10:30 a.m. Eugene Koprowski: 'A new study demonstrates the isolation and sequencing of ancient RNA molecules preserved at room temperature can be used to reconstruct skin and tissue samples from an extinct species'.
11:45 a.m. 'Stump the Experts- Bring your fossils to ID'
Someone will be available at a table near the registration desk at 11:45 Friday and Saturday for fossil ID
1:00 p.m. John Catalani: 'Devonian Cephalopods'
2:30 p.m. Don Bissett: 'Silurian Massie Shale Lagerstätte at New Point Stone'
Keynote Address by Dr. Jed Day, Illinois State University
5:45 p.m. 'North American Records of Devonian Extinction Events'
10:30 a.m. Tom Williams: 'Hunsruck Slate Budenbach'
11:45 a.m. 'Stump the Experts- Bring your fossils to ID'
Someone will be available at a table near the registration desk at 11:45 Friday and Saturday for fossil ID
1:00 p.m. Jim Preslicka: 'Devonian Fossils from Independence, Iowa'
Approximately 80 fossils and fossil-related items will be auctioned.
Silent Auctions Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
MAPS is a non-profit organisation of amateurs and professionals from across the U.S. and several
other countries whose love of fossils brings them together. The purposes of the organization are to
promote popular interest in the subject of paleontology and to encourage the proper collecting,
studying, and preparation and displaying of fossils, and to assist other individuals, groups, and
institutions interested in the various aspects of paleontology.
This was a difficult decision to make, but given the circumstances, MAPS wanted to err on the side of health and safety
for all of our visitors, members, and vendors.
Children's Activities & Silent Auctions Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
11:45 a.m. 'Stump the Experts- Bring your fossils to ID'
1:00 p.m. John Catalani: 'An Introduction to the Ordovician'
2:30 p.m. Tom Williams: 'Upper Ordovician Crinoids' .
Keynote Address by Dr. Dennis Kolata
5:45 p.m. 'The Platteville Formation Fauna of the Upper Midwest U.S. - A Snapshot of the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event'
10:30 a.m. Ray Webber: 'An Historical View of Paleontology in Delta County, Michigan U.S.A.'
11:45 a.m. 'Stump the Experts- Bring your fossils to ID'
1:30 a.m. Dan Cooper: 'Saving fossils for future genrations- Really?'
5:30 p.m. Approximately 80 fossils and fossil-related items will be auctioned.
1:00 p.m. Jim Preslicka: 'Devonian Fossils from Independence, IA'
The MAPS EXPO Show will be held March 29-31, 2019, at the Sharpless Auction facility just north of I-80 at Exit 249.
The Hotel Pre-Show is scheduled to occupy the Clarion Hotel north of I-80 at Exit 246 on North Dodge Street about 3 mi from Sharpless Auctions. Both venues are located in
Iowa City, Iowa.
Contact: Tom Williams, Mid-America Paleontology Society (815) 228-5083; Paleotom234@comcast.net
EVENT: Mid-America Paleontology Society (MAPS) 41st Annual Fossil Expo: the largest fossil-only show in the world. Dealers/Exhibitors from across the U.S & beyond.
DATES: March 29-31, 2019.
PLACE: MAPS EXPO takes place at Sharpless Auction Building, Exit 249, I-80, East of Iowa City, Iowa. The Friday night Keynote address, the Saturday night live auction and a Pre-EXPO non- MAPS sanctioned motel show on Thursday take place at the Clarion Hotel, Exit 246. I-80
TIME: Show: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Sunday (limited dealers on Sunday)
ADMISSION: The show and all events are free and open to the public, however donations are accepted. Children must be supervised.
SPECIAL EXHIBITS: A life-size model of T-Rex skull courtesy of Don Johnson and multiple trilobite collections.
Friday, March 29, Keynote Address by Dr. Jonathan Adrain of the University of Iowa
5:45 p.m. 'The Great Basin: A Natural Cambrian-Ordovician Trilobite Laboratory'
Rocks of the Great Basin (including parts of California, Nevada, Utah, and Idaho) host some of the richest and most continuously fossiliferous sequences of Late Cambrian through Middle Ordovician fossils known from anywhere in the world. Many of the sections feature preservation via secondary silicification, which permits the extraction of three dimensional replicas of fossils via dissolution of the matrix in weak acid. Trilobites had dorsal calcite armor from their larval stages onward, all of which is often preserved in silicified faunas. Much of this diversity remains undescribed. Shallow water Early and Middle Ordovician successions from Utah and Idaho, for example, were known from 117 formally named species. Work by my lab group in the past 20 years has recovered over 350 new, formally nameable species from this interval. (In fact, the scope of the project is a little overwhelming - as of this writing we have managed to formally publish 59 of these new species, including 13 new genera; at this rate I think I’ll need an extra lifetime). The incredibly well preserved new material is leading to new insights into evolutionary patterns, higher level relationships, and paleoecology of individual trilobites.
11:45 a.m. Charles Newsom: 'Stump the Experts- Bring your fossils to ID'
If I can’t identify it, I will find someone who can. I will also give general tips in IDing your material.
Charles will be available at a table near the registration desk at 11:45 Friday and Saturday for fossil ID (and may be found at other times by asking at the registration desk)
12:30 p.m. Tom Williams: 'Mosasaurs'.
Mosasaurs were aquatic reptiles related to monitor lizards and snakes. I will discuss the early discoveries of their fossils beginning in the 1700s. Mosasaurs have been found in nearly every Late Cretaceous marine sediment world-wide. The highest numbers and some of the best preserved have occurred in Kansas, which was part of the Pierre Seaway of the Late Cretaceous. I will discuss their evolution and their demise at the end of the Cretaceous.
1:45 p.m. John Catalani: 'Field work in action: A preliminary Analysis of the Ordovician Platteville Formation (Mohawkian) 'Gonioceras Fauna''
I will use my investigation of the Platteville nautiloid fauna to describe the evolution of specimen and locality documentation, the factors involved in productive field work, and preliminary results of the study. A description of the “Mohawkian Sea” paleoenvironment, geographic range of the study area, and Platteville rock stratigraphy will be presented as background information. Lists and photos of field-collected published nautiloid taxa will be presented. Additionally, a brief discussion of recognizing new, unpublished taxa will be given. These both serve to illustrate results possible with successful field work.
3:00 p.m. Gerry Kloc: 'The Differences Between Phacops and Eldredeops and between Viapacops and Paciphacops'
Many collectors have Phacopid trilobites that are just labeled Phacops or use the name the dealer uses when purchased. Often there is confusion as to what genus their trilobite may belong to. The program will go over the differences between some Devonian Phacopid genera from North America where there has been a misunderstanding and/or confusion.
Saturday, March 30:
9:15 a.m. John Moffitt: 'Houston Natural Science Museum Trilobites'
Houston is the home town of several major trilobite collectors. The Houston Museum of Natural Science has benefited from extensive trilobite knowledge and has put together one of the best exhibits of this extinct arthropod in the country and the world. Enjoy a brief one hour visual tour of Houston’s collection and take some time to ask questions about this exhibition of world class specimens … some are the best in the world.
10:30 a.m. Kenneth (Chris) Gass and Don Mikulic: "Fossils of the Milwaukee Formation"
The highly diverse biota of the Middle Devonian Milwaukee Formation and the need for its further modern analysis are discussed. Major taxa not previously recorded from this formation are revealed. Photographs of many of its approximately 250 species are shown. Milwaukee’s cement industry and its key role in the accumulation of the Milwaukee Formation’s fossils are discussed.
11:45 a.m. Charles Newsom: 'Stump the Experts- Bring your fossils to ID'
If I can’t identify it, I will find someone who can. I will also give general tips in IDing your material.
12:30 p.m. Dan Cooper: 'Collecting and processing the Trilobites of the Silurian Coalbrookdale formation of Malvern England'
I will discuss a LAGERSTATTEN trilobite fauna from the Silurian Coalbrookdale formation located in the Malvern hills district in central England. The site was originally a brick yard in the 1600’s and has since weathered to a rolling pasture. The trilobites occur in soft shales and nodules and are represented by 15-20 different species. I will cover the logistics of excavating and returning the nodules to the United states to be collected at our facility in Cincinnati, Ohio. We made 4 different trips with varying success but were able to collect over 100 trilobites.
1:45 p.m. Tom Hegna : 'Insights from pyrite: Trilobite reproduction'
Despite a plethora of exceptionally preserved trilobites, trilobite reproduction has remained a mystery. No previously described trilobite has unambiguous eggs or genitalia preserved. This study reports the first occurrence of in situ preserved eggs belonging to Triarthrus eatoni (Hall, 1838) trilobites from the Lorraine Group in upstate New York, USA. Like other exceptionally preserved trilobites from the Lorraine Group, the complete exoskeletons are replaced with pyrite. The eggs are spherical to elliptical in shape, nearly 200 μm in size, and are clustered in the genal area of the cephalon. The fact that the eggs are smaller than the earliest-known trilobite ontogenetic (protaspis) stage suggests that trilobites may have had an unmineralized preliminary stage in their ontogeny, and that the protaspis shield formed only after hatching. The eggs are only visible ventrally with no dorsal brood pouch or recognized sexual dimorphism. The location of the eggs is consistent with where modern female horseshoe crabs release their unfertilized eggs from the ovarian network within their head. Trilobites likely released their gametes (eggs and sperm) through a genital pore of as-yet unknown location (likely near the posterior boundary of the head). If the T. eatoni reproductive biology is representative of other trilobites, they spawned with external fertilization, possibly the ancestral mode of reproduction for early arthropods. Because pyritization preferentially preserves the external rather than internal features of fossils, it is suggested that there is likely a bias in the fossil record toward the preservation of arthropods that brood eggs externally: arthropods that brood their eggs internally are unlikely to preserve any evidence of their mode of reproduction.
3:00 p.m. Ray Anderson: 'Geology of the Mary Ellen Jasper'
Almost 2 billion years ago the Earth was enjoying its recently oxygenated atmosphere by cleaning most of the dissolved iron that had built up in the oceans in the previous 2.6 billion years. Much of this iron was deposited as banded iron formation along the shorelines of the ancient continents. One of these areas of banded iron formation, the Mesabi Range of Minnesota, preserves some of the oldest organic structures on Earth, stromatolites, in jasper and iron oxide. These spectacular jasperized stromatolites, are found in abundance in the Mary Ellen iron mine near the town of Biwabik. Cut and polished these rocks make spectacular specimens and jewelry, known as Mary Ellen Jasper. The story of how these fossils were created is poorly understood, but very interesting.
