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July 6, 2026 by Erin Southerland

Eco-tourism on the edge of the Iron Range

by Pat McShea

The Minerals That Made Pittsburgh exhibit — *“The Minerals That Made Pittsburgh” in Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems.*

Distractions can lead to insight. During a mid-February bird watching tour in northern Minnesota, my visual concentration on road edge treetops was broken by hundreds of rusty marble-sized pellets scattered across the surface of a snow-free railroad crossing. From a third row window seat in a large SUV, I called out a sighting that had nothing to do with hawks, owls, or north woods finches. “Those spilled iron ore pellets on the tracks might have been headed to Pittsburgh.”

The declaration had relevance because the tour was a Pittsburgh product, sponsored by the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania, and serving a small cold-hardy audience from the long established organization’s home region. Seven of the nine tour participants, including my wife and myself, were Pittsburgh Area residents, as were the pair of skilled Audubon naturalists who served as our hosts, guides, and drivers.

Boreal Birds in Winter, as the six-day adventure was titled, largely involved exploration of the vast mosaic of forests, wetlands, and farms known as Sax-Zim Bog. This 300 square mile tract of public and private lands an hour’s drive northwest of Duluth is renowned for its winter concentration of sub-arctic songbirds and occasional appearances of up to nine different species of owls. On most days we travelled from comfortable Duluth-edge accommodations to Sax-Zim for dawn-until-after-dark bird searches.

The distraction sparked by the wayward rail line pellets occurred during one such visit. Technically, the metallic pearls were taconite, a low grade iron ore processed from blasted rock fragments in mine-adjacent plants through a multi-step process that includes crushing, magnetic separation, the addition of clay minerals to aid pellet formation, and hardening in a high temperature kiln. Their origin was almost certainly the Precambrian-age rocks of the Mesabi Iron Range, some thirty miles distant, and since the 1890s the historic source for much of the American Steel Industry’s elemental natural resource.

My familiarity with taconite pellets developed during a decades long career as an educator at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. There, during occasional rock and mineral workshops for teachers, I shared handfuls of wayward Mon Valley-bound pellets collected from a road crossing of the Bessemer and Lake Erie Rail line near my Plum Borough home. Hands-on workshop sessions, always prefaced by an hour long visit to the dazzling displays within the Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems, focused on mineral resources vital to Pittsburgh’s industrial development. In addition to taconite, participants handled samples of coal, limestone, fluorite, and slag.

Because bird spotting was a group priority, my backseat follow-up comments were limited to thinking aloud speculation about the taconite shipping route to Pittsburgh. “Rail from here to the Lake Superior shore, then a freighter trip across the Great Lakes to Conneaut, Ohio and the northern end of Bessemer rail line.” As my concentration on the passing tree line returned, I quietly considered the distraction’s merits. The comprehensive scope of natural history as a field of study was revealed in a flash by a few ounces of processed ore shaken loose from passing hopper cars.

An expansive topic scope is readily accommodated within the mission statement of Carnegie Museum of Natural History: To deepen wonder and advance understanding of our natural world—past and present—in order to embrace responsibility for our collective future. This foundational encouragement of continual curiosity invites a mental exercise long familiar to museum educators, deciding which collections, exhibitions, or exhibited materials could be applicable to the deeper interpretation of a particular wonder-generating phenomenon.

In the case of eco-tourism on the edge of the Iron Range, several locations come to mind. The very name “Mesabi” for Minnesota’s iron-bearing mountain range invites consideration of Native perspectives on the region’s settlement, alteration, and industrial development, including treaties and treaty rights. Exhibits within The Alcoa Foundation Hall of American Indians could provide critical foundational context for anyone beginning such consideration.

owl taxidermy — *Great Gray Owl taxidermy mount in Bird Hall.*

In Bird Hall, the 30-inch-high taxidermy mount of a perched Great Gray Owl, a species emblematic of wildlife observation opportunities in Sax-Zim Bog, museum visitors could study some of the physical adaptations that enable this predator to survive the severe winter conditions of northern Minnesota.

close up of a mural — Portion of *The Apotheosis of Pittsburgh* mural by John White Alexander,

Shifting topics and locations, a visit to the alcove within the Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems labelled “THE MINERALS THAT MADE PITTSBURGH,” could be followed by discussions about the environmental impacts of mineral extraction in the Hall of Botany, or in front of any of the second floor wildlife dioramas. Finally, in many panels of The Apotheosis of Pittsburgh mural by John White Alexander along the building’s Grand Staircase, the human labor involved in steel production is memorialized for viewers on the first floor level and second floor landing.

Pat McShea is Educator Emeritus at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

2025 Rector Christmas Bird Count Results

by Annie Lindsay

Since 1974, intrepid birders in southwestern Pennsylvania have been gathering to count birds during the Rector Christmas Bird Count (CBC). The Rector count is part of a much larger, 126-year-and-counting initiative hosted by the National Audubon Society to count birds in a specified 15-mile diameter count circle on a single day between December 14 and January 5 each year. Count circles are scattered throughout the western hemisphere and even on some Pacific Islands!

Christmas Bird Counters can look for birds for the 24-hour period from 12:00am to 11:59pm, although most opt for counting during daylight hours. At exactly midnight, Grace, always ready for a good birding opportunity, went outside and listened for owls, and was joined several hours later by a handful of other owlers who searched in other sectors of the circle. As the sun rose on a bluebird sky morning with a dusting of snow, one of our youngest participants, Drake, arrived bundled up against the cold with bright eyes, a big smile, and his binoculars all ready to get started. One of the great things about the CBC is that anyone can participate regardless of age or birding skill level. This year, we had a few counters under the age of 10 and representatives from almost every decade!

group of people taking a selfie outdoors in winter — *Drake, age 7, with his dad David and two fellow counters, Grace and Alyssa. Photo by David Yeany II.*

As the day progressed, one group spotted two Bald Eagles taking off from a mature tree near a mostly frozen pond, another group had a whirlwind of Dark-eyed Juncos on their property, and the count’s usual kettle of Turkey and Black Vultures made an appearance. The woodpecker count was impressive with all seven possible species spotted this year.

At the end of the day, the tally dinner was bustling with birders catching up with friends and welcoming new counters. As everyone settled in with their dinner, the tallying began – working through the species list taxonomically, each group sounded off with their count for each species. Waterfowl are first and the general expectation was that the numbers for this group of birds would be somewhat low due to the recent below freezing temperatures that iced over most bodies of water. We started with Snow Goose, an uncommon species in the Rector count: none were spotted this year, no surprises there. Then we moved on to Canada Goose, an expected species despite frozen water, a voice said, “wait, we had a Ross’s Goose.” Ross’s Geese look like smaller, cuter versions of Snow Geese, and had never been spotted during a Rector CBC before. Sue, Mark, and Keith for the win!

ross goose — *Ross’s Goose at Trout Run Reservoir. Photo by Sue Miller.*

Three species were recorded in record high numbers: Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-headed Woodpecker, and Red-bellied Woodpecker. These species seem to be increasing in numbers in southwestern Pennsylvania, a northward range expansion trend that we’re seeing in other species that historically had ranges a bit to the south of Pennsylvania. Other notable species from this year’s count that are rarely encountered in the winter include a Ruby-crowned Kinglet and a Gray Catbird. Owls are not always guaranteed on a CBC, but with some pre-dawn effort, three species were encountered this year: Eastern Screech-Owl, Barred Owl, and Great Horned Owl. All three species are year-round residents locally, but hearing them in the dark and cold can be tricky.

The day’s perfect weather and the excellent turnout of counters was mirrored by the lively atmosphere at the tally dinner that clearly showed how exciting and productive the day was. In total, there were 45 counters who tallied 4,375 individuals of 64 species. Thank you to all participants for their commitment to the birds. I look forward to seeing you all again at next year’s count!

For more information about the Christmas Bird Count and to see how the data are used, please visit: https://www.audubon.org/conservation/science/christmas-bird-count

black vulture in a tree — *Black Vulture. Photo by David Yeany II.*

northern mockingbird — *Northern Mockingbird. Photo by Grace Muench.*

Total 2025 Tally

Ross’s Goose – 1

Canada Goose – 493

American Black Duck – 8

Mallard – 38

Hooded Merganser – 3

Ring-necked Pheasant – 18

Wild Turkey – 24

Great Blue Heron – 2

Black Vulture – 37

Turkey Vulture – 49

Sharp-shinned Hawk – 2

Cooper’s Hawk – 7

Bald Eagle – 3

Red-shouldered Hawk – 11 *

Red-tailed Hawk – 58

Ring-billed Gull – 2

Rock Pigeon – 70

Mourning Dove – 121

Eastern Screech-Owl – 7

Great Horned Owl – 1

Barred Owl – 1

Belted Kingfisher – 1

Red-headed Woodpecker – 9 *

Red-bellied Woodpecker – 113 *

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – 11

Downy Woodpecker – 77

Hairy Woodpecker – 25

Northern Flicker – 31

Pileated Woodpecker – 29

American Kestrel – 2

Blue Jay – 312

American Crow – 306

Common Raven – 18

Carolina Chickadee – 4

Black-capped Chickadee – 203

Tufted Titmouse – 133

Red-breasted Nuthatch – 4

White-breasted Nuthatch – 167

Brown Creeper – 11

Winter Wren – 2

Carolina Wren – 24

Golden-crowned Kinglet – 35

Ruby-crowned Kinglet – 1

Eastern Bluebird – 133

Hermit Thrush – 2

American Robin – 11

Gray Catbird – 1

Northern Mockingbird – 16

European Starling – 610

Cedar Waxwing – 10

Yellow-rumped Warbler – 7

American Tree Sparrow – 22

Field Sparrow – 4

Dark-eyed Junco – 401

White-throated Sparrow – 82

Song Sparrow – 92

Swamp Sparrow – 10

Eastern Towhee – 3

Northern Cardinal – 173

Brown-headed Cowbird – 3

House Finch – 59

Purple Finch – 2

American Goldfinch – 113

House Sparrow – 141

Total Individuals: 4,375

Total Species: 64

Annie Lindsay is Bird Banding Program Manager at Powdermill Nature Reserve.

A New Exhibition Endorses Old Advice

by Pat McShea

jars of amphibians and reptiles preserved in fluid on shelves in the Alcohol House — *Credit: Mason Williams, The Warhol Academy*

In The Stories we Keep: Bringing the World to Pittsburgh, visually rich displays of authentic materials emphasize the depth, breadth, and importance of scientific collections at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. As an introductory panel in the temporary exhibition summarizes, “Every fossil, every animal, every object has a story to tell about our planet, the universe, and our place in it.”

The message flanks a wall section on which the life-sized projection of behind-the-scenes imagery from four of the Museum’s scientific sections plays continuously on a 4.5-minute loop. Titled Footage from Collections, this colorful assemblage invites viewers into collection storage areas holding birds, amphibians and reptiles, insects, and invertebrate fossils. Extraordinary scientific specimens are the rightful stars of the show, but the brief video also includes cameo appearances by some of the people responsible for the care and study of these mission critical materials.

When I first watched the video, scenes in the amphibian and reptile collection awakened a memory from the early 1990s of a curator’s impassioned defense of active collecting. Remarkably, the scientist’s verbal argument was presented to a single student. I was fortunate to be a sideline observer.

Thirty-three years ago, in fulfilling the request of a fellow educator at the Pittsburgh District of the US Army Corps of Engineers, I introduced an undergraduate student who had just completed a summer internship with that federal agency to Dr. C.J. McCoy, then CMNH Curator of Herpetology. The student’s culminating internship project was a survey of amphibian diversity on the Corps of Engineers property surrounding Loyalhanna Dam and Reservoir in Westmoreland County, and following weeks of solo fieldwork, she hoped to share her findings with appropriate Museum staff.

We met in Dr. McCoy’s office, standing around a table that allowed the student to open the thick binder of her survey report and provide a five-minute orientation to the document’s photographs, maps, data tables, and charts. Dr. McCoy then carefully paged through the work, praising the thoroughness of the student’s investigation, admiring many of her frog and salamander photos, and explaining that he was personally familiar with the rugged wooded and wet terrain she had obviously repeatedly traversed. Then he asked if she had collected any voucher specimens, the term for permanently preserved biological samples that serve to verify an organism’s presence at a particular place during a particular time.

A ten-minute discussion ensued, with the student explaining her belief that exacting field techniques and meticulous record keeping made the collection of voucher specimens optional. She maintained that the presence of the species under study could be fully documented without having to kill any of them. By way of example, she flipped her report’s pages to a section where full-color amphibian photographs included scale bars as a check against the recorded figures in measurement tables.

measuring a herpetology specimen — *As this image implies, specimens in museum collections may be re-examined to help answer scientific questions.* *Credit: Mason Williams, The Warhol Academy*

Dr. McCoy’s rebuttal began with a theoretical but sincere offer. He explained to the student that if she had collected voucher specimens, be they bull frogs, spring peepers, redback salamanders, or red efts, he would have been eager to add them to the Museum’s scientific collection, especially with the associated information in the survey report. With properly labelled voucher specimens in a repository such as the CMNH herpetology collection, he continued, the hard-earned findings of her summer fieldwork might well inform future scientific investigations such as studies of a particular species or groups of species, or even studies of changes in landscapes. Under circumstances where land use decisions are made, he argued, the deaths of individual animals in the service of creating a scientific record of their presence, could serve long-term to safeguard the population they represent.

The curator’s closing argument addressed the limits of the photographs he had praised only moments earlier. He spoke of vantage point limits in photography, and the likelihood of any future identification disputes remaining unresolved in the absence of verifying voucher specimens. Finally, he reminded the student that her name would be associated with any vouchers as the collector, and that the preserved remains would undoubtedly increase the survey’s impact.

The meeting ended amicably, but without any concessions from the student. In the decades since, I’ve had occasion to present some of Dr. McCoy’s arguments dozens of times during various educator workshops. Recently, in a Science Story on this site, I came across an encouraging current endorsement for the importance of voucher specimens.

At the conclusion of an account titled, Hopping Into the Bornean Rainforest, Rohan Mandayam, who served as Research Assistant to CMNH Curator Dr. Jennifer Sheridan during fieldwork in 2025, clearly explains his thoughts and actions related to collecting representative samples of the creatures he spent weeks studying:

The record of the voucher specimens, he concludes, “has the potential to be used to answer future biological questions that we don’t even know to ask yet!”

Pat McShea is Educator Emeritus at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Ronald A. Sloto Wins 2025 Carnegie Mineralogical Award

by Travis Olds, Curator of Minerals

I am pleased to announce Ronald A. Sloto as the winner of the 2025 Carnegie Mineralogical Award. The award honors outstanding contributions in mineralogical preservation, conservation, and education.

He is Curator and Director of the Geology Museum at West Chester University, Pennsylvania, where he also holds the title of Honorary Professor. Over the course of a distinguished career that includes 41 years with the U.S. Geological Survey, he has become the definitive historian of Pennsylvania mineralogy, authoring a landmark series of reference books that document the region’s mineral heritage.

Carnegie Mineralogical Award Winner Ronald A. Sloto with Travis Olds from Carnegie Museum of Natural History and others — Ronald A. Sloto holding the 2025 Carnegie Mineralogical Award.

Ron is the bridge between professional geology and the collecting community, ensuring that our mineral history is not lost to time. He has exhaustively documented over 1,400 mineral localities and revitalized the collections at West Chester University. This award recognizes his lifetime of service to preserving mineralogical history in the library, the laboratory, and the museum.

Additionally, he has authored the “Mines and Minerals” book series, covering Chester, Berks, Montgomery, Bucks, and Delaware counties. These works provide exhaustive coverage of historical mines, geological settings, and associated specimens, serving as essential references for researchers and collectors alike. His work has ensured that the rich mineralogical legacy of the Mid-Atlantic region is preserved and accessible for future generations. As a hydrogeologist, Ron also developed the HYSEP program, a fundamental tool in hydrologic research whose algorithms are still used worldwide. His leadership with the Friends of Mineralogy Pennsylvania Chapter and his contributions to The Mineralogical Record have further enriched the mineralogical community.

“My interest in minerals was piqued during my early childhood years collecting quartz crystals and fern fossils in northeastern Pennsylvania,” said Ron. “To be able to turn that fascination into a lifelong career with the USGS, and now to help preserve our mineral heritage at West Chester University, has been a wonderful privilege.”

I had the privilege of presenting the award on February 14, 2026, at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. Congratulations, Ron.

2026 Mineralogical Award

The Carnegie Museum of Natural History established the Carnegie Mineralogical Award, funded by the Hillman Foundation, in 1987. Nominations are now being accepted for the 2026 Carnegie Mineralogical Award and the deadline is November 15, 2026. Eligible candidates include educators, private mineral enthusiasts and collectors, curators, museums, mineral clubs and societies, mineral symposia, universities, and publications. For information, contact Travis Olds, Curator, Section of Minerals & Earth Sciences, at 412-622-6568 or oldst@carnegiemnh.org.

Previous Award Winners

2024 Michael J. Bainbridge
2023 Robert T. Downs, PhD.
2022 Willliam B. “Skip” Simmons, Jr., PhD.
2021 Barbara L. Dutrow, PhD.
2020 John C. Medici, PhD.
2019 John F. Rakovan, PhD.
2018 Dudley P. Blauwet
2017 W. Lesley Presmyk
2016 Anthony R. Kampf, PhD.
2015 George Harlow, PhD.
2014 Bryon N. Brookmyer
2013 Gloria A. Staebler
2012 George W. Robinson, PhD.
2011 Jeffrey E. Post, PhD.
2010 The Rochester Mineralogical Symposium
2009 Peter K.M. Megaw, PhD.
2008 Frank C. Hawthorne, PhD.
2007 Jeffrey A Scovil
2006 Richard C. Whiteman
2005 June Culp Zeitner
2004 Joel A. Bartsch, PhD.
2003 Eugene S. Meieran, ScD.
2002 Terry C. Wallace, Jr., PhD.
2001 Wendell E. Wilson, PhD.
2000 F. John Barlow, ScD.
1999 Sterling Hill Mining Museum
1998 Robert W. Jones
1997 Bryan K. Lees
1996 Cornelis (Kase) Klein, PhD.
1995 Marie E. Huizing
1994 The Mineralogical Record
1993 Cornelius S. Hurlbut, Jr., PhD.
1992 Carl A. Francis, PhD.
1991 Miguel A. Romero Sanchez, PhD.
1990 Paul E. Desautels
1989 Frederick H. Pough, PhD.
1988 John Sinkankas, DHL.
1987 The Tucson Gem & Mineral Society

Travis Olds is Curator of Minerals at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Published March 6, 2026

November 26, 2025 by Erin Southerland

Remembering Bob Davidson

Bob Davidson shared what he loved. The long time Invertebrate Zoology Collection Manager at Carnegie Museum of Natural History died in his sleep on November 6, at the age of 77, five years after his formal retirement. For all those who knew him, news of his passing triggered a mental review of the subjects he shared with us through conversation, rant, written account, and mutual experience. In day-to-day life, Bob valued family, friends, classical music, theatre, literature, films, comedy, fine food, junk food, travel, the entire state of Vermont, a variety of fermented beverages, and, owing to his own service in Nepal, all fellow Peace Corps alumni.

Bob Davidson with the Invertebrate Zoology collection

As a scientist, and more specifically as an entomologist, Bob valued colleagues, well-curated museum collections, field work, written accounts of early field naturalists, anatomical information only accessible through high powered microscopes, functional headlamps, and the enormous family of ground dwelling beetles known collectively as carabids.

Some forty years ago, during a summer evening in the mountains of North Carolina, Bob demonstrated the connection between those last two categories. Along with Amy Henrici, then a Fossil Preparator for the Museum’s Section of Vertebrate Paleontology, and later section’s Collection Manager, I had accepted Bob’s invitation to assist him with beetle collecting in the Nantahala National Forest. The experience revealed how Bob’s passion for the tiny creatures he studied overrode consideration for decent meals. His dinner before our headlamp illuminated collecting foray in a forest understory of rhododendron consisted of two hamburgers, purchased many hours earlier in a lower elevation town, and re-heated on the dashboard of his aged Datsun by the windshield magnified rays of the setting sun.

In the dark woods Bob shared information beyond the need-to-know basics of how to distinguish our quarry, carabid beetles of the genus Scaphinotus, from any other nocturnal invertebrates we might encounter. Theoretically, according to his informal briefing, on any tree trunk we passed, the beam of our headlamps might reveal an example of the ongoing predator/prey interactions that have long shaped life on our planet. The dark, inch-long beetles we hoped to collect were snail eaters who frequently tracked their prey in trees by circling trunks to detect, and then resolutely follow, slime trails.

In the decades since, at science-promoting public events such as bioblitz surveys at city parks or behind-the-scenes programs at the Museum, I’ve often seen Bob take the same approach with people he’d just met, presenting the lives of overlooked creatures as endlessly interesting. In September 2019, Bob wrote an entertaining account about snail-eating beetles for the Museum’s blog. In re-reading this brief essay I can hear his voice and conjure the sounds and scents of a dark Appalachian mountain forest.

During Bob’s 40-year career at the Museum much of his fieldwork was conducted in locations far more exotic than North Carolina. For weeks, and on a few occasions months at a time, Bob was part of museum field crews in Cameroon, Ecuador, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Tiawan. In considering the commonality among such far-flung collecting locations, Bob had a ready answer. “Most of the sites were chosen for salvage collecting: places out of the way, not collected much by other institutions, often difficult to access, and already on the chopping block for habitat destruction.” These out-of-country collecting efforts added hundreds of thousands of specimens to the Museum’s invertebrate zoology collection, each an authentic information unit to inform future conservation decisions, as well as ecology, genetics, and population studies.

After his retirement Bob continued to make scientific contributions by identifying carabid beetles for the National Ecological Observatory Network, a National Science Foundation funded project. Another particularly noteworthy retirement contribution involved Bob’s writing skills. Following the death in 2021 of Dr. John E. Rawlins, Curator Emeritus of the Museum’s Section of Invertebrate Zoology, Bob collaborated with Assistant Curator James Fetzner to create an Annals of Carnegie Museum volume honoring the 33-year museum career of the scientist many people knew simply as Moth Man.

John was leader for many of the Museum’s insect collecting expeditions to foreign lands, and in recounting some of the harrowing experiences of those adventures, Bob shares his thoughts, excitement, amusement, and sometimes pure terror. Through this memorial publication, adventure stories first shared in Pittsburgh around pitchers of beer in Oakland barrooms are now accessible to curious digitally savvy readers via a few keyboard clicks. In recounting a long 1984 expedition to Cameroon, Bob describes how, in John’s company he frequently found himself in situations where it wasn’t clear how to react, closing this observation with a particularly powerful example. “Or arriving in Paris on our way home, and finding that while we were ensconced on the southwest face of the volcano that June, a deadly gas cloud escaped on the northeast face and flowed down over one of the villages, killing everyone.”

For Bob’s friends and colleagues his passing has left us without a clear reaction pattern. In this situation, reading some of what he wrote to honor a friend and colleague is a positive step.

Pat McShea is Educator Emeritus at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Published November 26, 2025.

November 12, 2025 by Erin Southerland

Making Sense of Fossils from a Maryland Cave: A Carnegie Contribution

by Pat McShea

cave bear skeleton mount — In Cenozoic Hall the mounted skeleton of a Cave Bear from France lends perspective to a backing mural of large Ice Age mammals. Many of the museum’s Ice Age fossils were found closer to home, including some from a cave outside Cumberland, Maryland.

For paleontologists who specialize in interpreting fossil evidence from the Pleistocene, deposits in some Appalachian caves offer windows into the period of the past commonly referred to as the Ice Age. A recent Smithsonian Scholarly Press publication summarizing the discovery, collection, preparation, and interpretation of fossils from a cave in western Maryland strongly supports the window-into-the-past metaphor. The 305-page volume, a product of eleven co-authors, bears the long descriptive title, Middle Pleistocene Cumberland Bone Cave Local Fauna, Allegeny County, Maryland: A Systematic Revision and Paleoecological Interpretation of the Irvingtonian, Middle Appalachians, USA. Remarkably, this chronicle of fossil collecting expeditions mounted by five different organizations over more than a century is dedicated to John Edward Guilday, a Curator at Carnegie Museum of Natural History from 1951 until 1982, and the field crew of museum staff and volunteers who for decades assisted his research efforts.

The collective nature of knowledge presented in the publication makes the dedication particularly appropriate. The fauna list for the site’s vertebrate fossils alone includes 109 creatures ranging in size from mole to mastodon, and the deposition of these remains, over a period of several thousand years, happened more than 700,000 years ago. Deciphering information from such a rich fossil assemblage requires a detailed understanding of other fossil-rich caves, and Guilday’s deep knowledge of findings from sinkholes in Pennsylvania and caves in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia, enabled him to recognize and interpret evidence for such past regional events as range extensions and contractions for various species and repeated changes in climate.

black and white photo of John Guilday — *John Edward Guilday in an undated photograph by his wife Alice Guilday.*

The inclusion of the Carnegie Museum field crew in the dedication is particularly apt because Guilday never visited Cumberland Bone Cave or many other sites he studied. His life and career, which included serving in a battle-tested US Army infantry unit during World War II, were immeasurably altered in 1952 when at the age of twenty-seven he contracted polio. The virus tremendously reduced his strength, necessitating the periodic use of an iron lung in his home for the rest of his life. Guilday’s visits to the halls and offices of his established workplace were rare during the next three decades, but with the ceaseless assistance of his wife Alice, the creation of a functional paleo lab in the basement of the couple’s home, and the physical and intellectual contributions of a tireless field crew, he earned a reputation as one of the research strengths of Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

In making a thorough case for the importance of Cumberland Bone Cave to our understanding of past mid-Appalachian environments, the new publication also realistically presents much of the paleontological work at the site as a salvage operation. Little is known with certainty about how the cave, a multi-chambered cavity within a limestone ridge a few miles northwest of Cumberland, was discovered or explored. The story of its recognition as a fossil site is, however, well documented. Beginning in 1910, the Western Maryland Railroad cut a passage for a new line of tracks through the cave-bearing limestone ridge, destroying a significant portion of the subterranean feature. In 1912, when fossilized bone found among excavated rubble was presented to a paleontologist in Washington, D.C. at what is now the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, professional fossil collecting efforts were quickly organized.

black and white photo of cave entrance — *View of cave entrance on the south side of the railroad cut from the north side. Source: 1913 photograph by Raymond William Armbruster, Smithsonian Institution Archives.*

A well-illustrated 15-page chapter chronologically profiles the subsequent paleontological investigations of still intact cave chambers, including the intermittent work by a Carnegie Museum of Natural History team between 1964 and 2006. The summary hints at the physical challenges of work in the cave’s tight quarters, notes the cooperation of the railroad company on several occasions when heavy equipment was required for excavation, and emphasizes the current importance of determining exactly where, within this railroad bisected site, particular crews collected fossils. This tally of organized human efforts, along with later chapters listings the fossils collected from the site, raises the very same question that puzzled dozens of investigating paleontologists: How did the remains of such a varied set of ancient creatures come to be deposited in Cumberland Bone Cave?

The author team presents three scenarios. 1) For creatures such as bats, bears, wolves, and peccaries, who used portions of the cave for dens or hibernation chambers, a natural death within their shelter could have eventually led to fossilization. 2) Vertical fissures connecting cave chambers to the ground surface above them functioned as pit traps, occasionally capturing creatures unlikely to otherwise visit the cave. 3) In actions ranging from roosting owls coughing-up pellets of vole bones to wolves bringing larger prey to waiting pups, predators who relied upon the cave for shelter repeatedly brought prey remains into the system. A fourth scenario, involving bones washed into the cave, was rejected because recovered fossils lack evidence of water wear and sand and gravel are absent in cave matrix.

The publication’s clarity in explaining ancient deposition and other complex puzzles related to Cumberland Bone Cave will hopefully serve an audience outside Pleistocene Paleontology. The physical labor, disciplined thought, and wide sharing of information outlined in the narrative and referenced in a 23-page biography, make the work a landmark example for any teacher or student interested in the methods of science. Fortunately, the publication is widely available. Copies can be electronically downloaded for free from Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press.

cover of a book about Cumberland Bone Cave

Cumberland Bone Cave is no longer an active research site, but the fenced entrance of its main entrance draws the attention of bicyclists passing near the four-mile mark of the 150-mile Great Allegheny Passage trail.

Pat McShea is Educator Emeritus at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Hopping Into the Bornean Rainforest

by Rohan Mandayam

As an aspiring field biologist, I long harbored several dreams that I hoped would come to fruition sometime in my post-undergraduate career. Among those goals was conducting research on frogs, which have fascinated me since a young age. I also dreamt of working in the field and studying tropical ecosystems, as the biodiversity found in the tropics is rivaled by no other region on Earth. Imagine my delight when I discovered that I would be spending two months in Borneo as a research assistant to Dr. Jennifer Sheridan, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles, studying frogs in tropical rainforest streams. June couldn’t arrive fast enough.

lush, rocky stream — *One of our primary forest study streams, located in Ranau, Sabah, Malaysia.*

The rainforests of Borneo are among the oldest in the world, known for their staggering concentration of biodiversity across species groups. With dipterocarp trees stretching over 80 meters into the canopy, orangutans rustling through the foliage, and crystal-clear streams rushing through the understory, my “office” for the summer was quite a sight to behold. Inhabiting those pristine streams and the forests surrounding them are Borneo’s nearly 200 species of frogs. In a region home to hornbills, clouded leopards, and one of the world’s most recognizable great apes, the choice to study small amphibians may not seem intuitive. However, frogs are an excellent study system for answering a wide breadth of biological questions, partly due to their high sensitivity to fluctuations in environmental conditions. Due to that sensitivity, studying frogs provides scientists with insights into the impacts of human-caused climate change and other anthropogenic factors on global ecosystems. Furthermore, amphibians remain the vertebrate group most threatened with extinction, and understanding amphibian ecology is critical to ensuring the conservation of those species into the future.

Our research this summer had two main focal areas. The first involved surveying frog populations in streams in different land-use types: primary forest, secondary forest, and agricultural land. We conducted visual encounter surveys of streams in each of those land-use types, noting each individual frog we saw and capturing it if possible. Carefully capturing the individuals allowed us to mark the frog (to establish whether we were recapturing individuals in subsequent surveys) and determine the sex, snout-vent length, and mass before releasing them. Repeated surveys on each of our study streams provided us with insight into the species richness and abundance of each frog community and enabled us to compare potential differences in our study variables across land-use types.

The surveys presented several enjoyable learning curves. We identified all frog species we found using their scientific names, so I had to learn taxonomy for the first time, butchering many Latin pronunciations along the way. I also learned to use specific features of an individual frog, including toe pads, hand and foot webbing, and parotid gland shape, to distinguish between easily confused species. Through experience, I began to recognize where certain species preferred to sit or perch, which ranged from the rocky shoreline to branches several meters above the water. And, through many ill-fated attempts to capture the more jumpy members of the anuran (frog) community, I realized which frogs merited a more slow and cautious approach before diving in to grab them.

small orange frog on a large green leaf — *The cinnamon tree frog (*Nyctixalus pictus) is one of the most strikingly colored frogs in Borneo.

Our second research focus for this summer was to record as many frog calls as we could from each of our study streams. While we hope to use these recordings to analyze potential differences in frog calling behaviors across land-use types, this work also contributed to the larger purpose of growing the existing library of frog calls that exists for the island of Borneo. An eventual goal of Dr. Sheridan’s is to use call recordings to train AI models to identify which frogs are calling in a given “soundscape,” or audio recording, taken from a natural space. This would allow researchers to gauge the diversity of frog populations in a given region without having to perform intensive survey work, saving time and resources in the urgent quest to quantify amphibian biodiversity.

Call recording nights also provided numerous opportunities for me to practice the virtue of patience. There are few better lessons in biding your time than staring directly into the eyes of a frog that immediately ceased to call when the recorder was switched on but had been chirping away mere seconds before. On one memorable night, I sat next to a giant river toad (Phrynoidis juxtasper) for over half an hour as we enjoyed a peaceful and resolutely call-free silence. Fortunately, I managed to record numerous more cooperative individuals during my time in the field.

The final facet of our field work involved collecting a limited number of the frogs we encountered at our study streams. These frogs were anesthetized and prepared as specimens to be taken to either the Carnegie Museum of Natural History or to Sabah Parks, one of our local collaborators. Removing animals from the wild and putting them down definitely weighed on me, and I never took that work lightly. However, there are several reasons for collecting frogs in this manner. Collections-based research on frog body size (one of the most important features of a biological organism), specifically regarding whether the body size of a given species has changed over time, is only possible via analysis of preserved specimens of that species spanning a long time scale. Dr. Sheridan recently collaborated on a study that used museum specimens of the Fowler’s toad (Anaxyrus fowleri) to demonstrate that increases in precipitation and temperature between 1931 and 1998 were associated with decreased A. fowleri body size, an important finding given the drastic climatic changes that continue to occur globally today. In addition to its research value, collection allows scientists to document, for posterity, a small portion of the life on Earth from a given spatial and temporal location. This record has the potential to be used to answer future biological questions that we don’t even know to ask yet!

horned frog in a lush green environment — *A juvenile Bornean horned frog (*Megophrys nasuta). Horned frogs are easily recognizable by the flaps of skin (“horns”) protruding above their eyes.

My time working with our amazing team has sadly ended, but the field season will continue for several more weeks as my colleagues wrap up surveys and call recording in our third study region. It is impossible for me to reflect on those months without feeling incredibly grateful for the opportunity to participate in this project. There were so many small moments of joy: my teammate capturing a frog perched on an out-of-reach branch using only a five-meter bamboo stick and gentle coaxing; negotiating stream access with a village leader for two days, only to humorously realize we had a miscommunication about which body of water we actually wished to study; realizing that I had crossed the threshold of seeing over 50 species of frogs in my time in Borneo. Even after two months in the field, I continued to observe fauna I hadn’t seen previously, from river otters to trogons to enormous stick insects. The sheer wonder of experiencing such incredible natural spaces has reaffirmed my goal of ensuring their protection into the future. With Southeast Asia possessing the highest deforestation rates of anywhere in the world, it is more critical than ever to understand the biodiversity that we as conservationists seek to protect. This field season may be coming to a close, but the work is far from over.

Rohan Mandayam was a research assistant on Dr. Jennifer Sheridan‘s field team in Borneo, Malaysia.

Uprooted: Inside the Museum’s New Exhibition on Invasive Plants

by Patrick McShea

museum label comparing grains of rice to seeds — An Uprooted display compares seed production differences between native and invasive plants.

Plants travel across time and territory as seeds. The movement of seeds, each one a tiny embryo packaged with stored food in a protective coating, can generally be attributed to one of five forces – gravity, wind, flowing water, spring-like ejection from the parent plant, or transport by animals, whether deliberately or accidentally.

In Uprooted: Plants Out of Place, the new exhibition examining invasive plants from multiple perspectives, seed dispersal by humans, a subset of the fifth force, receives attention for its landscape altering impact. The exhibition occupies two sites within the museum, the Hall of Botany, and the third-floor balcony above Kamin Hall of Dinosaurs. In between, floor-mounted exhibition emblems serve as wayfinding guides between the sites. Visitors who follow these raindrop-shaped directional aids should consider the short walk and elevator ride or stair climb to represent the frequently unnoticed journeys by a whole category of organisms we mistakenly consider to be rooted and immobile.

The Uprooted emblem guides visitors between the exhibition’s two locations.

Just inside the entry to the Hall of Botany, an exhibition panel for Uprooted provides a definition of “native” that is crucial to understanding issues related to invasive plants. Plants don’t buy houses, but they do have ‘home’ ranges where they have grown for a long period of time. We call plants found in their home ranges native. Visual examples can greatly aid in the comprehension of a new term, and here the surrounding life-sized dioramas depicting plants native to Pennsylvania woodlands, Lake Erie beach margins, Florida swamp land, the Sonoran Desert, and an alpine meadow on Mount Ranier, provide tremendous, and frequently colorful, reinforcement.

On the same panel, below the bold-faced clarification, Passengers, not drivers, visitors are presented with another key definition: Introduced plants that cause harm to the environment or humans around them are called invasive species. Four such invasive species and their attendant problems are profiled in nearby free-standing displays that feature preserved plant material in the form of herbarium sheets, maps documenting invasive plant establishment and rapid expansion, examples of a single plant’s seed production, and explanations of why each was brought, as seed, cuttings, root stock, or whole plant, to our region of the world. Three of the species were deliberately introduced here because of perceived potential benefits. Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana) was introduced because of its beautiful flowers. Multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora) was a favored root stock for grafting and hedgerow creation. Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) was valued as a culinary and medicinal herb. Stiltgrass (Microstegium vimnea), the fourth profiled plant, was introduced accidentally during an early 20^th Century period when large quantities of the whole plant, including seedheads, served as disposable protective packaging for porcelain shipped from Asia.

In sharing the stiltgrass story in the Hall of Botany, Uprooted makes powerful use of the unique space. On the left edge of the diorama that has depicted early summer beneath the canopy of a mature hemlock/northern hardwood forest for over 50 years, visitors will find a suggestion for a scene altering exercise. Imagine stiltgrass growing in this forest for several years – what would it look like? Would it be very different from what you see now? Because the information below this thought prompt notes the tendency of stiltgrass to choke out wildflowers and tree seedlings by forming dense mats, an initial mental alteration of the diorama scene might simply involve a drastic change in the look of the forest floor. However, for visitors who first study details in the meticulously recreated landscape and notice such details as the ovenbird standing just in front of its distinctive domed nest (lower right front corner), the sense of loss will be compounded.

A more hopeful and action-oriented approach awaits visitors on the third-floor balcony section of Uprooted. Here a video loop briefly introduces people from three local organizations working to mitigate the negative impacts of invasive plants, an interactive panel guides visitors to make informed purchases from plant nurseries, and an array of plant portraits by Japanese photographer Koichi Watanabe summarizes his study of conflicting cultural perspectives surrounding the plant known to science as Reynoutria japonica and locally termed Japanese knotweed. In the text panel explaining his approach, Watanabe provides a quote that is a fitting summary for this innovative exhibition: When people move, plants move with them.

Patrick McShea is Educator Emeritus at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

A Year in Review: Bird Banding 2024

by Annie Lindsay

During the 2024 calendar year, we operated Powdermill Avian Research Center’s (PARC) bird banding station for 184 days across all four seasons, during which we banded 9,415 new birds, processed 4,581 recaptured individuals, and released 9 birds unbanded. These 14,005 birds represented 125 species, one of which was new to Powdermill’s banding dataset.

The banding station at PARC has been running year-round since June 1961 and has accumulated over 850,000 banding records of nearly 200 species, so a new species for the station is a relatively rare event. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves and spoil the surprise, which happened near the end of 2024.

At Powdermill, we band birds year-round, which is somewhat unique among banding stations. We increase our effort during the spring and fall migration seasons and band fewer days each week during the breeding season and winter. This helps us track seasonal events like arrival and departure timing of migratory species, onset of breeding activities, relative abundance of different species, site fidelity (whether individuals come back to the same breeding or wintering areas every year), and longevity. Banding year round also allows us to observe the seasonal progression of birds from familiar to fancy and back again.

Each year, there are species or events that cause excitement among the banding crew. Some of them might be species that are uncommonly caught at Powdermill or difficult to see in the wild, some might be individuals that are earlier or later in the season than expected, some might be favorite species that we never tire of seeing, and some might be days with unusually high capture rates or big days. As each year comes to a close, we reflect on the highlights and compile a list of our favorite moments, of which 2024 had an abundance.

The first highlight of 2024 was a Red-shouldered Hawk that we caught and banded on January 24. A species that is a little too big for our songbird-size mist nets, raptors and other large birds generally bounce right out of the nets. This bird was holding on to a trammel line with its talons which gave the bander a split-second advantage. A species that seems to be expanding its range northward, Red-shouldereds can be found in southwest Pennsylvania year-round, although this is only the 6^th ever banded at Powdermill.

As winter waned and we prepared for the spring migration season, we caught an unexpectedly early Gray Catbird on March 27, setting a record for the earliest catbird banded at Powdermill (the previous earliest banding record was on April 19). Spring progressed relatively normally until May 9 when we caught Powdermill’s ninth ever Swainson’s Warbler. This is a species that has historically bred in the southeastern part of the US but was confirmed as a breeding species in Pennsylvania (at Bear Run Nature Reserve just 30 minutes south of Powdermill) for the first time in the summer of 2023. These breeding records may represent a northward range shift for this species.

The spring migration banding season ends at Powdermill at the end of May, but we continue to band, with reduced effort, through the summer. On June 7, we caught a Tennessee Warbler, a species that migrates annually between breeding sites across much of Canada and wintering grounds in the Caribbean, Central America, and northern South America. They are commonly found at Powdermill during the migration seasons when they stop over to rest and refuel between flights. Nearly all Tennessee Warblers have moved north of us by the end of May, making our June 7 capture the second latest spring record for this species in our dataset. There was something a bit unusual about this individual: it was molting feathers that suggested that it was undergoing the post-breeding molt, something that happens before, or sometimes during, the early stages of fall migration. Although there wasn’t time for this bird to have attempted breeding, perhaps something caused this individual to turn around and head south, representing the earliest (by more than a month!) fall migrant Tennessee Warbler in our dataset.

Summer progressed relatively normally, but the lack of rain began to become noticeable as streams became trickles and small ponds dried up. By July each year, we begin to catch birds in their post-fledging period and our capture numbers increase, but we were not expecting to have one of the biggest summer banding days in our 63-year history when we caught 153 birds on July 17. For context, we were operating about 1/3 of the nets that we run during migration and had to close the nets early due to heat, so the 153-bird day was quite impressive and our third highest summer banding total. This was the beginning of a severe drought that gripped our region through much of the second half of the year, and the ponds near PARC held some of the only locally available drinking water for breeding and migrating birds. We suspect this concentrated birds in the banding area and increased capture rate in late summer and throughout fall.

The fall migration banding season begins in August as the current year’s fledglings begin to disperse and the first migrants begin to move south. Following the trend of a higher-than-usual concentration of birds in the banding area, we had several species with above average captures and two that broke the single-day high totals. On August 16, we caught 11 Blackburnian Warblers and on September 3 we caught 35 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. Both species breed locally, but we catch the majority of individuals during the post-breeding and fall migration season.

The second half of September and the first half of October is the busiest part of the banding year, and interesting captures came in rapid succession during that period in 2024. Soras are a species of rail, a secretive marsh bird that is usually difficult to see, and that we average fewer than one capture per year. We caught a Sora on September 21 and a second one on September 24 – these were #22 and #23 in our dataset, and only once before did we catch two in one season.

September 24 held the banding crew’s biggest highlight of the year: a Kirtland’s Warbler. Kirtland’s Warblers are one of the rarest species of wood warblers in North America – it was critically endangered with a population of about 167 pairs in the 1970s-80s. It is an Endangered Species Act success story: with habitat management and control of brood parasites, the species recovered to a healthy population of ~4,500-5,000 birds and was delisted in 2019. Although it’s not an abundant species, given its migratory route between breeding grounds in Michigan and wintering grounds in the Bahamas, we knew it was just a matter of time before one was spotted in southwest Pennsylvania. Remarkably, this was not the first Kirtland’s Warbler caught at Powdermill: one was banded on September 21, 1971 when the population was at its low point.

Over the years, a few possible Bicknell’s Thrushes were banded at Powdermill, but it wasn’t until 2023 that two were definitively identified here. They’re difficult to identify because they look very similar to Gray-cheeked Thrush, but average a bit smaller and more reddish in color. On September 27, we caught and banded another, this one noticeably reddish and falling well within Bicknell’s measurements. Gray-cheeked and Bicknell’s Thrushes were considered the same species until 1995, when there was enough evidence (based on morphology, vocalizations, habitat, and migration patterns) to elevate Bicknell’s Thrush to full species status.

Fall migration would not be complete without a fat bird highlight. During the migration seasons, migratory songbirds increase their food intake so that they can deposit fat reserves that they use as a source of energy to fuel their overnight flights. Songbirds flap their wings continuously while they fly, so they require a lot of energy to accomplish their migrations. A Swainson’s Thrush that we caught on September 27 had accumulated impressive fat deposits, weighing in at 51.4 grams. Powdermill’s dataset contains over 17,000 Swainson’s Thrushes and only three have been heavier than this bird. A fat bird is a bird that is well prepared for migration!

*Swainson’s Thrush with its banding data.*

Old birds are interesting captures, and a Wilson’s Snipe that we caught on October 11 was just that. This individual was banded in 2019 and aged as a bird that hatched at least in 2017, if not earlier. Not only is this a notably old bird, but it had been recaptured three other times at Powdermill, providing us a peek into its life.

The fall migration banding season began to wane as October progressed, and our seasonal field techs’ last day was November 2. But the surprises hadn’t stopped yet! In the morning, we caught an unusual Empidonax flycatcher (Empidonax is the genus of flycatchers that tend to pose identification challenges) – it was quite yellow on its underparts and the face proportions were not quite right for any of the species expected in the east. Further, an Empidonax flycatcher in southwest Pennsylvania this late in the year would be exceptionally rare. After a series of diagnostic measurements done independently by three of the banders on staff, we determined that this individual was a Western Flycatcher, a species found in the western part of the continent from the Rocky Mountains west to the Pacific Coast, and a species never before banded at Powdermill.

western flycatcher — *Western Flycatcher*

Later that evening, we set up nets to catch owls for Powdermill’s public Owling at the Moon event. Using audio lures, we attempted to catch Northern Saw-whet Owls and Eastern Screech-Owls. Successfully catching owls is very weather-dependent, and luck was on our side this year. Not only did we catch several individuals of our two target species, but we had a big surprise when we caught a Barred Owl, the second ever caught at Powdermill. The crew was excited to get to study this species in the hand and to share it with Owling at the Moon attendees.

It was a busy but satisfying year, full of visitors and events, bird banding workshops, and interesting birds, and we look forward to what 2025 will bring!

Annie Lindsay is the Bird Banding Program Manager at Powdermill Nature Reserve, the environmental research center of Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

(De)Forested Flight: An Eagle Scout Project at Powdermill

by Ollie Sparks

The first day I started volunteering as a high school Sophomore, I journeyed deep into the heavy woods of the Rector area, into a small building just off a gravel road with a sign out front that read “Powdermill Avian Research Center.” The light was on in the small, cinder block banding lab, and I could see some people through my breath materializing in front of me. It was close to 5:30 in the morning, something I was unprepared for in the middle of summer vacation. That was the first of many surprises to follow that day.

As I accompanied the adults through net routes, watching them untangle birds caught in nets as easily as a practiced Rubix solver would twist a cube, I was amazed by the colors and sounds with each new bird. Some of these birds I recognized just from looking out my window: robins, blue jays, cardinals, and sparrows all made up the cast, but then came the birds I had never seen or heard of before, like an Ovenbird or a Northern Waterthrush.

Once we returned to the research station, the building where my day’s journey began, each of the cotton bags containing a bird were clipped to a pulley system by a multitude of colored carabiners, and one by one they emerged from their bags, held safely and securely in the bander’s grip. My job was to record the bird’s data; important marks like wing length, age, sex, weight, species, and band size all went into the program. Afterward, the banders sent the birds on their way by releasing them out of a nearby window. It was such a quick system, necessary because of how many birds the banding team would bring in each day.

Bird banding was not at all what I expected it to be, but there was something so enlightening about waking up, going to work like a responsible adult, and getting to spend my morning being in the wonderful outdoors. As a Boy Scout I had intermediate experience with campouts and tips for using the wilderness as a support for my life, so being immersed in it for extended periods of time while also getting to volunteer for important research really opened my eyes to a bigger world. I felt responsible for contributing, and respectful of my outdoor experiences.

Over the next few years, I continued volunteering at Powdermill Avian Research Center (PARC), finding new birds and recording new kinds of data. This focus on wildlife, the experiences, and sense of adventure nudged me slowly toward the best decision I had ever made in my time working at Powdermill: asking to provide my Eagle Scout Project, titled “(De)Forested Flight,” to PARC. (De)Forested Flight aimed to clear overgrown vegetation around the net routes and provide nesting sites for local breeding birds.

Ollie Sparks with his Eagle Scout project

During the summer months, the vegetation around the mist nets grows quickly, and sometimes higher than the nets, which can decrease capture rate. The banding crew maintains the habitat in the banding area so that it is consistent year after year, but timing is important: major vegetation trimming needs to happen before the birds’ breeding season to avoid the risk of destroying nests. It’s a big job and the crew needs a lot of help, so I organized a day for my BSA Troop to go to PARC and help cut vegetation in coordinated areas.

For the most impactful part of my Eagle project, I researched what cavity-nesting species breed at Powdermill and assembled 22 bird boxes for five species: Wood Ducks, Eastern Bluebirds, Eastern Screech Owls, Black-capped Chickadees, and Tree Swallows, and enlisted the help of the Troop to help hang them in appropriate habitat.

On April 15, 2025, Powdermill Nature Reserve hosted an Eagle Scout Ceremony for the completion of (De)Forested Flight. I handed out special awards to all the amazing members who attended the Ceremony, followed by an emotional speech about the incredible mentors and role models who helped shape my journey as I advanced from Scout all the way up through Eagle, my wonderful family, and my own Troop 372 for their help and devotion to my Eagle Project. Earlier that same day, the banding crew spotted an Eastern Bluebird visiting one of the nest boxes I hung up the previous summer as part of my Eagle project.

As I look back on completing my Eagle Project, I’m reminded of how important it is to get out and keep trying new things. I was extremely grateful for all the welcoming and acceptance the staff at PARC gave me, and my Eagle Project felt like a fitting way of giving back to the community I had become a part of.

Ollie Sparks is a volunteer at Powdermill Avian Research Center and an Eagle Scout.

Michael J. Bainbridge Wins the 2024 Carnegie Mineralogical Award

by Travis Olds, Assistant Curator of Minerals

March 4, 2025

I am pleased to announce Michael J. Bainbridge as the winner of the 2024 Carnegie Mineralogical Award. Established in 1987 through the generosity of The Hillman Foundation Inc., the award honors outstanding contributions in mineralogical preservation, conservation, and education.

Michael is the Assistant Curator of Mineralogy at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa. Over the course of his career, he has elevated the field of mineral photography, published in leading mineralogical publications, and contributed to groundbreaking works such as Minerals of the Grenville Province: New York, Ontario, and Québec.

Travis Olds and Michael Bainbridge holding the Carnegie Mineralogical Award. — Travis Olds and Michael Bainbridge holding the Carnegie Mineralogical Award at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show.

Michael has blended art and science to preserve and showcase the beauty of minerals, inspiring collectors and researchers alike. He has immortalized some of the rarest and best-of-species minerals, and this award recognizes the many wonderful contributions he has made to mineral heritage through his lens.

Among his achievements, Bainbridge’s mineral photography has been featured in important works, such as The Pinch Collection at the Canadian Museum of Nature, and numerous articles in Rocks and Minerals and The Mineralogical Record. His work has ensured that specimens of scientific and cultural significance are preserved and appreciated by future generations. As a co-author of Minerals of the Grenville Province, Bainbridge helped document the mineralogical heritage of one of North America’s most storied geological regions. His contributions to Mindat.org and numerous mineral symposia have further enriched the global mineralogical community.

“I love to teach, and I love to tell stories, but I think both are fueled by a desire to learn for myself,” said Michael, reflecting on his achievements. “I’ve always been technically minded but artistically inclined, so combining my passion for minerals with my love of photography has proven the perfect vehicle for me to pursue and share both the scientific and the aesthetic. It has afforded me access to some of the world’s great collections and sparked collaborations with some of the community’s most influential amateurs and professionals alike.

“Among my proudest accomplishments, the Pinch book stands in high relief. Pushing the boundaries of photomicroscopy in documenting some of the smallest and rarest specimens of Mont Saint-Hilaire has been both challenging and rewarding. Ensuring top-notch reproductions for Lithographie’s publications has proven a similarly worthy endeavor. The significant finds I have made as a field collector are also close to my heart. But seeing new people come to the hobby through doors I have helped to open—whether through the Recreational Geology Project or co-founding the new Ottawa Valley Mineral Club—has perhaps been the most rewarding of all.

“More than anything, I am grateful for the many opportunities to share what I have learned along the way. And now, I look forward to the next chapter in my career as I assist in curating Canada’s national collection at the Canadian Museum of Nature. I am truly honored and humbled by this recognition of my small part in helping to present and preserve the world’s mineralogical heritage for future generations.”

I had the honor of presenting the award to Michael at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show on February 15, 2025. Congratulations, Michael!

2025 Carnegie Mineralogical Award

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2025 Carnegie Mineralogical Award, and the deadline is November 15, 2025. Eligible candidates include educators, private mineral enthusiasts and collectors, curators, museums, mineral clubs and societies, mineral symposiums, universities, and publications. For information, contact Travis Olds, Assistant Curator, Section of Minerals & Earth Sciences, at 412-622-6568 or oldst@carnegiemnh.org.

October 10, 2024 by Erin Southerland

Celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day 2024 in The Greater Pittsburgh Area

by Amy Covell-Murthy, Archaeology Collection Manager and Head of the Section of Anthropology

Indigenous Peoples’ Day is observed in many US cities and states alongside Columbus Day, and I would like to suggest some ways to observe the holiday for those who do not claim Indigenous heritage. As the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) liaison at Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH), I have the privilege of working closely with Indigenous people and communities on the research, repatriation, and standards of care for the cultural assemblages stewarded in the collection. It is my absolute pleasure to help provide a platform for authentic voices and Indigenous ways of knowing to be brought into the narratives, policies, and protocols that shape our vision for the future of the museum.

In a state like Pennsylvania with no habitable federally recognized Indigenous land, Native people are all too often seen as existing only in the past, but many First Nations people live, work, and play right alongside us in the Greater Pittsburgh Area and beyond. Indigenous Peoples’ Day should not be a memorial, but a recognition of the important history and cultural heritage of those who are the past, present, and future caretakers of this land.

Photo by: John E Rodgers/Ogahpah Communications

Likewise, museum exhibits should reflect the present and future of Indigenous people, not only the past. The first iteration of a new exhibit series in the Alcoa Foundation Hall of American Indians opens on October 13 to commemorate repatriation work with the Quapaw Nation. Co-curators Betty Gaedtke and Carrie Vee Wilson worked together to bring their first-person stories to this new showcase that they have chosen to call Keeping Traditions Alive. Visiting the exhibit or one in your area is an excellent way to honor Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

Here are some more ways to respectfully celebrate on October 14, 2024.

