Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois - ESCONI

Ancient Shipwreck Preserves a Deep Bronze Age Time Capsule #archaeology #shipwreck #mediterranean

Jacob Sharvit, left, the director of maritime archaeology for the Israel Antiquities Authority, with two Bronze Age jugs moments after lifting them out of the Mediterranean Sea on the Energean Star on May 30.

The New York Times has a story about a very old shipwreck discovered off the coast of northern Israel.  The mile deep wreckage may be the oldest shipwreck ever found.  Two clay jars known as Canaanite amphorae indicate the merchant vessel dates to sometime between 1400 B.C. and 1300 B.C.  At that time, the the boy pharaoh Tutankhamun briefly sat on the throne of the Egyptian empire.  Egypt spanned the area from northern Syria to Sudan.

Whether the galley was the victim of a sudden storm, a wayward wind or attempted piracy is unclear. But judging from footage recorded by a remotely operated submersible robot, the craft settled to the bottom without capsizing, and the hundreds of storage jars in its hold survived pretty much intact.

Cemal Pulak, a nautical archaeologist at Texas A&M University who was not involved in the find, said, “I consider any Bronze Age shipwreck discovery to be a very important one as shipwrecks of this period are extremely rare.” They are so rare that only two other wrecks with cargo are known from the late Bronze Age in the Mediterranean — both found, unlike the current one, off the Turkish coast relatively close to the shore and accessible using standard diving gear. The more recent of those two discoveries occurred in 1982. No spectacular new finds have surfaced since then.

The new Bronze Age wonder was detected last summer at a depth of about a mile during a survey conducted by Energean, a London-based company seeking to develop natural gas fields. The patch of seafloor had been claimed by both Israel and Lebanon until a 2022 agreement brokered by the United States put it under Israeli control.

Triassic Crocodile-Like Reptile Discovered in Brazil #fossils #paleontology #brazil #reptiles #triassic

Artistic representation of a Middle-Late Triassic landscape of southern Brazil: (a) a large Prestosuchus chiniquensis feeds on the carcass of a dicynodont while individuals of Parvosuchus aurelioi compete for scraps; (b) and (c) depict details of individuals of Parvosuchus aurelioi. Image credit: Matheus Fernandes.

SciNews has a story about the discovery of a new crocodile-like reptile from Brazil.  Whereas the Jurassic and Cretaceous were dominated by dinosaurs, the Triassic had the crocodillians at the top of the food chain.  Crocodile-like animals filled many of the niches later filled by dinosaurs.  Recently in Brazil, a new animal species has been named, Parvosuchus aurelioi.  It lived about 237 million years ago.  The fossils were found in the Santa Maria Formation in the municipalities of Paraíso do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.  A paper in the journal Scientific Reports has the details.

Named Parvosuchus aurelioi, the new species roamed Earth around 237 million years ago (Triassic period).

The ancient reptile was a type of gracilisuchid (Gacilisuchidae), an extinct family of pseudosuchians known from China, Argentina, and Brazil.

“Prior to the dominance of the dinosaurs, pseudosuchians were a common form of ancient quadruped reptile during the Triassic period, with some species amongst the largest carnivores of the time,” said Universidade Federal de Santa Maria paleontologist Rodrigo Müller.

“Smaller pseudosuchians known as gracilisuchids lived alongside these apex predators and have been found in areas such as China and Argentina.”

Fossil Friday #219: Neuropteris vermicularis - Terminal Pinnule #fossils #paleontology #MazonCreek #FossilFriday #seedfern #neuropteris #pennsylvanian #illinois

This is the "Fossil Friday" post #219.  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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Neuropteris vermicularis is a seed fern (see Mazon Monday #95).  It was described by Leo Lesquereux in 1866.  Lesquereux described much of the North American Carboniferous flora in the mid 1800's as a consultant to various US state geological surveys.  His book "Atlas to the Coal Flora of Pennsylvania and the Carboniferous Formation throughout the United States" written from 1879 to 1884 was the standard reference for the Carboniferous flora in the US for many years.  Lesquereux is credited with naming "Mazon Creek" in his 1870 "Report on the Fossil Plants of Illinois”, when he inadvertently referred to the Mazon River as a creek.

Quite often, the terminal pinnule of N. vermicularis is preserved along with the whole frond.  In this case, we have just the distinctive terminal pinnule.  This specimen was collected from the Pit 2 locality and opened via the freeze/thaw method.

Throwback Thursday #220: Collecting Poem from November 1950 #poem #history #TBT #ThrowbackThursday #rocks #collecting #fossils #pit11

This is Throwback Thursday #220.  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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Peggy Allaway wrote an untitled poem for the November 1950 edition of the ESCONI newsletter.  Peggy was the daughter of Bill Allaway, the first President of ESCONI.  Jay Farr was the inspiration of this poem.  There are a few stories of collecting trips by him in the newsletter archive.  He served as president of ESCONI from 1952 - 1954.

It sure seems like they were very serious about collecting... getting up early, staying out all day, getting back late, and then staying up even later.  This sounds very familiar!  

It's a little hot out there right now.  Hope everyone got plenty of trips in back in early spring.

The photos below are both from a field trip to Pit 11 in 1959.  The Allaways are on the left in the first photo.

Jay Farr is on left in this photo.

Look at clock
Hearty yawn
My word
Almost dawn.
Phone rings
Start of day
Hunt rocks?
Okay.
Down stairs
Eat fast
Breakfast gone
At last.
Out side
Car there
Jay Farr
Tearing hair.
Stout shoes
Large sack
Put axe
In back.
Hours drive
End of line
Have reached
Coal mine.
Fern leaf
Cry of joy
Just like
Child with toy.
More stones
And rocks
Put them
In box.
Collect things
All day
Grows dark
Can't stay.
Sun sets
Grows late
Rock hounds
Home at eight.
Back tired
Feet sore
Got rocks
Galore.
In basement
Till ten
Back to
Bed again.
Look at clock
Hearty yawn
My word
Soon be dawn.

