Some discoveries are millions of years in the making — and this one comes with the sweetest dedication. Two young student-scientists working at Chicago’s Field Museum have officially described a brand-new species of proto-amphibian that swam around Illinois 309 million years ago, long before the dinosaurs. And they named it after their moms.
Meet Jeanerpeton mazonensis — “Jean’s crawler from Mazon Creek.” The squat, chubby creature (picture a salamander with the build of a frog) is an early ancestor of today’s amphibians, described by Allison Sefcovic and Payton Kohlberg in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. As luck would have it, both of their mothers are named Jean, making the scientific name a double tribute to the two moms behind the scientists.
The fossil comes from the world-famous Mazon Creek fossil beds, where a swampy river delta near Chicago once teemed with early land-dwellers and giant insects. The specimen — found years ago by an amateur collector and donated to the Field — preserves astonishing detail: scales along its back, tiny “belly ribs” called gastralia, and even impressions of the animal’s eyes. The findings point to a 309-million-year-old origin of classic traits seen in today’s frogs and salamanders.
It is also a lovely reminder that the next great discovery can be hiding in plain sight: the fossil sat in the museum’s collections, misclassified, until these two students took a closer look. Next time you visit the Field Museum, remember — science’s future starts with curious young minds and supportive moms.
Photo: Field Museum