Learn About the People Who Have Called Pittsburgh Home

Many different cultural groups have occupied the Upper Ohio River Valley including but not limited to the Delaware/Lenape, the Haudenosaunee, the Shawnee, and the Wyandotte. The Osage Nation also claims origin in the Ohio River Valley, and you can learn about all these nations on their official websites. I also suggest hitting up your local library to check out books on these groups as well as the cultural traditions and ancestors who came before them. This region was home to those who are often referred to as the Adena, Hopewell, and Monongahela. But keep in mind, we have no idea what they called themselves.

Here are some resources:

Haudenosaunee Confederacy

Delaware Tribe

Absentee Shawnee Tribe

Wyandotte Nation

The Osage Nation

Educate Yourself About Indigenous History in Pennsylvania

Many First Pennsylvanians were forced from their homelands and infected with unfamiliar diseases by colonizers. Later the first assimilation school was created in Carlisle, PA and used as a model for 24 more of these institutions whose primary goal was to force Indigenous children to abandon their Native languages and customs. In the 1960s, the building of the Kinzua Dam forced Seneca Nation citizens to move into the State of New York, breaking the 1794 Treaty of Peace and Friendship. Indigenous communities thrive despite these events and institutions, but it is important to recognize and not try to hide these gruesome parts of our shared American history. You can find more information about these examples on these websites:

Kinzua Dam – Seneca Iroquois National Museum

Removal History of the Delaware Tribe

Indian Boarding Schools’ Traumatic Legacy, And The Fight To Get Native Ancestors Back

Support Local Indigenous Groups

The Council of Three Rivers American Indian Center (COTRAIC) is a regional intertribal nonprofit that promotes the socio-economic development of the Native American community and others who experience the same type of economic difficulties in the Greater Pittsburgh metropolitan area. One way to support them is to plan to attend their annual Pow Wow that is held in Dorseyville, just outside of Pittsburgh, in late September. Learn more about their Early Childhood Education, Native American Elders, Veterans, and Employment programs at COTRAIC.org and on their Facebook page.

COTRAIC’s Singing Winds Food Pantry is an excellent resource to help people meet their food needs. Learn more, donate, or sign up to receive support from the food pantry.

Honor the Land

Planting Native Pennsylvanian plants is a wonderful way to honor our connection to the Earth and to provide food and shelter for the diverse species who live here. You can learn about how Indigenous People use trees, ferns, flowers, vegetables, fruits, and grasses to enhance their quality of life. The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania offer suggestions for those who are interested.

*Quapaw Pow wow Grand Entry, 2024.* *Photo by: John E Rodgers/Ogahpah Communications*

Support Indigenous Artists, Authors, Film Makers, and Musicians

You have so many options! The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation released a list of Indigenous musical artists to watch out for in 2024. My personal favorite this year is Sekawnee. Check out their video for the song “Nations” with frequent collaborators, Chasé Scanz and EfrainYB.

Check out the Sundance Institute Indigenous Program that champions Indigenous-created stories in a global scale.

The New York Public Library posted a wonderful resource for finding recent works by Indigenous authors.

You can also support Indigenous artists by purchasing art through the online gift shop of the Seneca Iroquois National Museum/Onöhsagwë:de’ Cultural Center or take a drive up to purchase something in person and see the new longhouse that they’ve built behind the museum.

Help Change Derogatory Mascots and Place Names

Sign petitions, attend community forums, and advocate for the changing of harmful stereotypes and offensive signage in our community. From the Cleveland Guardians to Hemlock Hollow Road, there are many instances of this happening around us.The Haudenosaunee Nationals Lacrosse Team, who hope to make it to the 2028 Olympics, changed their name in 2022 to reflect their collective identity.

Consider Donating Time or Resources

The Seneca Iroquois National Museum/ Onöhsagwë:de’ Cultural Center is only a few hours’ drive from Pittsburgh and occasionally may be looking for volunteers. Check their website and follow their Instagram and Facebook accounts for more information.

If you are able, here are just a few organizations who can use your help.

Advancing Indigenous People in STEM

Native American Agriculture Fund

NDN Collective

Association of American Indian Affairs

So, join me once again in celebrating the cultural diversity of Indigenous People throughout the history of our region. Remember that the best places to start educating yourself are local libraries and museums here in Pittsburgh or wherever you live.

Amy L. Covell-Murthy (she/her) is the Archaeology Collection Manager/Head of the Section of Anthropology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History Blog Citation Information

Blog author: Covell-Murthy, Amy
Publication date: October 10, 2024

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August 30, 2024 by

Home school Classes

Homeschool Classes

Explore the natural world in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s homeschool classes! Students ages 6-18 from the Western Pennsylvania homeschool community are invited to attend interactive, engaging sessions designed to complement homeschool science curriculums. Read on below to learn more about the schedule and descriptions of all our classes and to register your learner today – classes fill up quickly!

2025-2026 Homeschool Classes listed below meet at the museum on the following Mondays. Classes for all sessions and ages will run from 1:00–3:30 p.m.

Fall 2025 Session
October 20
October 27
November 3
November 10
November 17

Last day to register for Fall session: October 6, 2025

Winter 2026 Session
January 26
February 2
February 9
February 16
February 23

Last day to register for Winter Session: January 12, 2026

Spring 2026 Session
April 13
April 20
April 27
May 4
May 11

Last day to register for Spring Session: March 30, 2026

Registration for 2025–2026 Homeschool Classes is now closed. Please check back this summer for details about the 2026–2027 season!

Spring 2026 Session

Wild and Wonderful Plants (Ages 6-8)

Spend the spring learning all about plants! Get your hands dirty as you learn how to plant and take care of seedlings in your own mini garden. Observe the life cycle of plants, learn about different types, and find out what each plant needs to grow and thrive. Conduct a flower dissection and look at the parts of plants under a microscope. Explore the museum to see how plants have changed and adapted throughout Earth’s history, and discover “living fossils” like the magnolia that have been around for millions of years.

Aquatic Micro Explorers (Ages 9-12)

Take a walk and get an up-close look at what’s in the water around us. Collect and analyze water from ponds, streams, and runoff, then learn how to properly use microscopes to identify the good, the bad, and the ugly living in local waterways. Conduct a full analysis of the health of local watersheds. As spring and warmer weather develop, watch life emerge in the water – observe algae, bacteria, and insects growing in their mini habitats.

Forensic Science III (High School – Ages 13-18)

Continue building your investigative skills in the Spring Session and conclusion of our Forensic Science series. Experiment with forensic odontology by creating and analyzing dental casts and molds of humans and other animals. Go behind-the-scenes in the museum’s entomology department to explore the significance of using insects and arthropods in criminal investigations. Implement forensic anthropometry through examination, measurement, and dissection of bones. Use deductive reasoning and your new skills to solve a forensic mystery.

Registration and Cancellation Policies

Late registration (within two weeks of the session start date) may be possible with an additional $50 fee. Contact. ProgramRegistration@CarnegieMuseums.org to inquire about availability.

For cancellations to a single session, participants are eligible for a full refund minus a $10 processing fee if cancelling more than one week before the session begins. For cancellations made less than one week before the session starts, but before the second class in the session, participants are eligible for a refund minus a $10 processing fee and the pro-rated cost of the first class. No refunds will be issued after the second class in the session.

Inclement Weather Policy

For children’s programs scheduled to occur December through March, the following inclement weather policy will be used: Should hazardous conditions result in cancellation of classes, announcements will be made on local Pittsburgh television stations including KDKA, WTAE, WPXI, and FOX. Decisions are based on the needs of all students and instructors, some of whom drive considerable distances to Oakland. Makeup days may be scheduled for missed classes. During any inclement weather, please use your own discretion to attend for your own safety and that of your student.

August 16, 2024 by Erin Southerland

Natural History Collection Managers: The Stewards of Time Travel

by Serina Brady and Mariana Marques

For centuries, naturalists have collected the living world with the primary goal of understanding the diversity and complexity of our planet. In vast shelves and cabinets located in natural history museums, we find a diversity of specimens used daily by researchers, students, naturalists, and conservationists from around the world. These collections are not just archives of the past, but they also play a crucial role in addressing present-day challenges. By documenting the diversity of life, natural history collections provide a wealth of information that can be used to tackle issues such as climate change, pandemics, pathogen dispersals, deforestation, habitat fragmentation, and biodiversity loss. They can be considered the world’s most comprehensive and complex library, serving as a valuable resource for understanding and addressing the health of our planet.

Each specimen can be seen as a unique document or book recording an aspect of life on Earth at a particular time and place. They testify to the existence of a given species in a given locality and at a particular time, and they have a fundamental role as a guarantee of the scientific method: they allow objective observation that can be replicable. Natural history collections are an unparalleled source of information. For instance, a single bird or reptile specimen can provide data on its species, its habitat, its diet, and even its health. This wealth of information continues to allow researchers to understand better the past, the present, and the future of biodiversity, as well as the health of our planet – from local communities to the entire Earth.

*Carnegie Museum of Natural History Alcohol House, Collection of Amphibians and Reptiles. ©Photo by: Luis Ceríaco.*

*Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Collection of Birds. ©Photo by: Luis Ceríaco.*

These collections are usually housed in natural history museums. These museums are research, conservation, education, and public outreach hubs. Their collections are not limited to public exhibitions; in fact, the majority are housed in storage locations, generally out of sight and knowledge of the public. The process of collecting and storing these specimens is methodical. Each specimen is carefully collected, identified, and cataloged, then stored in a controlled environment to ensure long-term preservation. This process ensures that these specimens, often fragile and irreplaceable, are protected and can continue to be used for research and education for future generations.

Natural History Collections: a Tool to Face Global Changes

How can a specimen collected more than 100 years ago still be relevant today? Historical collections, like the one housed at Carnegie Museum of Natural History, provide baseline data points. These initial measurements or observations serve as a starting point for future comparisons. By providing a snapshot of life on Earth at a particular time and place, these specimens allow us to study change over time. The first and most crucial step is to gather those baseline data points!

From their early days, natural history collections’ primary goal was to inventory all life on Earth. However, with new cutting-edge technology, researchers can recover different data from historical specimens, data that the original collector didn’t even imagine. For example, when birds were collected from the U.S. Rust Belt, collectors didn’t realize that the specimens would be used to infer information about the history of pollution. Similarly, in the early twentieth century, the collectors of salamanders in the Appalachian woods didn’t even realize that some of those specimens were already infected with a pathogen that is devastating some of the world amphibian populations today.

However, because specimens were collected, we can now map the expansion of this pathogen through time or trace the amount of black carbon in the air over time through birds’ feathers to help fight and understand climate change. Part of the job of Collection Managers like us is not just to preserve and maintain the existing collections, but also to anticipate and predict the questions future researchers will be asking. This proactive approach ensures we gather today’s data to answer tomorrow’s questions. Specimens collected over a century ago are actively used today to answer questions about current and future environmental changes.

Specimens at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History collected during the early 1900s continued to have a significant role in research questions. These specimens give researchers insight into environmental changes through time, such as soot deposited on bird feathers or the presence of pathogens such as the chytrid fungus on amphibian populations across a specific time and place. Top: Two Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) specimens, one from 1895 (bottom) and the other from 1993 (top), showing the change in air quality over time (DuBay and Fuldner 2017). © Photo by Luis Ceríaco. Below: Amphibian specimen of Common Mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus) being swabbed by a student from the University of Pittsburgh (Richards-Zawacki Lab) to detect the presence of the amphibian chytrid fungus – Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. ©Photo by: Rachel Verdi.

New applications of technologies, such as computed tomography (CT) scans, provide novel insights and usages for specimens. CT scans allow a complete 3D model of a specimen, including access to its internal morphology without damaging it. Using next-generation sequencing, scientists can use fragmented and degraded DNA for advanced analyses such as phylogenetic and phylogeographic analysis. These specialized methods allow us to study species’ evolutionary relationships and geographic distribution. These advanced techniques are just some of the ways natural history collections are being used to push the boundaries of scientific knowledge.

CT scans provide details of internal anatomy, presence of parasites, reproduction, etc., without damaging the specimen. CT scans are a significant technological advance for fields such as taxonomy, developmental and evolutionary biology, and studying functional morphology for natural history specimens. © Edward Stanley, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida (oVert – OpenVertebrate project).

A Biodiversity Backup

Continuing to grow our collections is not only scientifically essential but undeniably needed. Currently, 1.8 million species have been formally described to science, although worldwide experts predict that around 8.75 million species still await to be discovered, described, and named. Given current extinction rates, we are racing against time to describe the remaining 86% of the world’s species, many of which may become extinct before we know they even existed!

New species of birds, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and insects continue to be discovered worldwide, sometimes based on specimens tucked away in a museum for decades! These collections are not just archives of the past but also living libraries that continue to grow and evolve as new species are discovered. Each new discovery adds to our understanding of the natural world and underscores the importance of these collections in documenting and preserving Earth’s biodiversity. These new specimens contribute to our most significant and longest dataset of the natural world. But just as a library that stops acquiring new books, a natural history collection that doesn’t add new specimens will eventually lose its scientific value and relevancy. If we don’t continue to add physical proof of today’s biodiversity, we create unfillable gaps in one of our most powerful natural history data sets. Today is tomorrow’s past, and natural history collections act as a biodiversity backup of our planet!

Serina Brady is Collection Manager of Birds and Mariana Marques is Collection Manager of Amphibians and Reptiles at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

What’s in a Name? The History of the Naming of the Eastern Mole

by John Wible

In the tenth edition of the “Systema Naturae” (1758), the Swedish botanist and natural historian Carl Linnaeus recognized eight orders of mammals, all of which include species that today are not particularly closely related. His order Bestiae included pigs, armadillos, hedgehogs, moles, shrews, and opossums. Of these, the hedgehogs, moles, and shrews are considered today to form a natural group, with the others coming from very far-flung branches of the mammal tree of life.

For the shrews, Linnaeus named three species of Sorex, Sorex araneus, Sorex cristatus, and Sorex aquaticus, with their habitats Europe, Pennsylvania, and America, respectively. Sorex araneus is recognized today as the common shrew (see image), distributed in Great Britain, much of the European continent, and far into Russia. However, the other two are not shrews, but are moles! Today, we recognize these as the star-nosed mole, Condylura cristata, and the Eastern mole, Scalopus aquaticus (see image). The former has a broad distribution in Pennsylvania with the latter only in the eastern part of the state.

common shrew and a worm — *Common shrew,* Sorex araneus. Photo credit: Soricida, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

close-up of an eastern mole — *Eastern mole,* Scalopus aquaticus. Photo credit: Kenneth Catania, Vanderbilt University, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Just before the shrews in the tenth edition, Linnaeus named two species of moles, Talpa europaea and Talpa asiatica, with their habitats Europe and Siberia, respectively. Given the remarkable similarity in body form between the Old World and New World moles, it is surprising that Linnaeus did not recognize these four species (Sorex cristatus, Sorex aquaticus, Talpa europaea, and Talpa asiatica) as closely related.

Regarding the Eastern mole, subsequent nineteenth century authors realized Sorex aquaticus did not belong in the shrew genus Sorex. However, it was bounced around between several mole genera, including Talpa, and it was not until 1905 that the Latin binomial we use today, Scalopus aquaticus, was first used, 147 years after Linnaeus! The formal naming of species is not static, but evolves over time as we discover more about our natural world that causes us to reconsider and reevaluate past practices. Changing the shrew aspect of the common name lagged behind the formal one, as it was not for quite some time that the shrew moniker imparted by Linnaeus disappeared. A halfway point is in the famous 1846 “The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America” by John J. Audubon and Reverend John Bachman, where they called it the common American shrew mole.

From the short text in the “Systema Naturae” where Linnaeus named Sorex aquaticus, his motivation for identifying the Eastern mole as a shrew is unclear. Equally or perhaps more enigmatic is his motivation for using the specific name aquaticus. A direct translation of Sorex aquaticus is “water shrew,” with the strong implication that this mammal lived in the water or at least spent considerable time in the water. However, Linnaeus did not travel to America and so never saw Sorex aquaticus in the wild. The Eastern mole is a fossorial (burrowing) animal that spends most of its life underground with enormous forepaws for digging. Skin covers its tiny eyes, although it does perceive light and dark, and it lacks an external ear. Maybe its enlarged forepaws were viewed as flipper-like by Linnaeus. Yet, these paws resemble those of the Old World Talpa named by Linnaeus as true moles. In 1936, mammalogist A.V. Arlton stated, “The term “aquaticus,” as applied to our common species refers to the webbed hind feet, which indicated to some early writers a possible use in swimming” (Journal of Mammalogy, 17, p. 355). Unfortunately, Arlton did not name names for these early writers! Consequently, his statement cannot be fact checked. The bottom line is that in his description of Sorex aquaticus, Linnaeus did not mention webbing for either the fore- or hind feet. And ultimately, as the namer of the species, it is Linnaeus’ motivation that we need to know.

There are some general rules for naming new species. For example, you can’t name a new species after yourself. In the Linnean era, the general trend was to apply Latin or Greek descriptors that would capture some aspect of the organism in question, a tradition continued today by most authors. For instance, our species, Homo sapiens, was named by Linnaeus and it translates to “wise man.” While we might debate the appropriateness of that as the binomial for our species, there is no debate that Sorex aquaticus is inappropriate for our ground dwelling Eastern mole.

John Wible is Curator of Mammals at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

The Moon Snails Neverita duplicata and Euspira heros: Cannibal Predators of the Sea! … who also enjoy a nice algae salad

by Sabrina Spiher Robinson and Tim Pearce

Imagine you’re a clam, hanging out in your cozy little hole under shallow ocean water, with your siphon out, just filtering lunch out of the water current, happy as a…you. Then, all of a sudden, something flips you gently out of that hole.

You pull in your siphon and your foot, clamp shut your valves. You’re pretty tough to get open, strong adductor muscles keep your two shells held tightly together, and you’ve survived danger by closing up shop and waiting before. And nothing seems to be trying to pry you open, even though something has wrapped itself around you, and is now pulling you down into the sand with it. Then:

scrape scrape scrape

Or imagine you’re a young moon snail, Neverita duplicata – one of the most common species of moon snails that live on the eastern seaboard of North America. You’re a gastropod with a lovely round grayish shell, such that people call it a “shark eye,” and you’ve got a huge foot that can come out of that shell and cover almost all of your body – or all of your prey’s body! But at the moment you’re just cruising along the sand, slurping at a bit of detritus. Suddenly, you’re enveloped by something. You instinctively pull your body into your shell and tightly close your door-like operculum for safety. Then your aperture is covered by…something familiar? Then:

scrape scrape scrape

It doesn’t matter how tightly the clam clamps, or how mighty the young snail’s foot, both are going to come to the same fate, slowly.

scrape scrape scrape

Eventually, your shell is penetrated. A rasping radula – a mollusk’s organ containing its teeth – has bored a hole through your shell with the help of a gentle acid secreted by a gland by the mouth, and then you feel a burning: gastric juices are being pumped through the hole to begin to digest your flesh. Your killer begins to slurp you up, right where you lie, wrapped up in their hug, as you’re slowly eaten alive.

The young moon snail might have figured out who its killer was before the end: that’s how it eats too. The thing is, moon snails are cannibals, the larger preying on the smaller.

There are hundreds of kinds of moon snails all over the world, but the ones that are probably most familiar to beach goers on the eastern coast of the USA are two species also commonly called “shark eyes” – Neverita duplicata and Euspira heros. From the top, they’re hard to tell apart (the spire on E. heros is a little pointier than on N. duplicata) but once you flip them over, it becomes easy to distinguish them: N. duplicata, the Atlantic moon snail, has a big callus over its umbilicus, and E. heros, the Northern moon snail, doesn’t. Technically, only the Atlantic moon snail has a shark eye shell, but since they’re often mixed up with Northern moon snails, the term shark eye is sometimes applied to them too.

N. duplicata, left; E. heros, right. *Photo credit: Sabrina Spiher Robinson*

These two moon snails aren’t the only marine gastropods that drill their prey and digest them alive to suck them up for dinner – lots of marine gastropods are predatory drills. But moon snails have distinct boreholes that allow people to identify when a shell has been bored specifically by a moon snail – scientists can even tell the difference between the Atlantic and Northern species’ holes. These “countersunk” holes look like little funnels, wider on the outside of the shell than on the inside. Other kinds of drilling snails leave behind straight-sided holes.

These unique boreholes allow scientists to track the evolution of moon snails from the Miocene to recent times. One group of researchers found that moon snail cannibalism might have driven a kind of coevolution between and among moon snail species. Because one moon snail can make dangerous prey for a fellow moon snail predator, over time moon snails seem to have learned to drill other moon snails at a spot on their shells that allowed the predator to cover the prey’s entire aperture, preventing the strong foot of their prey from fighting back. This means boring through a thicker part of the shell, however, so it takes longer to hold down and bore through the prey snail’s shell. But the record of natural selection in fossils throughout time suggests the added cost must be worth the benefit of moving target drilling zones. Meanwhile, small moon snails almost always lose out to larger ones when attacked, so both N. duplicata and E. heros have evolved to get bigger and bigger over time – although a bigger snail is also a more enticing snack target. Same-sized moon snails don’t even bother to attack one another, suggesting that a fellow moon snail is just too dangerous a prey when the winner of the battle between snails is a toss-up. As evidence that these are often battles between predator and prey snails, there are many incomplete boreholes found – a moon snail started attacking another moon snail, but only managed to get the job halfway done before the prey moon snail escaped. [1]

To be fair, moon snails aren’t just vicious cannibals – they also enjoy the snail equivalent of a nice salad. Another study that analyzed the tissues of moon snails revealed that their bodies have the chemical signatures of omnivores. The technique is called stable isotope analysis, wherein scientists use the ratio of carbon and nitrogen isotopes in an animal’s body to determine its diet, in broad terms. Carbon exists in three isotope forms, meaning the number of protons is the same in all three atoms, but the number of neutrons is different in each (carbon-12, carbon-13, and carbon-14); Nitrogen also has three isotope forms, nitrogen-14, nitrogen-15, and nitrogen-16. The vast majority of carbon on Earth is carbon-12, which is a stable isotope, as is carbon-13, meaning they do not decay over time; nitrogen-14 and -15 are stable, and make up the vast majority of nitrogen atoms. Different plants and animals have different ratios of carbon and nitrogen isotopes. The ratios of isotopes in plants and animals differ and these differences transfer to the body of the consumer, and so the isotope ratios of a meat-eating animal will differ from those of a vegetarian animal, and an omnivorous animal will be different again. Scientists were surprised to find that wild moon snail isotopes suggested they also ate non-animals, so to check their findings they fed captive moon snails nothing but clams, and then tested their isotopes – which looked exactly as one would expect in an all-meat diet. Apparently the wild moon snails were actually eating things other than meat, probably algae. This was a big deal, since so much of the literature on moon snails is about their predatory drilling! [2]

Moon snail shells are a relatively common find on east-coast beaches (and another moon snail, Euspira lewisii, is a common find on the west coast), but if you’re at the beach this summer, there’s more to look for than just shells – moon snails also leave behind very distinctive egg nests, often called “sand collars.” The fertilized female snail nestles into a little hole in the sand (as all moon snails do during the day when they’re not feeding) and produces a sheet of mucus, which she mixes with sand and pushes up to the surface, as she does so, the sheet curls around her shell and eventually right around to form a ring. This fusion of mucus and sand grains solidifies, she attaches her thousands of eggs to it, and then covers those with another layer of mucus and sand. Once the eggs are ready to hatch after a few weeks, when the next high tide comes along the eggs let go thousands of little larvae called veligers, which will drift off to finish developing into baby snails who will eventually settle into the intertidal zone and start lives for themselves. Once the eggs hatch, the collar becomes brittle and disintegrates, but if you find one that’s still plastic-y on the beach, leave it! There are thousands of tiny baby vicious predators in there waiting to hatch! Awww.

*A sand collar full of shark eye eggs. Image credit: Blenni, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.*

Sabrina Spiher Robinson is Collection Assistant for the Section of Mollusks and Tim Pearce is Head of the Section of Mollusks at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

References

[1] Gregory P. Dietl and Richard R. Alexander, Post-Miocene Shift in Stereotypic Naticid Predation on Confamilial Prey from the Mid-Atlantic Shelf: Coevolution with Dangerous Prey PALAIOS Vol. 15, No. 5 (Oct., 2000), pp. 414-429

[2] Casey MM, Fall LM and Dietl GP, You Are What You Eat: Stable Isotopic Evidence Indicates That the Naticid Gastropod Neverita duplicata Is an Omnivore. Front. Ecol. Evol. 4:125. (2016) doi: 10.3389/fevo.2016.00125

The Busyconidae Whelks, Homebodies of the East Coast

by Sabrina Spiher Robinson and Tim Pearce

We try not to have strong favorites among the mollusks of the world in the CMNH Section of Mollusks, but it’s hard not to love the whelks. They leave behind big, beautiful shells for shell collectors on our east coast and Gulf beaches; they’re instantly recognizable as a family— Busyconidae — and pretty easy to tell apart at the species level by an amateur. Some of the species are sinistral, left-coiling snails, which are otherwise rare among gastropods. They live long and move slowly, reminding us all that slow and steady is an optimal way to approach life. They taste good! The traditional Italian American dish scungilli is often described as “conch,” but conchs only live in our warm southern waters, and what is usually sold in American markets for scungilli is actually whelk meat. (In Italy, they also eat sea snails, under a lot of different names, but the Mediterranean has different families of marine gastropods.)

three view of a lightning whelk — *The lightning whelk,* Sinistrofulgar perversum, a left-coiling gastropod. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Now, whelks are maybe not the most sophisticated of marine snails: unlike some gastropods with eye stalks and relatively good sight abilities, whelks have eye spots, which don’t do much more than detect light and dark. Studies of their sense of smell reveal them to have a tenuous ability at best to follow scent trails of prey in the water, and they’ve been observed just kind of slowly zig-zagging back and forth in the mud, apparently hoping to run into a clam. Once they find a clam, some whelks wedge the edge of their own shell between the valves of their prey, and just pry for as long as it takes to pop it open. Other species of whelk rock the edge of their own shells back and forth against the opening of a bivalve, slowly chipping its valves apart.

I mean, look: it isn’t much, but it’s honest work. Whelks are just a great family of sea snails. And Busycon whelks are endemic to the east coast of North America, meaning they’ve only ever been found here. Hometown heroes, if you will.

Our east coast whelks are committed homebodies partly because they evolved relatively late among mollusk families, in the Oligocene, a period spanning from 33.9 – 23 million years ago. The family Busyconidae first emerged in the fossil record in the Mississippian Sea, which had been a shallow extension of what is now the Gulf of Mexico that reached far inland along the route of what is now the Mississippi River. At the end of the Oligocene, the planet’s climate cooled and as ice formed at the poles, sea levels fell, eliminating this inland sea in North America — the whelks then found themselves in the Gulf.

Mollusks have existed on Earth clear back to the Cambrian Era, 540 million years ago. Most modern marine gastropod families began evolving earlier than the Busycons, which meant they were around when all the continents on Earth were one giant supercontinent called Pangea. But Pangea had already broken apart before the Busycons appeared in the fossil record.

Now, here’s the thing, if you are a marine gastropod only suited to shallow, intertidal waters, and you come into being along the coast of a supercontinent, given enough time, your family can spread around the entire coastline of that supercontinent. Then, as it begins to break up, your populations break up with it, and in a few dozen millions of years, your family has populations all over the Earth. But if you are a marine gastropod only suited to shallow, intertidal waters, and you come into being when the North Atlantic has already split from Europe, your family can’t make it across the open sea to go anywhere else. And so, the Busycon family of whelks found themselves in the Gulf of Mexico, near the shore, and began to spread from there, east and west, south and north, until today they exist from the Yucatan Peninsula up to about Cape Cod (it gets too cold for them further north).

five views of a knobbed whelk — *Knobbed whelk,* Busycon carica. H. Zell, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Buccinidae whelks, however, can handle arctic cold. They first evolved in the Northeast Pacific Ocean, and they eventually spread along the coastlines across the Bering Strait and down onto the North American west coast, across the Canadian Arctic to the North American east coast and the European eastern Atlantic. They’ve actually made it almost everywhere! But Buyscons can’t take that kind of cold.

There are other factors that limit their spread, one is the ocean currents around the Gulf and western Atlantic. Although Cuba is just 90 miles from the Florida Keys, whelks, which are plentiful in Florida, have never managed to cross the Gulf Stream to colonize Cuba. But one of the main things that keep Busycon whelks from getting anywhere is that, unlike most marine mollusks, they never have a free-swimming larval form, in which they could disperse more widely on ocean currents. Most marine snails have a life cycle that starts with an egg and then proceeds after hatching to a free-swimming larva. Basically, most baby marine mollusks are plankton. And in this state, they can float around and sometimes disperse pretty far afield on ocean currents. As long as they end up in suitable habitat when it’s time for them to metamorphosize into their adult forms, marine mollusks can theoretically end up living hundreds of miles from where they were spawned.

But whelks don’t have this free-swimming period in their youth. Adult females are inseminated directly by males and then lay strings of egg cases (which are also reliably common finds on our eastern beaches) in which the little baby whelks grow and hatch as fully formed miniature snails. Then they just crawl off.

knobbed whelk egg case — *The egg case of a knobbed whelk,* Busycon carica. Gtm at en.wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

And they’re not very fast crawlers, even for snails. Whelks make their living by eating bivalves, but they’re never in a hurry to find them — in multiple observational studies over many decades, no one has ever seen a Busycon whelk move further than 150 meters in a day, and those go-getters were the outliers; many days whelks barely move at all. Many factors conspire to keep whelks close to their birthplace.

*The channeled whelk,* Busycotypus canaliculatus. Credit: Skye McDavid, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Whelk populations are so localized that some researchers think it’s important to identify and treat separately groups of whelks in distinct geographic locations not at all far from each other. In 2022, several scientists at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) published a paper on channeled whelks (Busycotypus canaliculatus) documenting their genetic diversity in different geographic locations. They did this as part of a study of the channeled whelk population in general, to recommend how to manage the whelk fishery. (Whelks are increasingly harvested and sold as “conch” – and sometimes as clam strips!) In America, individual states manage their own fisheries of all kinds, but this isn’t always done well. In order to keep the fishing of any species (fish, mollusk, crab, shrimp, what have you) productive and sustainable, it’s important not to take more from the sea than can be replenished, and not to take animals that haven’t lived long enough to have reproduced (which is why some fisheries have size limits, as a proxy for the age and sexual maturity of the animal being harvested). But without good data on population size as well as age and size at sexual maturity, effective management and limit setting is basically impossible, and too often states don’t err on the side of caution. When allowable takes are too large, or allowed to include juvenile animals, the population of the fishery will plummet, and this has happened in different places and different times among the whelks. So, the VIMS project was meant to contribute data to help manage the whelk fisheries along the east coast sustainably.

The VIMS scientists caught whelks in ten different locations, from Buzzards Bay in Massachusetts down to Charleston, South Carolina, and sequenced their DNA. They found significant genetic divergence between the three sampled populations from the Carolinas and the populations in Virginia and north. But the scientists also found pretty big divergences across all the locations, even in populations as geographically close to one another as Virginia Beach, VA, and the Virginia Eastern Shore, about a hundred miles away across the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay.

Morphologically, all these whelks look pretty much alike, but genetically, they’re very isolated and distinct populations, with very little breeding among locations. Busycon whelks stay so close to home that each of their little geographically specific populations genetically diverge from one another since they never get far enough to meet and mate with whelks in other relatively close locations. The VIMS authors suggested that different whelk populations in different places might require different fishery management based on size at age of maturity, which seemed to change across genetically different populations. And so, it isn’t as simple as managing the “whelk fisheries on the east coast,” or even the “whelk fisheries in Virginia.” Because Channeled whelk populations are so isolated from one another, they might need to be managed as fisheries in Charleston, SC and Ocean City, MD, and so forth, specifically. [1]

After all that, I should tell you, though, that there is one exception to this east coast endemic story: at some point about a hundred years ago, a population of channeled whelks was introduced to San Francisco Bay. They’ve been prospering there ever since, but they can’t spread any further on the west coast because the water outside the bay is too cold for them. That’s an extremely genetically isolated population, in an unusual environment for Busycon whelks – maybe someday it might become distinct enough from its east coast forebears to become its own species?

[1] Askin, Samantha E.; Fisher, Robert A.; Biesack, Ellen E.; Robins, Rick; and McDowell, Jan, Population Genetic Structure in Channeled Whelk Busycotypus canaliculatus along the U.S. Atlantic Coast (2022). Transactions of the American Fisheries Society. DOI: 10.1002/tafs.10374

Sabrina Spiher Robinson is Collection Assistant for the Section of Mollusks and Tim Pearce is Head of the Section of Mollusks at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Mineral Gazing

by Debra Wilson

Have you ever gazed up at the sky and noticed a cloud that looks like a face, or an animal, or an object? You can apply the same concept when you visit Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems! Many minerals on display have nicknames because of how they resemble certain animals, objects, or even characters from movies or TV shows. As you walk through the exhibits, let your imagination wander and search for minerals that look like things. Here are some to get you started.

Silver mineral that looks like an American flag — *“The Flag” – Silver in the Native Elements case of the Systematic Mineral Collection*

Image of the American flag that says "we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain...rememeber Dec. 7th!" — *Photo credit: Allen Saalburg, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.*

Nessie silver mineral — *“Nessie” – Silver in Minerals from the Former Soviet Union exhibit*

Loch Ness monster sculpture in the water — *Photo credit: Immanuel Giel, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons*

snowball calcite on quartz — *“Snowball” – Calcite on quartz in the Maramures District of Romania exhibit*

snowball held in mitten-covered hands — *Photo from Shutterstock.*

Inch Worm berthierite on quartz — *“Inch Worm” – Berthierite on quartz in The Maramures District of Romania exhibit*

photo of an inch worm — *Photo credit: gbohne from Berlin, Germany, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons*

The Scream septarian concretion — *“The Scream” – Septarian concretion in the Weathering Processes exhibit*

"The Scream" painting — *Image credit: Edvard Munch, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons*

the oyster natrolite on quartz — *“The Oyster” – Natrolite on quartz in the Deccan Plateau of India exhibit*

oyster shell with a pearl — *Photo from Shutterstock.*

French fries laumontite — *“French Fries” – Laumontite in Masterpiece Gallery*

cup of French fries — *Image by ha11ok from Pixabay*.

As you enter Hillman Hall, check out the minerals in the Entrance Cube, their nicknames are on the labels. There are many more minerals on display throughout the hall that have acquired nicknames. Here’s just a handful of other nicknames for minerals in the exhibits, see if you can find them. Good luck and enjoy your mineral gazing!

Nickname	Exhibit
The Bat	Igneous Rocks
Polar Bear	Weathering Processes
Sea Slug	The Maramures District of Romania
The Chariots	The Maramures District of Romania
Smog Monster	The Maramures District of Romania
Sea Serpent	Pennsylvania Minerals and Gems
Pine Trees On a Cliff	Oxides
BBQ Chips	Masterpiece Gallery
Cookies and Cream	Masterpiece Gallery

Debra Wilson is Collection Manager for the Section of Minerals at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Life Lessons from Dead Birds

by Pat McShea

The title of this post, “Life Lessons from Dead Birds,” is a phrase I use to summarize my long career as an educator at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. For more than 38 years I managed what is now called the Learning Collection, an enormous assemblage of artifacts, rocks, minerals, fossils, and preserved plants and animals, all dedicated to regional educational use through loans to teachers and other educators. The bird-focus of the summary phrase reflects both the numerous avian materials in the Learning Collection and my preference to use some of those items whenever I had the opportunity to work with students.

belted kingfisher taxidermy mount study skin, wing, and skull — *Belted Kingfisher physical materials in the Learning Collection include a taxidermy mount, study skin, spread wing, and skull.*

There was reasoning behind my bird bias. For natural history topics as narrowly focused as physical feeding adaptations, and as wide ranging as energy flow through ecosystems, bird examples provided students, elementary, middle, or high school level, with the chance to make their own topically relevant observations using common bird species around their school grounds, neighborhoods, and homes. My earliest presentations, however, taught me how important it was to address questions from the audience about the unique instructional materials.

The students’ questions never seemed like accusations. Whether the setting was a classroom, an auditorium, or a park pavilion, when I stood before them bearing the preserved remains of a once living bird, they simply wanted to know about my connection to the creature’s death. My denials varied with the specimen in-hand. For the spread wing of a hawk, or the skull of an owl, touchable objects that require occasional replacement because of wear from repeated examinations, I’d explain the specimen’s provenance as salvaged material from road-killed or window-killed wildlife.

“Birds and other wildlife have accidents, and sometimes already dead animals are donated to the museum. Permits and regulations are involved, and as a museum educator, my role in the process is to store the bodies in a freezer until they can be prepared for educational purposes.”

*A Learning Collection storage drawer holds six bird study skins. Clockwise, Great Blue Heron, Pied-billed Grebe (3), American Bittern, and American Woodcock.*

When presentations involved life-like, full body taxidermy mounts, I was able to cite far longer periods of personal separation. These birds are encased in portable display boxes with clear acrylic sides, and when I held them up, I drew the students’ attention to the creature’s pose.

“This bird appears ready to feed or to fly, and it’s been holding that position since long before I began working at the museum. I don’t know how it died, but I can share some information about how it has been preserved.” A gory summary followed, compressing into a few sentences, hours of meticulous work with scalpels, wire, pins, and a bird skin with every feather still attached to its outer surface. “The feathers are real, and the beak, along with some skull bones and leg bones, are still in place. All the body parts that would decay were removed long ago – the eyes, the brain, every internal organ, the muscle tissues. The eyes were replaced with glass replicas, of the proper size, shape, and color, and the skin, with feathers in place, was fitted over a custom-made form shaped just like the bird’s body.”

On some occasions, exploration of a presentation’s main topic was even further delayed because student inquiries shifted from the circumstances behind the authentic wildlife materials to their very purpose. “Why use animal remains at all?” I recall a student once asking.

My attempts to answer such questions came to include a quote from the late Dr. John E. Rawlins, former Curator of the museum’s Section of Invertebrate Zoology, about the critically important reasons for scientific collections to be created, maintained, and expanded. “Specimens are similar to books in libraries, because they are volumes of information that may be re-examined and reaffirmed,” Dr. Rawlins wrote, “But specimens are much more informative than books, because the content of a book is acquired in full by a single type of observation, reading. By contrast, the information content of a specimen is acquired by diverse methods of observation, many of which have not been applied to most specimens, and some of which have not yet been devised or even dreamed of.”

In advocating for the use of similar materials as educational tools, I expressed my hope that their current encounter with selected bird specimens might spark interest in, and even build empathy for, the populations of various wild bird species. As an example of this process, I cited personal experience. Before working at the museum, I was a Volunteer Naturalist at Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve, the headquarters for the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania. My first encounter with a bird study skin (the rigid, cotton-stuffed, and eyeless form traditional in scientific collections) occurred during a training session there, when a Pied-billed Grebe specimen was the focus of a presentation. As the study skin was carefully passed among the dozen participants, we were encouraged to examine the bird’s lobed toes, a physical feature that provided hints about the creature’s aquatic lifestyle.

*In carefully examining the study skin of a Pied-billed Grebe, you can learn about the dense down insulation of this aquatic bird.*

On sections of the lower Allegheny, I had observed single Pied-billed Grebes at least a dozen times during winter months, floating placidly just off sections of wooded riverbank, and making regular, 30-second dives beneath the surface. When the study skin reached me, I dutifully examined its toes, but I also used an index finger to gently part the dense pale breast feathers to reveal a layer of much denser gray down beneath them. In that moment, the specimen provided information, different than a photograph or written account, about how the birds I observed on the icy Allegheny stayed warm. This tactile specimen-centered encounter convinced me that preserved bird remains can enhance observations of the species’ more numerous living kin. During the years I managed the Learning Collection this was among the most important concepts I promoted.

Pat McShea is an Educator at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Botanists Gone Wild! Perspectives from the Record-Breaking Finish for City Nature Challenge 2024

by Jessica Romano

Every spring people all over the world join in the City Nature Challenge, a global effort to safely document and identify nature through the free and easy-to-use iNaturalist app. For the seventh consecutive year, Carnegie Museum of Natural History staff were among the participants taking on the challenge in and around the Pittsburgh region – and in 2024, the results were record-breaking! Totals for regional participants, identifiers, observations, and number of species hit their highest in the history of the challenge, thanks to a combination of warm, dry spring weather and dedication from participants. Observations and identifications made during the challenge are shared with scientists around the world, helping to both document and better understand the diversity of species around us.

Here are the totals from the Pittsburgh Region City Nature Challenge 2024 (CNC) – which are all records for this region’s participation!

Total participants who made observations: 643

Total participants who made identifications: 562

Total observations made: 10,050

Total species identified: 1,753

Total identifications: 16,875

Plants topped the list for observed species, with about 46% of the total, followed by insects with about 27% of the total. Other species identified but in smaller totals include fungi, birds, arachnids, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and mollusks.

Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum) took the top spot overall. This native plant species sprouts early in spring with long stems and umbrella-like leaves. The rest of the top 10 species are all plants, with the exception of the Red Admiral (Vanessa Atalanta), a beautiful butterfly with red bands on the wings. The most observed bird, the American Robin (Turdus migratorius),took spot 17, and at spot 26, the White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) was the most observed mammal.

*The lovely Common Blue Violet (*Viola sororia) came in third place on the list of observed species.

With plants claiming nine of the top ten spots, it’s fitting to get perspective from the museum’s Section of Botany, who not only participate, but whose dedication puts them at the top of the list. Although they are literally professionals at looking for plants, the common message from the Botany staff is that anyone can do this challenge! The objective is to document nature all around us, from parks to neighborhood streets to city blocks and beyond.

Reflections from the Section of Botany Scientists

Curatorial Assistant Alyssa Landa made a point to visit similar spots that she visited last year, as well as around her yard and street to look at things she walks past every day. “CNC is a great reminder to check out places near me,” Alyssa said. “The big thing for me this year is just the number of new-to-me species I was able to log, just by taking that little bit of extra time to pay attention to what’s around that I might not otherwise be drawn to or notice! This time of year is always really exciting to me, and CNC is a fun reminder that there’s still so much to learn. It’s also a reminder to revisit my old, well-known (plant) friends too.” And her efforts made a difference! Alyssa logged the second highest total identifications, putting her expertise to excellent use.

A steadfast champion for the City Nature Challenge, Associate Curator of Botany Mason Heberling uses the challenge to check out the woods nearby where he lives. “I get caught up in other things and forget to appreciate the hyper-local diversity, within walking distance,” Mason said. “I make it a point to visit the same woods by my house every CNC.” Despite travelling out of the area for much of the challenge, Mason logged nearly 100 local observations!

And then there’s Bonnie Isaac, the section’s Collection Manager. Although City Nature Challenge is not a competition, it’s worth noting and applauding Bonnie’s efforts – she logged the highest number of both observations and identifications in the Pittsburgh region this year! She made 607 observations, which totaled 343 different species, and identified a whopping 1,697 entries! Bonnie shared her reflections about the challenge and described why it’s so important to her.

“When I was young, I could not spend enough time outdoors. I was outside from sunup till sundown or until my folks came looking for me. My curiosity led me to want to know what everything I encountered was. One year one of my sisters gave me a Peterson field guide for Christmas. This led me to discover that there was a whole series of Peterson field guides. Thus began my collecting career. I had to have every Peterson Field Guide that came out. (I now have a complete set of Peterson Field Guides, leather bound editions.) With these guides I could go out and try to identify everything I saw. I was in heaven. I am also a very competitive person. The City Nature Challenge takes what I love to do and makes it into a bit of a competition. I don’t live in the Pittsburgh City Nature Challenge region. I live in Lawrence County. During the pandemic the best I could do was help with identifying observations. Now that I can travel to the Pittsburgh region during the City Nature Challenge. Game on!” – Bonnie Isaac

Of Bonnie’s impressive collection of field guides, the first one she received was not plants, but animal tracks! It was written by Olaus J. Murie, a former employee of Carnegie Museum of Natural History who became a world famous biologist. Image credit: Bonnie Isaac.

For this year’s challenge, Bonnie visited Raccoon Creek State Park, Moraine State Park, Bradys Run Park, and Brush Creek Park. “The City Nature Challenge gives me a chance to get outside and see how many different things I can find,” Bonnie said. “Every year I challenge myself to find more species than I did the previous year. I also find identifying observations made by others somewhat satisfying. I get a chance to hone my identification skills and I get to see what others have found.”

Even for a botanist with decades of experience like Bonnie, each year brings surprises. “Every year there are surprises that I didn’t expect. I’ll discover that something is blooming that I didn’t think would be blooming yet, or I might find that someone found a plant growing in an area where I wouldn’t have expected it.”

*Bonnie has never seen an all-white Blue-eyed Mary (*Collinsia verna). She was excited to see that iNaturalist user “bquail” found some during the challenge. Image credit: © bquail via iNaturalist, CC BY-NC

Bonnie continued, “The top observations tend to be some of the same things, many plants that are not native to the area. It’s the things with only a couple observations that I find the most interesting. It’s these unusual observations that keep me eager to see what nifty things are being found basically in our own backyards. It also keeps me energized to get out and find more and to look closer for the minute details that might separate one species from another.”

The iNaturalist app also allows for recordings of bird song, frog calls, and other sounds. Bonnie connected with a user who identified a unique feature on one of her uploaded recordings. “One of the surprises for me was someone contacting me to let me know that one of my bird recordings had gray tree frogs singing in the background.”

*Bonnie’s favorite observation of 2024 was this Goldenseal, just coming into bloom. Image credit: Bonnie Isaac.*

A Global Effort with Big Results

City Nature Challenge 2024 was not just a success in Pittsburgh – globally the number of cities participating increased to 690 this year, a big jump from 482 cities in 2023! Here are a few of the worldwide stats:

Total participants: 83,528 in 690 cities in 51 countries

Total observations made: 2.4 million

Total species identified: 65,682

The big winner across the board, with most observations, species, and participants is La Paz, Bolivia!

The City Nature Challenge returns next spring. Let’s see if we can build on the truly remarkable success of 2024!

Jessica Romano is Museum Education Writer at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Slipper Snails Slide Between Sexes in Stacks

Or, Crepidula fornicata say, “Trans Rights!”

…if they don’t get eaten by their siblings first.

by Sabrina Spiher Robinson

*A pair of slipper snails seen from below. Image credit: Ecomare/Sytske Dijksen, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons*

A stack of Crepidula fornicata, grown together (with a little chiton, another type of mollusk, hanging out on the top of the family). — *A stack of* Crepidula fornicata, grown together (with a little chiton, another type of mollusk, hanging out on the top of the family). *Image credit: User Lamiot on fr.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 1.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/1.0, via Wikimedia Commons*

Slipper snails, Crepidula fornicata, are a common find for shell collectors along the American east coast, and in some places on the west coast as well, where they have been accidentally introduced as an invasive species. But just because they’re common, doesn’t mean they’re not interesting – in fact, they’re one of the most well-studied marine snails, and all of that study has revealed a creature with a fascinating life cycle.

Crepidula are protandrous hermaphrodites – this means that all slipper snails begin their lives as male, and end their lives as female. As juveniles, they wander over the substrate, preferring hard surfaces like rocks, dock pilings, other shells, and even horseshoe crabs. But most C. fornicata will choose to settle on top of another C. fornicata, who might be settled atop another, and another, and so on. They live in stacks, sometimes of up to a dozen animals, one balancing on top of the next until their shells grow around each other, and they can no longer move, becoming sessile (stationary) by default.

Of course, a stack of all males won’t get very far reproductively. So, it’s time for at least a few C. fornicata to begin the next stage in their lives, and transition to females. Several things influence when the change takes place, primarily the animal’s size, because producing gametes is energetically costly: more sperm takes more energy than less sperm, and eggs take more energy than sperm altogether. But it’s not so straightforward as just growing to a certain size and changing sex. If there are no females around, for instance, some males will transition to females at smaller sizes than they usually would.¹ Alan Carillo-Boltodano and Rachel Collin write:

“In our experiment, pairs of snails (one small and one large) were kept in cups, either together or partitioned off with fine or coarse mesh, or partitioned, but switched from side to side to allow contact with the cup mate’s pedal mucus. The larger snails that were allowed contact with the smaller companions grew faster, and generally changed sex sooner, than did the larger snails in the barrier treatments, which allowed no physical contact. The smaller snails that were allowed contact with the larger cup mate delayed sex change compared to those separated from their cup mates … Our results suggest that the cue that affects size and time to sex change requires some kind of physical interaction that is lost when the snails are separated. Furthermore, contact with another snail’s pedal mucus does not compensate for the loss of physical contact.”²

In other words, when the slipper snails are in actual contact with each other, they seem to send signals to one another that help to coordinate growth and sex change.

In general, though, males will wait until they’re a certain size to transition, because larger males are more reproductively successful than smaller males, as determined by experiments that genetically test offspring to see whose genes were most successful in the stack. There’s one exception to this though – sneaky little guys! Male Crepidula inseminate females directly, so in general the male right on top of the female at the bottom of the stack will be the most successful fertilizer, and then the male on top of him, and then the others on top of them can’t reach and are out of luck for the moment. But! The smallest juvenile Crepidula, who have not yet chosen a stack of their own, have been found to sneak up on the substrate next to the female, inseminate her, and sneak away, using a strategy that gets around “bigger = more sperm.”³

Larger males might have more reproductive success than smaller males, but no one has more reproductive success than slipper snails who have transitioned to females. Eggs are a much bigger energy investment for an animal than sperm are, and so becoming a female requires a certain size to make the transition worthwhile. But once a slipper snail is female, she has a couple reproductive advantages: in the first place, she can hoard sperm for a long time, including her own from when she was a male, so she always has plenty of material to fertilize her eggs. This also means that while only a third or a quarter of the embryos will have a given male’s DNA, they’ll all have hers. Secondly, Crepidula females brood their young. Unlike many marine mollusks, who release their eggs and sperm into the water column where they meet and the embryo has to grow up among the plankton, at risk of becoming a meal for many things before they ever even get to grow into larvae, Crepidula keep their eggs in brooding pouches. Females keep between 15 and 20 pouches inside their shells, each containing between 50 and 450 embryos. She’ll brood them until they turn into larvae that can swim about on their own, keeping them safe to grow at least for a little while.

And thus, every Crepidula fornicata begins their life as a tiny, and sometimes sneaky, roaming male, sowing his wild oats; eventually he finds a nice stack to settle down on to become a dad; and then they transition sexes and live out her days as mother and base of the stack, brooding little babies in safety until they’re ready to hatch into larvae. Slipper snails make small stacks, but big happy families.

However, perhaps nowhere is safe. Once the eggs are brooding in their capsules, the mother slipper snail has no way to transfer additional nutrients or oxygen to the embryos. This environment of scarcity leads some species of Crepidula embryos to start cannibalizing each other! The embryos of Crepidula coquimbensis, a species of Crepidula first described in Chile, have at least been found to be choosy about eating their brothers and sisters. Brood capsules are fertilized by multiple males, meaning all the embryos have the same mother, but not every embryo has the same father. It was discovered that cannibalistic embryos were much more likely to eat their half-siblings than their full siblings, thus protecting embryos they shared a complete set of DNA with. It’s still not known how these embryos recognize kinship, though.⁴ In another species of Crepidula, Crepidula navicella, a gene in some of the embryos in each capsule switches on and arrests their development, basically turning them into meals for their siblings, a genetic predisposition to being either a cannibalizer or a cannibalizee.⁵

Of course, once the larvae are released into open water, all bets are off, and a lot of filter-feeding animals, including other mollusks, including other Crepidula, might eat them. However, Jan Pechenik reports:

“… in our study the same adults usually ingested their own larvae at much slower rates than predicted from the rates at which they cleared water of phytoplankton. These slower rates may in part reflect an inability or reluctance of adults to ingest particles of such large size … However, most of the larvae that we observed being entrained into adult feeding currents were ingested, and later appeared in feces, and adults were capable of ingesting larvae that were larger … Thus, lower than predicted rates of [larvae eating] by C. fornicata more likely reflect larval behavior – deliberate or not – reducing the likelihood of [getting drawn] into the adult feeding current, as suggested previously from studies with [other marine filter feeders].”⁶

At least baby Crepidula, once free, seem to have developed a way to avoid being eaten by their parents, if not their siblings!

Sabrina Spiher Robinson is Collection Assistant for the Section of Mollusks at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

References:

[1] Proestou, Dina A., Goldsmith, Marian, Twombly, Sarah (2008) “Patterns of Male Reproductive Success in Crepidula fornicata Provide New Insight for Sex Allocation and Optimal Sex Change.” The Biological Bulletin (Lancaster), vol. 214, no. 2, 2008, pp. 194–202, https://doi.org/10.2307/25066676.

[2] Carrillo-Baltodano, Allan, and Collin, Rachel (2015). “Crepidula Slipper Limpets Alter Sex Change in Response to Physical Contact with Conspecifics.” The Biological Bulletin (Lancaster), vol. 229, no. 3, 2015, pp. 232–42, https://doi.org/10.1086/BBLv229n3p232.

[3] Broquet, Thomas, et al. “The Size Advantage Model of Sex Allocation in the Protandrous Sex-Changer Crepidula fornicata: Role of the Mating System, Sperm Storage, and Male Mobility.” The American Naturalist, vol. 186, no. 3, 2015, pp. 404–20, https://doi.org/10.1086/682361.

[4] Brante A, Fernández M, Viard F (2013) Non-Random Sibling Cannibalism in the Marine Gastropod Crepidula coquimbensis. PLoS ONE 8(6): e67050, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0067050

[5] Lesoway, MP, Collin, R, Abouheif, E. (2017) “Early activation of MAPK and apoptosis in nutritive embryos of calyptraeid gastropods.” J. Exp. Zool. (Mol. Dev. Evol.) 328B: 449–461. doi:10.1002/jez.b.22745.