- Peggy Allaway                

Did Australia's extinct giant kangaroos hop or stride? Fossils suggest they walked on two legs #fossils #paleontology #kangaroo #australia #evolution #giantkangaroo

Mainland Australia's biggest kangaroos went extinct 40,000 years ago, but scientists are still figuring out how these big beasts moved.(ABC TV: Catalyst)

ABC News in Australia has an article about extinct giant kangaroos.  Giant kangaroos like Procoptodon goliah lived in Australia until about 40,000 years ago.  It weighed about 240 kilograms (> 500 lbs).  Did they hop or did they walk?  Scientists still aren't sure, but fossils suggest they walked on they hind legs.

To understand how long-dead kangaroos got around, it's worth examining why today's ground-dwelling roos, such as eastern greys (Macropus giganteus), are such remarkable jumpers.

Crucial to their bounciness is their Achilles tendon, a thick, tough cord of connective tissue that connects lower leg muscles to the heel bone.

When a hopping kangaroo's foot strikes the ground, their Achilles tendon lengthens and stores energy, like a stretched elastic band.

Then as they push their foot off the ground, the Achilles recoils, helping propel their leg up and forwards into the next hop.

By storing and releasing energy in their Achilles with each bound, kangaroos can bolt long distances with relatively little effort.

But it also means a kangaroo's Achilles, which is almost as thick as a human finger, must deal with huge forces passing through it.

Paleontologists Discover New Bird-Like Dinosaur in Argentina #fossils #paleontology #birds #dinosaurs #argentina #cretaceous

Life reconstruction of Diuqin lechiguanae. Image credit: Porfiri et al., doi: 10.1186/s12862-024-02247-w.

SciNews has a story about the discovery of a bird-like dinosaur in Argentina.  Its name is Diuqin lechiguanae and it lived about between 86 and 84 million years ago.  It belongs to the subfamily Unenlagiine, which is a family of theropods in Dromaeosauridae.  The animal was found in the Bajo de la Carpa Formation in Patagonia.  A paper in the journal BMC Ecology and Evolution has all the details.

“Unenlagiines are Gondwanan predatory dinosaurs that are nested within Paraves, the clade that includes birds and their closest non-avian theropod relatives,” said Dr. Juan Porfiri from the Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Buenos Aires, and his colleagues.

“The unenlagiine fossil record comes predominantly from Argentina, where the greatest number of specimens and the most complete skeletons have been found, although other materials at least tentatively assigned to Unenlagiinae have also been recovered from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Antarctica.”

“The small-bodied, potentially volant Madagascan theropod Rahonavis ostromi has also been frequently regarded as an unenlagiine, depending on the specific phylogenetic hypothesis employed.”

Mazon Monday #222: Violetta Whitfield's Insects #fossils #paleontology #insects #fossilinsects #MazonMonday #MazonCreek #illinois #pennsylvanian #history

This is Mazon Monday post #222.  What's your favorite Mazon Creek fossil?  Tell us at email:[email protected].

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Robert and Violetta Wihitfield collected fossils with George Langford (Mazon Monday #220) in the 1940s and 1950s.  Langford curated the Mazon Creek fossils he donated to the Field Museum, working there from 1948 until 1961.  Both Robert and Violetta are listed as Associates in the Department of Geology at the Field Museum from the 1947 until 1978.  Robert is listed as a DDS (doctor of dentist science).   Robert Whitfield was there in 1958 for "George Langford Night (Flashback Friday #41)".  The event was held to highlight the release of Langford's first book "The Wilmington Coal Flora from a Pennsylvanian Deposit in Will County, Illinois".   Whitfield is on the left.

By all accounts, both Whitfields were successful collectors.  Violetta was president of her sorority Delta Zeta from the 1960s until the 1980s.  The December 1949 edition of "The Lamp" (the official magazine of Delta Zeta) lists her paleontological accomplishments up until that time.  

Violetta in 1949

"Vi" the paleobotanist.

The Museum of Natural History and Science
(Field Museum) Annual lists: "Dr. and Mrs. R. H. Whitfield, Associate Paleobotanists."

Director of Province VII has the unique distinction of probably being the only Delta Zeta to have a fossil named after her! One of her "finds" is now named "Neuropteris Whitfieldia." George Langford, world-known paleobotanist with whom she and her husband work, decided against "Violetta" as there were no flowers in that period! 

The Whitfields chiefly collect fossils of the Pennsylvanian period in the world famous Mazon Creek area , which is now the strip mine area between Joliet and Coal City, Illinois.
"Vi" says: "We work quite regularly every spring and fall. This is a family hobby. For many years we have worked at the museum on Wednesday afternoons, in the laboratory. Bob is doing most of the work right now. He has beautiful slides and does some lecturing-last summer to the Kennecot Club of Scientists.

"We also have worked in the Florrissant area in Colorado in the summers of 1948-49. My son Jack found four rare fish fossils-just a part of the carload we brought back. However wherever we go, we collect-Kansas, Iowa, Wyoming even the lead mines of Galena, Illinois."

The seed fern species mentioned was eventually named Neuropteris violetta, even though it wasn't a flower.  N. violetta appears on page 220 of Langford's first book.

