tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47416173326798311462024-03-19T13:56:45.114+01:00EruditorumA blog about Natural History and MuseumsHypnotosovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11469293434683944221noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4741617332679831146.post-45774359272608641922013-05-28T01:43:00.001+02:002013-05-28T13:59:49.425+02:00Dead Animal Day<b>This saturday, May the 25th, the Natural history Museum in Rotterdam was dedicated to <i>"de dag van het dode dier"</i>. The day of the dead animal.</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7fkciMyPhZg/UaNQ2vfnsfI/AAAAAAABG7o/brnpvn7ifno/s1600/IMAG4703.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="I knew that stuff was bad for you" border="0" height="225" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7fkciMyPhZg/UaNQ2vfnsfI/AAAAAAABG7o/brnpvn7ifno/s400/IMAG4703.jpg" title="A hedgehog, with it's head trapped in a McFlurry cup" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The McFlurry hedgehog</td></tr>
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<b>This wasn't a particularly sinister event, rather more a celebration of animals that have found a second life in the museum. The ´animals with a story´ took center stage, but there was also attention for the regular collection. The museum is after all full of dead animals.</b><br />
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<b>Visitors could bring in their own dead animals, with the possibility that it could become a museum piece Prof. Kees Moeliker (of <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/kees_moeliker_how_a_dead_duck_changed_my_life.html" target="_blank">dead duck</a> fame) was in attendance to judge whether these were suitable for the museum's growing collection of animals with a story.</b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EvxYegMaGXU/UaNQ2hRv1VI/AAAAAAABG74/NKD_6Km8nq0/s1600/IMAG4689_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="A `jaarvogel` brought home as a memento from service in the colonies" border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EvxYegMaGXU/UaNQ2hRv1VI/AAAAAAABG74/NKD_6Km8nq0/s320/IMAG4689_1.jpg" title="Professor Kees Moeliker examines a mounted hornbill head" width="210" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Like Antiques Roadshow, for dead animals</td></tr>
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<b>There was also throughout the day a live preparation of a stork that had had an unfortunate run-in with a train. This drew a constant, and surprisingly varied, crowd of onlookers. </b><br />
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<b>The preparator patiently answered the seemingly endless barrage of questions, it was like attending <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/thebrainscoop" target="_blank">The Brain Scoop</a> in person.</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MZegWIXbNEo/UaPeChMcPcI/AAAAAAABHEk/1ek2UkWF2yo/s1600/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The empty bird has a stick added for convenient handling" border="0" height="221" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MZegWIXbNEo/UaPeChMcPcI/AAAAAAABHEk/1ek2UkWF2yo/s320/photo.jpg" title="A stork being prepared for the museum collection" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The stork being ¨prepped for the ´skins´ collection</td></tr>
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<b>Dead animal day was also the first time I got to see the newly expanded and improved collection of animals with a story that was opened at the first of the month. Previously it was a small glass and wood cabinet on the first floor, tucked away near the entrance to one of the main exhibits.</b></div>
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<b>But now it has been given pride of place in the entrance hall and features such storied specimens as the <i><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/117258893572255869060/posts/NtJA5LNCk4H" target="_blank">dominomus</a></i>, the <i>necroduck, </i>the <i><a href="https://plus.google.com/117258893572255869060/posts/DsXzo5eG16f" target="_blank">breakfast bat</a>, </i>the <i>headless canary </i>and the <i>McFlurry hedghehog</i>.</b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wjcrzoMpA7g/UaNQ2qaZ0wI/AAAAAAABG7w/IV0zPAa5hu0/s1600/IMAG4727.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The mouse was anonymously delivered to the museum" border="0" height="180" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wjcrzoMpA7g/UaNQ2qaZ0wI/AAAAAAABG7w/IV0zPAa5hu0/s320/IMAG4727.jpg" title="De kamermuis, in a mousetrap from the House of Representatives" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The `Chambermouse` from the Chambers of Parliament</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5dMmEspJI_I/UaPrCTFzeaI/AAAAAAABHFE/6HxZDr4bb50/s1600/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Don't leave the bag open... Investigation has shown the mouse ended up in the bag after production." border="0" height="197" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5dMmEspJI_I/UaPrCTFzeaI/AAAAAAABHFE/6HxZDr4bb50/s320/photo.jpg" title="Dead baby mouse in a bag of Hamka's chips" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pretzel-mouse, found in a bowl of crisps</td></tr>
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<b>Being a natural history museum there is also a large collection of taxidermied animals in more traditional displays, the large mammals are the main eyecatchers but the really interesting stuff is behind glass.</b></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mxMkttwkoYI/UaNQ2l4VtiI/AAAAAAABG7o/W5-QrhhYZ14/s1600/PANO_20130525_162331.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="What are they looking at?" border="0" height="152" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mxMkttwkoYI/UaNQ2l4VtiI/AAAAAAABG7o/W5-QrhhYZ14/s400/PANO_20130525_162331.jpg" title="The biodiversity hall" width="400" /></a></div>
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Hypnotosovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11469293434683944221noreply@blogger.com0Natuurhistorisch Museum Rotterdam, 3015 Rotterdam, The Netherlands51.9107727 4.472406999999975651.8715947 4.3917259999999754 51.9499507 4.5530879999999758tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4741617332679831146.post-92008245843303109842013-02-26T09:00:00.000+01:002013-05-28T02:26:14.940+02:00Modern Nature<strong>If one follows the intended path through the museum, instead of scooting to whatever exhibit strikes one's fancy as I did, this is the last of the thematic exhibit areas.</strong><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSFwfq7m3WrtNGd3kp9SgZU807i-3_pGTN8CAB4Zo3I0lws5l67Bse23iMHqAZ940yUsn569H4-bhFD2_Ez2XXRibanH5gszgF44G7lEKmd7K4zhEZJnQVW9zJKxlUSVHycfviqbaGp2WT/s1600/Boaring.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Awww, look at those cute piglets." border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSFwfq7m3WrtNGd3kp9SgZU807i-3_pGTN8CAB4Zo3I0lws5l67Bse23iMHqAZ940yUsn569H4-bhFD2_Ez2XXRibanH5gszgF44G7lEKmd7K4zhEZJnQVW9zJKxlUSVHycfviqbaGp2WT/s400/Boaring.png" title="Boar, lynx and wolf taxidermy mounts" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>The focus here is clearly regional, emphasising the specific nature of the province of Limburg. </b><b>The first part is preoccupied with unusual species; wolves, lynxes and boars. These are clearly the biggest attention grabbers, but there are some nice displays in the current nature section as well. </b><br />
