Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois - ESCONI

ESCONI January 2025 Paleontology Study Group Meeting - January 18, 2025 via Zoom - "The 'Arctic Fauna'" #fossils #paleontology #ordovician #extinction

The January 2025 Paleontology Study Group Meeting will be held on January 18, 2025 via Zoom.  Our presenter is John Catalani and his topic is "The 'Arctic Fauna'".  The name refers to where the fossil assemblage was first discovered - Greenland and Baffin Island, although they are now known from many localities including the Stewartville Bed (Wise Lake Member of the Galena Formation).  

The Arctic Fauna is composed of two stratigraphic units that can be correlated with modern stratigraphic terms. The older Red River/Bighorn Fauna correlates with the  Edenian/Maysvillian NA Stages while the younger Stony Mountain Fauna is Richmondian in age. The term “Arctic Fauna” is, of course, misleading since the Fauna is tropical in nature, a fact recognized by Foerste and Flower as was the Invasion. The term “Arctic” was used due to the original location of fossils in Greenland and Baffin Island. Arctic Fauna fossils have been found from Greenland to New Mexico with mid-west representatives from the Stewartville Bed (Wise Lake Member of the Galena Formation). Fossils are abundant, well-preserved, and often of extremely large size. Examples of the two Arctic Faunas, mainly cephalopods, will be shown from original sources with examples of Stewartville fossils from my collection. Additional faunal elements with Stewartville examples will be discussed. The Richmondian Invasion will be briefly covered with The Arctic Fauna as one of the, possibly main, Invasion pathways. Incumbents and Invaders will be discussed as well as the stratigraphic ranges of some Invaders (Stigall 2023)

Esconi Host is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

 

Topic: ESCONI Paleontology Meeting Jan 18th at 7:30 PM

Presentation: "The Arctic Fauna" 

Presented By: John Catalani

Time: Jan 18, 2025 07:30 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

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PBS Eons: Life and Death on Tiny-Dino Island #fossils #paleontology #dinosaurs #pterosaurs #Hatzegopteryx #survival #romania #europe

PBS Eons has another episode of their long form video series "Surviving Deep Time"  This time they go to Hațeg island during the late Cretaceous.  The domain of Hatzegopteryx thambema, the huge azhdarchid pterosaur.  Could you survive?

There was an island in the Late Cretaceous Period in the fragmented European archipelago that turned out to be the hunting ground of a terrifying apex predator unlike any other: a giant pterosaur. Could you manage to survive on this island?

Fossil Friday #247: Acanthotelson stimpsoni #fossils #paleontology #shrimp #MazonCreek #FossilFriday #pennsylvanian #syncarid

This is the "Fossil Friday" post #247.  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 hash tag #FossilFriday on Twitter/X and Bluesky for contributions from around the world!

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Acanthotelson stimpsoni was a small syncarid shimp known from the Mazon Creek fossil deposit.   It's one of the most common shrimp found amongst the Braidwood fauna.  A. stimpsoni was described in 1865 by F.B. Meek and A. H. Worthen.  Fielding Bradford Meek and Amos Henry Worthen were both prolific namers of taxa back in the middle 1880's.  They collaborated on many papers through the years. Meek worked at the USGS.  A.H Worthen was the second state geologist of Illinois and the first curator of the Illinois State Museum.  He has an extensive fossil collection, which now resides at the Prairie Research Institute PRI at the University of Illinois.  Acanthotelson was named for another early contributor to American science - William Stimpson. Stimpson worked at the Smithsonian Institution and was later the director of the Chicago Academy of Sciences.  We looked at Acanthotelson stimpsoni in Mazon Monday #52.

Syncarida is a superorder of crustaceans.  It consists of two extant orders Anaaspidacea and Bathynellacea, and one extinct order Paleocaridacea.  There are 59 living genera, in six families.  They generally live in fresh water, but a few species do tolerate brackish conditions.

This particular specimen was collected from Pit 11 during the summer of 2024.  It was opened via the freeze/thaw process.  This little shrimp appears to have been part of a coprolite.

Throwback Thursday #247: The Gemini Giant of Wilmington, Illinois #TBT #history #ThrowbackThursday #giant #wilmington #route66

This is Throwback Thursday #247.  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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The Gemini Giant at its new location at the entrance to South Island Park, Wilmington IL.  By David Quigley - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=156469505

Mazon Creek fossil history has long been entangled with the history of Route 66, also known as the Mother Road.  We've had a few posts that relate to Route 66, see Throwback Thursday #127 about Piano Hill and Throwback Thursday #237 about Bruce Stinchcomb. 