Neuropteris violetta, new species

Description: Fragmentary frond with pinnae distant and at a wide angle alternating on the rachis, pinnae attached to the rachis by a long footstalk; pinna composed of a pair of rounded ovate basal pinnules with footstalk attachment, venation flabellate, separated from a large tongue-shaped terminal pinnule with thin distant venation, midvein indistinct, veins forking 2-3 times, curving gradually and meeting the margins at an acute angle.

There are six pairs of pinnae with upper portion of terminal pinnule missing so that the precise entire form is unknown. The pinnae are not flattened and stand out prominently from the matrix, The venation is clearly marked. The particularly novel feature is the long footstalk in combination with thin rather distant venation slightly curved.

Holotype Fig. 2. CNHM PP 2602 collected by Mrs. Robert H. (Violetta) Whitfield in the waste heaps of Section 29, Wilmington Township, Will County, Illinois.

Georgesbasement.com has many interesting little stories.  One of them is about Violetta's four insects.  All of the insect specimens were found in the Goldblatt mine locality.

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Some of the information in this post was found with the help of Melissa Anderson, Librarian at the Field Museum.  Thanks, Melissa!

 

Video for ESCONI June 2024 General Meeting - “A North American fossil primate called Ekgmowechashala” #fossil #paleontology #fossils

The June 2024 General Meeting was held on June 14th, 2024 via Zoom.  Kathleen Rust of the University of Kansas spoke about Ekgmowechashala, a primate known only from the late early Oligocene of western North America.

"I am planning on presenting findings from my most recent publication describing a new primate species from the late Eocene of China that we named Palaeohodites and how its discovery elucidates the origin of a very funky primate species from the Oligocene of North America called Ekgmowechashala. My talk is about 30-40 mins. I will most certainly make time for questions from the audience."

Here's a link to an an article about her recent paper on the subject.

Fossils tell tale of last primate to inhabit North America before humans

The story of Ekgmowechashala, the final primate to inhabit North America before Homo sapiens or Clovis people, reads like a spaghetti western: A grizzled and mysterious loner, against the odds, ekes out an existence on the American Plains.

Except this tale unfolded about 30 million years ago, just after the Eocene-Oligocene transition during which North America saw great cooling and drying, making the continent less hospitable to warmth-loving primates.

Today, paleontologists from the University of Kansas and the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing have published evidence in the Journal of Human Evolution shedding light on the long-standing saga of Ekgmowechashala, based on fossil teeth and jaws found in both Nebraska and China.

Phylogeny and paleobiogeography of the enigmatic North American primate Ekgmowechashala illuminated by new fossils from Nebraska (USA) and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (China)

Abstract

Ekgmowechashala is a poorly documented but very distinctive primate known only from the late early Oligocene (early Arikareean) of western North America. Because of its highly autapomorphous dentition and spatiotemporal isolation, the phylogenetic and biogeographic affinities of Ekgmowechashala have long been debated. Here, we describe the oldest known fossils of Ekgmowechashala from the Brown Siltstone Beds of the Brule Formation, White River Group of western Nebraska. We also describe a new ekgmowechashaline taxon from the Nadu Formation (late Eocene) in the Baise Basin of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that North American  Ekgmowechashala and the new Chinese taxon are sister taxa that are nested within a radiation of southern Asian adapiforms that also includes Gatanthropus,  Muangthanhinius, and Bugtilemur. The new Chinese ekgmowechashaline helps fill the considerable disparity in dental morphology between Ekgmowechashala and more primitive ekgmowechashalids known from southern Asia. Our study underscores the fundamental role of southern Asia as a refugium for multiple primate clades during the cooler and drier climatic regime that prevailed after the Eocene–Oligocene transition. The colonization of North America by Ekgmowechashala helps define the beginning of the Arikareean Land Mammal Age and corresponds to an example of the Lazarus effect, whereby a taxon (in this case, the order Primates) reappears suddenly in the fossil record after a lengthy hiatus.

She thrifted this vase for $4. It turned out to be an ancient Mayan artifact #archaeology #mayan #history #pottery #nicefind #mexico

Anna Lee Dozier purchased this vase at a thrift store about 10 minutes from her Washington, D.C., home. It turned out to be an authentic Mayan artifact that dates to between 200 AD to 800 AD. Anna Lee Dozier

NPR WBEZ in Chicago has the story of a great find.  A 1,200 year old Mayan vase was purchased for $4 at a Thrift Store in Clinton, Maryland.  Now, that vase is heading back home to Mexico.

For a long time, Anna Lee Dozier thought she had just stumbled upon a good deal.

The Washington, D.C., resident paid about $4 for what she assumed was a reproduction of a Mayan vase. It turned out to be the real deal: an artifact that’s at least 1,200 years old from the ancient civilization. And now, it's headed back to its homeland.

Dozier bought the vase about five years ago at the 2A Thrift Store in Clinton, Md. She was about to leave the shop when she spotted it on a clearance shelf by the checkout.

"It did look old to me, but not old-old, like 20 to 30 years old, maybe," she said.

Dozier, a human rights advocate with Christian Solidarity Worldwide who has worked with Indigenous communities in Mexico, said that the pottery was a special find even before she knew just how priceless it was.

Fossil Friday #218: Rhabdoderma elegans from the Field Museum #fossils #paleontology #coelacanth #FossilFriday #MazonCreek #fish #fossilfish @FieldMuseum #pennsylvanian #FieldMuseum

This is the "Fossil Friday" post #218.  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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Rhabdoderma elegans was described by John Strong Newberry in 1856 as Coelacanthus elegans.  Newberry (1822 - 1892) was an American physician, geologist, and paleontologist.  He participated as a naturalist and a surgeon on three expeditions to explore and survey the western states during the 1850s.  He served in the US Sanitary Commission during the Civil War.  Among his many post war positions, he was professor of geology and paleontology at Columbia University, chief geologist of the Geologic Survey of Ohio, a member of the Geologic Survey of Illinois, and president of AAAS.