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<a name='more'></a><b>The Lynx is a recent arrival, tracks have been found on a regular basis since 1985 but there is no evidence that lynxes have settled in the Netherlands. The wolf on the other hand is a past inhabitant, having lived here until the 19th century.</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKz_TY2bakmM1-GuCgQ_1c6XUpj1Q3WRftqJoHwlpJmDMakSSAbmLuWZypzEpqXyLeFdB4d485eVh1YckFqSv4jzuavxJI9bPZ1MgcNcJnleYXn75CEbCLIU9WmsUgaVX0edRmvULVDplC/s1600/DSC_0548.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img alt="Admiring his mirrored image?" border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKz_TY2bakmM1-GuCgQ_1c6XUpj1Q3WRftqJoHwlpJmDMakSSAbmLuWZypzEpqXyLeFdB4d485eVh1YckFqSv4jzuavxJI9bPZ1MgcNcJnleYXn75CEbCLIU9WmsUgaVX0edRmvULVDplC/s200/DSC_0548.JPG" title="Easrasian Lynx (Lynx lynx)" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXIEC7A1xJHaOGVDmlWYNGIzuUi2CVvie1VUqmByc5e-X8gePdahLIg-uAH7Zw_hqykN3AxgxLn7FcThGQpOa2DgWMInyD6747jWyeLL7WKdFWBkvryWeN5L3JmCbVTp5lL7Tu-Qf4DTX9/s1600/DSC_0552.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXIEC7A1xJHaOGVDmlWYNGIzuUi2CVvie1VUqmByc5e-X8gePdahLIg-uAH7Zw_hqykN3AxgxLn7FcThGQpOa2DgWMInyD6747jWyeLL7WKdFWBkvryWeN5L3JmCbVTp5lL7Tu-Qf4DTX9/s200/DSC_0552.JPG" title="Gray Wolf (Canis lupus)" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>It should be noted that the wolf display showing it running off with a piece of children's clothing is rather <a href="https://plus.google.com/117258893572255869060/posts/C9ALUFDM7E5" target="_blank">unfair</a>. </b><br />
<b>The boar family in the top picture is also the brunt of historical prejudice, the stone plaque commemorates the killing of boars that after a long absence had returned to the vicinity of Maastricht (the return of "the hated enemy"). </b><br />
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<b>The section is rounded out by two flying species, the enormous Sea Eagle and the minute Common Pipestrelle. The pipestrelle is the odd one out since it is not uncommon in Limburg, but it has somewhat amusingly been pinned to a textbook describing the species.</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4FzxeSga-6wRzJIIgto34L6f8LEIqGhVljy0vo59V4oVuHY_1eZ6_gp8vkxRKMvaNWj0pcI5yCw0uy3qLYBYzS21COQTlSKUyvCK9bEHQzqw9je5Wz6a4QgFlAVgtT-y7NNjt7S3aNFyc/s1600/DSC_0558.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="It's brown colour might also have influenced it's nickname "Flying Door"" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4FzxeSga-6wRzJIIgto34L6f8LEIqGhVljy0vo59V4oVuHY_1eZ6_gp8vkxRKMvaNWj0pcI5yCw0uy3qLYBYzS21COQTlSKUyvCK9bEHQzqw9je5Wz6a4QgFlAVgtT-y7NNjt7S3aNFyc/s200/DSC_0558.JPG" title="Sea Eagle/White-Tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla)" width="132" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihDxlShfFIyNZoFhd1dY0Uj4kC0QX5Yg3H9FU-tMPqjIwJViSvfIfGq8ja-uMmDX7s68ftqJIpxg8mSjP6qmg5L6z-2sAuci4P0O9er_gKgzFGDRRcAzgedOJZdnHkzXt8gDBPwClgJMGB/s1600/DSC_0563.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Pinned to it's own description." border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihDxlShfFIyNZoFhd1dY0Uj4kC0QX5Yg3H9FU-tMPqjIwJViSvfIfGq8ja-uMmDX7s68ftqJIpxg8mSjP6qmg5L6z-2sAuci4P0O9er_gKgzFGDRRcAzgedOJZdnHkzXt8gDBPwClgJMGB/s200/DSC_0563.JPG" title="Common Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus)" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>The Sea Eagle (also commonly known as the white-tailed eagle) literally dwarfs the bats, it is the largest European eagle and it's size and broad wings have earned it the nickname 'Flying Door'. It has long been extinct in the Netherlands, appearing only as an occasional visitor. but may be returning as two breeding pairs have formed nests in recent years.</b><br />
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<b>This section of the <a href="http://www.nhmmaastricht.nl/engels/index2.htm" target="_blank">Natural History Museum Maastricht</a> has some very nice taxidermy, with mounts that show active poses and are very </b><b>life-like. It also has a lot of white space, which works will in some places by making the rather small area seem slightly less crowded. But especially towards the end it also creates a feeling of emptiness, for example that eagle is just hanging there in limbo.</b><br />
<b>Some of that white (or orange) space would have been better devoted to tying the disparate displays together, and giving a better sense of theme.</b>Hypnotosovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11469293434683944221noreply@blogger.com1De Bosquetplein 7, 6211 KJ Maastricht, The Netherlands50.844997500000012 5.687834500000008130.649788000000012 -35.620759499999991 71.040207000000009 46.996428500000007tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4741617332679831146.post-33934627269334372922013-02-19T11:21:00.000+01:002013-02-20T19:43:25.961+01:00The brown museum<b>There are two ways to get to the 'brown museum', if you take the regular route you are presented with this peculiar room at the end of your tour. As a desert, or an afterthought. </b><br />
<b>But it is perhaps better to enter it from the opposite end.</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0_PMkbhrbTDboIbm8Cfx9A1TG9B7_QMfC1eDbA6afZGSA6-VXQaAiM5aHVzL4oRP1cA_Nk9KJTB6om7x-vXuNt3gFyAqN7Rkk9WDPBUJK3ZlNwdLnFdY07Eii6ZjoF0GfQ-hdqLXPcBvX/s1600/PANO_20130131_165328.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="107" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0_PMkbhrbTDboIbm8Cfx9A1TG9B7_QMfC1eDbA6afZGSA6-VXQaAiM5aHVzL4oRP1cA_Nk9KJTB6om7x-vXuNt3gFyAqN7Rkk9WDPBUJK3ZlNwdLnFdY07Eii6ZjoF0GfQ-hdqLXPcBvX/s400/PANO_20130131_165328.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Het bruin museum (The brown museum), click to enlarge.</td></tr>
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<b>After hanging up your coat, instead of walking back towards the entrance to enter the museum from the 'proper' direction you can move forward. Taking a right at the coffeeroom you find yourself at the foot of a wooden stairway that leads directly to the brown museum.</b><br />
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<b>At the top of the staircase the visitor is greeted by a number of displays in antique wood and glass casings,a pair of passenger pigeons a "rat king" and a dank cupboard with assorted odds and ends. </b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPyE8vNjARJKzuhiyPiYpkAdd-DAMIeOyH7qlQfMwWp6jAXESBw6zGEZ601BxX7cTLjtC6uzA3WITdS5Nl1xlaAnJJMxpCAvPMCkNvdBbPLfxSL36oeyqtYpCqiYzGW_nPJ71ySIEdw8PT/s1600/DSC_0384.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPyE8vNjARJKzuhiyPiYpkAdd-DAMIeOyH7qlQfMwWp6jAXESBw6zGEZ601BxX7cTLjtC6uzA3WITdS5Nl1xlaAnJJMxpCAvPMCkNvdBbPLfxSL36oeyqtYpCqiYzGW_nPJ71ySIEdw8PT/s200/DSC_0384.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ii17q8bJWNLUz3b5g7cZNRf25tphpYpOD93h564LihNMntt_jpz4ThQtmj5dkGU-imVVsZNz50n5O3skmI-M0K01Pr0uaw5yKtIxFFMyZxII-DsEoPeLGzhQ_zAkNEC_nHX9XEARY0vB/s1600/DSC_0386.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ii17q8bJWNLUz3b5g7cZNRf25tphpYpOD93h564LihNMntt_jpz4ThQtmj5dkGU-imVVsZNz50n5O3skmI-M0K01Pr0uaw5yKtIxFFMyZxII-DsEoPeLGzhQ_zAkNEC_nHX9XEARY0vB/s200/DSC_0386.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Passenger pigeons, once the most populous bird in the world</td></tr>