1:00 p.m. Bill Desmarais: 'Track’em down and Dig'em up'
Alberta, Canada is a known hot bed of dinosaur discoveries and fossils. Come on this virtual expedition and find thousands of dinosaur tracks and trackways uncovered in a large coal mine in the Canadian Rockies. The expedition continues with discoveries of multiple Albertosaurus skeletons in the badlands of the Red Deer River that hint at the pack hunting nature of large tyrannosaurs. There will be interactive parts where you will be able to apply your paleontologist skills and observe real dinosaur fossils and footprints. Children are welcome.
5:30 p.m. Saturday, March 30.
Approximately 80 fossils and fossil-related items will be auctioned.
Special Auction Item #1: Dinosaur Dig Trip, offered by Paleo Prospectors, to South Dakota, Wyoming or North Dakota for the summer of 2020. Minimum bid has yet to be determined. Keep almost everything you find (up to $4000). Pick from three week-long sessions in June or July. More information on the trip can be found at HYPERLINK "http://www.paleoprospectors.com/"http://www.paleoprospectors.com.
Special Auction Item #2: Naming rights to a new trilobite from Dr. Jonathan Adrains field work – subject to approval from Dr. Adrain - no political references, unsavory characters, etc. It would be for a family member or in honor of someone – something respectful!
From Dr. Adrain
Silent Auctions Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Children’s Fossil Dig Box.
MAPS is a non-profit organisation of amateurs and professionals from across the U.S. and several
other countries whose love of fossils brings them together. The purposes of the organisation are to
promote popular interest in the subject of paleontology and to encourage the proper collecting,
studying, and preparation and displaying of fossils, and to assist other individuals, groups, and
institutions interested in the various aspects of paleontology. For more information about the EXPO or
Jonathan Adrain is a Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the
University of Iowa. He is a paleontologist who uses the trilobite fossil record as a model system. His efforts are split about equally between, on the one hand, developing new empirical data via discovering, collecting, and describing new trilobite faunas and developing hypotheses of phylogenetic relationship, and on the other, using global compilations and databases to address major questions in paleobiology. He is a native of Northern Ireland, grew up mostly in Canada, and has been on faculty at Iowa since1999. His main field areas are the Great Basin, the Canadian Rockies, and western Newfoundland.
John Moffitt is an Astrophysicist, Earth Scientist and Computer Scientist. He's worked in the oil business for over 45 years as a geologist, geophysicist, palaeontologist, petrophysicist, exploration manager and currently works with companies developing large hardware/software projects. A past International Director for Toastmasters, John's presented at conferences, universities and museums. Also a musician, cartoonist, and playwright; John leads paleontological field trips worldwide and writes frequently in the sciences. A long-time volunteer at the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences, John was inducted into the National Rockhound Hall of Fame in 2002 for working with children in the Earth Sciences. HYPERLINK "mailto:jmoffitt.hou@gmail.com"jmoffitt.hou@gmail.com
Charles Newsom is an Emeritus Faculty in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University
of Iowa. He is also a Research Fellow with the Non-paleontology Laboratory of the Jackson School
Museum of Earth History at the University of Texas, an avid fossil collector and is currently living in
central Texas. He is collaborating with several paleontologists on a number of paleontological studies.
He is now volunteering at the "Berry Springs Park and Preserve" in Georgetown where he has created
a series of nature web galleries (flowers, butterflies, mushrooms, dragonflies,etc.) for the park and is
leading the efforts to remove invasive trees and shrubs. Charles-newsom@uiowa.edu
John taught high school Earth Science for 32 years before retiring in 2004. From 1995 until it ceased publication in 2011, he authored the “An Amateur’s Perspective” column for the newsletter magazine of the Paleontological Research Institution, American Paleontologist. John has several publications including one on Upper Mississippi Valley nautiloids and several with Robert Frey on Platteville Group Nautiloids. He has also presented many programs to clubs and at PaleoFest at the Burpee Museum in 2010. HYPERLINK "mailto:fossilnautiloid@aol.com"fossilnautiloid@aol.com;
INFO ON TOM WILLIAMS
Tom is a geology graduate of Western Illinois University and later received a Master of Science in Geohydrology at Illinois State. He has worked for 30 plus years as a geologist for Soil Testing Services Consultants, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and as a part time instructor at Illinois State in Geologic Environmental Classes. He has contributed articles to several MAPS digests and is currently Show Chairman for EXPO. He has specialised mostly in collecting Crinoids in the Mississippian Chesterian age since 1980, contributing knowledge and some important specimens while collecting with other researchers. In 1998 he worked with Dennis Burdick on a major crinoid dig in the Chesterian of Alabama which uncovered many important specimens including whole plates up to five ft by five feet with some specimens having stems five to six feet long. A fossil trip with Paleoprospectors resulted in finding a thirty foot Tylosaur poriger in the Kansas chalk of Nebraska and a second trip two years ago yielded a Cretaceous fossil flowering plant that may be used for research.
Paleotom234@comcast.net
Gerry is employed by the University of Rochester in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences as a Geological Technician.
He is known for his fossil preparation, especially trilobites. Gerry has searched for trilobites that have not been reported and/or known species
of poor quality. They are prepared and made available to researchers too. E-mail: gjkloc@yahoo.com
INFO ON BILL DESMARAIS
Bill Desmarais was a high school science teacher in Iowa for 36 years before his retirement in 2007.
He taught biology, earth sciences, and Advanced Placement Environmental Science at Washington
High School in Cedar Rapids. Since 1982 he has had the good fortune to work with Dr. Phil Currie of
the University of Alberta at Edmonton and Pete Larson of the Black Hills Institute, Hill City, South
Dakota at several dinosaur quarries in South Dakota, Wyoming and several locations in Alberta,
Canada. Bill is a member of the Iowa Academy of Science and the Cedar Valley Rock and
Minerals Society, as well as the Mid-America Paleontological Society. Desmarais_3@msn.com
INFO ON DAN COOPER
Dan Cooper was born and in raised in the greater Cincinnati area that allowed access to the excellent collecting locations of the Cincinnatian strata.
Applying many of the techniques and experiences from his profession as an Aerospace Engineer, he has successfully collected, donated, and contributed
scientifically to the science of trilobites. He has co-authored several scientific publications and has donated thousands of specimen to universities,
museums and other scientific institutes. He has collected over 20,000 trilobites from his Mt. Orab, Ohio property purchased in 1982. He along with
Tom Whiteley also rediscovered the famous soft body Triarthus collected in the late 19th century and assisted the American Museum of natural
History and the Smithsonian in adding thousands of specimen to their collections.
INFO ON CHRIS GASS
Kenneth C. (Chris) Gass earned his B.A. degree in Geological Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1979. His areas of research have included
Silurian trilobites of the family Encrinuridae and trace fossils from the Cambrian tidal flats of Blackberry Hill in central Wisconsin. In addition to writing
books and peer-reviewed journal articles on those subjects, one of which won Honorable Mention for Best Paper Award from the Journal of Paleontology,
Gass popularizes the related discoveries in talks, videos, magazine articles, and public radio appearances. Chris also developed a keen interest in the
Devonian Milwaukee Formation. His field work included making hundreds of trips to Estabrook Park in Milwaukee to study that formation and its fossils
before finally co-writing a book about it, which is due for release in May, 2019. \n _blankkennethgass@gmail.com
INFO ON DON MIKULIC
Dr. Donald G. Mikulic is curator of the Weis Earth Science Museum in Menasha, Wisconsin. He recently retired as a Senior Paleontologist at the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Don received his PhD in geology from Oregon State University in 1980. He received the Eugene Richardson Award from MAPS in 2003.
For 37 years he served as an expert on the Paleozoic geology and paleontology of Illinois along with the geology and history of its industrial minerals. As a
specialist on the geology and paleontology of Silurian rocks, especially in the Milwaukee and Chicago area, Mikulic conducted research projects in North America
and Europe, and he worked as a curator at the Greene Museum at UWM, a consultant for the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District and the Wisconsin Department
of Justice and is a steering committee member of the Niagara Escarpment Resource Network. Don has been collecting Milwaukee Formation fossils since the late 1950’s.
Dr. Thomas Hegna grew up in western Iowa and attended the University of Iowa where he fell in love with invertebrate paleontology. He graduated in the spring of
2004 with honors and high distinction in Geoscience (B.S.) with minors in English and Philosophy.
Dr. Hegna stayed at the University of Iowa for his M.S., graduating in the fall of 2006 after completing a project on the systematics and phylogeny of a fauna of
upper Cambrian trilobites. He then moved on to Yale University where he completed his thesis on branchiopod crustacean phylogeny and their fossil record in the
spring of 2012. He has been teaching at Western Illinois University since the fall of 2011. He continues to study both the fossil record of trilobites and early
crustaceans.
INFO ON RAY ANDERSON
Ray retired in 2013 after 43 years as a geologist and supervisor at the Iowa Geological Survey. His principal areas of interest include geophysics,
Midcontinent Precambrian geology (especially the Midcontinent Rift System), impact structures (especially the Manson Impact Structure), and the Jurassic
System in Iowa, but his research and publications have included all of the geologic systems in Iowa. One of his final projects with the Iowa Geological
Survey was assisting in the production of a new (2010), digital Map of the Bedrock Geology of Iowa. Since his retirement Ray has served as Vice-president
for Exploration for the Pangean Petroleum Corporation as well as working with the Iowa DNR on a project to describe the geology along Iowa’s Water Trails.
He continues to make presentations on Iowa’s Geology to education and civic organizations and he is serving as Vice-President of the Cedar Valley Rocks
and Minerals Society.
rockdoc.anderson@gmail.com
Contact: Tom Williams, Mid-America Paleontology Society - (815) 223-9638; Paleotom234@comcast.net
EVENT: Mid-America Paleontology Society (MAPS) 38th Annual Fossil Expo - the largest fossil-only show in the world. Dealers/Exhibitors from across the U.S & beyond.
DATES: April 1 - 3, 2016.
PLACE: MAPS EXPO takes place at Sharpless Auction Building, Exit 249, I-80, East of Iowa City, Iowa
TIME: Show: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Sunday (limited dealers on Sunday)
ADMISSION: The show and all events are free and open to the public, however donations are accepted. Children must be supervised.
In 1910, Barnum Brown of the American Museum of Natural History (New York) triggered 'The Great Canadian Dinosaur Rush', which lasted until the mid-1920s.
By the time the dust had settled, hundreds of original Alberta dinosaur skeletons were on display or in the collections of more than 35 institutions around the world.
Following the Depression, however, funding for collecting dinosaurs (and for doing research on the specimens already collected) largely disappeared.
