Iβm on Mastodon! A whole family of them, to be exact. #introduction #CanadianMuseumOfNature
Hereβs to a new home for continued travel, vegetable appropriation, animal stacking, and semi-aquatic business adventures.
#canadianmuseumofnature #introduction
#FossilAdventCalendar Day 24
Our journey #north ends with one of the most important #fossils ever found. Like Puijila, Tiktaalik roseae is known from #Nunavut π¨π¦, has an #Inuktitut name (meaning "large freshwater #fish"), and records an important #evolutionary transition, this time from #sea to #land. #Tiktaalik shares traits with both fish and #tetrapods, making it a close relative of all of us land-living #vertebrates. This replica and model are from the #CanadianMuseumOfNature.
#fossiladventcalendar #north #fossils #nunavut #inuktitut #fish #Evolutionary #sea #land #tiktaalik #tetrapods #vertebrates #canadianmuseumofnature
#FossilAdventCalendar Day 23
#FossilFriday
The #Canadian π¨π¦ #Arctic has yielded some especially important #fossils documenting major #evolutionary changes. This 3D-printed replica of a #fossil from #Nunavut and displayed in the #CanadianMuseumOfNature is one of these. It's Puijila darwini, whose name means "young sea #mammal" in #Inuktitut. It looks like an otter, but it's one of the earliest relatives of #seals and #sealions - with still-functional hands and feet, unlike modern #pinnipeds.
#fossiladventcalendar #fossilfriday #canadian #arctic #fossils #Evolutionary #fossil #nunavut #canadianmuseumofnature #mammal #inuktitut #Seals #sealions #pinnipeds
#FossilAdventCalendar Day 11
The #badlands of eastern and central #Alberta π¨π¦ are probably the best place in the world to find #hadrosaurs ("duck-billed" #dinosaurs like this #Hypacrosaurus in the #CanadianMuseumOfNature). While they're immediately recognizable by their broad mouths and (in many species) large crests, their #teeth also set them apart. Their large, grinding teeth allowed them to chew their food, a behavior that's the norm in us mammals but rare in other #animals.
#fossiladventcalendar #badlands #alberta #hadrosaurs #dinosaurs #hypacrosaurus #canadianmuseumofnature #teeth #animals
Because I can't resist a local-#fossil-makes-good story, I feel compelled to post a follow-up to this #FossilAdventCalendar entry. The #PuntledgeRiver #elasmosaur is so well-preserved that casts of its #skeleton are a star of #museum exhibit halls from the #UniversityOfWashington's #BurkeMuseum to #Ottawa's #CanadianMuseumOfNature. Running across it in #museums is always a pleasant surprise, like unexpectedly meeting an old friend.
#fossil #fossiladventcalendar #puntledgeriver #elasmosaur #skeleton #museum #universityofwashington #BurkeMuseum #Ottawa #canadianmuseumofnature #museums