the known phyla.  It could be imagined as an aberrant member of one of several phyla but the critical evidence is not available."  There were later attempts to classify it.  The latest, by McCoy et al in 2016, again in 2016 by Clements et al, and by McCoy et al again in 2020, classify T. gregarium as a jawless fish similar to a lamprey or hagfish.  If that theory is correct, the Tully Monster will fill in a gap in the evolutionary history of early vertebrates.  There has been some disagreement (Sallan in 2017), although that study denies the vertebrate ancestry without proposing a viable alternative.  

The new research was carried out by a team at the National Museum of Nature and Science.  The researchers used 3D laser scanning and x-ray micro-computed tomography to reach their conclusions which refute the vertebrate ancestry of the Tully Monster.  They also fail to propose a viable alternative classification.

Three-dimensional anatomy of the Tully monster casts doubt on its presumed vertebrate affinities

Abstract

Tullimonstrum gregarium, also known as the Tully monster, is a well-known phylogenetic enigma, fossils of which have been found only in the Mazon Creek Lagerstätte. The affinities of Tullimonstrum have been debated since its discovery in 1966, because its peculiar morphology with stalked eyes and a proboscis cannot easily be compared with any known animal morphotypes. Recently, the possibility that Tullimonstrum was a vertebrate has attracted much attention, and it has been postulated that Tullimonstrum might fill a gap in the fossil record of early vertebrates, providing important insights into vertebrate evolutionary history. With the hope of resolving this debate, we collected 3D surface data from 153 specimens of Tullimonstrum using a high-resolution laser 3D scanner and conducted x-ray micro-computed tomographic (μCT) analysis of stylets in the proboscis. Our investigation of the resulting comprehensive 3D morphological dataset revealed that structures previously regarded as myomeres, tri-lobed brain, tectal cartilages and fin rays are not comparable with those of vertebrates. These results raise further doubts about its vertebrate affinities, and suggest that Tullimonstrum may have been either a non-vertebrate chordate or a protostome.

Often used to study dinosaur footprints, these color-coded depth maps enabled the researchers to thoroughly investigate the structure of the Tully monster and other fossils from Mazon Creek. Credit: Mikami, 2022.

It will be interesting to see the response to this paper by the vertebrate crowd.  Victoria McCoy, lead author on two of the Tully vertebrate papers, gave us an excellent presentation on the latest Tully research at the Mazon Creek Open House back in October 2022.

 

Starting small and simple was key to success for evolution of mammals, reveals new study #fossil #paleontology #mammal #evolution

Digital skull model of the small-sized Jurassic mammal ancestor Hadrocodium wui. Credit: Dr Stephan Lautenschlager, University of Birmingham

Phys.org has a story about the evolution of mammals.  A new paper in the journal Communications Biology, found that being small led to more efficient feeding,  The international team of paleontologists used computer analysis and stress analysis to understand the process of skull simplification in early mammals.  In mamy vertebrate groups, like fish and reptiles, the skull and lower jaw is comprised of numerous bones.  Mammals reduced the number of skull bones during the Mesozoic from around 150 to 100 million years ago.

Lead author Dr. Stephan Lautenschlager, Senior Lecturer for Palaeobiology at the University of Birmingham, commented, "Reducing the number of bones led to a redistribution of stresses in the skull of early mammals. Stress was redirected from the part of the skull housing the brain to the margins of the skull during feeding, which may have allowed for an increase in brain size.

"Changes to skull structure combined with mammals becoming smaller are linked with a dietary switch to consuming insects—allowing the subsequent diversification of mammals which led to development of the wide-range of creatures that we see around us today."

The study further demonstrated that alongside the reduction of skull bones, early mammals also became a lot smaller, some of which had a skull length of only 10–12 mm. This miniaturization considerably restricted the available food sources, and early mammals adapted to feeding mostly on insects.

