Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois - ESCONI

ESCONI Events March 2021

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

Fri, Mar 12th	ESCONI General Meeting 8:00 PM Zoom - Topic: "The Big Hill Lagerstätte; a small locality with large implications for early chelicerate evolution” by Dr. James Lamsdell of West Virginia University.  Zoom link.
Sat, Mar 13th	ESCONI Junior Meeting 7:00 PM Zoom - Topic: "More Interesting Gems".   Specifics of this meeting are available from Scott Galloway, 630-670-2591, gallowayscottf@gmail.com. Contact Scott to get the Zoom link to attend the virtual meeting and find out how to join the Juniors Club.
Sat, Mar 20th	ESCONI Paleontology Meeting 7:30 PM Zoom - Topic: “Fossil Collecting in Extreme Conditions”. by ESCONI Member Tom Williams.  Zoom link.

 

ESCONI June 2021 Paleontology Meeting - June 19th, 2021 at 7:30 PM via Zoom - "Collecting Mazon Creek Fossils" #fossil #paleontology #MazonCreek #Illinois

A. a fern (Neuropteris); B. amphibian eggs; C. a ringed (annelid) worm; D. bark and a leaf scar of a giant seed fern (Ulodendron), which reached heights upwards of 130 feet; E. Illinois’ state fossil, the Tully monster (Tullimonstrum gregarium), was an aquatic invertebrate that some scientists believe may deserve its own phylum; F. a small bony fish (Elonichthys); G. the orientation of bivalves, or burrowing mollusks, can be seen in the shale as if they were trying to dig out of the silt that was accumulating on top of them; H. Annularia were leaves of tree-sized relatives of the modern horsetail; I. Euproops thompsoni, a small relative of the modern horseshoe crab; J. a shrimp (Acanthotelson stimpsoni); K. an extinct order of an omnivorous crustacean, Belotelson magister; L. a seed fern (Neuropteris); M. an unsegmented worm, Priapulites konecniorum; N. the whorled leaves of Annularia stellata, a relative of the modern horsetail.

The topic of our Paleontology Study Group meeting is "Collecting Mazon Creek Fossils".  It will be presented by ESCONI President Keith Robitschek.  The presentation will include State Park Links, Maps, Surface Collecting Concretions, Concretion Storage, Opening, Cleaning, and Care.

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ESCONI June 2021 General Meeting - June 11th, 2021 at 8:00 PM via Zoom - "The Glasford Structure: A Marine Target Impact Crater with a Possible Connection to the Great Ordovician Meteorite Shower” #meteor #paleontology #space #Illinois #peoria #ordovici

The speaker at our June 2021 meeting will be Charles Monson from ISGS. Charles recently published on the Glasford Illinois impact structure and its relation to the Ordovician meteor event.

WCBU, a joint service of Bradley University and Illinois State University, interviewed Charles back in November 2019.  Their program is online and available for listening.  His paper was published in the journal Meteoritics and Planetary Science.

Glasford Meteor May Have Played A Role in Ancient Ice Age

New research on a central Illinois crater suggests possible links to an Ice Age about 455 million years ago. 

Charles Monson is an assistant project coordinator with the Illinois State Geological Survey. He said his team's research suggests a ancient meteor about the size of Wrigley Field struck near Glasford, 20 miles southwest of Peoria, creating a 2.5 mile wide crater that's now buried under a more than a thousand feet of sediment. 

Scientists look for certain geologic signs like shatter cones (or altered rock) to prove a meteor impact is responsible for a crater, instead of another phenomenon. Monson said no one's taken a good look at the crater since its discovery more than 50 years ago. Using 21st century technology and methods, he said scientists were able to learn more. 

"We've documented some of those at the Glasford structure, much more thoroughly than they've been previously documented, so you could say we are the first ones to completely prove this was a meteor impact," he said. 