[6] Pechenik, Jan, Blanchard, Michel, Rotjan, Randi (2004) “Susceptibility of Larval Crepidula fornicata to Predation by Suspension-Feeding Adults.” Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology., vol. 306, no. 1, 2004, pp. 75–94, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2004.01.004.

Pressed Flowers Come Alive by Telling Their Pollination Story

by Nathália Susin Streher

Do you ever wonder what made you pursue your dreams in life? When I ask myself this question, it inevitably takes me back to my childhood and the indelible memories that growing up in the most biodiverse country in the world left on me. From the diversity of fruit trees and the tiny animals that crawled them in my backyard to the varied ecosystems in the surrounding areas, living in Brazil has shaped my perception of nature and sparked a singular curiosity about the variety of forms and interactions I could observe. As the little scientist in me grew up, fueled by the fascination with the beautiful mysteries of flowers, it naturally guided me toward the path of studying plants and their interactions.

As I stepped into the world of science, my first paid opportunity as an undergrad in biology was in a small herbarium. There I learned about preserving plant specimens collected from nature and their importance for identification and classification of plant species. What I did not realize back then was that herbaria store more than just names and relations among species; they also provide a means to investigate ecological interactions like the ones that captivated me as a child. I kept that flame of curiosity from my childhood alive and came to the US as a postdoc researcher. My research group at the University of Pittsburgh and I have been incorporating some unconventional uses of herbarium material into our research. In a recent scientific publication, we used herbarium specimens (many sourced from the CMNH herbarium) to explore a crucial ecological mutualism between animals that visit flowers for food and plants that require go-betweens to transport their pollen—a process called pollination.

In pollination biology, it is common to investigate floral characteristics because they play a crucial role in mediating plant interactions with their pollinators. For example, plants with long floral tubes are typically pollinated by morphologically matching long-tongued pollinators. While certain floral traits, such as visible color and scent, may be altered or completely lost during the drying process of plant specimens, many of the other characteristics remain accessible even after years of preservation. Thus, as long as the herbarium sheet contains at least one flower, valuable biological information can be extracted to understand plant-pollinator interactions.

In this study, we used herbarium specimens to reveal the network of past plant-pollinator relationships. Specifically, we sampled a small piece of the flower, the stigma, which is the structure that receives pollen grains delivered by pollinators. As pollinators may visit several plant species flowering together, inspecting stigmas can unveil a plant’s pollination story. By assessing the diversity of pollen grains morphologically distinct from the target species, we gain insights into whether the target species interacted with many or only a few other plant species through pollinator sharing.

images of a pressed flower with close-ups of the stigma, anther, and pollen grains

Leveraging herbarium specimens for ecological questions offers a unique advantage, as they provide historical, spatial, and long-term perspectives to scientific studies—dimensions that may otherwise be challenging to attain. In studies of plant-pollinator interactions, researchers often rely on direct pollinator observation data, which, while ideal, has limitations such as being time-consuming, costly, and dependent on various conditions. Pollen deposited on stigmas of herbarium specimens arises as a valuable alternative when direct pollinator observation is unfeasible. Herbaria offer scientists a convenient way to compare numerous plant species from around the world. Actively incorporating these specimens into research not only keeps the collections dynamic but also magnifies their overall significance. Much like the plant-pollinator interaction—it’s a win-win scenario. I hope our work inspires others to perceive herbarium collections as guardians of biodiversity and encourages scientists to unlock the hidden potential of their precious specimens.

Beyond the scientific excitement of unraveling the pollination story within herbarium specimens, I once again seemed to have missed yet another potential interaction they could reveal. While going through the cabinets housing the specimens at CMNH, I unexpectedly encountered plants collected from the same region where I was born and raised in Brazil. I never thought that an old, dried plant could make me feel closer to my homeland. Living abroad to pursue the scientific dream is no easy feat—different language, different culture. But that moment was a reminder of my childhood connection with nature that brought me here. Now, I see herbaria not only as guardians of biodiversity but also as promoters of a sense of belonging in us.

Collage of images, clockwise from top left: the author inspecting flower traits and age seven; the author and her friend during their early yeas as undergrads, learning how to press plant specimens in Brazil; an herbarium specimen with the following note from the author "On of the plant specimens that I found in the CMNH herbarium fostered a sense of connection between me and my homeland. The specimen was collected just around 80 miles from where I was born and originally deposited in the herbarium of my hometown"; the author sampling stigmas in the herbarium

Nathália Susin Streher is a postdoctoral research associate in the Ashman Lab of University of Pittsburgh.

Type Specimens: What are they and why are they important?

by Timothy A. Pearce and Rachel Thomas Beckel

What do we mean when we say we have type specimens in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH) collections?

Type specimens are (usually) the specimen(s) a person describing a new species looks at as they write the description (it’s this tall, this wide, this color, sculptured with bumps like this, etc.) and type specimens are the official name bearers for the whole species.

There are many kinds of type specimens, but the most important kind is the holotype. Paratypes (other specimens the original describer believes are the same new taxon) are also important, but holotypes are the most important. Two other kinds of type specimen are lectotypes (selected from the paratypes if the holotype is lost) and neotypes (selected from any specimen if all type material is lost). Every time we add another holotype it bolsters the significance of CMNH’s already significant collections. It raises our visibility on the “radar” of researchers and puts us on the map for that taxon.

Carnegie Museum collaborator Dr. Aydin Örstan recently named a new subspecies of snail Albinaria coa tek (Örstan & Yildirim 2023). He deposited the holotype and 12 paratypes of the new subspecies in the Mollusks collection at CMNH.

*Holotype of* Albinaria coa tek *Örstan, 2023. Image from Örstan & Yildirim (2023).*

If a researcher wants to know if they have found another specimen of Dr. Örstan’s new subspecies, they could read his description. However, to be absolutely sure, a researcher might need to compare their finding to the type specimen.

Think of types as the gold standard. Because of their importance to nomenclature and taxonomy (the science of naming species), most museums (including CMNH) keep their type specimens securely locked in a special cabinet.

With regard to this land snail holotype, for Carnegie Museum to have the holotype of Albinaria coa tek means that people studying that subspecies or closely related taxa might need to travel to the museum to examine the type specimen or ask for additional information about it. For their research paper to be complete, they would need to refer to that holotype specimen. In addition to the holotype, Dr. Örstan gave CMNH paratypes of Albinaria coa tek, which can be important for understanding the range of variation in the subspecies.

Albinaria are land snails that occur in SE Europe and the Middle East and are typically found on limestone. In some cases, they appear to have been able to form new colonies when ancient humans moved limestone around for buildings (the snails likely hitchhiked on the limestone blocks). That means we can trace trade routes over which ancient humans were moving limestone.

The family Clausiliidae (which contains the genus Albinaria) are of interest because they bear a clausilium, a kind of door for closing the shell (hence the common name “door snails”), which is unique to the family and is very different from the operculum, which is a different kind of door in many sea snails and some land snails. Furthermore, most snails in the family Clausiliidae coil counterclockwise, which is the opposite direction of more than 99% of all other snails. Additionally, Clausiliidae have a peculiar global distribution, being found in western Europe, Eastern Asia, and northern South America. People who study biogeography (how species came to be living where they are now) scratch their heads wondering how Clausiliidae came to be living in those three separate places without any individuals being found in between – for example, if they migrated from Europe to northern South America, why don’t any Clausiliidae occur in North America?

In addition to this new holotype (and paratypes) in the Section of Mollusks, holotype specimens of new species of vertebrates and paratypes of a new species of insect were named in 2023 and deposited in the relevant sections of the CMNH collection:

Pietro Calzoni, from the Universitá di Padova, Italy, and colleagues designated a CMNH Vertebrate Paleontology fossil as the holotype of a new bony fish species, Rhamphosus tubulirostris (Calzoni et al. 2023).

Three new species of the insectivore mammal genus Plagioctenoides (P. cryptos, P. dawsonae, and P.goliath), and one new species of Cuetholestes (C. acerbus), were recently named from CMNH Vertebrate Paleontology fossils (Jones and Beard 2023).

A CMNH Vertebrate Paleontology gekko fossil was designated as the holotype of Limnoscansor digitatellus (Meyer et al. 2023). CMNH visitors can view this specimen on display in the Solnhofen case in the Dinosaurs in Their Time exhibition.

A male and six female moths from the CMNH Invertebrate Zoology collection were named the new moth species Meganaclia johannae (Ignatev et al. 2023). The moths were collected between 1918 and 1925 in Cameroon and were housed in the Invertebrate Zoology collection awaiting discovery as new species.

While CMNH welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors per year to the public galleries, scores of researchers work behind the scenes to expand our understanding of the different kinds of organisms, as evidenced by their type specimens, that are present in our incredible world. As the moth example demonstrates, Carnegie Museum of Natural History (and other museums around the world) hold specimens that have yet to be recognized as new species!

Timothy A. Pearce is Curator of Mollusks and Rachel Thomas Beckel is Administrative Coordinator for Science & Research at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

References

Calzoni, P., J. Amalfitano, L. Giusberti, M. Carnevale, and G. Carnevale. 2023. Eocene Rhamphosisdae (Teleostei: Syngnathiformes) from the Bolca Lagerstätte, Italy. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Strigrafia, 129(3): 573-607.

Ignatev, N., G.M. László, A. Paśnik, Z.F. Fric, H. Sulak, and G.C. Müller. 2023. Five new species of the genus Meganaclia Aurivillius, 1892 (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae: Syntomini). Zootaxa, 5296: 457–474.

Jones, M., and K.C. Beard. 2023. Nyctitheriidae (Mammalia, ?Eulipotyphla) from the Late Paleocene of Big Multi Quarry, southern Wyoming, and a revision of the subfamily Placentidentinae. Annals of Carnegie Museum, 88(2): 115-159.

Meyer, D., C.D. Brownstein, K.M. Jenkins, and J. Gauthier. 2023. A Morrison stem gekkotan reveals gecko evolution and Jurassic biogeography. Proceedings of the Royal Society B., 290: 20232284.

Örstan, A., and M.Z. Yildirim. 2023. A new insular land snail, Albinaria coa tek Örstan, from Marmaris, Türkiye (Clausiliidae: Alopiinae). Archiv für Molluskenkunde, 152(2): 175-182.

City Nature Challenge: Noticing Invasive Plants

by Rachel Reeb and Jessica Romano

This spring, thousands of people will join the City Nature Challenge, a global effort to document biodiversity safely and easily on the free iNaturalist app. Participating in the challenge is fun and rewarding – simply make observations of nature, take photos, and upload them to the app. The data collected during the challenge is shared with scientists around the world and helps them both document and better understand the diversity of species around us. This year’s challenge takes place April 25 through 28 for the observations, with a follow-up identification period from April 29 through May 1 when scientists and naturalists help observers properly identify the species they found. Participants will observe plants, insects, mammals, birds, mollusks, reptiles, amphibians, and more, right in their own neighborhoods.

Alliaria petiolate, common name Garlic Mustard, is very commonly spotted during the City Nature Challenge and is easy to identify by its broad leaves and small white flowers. Credit: Katja Schulz from Washington, D. C., USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

To help get us ready for this year’s challenge, Rachel Reeb, postdoctoral fellow in the Section of Botany at Carnegie Museum of Natural History, created this guide to finding and understanding invasive species of plants, including species like garlic mustard that is repeatedly one of the most often observed plants during the challenge. To get started, Rachel provided helpful definitions:

Native or Indigenous species: Species that exist within an area due to natural evolution.

Introduced species: Species that have been introduced, by humans, to an area outside of its indigenous range. Roughly 25% of plant species in our environment are introduced.

Invasive species: A subset of introduced species which cause significant harm to the environment or human well-being.

Naturalized species: A subset of introduced species which do not have demonstrated impacts on the environment or human well-being.

*Lonicera maackii, known as the Amur Honeysuckle, originated in temperate areas of eastern Asia. Credit: Jay Sturner from USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.*

Observing Invasive Plants

When is the best time to spot invasive plants? In the early stages of spring! Since introduced invasive plants evolved in a different part of the world, they often have unique life cycles that start and end at a different time than the rest of the plant community. Invasive species like garlic mustard, lesser celandine, periwinkle, multiflora rose, and Amur honeysuckle are some of the first to start their life cycles in the spring, providing a surprising pop of greenery to an otherwise dormant forest understory. This ‘head start’ in the growing season gives invasive plants an advantage because they gain priority access to soil nutrients and sunlight, while other plants are still dormant.

*Ficaria verna, or Lesser Celandine, blankets the ground in Frick Park. Credit: Rachel Reeb.*

Unfortunately, what serves as an advantage for invasive plants is often a disadvantage to their neighbors, which now have a delayed start in the race to capture limited seasonal resources. Environmental experts in Pittsburgh are especially worried about the survival of rare native wildflowers, such as large white trillium, mayapple, and yellow trout lily. These plants, which have very specific habitat conditions and cannot easily relocate to new areas, are highly sensitive to changes in the environment and often cannot survive in areas where invasive plants are present.

During this year’s City Nature Challenge, we encourage you to take note of everything in nature, including the weeds. What do you notice about invasive plants in your area, like the timing of their life cycle, or how they interact with their neighbors? Have you ever wondered how these organisms came to be here? Many unwanted invasive plants were first introduced as popular garden center products. While some invasive species are now banned from sale, many can still be found in stores, like English ivy and Periwinkle vines.

*Podophyllum peltatum, common name Mayapple, is a native species in Pennsylvania and sprouts early in spring, resembling little umbrellas on the landscape. Credit: Jessica Romano.*

Here are helpful lists of species you may encounter in our area:

Invasive Species

Garlic Mustard
Lesser Celandine
Knotweed
Multiflora Rose
Amur Honeysuckle
Periwinkle / Vinca
English Ivy
Japanese Barberry
Tree of heaven

Naturalized Species

Common Dandelion
White Clover

Native Spring Wildflowers

Mayapple
Large White Trillium
Dutchman’s Breeches
Virginia Bluebells
Common Blue Violet
Yellow Trout Lily

How many of these species can you spot? Get your camera/phone/device and join the City Nature Challenge, April 25 through 28!

Rachel Reeb is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Section of Botany at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Jessica Romano is Museum Education Writer at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Remembering Albert Kollar, Collection Manager of Invertebrate Paleontology

Albert D. Kollar, Collection Manager of Invertebrate Paleontology

Last year, when Albert Kollar, Collection Manager of Invertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History, was planning for, and later recovering from, knee surgeries, it was common to hear people wish him well by saying, “You’ll be back on the outcrop soon.” In the wake of his untimely death last week, those wishes are worth examining for all they capture of Albert’s generous and long-standing sharing of geologic knowledge.

Outcrop, as anyone who participated in one of his geology-focused hikes already knows, refers to the part of a rock layer that can be seen at the Earth’s surface. Pittsburgh’s location amid a deeply eroded Appalachian plateau assures a richness of local outcrops. In river and stream cuts, natural features that in many places acquired sharper edges through the construction of road or railway terraces, multiple sedimentary units appear stacked like layers of a cake. Albert had a deep and working understanding of each of these massive rock units. He could patiently explain how their differing composition implied dramatic past changes in climate, sea level, plant cover, and even continent position.

*Albert with the original Invertebrate Paleontology door.*

For prolonged discussions of local geology, Albert introduced audiences to several rock units prominent or economically important enough to have earned names, the Birmingham Shale, the Morgantown Sandstone, the Ames Limestone, and the Pittsburgh Coal. In explaining that every rock unit, whether it held fossils or not, contained a story about its formation, Albert would frequently distribute hand samples from these units. When the audience was a middle school class, the students could take the samples home, souvenirs not just from the museum, but from the outcrop.

*The Invertebrate Paleontology team doing a spotlight on Bayet fossils. Fall 2023.*

Read Blog Posts by Albert D. Kollar

Meet the Mysterious Mr. Ernest Bayet

Smoking Fossils

Carnegie’s Water Fountains

Thank you to Joann Wilson and the Invertebrate Paleontology team for the photos.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History Blog Citation Information

Blog author: McShea, Patrick
Publication date: April 16, 2024

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April 9, 2024 by Erin Southerland

Snags, Logs, and the Importance of a Fallen Tree

by Jessica Romano

As the seasons change from winter to spring here in western Pennsylvania, a common sight on a recent walk included fallen and decomposing trees. Interesting to look at and begging to be photographed, these fallen trees also hold a very important role in the ecosystem.

*This uprooted tree shows the roots still attached, along a hiking trail in Hartwood Acres Park.*

Dead and fallen trees are host to many forms of wildlife, some of which are easy to spot, like squirrels, woodpeckers, and snakes, while others may require a closer look to identify, including fungi, insects, and salamanders. These organisms use the trees for food and shelter, and as the tree decomposes further, the nutrients absorb into the soil and set up favorable conditions for new growth. This cycle is crucial to the health of forests – in fact, numerous species rely on this process to thrive. According to the National Wildlife Federation, “Dead trees provide vital habitat for more than 1,000 species of wildlife nationwide. They also count as cover and places for wildlife to raise young in the requirements for Certified Wildlife Habitat designation.”

Dead trees are identified two ways:

Snag – a dead tree that is still standing upright while decomposing

Log – the part of a snag that has fallen or partially fallen to the ground

Snags and logs each contribute to a thriving ecosystem in different ways. Snags can have cavities that house mammals, birds, and insects, and can be used for storage or look-out points. Logs on the ground can also act as hiding spots and nests, and as they decompose they provide the nutrients that recycle back into the soil. For those curious for more details about which species in PA utilize snags and logs, Penn State Extension has a thorough list.

*This group of logs shows varying points of decomposition and provides lots of spaces for wildlife to shelter.*

The photos used here were taken at Hartwood Acres, one of the Allegheny County Parks located in Hampton Township, north of Pittsburgh. Some trees appeared to be freshly uprooted, with the circumference of the base of the tree standing several feet high, while others had clearly been decomposing for quite some time, with the trunk completely hollowed out.

*This log is almost completely hollowed out, providing shelter for various types of wildlife.*

*A close-up view shows the variety of textures from varying points of decomposition.*

When a tree is uprooted from some type of disturbance event like a storm, it makes space for another topographical feature, pits and mounds. A pit forms in the space where the roots and soil are pulled up. Over time, the root mass decays and falls to the ground, creating a mound on the surface. This is called a micro-topographical feature because it forms around the base of a single tree. Pit-and-mound features create new habitats for wildlife and can often be used as breeding grounds for amphibians when water collects in the pit from runoff. The amount and frequency of mounds in forests can give clues to what caused the trees to fall, and even age of the forest as mounds form over extended periods of time.

*A close-up view of an uprooted tree shows the decaying roots and soil that form a pit underneath and will become a mound over time.*

It’s not a coincidence that there are varying types of fallen trees in one park; forest experts monitor these fallen trees and follow guidelines for how many to leave in an area, at times clearing them to help control pests or other safety factors.

Keep in mind it can be dangerous to touch or climb on these fallen trees, especially if they appear rotted. The structure of the wood breaks down slowly but surely and the logs can be weaker than they appear. For that reason it’s better to admire the interesting sight from a distance or at least without touching it. As spring arrives and the tree canopy and forest understory fill in, a return trip will hopefully provide opportunity to spot some of the species benefitting from these fascinating snags and logs.

A perfect opportunity to search for fallen trees and the wildlife that utilizes the newly-created ecosystem is the City Nature Challenge. Using the free app iNaturalist, take and upload photos of nature from April 26 through 29, 2024 and help safely document biodiversity where you live! Learn more about the City Nature Challenge.

Jessica Romano is Museum Education Writer at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Sources

Celebrating Women in the Natural History Art Collection

by Olivia Buehler

Within the collections of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, one may be surprised to find more than the biological specimens, fossils, and extensive anthropological and archaeological materials that the museum is best known for. As a major scientific institution that collects and conducts research, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History also has its own “Natural History Art” Collection, formerly known as the M. Graham Netting Animal Portraiture Collection, named after the herpetologist, former CMNH director, and founder of the collection. Consisting mostly of mid-twentieth-century naturalist and scientific illustrations, this collection serves as a useful addition to the museum’s resources that complements its research activities. Naturalist and scientific illustration involves skills beyond image-making and can resemble scientific research in that it requires artists to closely observe, and often travel to, their subjects to fully understand them and render them accurately.

Within the collection are several women artists and scientific illustrators who each contributed to the genres of naturalist and scientific illustration. In this post I will feature the artists Winifred Austen, Germaine A. Bernier-Boulanger, Florence Malewotkuk, and an artist only identified (for now) as “Deirdre E. L.,” who are all worth celebrating this Women’s History Month. Although greatly outnumbered in the collection by their male counterparts, the women in CMNH’s Natural History Art Collection, and their respective works, speak volumes. With some pieces dating to over one hundred years ago, these artworks are proof that women have always had important roles to play in art and science, and it is just the conditions of patriarchal societies that have limited them. Despite their existence as a minority in the field of naturalist and scientific illustration, and the associated income and opportunity disparities that came with that status, these women persevered to create the beautiful, informative, and humorous art below.

Winifred Austen

watercolor painting of two golden orioles near their nest in a tree — *Winifred Austen, Golden Orioles (1909), Watercolor on board, 20 x 27 in., NHA 28.266*

One such artist is Winifred Austen, an English painter, etcher, and engraver whose work became most popular in the 1940s and 1950s with her wildlife illustrations in books and magazines. Produced as an illustration for F.B. Kirkman’s British Bird Book, Austen’s Golden Orioles (1909) is a lovely example of her expertise in wildlife painting, specifically birds. While the orioles are painted with a thoughtful hand in precise, impressive detail, their surrounding environment is rendered in a far more impressionistic style, emphasizing Austen’s utilization of her formal training in the arts, but also her choice to employ individualistic, stylistic expression and creativity. Even though these watercolors were intended to act as visual references for the texts they were accompanying, Austen still managed to contribute in a manner that was unique to her. Austen’s art can be praised for the dynamism of her subjects, and her portrayal of birds as they would appear in their natural environments, rather than in the static and perfectly poised way some other naturalist illustrators tend to favor.

Austen attended and trained formally at the London County Council School of Arts and Crafts and exhibited her work often with the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers, following a similar trajectory as many of her male contemporaries. With that being said, Austen also made incredible progress despite being a minority in her practice, for example, she was the only woman to be published in the British Bird Book.

Germaine A. Bernier-Boulanger

print of a speckled trout — *Germaine A. Bernier-Boulanger, Salvelinus fontinalis, female (c. 1953), Print, 14.25 x 19.25 in., NHA 29.136-23*

A prime example of a woman who knew her worth as a scientist, educator, and artist, and settled for nothing less, is Germaine A. Bernier-Boulanger (1909-1989). Salvelinus fontinalis, female (c. 1953), a highly detailed, scientific illustration of a female spotted trout, is one of three prints in the collection by Bernier-Boulanger. Unlike the more painterly quality of Austen’s watercolors, Bernier-Boulanger’s work highlights the more research-intensive, “art for science’s sake” approach to wildlife illustration that contributed greatly to the discipline of non-photographic specimen documentation. Bernier-Boulanger had formally studied embryology and invertebrate zoology and didn’t become a professional illustrator until after the age of forty. Before focusing on her art, Bernier-Boulanger was employed at the Montreal Botanical Institute, and later, the University of Montreal, where she left her post as an educator after experiencing no change in her career trajectory, despite voicing her disapproval of the discrepancies in pay and career advancement between herself and her male colleagues in the natural sciences department. During Women’s History Month, it is especially important to tell the stories of women like Bernier-Boulanger, not only because of their knowledge, skill, and contributions to their respective fields, but also because they challenged long-standing discriminatory practices against women within the institutions they worked for, acting as catalysts for change.

Florence Malewotkuk

black and white drawing of three huskies — *Florence Malewotkuk, Husky Dog Team (c. 1950s-60s), Print, 16 x 10.5 in., NHA 30.115-23*

Florence Malewotkuk (1906-1971) (Yup’ik) was born in a village on St. Lawrence Island on the Bering Sea, which is part of Alaska. Malewotkuk’s Husky Dog Team (circa 1950s-60s) is one of three prints by the artist in the collection by Malewotkuk, each part of a series she titled “Bering Sea Originals.” Depicting husky dogs lined up in front of drying pelts, this print, along with the others in the collection depicting walrus and polar bears, offers unembellished images of local wildlife, and the intersection with nonhuman animals and Yup’ik communities. Showing talent from an early age, Malewotkuk began working as a professional artist in her early twenties when commissioned by Otto William Geist, an archaeologist, to capture everyday scenes of Yup’ik life. Further commissions followed for Malewotkuk later in life, and today her art is housed in collections across North America. Malewotkuk’s story indicates the opportunities that art production offers to women, and the importance of having members of Indigenous groups, especially women, depict their culture from their point of view.

Deirdre E. L.

charcoal sketch of two people in front of two sauropod dinosaur fossil skeletons — *Deirdre E. L., Untitled Sketch (c. 1940s), Charcoal on paper, 8.5 x 11 in.*

Tucked away in a drawer of archival ephemera in the Natural History Art Collection is a folder of comedic cartoon illustrations by the artist Deirdre E. L. With the signature “Deirdre” at the bottom of the sketches being the only source of information available on the artist, it would seem that we must let her work speak where a biography is absent. Perhaps designed for the amusement of CMNH staff or for print in museum publications, Deirdre’s sketches combine silly captions and quirky caricatures with relevant information about the museum. Her sketch of CMNH chief staff artist Ottmar Von Fuehrer jokes about his going “directly to nature” (by sticking his head in a lion’s mouth) for inspiration, and is a fine example of this fun dichotomy. Her heart-warming sketch of a couple embracing under an equally affectionate pair of dinosaur fossils captures her sketchy, endearing drawing style.

In this brief survey, I hope to have captured a glimpse of the talented women artists and scientific illustrators in CMNH’s Natural History Art collection. As a History of Art and Architecture and Museum Studies student at Pitt, I have been very interested in exploring the many intersections that exist between the disciplines of art and natural histories, including questions like: What distinguishes a scientific illustrator from an artist, if there is any distinction at all? How do women fit into and contribute to these respective disciplines historically? And how do studies of gender reveal vital information about science and art history? I look forward to discovering new artists as I continue to work with the Natural History Art Collection as an intern, especially women whose presence in the collection inspire me to learn more about those who challenged, and continue to challenge, societal expectations and make lasting contributions to the worlds of art and science.

Olivia Buehler is an intern in the Section of Anthropology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

When Nature Meets Art: Crinoid Fossils as Cultural Beads

by Elizabeth A. Begley and Albert D. Kollar

Did you know that invertebrate fossils make up more than 50% of the specimens on exhibit in Dinosaurs in Their Time (DITT)? It’s true! But these fossils can be easy to miss among the giant dinosaurs and vertebrate reptiles. Luckily, ongoing research on the biodiversity within our gallery spaces, from locations including England, Germany, and the United States, will help visitors better understand the importance of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Invertebrate Paleontology collection research, exhibition, and education initiatives¹. With few exceptions, these specimens are part of the vast Ernest de Bayet fossil collection purchased for the museum by Andrew Carnegie in 1903^1,2.

What are Crinoids?

Among these invertebrates are a unique group of sea bearing animals called crinoids. Crinoids are an ancient fossil group that belong to the phylum Echinodermata. Crinoids first appeared in the fossil record in the mid-Cambrian Period of the Paleozoic Era (490 – 250 million years ago) and became a significant group that formed mid-Silurian reefs in Dudley, Wales; Gotland Island, Sweden; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In the Mesozoic Era, crinoids formed the famous middle Triassic reefs of Germany³. Few crinoid groups live in oceans today. Examples of crinoids are on display in the museum’s Triassic Seas, Holzmaden, and Solnhofen dioramas (all locations in Germany)¹. Crinoids are also called sea lilies because they look like flowers – but don’t be fooled, they’re animals! Crinoids are related to starfish, sea urchins, and brittle stars; this relationship can be noted in the crinoids five-part radial symmetry^3,4. They lived on stems (or stalks) and attached to the sea floor by roots, as in the Triassic Muschelkalk Formation, but were floating animals in the Jurassic Holzmaden seas. They relied on waves and currents to bring small food particles past their petal-like arms which opened as a mode of filter-feeding micro-organic food^3,4. Today, Crinoids are few in numbers living among shallow coral reefs and in the deep sea. The Bayet Collection of crinoid fossils are represented from the Silurian, Mississippian, and Triassic rock formations¹.

*Fig. 1. In DITT, you may see crinoid fossils such as the specimen sketched above, CM29840. This crinoid’s scientific name is* Encrinus liliiformis and comes from the famous middle Triassic Muschelkalk Formation in Brunswick, Germany. This specimen was collected by Dr. Fredrick Krantz within the Bayet Collection. Several parts make up the crinoid. Once dead, the crinoid’s muscles decompose resulting in the disarticulation of the arms, calyx, stem, and individual columnals⁴. Most crinoid fossils are found in separate parts for this reason. Artwork by Elizabeth Begley.

However, crinoid fossils are more than scientific material reserved for use by paleontologists alone, in fact, this invertebrate animal is unique as it gives us the opportunity to see how humans have long interacted with nature. Specifically, fossilized crinoid stems have been used in several communities and throughout history as beads. This is due to their small size, cylindrical shape, and the usual occurrence of a hole in the center (fig. 2). So, let’s explore how crinoid fossils have been used on different continents and in different eras of human history.

Fig. 2. CM63017 consists of crinoid parts from the Vanport Limestone, Lower Pennsylvanian age (~312 million years ago), Butler Co., PA. These crinoid fragments illustrate crinoid stem cross-sections and side profiles from the Invertebrate Paleontology collection. The cross-section view offers insight into the crinoid’s bead-like build. Artwork by Elizabeth Begley.

Crinoid Beads in North America

In Kentucky, amateur fossil hunters commonly refer to crinoid stem fossils as beads⁵ and the Illinois Archaeological Survey has reported “crinoid stems suggested to function as beads” at a historic site in Buckman Flats⁶. This finding joins crinoid stems already uncovered in Kickapoo territories in 2011 and 1992 as well as a 2001 discovery at a Potawatomi settlement⁶. To illustrate an example of historic beadwork by North American indigenous groups, Harvard’s Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology has published a photograph depicting a “string of prehistoric beads made from different sizes of fossilized crinoid stem[s]” discovered in Tennessee⁷.

Crinoid Beads in Asia

From the lower paleolithic period in Israel, a deposit at the archaeological site of Gesher Benot Ya’aqov revealed two “beadlike” crinoid fossils among stone artwork and polished wood artifacts. This collection is thought to hint at the group’s cognitive ability regarding the manipulation of nature for artistic and cultural purposes and has brought the hypothesis that lower paleolithic hominids collecting crinoid stems, among other marine objects, may be the origin of the modern bead shape⁸. The thought process behind this theory relies on our understanding that crinoids, and their fossilized stems, have existed for far longer than the modern bead has. Bednarik argues, “perhaps this is how the very concept came into being, and the humanly made disc beads were merely substitutes for the fossils that were in short supply”⁹.

Crinoid Beads in Europe

While there are several instances of crinoid stems being recognized in historic European art and culture, the cemetery at Zvejnieki in Latvia is a unique case as the stems, or “beads,” seem to be a part of funerary practice. Zvejnieki was in use during the region’s Mesolithic and Neolithic periods and rediscovered by archaeologists in the 1960s. Work at the site has continued and a re-analysis of a double burial revealed that a beaded ornament among the remains, previously believed to have been made of bird bone, is a string of fossilized crinoid stems¹⁰. This case brings us to an interesting question in assessing the use of fossils, such as crinoid stems, throughout human history, and the impact of such encounters on our current relationship with the natural world.

*Fig. 3: Threaded crinoid beads. Photo credit: L. Larsson, CC BY¹⁰*

So, the next time you walk through the museum, we invite you to take a closer look at the crinoids, and other invertebrate fossils on display, and imagine how else we may incorporate them in our lives!

Elizabeth A. Begley is Collection Assistant and Albert D. Kollar Collection Manger in the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

References:

Kollar, A.D., J. L. Wilson, and S.K. Mills. 2024. The Ernest de Bayet Fossil Collection at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History: A Century of Stewardship in Exhibition. Annals of Carnegie Museum.
Wilson, J. L., A.D. Kollar, and S.K. Mills. 2024. Unraveling the 120 Year Mystery of Ernest Bayet and his Fossil Collection at Carnegie Museum. Annals of Carnegie Museum.
Hess, H., W. I. Ausich, C. E. Brett, and M.J. Simms. 1999. Fossil Crinoids. Cambridge University Press.

Brezinski, D.K., and A.D. Kollar. 2008. Geology and Fossils of the Tri-State Region Learning/Activities/Coloring Book. PAlS Publication 8.
Kentucky Geological Survey. Identifying Unknown Fossils. https://www.uky.edu/KGS/fossils/fossilid.php
Fishel, R. 2017. The Historic Indian Artifact Assemblage at Buckman Flats, Knox County, Illinois. Illinois Archaeology Vol. 29.
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. String of prehistoric beads made from different sizes of fossilized crinoid stem. Artstor. https://www-jstor-org.cmu.idm.oclc.org/stable/community.20420806
Bednarik, R. 1994. The Pleistocene Art of Asia. Journal of World Prehistory, 8(4), 351–375. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25800655
Bednarik, R. 2005 .Middle Pleistocene Beads and Symbolism. Anthropos, 100(2), 537-552. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40466555
Macāne, A. 2020. Petrified animals: Fossil beads from a Neolithic hunter-gatherer double burial at Zvejnieki in Latvia. Antiquity, 94(376), 916-931. doi:10.15184/aqy.2020.124 https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/petrified-animals-fossil-beads-from-a-neolithic-huntergatherer-double-burial-at-zvejnieki-in-latvia/A325BCCE572DA6DD3AE913E7C22C18C2

Scientific Names Matter in March Mammal Madness

by Erin Southerland

March Mammal Madness (MMM) bracket advice: look up the scientific names of species on the MMM website before you make your predictions. While MMM can be silly and ridiculous, it is an educational tool and the details matter. Let’s explore why by looking at the Pitcher Plant (7) vs. Northern Short-tailed Shrew (10) match.

Pitcher plant isn’t a specific species of plant, rather it describes plants with a modified leaf that resembles and acts like a pitfall trap.

Nepenthes rajah, a species of pitcher plant. © Thibaud Aronson, (CC BY-SA)

Bonnie Isaac, Collection Manager of Botany, says:

Generally, when we use the term pitcher plant, we are referring to a member of either Sarraceniaceae or Nepenthaceae. Both pitcher plant families evolved in areas where essential nutrients for plants are lacking. They needed to find a way to get their nutrients by other means. Enter carnivory.

Pitcher plants in both families primarily eat insects, but they are generalists that will catch and digest anything that comes along. However, one of these families is more likely than the other to be able to digest the Northern Short-tailed Shrew.

Bonnie tells us:

Sarraceniaceae are normally ground dwelling plants with trumpet-shaped leaves that are used to capture their prey. Many of these pitcher plants have hairs on the inside of the tube that point downward to keep the prey from crawling out. They may also have clear areas near the top of the tube to attract insects.

Members of Nepenthaceae are tropical plants that frequently have a climbing stem. The modified pitcher leaves on these plants are normally of two types: one grows up in the trees that support the vine, the other grows near the ground. The trap leaves near the ground are normally larger than the aerial trap leaves and can digest larger prey. With two types of traps these plants are opportunists and ready to capture whatever may happen into the traps.

The pitchers of Sarraceniaceae are normally not large enough to hold a Northern Short-tailed Shrew. Nepenthes on the other hand has pitchers that are large enough to hold shrews. Some Nepenthes species attract rodents by giving them a reward. The rodent in turn gives the plant nutrients either by defecating into the toilet-shaped leaf or by falling into the pitcher and being digested. Species of Nepenthes are known to trap and digest vertebrates, including rats and mice. If by chance a Northern Short-tailed Shrew happened upon a Nepenthes and fell into the trap the shrew wouldn’t stand a chance.

Since the species of pitcher plant selected for March Mammal Madness is Nepenthes rajah, it has a chance to beat the Northern Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina brevicauda).

*Short-tailed Shrew (*Blarina brevicauda)

Sue McLaren, Collection Manager of Mammals, also notes that either competitor has a chance (it is March Mammal Madness, after all):

When I think of the short-tailed shrew, I think of a fierce temperament when confronted by something dangerous. They are good climbers (I’ve seen them climb a tree trunk to a point at least eight feet off the ground). Even though their claws seem a little puny, they are more fossorial (adapted for digging and burrowing) than any other shrew so they can dig their way through densely compacted leaves and easily move through some types of soil (probably not heavy clay). Finally, they have salivary glands that produce a toxin that can subdue prey that are larger than themselves – salamanders, frogs, mice, and even birds! However, their climbing ability is probably their best defensive from inside a pitcher plant.

Anything could happen in this sure-to-be-exciting match! But if the pitcher plant was from the family Sarraceniaceae it wouldn’t be nearly as exciting.

Want to play March Mammal Madness?

Get started with these links:

Get your bracket

Look up the Latin binomials

Learn how to play

Fill out your bracket by March 10, 2024 to play this year. The competition kicks off March 11 with the Wild Card: Rainbow Grasshopper (Dactylotum bicolor) vs. Sparklemuffin Peacock Spider (Maratus jactatus).

Erin Southerland is Communications and Social Media Manager at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

World Pangolin Day 2024 – The Mysterious Mammalian “Wishbone”

by John Wible

World Pangolin Day 2024 is on February 17, a day to raise awareness of pangolins or scaly anteaters, one of the most unique and endangered mammals on Earth. Their scales are harvested for traditional medicines that see them as cure-alls, but their scales are made of keratin like your fingernails and hair. Their scales are as medicinally effective as biting your nails.

Although I will get to pangolins, I am starting with our feathered avian friends. Birds have a Y-shaped bone in their chest called a furcula (Latin for little fork). It is part of the flight apparatus and is thought to be formed by the fusion of the right and left clavicles (our collarbones). However, some researchers think it might be a different bone called the interclavicle, which in mammals is only found in monotremes, the egg-laying mammals. Some non-avian dinosaurs have a furcula, which is part of the evidence placing them on the bird family tree. The furcula is commonly called the wishbone because of the practice of making a wish on the bone! You grab one arm and someone else grabs the other; both make wishes and then pull; whoever gets the larger piece will have their wish come true.

Chicken furcula. Photo credit: Clyde Robinson/Flickr Creative Commons

In celebration of World Pangolin Day, I want to introduce you to a mammal “wishbone.” If you search through the mammalian literature, you will not encounter a bone identified as a wishbone. Nevertheless, a small, select group of mammals have a pair of bones that looks, to me anyway, like a furcula. Here is an example.

*Lower jaw of the northern tamandua,* Tamandua mexicana. American Museum of Natural History 23437 made from CT scan data by Hannah Barton, University of Pittsburgh.

The lower jaw, the mandible, is made up of right and left bones called dentaries. They meet on the midline at the chin. In humans, the right and left bones are filled with teeth, fused on the midline, and don’t look like a furcula! The northern tamandua from Central America differs in that there are no teeth, the right and left bones are held together only by soft tissues, and it looks like a furcula! How does the tamandua survive without teeth? Tamanduas are social insect feeders (ants and termites) that swallow their prey whole; tamandua parents don’t have to worry about their kids chewing with their mouths open. Now, although the tamandua lower jaw looks kind of like a wishbone, when pulled apart there won’t be a winner as the split will be down the middle with the two halves the same size.

The vast majority of the 6,500 species of living mammals have teeth; some have dentaries fused like humans and some have them unfused like the tamandua. Of the 6,500 species, there are 31 that are toothless as their normal condition. These 31 fall into two camps: 15 are baleen whales, including the Earth’s largest animal, the blue whale, which are filter feeders; and 16 are social insect feeders like the tamandua. However, all 31 have a mandible that is reminiscent of an avian wishbone. The 16 social insect feeders are from three unrelated lineages that have convergently adapted to eating ants and termites. The three lineages are:

Spiny anteaters or echidnas (monotremes) found in Australia and New Guinea (four species).
True anteaters (myrmecophagids) found in South and Central America (four species including two kinds of tamandua).
Pangolins (pholidotans) found in Africa and Asia (eight species).

The mandibles of the #1 and #2 look like that of the northern tamandua. The left and right sides are not fused and the mandible is skinny in the front and larger in the back where it articulates with the skull. #3, the pangolins, are really different. The left and right sides are fused at the midline and the mandible is larger at the front.

*Lower jaw of the Sunda pangolin,* Manis javanica, United States National Museum 144418 made from CT scan data by the author.

*Skull of the Sunda pangolin,* Manis javanica, United States National Museum 144418 made from CT scan data by the author. Red arrow points to the two bony mandibular prongs in the close-up.

The other very odd thing about the pangolin mandible is that it has a pair of bony prongs at the front that look somewhat like teeth (red arrow). Doran and Allbrook (1973: Journal of Mammalogy) dissected the pangolin tongue and reported that the lower lip was attached to these prongs, but they did not illustrate this or explain it further. Pangolins are clearly doing something different with their mandible than the tamanduas and echindas are, but what, I don’t know. Whatever it is, it has been around in pangolins for at least 35 million years! There was a pangolin that lived in the American West during the late Eocene named Patriomanis americana and it has a set of mandibular prongs just like those in the Sunda pangolin shown here. The other difference with the pangolin mandible is that when subjected to a wishbone pull, it might not break down the middle and be more like a furcula.

I have left the baleen whales until the end. Are their mandibles more like the tamandua, the pangolin, or neither?

*Mandible of the blue whale,* Balaenoptera musculus. Only the left dentary is on display in the Hall of North American Wildlife at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. The author manipulated the photograph to create the world’s largest “wishbone.”

Baleen whales are more like the tamandua with the right and left sides unfused and the mandible larger in the back than the front. If you were able to do the wishbone pull on the blue whale, there would be no winner and someone would likely lose by throwing their back out!

John Wible is Curator of Mammals at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

A Year in Review: Bird Banding 2023

by Annie Lindsay

Nestled between the Chestnut and Laurel Ridges near the town of Rector, Pennsylvania lies Powdermill Nature Reserve, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s environmental field research station, where ornithologists have been operating a long-term bird banding station since June 1961. In 62 years of banding birds year-round, we’ve gathered more than 830,000 banding records of nearly 200 species. Some, like the Cedar Waxwing, have tens of thousands of records in our dataset, whereas single individuals are the only representatives of other species, like Kirtland’s Warbler.

Banding Field Tech Grace Muench releasing a Sharp-shinned Hawk. — *Banding Field Tech Grace Muench releasing a Sharp-shinned Hawk, one of her favorite moments from the year*.

At Powdermill, we band birds all year, varying our effort seasonally, which gives us a picture of what species we expect to see at any given time of year and the relative abundance of those species. Each season brings something new. By March we are eagerly awaiting the earliest spring migrants and as spring progresses, we revel in the flood of colorful songbirds in their breeding plumage. Summer brings breeding birds and our anticipation of which individuals will return year after year. As summer fades into fall, we enjoy the subtle beauty of birds in their non-breeding plumage as they migrate south to their wintering grounds. By mid-November, almost all migrating songbirds have passed through and we are in our winter banding season, dominated by cold-hardy birds that are often recaptured between years.

*Fall Banding Field Tech Jordan Mouton using a black light to age a Northern Saw-whet Owl. Saw-whet and screech owls were the highlights of Jordan’s season.*

In 2023, we banded 9,095 new birds and recaptured 5,074 individuals of 123 species (plus one hybrid). The most abundant species was Swainson’s Thrush with 631 new birds banded this year, followed by Ruby-crowned Kinglet (596), Gray Catbird (484), and Cedar Waxwing (447). The year saw slightly lower numbers than average overall, but several species had notably high captures and some even set spring or fall season records. In spring, 11 Black-billed Cuckoos edged out last year’s ten to claim that season’s record, and in the fall nine Louisiana Waterthrushes (a species that is a very early migrant and generally scarce during our fall months), 158 Ovenbirds, and two Bicknell’s Thrushes set fall high records.

We can use these numbers to compare 2023 to previous years and to totals from other banding stations, but the stories about the year’s highlights are most compelling. Each year when we analyze our data, we eagerly look for species that set new record high totals, individuals that represent early or late banding dates, or recaptures that are particularly old birds, and await reports that our banded birds have been recaptured at another station.

This year, as in recent years, many of the species that had above average totals are species that have been increasing in southwestern Pennsylvania, which is a trend that is reflected in Christmas Bird Count data. The core of these species’ ranges has historically been a bit farther south, but they seem to have recently been expanding northward. For example, Carolina Wrens and Red-bellied Woodpeckers are year-round residents in southwestern Pennsylvania and are encountered far more often now than they were a few decades ago. Similarly, Yellow-throated Warbler is a species that tends not to breed much farther north than non-Appalachian Pennsylvania, but is a species that we’ve seen in spring attempting to establish territories and even breeding.

Swainson’s Warbler caught in spring 2023, the 8th of its species ever banded at Powdermill. — *Swainson’s Warbler caught in spring 2023, the 8^th of its species ever banded at Powdermill.*

This year’s exciting captures began with a Swainson’s Warbler that was caught on May 11, only the eighth individual of that species in Powdermill’s banding dataset. Swainson’s Warblers breed significantly south of Pennsylvania in the very southern part of West Virginia, but since 2020, birders have spotted several nearby in the spring and summer and the first breeding record in the state was confirmed in summer 2023. This unexpected capture, affectionately nicknamed “Sword-billed Warbler” by the banding crew, was certainly a favorite.

This fall, something happened that is rare for a 62-year-old banding station: we added a new species to our dataset. Bicknell’s Thrush was considered a subspecies of the more common Gray-cheeked Thrush until 1995 when there was enough evidence (based on morphology, vocalizations, habitat, and migration patterns) to elevate Bicknell’s to full species status. Over the years, a few possible Bicknell’s Thrushes were banded at Powdermill, but it wasn’t until this year that two were definitively identified here, one on September 14 and one on October 8.

solitary sandpiper — *Solitary Sandpiper, fall Banding Field Tech Lindsey Doyel’s season highlight.*

One of the questions we are frequently asked is how long birds live. While it’s difficult to know how long each species lives on average, recapturing birds between seasons tells us something about how long they can live. In general, smaller birds are shorter-lived and larger birds are longer-lived. Catching a bird with a band and looking back through the data to see how long ago it was initially banded and how many times it’s been captured over the years is a highlight for the banding crew. Several notable standouts in 2023 include:

A Ruby-throated Hummingbird that was banded in August 2021 and aged as a bird that had hatched in a previous year was recaptured exactly two years later, making her at least three years old.

A Kentucky Warbler that was banded in June 2018 and aged as a bird that had hatched the previous summer was recaptured in May, making it six years old.

A Gray Catbird that was banded in August 2015, the summer it hatched, was recaptured this fall when it had a refeathering brood patch (the bare patch of skin on the belly that songbirds develop to help incubate eggs). This catbird was eight years old and, because female catbirds develop brood patches when they’re breeding, we were able to determine that she was breeding at Powdermill that summer.

Black-capped Chickadees are frequently recaptured because they’re year-round residents at Powdermill and because they tend to spend time at feeders near the banding station. Because of this, we often have their band numbers memorized and sometimes can recognize individual mannerisms. This fall, we caught one such chickadee several times; it was banded in April 2016 and aged as a bird that had hatched the previous summer, making it eight years old!

Brewster's Warbler — *“Brewster’s” Warbler, a hybrid between Golden-winged and Blue-winged Warblers, was fall Banding Field Tech Connor O’Hea’s season highlight.*

There were many more old birds captured in 2023, each one delighting the crew with its history.

PARC is back to the winter banding schedule and we’re looking forward to what 2024 will bring us!

To learn more about bird banding, please see the post “What is bird banding?”

Annie Lindsay is the Banding Program Manager at Powdermill Nature Reserve.

The Hermit Crab and the Moon Snail

by Timothy A. Pearce and Mandi Lyon

When a snail needs a larger shell, it simply grows its shell larger, continuing the spiral. However, when a hermit crab needs a larger shell, it must find a larger shell to move into. Consequently, hermit crabs depend on snails to provide housing. Hermit crabs have soft abdomens, which are vulnerable to predators, so they keep their abdomens protected inside of snail shells.

There are amusing stories of several hermit crabs lining up in order of shell size, in a type of pecking order. When a new shell becomes available, the hermit crab highest on the pecking order holds onto the new shell and keeps a tight grip on its current shell as well. It tries out the new shell, and if it is an improvement, the crab will quickly move from one shell to the other, releasing the old shell. The old shell then becomes available to the next crab in the pecking order who examines it, and so on down the line.

Apparently, hermit crabs don’t kill snails to get the shells, but instead appear to move into already empty shells.

This series of photos was taken in the evening of August 12, 2017, at Amherst Shore Provincial Park on the Northumberland Strait in Nova Scotia. The photos show a hermit crab wearing the shell of a Dog Whelk (Nucella lapillus) encountering a Spotted Northern Moonsnail (Lunatia triseriata). The entire interaction took about a minute or so. The hermit crab approaches (Fig. 1) and climbs onto the moon snail (Fig. 2). The snail pulls its body into its shell and blocks the shell opening with its horny operculum, like a door that shuts the opening tightly (Fig. 3). The crab flips the shell over and the reddish colored operculum is visible (Fig. 4). The crab probes into the aperture (Fig. 5). Then the crab walks away (Fig. 6), evidently convinced that the shell is not available.

It’s hard to tell whether the hermit crab feels crowded in its current shell; it looks fine to us, but maybe hermit crabs are always on the lookout for better accommodations. The crab approached from the snail’s backside, so perhaps the crab didn’t notice that the snail is alive. The crab flipped the shell over, probed into the aperture where it bumped into the operculum.

How fortunate to be able to witness such an interaction, and to have a camera to record the episode!

*Fig. 1. Hermit crab approaches snail. Photo by M. Lyon.*

*Fig. 2. Hermit crab climbs onto snail. Photo by M. Lyon.*

*Fig. 3. Snail withdraws into shell blocking opening with operculum. Photo by M. Lyon.*

*Fig. 4. Hermit crab flips the shell over (note reddish operculum). Photo by M. Lyon.*

*Fig. 5. Hermit crab probes into the shell aperture, knocking on the door-like operculum. Photo by M. Lyon.*

*Fig. 6. Hermit crab walks away. Photo by M. Lyon.*

Mandi Lyon is the Program Manager for Schools & Groups and Timothy A. Pearce is Curator of Mollusks at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Groundhog Day 2024: Punxsutawney Phil’s Alpine Cousin

by Suzanne McLaren and John Wible

Beginning in 1887 in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the celebration of Groundhog Day has made the groundhog (Marmota monax) a familiar animal to people who live far beyond the range of this species. While this large ground squirrel may get the most publicity, especially on February 2^nd every year, there are twelve related species that live elsewhere in North America, Europe, and Asia. In Europe, the Alpine marmot (Marmota marmota), which lives in mountainous areas of the continent’s central and western regions, is particularly well-known. Like the groundhog, it spends most of the year fattening up so that it can survive the winter months by hibernating.

two alpine marmots — *Credit: Sylvouille at French Wikipedia. – Transferred from fr.wikipedia to Commons., CC BY-SA 1.0*

While our local groundhog leads a more solitary existence, the Alpine marmot lives in a communal setting that includes a single breeding pair and around 15-20 of their offspring. They live in underground burrows that are passed down for generations within the family group, expanding over time into complex systems of tunnels. The tunnels eventually lead to a large chamber or den, where the entire family hibernates during the winter months. This concentrates body heat among the group and helps younger individuals to survive. Similar to prairie dogs, family members are friendly and playful with each other, grooming and touching noses when they greet. One individual, serving as a guard at the mouth of the burrow, will give off a loud whistle, to warn the rest of the family about the approach of an enemy – either a predator or even a non-family member of its own species.

Humans have hunted this species for hundreds of years for its meat. They are still hunted by the thousands for sport in Switzerland and Austria, with the large, ever-growing, yellowish-orange upper incisors sometimes displayed on hunters’ belts.

alpine marmot skull — *Picture of Alpine marmot skull showing large incisors, Klaus Rassinger und Gerhard Cammerer, Museum Wiesbaden, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons*

It is also reported that rendered Alpine marmot fat is still sought after as a folk remedy for arthritis. It is not taken internally but rubbed on sore joints.

two glass containers of rendered marmot fat — *Picture of rendered marmot fat. Credit: H. Zell, CC BY-SA 3.0*

Perhaps the most surprising anecdote about the interaction of humans and the Alpine marmot is the use of the animal for entertainment, though not for weather forecasting like Punxsutawney Phil. Stories of a trained Alpine marmot on a leash, accompanying a “hurdy-gurdy man”, somewhat like the organ grinder and his monkey, date to at least the mid-1700s as evidenced by François Hubert Drouais’ painting Les Enfants d’ Ilustre Naissance. Here, two boys sit together, one playing the hurdy-gurdy, a stringed instrument, and the other holding a dancing marmot on a leash. The traveling entertainer carried his marmot from town to town in a box. If you’ve ever witnessed the belligerent behavior of a local groundhog you might find it hard to believe that any Pennsylvania groundhog, other than Punxsutawney Phil, would allow itself to be led around on a leash or kept in a box!

picture of the painting "The Children of the Duc de Bouillion" by Francois-Hubert Drouais — Credit: François-Hubert Drouais, Public domain PD-US, via Wikimedia Commons

Suzanne McLaren is Collection Manager of Mammals and John Wible is Curator of Mammals at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

2023 Rector Christmas Bird Count Results

by Annie Lindsay

*American Woodcock. Photo by Powdermill Avian Research Center.*

For a few hours before dawn on the chilly morning of December 16, several intrepid birders scoured the Rector Christmas Bird Count circle for owls, and with a bit of luck, counted four species. Eastern Screech-Owl is a common, year-round resident and a respectable 14 individuals were heard calling that morning, in addition to one encounter each of Great Horned Owl, Barred Owl, and Northern Saw-whet Owl.

Once the sun rose that morning, the owlers were joined by many other birders to spend the day systematically searching for and tallying all the birds they could see and hear throughout the day. The Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is an annual citizen science tradition that began in 1900 with the goal of counting all the birds that participants encounter within an established 15-mile diameter circle on a selected day between December 14 and January 5. The Rector count, centered just northwest of Powdermill Nature Reserve, covers a variety of habitats and elevations spanning from the Chestnut Ridge to the Laurel Ridge, and has been going strong since 1974. Because of the diversity of habitats and the dedication of participants, Rector CBCers have totaled 132 species within the circle, including a new species added this year.

