Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Behind the scenes at Drumheller's dino museum!
This past month I have been mixing up field work with time at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology in Drumheller. While the public side of the museum is pretty amazing, I think the part that the public doesn't see is even cooler! Check out the catacombs with me!
Alberta is famous for their plethora of Ceratopsian species (i.e. the Triceratops family)... they line the shelves in the prepared specimen room!
They also have some amazing stromatolites!
Here's a beautiful Plesiosaur discovered by Dr. Betsy Nichols.
A stunning ichthyosaur skeleton from the Posidonia shale of Germany. The outline of this one is made through polishing the rock (i.e. it is not real) but several Posidonia ichthyosaurs have real skin outlines! That's how we know that they had a shark-like tail (the vertebrae only goes into the bottom part of the tail).
Lambeosaurus!
Here's Selva, my MSc student, standing with a huge replica of a jaw bone (sorry I don't remember what species)
OM NOM NOM!
These trilobites died happy! ;) Check out those eyes!
Check out these amazing Green River fossil fish and a palm frond! The Green River Formation is one of the most iconic lacustrine Lagerstätte deposit (a Lagerstätte is an exceptional fossil deposit that preserves features such as soft tissues, guts, skin, and feathers that are almost never preserved in the fossil record.
An wee little plastic ankylosaurus on an oil sands ankylosaurus fossil!
An wee little plastic Mosasaur with a mosasaur skull found in the ammolite mine!!
Check out the puncture on the jaw! That's a tooth from another mosasaur that bit this guy. Based on the bone, this wound had already started to fester when the mosasaur died!
*Box contains dinosaurs*
Look at these amazing pike fish!
In the museum you can look at the scientists preparing the specimens.... behind the veil you can look out at the people!
Plastic pleisiosaur on a plesiosaur ribcage!
Alberta is famous for their plethora of Ceratopsian species (i.e. the Triceratops family)... they line the shelves in the prepared specimen room!
They also have some amazing stromatolites!
Here's a beautiful Plesiosaur discovered by Dr. Betsy Nichols.
A stunning ichthyosaur skeleton from the Posidonia shale of Germany. The outline of this one is made through polishing the rock (i.e. it is not real) but several Posidonia ichthyosaurs have real skin outlines! That's how we know that they had a shark-like tail (the vertebrae only goes into the bottom part of the tail).
Lambeosaurus!
Here's Selva, my MSc student, standing with a huge replica of a jaw bone (sorry I don't remember what species)
OM NOM NOM!
These trilobites died happy! ;) Check out those eyes!
Check out these amazing Green River fossil fish and a palm frond! The Green River Formation is one of the most iconic lacustrine Lagerstätte deposit (a Lagerstätte is an exceptional fossil deposit that preserves features such as soft tissues, guts, skin, and feathers that are almost never preserved in the fossil record.
An wee little plastic ankylosaurus on an oil sands ankylosaurus fossil!
The Skull!
An wee little plastic Mosasaur with a mosasaur skull found in the ammolite mine!!
Check out the puncture on the jaw! That's a tooth from another mosasaur that bit this guy. Based on the bone, this wound had already started to fester when the mosasaur died!
*Box contains dinosaurs*
Look at these amazing pike fish!
In the museum you can look at the scientists preparing the specimens.... behind the veil you can look out at the people!
Plastic pleisiosaur on a plesiosaur ribcage!
Monday, July 28, 2014
Hoo Doos
Earlier in the trip we stopped by the Hoo doos near Drumheller. They are pretty darn cool!
FABULOUS...
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Miscellaneous Photos
We had so much fun, not all the photos could fit into every post.... so here are the misfits!
Horseshoe Canyon
Oh Noes, he's coming through the grocery store!!
He he he...
We were playing with water.... definitely playing with water!
A selfie :)
Pottery imitates fossil!
So much to carry!
Drumheller is way too much fun!
Horseshoe Canyon
Oh Noes, he's coming through the grocery store!!
He he he...
We were playing with water.... definitely playing with water!
A selfie :)
Pottery imitates fossil!
So much to carry!
Drumheller is way too much fun!
Saturday, July 26, 2014
By our powers combined!
Wow, what an awesome trip! We excavated a ton of great fossils and some have some excellent material to work with in the coming years!
Thanks to the fabulous research team from Virginia Tech and UT Austin that made it all happen! Here we are, dirty, sweaty.... but pretty happy!
Thanks to the fabulous research team from Virginia Tech and UT Austin that made it all happen! Here we are, dirty, sweaty.... but pretty happy!
Friday, July 25, 2014
Burning stuff
It is really nice to have a ranch house to come back to.... And it is great fun to burn things while hanging out with the other researchers at the ranch!
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Our Last Day
It is always sad to leave a great field site! Even though you are tired and ready for a break and a real bed, the leaving is always bittersweet!
The morning looked lovely but there was a threatening rainstorm that chased us but never got us thankfully!
It looks like we were never here!
Oh shale.... you are a pain to work with!
So crumbly!
Still.... the views are great!
The morning looked lovely but there was a threatening rainstorm that chased us but never got us thankfully!
It looks like we were never here!
Oh shale.... you are a pain to work with!
So crumbly!
Still.... the views are great!
Even my dad had to admit the material looked pretty nice! Thanks for hauling all our gear around!
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