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<b>his area has much old-timey stuff in it, like those antique cabinets, a few paintings and of course the staircase itself. But it is still very much within the modern museum, and not just because of the anachronistic exit signs and electrical sockets. </b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKvGGXkEv-zW_NTmqhSv9eUmGz6Gnz80fAN_RxlFU-4w5LcGC3Ljh2drHrVwvG6o8bfRG1ZoYRGZC6rIvX3WSIptaoEQ3hyphenhyphenB0imhmV-KAz3lp0HxjhicL7M7c1FWh5z09qCoVnhTwwBp9o/s1600/DSC_0389.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKvGGXkEv-zW_NTmqhSv9eUmGz6Gnz80fAN_RxlFU-4w5LcGC3Ljh2drHrVwvG6o8bfRG1ZoYRGZC6rIvX3WSIptaoEQ3hyphenhyphenB0imhmV-KAz3lp0HxjhicL7M7c1FWh5z09qCoVnhTwwBp9o/s200/DSC_0389.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A rat king, rats with their tails in a knot</td></tr>
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<b>The very outlay of this section is modern with the lightly coloured walls, ample light and exhibits placed widely apart it feels roomy and spacious. The glass pane on the case holding the pigeons is inscribed with pertinent information, and the rat king has a similar text painted on the wall next to it. And these texts are also very modern: concise, contextual and not requiring specialist knowledge (not a word of Latin here).</b><br />
<b>In a way this corridor serves as a transition from the modern museum to the old. Once you enter the "brown museum" proper you are in for something of a culture shock. </b><br />
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<b>This isn't a museum, it's a curio cabinet! Where is the predetermined route, the explanatory signs, the thematic sections? At first glance this looks to be little more than a haphazard collection of sometimes questionable taxidermy mounts.</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ge7msV_rNfhDcC_kP6B5mSHlJJnndzpK0sk7LzHZzyk2WM0nK845_0jktVvVyc8JafytPd8VbD3w2KkFP2YkOPuItwBehUwmg3NTnP0sbEy47iiu25POKu5jAExlYEDvL_bGItic71Yp/s1600/TaxiD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="..or is it some kind of rodent?" border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ge7msV_rNfhDcC_kP6B5mSHlJJnndzpK0sk7LzHZzyk2WM0nK845_0jktVvVyc8JafytPd8VbD3w2KkFP2YkOPuItwBehUwmg3NTnP0sbEy47iiu25POKu5jAExlYEDvL_bGItic71Yp/s320/TaxiD.jpg" title="Taxidermy mounts of a monkey and a young cat" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sad monkey and creepy cat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>After adjusting to the unfamiliar setting some order does appear. The large cabinet on the left holds vertebrate land and sea animals, the cabinet on opposite of the room holds birds. While at the far side of the room is the collection of water-living creatures (appropriately preserved as 'wet' specimens). </b><br />
<b>This logic is continued in the lower cabinets as well, although many specimens have clearly been put on top of the cabinets because there was no space.</b><br />
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<b>It is somewhat difficult to tell what this mini-museum represents. </b><b>Unlike the "<a href="http://www.teylersmuseum.eu/teylersuniversum/index.php?m=oz&lang=en" target="_blank">Oval Room</a>" in Teyler's Museum, which has been fundamentally unchanged since 1784, </b><b> it is a <i>reconstruction </i>of an old museum. </b><br />
<b>And while I have seen it billed as a museum from a century ago (tying into the recent centennial of the Natural History Museum Maastricht) it is doubtful that the museum would have had a radio playing in 1912. The first radio program in the Netherlands was only aired in 1919.</b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHtbhqRRalHxTUAKL3qgozIWXGHZEQOmJWGfAiiFVmO9EkpMMxnQLkGEkeCp-ib9G6iZcQhyphenhyphengnGcBa2M3T0wxUFJH9kMtr4LgHiMrFNrLRdpvHyGZBKqc0ffPShPDO871oDQ8mXB0EnAro/s1600/BrumRadio.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="It looks suspiciously like the post-war radio my grandparents had." border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHtbhqRRalHxTUAKL3qgozIWXGHZEQOmJWGfAiiFVmO9EkpMMxnQLkGEkeCp-ib9G6iZcQhyphenhyphengnGcBa2M3T0wxUFJH9kMtr4LgHiMrFNrLRdpvHyGZBKqc0ffPShPDO871oDQ8mXB0EnAro/s320/BrumRadio.png" title="Radio in "het bruin museum" Maastricht" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A radio in a museum of natural history?</td></tr>
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<b>The function of the museum in the past also remains opaque, was this a publicly accessible museum? Or maybe it was intended for use by students and that large table was where they were seated when listening to lectures, or studying the specimens.</b><br />
<b>The collection as we see it now seems merely a curiosity cabinet of animals, loosely categorized as flying, swimming and walking. But that may be an artefact of the reconstruction, perhaps in it's glory days the reptiles and mammals did not have to share a cabinet, emphasising the Linnean classification of animals.</b><br />
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<b>I really should try to catch a tour the next time I visit a museum, but that is not always a realistic option. Many natural history museums have very limited (and often volunteer) staff, and understandably only offer (group) tours by appointment. </b>Hypnotosovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11469293434683944221noreply@blogger.com1De Bosquetplein 7, 6211 KJ Maastricht, The Netherlands50.844997500000012 5.687834500000008125.322963000000012 -35.620759499999991 76.367032000000009 46.996428500000007tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4741617332679831146.post-2339985726708351152013-02-15T18:53:00.002+01:002013-03-08T21:10:29.819+01:00The Mosaleum Part 2, Mosasaur Bones<b>After death the mosasaur sank to the bottom of the sea, where it was scavenged before being covered in sediment and fossilizing. Most of the skeleton was scattered, but the skull and much of the spine has been found.</b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJZlileKnYcKExnZ32-K9IE0YZRPlAsJEOu4VBKgGUFaqPzG4ZhyphenhyphenSXcX7lV9PBGIHh2dIakGhToUp_w1AQGLwZe1v42oywYkJjwxTvqhDVrogANxGAQ-s4v3cR8OkOzm_VZrIZiKob1y0E/s1600/Bitemarks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJZlileKnYcKExnZ32-K9IE0YZRPlAsJEOu4VBKgGUFaqPzG4ZhyphenhyphenSXcX7lV9PBGIHh2dIakGhToUp_w1AQGLwZe1v42oywYkJjwxTvqhDVrogANxGAQ-s4v3cR8OkOzm_VZrIZiKob1y0E/s400/Bitemarks.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bitemarks, indicated by arrows</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>The bones in the <a href="http://hospitem.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-mosaleum.html" target="_blank">Mosaleum </a>in fact preserve evidence of being scavenged in the form of bitemarks. </b><b>Beyond the bitemarks, there is also further evidence <i>identifying </i>the culprits.</b><br />