*Rusty Blackbird. Photo by Powdermill Avian Research Center.*

The Rector count circle is divided into sectors, and this year’s 43 participants fanned out to cover as much territory as they could within their assigned sectors, some opting to hike trails in the state parks and forest, some traveling the roads by car, stopping periodically to listen and watch, and eight birders counted the species they saw visiting their feeders and yards. At the end of the day, everyone gathered at Powdermill for the tally dinner, an evening to chat about the day’s events, share a delicious meal, and to add up the birds each group counted. This year’s total was above average with 6,131 individuals of 76 species tallied, surpassed in recent years only by 2021, a year with unseasonably warm temperatures extending quite late into the fall that garnered several species not normally expected to persist into December. Many species set new high-count records this year, including Canada Goose, Black Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, American Woodcock, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Hairy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Carolina Wren, Eastern Bluebird, Northern Mockingbird, and Red-winged Blackbird. Although some of these high counts likely can be attributed to increased effort and number of participants, almost all of these species seem to be expanding their ranges northward, or are occurring in southwestern Pennsylvania in greater numbers, often year-round, a trend ornithologists have been noticing in recent years.

*Pileated Woodpecker. Photo by Alex Busato.*

Excitement is always high at the tally, and this year was no exception. Highlights of the count were plentiful as participants shared photos and stories about their birds-of-the-day. One group found two Ruby-crowned Kinglets (nearly matching the count’s high total of three set in 2021) and a massive flock of 915 Canada Geese, which was the bulk of the day’s record-setting total. Another group found an Eastern Phoebe, a species recorded only twice before on the Rector CBC, perched in a tree pumping its tail up and down. Three participants photographed a Rough-legged Hawk, a species uncommon enough that they knew they would have to “prove” their identification, soaring over farm fields while driving to get lunch. And another group reported a flock of 150 Red-winged and 20 Rusty Blackbirds, setting a record for Red-wingeds and the highest count of Rusties since the mid-1990s. They also spotted an American Woodcock, a new species for the count, doing its bobbing walk in a wet spot along a road.

*Rough-legged Hawk. Photo by Mark McConaughy.*

One more notable finding of the day was three leucistic Red-tailed Hawks. At least one had been spotted at the edges of fields near Powdermill for much of 2023, but on the day of the count, two different birds, with varying amounts of white, were spotted and photographed in those fields, and a third was spotted many miles to the northwest in a different sector. The word “leucistic” refers to lack of pigment, and these leucistic birds have one or, in the case of these particular hawks, many white feathers. Finding one leucistic bird is uncommon, but three relatively large birds showing this same coloration is quite rare.

*Leucistic Red-tailed Hawk. Photo by Mark McConaughy.*

As we wrap up the 124^th Christmas Bird Count season and submit the Rector count’s data to the National Audubon Society, we thank all participants for their commitment to the birds and look forward to next year’s count!

For more information about the Christmas Bird Count and to see how the data are used, please visit: https://www.audubon.org/conservation/science/christmas-bird-count

Final 2023 Tally:

*Canada Goose – 1009

Mute Swan – 4

Tundra Swan – 1

Wood Duck – 1

American Black Duck – 13

Mallard – 74

Bufflehead – 2

Hooded Merganser – 11

Common Merganser – 3

Ruddy Duck – 6

Ring-necked Pheasant – 7

Wild Turkey – 14

Pied Billed Grebe – 6

*Black Vulture – 55

Turkey Vulture – 80

Northern Harrier – 1

Sharp-shinned Hawk – 1

Cooper’s Hawk – 2

Black Eagle – 2

Red-shouldered Hawk – 9

*Red-tailed Hawk – 66

Rough-legged Hawk – 1

Killdeer – 3

*American Woodcock – 1

Rock Pigeon – 37

Mourning Dove – 90

Eastern Screech-Owl – 14

Great Horned Owl – 1

Barred Owl – 1

Northern Saw-whet Owl – 1

Belted Kingfisher – 8

Red-headed Woodpecker – 6

*Red-bellied Woodpecker – 102

*Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – 16

Downy Woodpecker – 66

*Hairy Woodpecker – 28

Northern Flicker – 17

*Pileated Woodpecker – 38

American Kestrel – 2

Eastern Phoebe – 1

Blue Jay – 287

American Crow – 764

Common Raven – 25

Carolina Chickadee – 1

Black-capped Chickadee – 311

Tufted Titmouse – 212

Red-breasted Nuthatch – 7

White-breasted Nuthatch – 144

Brown Creeper – 8

Winter Wren – 3

*Carolina Wren – 86

Golden-crowned Kinglet – 60

Ruby-crowned Kinglet – 2

*Eastern Bluebird – 191

Hermit Thrush – 5

American Robin – 85

*Northern Mockingbird – 19

European Starling – 794

Cedar Waxwing – 45

Yellow-rumped Warbler – 7

American Tree Sparrow – 7

Field Sparrow – 5

Fox Sparrow – 1

Dark-eyed Junco – 411

White-throated Sparrow – 105

Song Sparrow – 117

Swamp Sparrow – 12

Eastern Towhee – 3

Northern Cardinal – 168

*Red-winged Blackbird – 151

Rusty Blackbird – 20

House Finch – 110

Purple Finch – 1

American Goldfinch – 90

House Sparrow – 61

Total Species: 76

Total Individuals: 6,131

*asterisk indicates high total for count

Annie Lindsay is Banding Program Manager at Powdermill Nature Reserve, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s environmental research center.

Collected On This Day: Witch Hazel, January 1923

by Mason Heberling

witch hazel branch, buds, and leaf on an herbarium sheet

This specimen of common witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) was collected in January 1923 in Beaver County, Pennsylvania “East of Ambridge” by H.W. Graham. Herbert W. Graham (1905-2009) was an “Assistant” in Botany at the Carnegie Museum from 1925-1929 while he was a student at the University of Pittsburgh who later became an oceanographer at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. During his time at the museum, he collected many specimens, often with his brother, Edward H. Graham, who was also an Assistant in Botany, later curator (1931-1937) and later, a well-known conservationist with the US Department of Agriculture. The Graham brothers went on expeditions to the Sonoran Desert in the late 1920s, collecting specimens and information that was used to create the desert diorama that remains in the museum’s Hall of Botany today.

This specimen has a “bits and pieces” feel to it, but shows what the plant looks like in winter, with branches, buds, a leaf, and even including a nice cross section cut out of the stem. The leaf is in great shape, which makes me question whether the leaf was truly was collected in January, when the leaves are usually dry and crumbled from the wrath of winter.

The specimen was simply collected in “January 1923” with no note on the day of year. I feel that coming off a holiday break (what day is it?). But more seriously, it reminds us that many specimens of the past were collected for different purposes with many of their uses today unanticipated. For instance, collectors today would certainly record the calendar date of collection, valued just as much as information on the location it was collected, as scientists routinely use specimens to date information to understand the seasonal timing of leafing, flowering, and fruiting with changing environmental conditions over time.

The leaf is a nice touch, too. It indicates that at least some leaves were still around in the winter of 1923, and it is quite possible they were even still connected to the stem. Though this species is deciduous (drops its leaves seasonally), common witch hazel has been known to sometimes hang onto some dead leaves on branches through winter. This phenomenon is known as “marcescence.” Why this happens isn’t fully known. Read more here.

You can find this specimen and 588 others of the species in the Carnegie Museum herbarium here.

Above: Witch hazel exhibiting marcescence, with last year’s leaves still attached in early spring (photo taken March 23 2021 at Powdermill Nature Reserve)

Below: Witch hazel’s magnificent autumn blooms. Unlike many woody plants in our region that bloom in spring as leaves are emerging, this species blooms in fall, as its leaves are dropping! (Photo taken October 29 2022 in New Kensington, PA.)

Mason Heberling is Associate Curator of Botany at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Oysters Swim Towards a Siren Soundscape

by Sabrina Spiher Robinson

illustration of a walrus and a person on a beach looking at oysters with feet — *Illustration by Sir John Tenniel. Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License.*¹

“’O Oysters, come and walk with us!’

The Walrus did beseech.

‘A pleasant walk, a pleasant talk,

Along the briny beach:

We cannot do with more than four,

To give a hand to each …

Four other Oysters followed them,

And yet another four;

And thick and fast they came at last,

And more, and more, and more—

All hopping through the frothy waves,

And scrambling to the shore …

‘O Oysters,’ said the Carpenter,

‘You’ve had a pleasant run!

Shall we be trotting home again?’

But answer came there none—

And this was scarcely odd, because

They’d eaten every one.”

In 1872, Lewis Carroll included the poem “The Walrus and the Carpenter” in his classic book Through the Looking Glass. The Walrus calls out to the oysters to join him and the Carpenter on a walk along the seashore; the young oysters don’t know any better and come to join him. Eventually, all the oysters are eaten up. But can one really sing a siren song to make an oyster come to them? An informed answer to this question requires some background knowledge information about an underappreciated form of wildlife.

oyster shells on cultch in a box — *The favored subsurface described as “cultch” is depicted in this cluster of oyster shells of the species* Crassostrea virginica.

Oysters live in reefs, submerged ridges or mounds of stable material, and baby oysters prefer to settle on a base — called “cultch” — of old oyster shells. Where conditions are favorable, oysters have plenty of company. When a team of researchers investigated the diversity of oyster reefs in the Gulf of Mexico, they detailed the incredible number of creatures that live on the reefs where oysters form: 115 species of fish and 41 species of crustaceans made the Gulf oyster reefs their homes, at very high densities and in communities containing up to 52 species at a time. Other researchers have documented multiple corals, mollusks, and worms that live primarily on oyster reefs. Unfortunately, erosion from coastal development, wetland destruction, unsustainable harvesting, and pollution have decimated populations of the Atlantic coast’s native oyster, Crassostrea virginica, which is bad news for coastal marine habitats in general.²

The importance of oyster reefs as marine habitats for multiple species is only one reason to preserve and reconstruct them. Oysters, as filter-feeding animals, provide an incredible service to the water quality of the estuaries they inhabit. They are also, of course, an important food source along America’s east coast.

The complications of rebuilding and repopulating oyster reefs are many. Pollution must be reduced, especially the run-off of agricultural fertilizers. Such fertilizers “enrich” underwater environments in a process called eutrophication.

Eutrophication causes massive blooms of algae that set off a chain of events disastrous for bodies of water and their inhabitants: the algae can release toxins on its own, but most commonly it overwhelms host ecosystems by blocking sunlight and killing all of the other plants in the water. Eventually the algae die too, and as all these dead plants decay, eaten away by multiplying bacteria that use up what little oxygen is left, dead zones form that suffocate underwater animals. This decay also lowers the pH of the water, leading to acidification that harms and kills animals (especially mollusks, whose shells dissolve in a very acidic environment). Additionally, if sediment erosion is not reduced, these water-borne materials eventually bury and suffocate oysters.

Oyster bed substrates that have been destroyed by human construction or aggressive commercial dredging can be replaced with cultch that is attractive to baby oysters. However, baby oysters must be recruited to the rebuilt reefs, either from the natural population of oyster larvae, or from hatchery-grown larvae reintroduced to the environment.

So, how to attract a baby oyster to your newly constructed oyster reef? First, let’s consider the life cycle of C. virginica, and the critical importance of age range in young oyster populations. In the first year of their adult lives, oysters are male. At certain times of the year, in response to pheromonal cues from their fellow oysters on the reef, they release clouds of billions of sperms. Older oysters on the reef, creatures transitioned into females after a year or two of life, release millions of eggs into these clouds of sperm. About two days after an egg is fertilized, the oyster larvae have become what are called veligers, and they begin to feed on particles in the water and to seek a place to call home. During this time, they develop a foot, and once they arrive on some promising substrate, they can crawl around, looking for just the right spot. At this point they are called spat. Soon the spat lose their feet and cement themselves to the spot they will call home for the rest of their lives, which can be more than a dozen years in the wild.

small boxes of oyster shells — Crassostrea virginica, from the CMNH collection, multiple shells that look completely different, but represent a single species. Epicures report taste differences according to where exactly each oyster lived.

It was long unknown how much choice an oyster veliger had in determining where it landed. Until the 1990s scientists thought that baby oysters had very little control over their movement in the water. In 2022, Australian scientists studying the Australian flat oyster, Ostrea angasi, proved that oyster veligers could very deliberately move to get to a surface they preferred to make their permanent home on.³

How this discovery occurred is of particular interest. The Australian researchers were testing the effects of soundscapes on oyster larvae, following experiments conducted in America in Pamlico Sound in North Carolina. Soundscapes are the collective sounds of a given environment: all the noises of human and non-human animal activity, along with environmental sounds of wind and water and precipitation. In 2014, researchers in North Carolina were experimenting with ways to attract oyster larvae to their newly built conservation reefs. They discovered that by recording the soundscape of a healthy oyster reef and playing it in the water, they attracted a much higher number of spat on experimental tiles near the recordings. Apparently, the baby oysters heard the sound of a healthy oyster reef and headed towards it to make their homes.⁴

How do oysters hear? Humans and other land animals hear through a system of air compression. Sound waves compress air in certain patterns, and tiny hairs within our ears translate those compressions into electrical signals that are then sent to the brain for further interpretation as sound. Underwater, animals hear through particle vibration: sound waves vibrate from particle to particle in the denser medium of water, where the particles are in direct contact with one another, even the water contained in the bodies of fish and invertebrates. Underwater animals have sensing structures that translate these vibrations into electrical signals that the animal then interprets in some way.⁵

Following up on the work of the North Carolina scientists, the Australian scientists confirmed in lab studies using underwater speakers in a completely currentless body of water, that oyster larvae were deliberately swimming towards the sounds of a healthy reef to settle. When they tried this technique on human-made conservation reefs, oyster recruitment increased on the artificial cultch — an important finding, since if baby oysters don’t find the newly deployed conservation reefs quickly, the reefs become covered in algae, making it very difficult for oyster spat to attach to them.⁶

And so, recording and replaying the soundscape of a healthy oyster reef — populated by snapping shrimp, oyster toadfish, and many other creatures that call a healthy oyster reef home — can help with the recruitment of baby oysters to human-made reefs for the purposes of conserving and growing the endangered population of C. virginica. Not only can oyster larvae “hear,” they can — and will — very deliberately swim toward the sounds of a healthy reef. And truly, who amongst us could deny the siren song of the snapping shrimp and the oyster toadfish?

Listen:

Coastal Conservatory

Center for Marine Sciences and Technology (CMAST)

Sabrina Spiher Robinson is Collection Assistant for the Section of Mollusks at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Notes:

Science Museum Group. Magic lantern slide depicting Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Walrus, Carpenter and Baby Oysters. 1951-316/11Science Museum Group Collection Online. Accessed 9 January 2024. https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co8362656/magic-lantern-slide-depicting-alices-adventures-in-wonderland-walrus-carpenter-and-baby-oysters-lantern-slide.
La Peyre Megan K., Aguilar Marshall Danielle, Miller Lindsay S., Humphries Austin T. Oyster Reefs in Northern Gulf of Mexico Estuaries Harbor Diverse Fish and Decapod Crustacean Assemblages: A Meta-Synthesis Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol. 6, 2019 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2019.00666
Williams, B. R., McAfee, D. & Connell, S. D. Oyster larvae swim along gradients of sound. Journal of Applied Ecology, Vol 59, 2002, pp. 1815–1824 https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2664.14188
Ashlee Lillis, David B. Eggleston, DelWayne R. Bohnenstiehl Oyster Larvae Settle in Response to Habitat-Associated Underwater Sounds PLOS ONE 9(1). October 30, 2013 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0079337#amendment-0
Nedelec, S.L., Campbell, J., Radford, A.N., Simpson, S.D. and Merchant, N.D. Particle motion: the missing link in underwater acoustic ecology. Methods Ecol Evol vol 7, 2016, pp. 836-842 https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/2041-210X.12544
McAfee, D., Williams, B. R., McLeod, L., Reuter, A., Wheaton, Z., & Connell, S. D. Soundscape enrichment enhances recruitment and habitat building on new oyster reef restorations. Journal of Applied Ecology, vol. 60, 2023, pp.111–120 https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.14307

Happy Retirement, Pat McShea!

If you’ve read our blog before today, you have almost certainly encountered the work of Museum Educator Pat McShea. Pat has written more than 125 blog posts over the past seven years and in 2020 took on the role of editor. Pat is retiring today, and we couldn’t think of a more fitting tribute than a blog post. His work has only changed our blog for the better and we are so grateful for all the time and effort he has put in over the years.

Pat McShea sitting next to a boulder with binoculars on his lap and hiking gear (backpack, hat, jacket) scattered around him. — *Zion National Park, 2013.*

The earliest post tagged with Pat’s name was published in February 2016 and is called Blue Fleece Jacket. It links field work to life in Pittsburgh with a piece of clothing – a blue fleece jacket. And that’s fitting because one of Pat’s great skills is connecting. Whether it’s scientific topics, people, or random ideas, if there’s a relevant connection, Pat can find it and will share it.

But Pat has done so much more than write for and edit this blog. His primary role is as Program Officer for the Learning Collection (known for many years as the Educator Loan Collection). He was hired in 1985 as a part-time assistant for the Learning Collection and shortly thereafter as part-time gift shop staff. He took over full-time management of the Learning Collection in 1986. He has loaned items to thousands of teachers, librarians, naturalists, park rangers, artists, and home school parents over the years, and in the process has created lasting relationships while giving learners who might never make it to the museum the opportunity to engage with natural history.

Pat and his wife Amy Henrici, Collection Manager of Vertebrate Paleontology, are retiring and the museum won’t be the same without them. They are both kind, generous with their time and knowledge, and always a joy to talk to. We will miss them!

Memories and Stories

Pat has made a significant impact on the museum community and beyond. When asked the best advice he can share with his education colleagues, he quoted poet and author Mary Oliver: “Pay attention.” And it’s clear from the stories collected below that when Pat is around, people pay attention. Please note, there are many, many people who could contribute here; this is a small sampling of Pat’s impact.

“Pat has always guided students of all ages (myself included) to observe the traits and behaviors of plants and animals first; then later discover their names. In the fast-paced world of “what is this/that?” Pat shows us that if we slow down and focus our attention, we will begin to discover the amazing intricate details of our natural world and be better suited to tell stories about what we observe.” -Joe Stavish, Director of Education at Tree Pittsburgh (former senior environmental educator at Powdermill Nature Reserve)

“I met Pat in the winter of 1984-85 [I think] through a mutual friend, relying on his outdoor expertise to buy my first cross country skis at a shop in Shadyside where he worked. I hired him in October 1985 to be my part time assistant in the Educator Loan Collection – mostly moving all the heavy cases around for me. So I was his first supervisor, but also his last(!), because he was hired full-time as head of the collection when I decided not to return from maternity leave in May 1986.

My son Paul felt like he grew up at the museum as I worked on various freelance projects there, due largely because Pat always made time to share with him interesting info and the occasional cast-off from the collection. Coming full circle, when Paul was a high school senior, Pat took him on and mentored him for a weeks-long senior project.

Always kind, always the educator, always radiating gentle humor – that’s Pat McShea!” – Laura Beattie, Program Specialist for The Leonard S. Mudge Environmental Education Program, 1981-1985, then Program Specialist for the Educational Loan Collection 1985-1986, freelancer for the museum from 1986-1996

Pat McShea working at a desk — *In the Learning Collection office*.

“One of the most enduring lessons that Pat has shared with us is to be more curious and less afraid. This wisdom came to light secondhand from a 5-year-old summer camper who, in an end-of-camp reflection, was asked by their camp instructor what was most memorable about their time at camp. They said it was the day that Mr. Pat came to teach about bees, and explained that when he is afraid of something it makes him feel better to ask questions about it. During the camp visit, Pat spoke to a common concern that prevents many people from looking more closely at insects: fear. By making space to talk about feelings, then inviting all kinds of questions, Pat helped all of the campers learn something new. As a colleague, Pat models curiosity in the face of scary subject matter all the time. It’s been essential for the projects on climate change education that he’s worked on over the last 15 years. During the Covid-19 pandemic, this philosophy was essential. Even as we planned for his retirement, Pat has provided reassuring answers to our many questions about how to manage the Learning Collection – most importantly that the curiosity of the educators and students has always pointed the way and will continue to do so.” – Laurie Giarratani, Director of Learning and Community

“I think ALL of the time about the lasting impact that Pat had on both young learners and adult staff when he encouraged a group of 5-year-old summer campers who were expressing some fear and anxiety about bees to lean into curiosity when they find themselves scared of something (because when you ask questions and learn more, it’s usually going to calm your fears). That moment (maybe 5 years ago now?!) was the genesis of the ongoing summer camp mantra of “more curious = less afraid.” -Breann Thompson, Associate Director, Learning and Community Programs

Pat McShea presenting to a group of kids in a classroom — *Pat McShea teaching a group of summer campers about bats.*

“One of Pat’s talents that made him so successful in his job is his ability to absorb information quickly. When I was getting my Master’s in Geology at the University of Pittsburgh, Pat would help me study for tests by quizzing me. I can still remember him asking me for the eight or so characteristics of deep-sea sediments. As I was slowly trying to come up with the list, I realized that Pat didn’t have to check my notes to see if I was correct, because he already had memorized the information ahead of me. Pat thus acquired considerable knowledge about geology while helping me study for tests.” – Amy Henrici, Collection Manager of Vertebrate Paleontology (and Pat’s wife)

“Pat is a naturalist poet who reminds us that every hike promises revelations around every corner, as long as we’re patient and observant. After encountering Pat’s words and work, you don’t look at the world with the same eyes. In the words of Norman MacClean, it’s a world with dew still on it.

Pat, thank you for reminding so many of us that it’s a world with dew still on it waiting for us to make our own discoveries.” – Sloan MacRae, Director of Marketing and Communications

Pat McShea outdoors in a field with cows and hills in the background — Wyoming, 1982.

“It’s impossible to talk about Pat without noting his incredible generosity. He doesn’t just learn and retain information – he eagerly shares it, without fail, with friends, family, colleagues, visitors, learners, everyone. He observes, he listens, he remembers, and he follows up. When a colleague marvels over something he’s written, or remembers a special moment when Pat sought them out to share something, or receives a word of encouragement from Pat during a hard time, that’s the magic of Pat McShea. He’s the most genuine, generous person, and we are all better for working and learning alongside him.” – Jessica Romano, Museum Education Writer

“So one random week last year, Pat KEPT repeating the fact to me that the Haudenosaunee people waited until their corn plants were the size of a squirrel’s ear before planting the beans.

Over and over and over again. It was really odd but I pushed it out of my brain.

That was a mistake.

When he was leading his workshop at the start of the next week, he got out a piece of corn, made a remark about how plants, animals, and natural cycles all tie together. He turns to me and goes “JOHN! When did the Haudenosaunee plant their beans!?”

He’s all smiles. He KNOWS I’ve got this. He’s trained me for this.

And I completely utterly flopped. No idea. Brain blank. No lights on. The hamster is gone and all that’s left is a goldfish flopping around.

So this madman pulls out a taxidermy of a squirrel. I don’t know where it came from, probably summoned it out of the Aether.

He holds it up in front of me and goes “a SQUIRREL’S EAR, John! Come on!!” and everyone starts laughing.” – John Bitsura, Offsite Program Manager

Pat McShea at his desk — *In the Learning Collection office.*

“Pat’s retirement represents the loss of a significant voice for Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Contemplating the museum’s future without Pat led me to revisit some of his blogs on the web. One of my personal favorites is “A Gorilla For Our Imagination”. It relates the back story of the silverback male lowland gorilla in the Hall of African Wildlife, “George” who died of natural causes at the Pittsburgh Zoo in 1979. Pat wrote that the important role of this taxidermy ‘is as an educational tool capable of holding eye contact, and thereby encouraging contemplation. In staring contests that the glass-eyed mount never loses, the gorilla represents all its wild kind, the entire population of our planet’s largest primates, close relative of modern humans, and a group whose continued existence is increasingly threatened by illegal hunting, habitat loss, and disease.’ Pat’s insightful words speak volumes about the museum’s exhibits.” – John Wible, Curator of Mammals

“I worked with Pat McShea in education at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History for ten years and continued to work with him for the next twenty years while using “his” amazing educational loan collection and other resources he provided in my classroom. The museum and community were lucky to have Pat in education for many years because he took a wonderful program like the loan collection and made it even better. Adjectives that describe Pat include kind, inquisitive, kind, helpful, kind, smart, kind, organized, kind, dependable, fun, and did I mention kind? If you are around Pat, it is guaranteed that you will learn something and I would say that a lot of what I know about wildlife and nature is because of Pat. Knowing him and working with him made me a better teacher. He loves the natural world and all the creatures in it and shares his knowledge in many creative ways. (He also makes the best Irish soda bread you will ever taste!)” – Linda Vitale, Natural history docent and teacher from 1983-1993, Museum on the Move volunteer until 2020

Pat McShea next to an icy river — *Allegheny River, 2015.*

“Pat’s wealth of knowledge has been invaluable to us as the Allegheny County Park Rangers. His dedication and passion for education shows in everything he does. From suggesting loan materials to use for a specific program to sharing educational resources and articles, Pat has made an immense impact on all of our staff members. I think it is shown best by the number of seasonal Park Rangers who move on from being Rangers but continue to use the loan collection and Pat’s expertise at other positions. It has been an honor and a privilege to be able to work with Pat.” – Elise Cupps, Education & Outreach Coordinator at Allegheny County Parks

“Amidst the museum’s larger than life history, exhibits, collections and research, Pat’s attention has always been for the learner’s engagement with some aspect of what the climate, plants, animals, and humans might be doing in any season. For example, when working on tabletop exhibits about climate change, Pat noticed that people like to find their homes on maps. He connected that interest to a phenomenon that he and Amy were seeing on their drive to and from work, the morning exodus of crows from the city and evening return of the noisy birds in their dark flocks. He made a climate connection to the urban heat island effect that makes city roosts especially desirable. Given their daily flight patterns, numbers and vocal presence, Pat figured a small prompt “Where have you noticed crows?” might help people become curious about the connection. The regional map, combined with a heat map, crow specimen from ed loan collection and some fun stories about how crows roost and who gets the lower, poopy branches of the trees, came together as a prototype activity in Basecamp where Pat continued to observe people’s responses and chat with those who wanted to share.

His quiet, thoughtful approach to finding openings for thinking like a naturalist, being inspired by nature around us, and drawing on museum resources, are treasured memories of my time at CMNH. An email in the morning from Pat, with a quote, article of interest, or photo causes me to pause and reflect on Pat’s awe for nature and his constant desire to understand what inspires others. Can’t wait to see how this continues in his future endeavors!” – Mary Ann Steiner, Research Associate with the Climate Rural Systems Partnership (CRSP)

“I was asked to share something about Pat from the time I worked with him, which was through 1999 when I left CMNH. If there were dramatic or funny stories to tell, I’ve forgotten them. This, however, attests to Pat’s character. He isn’t one to look for ways to draw attention. He’s steady, reliable, always helpful, generous in sharing his knowledge, and appreciated by educators throughout the area and staff throughout the Carnegie. This was true when I worked with Pat and I’m sure it continued. Oh yes, there was that time when I was greeted with a life-sized human skeleton model at my desk when I arrived at work on my 40th birthday. Quite a sight, courtesy of Pat!” – Judi Bobenage, former Chair of the Division of Education

“As Pat held up the miniscule mink skull, I knew this lesson would be ‘gold’ for my students. It’s rare to find professional development in the Life Sciences that’s so engaging, informative, and relevant, and Pat’s class on identifying and studying mammal bones sparked a lesson which I still use with my middle school students every year! Though he’s leaving CMNH, Pat’s passions for all things outdoors will live on in classrooms around the Pittsburgh area and beyond. Thanks for all you’ve done, Pat. You will be missed!” – Christian Shane, North Allegheny educator

Blog Highlights

If you’re looking to read more of Pat’s own words, here are a few of our favorite blog posts he’s written. Happy reading!

Learning From Misinterpretations

We Get Questions: Climate Change, Hope, and Action

Building Birding Skills

Echoes of Freedom in an Owl’s Call

Sharing a City Park With a Resident Reptile

Holiday Stowaway: Northern Saw-whet Owl

Carnegie Museum of Natural History Blog Citation Information

Blog author: Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Publication date: December 29, 2023

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December 13, 2023 by Erin Southerland

A Three Rivers Waterkeeper Biocube

As frontline defenders for water protection in Pittsburgh and Southwestern Pennsylvania, staff of Three Rivers Waterkeeper patrol and monitor for pollution in our waterways by using high quality monitoring and sampling technologies to collect water samples. Our work contributes to the enormous efforts by watershed organizations to monitor water quality data in our region.

A river redhorse might be a finned visitor to a temporarily submerged Three Rivers Waterkeeper biocube. The presence of this species, pictured here in a display tank setup by the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission, is evidence of a healthy river system.

Wildlife observations occur so regularly in our work that the thought experiment about where best to place and monitor a biocube creates a dilemma. Over the modern history of our region, mass industrialization polluted our waterways, and our rivers became devoid of aquatic life. Fortunately, with the implementation of the 1972 Clean Water Act and subsequent clean water laws at the local, state, and federal levels, community organizations have been able to hold polluters accountable. As a result, we have seen wildlife come back to our rivers – including our national bird, the Bald Eagle. On or along the Allegheny River alone, the US Forest Service has documented rich species diversity, including over 50 mammals, 200 birds, 25 amphibians, 20 reptiles, 80 fishes, and 25 freshwater mussels.

Visible in this picture of the freshwater mussel known as the plain pocketbook (Lampsilis cardium) is the fleshy lure the shelled creature relies upon to attract fish close enough to be showered with a cloud of tiny parasitic larvae. The larvae attach to fish gills for several weeks before dropping off as fully formed miniature mussels.

We settled on a type of location rather than a specific one, the deltas formed by local tributary streams as the enter one of the three rivers referenced in our organization’s name. During the cycle of a full year on one of these patches of water-shaped land, a biocube might be fully submerged during some weeks, and shaded by riparian vegetation during other times. A list of likely plants and animals found temporarily within the cube’s bounds might very well include:

This giant mayfly (Hexagenia limbate) resting on a section of Allegheny River shoreline will have a brief breeding life of just a few days. Much of its earlier life as an aquatic nymph was spent burrowing in river bottom mud.

A Mallard hen and ducklings here represent the range of birds, including Great Blue Herons, Bald Eagles, Spotted Sandpipers, and of course other waterfowl species, who might investigate the space within a well-placed stream delta biocube during their routine feeding forays.

Late boneset (Eupatorium serotinum) is a native Pennsylvania plant that loves growing close to bodies of water in wet soil. The plant, pictured here on a stream delta along the Ohio River near Conway, blooms late in the summer and into the fall, providing pollen and nectar at a time when there are few options for species that need it.

The temporary submergence of stream deltas by rising river waters does not hinder Water Willow (Justicia americanus). The early-summer blooming plant is well adapted to fluctuating water levels, and the network of its root system helps to minimize riverbank erosion.

Homeschool Classes

Explore the natural world in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s homeschool classes. Students ages 5-18 from the local homeschool community can attend sessions designed to complement homeschool science curriculums and make homeschooling more convenient, interactive, and engaging for your family.

Upcoming Homeschool Classes

2024-25 Homeschool Classes listed below meet at the museum on the following Mondays.

Fall 2024 Dates

October 7, 2024
October 14, 2024
October 21, 2024
October 28, 2024
November 4, 2024

Winter 2025 Dates

January 27, 2025
February 3, 2025
February 10, 2025
February 17, 2025
February 24, 2025

Spring 2025 Dates

March 31, 2025
April 7, 2025
April 14, 2025
April 21, 2025
April 28, 2025

Is your class sold out? Sign up for the waitlist.

Registration is coming soon.

Refund Policy

For multi-session classes, full refund less $10 handling fee for withdrawals made at least one week before program begins. Withdrawals made less than one week before the program starts, but before the second class session, are subject to a fee of $10 plus the pro-rated cost of a single class. No refunds after the second class has met.

Inclement Weather Policy

For children’s programs scheduled to occur December through March, the following inclement weather policy will be used: Should hazardous conditions result in cancellation of classes, announcements will be made on television stations KDKA, WTAE, WPXI, and FOX. Decisions are based on the needs of all students and instructors, some of whom drive considerable distances to Oakland. Makeup days may be scheduled for missed classes. During any inclement weather, please use your own discretion to attend for your own safety and that of your student.

December 1, 2023 by Erin Southerland

Birds in “Twelve Days of Christmas”: a Museum Search

by Patrick McShea

The Twelve Days of Christmas

When a traditional song about Christmas gifts reaches young ears, the centuries-old lyrics naturally prompt questions. If you’ve been on the receiving end of inquiries such as “What’s a partridge?”, a museum visit can provide identity information for the abundance of birds mentioned in the “Twelve Days of Christmas.”

Although the birds cited below aren’t precise matches for European species of the song, locating these feathered references can renew your own appreciation for what might be an overly familiar tune.

Inspiration and informational reference for the re-interpretation of several exhibits comes from a 2018 American Ornithological Society blog post by Bob Montgomerie, an evolutionary biologist at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario. Dr. Montgomerie’s post is titled “Three French Hens.”

A Partridge in a Pear Tree

*Ruffed Grouse taxidermy mount in Discovery Basecamp.*

In Pennsylvania, the Ruffed Grouse has reigned as state bird since 1931. The species’ collective value to Pennsylvania residents includes the gamebird’s historic importance as a food source and its current role as the focus of much upland sport hunting. The bird referenced in the song might well have been the Red-legged Partridge, a European species known to science as Alectoris rufa, however, the Ruffed Grouse is a decent substitute because the bird, which is known to perch in trees occasionally, is routinely called “partridge” in Maine and other portions of the northeast.

Two Turtle Doves

*Passenger Pigeon taxidermy mount in Bird Hall*

The European Turtle Dove, Streptopelia turtur, is a member of the bird family of doves and pigeons known as Columbidae. Generally, the smaller species in the family are called doves, and the larger species ae called pigeons. The Passenger Pigeon is the most notable family member on display at the museum.

Passenger Pigeons were once so abundant in eastern North America that flocks darkened the skies for hours when the birds migrated to access seasonal feeding areas and nesting sites.

Sustainable use of the birds by humans did not continue into the 19^th Century. By mid-century, Passenger Pigeons became an unregulated commodity in the rapidly expanding American economy, with the country’s growing railroad network and parallel telegraph system providing unprecedented means for sharing word of flock locations, transporting hunters to those sites, and shipping harvested birds to distant markets.

Three French Hens

The song reference is to a specific breed of domestic chicken. There are no domestic chickens on display in the museum, but the species is usually well-represented in the food selections offered within the building’s dining areas. Some scientists have speculated that our current reliance on domestic chickens as a global source of protein for human consumption might someday leave deposits of chicken bones as an identifying mark of the Anthropocene, a proposed name for the current geologic age, viewed as the period during which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment.

Four Calling Birds

Northern Raven taxidermy mount in a diorama of its habitat

If we use the cited author’s research finding, (The original ‘colly bird’ was the Eurasian Blackbird (Turdus merula) as ‘colly’ meant ‘black’ as in ‘coaly,’ and is why border collies bear that name.) the Northern Ravens in an Art of the Diorama display can fill this slot. Another candidate is the American Crow, a species frequently observed passing over the museum building at dusk during winter evenings, heading to local roosts in scattered flocks that number in the thousands. Ornithologists explain the birds’ collective behavior as taking advantage of a “heat island effect,” a base temperature in a city that is five or more degrees warmer than the surrounding countryside.

Five Golden Rings

Close-up of a bird band on bird taxidermy mount

“Five golden rings” might also have a bird connection. Dr. Montgomerie’s post mentions both Gold Finches and Ring-necked Pheasants as possible references, but the museum’s long history of bird banding at Powdermill Nature Reserve, the location of Powdermill Avian Research Center (PARC), allows a different approach. Bird banding is a research practice that involves capturing wild birds, marking them with numbered leg bands, and releasing them unharmed. In some parts of the world this centuries’ old effort to verify bird movements through recovered birds is called “ringing.” It is admittedly a stretch between gold rings and aluminum bands, but for a close look at the latter, check the tabletops in Discovery Basecamp for an encased taxidermy mount of a Gray Catbird bearing one of the lightweight markers on its right leg.

Six Geese A-laying

goose taxidermy mounts in a museum diorama

Although the lyric refers to a domestic variety, a scene focused on an enormous gathering of a wild species in The Art of the Diorama demonstrates the eventual outcome of “geese a-laying” – more geese. Here Blue Geese, a variety of Snow Geese with dark plumage, are shown gathering near James Bay in preparation for a continent-crossing migration. The dark-headed geese in the foreground are young of the year, the most recent product of “Snow Geese a-laying.”

Seven Swans A-swimming

A lone Tundra Swan watches over Discovery Basecamp from a high perch. Thousands of these birds fly, rather than swim, across Pennsylvania spring and fall during seasonal migrations between Arctic nesting grounds and wintering territory along the Chesapeake Bay. Their fall passage over western Pennsylvania, announced by flock calls some people describe as “like the baying of distant hounds,” generally occurs between mid-November and early December.

Patrick McShea is an Educator at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

What’s in a Name? Japanese Knotweed or Itadori

by Rachel Reeb

We name what we notice, adopting or creating vocabulary to reflect all that our senses regularly engage.

Where multiple names exist in the same language for the same subject, nuance reigns. In Japan, for example, a historical collection of words referring to Reynoutria japonica (synonym: Fallopia japonica), the plant known commonly as itadori or Japanese knotweed, totaled to 689 terms. Some words referenced the plant’s shape and structure, others its sour taste, medicinal properties, seasonal appearance, or supporting habitat. Several dozen terms even noted audio characteristics, referencing the sound produced by the snapping of the plant’s stem.

Though the plant has deep cultural and ecological ties to its home range of Japan, Taiwan, China, and Korea, most of these connections are lost in its introduced range of western Pennsylvania, where it is considered to be an unwelcome invasive species. Information about how differently itadori is regarded in different parts of the world forces us to appreciate the diversity of human attitudes towards plants. Why are plant species perceived positively by some people, but negatively by others? To explore this question, a research paper documenting the rich cultural and ecological history of itadori in Japan (“Fallopia japonica (Japanese Knotweed) in Japan: Why Is It Not a Pest for Japanese People,” M. Shimoda and N. Yamasaki, 2016) made the journal club reading list for the scientists and educators involved in the collaborative Invasive Plant Species Education and Outreach Campaign funded by the Richard King Mellon Foundation.

*Along the Allegheny River near Braeburn, Westmoreland County, spring growth of a knotweed stand that will block the view of the water by late June.*

Itadori, or Japanese knotweed, has co-evolved with the humans, plants, and animals living in its home range for thousands of years. It’s no wonder that there are so many names for this plant in Japan, where people have co-existed with itadori and passed down their knowledge of the species over generations. Throughout history, humans found many uses for itadori in food, medicine, floral arrangements, and even as a children’s toy!

Today, in Japan, itadori commonly grows around lawns and roadsides, but it is not considered to be a pest because it can easily be mowed and managed. In comparison, itadori was introduced to western Pennsylvania in the early 1900s, making our collective experience with the plant relatively recent by botanical standards.

People widely planted itadori in ornamental gardens across the continent, but did not anticipate that it would escape cultivation and become established in nature. Here, many of the natural ‘checks and balances’ that stabilized itadori populations in the home range have been lost, including its insect pests, fungi, and plant competitors. Humans also lack deep ties to itadori in the introduced range, and consider it to be more detrimental than it is useful. The fast-growing plant often causes structural damage to buildings, is extremely expensive to manage, and displaces many of the native plants and animals we have formed connections with.

Thousands of years from now, itadori is likely to form new ecological and cultural connections in its introduced environment of Pennsylvania. What new names might we use to describe it, as our relationship to this plant evolves over time?

Rachel Reeb is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Section of Botany at Carnegie Museum of Natural History and content creator and project manager for the Invasive Species Awareness Campaign.

Art and the Animal

by Deirdre M. Smith

The Society of Animal Artists is an association of international artists who depict nonhuman animals and wildlife scenes in 2-D and 3-D media. Founded in 1960, today there are 500 members living in 25 countries. The Society hosts an annual exhibition called Art and the Animal, and this year’s 63rd edition kicked off at the Stifel Fine Arts Center of the Oglebay Institute in Wheeling, West Virginia. The Society sought nearby artists and scholars to serve as judges and reached out to CMNH. As an art historian whose research often intersects with animal studies (including the question of whether nonhuman animals themselves can be called artists), I jumped at the opportunity to learn more about the Society and see their latest exhibition.

*The author with fellow judges Larry Barth and Julie Zickefoose at the artists’ reception for* Art and the Animal. Photograph by Walter Matia.

My fellow judges were Larry Barth and Julie Zickefoose, both accomplished animal artists themselves. Larry is an award-winning carver of birds in wood, and Julie paints and writes on birds and other animals, often in watercolor. I was interested to learn that both artists have connections to CMNH. Larry volunteered in the Section of Birds in the mid-1970s, and both artists have sketched study skins from the section’s collection. One of Larry’s impressively-detailed carvings, depicting a Ruffed Grouse, is on display today at Powdermill Nature Reserve.

*A view of second floor galleries of the Stifel Fine Arts Center during* Art and the Animal. Photograph by author.

The exhibition featured 116 works by as many artists. Nonhuman animal subjects was the overarching theme, but within that domain artists turned their attention to diverse species: from house cats to cheetahs, dairy cows to zebras, snakes, bears, a southern stingray, and many, many birds: avocets, falcons, herons, owls, penguins, woodcocks, a Eurasian hoopoe, the list goes on. The choices of style and medium were equally varied, from highly detailed, realistic paintings, to decorative cut paper compositions, and from humorous works to ones alluding to the precarious lives of all animals under present environmental crises.

Works from the exhibit: Left, Lisa Nugent’s Follow Me Into the Sea, a depiction of a southern stingray in soft pastels, which was selected for an Award of Excellence. Right, Elke Gröning’s Cozy Cuddling, a colored pencil image of two little red flying-fox bats. Photographs by author.

The judges were tasked with selecting up to eight works that stood out overall for “Awards of Excellence,” as well as four cash prizes. After lunch with Renée Bemis (President), Kim Diment (Vice President), and Wes Siegrist (Executive Director), where the bias against sculptors in the “fine arts” and apple foraging in Appalachia were topics of conversation, we began what ended up being a three-and-and-half-hour-long process of tough deliberations. We were instructed by the leadership of the Society not to let our opinions about a species impact our judgment, and to initially not look at the names of the artists. Otherwise, we were free to use our own best sense as to which works stood out as superlative. As judges we found ourselves balancing assessment of the artist’s technique, choice of medium, the extent to which they had accurately and compellingly captured their animal subject, with the overall visual and conceptual appeal of the work. Some of our most intense conversations and disagreements concerned bird anatomy (something Larry and Julie are expert in), what it means and matters to be “realistic,” and whether artists were bringing fresh perspectives to the genre of animal art.

Examples of work from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Natural History Art collection. Left, a screech owl painted by George Miksch Sutton, ornithologist and former CMNH staff member. Right, a field sketch of a snake by Romeo Mansueti from 1939, who eventually became a professor at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory at the University of Maryland. Photographs by author.

I felt primed for the task of judging the competition because I had spent the summer with CMNH volunteer Elizabeth Dragus going through each object in the museum’s Natural History Art collection, which features hundreds of naturalist illustrations made by artists, scientists, and several former CMNH staff between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Established in the early 1970s as the M. Graham Netting Animal Portraiture Collection, it is a treasure trove of images and sculptures of birds, fish, insects, mammals, and reptiles. Several artists in the collection are members of the Society.

*Rachelle Siegrist’s* Nature’s Incredible Water Filter, a watercolor painting of a freshwater mussel. Image credit, the Society of Animal Artists.

One work that received much commentary from the judges, and eventually an Award of Excellence, was Rachelle Siegrist’s Nature’s Incredible Water Filter, a petite (6 x 4 in.) charmer of a watercolor painting depicting a freshwater mussel leaving a trail in sand. The only bivalve subject in the whole show, the work equally stood out for the way the artist captured the patterns on the surface of the water above the mussel. In the statement that accompanies the image in the exhibition catalog, Siegrist shares details on the lives of freshwater mussels: their ability to filter bacteria and pollutants, their role as an “indicator species,” and the rising threat of extinction that these organisms face.

Animals of other species are the most enduring subjects of human image-making, stretching back to the oldest surviving image in a cave, the “Sulawesi pig.” Humans have made images of other animals in order to worship, marvel at, allegorize, objectify, and study them. Siegrist’s little painting demonstrates the power that this primordial practice of taking the time and effort to make an image of another animal can hold: she offers the viewer the opportunity to pause and contemplate a little being whose life might otherwise go unnoticed, or be inaccessible, and develop a new relationship to it through her act of representation.

Deirdre M. Smith is an Assistant Curator at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History Blog Citation Information

Blog author: Smith, Deirdre M.
Publication date: November 21, 2023

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November 17, 2023 by Erin Southerland

Tribal Museums Day and Promoting Indigenous Authors

by Amy L. Covell-Murthy

The Association on American Indian Affairs (AAIA) celebrated its 100^th anniversary in 2022, making it the oldest non-profit serving Indigenous Nations in the United States. Founded in 1922 to promote sovereignty and self-sufficiency by halting assimilation, termination, and allotment, the AAIA continues to advocate at a national level, while supporting grassroots level implementation of Tribal programs.

As part of our ongoing repatriation work at CMNH and as a member of AAIA, I attended the annual meeting in Shawnee, Oklahoma last week. I received training in the new regulations of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, met Tribal and Institutional representatives who share in the same work that I do, and learned more about how the AAIA is helping to educate and advocate. One thing I am excited to share is that the AAIA declared December 2-9, 2023 as the 2^nd Annual Tribal Museums Days and has created an interactive map of where participating museums are located. If you would like to visit a Tribal Museum in person, the closest to Pittsburgh is the Onöhsagwë:de’ Cultural Center in Salamanca, New York. While the museum might not be open on the weekend, you can support them through their online gift shop.

slide above a stage that has a photo of four people and the words: Associtation on American Indian Affairs, Ink & Impact: Our Stories Make a Difference

At the meeting, I was fortunate enough to be able to attend an Indigenous author event called Ink and Impact: Our Stories Make a Difference, which featured Angeline Boulley, Kim Rogers, Andrea L. Rogers, and Sara Elisabeth Sawyer. During the Q&A an audience member asked how we could help spread the word about their amazing books and other Indigenous works. They offered quite a few suggestions, including ordering a set of books to donate to a local library or classroom. My sister happens to be a reading teacher in Franklin, PA, so as a donation to her classroom in honor of Native American Heritage Month (which is in November!) she’ll be receiving Boulley’s Firekeepers Daughter and Warrior Girl Unearthed, and Sawyer’s Anumpa Warrior: Choctaw Code Talkers of World War I, as well as a few other books by Louise Erdrich. Another suggestion was to use our social media platforms to not only elevate Indigenous authors, but to also promote Indigenous owned book sellers.

So…. I am happy to promote Green Feather Book Company of Norman, Oklahoma. They were present all week at the meeting selling the books featured at the event and other Indigenous works. They have an easy online ordering feature, and you can buy all four of these author’s book here along with many others.

Remember, if you can’t buy a copy, it costs nothing to request to borrow them through your local library. This also benefits the authors and spreads the word. Happy Reading!

Amy L. Covell-Murthy (she/her) is Archaeology Collection Manager/Head of the Section of Anthropology.

A Tree Pittsburgh Biocube

by Patrick McShea

On a late October afternoon, Joe Stavish, Director of Education for Tree Pittsburgh, uses a biocube in one of the organization’s greenhouses to show off the golden fall foliage of northern spicebush saplings. If the cube could accompany one of these native shrubs when it’s planted in a local park as part of forest understory restoration, the open-sided green frame might document a surprising variety of wildlife.

During the early weeks of spring, northern spicebush again adds bright color to forest landscapes when its leafless branches bear tiny gold flowers whose nectar and pollen provides critical nourishment for a host of native bees. Close attention to blossom visitors within the biocube could lead to the documentation of dozens of insect species at this stage.

Early spring observations might also detect what appears to be a narrow, two-inch-long dead leaf attached to one of the shrub’s twigs. This is the over-wintering chrysalis of the spicebush swallowtail, a butterfly whose caterpillars are known to favor the spicebush leaves as a food source. After the plant is fully leafed, observation of spicebush foliage within the biocube might produce a sighting of the caterpillar’s distinctive fifth instar or larval stage.

The broad head of the caterpillar at this stage sports two false eye spots, markings that might provide some predator protection by contributing to an overall visual impression of a small alert snake.

In late summer and early fall, when the ripening of the plant’s fruit is signaled by a green to red color change, the biocube would likely have some avian visitors. The ripened fruits are an important seasonal food source for Wood Thrush and other migrating songbirds. In actions that would likely occur outside the bounds of the biocube, these birds contribute to overall health of northern spicebush in our forests by spreading the plants’ seeds in their droppings.

Patrick McShea is an Educator at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Turtle-Centered Learning

by Patrick McShea

This fall, for elementary students in the Meadville area, visits to the school library became opportunities to learn more about turtles. Beth Heuchert, Elementary Librarian for three buildings in northwestern Pennsylvania’s Crawford Central School District, was the force behind the collective concentration on the shelled reptiles. She selected The Book of Turtles, a new work by Sy Montgomery and Matt Patterson (Clarion Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2023), to be the focal point for September library sessions. Then, to establish three-dimensional, and in some cases touchable, extensions for the book’s 39 pages of colorful illustrations, she borrowed a wide range of turtle-related materials from the museum’s Learning Collection.

*In the museum’s Turtles of Pennsylvania display on the Kamin Overlook, an eastern box turtle (4) and wood turtle (5) flank a copy of* The Book of Turtles.

In explaining her joint use of children’s literature and museum materials, Beth outlined multiple activity strands for engaging a wide age range of young learners.

With the Kindergarten and grade 1, I read aloud a story book about a turtle, Truman, by Jean Reidy, followed by The Book of Turtles–which I read over a couple of classes. Students looked at and got to touch the sea turtle shell and model, along with the turtle taxidermy mounts in the cases. Students shared what they noticed about the turtles and what facts they remembered. Then they drew their own turtles (adding patterns) or colored in a picture of an Eastern box or sea turtle.

With grades 2 through 6, I tried out something new involving centers in the library. We read The Book of Turtles as a group, and then the students went to their tables where they worked while taking turns to examine copies of the book. Two of the centers were ‘research’ tables. These spaces featured materials from the museum along with other books on turtles.

The complementary resources enabled students to write down or draw what they observed, answer questions, and generate lots more questions about turtles for future research. Other centers were set up to encourage Independent Reading, and a Read and Create Center where students made turtles out of LEGOS, created origami turtles, turtle-themed tangrams, or turtle images with standard drawing materials.

*As part of the school loan, a sturdy plastic model of a green turtle represented ocean-dwelling turtle species.*

Connections between freshwater turtle shells from the museum and a full-page turtle skeleton illustration in the featured book were particularly important. In combination, the touchable specimens and the detailed image provided reinforcing lines of evidence for interpreting the spine and ribs as inseparable bone components of a turtle’s shell.

A cultural link between the museum materials and The Book of Turtles also deserves mention. The work’s concluding illustration, a full-color depiction of turtle bearing a vegetated island atop its shell, is captioned with a broad historical reference: Ancient stories from around the world tell us how people believed the Earth was carried on the back of a turtle. For some students, the statement provided a perfect segway into the exploration of an older turtle-focused book, Thirteen Moons on Turtle’s Back, by Joseph Bruchac and Jonathan London, with illustrations by Thomas Locker.

*The T*hirteen Moons on Turtle’s Back toolbox.

By dedicating the now 31-year-old work “To the children of Turtle Island,” the authors honor the shelled reptile’s foundational role in Native American legend. The poetic text, in conjunction with a concluding page titled, “A note about this book,” draws reader attention to another aspect of turtle anatomy, the thirteen large scales that create the outer surface of a turtle’s carapace or upper shell. As the book note explains, Many Native American people look at Turtle’s back as a sort of calendar, with its pattern of thirteen large scales standing for the thirteen moons in each year.

A colorfully illustrated toolbox bearing turtle shells and twenty copies of the book was part of the loan from the museum. The books’ use, under the direction of a skilled elementary school librarian, pushed turtle activities into interdisciplinary territory where students learned something about how changing seasons and the passage of time are marked in Native America cultures.

Learn more about this classroom-enriching program.

Patrick McShea is an educator at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Museum Connections to a College Lab

by Patrick McShea

During a recent Vertebrate Diversity Lab at Duquesne University, Dr. Brady Porter’s students closely examined preserved wildlife material on five rows of tables. Weeks earlier, Brady arranged to borrow a variety of vertebrate specimens from Carnegie Museum of Natural History; lizards, snakes, and turtles preserved whole in jars of alcohol, a set of mammal skulls presenting strikingly different dental formulas, and birds preserved in the flat and ridged form known as study skins.

As the manager of the museum’s Educator Loan Collection, I provided 15 bird study skins for the lab. When I expressed curiosity about how the preserved birds would be received by a college audience, Brady invited me to observe the encounter.

students looking at bird study skins on a lab table

What I observed was an exceptional blend of instruction and inquiry. As the students circulated, singly or in pairs, among the specimen-rich workstations, Brady also moved about the lab, answering individual questions, and providing pointed suggestions in a voice clearly audible to every member of the class. While I watched two students gently check a pied-billed grebe study skin for the presence or absence of the stiff facial feathers known as bristles, for example, I listened to Brady’s advice to a student at an adjoining table who had just picked-up an opossum jaw. “It might be easier to do the dental formula on one side and then double it. And look carefully at every place a tooth could be because teeth can fall out.”

grebe and woodcock study skins on a table — *Study skins – American Woodcock (top) and Pied-billed Grebe (bottom)*

No caveats were necessary for the bird study skins, where worksheet questions directed students to look for and interpret the functional importance of such features as the sharp talons and distinctive hooked beaks of raptors, and the tiny, but fully functional feet of hummingbirds. Some questions served to remind the students about how whole suites of physical features were historically used to create the detailed chart of relationships that is the vertebrate classification system. Here the pied-billed grebe, a species so adapted to aquatic life that mated pairs construct floating nests, provided a tactile reference point for a question directed several levels back in the classification chart. “What is the name of the bird Clade that includes most of the waterbirds?”

