Clearly a very long-toothed mammal and presumably therefore either Homotherium (scimitar cat) or Smilodon sabre-toothed cat) although the really cool thing to note about animals with big sabre-teeth (or dirk teeth) is that cats are not the only animals to have evolved them. Dirk teeth evolved a number of times. The animal above could just as easily be interpreted for example as the Miocene nimravid species Barbourofelis fricki (also known as Barbour's cat even though it isn't a cat) were it not for the fact that species wasn't named til 1970.
I was thinking this was a canid or bear. The head looks kind of wolfish to me but the feet look kind of bearish. I'm pondering if it is maybe a dire wolf, a species described in 1858; 20-25 years before the carvings were done. Julia noted that it too has big teeth though and suggested it was Smilodon. I think she's right - it does look like it has broken off dirk teeth. The claws fit cat better than canid too. If so its kind of a shame - I liked the idea of Smilodon on the roof with the dire wolf just below.
So what would I put up there if the choice were mine? I think I'd keep the separation between extinct species on one wing and extant species on the other; not as a statement about evolution but as a warning of what may still be lost. The shape of the plinths rather rules out a lot of extinct species which would have to be shown in the reliefs either side - I think Steller's sea cow would fit rather well in profile and the story of its rapid extinction is one worth commemorating.
I think on one of the plinths I'd go with a lost pleistocene giant; megatherium, megalonyx or one of the other ground sloths - their uniqueness and the who's who of scientists involved in their discovery (including Cuvier and President Jefferson) mean they'd earn a place. On another plinth how about not one animal but many - a colony of Great Auks standing side by side like modern day Guillemots?
What else should the perfect NHM have? Here's my wishlist:
- easy navigation;
- spacious well-lit galleries well arranged for both viewing and photography;
- a sensibly priced cafe serving good coffee and ethical delicious food;
- lots of really cool displays and dioramas and not lots of crappy tv displays.
What would you commemorate in stone and what would you put inside? Lets hear it!
So what would I put up there if the choice were mine? I think I'd keep the separation between extinct species on one wing and extant species on the other; not as a statement about evolution but as a warning of what may still be lost. The shape of the plinths rather rules out a lot of extinct species which would have to be shown in the reliefs either side - I think Steller's sea cow would fit rather well in profile and the story of its rapid extinction is one worth commemorating.
I think on one of the plinths I'd go with a lost pleistocene giant; megatherium, megalonyx or one of the other ground sloths - their uniqueness and the who's who of scientists involved in their discovery (including Cuvier and President Jefferson) mean they'd earn a place. On another plinth how about not one animal but many - a colony of Great Auks standing side by side like modern day Guillemots?
What else should the perfect NHM have? Here's my wishlist:
- easy navigation;
- spacious well-lit galleries well arranged for both viewing and photography;
- a sensibly priced cafe serving good coffee and ethical delicious food;
- lots of really cool displays and dioramas and not lots of crappy tv displays.
What would you commemorate in stone and what would you put inside? Lets hear it!
1 comment:
I used to walk past the Natural History Museum, many years ago, on my way to college. I went in a few times, but I never looked closely at the building itself. I never knew how interesting it was, thank you for sharing these photos and the story behind them.
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