If you've ever driven through Wilmington, IL on the eastern edge of the whole Mazon Creek fossil area, you might have noticed the Gemini Giant as it stood outside the Launching Pad in the heart of Wilmington.  The Muffer Men, as they called, were made by International Fiberglass Co. in the 1960s.  The giants stood from 18 to 25 feet tall.  The first figure was Paul Bunyan, which was created for the Lumberjack Café on Route 66 in Flagstaff, Arizona..  Its arms were designed to hold an ax, but the same design was used to hold anything from rockets to hot dogs.  They typically cost $1000 to $2800. For more information, check out the American Giants Museum in Atlanta, IL.  The museum has many examples of Muffler Man, including a Cowboy, a Viking, a waving giant, a Snerd, and a Midas Man.

American Giants has an interesting video about the Gemini Giant of Wilington, Illinois.

For both Route 66 travelers and locals of Wilmington, IL, March 20, 2024 might as well have been the moon landing. Thousands sat riveted to their phones or computer screen waiting to see the fate of the Gemini Giant. Would a private collector get it, would someone out of state or even out of country snag it? Would it be saved and stay in Wilmington, no one knew. Join us as we talk about that day and the weeks leading up to it and the small role the American Giants Museum got to play in his take down and transport. Also learn a bit more about the history of Muffler Man and specifically the Space Men that were made in the mid 60s.

Here's a short history from the Wikipedia page on the Gemini Giant.

John and Bernice Korelc opened a Dari-Delight restaurant in 1960 at the present day location of the Launching Pad. The proprietors bought a 438-pound fiberglass Muffler Man figure for $3,500 at the annual National Restaurant Association convention.^[10] Seeking to capitalize on America's fascination with the Space Race, they rebranded the restaurant as the "Launching Pad" and had the statue outfitted as an astronaut with helmet and rocket. A naming contest was held at the local grade school to give the statue a new moniker, and Cathy Thomas's suggestion of "Gemini Giant" was selected as the winner.^[11] Since then, the Giant has become famous iconography of Route 66, often appearing national and international media alongside stories about the Mother Road. Its continued presence in Wilmington has become one of the most photographed destinations for travelers making the Route 66 journey.^[12]

The history of the Gemini Giant and Launching Pad are intertwined. The Giant's attractiveness as a tourist photo stop has brought more visibility to the business than a small, local, independent fast food restaurant could expect to receive otherwise, while the restaurant's success is needed to keep the Giant where it has stood since 1965.

Korelc retired from full time work in 1986, but would continue to assist his daughter Sharon at the restaurant.^[13]

Both the Launching Pad and the Gemini Giant were inducted into the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame in 2000.^[14]

 

‘Dinosaur highway’ dating back 166 million years discovered in England #fossils #paleontology #dinosaurs #england #trackway #Megalosaurus #Cetiosaurus

In this undated photo provided by Oxford University Museum of Natural History and the University of Birmingham on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, work underway as five extensive trackways that formed part of a “dinosaur highway” are uncovered, at Dewars Farm Quarry in Oxfordshire, England. (Emma Nicholls/OUMNH via AP)

PBS News has a story about the discovery of a special dinosaur trackway in England.  While digging up clay in a imestone quarry in southern England, a worker found nearly 200 dinosaur tracks that date to the Jurassic Period about 166 million years ago.  There are four sets of sauropod tracks, thought to be Cetiosaurus which grew to around 60 feet in length.  Crossing these tracks is an additonal set, which belong to a a ferocious predator named Megalosaurus.

“Scientists have known about and been studying Megalosaurus for longer than any other dinosaur on Earth, and yet these recent discoveries prove there is still new evidence of these animals out there, waiting to be found,” said Emma Nicholls, a vertebrate paleontologist at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History.

Nearly 30 years ago, 40 sets of footprints discovered in a limestone quarry in the area were considered one of the world’s most scientifically important dinosaur track sites. But that area is mostly inaccessible now and there’s limited photographic evidence because it predated the use of digital cameras and drones to record the findings.

The group that worked at the site this summer took more than 20,000 digital images and used drones to create 3-D models of the prints. The trove of documentation will aid future studies and could shed light on the size of the dinosaurs, how they walked and the speed at which they moved.