During an hour-long observation of the lab, it was clear how much the professor-directed learning experience was dependent upon the authentic materials. Had photographs or digital images been used as substitutes, they would not have conveyed all the information embodied in the preserved birds. In less structured situations, however, the usefulness of study skins as teaching aids fades.

At the museum, visitors encounter 21 study skins displayed amidst nearly 300 life-like taxidermy mounts in Bird Hall.

Museum label that explains study skins. Text says "You will see two types of bird specimens in this hallway. Taxidermy mounts: life-like display, less than one percent of the collection is prepared this way. Study skin: preserved flat on its back for easy storage and scientific study." There are illustrations of both study skins and a taxidermy mount.

On the Grand Staircase side of the long narrow exhibition, an informational panel introduces the two types of bird specimens, summarizes their difference, and notes how ratio of preservation forms is completely reversed behind-the-scenes.

In explaining the usefulness of bird study skins to elementary and middle school audiences, I have long relied upon an explanation of theoretic researchers visiting the CMNH Section of Birds to gather data for a study about wing length variation in a species with a wide geographic range. “They’d have a difficult time working with taxidermy mounts.” I’d explain. “One mount might have been prepared with the wings fully open, another with them partially open, and a third with folded wings. With the standardized preparation method and form of study skins, those researchers would get accurate comparable measurements.”

My visit to the Duquesne University biology lab has added a more student-focused detail to the explanation: “Lots of the physical characteristics used for classification can be observed by examining bird study skins, and in a future class you might have an opportunity to be a close observer.”

Patrick McShea is an Educator at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Hispanic Heritage Month Scavenger Hunt: Three Birds and a Butterfly

by Patrick McShea

Hispanic Heritage Month creates an opportunity to consider how we share some forms of winged wildlife with Spanish-speaking regions far to our south. At this time of year, many bird species that are widely considered to be Pennsylvania residents are in the process of a long seasonal migration to warmer climates.

This migratory behavior pattern, established long ago in each species’ evolutionary history, occurs every fall, and reverses with northward movement in the spring. Just as we might consider the wild creatures who spend summers with us to be ours, the people at the Caribbean, Central American, and South American locations where these creatures pass the months of our Pennsylvania winter might consider the winged seasonal visitors to be theirs.

An informal walk to locate three migratory birds and one migratory butterfly among the exhibition halls of Carnegie Museum of Natural History is a good way build background knowledge about wildlife sharing. Recognition of such sharing is a step toward understanding more about other cultures.

Stop #1: Scarlet Tanager (known in Spanish as Piranga Escarlata)

Within the interactive space known as Discovery Basecamp, the Scarlet Tanager’s bright plumage should be easy to locate among other encased bird taxidermy mounts. As the species account in All About Birds states: Male Scarlet Tanagers are among the most blindingly gorgeous birds in an eastern forest in summer, with blood-red bodies set off by jet-black wings and tail.

Recent population studies, which included lots of community science generated data, indicate that Pennsylvania supports more breeding pairs of Scarlet Tanagers than any other state.

Because this species feeds and nests high in the tree canopy, learning to recognize their distinctive song is a good way to spot one. If this technique enables you to spot a bright red male or yellowish-green female, remember that for some months of the year the bird you’re watching might reside in forests as far away as Bolivia.

Stop #2: Monarch Butterfly (known in Spanish as Mariposa Monarca)

diorama of a monarch butterfly on a milkweed plant

The familiar orange and black monarch butterfly flitting across your neighborhood in the fall might be embarking on an incredible journey from field edges in Pennsylvania to the cool and relatively moist habitat of oyamel fir forests in Mexico’s Sierra Madre Mountains. The seasonal movement of monarchs across the North American continent is one of the longest migrations of any insect. In full cycle, however, it differs from bird migration in reliance upon multiple generations.

The long southbound fall journey is completed by some of the individual butterflies who embark upon it. These butterflies initiate northward migration in the spring, but no individuals complete the roundtrip journey. Northbound female monarchs lay eggs for a subsequent generation to continue the migration to our region.

Female monarchs lay eggs on the leaves of milkweed plants, the food source for the caterpillars that hatch within days. The display in the Hall of Botany depicts two of the eleven species of milkweed native to Pennsylvania.

Stop #3: Chimney Swift (known in Spanish as Vencejo de Chimenea)

In urban, suburban, and even rural areas of southwestern Pennsylvania, the high-pitched twittering cries of circling Chimney Swifts create a soundtrack for summer days. The birds’ aerial maneuvers are a mix of rapid wing beats and dynamic glides, and much of the action relates to feeding. Chimney Swifts eat on the wing, using their unusually large mouths to capture up to 5,000 flying insects per day.

When the birds disappear from our skies in the fall, they undertake a journey of thousands of miles to the upper reaches of South America’s Amazon Basin, in Peru, Ecuador, and Brazil, where they spend much of the winter.

In our region, the species roosted and nested in hollow trees before the proliferation of chimneys that accompanied the European colonization of North America. The species is so physically adapted to life on the wing that it is unable to perch upright for long. Note the protruding tail feather shafts on the taxidermy mount. These stiff braces help the bird to hold resting positions against the interior vertical surfaces of chimneys or hollow trees.

Stop #4: Ruby-throated Hummingbird (known in Spanish as Colibri Gorjirrubi)

Although there is a Ruby-throated Hummingbird taxidermy mount immediately adjacent to the Chimney Swift mount, the specimen pictured above is located elsewhere in Bird Hall. This female bird, displayed on a nest, is in “study skin” form. Study skins lack the glass eyes and life-like poses of taxidermy mounts, and their uniform flatness facilitates both storage and scientific study. Most of the 190,000 birds in the museum’s scientific collection (including many from Spanish-speaking regions of the world) are in study skin form.

From May through December, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds attract our attention when they visit some of the flowers we tend, or feeders placed specifically to attract the birds. The species’ diet also includes mosquitoes, gnats, fruit flies, small bees, and spiders. On their breeding grounds, six to ten days of construction work by the female bird results in an inch-deep, two-inch diameter, branch-top nest lined with plant down, held together with spider silk, and for concealment purposes, shingled with lichen chips.

Their annual southward migration includes passage over or around the Gulf of Mexico to reach wintering grounds that stretch southward from Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula to Costa Rica.

Maps indicating breeding ranges, wintering grounds, and the migration corridors between those locations are critically important tools for understanding the movements of migratory wildlife within and between continents. Much of the information about the birds profiled in this activity comes from species accounts of All About Birds, an encyclopedic online resource maintained by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. In each account, a species’ continental-scale migration movements are depicted on color-coded maps.

Another notable facet of the website maintained by Cornell Lab of Ornithology is the availability of education materials in Spanish.

Patrick McShea is an Educator at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History Blog Citation Information

Blog author: McShea, Patrick
Publication date: October 6, 2023

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Location key:

Stop #1: Discovery Basecamp

Stop #2: Hall of Botany

Stop #3: Bird Hall

Stop #4: Bird Hall

October 2, 2023 by Erin Southerland

Celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day 2023

by Amy Covell-Murthy

Indigenous Peoples’ Day is observed in the City of Pittsburgh alongside Columbus Day, and I would like to suggest some ways to observe the holiday for those who do not claim Indigenous heritage. In a state with no habitable federally recognized Indigenous land, Native people are all too often seen as existing only in the past. While educating yourself on the Indigenous history of the region is an important part of observing the holiday, it’s also important to recognize that many First Nations people live, work, and play in the Greater Pittsburgh Area. Indigenous Peoples’ Day should not be a memorial, but a recognition of the important history and cultural heritage of those who are the past, present, and future caretakers of this land. Here are some things you can do to respectfully celebrate on October 9, 2023.

Educate Yourself

Learn about the people who have called Pittsburgh home. Many different cultural groups have occupied the Upper Ohio River Valley including but not limited to the Delaware/Lenape, the Haudenosaunee, the Shawnee, and the Wyandotte. The Osage Nation also claims origin in the Ohio River Valley, and you can learn about all these nations on their official websites. I also suggest hitting up your local library to check out books on these groups as well as the cultural traditions and ancestors who came before them. This region was home to those who are often referred to as the Adena, Hopewell, and Monongahela. But keep in mind, we have no idea what they called themselves. Here are some resources:

Haudenosaunee Confederacy

Delaware Tribe

Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma

Wyandotte Nation

Osage Nation

Educate Yourself Some More

Learn about the history that may have been left out of your primary and secondary school curriculums. You may be unaware of the atrocities that Indigenous people faced in the State of Pennsylvania. Many First Pennsylvanians were forced from their homelands and infected with unfamiliar diseases by colonizers. Later the first assimilation school was created in Carlisle, PA and used as a model for 24 more of these institutions whose primary goal was to force Indigenous children to abandon their Native languages and customs. In the 1960s, the building of the Kinzua Dam forced Seneca Nation citizens to move into the State of New York, breaking the 1794 Treaty of Peace and Friendship. Indigenous communities thrive despite these events and institutions, but it is important to recognize and not try to hide these gruesome parts of our shared American history. You can find more information about these examples on these websites:

Kinzua Dam (Seneca-Iroquois National Museum)

The Lenape and Colonization (Delaware State Parks Adventure Blog)

Carlisle Indian School Project

Support Local Indigenous Groups

I’d like to highlight COTRAIC’s Singing Winds Food Pantry this year. Learn more, donate, or sign up to receive help meeting your personal and family food needs.

Honor the Land

Landscaping with Native Plants

List of Western PA Native Plants

Attend an Online or In Person Event

Many cities around the United States hold events to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day. A quick Google search can point you in the right direction. I’m going to be learning from visiting scholar Dr. Jessie Ryker Crawford on October 9 at noon in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Earth Theater for the Moriarty Science Seminar. Dr. Ryker-Craford’s program is titled, “Academia and Indigenous Communities: Opening the Doors to Collaborative Research and Community-Driven Projects.”

You can find a calendar of events hosted by the National Museum of the American Indian here.

Support Indigenous Artists, Authors, Film Makers, and Musicians

longhouse at Seneca Iroquois National Museum — *Longhouse Replica Dedication Ceremony at the Onöhsagwë:de’Cultural Center on May 27, 2023.*

You have so many options! The Sundance Institute has released a guide to the Indigenous works at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. The website of Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh offers staff picks and lists of Indigenous authors. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation released a list of Indigenous musical artists to watch out for in 2023. My personal favorite is Hayley Wallis (What a voice!). Vogue featured 21 Indigenous Artists to watch out for from this year’s Santa Fe Indian Market. The list includes fashion designers, painters, beaded and metal jewelry designers, sculptors, and textile artists. You can also support Indigenous artists by purchasing art through the online gift shop of the Seneca Iroquois National Museum/Onöhsagwë:de’ Cultural Center or take a drive up to purchase something in person and see the new longhouse that they’ve built behind the museum.

Help Change Derogatory Mascots and Place Names

Sign petitions, attend community forums, and advocate for the changing of harmful stereotypes and offensive signage in our community. From the Cleveland Guardians to Hemlock Hollow Road, there are many instances of this happening around us. The National Congress of American Indians offers resources to help end the era of harmful mascots.

Jersey, helmets, photos, and more in a display about the Haudenosaunee Nationals. — *Haudenosaunee Nationals Lacrosse Team exhibit at the Onöhsagwë:de’ Cultural Center.*

Also, learn about the Haudenosaunee Nationals Lacrosse Team, who hope to make it to the 2028 Olympics! Learn about how they changed their name in 2022 to reflect their collective identity and donate to help them reach their goals if you are able!

Consider Donating Time or Resources

The Seneca Iroquois National Museum/ Onöhsagwë:de’ Cultural Center is only a few hours drive from Pittsburgh and occasionally may be looking for volunteers. Check their website and follow their social media accounts for more information.

View this profile on Instagram

SINM (@senecairoquoisnationalmuseum) • Instagram photos and videos

If you are able, here are just a few organizations who can use your help:

Native American Agriculture Fund

NDN Colle ctive

Association of American Indian Affairs

Advancing Indigenous People in STEM

So, join me once again in unlearning some Columbus Day myths and celebrating the cultural diversity of Indigenous People throughout the history of our region. Remember that the best places to start educating yourself are the local libraries and museums. Carnegie Museum of Natural History offers guided tours of our cultural halls that strengthen the messages we wish to share with the community. Visit the Alcoa Hall of American Indians to learn more about the Tlingit, Lakota, Hopi, and Haudenosaunee, and keep in mind that there are so many other Indigenous groups, traditions, nations, and organizations for you to explore on your own!

Amy L. Covell-Murthy (she/her) is Archaeology Collection Manager/Head of the Section of Anthropology.

2023 Point Counts at Powdermill Avian Research Center

by Grace Muench

Since 2013, field technicians at Powdermill Avian Research Center have gathered data about breeding birds on the 2200-acre Powdermill Nature Reserve through point counts. This wildlife survey term denotes tallies of every bird detected by sight and sound by a single observer located at fixed, predetermined positions for specified time periods, along with rough estimates of each bird’s distance from the surveyor. On many days this summer I was the surveyor, and the experience was enriching.

Powdermill is divided into ten sectors containing eight to eleven points, and during June and early July, I visited a different sector each day to conduct ten-minute point counts. I surveyed each sector twice, for a total of 190 different counts. Point counts can tell us about densities of birds in the immediate area, trends in the regional populations, species proclivity for a certain habitat, and more. Because Powdermill’s point count locations overlay plots from a vegetation survey that was completed at Powdermill in the mid-2000s, the paired data give us valuable information about the forest ecology on the reserve.

Pileated Woodpecker — *Credit: Powdermill Nature Reserve, Carnegie Museum of Natural History*

On the first day of point counts, the Porcupine Ridge trail acted as the main access corridor for many of the points in the sector. While walking along the trail to the last point of the day, I heard an unfamiliar noise. It sounded like several incessant hollow bark-like calls, and in the far distance I could hear Pileated Woodpeckers. Knowing that these woodpeckers primarily nest in dead trees, I began to search for nestlings. At the very top of an old, dead chestnut oak tree with almost no bark, I saw three heads poke out of a cavity, calling to the parents who were now close by and began acting defensively. While I had heard Pileated Woodpeckers in almost every sector this summer, this was the only nest that I observed, and it was the first of many incredible sightings.

Shortly after completing surveys at every point in all ten sectors, I restarted from the beginning. The particular sector I surveyed on June 11 has about a one-mile-long hike uphill to get to the first point. Three quarters of a mile in, I saw some movement to my right and redirected my attention. A yearling black bear was running up and down a fallen tree, stopping only briefly to scratch himself. I could tell the bear was a yearling by the shape of the head, along with the long and slender legs making the bear look tall. The bear ran across the fallen tree two or three times before he noticed my presence. He very slowly turned himself to look in my direction, paused for a few seconds at most, and took off into the forest.

Pennsylvania is also home to the Timber Rattlesnake, which brings me to my next animal encounter. I was walking through a mountainous, hilly second growth forest. The understory was filled with green briar and stinging nettles, so I had my eyes on the ground to minimize the chances of being stuck or stung by these plants. The walk from one point to the next was about 250 meters, or 0.16 miles. There are often obstacles like fallen trees, some of which are easy to step over, but others I had to go around. As I approached a fallen tree, I heard an unfamiliar noise. Though unfamiliar, the rattling sound was unmistakable. A few meters down the fallen tree was a large, perfectly coiled dark phase Timber Rattlesnake. I estimated this snake was four to five feet long, and it was clear that there was a meal moving through the snake’s digestive tract. The snake had eight rattles, specialized hollow scales which are added, one layer at a time, each time the reptile sheds its skin. I was lucky to be able to observe the snake from a safe distance for a few minutes before I headed to the next point.

The last day of point counts was also one to remember. About halfway through the final point of the sector, something about 250 meters away made a noise that I can only describe as a woman screaming. Immediately, all birds stopped singing and flew up into the canopy. I knew this animal call. It was a bobcat! This scream is referred to as “caterwauling,” and the sound is produced primarily during the mating season. After hiking back down to the avian research center, I was lucky enough to spot a different bobcat! A relatively small bobcat was hiding next to a structure near the bird banding lab, stalking the eastern cottontails that were foraging in the grasses. After a few minutes of inching closer and closer to the rabbits, the bobcat pounced. The rabbits frantically ran in all different directions, and the bobcat was left empty-handed.

bobcat laying in the grass — *Credit: Grace Muench*

After completing the 190 point counts, I rejoined the banding crew to finish the breeding season and to prepare for fall migration. I will always remember encountering and observing incredible wildlife, seeing my lifer Cerulean Warbler, and all that the Powdermill staff has taught me this summer. I can’t wait to learn more this fall!

Grace Muench is a Field Tech at Powdermill Avian Research Center.

We Get Questions: Climate Change, Hope, and Action

by Patrick McShea

a paperback copy of the book "The Sixth Extinction"

“Tell me what gives you hope?” The student’s question during a high school environmental science class in March left me scrambling to deliver a clear and honest answer. “Tell me,” she added for emphasis, “because I really want to know.”

Ten students had just listened to me explain the cascade of negative effects associated with the increasing acidification of ocean waters. The frightful phenomenon is on a scale proportional to and correlated with the climate altering changes in Earth’s atmosphere. My presentation was a summary of a single chapter in The Sixth Extinction, science writer Elizabeth Kolbert’s landmark 2014 book exploring warning signs of a coming human-induced extinction event as destructive as the five previous episodes documented in the fossil record.

In “The Sea Around Us,” a chapter whose title pays homage Rachel Carson’s best-selling 1951 book by that name, Kolbert frames her ocean report with an explanation of a vital large-scale chemical interaction:

Ocean covers seventy percent of the earth’s surface, and everywhere that water and air come into contact there’s an exchange. Gases from the atmosphere get absorbed by the ocean and gases dissolved in the ocean are released into the atmosphere. When the two are in equilibrium, roughly the same quantities are being dissolved as are being released. Change the atmosphere’s composition, as we have done, and the exchange becomes lopsided: more carbon dioxide enters the water than comes back out.

Much of the chapter consists of Kolbert’s account of her visit with scientists studying marine life in a bay of the Tyrrhenian Sea where water chemistry has long been impacted by carbon dioxide-rich discharges from submerged volcanic vents. The narrative helped the students understand how researchers use models to make predictions, and that ecological models are not always computer simulations. In a summary of acidification impacts in the study area, Kolbert notes limpet shells bearing “deep lesions through which their owner’s putty-colored bodies can be seen.” Perhaps my sharing of this type of graphic detail spurred the student’s urgent question about hope.

My answer, which lacked quotable coherence, involved trees. Speaking directly to the questioning student, but addressing the entire class, I explained how for more than a decade my New Year’s resolution has been simply to learn more about trees, and that months earlier a New York Times profile of renowned medical biochemist and botanist Diana Beresford-Kroeger had been particularly instructive. Her endorsement of global forest restoration to mitigate the effects of climate change is clear, and some of her research has identified biochemical connections between forests and the sea.

Although I’m not certain my answer alleviated the student’s concerns, I’ll lead with trees if the question of hope comes up again. However, because of a subsequent encounter with another student’s direct question, my answer will also include a human element.

*CRSP Project Climate Cards are designed as discussion prompts.*

In early April, in collaboration with staff of the Mercer County Conservation District, I was one of two museum educators who spent a morning at that organization’s Munnell Run Farm headquarters assisting teams of local high school students in building climate change background knowledge as preparation for competition in the state-wide Envirothon. As encouragement for full participation in discussions, we relied upon colorful issues-focused information cards that were co-developed with partner organizations during the Climate and Rural Systems Partnership project. The climate cards were effective tools, but in one session a student with deep interest in climate change issues used a direct question to announce her enthusiasm for short cutting the process: “What should I do? I’m sold on all this, so tell me, as a high school student, right now, this month, this year, what should I be doing?”

I advised her to become as well informed as possible about climate change issues so she could better recognize solutions and mitigation efforts, and more effectively represent herself, her school, her family, and her community at relevant hearings or other public meetings. What I couldn’t articulate was that her engaged stance was something I could later point to as a sign of hope.

Carnegie Museum of Pittsburgh offers free membership for teens. For additional information please visit the teen membership info page.

Patrick McShea is an educator at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Do No Harm: Dealing with Spotted Lanternflies

by Jonathan Rice

Spotted lanternflies are a “true bug,” cousins of the cicada and stink bug. Unlike our native bug species, these invasive bugs feed on a very wide variety of plants and don’t have enough native predators or parasites to keep their population in check. Their favorite food is tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima), which is already widespread in our area. This means their population is exploding, and Pittsburghers are looking for ways to get rid of them.

There’s no special pesticide that targets the lanternflies. However, we can outsmart them.

Spotted lanternflies display a unique behavior of climbing up tree trunks (or any other vertical surface), falling to the ground, and climbing up again. This is repeated many times throughout each stage of their life cycle. By using this behavior to our advantage, we can trap spotted lanternflies. The best currently used traps include circle traps and oviposition traps, which corral the lanternflies so they can be contained and destroyed. You can make circle traps as a DIY project, or you can order them premade.

Sticky traps: to stick or not to stick?

Although sticky traps (tape, sticky sheets, and glue traps) have been suggested in the past for spotted lanternfly control and are currently used by some landowners, these are extremely dangerous for birds. Sticky traps can kill many species of local birds that forage on tree trunks, including woodpeckers, nuthatches, and wrens. After the birds are stuck to the trap it becomes impossible for them to free themselves and they will die a slow and miserable death.

*Woodpecker being treated for injuries from a sticky trap. Credit: Raven Ridge Wildlife Center.*

If you find a live bird or mammal stuck to a lanternfly sticky trap, do not try to remove the bird yourself. Cover any remaining sticky areas on the trap with plastic wrap to reduce double sticking the bird (or yourself), remove the entire trap from the tree, and take it to the nearest wildlife rehabilitation center. If you must use a sticky trap, ensure it is covered with a wire mesh (hardware cloth or similar) to prevent anything larger than a lanternfly from touching it. Check sticky traps at least once a day to ensure no birds or mammals have been caught.

Jonathan Rice is Urban Bird Conservation Coordinator at Powdermill Nature Reserve, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s environmental research center.

A Summer Internship at Powdermill

by Rosie Spinola

Before my science-focused internship at Powdermill Nature Reserve, I was a virtual stranger to the forests of Appalachia. Although I’ve lived in western Pennsylvania my entire life, and frequently enjoyed exploring the woods in my hometown, often, I was simply not tuned in to the diversity and intricacies of the world all around me. My short tenure at Powdermill abruptly changed that perspective. During my internship I had the pleasure of participating in a wide variety of projects and studies, each one an eye-opening learning experience.

The internship began with a crash course in tree identification from my mentor and fieldwork partner, Andrea Kautz. Vegetation surveys were the bulk of the work performed this summer in terms of both the physical labor required and the amount of information we collected. Trees, saplings, shrubs, logs; notations about the location, size, and abundance of each instance contributed to a years-long study of the forest.

One of the major changes that we have been able to track over the years is the cataclysmic effects of the invasive Emerald Ash Borer. The Emerald Ash Borer is an invasive beetle from northeast Asia that lays its eggs in the bark of ash trees. The eggs develop into larvae that eat the cambium of the ash, destroying the tree from the inside out. Where once swathes of Powdermill land were defined by their large white ash trees, you would be hard-pressed to find a single one in today’s forest. The dead ash trees leave a hole in the canopy in their wake and, to the endless consternation of those attempting to survey the area, invasive thorny species move in.

*An example of an area surveyed this summer.*

The greatest love of my life is animals, and I got to get very up-close and personal with them when Dr. Walter Meshaka visited to perform herpetology studies. One of the studies he conducted was on snake fungal disease in eastern milk snakes (Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum). Data collection in the field involved capturing individual milk snakes from beneath strategically placed metal coverboards where the reptiles had taken shelter, swabbing their skin to obtain the DNA of the skin microbiota, and then releasing them. Walter allowed me to contribute not only to the swabbing process, but to the risky business of capturing the snakes. I quickly discovered that milk snakes have a spectrum of personalities, from the patient, perfect subjects to the ornery and bitey.

*Two milk snakes next to the coverboard they were sheltering under.*

While Walter was here, I was also offered the opportunity to aid him in studying another class of herps: salamanders. Strategically placed coverboards were again critical tools in the study, this time wooden, rather than metal, and placed near wetlands and streams instead of near open fields and meadows. The purpose of this study was to describe the species diversity and density of native salamander species. From our data in June and July, it appears the most abundant salamander near Powdermill’s streams is the charismatic Allegheny Mountain Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus ochrophaeus).

When working with Andrea, an entomologist, you can be sure that insects will be a large part of your life. We began the summer working with a personal favorite: honey bees! Powdermill maintains two hives on its property. The structures are kept healthy with supplemental food, an electrified exclosure fence (to keep out any sweet-toothed bears), and formic acid treatments to control Varroa mites. At the end of summer there was a sticky compensation for such support: We were able to collect more than eighty pounds of honey, though not without a valiant fight from the winged residents of the more territorial hive.

*When collecting raw honey, the honey that drips out of the comb must be filtered through a sieve to collect bits of wax and insects.*

Andrea also participated in a robust, nationwide study on flying insects earlier this spring. A Malaise trap (what is essentially a vertical corral for flying insects) was set up in Crisp Field, a large meadow on Powdermill property, and throughout the summer my responsibilities included sorting everything collected in this trap. This exercise was a three-month affair. I conducted an up-close and personal survey of the sheer amount of diversity found in each order of insects, an experience mirrored by the periodic aquatic macroinvertebrate surveys we performed together along streams and ponds across the property.

*We sampled macroinvertebrates from multiple locations, pictured is a large pond near the Powdermill Avian Research Center.*

From insects to reptiles to trees, each project I embarked on got me closer to truly understanding the world around us. In many ways, this meant seeing the consequences of climate change and human influence. Situations reveal themselves to be more dire than one could ever hope to understand by just reading about it. But there is hope, because understanding the world around us also means you can see just how much life worth protecting there is, if you just know how to look.

Rosie Spinola is an intern at Powdermill Nature Reserve, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s environmental research center.

The Nose that “Sees”

by Lisa Miriello

Despite the common name of the star-nosed mole (Condylura cristata), the 22 fleshy appendages at the end of its snout act more like an eye than a nose. These unique tentacles, or rays, are covered with more than 25,000 Eimer’s organs that hold over 100,000 nerve fibers (more than five times the number in the human hand) and are the most sensitive touch organs of any known mammal.

Given the mole’s poorly developed eyesight, the rays are far more useful for finding prey.

They are constantly moving and touching to identify what’s good to eat and what isn’t. Sensitive whiskers on the head and front feet also act as “feelers,” whether looking for food or navigating their way through dark underground tunnels.

close-up of the nose of a star-nosed mole — *“mole-star-nosed-4” by Brandon Motz is licensed under CC BY 2.0*

Found throughout much of eastern North America in low elevation areas with moist soils, star-nosed moles are one of three mole species found in Pennsylvania. Their preferred habitat consists of wetlands near streams, lakes, and swamps. The soft moist soil makes it easier to construct tunnels and underground chambers, and the mole’s short neck, powerful shoulders, and heavy claws make them efficient diggers. Shallow tunnels, often temporary, are used for traveling and foraging, while deeper, more permanent tunnels are used for resting, nesting, and escaping cold weather. Condylura is relatively safe from predators while underground but vulnerable to birds of prey, weasels, skunks, foxes, and snakes when out of their tunnels.

The star-nosed mole is a voracious eater that consumes 50% or more of its body weight each day. More notably, it holds a Guinness World Record for the fastest eating mammal.

Scientific studies have shown that Condylura can identify and eat prey in less than one-fifth of a second (200 milliseconds). That’s as many as five prey items per second, too fast for the human eye to follow.

Besides the worms, grubs, beetles, and other invertebrates found underground or on the surface, being near water gives them access to another hunting ground where they can find mollusks, aquatic insects, amphibians, and even small fish.

*“star-nosed-mole-3” by gordonramsaysubmissions is licensed under CC BY 2.0*.

Most moles can swim, but the star-nosed mole is the most aquatic of North American moles.

Their dense waterproof coat and large paddle-like limbs make them well suited for swimming and diving. They’ve evolved to have twice the lung capacity of other moles, and their long tail, almost one-third the length of its body, acts as a rudder. More time is spent foraging in the water than on land, and they’ve been seen swimming under the ice in winter. This remarkable mole can even smell under water by blowing bubbles, then inhaling the same bubbles to capture the scent molecules inside.

Not a great deal is known about the reproductive cycle of star-nosed moles. They’re more social than other moles, living in small colonies, and it’s believed that mating pairs stay together through the winter. Breeding season starts in early spring and the female produces only one litter a year, unless the first litter is unsuccessful. After a 45-day gestation period, two to seven pups are born in May and June. The newborns are blind and hairless with their tentacles folded against their snout. About two weeks later the eyes open and the tentacles unfurl and begin to function. The young develop rapidly and leave the nest after about four weeks, reaching full maturity at 10 months. The exact lifespan of this species is unknown but estimated to be 3-4 years in the wild.

“Baby star-nosed moles” by Hillbraith is Public Domain.

The extraordinary star-nosed mole stands out from other moles in many ways, and is certainly among the most unusual mammals in Pennsylvania. They’re not rare, but they’re not commonly seen even though they spend more time above ground than other moles. They’re active day and night, all year round, so keep your eyes peeled when you’re around water and if you’re lucky you might catch a glimpse of one.

Lisa Miriello is the Scientific Preparator for the Section of Mammals.

Hummingbird Lessons

by Patrick McShea

*A male Ruby-throated Hummingbird is handled gently during the banding process.*

Banding hummingbirds is a routine procedure at Powdermill Avian Research Center (PARC). Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are common summer residents throughout western Pennsylvania, including the Ligonier Valley where PARC facilities occupy nearly 25 acres of diverse habitat within Powdermill Nature Reserve, the 2,200-acre field research station of Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

During the spring and fall migration seasons, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are almost always on the top 10 list for highest numbers captured and banded. During the breeding season, they are proportionally represented among the various birds captured. PARC’s ornithologists open fine mesh nets before dawn and check them at regular intervals for several hours afterwards, carefully extracting the birds and bringing them to the lab for data collection, then safely releasing them to the wild without harm.

*Hummingbird bands are so small that the customary nine-digit band number is reduced to five digits with a letter prefix.*

On a Friday morning in late May, the capture, examination, banding, and safe release of one of these tiny, iridescent, long-billed birds was remarkable because of the extra observers involved. Two dozen seventh grade students from West Hempfield Middle School, part of a larger, two-bus contingent participating in a day-long science-focused fieldtrip, were eyewitnesses to the multi-step process.

The wildlife encounter made such a strong collective impression on these students that two hours later, following a working demonstration of the flight tunnel used to evaluate bird-safe window glass, and lunchbreak on the Reserve’s Nature Center grounds, the background chatter of multiple conversations markedly diminished when I mentioned hummingbirds.

“We’ll start our hike shortly,” I announced to the group as they assembled in a forest clearing for the day’s concluding session. “But before we look at some plants along the trail and micro-habitats along the stream, we’re going talk more about hummingbirds.”

As a museum educator I frequently plan group opportunities for the close examination of authentic objects. In the case of the two-inch-long glass tube I then held aloft, an explanation of ground rules for the upcoming examination experience was required. The tube contained the skull of a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, and as I carefully removed the specimen and placed it in the palm of my right hand, I promised the students the same opportunity. “The skull can be safely exchanged by two transfer methods – gently dumping it from your open palm to your neighbor’s, or by picking it up by the beak and carefully placing it in the next person’s palm.”

Our collective sharing was also presented as a group challenge. I concluded the handling instructions with an explanation about how this activity is normally reserved for teachers, rather than students, and the disclosure that with less than a week left in the school year, I considered them as reputably more responsible eighth graders rather than the seventh-grade class listed on the fieldtrip schedule.

After placing the tiny skull in the palm of the student standing closest to me, I outlined for her and the waiting classmates a roughly 10-12 second procedure for an imaginative visual examination of the specimen. “Think about the bird you saw banded this morning. Consider the layers missing from the skull – the feathers, skin, muscles, and other tissues. Note especially, within the bone framework of the skull, the places where the eyes once were, space devoted to this creature’s sense of vision. And finally, before passing the skull to your neighbor, make a mental estimate of the space between the eyes, the nearly translucent bone case that contained the bird’s brain.”

Hand-to-hand circulation of the skull through the student group took a full seven minutes, time I spent relating information about Ruby-throated Hummingbirds from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s All About Birds website. Important points included how the species’ diet includes far more than nectar, with mosquitoes, gnats, fruit flies, small bees, and spiders being well documented prey items, and how six to ten days of construction work by the female bird results in an inch-deep, two-inch diameter, branch-top nest lined with plant down, held together with spider silk, and for concealment purposes, shingled with lichen chips. Migration was also addressed, with the statement that the hummingbird banded during the morning session might have just returned to western Pennsylvania after a winter spend as far south as Costa Rica.

“My estimate, when I look at the hummingbird skull,” I volunteered, “is that the bird’s brain is the size of a couple grains of rice. What I find amazing is how that tiny brain can steer the bird over or around an enormous obstacle between where we’re standing now and the forests of Costa Rica – the Gulf of Mexico.”

When the hummingbird skull, no worse for a carefully conducted activity’s wear, was safely stowed in my shirt pocket, the trail hike to the edge of Powdermill Run proceeded. A stand of trout lily, the mud chimney of a crayfish burrow, and the distinctive tree cavity chiseled by a Pileated Woodpecker were scenery highlights, but it was a discussion of Powdermill Run’s waters that reinforced the day’s hummingbird theme.

After a streamside question and answer session raised the level of understanding of aquatic food webs, and explanations were shared about how diverse invertebrate lifeforms are indicators of clean water, I brought up the question about where the flow in front of us was heading. Through question and response, one waterway supplying another, we assembled a continent-wide watershed, from Powdermill Run to the Gulf of Mexico, as one student called from the back of the group, “The territory crossed by a migrating hummingbird.”

Patrick McShea is an Educator at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Staff Favorites: Dolls in the Museum’s Care

by the Section of Anthropology and Archaeology Staff and Volunteers

With the pink wave that is Barbie sweeping the theaters, we thought it would be a good opportunity to spotlight our doll collection. The Anthropology collection at CMNH holds more than three thousand dolls and it is our pleasure to take care of them. Historically and anthropologically speaking, dolls have always served cultural, spiritual, and societal purposes. Whether for entertainment, religion, or education, they can be found all over the world and have been around for thousands of years.

Barbie

“Hi Barbie! Until recently, our doll collection lacked any traces of Barbie. Then a close friend of the Section of Anthropology was kind enough to not only donate their beloved original doll but also the clothing that they had sewn for her. Barbie and Ken, as an astronaut, a rock star, a pregnant Midge, beach, or any other iteration, have impacted the lives of millions. Sadly, there has not been an archaeologist Barbie but the best part about playing with dolls is that I can easily pretend that the paleontologist version is diligently studying human culture instead of dinosaurs (Sorry, Dr. Lamanna).

Individuality has always been important to me, so I have always been the biggest fan of Weird Barbie, upon whom I did my fair share of hair cutting and marker tattooing. And while we have only one Barbie at CMNH, we have plenty of other dolls in the collection that our staff and volunteers have chosen to write about. Please enjoy some of our favorites.” –Amy Covell-Murthy, Archaeology Collection Manager and Head of the Section of Anthropology

Miss Kochi the Friendship Doll

On January 14, 1929, complete with passport, steamer ticket, and a trunk full of accessories, Miss Kochi the friendship doll arrived in Pittsburgh to her new home at the museum. Representing the children of Kochi, the southernmost prefecture on the island of Shikoku in Japan, Miss Kochi crossed the Pacific with 57 other friendship dolls who went to various cities within the United States.

Created as part of a doll exchange program between the children of Japan and the U.S., Miss Kochi and her sister dolls were lovingly made with the hope of promoting peace between the two countries in the years leading up to World War II. Crafted by some of the most respected doll makers in Japan, the ambassador dolls, as they were also known, are all 85cm high. They have moveable arms and legs and real human hair. Each is dressed in a colorful kimono made of pure silk and accompanied by lacquered tea sets, furniture, and other accessories used in the celebration of Hinamatsuri, or Doll’s Day. Miss Kochi is dressed in a beautiful, embroidered, emerald green kimono with a red sash.

“Miss Kochi is one of my favorite dolls in the collection because I love all the care and detail that was put into her outfit and tiny accessories. Additionally, the message of friendship and kindness that motivated her creation and eventual journey to Pittsburgh is charming and inspiring.” –Kristina Gaugler, Anthropology Collection Manager

Eagle Kachina

The Eagle Kachina holds special significance to both the Hopi and Zuni people, representing important spiritual and cultural aspects in their respective traditions.

To the Hopi people, the Eagle Kachina is considered a powerful and sacred being. It is associated with spiritual strength, protection, and a close connection to the divine. The eagle is revered for its ability to soar high in the sky, reaching great heights, and is seen as a messenger between the earthly world and the spiritual realms. During Hopi Kachina ceremonies, the Eagle Kachina is often portrayed by a dancer wearing an elaborate costume and a mask representing the eagle’s features. The dancer embodies the spirit of the Eagle Kachina and plays a significant role in ceremonial dances.

For the Zuni people, the Eagle Kachina, also known as “Ko’kko,” holds similar importance. The Zuni Eagle Kachina represents the embodiment of the eagle spirit and is venerated for its connection to the heavens and its role as a messenger to the gods. The Zuni people view the Eagle Kachina as a symbol of power, courage, and wisdom, and it plays a crucial role in their rituals and religious practices. Like the Hopi, the Zuni also create intricate Kachina dolls, including the Eagle Kachina, as sacred objects representing the spirits and their significance in Zuni culture.

“I like the Eagle Kachina doll as it signifies all that is important to me as it is to the Hopi and Zuni, the spiritual connection to the natural world.”—Jim Barno, Archaeology Volunteer

Calabash Gourd Doll

To make this doll, a Tonga woman or girl from a village near Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe, would have filled calabash gourds with sand, seeds, or stone, and covered the gourds with mud, dung, and leaves, before decorating them with strands of beads. Dolls like this one were made by or given to Tonga girls around the ages of 10 to 13, as they approached puberty. The doll came into CMNH’s collection in 1967 as one of many objects from the Tonga people obtained through trade by Terence Coffin-Grey, a taxidermist who worked in natural history museums in Zimbabwe and the U.S., including at CMNH. This doll’s “hairstyle,” with tight balls made of mud and strands of beads, resembles that of some Tonga women of the time, based on photographs shared with CMNH by Coffin-Grey. CMNH has several other similar dolls of different sizes, shapes, and decorations, including some with fabric skirts.

“I chose this doll based on the recommendation of Amy Covell-Murthy and was immediately charmed and intrigued when I saw it. When I held it, I was struck by the weight of it, and I loved learning about this practice of doll-making shared between women and girls in a matrilineal society.” –Deirdre M. Smith, Assistant Curator

Talash Doll

We are all a part of nature. Our ancestors created dolls for children using the natural materials around themselves. The tradition of making dolls from talash, the leaves wrapped around a corn cob, dates back many generations.

Talash is a very interesting material that is easy to work with, and the products made from it are very warm and beautiful. The husks of the corn would be removed in the fall after harvesting the corn. They would then be dried and stored in a dry place. The leaves come in different colors and shades, from white to brown. If necessary, the leaves could also be painted, sometimes with dyes made of onion peel or food coloring. To begin weaving, the middle leaves of cobs are often preferred for their strength and flexibility so as not to tear. The husks are also moistened with water to help give them more elasticity. The length of the strip up to 1 cm is in the middle. Strips that are uneven or ripped would be discarded.

This doll is of boys riding a pig, which highlights ordinary country life in a European village. Eastern Europe has a lot of rivers such as the Danube, Vistula, Dnipro, and others. The territory near the rivers is very large, and kids would help relatives graze pigs on these meadows, while also occasionally playing with them.

“This doll showed me how people create interesting toys with simple natural things. This is part of our deep roots and traditions in Eastern Europe. I also like the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen called Swineherdand (The Swineherd), and for me this doll is reminiscent of that story.”—Lidiia Zadorozhna Ruban, Anthropology Library Volunteer

Balinese Tjili Doll

This Balinese Tjili doll came to be a part of the Carnegie collection in 1980 through the donation of Dr. Betty J. Meggers, an international doll collector. Made in the image of Dewi Sri, Indonesia’s goddess of rice and fertility, figures like this doll symbolize fruitfulness and good harvests.

“This doll caught my attention because of her intricate woven design and large, fan-like headdress that radiates like a setting sun. I believe her story shows how dolls can serve so many purposes and are beloved by different cultures all around the world.”—Lily Heistand, Anthropology Volunteer

Folklórico Dancer

This doll is a folklórico dancer! Made in Cuernavaca, Morelos, México, this doll joined the museum’s collection as a donation in March of 1950. She is made of wool and cotton and has black braids (trenzas folklóricas), a white embroidered blouse (blusa bordada), and a sequined red and green skirt (china poblana). All these components make her instantly recognizable as a ballet folklórico dancer (folk dancer). Her skirt is designed after one of the most recognizable traditional styles of dress in Mexico, la china poblana. China poblana skirts tend to be heavy as they are made with layers of embroidery using sequins and beads to depict the Mexican coat of arms of the eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its mouth. Historically, this style of dress was popular in the state of Puebla, but nowadays it is typically worn by dancers when performing El Jarabe Tapatío, which is a dance from the state of Jalisco and México’s national dance.

“I chose this doll because she beautifully represents my culture and my family. My abuelita embroidered a china poblana skirt that my mom performed in, and years later I also danced in it. This doll represents a tradition that ties together three generations of women in my family and the beauty of our cultural traditions.”—Matí Castillo, Fine Fellow, University of Pittsburgh

Angel of Mercy

This doll is an “Angel of Mercy.” This nickname was affectionately given to the unsung heroes of the Great War, the nursing sisters, who worked long gruesome hours and attended to the needs of injured soldiers. The casualties of World War I were extensive, but the nurses worked tirelessly to aid in wound cleaning, bacterial-growth prevention, and even assist in emergency surgeries all while fearing for their own wellbeing. This doll was donated in 1918 by Mrs. Virginia Hayes Osburn along with many other ‘war woolies.’ These war woolies were dolls that were made by the Canadian Red Cross Vancouver during the Great War. According to the British Red Cross Museum and Archive, these “wooly” dolls were crafted by the Vancouver Prisoners of War Branch of the Canadian Red Cross to fundraise during World War I.

“I chose this Canadian Red Cross Nurse doll because though she is miniature, her face was expressive, and I wanted to research more about her because the other war woolies she was housed with were depictions of English monarchs; I wanted to tell her story as an unsung female hero of the Great War.”—Caitlin Erb, St. Laurance University Post-Baccalaureate Intern

A. Marque Character Doll

black and white photo of two character dolls

Fashion icon Isabeau de Bavière is one of the five queens that made their way to Carnegie Museum in 1916. After seeing a French character doll exhibit in the Metropolitan Museum in 1915, Herbert DuPuy wrote to the Director of Carnegie Museum, Dr. W.H. Holland, suggesting the addition of such wonderfully crafted dolls into Carnegie’s collection. Less than a year later, five A. Marque and thirty-five other character dolls from the Paris doll company S.F.B.J were part of the museum.

Isabeau is a rare A. Marque bisque doll, fashioned after the queen of France reigning from 1371-1435, and dressed by the famous couture artist Margaine Lacroix. She gives a glimpse into the accurate historical fashion of the late fifteenth-century nobility. From her undergarments to the recognizable pointed hennin hat of the Medieval period, Isabeau directly copies portraits of the queen.

“I chose this wonderful doll because of her fascinating history and design; the A. Marque dolls are some of the rarest dolls the museum currently owns, and one of my favorites to admire.”—Elizabeth R. Dragus, Anthropology Volunteer

Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw Woman

The Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw Woman doll was donated by James B. Richardson III, (Carnegie Museum Anthropology Curator Emeritus), in memory of his mother Miriam Davenport Richardson. The doll was made by Debra Bell of the Nimpkish Band of the Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw Nation located in Alert Bay, British Columbia. Debra Bell is one of a very few Northwest Coast Indigenous female doll makers. On a research expedition for Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Alcoa Hall James Richardson purchased this doll in 1992.

Embroidered on the wool felt blanket is a “Tree of Life” design, symbolic of the coniferous forests of the Pacific Northwest which are full of Sitka spruce, Douglas fir, yellow cedar, and western red cedar. Collectively, these tree species are the sustenance of Indigenous people, providing lumber for homes, fire for heat, homes for birds, and shelter for mammals. They also sustain waterways and breathe oxygen into the air.

A plaited cedar bark wreath adorns the doll’s head. Yellow cedar is considered the finest cedar in the region and used in traditional ceremonial objects. The tree is found in deep porous soil on slopes, around lakesides, and within estuaries. The oral history of yellow cedar in Northwest cultures derives from this story; “Raven asked a few young women what forest creature they were afraid of. The women replied, ’none.’ Raven then asked if the women were afraid of owls. The women exclaimed, ‘Yes, [they] were terrified of owls!’ Raven (being known as a trickster) hid in some bushes making owl sounds. The young women went running up the slopes. That is why yellow cedar is only found on slopes.”

Most Northwest tribes believe humans can transform into animals and back again. The red felt killer whale applique embroidered with pairs of amber glass seed beads on the doll’s dress symbolizes one of these stories of human transformation. The killer whale is known as Natsilane and believed to be part of Earth’s creation. Natsilane was drowned by his brothers who wanted control of the world. Left to die, Natsilane was rescued by a sea otter and restored to his legitimate place as leader. Natsilane helped the sea otters find the safest hunting waters in return for saving his life.

The Northwest Coastal native Americans have a fiercely independent culture steeped in storytelling and deeply rooted in the infinite wisdom of nature. All these attributes can be noted when viewing the Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw Woman doll.

“I was taken by this doll’s face staring out from her collection box with blue glass paperweight eyes and painted eyelashes for numerous reasons. I had lived in Oregon and Washington states for a few years and was always caught by the breathtaking beauty of shorelines and forests. The doll reminded me of that majestic landscape in her blue wool button blanket. Although the button blanket did not appear in the Northwest culture until colonization, the deep color of the wool is reminiscent of the sea and sky in the area.”—Georgia Feild, Archaeology Volunteer and Museum Educator II

Meskwaki Man

“My favorite doll in the collection is the Meskwaki man in traditional clothing, probably made in the 1920s. Part of what caught my eye was the attention to detail.

The man’s head, moccasins, and bag are made from brain-tanned deerskin, with simplified traditional sewn beadwork designs. His beaded headband is loom-woven, and his body is sewn of cotton muslin.

He has a satin shirt with silk ribbons [like the ribbon shirts worn today], and wool trousers under his beaded aprons. Originally, men wore loincloths, beaded for special occasions, which evolved into aprons in the last half of the 19th century as men started wearing trousers.

My favorite part of the outfit is the finger-woven sash. Finger-weaving is a form of oblique interlacing, a sort of wide, flat braid. I was first introduced to finger-weaving in the late 1960s, when I made finger-woven sashes in my dorm room for all my hippie college friends. Finger-weaving was and is found all over eastern North America, where the technique is used to create sash belts, garters, and bags. Colors, designs, and techniques differ in the different cultural areas. The people in the upper Midwest made wide bands which the men wrapped around their heads like turbans and adorned with feathers. [Southeastern men also wore turbans with feathers but preferred to use silk shawls.]

The earliest recorded piece extant of the technique comes from the Craig Mound in Spiro, Oklahoma, and dates to around 850-1450CE. It is currently in the collections of the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution.”—Deborah Harding, Anthropology Collection Manager Emeritus

First Lady Paper Doll

This supersized paper doll depicts fashion icon and First Lady Jackie O. It was donated by Dr. Betty Meggers. She and her mother collected dolls from around the world beginning at least as early as the 1930s. She donated more than 1,000 to the museum. As you can see from the box, this paper doll used a “magic wand” to keep the clothes on the doll – no tape or paste required!

“I used to love dressing, playing with, and making paper dolls. I chose paper dolls because they are universally accessible, all it takes to create one is paper and imagination. Manufactured paper dolls come from all over the world and provide people with the opportunity to see, play with, and learn about all different types of people, jobs, and cultures. They are also great for kids like me, who really love fashion. My grandma Kelley had a wonderful set of dolls and paper dolls that I would play with whenever I went to her house. I love the freedom of being able to dress the dolls however I wanted, to change their hair and outfits, and even to design new outfits of my own.”—Lisa Haney, Assistant Curator, Egypt on the Nile

Tibetan Buddhist Doll

colorful doll of Yamantaka, Destroyer of the God of Death

Yamantaka, “Destroyer of the God of Death.” Not exactly a character you’d think of making into a doll to be used as a plaything, something to cuddle, or as a tool to teach children how to care for babies. However, to practitioners and students of Tibetan Buddhism, this type of doll serves as a visual reminder of the history, values, and lessons that are core to the culture. Although doll-making isn’t a traditional art form in Tibet, Yamantaka shows up in many other visual forms of Tibetan Buddhist art. This unusual doll from the museum’s collection showcases some handicrafts that aretraditional to the culture such as garment-making, tapestry, sculpting, painting, and beading.

Who was Yamantaka and why make a doll of him? The short version of the story is that there was a monk who became wrathful and took on the form of an enraged water buffalo. He caused death and destruction all over Tibet and became known as Yama, The God of Death. The people prayed for someone to stop him and restore peace. A bodhisattva (a deity who helps people) transformed himself into the form of an even bigger, scarier water buffalo to find Yama and convince him to change his ways. By stopping the God of Death, the bodhisattva became known as Yamantaka, the Destroyer of the God of Death. Yamantaka showed mercy on the repentant monk and reminded him to live by the Buddhist principles of compassion, self-control, detachment from ego, and wisdom-seeking. By exemplifying these qualities and restoring peace, Yamantaka was regarded as a protector of Buddhism. A legendary superhero. Someone deserving to have a doll, or rather an action figure, made in his likeness for future generations to aspire to.

“This doll stood out to me at first glance because of its vivid, striking visual impact. Then, as you let your eyes coast over all the details, you become aware that it is just as nuanced as it is bold. For example, the subtle metallic tips on the flames are equally important as the formidable facial expression. For every single thing you see there’s more to the story, and it’s probably not what you’d expect. The doll’s purpose was to preserve, teach, and remind people of the culture. Indeed, it inspired me to seek out and learn about the significance of Yamantaka’s story and, by extension, Tibetan Buddhist traditions and beliefs.” -Jillian Hanna, Anthropology Volunteer

Bye Barbie!

Many of our dolls have been used to augment traveling exhibitions and have served as research subjects. It is our great honor to care for them and learn from them. The next time you visit the museum, don’t forget to stop by the Alcoa Hall of American Indians and look for our dolls that are currently on exhibit.

Sources Consulted

CMNH accession records

Transformations: Salmon, Bear, Raven, and Humans

Tonga, Britannica.com

Taxidermy Hall of Fame

Bruce Frank Primitive Art

Stichting Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen

Tibetan Buddhist Art

The Rise of Yamantaka, Destroyer of the Lord of Death

British Red Cross. (2010). Small woolen doll dressed in French military uniform. British Red Cross collection online. https://museumandarchives.redcross.org.uk/objects/8999

Flexon M. Mizinga, “Marriage and Bridewealth in a Matrilineal Society: The Case of the Tonga of Southern Zambia, 1900-1995,” African Economic History 28 (2000): 53-87.

Malaika P. Yanou, Mirjam Ros-Tonen, James Reed, and Terry Sunderland, “Local knowledge and practices among Tonga people in Zambia and Zimbabwe: A review,” Environmental Science & Policy 142 (April 2023): 68-78.

Wilfrid Laurier University. (2015). Angels of Mercy: Canadian Nurses in the Great War. Youtube. Retrieved July 27th, 2023. from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zITLh6jPYY

Carnegie Museum of Natural History Blog Citation Information

Blog author: Covell-Murthy, Amy; Gaugler, Kristina; Barno, Jim; Smith, Deirdre M.; Zadorozhna Ruban, Lidiia; Heistand, Lily; Castillo, Matí; Erb, Caitlin; Dragus, Elizabeth R.; Feild, Georgia; Harding, Deborah; Haney, Lisa; Hanna, Jillian
Publication date: August 4, 2023

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July 17, 2023 by Erin Southerland

Tracking Migratory Flight in the Northeast

by Patrick McShea

Map of northeastern US and southeastern Canada with dots representing Motus stations in the Northeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies region

Explanations of networks benefit from maps or other graphic representations of linked participants. In the case of a recent bulletin describing regional growth within the international research network known as the Motus Wildlife Tracking System, the inclusion of a map helps ground updated information about the program to the landscape.

The collaborative effort, known informally as simply Motus, a Latin word for movement, was founded by the bird conservation organization, Birds Canada in 2014, and has grown to involve hundreds of partners among scientific and educational institutions, government agencies, and independent researchers.

The ground-breaking work of Motus involves the use of automated radio telemetry to track the migratory movements of free-flying birds, bats, and insects. After an animal under study is safely captured, fitted with a highly miniaturized transmitter, known as a nanotag, and released, the creature’s flight movements are electronically detected and recorded whenever it passes within nine miles of strategically placed antennas mounted on low, just-above-tree-canopy-height receiving stations.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History is a Motus partner through the work of staff at its Powdermill Avian Research Center who have installed 136 receiving stations from western Maryland through Maine and continue to monitor 50 receiving stations from southwestern Pennsylvania up through western New York along the Adirondack Mountains.

Although Motus stations are in place across the Western Hemisphere landmass from Nunavut, Canada, to southern Chile, the world’s densest concentration of them is found in the thirteen U.S. states and five Canadian provinces that make up the network’s Northeast Collaboration. The 504 tower sites in this territory represent one third of the global total, and since 2017 have logged more than 170 million nanotag detections. This tracking has involved more than 4,700 tagged individuals of 147 species of birds contributing vital information to 194 different research projects.