Research programs in Alberta remained low key through the Second World War and into the 1950s. The establishment in 1955 of the
'Drumheller and District Dinosaur Museum' and Dinosaur Provincial Park planted the seeds of change. More than a decade passed, but Canada's centennial in 1967 was
the dawn of a new age. Ground-breaking research on Alberta's dinosaurs by Bakker, Dodson, Farlow, Russell, and others helped to trigger the 'Dinosaur Renaissance'
that was in full swing by the 1970s. By now, research on dinosaurs focused on aspects of dinosaurian biology and their reproduction, behavior, physiology and
relationships. The UNESCO designation of Dinosaur Provincial Park as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1979) and the opening of the Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology
in 1985 kept Alberta near the centre of international interest in dinosaurs. That interest continued to snowball up to the release of the movie 'Jurassic Park' in 1993.
Although public interest seemed to peak at that time, research interest continued to surge ahead, gathering momentum. Ironically, Hollywood had educated the public
and subtly altered the direction of dinosaur research. Although it is unlikely that dinosaurs will ever be cloned or brought back to life, computer modeling has
muscled and fleshed out many dinosaur species, bringing them to life at least in our minds.
We are in a new golden age of dinosaur research, and the opening of a new dinosaur museum in the Grande Prairie region marks just one more step in the evolution of the field.
Never before have there been so many palaeontologists working on these animals. New discoveries of exciting specimens are being made at an unprecedented rate all over the
World. But the research focus has changed. It is now more international and multidisciplinary, the questions being asked are more specific, and computers have become as
important as geological hammers. Even though Alberta has been more intensively searched for dinosaurs than most places, and even though the focus of most research
publications has changed, new dinosaurs continue to be recovered. In the last few years, more than half a dozen new species of dinosaurs from Alberta have been
described and named. But one does not need to find a new species to make a significant discovery, and two of the most spectacular finds in recent years were
representatives of two well-known dinosaurs from Dinosaur Provincial Park. In 2010, a University of Alberta field crew recovered a nearly complete skeleton of a baby
Chasmosaurus belli. Articulated skeletons of juvenile or small dinosaurs have always been rare, and this specimen represents the smallest skeleton recovered anywhere
of a ceratopsid (horned) dinosaur. Although the end of the tail was lost to erosion, a skeleton of Saurornitholestes recovered in 2014 is otherwise complete, and
provides new information on the origin of birds from Velociraptor-like dinosaurs of North America.
Phil helped found the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Drumheller, Alberta and is now a professor at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.
In the 1980s he became the director of the Canada-China Dinosaur Project, the first cooperative palaeontological partnering between China and the West
since the Central Asiatic Expeditions in the 1920s, and helped describe some of the first feathered dinosaurs. He is one of the primary editors of the
influential Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs,[and his areas of expertise include theropods (especially Tyrannosauridae), the origin of birds, and dinosaurian
migration patterns and herding behavior. He was one of the models for palaeontologist Alan Grant in the film Jurassic Park.
Many researchers with interest in Paleobotany and Palynology have over the last century searched for and studied plant fossils that have been found in the
Dinosaur Park Formation and the Horseshoe Canyon Formation. These two formations span the Campanian and Maastrichtion (76.5 to 67 my) of Alberta, it
turns out that well-preserved palynomorphs (spores and pollen and other organic-walled microfossils) are common in the sediments from Dinosaur Park Formation.
It has been possible to identify 500 different species, the affinities of which belong to mosses, lycopods, horsetails, tree-ferns, conifers, and flowering plants.
In a few cases, it has been possible to relate the specimens to known plants. However there is a high degree of uncertainty with respect to these relationships
in most palynomorphs. Macro plant fossils are not common in the Dinosaur Park Formation, although they have been collected over the last 150 years.
Macro plant fossils are mostly found as compressions or impressions. At some sites, they are found as molds or casts in ironstone. Only about twenty different
kinds of macro plant fossils have been identified, as the environment seems to have favoured the preservation of palynomorphs rather than leaves
The Ordovician period was from 489 - 443 million years ago which saw the appearance of a mystery fossil. Receptaculitids, a forgotten reef building organism, was once called a
sunflower coral. But it is definitely not a coral - so what is it? This program will address the mystery fossils similarities and differences to other fossils.
The question of true classification as well as its occurrence in the fossil record will be discussed of these very different but prized fossils.
Tom is a geology graduate of Western Illinois University and later received a Master of Science in Geohydrology at Illinois State. He has worked for
30 plus years as a geologist for Soil Testing Services Consultants, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and as a part time instructor at Illinois
State in Geologic Environmental Classes. He has contributed articles to several MAPS digests and is currently Show Chairman for EXPO. He has specialised
mostly in collecting Crinoids in the Mississippian Chesterian age since 1980, contributing knowledge and some important specimens while collecting with
other researchers. In 1998 he worked with Dennis Burdick on a major crinoid dig in the Chesterian of Alabama which uncovered many important specimens
including whole plates up to five ft by five feet with some specimens having stems five to six feet long. A fossil trip with Paleoprospectors resulted
in finding a thirty foot Tylosaur poriger in the Kansas chalk of Nebraska and a second trip two years ago yielded a Cretaceous fossil flowering
plant that may be used for research.
Paleotom234@comcast.net
This program will examine the adaptations of Archaeopteryx used in determining whether or not Archaeopteryx could fly. Some of this evidence comes from newly
discovered specimens and some from a re-examination of known specimens. Along with the adaptations of the many other species of "feathered dinosaurs" and early
birds, some older than Archaeopteryx, we will try to determine just how dinosaurs learned to fly and evolve into true birds and which adaptations were essential
in developing the ability to fly.
John taught high school Earth Science for 32 years before retiring in 2004. From 1995 until it ceased publication in 2011, he authored the 'An Amateur's Perspective'
column for the newsletter magazine of the Paleontological Research Institution, American Paleontologist. John has several publications including one on
Upper Mississippi Valley nautiloids and several with Robert Frey on Platteville Group Nautiloids. He has also presented many programs to clubs and at
PaleoFest at the Burpee Museum in 2010. fossilnautiloid@aol.com;
Let's take a visual tour around the extraordinary variety of trilobites currently being extracted from the best Middle Devonian stratigraphic sequence on the
planet Earth. This rich Middle Devonian marine environment was on the western shelf of a large continent. Our window into this world lasts from anout 400 million
years ago up to 385 million years ago. John Moffit will share over 40 years of experiences collecting trilobites in the Anti-Atlas Mountains of Morocco and
Algeria. Great stories and stunning photographs - this promises to be a wild ride through some amazing fossils
John is a Theoretical Astrophysicist by education and an Earth Scientist for most of his career, working in the oil business for over 40 years'
He's been a geologist, geophysicist, paleontologist, petrophysicist, and exploration manager -- and currently manages engineering projects. A
volunteer at the Houston Museum of Natural Science since the mid 70's, John helped to curate a special exhibit of his own collection at the museum
called "Ancient Creatures & Ancient Seas". A past member of the AAPG, SEG, SEPM, Houston Geological Society, and past president of the Houston Gem
and Mineral Society, he leads paleontolgical field trips around the world. For over 30 years, he continues to take a group of fourth graders on a
paleontological field trip across time and across Texas each year in the spring. A past International Director for the Toastmasters always looking
for his next challenge, John speaks at universities, museums, and organizations on everything from astrophysics to a new field of paleo-geography.
He speaks on the oil business, offshore drilling, hydraulic fracturing, peak oil, galactic physics, the meaning of life, paleontology, geology,
and on various groups of extinct animals. In addition, he lectures, cartoons, and writes frequently in the sciences. In 2002, John was inducted
in to the Paleontology Hall of Fame for his paleontological expertise, his writings and for his work with Earth Science education.
jmoffitt.hou@gmail.com 713-478-4555;
If I can't identify it, I will find someone who can. I will also give general tips in Iding your material.
Charles is an Emeritus Faculty in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Iowa. He is also a Research Fellow with the
Non-Vertebrate Paleontology Laboratory of the Jackson School of Geosciences at the University of Texas, an avid fossil collector and is currently
living in central Texas. He is board member of the Miller Springs Alliance, a non-profit organization which administers the Miller Springs Nature
Center and is also collaborating with several paleontologists on a number of paleontological studies.
Charles-newsom@uiowa.edu
Recent research has shed light on the growth and development of many kinds of dinosaurs. What do we know about parental care of hatchling dinosaurs?
How fast did dinosaurs grow? When did they reach full size and how long did they live? Did herbivores grow faster than the predators that fed upon them?
If so, why? This program will focus on answering these questions with a focus on duck-billed dinosaurs, tyrannosaurs, oviraptorosaurs and sauropods.
See and touch genuine fossil dinosaur bones, teeth, and claws. Examine fossil bones of a special duckbill, 'Laura the Kid Dinosaur', and see how she fits
on the Hypacrosaurus growth curve (visit www.paleoproject.org to learn more). See and touch fossil dinosaur eggs, replica T. rex jaws, replica Apatosaurus
femur, and more! Learn about the tremendous teenage growth spurt of Tyrannosaurus rex. Don will share his experiences hunting for dinosaur fossils in the
badlands of South Dakota & Montana to conclude the program.
Don is an amateur paleontologist from Iowa City, IA with a special interest in fossil vertebrates. His collection of fossils and fossil replicas
is one of the largest in Iowa, and he has experience collecting fossils in Iowa and other states out West. Using his self-given nickname 'The Fossil Guy,'
he has taught hundreds of educational programs using items from his collection. Don is President of the Eastern Iowa Paleontology Project (EIPP) -
a non-profit with the purpose of establishing exhibits and promoting science education through the wonder of paleontology.
He can be contacted at 319-213-1390 or donjohnson0511@gmail.com. To learn more about the EIPP, visit www.paleoproject.org.
Charles H. Sternberg was head of a fossil collecting dynasty that, along with sons George, Charles and Levi, was famous for collecting the 'Trachodon mummy',
and the iconic 'fish within a fish.' C. H. Sternberg collected fossils for Edward Drinker Cope early in the infamous 'Bone Wars.' At the University of Iowa,
we know C. H. Sternberg as the collector of one of our largest and most impressive specimens, the Kansas Mosasaur, and the collector, preparator and
identifier of our large collection of Cretaceous leaf fossils. Find out more about this world-renowned fossil collector and his legacy as we follow the
investigations of our undergraduate students into the history of the UI collections.
Tiffany is the Collections Manager at the University of Iowa Paleontology Repository in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences.
tiffany-adrain@uiowa.edu 319-335-1822
Craig has collected the central Wyoming Oligocene White River Fm. since 1978. He received a BS in Zoology and Geology from the University of Wyoming
in 1994 and MS from Kansas University in 2002 in the Paleoecology and Mammal Burrowing Community of the Oligocene White River Fm. of Central Wyoming.
From 1997-2003 he discovered or supervised the collection of 4 Camarasaurus and a nearly complete articulated Brachiosaurus from the Jurassic Morrison Fm.