“The preservation is so detailed that we can see how the mud was deformed as the dinosaur’s feet squelched in and out,” said Duncan Murdock, an earth scientist at the Oxford museum. “Along with other fossils like burrows, shells and plants we can bring to life the muddy lagoon environment the dinosaurs walked through.”

Video for ESCONI January 2025 Mineralogy Study Group Meeting - "Kentucky Agate" #minerals #kentucky #agate #kentuckyagate

The January Mineralogy Study Group Meeting was held on Saturday, January 4th, 2025.  The topic was "Kentucky Agate".  The presenter was Matthew Bentley, who is the Geologist for the State of Kentucky. Matthew attended Morehead State University and Western Kentucky University. He has been collecting Kentucky Agates for the past 10 years.

Kentucky Agate is the state rock and mineral of Kentucky.  If you are not familiar with it, a good resource with information and pictures is: https://www.uky.edu/KGS/rocksmineral/state-agate.php

Agate is a microscopically crystalline variety of the mineral quartz. In 2024, Governor Beshear signed House Bill 378 to have agate declared as the official State Gemstone.

Agate has delicate and varying shades of color arranged in layers. In the typical occurrence, the bands are irregular, curved, or in concentric patterns. Agate is used as an ornamental material or in semi-precious jewelry. The color banding is usually related to chemical impurities; for example, iron gives a red or orange color and manganese or calcium give black or blue colors.

For the past couple decades, beautiful specimens of red, black, yellow, and gray banded agate have been discovered in Estill, Jackson, Powell, Madison, and Rockcastle Counties. These Kentucky agates are derived from the Renfro-Borden Formation of Early Mississippian age and can be collected along some river drainages where the Borden is exposed to weathering. Many of these agates are displayed at local rock shows. More pictures of Kentucky agates can be seen in the Kentucky Agate section of this website and in the book, "Kentucky Agate: State Rock and Mineral Treasure of the Commonwealth" (McIntosh and Anderson, 2014).

Mazon Monday #250: Neuropteris jacksonii #fossils #paleontology #seedfern #MazonMonday #MazonCreek #pennsylvanian

This is Mazon Monday post #250.  What's your favorite Mazon Creek fossil?  Tell us at email:[email protected].

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After Lesquereux (1879)

Neuropteris jacksonii was named by William Culp Darrah (1909-1989) in 1969, who was an educator, paleontologist, geologist, botanist, and historian.  His "A Critical Review of the Upper Carboniferous Floras of the Eastern United States" and many, many professional paper made his name familiar to paleobotanists and paleontologists in general.  There is a very detailed portrait of his life by his daugher Elsie Darrah Morey of the Morey Paleobotanical Laboratory and Paul C. Lyons of the U.S. Geological Survey.  It appears in Historical Perspective of Early Twentieth Century Carboniferous Paleobotany in North America:  In Memory of William Culp Darrah.

N. jacksonii was originally named Neuropteris crenulata by Leo Lesquereux in 1879-1880.  It is quite rare.  George Langord had three different names for it, one being Neuropteris eveni, which is most likely a reference to Joseph Even a early collected of Mazon Creek in the 1850s, who emigrated to the Morris area from Luxembourg.  Even was an art dealer and photographer.  He was a collector in the vein of the early gentleman naturalists and caused much excitement in Germany when he sent back specimens.

Neuropteris jacksonii is described on page 206 of Jack Wittry's "A Comprehesive Guide to the Fossil Flora of Mazon Creek".

1879-80. Neuropteris crenulata(?) Lesquereux: p. 116, pl. 16, figs. 9-11
1925. Neuropteris crenulata (non Brongniart), Noé: p. 61, fig. 5
1958. Neuropteris eveni (non Lesquereux); Langford: p. 211, fig. 368 (re-figured here as Fig. 2)
1958. Neuropteris crenulata (non Brongniart); Langford: p. 211, fig. 367
1958. Neuropteris auriculata (non Brongniart); Langford: p. 201, fig. 352
1969. Neuropteris jacksonii Darrah: p. 110, pl. 6, fig. 1

DESCRIPTION: The pinnae are linear and gradually taper toward a large terminal pinnule. The pinnules are distant, more so when small, and constricted in each case at the base. They are ovate, cordate, sessile, and have margins that are lax, crenulate, or occasionally dentate. The rachis is thin and flexuous. The venation consists of a midvein composed of a confluence of lateral veins at its base. The midvein disappears before the middle of the pinnule. The lateral veins are thin, well marked, arch gradually to the margin, and fork once or twice.