Ongoing maintenance and technological upgrades will be necessary for the Northeast Motus Network to continue generating research findings that inform conservation initiatives. As Jon Rice, the Museum’s Urban Bird Conservation Coordinator explains, “As this network reports findings for museum research into both the survivorship of window collisions and stopover behavior for species of greatest conservation need, it simultaneously supports ongoing research for countless other projects in the western hemisphere. The real power of this technology isn’t captured by the map. It’s our ability to help our neighbors using the same resources we are using to perform our own novel research.”

Patrick McShea is an Educator at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Ruffed Grouse or Scarlet Tanager: Debating the Pennsylvania State Bird

by Pat McShea

Should a wildlife species representing a state reflect the creature’s abundance within the designated boundaries? Where state birds are concerned, the topic is now wide open for discussion because of an enlightening article in the spring issue of Living Bird, the quarterly publication of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

In “What if the State Birds Were Determined by Data?” authors Matt Smith, an applications programmer for the Lab’s Macaulay Library, and Marc Devokaitis, associate editor for Living Bird, make a strong case for the “thought experiment” of revising such symbols. They trace the current arrangement to a campaign by the General Federation of Women’s Clubs in the 1920s that eventually resulted in a designated “bird of honor” for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the 13 provinces and territories of Canada.

Chief among the current system’s deficiencies are birds earning honors for multiple states. The Northern Cardinal, for example, holds the revered position in seven states, creating a red bird belt stretching westward from North Carolina and Virginia across West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois.

As remedy, Smith and Devokaitis suggest a more scientific selection process based upon millions of community science observation records in eBird, the vast and easily accessible electronic archive of bird sightings managed by Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Examination of this enormous data set, when paired with analysis of satellite-generated land-cover maps, reveals how the biogeographical conditions in many states favor the well-being of particular species. Selecting such species for recognition not only produces unique state bird designations, but also directs public attention to the ecosystem that supports the honored birds.

Here in Pennsylvania, where the Ruffed Grouse has reigned as our state bird since 1931, such data driven recommendations might seem unnecessary. No other state so honors the Ruffed Grouse, and the species’ collective value to Pennsylvania residents includes the gamebird’s historic importance as a food source and its current role as the focus of much upland sport hunting.

ruffed grouse taxidermy mount — *Ruffed Grouse taxidermy mount.*

In a challenge to this status quo, documented observations and land cover conditions point to a smaller and brighter bird for state honors, the Scarlet Tanager. Pennsylvania, according to the reasoning behind the nomination, supports a greater breeding population of these songbirds than any other state.

The species, whose descriptive name is an apt description of the male bird in breeding plumage, could certainly attract advocates. In All About Birds, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s encyclopedic online reference, the nominee’s description begins with its pure visual appeal: Male Scarlet Tanagers are among the most blindingly gorgeous birds in an eastern forest in summer, with blood-red bodies set off by jet-black wings and tail. Viewing expectations are quickly tempered by subsequent sentences, which, after noting the dark-winged female’s otherwise yellowish-green plumage, and the species overall preference for high tree canopies, recommends using the birds’ distinctive call as an aid to visually locate them.

Whenever circumstances make it possible for such advice to be followed, there is great potential for the development of more ardent Scarlet Tanager fans. Gabi Hughes, Environmental Educator for the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania, recalls a spring when a male Scarlet Tanager would reliably sing from the woods just beyond the suburban Pittsburgh middle school campus where she was leading bird-focused activities with seventh grade students. By her estimate, over the course of multiple small group hikes, at least 80 seventh grade students saw and heard the bird, a creature introduced to them as a spring and summer resident of their neighborhood who had recently returned from wintering grounds as distant as Bolivia.

For Ruffed Grouse fans, declining populations, a trend attributable to reductions in the mixed forest stage habitat across Pennsylvania, as well as the species’ susceptibility to West Nile Virus, might be of far greater concern than a revision of symbolic honor. As a fallback position, Ruffed Grouse backers might even cite the specific wording of the relevant 1931 statute, making their case that “state game bird” should be regarded differently than “state bird.”

Pat McShea is an Educator at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

From Collections User To Collections Manager

Introducing Mariana Marques, the New Collection Manager for the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles

by Mariana Marques

*With a* Hemidactylus greefii – São Tomé giant gecko, São Tomé island.

I’m not sure when I first entered in a natural history museum, but I know that these establishments have always been my favorite places to visit. I did my bachelor’s degree in biology in the University of Évora, a small and picturesque town in southern Portugal surrounded by one of the most biodiverse habitats of the Iberian Peninsula, the unique savanna-like ecosystem known as the “montado.” In the intervals between classes, I loved to go look for the critters that surrounded the university field station where most of my classes were held. I was lucky enough to be in one of the places with the highest diversity of amphibians and reptiles in the country, and in a natural and unspoiled area which meant that I could easily see good numbers of these animals. Being able to handle and study these animals in the field woke up my passion for herpetology, and I decided that I wanted to become a herpetologist.

I started to collaborate on projects in herpetology, and I was lucky enough to visit the outstanding collections of the Natural History Museum of Paris while I was an undergraduate. Most of the projects I was participating in had a strong taxonomic focus, and therefore specimens were the basis of my research. I had become specialized in measuring snout-vent length, counting scales, and describing the coloration of preserved lizards, frogs, and snakes from across the world. With these, I started to better understand the importance of historical labels, catalog numbers, old publications citing these specimens, and modern databases.

My path turned to Africa during master’s thesis work as I started working with the poorly known fauna of two Portuguese-speaking countries on the continent: Angola, in southwestern Africa, and São Tomé & Príncipe, an island nation in the Gulf of Guinea. For this work, I learned another new skill: specimen collecting. As an apprentice naturalist, I learned where to find species of interest, how to collect them safely, and how to prepare and fix them to become museum specimens. These new experiences gave me an increased appreciation of our collections and their importance. As an MSc and PhD student, I described species new to science, and catalogued and mapped herp diversity to support their conservation.

*Preparing specimens field tags in the company of the young future naturalists at Príncipe island.*
*Photo by: Luis M.P. Ceríaco, 2015.*

Although I’ve visited many collections in Europe, Africa, and the US (including CMNH!), I was mostly based in Portugal. The Portuguese collections had suffered considerable neglect which made most of them almost unusable. However, taxonomists need collections, so together with colleagues, I embarked on the mission of rescuing those collections to make them accessible and usable for researchers. Through this process I learned how a collection should be housed, and best practices for collection management and care. I became a collections manager!

*Starting from scratch. Listing all herpetological material at Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical, Lisboa, Portugal. Photo by: Luis M.P. Ceríaco, 2014.*

Currently, while I still love to do research, participate in fieldwork, and describe new species, I love to be taking care of specimens in old jars, making them accessible to researchers and to the public, telling stories about them, and ensuring they are preserved for generations to come. Natural history collections, such as the one we have at Carnegie Museum of Natural History, are fundamental tools for science and conservation, and new promising technologies are showing us that their potential is far beyond my traditional snout-vent length measuring and scale counting.

Becoming the Collection Manager of the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles of Carnegie Museum of Natural History is both a challenge and an honor. And what I find more curious about it, is that in 2018, when I visited the museum and used its collections for my own research, I remember saying to myself: this is a city where I could see myself living!

At Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Section of Amphibians and Reptiles in 2018, studying the Angolan material from Pulitzer Expedition, with Aaron Bauer and Luis Ceríaco. Photo by: Luis M.P. Ceríaco, 2018.

Mariana Marques is Collection Manager of Amphibians and Reptiles at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Wolverine: Status Check For a Tournament Champion

by Pat McShea

*A wolverine taxidermy mount is a popular display in Discovery Basecamp.*

Technology has revolutionized the work of wildlife biologists, but among those who study wolverines, long waits for field-collected information about these large members of the weasel family still occur. Because wolverines are known to patrol enormous home ranges, Cory Mosby, Furbearer Staff Biologist with Idaho’s Department of Fish and Game, relies upon strategically placed camera traps as effective monitoring tools. As he explained in a recent Zoom interview from his office in Boise, deep snow at high elevations can delay the retrieval of video and photographic evidence for months. “There’s a few places we placed cameras for over-the-winter wolverine studies where we weren’t able to retrieve the devices until July.”

Our discussion of wolverine research occurred just after the species received accolades as the 2023 champion of March Mammal Madness (MMM), the wide-reaching, ten-year-old educational project that masquerades as a tournament mimicking competition, but is in no way affiliated with, the NCAA college basketball tournament. The online event, founded and directed by Professor Katie Hinde of Arizona State University, challenges participants to predict outcomes for a widely branched bracket’s worth of hypothetical combative wildlife encounters. Reference material links on the MMM website encourage fans to make informed decisions, and as the tournament’s hypothetical encounters unfold, additional information about the combatants is shared via timely narrative reports.

This year, any MMM fan who tracked the wolverine’s six victory championship campaign undoubtedly learned lots of information about this carnivore with solitary ways, a bone-crushing bite, and a fierceness sufficient to intimidate even bears and wolves.

On Zoom, much of Mosby’s information sharing focused on historic wolverine distribution. He explained how, by the 1930s, a species once found across much of the American West and even in sections of several Great Lakes states, was largely extirpated in the lower 48 states by predator control programs, landscape alteration, and unregulated hunting and trapping. However, during the nearly eight decades since, changes in public policies and attitudes eventually created conditions that enabled animals from western Canada to naturally re-colonize portions of four states – north-central Washington, northern and central Idaho, western Montana, and northwestern Wyoming.

In 2010, a proposed listing of these animals under the Federal Endangered Species Act prompted the establishment of the Western States Wolverine Conservation Project, a multi-year investigation in which essential early work, beginning in 2016, involved establishing baseline information about the numbers and movements of the animals under study.

*Cory Mosby placing a camera trap as part of wolverine monitoring effort in Idaho’s Centennial Mountains.*

When presented with the question, “What do you wish the public knew about wolverines?” Mosby had a ready answer. “This might not align with popular opinion, but I wish more people realized that, as a species, at the moment, wolverines are quite secure. In Idaho today, wolverines occupy all available habitat. The population in the western U.S., the animals I’ve helped study, are on this continent, a southerly extension of a species found around the globe at northerly latitudes in suitable habitat. ‘Holarctic’ is the term that summarizes this enormous distribution.”

Mosby cites a warming climate as a big concern for wolverine populations in southernly latitudes, explaining how the same deep snow deposits that delay camera retrieval in project studies also allow female wolverines to catch sufficient kills as food for kits too young to forage on their own.

The wildlife biologist’s overall advice is to pay attention to both the local situation and the big picture. His career track, he relates, was influenced by the sudden realization of how small forces influence big systems. “I was a pre-med major at the University of Missouri taking lots of biology classes, and in one of them a visiting lecturer gave a presentation about how northern flying squirrels influence the health of entire forests by distributing spores as they feed on fungi. I realized then I wanted to work studying wildlife.”

Patrick McShea is an Educator at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Collected On This Day: White Trillium from May 28, 1993

by Mason Heberling

Spring flowers fade, but some leaves hang on

This specimen of white trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) was collected by Fred Utech in Loyalhanna Township, Pennsylvania on May 28, 1993. Fred Utech was Curator of Botany at Carnegie Museum of Natural History from 1976-1999. You can find this specimen here and search for many more trillium at midatlanticherbaria.org.

Trillium grandiflorum (white large-flowered trillium) is perhaps the most common trillium species in western Pennsylvania, along with Trillium erectum (red trillium, though petals can be white, red/purple, or occasionally yellow; the ovary is deep red, unlike white trillium). Peak blooms of this species can be breathtaking when covering hillsides. Deer also enjoy trillium, and herbarium specimens have been used to understand their impact.

numerous white trillium flowers growing in a forest

As the heat of summer is upon us, these spring blooming species begin to fade. Or at least their flowers do. Some trillium keep their leaves into the deep shade of summer. Though light levels are low due to the shade of overstory trees, early summer is an important time for many spring blooming species to develop their fruits. A local study from our group found more than 20% of photosynthetic energy gains in Trillium grandiflorum after overstory trees produced leaves.

White trillium leaves do die back in mid-summer, however. We often think of leaf coloration in the fall, but some trillium curiously have leaves that turn a deep red as they fade in mid-summer. We are currently working up an undergraduate students-led project on this intriguing natural history phenomenon. Only about 10% of plants turn red (but highly variable), and first results suggest there doesn’t seem to be a method to the madness that explains why. More soon! For now, enjoy the “fall” foliage of summer below.

red leaved white trillium growing in the woods

Mason Heberling is Assistant Curator of Botany at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Bringing A Little O-Gah-Pah to Pittsburgh

by Amy L. Covell-Murthy

It is important for Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH) to maintain relationships with the diverse Indigenous communities whose stories we hope to share with the Greater Pittsburgh Area. This ensures that we are centering Indigenous knowledge in how we collect, display, care for, and interpret cultural material. A very important part of this work is to continuously consult with tribal representatives and Indigenous advisors. This is most evident in the process of repatriation, which is governed in the United States by a federal law called the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), which was signed in 1991.

In November 2022, as the concluding action of nearly ten years of consultation, I travelled 962 miles West to complete a NAGPRA transfer with a representative of the Quapaw Nation. I met Carrie Wilson, Quapaw NAGPRA Director, at the Arkansas Archaeological Survey at the University of Arkansas, where we rejoined human remains from Poinsette County with other Quapaw people to await a proper and private reinternment in the future. Afterward, by volunteering at the O-Gah-Pah “Quapaw” Fall Gathering in Northeastern Oklahoma at the Downstream Resort and Casino, I had the pleasure of a brief immersion in some aspects of Quapaw Culture.

*Quapaw Dice Game, photo by Amy Covell-Murthy*

*Stomp Dance Participants, photo by Amy Covell-Murthy*

Carrie and I had our work cut out for us preparing for the Fall Gathering. We got to know one another better over lunch and then drove to Quapaw, Oklahoma to get ready. On the day of the event, I rolled up my sleeves and helped sell 50/50 raffle tickets, organize games for kids, keep track of auction items, and set up for the Stomp Dance. I learned how to play Quapaw Dice and cheered everyone on in the foot races. I met so many wonderful people and was humbled by the welcome I received. I ate my share of fry bread and chili and paused to be thankful for the opportunity to forge such meaningful relationships.

*Dog Effigy and Quapaw Pot by Betty Gaedtke, photo by Betty Gaedtke*

While volunteering I was able to meet Betty Gaedtke or Te-mi-zhi-ka (little buffalo woman). Betty is an accomplished Quapaw artist who specializes in authentic Quapaw and Mississippian Pottery. While Betty’s pieces are authentic, they are not archaeological and provide a window into Quapaw style and technique. Her work can be seen in fifteen different venues, including the Crystal Bridges Museum, the Museum of The Ghost Ranch, and the Gilcrease Museum. Thanks to a generous endowment, CMNH was able to purchase two pieces from Betty in 2023 to add to our collection and help us bring the story of the Quapaw to Pittsburgh. These pieces are a great reminder that the Quapaw Nation is alive and well.

*O-Gah-Pah logo at the Downstream Casino, Photo by Amy Covell-Murthy*

So many things in Pittsburgh are inspired by the confluence of our three rivers. Things are named after them, transported on them, and festivals are held on and around them. Like the important role the three rivers play in our local culture, the Mississippi River is very significant to the Quapaw Nation and instrumental in how their name formed. According to the Quapaw Nation website: “The Quapaw were a division of a larger group known as the Dhegiha Sioux many years ago. The Dhegiha split into the tribes known today as the Quapaw, Osage, Ponca, Kansa, and Omaha when they left the Ohio Valley. The Quapaw moved down the Mississippi River into Arkansas, this is the origin of the word Ogaxpa, which can be translated as “downstream people.” You can learn more by visiting QuapawTribe.com.

Caring for culturally significant collections takes empathy and the willingness to accept Indigenous ways of knowing when making decisions on behalf of the material. We are working hard to bring authentic and diverse voices into the narratives that CMNH shares. So, join me in learning more about the O-Gah-Pah and remember to stop relegating Indigenous people and communities to the past when they are thriving across our country.

Amy L. Covell-Murthy is Archaeological Collection Manager at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Can’t Choose Just One: Asking an Entomologist to Name Their Favorite Native Species

by Bob Androw

I was recently asked what my favorite native species of beetle is. A seemingly simple question, but one with no simple answer. I thought first of my primary group of study, the Cerambycidae – the long-horned beetles. But with nearly 1,300 species in North America – which one? Then I pondered the scarab beetles, which I call my “mistress” group – the one I mess around with when the cerambycids aren’t looking. The week before I was asked this question, I was in southern Georgia looking for specimens of an undescribed (new to science) species of scarab beetle in the genus Serica – but while a current priority, I can’t call that my “favorite”.

Then, I remembered the species of long-horned beetle that I looked for in Georgia but did not see. Along a sandy county road, I noticed a lush stand of common elderberry, Sambucus canadensis L. that was in the early stages of blooming. I stopped to check those blooms for any flower-visiting cerambycids and was dismayed to find no insect activity – probably a result of the unusually cool and windy weather.

As I was examining the elderberry plants, visions of one of the eastern United States’ more aesthetic species of Cerambycidae flashed into my head – that of Desmocerus palliatus (Forster), or as it’s known by its common name, the elderberry borer. The larvae of the beetle bore in the living pith at the base of the stems. The adults are a beautiful metallic blue with the basal half of their elytra vivid orange. The beetle can be found on elderberry plants, either walking on the stems or clinging to the underside of the leaves. On hot days from May to early July, they can sometimes be found flying around the plants in search of mates.

But, despite a thorough search by squatting low under the plants and looking upward for hiding beetles, none were seen. My timing may have been off for their flight period in that area, the unseasonably cool weather may have delayed their emergence, or there just may not be a population in that particular stand of elderberry.

*Female* Desmocerus palliatus, on elderberry leaf in Lancaster County, PA.
*Image from BugGuide, credit: Chris Rorabaugh, Florida.*

*Mating pair of* Desmocerus palliatus, on elderberry in Franklin County, Missouri.
Image from BugGuide, credit: James Trager, Missouri

I think that most could agree that Desmocerus palliatus is one of the finest U.S. cerambycids and while not necessarily uncommon, it is just elusive enough to make every encounter a pleasant experience. And I guess that’s reason enough to consider it my favorite – at that moment, in that place…

Bob Androw is Collection Manager of Invertebrate Zoology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

New Vision of Old Rock Art

by Georgia Feild

Carnegie Museum of Natural History has always been a prized resource of knowledge, inspiration, and support for me. From visiting at age six to gaze at dinosaurs while holding my father’s hand, to sketching dinosaurs and mammals as part of Carnegie Mellon University art courses, and researching anthropological collections for college assignments and volunteer historical work, I have always found a home at this museum. When traveling and working around the globe, I realized the only places I wished to relax my mind and body were at Carnegie Museum of Natural History or in the woods.

Retiring at age 55 from a systems design engineering career left me with the time and opportunity to pursue my passions. I started birdwatching after a thirty-year hiatus, and as a result of that activity, 12 years ago I converted my mother’s yard into a five-star Audubon Bird Habitat. While involved with those activities, nature reminded me of the most basic mechanical rule: when a part is missing or broken the entire mechanism will stop working efficiently. Seeking more information about missing “parts” of our ecosystem brought me to employment and volunteer work at the museum.

While performing educational work at the museum, I realized how instilling knowledge and developing respect for all organisms is vital for our planet’s welfare. Through millennia, Indigenous People’s relationships with the places they lived have improved, conserved, and respected the natural world. For thousands of years people have understood how their existence depends on the environment. Because I wanted to learn more about traditional cultural conservation of ecosystems, about eight years ago I began volunteering at the Edward O’Neal Research Center (Annex) for the Anthropology and Archaeology Department.

My volunteer work introduced me to cultures and traditions I never imagined. This growing awareness led to concentration on human relationships with animals, specifically birds. I was thrilled to discover how deeply people of Paleo (20,000 to 9,000 years ago) and Archaic (8,500 to 1,000 years ago) periods appreciated birds. Across many cultures, artifacts within the museum’ Anthropology and Archaeology collection feature depictions of birds.

*Petroglyph rubbing from Millsboro, Washington County PA. Image credit: Jim Burke, CMNH Research Associate, Anthropology*

As a volunteer, my most fascinating learning experience involves the massive Carnegie Museum collection of Western Pennsylvania petroglyph research documents. Digging through numerous file cabinets at the Annex containing petroglyph research from 1950 to 1979, I uncovered depictions of bird species that may still be found in the same areas today. Having traversed many a creek and stream bed attempting to take the “perfect” photo of egrets, herons, warblers, ravens, and ducks, I realized people in the past also wished to capture images of birds! Many petroglyph images carved into stone thousands of years ago resemble bird species currently found in the southwestern corner of the state.

Petroglyph research started in the upper Ohio River Valley in 1900. At the turn of the 20^th Century photography was incapable of accurately capturing rock carvings, leading early petroglyph researchers to chalk outlines of petroglyphs. Today chalk is no longer used because it is thought to be detrimental to the preservation of these important artifacts. Fortunately, photographic technology has progressed over 123 years so these artifacts may be recorded in a less invasive manner.

*James Swauger chalking. Credit: Anthropology Collection of Carnegie Museum of Natural History.*

Between 1950 and 1979, over one hundred Paleo and Archaic sites in Western Pennsylvania were researched by 26 Carnegie Museum Archaeologists and Anthropologists. Petroglyphs were discovered at several sites, unfortunately some were later lost to dam, road, and channel construction. For example, a site known as the Midland Petroglyph was destroyed in 1910 when Ohio River channels were cleared and deepened for navigation and flood control. The Midland petroglyph was discovered in 1908-9 and thought to represent “power symbols” of the Midewiwin. Unfortunately, we cannot assess that petroglyph now to re-examine the ancient work with modern research technology and re-interpret its symbols in light of current archaeological research data. At other sites, Pennsylvania petroglyphs are being eroded by natural elements, making it important to revisit rock art sites before they are lost forever.

The Society of Pennsylvania Archaeology has currently taken an interest in revisiting some of the still accessible petroglyph sites. Using James L. Swauger’s research on the upper Ohio River watershed, (with records located at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and referenced in “Rock Art of the Upper Ohio Valley,” a 1974 publication), archaeologists are planning to revisit petroglyphs and update Swauger’s documentation of each site.

*Dunn Farm, Fayette County. Credit: James L. Swauger, Carnegie Museum of Natural History Anthropology Collection.*

*Dunn petroglyph. Credit: James L. Swauger, Carnegie Museum of Natural History Anthropology Collection.*

The Western Pennsylvania Native American Rock Art Survey, which was launched in November 2022, will record new documentation in Pennsylvania State Museum site database. The project is directed by Carnegie Museum Research Associates Ken Burkett and Brian Fritz, who will develop standards for eligibility of rock art sites for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.

It will be exciting to learn what scientists discover when revisiting these petroglyph sites. Questions, including when were these petroglyphs carved, why, and by whom all yearn for more informed answers. The locations of petroglyphs, their designs, and patterns within designs may lead to a better understanding of cultures that lived in Pennsylvania a very long time ago. Cultures survive by utilizing their distinct habitats. Although bird and animal representations may never fully explain the significance of a species to a culture, such images do tell us what animals were present throughout history.

Georgia Feild is a museum educator, Natural History Interpreter, and volunteer for the Archaeology/Anthropology Collections at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Building Birding Skills

by Patrick McShea

*Cardinal from the CMNH Educator Loan Collection.*

Today is National Go Birding Day, a designation that prompts questions about how best to become involved in such a do-anywhere activity. As a museum educator, my general advice for anyone seeking to develop bird observational skills is to regularly visit the expansive All About Birds website maintained by The Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

However, when I stop to consider that many potential birders might lack regular internet access, or how my own life-long interest in birds began before I learned to read, alternate approaches gain importance. In light of these circumstances, recent advice from Nick G. Liadis, Avian Conservation Biologist, and founder of the organization, Bird Lab, has universal relevance.

“I almost always start any educational program by asking the question: Did you see a bird today? The answer is almost always ‘yes’ by most of the participants, even children as young as four-years-old. It’s a great springboard into birding/bird-related conversations. It all unfolds from there.”

Nick, whose bird research experience includes past appointments at Point Reyes Bird Observatory in California, and the Museum’s Powdermill Avian Research Center, was explaining the approach he successfully used last summer when he accepted the challenge of presenting the broad topics of birds and bird migration to the 4 – 13-year-old participants in Art in the Garden, a six-week summer camp at the Borland Garden, a community garden and green space in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood.

“We’d often talk about a bird’s behavior: If it was singing, where was it perched? Had you seen it before etc. Then I’d talk about how different species have different preferences. Some like living next to people. Some like to be on the tops of trees, and some like to be on the ground etc. This helped to reinforce the beautiful fact that birds are everywhere. That observation really resonates with people.”

Nick borrowed encased taxidermy mounts from the Museum’s Educator Loan Collection for use in some camp sessions, but magazine pictures of birds, field guide images, and especially, the taxidermy mounts of the Museum’s Bird Hall, can also stimulate discussion. Nick simply asked campers to report what they noticed about the preserved birds. “Often their observations were about the feathers. But then we’d talk about the beak and the feet. Those observations helped them to connect the bird to a habitat type or a food preference, and follow-up conversations were about how places as specific as backyards, treetops, or even tree trunks met the needs of some birds.”

*Taxidermy mounts of a male and female Scarlet Tanager.*

A story involving a Zoom call provides anecdotal evidence of how well the birding skills of some campers developed under Nick’s guidance last summer. “One of the kids in the camp was on a Zoom call with his grandparents, who happened to be outside. A red bird flew into view and the kid recognized it as a male Scarlet Tanager! He saw the bird as different from the all-red cardinals. He even noted the black wings.”

Paying attention to the number and variety of birds you notice today is a fine way to participate in National Birding Day. The electronic resources of The Cornell Lab of Ornithology will become more useful after any observations you’re able to make. More birding resources are listed below.

Three Rivers Birding Club

Audubon Society of Wes tern Pennsylvania

Erie Bird Observatory

National Aviary

Patrick McShea is an Educator at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

March Mammal Madness 2023: Learn and Win

by Patrick McShea

What chance does a giant water bug have in a battle with a wolverine? During the next few days participants in the online tournament known as March Mammal Madness will attempt to predict the outcome for this theoretical encounter plus 31 others. “Play” in this single elimination series of antagonistic animal matches begins with a wild card qualifying battle on March 13, and concludes, four well-spaced rounds of competition later, with a championship match on April 5. This now decade-old annual activity, which was created and continues to be directed by Professor Katie Hinde, of Arizona State University, has a well-earned reputation as a fun interactive educational event.

The website for March Mammal Madness (MMM) describes the proceedings as “inspired by (but in no way affiliated with or representing) the NCAA College Basketball March Madness Championship Tournament.” Like the basketball tournament, MMM relies upon a branching four-division bracket listing qualifying competitors and their ranking number to both record predictions and track the tournament’s progress. There are, of course, significant bracket differences. In place of the small print note where some sport tournament brackets announce the chart’s purpose as “For Amusement Only,” the MMM document bears the disclaimer, “MMM includes many non-mammal species.” Also, in the front and center position, where an NCAA, media sponsor, or gaming corporation’s logo would normally appear, is instead the MMM guiding motto: “If you’re learning, you’re winning!”

The clearest explanation of how the competition unfolds, and how willingness to learn is a condition of fandom, is on the MMM website:

The organizers take information about each combatant’s weaponry, armor, fight style, temperament/motivation, and any special skills/consideration and estimate a probability of the outcome and then use a random number generator to determine the outcome. This is why there are upsets in the tournament.

Another thing that can happen is if a species has to battle in an ecology that is really bad for it – for example, if a cold adapted species is battling in a tropical forest, it can dangerously overheat- changing the outcome probabilities. Sometimes an animal gets injured or snaps a canine in a previous round that carries over into the next round- just like an injury of a star player totally changes a basketball team’s outcome. Also hiding or running away counts as a forfeit.

In the early rounds the battle location is in the preferred habitat of the better-ranked combatant in the battle, and ecology can play a huge role in what happens.

I kept all of this in mind as I considered the first-round water bug versus wolverine battle. On the museum’s second floor, a giant water bug is an invertebrate detail in the Hall of Botany’s bog diorama. On the first floor, an encased wolverine taxidermy mount flanks the interactive space Discovery Basecamp. If both creatures mysteriously came to life and met on a back stairway landing, the insect would certainly be flattened or swallowed whole. Like a sports bettor double-checking a basketball team’s bench depth, foul-shooting percentage, or dependable three-point shooters, I conducted a brief internet search for wolverine vulnerabilities.

Details in a summary of the Western States Wolverine Conservation Project revealed this large member of the weasel family as a species highly sensitive to climate change. The long-clawed and densely furred carnivore, whose common name has been used by various corporations to create brands for action heroes, rugged footwear, and all-terrain vehicles, requires large territories with persistent spring snow cover. In the four U.S. states where resident populations of wolverines are known to occur (Washington, Montana, Idaho, and Montana), locations with heavy spring snow cover provide ample “refrigerated” space for the catching of prey, as well as safe denning sites for pregnant females.

I still picked the wolverine to beat the giant water bug, but I won’t be surprised if it doesn’t happen. Highways were mentioned in some research summaries as barriers to wolverine movements, raising the possibility of a forfeited match. Despite a reputation for ferocity, a no-show wolverine could send a giant water bug to the MMM second round.

Patrick McShea is an Educator at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

World Pangolin Day 2023 – The Mysterious Brain Bone

by John Wible

The third Saturday in February marks World Pangolin Day, celebrating the scaly anteater that is sometimes called the pinecone mammal. Pangolins are covered with scales made of keratin, the same stuff in your fingernails and hair. Because some traditional medicines mistakenly impart curative powers to their scales, pangolins have become the most heavily illegally trafficked animal on the planet. Pangolins lack teeth and live exclusively on social insects, like ants and termites, which they catch with their very long sticky tongue. Today, there are eight species of pangolins, four in Asia and four in Africa. The fossil record reveals greater diversity and geographic distribution for these unusual creatures, including Europe and North America.

I study the evolutionary relationships of mammals, building family trees based on the anatomy of living and extinct species. In the 1800s and 1900s, pangolins were grouped with other mammals that are toothless or have very reduced teeth, such as anteaters, aardvarks, sloths, and armadillos, in the aptly named Edentata (think edentulous, or “toothless”). In the last 25 years, the study of DNA has revealed a totally different set of relationships for these edentate mammals. Aardvarks are in an African group with elephants, elephant shrews, tenrecs, and hyraxes; anteaters, sloths, and armadillos are in a South American group; and pangolins are most closely related to Carnivora (dogs, bears, cats, hyaenas, raccoon, etc.). It is hard to imagine that the gentle, toothless pangolins are close kin to the ferocious meat-eater lineage that includes lions, tigers, and saber-toothed cats.

Although DNA supports relationships of pangolins and carnivorans, we are hard pressed to find anatomical features that link the two groups. One unusual feature shared by both and, therefore, hypothesized to be present in their common ancestor is the os tentorium or brain bone! A typical mammalian brain is composed of three parts delimited by deep grooves, termed sulci, the fore-, mid-, and hindbrain, which correspond respectively to the olfactory bulbs, cerebrum, and cerebellum.

*This brain of the African white-bellied tree pangolin,* Phataginus tricuspis, is modified from Iman et al. (2018: Journal of Comparative Neurology 256: 2548-256), courtesy of Paul Bowden, Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

The human brain is dominated by its greatly enlarged cerebrum with tiny olfactory bulbs; pangolins and carnivorans have a much better sense of smell with well-developed olfactory bulbs and relatively smaller cerebrum. The brain in mammals is encased in a fluid-filled space surrounded by layers of connective tissue and within the bony braincase of the skull. One of the connective tissue layers, the dura mater, has a fold called the tentorium cerebelli (meaning the tent of the cerebellum) that fits in the deep sulcus between the cerebrum and cerebellum. In pangolins and carnivorans, the connective tissue tentorium has a layer of bone in it, creating a partial bony separation between the cerebrum and cerebellum. In pangolins and carnivorans, the os tentorium is not a single bone, but is made up of contributions from three or four skull bones. There are other mammals that independently have evolved an os tentorium, including horses, but it is not as extensive as that in pangolins and carnivorans.

*Chinese pangolin,* Manis pentadactyla, CT scan data. Top, whole cranium; middle, sagittally sectioned cranium with brain added; bottom, sagittally sectioned cranium with blue indicating os tentorium.

Okay, so we have a nice anatomical feature allying pangolins and carnivorans. However, we are left with one very large unanswered question. Why? If it is such a good thing to partially separate the cerebrum and cerebellum by bone, why don’t all mammals do it? The os tentorium is said to be “protective” of the brain, but protective how? Did a random mutation some 60 million years ago in the common ancestor of pangolins and carnivorans lead to the formation of the brain bone in the living forms? Is the brain bone somehow linked to another innovation that is strongly selected for? Is there some function to the brain bone that our brains cannot fathom? As an anatomist, I can study the structure and distribution of the brain bone in living and extinct mammals but to get at the “why” question may require a deep dive into molecular biology. Understanding the genetics behind the os tentorium may be the only path forward on cracking this mystery.

John Wible is Curator of Mammals at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Echoes of Freedom in an Owl’s Call

by Pat McShea

“Is that owl real?” Students who approached the museum activity station at a “Dream STEAM” event on Martin Luther King Jr. Day repeated those four words to express curiosity about a 20-inch-high Barred Owl taxidermy mount. The setting was a large meeting room in the Bible Center Church’s Worship, Arts, Recreation, and Ministry Center in Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood. Here, during a busy three-hour morning session, small groups of students ranging from kindergarten to fifth grade rotated with their adult chaperones among activities related to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) or Black History and Culture.

I was one of three museum representatives who brought the owl and other, less visually striking materials, to enhance an activity we hoped would spark greater interest in science as well as increase knowledge about a heroic Black figure in American History, Harriet Tubman.

Answers of “partially real” to student questions about the owl’s authenticity were provided first, as we shared information about the taxidermy mount’s glass eyes, wire-supported feet, interior foam body, but very real feathers, beak, and talons. Then came an explanation about how in 1849, Harriet Tubman’s expert knowledge of tides, seasons, weather, wildlife, plants, and the stars of the night sky enabled her to escape enslavement on a timber plantation on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and then safely cross more than 100 miles of forest and wetlands to reach freedom in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Tubman returned to Maryland multiple times during the next ten years to safely lead a total of approximately seventy people in escape from enslavement to freedom, which could sometimes only be guaranteed in places as distant as Canada. When we recounted these courageous actions for the students, the owl assumed a prominent role in our narrative. Tubman used imitations of Barred Owl calls as a code of cautionary signals to the people she physically guided. With the aid of a battery powered bird song player, the students were able to listen to the species’ distinctive barked notes, nine booming syllables that invite translation into the echoing question, “Who Cooks For You? Who Cooks For You All?”

Imitation owl calls from the students followed, spontaneous and solicited, with both types gently critiqued by a reminder that in the dark woods of 1850’s coastal Maryland or Delaware, the skill of the call’s delivery could be a matter of life or death.

The museum’s activity station also provided opportunities for students to note owl adaptations via pencil drawings, and to examine muskrat pelts as an aid in considering Harriet Tubman’s childhood labor checking traps for the rodents in the marshes of the plantation where she was enslaved. One tabletop display that drew the attention of some students and every adult chaperone credited Ranger Angela Crenshaw, currently Park Manager for Rocks, Susquehanna and Palmer State Parks in Maryland, as the source for much of the activity’s shared information.

*Harriet Tubman UGRR State Park and Visitor Center – Ranger Crenshaw with the Bust of Tubman*

A West Virginia native with strong Baltimore roots, Crenshaw presented interpretive programs for over four years as a ranger at Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park and Visitor Center, a 17-arcre site in Dorchester County, Maryland. Last year, the bicentennial anniversary of Tubman’s birth, articles about the historic icon’s naturalist skills in both Audubon and Smithsonian magazines included quotes from Crenshaw. On May 14, a date Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey proclaimed as “Harriet Tubman Day” in the city, Crenshaw joined seven other presenters for a two-hour panel discussion on Zoom about Tubman’s legacy organized by the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.

*Harriet Tubman UGRR State Park and Visitor Center – Muskrat Exhibit – MD Department of Natural Resources*

When a presenter from another organization asked about how Ranger Crenshaw became a reliable source for information about Harriet Tubman, I recalled a published interview during which she described how her earliest days at the then new park forced a deep immersion into the landscape, and lots of reading about American Slavery, the religion of enslaved people, and the Underground Railroad. Among those documents was an 1868 biography of Tubman titled The Moses Of Her People, by Sarah Bradford, and a letter endorsing the book, by another native of Maryland’s Eastern Shore who escaped enslavement, Frederick Douglass.

Beyond the Simple Ecosystem Graphic: Teaching About Biodiversity and Pollination

by Pat McShea

You probably remember some version of this graphic: simple line drawings linked by arrows to chart energy flow through an ecosystem featuring the Sun, a patch of grass, a rabbit, and a hawk or fox. During the closing minutes of a recent day-long educator workshop about biodiversity at Carnegie Museum of Natural History, two participating middle school teachers cited the pervasive textbook illustration as an educational prop they now felt comfortable moving beyond.

Natalie Miles and Christian Shane, science teachers at North Allegheny School District’s Ingomar Middle School, expressed confidence that the seventh graders they work with would benefit from guided firsthand explorations of more complex energy flows involving various plant and invertebrate interactions. “We already teach about pollination,” explained Christian, “and with this information we can guide students on investigations right where they live.” After endorsing Christian’s comments, Natalie added a more personal note. “You’ve kept my nerdy science self fully engaged today. Thank you.”

The core experience that so captivated the pair was a carefully prepared slide presentation by museum scientist Dr. Ainsley Seago. Because the Associate Curator of Invertebrate Zoology likened her session to a sales pitch for insects, she began with what could be termed product information specific to the museum: The CMNH collection consists of approximately 16 million pinned insect specimens, representing locations all over the world, and spanning 150 years of collecting; Moths (Lepidoptera), beetles (Coleoptera), and fleas (Siphonaptera), are collection strengths, but the wide-ranging research resource also includes many groups of non-insect invertebrates.

The ubiquity of insects and the increasing ease and accuracy of their identification through hand-held technology such as the iNaturalist smartphone app were the next topics on Ainsley’s presentation agenda. Then her core material was setup by a reminder of two different but potentially connected circumstances: 1) Pollinators and bee declines are hot topics right now. 2)Teachers of some grades and subjects need to cover ecosystems according to the PA science standards.

An Antherophagus species of beetle hitches a ride to its next home by attaching to a bumble bee’s tongue. Copyright © 2016 Ilona L.

What followed was refresher session on the biomechanics of pollination that moved seamlessly into enthusiastic introductions for a cast of a dozen insect and other invertebrate characters that might visit, or even inhabit, the blossom of a common wild sunflower on a late summer or early fall day. Some creatures arrived in search of pollen or nectar, others to be in the proper place to ambush and prey upon such visitors, and the most memorable, a tiny fungus beetle whose most supportive micro-habitat is the decaying detritus within bumble bee nests, to temporarily attach itself to that insect’s tongue, and hitch a ride to a new home.

Besides offering her audience alternatives to organisms favored by many textbooks, Ainsley aptly displayed what the late Dr. John Rawlins, Curator Emeritus for the museum’s Section of Invertebrate Zoology termed “bug love.” As I watched the performance from my seat as an observer in the back of the workshop classroom, I recalled something historian David McCullough wrote about Dr. Margaret B. McFarland, the University of Pittsburgh child psychologist who was a strong influencer of Fred Rogers television programs for young audiences. “What she taught, in essence, is that attitudes aren’t taught, they’re caught. If the attitude of the teacher toward the material is positive, enthusiastic, committed, and excited, the students get that.” Such transmission of attitudes also applies to older audiences.

For information about the next scheduled educator workshop, please visit our Events page.

Groundhog Day 2023

by John Wible

January 21, 2023 was Squirrel Appreciation Day! With Groundhog Day, which commemorates our most famous squirrel, Punxsutawney Phil, right around the corner, I thought it appropriate to celebrate squirrels with this blog.

Rodents are the most diverse lineage of living mammals with more than 2,500 species, which represents nearly 40% of the species diversity of living mammals. Squirrels (Sciuridae) are one of 36 families of living rodents. There are nearly 300 species of squirrels found in the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa; a few squirrels have been introduced into Australia by humans. Broadly speaking, there are three main types of squirrels: tree, ground, and flying. Tree and ground are descriptive of their main habitats; flying squirrels also inhabit trees but are so called because of their unique locomotory pattern, which actually isn’t flying but gliding! Regarding their evolutionary relationships, all flying squirrels are more closely related to each other than to other squirrels, supporting a single origin of gliding in their common ancestor. The tree and ground squirrels do not show the same pattern; all ground squirrels are not each other’s closest relatives and the same is true of all tree squirrels. The fossil record (see text below) supports tree life as the earliest squirrel habitat, with multiple episodes of ground invasion from the trees.

In Pennsylvania, we are fortunate to have seven native species of squirrels (two ground, three tree, and two flying). You can learn more about Pennsylvania mammals at our website: https://mammals.carnegiemnh.org/pa-mammals/

Allegheny County has six of the seven PA squirrel species: the two ground squirrels (the Eastern chipmunk, Tamias striatus, and the groundhog, Marmota monax); the three tree squirrels (the gray squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis, the fox squirrel, Sciurus niger, and the red squirrel, Tamiasciurus hudsonicus); and one of the two flying squirrels (the Southern flying squirrel, Glaucomys volans). Depending on where you are in Allegheny County, you may see all six squirrels, although the Southern flying squirrel is likely the most elusive because of its nocturnal (nighttime) activities.

Squirrels have a long evolutionary history. The oldest fossils identifiable as squirrels first appeared around 34 million years ago in western North America, all showing adaptations to tree life. One of these, Protosciurus, is on display at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. (see below). Its skeleton is remarkably like those of living gray squirrels, both in size and morphology. Given that this remarkable similarity occurred over 30 million years of geological time, scientists consider our gray squirrel and tree-adapted relatives to be living fossils, that is, not dramatically changed compared to their very ancient relatives.

*Reconstruction of the skeleton of* Protosciurus on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. *Image credit: Claire H. from New York City, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons*

Most rodents are small mammals; think mice and their relatives. Punxsutawney Phil is the second largest living squirrel; his cousin, the hoary marmot, Marmota caligata, from the Pacific Northwest is slightly larger, with adult males typically over 20 pounds. There was a larger ground squirrel that lived in western North America between 10 and two million years ago, Paenemarmota, a Latin name that translates to “almost a marmot.” Some of my colleagues have called it the “giant marmot,” which should be taken with a gigantic grain of salt! Below is an image of four ulnae, one of the two bones in the forearm. On the left is the living groundhog and next to it is the “giant marmot.” Anatomically, the bones are nearly identical, with one a little larger than the other. Weight estimates for the “giant marmot” are around 35 pounds. Yes, that is big for a squirrel, but not compared to some truly giant rodents. Next to the “giant marmot” is the ulna of the largest living rodent, the semiaquatic Central and South American capybara, Hydrochoerus, which translates to “water pig.” Capybaras, which can grow to nearly 150 pounds, are related to guinea pigs! But wait, there is more. Capybaras pale in comparison to the largest rodent that ever lived. The 8-million-year-old Proberomys from Venezuela was estimated to be the size of a large African antelope at 300 to 550 pounds. Yikes, now that is a giant guinea pig.

*Ulna (forearm bone) of select living and extinct rodents.*

Recently, one of my colleagues, Ornella Bertrand from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain, and coauthors have studied the evolution of the brain in squirrels. From CT scans of fossil skulls (see images below), they were able to recreate various parameters of the brain, including the relationship between brain size and body size. They found that squirrels living in trees had larger brains to their body size than other squirrels, that life in the complex arboreal environment was a driver of brain evolution in squirrels. The result of this evolutionary story for us may be that we will always be hard pressed to build a bird feeder that those big-brained tree squirrels can’t get into!

*Images courtesy of Ornella Bertrand. Middle, skull taken from CT scans of the 32-million-year-old fossil squirrel* Cedromus wilsoni from Wyoming with the blue indicating the reconstructed brain, shown separately to the right; left is Ornella’s reconstruction of the animal’s head. For 3D models made by Ornella Bertrand and more, see https://ornellabertrand.wordpress.com/3d-models/

John Wible, PhD, is the curator of the Section of Mammals at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

2022 Rector Christmas Bird Count Results

by Annie Lindsay

*Red-shouldered Hawk. Image credit: Brady Karg*

On the morning of December 17, 2022, 41 birders assembled at Powdermill Avian Research Center to receive the maps and datasheets for the sectors they’d be visiting for the annual Rector Christmas Bird Count (CBC). During the CBC, participants identify and tally every bird they see or hear within a pre-established 15-mile-diameter circle on a selected day between December 14 and January 5. The Rector count was established in 1974, but the history of the CBC extends back to 1900, when a small group listed birds in 25 count circles on Christmas Day. Now sponsored by the National Audubon Society, the CBC has expanded to include nearly 3,000 circles throughout the Western Hemisphere. The CBC welcomes birders of all skill levels and is one of the largest and longest-term community science projects.

The Rector count’s center point is just northwest of Powdermill Nature Reserve, and encompasses a variety of habitats including the ridge-top forests of Chestnut Ridge, Laurel Summit State Park, Laurel Mountain State Park, and Forbes State Forest, the mountain stream valleys and hillsides of Linn Run State Park and Powdermill Nature Reserve, two lakes that often attract migrating or overwintering waterfowl, and rolling farmland interspersed with small towns. This habitat variety means that species diversity can be quite high, and since 1974, birders have tallied 131 species in the Rector circle.

Last year, warm weather extended far into the fall, and the Rector count recorded high totals of many species that we would normally expect to spend the winter a bit further south. This year, however, the fall weather was more typical of southwestern Pennsylvania, and temperatures on the day of the count hovered around freezing as large, fluffy snowflakes fell throughout the morning. The day began early as a few ambitious birders searched for owls before dawn, finding eight Eastern Screech Owls. By dawn, all participants headed to their sectors to count diurnal birds, while an additional eight birders counted what they saw and heard in their yards and visiting their feeders. As dusk fell, CBC participants met at Powdermill for a tally dinner, an evening of camaraderie and sharing stories from the day. Although the species total was only 59, which is slightly below average, individual numbers for each of these species were typical. A few, including Wild Turkey, Bald Eagle, Red-shouldered Hawk, Winter Wren, and Eastern Bluebird even saw new high-count records.

*Red-headed Woodpecker. Image credit: Tom Kuehl*

For the fifth year in a row, participants found Red-headed Woodpeckers during the count. This species is difficult to find in southwestern Pennsylvania, and the Rector count circle is one of the only reliable places to encounter them. A favorite of birders, this bold, color-block-patterned woodpecker always delights those lucky enough to spot one.

One of the most exciting sightings of this year’s count, and the last bird encountered for the day, was a Northern Saw-whet Owl spotted near Powdermill’s nature center just as the tally dinner ended. Northern Saw-whet Owls are found in southwestern Pennsylvania primarily during fall migration, but some overwinter here, and there is evidence that a few pairs may breed locally. Saw-whets are small and do not vocalize as readily as most of the other owls, which make them difficult to find. This fall, Powdermill’s ornithologists caught and banded 99 of these tiny owls, nearly a high fall record! As the 2022 Christmas Bird Count season wraps up, we’re already looking forward to 2023. Thank you to all participants for spending the day searching every corner of the count circle looking for birds, and to all landowners for granting participants access to their properties for a much more thorough and complete count.

Stepping Back in Time

by Suzanne Nuss

I grew up in the silent Canadian Arctic, so sounds switch me to alertness. Once alert, I pause to hear spoken words. During a recent late afternoon in Dinosaurs in Their Time, I focused on a sound that moved me to alertness until it became the voice of the museum’s Gallery Experience Presenter Shannon McGuinn saying, “I found a footprint.”

Because the exhibition hall was mostly empty of visitors, I had been standing near and contemplating the visually striking display of the holotype Tyrannosaurus rex fighting in a field of replica Cretaceous poppies against a cast of another T. rex skeleton, the fossil that since its discovery in 1997 has been known informally as Peck’s Rex. As a Natural History Interpreter, I have been walking these halls for more than six years, yet I had never noticed a footprint. “Hmm,” I thought. “Really?”

I followed Shannon. She pointed. There it was: faint but unmistakable, on the recreated ground surface of the exhibit base, the impressions of three digits resembling a gigantic bird footprint.

We both entertained the same thought: if there’s one track, could there be more? We trotted over behind Peck’s Rex and yes. A second footprint was visible, two feet behind and under the tail, as if the animal had been ambling along.

At this point, Dr. Matt Lamanna, the person most responsible for the scientific content of the now-15-year-old hall, walked by. Gurgling with excitement, we showed him the footprints. He was delighted by our find. “Yes. Two ‘Easter Eggs.’ When Dinosaurs in Their Time was built, we included many simulated footprints, sculpted on the basis of actual fossilized dinosaur tracks. I only wish I’d been able to add a few fake coprolites (fossil poop) too.”

We continued to hunt, with Matt now with us. Three toes again, much smaller. Now that we recognized the tracks as intentional creations, we wondered what animal tracks we might find. Our third discovery, pictured below, was a faux footprint of the bird-like oviraptorosaur Anzu wyliei.

Moving into the Jurassic portion of the exhibition, we stepped back in time, figuratively speaking, by more than 80 million years, and were dwarfed by huge, long-necked, plant-eating dinosaurs (sauropods). We also found very different-looking tracks, some of which were overlapping. Our questions multiplied: could tracks like this indicate that these enormous beasts walked in herds? Is it possible to match up the toes of the foot with the footprint? Was the wide, flat heel of sauropods important for weight distribution?

Those thoughts captivated me, mainly because I was introduced to D’Arcy Thompson’s book, On Growth and Form, when I studied biophysics at McGill University in Montreal. One section of the book was devoted entirely to demonstrating how the many kinds of tetrapods (four-limbed, backboned animals such as amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals) all had the same fundamental form: head, torso, and tail, with forelimbs attached at the shoulder girdle and hind limbs attached to the hip. I loved the accompanying images that stretched all the body parts to ‘morph’ one tetrapod into another. A more technical term for this concept is “homologous structures.” In the image below, a simple letter key is used to mark forelimb bones: (H) humerus, (R) radius, (U) ulna, (C) carpals, (MC) metacarpals, and (P) phalanges (the latter better known as finger and toe bones). The hind limbs match up in a similar way.

Drawing of human, horse, and bat limb skeletons side by side

I thought about what a human footprint looks like, and then a horse footprint, and even a bat footprint. Bears and humans walk with their heels on the ground (a stance known as plantigrade). Horses and giraffes walk on the very tips of their toes (unguligrade), whereas cats, dogs, and predatory dinosaurs such as Allosaurus and T. rex walked on their toes (digitigrade).

Returning to my original spot within the dinosaur exhibition, I was determined to take a closer look. Could I tell from the fossil evidence how the species on display walked? Was it possible to identify the femur, tibia, and fibula of each skeleton?

The colorful murals lining the walls of the exhibition helped. The depictions of each creature are based upon well-studied fossils and biomechanical modelling. I could start musing about how they walked and make a guess. Each guess became a test, which produced a working hypothesis. I have since discovered that the museum’s Bird Hall and Hall of North American Wildlife are also great places to think about feet, footprints, and the biomechanics of animal movement, and why some dinosaur footprints look so much like bird footprints.

Footprints have stories to tell about movement, behavior, and speed. Properly interpreted, footprints can reveal how long their makers’ legs might have been, the width of these animals’ hips, and even whether adults and young traveled together in family groups. What, I have been steadily wondering, would the footprints recording a fight look like?

I don’t want to look anything up yet. I need to muddle through with my own thinking first. When I am ready, I might start with legged robot studies to clarify the physical constraints that must be considered in moving through space. I have since found simulated tracks of Allosaurus and Stegosaurus, and in my searching have also discovered how even an exhibition I know well still holds tremendous potential for inquiry and further learning.

Suzanne Nuss is a Natural History Interpreter at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

A New Building at Powdermill

by Luke DeGroote

On a crisp fall morning, 30 minutes before the sun rises, the bird banding crew at Powdermill Avian Research Center (PARC) are hard at work setting up the mist nets for a typical day. As the dewdrops fall from the nets and the birds call, everything seems as normal as it has since 1961, but something is different. For the first time, the birds will be processed in a new location. PARC has finally established a new home.

On September 30, 2022, we celebrated the Grand Opening of the Richard P. Mellon Avian Research Center. This new facility is a great leap ahead for PARC that will allow us to continue conducting our avian research as we have since 1961, while also providing new opportunities for outreach, additional research projects, and more efficient data collection. A 60-second video tour provides visual orientation to the facility.

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A post shared by Powdermill Nature Reserve (@powdermillnaturereserve1956)

So, what’s inside? The new building consists of a bird holding room, research lab, seminar space, kitchen/lounge, offices, a multi-use lab space, and an observation deck.

Bird Holding Room: This space is used by the bird banding techs. It allows easy access to the bird bags, radios, and carabiners, and has spaces for the birds to await their turn to be processed in the lab. The addition of this room frees up lab space and prevents the processor, recorder, and bird banders from being interrupted while collecting data.

room with an l-shaped desk with bird banding equipment on it

Research Lab: This room mirrors the original setup in the old building. Birds are banded and processed here on a day-to-day basis. PARC’s bird banders have captured and processed over 800,000 birds with many more to come in the lab’s future.

Seminar Space: This classroom space will now allow large groups to visit us for field trips, open houses, and guided tours. This space has a similar setup to the research lab with the addition of lecture-style seating and a video screen that allow groups to see bird banding up close and learn about PARC’s many avian research projects.

Kitchen/Lounge: This is a much-needed space where we can fuel up on coffee for our early mornings or late nights, or where workshop participants can take a snack break. It’s also a fantastic place to play our favorite board game (Wingspan, of course).

Lab: This multi-use space has proved to be a great addition for PARC staff and collaborators. There are desks and computers for the Avian Outreach Tech, Flight Tunnel Tech, and visiting researchers. The space is also utilized for data proofing and ongoing research projects.