Zoom Info

Topic: The Glasford Structure (Peoria County, Illinois): A Marine Target Impact Crater with a Possible Connection to the ‘Great Ordovician Meteorite Shower’

Time: Jun 11, 2021 08:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

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ESCONI July 2021 Junior Field Trip - Dave's Down to Earth Rock Shop Saturday, July 12th, 2021 10 AM #earthscience #collecting #rocks #rockshop #paleontology #fieldtrip

Hello juniors families,

 

I am planning a field trip, for juniors families only, on July 12th.  To start the morning out we will meet at a Home Depot in Evanston, IL at 10:00.  There we will have a scavenger hunt to determine  what items, for sale in the store, are made of rocks and minerals that are obtained from nature.   Here your child can earn check marks for an earth resources achievement badge.

 

Then we will walk from the parking lot of Home Depot to Northshore Sculpture Park which is a 17 minute walk.  After viewing sculptures and possibly picking up food at a nearby Greek restaurant we will eat lunch in the park. Then we will walk back to the Home Depot parking lot where we will get in our cars and leave to go to our second attraction.

 

From Home Depot we will drive to the very impressive Dave's Down to Earth Rock Shop, also in Evanston, IL.  We will spend a half hour in the basement on  a tour of the paleontological museum displays.  Then we will go upstairs to the main gift shop and do a brief tour.  At that point everyone can leave whenever they want. I'm expecting that to be no later than 2:00.

 

In order to attend this field trip you must be a member of ESCONI and you must be a junior or a family member of a junior.  You also must sign up with me prior to July 1st. Our limit is 30 people.

 

I will send more detailed instructions on July 1st.  

 

Sincerely,

Scott Galloway

Juniors Program Chair

ESCONI

cell 630-670-2591

 

ESCONI Events June 2021

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

Sat, June 5th	ESCONI Field Trip to a Danville, IL Shale Pile 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM - Details are here.
Fri, June 11th	ESCONI General Meeting 8:00 PM Zoom - Topic: "The Glasford Structure (Peoria County, Illinois): A Marine Target Impact Crater with a Possible Connection to the ‘Great Ordovician Meteorite Shower’” by Charles Monson of ISGS (Illinois State Geological Survey, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign).  Zoom link
Sat, June 12th	ESCONI Junior Meeting 7:00 PM Zoom - Topic: "Building a working model of a water reclamation plant" Specifics of this meeting are available from Scott Galloway, 630-670-2591, gallowayscottf@gmail.com. Contact Scott to get the Zoom link to attend the virtual meeting and find out how to join the Juniors Club.
Sat, June 19th	ESCONI Paleontology Meeting 7:30 PM Zoom - Topic: "Collecting Mazon Creek Fossils” - This will include State Park Links, Maps, Surface Collecting Concretions, Concretion Storage, Opening, Cleaning, and Care" by Keith Robitschek.  Zoom link
Sat, June 26th	ESCONI Field Trip to Belvidere, IL Quarry 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM - Details are here.

 

ESCONI at CGMA 2021 #gems #minerals #fossils #Chicago #Illinois #KaneCounty

Today is the last day of the 2021 Chicagoland Gems and Minerals Association show. It's at the Kane County Fairgrounds in St. Charles, IL.  Masks are optional for vaccinated people, hand sanitizer will be everywhere and there will be extra space between vendors.  There's lots of vendors, interesting displays, and good friends.... See you there!

The CGMA 2021 Show is a GO! Saturday, May 29th and Sunday, May 30th, 2021 #gems #minerals #fossils #Chicago #Illinois #KaneCounty

The 2021 Chicagoland Gems and Minerals Association show at the Kane County Fairgrounds in St. Charles, IL starts tomorrow!  It will be held on both Saturday, May 29th and Sunday May 30th, 2021. Masks will be required, hand sanitizer will be everywhere and there will be extra space between vendors.  See you there!

