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Video for ESCONI April 2026 General Meeting – “Life in the Devonian Period, The Age of Fishes” #fossils #paleontology #geology…

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Mazon Monday #318: Eusphenopteris neuropteroides #fossils #paleontology #MazonCreek #MazonMonday #seedfern #paleobotany #pennslyvanian #carboniferous

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The revolution in dinosaur science started 50 years ago—here’s what we have learned Phys.org has a story about the dinosaur renaissance that started about 50 years ago. Before the research that led to the revolution in dinosaur science, dinosaurs were thought to dumb, slow, lumbering animals that went extinct because mammals were faster and smarter. Bone histology, birds as dinosaurs, feathers, lifespan, diet, and behavior are just a few of the advances we now understand to a greater extent than before the change in view that led to the renaissance.

The revolution in dinosaur science started 50 years ago—here's what we have learned #fossils #paleontology #dinosaurs

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Reminder: MAPS Expo XLVII - April 24-26, 2026 in Springfield, IL #show #fossils #paleontology #MAPS #Springfield

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Fossil Friday #313: Mazonomya mazonensis George Witaszek sent us this breathtaking plate platter of Mazonomya mazonensis (see Mazon Monday #25). This animal was called "clam-clam" by collectors. Mazonomya mazonensis was known incorrectly as Edmondia for a long time. It was redescribed by Jack Bailey in the book "Paleobiology, Paleoecology, and Systematics of Solemyidae (Mollusca: Bivalvia: Protobranchia) from the Mazon Creek Lagerstätte, Pennsylvanian of Illinois" in 2011.

Fossil Friday #313: Mazonomya mazonensis #fossils #paleontology #FossilFriday #clam #clamclam #MazonCreek #carboniferous #pennsylvanian

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Throwback Thursday #313: Who Was DuPage? How the River and County Were Named #history #TBT #ThrowbackThursday #DuPage

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ESCONI April 2026 Paleontology Meeting via Zoom and in-person – "Digging the Marl of the Lance Formation" #geology #Wyoming…

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49th Annual CGMA Show - May 23rd and 24th, 2026 #fossils #gems #minerals #show #CGMA

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Mazon Monday #317: Pohlsepia Revisited — Not an Octopus After All A new paper "Synchrotron data reveal nautiloid characters inPohlsepia mazonensis, refuting a Palaeozoic origin for octobrachians" in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences refutes the classification of Pohlsepia mazonensis as an octopus and reclassifies it as a soft-bodied nautiloid as Paleocadmus pohli.

Mazon Monday #317: Pohlsepia Revisited — Not an Octopus After All

A new paper "Synchrotron data reveal nautiloid characters inPohlsepia mazonensis, refuting a Palaeozoic origin for octobrachians" in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences refutes the classification of…

Ancient bees found nesting inside fossil bones in rare cave discovery Science Daily has a post about a recent paper that looked at novel bee nesting behavior. Researchers working on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola discovered a rare and unusual fossil interaction in a cave, ancient bees used fossilized bones as nesting sites.

Ancient bees found nesting inside fossil bones in rare cave discovery #fossils #paleontology #Caribbean #Hispaniola #bees

PBS Terra: The Cascadia Megaquake Is Inevitable. And It Will Reshape America Forever PBS Terra has an interesting new video. This one covers the history, science, and future of the Cascadia Subduction Zone in the Pacific Northwest.

PBS Terra: The Cascadia Megaquake Is Inevitable. And It Will Reshape America Forever #geology #earthquakes #history #PacificNorthwest

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Fossil Friday #312: Sublepidophloios protuberans with a spray of Cyperites bicarinatus #fossils #paleontology #MazonCreek #FossilFriday…

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Throwback Thursday #312: Ron Schinderle Donation #TBT #history #MazonCreek #ThrowbackThursday

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ESCONI Field Trip to the Winfield Mounds “Walking with the Ancestors” – Saturday, May 9th, 2026 There will be a field trip to the Winfield Mounds on Saturday, May 9th, 2026. Meet at Hedge's Station in Winfield, IL. at 1:00 PM. We will be departing from the meeting spot at 1:15 PM. The field trip ends around 3:00 PM. This guided nature-and-culture hike offers participants an immersive journey through the Winfield Mounds—one of DuPage County’s most significant Indigenous archaeological landscapes—situated along the dynamic ecotones of the West Branch of the DuPage River. Blending natural history with archaeological insight, the experience highlights how ancient peoples selected, shaped, and understood this riverine environment.