Although the move from the original building was bittersweet, we are so thrilled to continue conducting avian research from this new space. Thank you so much to everyone who helped this new building come to life. The opportunities with this new building are endless.

Luke DeGroote is Avian Research Coordinator at Powdermill Nature Reserve, the museum’s environmental research center.

A Bit of Presque Isle, Erie, PA in the Hall of Botany

by Patrick McShea

Presque Isle State Park is the most visited component of Pennsylvania’s 121 park system. In recent years, the beaches, trails, and ponds of this six-mile-long, 3,200-acre Lake Erie sand spit have drawn more than four million annual visitors. Repeat visits by local residents account for a significant portion of the seven-figure tally. The peninsula’s eastward curl into the lake creates the bay which fronts the city of Erie, and the park, which celebrated its 100^th anniversary in 2021, frames northward views in many city neighborhoods.

Some 120 miles south of the park, at Carnegie Museum of Natural History, visitors encounter a life-sized and un-peopled section of this unique landscape when they enter the Hall of Botany. This spacious plant-centered hall honors the vision of the museum’s first and longest-serving Curator of Botany, Otto Jennings, with eight dioramas created between the 1920s and 1970s that depict biomes with visually distinctive characteristics. The Presque Isle diorama, which opened in 1966, earns a spot among detailed three-dimensional depictions of the Sonoran Desert, Florida Everglades, and high-altitude slopes of Mount Rainier, by virtue of its representation of land continually shaped by the actions of wind, waves, and plant succession.

As a label adjacent to the summer scene explains, Presque Isle is a place where a full cycle of plant community development can be observed in a compact space. At many park locations, a cross-peninsula transect of a few hundred yards might include the bare sand of new beach deposits, dunes stabilized by pioneering plants, marshes framed by sand ridges supporting shrubs and young trees, and patches of mature forest.

One of the diorama’s interpretive panels invites viewers to notice a half dozen featured plants and animals, while another uses two preserved specimens of witch hazel branches, collected on Presque Isle on the same date, but 133 years apart, to document dramatic changes in this common tree’s spring leaf-out date. The museum’s herbarium holds more than 3,300 Presque Isle plant specimens from ongoing collection efforts that date to 1868. These preserved plants, along with the standardized information recorded with each one, document such changes as the relatively recent abundance of non-native flora, and the decline of some rare plant populations in the wake of engineered beach stabilization efforts.

Like all the museum’s dioramas, this window into the frozen time of a specific place lends itself to multiple interpretations by museum educators. In addition to narratives about plant succession, or the irrefutable evidence botanical records provide of a changing climate, the diorama’s recreated beach scene is a good place for students to listen to an explanation of the geology term “longshore drift,” or to consider how freshwater, even in a watershed as vast as the Great Lakes Basin, is a limited natural resource.

For some viewers, the diorama will serve as a visual prompt to visit or revisit the park and leave their own footprints on Presque Isle sands. Anyone considering a visit will find the experience enriched by making a preliminary electronic stop at the park website maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, as well a physical stop, just outside the park entrance, at interpretive exhibits in the 16-year-old Tom Ridge Environmental Center (TREC).

On the website, among activity descriptions, park maps, recent news releases, and relevant advisories, a tab labelled “History” (under the category “Additional Information”) leads not only to a summary of the peninsula’s role in sheltering a fleet of American ships during the War of 1812 and a link to geology-focused park guide, but also to a brief account that, when repeated, serves to acknowledge how this unusual landscape was long ago utilized and cherished by Native Peoples.

The Erie Indians lived along the southern shores of Lake Erie and were early inhabitants of the area. They hunted game from the forests, gathered plants, and fished from the waters of Lake Erie in birch-bark canoes.

According to legend, the Erie ventured far into the lake to find the place where the sun sank into the waters.

The spirits of the lake caused a great storm to arise, so the Great Spirit stretched out his left arm into the lake to protect the Erie from the storm. Where the sheltering arm of the Great Spirit had lain in the lake, a great sandbar in the shape of an arm-like peninsula was formed to act as an eternal shelter and harbor of refuge for the Great Spirit’s favorite children, the Erie.
https://www.dcnr.pa.gov/StateParks/FindAPark/PresqueIsleStatePark/Pages/History.aspx

Repeating the account in the Hall of Botany can add a new dimension to a 56-year-old diorama.

Patrick McShea works in the Education and Marketing departments at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

What Does Pittsburgh Have in Common with Mount Vesuvius?

by Debra Wilson

In the mid 18^th century, it was popular amongst the wealthy elite of Europe to take a “Grand Tour” of cities like Paris, Rome, Venice, Florence, and Naples. During these tours they traveled with a tutor and would learn about the culture, languages, geography, art, and architecture of the cities. A must-see when passing through Naples was the volcano, Mount Vesuvius, probably because of the fascination of the famous 79 A.D. eruption that destroyed the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Back then, to reach the top of Vesuvius one had to climb on foot, ride on horseback, or be carried by sedan-chair. And just like modern day travelers, they liked to take home souvenirs. What better souvenir of making it to the summit of a volcano could there be than a piece of lava? And not just any piece, but one that would commemorate your adventure. Thus, the creation of the lava medallion.

To make a medallion, some brave soul would retrieve molten lava on a stick, which was then molded, stamped out with engraved steel plates, cooled in a bucket of water, and then sold to the tourists. To increase the tourist trade and make it easier and more comfortable for tourists to visit the summit of Mount Vesuvius, it was determined that a funicular should be built on the 4,190-foot-high volcano. So, what’s a funicular you say? It’s a cable railroad designed to transport people and cargo up and down steep slopes. The ascending and descending cars are counterbalanced, meaning both cars are permanently connected to the opposite ends of the same cable, known as a haul rope. This haul rope runs through a system of pulleys at the upper end of the line. The first funicular on Mount Vesuvius opened on June 6, 1880 and ran, with some interruptions, until it was destroyed by the March 1944 Vesuvius eruption. The two cable cars were named “Etna” and “Vesuvio.”

Black and white image of a funicular car named Etna. — *Stereokarte: Knackstedt & NätherScan: Claus-Peter Enders im Team mit Bernd Schwabe im Wikipedia-Büro HannoverCropp: Pechristener, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons*

Black and white image of a funicular car named Vesuvio. — *Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons*

To commemorate the opening, some very special lava medallions were made. Our collection contains two such medallions among the roughly 30,000 specimens not on public view in the museum. These lava medallions were produced by Ward & Howell, the company that sold minerals for Ward’s Natural Science Establishment of Rochester, New York from 1875 to 1891. Each medallion has Mount Vesuvius stamped on the front, and the year 1880 on the back along with Ward & Howell Rochester, N.Y. If you look closely, you can make out the funicular rails on Vesuvius. Notice that no two medallions are alike, depending on how the lava squeezed out between the steel plates.

Mount Vesuvius lava medallion — *CM32978 lava medallion, 18.3 x 14.4 x 2.6 cm*

Mount Vesuvius laval medallion — *Back of the medallion*

*CM32979 lava medallion, 16.1 x 14.6 x 3.2 cm*

There was something else very special created to commemorate the 1880 opening of the funicular. The famous song “Funiculi, Funiculà” (which means funicular up, funicular down) was written by composer Luigi Denza, with lyrics by Peppino Turco. The Neapolitan tune is about a young man who compares his love for his sweetheart to a volcano and invites her to ride up to the summit on the funicular. As the funicular rises up, so does his courage to ask for her hand in marriage. The song became so popular that by 1881 the sheet music had sold one million copies. If you are unfamiliar with the tune listen to one or both of these:

For those of you who love the popular Girls Und Panzer anime series, which depicts competition between girls’ high schools practicing tank warfare as a sport, you might recognize this tune as one of the theme songs for the Sensha-dō team of Anzio High School (an Italian-style private academy from Aichi Prefecture in Japan) commanded by “Duce” Anchovy. Here is a video of the Girls Und Panzer version of “Funiculi, Funiculà” with lyrics shown in both the original language and English:

So, what is the Pittsburgh connection?

Now you know what a funicular is, but did you know that Pittsburgh has two funiculars? It’s not surprising since here in Pittsburgh we have just a few steep slopes around! We refer to these funiculars as inclines, and at one time there were 17 of them operating on the hilly topography carved by the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers. They were originally built to transport cargo up and down Mount Washington. Then with the influx of workers during the expansion of the coal and steel industries, more inclines were built to transport the employees of the mills and factories to their places of residence up on Mount Washington and other hilltop neighborhoods. Most of these inclines closed as more roads were built and the use of automobiles increased. The two inclines that are still in operation today were both in service on Mount Washington even before the funicular on Mount Vesuvius opened in 1880. The Monongahela Incline opened on May 27, 1870 and is the oldest continually operating funicular in the United States. The Duquesne Incline opened on May 17, 1877. Of course, you can’t get a lava medallion as a souvenir, but the next time you ride up and down one of our inclines, how about breaking out in a song, you know the one I mean…”Funiculi, Funiculà!”

*Monongahela Incline. Image credit: pennsyloco, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons*

*Duquesne Incline. Image credit:* *Bohemian Baltimore, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons*

Debra Wilson is the Collection Manager for the Section of Minerals at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Shark-ish Beasts Versus Cephalopods: Which is Predator, Which is Prey, and is One an Artist?

by Sabrina S. Robinson and Timothy A. Pearce

We’ve all heard the legend of the sperm whale and the giant squid, locked in epic battles in the waters of the deep, like that imagined in Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (and yes, sperm whales do love to eat giant squids). If one substituted a shark for the whale, most of us would think the squid — or its relation, the octopus — wouldn’t have much chance. But that assumption might be wrong…and in fact, evidence from nearly one hundred million years ago hints at surprising mortal interactions between shark-like vertebrates and cephalopods.

Octopuses vs. Sharks

In 2000, with some trepidation, a Giant Pacific Octopus was placed in a large tank with sharks at the Seattle Aquarium. At the time, some aquarium staff wondered whether the octopus would be attacked by the sharks. It turned out that the trepidation was justified, but for precisely opposite reasons: sharks started disappearing (and perhaps the octopus began to look too self-satisfied). Several years later a video, which subsequently went viral, was filmed at the aquarium showing an octopus attacking and eating a dogfish shark. As in many videos produced for nature documentaries, the creatures were subject to human interference (not to ruin nature documentaries for you); divers directed dogfish toward the octopus. Despite this meddling, the fact remains: sharks, beware.

*Credit: A sperm whale attacks a giant squid. Colour line block after A. Twidle. Wellcome C o llection. Public Domain Mar*k

Ammonites vs. Mosasaurs

Ammonites and ammonoids were ancient cephalopods that became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous. Fossilized ammonite shells have been found with indentations that some paleontologists interpret as bite marks from mosasaurs. (An alternate explanation is that the mosasaur bites were holes made by limpets, marine gastropods, some species of which scrape holes into calcium carbonate surfaces, such as other shells [Seilacher 1998], although some paleontologists continue to defend the mosasaur bite hypothesis [Tsujita & Westermann 2001]. Mosasaurs were part of a group of extinct ocean-going reptiles, having the body form and presumably the behaviors of sharks. In other words, this mollusk vs. shark(ish) conflict might be a blood feud going back 90 million years or more.

So, let’s say that it was mosasaurs (and not nibbling limpets) snacking on the ammonites, and that all of this adds up to a pattern, leaving the question: do the mollusks or the sharks and shark-like reptiles have the intellectual advantage in the fight? Modern squids and octopuses, collectively classified as coleoids, are famous for their intelligence and quick wit. It’s difficult to know whether ammonites shared this cleverness — coleoids and ammonites descend from a common ancestor known as a bactritid, and we don’t know how intelligent this ancestral creature was. The modern chambered nautilus, resembling ammonites though not closely related to them, does not seem to be very smart (but it does have a remarkable memory).

Squids vs. Ichthyosaurs

Here is additional possible evidence of ancient intelligence shaping the feud between mollusks and shark-like reptiles. Fossils of shell-less cephalopods are rare, but the creatures’ presence in the fossil record is sometimes detectable through their preserved bird-like beaks and gladii (singular is gladius), a hard pen-shaped internal structure of squid. The beak remains of a large fossil squid with a body length estimated to be at least 10 meters were found in Nevada near multiple ichthyosaur vertebrae arranged in an unusual pattern. This peculiar circumstance, which had been seen elsewhere in the fossil record, led at least one paleontologist to speculate that the bones had been deliberately arranged by a large squid (who presumably killed the vertebrate), perhaps as a self-portrait! Ichthyosaurs, like mosasaurs, are shark-like in body plan and (presumably) behavior.

Of course, this is a highly controversial idea — but creatures making art on the seabed has at least some precedent. In 2011, Matsura Keiichi solved a mystery in the sands of the sea floor around the Ryukyu Islands, a chain of Japanese islands on the boundary between the East China Sea and the Philippine Sea. Complex and beautiful circular patterns had been found by divers in these underwater sands for years. It was finally discovered that the white spotted pufferfish (Torquigener albomaculosus), was making these works of art as a courtship display, carefully constructing and maintaining them, until a female, enticed by their sculpture, spawned in the center of the circle, leaving the artistic male to care for the eggs. (See a video of one adorable little guy making his art on PBS.) So underwater art is a known explanation for strange seabed arrangements.

We’re reminded of the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie Predator, in which the Predator’s trophies from its kills were spinal columns. Could this ancient kraken have been the original Predator, collecting its victims’ spinal columns? Constructing displays with them to attract mates??

Which reminds us of a joke. Tim’s friend called him on the phone to say he was changing his name to Spinal Column. Tim asked, “Umm, can I call you Back?”

Sabrina Robinson is a volunteer in the Section of Mollusks. Tim Pearce is Curator of Collection in the Section of Mollusks.

The Vine That Ate Pittsburgh? Not yet.

by Mason Heberling

This specimen of Kudzu (Pueraria montana var. lobata) was collected on October 28, 1920 by Neil McCallum at West End Park, Pittsburgh. The plant was collected in cultivation, meaning it was intentionally planted and grown in a garden or similar managed landscape. This specimen is one of the earliest records of the species in Pittsburgh. (It was also collected two years before).

Kudzu is a vine in the bean family, Fabaceae, with beautiful purple flowers. Native to East Asia, it was introduced as an ornamental plant to the United States from Japan in 1876 at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. It was promoted in the 1930-40s in the southern US to prevent soil erosion. However, it is now an invasive species, with big ecological impacts. It is widely known as “the vine that ate the South.” A quick Google search will show you striking pictures of the vine covering large areas of land, covering trees, shrubs, logs, and anything else in the path of its explosive growth. Kudzu shades out existing vegetation and can drastically alter the ecosystem.

It is not common in Pennsylvania, but perhaps might become so. Kudzu is listed by the state as a “Class A Noxious Weed” – meaning it is assessed as a high invasive risk and ecological/economical concern, but is uncommon and possible to be eradicated. It cannot be sold or planted commercially in Pennsylvania.

It is currently most invasive in the South, but a study published in 2009 by Dr. Bethany Bradley and others suggests that the species may become more invasive in the north (including Pennsylvania) as climate change continues.

You can find this specimen online here, and search our collection at midatlanticherbaria.org.

Mason Heberling is Assistant Curator of Botany at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Feather and Bone Connections to American History

by Patrick McShea

Within the Hall of North American Wildlife, a Passenger Pigeon taxidermy mount stands above a handful of other objects in a display case designed to spark viewers’ thoughts about human relationships with other creatures. On a text panel outside the case an eight-word statement serves to direct such thoughts:

Directly and indirectly, people and wildlife are connected.

Because Passenger Pigeons have been extinct for more than a century, reflections involving this native species are necessarily historical. An adjacent tray holding dozens of Passenger Pigeon leg bones excavated from an archaeology site in Pennsylvania’s Huntingdon County provides a helpful starting point for reflective time travel.

tray filled with passenger pigeon leg bones

The concentration of bones, which date from the years 1400-1600, is evidence of a centuries-long utilization of the birds for food by the Indigenous Peoples who lived in what’s now central Pennsylvania. Passenger Pigeons were once so abundant in eastern North America that flocks darkened the skies for hours when the birds migrated to access seasonal feeding areas and nesting sites.

A summary statement from an exhibit about Passenger Pigeon extinction at another institution, the Milwaukee Public Museum, contains a relevant insight:

The primary factor emerged when pigeon meat was commercialized as a cheap food for slaves and the poor in the 19th century, resulting in hunting on a massive scale.

Recognizing an American slavery facet within what is commonly regarded as a natural history extinction story has never been more important. At a time when there is not consensus about how slavery should be presented as a historical topic in classrooms, the preserved remains of a once common bird have a special role to play.

In the 21^st Century, museum taxidermy mounts from the 19^th Century might serve as focal points for wide ranging discussions between the descendants of people who subsisted on Passenger Pigeon meat because they were enslaved, and those who could purchase little else because they were poor.

The exhibit described above is a component of We Are Nature: A New Natural History, an initiative that encourages a broader and deeper consideration of the human impact on our planet through a series of fifteen interpretive panels placed in and among existing exhibits, as well as a new interactive focal area where visitors are invited to record their thoughts, concerns, and hopes.

Patrick McShea is an Educator at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

An Intern’s Experience Studying the Ecosystem at Powdermill

by Rachel Lloyd

This summer I was an intern at Powdermill Nature Reserve, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s environmental field research station. During my time at Powdermill, I participated in a variety of projects: sampling streams for macroinvertebrates, surveying trees, installing and checking insect pitfall traps, monitoring wildlife cameras, and more.

*Surveying trees in the mined area. One person measures diameter at breast height (DBH) while another person records.*

Most of the projects were designed to gain greater understanding of the forest ecosystem at Powdermill, specifically the area of the reserve that is home to abandoned surface coal mines. Mines that were active before the passage of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act in 1977 were often completely unregulated and extremely harmful to the environment because of associated habitat destruction, and air, noise, and water pollution. The long-lasting damage to ecosystems by abandoned surface coal mines includes polluted waterways and unstable land surface gradients in the form of cliff-like highwalls created to expose coal seams.

A remediation project has been proposed at Powdermill to help restore the impacted land to what it was like before mining. Filling in the high walls to restore original surface contours, and remediating acid mine drainage in streams are two major components of any surface mine remediation project.

Before any restoration work begins, it is important to have a baseline understanding of the ecosystem, so that there are parameters to measure change against after the completion of the project. Tree surveying, macroinvertebrate sampling, and wildlife camera monitoring all contributed to the establishment of baseline data.

Forestry surveying served to document both the density and diversity of the plant species living in the study area, from overstory trees to understory shrubs. The most dominant species of overstory trees in the surveyed tract were sugar maples (Acer saccharum). In 2008, during a previous vegetation survey of the same tract, black cherry (Prunus serotina) was found to be the most abundant species. This notable change over time was expected. Black cherry trees are a pioneer species and are among the first trees to grow in a barren environment. Black cherry trees are also relatively quick to die off, and thereby create room and resources for other species. The change in the most abundant species from black cherries to sugar maples shows that the forest of the study area is changing and aging from an early to late successional forest.

*Collecting aquatic macroinvertebrates from a netted sample taken from a stream flowing through the mined area.*

Sampling aquatic macroinvertebrates living in streams can be a great indication of the health and quality of the stream, and that of the watershed drained by the stream. In establishing baseline measurements, stream samples were taken at various locations at Powdermill near the mining sites. After collection, the samples were sorted and identified, and a water quality score was assigned to each location. Stonefly nymphs (Plecoptera) were the most dominant organisms across the whole survey. Other organisms collected included caddisfly larvae (Trichoptera), cranefly larvae (Tipulidae), fishfly larvae (Corydalidae: Chauliodinae), blackfly larvae (Simuliidae), crayfish (Decapoda), and midge larvae (Chironomidae). One important observation was the absence of mayfly nymphs (Ephemeroptera) from most of the samples. Mayflies, along with stoneflies and caddisflies, are typically found in healthy streams in Pennsylvania. The absence of any of them strongly suggests harmful anthropogenic impact, in this case acid mine run-off.

Camera traps were also put in place to monitor the larger wildlife activity in the area. Black bears, white-tailed deer, coyotes, and bobcats are some of the larger mammals known to use the land at Powdermill. The cameras will be kept up until the restoration project begins. After restoration, the wildlife images these cameras collect will monitor how the animals respond to the changed landscape.

Together, the forestry surveys, stream sampling, and wildlife cameras all contribute to a comprehensive understanding of how these areas of the reserve are currently functioning as an ecosystem. The standardized procedures of each procedure will allow us to assess how the reserve changes after future restoration efforts.

For more detailed information on this project, you can check out this story map that I created as part of my internship.

Rachel Lloyd is a senior at Chatham University majoring in Environmental Science, and completed a research internship at Powdermill Nature Reserve during the summer of 2022.

Celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day 2022

by Amy L. Covell-Murthy

Indigenous Peoples’ Day is observed in the City of Pittsburgh concurrently with Columbus Day, and I would like to suggest some ways to observe the holiday for those who do not claim Indigenous heritage. In a state with no habitable federally recognized Indigenous land, Native people are all too often seen as existing only in the past. Although educating yourself on the Indigenous history of the region is an important part of observing the holiday, it’s also important to recognize that many First Nations people live, work, and play in the Greater Pittsburgh Area. Indigenous Peoples’ Day should not be a memorial, but a recognition of the important history and cultural heritage of those who are the past, present, and future caretakers of this land. Here are some things you can do to respectfully celebrate on October 10, 2022.

Indigenous person holding a sign that says "We Are Still Here"

Educate Yourself

Learn about the people who have called Pittsburgh home. Many different cultural groups have occupied the Upper Ohio River Valley including but not limited to the Delaware/Lenape, the Haudenosaunee, the Shawnee, and the Wyandotte. The Osage Nation also claims origin in the Ohio River Valley, and you can learn about all these nations on their official websites. I also suggest hitting up your local library to check out books on these groups as well as the cultural traditions and ancestors who came before them. During a more distant time period, this region was home to those who are often referred to as the Adena, Hopewell, and Monongahela. But keep in mind, we have no idea what they called themselves.

Educate Yourself Some More

Learn about the history that may have been left out of your primary and secondary school curriculums. You may be unaware of the atrocities that Indigenous people faced in the State of Pennsylvania. Many First Pennsylvanians were forced from their homelands and infected with unfamiliar diseases by colonizers. Later the first assimilation school was created in Carlisle, PA. The school, which operated between 1879 and 1918, was used as a model for 24 more of these institutions whose primary goal was to force Indigenous children to abandon their Native languages and customs. In the 1960s, the building of the Kinzua Dam on the upper Allegheny River forced Seneca Nation citizens to move into the State of New York, breaking the 1794 Treaty of Peace and Friendship. Indigenous communities thrive despite these events and institutions, but it is important to recognize and not try to hide these gruesome parts of our shared American history. You can find more information about these examples on the websites listed below.

Kinzua Dam Exhibit at Seneca-Iroquois National Museum

Smallpox information from Native American Heritage Programs

Carlisle Indian School Project

Support Local Indigenous Groups

The Council of Three Rivers American Indian Center is a regional intertribal nonprofit that promotes the socio-economic development of the Native American community and others who experience the same type of economic difficulties in the Greater Pittsburgh metropolitan area. One way to support them is to plan to attend their annual Pow Wow that is held just in Dorseyville, a suburb north of Pittsburgh, in late September. Learn more about the Center’s Early Childhood Education, Native American Elders, Veterans, and Employment programs on their website and Facebook page.

Honor the Land

Attend an Online or In Person Event

Many cities around the United States hold events to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day. A quick Google Search can point you in the right direction. I’m going to be learning about incorporating Indigenous voices into K-12 curriculum from young Indigenous activists at the Smithsonian. You can register to tune in to the National Museum of the American Indian at 1 p.m. on October 10^th to attend this free webinar titled, Youth in Action | Indigenous Peoples’ Day: Transformative Teaching / Juventud en acción | Día de los Pueblos Indígenas: Enseñanza transformativa.

Support Indigenous Artists, Authors, Film Makers, and Musicians

You have so many options! The Sundance Institute has a version of its 2022 Indigenous Short Film Tour available to stream. It’s a 93-minute program featuring 6 short films. The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh website offers staff picks and lists of Indigenous authors. My favorite is a list of Indigenous Science Fiction from 2020 which is intended for adults, but they also have lists of Indigenous books for children and teens. The CBC (Canadian Broadcast Corporation) released a list of Indigenous musicians to watch out for in 2022. Vogue featured 15 Indigenous Artists to watch out for from this year’s Santa Fe Indian Market. The list includes fashion designers, painters, beaded and metal jewelry designers, sculptors, and textile artists. You can also support Indigenous artists by purchasing art through the online gift shop of the Seneca Iroquois National Museum/Onöhsagwë:de’ Cultural Center.

Help Change Derogatory Mascots and Place Names

Sign petitions, attend community forums, and advocate for the changing of harmful stereotypes and offensive signage in our community. From the Cleveland Guardians to Hemlock Hollow Road, there are many instances of this happening around us. The National Congress of American Indians offers a State tracker of schools with offensive mascots, and Pennsylvania has 45 districts and 113 schools in need of name or mascot change. The list has gone down by 2 schools over the past year!

Also, learn about the Haudenosaunee Nationals Lacrosse Team, who hope to make it to the 2028 Olympics! Learn about how they have recently changed their own name to reflect their collective identity.

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Consider Donating Time or Resources

If you are able, here are just a few organizations who can use your help:

Native American Agriculture Fund

NDN Collective

Association of American Indian Affairs

Advancing Indigenous People In STEM

So, join me in unlearning some Columbus Day myths and celebrating the cultural diversity of Indigenous People throughout the history of our region. Remember that the best places to start educating yourself are the local libraries and museums. Carnegie Museum of Natural History offers guided tours of our cultural halls that strengthen the messages we wish to share with the community. Visit the Alcoa Hall of American Indians to learn more about the Tlingit, Lakota, Hopi, and Haudenosaunee, and keep in mind that there are so many other Indigenous groups, traditions, nations, and organizations for you to explore on your own!

Amy L. Covell-Murthy is Archaeology Collection Manager at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

How to Hunt for Microbes

by Carla Rosenfeld

The definition of microorganism is any organism that is too small to be seen by the naked eye. They can be single-celled, like bacteria and archaea, or multi-celled, like fungi. Though they are extremely tiny as individuals, these organisms have major impacts on every one of our lives and the environment as a whole. For example, if you’ve ever eaten bread, yogurt, pickles, sauerkraut, or cheese, you have various microbes to thank for the distinctive form or flavor of those foods. But have you ever wondered how we study these tiny organisms out in the field? If they are so small, how do we find them? And once we find them, how do we collect them?

In my research, I try to understand the role microbes play in cycling various elements through the environment. Recently, I’ve been working on a project with a team of people from University of Minnesota School of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Argonne National Lab, to try to understand how microbes influence wetland sediment geochemistry. To do this, a group of us have been trekking around to different riparian wetlands from northern Minnesota to South Carolina.

*Riparian wetland in northern MN in our current studies*.

To get our essential equipment to our field sites, we first pack everything we’ll need into giant coolers, and then seal the sturdy containers. If we’re flying to a distant site, we can ship the coolers to a location near our work site. If we’re driving, we just pack the coolers in a van to haul with us. The coolers are packed to the brim with our field equipment, clothing, gear (including waders and snake-proof boots), and lots of sunscreen and snacks. For work at some sites, we also take a canoe!

The packed coolers do double duty on our trips, because once we have emptied all our equipment out of them, we can fill them with ice to store the samples collected each day. Upon arrival at the field site, we set up a mobile lab on top of a folding table so that we can process our samples and do any time sensitive analyses. One key component of our mobile lab is a portable glove box, which is essentially a big plastic tent that we fill with nitrogen (yep, you guessed it… we also bring a tank filled with nitrogen gas!). We process our samples inside this tent so that we can cut, scrape, and separate our samples in the absence of oxygen. The controlled atmosphere within the tent is essential because the samples we collect come from underneath the water line, where little to no oxygen is present. Microbes that live below the water line have evolved different metabolic processes that don’t rely on oxygen. So, while we animals are all stuck breathing oxygen, many microbes can use different inorganic molecules like sulfate or nitrate in their respiration. The minerals that form and persist below the water line are also extremely sensitive and may start changing if we expose them to oxygen.

*Mobile lab setup for time-sensitive analyses and sediment core processing*.

To collect our samples, we use a coring device…which is a fancy term for something that shoves sturdy 7 cm diameter plastic tubes down into the sediment. The tubes are approximately 60 cm-long sections of clear PVC pipe, and we push them as far down as we can. Then we pull up a sediment-filled core that ranges in length from 30-50 cm (that’s about the length of 2-6 bananas placed end to end). Once the core is removed, the clock is ticking for us to separate all our samples out and do our analyses as quickly as possible.

To buy some extra processing time, the first thing we do is dunk our entire sediment-filled PVC tube into a container of liquid nitrogen. The temperature of liquid nitrogen is -90 ˚C… which is cold enough to immediately freeze our samples on contact! We freeze our samples because it slows down or stops essentially all chemical and biological activity and preserves important molecules like DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and RNA (ribonucleic acid) that, once collected, can give us clues into what microbes are present in our system. Once our cores are frozen, we transfer them into our oxygen free tent, and remove the full core and separate sections of it based upon depth below the water line, sediment type, or other distinguishing features. We collect some samples to send off to labs for DNA or RNA sequencing. Other samples are collected to bring back to our labs to determine what minerals are present, and for further analysis of other chemical components present in sediment cores.

We also collect some cores that we don’t freeze so that we can collect the porewater, the liquid filling all the spaces between sediment grains, and living microbes. The chemistry of the porewater is highly related to sediment microbial activity and geochemistry of the solid sediments. To collect the waters, we stick porous tubes into the sediment cores, and connect those tubes to vials that have a vacuum inside of them, the same mechanical process used when you have your blood drawn at the doctor’s office. To collect living microbes, we take small scoops of sediment and store them in a refrigerator until we get back to the lab and can use the sediment to inoculate microbial growth media. That’s how we eventually add to our microbial culture library, a collection of living microbes with various living strategies and traits that we keep at the museum for research and to lend out to other researchers all over the world.

*Collecting sediment porewaters from cores collected from two different locations within the riparian wetland*.

For a comprehensive understanding of how minerals and microbes vary within the riparian wetland, we repeat procedures of collecting and processing core samples throughout the wetland and at intervals along predetermined lines known as transects, that cross streams and intersect important hydrologic features of the ecosystem. Often, we’ll return to field sites many times over the course of a year or multiple years, so we can better investigate how the microbial activity and geochemical processes change over time with the seasons, as a result of major storm events, or with other environmental factors.

Carla Rosenfeld is Assistant Curator of Earth Sciences at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Two Perspectives on Attending a Course on Moths and Butterflies in the Southwest

by Kevin Keegan and Vanessa Verdecia

Kevin Keegan, Collection Manager of Invertebrate Zoology (IZ), and Vanessa Verdecia, Scientific Preparator for IZ, recently returned from a ten-day long crash course on moth and butterfly (Lepidoptera) taxonomy, systematics, natural history, specimen collection, and specimen preparation/curation in the beautiful Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona. The course includes both classroom time and field experiences at the American Museum of Natural History’s Southwestern Research Station.

American Museum of Natural History's Southwestern Research Station

The biological richness of the setting was ideal for learning about moths and butterflies. The Chiricahuas are one of the Sky Islands of the North American desertss, a term biologists use to describe mountains that abruptly rise high enough from the surrounding territory to support wildly different habitat on their upper flanks and summit. Because each range is surrounded by lowland desert, many mountaintop animals are isolated on what are effectively islands of high elevation.

Attending the Lepidoptera Course as an Instructor

Kevin attended the program as an instructor and gave two lectures: one on the amazing ways caterpillars deceive their predators to avoid getting eaten, and another on the taxonomy/systematics, identification, diversity, and natural history of a massive group of moths collectively called the Noctuoidea or the owlet moths(there are about 40,000 described species of owlet moths in the world).

When he wasn’t teaching, Kevin was able to collect many species of owlet moths for study and incorporation into the CMNH IZ collection. He will soon be working with these specimens in the museum’s Molecular Lab, extracting and sequencing their DNA, and adding it to a large dataset he and other owlet moth researchers around the world have built over the last decade. With this DNA data, Kevin will be able to build evolutionary trees to determine the proper placement for these species in the tree of life, a determination that will also reveal whether any of the specimens he collected are of species new to science.

*Kevin Keegan looking at moths on a light sheet. Image credit: Chris Grinter*

In addition to classroom time, instructors organized daytime and nighttime field experiences, including hikes to look for butterflies and caterpillars, and setting up light sheets where students could observe and collect any moths attracted to the lights. Instructors also set out traps each night to collect moths in bulk for students to identify and sort into taxonomic groups. Moths collected by these efforts were also used by students to practice preparing museum-quality specimens.

Instructors and students also had plenty of time to get to know one another outside of scheduled activities. All meals were served communally in the research station dining hall, which allowed for extended conversations about moths and butterflies, biogeography, the history of lepidopterology, and numerous other topics.

Attending the Lepidoptera Course as a Student

*Vanessa Verdecia in the classroom. Image credit: Vicki Wolfe*

Vanessa attended as a student and learned a lot even though she already has extensive field experience and training in specimen handling from her work at the museum. Vanessa found it wonderful to meet experts and professors from around the country who came together to teach the course. She also enjoyed the formal training and opportunity to learn how to identify different groups of moths by processing moth samples in the company of both experts and students.

*Specimens Vanessa collected for the museum.*

She brought back four boxes of moths for our IZ collection. Over the next several months she will be preparing and labeling all the specimens. Even though the course was about moths and butterflies, other groups of insects sometimes merited attention. Because the light sheets attracted many amazing beetles along with the moths, Vanessa collected two dozen small beetle specimens for the beetle experts on our staff. She also learned new techniques in spreading the wings on moths and butterflies, how to dissect specimens to be able to examine them under the microscope, and the latest information about identifying and classifying moths.

Kevin Keegan is Collection Manager and Vanessa Verdecia is Scientific Preparator for the Section of Invertebrate Zoology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

An Intern’s Point of View

by Jia Tucker

A week before accepting a summer internship with Carnegie Museum of Natural History, I found myself standing on Forbes Avenue in front of Diplodocus carnegii, the statue that is an emblem of the vast institution.

I had never even stepped foot inside of the museum before June 2022. The career path I had formed in my head over the past few years had been wiped clean by a change of heart. To be honest, I only applied to this museum studies internship because of a moderate interest in the field — and it was paying.

I was placed in the Education and Exhibitions departments. While beginning work in the Education Department, Program Officer Pat McShea tasked me with streamlining and modernizing one of the museum’s “Ed Loan” kits. These kits are borrowed by educators and used to create lesson plans that encompass a variety of subjects from paleontology to anthropology to zoology and beyond. He’d given me a popular, but complicated-to-use kit that focused on what we call the Monongahela, a precontact People whose settlements were concentrated in Western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, and northern West Virginia. The kit had a lengthy, approximately seventy-page manual and over thirty objects meant to be used for a lesson plan spanning two to three weeks. I had to pare it down to a dozen objects and two to three days of lessons.

*Preparing to engage museum visitors in discussions about Monongahela artifacts.*

Coming from an undergraduate perspective with limited experience in workspaces like the Carnegie, I was new to this kind of responsibility. It wasn’t just an essay that would only go through the eyes of a professor, but a tool for the public. The whole time I worked on the kit and my other project in the Exhibitions department, I questioned my ability to complete my tasks adequately. Although I have an intermediate background in anthropology and am no stranger to doing research, curating an educational resource with such free rein seemed beyond my expertise. It was overwhelming, but in a good way. That’s not to say that my Internship Supervisor, Renee, or Pat left me hanging high and dry. Early in the internship, Renee set me up with a list of the people I should reach out to in the museum, and that was, well, everyone. She had firmly yet kindly suggested that I not let this chance slip away.

So, I didn’t.

*Visiting the Mollusk Collection at CMNH.*

With some help, I started contacting program managers from various departments and setting up tours with curators of different collections. I got the chance to hear from people who are passionate about their field of study and eager to learn about what I had to say. It was a reciprocal learning environment that I hadn’t experienced until now. It wasn’t about a LinkedIn connection or a line in a resume. The person who printed all the posters had a name as did the person who developed all the content. What was to me one singular entity fractured into a chorus of different voices all striving to keep the museum alive, and all I wanted to do was contribute a verse. It’s always the people that make the effort worth it. Each person I spoke with would playfully try to convince me to join their field and indulge in their same joys. Although perhaps they were not-so-subtly disguising sincerity. Regardless, for the first time, I felt that flicker of potential. The smorgasbord of an undergraduate degree that I had been haphazardly holding together, hoping that eventually it would be “useful,” could finally stand on its own. The technicalities of it aren’t the important part anyways. Everyone I met came to the museum by both conventional and unconventional means. I’m no exception to the chaos of finding a purpose.

It’s a shame that as my bones started to settle and my shoulders relaxed into an office chair that was only ever meant to be temporary, I now have to take my leave. Even so, this has been the kind of chance that reminds me that there’s always more to explore up ahead. If you’re seeking a push or some great nugget of enlightenment, here it is. Meet as many perspectives as you can, ask as many questions as you can think of, and be brave. Don’t let it slip away.

Jia Tucker’s summer internship at Carnegie Museum of Natural History was part of the PA Museums Qualifying Diversity Program.

Encounter With an Orb Weaver Spider: Is It Predator or Prey?

by Brady Karg

It was an early afternoon on a late spring day, and I was out trying to photograph any last stragglers for spring bird migration. The day was going well as I checked off a pair of Great Crested Flycatchers, Indigo Buntings, Black-throated Green Warblers, Black-throated Blue Warblers, Ovenbirds, a Broad-winged Hawk, and some recently fledged Barred Owls! As I was making my way back on the trail, I felt the strong pull of a spider web brush against my arm. I stopped and looked around to see a tiny spider dangling below a leaf beside me in the tangled remains of its web. As I leaned in closer, I noticed what looked to be a predator and prey encounter with the spider holding a large insect in its grasp. I soon realized the situation was something much more sinister.

Upon closer inspection, it was apparent the bug was feasting on the spider! The mystery creature was obviously some kind of parasite, but what kind exactly? What kind of spider was being preyed upon? I then did some digging to find out more about this parasitic relationship.

In a conversation with Andrea Kautz, an entomologist at Powdermill Nature Reserve, I learned that this spider is in the subfamily Araneinae or Typical Orb weavers. After posting my observation to iNaturalist, a narrower ID was suggested, the Genus Eustala. This genus covers a large variety of orb weavers, spiders found in a wide variety of habitats including fields, forests, and marshes. The colors and patterns of these spiders vary, but the females are noted for having a distinct dorsal hump.

So, what was eating this spider? Andrea informed me that the parasite is likely the larva of a parasitic wasp in the family Ichneumonidae. These are slender wasps, with many bearing orange and black coloration. The Ichneumonidae are known to parasitize both egg sacs and adult spiders.

This information explained much of what I had seen. Below are two pictures I took using a digital microscope camera.

In each you can see the larva of the parasitic wasp attached to the orb weaver spider. This situation is the result of an adult wasp in the Pimplinae subfamily laying an egg in this spider. The egg hatched, and the now much larger larva is continuing to feast on nutrients from the spider. The larva will continue to feed on the spider until it is ready to metamorphose into its pupal stage, and then into its adult form. The spider, unfortunately, will not survive this parasitic relationship.

Our natural world is full of fascinating and unique relationships such as this wasp and spider. Always keep your eyes peeled in case you happen to stumble upon something such as this!

Brady Karg is an intern at Powdermill Nature Reserve, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s environmental research center.

GETTING FROM THE FERN HOLLOW BRIDGE TO THE FRICK FAMILY

by Lisa Miriello

*A view of Forbes Avenue bridge crossing over Fern Hollow in Frick Park, 1914. Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection, University of Pittsburgh.*

After the Fern Hollow Bridge collapse on January 28, 2022, many commuters found themselves experiencing some traffic headaches as they scrambled to find different ways to and from work or school. My new route takes me past The Frick Pittsburgh, a museum complex in the Point Breeze section of Pittsburgh that includes Clayton, the former home of industrialist Henry Clay Frick.

As someone who works in the Section of Mammals, my thoughts while passing the stately grounds often turn to Frick’s son Childs (1883-1965), who grew up here exploring the woods surrounding the estate and attending Sterrett School (now Sterrett Classical Academy), less than a third of a mile away.

*Photographer unknown, American,* Sterrett School, c. 1900, gelatin silver printing-out paper print, H: 7 1/2 in. x W: 10 5/8 in., Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Second Century Acquisition Fund, 1999.34.2, Photograph © 2021 Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh.

As Childs grew older his early interest in the natural world turned to more scientific pursuits, and he embarked on a series of collecting expeditions in North America followed by visits to Africa, first in 1909 and again in 1911. But Childs wasn’t looking for “trophies.” By collecting animals at different life stages his goal was to further the knowledge of the lifestyle and habitats of these unfamiliar animals. Many of these specimens were gifted to the Carnegie Museum, and as the shipments arrived from overseas the staff taxidermists had their hands full.

Led by brothers Remi and Joseph Santens these skilled artisans created expressive animal likenesses rather than the static displays that were seen in most museums at the time. Both Santens even visited zoos in New York and Washington, DC, to study the movements of living animals. Preserved plant life from Africa provided even more authenticity to the displays. The African Buffalo (Syncerus caffer) group was especially notable in how it was depicted. The animals appear to be spattered with mud and tramping through brush, a display then-Director W. J. Holland believed to be the first instance in which exhibition specimens had been accurately placed within their supporting environment. In the Carnegie Museum’s 1913 Annual Report he wrote that the group “may possibly provoke comment and criticism, but it is believed to be a step in the right direction, and will likely be followed by the leading taxidermists of the future.“ You can see the African Buffalo, along with other specimens collected by Frick, in the museum’s Hall of African Wildlife.

*Carnegie Museum of Natural History, photo by Mindy McNaugher*.

While Childs enriched the collection of the natural history museum, other family members left an impact on the city of Pittsburgh as well. His father, Henry Clay Frick (1849-1919), bequeathed 151 acres of land that would become Frick Park. Expanded by hundreds of acres over the years, it’s now the largest of the city’s parks.

Childs’ sister, Helen Clay Frick (1888-1984), was an art collector like her father and helped establish the Henry Clay Frick Fine Arts Library at the University of Pittsburgh. She later had the Frick Art Museum constructed on Clayton’s grounds to showcase her collection of art. This cultural resource opened to the public in 1970.

At the end of the day, as my car inches past the peaceful grounds of Clayton, I imagine traffic must have looked a little different over a hundred years ago when “horseless carriages,” horse-drawn vehicles, trolleys, and bicycles all shared the same road in a free-for-all. Today, with traffic signals and defined lanes, at least it’s more of an ordered chaos.

A view of a portion of Grant Boulevard populated with a mixture of automobiles, a horse with buggy, and a bicycle in the background. Grant Boulevard was renamed Bigelow Boulevard in 1916. Thomas Mellon Galey Photographs, Detre Library & Archives, Senator John Heinz History Center
*Grant Boulevard | Historic Pittsburgh*

Museums and parks can provide welcome relief in a chaotic world, and the Frick family’s contributions to these sanctuaries of art, science, and nature will be enjoyed for generations to come.

Lisa Miriello is the Scientific Preparator for the Section of Mammals.

Chimney Swift Conservation

by Patrick McShea

When observed overhead, passing swifts are frequently described as resembling “flying cigars,” a visual analogy attributable to the birds’ five-inch-long, tube-shaped bodies, comparatively long, narrow wings, and muted grey-brown plumage. Our region is part of the species’ summer range, an enormous portion of eastern North America stretching from the Gulf Coast to just north of the Great Lakes. In South America, an equally large region of the upper Amazon Basin in Peru, Ecuador, and Brazil supports the population during the winter.

The architectural reference in the species’ common name alludes to commensalism involving birds and people that dates to the European settlement of eastern North America. As a biology term, commensalism denotes situations in which one species obtains benefits from another, without harming or benefiting the provider. Historic records indicate that before colonial times the species now known to science as Chaetura pelagica used hollow trees for roosting and nesting. Accounts in New England of the species nesting in chimneys date to the 1670s, and along the Atlantic coastal plain the birds’ exclusive use of chimneys for nest sites was established by 1800.

Within hollow trees and chimneys, sheltered interior walls meet the birds’ requirements for nesting and roosting. Chimney Swifts are unable to perch. Instead, they cling to vertical surfaces with their feet, and use the stiff shafts that protrude from the ends of their tail feathers as a brace. For nests, swifts collect branch-end twigs with their feet, in-flight, then use their quick-drying adhesive saliva to construct a narrow platform with the tiny sticks on an interior chimney or tree cavity wall.

In his landmark 1940 publication, Birds of Western Pennsylvania, CMNH curator W.E. Clyde Todd summarized the species’ association with chimneys as “more than accidental and connotes a remarkable adaptation to the changed conditions brought about by civilization.” In the eight decades since, changes in the built environment of modern civilization have become less welcoming to Chimney Swifts.

The population of Chimney Swifts has declined over 70% since the 1960s. Although reductions in flying insect abundance, along with still undetermined threats during migration and on wintering grounds, appear to be critical factors in the decline, potential nest and roost sites have also decreased due to the widespread practice of capping viable chimneys and demolishing those no longer in use.

In 2013, the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania (ASWP) launched a regional initiative to publicize the species’ plight and address reductions in Chimney Swift nesting and roosting habitat. The 106-year-old conservation organization has since led a broad coalition of partners in an ongoing effort to construct, install, and monitor more than 150 Chimney Swift towers at appropriate locations in southwestern Pennsylvania. Although Chimney Swifts are known to fly and roost in large flocks during migration, the birds’ behaviors are far different during the breeding season. Only one pair will nest in a chimney or tower, and research indicates the same pair will return to the same nesting location in subsequent years.

The design of these sturdy towers, which mimic actual chimneys, is based upon construction plans detailed in the 2005 publication, Chimney Swift Towers: New Habitat for America’s Mysterious Birds, by Paul and Georgean Kyle. The couple are project directors of the Texas-based Driftwood Wildlife Association’s North American Chimney Swift Nest Site Research Project, an all-volunteer effort to expand public awareness about the beneficial nature and the plight of the species.

educational sign about chimney swift towers

At sites where ASWP offers regular programming, five towers were constructed of stone to enable the structures to also function as entrance signs for the facilities. In Allegheny County’s seven parks, 12-feet high kiosk-style towers constructed of lumber, shingles, and other roofing materials are now familiar landscape features. Through a partnership with Allegheny County, the Allegheny County Parks Foundation, and the Peaceable Kingdom Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation, a total of one hundred towers, most bearing colorful informational panels, have been installed to make these public properties more welcoming to Chimney Swifts.

Observations of Chimney Swift activity near any of the towers can contribute to the ongoing evaluation of this regional conservation initiative. Allegheny County Park Rangers have been monitoring towers within the parks where they serve, and towers elsewhere are monitored by ASWP staff and volunteers, however wider public participation is welcome. For more information about Chimney Swift conservation, including a map of tower locations and an online form for reporting observations, please visit the website of the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania.

Patrick McShea is an Educator at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

A Deep Look Inside Reptiles and Amphibians

by Ian N. Roa

*Fig. 1 – Head and neck portions of a* Boa sp. *skeleton.*

Museums are integral to our communities because they are institutions that provide public education and outreach to better understand the world we live in. Visitors often think of museums in terms of displays, animal taxidermy mounts in dioramas, or jars of preserved amphibians, for example, but much of the important work of museums occurs behind the scenes. I developed a clear understanding of this situation through two different interactions with the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

I am an archaeology graduate student at the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt), and I met Stevie Kennedy-Gold, the Collection Manager for the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles, in 2019 when her assistance helped me answer a research question. I specialize in zooarchaeology, that is the of study animals in archeological contexts, in the Maya lowlands of western Belize. Unfortunately, due to the wet, humid climate of the jungle, preservation of bone is not always the greatest. There exists, however, a necklace made of vertebrae that was found still clutched in the hand of an ancient Maya elite. Based upon several characteristics of each vertebra, I knew the necklace was made up of reptile but could not deduce anything more specific. When I reached out to Stevie, she helped me figure out that the necklace was made of bones from numerous snakes! The significance of finding out what kind of animal the necklace was made from helps us to understand the ways humans interacted with their environment, in this case animals who share the same landscape. Even more exciting is the cosmological importance of the serpent to the Maya culture where the creatures primarily symbolize rebirth and renewal.

This positive experience of having my doctoral research aided by a museum collection convinced me of how important it is to make sure such resources are well managed for generations to come. When I reached out to Stevie for a second time, it was to offer my time in the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles for any project I could assist. When we got started, I was asked to help catalog the osteological inventory of reptiles and amphibians, which is fitting as Stevie has nicknamed me “the bone guy” for my specialty as a zooarchaeologist. The work involves locating each specimen, identifying which components of the skeleton are present, and noting any articulation or soft tissue (such as skin) that may be present. Any necessary steps for later upkeep to maintain preservation is also recorded, procedures such as cleaning skeletal pieces, removing dead dermestid beetles, and transferring specimens to new storage boxes. This experience has allowed me to further familiarize myself with diverse taxonomic groups and even inflammatory and autoimmune pathologies (Fig. 2)!

*Fig. 2 – Osteological inflammatory growth along the axial and appendicular parts of this squamate skeleton due to disease.*

Though it is an arduous task to organize and record the entire osteological collection between Stevie, a couple of section work-studies, and myself, it is also a load of fun (or perhaps torturous levels of organization is my crazy idea of fun). No, really! As we go through each cabinet, drawer, and box we stumble across some really fantastic skeletons of lizards, snakes, crocodiles, turtles, and more (Fig. 3). One of my favorites was of an Asian water monitor (Varanus salvator), because it is the oldest specimen in the entire herpetology collection at CMNH, and even includes a beautiful hand-written record of this original skeleton.

*Fig. 3 –* Trioceros jacksonii, *commonly known as the Jackson’s chameleon. The males are easily identified by the three large horns protruding from their faces.*

*Fig. 4 – Commonly known as the Asian water monitor (*Varan salvator), this skeleton was collected in 1870 and is actually the oldest specimen in the collection, wet or dry.

Ian N. Roa is an archaeology graduate student at the University of Pittsburgh.

A Trip to Grave Creek Mound

by Amy L. Covell-Murthy

It was my pleasure to organize a field trip for Anthropology and Anthropocene staff, students, and friends to the Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex in Moundsville, West Virginia. Our gracious host, Dr. Olivia Jones, who is the facility’s lead curator showed us around the complex while explaining the history of the facility and of the mound. She also provided us with plenty to explore on our own.

Maintaining a relationship between Carnegie Museum of Natural History and the Grave Creek Mound Complex has been a highlight of my responsibilities as collection manager over the past five years. Dr. Jones and I work hard to keep each other informed of current research and initiatives in our institutions, while sharing resources that pertain to the history of the region.

Group of people in a canoe in a museum — *This picture shows the Carnegie crew posing in a dugout canoe that was commissioned from artists of the Seneca Nation/Onöhsagwë:de’ Cultural Center.*

Adena is the name given by archaeologists to the mound building cultural group who developed around 2500 years ago in the Ohio River Valley and many of its major tributaries. The Grave Creek Mound, now located in the center of a town whose name references the structure, is one of the largest of the conical Adena burial mounds. Dr. Jones, curator Hank Lutton, and the staff of the Archaeological Complex work to maintain the integrity of this National Historic Landmark. According to their website, the mound was constructed between 250 and 150 B.C.E. and in 1838 it was measured as being 69 feet tall, and 295 feet in diameter.

*The Grave Creek Mound from a walkway near the base of the 2,000-year-old structure.*

In addition to the mound, the complex consists of an archaeological research and collection facility, and the Delf Norona Museum, which interprets lifeways of the Adena people for the public. The museum, named for the author of the mound’s definitive history, opened its doors in 1978, and the research facility was constructed later in 2008. This facility is the repository for all of West Virginia’s State-owned collections and artifacts.

Although our exhibits do not explain the arrangement, Carnegie Museum of Natural History once served as a repository for the State Museum of Pennsylvania for all cultural material excavated in Western Pennsylvania. This material remains in our care at our collection facility and is used for research. As we try to reconcile our institutional past and bring equity and inclusion into our storytelling, these collections will help us interpret the pre-contact narratives of the region.

*Dr. Nicole Heller viewing the Adena Structure replica in the Delf Norona Museum.*

I am very lucky to be able to offer these educational experiences to my students and volunteers and I encourage those of you who can, to take the 90-minute drive from Pittsburgh to Moundsville, West Virginia to check out the Archaeology Complex. And the next time you find yourself in the North Eastern section of the Alcoa Hall of American Indians at CMNH, take some time to think about the mound builders who were here before the Haudenosaunee, Lenape, and Shawnee in Western Pennsylvania.

Amy L. Covell-Murthy is the Collection Manager for the Section of Anthropology and Archaeology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Messages in Tardigrade Plastic Time Capsules

by Asia Ward

Person sitting at a table writing — Messengers, *time capsule installation by Asia Ward. Photo by Joe Grigar. 2022*

Have you seen the Tardigrade-shaped time capsule installation titled Messengers on the third-floor balcony in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History? I am the artist who fabricated those for the We Are Nature: A New Natural History exhibit experience. My name is Asia Ward, and I’m a social practice and public sculpture artist who is also the Project Manager and Science Communicator for the We Are Nature project.

Sometimes my two careers combine, as occurred during the time capsule interactive art installation. I was invited to contribute an art installation for the exhibition by Nicole Heller, the Associate Curator for Anthropocene Studies, and director of the We Are Nature project.

In my 14-year career as a science communicator for other organizations, I have worked with museums on prototyping interactive exhibits. The experience of contributing an art piece to a project I was also managing allowed me to get supporting departments involved in thinking about what an art installation could be. I generated the ideas for an interactive exhibit, and through group discussions and brainstorming with colleagues in the Education, Exhibition, Anthropology, and Anthropocene Studies departments, the final project concept was shaped. I then went to work sculpting large versions of Tardigrades out of recycled thermal plastic. Three time capsules were created as repositories for visitors’ thoughts about conditions in 2027, 2025, and 2095, years chosen for their potential to be a time of major change for life on Earth.

