Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois - ESCONI

ESCONI April 2024 General Meeting - Friday, April 12th, 2024 at 8:00 PM via Zoom - "Ice age mammals from the frozen North” #fossils #paleontology #arctic #alaska #iceage #mammals

The ESCONI General Meeting for April 2024 will be held on Friday, April 12th, 2024 at 8:00 PM zia Zoom.  The topic of the presentation is "Ice age mammals from the frozen North".  It will be given by Yukon Paleontologist Grant Zazula.

Ever since the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898, Yukon miners in search of shiny gold nuggets have uncovered the spectacular remains of ice age mammals. This presentation will feature the phenomenal record of ice age mammals and paleo-environments recovered in the wilds of northwest Canada, including spectacular permafrost preserved animal mummies. Collaboration between gold miners, local First Nations communities and scientists highlights how we work together to understand the past.

 

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Throwback Thursday #209: Tony Sobolik, I Remember.......#history #TBT #ThrowbackThursday #memories

This is Throwback Thursday #209.  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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This was originally posted as Flashback Friday #10. It was part of the run up to ESCONI's 70's Anniversary in 2019.  We are getting close to ESCONI's 75th Anniversary later this year, so it's time to revive a few of these posts.

Tony and Vi Sobolik around 1989

Here is an article entitled "I Remember............" by Anton "Tony" Sobolik that appeared in the 40th Anniversary issue of the newsletter in 1989.  He was president of ESCONI for 1962-1963 and he, along with his wife Viola, received an honorary service award in 1969.  He also served as 1st Vice President (1961), 2nd Vice President (1960), Historian (1959), Curator (1966-1969), and many other capacities including the Paleontology Study Group Chairman.  Additionally, his wife, Viola, as also very involved with ESCONI throughout the early 1950s and 1960s, serving in many official and unofficial positions.  Mr. Sobolik died on January 30th, 2001.  He was 87.  As far as I can tell, he remained an ESCONI member to the very end!