John Strong Newberry

Coelacanthus elegans was moved to Rhabdoderma elegans in 1937 by James Alan Moy-Thomas based on work by Otto Maria Reis.  Reis proposed the Carboniferous coelacanths should be separated from the Triassic and Jurassic species due to morphological differences in the shape of the first dorsal fin support and the pattern of ornament on the scales.  See The Coelacanth Rhabdoderma in the Carboniferous of the British Isles" by Peter Forey in 1981.

Up to 1937, most authors grouped species of Carboniferous coelacanths in the genus Coelacanthus Ag. , a genus founded on the Permian C. granulatus Ag. , and which also included Triassic and Jurassic species (Woodward 1891). Moy-Thomas, however, reinstated a suggestion by Reis (1888, pp. 71-72) that the Carboniferous species should be separated as the genus Rhabdoderma. Reis pointed out that the Carboniferous species are distinguishable by a well-developed ornamentation of closely spaced ridges and tubercles on the scales, lower jaw, andgular plates. To this Moy-Thomas was able to add further features by which the Carboniferous species differed from the type-species of Coelacanthus: these included the presence in Rhabdoderma of a triangular coronoid (versus rectangular), a basipterygoid process (absent in C. granulatus), and the absence in Rhabdoderma of ossified ribs and the presumed absence of an extracleithrum (both present in the Permian species). But these additional features, while enabling Rhabdoderma to be distinguished from C. granulatus , do not allow it to be distinguished from other coelacanth genera. For example, a triangular coronoid is present in Wimania, a basipterygoid process is present in Diplocercides, ossified ribs are absent from most coelacanths, and the extracleithrum is absent from Macropoma. In other words, these character states are not synapomorphies for the recognized species of Rhabdoderma. Furthermore, in two features (the presence of a basipterygoid process and the absence of an extracleithrum) previous statements and interpretation have to be modified (pp. 206, 211). But there do seem to be two features peculiar to Rhabdoderma ; scales bearing an ornament of ridges which converge to the midline of the scale (Reis 1888) and the kidney-shaped endochondral support of the first dorsal fin (Schaeffer 1941). A definition of Rhabdoderma incorporating these features would also reflect the primitive position of the genus amongst coelacanths (p. 224).

During a recent visit to the Field Museum, Arjan Mann, the new Assistant Curator of Fossil Fishes and Early Tetrapods, showed us a huge Rhabdoderma elegans from Mazon Creek.  This stunning  fossil fish was in a very large layered concretion, which looked similar to concretions found in the Mazon River near Morris, IL.  Thanks for sharing, Arjan!

 

 

Throwback Thursday #219: Joliet Quarry Trip in June 1951 #fossils #paleontology #collecting #fieldtrip #ThrowbackThursday #joliet #history #TBT #geology

This is Throwback Thursday #219.  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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On June 17, 1951, ESCONI held a field trip to a quarry in Joliet, IL. As seen in the map below, the quarry was located near Nowell Park in Joliet, which has since been recovered as a lake with part used for construction trucking.

Afterwards, the group went to a large gravel pit... no location was provided.  A full report of the trip appeared in the July-August edition of the ESCONI newsletter.

REPORT ON JUNE 17TH FIELD TRIP

The morning of June 17th promised a beautiful day for our second outdoor field trip as 24 cars rallied around our rendezvous at the Joliet High School. With Dr. Fleener leading the group and President Jay and Mr. & Mrs. Longnecker of the Joliet Mineralogists engineering the project, we were off to a fine start.

Leaving the caravan of cars in beautiful Nowell Park, we hiked across the road to the quarry and snapped some fine pictures looking over the ledge into the vast expanse as Dr. Fleener lectured on the various strata of rock exposed to our view. After descending into the quarry we were told the interesting story of a certain Northwestern University Professor who staked his reputation on a theory regarding the presence of the great quantities of quartz in the form of chert nodules and seams at the location where we were standing, through the secondary deposition of silica in the ground waters seeping through the lime stone strata. His theory was eventually found to be as near right or better than any previous or subsequent theory. Our attention was also called to "solution pits", possibly caused by small kettle-like depressions near the receding sea or lake but close enough so the water sloshed over into them occasionally. Thus they would be filled with clay, sea life remains, carboniferous material, or whatever comprised the flotsam of that particular arm of the surrounding water. We finally climbed the bluffs following the lead of that agile young man Dr. Fleener and returned to the park for over-due lunch abetted by glimpses of the bathing beauties in the nearby pool.

The afternoon was spent in a large gravel pit. Dr. Fleener explained how the rubble constituting the gravel deposit was generally material scooped up by the glacier while making the great depression now filled by Lake Michigan. At our morning stop the Niagaran limestone was very close to the surface, and the river from the melting glacier sped through its narrow shallow gap at great speed. All sizes of rock and gravel were hustled through. Then immediately the valley became deep and wide. The water'a speed was checked abruptly and the great load of detritus was deposited helterskelter with little more sorting by the water than by the glacier.

The volume scooped out by the glacier over-extending where Lake Michigan now is might have been of the order of 1000 cubic miles of material. Assuming that trilobites, for example, might comprise a small volumetric percentage (.1%) of a l-foot thick layer covering 100 square miles, what portion of the whole does this make? About 1 part in 50 million! Then what chance has a person to find a trilobite in a small portion of a 1000 cubic mile dump? Very, very small; it approaches zero; it can't be done! So our trips served to fill our collective "beans" with geologic lore rather than our collecting bags with tangible bits from days of yore.

