We were lucky enough to be able to stay with a friend of mine from college who graciously gave us keys to his apartment so we could come and go as we pleased. My favorite coming and going outside of some excellent food was to the American Museum of Natural History. Museum photography never turns out well so I will only present you with a few photos.
Dinosaurs of course are awesome, but fossil salamanders are even cooler.
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| Someday when I am a rich man I will have a slab like this in my personal library. |
I also really enjoyed the old diorama style exhibits.
But imagine my surprise when I saw the diorama of this little rodent. The background is not quite right for the habitat we have found them in nor do the burrows look right, but it certainly brought a smile to my face. There were maybe 30-40 North American mammals on display but our friend Aplodontia was one of them. Maybe the Sterlings were fans of this curious critter or maybe they just threw their name on any old display. Either way, these made me think of our mentor. Thanks again Codger.
You're right -- that ain't aplodon habitat in the Sierra Nevada. And so you wants a fossil embedded geo-table? Well, back in the 80s in Sao Paulo, Brazil, you could buy a slab of Jurassic shale with s cat sized ichthyosaur skeleton in it. (It was an aquatic dino -- that's all I know). The impression side was cheaper, maybe $200. The other half with fossil bone was considerably more. A friend of mine bought a slab. I stupidly thought I could find one one for less, and thus no fossils adorn my den.
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