In 1999 and 2000 he collected a T. rex and several Triceratops from the Cretaceous Lance Fm. in WY. From 2006-8 he worked in west central Peru on Miocene
marine fauna. In 2008 he formed the non-profit Santayana Institute to promote academic and K-12 education in the Earth Sciences. He is currently a Director
of the Santayana Institute as a Paleontologist/Logician. He also serves as head Paleontologist for the private enterprise Midwest Paleo, which sells and
distributes fossil casts and specimens for public and private collections. He is currently collecting Pennslyvanian period flora, trackways and insects
in eastern Kansas.
cjsund@swbell.net
Approximately 80 fossils and fossil-related items will be auctioned. Special Auction Item: Dinosaur Dig Trip, offered by Paleo Prospectors, to South Dakota,
Wyoming or North Dakota for the summer of 2016. Minimum bid has yet to be determined Keep almost everything you find (up to $4000).
Pick from three week-long sessions in June or July. More information on the trip can be found at http://www.paleoprospectors.com.
Proxy bids may be emailed to EXPO chair Tom Williams: paleotom234@comcast.net.
Dinosaur Provincial Park in the Canadian province of Alberta is a United Nations 'World Heritage Site'. Even that designation does not do justice to
the amazing dinosaur resources found there. After more than two weeks working in it's quarries I am still awestruck by the diversity and abundance in
the dinosaur fauna. Come with me as we explore a fantastic assemblage of fossils and more in the world's hotbed of dinosaurs.
Bill was a high school science teacher in Iowa for 36 years before his retirement in 2007.
He taught biology, earth sciences, and Advanced Placement Environmental Science at Washington
High School in Cedar Rapids. Since 1982 he has had the good fortune to work with Dr. Phil Currie of
the University of Alberta at Edmonton and Pete Larson of the Black Hills Institute, Hill City, South
Dakota at several dinosaur quarries in South Dakota, Wyoming and several locations in Alberta,
Canada. Bill is a member of the Iowa Academy of Science and the Cedar Valley Rock and
Minerals Society, as well as the Mid-America Paleontological Society. Desmarais_3@msn.com
Silent Auctions Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Children's Fossil Dig Box.
MAPS is a non-profit organization of amateurs and professionals from across the U.S. and several other countries whose love of fossils brings them together.
The purposes of the organization are to promote popular interest in the subject of paleontology and to encourage the proper collecting, studying, and
preparation and displaying of fossils, and to assist other individuals, groups, and institutions interested in the various aspects of paleontology.
For more information about the EXPO or our club please visit our web site at www.midamericapaleo.org.
involves the collection and study of Triassic to Jurassic age vertebrates from
the southern Transantarctic Mountains near the Beardmore and Shackleton Glaciers, Antarctica. Augustana Geology professor
currently the Principal Investigator on a National Science Foundation grant supporting this research,
has led eight vertebrate collecting expeditions to these regions since 1977.
Most recently, Dr. Hammer led an Antarctic expedition
in December 2010-January 2011. Included among the taxa discovered is the theropod 22-foot long dinosaur Cryolophosaurus ellioti--
the only one of its kind in the world--on display at
.
During the 2010/2011 expedition, the team
included Dr. Hammer, Augustana fossil preparator, Josh Matthews and
-- excavation of Cryolophosaurus and
Glacialisaurus hammeri (a sauropodomorph long-neck, long-tail dinosaur related to Apatosaurus) was complete and
,
one a nearly complete juvenile skeleton. These specimens are currently being
described in collaboration with researchers at the Field Museum in Chicago and at Howard University.
Travel to I-80 in Iowa City/Coralville. The quarry entrance is just north of I-80 at exit #242 (1st Ave),
across the street from the Hampton Inn parking lot. Contact Marv Houg with questions:
Safety first! Please stay at least as far away from highwalls/ledges by as many feet as the wall or dropoff is high -
that is, 25 feet away (minimum) from a 25 foot highwall or 25 foot dropoff.
Above is a view of the Middle Devonian strata exposed in the west wall of the River Products Inc Conklin Quarry.
Unit contacts are approximate.
assisted adults and children in collecting rocks, minerals and fossils from the rock/boulder piles;
handing out hard hats, safety glasses and rock hammers and monitoring all participants for safely collecting on the boulder pile;
assisted down in the quarry guiding people and keeping them away from the walls as well as a number of other tasks.
As a bonus, some of the Tri-State Conference attendees will also be attending the Sunday at the Quarry Open House.
The gate will open between 8 & 9 a.m. for setup and be open to the public from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Even if it is only for an hour, Please reply back with a time you can help support this event and the company that
graciously allows our rock club access to their quarries, as well as the great educational opportunity for the public.
The Field Conference will focus on current developments in the understanding of the stratigraphy and factors -
processes controlling epeiric carbonate platform development in the middle Paleozoic epeiric seas of the Iowa Basin.
The conference trip stops will highlight current understanding of the origins and history of Silurian and Devonian
epeiric carbonate platforms at local and basinal scales. The trip will be headquartered in the Cedar Falls area of
north-central Iowa, with the Clarion Hotel on University Avenue in Cedar Falls, Iowa, serving as the conference hotel.
Pick up of trip materials by pre-registered participants and on-site registration will take place in the lobby and bar of
conference hotel (Clarion Cedar Falls, 5826 University Avenue, Cedar Falls, IA 50613, (319) 277-2230, clarioncedarfalls.com)
beginning at 4:00 PM Friday October 4th, through 9:00 PM. A pre-meeting mixer with a cash- bar will take place just behind
Clarion Cedar Falls, 5826 University Avenue, Cedar Falls, IA 50613, (319) 277-2230,
We have negotiated a conference rate of $89 per room for 21 rooms at the conference hotel, so if you want to book
your room at the Clarion, make sure you are registering as a participant of the TRI-STATE-GLS-SEPM Field Conference.
Registration fees will be waived for up to 6 students willing to present posters highlighting
current student research in the areas of sedimentary geology, Quaternary Geology, and paleontology.
Students wishing to present posters must pre-register and provide the GLS-SEPM vice president with your poster topic
Motor Coaches/Buses leave conference hotel parking lot at 8:00AM, Return at 6:00 PM Saturday October 5th.
Mixer (cash bar) and Poster Session from 6:00-7:30 PM in Conference Hotel bar area.
A list of Field Conference Stops and Itinerary will be finalized and included in the Second Announcement flier.
at their Raymond Quarry in Raymond, Iowa, just east of Waterloo exiting from eastbound U.S. Highway 20.
Note to all participants: The main conference trip stops will be in quarries in north-central Iowa.
Trip participants should all have hard hats, boots, and eye protection to enter Field Conference quarry stops.
The ISU Geology Club can provide hard hats for individuals that do not have protective head gear.
Dr. Jed Day, GLS-SEPM, Department of Geography-Geology,
Illinois State University, Normal, IL, Phone: 309.438.8678, Fax: 309.438.5310,
Guidebook Editors: Drs. Ray Anderson and Lynette Seigley, Iowa Geological Survey
Jed Day, Treasurer GLS-SEPM, Department of Geography-Geology, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790-4400
Adult Prizes
Kid's Prizes
MAPS Club Meeting, Saturday
January 12th, 2013
Presentation starts at 1:00pm
In Room #125 Trowbridge Hall
University of Iowa Campus, Iowa City, IA
As always, ANYONE is welcome to attend the meeting (you do not need to be a member) and
ADMISSION IS FREE
So please, bring a friend and enjoy the talk!
Drinks & a snack will be provided by MAPS
UI Campus map
Tooth found during excavations - picture from the
UIMNH website
The program will be given by Sarah Horgen - the Education & Outreach Coordinator at the
University of Iowa Museum of Natural History,
and is titled
'The Mahaska County Mammoth Site: Excavation, Research, and Outreach':
Researchers at the University of Iowa are currently overseeing the excavation and associated research of two mammoths in rural
Mahaska County, Iowa. Bones were first uncovered at the site in 2010 by the landowner, who approached the University of Iowa in early
2012 to request assistance in further excavation when it became clear that there were many more bones located at the site. Since April
of this year, the UI Museum of Natural History has been coordinating the
excavation and research efforts at the site, with many UI
departments collaborating on the project and many participants from schools and groups across Iowa. UI researchers will present on the
importance of this discovery and what the associated research may tell us about Iowa during the Ice Age, as well as the educational
and outreach impact of this project for Iowans.
The business meeting will follow at approximately 2:00pm
MAPS Club Meeting, Saturday
February 9th, 2013
Presentation starts at 1:00pm
In Room #125 Trowbridge Hall
University of Iowa Campus, Iowa City, IA
As always, ANYONE is welcome to attend the meeting (you do not need to be a member) and
ADMISSION IS FREE
So please, bring a friend and enjoy the talk!
Drinks & a snack will be provided by MAPS
UI Campus map
Following the tradition of the past few years, short programs will be given by UI Graduate Students that are in part being supported
by MAPS scholarships - these scholarships are funded by our
silent & live auctions
at the annual Expo gathering in the spring.
Check back for more info once the talk title(s) is/are posted.
The business meeting will follow at approximately 2:00pm
Joint MAPS-CVRMS Field Trip Sunday,
October 14th, 2012
Conklin Quarry, Coralville, IA - 8:45AM sharp.
Meet at the main entrance to Conklin at 8:45 to sign in and get safety instructions.
Enter the quarry at 9:00.
This is a lock-in quarry; that is, the gate is locked behind us and no one can enter or leave (except in an emergency) until noon,
when a group will be let out. Others can come in at that time if they are waiting at the gate.
The rest of the group will leave at about 4:00.
This is a 'hard-rock' working quarry. All field trippers should have the appropriate safety equipment, such as hard hat,
eye protection and steel-toed or other sturdy shoes. All children should be closely supervised.
Possible finds include: millerite, coral heads, horn corals, brachiopods, bryozoans, trilobites, crinoids and maybe cephalopods,
fish parts, and blastoids. Useful tools include: rock hammers, cold chisels, sledges and pry bars.
Bring your own water and lunch.
You must be a member of CVRMS or MAPS to attend this field trip but you can join at the gate.
To save time, download and fill out the club liability waiver at www.cedarvalleyrockclub.org
Travel to I-80 in Iowa City/Coralville. The quarry entrance is just north of I-80 at exit #242 (1st Ave),
across the street from the Hampton Inn parking lot. Contact Marv Houg with questions: m_houg@yahoo.com
Safety first! Please stay at least as far away from highwalls/ledges by as many feet as the wall or dropoff is high -
that is, 25 feet away (minimum) from a 25 foot highwall or 25 foot dropoff.
River Products Inc Conklin Quarry, Coralville, IA:
Above is a view of the Middle Devonian strata exposed in the west wall of the River Products Inc Conklin Quarry.
Unit contacts are approximate.