P.S. We found a trilobite in the gravel pit!

Photos from the trip

Video for ESCONI May 2024 Paleontology Meeting - "The Upper Ordovician Platteville Formation" #fossils #paleontology #geology #platteville #northernillinois

The May 2024 Paleontology Study Group meeting was held on Saturday, May 18th, 2024. John Catalani did a presentation about the Upper Ordovician Platteville Formation here in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. He details the name changes how it relates to the surrounding area.

30 million-year-old cousin of chinchillas shows signs of enhanced hearing and living in groups #fossils #paleontology #mammals #chinchillas #southamerica

Brain virtual endocast inside the translucent skull (left), skull reconstruction (middle) and life reconstruction (right) of the late Oligocene Incamys bolivianus (YPM VPPU 21945) from the Salla-Luribay Basin in Bolivia. Credit: Jesús Gamarra González / Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont.

Phys.org has a story about a 30 million year old cousin of chinchillas.  A study published in the journal Papers in Palaeontology found endocranial brain features that suggest Incamys bolivianus might have had enhanced auditory acuity and vocalization processing.  Like modern chinchillas, this 30 million-year-old rodent may have been living in groups and using calls to communicate.  The fossil specimens used in the study reside at the Yale Peabody Museum and were dated to the late Oligocene.  The fossils were collected from the Salla-Luribay Basin in Bolivia.

A relevant and fascinating behavior of chinchillid rodents is that they produce a wide range of vocalization to communicate with other members of their group or colony. Different calls also known as whistles may correspond to different predators.

For this project, researchers created virtual brain endocasts for the fossil Incamys and for the three living Chinchillidae: chinchilla, plains viscacha, and mountain viscacha to uncover how the brain of the ancestor of Chinchillidae may have looked like.

They found that Incamys displayed an expansion of the temporal lobes of the cerebrum. This region of the brain and more specifically of the neocortex includes the auditory cortex responsible for processing sounds from our surroundings.

 

 

Mazon Monday #221: Mazon Creek and ESCONI at NAPC 1969 #fossils #paleontology #MazonCreek #MazonMonday @FieldMuseum #NAPC

This is Mazon Monday post #221.  What's your favorite Mazon Creek fossil?  Tell us at email:[email protected].

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The very first North American Paleontological Convention (NAPC) was held 55 years ago on September 5th, 6th, and 7th, 1969.  The conference was hosted by the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, IL.  ESCONI and Mazon Creek played a large role in the proceedings.  ESCONI had special Mazon Creek displays that featured specimens from many members.

This was a very special event and ESCONI put out the call. More than 40 members answered!  This announcement appeared in the December 1968 edition of the newsletter.

SPECIAL NOTICE

On September 5,6 & 7, 1969, the Field Museum will be host to the North American Palaeontological Convention. The meeting brings together the foremost palaeontologists and leaders in related fields from the entire continent.

The museum is both grateful and proud of its relationship with the amateur collectors. Few institutions enjoy such an amiable "amateur- professional" relationship. The Museum wishes to promote this kind of relationship among other institutions by showing the contributions made by the amateur collector and the gains that are accomplished by both parties.

One method will be to exhibit some of the fine specimens in the collections of the amateurs. All specimens exhibited will bear the owners name and club affiliate (if any). Since the greatest contributions made made by the amateur has been the lending of Mazon Creek Area specimens, the exhibit will be limited to nodules from this area.

All ESCONIans who have specimens (both plant & animal) from the Mazon Creek area are urged to participate in this exhibit. ESCONI has a screening committee to select specimens to be exhibited by ESCONI members. Members that have specimens in a quantity small enough to be transported will be asked to bring them to a designated place (possibly Hummer House) on a chosen date early in January or February. Those whose collections are too large to transport will be visited Try the committee. The identification, labeling and mounting will be done by the Museum staff.

It is very important that as many members as possible be represented in this venture. In order to maintain uniformity and to make it easy for the committee to maintain a card file, I ask all members who have specimens from the Mazon Creek Area to fill out a standard 3X 5 government post card according to the sample below and mail it to me as soon as possible. The display will also be open to the public for the entire month of September.

Jim Konecny

Come and see!  From the July/August 1969 edition of the newsletter.

NOTICE: September 5-6-2 COME AND SEE

The North American Paleontological Convention will be held Septomber 5,6, and 7, 1969 at the Field Museum. This is a gathering of many paleontologists and paleobotonists from all over the North American continent.

Many Esconi members and other interested amateurs will have fossils on display.

Everyone was excited to hear Eugene Richardson speak!  Many ESCONI members considered him one of our own.  From the September 1969 newsletter...

North American Paleontological Convention

On September 5, 6, and 7, the Field Museum of Natural History will host the North American Paleontological Convention. This brings together the majority of professional and learned anateur paleontologists and paleobotanists fron the entire North American Continent.

Although the bulk of the convention will consist of numerous symposia, there are three items that would interest most Esconians.

• The display, of Mazon Creek Fossils, in which over 40 Esconions are displaying material. This exhibit will be located in the lobby of the James Simpson Theatre, and will be open all three days.
• At the Friday (September 5) 2:00 h symposium, Dr. E.S. Richardson, Jr., will be giving his lecture. Tickets for a single symposium may be purchased at the registrar's desk for $2.00 per ticket.
• On Saturday evening at 7:00 p.n. the banquet will be held in Stanley Field Hall. Tickets for this occasion are $7.00 per person. This gives many Esconians the opportunity to meet the numerous professionals.