ESCONI Field Trip to Belvidere Quarry - June 26th, 2021 #fieldtrip #fossil #Illinois #quarry #fossilcollecting #ordovician

Belvidere, IL Quarry Field Trip

There will be a field trip to a quarry near Belvidere, Illinois on Saturday, June 26, 2021, from 9AM to 12 noon.

The rock is Ordovician, Galena Group. This is a "hard-rock" quarry (dolomite). If you like Hormotoma or Receptaculites, this is the place for you! The quarry has been active so there is new rock exposed.

If you are sick, have symptoms of covid or have tested positive recently, DON'T COME.
 
Rules

1. Everyone in your group MUST be an ESCONI member as of June 21, 2021.
2. Everyone in your group MUST be at least 18 years of age.
3. Everyone MUST have and wear a hard hat, safety vest, and sturdy boots while in the quarry. No sandals, tennis shoes, and the like. No claw hammers or roofing hammers - use only rock hammers. If you plan on hammering then bring eye protection and wear it.
4. This is a quarry and social distancing should not be a problem. If you are uncomfortable being around others then bring a mask and wear it.
5. Sign up by sending me (Dave) an email with the number of members attending and their names. My email is fossil54@att.net.   No phone calls please.
6. I will acknowledge by return email. If you don't get a reply in 24 hours, send it again!
7. Maximum attendance by ESCONI members is 15. This is a shared trip with the Rock River Valley Gem and Mineral Society.
8. Please review the Code of Ethics and Conduct on the ESCONI website. You will be expected to check-in at the quarry. By doing so you agree to follow the Code of Ethics and the conditions on the ESCONI Liability and Waiver form (sent by email to those that sign up). You do not need to print out the ESCONI waiver form, just know what you’re agreeing to. There may be an additional waiver from the quarry.   

The address of the quarry will be sent to those that sign up a few days before the trip.

I will distribute the waiver forms by email to those signed up just before the trip.
 
Questions? Send me an email at fossil54@att.net.

Mazon Monday #61: Video for May Paleontology Meeting - "A Historical Perspective on Collecting Mazon Creek and Pit 11" by Peter Kruty #MazonMonday #fossils #history #Illinois #paleontology

This is Mazon Monday post #61.  What's your favorite Mazon Creek fossil?  Tell us at email:esconi.info@gmail.com.

-----------------------------------------------------

We are very excited to post the video of Peter Kruty's presentation for the May 2021 Paleontology Meeting. The title of his talk was "A historical Perspective on Collecting Mazon Creek and Pit 11". It was a very interesting presentation which was sure to bring back memories for long-time Mazon Creek collectors and instill a deep longing and heartfelt regret for those that couldn't or didn't participate in the glory years of the 1950's to the early 1980's.

Peter showed many photos of he and his family collecting at three different historic Mazon Creek localities. The first was a stretch of the Mazon River just east of Morris, which passes between the Kodat and Bensen farms. This was the original Mazon Creek collecting spot, active all the way back to the 1850's. The locality was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1997.

Secondly, the Greer School sat on what was Peabody Coal's Pit #1 and was known for incredible plant fossils. The school trained construction workers to drive heavy equipment. The site now hosts Cinder Ridge Golf Course in Wilmington, IL. The last site was Peabody Coal's Pit #11, which is now a State Park - Mazonia. The public is still allowed to collect in the park, however
it is overgrown with plants and concretions can be very difficult to find.

At the end of his presentation, Peter showed some stunning fossil specimens, including a Tully Monster, a very nice shrimp, some gorgeous ferns, and an incredible Elonichthys fish, which
was featured in Fossil Friday #46.

Peter and his brother Paul donated parts of his father's fossil collection to ESCONI earlier this year. His father, Sam Kruty, a Chemical Engineer by profession, was an enthusiastic fossil collector, who contributed specimens to the Field Museum and the Mazon Creek Project. He was generous with his fossils using them to educate many that he met. Additionally, he was co-author of three chapters of the Richardson's Guide to the Fossil Fauna of Mazon Creek.