Regular MAPS Meeting was held on Saturday,
November 12th, 2011
Meeting held in Room 125 of Trowbridge Hall on the University of Iowa campus.
UI Campus map
The Nov meeting featured a program by MAPS member Phil Burgess.
Phil has discovered a unique fossil bearing layer in the normally unfossiliferous rocks of the
Lower Ordovician Prairie Du Chien Group. The rocks of the Prairie Du Chien Group were deposited in a very shallow & warm
epicontinental sea, with restricted water circulation leading to generally hypersaline conditions. These conditions were
too harsh for most organisms, and algal stromatolites are often the most common fossils noted in the Prairie Du Chien.
Phil has found a layer in the Prairie Du Chien where conditions were more normal marine for a short period of time,
and has found a wonderful fossil fauna from that interval.
For more background geology on the area, check on the
Geological Society of Iowa web site
This specimen of the nautiloid cephalopod Oneotoceras is from the layer Phil Burgess discovered in the Prairie Du Chien Group.
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MAPS Member Phil Burgess found this slab of snails & cephalopods in Lower Ordovician age rocks of the Prairie Du Chien Group!
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National Fossil Expo 33
event itinerary:
April 1-3, 2011
in Western Hall on the campus of
Western Illinois University
Friday, April 1st:
Expo show floor open 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.
Door prize sign up all day.
Keynote Address at 5:15 P.M. - Dr. Steven Niklas: "Application of Archaeological Field Methods in Paleontology"
Saturday, April 2nd:
Expo show floor open 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.
Silent Auctions all day.
Door prize sign up all day.
9:30 A.M. - Workshop talk: Don Johnson: "When Tyrannosaurs Roamed Montana"
10:45 A.M. - Workshop talk: Bill Desmarais: "Jurassic Jumble: Waugh Quarry, Wyoming"
12:45 P.M. - Workshop talk: John Catalani: "Ammonites: End of an Era"
2:00 P.M. - Workshop talk: Charles Newsom: "Stump the Experts - Bring your fossils in to ID"
3:15 P.M. - Workshop talk: Tiffany Adrain: "Who Will Look After my Fossil Collection"
5:15 P.M. - Live Auction!
Sunday, April 3rd:
Expo show floor open 8:00 A.M. to Noon - Limited Vendors
Door prize drawings!
For more info visit the Expo 33 Page
Come & see "Ice Age Park" at Expo 33!!
Each year at Expo, Michael and Barbara Sincak of
Treasures of the Earth set up a huge display,
and Expo 33 will be no different. In fact, their display promises to be bigger and better than ever! Michael has put together
a set of displays he likes to call "Ice Age Park"! He has been kind enough to provide us with some photos of these displays -
for a preview of what will be at Expo 33, SEE BELOW!
This Saber Toothed Cat display will be part of "Ice Age Park" at Expo 33!
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This Stegodon will be on display at Expo 33!
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Another view of the Stegdon - at the Tuscon, AZ show!
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Come and see this Woolly Rhino at Expo 33!
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2011 EXPO table registration form
Expo 33 Informational Flier
Regular MAPS Meeting February 12th, 2011
at 1:00 P.M.
The meeting will be held in Room 125, Trowbridge Hall on the University of Iowa Campus.
UI Campus map
The keynote speaker will start at 1:00 P.M., and be followed by a question & answer
session and then the regular club business meeting.
This is a chance to see one of the students that MAPS is helping to sponsor
via money raised by the Live Auction at
Expo!
"The Evolution, Diversity, and Biogeographic Distribution of Ornithischian Dinosaurs"
Will be presented by Marc Spencer, a PHD candidate under Dr. Chris Brochu in the UI Department of Geoscience.
Marc is a vertebrate paleontologist interested in the evolution, systematics, and historical biogeography of ornithischian dinosaurs and
other subclades within Archosauria. His work involves the evaluation of statistical methods for phylogeny estimation, character evolution,
and biogeographical reconstruction. Marc holds a B.S. (2002) in Geological Sciences from Binghamton University and an M.S. (2007) in
Geology from Bowling Green State University.
January 8, 2011 MAPS Keynote Recording
Click on the appropriate link below to view a recording of the talk
'Geologic Secrets of Illinois' Fossil Rain Forest.'
as presented by Scott D. Elrick of the Illinois Geological Survey.
Elrick will describe the discovery and ongoing exploration of a 300-million-year-old fossilized forest, found near Danville, Illinois.
Photographs of these beautifully preserved and somewhat bizarre plants, many of which are now extinct, will be showcased
during the presentation. Fossil specimens will be available for viewing.
This ancient forest is the world's largest intact rain forest from the Pennsylvanian Period ever to be discovered. At just under 10 square
miles, the forest's sheer size offers an unprecedented view of ancient forest life and diversity. This rare find, discovered in
the roof of an underground coal mine, opens a tantalizing window into the past. The forest plants and their encapsulating geology reveal
much about the ancient environmental conditions during the time of their formation and about the coal they left behind. Elrick will
describe the geology surrounding this amazing underground discovery and the tectonic and climatic factors that led to the
remarkable preservation of this fossil forest.
Recognized as one of the top 100 science stories of 2007 by Discover Magazine, the fossil forest story has already attracted
the attention of the Smithsonian, Weather Channel, and Discovery Channel, among others.
Scott Elrick was born and reared in Champaign, Illinois. He received his B.S. degree in geology from the University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign and his M.S. in geology from the University of California, Riverside. He has been a geologist in the Coal
Section at the Illinois State Geological Survey for 9 years. His current studies include the stratigraphy, sedimentation, and climate
of the Pennsylvanian.
You may need the QuickTime Player plug-in to view the movies. You can download it here -
Free Apple Quicktime download
Pre-emptive webmaster comment: Allow me to apologize ahead of time for the low quality of the recording - my camcorder is itself a fossil, and
definitely not hi-def by any stretch of the imagination. However, low-res is better than no-res. I spent the first few minutes of Scott's
talk fighting with my camcorder's balky buttons & disjointed menu system, so my apologies as the recording picks up as his talk was already in progress.
Also, hi-speed internet is highly recommended to download or view these, as the files are very large.
Click here
to view a smaller (205 MB) Movie File - .mpeg4 type.
This file should work with iTunes if you have that installed on your computer.
This would be the one to choose if you plan to view the movie on an iPod or smartphone or if you have a slower internet connection. |
QuickTime and the QuickTime Logo are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
Expo 32 Show Summary
This fabulous slab of Eocene fossils was for sale at Expo! |
This giant trilobite reconstruction was offered at the Live Auction. |
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This Tsintaosaurus was set up by Michael Sincak's business: Treasures of the Earth. |
Many thanks to all the folks who helped improve turnout at Expo 32:
MAPS club members, Expo Vendors, and other friends of the club - you know who you are and how much all of your efforts helped the show!
Special thanks must be made to Michael Sincak of Treasures of the Earth
, who sets up a large display each year at
Expo, in addition to that this year he had 50 large signs made up and saw to it that they were put up all over Macomb to help interested
folks find their way to the show.
Other folks undertook e-blast campaigns, some made & printed up information posters, and still others did such things as make sure local media outlets received copies of the Expo 32
news release. This led to Expo 32 being prominently featured in a couple of Illinois newspapers, which definitely had a positive effect
on turnout. The feedback we recieved via the door prize slips indicated that it was not one single method of publicity that dominated - it was the combination of many different sources:
traditional media, web sites, e-mail, signage around town, word of mouth through schools, scouts, and so forth.
Please note that we will undertake a similar show promotion effort for Expo 33 in 2011, taking what was learned this year and hopefully
building upon it. We will need anyone who is willing to volunteer to help out doing some of the things listed above and more. If you are
interested please contact one of the webmasters and we will get you in touch with the proper people.
Thanks to everyone who made suggestions for improving next year's Expo! Anyone who has additional suggestions on
how we might promote/advertise the show, please feel free to pass along your ideas to us!
Q & A session after Bill Desmarais' Expo workshop! |
John Catalani prepares to give his Expo workshop talk. |
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The Fossil Guy's EIPP display table. |
One thing in particular that proved to be very popular with show attendees were the various workshop talks (see pics above and below)
, given by Don "the Fossil Guy" Johnson, Bill Desmarais, John Catalani, Charles Newsom, and Tiffany Adrain. Thanks to all the speakers!
Each talk was attended by a minimum of 50 people or so. The talks were followed by a question & answer session, with lots of hands on displays
and/or interaction with the speaker. Charles' "Stump the Experts" fossil ID workshop started early and ran late, as so many folks were lined up
with specimens to identify. Tiffany's Q&A for her Cataloging Collections workshop ran very long due do so many good questions coming from the
audience. All in all, considering this was a sort of trial run for these workshops, they really went over quite well. We hope to get many
if not all of the speakers back again next year if they are willing!
Tiffany Adrain's Cataloging Collections workshop. |
Expo attendees line up to try and 'stump the expert' with their various specimens. |
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Don 'the Fossil Guy' Johnson talks about 'Laura the Kid Dinosaur' during his presentation at Expo 32. |
The Blackhawk Gem & Mineral Society's Annual
Gem, Mineral, & Fossil Show will be held
Sunday, April 17th, 2011 - from Noon to 5pm.
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The show will be held at the
Waterloo Center for the Arts, 225 Commercial St. Waterloo, Iowa 50701.
Admission is FREE!
The theme for 2011 is 'Geodes: Iowa's Rolling Stones' - but there is much more to see & do!
The show will feature Richard Kline: "Using Optical Techniques for Today's Lapidary Arts",
as well as the University of Northern Iowa Museum.
It will also feature a couple of workshop talks by Jim Preslicka: "Update on the Independence, IA Fossil Cephalopod Fauna"
and "Devonian Fossil Gorge: Deja vu All Over Again".
The show will also include the following:
- Free polished stones for children
- Black light show
- hobby demonstrations
- silent auction
- special displays
- dealers
- Fossil plaster casting
- Silversmithing
- agates
- Rock Tumbling
- Sphere making
- Antique Marbles
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- Faceting
- Crystals
- Geodes
- Fossils
- Hand crafted Jewelry
- Gems
- Fish pond
- Minerals
- Flint Knapping
- Tumbled Stones
- Children's Pebble Pit
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Show Flier
Press Release
Show contact info:
Show Chairman: Dave Malm - 319-266-6433 - email
Blackhawk Club Vice President: Glen Rocca - 319-885-6737 - email
The Cedar Valley Rocks & Minerals Society's Annual
Gem, Mineral, & Fossil Show will be held
Sat & Sun March 19 & 20, 2011.
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Please note that the show will be held at a new location this year -
Hawkeye Downs Expo Center
4400 6th Street SW
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
The 2011 Show Theme is
"Treasure's From Iowa's Ice Age"
featuring Ice Age Fossils and Lake Superior Agates.