For those who wish to attend the entire convention the registration fee is 20.00. Anyone wishing further information may contact Dr. Rainer Zangerl at the Museum. His number is WA2-9410.

Jim Konecny

In the photo below, Tony Sobolik is facing the camera with Jim Konency on the left.  Eugene Richardson Jr. is in the background with the pipe.  I believe Sylvia Konecny has her back to the camera in the polka dot dress.

Rainer Zangerl, Chief Curator of Geology and President of NAPC 1969, and E. Leland Webber, Director of the Field Museum, opened up the conference.  The program reveals interesting symposia... "Extraordinary Fossils", "Computers in Paleontology", "Cretaceous Biogeography", and the "Lore of Paleontology".  What was the "Smoker" at 9 PM on Friday?

Just look at the schedule for "Extraordinary Fossils"...  Eugene Richardson Jr. presiding with Harry Whittington speaking about the "Preservation of Burgess shale arthropods". Richardson and Ralph Johnson on "The Middle Pennsylvanian Mazon Creek Fauna", and Frank Carpenter on "Adaptations among Paleozoic Insects".  Quite the lineup!

Part 1 of the Proceedings

Description from the ESCONI archives

THE MAZON CREEK AREA, IN WILL, GRUNDY AND KANKAKEE COUNTIES IN NORTHERN ILLINOIS, HAS BEEN A PRODUCER OF FOSSILS SINCE 1857. THESE FOSSILS HAVE BEEN KNOWN THROUGHOUT THE WORLD FOR THEIR EXCELLENCE OF PRESERVATION. ALTHOUGH THE GREAT MAJORITY OF THESE FOSSILS ARE PLANTS, A FEW ANIMALS WERE FOUND--THE RATIO BEING ABOUT 100 PLANTS TO I ANIMAL. THESE ANIMALS ARE BOTH TERRESTRIAL AND FRESH WATER FORMS.

DUE TO THE DILIGENT WORK OF A NUMBER OF ZEALOUS AMATEUR COLLECTORS, TWO AREAS IN WHICH THE ANIMALS OUTNUMBER THE PLANTS WERE DISCOVERED ABOUT 8 YEARS AGO. NOTEWORTHY ABOUT THESE AREAS IS THE FACT THAT THE ANIMALS ARE MOSTLY MARINE FORMS.

THE FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, WORKING ON A "MAZON CREEK FAUNAL PROJECT" HAS DETERMINED THERE ARE TWO DISTINCT ECOLOGICAL AREAS. THEY HAVE CLASSIFIED THE ANIMAL LIFE INTO TWO DISTINCT FAUNAL ASSEMBLAGES. THE OLD CLASSICAL AREAS BEING CALLED THE BRAIDWOOD FAUNA AND THE NEW MARINE DOMINATED AREAS, THE ESSEX FAUNA.

IN SEPTEMBER, 1969 THE FIELD MUSEUM WAS HOST TO THE NORTH AMERICAN PALEONTOLOGICAL CONVENTION. AT ONE OF THE SEMINARS THE MUSEUM DESCRIBED THE NATURE OF THEIR WORK ON THE "MAZON CREEK FAUNAL STUDY." IN ORDER TO SHOW THE IMPORTANCE AND MAGNITUDE OF THIS PROJECT, THE MUSEUM ASKED LOCAL AMATEUR COLLECTORS TO ASSIST THEM BY LENDING SOME OF THEIR SPECIMENS FOR EXHIBIT. MEMBERS OF THE EARTH SCIENCE CLUB OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS COMPRISED 84% OF THE TOTAL AMATEURS WHO PARTICIPATED.

A SMALL PORTION OF THE SPECIMENS EXHIBITED, ALONG WITH SOME TYPICAL PLANTS ARE SHOWN HERE.

Photos of the display cases.... unfortunately, there are no close ups.

In February 1970, after a very successful conference!

"THAT'S US!"--Excerpt from Geo-Times, December, 1969

"More than 500 persons assembled Sept. 5-7 at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago for the North American Paleontological Convention. This gathering of nearly one third of the profession was certainly the largest single. assembly of devotees of fossils in North America... There was no doubt about the excitement generated by the special exhibit of exceptional Middle Pennsylvanian fossils from south of Chicago (Mazon Creek).

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Note: some of the material in this post came from a donation from Charles Shabica in March of 2023.  Charles, Professor Emeritus of Northeastern Illinois University, was the editor of the "Richardson's Guide to the Fossil Fauna of Mazon Creek".  He was also responsible for the annual Mazon Creek Open House, which was held from the middle 1980s up until the early 2000s.

Thank you, Charley!

 

New Flying Reptile Fossils Found in Australia #fossils #paleontology #pterosaurs #cretaceous #australia

Life reconstruction of Haliskia peterseni. Image credit: Gabriel N. Ugueto.

SciNews has an article about the discovery of a large pterosaur in Australia. Haliskia peterseni  had a wingspan of about 4.6 meters (15.1 feet). Thought to be a fearsome predator, it lived about 100 million years ago in central western Queensland.  The specimen was described in a paper published in the journal Scientific Reports.

The fossilized remains of Haliskia peterseni were found by Kronosaurus Korner museum curator Kevin Petersen in November 2021 in the Toolebuc Formation of the Eromanga Basin.

“Haliskia peterseni is 22% complete, making it more than twice as complete as the only other known partial pterosaur skeleton found in Australia,” Pentland said.

“The specimen includes complete lower jaws, the tip of the upper jaw, 43 teeth, vertebrae, ribs, bones from both wings and part of a leg.”

“Also present are very thin and delicate throat bones, indicating a muscular tongue, which helped during feeding on fish and cephalopods.”