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<b>Sharks are among the largest scavengers in the sea, and when they get their fill they often shed a few teeth. Which is also what happened in this case. and it is by it's teeth that we know the shark.</b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcClm15XhQdVc74XfVZtNt1BrUIe1d-vy13T-GcstyiibOqL-FtnucF2pOP57gyl_BO24e1TWUGXPVRt1OZNrT6ozzYWD88zG2HH8qrFCmzAYGHTNkcdLzzUy-Iix-oadzsiHJn2CB-0-B/s1600/DSC_0375.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcClm15XhQdVc74XfVZtNt1BrUIe1d-vy13T-GcstyiibOqL-FtnucF2pOP57gyl_BO24e1TWUGXPVRt1OZNrT6ozzYWD88zG2HH8qrFCmzAYGHTNkcdLzzUy-Iix-oadzsiHJn2CB-0-B/s320/DSC_0375.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shark's teeth found with the Mosasaur<i> </i>skeleton</td></tr>
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<b>In fact two types of shark teeth were found with bones of this Progathodon, one type belonged to the 3 meter long <i>Squalicorax </i>while other teeth belonged to the smaller <i>Plicatoscyllium</i>. Both species would certainly have been small enough to be considered a snackfood by <i>P. saturator</i> when it was alive.</b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLJElou5Wd6q5LQgmDlQARr-3VECzslglAsl0w7ANDif1DuYfuRMA2URjdmUjZUQ4zP20I4-625juVvIQdrTvZ7Q0Ym_VdTIUWOk0NbYNqRko_IAFmHSkcxWU4bNtYlM5tL6kmR-dv_Hg4/s1600/Squalicorax2DB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLJElou5Wd6q5LQgmDlQARr-3VECzslglAsl0w7ANDif1DuYfuRMA2URjdmUjZUQ4zP20I4-625juVvIQdrTvZ7Q0Ym_VdTIUWOk0NbYNqRko_IAFmHSkcxWU4bNtYlM5tL6kmR-dv_Hg4/s320/Squalicorax2DB.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Life reconstruction of <i>Squalocorax </i>by <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Creator:Dmitry_Bogdanov" target="_blank">D. Bogdanov</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><br /></b>
<b>The scavenging sharks also inspired the species name <i>saturator</i>, which according to the paper describing it means "<i>he who gives satisfaction </i>(both to Maastrichtian sharks as well as Recent palaeontologists)". </b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Most of the skeleton of Bèr was scattered by the scavengers and the sea, but the remains of the spine that have been recovered are on display under the floor of the Mosaleum. </b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHlBtl9LnlVGFhHnOUtG7V5SlgZ0dP1oqQcTBnDsiW5jdkGYf-q3lR5WCg44Nf_pXG2pFPs5ct9LYzkut9j-CQvr7QgT50Cd7ScfDyMNwVf-StPPoCyXUtRSBRNnneicLzkdw7PJDDCV9P/s1600/DSC_0355.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHlBtl9LnlVGFhHnOUtG7V5SlgZ0dP1oqQcTBnDsiW5jdkGYf-q3lR5WCg44Nf_pXG2pFPs5ct9LYzkut9j-CQvr7QgT50Cd7ScfDyMNwVf-StPPoCyXUtRSBRNnneicLzkdw7PJDDCV9P/s320/DSC_0355.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The spine and ribs of<i> Prognathodon saturator</i></td></tr>
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<b><br /></b>
<b>It's a very nice display. And while the amount of text is small it does a very good job of highlighting what is important and interesting, </b><br />
<b><br /></b>Hypnotosovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11469293434683944221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4741617332679831146.post-36300981452042758452013-02-12T01:52:00.000+01:002013-02-12T01:52:04.721+01:00The Mosaleum<b>The Mosaleum (a contraction of Mosasaur and Mausoleum) is the last resting place of Bèr, a very large mosasaur discovered in 1998. You can just make out his skull in the middle.</b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidwIt9Tr85APT7rf4BRsGs2DHBt7qR4ECYRcMGu-oKMeE8rdezbImPY8f-jWdyIHnrnpEVNUaKRRTaldstGU7g3WKhri5JIfQFVPrFx8ghEkzNIESMqQYXX5wx0ywnyqX533YRDN9G_Us8/s1600/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The final resting place of a mosasaur named Bèr" border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidwIt9Tr85APT7rf4BRsGs2DHBt7qR4ECYRcMGu-oKMeE8rdezbImPY8f-jWdyIHnrnpEVNUaKRRTaldstGU7g3WKhri5JIfQFVPrFx8ghEkzNIESMqQYXX5wx0ywnyqX533YRDN9G_Us8/s400/photo.jpg" title="The Mosaleum Maastricht" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Mosaleum seen from the outside</td></tr>
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<b>The Mosaleum is a glass building situated just outside the main building of the NHMM in Maastricht, because it is completely made of glass it lets in a lot of natural light. </b><br />
<b>The mosasaur in the "Mosaleum" is a large <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prognathodon" target="_blank">Prognathodon</a></i>, that was given it's own species name <i>saturator</i> in 2002. And it's big, at 14 meters it's among the biggest of mosasaurs. </b><br />
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<b>The glass house is climate controlled and is a nice place to spend some time, looking at the bones. Although it's not very large it feels rather spacious because of all the glass. And because the skull is placed the skull in the middle you can easily walk all around it.</b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDk1tEnR-NoXJHsrjy3rjKc_1DLHyxQfkJd5hT2q_VuFUBJ_zfrcTN4auuIzTmYfwffz1PFqQ0xVaCGNrLmzAZ2FblJciyBWTiJ9ad46cNr-Z44OoFT4uvwU2Ovk99AVtncP5txpVx9AMc/s1600/PANO_20130131_151905.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Prognathodon outline is unfortunately not life-size" border="0" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDk1tEnR-NoXJHsrjy3rjKc_1DLHyxQfkJd5hT2q_VuFUBJ_zfrcTN4auuIzTmYfwffz1PFqQ0xVaCGNrLmzAZ2FblJciyBWTiJ9ad46cNr-Z44OoFT4uvwU2Ovk99AVtncP5txpVx9AMc/s400/PANO_20130131_151905.jpg" title="Mosasaur skull in it's mausoleum" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside the Mosaleum, the glass case in the middle holds the skull/</td></tr>
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<b>It doesn't really come across all that well in the picture, but that's a massive skull. Although it's snout is short compared to that of <i>Mosasaurus</i> the skull is still approximately one and a half meters long, and higher and more robustly built.</b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn4qOvKRqWK9lAKg4I2Jo6EWb-WfdP8xnEIDQSNKKyMpYOf2HG8NE55cLDrP4zM47zG1NZy8tUX4HYziQnbMb9nJ1UOnPb65tBvImjVjr6t-KWhyphenhyphennJFPnQyD_mGB2XOz6aufT-a1Shyphenhypheny12/s1600/DSC_0369.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The human eye doesn't mind these reflections as much as a photo lens" border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn4qOvKRqWK9lAKg4I2Jo6EWb-WfdP8xnEIDQSNKKyMpYOf2HG8NE55cLDrP4zM47zG1NZy8tUX4HYziQnbMb9nJ1UOnPb65tBvImjVjr6t-KWhyphenhyphennJFPnQyD_mGB2XOz6aufT-a1Shyphenhypheny12/s320/DSC_0369.JPG" title="Mosasaur skull (Prognathodon saturator)" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The natural light did cause quite a bit of reflection</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>All the it looks a little works for wear the skull is actually quite complete.</b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEsmlmrZVBofJFLEQOpJoJtpSSLRiS8MMc1DY4CpnmLJw0IgGLNw610ygQm_rPSq3xyBfl6GcsfkkPbZN-amFByve0GQ86o65Kk0DfnBusfaAZQNgOqYJCniax70c8QgiDHeDAgUsJ86ig/s1600/DSC_0366.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Not the best view, but it had the least reflections" border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEsmlmrZVBofJFLEQOpJoJtpSSLRiS8MMc1DY4CpnmLJw0IgGLNw610ygQm_rPSq3xyBfl6GcsfkkPbZN-amFByve0GQ86o65Kk0DfnBusfaAZQNgOqYJCniax70c8QgiDHeDAgUsJ86ig/s320/DSC_0366.JPG" title="Mosasaur skull" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skull seen from the reverse angle</td></tr>