Show hours will be 8:30 am to 5 pm Saturday, March 19th
and 9:30 am to 6 pm Sunday, March 20th.
Show info:
Flier
News Release
CVRMS web site
Show Contacts:
Marv Houg 319-364-2868
Sharon Sonnleitner 319-396-4016
Tom Whitlach 319-362-0684
You will be able to see "Ice Age Park", a set of 4 skeleton displays featuring a
Stegodon, Saber Tooth Cat, Woolly Rhino, and a Giant Sloth;
all courtesy of Michael & Barbara Sincak's Treasures of the Earth!
Doug DeRosear had these Mississippian echinoids for sale at the 2010 show! |
Demonstrations will include:
- Tumbling
- Faceting
- Glass Bead Making
- Cabbing
- Beading
- Sliversmithing
- Flint Knapping
- Geode Cracking
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Marv Houg's Iowa Fossils display from the 2010 show! |
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There will also be silent auctions and plenty of kid friendly activities, including a fossil pit, pebble pit, and a dino dig sand pit.
This T-Rex was at the 2010 show! |
There will be numerous displays set up, including:
- Stegodon
- Ground Sloth
- Saber Tooth Cat
- Woolly Rhino
- Agates
- Fossils
- Minerals
- Amethyst
- Gold
- Petrified Wood
- Polished Stones
- Artifacts
- Spheres
- Geodes
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Kids search for fossils at the UI Repository Fossil Pit! |
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Expo 33 information page
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2010 fall GSI Field Trip:
"The geology of Klein and Conklin Quarries,
Johnson County, Iowa"
9:00 A.M. Saturday, October 9th, 2010.
Above is a view of the Middle Devonian strata exposed in the west wall of the River Products Inc Conklin Quarry. Unit contacts are approximate.
This trip is a jointly sponsored event by MAPS, the Geological Society of Iowa,
and the Cedar Valley Rocks & Minerals Society.
Just in from GSI:
This trip is free and open to anyone in the interested public! Also, after the field trip ends,
there will be a pizza dinner (at approximately 5pm) at The Mill Restaurant in downtown Iowa City, the cost for this dinner is $6.00,
but you need to pre-register to attend the banquet. After the dinner, Dr. Ben Greenstein will speak on his extensive in depth research on
coral reefs and their response to global climate change.
Dr. Greenstein has been the keynote speaker at many MAPS meetings, and his talks are most imformative.
Members of the GSI club ($10 per year cost) get a free copy of the GSI Field Trip Guidebook, but non-members can also order print copies
(prices listed on GSI web site) or download free PDF copies
of the Guidebooks from the GSI website. These Guidebooks are
extremely useful references on the geology of the trip sites, and are good to have on hand in your library or on your hard drive!
The field trip will begin at River Products Inc Klein Quarry in Coralville, Iowa at 9:00 A.M. on the 9th of October.
Please keep in mind that this trip is on a Saturday as opposed to our usual Sunday excursions. The quarry will be operating as normal for a Saturday, so it is very
important that trip participants DO NOT DRIVE ON THE OFFICE SCALE and also LEAVE A LANE FOR TRUCKS TO PASS WITHOUT CROSSING THE SCALES!
General format for GSI Field Trips is to have a short lecture on various aspects of the geology of the locality being visited.
This is a good chance to pick up information on the local geology-paleontology-minerals you could see & collect there.
Then there is a chance to search for and collect fossils & minerals that the sites contain. This is a great chance to learn some
geology and also to meet & make new friends and contacts - especially considering that 3 clubs are involved on this year's trip!
From the GSI Sept. 2010 Newsletter: "(Klein) Highlights include glacial striations as well as whalebacks in Devonian limestone, spruce logs
hundreds of thousands to nearly 2 million years old, logs from ancient trees over 300 million years old, Pennsylvanian
channels in Devonian limestone, spectacular fossils of Devonian crinoids & trilobites, and large calcite crystals.
The Conklin succession includes the upper part of the Devonian Wapsipinicon Group and parts of the Little Cedar and Coralville Formations
of the Cedar Valley Group as well as Lower and possibly Middle Pennsylvanian channel and karst fills.
Furthermore, one of the thickest, most complete sections of Pre-Illinoian Quaternary deposits in the Midwest had been exposed at Conklin.
Fossils include the branching stromatoporoid Idiostroma and the colonial coral Hexagonaria. Conklin Quarry is famous to mineral collectors for its deposits of millerite."
- Line up at the entrance gate by 8:45 am to sign the needed waiver forms & permission slips.
- We will enter the quarry at 9 am.
- You can save some time by downloading the field trip waiver,
printing & filling it out, and then bringing it with you on Saturday.
- Klein is a working quarry owned by River Products, Inc of Iowa.
- It is necessary to bring safety equipment such as a hardhat, protective shoes, safety glasses, etc.
- The rocks exposed in the quarry are very hard Devonian limestones, so you will need rock breaking and/or cutting tools if you have them.
- Also please note- THIS IS A LOCK IN QUARRY once inside, you are not able to leave until the group exits.
So, please bring a lunch, plenty to drink, and probably some sunscreen.
Please note that while time to collect will be given at each quarry, the period allotted may be as short as an hour,
depending on how long the presentations at each quarry go.
There will be another MAPS-Cedar Valley Rocks & Minerals Society field trip to Klein Quarry the day after the GSI trip:
Sunday, October 10th.
The Oct. 10th trip will allow for much more collecting time for interested folks.
Please note that to attend the Sunday Oct 10th trip, you must be a member of either MAPS or CVRMS in good standing.
However, you can join up and/or pay dues at the gate on Sunday morning!
A specimen of the Oncocerid nautiloid genus Acleistoceras sp. from Klein Quarry.
Found by MAPS/BHGMS/CVRMS member Glen Rocca.
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A coiled nautiloid cephalopod, belonging to the same family as the modern day Nautilus Pompilius.
Found by MAPS/BHGMS/CVRMS member Glen Rocca at Conklin Quarry.
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A trilobite (Phacops rana norwoodensis) from the Lower Rapid Member of the Little Cedar Formation at Conklin Quarry.
Found by MAPS/BHGMS/CVRMS member Mike Powelka.
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Field Trip to River Products Klein Quarry
8:45 A.M. Sunday, October 10th, 2010.
Above is a view of the main pit at Klein Quarry, taken from the upper bench on the west side of the quarry.
- This is a joint trip between MAPS and the Cedar Valley Rock & Minerals Society
- You must be a member of MAPS or CVRMS in good standing to enter the quarry.
- You can join up & pay dues on site.
- Line up at the entrance gate by 8:45 am to sign the needed waiver forms & permission slips.
- We will enter the quarry at 9 am.
- You can save some time by downloading the field trip waiver,
printing & filling it out, and then bringing it with you on Sunday.
- Klein is a working quarry owned by River Products, Inc of Iowa.
- It is necessary to bring safety equipment such as a hardhat, protective shoes, safety glasses, etc.
- The rocks exposed in the quarry are very hard Devonian limestones, so you will need rock breaking and/or cutting tools if you have them.
- Also please note- THIS IS A LOCK IN QUARRY once inside, you are not able to leave until either noon or 4pm.
So, please bring a lunch, plenty to drink, and probably some sunscreen.
The rocks exposed at Klein are of the Middle Devonian (Givetian Stage) Lower Cedar Valley Group - Little Cedar Formation: Solon & Rapid Members;
& Coralville Formation: Cou Falls & Iowa City Members. There are also outliers of the State Quarry Member of the Lithograph City Formation of the Cedar Valley Group;
there is also a lateral equivalent to the lower Juniper Hill Shale Member of the Lime Creek Formation; as well as a Pennsylvanian age river channel fill.
(These last 2 are exposed on the uppermost benches and may be difficult to access.)
Some of these strata contain abundant fossils:
primarily corals & brachiopods; but bivalves, snails, cephalopods, echinoderms, trilobites & fish bones/teeth sometimes will turn up.
Scroll down this page to see some pictures from previous Klein Quarry trips.
The Blackhawk Gem & Mineral Society's Annual
Gem, Mineral, & Fossil Show was held
Sunday, April 25th, 2010.
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The show was held at the
Waterloo Center for the Arts, 225 Commercial St. Waterloo, Iowa 50701.
The theme was 'The Lapidary Arts: Cut & Polished Nature's Beauty Revealed' - but there was much more to see & do!
Show Flier
Show contact info:
Show Chairman: Dave Malm - 319-266-6433
Blackhawk Club Vice President: Glen Rocca - 319-885-6737
Don't miss the next series of programs by 'Fossil Guy' Don Johnson
at the UIMNH on the following Saturday afternoons at 2:00pm.
Programs are 30-minute talks with audience participation followed by 30-minutes of hands-on interaction and question & answer time.
Mapquest map showing location of MacBride Hall
The summaries below are only partial ones - be sure to visit the
Eastern Iowa Paleontology Project's Events web page for full details on this latest lecture series!
Saturday, April 3:
'Beast Foot! Predatory Dinosaurs Large and Small'
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Get introduced to a variety of meat-eating dinosaurs during this educational program!
What were the first dinosaurs like? When and where did other carnivorous dinosaurs live?
What caused some meat-eating dinosaurs to become some of the largest predators to walk the earth,
while others remained as small as a chicken? How did the raptor dinosaurs use their sickle or 'killing'
claw on each foot to kill their prey? What can we learn about dinosaur hunting behavior from the fossil evidence?
Did some dinosaurs hunt in packs? The answers to these and many other questions can be heard at this talk!
See all sorts of cool displays as well!
Visit EIPP's
web site for more details! |
Saturday, April 10:
'Exposing Ancient Anatomy: A Look Inside Prehistoric Beasts'
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What can we discover about the anatomy of extinct creatures from fossil evidence including bones,
footprints, eggs, skin impressions, coprolites and stomach stones? How can we use the anatomy of modern animals to
learn more about prehistoric beasts? See detailed models of Tyrannosaurus rex, Velociraptor, Triceratops, the 3-toed
horse Mesohippus, the woolly mammoth, and the giant extinct shark Megalodon that show possible reconstructions of their
skeletons, muscles, skin, and even internal organs! All these topics and many more will be discussed!
Visit
EIPP's web site for more details! |
Saturday, April 17:
'The World of
Laura the Duck-billed Dinosaur'
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See and touch fossil bones of 'Laura the Kid Dinosaur'
and learn about the world in which she lived!
Laura was a young Hypacrosaurus,
a type of crested duck-billed dinosaur that lived
75 million years ago in Montana.
Learn about what makes Hypacrosaurus special including how it chewed its food, how it grew, and how it cared for its young.
