Peabody Museum of Natural History .. 2nd Floor

[Shellseeker]

During my tour of the 1st floor exhibits, I realized that at the pace I was moving, there was no possibility of seeing all exhibits on the 1st floor or any of the exhibits on the 4th (top) floor. So I moved on to the 2nd floor. 

Gastornis was 1st 

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Gastornis is an extinct genus of a 7 foot, flightless birds that lived during the mid-Paleocene to mid-Eocene epochs of the Paleogene period. Fossils have been found in Europe, Asia and North America, with the North American specimens formerly assigned to the genus Diatryma.

In 1874, the American paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope discovered a fragmentary set of fossils at the Wasatch Formation, New Mexico. Cope considered the fossils to be of a distinct genus and species of giant ground bird; in 1876, he named the remains Diatryma gigantea 

The fragmentary bones included leg, foot, and lower beak. The model of Gastornis was created during the last four years for this exhibit.

 

 

 

 

 

Alligator Gar grabs my attention. More often I select fauna when I have some familiarity.

 

 

and then a whale... definitely like whale skulls up close

 

A bird's egg.  I know many hunters think  they have found fossilized eggs... this is what they look like...

 

 

 

 

An old acquaintance .  I recall this Mastodon in 1950.  I used to wonder what the teeth looked like,  but then I found some of my own,

 

 

I think this must be an Irish Elk,  but I am unsure because I did not capture the caption.

 

 

Below the skeleton of the DoDo is from the original collection,  and the model was added during the reconstruction.  I think it is a very nice touch to have both...

 

 

My daughter Crystal, reached this collection on the 2nd floor but I did not.. The Peabody Collection covers the world and is very diverse. Some of the joy is not knowing what may be coming next.

 

Between the 2nd and 3rd floors, is a large open expanse.. Hanging from the ceiling is Archelon, a giant sea turtle in my memory from decades ago..

I'll get a better photo from the 3rd floor showing the top of the carapace and the missing flipper.

 

Below is a photo from January 12th, 1878... and , again, not in the pose that my memory keeps.

 

I have enough photos for one more posting covering both the 3rd and 4th floors. Not until tomorrow... 

[Jaybot]

Thank you Shellseeker!  I like how bright and airy this museum seems.  Too many museums are dark inside (in my opinion).

I think my favorite so far is the Irish Elk- I have a thing for fossil antlers.