Happy Earth Day 2023 #ecology #earth #renewable ##sustainability #earthday #earthday2023

Happy Earth Day 2023!  Earth day is the culmination of a week long celebration.  The first Earth Day was held in 1970.  Since the, over 1 billion people in 190+ countries modilize for action every year on Earthday.

The Field Museum and other Chicago area museums are free today!

Fossil Friday #157: Danville Cone #fossil #paleontology #MazonCreek #coal #FossilFriday #cone #Danville

This is the "Fossil Friday" post #157.  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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Last Saturday, April 15th, 2023, ESCONI had a field trip to a coal mine spoil pile near Danville, IL.  The deposit is about 1.5 million years earlier than Mazon Creek.  We've found quite a few nice fossils at this locality over the 6 field trips we've had there.  For Mazon Monday #86, we posted some fossil guides and photos of some very nice specimens.

This weeks Fossil Friday comes from the latest field trip.  It was found by long time ESCONI member Ralph Jewell.  He found this stunning cone near the end of the day.  No hammering was needed as the shale had already split.  To add a little more to the pang on envy you might be feeling.... he found this beautiful piece in an area that many people collected throughout the day!

Thanks for sharing photos of this gorgeous piece, Ralph!

Throwback Thursday #158: ESCONI Logo #history #TBT #ThrowbackThursday

This is Throwback Thursday #158.  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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ESCONI was established in November 1949.  For the first few editions of the newsletter, the cover featured various drawings and prospective logos.   The cover of the January newsletter was a shield showing a fossil fern, a diamond, a dinosaur, a crystal, and an arrowhead.

 

 In the January 1950 newsletter, there was an announcement of a contest to choose a logo.

A WORD ABOUT THE COVER

We have no name. We have no symbol. Therefore we have caused to have. designed by one of our talented group this shield which represents the basic earth sciences backed by the tools of our trade and topped by the globe or earth which we are going to study. It will have to stand until we have a name and symbol which will be recognized from that point on as representing a vital and active organization.

The February 1950 newsletter cover featured a globe with crossed hammers.

The March 1950 cover was much different... a sign in a desert scene.

There was a final call for ideas in the March 1950 newsletter.

NOT TOO LATE FOR COVER DESIGN AND NAME FOR BULLETIN

Two competitive contests will be held at our next meeting, March 10th. One will be for the selection of a club emblem to be used as a symbol on our Bulletin cover and stationery. The winner will receive a slab of beautiful Eden Valley opalized wood. The second contest will determine the name of the club's monthly publication. The prize will be a group of nail head spar (calcite crystal). The contest will be open to visitors as well as members, Incidentally, the club wishes to express its appreciation to Mr. Beghtol for the covers for the first three bulletins.

During the March 1950 meeting, a logo submitted by Stevens T. Norvell was selected.  The S.T.N. initials at the bottom are his initials.  Norvell was an ESCONI founding member and the first treasurer.  He moved to Colorado a few years later, but continued to contribute articles for the newsletter into the 1960's.

Since April 1950, the newsletter had the same logo on the cover.

Colored patch version of the ESCONI logo.

A rare, 95-million-year-old titanosaur skull found in Australia #fossil #paleontology #dinosaur #australia #sauropod #skull

An artist’s illustration of Diamantinasaurus matildae’s head. This sauropod lived in Australia 100 million years ago. Elena Marian/Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History

Popular Science has a story about the discovery of a sauropod skull.  The animal, called Diamantinasaurus matildae, lived during the Cretaceous Period nearly 100 million years ago in what is now Australia.  This skull represents the fourth specimen ever found.  A paper in the journal Royal Society Open Science describes the 19.6 inch long skull.  Dinosaur fossils, especially well preserved bones, are rare in Australia, which makes this an exciting find!

The dinosaur. nicknamed ‘Ann,’ was discovered by the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum in 2018 near Winston in central Queensland. Ann is the third fossil specimen of D. matildae to have been discovered by this museum, and the fourth specimen overall. It lived in Australia over 100 million years ago and fell under the titanosaur group– a category of sauropods that included the largest animals to live on land in Earth’s history. D. matildae was a middle size sauropod, with the largest members reaching close to 131 feet long and over 170,000 pounds. Sauropods were also herbivores, subsisting entirely on a diet of plants. 