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<b>Like most <i>Prognathodon</i> Bèr has relatively few teeth, they are thick and wide slightly recurved. They reminded me of <i>T. rex</i> teeth actually, teeth made for crushing.</b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKuvZQcDpve0WflM1diQ1p-e1bUkxm8f28KtvxrvHotJkuTZXz8agU5_NKZWq-zpwIPDjcTo-L8y3k5r0NyzSGnBIsG5zU8WtFr4qkOWP9St3vYdMYzXUk49Unchh3iwCigMNG-L4Ky_-1/s1600/DSC_0361.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The snout would have been much wider in life" border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKuvZQcDpve0WflM1diQ1p-e1bUkxm8f28KtvxrvHotJkuTZXz8agU5_NKZWq-zpwIPDjcTo-L8y3k5r0NyzSGnBIsG5zU8WtFr4qkOWP9St3vYdMYzXUk49Unchh3iwCigMNG-L4Ky_-1/s320/DSC_0361.JPG" title="A good view of Prognathodon teeth" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The skull is rather flattened</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><i>Prognathodon saturator </i>had the strongest bite of any mosasaur, combined with teeth made for crushing. That makes it likely that giant sea turtles, like the almost 3 meter long <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allopleuron" target="_blank">Allopleuron</a>, </i>were an important part of it's diet.</b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi99CP5JfDGrEQQ7UTRV85f1c5AVdle7voZ9EsAY7fM-rbxrtKV7O0s4C8M6TXx_BtggDKPzCIxFlyZ6n-WF6Ye3Wbxtju3vfGM9R6OjpSqYQgBi7cLaashxW95QECHaKh8ortoTFEMXSt5/s1600/DSC_0368.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi99CP5JfDGrEQQ7UTRV85f1c5AVdle7voZ9EsAY7fM-rbxrtKV7O0s4C8M6TXx_BtggDKPzCIxFlyZ6n-WF6Ye3Wbxtju3vfGM9R6OjpSqYQgBi7cLaashxW95QECHaKh8ortoTFEMXSt5/s320/DSC_0368.JPG" title="Prognathodon skull, posterior view" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The displaced right jaw is clearly visible here</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>The reason the mosasaur skull is displayed in this way is not because it shows what it looked like in situ, although that is a nice side-effect, but because the bones are too fragile to be removed from the surrounding limestone</b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnDRxb-eWcU69LadaMv-8t7HlELmcYxNEy3Gs2r1T6YdzOFW3m4qYRhph06JrXKMsTbzzT45zopJhHOXxHHNreGLPii1ZQzF9du2C2uE4aK5fZGiY2LkVdo46Eyt6xXVblIBOU2RPnx2SH/s1600/IMAG2934B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnDRxb-eWcU69LadaMv-8t7HlELmcYxNEy3Gs2r1T6YdzOFW3m4qYRhph06JrXKMsTbzzT45zopJhHOXxHHNreGLPii1ZQzF9du2C2uE4aK5fZGiY2LkVdo46Eyt6xXVblIBOU2RPnx2SH/s320/IMAG2934B.jpg" title="Prognathodon skull reconstruction" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The major elements of the skull<br />
<ol>
<li>Left upper jaw</li>
<li>Right upper jaw</li>
<li>Left lower jaw</li>
<li>Right lower jaw</li>
<li>Eye-hole</li>
<li>Neck</li>
<li>Tail vertebra</li>
<li>Rib</li>
<li>Quadrate bone</li>
</ol>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>There's still more in the Mosaleum that I haven't covered, but that will have to wait for now.</b>Hypnotosovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11469293434683944221noreply@blogger.com0De Bosquetplein 6, 6211 KJ Maastricht, The Netherlands50.8448538 5.687791000000061125.322819300000003 -35.620802999999938 76.3668883 46.99638500000006tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4741617332679831146.post-8752489715502722002013-02-09T03:34:00.000+01:002013-02-09T03:34:03.618+01:00A 66 million year old infected bone<b>This is pretty much the first display you see when moving towards the Mosasaur exhibit, it may not look very impressive at first glance but it is rather neatly done.</b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoKXgq6QgqpxlgWGvevLy6xTKa6oa7ekoRNsj48L6rjya5Ipez62RI7vqMVBnfgcZLqJOEfdhGKBB576Rl9XlWNRHTLclLXWQuK_4IDBR27xB7TA4-YpmadODkBwaZHoFhOiWZ7j5IKkx1/s1600/DSC_0472.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="And half a litre of goo" border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoKXgq6QgqpxlgWGvevLy6xTKa6oa7ekoRNsj48L6rjya5Ipez62RI7vqMVBnfgcZLqJOEfdhGKBB576Rl9XlWNRHTLclLXWQuK_4IDBR27xB7TA4-YpmadODkBwaZHoFhOiWZ7j5IKkx1/s320/DSC_0472.JPG" title="Infected mosasaur quadrate bone" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The infected mosasaur quadrate</td></tr>
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<b>The bone you see is a quadrate (I'll get to that), and it's definitely not looking healthy.</b><br />
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<b>The bone had been infected, and quite badly so, the goo in the measuring cup represents half a litre of bone tissue that was eaten away. </b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirfE2UjQqVZyK-VRQqfLaTpJ_Z6KLMbD3ORxpHu4SJgHstW1w9gGgKOffWYg2yQdgUIWEszPUWnDcx9tzrgQCmbIL3kyMXmmL3bQIaTBYPvNP0Wric15CXNa6A9ie6Yl9jkTTxYBKwpKHL/s1600/DSC_0473.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="3D röntgenscans made this reconstruction possible" border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirfE2UjQqVZyK-VRQqfLaTpJ_Z6KLMbD3ORxpHu4SJgHstW1w9gGgKOffWYg2yQdgUIWEszPUWnDcx9tzrgQCmbIL3kyMXmmL3bQIaTBYPvNP0Wric15CXNa6A9ie6Yl9jkTTxYBKwpKHL/s320/DSC_0473.JPG" title="Fossilized infected bone, and half a litre of goo" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The infected bone, and half a litre of goo</td></tr>
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<b>While this must have been extremely painful, it was apparently not lethal. New bone had formed around the infection, showing that this <i>Mosasaurus</i> must have survived the infection.</b><br />
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<b>In reptiles the quadrate bone is part of the jaw joint connecting the upper and the lower jaws (in mammals like us it has become the earbone known as the 'anvil'). Since a Mosasaur would have spent a lot of time biting into things it most have been extremely painful.</b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAlVQ6rP6jPim2Sw0LIUmsDL7MiqIHRMr_Gfmi-VJWl7zt1u-QCL7UnMMDjsyb_PeRK3z0Jeq_5RenVID63WBT2x5REGv8zauWDJv0alEc_KmZBFMgi7UH78Pr2ZuEq_AS8rrxWIX6gdsZ/s1600/Quadratum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Mosasaur skull with quadrate bone" border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAlVQ6rP6jPim2Sw0LIUmsDL7MiqIHRMr_Gfmi-VJWl7zt1u-QCL7UnMMDjsyb_PeRK3z0Jeq_5RenVID63WBT2x5REGv8zauWDJv0alEc_KmZBFMgi7UH78Pr2ZuEq_AS8rrxWIX6gdsZ/s320/Quadratum.jpg" title="The red box marks the location of the quadrate bone" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The red box marks the location of the quadrate bone</td></tr>
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<b>The display is simple but effective, with a short bit of text on the wall behind it explaining what you're looking at. Although I would have appreciated a diagram showing where the bone was located in the skull (but Google is my friend).</b><br />