I REMEMBER
by Tony Sobolik

Here are some of the things that I remember ---

• Gene Richardson, Curator of Fossil Invertebrates at the Field Museum, pipe in mouth, as he gazed pensively through the microscope at some unidentified creepy crawler from Pit 11.
• Walter Bonow and Joe Bloom arguing as to whether trilobites, when living, had blue or brown eyes!
• How as the day wore on my canvas war surplus collecting bucket became heavier and heavier. Back at the car when emptying it I discovered Howard Knight had secretly, periodically, slipped in a few worthless rocks or pieces of scrap iron.
• Gale Law and his camera always ready when requested for that needed photo.
• Wading in Mazon Creek on a field trip, feeling for nodules with my toes!
• That in 1955 the ESCONI News was mailed to members for 2 cents!
• The look on Jim Konecny's face as he opened the split concretion that I had secretly planted in his path and found an S & H green stamp inside.
• Doc Hoff strumming his Ukulele while Claude Warren tinkled the ivories as we all joined in for some close harmony on a field trip to Brown County, Indiana.
• The first time I heard the name Earth Science Club, I thought they were a group of professional people interested in soil chemistry or a related field.
• When Executive Board and the early years of study group meetings were held in homes. After the meeting adjourned the group descended into the basement to view the hosts collection. Many wives said the effort was worth it, as it forced the husband to clean up the basement!
• The meetings in Wilbert Rath's basement to create the "Plant Life Through the Ages" models. Armed with large card board tubes, chicken wire, Styrofoam and various tools, we mixed buckets of dry wall cement, applied it and then shaped it to form our replicas. Approximately one half of the cement ended up on the model, one half on the modelers!
• Howard Knight flipping the light switch off and on at the Hummer Park Field House study group meetings to signal to the stragglers that the meeting plus hospitality was over, and that it was time to vacate the premises.
• In the early 1950's accidentally meeting George Langford on the Braidwood spoil piles as he, using his only arm, hammered open fern fossil nodules which he held between his feet. Usually his son assisted him, but if his son was not close by to help George Sr. sometimes cached them in a hastily dug hole. He admitted he sometimes forgot where they were buried.
• In those same early years I entered the Pit 11 office of the Peabody Coal Company to secure permission to collect an employee by the name of John McLuckie, who was just coming on duty told me I was welcome to look but Pit 11 did not have any worthwhile fossils, so I left. It took a collector by the name of Francis Tully (of Tully Monster fame) and, another collector named Jerry Herdina, whose fabulous collection now resides at the Field Museum to introduce me to the world of the rich Essex fauna.
• Jean Reynolds who graciously helped me out when I was President by taking over the important task of Editor.
• The beautiful silver work of Harry Peterson, especially the trilobite bola and accompanying trilobite pin which each President and Presidents spouse is priviledged to wear.
• The Frank Fleener day at Braidwood with a picnic hosted by a number of Chicago region clubs. At the event, Dr Fleener, a prominent coal fossil collector from the Joliet area would give a talk on some aspect of fern fossils.
• Mary and Earl Cornwell who for so many years gave unstintingly of their time and effort on behalf of the Earth Science Magazine.
• When the spoil piles at Braidwood were bare.
• The first Esconi meeting I attended in 1955 at the Downers Grove High School, . As I slowly approached the Auditorium entrance I was warmly greeted by Jerry Prepp, who later that evening provided me with the requirements for membership. Over the years I was active in Esconi, there were two wonderful dedicated people, Marty and Jerry Prepp who could be found at the entrance to the meeting room, making people welcome.
• The magnificent Fern Fossil collection of John and Lucy McLuckie housed in their Coal City home.
• In 1962 Vi and I accompanied by Jay Farr, hauled the Hilmer Display case to the Midwest Federation Convention at Des Moines, Iowa. Leaving about 4 a.m. we arrived at Des Moines, assembled the case, unwrapped the display material furnished by each study group plus the Juniors and filled the case. At 2 p.m. we collapsed in our motel room. The center portion of the case which displayed green fluorescent glass from the John Ades collection also featured a motor driven continuous fluorescent tape, designed and crafted by Jay Farr, which advertised and extolled the accomplishments of ESCONI.
• Collecting fossils at Braidwood in a snowstorm in early Spring after the first thaws left the gullys between spoil piles a quagmire, and in the heat of August when exposed nodules were almost too hot to handle.
• Fran Wolff who, following behind me as we climbed up and down the hills at Pit 11, usually came up with the find of the day that I had passed up.
• The dedicated efforts of Esconi Associates, a special committee, which resulted in the publication of the two Langford books.

There are of course many other memories that occasionally come to mind, all made possible by the wonderful people. If my recollections have kindled some pleasant memories in the minds of you old-timers, and let the younger members know how things once were, my efforts in preparing this article will be repaid.

Newly discovered fossil of giant turtle is named after Stephen King novel character #fossils #paleontology #turtle #stephenking

Visualization of the new discovered giant turtle Peltocephalus maturin. Credit: Júlia d‘Oliveira

Phys.org has a story about a new described giant turtle from the Brazilian Amazon.  The new species, Peltocephalus maturin, lived during the late Pleistocene, between 40,000 an 9,000 years ago.  It was described by Dr. Gabriel S. Ferreira from the Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment at the University of Tübingen.  The name P. maturin comes from Maturin," a fictional character created by best-selling author Stephen King.  The turtle was described in a paper published in the journal Biology Letters.

With a maximum shell length of 140 centimeters, the Asian narrow-headed softshell turtle (Chitra chitra) together with the approximately 110-centimeter-long South American river turtle (Podocnemis expansa) is one of the largest freshwater turtles alive today.

"In the past, we only know of a few turtles living in fresh waters that had a shell length of more than 150 centimeters," explains Dr. Ferreira. "Such large animals are most recently known primarily from the Miocene, the period around 23 to 5 million years ago."

Titanosaurs were the biggest land animals Earth’s ever seen − these plant-powered dinos combined reptile and mammal traits #fossils #paleontology #dinosaurs #titanosaurs

A replica fossil of the titanosaur Patagotitan, one of the largest dinosaurs ever discovered. It would have weighed about 70 tons (63.5 metric tons.) Spencer Platt/Getty Images News via Getty Images

The Conversation has an interesting article about Titanosaurs.  It's written by Kristina Curry Rogers a Professor of Biology and Geology at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota.  She studies titanosaurs, which are a group of sauropod dinosaurs.