 

Video for ESCONI April 2024 Paleontology Meeting - "Terror Birds"

The April 2024 was held on April 20th, 2024 at 7:30 via Zoom.  The presenter was ESCONI member John Catalani.

Abstract

We begin with an explanation of the “Terror Birds” and their position in Geologic Time. The two major groups of these large cursorial birds are the Phorusrhacidae and the Gastornithidae. The first group was the longest lasting and, until the very end, lived in South America, at that time an isolated continent. With the appearance of the Panamanian Land Bridge and the Great American Biotic Interchange, the last “Terror Bird” took up residence in the, mostly, southeastern United States. The Interchange is also believed to have been the cause of the eventual extinction of the Phorusrhacidae. The Gastornithids, inhabiting Europe and North America, did not exist as long as the Phorusrhacids becoming extinct for unknown reasons mid-Eocene. This group consisted primarily of Diatryma in North America and Gastornis in Europe. Detailed study has determined that the two birds were actually congeneric. We will survey both groups for habitats and significant species with bird skeletal features and restorations illustrating the talk.

Fossil Friday #217: Cordaites borassifolius #fossils #paleontology #MazonCreek #FossilFriday #conifer #pennsylvanian #illinois #paleobotany

This is the "Fossil Friday" post #217.  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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Whole-plant reconstruction of Cordaites borassifolius (Sternberg) Unger (reconstruction by J. Svoboda).

Here is a nice Cordaites borassifolius from Pit 3.  It was collected in 2023 and opened via freeze/thaw.  Cordaites is an extinct genus of early gymnosperms.  Cordaites probably grew to more than 100 feet tall in swampy conditions, forming forests similar to modern day mangroves.

Cordaites borassifolius was named by Kaspar Maria von Sternberg (1761 - 1838) in 1821.  Sternberg was a Bohemian theologian, minerologist, geologist, entomologist, and botanist.  He is widely known as the "Father of Paleobotany".

Throwback Thursday #218: Karen's Komments #fossils #paleontology #history #TBT #ThrowbackThursday #dinosaurs #news

This is Throwback Thursday #218.  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 #16. 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. 

Notice the story below about the 11th specimen of Archaeopteryx.

Field volunteer Karen Nordquist discovered the tiny teeth by meticulously searching, or microsorting, the leftover matrix that was kept from SUE’s discovery.

Karen Nordquist's monthly column in "The Earth Science News" started as "DINO News" in January 1998 and continued under that name until December 1999.  In January 2000, the column changed name to "Karen's Komments" as it continued as a regular feature in the newsletter until December 2017.  Her column was always interesting.  During this time, Karen served many different board positions with ESCONI, including president from 2001-2003 and again from 2009-2014.  That is by far the longest tenure as president!  She submitted various study group reports for a long time.  By the way, Karen is one of a bunch of ESCONI members who have a species of animal or plant named after them, details are here and here.  Karen has been instrumental to ESCONI's success over the years.   We thank you very very much for your service!

Here are a few select entries from "Karen's Komments".  Enjoy!

Quadrupedal Liftoff for Large Pterosaurs

There has been uncertainty about how the large pterosaurs left the ground – on two legs or four legs? They could weigh up to 70 kgs (154 pounds) with a wingspan of 35 feet. Now a new study by Michael Habib of Johns Hopkins University analyzes the bone strength of three pterosaur species with those of 20 bird species and does the math. He finds that the femur is proportionately thicker than the humerus in heavier birds which need more muscle to take off. The forelimbs of pterosaurs are even more robust indicating that they probably used them for take off. This was with no wind and no cliffs. They hope to find pterosaur footprints to confirm this theory. The drawing at left is of 40 foot tall Hatzegotpteryx with a 30 foot flying pteranodon and human for scale is by Mark Witton. (Habib et al in Zitteliana)

Study of Feeding Behavior of Terror Bird – Andalgalornis

The terror bird Andalgalornis steulleti lived in South America during the upper Mioce-lower Pliocene (about 6 mya) and was a medium sized phorususrhacid of about 40 km body mass with an average height of 1.4 m (4.5 ft.) and 370 mm (15 inches) long total skull length. They were a top predator that hunted and scavenged along with carnivorous placental mammals of the time. While several skull bones of extant birds can be moved relative to the braincase, the bones of this terror bird suggest that they had lost mobility. The skull studied in this report is that of FMNH P14357 from the Field Museum which is shown in the photo above. The gray coloring shows plaster restoration. Although it did have some crushing it did show that the joint areas thick bone that would have restricted movement. This would have allowed little movement of the upper bill relative to the braincase.  Other smaller phorusrhacids also show a mosaic of thickened bones indicating some reduced mobility but only the larger birds had the extensive reduction of mobility. The authors also determined an estimated bite force with other estimated bird bite forces and an estimated body mass. Based on regression analysis and with the force of an eagle at 50 N, they estimate the force of Andalgalornis at 133 N at the bill tip. The skull showed higher stress under lateral loadings and lower stress under forces applied dorsoventrally or sagitally and in pullback situations. This would suggest that it would probably hunt for prey smaller than itself rather than large struggling prey. Alternatively, it would have used multiple well targeted sagital strikes in a repeated fashion to a larger prey. (Degrange et al in PLoSOne Vol. 5/8 August 2010)

Obama has Lizard Fossil Named for Him – Obamadon

The fossil was found a year ago in eastern Montana and was named Obamadon gracilis meaning Obama’s teeth because of its tall straight teeth. It lived during the late Cretaceous and disappeared along with many others at the K/T mass extinction. It is pictured at the left front in the Cretaceous scene at left. It joins other species named for notables, including Megalonyxx jeffersonii, an extinct group sloth and three species of North American slimemold beetles Agathidium bushi, cheneyi, and rumsfeldi. (Longrich in Proc. Acad. of Sciences, 12/10/2012

