Morrill Hall

[Patrx]

Hi all! I thought I'd share some photos from the local natural history museum, usually called Morrill Hall or "Elephant Hall", the latter name being a reference to the impressive collection of elephant specimens. Lots of photos here, so I'll split them up a bit!


Outside the building is this bronze Colombian mammoth, "Archie".


Here's Archie's fossil counterpart - at one time the largest mounted mammoth in any museum in the country, though I am unsure that this is still true.


This one is identified as a "Jefferson's mammoth", which is now considered to be the same species, Mammuthus columbi.


An American mastodon.


Stegomastodon.


Elephas falconeri




Gomphothereres; Ambelodon, Gomphotherium, and Eubelodon. I think. The labels are unclear.


Teleoceras, a rhino found en masse in a nearby fossil bed called Ashfall.

That's all for now! Next time, into the Mesozoic

[Crackington]

That's an amazing collection of elephants and great photos! Where is the museum located?

[Patrx]

That's an amazing collection of elephants and great photos! Where is the museum located?

It's quite humbling to be in a room with them all standing around looking impressive! Also, thanks, I'm just lucky the place has decent lighting It's at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.

[Crackington]

Thanks Patrx, if I ever get Stateside, must check it out. I'm tying to slowly work my way around the UK museums, but isn't it good to see how many universities round the world have great collections?  I've started a thread on Cambridge University's Sedgwick Museum after a recent visit and you would need to pitch up a tent inside for a week to really see it!

[laticauda]

Great photo's.  Its been a long time since I've been to Nebraska, but these pictures give at least one reason to go back. 

[Patrx]

I've started a thread on Cambridge University's Sedgwick Museum after a recent visit and you would need to pitch up a tent inside for a week to really see it!

I should make a point to do that once I get the chance to visit the UK One of those things one always means to do but never seems to find the time for.
Right, then, where was I? Oh, yes - the Mesozoic! There are quite a few other mammals, but I felt I had enough photos to share already.


Teleosaurus, a crocodylomorph from Germany. This one's a cast, of course, just like these two:


Thalassiodracon hawkinsii


Ichthyosarus intermedius


Protostega gigas. This one's the real deal, I think.



Vertebrae from a big elasmosaurid. The signage doesn't specify, but I assume it's Thalassomedon hanningtoni?


Very dramatic.



Chasmosaurus belli. You can see all the little displays set into the walls, aquatic dioramas and the like. Very interesting and atmospheric.


There are also exhibits in the floor, like this Xiphactinus skull.



Thalassomedon again, I think. And the skull, with my foot for scale.


Tylosaurus


Nyctosaurus. I feel like it's missing something...

And then there's the Jurassic room, a favorite of mine. It's apart from the Mesozoic Gallery, tucked away in a corner amid much more extravagant exhibits about geology, evolution and anthropology. Many people walk right by it, so it's usually an empty, quiet place to think or sketch - or take photos of the dinosaurs.





Of course, it's not precisely recent, having been built in the mid-seventies. There has been some attempt to update the exhibit by the addition of signs, but, well, nobody ever reads those:


The next (and final) post will feature a much newer exhibit, entitled "Bizarre Beasts"!

[Gwangi]

Impressive elephant collection indeed! I truly wish we had the same diversity in species as we once had. The Thalassomedon embedded in the floor is particularly cool.

[Patrx]

To start things off, just outside the "Bizarre Beasts" exhibit, there is a wall of trilobites. Lots of them:




Armored fish skulls, Dunkleosteus and Bothriolepis. Like all the fossils in this exhibit, these are casts. No less impressive, mind.


A stethocanthid, a modern hammerhead, and a slightly outdated Helicoprion.


Scutosaurus, a scale model. I don't know what scale, precisely.


A really nice Stegosaurus model. Check out the gular armor!



"Terror bird?" This phorusrhacid display includes some neat info about the speculation surrounding its diet.




Psittacosaurus, one of my favorites.


Protoceratops, of course!



Trust me, this ornithocheirid is even more frightening in person.



An assortment of hideous mammals! Next time, I shall be sure to get a closer look at that babirusa skull in the right, I totally overlooked it.


A somewhat troubling look at the morphology of dog breeds.

[Doug Watson]

That is a great looking museum with a remarkable number of fleshed out restorations. I am continually impressed at the museums that are run by the universities in the US.

[Patrx]

That is a great looking museum with a remarkable number of fleshed out restorations. I am continually impressed at the museums that are run by the universities in the US.

The newer life restorations were done by Gary Staab and his team, who also did the life-sized sauropod and Ceratosaurus outside the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Of the university museums I've visited, this one is particularly excellent. Are university museums in Canada generally underwhelming by comparison?

[Doug Watson]

That is a great looking museum with a remarkable number of fleshed out restorations. I am continually impressed at the museums that are run by the universities in the US.

The newer life restorations were done by Gary Staab and his team, who also did the life-sized sauropod and Ceratosaurus outside the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Of the university museums I've visited, this one is particularly excellent. Are university museums in Canada generally underwhelming by comparison?

Most of our major museums are run by the federal or provincial governments. I only really know of one major university run museum, the Redpath in Montreal and I have only seen historical photos of its exhibits, I have yet to visit. There may be more but I am unaware of them.

[Gwangi]

That ornithocheirid and trilobite wall are the coolest things I've seen today, and I wasn't even there!

[Viking Spawn]

What a cool place!  I especially like that Trilobite wall!  I never seen anything Trilobite related to that extreme!!!

[BlueKrono]

That Thalassomedon is the coolest fossil display I've ever seen. Well done, Lincoln.

[Patrx]

That Thalassomedon is the coolest fossil display I've ever seen. Well done, Lincoln.

I've seen Thalassomedon mounts hanging from the ceiling at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, and that's pretty impressive. But this one, in the floor, almost makes you feel like it's swimming under you. It's a little eerie!

[amargasaurus cazaui]

Love the psittacosaurus pieces, despite some of the issues. I am guessing those also date to the seventies as well, but they are still quite unique and appealing

[Patrx]

Love the psittacosaurus pieces, despite some of the issues. I am guessing those also date to the seventies as well, but they are still quite unique and appealing

Despite the outdated posture, it's a fairly recent reconstruction by Staab Studios. At least the filaments are there, eh?

[amargasaurus cazaui]

Love the psittacosaurus pieces, despite some of the issues. I am guessing those also date to the seventies as well, but they are still quite unique and appealing

Despite the outdated posture, it's a fairly recent reconstruction by Staab Studios. At least the filaments are there, eh?

yes....odd seeing the modern filaments used with this posture and the outdated Manu's reconstruction