Titanosaurs originated by the Early Cretaceous Period, nearly 126 million years ago, at a time when many of the Earth’s landmasses were much closer together than they are today.

Over the next 75 million to 80 million years, the continents slowly separated, and titanosaurs drifted along with the changing formations, becoming distributed worldwide.

There were nearly 100 species of titanosaurs, making up more than 30% of known sauropod dinosaurs. They varied greatly in size. From the largest known sauropods ever discovered, including Argentinosaurus, Patagotitan and Futalognkosaurus, whose weight exceeded 60 tons (54.4 metric tons) and were bigger than a semitruck, to the smallest known sauropods, including Rinconsaurus, Saltasaurus and Magyarosaurus, which were around only 6 tons (5.4 metric tons) and about the size of an African elephant.

Mazon Monday #211: Mariopteris wilmingtonense #fossils #paleontology #MazonCreek #MazonMonday #seedfern #pennsylvanian

This is Mazon Monday post #211.  What's your favorite Mazon Creek fossil?  Tell us at email:[email protected].

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Mariopteris wilmingtonense is a rare and beautiful variety of Mariopteris found only in Mazon Creek.  It was described by George Langford Sr. in 1958 in his first Mazon Creek book "The Wilmington Coal Flora From a Pennsylvanian Deposit in Will County, Illinois".   

Langford designates it as a new species on pages 264-265.

1, 2. Mariopteris wilmingtonense. new species.

Fig. 1 is the positive half of the two nodular impressions. It is not flattened, and the pinnae are more or less buried in the matrix in different planes. The rachis of the frond is rather stout and straight, the rachi of the pinnae flexuous. The pinnae are well separated and inclined upward, their pinnules separated, basal attachment broad, pinnules above the base broadly triangular, becoming narrower and closer above, and terminating at the apex in a large pinnule wider than long. The veination is not close, and the larger pinnules have a midvein which sends off veins which fork once or twice, one or more veins appearing to be directly attached to the rachis of the pinna.

A distinctive character is the basal pinnule on the lower side, all of whose veins appear directly attached to the rachis of the frond. This is further illustrated in Figs. 2 and 2a., but as seen in Fig. 2a., the midvein of the pinna sweeps downward, and the veins of the pinnule lead off from it within the rachis, as appears on the negative impression if the preservation is good.

Fig. 3 is added as a possible condition of the pinnae higher up on the frond.

M. wilmingtonense can be found on page 177 of Jack Wittry's "A Comprehensive Guide to the Fossil Flora of Mazon Creek".

Mariopteris wilmingtonense Langford, 1958

1958. Mariopteris wilmingtonense Langford: p. 264, figs. 481-484
1969. Odontopteris aequalis (non Lesquereux); Darrah: pl. 3, fig. 3; non p. 94

DESCRIPTION: The penultimate rachis is heavy, unmarked, and straight. The ultimate pinnae are distant, flexuous, and inclined upward. The pinnules near the pinna base are attached by the whole width of their bases and obtuse, while closer to the tip they become more triangular and narrow, terminating at a blunt apex. The venation is distinct in the larger pinnules. The midvein is decurrent. The lateral veins are dense and arched, departing at a steep angle, forking once or twice, and meeting the margin acutely. In the smaller pinnules, all veins enter from the rachis. All of the pinnules display some veins other than the midvein entering from the rachis. The base pinnule on the basiscopic side has a unique characteristic where all veins rise directly from the penultimate rachis. At this point, they arch toward, and then away, from the pinna.

REMARKS: Mariopteris wilmingtonense is rare, but the second most common mariopterid in the Mazon Creek flora. It is unknown elsewhere.