Thanks again, Peter and Paul!

 

Trip Full! ESCONI Field Trip to Danville Shale Pile Fossils - Saturday, June 5th, 2021 #fossils #fossil #FieldTrip #Carboniferous #Illinois #coal #fern #plants #MazonCreek

Sorry, for now this trip is full!

Danville Field Trip Rules

An ESCONI field trip to the Danville Shale Pile for Pennsylvanian plant fossils is scheduled for June 5, 2021 from 10 AM to 3 PM. This is on private property and there is an attendance limit of 20 people. The gate will be secured once we are in and locked when we leave at 3 PM.

You must register to go on this trip. See rule 7 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.

Everyone MUST have a face mask and wear it if less than 6 feet from another person.

1. The minimum age is 18 years old. Registration ends at midnight June 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 June 1st. 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. The collecting site is in Vermilion County. If Vermilion County’s covid status slips back from phase 4 to phase 3, the trip will be canceled.
5. The pile is a mixture of “Red dog” shale (bisque fired shale), gray shale and black shale. You’ll be collecting from loose shale which can be hard and sharp. If you decide to dig for concretions, it is much like Braceville, though concretions are less common. Sturdy boots are highly recommended as are gloves. Wear eye protection if using a hammer.
6. Parts of the pile are unstable. You must not go into areas marked with flags/caution tape. Anyone found beyond the markers will be asked to leave and may not be allowed to sign up for future field trips.
7. Sign up for the trip by sending me (Dave) an email with your name and the number of members 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 fossil54@att.net
8. 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.

I will send a map to those that register a few days before the trip. The driving distance is significant.  Depending on where you live, it could take 2 to 4 hours to get there.

 

ESCONI May 2021 General Meeting - May 14th, 2021 at 8:00 PM via Zoom - "Enigmatic worms from the Burgess Shale reveal a novel symbiosis” #fossils #paleontology #worms #Cambrian #BurgessShale

ESCONI is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

We hope to see you there! The Zoom link is below.

 

Date/Time: Friday, May 14, 2021 - 8:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Topic: "Enigmatic worms from the Burgess Shale reveal a novel symbiosis."

Presented by: Paleontologist, Dr. Karma Nanglu, of the Smithsonian Institution.

Excerpt from 5/7/16 New York Times article: "Karma Nanglu, a paleobiologist and graduate student at the University of Toronto, was exploring the Burgess Shale Formation in the Canadian Rockies with his colleagues when they uncovered several fossilized tubes in slabs of rocks. Looking closer, they noticed that the cylinders weren’t empty." “You pull out a fossil fresh from the rock, wipe it off and you can clearly see the worm preserved inside the tube,” he (Nanglu) said. “It was pretty exciting.”

 

A fossil of Oesia disjuncta, a 500-million-year-old sea worm.

Credit: Jean-Bernard Caron

Please note: The Zoom link can also be found on our website, www.esconi.org. All are welcome for General Meetings. Being a member is not required; invite family and friends to join in!

Please mute your computer or phone during the meeting and presentation! Thank you!

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ESCONI Field Trip to Danville Shale Pile Fossils - Saturday, June 5th, 2021 #fossils #fossil #FieldTrip #Carboniferous #Illinois #coal #fern #plants #MazonCreek

Danville Field Trip Rules

An ESCONI field trip to the Danville Shale Pile for Pennsylvanian plant fossils is scheduled for June 5, 2021 from 10 AM to 3 PM. This is on private property and there is an attendance limit of 20 people. The gate will be secured once we are in and locked when we leave at 3 PM.

You must register to go on this trip. See rule 7 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.

Everyone MUST have a face mask and wear it if less than 6 feet from another person.