Fossils, replicas and models of duckbills and other dinosaurs that lived with Laura including tyrannosaurs, horn-faced
dinosaurs, raptor dinosaurs, armored dinosaurs, and ostrich-mimic dinosaurs will be on display. Much more will be discussed
at this presentation!
Visit EIPP's
web site for more details! |
Don's talks are kid friendly and he always brings lots of really cool hands on displays, so plan on bringing the whole family along!
MAPS will be partnering with UIMNH on one of Don's talks on November 13th of this year!
The Cedar Valley Rocks & Minerals Society's Annual
Gem, Mineral, & Fossil Show was held
Sat & Sun March 20 & 21, 2010.
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The show was held at the Teamster's Union Hall, 5000 J Street SW, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
It included an array of programs on Dinosaurs and other aspects of the theme.
All sorts of goodies could be seen at the show! |
Demonstrations included:
- Tumbling
- Faceting
- Glass Bead Making
- Cabbing
- Beading
- Sliversmithing
- Flint Knapping
- Geode Cracking
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A little something for everyone! |
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There were also silent auctions and plenty of kid friendly activities, including a fossil pit, pebble pit, and a dino dig sand pit.
Michael Sincak's 33' Tsintaosaurus display! |
There were numerous displays set up, including:
- T-Rex Skull
- Agates
- Fossils
- Minerals
- Amethyst
- Gold
- Petrified Wood
- Polished Stones
- Artifacts
- Spheres
- Geodes
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First Crack Geodes had these on display in the '08 show! |
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Paleofest was held Saturday, March 6th and Sunday, March 7th, 2010.
Famous dinosaur paleontologist Dr. Phil Currie and paleobotanist Eva Koppelhus headlined the speakers there this year, along with many others.
For more info, visit Burpee Museum's website.
From the Eastern Iowa Paleontology Project website:
• Laura was a juvenile Hypacrosaurus stebingeri,
a crested duck-billed dinosaur, and she lived during the Late Cretaceous Period,
about 75 million years ago.
• Laura's fossilized bones were discovered in July 2004 on private land north of Dupuyer, Montana in the Two Medicine Formation.
David Wolf and crew of Two Girls Fossils in Houston excavated her bones during the 2004 and 2005 dig seasons.
• The recovered skeleton is over 90% complete, with a skull that is about 50% complete. This makes Laura's fossil skeleton one of the
most complete of all dinosaur skeletons!
• Laura's fossil skeleton was brought to Eastern Iowa by the EIPP sponsors. Laura may have been a male or female dinosaur. She is named
after EIPP President Don Johnson's daughter.
• Laura will be 11' long and 5' high at the hips when mounted, would have been about 4 years old and weighed about 750 lbs. when alive,
and had only a hint of the plate-shaped head crest of the adults.
• Laura's species is only one of a handful of dinosaur species that are known from eggs, nests, embryos, hatchlings, and all stages of
development to adulthood.
The EIPP is partnering with Cycad Productions Ltd. (CPL)
of Watermill, New York, to bring 'Laura the Kid Dinosaur' back to life!
Roby Braun, CPL President, will be sculpting a 1:4 scale detailed life restoration of Laura using measurements from her fossil skeleton.
Roby has over 30 years' experience developing exhibits featuring full-scale ancient life restorations worldwide! Roby is donating $7,000 of
this $8,000 project in the form of research, design, sculpting, molding and casting fees as well as some material costs. He will also keep
a journal of sketches and photographs of this project and make it available to the EIPP. The EIPP will use this journal and the Laura life
restoration for educational purposes and to promote our future dinosaur exhibit. Roby and his company will become EIPP Sponsors in the
'Lifetime Donor' category. Now we are merely awaiting completion of the reconstruction by Cycad Productions! Thanks to all who participated
in this effort!
MAPS decided to support this project at our meeting in December of '09, and will be listed as a donor with
Laura's traveling display! To keep tabs on this incredible educational opportunity, please check out EIPP's website, or
you can contact EIPP's President (who also is a member of MAPS!), Don Johnson.
Don will be at Expo 32 this year, so stop in and see some of the EIPP's wonderful displays!
Two roughly half-hour talks followed by in depth Q&A sessions were given by UI Geoscience grad students:
'Morphological variation in Lystrosaurus', by PhD candidate Jessica Camp;
and 'Phylogenetics of the Early Ordovician pliomerid trilobites
Protopliomerella, Pseudocybele, and related taxa: Unravelling the base of the cheiruroidean radiation'
by MS candidate Neo Buenger-McAdams.
 |
This specimen of a Ceraurus trilobite fossil (pic from Wikipedia Commons)
is from Ordovician rocks and was found in Mississippi. |
UI campus map
Trowbridge Hall is just off of Market Street (a one way going down the hill towards the river), and the IMU Parking Ramp
which is adjacent to Trowbridge can be accessed off of Madison Street.
'Paleontological evidence for rapid fluctuation in the global sea level'
was presented by Dr. Ben Greenstein - Professor and Geology Dept. Chair at Cornell College.
Location: The Norton Geology Center on the Cornell College campus in Mt. Vernon, Iowa on Saturday, January 9th, 2010, at 1PM.
Dr. Greenstein's bio on the Cornell website
Above - Dr. Greenstein near Hamelin Pool, Shark Bay, Western Australia
Old man winter did not force a cancellation of the January meeting this year, and Dr. Greenstein gave a very interesting talk on
Jan 9th, focusing on his research regarding the last interglacial sea level highstand which occurred approximately 130,000 years ago.
This was the last time in Earth's history that sea level was higher than it is currently. Dr. Greenstein's talk was a particularly timely
topic, considering the current concerns with increasing rises in mean sea level as Earth's climate warms due to man-made greenhouse gas emissions.
Dr. Greenstein was gracious enough to allow MAPS to record his talk, and once there is time to edit & upload some or all of the talk, links for
those interested in seeing some or all of the talk will be posted here.
News Summaries From
Earlier in 2009
UI Repository Curator Tiffany Adrain presented a talk from 1-2pm titled:
'We don't just put numbers on fossils! Recent projects in the UI Paleontology Repository.'
at the regular MAPS club meeting which was held in room #125 Trowbridge Hall on the University of Iowa Campus in Iowa City.
The UI Paleontology Repository is home to over 1 million fossils from all over the world,
and all geologic ages. While we spend a lot of our time cataloguing and organizing the collection
(only another 880 thousand to go!), we are also involved in research, teaching and outreach.
One of our goals is to develop new ways of allowing everyone to access and use our collection.
Recent projects include on-line access to specimen records and images for researchers, a
'Tropical America Virtual Field School' for students, an interactive website on Iowa fossils
for the public, and a new website about the Iowans who have helped build our fossil collection
for everyone interested in the history of fossil collecting and the contributions of fossil
enthusiasts towards paleontology research.
Tiffany Adrain, Collections Manager, gave a short talk about these projects, followed by a tour of the collection.
Above - Tiffany Adrain receives the 2008 Don Good Award at MAPS Expo 30.
To view a partial UI campus map click here.
Trowbridge Hall is just off of Market Street (a one way going down the hill towards the river), and the IMU Parking Ramp
which is adjacent to Trowbridge can be accessed off of Madison Street.
Conklin Quarry Field Trip from October 25th, 2009
The club held a well attended fall field trip, and many cool fossil & mineral specimens were discovered by club members.
Photo content from the trip will be uploaded in the coming weeks as time permits.
CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE FIELD TRIPS PAGE,
and see some of the things you might find at Conklin!
The 1st Annual Fossil Fest of Iowa - 'Fossil Treasures from the Age of Dinosaurs'
was held Saturday, October 24th, 2009
at Cedar Rapids Washington High School.
The 1st Annual Fossil Fest of Iowa was a success, with approximately 330+ people attending the event on what turned out to be one
of the few nice weather days in all of October 2009. Folks were able to learn from area amateur paleontologists speaking about
dinosaurs, giant ground sloths and other Iowa fossils during talks at 10am, 11am, 1pm and 2pm. At 3pm, Mike Henderson from the
Burpee Museum in Rockford, IL gave his keynote talk titled 'Jurassic Jackpots: Burpee Museum's Dinosaur Discoveries from
Montana & Utah.'
Ideas are being floated around and very early planning is already underway for the 2nd edition of Fossil Fest in 2010, so please bookmark the PaleoProject's
website so you can keep up to date on developments: www.paleoproject.org
People were able to see full-size replicas of a T. rex skull and Allosaurus skull!
Folks were able to touch fossil bones of 'Laura, the Kid Dinosaur' and enjoy other fossil displays, including many
fossils from Iowa!
FOSSIL FEST TALK SUMMARIES
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10:00am TALK:'Dinosaur Predator! Dinosaur Prey!' by Don Johnson - A.K.A. The Fossil Guy |
| 11:00am TALK:'Devonian Fossil Gorge - Deja vu all over again' by Jim Preslicka |
 |
12:00pm LUNCH BREAK
 |
1:00pm TALK:'Tarkio Valley Sloth Project' by Dave Brenzel |
| 2:00pm TALK:'Track'em Down and Dig'em Up - Dinosaur Discoveries in Alberta' by Bill Desmarais |
 |
 |
3:00pm KEYNOTE SPEAKER:'Jurassic Jackpot' by Mike Henderson (on the right in adjacent photo) |
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
To download a PDF file of the Fossil Fest flier click here
The 1st Annual Fossil Fest was sponsored by the Eastern Iowa Paleontology Project, the Connections Natural History Speaker Series,
the Cedar Valley Rocks & Minerals Society, the Mid-America Paleontology Society, the Science Station,
and the University of Iowa Museum of Natural History.
April 3-5, 2009:
Was the National Fossil Expo XXXI at Western Hall on the
campus of the University of Western Illinois in Macomb, Illinois.
Above left - Stegodon, a giant ice age relative of elephants, greeted folks attending Expo 31.
Above right - Aren't you glad Charcharodon megalodon sharks are extinct?
Dr. William I Ausich of the Ohio State University gave a very informative talk titled "These are not the Crinoids your Granddaddy knew".
He covered topics from the evolutionary origins of crionoids, three distinct evolutionary groups of crinoid communities, and also the beginnings
of his research into possible organic molecule preservation in fossil crinoid specimens. It will be most interesting to see what the results of this
research turn out to be in the coming years. Dr. Ausich also covered the coming Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology crinoid volume revision,
which will be a monumental undertaking.
Dr. Ausich then patiently took questions following his talk, answering each and every one posed to him. Dr. Ausich is also in need of some crinoid material
for his organic molecule research. Several club members volunteered some of their collections - he basically needs stem material to crush up and process to
search for possible organic molecules that have been protected by the calcite. The specimens will of course be destroyed by this process, but if you might have
some stem material with stratigraphic control (time period, formation, etc) you are urged to contact Dr Ausich through Ohio State University.