Specimens

From George's Basement

From Witty

New Jurassic Shuotheriid Species Sheds Light on Early Evolution of Mammaliaforms #fossils #paleontology #jurassic #mammalia #evolution

Life reconstruction of Feredocodon chowi (right) and Dianoconodon youngi (left). Image credit: Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Live Science has a story about a new Jurassic mammaliaform.  Feredocodon chowi lived during the Jurassic in what is now China.  It's a Shuotheriid, which is a group of mammal-like animals that have long been problematic as to where they fit into the mammalian family tree.   Their unique dental characteristics make them hard to classify.  A new paper in the journal Nature describes F. chowi and its classification.

Professor Vickers-Rich and her colleagues examined pseudotribosphenic teeth of a new Jurassic shuotheriid, Feredocodon chowi, represented by two skeletal specimens.

They were able to more fully analyze the dental structures using a variety of analysis, which suggested that shuotheriid dental structures appear to be very similar to those of docodontans.

The study suggests that shuotheriids do not have a genuine trigonid in their bottom teeth, indicating a closer relationship to docodontans than previously thought.

This reassessment of tooth architecture not only resolves unresolved interpretations but also triggers a reconsideration of the evolutionary connections within mammaliaforms.

PBS Eons: What Will Earth Be Like 300 Million Years From Now? #geology #platetectonics #history #future #paleontology

PBS Eons has a new video.  This one looks forward in to time to what the Earth will look.

We spend a lot of time here on Eons looking backwards into deep time, visiting ancient chapters of our planet’s history. But this time, we’re taking a look towards the deep future. After all, the story is far from over.

Fossil Friday #207: Fossils from the Permian of Jordan #fossils #paleontology #FossilFriday #permian #jordan

This is the "Fossil Friday" post #207.  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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On a recent field trip to a couple Mazon Creek localities, we met Patrick Blomenkemper of the Field Museum, who has been researching the fossil flora from the Dead Sea region of Jordan.   The locality dates to the late Permian and has been called "A Late Permian Garden of Delights". 

Patrick co-authored the paper "The fossil flora of the Dead Sea region, Jordan - A late Permian Garden of Delights", which was published in the Journal of Palaeosciences.  These rarely seen and exquisitely preserved fossils provide essential insights into plant evolution.  

Abstract

The Umm Irna Formation, Jordan, holds one of the most peculiar late Permian plant–fossil assemblages worldwide. Over the last decades of field work, several localities close to the eastern shore of the Dead Sea have yielded a highly diverse ‘mixed flora’ of mesic to xeric environments encompassing elements that are typical either for different floral realms or for different time periods of Earth History. Taxa typical for particular floral realms include, e.g. Cathaysian gigantopterids and Lobatannularia, Euramerican conifers such as Otovicia hypnoides, or the characteristic Gondwanan seed ferns Glossopteris and Dicroidium. Moreover, most taxa are typical for the Permian, some assemblages have also yielded precocious occurrences of taxa that have so far been considered typical for the Mesozoic, such as Umkomasiaceae, Bennettitales, and podocarp conifers. In most cases, fossils from the Umm Irna Formation show well–preserved cuticles that allow sound systematic placement and contribute to the reconstruction of dispersed plant parts into whole–plant–taxa. Altogether, the Umm Irna Formation provides an exceptional window into depositional environments and vegetation types that are rarely preserved in the fossil record but that are crucial for our understanding of plant evolution.

From the paper "A treasure trove of peculiar Permian plant fossils" of which Patrick was the lead author.

Among these, especially the characteristic bifurcate fronds of Dicroidium—an otherwise typical index taxon of the Gondwanan Triassic (e.g., Anderson and Anderson 1983, 2003) constitute some of the most spectacular fossil highlights (Kerp et al. 2006; Abu Hamad et al. 2008, 2017; Blomenkemper et al. 2018). In many cases, the plant material is essentially mummifed, and cuticles simply peel of the rock (Fig. 1). Microscopic analysis of the epidermal anatomy documented in the overlying cuticle (Fig. 2) permits a precise systematic placement and a reassembly of dispersed plant parts into whole-plant taxa (Kerp 1990). The occurrence of this diverse Dicroidium fora in the Permian tropics has major implications for biostratigraphy and biogeography, since it represents the oldest and northernmost record for these plants (Kerp et al. 2006; Abu Hamad et al. 2008).