1. The minimum age is 18 years old. Registration ends at midnight June 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 June 1st. 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. The collecting site is in Vermilion County. If Vermilion County’s covid status slips back from phase 4 to phase 3, the trip will be canceled.
5. The pile is a mixture of “Red dog” shale (bisque fired shale), gray shale and black shale. You’ll be collecting from loose shale which can be hard and sharp. If you decide to dig for concretions, it is much like Braceville, though concretions are less common. Sturdy boots are highly recommended as are gloves. Wear eye protection if using a hammer.
6. Parts of the pile are unstable. You must not go into areas marked with flags/caution tape. Anyone found beyond the markers will be asked to leave and may not be allowed to sign up for future field trips.
7. Sign up for the trip by sending me (Dave) an email with your name and the number of members 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 fossil54@att.net
8. 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.

I will send a map to those that register a few days before the trip. The driving distance is significant.  Depending on where you live, it could take 2 to 4 hours to get there.

 

ESCONI Events May 2021

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

Sat, May 8th	ESCONI Junior Meeting 7:00 PM Zoom - Topic: "Careers in Earth Sciences" Specifics of this meeting are available from Scott Galloway, 630-670-2591, gallowayscottf@gmail.com. Contact Scott to get the Zoom link to attend the virtual meeting and find out how to join the Juniors Club.
Fri, May 14th	ESCONI General Meeting 8:00 PM Zoom - Topic: "Enigmatic worms from the Burgess Shale reveal a novel symbiosis” by Dr. Karma Nanglu of the Smithsonian Institution.  Zoom link
Sat, May 15th	ESCONI Paleontology Meeting 7:30 PM Zoom - Topic: "A Historical Perspective on Collecting Mazon Creek and Pit 11" by Peter Kruty.  Zoom link
Sat, May 15th	ESCONI Field Trip to Braceville 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM - Details are here.
Sun, May 16th	ESCONI Field Trip to Braceville 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM - Details are here.

 

ESCONI March 2021 Paleontology Meeting - April 17th, 2021 at 7:30 PM via Zoom - "Analysis of the Mifflin Member of the Platteville Formation" #fossil #paleontology #fossilcollecting #Illinois #ordovician

SATURDAY - APRIL 17 - 7:30 PM Central Time (US & Canada)

 

Topic: "Analysis of the Mifflin Member of the Platteville Formation"

Presented by: John Catalani, ESCONI Member

 

 

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Video: ESCONI March 2021 General Meeting - "The Big Hill Lagerstätte” #fossil #paleontology #Michigan #Ordovician #arthropod

The ESCONI March 2021 General Meeting is on March 12, 2021 at 8:00.  The program will be presented via Zoom by Dr. James Lamsdell of West Virginia University. Dr. Lamsdell studies Paleozoic arthropods such as eurypterids and xiphosurans (horseshoe crabs and their relatives). He recently published on the fauna of the Ordovician “Big Hill” Lagerstatte in Upper Michigan.  We posted about this locality and the paper back in December 2020.

The University of Michigan has an interesting post about a new Lagerstatte, which was discovered in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan back in 2013.  This fossil deposit dates to the Silurian Period about 430 million years ago.  Over 40 species of animals have been discovered at the locality, including soft bodied animals like Jellyfish. Jellyfish are exceedingly rare in the fossil record.  Another animal found there is a strange arthropod called chasmataspids, which are related to sea scorpions.  The Youtube video provides a good explanation of the site.

The fossil collection adventures began in the fall of 2013 and the team started finding many fossils that they thought were eurypterids - sea scorpions - but they turned out to be an even stranger group of arthropods called the chasmataspids.The Big Hill fauna completely changed our understanding of the chasmataspids, documenting large variation in size and species and the first complete specimens. Previously, there had only been fragmented fossils found. However, the Big Hill fauna added 50 complete specimens! So, what were all of these chasmataspids doing in Michigan ~430 million years ago? Well, just like other arthropods, chasmataspids molted or shed their exoskeleton as they grew. This is a very difficult process, as it leaves the animal very vulnerable. Dr. James Lamsdell of West Virginia University thinks that these animals were coming to the shallow seas of Michigan to molt in a more protected lagoonal environment.