REMARKS: Neuropteris jacksonii is rare. Despite what the older, now obsolete name implies, the margins appear weakly crenulated at best; some- times they have a slightly wavy appearance.

Specimens

ISM 15720, The Illinois State Museum refers to N. jacksonii by its original name Neuropteris crenulata.  This specimen also appears in Wittry's "A Comprehesive Guide to the Fossil Flora of Mazon Creek"

ISM 15203

From George's Basement, as Neuropteris eveni.

ESCONI member Phil Anderson

New Pterosaur Species Unearthed in Argentina is Earliest of Its Kind #fossils #paleontology #pterosaur #argentina #patagonia #jurassic

Life reconstruction of Melkamter pateko. Image credit: Pedro Andrade.

SciNews has a story about an early pterosaur from Argentina. Melkamter pateko lived between 184 and 174 million years ago in what is now Patagonia in Argentina.  It is the earliest known member of  Monofenestrata, a large clade of pterosaurs consisting of the Darwinoptera, Anurognathidae and Pterodactyloidea. The discovery of Melkamter pateko is reported in a paper in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

According to the researchers, Melkamter pateko marks the earliest worldwide occurrence of a monofenestratan pterosaur, predating the currently oldest member of this clade by at least 8 and probably 10 million years.

The species is also the first and only non-pterodactyloid monofenestratan from the supercontinent Gondwana.

“Melkamter pateko represents the so far most conclusive evidence for the presence of Monofenestrata during the late Early Jurassic, while also contributing to their morphological diversity with the novel traits expressed in this new species,” the scientists concluded.

ESCONI January 2025 Mineralogy Study Group Meeting - "Kentucky Agate" #minerals #kentucky #agate #kentuckyagate

The January Mineralogy Study Group Meeting will be held via Zoom on Saturday, January 4th, 2025 at 7:30 PM.  The topic is "Kentucky Agate".  The presenter is Matthew Bentley, who is the Geologist for the State of Kentucky. Matthew attended Morehead State University and Western Kentucky University. He has been collecting Kentucky Agates for the past 10 years.

Kentucky Agate is the state rock and mineral of Kentucky.  If you are not familiar with it, a good resource with information and pictures is: https://www.uky.edu/KGS/rocksmineral/state-agate.php

Agate is a microscopically crystalline variety of the mineral quartz. In 2024, Governor Beshear signed House Bill 378 to have agate declared as the official State Gemstone.

Agate has delicate and varying shades of color arranged in layers. In the typical occurrence, the bands are irregular, curved, or in concentric patterns. Agate is used as an ornamental material or in semi-precious jewelry. The color banding is usually related to chemical impurities; for example, iron gives a red or orange color and manganese or calcium give black or blue colors.

For the past couple decades, beautiful specimens of red, black, yellow, and gray banded agate have been discovered in Estill, Jackson, Powell, Madison, and Rockcastle Counties. These Kentucky agates are derived from the Renfro-Borden Formation of Early Mississippian age and can be collected along some river drainages where the Borden is exposed to weathering. Many of these agates are displayed at local rock shows. More pictures of Kentucky agates can be seen in the Kentucky Agate section of this website and in the book, "Kentucky Agate: State Rock and Mineral Treasure of the Commonwealth" (McIntosh and Anderson, 2014).

 

PLEASE JOIN US VIA ZOOM FOR THIS INFORMATIVE PRESENTATION!

 

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Meeting ID: 882 4517 6607

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Fossil Friday #246: Macroneuropteris macrophylla #fossils #paleontology #seedfern #MazonCreek #FossilFriday #pennsylvanian

This is the "Fossil Friday" post #246.  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 hash tag #FossilFriday on Twitter/X and Bluesky for contributions from around the world!

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Here is a sweet little Macroneuropteris macrophylla from the Pit 3 locality in Braidwood. At one time, M. macrophylla was referred to as Neuropteris clarksoni. See Mazon Monday #91 for more information.

This specimen was collected in the summer of 2022.  It was opened via freeze/thaw.

Throwback Thursday #246: Looking Back at ESCONI for January 2025 #history #TBT #ThrowbackThursday #lifemagazine #dinosaurmural #dinosaurs

This is Throwback Thursday #246.  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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Rudolph Zallinger was asked to paint this panoramic mural in the Great Hall of the Peabody Museum of Natural History while a poor student at Yale. His working original was painted first on a 10-foot roll of rag paper. The mural made his career. In 1953, Zallinger, then a famous artist and permanent employee of the Museum, was asked to paint some illustrations for fold-outs in the LIFE Magazine series. He used the original for this mural for The Great Age of Dinosaurs illustration in Part V.