The team on this study said that it is rare to find a sauropod skull at all, especially one so well-preserved. It is only the fourth specimen of D. matildae ever found and the analysis of this first nearly complete skull is helping scientists learn more about the animal’s feeding habits, relationship to other sauropod dinosaurs, and physical anatomy. According to the team, Ann is not only the first sauropod dinosaur found in Australia that includes most of the skull, it also is the first Diamantinasaurus specimen to preserve a back foot.

“In analyzing the remains, we found similarities between the ‘Ann’ skull and the skull of a titanosaur called Sarmientosaurus musacchioi, which lived in South America at about the same time as Diamantinasaurus lived in Queensland. These include details of the braincase, the bones forming the back end of the skull near the jaw joint, and in the shape of the teeth (which are conical and curved),” co-author and Curtin University paleontologist Stephen Poropat said in a statement. 

Smithsonian: Paleontologists Discover 52-Million-Year-Old Bat #fossil #paleontology #bat #mammal #greenriver #wyoming @fieldmuseum

The fossil of Icaronycteris gunnelli Rietbergen et al., 2023, PLOS One, CC0

Smithsonian Magazine has a story about a fossil bat from Wyoming.  Bats are underrepresented in the fossil record due their small size and even smaller bones.  Unfortunately, they also live in areas that don't usually form fossils.  The Green River Formation in Wyoming, which dates to the Eocene about 52 million years ago, has yield a few examples of fossil bats.   This specimen, which was spotted for sale online, represents a new species - Icaronycteris gunnelli.  It was described in a paper in the journal PLOS One.

The fossil record is biased against bats. The flying mammals are small, making their fossilized remains very hard to find. And their light skeletons—ideal for flying around—mean it takes special circumstances for their bodies to be preserved. And yet, against these odds, paleontologists recently uncovered the exceptionally complete skeleton of what now stands as the earliest known bat.

To date, the most complete early bat fossils have come from an area paleontologists call Fossil Lake in Wyoming. The rock layers are world-famous for containing beautifully preserved fish, birds, mammals and other organisms that lived in the area about 52 million years ago. Among the stunning fossils recovered from these rocks, Naturalis Biodiversity Center paleontologist Tim Rietbergen and colleagues report Wednesday in PLOS One, are fossils of a new bat species the researchers have named Icaronycteris gunnelli. By comparing this new species with other early bats, paleontologists are beginning to develop a deeper understanding of how bats spread around the world in that period.

The Field Museum of Natural History has a specimen of Icaronycteris in its Evolving Planet exhibit.  It was also found in the Green River Formation.

The oldest known complete bat skeletons come from the sediments of the Green River Formation and are critical in deciphering the early evolution of bats and their ability to fly. From these amazingly complete fossils like the Icaronycteris index species pictured here, we can also see early features, such as well-developed claws on the index fingers, which are no long present in modern species.

© The Field Museum, GEO86416_106d, D. Scher

Mazon Monday #160: Braidwood's Buried Treasures #fossil #paleontology #MazonCreek #MazonMonday #pit11 #braidwood

This is Mazon Monday post #160.  What's your favorite Mazon Creek fossil?  Tell us at email:[email protected].

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The following article appeared in Commonwealth Edison Company's Employee Bulletin in February 1979.  It was later published in the West Suburban Lapidary Club bulletin The Opal in November 1982, and the ESCONI Newsletter in January 1983. 

There's much to note here...

• Helen and Ted Piecko have no less than 6 species of Mazon animals named for them, including Pieckonia helenae and Octomedusa pieckorum.
• Eugene Richardson commenting on the how open Commonwealth Edison was in keeping the site available for collectors.
• The Tully Monster was named for Francis Tully and became the State Fossil in 1989.