<b>Using a common household object to illustrate how much half a litre really helps make it less abstract, especially since the content really does look like the detritus that would have filled the cavity (or pancake batter)</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMxE-Ktx9cx3inWUu46mJtyiU2MKYnHvJlE1TEhWQCL4sVll9W85CYKPGEo8lL-rUohf4UkkPbIr-_pySZrsSYR4hn2OXpMAiKdSXw6G0K4UdpC-4uKoJmj6dyYqvWaQwfz2fdYW8ESEtt/s1600/DSC_0474.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Hmmm, pancakes" border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMxE-Ktx9cx3inWUu46mJtyiU2MKYnHvJlE1TEhWQCL4sVll9W85CYKPGEo8lL-rUohf4UkkPbIr-_pySZrsSYR4hn2OXpMAiKdSXw6G0K4UdpC-4uKoJmj6dyYqvWaQwfz2fdYW8ESEtt/s320/DSC_0474.JPG" title="Sideview of the Mosasaurus bone" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b>Hypnotosovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11469293434683944221noreply@blogger.com0De Bosquetplein 6, 6211 KJ Maastricht, The Netherlands50.8448538 5.687791000000061125.322819300000003 -35.620802999999938 76.3668883 46.99638500000006tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4741617332679831146.post-71155529032818906362013-02-06T16:27:00.001+01:002013-02-08T12:23:06.514+01:00Mesozoic marsupial from Maastricht<b style="text-align: left;">For such a spectacular find the NHMM isn't giving us much to go on. Just a tiny, tiny tooth and a small reconstruction. No explanatory text, labels or anything. </b><br />
<b style="text-align: left;">Good thing I came prepared. I had brought "<a href="http://www.bol.com/nl/p/de-nederlandse-dino/1001004005752510/">De Nederlandse Dino</a>" with me so I could finish it on my two hour train ride. As it happens the last chapters are on other Cretaceous finds, like this critter.</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsKQIv4shrvNuCV2Q6Ozd6226UKwAIGAMm_Cmd8Vd_VURAd-SUsEzfRnKy7xcqUlGtDV93STqtuE3rk-pnQGKdwWmfDSUkJqINRICifZOb_DJuC63apHA2w56kngrIU5RxJ9cohQKn-65c/s1600/DSC_0438.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="It's a really tiny tooth." border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsKQIv4shrvNuCV2Q6Ozd6226UKwAIGAMm_Cmd8Vd_VURAd-SUsEzfRnKy7xcqUlGtDV93STqtuE3rk-pnQGKdwWmfDSUkJqINRICifZOb_DJuC63apHA2w56kngrIU5RxJ9cohQKn-65c/s320/DSC_0438.JPG" title="Mesozoic Mammal Tooth" width="320" /></a></div>
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That black speck.. that's it.</div>
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<b>The label clearly isn't much help here. The tooth is simply labelled 'mammal tooth' and the rat-like thing besides it doesn't even get it's own label. You might be surprised to hear it's from the Cretaceous. Good thing I read the chapter on this critter beforehand.</b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqSyvB5eRgXED0r9wq7IFxfboYDqLj7NzY_2hXCLiaV_VLj33JBYjCySrQbRMksTdT37H5z5puMEw97vqJEDx9HsjUeT9S8026OZTBJBvoWcxk3TlV4uh3NGgGKJmdtQEuQDhAuEyCXo-Z/s1600/DSC_0699.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="It's not a rat, it's a marsupial" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqSyvB5eRgXED0r9wq7IFxfboYDqLj7NzY_2hXCLiaV_VLj33JBYjCySrQbRMksTdT37H5z5puMEw97vqJEDx9HsjUeT9S8026OZTBJBvoWcxk3TlV4uh3NGgGKJmdtQEuQDhAuEyCXo-Z/s320/DSC_0699.JPG" title="Maastrichtidelphys meurismeti The opposum from Maastricht" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maybe it's just an odd rat?<br />
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<b>It's not a rat, it's <i>Maastrichtidelphys meurismeti.</i> A Cretaceous mammal that was more like a small opossum. In fact it's name means as much as "opossum from Maastricht". This is actually quite a big deal, as it is the only known marsupial from the Mesozoic of Europe.</b></div>
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<b>Interestingly it must have crossed an ocean to get here, and even though the ocean was much smaller than it is now we can safely assume it didn't swim across.</b></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWgKfk-ONiCcMah7aRkWad-jrn1CfdS_P6m_RNGHoh7Xut0nDdmY0N58Y6D_ImewfShIUuQS2i_PXb2cOqlvKvHe828O_a5OTjB_kCAIZ8VsXzlnKWG8gYA_ylAi0dedXnR1ef3gUb21c_/s1600/DSC_0698B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Found in the Netherlands" border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWgKfk-ONiCcMah7aRkWad-jrn1CfdS_P6m_RNGHoh7Xut0nDdmY0N58Y6D_ImewfShIUuQS2i_PXb2cOqlvKvHe828O_a5OTjB_kCAIZ8VsXzlnKWG8gYA_ylAi0dedXnR1ef3gUb21c_/s320/DSC_0698B.jpg" title="Mammal tooth from the Cretaceous" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All this fuss about something this small?</td></tr>
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<b>I found this display super-exciting, but only because I'd read up ahead of time. </b><br />
<b>Otherwise I would have </b><b>wondered </b><b>momentarily what it was doing next to a dinosaur, and moved on. </b></div>
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<b>Definitely a missed opportunity to showcase some cool science, because it takes some effort to get from a tooth to a full reconstruction. And maybe even some exciting speculation about a possible Cretaceous landbridge between Europe and America. </b></div>
Hypnotosovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11469293434683944221noreply@blogger.com0De Bosquetplein 7, 6211 KJ Maastricht, The Netherlands50.844997500000012 5.687834500000008125.322963000000012 -35.620759499999991 76.367032000000009 46.996428500000007tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4741617332679831146.post-74095050012444708212013-02-06T13:33:00.002+01:002013-02-06T13:44:06.466+01:00Dutch Dinosaurs that weren't<b>Just a short digression before returning to our scheduled programming. Writing about the Dutch Dinosaur put me in mind of some newspaper stories about `dinosaurs` in the Netherlands. Because all too often they take the word dinosaur to mean "prehistoric creature".</b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsDsVbpLM8fV1VM0MdOVisHCs-h2hvL-r4IOenbEt2QYvDn_Nu6Pq21RiqViN6X8Xo0h4jpqpZKZdJ27GYmkcU4yygoHFDP-xbhEgEPqSTvz93C6WZBcItRxbhOAiCvik6ch3Mk0VONz7I/s1600/Woolly_mammoth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsDsVbpLM8fV1VM0MdOVisHCs-h2hvL-r4IOenbEt2QYvDn_Nu6Pq21RiqViN6X8Xo0h4jpqpZKZdJ27GYmkcU4yygoHFDP-xbhEgEPqSTvz93C6WZBcItRxbhOAiCvik6ch3Mk0VONz7I/s400/Woolly_mammoth.jpg" width="400" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's a <i>whopper!</i> (image via Wikipedia, user <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:FunkMonk">FunkMonk</a>)</td></tr>
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<b>Perhaps the most egregious example is this headline in the on-line publication Dutch Daily News:</b><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Giant dinosaur bone found in the Netherlands</b></span></div>
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<b>As you might have guessed from the above picture it was not really a dinosaur, in fact the <a href="http://www.dutchdailynews.com/giant-dinosaur-bone-found-in-the-netherlands/">article </a>says as much in the first line: </b></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">A giant <b>mammoth bone</b> and other remains from an adult mammoth, a mega-mammal that went extinct in the last Ice Age, were unearthed this week at a construction site in Den Bosch, a newspaper reported today. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">[their emphasis]</span></blockquote>