ESCONI Field Trip to the Winfield Mounds "Walking with the Ancestors" - Saturday, May 9th, 2026 #fieldtrip #archaeology #illinois #winfieldmounds

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ESCONI April 2026 General Meeting via Zoom – "Life in the Devonian Period, The Age of Fishes" #fossils #paleontology #Devonian #AgeofFish

esconi.org/2026/04/esconi-april-202...

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Mazon Monday #316: Sublepidophloios protuberans #fossils #paleontology #MazonCreek #MazonMonday #lycopsid #carboniferous #pennsylvanian #illinois

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Fossil of Pincer-Wielding Crawler Reveals Origins of Spiders, Scorpions and Others The Trilobites column over at the New York Times has a interesting story about the origin of chelicerates - spiders, scorpions, mites, horseshoe crabs, and others. Chelicerates are a diverse group of arthropods that consists of more than 120,000 known species. Member of this group are classified by having a pair of appendages called chelicerae. These appendages are adapted for various purposes like snatching prey, injecting venom, and even spinning silk.

Fossil of Pincer-Wielding Crawler Reveals Origins of Spiders, Scorpions and Others #fossils #paleontology #WheelerShale #Utah #arthropods #chelicerates #Cambrian

PBS Eons: The Chaotic Race to Name T. rex PBS Eons has a new episode. This one is about the controversial history of the name Tyrannosaurus rex.

PBS Eons: The Chaotic Race to Name T. rex #fossils #paleontology #trex #dinosaurs

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Fossil Friday #311: Dung Beetle Balls from the Oligocene #fossils #paleontology #Oligocene #coprolite #Wyoming #WhiteRiver #BruleFormation #DungBeetleBalls #FossilFriday

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ESCONI Events for April 2026

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Throwback Thursday #311: Looking Back At ESCONI For April 2026 #history #TBT #ThrowbackThursday

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ESCONI Field Trip to Danville Shale Pile Fossils – Saturday, May 2nd, 2026 #fieldtrip #fossils #paleontology #danville #carboniferous #pennsylvanian

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2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show Recap – Photos from the Show #ESCONIShow #friends #smiles

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Mazon Monday #315: Another Langford Book Inscription From time to time, we run across some old book inscriptions. Back in Mazon Monday #18, we highlighted a few... Well, here's another interesting inscription.

Mazon Monday #315: Another Langford Book Inscription #fossils #paleontology #history #MazonCreek #MazonMonday

A large tyrannosaurid from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) of North America The journal Nature Scientific Reports has a paper about a new large tyrannosaur from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) in North America. The unnamed animal lived from about 74 to 75 million years ago in what is now New Mexico, USA. Abstract The Tyrannosauridae emerged as the dominant large predators in Laurasia during the Late Cretaceous. Their evolution in North America culminated with the replacement of Albertosaurinae, Daspletosaurinae, and Teratophonei, with masses of 2-3 tonnes, by the giant 

A large tyrannosaurid from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) of North America #fossils #paleontology #tyrannosaur #NewMexico #Nature

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MAPS Expo XLVII - April 24-26, 2026 in Springfield, IL #fossils #minerals #show #MAPS

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Fossil Friday #310: Mazon Creek Scallop #fossils #paleontology #MazonCreek #FossilFriday #scallop #pennsylvanian #carboniferrous

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Throwback Thursday #310: History of the Thornton Quarry

Ran across this interesting episode of "It's History" on Youtube.... "Why This Highway Runs Through Chicago’s…

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This crocodile ran like a greyhound across prehistoric Britain 200 million years ago #fossils #paleontology #reptiles #Triassic #UK

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2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show Recap - Display and Demonstrators #ESCONIShow #gems #minerals #fossils

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