These fossils are beautifully preserved.  It's interesting to see how similar some are to what we see in Mazon Creek, even though they are about 50 million years younger.  Thanks for sharing these amazing images and interesting papers, Patrick!

Dicroidium irnense, almost complete frond with dichotomy of the frond axis.

Large frond of Dicroidium irnense from the late Permian Umm Irna Formation, Jordan.

Upper surface of a complete pinnule of Dicroidium irnense

Lower surface of a complete pinnule of Dicroidium irnense

Otovicia hypnoides

Cuticles of Dicroidium jordanense

The deposit preserves more than plants... here's a coprolite fossil from the deposit.

ESCONI Field Trip to Braceville, IL for Mazon Creek Fossils - Saturday, May 4th and Sunday May 5th, 2024 #MazonCreek #fossils #fossil #FieldTrip #paleontology

Both days are full!  We do have a waiting list.

Braceville Field Trip Rules
May 2024

The ESCONI field trips to Braceville for Mazon Creek fossils are set for May 4 and 5, 2024 from 9 AM to 3 PM. You can attend one or the other, but not both days. There is an attendance limit of 50 people each day.

You must register to go on this trip. See rule 6 below for instructions. This is the only way to register.

If you are sick, have any symptoms of Covid-19 or have recently tested positive, DO NOT COME.

1. Families are welcome, but the minimum age is 5 years old. Children must be supervised at all times by their parent or guardian. Registration ends at midnight May 1st.
2. You and everyone in your party must be members of ESCONI. No membership dues will be accepted at the field trip site. Have your membership status resolved before the trip, no later than May 3rd. You can pay dues by mailing a check, or with a credit card using the PayPal link on the ESCONI website.
3. You will be required to check-in at the collecting site. By attending, you agree to follow the ESCONI Code of Ethics and Conduct (available on the ESCONI website) and agree to the
   conditions set forth in the ESCONI Accident Waiver and Release of Liability Form (sent by email to those that register). You don’t need to print it out, just know what you’re agreeing to.
4. You’re going to be digging in clay and rocks – dress accordingly! Boots and gloves are strongly recommended. No open-toed shoes or soft climbing shoes. Hard hats are not required. You may want to bring a shovel, pickaxe, trowel, or hammer. Use only a rock hammer, not a claw hammer or roofing hammer. If you decide to hammer on something, use eye protection. There may also be insects and poison ivy. Bring a bucket to carry your fossils in. The collecting site is an old spoil pile on private property. There may be old rusty tools or other iron pieces embedded in the pile. Sliding down the hill could be very painful.
5. The top of the pile is unstable and not safe to stand on. Do not go above the flags/caution tape markers. Anyone found above the markers will be asked to leave and may not be allowed to sign up for future field trips.
6. Sign up for the trip by sending me (Dave) an email with your name, the number of members attending and the day you are attending. I will acknowledge by return email within 24 hours. If you don’t hear from me in that time, send it again! My email is [email protected]
7. If the trip is full I will keep a waiting list in case there are cancellations. If you are signed up and can’t make it, please let me know.

Meet at 9 AM at the entrance to the collecting site on S Berta Road, just east of the intersection with Division St (Braceville IL). A nearby landmark for driving directions is the Braceville Gardner Cemetery, 7295 East Braceville Road, Braceville. I can send a small map to anyone that needs it.

 

Throwback Thursday #208: Looking Back At ESCONI For April 2024 #history #TBT #ThrowbackThursday #diamonds

This is Throwback Thursday #208.  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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25 Years Ago - April 1999

• The ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil show for 1999 was a huge success!
• The General Meeting for April 1999 was "Ancient Life in Illinois" presented by Ray Wiggers.
• The Micro/Mineralogy Study Group was discussing agates.
• The MAPS show for 1999 was held from April 2th-4th, 1999.