<b>But dubious online news aggregators aren't the only ones tempted to throw the dinosaur label at anything, major Dutch Newspaper <i>de Volkskrant</i> is also a repeat offender. </b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuhatMi782_hlfYro2oIoPHy80d3gbO0RItZHsPagV6EO7zc2ZSH5VW8dNL6HqbitdkUMVL8AEDilfN78_-YIF7ROhF1ebrJX0_nQAQzcjqS1Gntpk50nLuZHo-tcdtd7PLNFGQwe1bhC1/s1600/Nothosaurus_BW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuhatMi782_hlfYro2oIoPHy80d3gbO0RItZHsPagV6EO7zc2ZSH5VW8dNL6HqbitdkUMVL8AEDilfN78_-YIF7ROhF1ebrJX0_nQAQzcjqS1Gntpk50nLuZHo-tcdtd7PLNFGQwe1bhC1/s320/Nothosaurus_BW.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nothosaurus by <a href="http://spinops.blogspot.nl/">Nobu Tamura</a></td></tr>
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<b>The `Monster of Winterswijk` a small <i>Nothosaurus</i> was given a double-page spread in the paper, experts were interviewed and pictures taken but the journalist apparently couldn't resist the temptation to dub the animal "de Hollandse dinosaurus". It's not as bad as the mammoth example, but it's still pretty far out there.</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/Mosasaurus_BW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="229" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/Mosasaurus_BW.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mosasaurus by <a href="http://spinops.blogspot.com/">Nobu Tamura</a></td></tr>
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<b>When they repeated this mistake with <i>Mosasaurus</i> (calling it a "swimdino") I sent them a cross e-mail, complaining that they wouldn't call a kangaroo a landwhale either I got a non-committal response saying they'd passed my comment on to the editor. But when I looked up the article I found this instead:</b><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In een fotobijschrift wordt de mosasaurus (Binnenland, pagina 11, 21 september) ten onrechte een zwemmende roofdinosaurus genoemd.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
[In a caption to a photograph the mosasaurus (Binnenland, pagina 11, 21 september) is erroneously called a swimming predatory dinosaur.]</blockquote>
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<b>Victory! Actually I don't really know if my mail caused them to publish this correction, maybe the NHMM got in touch with them. It was after all their mosasaur that was featured in the photograph (and we'll be seeing more of him shortly).</b><br />
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<b>That's enough ranting for one day, back to the actual subject of this blog.</b>Hypnotosovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11469293434683944221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4741617332679831146.post-59428992564912389272013-02-05T02:16:00.000+01:002013-02-26T03:24:55.397+01:00The Dutch Dinosaur<b>The Netherlands is not known as dinosaur country, and with good reason. For most of the Mesozoic the area that is now the Netherlands was covered in water. But sometimes a dinosaur died and ended up in the ocean, probably it fell in a river that flowed into the sea. Or maybe it was walking on the beach when it died.</b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSs-Givn2VsaohxrTiPw21ue6p-pN5yPNQulYOCRqrWMABcE_-qwz1-pGnXgXIU9tGyBsryxB8c5z7AUOKmMsIWioevSU0h8c2z0QbcBLN1k4p9urvrfR1ViWolvXJfHhg99EDFwmJqnC0/s1600/DSC_0418.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The comb was inspired by Corythosaurus " border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSs-Givn2VsaohxrTiPw21ue6p-pN5yPNQulYOCRqrWMABcE_-qwz1-pGnXgXIU9tGyBsryxB8c5z7AUOKmMsIWioevSU0h8c2z0QbcBLN1k4p9urvrfR1ViWolvXJfHhg99EDFwmJqnC0/s320/DSC_0418.JPG" title="The Dutch Duck-billed Dinosaur" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's a duck-billed dinosaur</td></tr>
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<b>Because such remains are so rare in the Netherlands all of bones would probably fit into a single display, if they were all in one place. They are unfortunately not all in the same place, but the NHHM in Maastricht has a relatively large number of them.</b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU_8O-JkUcMX7Hiho9WU9Fl9EDIXW2DhfYnZ-llASe8LJ6Mb2JIZMgFdksHsYNZqpxa6W8TAwj_jGqBVcyh_wJc1rOUt3a7tBznvuyyVIB8w1udybZj4h5m7tsY_iVHMWmgOvlmUNWdMp0/s1600/DSC_0419.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="That's a lot of dinosaur bones... for the Netherlands" border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU_8O-JkUcMX7Hiho9WU9Fl9EDIXW2DhfYnZ-llASe8LJ6Mb2JIZMgFdksHsYNZqpxa6W8TAwj_jGqBVcyh_wJc1rOUt3a7tBznvuyyVIB8w1udybZj4h5m7tsY_iVHMWmgOvlmUNWdMp0/s320/DSC_0419.JPG" title="A few teeth, a jaw fragment and some broken bones from "Orthomerus"" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A few teeth, a jaw fragment and some broken bones.</td></tr>
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<b>Because such a display is not very impressive the NHMM had a reconstruction made. And although the bones are non-diagnostic they are definitely hadrosaurid, they were a close match for the Russian hadrosaur <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amurosaurus" target="_blank">Amurosaurus</a>. </i>This along with some other hadrosaur skeletons became the model for the mount, with a dab of speculation to make it unique (that headcrest? Purely speculative).</b></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghyQSLIq-x_W8NOY1SN46hc2K9tgB8jy4vZ_xjavNUTANZH7_NzWXUk9-lOas5vK6BtZ2ZvB5w4LPR_xJXIY3v2Jr43T5JDCevAjcqz_uQthNDtgkgSqXdyM4TMO_uugp3yZj5BvHSoN1r/s1600/DSC_0478.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghyQSLIq-x_W8NOY1SN46hc2K9tgB8jy4vZ_xjavNUTANZH7_NzWXUk9-lOas5vK6BtZ2ZvB5w4LPR_xJXIY3v2Jr43T5JDCevAjcqz_uQthNDtgkgSqXdyM4TMO_uugp3yZj5BvHSoN1r/s320/DSC_0478.JPG" title="The Hadrosaur from Holland" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The NHHM hadrosaur, hiding behind a column</td></tr>
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<b>It's a very neat display, that gives a good impression of what a smallish hadrosaur would have looked like. But the exhibit is also rather sparse, and if I had come here not already knowing quite a bit about dinosaurs and this particular mount I would not have gotten all that much out of it.</b></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH8Fsv-yM0cadgpQpSn6-n-Xd3BZRtJB1CaZefERwyh5asD2G-MoH3zi-Fdo3mnAwMjPoLwXaatL0Ly_Y87lx5m4OmVUQTMlt4mnWTIpPOCj5hRNY7mq90KOVdz6xzIMutnyd3GOiA1NnS/s1600/DSC_0488.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Viewed in Luis Rey-O-Scope" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH8Fsv-yM0cadgpQpSn6-n-Xd3BZRtJB1CaZefERwyh5asD2G-MoH3zi-Fdo3mnAwMjPoLwXaatL0Ly_Y87lx5m4OmVUQTMlt4mnWTIpPOCj5hRNY7mq90KOVdz6xzIMutnyd3GOiA1NnS/s320/DSC_0488.JPG" title="The Dutch Dinosaur" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It looks a little like Cretaceous cow.</td></tr>