BRAIDWOOD'S BURIED TREASURES

Stamps, beer cans, coins and antiques-each satisfy mankind's penchant for collecting in its own special way. But according to Mrs. Helen Piecko, one of the country's most renowned fossil collectors, her hobby outshines the rest.

"Stumbling across a rare fossil is the most exhilarating experience," she says. "Not only are you making a personal contribution to science, but discovering a fossil is like hearing a small voice from the past."

The spry 66-year-old enthusiast goes fossil hunting at least once a week. "I haven't missed a week in 13 years," she adds.

Her favorite hunting ground? Commonwealth Edison's Braidwood Nuclear Generating Station.

"I'd say 'Pit Eleven' is one of the top three digs in the country, if not the world," Mrs. Piecko states. She is referring to the former strip mine Edison purchased from the Peabody Coal Co. The land now marks the site of Braidwood Station, scheduled for completion in the early 1980s.

"Pit Eleven is the first place I tried fossil hunting," Mrs. Piecko. recalls. "I remember we were trying to think of something my son could do for his eighth. grade science project. At the time, my brother was working in the Braidwood area and suggested fossil hunting in the strip mines," she explains. "I've been hooked on it ever since."

Mrs. Piecko claims she can spot a fossil several feet away. "You just have to know what you're looking for," she says. "All it takes is a little practice." The trick is to successfully crack open the concretion, or hardened soil, which surrounds the fossil without damaging the impression. With the help of a small geology hammer and just the right touch, she is able to easily unveil the hidden fossil. Mrs. Piecko admits that she has a special technique--taking the concretion home, soaking it in water and freezing it reduces the chances of marring the impression.

Although Mrs. Piecko spends more time on the hobby than her husband, Ted, together they have amassed an impressive collection and have pieces on display in museums and universities throughout the world. "I'd say we have about 65,000," she points out.

Visiting collectors and scholars from the United States and abroad make it a point to stop by the Pieckos' home. "Our door is always open to those who share our enthusiasm for fossil hunting," she notes. Since the Pieckos' "Pit Eleven. Collection" is more extensive than that of most museums, it offers one of the few opportunities to view such variety and quality in a single location.

Of course not all collectors are as serious as the Pieckos. "Many of the families just savor the chance to get outdoors and be together," Mrs. Piecko says. "Also, you don't have to be an expert or spend a lot of money to enjoy the hobby," she adds.

While the Pieckos are experts in the field and can identify almost 80 percent of their fossil finds, Dr. Eugene Richardson, curator of fossil invertebrates at the Field Museum, is glad to help out the amateurs in classifying their amazing specimens from Pit Eleven. Richardson notes, "It's incredible that the impressions made by these delicate creatures have been preserved all this time." Richardson is referring to the shrimp, jellyfish, horseshoe crabs, fishes and other fossils found at Braidwood Station. But what were these sea creatures doing in the middle of Illinois?

About 280 million years ago, or 100 million years before the age of the dinosaur, Illinois resembled a Mississippi delta, textured with inlets and peninsulas and covered by a thick blanket of mud. The area. around Braidwood served as a temporary shoreline while the sea advanced across Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Illinois. A slight sagging of the earth's crust in the center of Illinois allowed the sea to move across the state. In time, as much as 2,000 feet of sedimentary rocks accumulated in the basin.

Because the plants, fish and other animals were literally buried alive, little time was left for oxidation or decay. The time factor, coupled with ideal chemical conditions in the soil, account for the high quality of the fossils which are being unearthed today.

In addition to some of the more familiar plants and animals which have been unearthed, a few surprises have appeared. For example, the Tully Monster, a large, wormshaped creature, was brought to Dr. Richardson by a man named Francis J. Tully in 1958. "To my knowledge, this Illinois delta is the only place in the world to produce such a creature," Dr. Richardson says.. "Since Mr. Tully was the first to bring it to our attention and we couldn't identify it in the proper phylum it was christened the "Tully Monster." Dr. Richardson has since christened it Tullimonstrum gregarium, in keeping with the Latin tradition.