Why are these strange arthropods so important? These creatures are related to spiders, mites, and horseshoe crabs - things we know and can find on Earth today. The evolutionary histories  of these groups are less well understood. When did they make the transition out of the sea? Where and when did the groups we see today originate in the arthropod tree of life? The Big Hill fauna helps paleontologists better understand many of these questions.

Jellyfish were the other really important find at this location - the number of fossil sites containing jellyfish are low. Jellyfish contain no hard parts, so their ability to fossilize is very slim. Over 100 fossil jellyfish have been found in the Big Hill fauna, which is an unprecedented number for a fossil deposit.

His lab website can be found at: http://jameslamsdell.com/.

Here’s a link to a short YouTube video about Big Hill.

Video: ESCONI February 2021 General Meeting - "Assessing the Early Mars Hydroclimate Using Paleolake Geometries” #mars #space #geology #astronomy #paleontology

 

Did rainfall and snowmelt fill rivers and lakes on Mars? GETTY

Our February 2021 speaker via Zoom will be Dr. Gaia Stucky de Quay from the Jackson School of Geosciences at the University of Texas at Austin. The topic of her talk will be evidence for water and its effect on the geomorphology of early Mars. Title: “Assessing the Early Mars Hydroclimate Using Paleolake Geometries".  She had a recent paper published in the August 2020 edition of Geology called "Global precipitation and aridity constraints from paleolakes on early Mars".  Forbes did an article on that paper in which she is quoted.

Perseverance will land in Jezero crater, home to one of the open lake beds used in the study. Data collected by the rover will help determine how much water was on Mars and whether there are signs of ancient life.

This matters because we know Mars was covered with water. “It had lots of rain or snowmelt to fill those channels and lakes,” said lead author Gaia Stucky de Quay, a postdoctoral fellow at UT's Jackson School of Geosciences. “Now it's completely dry. We’re trying to understand how much water was there and where did it all go.”

The study’s conclusions are pretty loose; researchers using satellite images and topography found that rainfall must have been between a minimum of 13 feet/4 meters and a whopping 520 feet/159 meters in a single episode to fill the lakes.

That’s a large range, but it’s a start.

Here's a link to her page at UT: https://www.jsg.utexas.edu/gaia-stucky/

 

ESCONI April 2021 General Meeting - April 9th, 2021 at 8:00 PM via Zoom - "Pits, Posts, and Palisades: The Archaeology of the 17th-century Plymouth Colony Settlement on Burial Hill, Plymouth, Massachusetts” #archaeology #boston #massachusetts #pilgrims

The speaker at our April 2021 meeting via Zoom will be Dr. David Landon from the University of Massachusetts Boston. Dr. Landon is one of the project directors for the Plymouth Colony Archaeological Survey. In conjunction with the Town of Plymouth and the Plimoth Plantation, the Survey has been working to uncover the remains of the original 17th-century settlement. A field school for college students is also run at the site. The title of his program is “Pits, Posts, and Palisades: The Archaeology of the 17th-century Plymouth Colony Settlement on Burial Hill, Plymouth, Massachusetts.”

Here is a link to his page at UMB: https://www.umb.edu/academics/cla/faculty/david_landon

Here is a link to a 2019 update video from the dig site: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z91ng2jTLs0

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Video: ESCONI December 2020 General Meeting - "What Genetics Tells Us About the Peopling of the Americas” #archaeology #genetics #Americas #NativeAmericans

 

The title for our Dec 4th program is "What Genetics Tells Us About the Peopling of the Americas” by Dr. Jennifer Raff, of the University of Kansas.  Dr. Raff's  research includes ancient DNA, anthropological genetics, human evolution and population history, migration, bioarchaeology, and scientific literacy.

