Naturkundemuseum Karlsruhe, some prehistoric animal models.

[Psittacoraptor]

This museum is mostly about present-day fauna and flora, ecology, and climate. The geology and fossil section is small, but there are some nice models. The museum also houses a large exhibit about ... coffee. Not what you'd expect from a natural science museum but for me as a coffee lover it was very interesting.

I won't post photos of fossils or exhibit halls, just some pics of extinct animal models I liked. Sadly, several models weren't on display because they are being updated behind the scenes.

Part of a Burgess sea diorama, no scale, Middle Cambrian, Canada. I couldn't get a good shot of the rest because of the reflection in the glass.


Peytoia nathorsti/Laggania cambria, 1:1, anomalocarid from the Burgess Shale, Canada.


Coelacanth, 1:1, lobe-finned fish, Late Silurian/Early Devonian - present (not extinct, I know, but I thought it fits).


Acanthostega, 1:1, Late Devonian, Greenland.



Diictodon, 1:1, mammal-like synapsid, Late Permian, Central Europe/South Africa



Dinogorgon, 1:1, gorgonopsid, Late Permian, South Africa.

[Psittacoraptor]

Nothosaurus mirabilis, no scale, marine reptile, Middle Triassic, Germany.


Undisclosed pterosaur.


Archaeopteryx lithographica, 1:1, bird or dinosaur?, Late Jurassic, Germany.



Compsognathus longipes, compsognathid dinosaur, Late Jurassic, Germany.



Caudipteryx zoui, 1:1, very bird-like theropod dinosaur, Early Cretaceous, China. This model looked like an adorable dino chicken! I'd love a high quality figure of this species in my collection.


Sinosauropteryx prima, 1:1, compsognathid dinosaur, Early Cretaceous, China.



Confuciusornis, 1:1, primitive bird, Early Cretacious, China.


And finally the very scientifically accurate "Spendensaurier" (= donationsaurus), which guards the donation box of the museum.


There was also a huge Quetzalcoatlus model but too many people were posing for a photo with it, so I didn't bother taking a picture. All in all a very nice museum but its focus is definitely in the present, not the geologic past.

Edit: I just saw that there's already an older thread about this museum. Oh well, sorry for the déjà vu if you've seen these models before.

[sauroid]

thanks for all the awesome photos @Psittacoraptor

[SidB]

Yes, they were a nice visual treat for my quiet time this morning.

[ITdactyl]

That rhamphorhynchoid has some beef with the Archaeopteryx... photo arrangement makes it seem like they're having a screaming match.

Thanks for sharing.

[Lanthanotus]

Thanks for posting this.... really need to go there once, I am just a bare 100km away from it. Feathers or not, that Compsognathus is top notch!

[stargatedalek]

What wonderful displays! More museums need life reconstructions like this, far too many are switching to just displaying mounted skeletons.

[Sim]

The pterosaur is identified as Dorygnathus in the following places:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dorygnathus_banthensis_model.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/_quagga/8852344792

[Psittacoraptor]

The pterosaur is identified as Dorygnathus in the following places:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dorygnathus_banthensis_model.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/_quagga/8852344792

Thank you very much for your detective work! Seems like the artist is also behind the large Hatzegopteryx model there: https://www.flickr.com/photos/_quagga/12609045804/

It was not on display because it's being reworked and updated, I wonder what changes they will make.

[Halichoeres]

Some of those models are really nice. I'm especially impressed by the Peytoia, Diictodon, and Acanthostega. Thanks for posting these!

[PrimevalRaptor]

Wow those are some top-notch models! I remember seeing that Nothosaurus online before but the others are just as stunning. And some REALLY great feathers!

[GojiraGuy1954]

The anomalocarid looks alive