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<b>And come to think of it, I have some unanswered questions. The mount is clearly quadrupedal, but surely it would have spent a lot of time on just two legs. Or maybe it didn't. There's nothing here to tell me anything about behaviour at all (except the very generic claim that this was a herbivore).</b></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTFoUWm9GJIxd6fcPD_l0c9SkxFl1r8jwyg64ONUcUo2aIybVKsD_GgCtdREP5HpG4-EOs7sdO8Mhqt_YYUNHdkT564NH4_b4WSZ6fRcUxbphikb6Ztnek2hBbcKtWdvIQZFRhzr7TfPcy/s1600/DSC_0491.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Mallison-view" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTFoUWm9GJIxd6fcPD_l0c9SkxFl1r8jwyg64ONUcUo2aIybVKsD_GgCtdREP5HpG4-EOs7sdO8Mhqt_YYUNHdkT564NH4_b4WSZ6fRcUxbphikb6Ztnek2hBbcKtWdvIQZFRhzr7TfPcy/s320/DSC_0491.JPG" title="Hindview of the hadrosaur" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Butt view (<a href="http://dinosaurpalaeo.wordpress.com/2011/10/05/its-time-for-more-plateosaurus/" target="_blank">why this important</a>)</td></tr>
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<b>What I also missed was more information about what is real and what isn't, visitors who come here without first reading up on the mount and it's history can be forgiven for thinking this is all actual dinosaur bone. And by implication this is what a dinosaur looks like when it's discovered. </b></div>
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<b>That is disappointing, especially since it makes for a good story (which is actually captured in a book called "<a href="http://www.bol.com/nl/p/de-nederlandse-dino/1001004005752510/" target="_blank">De Nederlandse Dino</a>"). Connecting the disparate bones with the mount would also be very informative.</b></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbqTI3M5y4-PaK3zamJF-CzJfcwTDr7Je6m1rYho57KoNgToRCv1Ihl1A6-h_FkZrE7maSvn9hc8970iyHEXh7jfZ8Oh9Loug7l2nUgobropCNvM82daQ8Kinxh7cy-eEa0tecQxJCO-JZ/s1600/DSC_0690.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Looking cheeky" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbqTI3M5y4-PaK3zamJF-CzJfcwTDr7Je6m1rYho57KoNgToRCv1Ihl1A6-h_FkZrE7maSvn9hc8970iyHEXh7jfZ8Oh9Loug7l2nUgobropCNvM82daQ8Kinxh7cy-eEa0tecQxJCO-JZ/s320/DSC_0690.JPG" title="The head of the Dutch Hadrosaur" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bones and reconstruction</td></tr>
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<b>Because this post doesn't have enough pictures as is. here is a view from the other side.</b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiVXX8P53gGnui3ICzpscpbTdyHqjkFMzkSZ0J3BDpEUQ3UVBG5OMInjd5HnzQ3Qj48AyQNllT-BW9vbzbJAQrE0b0VS3ufzaS5OLUuNNUmTmx8uJU107zvU8y1h3RjJk4gqLRjAz7MDfQ/s1600/PANO_20130131_163406.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Panorama mode, to get it all in one picture" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiVXX8P53gGnui3ICzpscpbTdyHqjkFMzkSZ0J3BDpEUQ3UVBG5OMInjd5HnzQ3Qj48AyQNllT-BW9vbzbJAQrE0b0VS3ufzaS5OLUuNNUmTmx8uJU107zvU8y1h3RjJk4gqLRjAz7MDfQ/s400/PANO_20130131_163406.jpg" title="Full side view of the Hadrosaur" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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Hypnotosovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11469293434683944221noreply@blogger.com2De Bosquetplein 7, 6211 KJ Maastricht, The Netherlands50.844997500000012 5.687834500000008150.834970000000013 5.6676645000000079 50.855025000000012 5.7080045000000084tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4741617332679831146.post-37985247190420882932013-02-05T01:17:00.000+01:002013-02-20T19:42:30.282+01:00Visiting the Natural History Museum Maastricht<b>Visiting Maastricht in January. It seemed like a good idea at the time, and for the most part the weather was overcast but dry. </b><br />
<b>That is until I entered Maastricht proper, because then it really started pouring with rain. By the time I reached the <a href="http://www.nhmmaastricht.nl/engels/index2.htm" target="_blank">Natural History Museum</a> it was raining so hard I couldn't even take a picture of the entrance, so you'll have to make do with my description.</b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhne-DB96La9gecRe086QYEntVPTFZzvx8CkD2CY_Z6eZ4_hLT8MK_I5iJ5JO9SE5u8ignOBVwZzJmTaZE9wJpIwNc31RaceIbtir0q9Tx-WyOdSr9q6-d3A9vFUs54Qj_XOEgr3MpK3U_X/s1600/DSC_0335.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Crossing the Meuse (Maas)" border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhne-DB96La9gecRe086QYEntVPTFZzvx8CkD2CY_Z6eZ4_hLT8MK_I5iJ5JO9SE5u8ignOBVwZzJmTaZE9wJpIwNc31RaceIbtir0q9Tx-WyOdSr9q6-d3A9vFUs54Qj_XOEgr3MpK3U_X/s320/DSC_0335.JPG" title="The High Bridge in Maastricht" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crossing the Meuse on the Hooge Brug (high bridge)</td></tr>
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<a name='more'></a><b>The museum is reached by walking along the old city wall and turning onto a small square, surrounded by old but post-medieval buildings. The entrance itself is at the end of a dead-end street, which gradually narrows as you move along it.</b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDIU4u1zaf8Wj8iSA6wE1w_-2QV-21ri1NcOxDAWiDNsMzNbpwRVhm368fgMFTER846OgRGZP8xJ4B5D7GKR38oW4wyQeZY_dZ07_blZk3bl6QhGQuLj8_kfIQDTwq98rWHsDkHhjuKd23/s1600/DSC_0714.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="This was once the very edge of Maastricht" border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDIU4u1zaf8Wj8iSA6wE1w_-2QV-21ri1NcOxDAWiDNsMzNbpwRVhm368fgMFTER846OgRGZP8xJ4B5D7GKR38oW4wyQeZY_dZ07_blZk3bl6QhGQuLj8_kfIQDTwq98rWHsDkHhjuKd23/s320/DSC_0714.JPG" title="The medieval citywall" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 14th century city wall</td></tr>
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<b>It didn't look very inviting, in fact the heavy metal double doors looked like a particularly foreboding service entry. The doors are covered in unevenly beaten metal, with large doorhandles that are probably meant to invoke stalactites, but look more like the heads of <a href="http://www.bookmice.net/darkchilde/dark/characters.html" target="_blank">Skeksis</a>. Evil bird-creatures from the Dark Crystal. </b><br />
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<b>For a moment I stood there in the pouring rain, wondering if this really could be the entrance to the museum. But when I pulled on the handle the door swung open smoothly, and I stepped into a warm and welcoming museum that belied it's ominous external appearance.</b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.nhmmaastricht.nl/textonly-nl/afb/cd1046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.nhmmaastricht.nl/textonly-nl/afb/cd1046.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The NHMM on a sunny day (from their <a href="http://www.nhmmaastricht.nl/" target="_blank">website</a>)</td></tr>
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<b>Up next: The various displays in the museum, starting with <a href="http://hospitem.blogspot.nl/2013/02/the-dutch-dinosaur.html">the Dutch Dinosaur</a>.</b></div>
Hypnotosovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11469293434683944221noreply@blogger.com0Maastricht, The Netherlands50.851211000000013 5.683036000000015550.690834500000015 5.3603125000000151 51.011587500000012 6.0057595000000159