New 11th Specimen of Archaeopteryx Adds Feather Information

Much has been learned about the evolution of feathers since the first of the 10 known specimens of Archaeopteryx was described.  This new specimen shown here at left adds to the other feathered specimens from Berlin, London and Thermopolis. It is mostly complete with the head removed and displaced and the left wing missing. It reveals feathers along the wings and tail but also has them all over the rest of the body.  There is a high degree of overlapping of the feathers, but their features can be seen in the impressions of the fossil. They are bilaterally symmetrical pennaceous feathers with long thin and slightly curved rhachides with regularly oriented barbs that form narrow vanes. Pennaceous feathers also covered the head and neck. The long hind limb feathers on the femur and tibiotarsus measure are about 40-45 mm or 1.8 inches long, shortening along the leg, with short feathers along the ankle. There are 12 primary remiges along the disarticulated wing that expand in size close to the body. There are dorsal coverts above the primaries and they are about half the length (as seen in modern birds). This finding is different from the other Archaeopteryx specimens that showed longer coverts over fewer primaries. This fossil has the only complete tail with long symmetrical feathers up to about 99-114mm or 3.9-4.5 inches long (up to 61% of the length of the bony tail). The distal end appears to be bifurcated, but this may be due to moulting. The side feathers are shorter which may have increased flying lift for the animal. Different functional aspects were probably involved in the evolution of pennaceous feathers, because they appear in various different groups. Analysis shows that pennaceous feathers probably evolved in the common ancestor of Pennaraptora with oviraptors and quickly differentiated into various sub-types in different parts of the body. This would indicate that they did not evolve for flight but may have served other biological functions –insulation, camouflage or display. (Foth et al in Nature, Vol. 511, July 3, 2014)

Neanderthal Dental Calculus DNA Reveals Behavior and Diet

This new study looked at the DNA from five specimens of Neanderthal calcified dental plaque (calculus). A sample from Spy cave, Belgium showed a diet heavy with meat that included wooly rhinoceros and wild sheep that were common in the steppe environment. Bones from such animals were also found in the cave. There was no meat detected in the diet of Neanderthals from El Sidron cave, Spain. Here instead the diet consisted of mushrooms, pine nuts, and moss typical of forest gathering. One individual from the Spanish cave also had indications of salicylic acid (aspirin active ingredient) as well as that of a natural antibiotic producing Penicillium from molded herbaceous material he had eaten. He had a dental abscess and appeared to be self-medicating. So this method enlarges the scope of information that can be obtained about diet and health of early peoples from the limited fossils that are found. (Weyrich et al in Nature, Vol. 544, April 20, 2017)

Was This Sea Creature Our Ancestor? Scientists Turn a Famous Fossil on its Head #fossils #paleontology #burgessshale #pikaia #cambrian #evolution #vertebrates

The fossil of Pikaia, a creature that lived 508 million years ago and may have been a close relative of vertebrates.Credit...Mussini et al., Current Biology 2024

Carl Zimmer writes about Pikaia in his ORIGINS column in the New York Times. Discovered in 1909 by Charles Walcott in the Burgess Shale, Pikaia gracilens, which lived during the Cambrian Period, is thought to be an early ancestor of vertebrates.  Now, recent research published in the journal Current Biology finds that the animal had been oriented upside down in previous studies.  Further, they reaffirm that Pikaia belongs near the base of the chordate family tree, unlike the initial results by Walcott, who identified Pikaia as a polychaete, or marine worm.

Pikaia became a celebrity in paleontological circles. In his 1989 book “Wonderful Life,” the Harvard evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould praised it as “the first recorded member of our immediate ancestry.”

But many other experts remained skeptical. They pointed to some strange features of Pikaia later identified by Dr. Conway Morris and Jean-Bernard Caron of the University of Toronto. Most mysterious was a wide tube that ran along the back of the animal’s body, where one might expect a nerve cord in a vertebrate. Dr. Conway Morris and Dr. Caron dubbed it “the dorsal organ,” but they had no idea what it did.

“This long iconic ‘vertebrate ancestor’ remains an enigma,” the French paleontologist Philippe Janvier wrote in 2015.

A few years later, after finding some vertebrate-like fossils in Greenland, Dr. Vinther decided to take a close look at Pikaia for comparison. As he inspected a high-resolution photograph on his computer, he saw something odd about the dorsal organ. It had stains that Dr. Vinther recognized as sediments from the sea floor.

The only way that sediments could have gotten inside Pikaia was if the dorsal organ had an opening to the outside of the animal’s body. In vertebrates, the only organ that fits that description is the digestive tract.

BBC: Fossil festival returns to home of Mary Anning #fossils #paleontology #britain #england #lymeregis #history #MaryAnning

Steve Etches is among the speakers at the festival

The BBC has a story about the Fossil Festival in Lyme Regis.  Lyme Regis has been hosting the event since 2005. The event features talks, shows, walks, exhibitions, interactive displays as well as a film about Mary Anning.

Top fossil hunters and palaeontological experts are gathering for an annual fossil festival on the Dorset Coast.

The Festival Lyme Regis Fossil celebrates the geological heritage of the Jurassic Coast.

It features talks, shows, walks, exhibitions, interactive displays as well as the premiere of a film about the life of pioneering palaeontologist Mary Anning.

Organiser Nick Meecham said the festival had a "really ambitious programme".

Branded as "the UK’s leading palaeontological event", the two-day festival features free family activities at several prominent locations on the seafront.