A MAPS board meeting was held on Friday the 3rd, and it was decided to change the name of the President's Award to the Sharon Sonnleitner award, in honor of
Sharon's 20 years of invaluable service to MAPS as its Tresurer. Many thanks to Sharon for her years of dedication to the club, and also for her help in the
transition to the new Treasurer - I can say with certainty the new guy would be totally lost without her!
A MAPS business meeting was also held on Saturday the 4th, where members discussed in polite but resolute tones the need to do more advertising/publicity for Expo
in the future. In general it was agreed that the club needs to do more to raise public awareness about the show, and to increase attendance at future
shows. A committee was set up to oversee Expo publicity, and a number of ideas were touched on. More emphasis will be placed on signage around
Macomb, as well as reaching out to local media outlets via TV and Radio. It will take a concerted effort by the club as a whole to pull this off.
Several members volunteered to hand out Expo fliers in their local areas and at other rock shows and so forth. Any member who might like to help in this
fashion is urged to contact the web master (see the link on the home page near the bottom right).
Dr. Paula M Mikkelsen of the Paleontological Research Institution awarded the 2009 Katherine Palmer award to Richard E Petit during a short presentation prior
to Saturday night's keynote by Dr. Ausich. The award presentation was recorded and will be available shortly on the PRI website, http://www.priweb.org .
Expo show chair Thomas Williams also announced that the focus for next year's Expo will be the Cincinnatian Stage of the Upper Ordovician. A speaker will be
confirmed in the near future.
Above is a panoramic view of the MAPS Expo 31 show floor.
February 14:
Above left - speaker Bill Hickerson shows MAPS members his trilobite collection.
Above right - some of Mr. Hickerson's trilobites (yes, he had MANY more!).
Bill Hickerson gave a very interesting presentation on the Trilobites of the Cedar Valley Group to the club on Feb 14 at
Trowbridge Hall in Iowa City. His talk included an informative slide show, with general geologic information about the local Devonian rocks,
as well as about some Devonian trilobite groups. He then gave a pretty detailed discussion of some of the 32 species(!) of trilobite known from
the Lower Cedar Valley Group, in the Little Cedar and Coralville Formations. Rocks from these 2 Formations should be familiar to many club
members, as these are exposed at Klein and Conklin quarries, which are frequent MAPS collecting trip destinations. Many of the trilobite
specimens collected by MAPS members on these trips come from the Lower Rapid Member of the Little Cedar Formation.
Bill discussed naming problems with some of the Cedar Valley genera and species, demonstrating for the club just how much work
remains to be done in this area. He also covered the evolution of a few species of the well known genus Phacops in the Little Cedar
Formation. Phacops iowensis is the oldest, and has 13 rows of eye facets in its compound eyes. It is replaced by P. norwoodensis which has
15 rows of eye facets. This species is in turn succeeded by P. rana with 16 or 17 rows of eye facets. This is a good example of
evolution, which can be described as "change through time with cumulative modification". There must have been some selective process at work
in the Phacops lineage during Cedar Valley time which favored those animals with more rows of eye facets. Did this change allow the animal
to see predators earlier? Perhaps to find a mate more easily? Or maybe to find food more quickly? It is interesting to ponder.
One other point of discussion in Bill's talk was the major trilobite extinction which occurs just above the Coralville Formation.
Many formerly abundant trilobite genera and species go extinct in North America at this geologic horizon, and yet similar trilobites were
still common in other parts of the world at the same time. He went over several potential causes of this extinction, but none can be
definitively pointed to as the cause as of yet.
After the talk a good time was had by all looking (perhaps drooling would be a better word here!) over the trilobite collection that Bill
brought with him, as well as examining the Paleocene leaf collection brought in by club members Doug DeRosear and Karl Stuekerjuergen.
Click here to view more pictures taken at the club meeting .
(The business meeting took place prior to Bill's talk from 1-2 pm. In general, many of the items covered were related to the
upcoming MAPS Fossil Expo XXXI the first weekend in April.)
Above left - an enrolled specimen of the trilobite Phacops rana norwoodensis from the Rapid Member of the Little Cedar Formation.
Above right - a slab of Phacopid trilobites from the Solon Member of the Little Cedar Formation.
January:
Old man winter was unkind to us and forced first the postponement
and then the cancellation of the January MAPS meeting which was to take place
at Cornell on January 17th.
April 3-5, 2009:
Was the National Fossil Expo XXXI in Western Hall on the
campus of the University of Western Illinois in Macomb, Illinois.
Click here for a Map showing Western Hall
The focus this year is on crinoids and the keynote address will be given at 7pm Friday, April 3rd
by Professor William I. Ausich of Ohio State University.
There will also be a regular MAPS business meeting on Saturday, April 4th at 6pm, followed by the annual
awards presentations and then the Live Auction at 7pm!
Expo show hours are 8am - 5pm Friday and Saturday, and 8am - noon on Sunday. ADMISSION IS FREE!
Please click here for a printable EXPO table registration form.
April 4-6, 2008
EXPO XXX at Western Illinois University in Macomb, Illinois
FREE ADMISSION to the World's Largest Fossil Exhibition!
Membership is not required for your participation, except for table rental.
Full information will be available by mid-January.
BUY, SELL, SWAP & DISPLAY OF FOSSILS EXCLUSIVELY
Western Hall
Western Illinois University
Macomb, Illinois
February 2008
The February MAPS(Mid-America Paleontology Society) meeting will be held in Room 125 of Trowbridge Hall
at the University of Iowa on February 10. The regular business meeting will run from 1-2 p.m. followed
by a program by Bill Hickerson on the fossils of the Cedar Valley Formation. (Bill is familiar to many
of you for his work on the Silurian soft-bodied fauna from Eastern Iowa)
January 2008
The January MAPS (Mid-America Paleontology Society) meeting will be held in Room 125 of Trowbridge Hall
at the University of Iowa on January 12. The regular business meeting will run from 1:00-2:00 p.m.
followed by a program by Brian Witzke of the Iowa DNR on the Pennsylvanian material in the Klein Quarry
(Devonian bedrock)in Coralville
Of possible interest to those of you in the Iowa/Illinois/Missouri area:
PUBLIC AUCTION Glen & Mary Hanning Estate Rocks - Fossils - Gems - Minerals For further information,
contact Janice Bryant at 217-322-4096.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2007 AT 10:00 A.M.
Auction to be conducted at the Lowderman Auction Facility, located 2 1/2 miles west of Macomb, IL on
Highway 136.
All the information for this sale is located on this
website: http://www.lowderman.com/sales/11.24.07hanning/catalog.html
November 2007
The November MAPS (Mid-America Paleontology Society) meeting will be held in Room 125 of Trowbridge Hall
at the University of Iowa on November 10. The regular business meeting will run from 1:00-2:00 p.m.
followed by a program by James Preslicka on the spectacular fossils(ammonoids, cephalopods, etc.) coming
out of an eastern Iowa Devonian quarry this summer. Local collectors are being encouraged to bring some
of their better specimens to the meeting for a show and tell.
October 2007
The October MAPS (Mid-America Paleontology Society) meeting was held in conjunction with the fall field
trip at Klein Quarry in Coralville Iowa on October 14.
March 2007
EXPO XXIX
March 30,31 & April 1 at Western Illinois University in
Macomb, Illinois
Theme: Dinosaurs.
Friday night's Keynote Speaker: Pete Larson
Chair: Steve Holley Co-Chair: Gil Norris
See the Expo 29 page for more information.
February 10, 2007
February MAPS(Mid-America Paleontology Society) meeting
Special Presentation:
The Middle Ordivician Winneshiek Lagerstatte from the St. Peter
Sandstone in northeast Iowa
Location: Room 125 of Trowbridge Hall at the University of Iowa.
The regular business meeting will run from 1-2 p.m. followed by a program
presented by Paul Liu and Bob McKay (research geologists from the Iowa
Geological Survey) entitled "The Middle Ordivician Winneshiek Lagerstatte from the St. Peter
Sandstone in northeast Iowa." This is one of the most significant fossil finds in
Iowa history (from a paleontological perspective). Don't miss it!
January 20, 2007
January MAPS (Mid-America Paleontology Society) meeting
Special Presentation:
The Coral Reefs
in Western Australia & The Wreck of the Batavia
Location: The Norton Geology Center on the Cornell College campus in Mt. Vernon,
Iowa on January 20.
The regular business meeting will run from 1-2 p.m.
followed by a program presented by Dr. Ben Greenstein - Professor and Geology
Dept. Chair at Cornell. He has new data from his work on the coral reefs
in Western Australia - as well as a story of the wreck of the Batavia which
occurred on one of the islands where he worked. It is a story of murder,
mutiny, intrique, survival and heroism - all integrated with fossils!
Please note that this is at Cornell rather than at the University of
Iowa. Speaker Link
Directions:
http://cornellcollege.edu/tours_maps/maps/static_map.shtml
The Norton Geology Bldg is basically on the corner of First St. W and Fifth
Ave. S
Mapquest gives a route turning left off of Hiway 1 on 2nd St SW and
proceding to Fifth Ave. I would go a block further north on Hiway 1 to the
stoplight (First St - which is the main street east and west thru town) -
then turn west and proceed to Fifth Avenue. There is a small parking lot to
the north of the Geology Bldg where we park.Then you have to walk up the
hill to go in the front door on the south side of the building . The
meeting room is right inside - the first door to the right.
From: N Dodge St & I 80 Iowa City, IA 52240 US
To: 5th Ave Sw & 1st St Nw Mount Vernon, IA 52314 US
1. Start out going NORTH on IA-1 N/N DODGE ST toward IA-1 S. Continue to
follow IA-1 N. (18.44 miles)
2. Turn LEFT onto 2ND ST SW. (0.26 miles)
3. Turn RIGHT onto 5TH AVE S. (0.07 miles)
4. End at 5th Ave Sw & 1st St Nw Mount Vernon, IA 52314 US
Total Estimated Time: 24 minutes
Total Distance: 18.77 miles
November 11, 2006 (Saturday)
The meeting will be held in Room 125 of Trowbridge Hall at the University of Iowa on Saturday November 11.
The regular business meeting will run from 1:30-2:30 p.m. followed by a program on "The progress of the sloth
dig in Western Iowa" presented by Sarah Horgen, Education and Outreach Coordinator from the Museum of Natural
History. There is a scheduled dig the weekend before so the program will be an up-to-date report. We have been
invited to go across the street to the museum to see their sloth exhibit after the meeting. Please note that the
meeting starts a half hour later than normal.
Sloth Dig Link
October 15, 2006 (Sunday)
The meeting was held in conjunction with the fall field trip at Klein Quarry in
Coralville Iowa on October 15.