50 Years Ago - April 1974

• The General Meeting was the ESCONI Junior Festival.  Speakers were Charles and Patricia Armstrong.
• There was a field trip to the Chicago Academy of Science in Lincoln Park, Chicago, IL.
• The Mineralogy Study Group was discussing color in gems and minerals.
• Rich Rock was the speaker at the Paleontology Study Group Meeting.
• The newsletter had an article entitled "The Diamond" by junior member Lynn Lavidge.
• The fossil of the month was Bandringa rayi by John Anderson.
• Member Fred Labahn did a nice article entitled "The Middle Devonian Formations of Southwestern Canada".

70 Years Ago - April 1954

• Chairman Jay Farr thought things were getting a little "springy" around the edges.
• "Rocky Mountain Flora" was the subject of the General Meeting.
•  There was a field trip to the Thorton Quarry in early April.
• ESCONI Juniors were talking about coal - formation, chemistry, mining, and uses were all covered.
• Diamond is the Birthstone for April.

 

The Eclipse Was So Nice, They’re Doing It Twice #space #eclipse #sun #moon #science

Matthew Abbott for The New York Times

Unless you've been living under a rock or perhaps in a cave, you're probably heard about the upcoming total solar eclipse on April 8th, 2024.  The New York Times has a nice and informative story about the event.  Here is the Chicagoland area, we are at around the 90% band.  That's pretty significant.  Hopefully, the weather will work out and we'll have a nice view.

Be safe and use eclipse glasses to protect your eyesight!

That started to change as August 2017 got closer. Carbondale, which planned for that eclipse for three years, welcomed around 14,000 people. Clouds obstructed much of the view that day, but the communal experience struck people nonetheless. Excitement from that event continues to reverberate seven years later.

“The vibe is still pretty electric here,” Mr. Baer said. “A lot of anticipation.”

Not everyone was as prepared as Carbondale was in 2017. Seventy miles away, city officials in Paducah, Ky., were surprised by the number of visitors they got.

“We had no idea what to expect,” said Angela Schade, a downtown development specialist in Paducah’s planning department. She remembers locals renting out their yards to campers in an attempt to make room for everyone coming for the eclipse. Ms. Schade watched the spectacle from the parking lot at work but didn’t fully comprehend what she was experiencing.

This year, Paducah is organizing a street fair where educators will teach people about the science of eclipses. The National Quilt Museum — Paducah’s claim to fame — will host an exhibition featuring the work of Karen Nyberg, a retired NASA astronaut who makes space-themed quilts.

Courtship cut short for termites trapped in 38 million-year-old amber fossil #fossils #paleontology #insect #insectfossil #amber #eocene

Close up image showing the parallel position of the termites, with the female touching the male on the left.  (Image credit: Dr. Aleš Buček (OIST/The Czech Academy of Sciences))

LiveScience has a story about insect fossils in amber.  Discovered in a Russian mine, two mating termites in amber preserves behavior that is rarely seen in the fossil record.  The amber dates to the Eocene about 38 million years ago.  The fossil was purchased by A Czech scientist in an online fossil shop.  The specimen was described in the journal PNAS.

In this case, the fossil was Eocene Baltic amber from a mine in Yantarny, Kaliningrad, which is part of Russia. Bubbles in the amber obscured the posterior part of the termites' abdomens, so the team used a 3D imaging technique called X-ray microtomography to look inside the fossil and identify them as male and female.  

The two termites were preserved side by side, with the female's mouth touching the tip of the male's abdomen. Close abdomen contact is part of a common mating behavior in living termites called tandem running. Mating pairs use tandem running to stay together while looking for nest sites. However, living termites run in a straight line, with one termite following directly behind the other, so the side-by-side position of the fossilized pair would be unusual for this behavior.   

Mazon Monday #210: Alethopteris gibsonii #fossils #paleontology #seedfern #MazonCreek #MazonMonday #pennsylvanian #paleobotany

This is Mazon Monday post #210.  What's your favorite Mazon Creek fossil?  Tell us at email:[email protected].

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Alethopteris gibbsonii is an extinct seed-fern from the Pennsylvanian Period.  It is not as common as its sister taxa Alethopteris serlii and Alethopteris sullivantii.  