25 Years Ago - January 2000

• The General Meeting saw Karl Everett P.E. and past ESCONI president discussing "Innovative Reclamation Alternatives for Mining Operations".
• The Paleontology was identifying Mazon Creek critters.  I bet that was an interesting meeting!
• There was a field trip to and old Gypsum mine in Grand Rapids Michigan.  January can be very cold, but the mine was a comfortable 50 degrees.
• The Lapidary Study Group was starting its "Lamp Shade Project".  Anyone out there have photos of what they made?
• "Dino News" was renamed to "Karen's Komments" by Karen Nordquist.  It had much news of dinosaus, including notes on Herrerasaurus, discovery of a teenage T. rex, and an update on SUE, as she was getting ready for her unvieling at the Field Museum in May 2000.

50 Years Ago - January 1975

• The General meeting featured Mr. Hartland Klotz doing a presention on "Experiments in Electrocrysyallization and Crystal Growth".
• Recent new members included Dan Behnke, who was an absolute giant in microminerals and micromounts!
• ESCONI past president and long-time ESCONI member Tony Sobolik did a presentation on the history of dinosaurs at the Lizzadro Museum.
• ESCONI had 508 members as of November 1974.
• The Micromount of the Month was Pyrite.

70 Years Ago - January 1955

• Jay Farr gave an illustrated lecture on "The Earth Is Born" for the Regular Meeting.  The lecture was based on the Life Magazine feature "The World We Live In".  Jay used a colored strip film and a brand new projector!
• Silicon was the subject of the Riverside Junior Meeting.  The presentation was given by Roy Beghtol.
• The Archaeology Study Group discussed the artifacts found by Sanford Gates of Naperville.  Mr. Gates collected many Native American artifacts over the years.
• The ESCONI newsletter's article "Fluorite" was reprinted in the December 1954 edition of "Gem and Minerals" magazine.

 

 

ESCONI Events for January 2025 #events

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

Sat, Jan 4th	ESCONI Mineralogy Study Group - 7:30 PM - Topic: "Kentucky Agate" by Matt Bentley, a geologist for the State of Kentucky Zoom link
Fri, Jan 10th	ESCONI General Meeting - 8:00 PM via Zoom - Topic: "Early Jurassic Extinction Events in Morocco and Other Lagerstatten Fossils" by Sinjini Sinhi Zoom link
Sat, Jan 11th	ESCONI Junior Meeting - 6:30 PM (starts at 7:00 PM) at College of DuPage Room HEC 1020 - Topic: the graphic novel "Dinosaur Empire" 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 Homeland Security Education Center (HEC), Room 1020 (Map).
Sat, Jan 18th	ESCONI Paleontology Study Group  - 7:30 PM via Zoom - Topic: "The Arctic Fauna" by John Catalani Zoom link

 

Triassic Lizard-Like Parareptile Had Unusual Dental Apparatus #fossils #paleontology #reptiles #triassic #england

Life reconstruction of Threordatoth chasmatos. Image credit: Mark Witton.

SciNews brings news of a new fossil parareptile from southwest England.  Threordatoth chasmatos lived between 220 and 210 million years ago in the Triassic Period.  It was discovered in Cromhall Quarry in south Gloucestershire, southwest England.  The animal is a member of the Leptopleuroninae, a subfamily of extinct lizard-like parareptiles within the clade Procolophonidae.  These animals usually have a reduced number of transversely expanded and bicuspid maxillary teeth, but Threordatoth chasmatos actually has tricuspid teeth in its upper jaw and compressed monocuspid teeth in its lower jaw.  The details are published in a paper in the journal Papers in Palaeontology.

“This small reptile’s teeth and jaw show features we’ve never seen before in its group,” said Dr. Meade, lead author of a study published in the journal Papers in Palaeontology.

“It likely fed in a way that distinguished it from its closest relatives, which opens up new questions about how these animals were interacting with their environment during the Late Triassic period.”

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“Inferring the interplay between the upper and lower teeth is fascinating, there are several aspects of the tooth shape that resemble those of mammals,” said Dr. Marc Jones, fossil reptiles curator at the Natural History Museum, London.