While Dr. Richardson and his museum colleagues don't have as much time to spend at the site as the avid collectors, they do enjoy visiting Pit Eleven whenever possible. "Edison has been very cooperative in allowing the fossil hunters to pursue their hobby," Richardson comments. Under a cooperative agreement, Edison and the museum have issued 800 passes to those wanting to dig at the site. "The company seems to be doing everything possible to enable the fossil hunting to continue, even though the station is under construction," he adds. As the facility nears completion, the number of passes granted will decline in order to maintain station security. However, this will have little effect on the serious fossil hunters and scholars who will be permitted to continue exploring the site. Edison enjoys the opportunity to share Braidwood Station's wealth of history and information as well as being a part of this exciting venture into the earth's mysterious past.

Commonweath Edison Company
Employee's Bulletin 2/79
via THE OPAL, November 1982

New Species of Rhynchosaur Unearthed in Wyoming #fossil #paleontology #archosaur #triassic #wyoming

Life reconstruction of Beesiiwo cooowuse with the pseudosuchian Heptasuchus clarki in the background representing the known fauna from the lower carbonate unit of the Popo Agie Formation, Wyoming, the United States. Image credit: Gabriel Ugueto.

SciNews has a story about a the discovery of a new species of Rhynchosaur.  The animal, Beesiiwo cooowuse, lived around 230 million years ago during the Triassic Period.  It was found in the Popo Agie Formation in central Wyoming, in the United States.  Rhynchosaurs are archosaurs, which makes it a cousin to dinosaurs.  This new species was described in a paper in the journal Diversity.

“The Late Triassic Carnian age is a critical interval in the diversification of many lineages that will play a prominent role throughout the Mesozoic (e.g., Mammaliaformes, Crocodylomorpha, Dinosauria),” said Adam Fitch, a paleontologist at Virginia Tech and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his colleagues.

“However, fossiliferous terrestrial strata recording this age are largely absent in the northern hemisphere.”

“One of the clades that has limited representation in this region is Hyperodapedontinae, a group of stem-archosaurian reptiles that had a broad distribution across southern Pangaea throughout the Carnian and very earliest Norian (i.e., no younger than 225.4 million years).”

PBS Eons: How (Some) Plants Survived The K-Pg Extinction #fossil #paleontology #extinction #evolution #plants @EonsShow

PBS Eons has a new video over on Youtube.  This one is about Angiosperm plants and how many of them survived the K-Pg mass extinction.

Perhaps for plants in times of great stress and ecological upheaval, the more DNA the better.

Thanks to Franz Anthony (https://franzanth.com) for the incredible reconstruction of plants in the aftermath of the K-Pg extinction.

Fossil Friday #156: The Origin of the English Poundstone #fossil #paleontology #FossilFriday #poundstone #uk #england #echinoderm #seaurchin

This is the "Fossil Friday" post #156.  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 weeks Fossil Friday, we have an article written by ESCONI member Marie Angkuw.  You might remember her sad tale about pyritized ammonites in Fossil Friday #93.  This piece is about her fossil trip to England back in February 2023.

The Origin of the English Poundstone

by Marie Angkuw

Imagine living in the region of Oxfordshire, England, during the 14^th century and you need to buy a chunk of butter. Though spring scales weren’t invented until 1770, a solution ensuring a standard of measure for butter sold at market came from an interesting local source.

In the fields around Oxfordshire, thousands of strange stones dotted the landscape. They were all similar in weight, symmetry, and appearance. Resourceful dairymaids recognized the practical use of these stones as counterweights in the sale of butter and cream. Known as Chedworth Buns or Poundstones, they were also used for beads, flour, wool, and other goods. To ease trade with other countries, a 1389 royal statute established a standard of measurements: for example, 1 stone for butter, 26 stones for a sack of wool, and 5 stones for glass.