Lesquereux in 1864

It was named by Leo Lesquereux (1806-1889) in 1870.  Lesquereux was a Swiss-born bryologist and a pioneer of American paleobotany.  Lesquereux is credited with naming the Mazon Creek fossil deposit in his 1870 report "Report on the Fossil Plants of Illinois", where he referred to the Mazon River as Mazon Creek.  “Mazon Creek” appears 104 times in the report, while “Mazon River” never is mentioned.

"At Mazon Creek, the meanders of the stream have dug a broad bed through the bank of shale, and the water, washing for centuries, has uncovered great numbers of concretions and scattered them for miles from their point of origin.”

A. gibsonii can be found on pages 176 and 177 in Jack Wittry's informative "A Comprehensive Guide to the Fossil Flora of Mazon Creek"

Alethopteris gibsonii Lesquereux, 1879

1879-80. Alethopteris gibsoni Lesquereux: p. 183, pl. 28, figs. 4-6; non pl. 33, fig. 1
1938. Alethopteris friedeli (non Bertrand); Bell: p. 68 in part, pl. 62, figs. 3, 4; non fig. 2 Alethopteris lesquereuxii; pl. 63 indeterminate
1958. Alethopteris grandini (non Brongnart); Langford: p. 247, fig. 445
1958. Alethopteris friedeli (non Bertrand); Langford: p. 247, figs. 447, 448
1958. Alethopteris ambigua (non Lesquereux); Langford: p. 247, fig. 446
1958. Alethopteris scalariformis (non Bell); Langford: p. 250, fig. 449
1958. Alethopteris ingbertensis (non Benecke); Langford: p. 250, fig. 451
1962. Alethopteris davreuxa (non Brongnart); Bell: p. 37 in part, pl. 3, fig. 5; pl. 41, fig. 1, non fig. 2 = Alethopteris lesquereuxi
1968. Alethopteris ambigua var. gibsoni Lesquereux; Wagner: p. 38, pl. 4, figs. 15, 16; non figs. 17, 18 indeterminate
1979. Alethopteris ambigua (non Lesquereux); Janssen: p. 145, fig. 133

DESCRIPTION: The ultimate pinnae are widest in the middle, then gradually taper to an elongated, triangular lobe. The pinnules are free, but may appear slightly confluent at their bases. They can be either opposite, subopposite, or alternate, narrow, and perpendicular. Their margins gently taper to blunt points at their apices and have a typical aspect ratio of 4.5 times longer than wide. The pinnule lamina is very thick, making it appear inflated. A small, flat rim surrounds the margin, which is enrolled and only visible in strongly compressed examples like those preserved on shale (see Fig. 1). The venation consists of a heavy, sunken, non-decurrent, and straight midvein, which terminates near the apex. The lateral veins rise nearly perpendicular to the midvein, remain straight, are simple or more commonly fork once close to or at the base. They meet the margins at nearly right angles. The margins are enrolled with approximately 30 veins per centimeter.

REMARKS: Alethopteris gibsonii is uncommon. A feature that has been mentioned by Janssen and others as a main diagnostic characteristic is a groove located around the pinnule margins (see Fig. 3 inset). This feature is commonly, but not always, seen. It is made by the compression of the enrolled lamina and a small rim on the margin into the surrounding matrix. The absence of the "compression groove" should not be considered a discounting diagnostic feature.

     The use of the name Alethopteris ambigua for the specimens found in the Mazon Creek flora in the past was based on Wagner's (1968) interpretation of this taxon. Since then, Wagner (2008) has united A. ambigua with Alethopteris lonchitica which display features not seen in the Mazon Creek specimens, such as elongated terminal pinnules, and oblique and decurrent midveins and pinnules. Though they are closely related to White's (1899) interpretation of A. ambigua, it is clear that the Mazon Creek examples and A. ambigua should no longer be considered conspecific. The mostly overlooked taxon, A. gibsonii, best encompasses all of the features seen in the Mazon Creek form.

Specimens

From Wittry.

From George's Basement.  Langford referred to Alethopteris gibsonii as Alethopteris friedeli

From Andrew Young's beautiful Herrin Coal Gallery... A. gibsonii from M. Angkuw.