You can find more about her on her page at KU.  https://anthropology.ku.edu/jennifer-raff

 

ESCONI Events April 2021

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

Fri, Apr 9th	ESCONI General Meeting 8:00 PM Zoom - Topic: "Pits, Posts, and Palisades: The Archaeology of the 17th-century Plymouth Colony Settlement on Burial Hill, Plymouth, Massachusetts.” by Dr. David Landon from the University of Massachusetts Boston. Zoom Link
Sat, Apr 10th	ESCONI Junior Meeting 7:00 PM Zoom - Topic: "Opals" and "Field Trip Safety" Specifics of this meeting are available from Scott Galloway, 630-670-2591, gallowayscottf@gmail.com. Contact Scott to get the Zoom link to attend the virtual meeting and find out how to join the Juniors Club.
Sat, Apr 17h	ESCONI Paleontology Meeting 7:30 PM Zoom - Topic: "Analysis of the Mifflin Member of the Platteville Formation"  by ESCONI Member John Catalani.  Zoom Link.

 

ESCONI March 2021 Paleontology Meeting - March 20th, 2021 at 7:30 PM via Zoom - "Collecting in Extreme Environments" #fossil #paleontology #fossilcollecting #nature

The title for the March 2021 Paleontology Meeting is "Collecting in Extreme Environments".  It will be given by ESCONI member Tom Williams.

What is an extreme condition? What should you be prepared for and what to pack, especially if it's just one or two of you.

Zoom details:

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ESCONI March 2021 General Meeting - March 12th, 2021 at 8:00 PM via Zoom - "The Big Hill Lagerstätte” #fossil #paleontology #Michigan #Ordovician #arthropod

The ESCONI March 2021 General Meeting is on March 12, 2021 at 8:00.  The program will be presented via Zoom by Dr. James Lamsdell of West Virginia University. Dr. Lamsdell studies Paleozoic arthropods such as eurypterids and xiphosurans (horseshoe crabs and their relatives). He recently published on the fauna of the Ordovician “Big Hill” Lagerstatte in Upper Michigan.  We posted about this locality and the paper back in December 2020.

The University of Michigan has an interesting post about a new Lagerstatte, which was discovered in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan back in 2013.  This fossil deposit dates to the Silurian Period about 430 million years ago.  Over 40 species of animals have been discovered at the locality, including soft bodied animals like Jellyfish. Jellyfish are exceedingly rare in the fossil record.  Another animal found there is a strange arthropod called chasmataspids, which are related to sea scorpions.  The Youtube video provides a good explanation of the site.

The fossil collection adventures began in the fall of 2013 and the team started finding many fossils that they thought were eurypterids - sea scorpions - but they turned out to be an even stranger group of arthropods called the chasmataspids.The Big Hill fauna completely changed our understanding of the chasmataspids, documenting large variation in size and species and the first complete specimens. Previously, there had only been fragmented fossils found. However, the Big Hill fauna added 50 complete specimens! So, what were all of these chasmataspids doing in Michigan ~430 million years ago? Well, just like other arthropods, chasmataspids molted or shed their exoskeleton as they grew. This is a very difficult process, as it leaves the animal very vulnerable. Dr. James Lamsdell of West Virginia University thinks that these animals were coming to the shallow seas of Michigan to molt in a more protected lagoonal environment.

Why are these strange arthropods so important? These creatures are related to spiders, mites, and horseshoe crabs - things we know and can find on Earth today. The evolutionary histories  of these groups are less well understood. When did they make the transition out of the sea? Where and when did the groups we see today originate in the arthropod tree of life? The Big Hill fauna helps paleontologists better understand many of these questions.

Jellyfish were the other really important find at this location - the number of fossil sites containing jellyfish are low. Jellyfish contain no hard parts, so their ability to fossilize is very slim. Over 100 fossil jellyfish have been found in the Big Hill fauna, which is an unprecedented number for a fossil deposit.

His lab website can be found at: http://jameslamsdell.com/.

Here’s a link to a short YouTube video about Big Hill.