With their 5-fold symmetry, relative flatness, and a resemblance to modern sand dollars, the stones piqued the interest of the scientific community during the 18^th century. As discourse and discovery progressed, they were eventually accepted as fossilized sea urchins. That they were found so far from the ocean only fueled the growing interest and debate in geologic strata and the early theories of evolution.

These sea urchins – Clypeus plotti –are Middle Jurassic in age (174 – 163.5 mya) and many are found today in the area of Gloucestershire. The term “stone” is still used in the weighing of dry goods in the UK. It is an imperial unit of mass equivalent to 14 pounds.

 

Throwback Thursday #157: Self-supporting Dinosaur #history #dinosaur #paleontology #fossil #daspletosaurus @fieldmuseum @SUEtheTrex

This is Throwback Thursday #157.  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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Here is a poem written by Eugene Richardson Jr, about "Gorgeous George", the Field Museum's Daspletosaurus.  We posted about George back in Throwback Thursday #93.  "George" was the centerpiece of Stanley Field Hall in the Field Museum from 1956 to 1992.  He was incorrectly called a Gorgosaurus for most of his "life".  That was corrected in 1999 and he is now known as a Daspletosaurus, a species of tyrannosaur.  "George" originally hailed from Alberta, Canada and was found by none other than Barnum Brown of the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH).  Brown found a few of the the first T. rex specimens, including the holotype in 1902.  "George" lived around 75 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period.  The full story can be found on the Field Museum website.

Currently, this gorgeous fossil specimen resides in Dinosaur Hall standing over the same Lambeosaurus.  They are part of the Evolving Planet exhibit. 

Eugene Richardson Jr. was Curator of Fossil Invertebrates in 1956.  He wrote this poem to highlight the new special methods used to display "George".  For this display, the armature was hidden which made the skeleton appear free standing.

Chief Preparator Orville Gilpin enthusiastically took to the task of mounting the newly-acquired Gorgosaurus—now affectionately nicknamed Gorgeous George—in a lifelike pose. Gilpin challenged himself to create a completely free-standing mount, without any visible support structure obscuring the skeleton. No museum had assembled a free-standing dinosaur before, but George was a good candidate because most of the leg bones were never found. Gilpin and his colleagues sculpted the legs and feet in plaster around a steel armature, which supported the weight of the real hips, vertebrae, ribs, and skull.

Here is his poem.

THE WORLD'S FIRST SELF-SUPPORTING DINOSAUR
EUGENE S. RICHARDSON, JR. CURATOR OF FOSSIL. INVERTEBRATES

Come and see the Gorgosaurus,
Tall as life but somewhat thinner,
Standing in the hall before us,
Interrupted in his dinner.

Hundred million years ago he
Found a Lambeosaur to munch on.
Something stopped the feast and so he
Never had that final luncheon.

Long ago (the date, Cretaceous)
On Alberta's plains his walking
Shook the earth in his voracious
Anything-but-stealthy stalking.

Then he died, became a fossil
Buried near the Red Deer River;
Passed the years asleep and docile,
Giving not a jerk or quiver.

Found and shipped to the Museum
With that meal he never tasted,
Here he stands and here you see him;
Not a bone of him was wasted.

Posts support all other mounted
Skeletons of heavy creatures;
His preparators discounted
Such distracting extra features.

Engineers may well be baffled.
By the structure we're reporting:
Here he stands without a scaffold!
Gorgosaur is self-supporting!

 

Video for ESCONI Paleontology Meeting January 2023 "The Devonian Period" #fossil #paleontology ##devonian #deeptime

The ESCONI Paleontology Sttudy Group Meeting was held on Saturday, January 21st, 2023. The topic was "The Devonian Period". The presentation was given by ESCONI member and Field Trip Chairman John Catalani.

Palaeogeographic map of the Late Devonian world, based on ref.77. The location of Steinbruch Schmidt(1), the Siljan impact crater (S), the Viluy Traps (V), and the Kola, Vyatka, and Pripyat–Dniepr–Donets rift systems (K-V-PDD) are indicated.