hospitem.blogspot.com
Eruditorum: A 66 million year old infected bone
http://hospitem.blogspot.com/2013/02/a-66-million-year-old-infected-bone.html
A blog about Natural History and Museums. Saturday, 9 February 2013. A 66 million year old infected bone. This is pretty much the first display you see when moving towards the Mosasaur exhibit, it may not look very impressive at first glance but it is rather neatly done. The infected mosasaur quadrate. The bone you see is a quadrate (I'll get to that), and it's definitely not looking healthy. The infected bone, and half a litre of goo. Must have survived the infection. Using a common household object to ...
hospitem.blogspot.com
Eruditorum: The brown museum
http://hospitem.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-brown-museum.html
A blog about Natural History and Museums. Tuesday, 19 February 2013. There are two ways to get to the 'brown museum', if you take the regular route you are presented with this peculiar room at the end of your tour. As a desert, or an afterthought. But it is perhaps better to enter it from the opposite end. Het bruin museum (The brown museum), click to enlarge. Passenger pigeons, once the most populous bird in the world. A rat king, rats with their tails in a knot. The very outlay of this section is moder...
hospitem.blogspot.com
Eruditorum: Mythical monsters and ancient fossils
http://hospitem.blogspot.com/2014/07/mythical-monsters-and-ancient-fossils.html
A blog about Natural History and Museums. Sunday, 27 July 2014. Mythical monsters and ancient fossils. The idea that humans stumbling over fossils influenced myths is not new, but can we link mythical monsters to *specific* fossils? Classical folklorist Adrienne Mayor says, yes we can. Intrigued by this idea I decided to investigate her claims a bit further. The Monster of Troy. First of all the skull isn't that much like a Samotherium. Skull, except maybe in size. It lacks ossicones (the horn-like s...
hospitem.blogspot.com
Eruditorum: The Mosaleum Part 2, Mosasaur Bones
http://hospitem.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-mosaleum-part-2-mosasaur-bones.html
A blog about Natural History and Museums. Friday, 15 February 2013. The Mosaleum Part 2, Mosasaur Bones. After death the mosasaur sank to the bottom of the sea, where it was scavenged before being covered in sediment and fossilizing. Most of the skeleton was scattered, but the skull and much of the spine has been found. Bitemarks, indicated by arrows. The bones in the Mosaleum. In fact preserve evidence of being scavenged in the form of bitemarks. Shark's teeth found with the Mosasaur. When it was alive.
hospitem.blogspot.com
Eruditorum: Dead Animal Day
http://hospitem.blogspot.com/2013/05/dead-animal-day.html
A blog about Natural History and Museums. Tuesday, 28 May 2013. This saturday, May the 25th, the Natural history Museum in Rotterdam was dedicated to "de dag van het dode dier". The day of the dead animal. This wasn't a particularly sinister event, rather more a celebration of animals that have found a second life in the museum. The ´animals with a story´ took center stage, but there was also attention for the regular collection. The museum is after all full of dead animals. But now it has been given pri...
hospitem.blogspot.com
Eruditorum: The Mosaleum
http://hospitem.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-mosaleum.html
A blog about Natural History and Museums. Tuesday, 12 February 2013. The Mosaleum (a contraction of Mosasaur and Mausoleum) is the last resting place of Bèr, a very large mosasaur discovered in 1998. You can just make out his skull in the middle. The Mosaleum seen from the outside. The Mosaleum is a glass building situated just outside the main building of the NHMM in Maastricht, because it is completely made of glass it lets in a lot of natural light. That was given it's own species name saturator.
hospitem.blogspot.com
Eruditorum: May 2013
http://hospitem.blogspot.com/2013_05_01_archive.html
A blog about Natural History and Museums. Tuesday, 28 May 2013. This saturday, May the 25th, the Natural history Museum in Rotterdam was dedicated to de dag van het dode dier. The day of the dead animal. This wasnt a particularly sinister event, rather more a celebration of animals that have found a second life in the museum. The ´animals with a story´ took center stage, but there was also attention for the regular collection. The museum is after all full of dead animals. Links to this post. After all th...
hospitem.blogspot.com
Eruditorum: Modern Nature
http://hospitem.blogspot.com/2013/02/modern-nature.html
A blog about Natural History and Museums. Tuesday, 26 February 2013. If one follows the intended path through the museum, instead of scooting to whatever exhibit strikes one's fancy as I did, this is the last of the thematic exhibit areas. The focus here is clearly regional, emphasising the specific nature of the province of Limburg. It should be noted that the wolf display showing it running off with a piece of children's clothing is rather unfair. The Sea Eagle (also commonly known as the white-tailed ...
hospitem.blogspot.com
Eruditorum: February 2013
http://hospitem.blogspot.com/2013_02_01_archive.html
A blog about Natural History and Museums. Tuesday, 26 February 2013. If one follows the intended path through the museum, instead of scooting to whatever exhibit strikes ones fancy as I did, this is the last of the thematic exhibit areas. The focus here is clearly regional, emphasising the specific nature of the province of Limburg. . Links to this post. Labels: Natuurhistorisch Museum Maastricht. Location: De Bosquetplein 7, 6211 KJ Maastricht, The Netherlands. Tuesday, 19 February 2013. In fact preserv...