I created the Tardigrades to be transparent and hollow, with doors for the deposit of visitor messages. The installation runs from November 2021 until November 2022, and so far, out of all the interactive installations I have created, this has proven to be the most successful and the most surprising.

sketches of tardigrades — *Tardigrade sketches for* Messengers, by Asia Ward. Photo by Asia Ward. 2022

Why Tardigrades?

Tardigrades, otherwise known as “Water bears” or “Moss Piglets” because of their 8-legged chubby resemblance of key features on bears or pigs, are well known around the globe for their survival skills. I can’t seem to do research on them without finding some new fantastic feat they’ve conquered, like being frozen for 30 years and brought back to life, or failing to survive impact from a crashed rocket on the moon.

Tardigrades, which compare in size with a tiny rice grain, are microscopic creatures found almost everywhere on Earth, from your backyard to the top of a volcano or the ocean.

I’ve found them by gathering some lichen from my backyard, soaking a section of lichen in water, and then examining the fluid under a microscope, and BAM! There they are, crawling around eating and pooping. I think they’re weirdly cute and very accessible. If you’re interested, there are some instructions online for doing your own research.

I think what’s most inspiring about Tardigrades is how they have evolved to go into what is termed a tun state, becoming a dehydrated looking blob in a state of suspended animation in order to survive harsh environmental change, and then rehydrating when the environment is more to their liking. For these creatures, whose average life span is three to four months for some species, and a little more than 2 years for others, the ability to press “Pause” when things get tough, is unique. From my interpretation, the tardigrade’s time traveling ability makes them perfect messengers for future Earth.

Time Capsules as an Interactive Exhibit to Process the Anthropocene

Before the time capsules were fabricated, the installation required some thought as to how visitors could best approach the time capsules and feel invited to contribute a message for the future. I worked with the Exhibitions staff for a year to prototype different prompts and test their effectiveness on the floor with visitors. In collaborating with different departments, we realized that the Hub, where Messengers is located, should be a space where visitors can process what they’ve learned and express their feelings about the Anthropocene. The term Anthropocene is the name of the proposed current geological epoch when human activities dominate the functioning of the planetary system. This distinct geological time period is what We Are Nature: A New Natural History explores, using new interpretive panels in 15 existing exhibit areas and related art installations as focus points to help visitors learn more about the topic.

The final prompts and labels for the Messengers installation were part of what made it so successful. Every week, we get an average of 200-300 messages, many of them very serious, heartfelt, and earnest. An additional factor in its success is the message wall, where visitors can place their messages under the different year headers. During my observations, most visitors go directly to the message wall, reading from left to right every single message. The visitors might have come into the space because of the shiny and interesting looking Tardigrade sculptures, but they stay in the space and contribute because of the prompts and the messages that others have left.

wall with handwritten messages for time capsules — Messenger prompts and visitor message wall, photo by Asia Ward. 2022

Message wall prompt:

What are your hopes and fears for the future of life on Earth?

Each Tardigrade has a designated year:

Many climate scientists say we have until 2027 to take bold action to avoid climate disaster. If humans can keep global warming under 1.5°C (2.7° F), we reduce the risk of catastrophic heat and drought, food scarcity, flooding, and more.

The United States set a goal to have 100% carbon-free energy production by 2035. Achieving this goal will require a major overhaul of the energy system, changing the way we power homes, businesses, and transportation to reduce pollution.

Seven decades separate use from the 1950s, and seven decades separate us from the 2090s. The 1950s are known as the Great Acceleration. Some researchers look back at those years as a turning point when human activities and population growth became unsustainable, putting all life on Earth at risk.

Visitors’ Feelings About the Future as Part of the Anthropocene Collection

After reading thousands of messages, photographing and scanning them for documentation, some themes have emerged.

2027 is within close reach, and messages intended for this time capsule tend to mention pop culture, current events, or personal daily events, worries, or desires. There are references to Netflix series, The Simpsons, comic book-based movies, shootings, the war in Ukraine, Biden, Trump, current unusual weather, COVID-19, the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case, hashtags, and social media handles. Additionally, the same hopes and fears as well as advice from the other years are mentioned. 2027 also leans more into the hopeful.

2035 contains more hopeful messages, with down to earth fears listed. In the hopeful range, messages list policy or government changes they would like to see and act towards, environmental and social justice, environmental regulation, being rich and famous, completing college and following their dreams, renewable energy and technology reversing Climate Change, climate disaster averted, no more species going extinct, and some general advice as to ‘be kind, compassionate, loving, accepting’ and to vote a certain way, recycle, pray, ‘believe in God.’ In the fear zone, messages list worry about having kids, kids’ future, escalating tension between countries and continued war, more deadly pandemics, natural environment extracted and wasted, too much government control, not enough regulation, and injustice for those with disabilities, women, and people of color.

ten handwritten messages — *Sample of visitor messages for 2095 for* Messengers. Photo by Asia Ward, 2022.

The year with the most messages is 2095. That, for most of us, is far enough in the future where we will be dead, and the following generations will be the ones to read the messages. This batch tends to lead into the fantastical, but perhaps possible? (Dinosaurs coming back, flying cars, interplanetary colonies), the super hopeful (world peace, climate disaster averted, human and non-human rights as norm, world hunger solved) or super fatalistic (humans have killed themselves off with most of the planet’s life, the robots take over Matrix-style, suffocating capitalism or government control, poison by pollution and heightened injustice). There’s also advice about ‘being the change you want to see’ and apologies ‘for screwing you over.’ Personally, I think the reason 2095 has the most messages is because it’s far enough away that it’s easier to remove oneself from the complicated day to day systems we’re involved in (like politics, culture, ethics, and current events), and to see the systems from a bird’s eye view.

What’s incredible about the messages, is that they come from all ages. From misspelled messages from kids just learning how to write and process the world around them, to older generations thinking back on their life and thinking forward for their grandkids.

Observing visitors interacting and reading their messages has been the most rewarding experience I could have asked for as an artist and project manager. Visitors spend so much time there, reading others’ messages, then sitting to write down their thoughts. Families come in and it becomes a family activity, sitting around the table, silent in their writing. I’m glad they feel invited to share their thoughts about the future of life on Earth. I read through every message and prepare them for documentation so they can be included in our collection. There isn’t one reading session where I don’t leave both laughing and crying.

Think about what your life will be like in 5, 13, 73 years.

What are your hopes and fears for the future of life on Earth?

If you would like to contribute to the time capsules, please visit before the We Are Nature: A New Natural History exhibit experience ends in November 2022. The message you write and post to the wall will be sealed inside a time capsule at the end of the exhibition. The capsules and all the messages will be preserved in the museum’s collection and opened in 2027, 2035, and 2095.

Thanks to the Gallery Experience Presenter Staff, the Natural History Interpreters, Events, Visitor Services, Education, Exhibitions, Anthropology, Anthropocene Studies, We Are Nature team, and the volunteers for your help making this installation possible.

Asia Ward is a social practice artist. You can learn more about her work on her website AsiaWard.com.

References

Asia Ward website. Accessed June 2, 2022.

https://asiaward.com/

Bordenstein, Sarah. “Tardigrades (Water Bears).” Microbial Life Educational Resources. Accessed June 2, 2022.

https://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/topics/tardigrade/index.html

Carnegie Museum of Natural History website, Nature Crawl June 10^th 2022 registration webpage. Accessed June 2, 2022 https://carnegiemnh.org/event/nature-crawl-21-june/

Carnegie Museum of Natural History website, We Are Nature: A New Natural History webpage. Accessed June 2, 2022. https://carnegiemnh.org/explore/we-are-nature-a-new-natural-history/#:~:text=Carnegie%20Museum%20of%20Natural%20History%20follows%20up%20its%20groundbreaking%202017,time%20to%20our%20own%20times.

Megumu Tsujimoto, Satoshi Imura, Hiroshi Kanda. “Recovery and reproduction of an Antarctic tardigrade retrieved from a moss sample frozen for over 30 years.” Cryobiology. February 2016. Accessed June 2, 2022

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0011224015300134

Myriam Richaud, Emilie Le Goff, Chantal Cazevielle, Fumihisa Ono, Yoshihisa Mori, Naurang L. Saini, Pierre Cuq, Stephen Baghdiguian, Nelly Godefroy, Simon Galas. “Ultrastructural analysis of the dehydrated tardigrade Hypsibius exemplaris unveils an anhydrobiotic-specific architecture.” PubMed Central. March 9^th, 2020. Accessed June 2, 2022.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7062702/

O’Callaghan, Jonathan. “Hardy water bears survive bullet impacts- up to a point.” Science. March 18, 2021. Accessed June 2, 2022.

https://www.science.org/content/article/hardy-water-bears-survive-bullet-impacts-point

Waldman, Ariel. “Tested From Home: How to Find Tardigrades in Your Backyard!” YouTube Adam Savage’s Tested, Accessed June 2, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccmnSXJG3QE

Wianecki, Shannon. “Hawaii’s mysterious water bears.” BBC, Travel. August 21^st, 2016. Accessed June 2, 2022.

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20160602-hawaiis-mysterious-water-bears

Wright, Jeremy. “Tardigrada water bears (Also: moss piglets).” Animal Diversity Web. Accessed June 2, 2022.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Tardigrada/#lifespan_longevity

“Moldly” Exploring Fungal Functions

by Sara Klingensmith

Fungi, a vast group neither animal nor plant, comprise a diversity of organisms ranging from microscopic, unicellular yeasts and molds to enormous, hardened brackets, to jiggly, gelatinous structures, to classic cap and stem mushrooms, to “what on Earth is THAT?” The enormity of variation in shapes, sizes, and colors is astounding. While some fungal forms may resemble plants in appearance, all fungi lack structures associated with photosynthesis—they are more closely related to animals than they are to plants. Fungi even share a compound called chitin, which is found in their cell walls, with arthropods. Some taxonomists place them in a grouping called Opisthokont, a position closer to animals in a complex tree of relationships. Fungi are ubiquitous, found in a variety of ecosystems and even inside living organisms—what are they doing?

Decomposition and Nutrient Recycling

Saprotrophic fungi are the clean-up crew! Unlike plants that harness energy from sunlight, fungi extend hyphae, or filamentous tube-like structures into their source of nourishment. Collectively, hyphae are referred to as mycelium (mushroom “roots”), which form the main, life-sustaining part of the fungus. These hyphae secrete enzymes that help break down the rotting wood, leaves, and other organic debris, liberating nutrients that are not readily accessible to other life forms. These hard-to-reach nutrients are often locked up in lignin and cellulose—tough compounds that comprise wood and plant cell walls. Often, a single rotting log will support a variety of saprotrophic fungi participating in successional stages of decomposition. This continued release of nutrients helps sustain many generations of organisms within an ecosystem and prevents the establishment of ever-expanding debris piles.

Marasmius sulivantii *decomposing leaf litter*

Pathogens & Parasites

These particular ecological niches often receive a bad reputation because of associations with reduced crop yields, the death of favorite landscaping plants, and even cases of athlete’s foot and ringworm. In the broader scope, native pathogens and parasites are a fundamental component of the complex balance of life and death. They help prevent organisms from exceeding carrying capacity, a service essential to successional ecosystem processes and the establishment of stable populations. Some fungal tree pathogens are even responsible for shaping habitats by creating hollow cavities and tree falls.

Fungal pathogens in plants are frequently host-specific and some are restricted to infecting certain areas of the host. For example, mossy maple polypore (Rigidporus populinus), which causes white rot in living tree tissues, is usually found on maples and oaks, whereas mayapple rust (Puccinia podophylli) only infects mayapples. Some fungi parasitize a wide range of insect species and even other fungi. Some of these species are currently being studied and implemented as biological controls against insect and fungal agricultural pests and detrimental forest pathogens.

Cordyceps sp. provide some of the more charismatic encounters with parasitic fungi-insect relationships here in Pennsylvania. Scarlet caterpillar club (Cordyceps militaris) only targets pupating butterflies and moths. After it infects the host, the mycelium empties the host of nutrients and then forms the species’ distinctive fruit. A common forest mushroom, oak-loving gymnopus (Gymnopus dyrophillus) can be found with tumor-like growths caused by fungal parasite Collybia clouds (Syzygospora mycetophila).

In some cases, it is not clear who is parasitizing who. For example, aborted entoloma (Entoloma arbortivum) was once thought to be another victim of honey mushroom (Amellaria sp.) parasitism. Amellaria sp. can parasitize a variety of trees and shrubs, spreading through large areas of forest like one titan organism. However, a 2001 study of the “aborted” fruitbodies, or carpophoroids, suggests that the entoloma is parasitizing the honey mushroom, and thus may be considered as a potential biological control for Amellaria sp.

Symbiotic Relationships & Carbon Sinks

“When algae met fungus, they took a ‘lichen’ to each other.” That’s how the story goes. Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a partnership between a fungus and an algae or cyanobacteria. The fungi provide protection, and the photobiont (algae or cyanobacteria) provides the sugars obtained from photosynthesis. Certain species of lichen can be regarded as air quality bio-monitors because of their sensitivity to air pollution.

Roughly 80-90% of plants need mycorrhizal fungi partners to survive. Some mycorrhizal fungi may form sheathes around plant roots (ectomychorrhizal fungi) or live in the plant roots (endomychorrhizal or arbuscular fungi), and some form special relationships with particular plant groups. In exchange for plant-produced carbon, in the form of sugars known as photosynthates, these symbionts break down and gather up minerals and nutrients that would otherwise be locked up in the soil. Furthermore, mycorrhizal fungi are capable of transferring carbon from one tree to another. They can even help plants communicate, provide “parental care” to saplings, or sabotage competitors. Scientists refer to this phenomenon as the “Wood Wide Web.” Additionally, these vast, dense fungal networks help store carbon in the soil in the forms of mycelial necromass and ever-expanding active mycelium. Both forms stitch the soil together, making it more resistant to erosion.

Food Web Links

Fungi serve as food for many species of wildlife. Insects and other arthropods rely on many species of fungi for food. Pleasing fungus beetles are aptly named for their reliance on fungi as a prominent food source. Some fungi feeders may even retain toxins from their meals of poisonous fungi species to help with their own protection from predators.

Many of our favorite foods and life-saving medicine would not be possible without fungi. When we bake bread, we need yeast to make the dough rise. Many fermented foods require a fungal agent, and to combat bacterial infections, we rely on penicillin derived from Penicilium notatum – a species of mold.

To turn the tables, certain fungi species are predatory! Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus sp.) are considered saprotrophs with a sinister side. They have toxic, sticky mycelium that traps and paralyzes nematodes. Once the nematode is trapped, hyphae penetrate and dissolve the organism. This predatory strategy helps the mushroom acquire nitrogen in nutrient poor substrates.

Fungi are far too complex for every relationship to be even mentioned here. Although fungi have long been overlooked in terms of conservation, they are gaining attention. The Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN) is working on mapping mycorrhizal networks in an effort to support underground biodiversity and draw attention to the role these fungi play in supporting healthy ecosystems and mitigating climate change. At Powdermill Nature Reserve, an iNaturalist project collects fungi, lichen, and slime photo observations from community participants to help document biodiversity: Fungi of Powdermill Nature Reserve · iNaturalist. From fine dining to influencing entire ecosystems, fungi are essential to life.

Sara Klingensmith is an Environmental Educator and Naturalist at Powdermill Nature Reserve, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s environmental research center.

Sources

Arora, D. (1986). Mushrooms Demystified: a comprehensive guide to the fleshy fungi. Berkeley (California): Ten Speed Press.

Binion, D. (2008). Macrofungi associated with oaks of Eastern North America. Morgantown: West Virginia University Press.

Czederpiltz, D. L. L., Volk, T. J., & Burdsall, H. H. (2001). Field observations and inoculation experiments to determine the nature of the carpophoroids associated with Entoloma abortivum and Armillaria. Mycologia, 93(5), 841–851. https://doi.org/10.1080/00275514.2001.12063219

Lee CH, Chang HW, Yang CT, Wali N, Shie JJ, Hsueh YP. Sensory cilia as the Achilles heel of nematodes when attacked by carnivorous mushrooms. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020 Mar 17;117(11):6014-6022. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1918473117. Epub 2020 Mar 2. PMID: 32123065; PMCID: PMC7084146.

Society for the Protection of Underground Networks, SPUN

Tree of Life Web Project, Eukaryotes (tolweb.org)

Prozac and Caffeine in Our Wastewater: Effect on Freshwater Mollusks

by Tim Pearce

Chemicals in our medications, supplements, foods, and beverages often pass through our bodies and wind up in our wastewater. Antidepressants are one of the more common pharmaceuticals in wastewater, and in some samples, concentrations of the stimulant caffeine exceeded those of pharmaceuticals (Raj et al. 2021). Although treatment plants can remove more than 50% of caffeine, the enormous popularity of caffeine consumption by humans results in such large levels of this chemical in wastewater that caffeine is sometimes used as an indicator of human-caused pharmaceutical pollution. These chemicals, along with our vitamins and other food additives, can affect freshwater organisms.

In this blog, I focus on two common chemicals: Prozac (fluoxetine) and caffeine (e.g., coffee, tea).

Prozac in low concentrations stimulates reproduction in marine and freshwater bivalves (Fong & Ford 2014), as well as in some freshwater snails, including the invasive New Zealand mud snail (Pomatopyrgus antipodarum). Interestingly, high concentrations of Prozac decreased reproduction in the snails.

snail shells — *Fig. 1. New Zealand mud snail,* Potamopyrgus antipodarum. Found in Romania in 1950 (CM 63909). Shells average about 5 mm (0.2 inches) long. Photo by Ryan Utz.

Clams on Prozac release gametes or young (Fong & Ford 2014). Small freshwater pill clams (Sphaeriidae) brood their young, and Prozac stimulates the release of these brooded offspring. In freshwater mussels, Prozac stimulates release of their larvae. Our knowledge of this effect can be used to augment propagation efforts to support recovery of endangered freshwater mussel species, but only with a clear understanding of these fascinating creatures’ full reproductive cycle. As part of their development, freshwater mussel larvae temporarily attach themselves to the gills of fish. If Prozac in the water of a natural setting stimulated larval release at times when fish hosts were absent or the larvae were too immature to attach, then the Prozac would be counterproductive to mussel reproduction.

Caffeine negatively affects marine bivalves by inducing oxidative stress (Júnior et al. 2019), leading to degradation of cell membranes (Silvia et al. 2022). When exposed to environmentally relevant concentrations of caffeine, the freshwater clam Corbicula fluminea experienced physiological changes, including DNA damage (Aguirre-Martínez et al. 2015). Caffeine might have less effect on freshwater snails. One study on the freshwater snail Helisoma trivolvis showed little effect of caffeine on adult survival, but normal embryonic rotation in developing eggs was slowed at higher caffeine concentrations (Sanchez & Prezant 2016). (The caffeine used as a slug repellent in terrestrial agriculture is in much greater concentrations than that found in wastewater.)

clam shell with googly eyes — *Fig. 2. Asian clam,* Corbicula fluminea. Found in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania in 1993 (CM 72879). Scale in mm. [Googly eyes Photoshopped in] Photo by Tim Pearce.

If you needed another reason to reduce your consumption of pharmaceuticals and caffeine, the fact that it affects reproduction in freshwater creatures could be a consideration.

These findings about anti-depressants in our wastewater give new meaning to the phrase, “Happy as a clam.”

Timothy A. Pearce, PhD, is the head of the mollusks section at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Literature Cited

Aguirre-Martínez, G.V., DelValls, A.T. & Martín-Diaz, M.L. 2015. Yes, caffeine, ibuprofen, carbamazepine, novobiocin and tamoxifen have an effect on Corbicula fluminea (Müller, 1774). Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 120: 142–154.

Fong, P.P. & Ford, A.T. 2014. The biological effects of antidepressants on the molluscs and crustaceans: a review. Aquatic Toxicology, 151: 4-13.

Júnior, C.A.M., Luchiari, N.C. & Gomes, P.C.F.L. 2019. Occurrence of caffeine in wastewater and sewage and applied techniques for analysis: a review. Eclética Química Journal, 44(4): 11-26.

Raj, R., Tripathi, A., Das, S. & Ghangrekar, M.M. 2021. Removal of caffeine from wastewater using electrochemical advanced oxidation process: a mini review. Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering, 4: 100129.

Sanchez, D. & Prezant, R.S. 2016. Influence of diphenhydramine HCl and caffeine on embryonic development and adult reproductive success of the freshwater gastropod Helisoma trivolvis. American Malacological Bulletin, 34(2): 92-102.

Silvia, S., Cravo, A., Rodrigues, J., Correia, C. & Almeida, C.M.M. 2022. Potential impact of UWWT effluent discharges on Ruditapes decussatus: an approach using biomarkers. Advances in Environmental and Engineering Research, 2(2): doi:10.21926/aeer.2102015 [18 pp].

Finding Answers: From Museum to Mountains and Back Again

by Patty Dineen

The beautiful wildlife dioramas on the second floor of Carnegie Museum of Natural History have been fascinating visitors for decades. Within the Hall of North American Wildlife, most of these realistic displays feature taxidermy mounts of one or more of the continent’s large charismatic mammals, posed in recreated three-dimensional scenes of appropriate habitat that also feature smaller mammals, birds, insects, and, of course, plants.

Typically, the dioramas don’t display a generic environment, such as say, the Arctic, the mountains, or the desert, but rather, they depict specific places in North America. The key to the “where” of each diorama is the painted background. Most of the wildlife dioramas feature gorgeous and detailed renderings of specific locations in North America such as Kodiak Island in Alaska, the Laurel Highlands of Western Pennsylvania, or the beautiful Hayden Valley in Yellowstone National Park.

Diorama with taxidermy elk, fake trees other plants, and a mural for the background. — *Elk Diorama in the Hall of North American Wildlife.*

Finding the Locations That Inspired the Dioramas

Is it still possible to travel to, and view, the locations featured in these wonderful dioramas? Would those places look the same today as when they inspired artistic rendering as wildlife diorama paintings many decades ago? And first things first, how would you even go about finding the exact locations depicted in any of the dioramas? Let me tell you a brief story of a recent travel adventure that included an attempt to find the specific vantage point in Yellowstone National Park where a view of the park’s namesake river valley was long ago recreated as a painting some 1,700 miles east in Pittsburgh. The diorama in question features four American elk: two males fighting as two females watch the action from the side. The scene is a snapshot of the fall elk rut, the mating season when males compete to gather “harems” of females.

Last fall, as some museum staff made plans for a guided visit to the park, an attempt to locate and stand in the elk diorama vantage point earned a spot on our agenda.

Group of people posing for a photo outdoors.

In early October 2021, our group of 21, consisting of museum staff and their travelling companions, flew from Pittsburgh to Bozeman, Montana, and then traveled south by bus through Paradise Valley to Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park. From this location we began three full days of guided exploration of different parts of the 3,472 square mile park, hoping that at some point we might be able to find the “Elk Diorama” location. We were armed with the Elk Diorama label copy – “…a ritualistic bout between bull elk on the edge of the Hayden Valley, overlooking the Yellowstone River, in Yellowstone National Park,” maps of the park, and photos of the museum’s Elk Diorama. When we shared our information and diorama photos with our two professional guides, one recognized the view and said she was pretty sure she knew the location.

Map of Yellowstone National Park with Grizzly Pullout marked with large handwritten letters and an arrow.

Over our three days of exploring the park we saw geysers and other geothermal features; learned about the Yellowstone National Park wolf project and watched wolves through spotting scopes; and enjoyed wildlife sightings of trumpeter swans, black and grizzly bears, elk, pronghorn, bison, ravens, and young cutthroat trout. On the third and final day, we traveled to The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and Yellowstone Lake, and then headed back north from Fishing Bridge and into the Hayden Valley. And there it was — not marked on my large map but referred to by our guides as “Grizzly Pullout” — a wide spot at the side of the road where a couple of cars or a small shuttle bus could pull over for a view of the Yellowstone River as it begins a graceful bend away from the Grand Loop Road. There was the distinctive (even on this heavily clouded day) profile of distant mountains to the left and middle, and a hillside sloping up and to the right in the middle distance. Group members took photos and enjoyed what seemed a familiar landscape (many thanks to Suzanne and Andy McLaren for the photos they took at Grizzly Pullout). We then headed back to Mammoth Hot Springs for one last night in the park before heading back to Pittsburgh, the museum, and our beautiful wildlife dioramas.

View from Grizzly Pullout in Yellowstone National Park: a large tree, a fallen tree, water, sand, hills, and cloudy sky. — View from Grizzly Pullout.

Patty Dineen is a Natural History Interpreter at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Do Any Mammals Lay Eggs?

by Dr. John R. Wible

Scientists recognize three major types of living mammals: placentals, marsupials, and monotremes, all of which produce milk to nourish their young. Of the 6,495 mammal species recognized in 2018 (Burgin et al., Journal of Mammalogy vol. 99), 6,111 are placentals, 379 are marsupials, and 5 are monotremes.

Placentals and marsupials are viviparous, meaning they give birth to live offspring. Marsupials, such as kangaroos, koalas, and our local Virginia opossum, give birth to very immature, embryo-like offspring that complete their development outside the womb usually attached to a nipple in a pouch. In contrast, placentals, such as dogs, cats, and humans, give birth to more developed offspring and have no pouch. Both marsupials and placentals have a placenta that nourishes the developing offspring in the womb, but this organ is more efficient in placental mammals than in marsupials.

But what about monotremes? The five species of living monotremes include the duck-billed platypus found only in eastern Australia, the short-beaked echidna found in Australia and New Guinea, and the three species of the long-beaked echidna found only in New Guinea. Echidnas are also known as spiny anteaters.

In contrast to the viviparous marsupials and placentals, monotremes are oviparous, a word that means they “give birth to eggs”. Unlike the hard-shelled eggs of birds, monotreme eggs have a leathery exterior, like those of most reptiles. The platypus has one mating season per year and produces one to three eggs with an average of two. Pregnancy lasts about 21 days and incubation of the hatched egg in a nest of wet vegetation is about 10 days. The lima bean-sized platypus newborn or puggle (or platypup to some) is embryo-like, but more advanced than a newborn joey (kangaroo). It crawls onto the mother’s belly in search of milk, which oozes from the skin surface, as monotremes don’t have nipples.

On a recent research trip to Edinburgh in the United Kingdom, I visited the mammal collection of the National Museum of Scotland. There I came across a model of the egg of a platypus, which was the inspiration for this blog. This three-quarter-inch-long egg will hatch and grow into a house cat-sized animal. Given that monotremes, most reptiles, and all birds are oviparous, the common ancestor of mammals is thought to have been an egg-layer as well. This primitive mode of birth was retained in living monotremes, but evolved into live birth in the common ancestor of placentals and marsupials.

Platypus egg in a box with a label next to it that says "Egg of the duck-billed platypus, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, East and South-East Australia and Tasmania."

John Wible is the Curator of Mammals at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Cryptocurrency and Its Environmental Impact

by Dr. Travis A. Olds

Since the onset of the pandemic, millions of new miners have begun working to uncover raw resources; however, these miners are not the typical rock movers at your local quarry. They are instead making cryptographic calculations that reward newly minted digital currency – cryptocurrency.

You have likely heard a great deal about cryptocurrency lately, but may not understand what it is and may be wondering how something that doesn’t exist physically could hold any value? Gold and silver, as minerals with unique physical properties, have market value beyond that of currency, but consider for a moment the $20 bill. This paper currency itself has little physical value; it costs just under 14 cents to produce it, but the value of the bill is based on the fact that millions of people use and rely on it daily. The situation is similar for cryptocurrency. High demand for use and ownership of cryptocurrency creates its value.

Some cryptocurrencies have experienced a meteoric rise, and recently, an equally dramatic fall in value. The details are complex from a technical perspective, but people find crypto attractive for several reasons: using and owning it is significantly more secure than traditional banking, there are no limits to how much can be moved, and you can move it at any time. All transactions, even those made internationally, can be completed in just seconds and with significantly lower fees than those charged by traditional banks. Additionally, new mining methods, called “proof of stake,” even allow people to invest with crypto and earn interest over time.

Of course, there are new risks and controversies surrounding cryptocurrency that are not encountered in everyday banking and investing. Because crypto is decentralized, there is no governmental or organizational control, and this has many people questioning how to regulate and protect its use. Only a few vendors accept payments in cryptocurrency because of this. With conventional banking, every purchase, withdrawal, or deposit you make through a bank or credit union with cash or credit is tracked by an electronic ledger to verify and secure your activities. The government helps to regulate and ensure the safety of these required systems.

Cryptocurrency, on the other hand, uses a shared and system-wide electronic ledger called the “blockchain.” All transactions made through the blockchain are tracked, verified, and securitized using rapid cryptographic calculations made via individual miners. This ongoing electronic verification process ensures the massive digital transaction ledger cannot be controlled or altered by individual users. Crypto miners contribute to the ongoing verification process by operating machines to run the necessary calculations. A fraction of a freshly minted electronic coin is awarded for the cryptography calculations one miner does to help secure a transaction, what is termed the “proof of work” consensus mechanism.

Cryptocurrency mining machine — *A water-cooled computer used for mining cryptocurrency. A graphics card, the large rectangular component in the center of the image, makes the cryptographic calculations.*

Performing proof of work calculation consumes electricity. Globally, the amount of electricity used by crypto miners has increased exponentially since its inception and this has drawn controversy regarding its impact on our environment. Some large mining farms use more electricity in one day than most small cities or countries do in several; however, the total electricity used by crypto miners still makes up just a small percentage of that used by the traditional electronic banking and investing systems. In fact, traditional banking and crypto systems are both environmentally unfriendly in places that get their electricity from carbon-based power generation, such as coal, heating oil, and natural gas. In early 2022 here in Pennsylvania, 66% of our power came from carbon-based sources, with 30% from nuclear, and the remaining 3% from hydroelectric and other renewable sources. While that cocktail of energy sources makes electricity cheaper here than in most other states, it also means that Pennsylvanians indirectly emit considerably more carbon to keep their lights on. Coal, oil, and natural gas are the cheapest but also the three least efficient fuels for electricity generation and have collectively done the most harm to the environment.

Specialized crypto mining hardware, including graphics cards and ASIC units, generates heat while performing rapid calculations, so it helps to mine in areas with cool weather. If the hardware can operate at a cooler temperature, it can perform more calculations, which is measured in hashes/second, and is used to quantify the rewards received. Many miners take advantage of the easy scalability of mining hardware, by building large farms that can contain thousands of graphics cards and make thousands of dollars per day, but that also consume enormous amounts of electricity.

The output from mining software shown in real time. Jobs (in magenta) are sent from the blockchain over the internet to your hardware to make calculations that secure transactions and mint new coins. Sometimes, your work is awarded with a share (green), which is redeemable for coins.

Electrical inefficiency and negative environmental impact have encouraged some cryptocurrency coin developers to come up with more energy efficient algorithms for rewards, but implementation is a slow and complex process. Many miners focus on whichever cryptocurrency is most profitable on any given day, regardless of its efficiency. Many of the largest mining farms are built in areas where energy is cheapest, or where local governments provide property or other tax incentives. Typically, no consideration of environmental impact is made when establishing new farms. In contrast, small amateur and at-home miners with only a few graphics cards can mine cryptocurrency without much increase to their monthly electrical bill. It is possible to make a small profit if you live in an area with cheap electricity, or if you can offset the use with renewable energy, for example, by using solar panels. With two graphics cards, one can make up to $6 a day mining Ethereum, a currently extremely popular crypto coin.

A screenshot with common metrics used to judge performance and profitability while mining Ethereum (ethermine.org). A high computation rate, or hashrate, given in units of Megahash/second, defines the chances for finding shares, which translate roughly to earnings based on the value of the coin that day.

The visible costs to start mining include buying the hardware, which can cost up to several thousand dollars, and paying for the electricity to power it. A mining “rig” with two graphics cards consumes 600 W, and costs $1.50 per day to mine $6 of Ethereum. Put that another way, the electricity needed to realize a $4.50 profit in one day is equivalent to leaving a 60W light bulb on continuously for 10 days. The invisible and usually overlooked cost of that profit is how roughly two-thirds of the electricity needed to profit was generated by burning fossil fuels and has indirectly but significantly contributed to climate change.

Cryptocurrency is fraught with inefficiency, complexity, and controversy. The framework is constantly evolving and improving, and although it is far from replacing the day to day use of physical currency, many argue that digital currency is here for the long run. The development of less power-intensive mining methods and more energy efficient hardware is helping to offset the carbon footprint of crypto mining. Crypto mining will become more environmentally friendly in the future, as nuclear power and other renewables like solar and wind energy become cheaper, replacing the dirty and archaic coal and natural gas-burning power stations.

Dr. Travis A. Olds is Assistant Curator of Minerals at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Exploring the Role of Leaf Litter In Our Forests

by Abby Yancy

Leaf litter is the dead plant material that has fallen from trees, shrubs, and other plants. It hangs around on the ground surface until it decomposes, with some plant species producing leaf litter that takes longer to decompose than others. You may have read about stopping the practice of raking your leaves in the fall because of the important nutrients and habitat for beloved wildlife the fallen material provides in your own backyard. The same goes for our forests, an environment where scientists have studied this critical component for many decades.

early wildflower growth under leaf litter and snow — *Early growth of spring beauty (*Claytonia virginica), mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum), and bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) under a layer of pawpaw leaf litter on March 10, 2022.

The leaf litter in forests acts as a protective layer for soil conditions. It creates a physical barrier between the soil surface and atmosphere that reduces soil drying, responds to atmospheric temperature fluctuations, and reduces erosion from precipitation events. Through decomposition, nutrients stored in the dead material re-enter the system and act as a natural fertilizer for plants throughout the year. The controls and nutrient cycling are especially important for forest wildflowers.

Many forest wildflowers begin their aboveground life cycles in early spring before the trees have developed their leaves. During this time, light at the forest floor is highest, allowing wildflowers to gain high amounts of energy. However, before they emerge from below ground storage organs or germinate from seeds, the flowers are thought to rely on environmental cues to know when to begin this growth without the risk of frost damage. These environmental cues include soil temperature, which is regulated by the leaf litter layer. Despite many decades of research on the leaf litter component of forests, little is known about the influence of it on the timing of these lifecycle events (or phenology) for wildflowers. Past and ongoing research in the CMNH Section of Botany explores the changing phenology of many plants. One ongoing project is looking at the impact of early tree leaf out and the extended phenology of non-native shrubs on forest wildflower phenology and biological success.

leaf litter research plots — *March 10, 2022. An example of a leaf litter manipulation plot. From left to right: litter addition, litter removal, and control.*

The question of the leaf litter’s role in wildflower phenology arose after some simple, but fascinating, natural history observations early last spring—noted variations in phenology within our research site. We struggled to find some tagged individual plants, despite many of the same species being not only present in surrounding areas, but in full bloom. After moving the layer of leaf litter, we found the “missing” plants nearly a week behind in growth compared to their neighbors. These observations were more common than initially thought, and strongly related to the decomposition rate of each leaf litter species. Tree species that produced slower-decaying leaf litter delayed the phenology of plants more than those that produced faster decomposing litter. This underexplored relationship inspired one of the research projects I’m working on this year.

My project is aimed at understanding how different amounts of leaf litter control the cues for wildflower phenology. Specifically, I want to know how leaf litter regulates the soil temperature and moisture within relatively small areas of our site and how the wildflowers respond. To test this, I have several leaf litter manipulation plots where I removed all leaf litter in some subplots and added it to another of the same size. To measure the changes related to leaf litter, I record soil temperature and moisture and wildflower phenology.

I began collecting this data in early March and have already noticed many differences. Before many of the flowers have started their aboveground lifecycles, they were already present in plots without leaf litter, but still hiding under the leaves in both the litter addition and the control plots. On a few of our random freezing days, the top layer of soil and plants were frozen in litter removal plots, while the same layer of soil was moist and visibly warmer in the litter addition plots. Additionally, one wildflower, trout lily, frequently grew around stray Sycamore leaves, which happen to be one of the slower decomposing species.

*March 28, 2022. Leaf litter removal. Top layer of soil is frozen, leaving early growth on wildflowers at risk of frost damage.*

*March 28, 2022 (same day and time as above picture). Leaf litter addition. After moving some leaf litter, the soil is not frozen, and wildflowers have extra protection from the freezing temperatures.*

*April 1, 2022. Control plot. Trout lily growing around stray Sycamore leaves.*

The findings from this project will not only allow us to gain a better understanding of relationships among species but will also provide a basis for understanding variations in phenology within a site.

Stay tuned for final results from this project!

Abby Yancy is a researcher in the Section of Botany. Museum employees blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

City Nature Challenge: A 2022 Reflection

by Patrick McShea

This year marked the fifth consecutive year that CMNH has sponsored the City Nature Challenge (CNC). One benefit of participation in the annual global event is a better understanding of the animals, plants, and fungi in our own neighborhoods. The submission of photo observations via the iNaturalist app, or Seek, a related app for younger audiences, can spark curiosity among students and teachers that lasts far longer than the prescribed four-day observation period.

As a participant in last year’s CNC, I learned about citronella ants when iNaturalist quickly generated a tentative identification for a trio of tiny yellow creatures photographed beneath a plate-sized rock in a backyard flowerbed. A subsequent information search on the Penn State Extension website provided some fascinating information about the largely subterranean species. Citronella ants get their common name from the lemon verbena or citronella odor they emit when threatened. For food, the harmless ants rely upon honeydew secreted by root-feeding aphids. The ants’ tending of the soft-bodied aphids resembles the management of cows by dairy farmers.

This information served me well earlier this year when I was asked to speak with a dozen five- and six-year-olds in the museum’s Hall of Botany. As we sat in front of the Pennsylvania Forest diorama, I challenged the group to imagine something we couldn’t see – the tangle of tree roots beneath the display’s massive American beech. When the children’s root descriptions indicated basic understanding of the living network, I told them about root-feeding aphids and citronella ants.

During this year’s City Nature Challenge, I again documented the ants in the backyard flower bed. In appreciation for providing me with a new way to interpret a long-established museum exhibit, I replaced their sheltering rock with great care.

Sharing a City Park With a Resident Reptile

by Patrick McShea

Last April, when reports of a large unidentified snake in Frick Park briefly captured the attention of Pittsburgh news media, Park Ranger Erica Heide was not alarmed. As she explained nearly a year later, “I knew it had to be a black rat snake, and I knew who to check with.” One of the city park’s longtime maintenance staff had earlier told Erica about a large snake he had encountered enough times to merit the bestowing of a name. “That’s Charlie,” he reassured her, “I get reports about him every spring.”

Early rumors, which included speculation that someone had released a large python into the park, were dispelled within hours by a widely shared photograph depicting what was clearly a black rat snake fully exposed in a still leafless trailside sapling. Erica, who has worked in her position for the City of Pittsburgh since 2017, now focuses on the benefits of the publicity. “Overall, the event had positive impact. For some weeks afterward I’d be stopped along the trails by park visitors asking how they could be sure to avoid an encounter with the snake, and by just as many others who wanted to know where they could go to see it. For both groups, and for everyone else whose interest level fell somewhere between those positions, the knowledge that this city park can support and sustain a wide variety of wildlife has certainly been a good thing.”

At Carnegie Museum of Natural History, it’s well understood that whenever snakes are the topic of a public presentation, a similar audience stratification comes into play. During such circumstances fearful and fascinated people occupy widely separated edge positions. Within the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles, Assistant Curator Jen Sheridan and Collection Manager Stevie Kennedy-Gold frequently use their positions to diminish the fear of snakes by increasing background knowledge about the creatures’ life cycles, physical adaptations, behaviors, and ecosystem roles. Stevie has recently created a full alphabet-referenced set of 26 TikTok videos that introduce viewers to preserved amphibian and reptile specimens, including many snakes, in the museum’s scientific collection. In early February Jen and Stevie welcomed NEXTPittsburgh’s Boaz Frankel on a tour of their section’s alcohol-preserved specimens for an episode of the weekly YouTube series, Yinzer Backstage Pass.

One highlight of the 30-minute program features Jen holding a large glass jar containing the preserved remains of a type of snake she has frequently encountered during fieldwork in Borneo, the venomous species known to science as Tropidolaemus subannulatus. “What’s really cool about these guys in the field is that they often will sit in the same place for days, and you can go back and take pictures of them, and I can bring students to look at them and admire their beautiful green color.”

Jen’s excitement in relating first-hand experiences as a scientist visiting an exotic environment will undoubtedly move some viewers closer to acceptance of snakes as valued biodiversity markers in a distant land. For a broader acceptance of black rat snakes as neighborhood wildlife, however, the advice Robin Wall Kimmerer, a botanist who is a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, offered to museum staff earlier this month might be even more important. “Native names are important,” the author of Braiding Sweetgrass, reminded us during an informal talk that was part of her appearance as a Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures’ Ten Evenings speaker. “Their use says, ‘We’re not the first ones here.’”

The comments prompted me to retrieve a year-old email message from Deborah Harding, the recently retired Collection Manager for the museum’s Section of Anthropology, and someone who has developed close personal and professional relations with Cherokee artists through her knowledge of traditional weaving practices. As media panic subsided when the snake in the Frick Park tree had been identified, Deb sent a one-line message that explained the creature’s predictable behavior:

The Cherokee word for blacksnake is “ulisdi” = “the one who climbs”.

Patrick McShea is an Educator at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Wonderment Returns

by Joann Wilson

“What if one of us discovers the missing boat?” The full-voiced question arose from a group of fourth-grade students eagerly pointing to an ancient Egyptian funerary boat, a school bus-sized wooden craft over 3,800-years-old. On this frosty January morning, twenty teachers and students from a consortium of four Mercer County schools delighted in their return for in-person tours to Carnegie Museum of Natural History. The COVID-19 pandemic led to a two-year absence, a gap that Megan Shreves, a gifted student teacher at St John Paul/Kennedy Catholic School, emphasized by gently tapping a notebook bearing the date of the group’s last visit, October 2, 2019.

Katie Olive, a gifted student teacher from Sharon School District, explained that the cultural groups presented in several museum exhibitions, including the Tlingit, Hopi, Lakota, Iroquois, Inuit, and ancient Egyptian Peoples, are also presented in their curriculum. Olive added, “The museum is a fantastic environment to learn in a hands-on setting. We love our Interpreters, year after year, because they are experts in the field!” Her comment is a near textbook recognition of the collective aspirations shared by Museum interpreters. The National Association of Interpretation defines interpretation as “a purposeful approach to communication that facilitates meaningful, relevant, and inclusive experiences that deepen understanding, broaden perspectives, and inspire engagement.”

A selfie of three people in a museum. — *CMNH Group Program’s Coordinator, Pat Howe, with Interpreter Joann Wilson, holding Inuit snow goggles, and Interpreter, Paula Doebler, holding long-time education collection favorite, the snowy owl.*

Pat Howe, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Group Program’s Coordinator, revealed that between the fall of 2021 and this visit in January 2022, the museum had welcomed back over 300 students for guided tours. Guided tours routinely include hands-on activities, observation, and inquiry. On this day, tours also included a few moments to sketch objects inspiring fascination.

Pen sketches of ancient Egyptian artifacts by a fourth grade student. — *Sharon School District student drawing from a January 2022 guided tour about daily life in ancient Egypt.*

Which gets us back to that funerary boat. In 1894-1895, during excavation of the tomb of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Senwosret III, French archeologist Jacques de Morgan discovered five, or perhaps even six, boats buried alongside the structure. However, today, the whereabouts of only four vessels are definitively known. Two boats reside at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, one is under the stewardship of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and another is under the care of the Field Museum in Chicago. Perhaps one day, a student scholar will transport wonderment full circle, and unearth the story of the missing funerary boat or boats.

Thanks to Katie Olive, Sharon gifted teacher, Megan Shreves, St John/Kennedy Catholic gifted teacher, Lindsay Ramage, Hermitage gifted teacher, and June Allenbaugh, Farrell gifted teacher. Joann Wilson is an Interpreter in the Education Department at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Using iNaturalist in the City Nature Challenge and beyond

by Patrick McShea

Participation in this year’s City Nature Challenge (CNC), April 28–May 1, 2023, is a great way to familiarize yourself with iNaturalist, an innovative cell phone app that powers the annual biological survey of metropolitan areas across the globe. Mastery of the easy-to-use technology during this self-paced bioblitz-style event can create positive outcomes long after the Pittsburgh CNC concludes and in places far beyond the event’s six county territory.

Raccoon tracks in the mud. — *During the City Nature Challenge participants can identify observations, such as these raccoon tracks, or rely upon* iNaturalist to identify them.

Although 2023 will be the sixth consecutive year for Carnegie Museum of Natural History to serve as a CNC city organizer agency, I didn’t become an active participant in the event until 2021. In 2021, I was among 446 participants who, in using our phone cameras to take and submit pictures, documented 7,045 observations of free-living plants, animals, and fungi in Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Washington, and Westmoreland Counties. Our collective efforts verified and geo-referenced the presence of 1,219 different species at various locations in the surveyed territory.

My contributions, which came from four half-hour periods over as many days, amounted to only 29 observations, and for each of them I was able to include an accurate name of the observed subject in the submission form’s “What did you see?” line. iNaturalist, which is a joint initiative of the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society, functions amazingly well in identifying submitted images even when this question is ignored. The app provides users with impressive evidence of its image recognition capabilities by quickly supplying identification suggestions. This digital wizardry is only a starting point, however, because iNaturalist defines itself as “an online social network of people sharing biodiversity information to help each other learn about nature.”

Whether an observation is tentatively identified by the observer or through the powerful software, higher levels of identification certainty occur hours, weeks, or even months later when other users, who are focused on identifying observations, verify, refine, or even challenge identifications. Consistent verification by such reviewers can raise observations to “research grade,” indicating possible use in future scientific investigations.

Because I didn’t pay close attention to the network aspects of iNaturalist during the CNC, appreciation for my phone’s transformation into far more than a multi-category field guide came months later and more than 500 miles to the northeast during an early fall vacation in the Adirondack Park.

Moth on a branch. — *The moth known commonly as the Chain-dotted Geometer on the Boreal Life Trail at the Paul Smith’s College Visitor Information Center.*

On a sunny mid-September afternoon, while my wife and I watched for birds and pitcher plants along a bog-crossing boardwalk that is part of the unique 14,000-acre campus of Paul Smith’s College, we were frequently surrounded by white moths with delicate black markings. When one landed close by I took its picture, then immediately submitted it as an iNaturalist observation. “Genus Cingilia,” I saw on the phone screen within 30 seconds.

Days later, when an email notification informed me that an observation reviewer had refined the identification to “Cingilia catenaria,” or the “Chain-dotted Geometer,” curiosity about the bog moths prompted a visit to BugGuide.net, a reliable site for information about insects and spiders in North America. Here a statement in the “Remarks” section of the species account raised an ecological question: “Locally abundant to the point of being a pest in some years, yet becoming increasingly rare over much of its former range in the Northeast.”

As I wondered whether the numerous bog moths had been a pest-level outbreak, I remembered someone who might be able to answer that question. The observation reviewer had identified herself on iNaturalist. Dr. Janet Mihuc is a professor at Paul Smith’s College who has been conducting a moth biodiversity survey on the college’s lands for the past six years. In an email exchange she was happy to discuss the bog moths and their role in the ecosystem.

I certainly consider C. catenaria common in our area. I am not aware of it being a pest but that may just be because our local bogs have no economic significance to humans so I doubt there is data on the amount of defoliation that the caterpillars can cause. Hopefully the caterpillars are an important food for migrant songbirds before they depart or for resident songbirds. Based on my data, adult moth species diversity peaks in July then drops steadily in August and September. I would expect caterpillar availability to show a similar trend.

Her generous sharing of information was completely inline with my experience as a CMNH educator asking museum scientists for clarification of concepts presented in current exhibits. The fact that the information exchange was brokered by a cell phone app did not diminish the learning that occurred.

Patrick McShea is an Educator at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Reckoning with Indigenous sovereignty and US public lands through place names in national parks

by Dr. Bonnie McGill

A person looking at a park map is seated on a mountainside overlooking a river valley with snow capped mountains in the background — *A hiker at Yellowstone National Park. Public domain photo by the National Park Service / Jacob W. Frank.*

US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland (a member of the Laguna Pueblo) recently initiated a task force to address derogatory place names on federal lands, including names using “squaw.” As the first Native American to serve in her cabinet-level post, Haaland has a deep understanding of the importance of the task force’s work, but is everyone on board?

Why are place names important? According to a recent study I led, addressing place names could be a starting point for reckoning with the US history of dispossession of Indigenous nations from their homelands. The study, published this spring in People and Nature, demonstrates the dual impacts of problematic place names, e.g., commemorating racial violence while simultaneously erasing longstanding and often spiritually connected Indigenous names for landscape features.

The study: “Words are monuments: Patterns in US national park place names perpetuate settler colonial mythologies including white supremacy”

Many consider national parks our nation’s “best idea”ⁱ but don’t realize how park place names cover up the parks’ violent histories. Among the 16 studied national parks and their over 2,200 place names we found:

52 places named for settlers who committed acts of violence against groups, often populations of Indigenous peoples. For example, Mount Doane in Yellowstone National Park, and Harney River in Everglades National Park, both homelands of Indigenous nations, commemorate individuals who led massacres of Indigenous peoples, including women and children.

205 settler place names replacing recorded traditional Indigenous place names. (This count of replacement names is surely an underestimate because written records are biased toward settler histories, much Indigenous knowledge is maintained through oral traditions, and Indigenous knowledge keepers were rarely consulted when settler maps were made.)

10 racial slurs

214 examples of appropriation from Indigenous languages

107 natural features retaining traditional Indigenous place names

Making meaning

Native American groups including the Blackfeetⁱⁱ and Lakota have called for changing place names at national parks and national monuments for over a century (see pictures below). The research my five co-authors and I conducted was in service to such local and national name-changing campaigns. Place names have been used by colonizers and later settlers as a “technology of power” to justify their occupation of Indigenous lands and hierarchical social structuresⁱⁱⁱ. In the words of Indigenous scholar Linda Tuhiwai Smith (Ngāti Awa and Ngāti Porou Māori) “renaming the landscape [as part of the colonial project] was probably as powerful ideologically as changing the land”^iv. To me, the study’s findings demonstrate how place names in the parks contribute, at a system-wide scale, to the erasure of Indigenous sovereignty over their homelands. Reconciling this wrong will require a system-wide response, such as Secretary Haaland’s task force and future task forces to address more than just derogatory names.

Top image is a historic black and white photo showing three Blackfeet leaders traditionally dressed including feathered headdresses and four white men standing around the desk of Stephen Mather, seated. Bottom image is a color photo showing Chief Grier in traditional dress handing a document to a man dressed in national park uniform and ranger hat with men standing behind Chief Grier, including Lee Juan Tyler wearing a traditional feathered headdress. This photo takes place outdoors with Yellowstone National Park in the background. — Native Americans resist settler colonial place names in national parks. Top: Blackfeet leaders Bird Rattler (far left), Curly Bear (second from left) and Wolf Plume (third from left) meet with Stephen Mather, soon-to-be Park Service director (sitting), and others in Washington, DC in 1915 to protest the use of English-language names in Glacier National Park. Photo courtesy of the National Park Service, Harpers Ferry Center. Bottom: In 2018 Chief Stanley Charles Grier of the Piikani Nation gives a Yellowstone National Park deputy superintendent a declaration from several Indigenous Nations demanding a change to the place names Mount Doane and Hayden Valley. Lee Juan Tyler (Shoshone-Bannock Tribes) and Brandon Sazue, Sr. (Crow Creek Sioux) stand in solidarity with Chief Grier. Individuals shown have given the authors permission to use their image. Photo courtesy of Nate Hegyi of Mountain West News Bureau.

In discussions with Kiaayo Tamisoowo (Bear Returning over the Hill) Chief Stanley Grier (Fig. 1B) of the Piikani Nation and Blackfoot Confederacy, he said that our study has

shed important light on the true spirit and facts pertaining to National Park Place Names which were in place since time immemorial by our ancestors. To give Place Names [such as Mt. Doane in Yellowstone] to persons who authorized and who carried out the massacre of approximately 173 of my ancestors in 1870 on the Marias River, Montana is an atrocity that only perpetuates the illegitimate honor of persons that would be classified as War Criminals. Hayden Valley ought to be changed to Buffalo Nations Valley^v and Mount Doane to First Peoples’ Mountain.

I also recently spoke with Chief Arvol Looking Horse, spiritual leader of the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota Great Sioux Nation. For decades Chief Looking Horse has sought to change the name of Devils Tower, the enormous, landscape-dominating igneous rock formation in northeastern Wyoming that is the namesake of Devils Tower National Monument. His proposal to change the name of the geologic feature to Bear Lodge has sat with the US Board of Geographic Names since 2015 due to stalling by congressional representatives from Wyoming. Bear Lodge is a sacred site to many native nations including the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota. The site’s current name originated from the mistaken settler belief that Native religious rituals conducted there were forms of devil worship.

When I asked Chief Looking Horse why returning traditional place names is meaningful to him he said,

We as a people of the Earth are connected to Mother Earth, the source of life. Our history is spiritually connected to the Earth. We take care of the Black Hills, the heart of Mother Earth, through ceremony. Returning place names is needed more than ever because of the global disasters. The name of sacred sites came from the spirit, through ceremony, through prayer. For example, Mato Tipila, Bear Lodge is where the White Buffalo Calf Woman brought us the sacred pipe. I am the 19th generation keeper of the sacred pipe. And yet a soldier can just, out of anger and hatred to our people, rename such a sacred place Devils Tower. In our sacred language we don’t even have a word for devil. Returning Mato Tipila, Bears Lodge is the most important derogatory name for Deb Haaland to address.

Some readers might label this study and its attention to place names as a part of cancel culture. To me, that is a red herring that distracts from the need for the dominant US culture to reckon the US history and living legacies of land dispossession and genocide of Native American peoples, a long process repeatedly marked by instances where peoples were separated from their lands.

Reckoning with the past is necessary for all peoples to move forward together into a future that is more equitable and sustainable. This concept is a guiding principle for the work we do in the Anthropocene Studies Section at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Part of my motivation for this work was to understand the kind of restorative actions involved with the reckoning of US history and on-going harms of settler colonialism.

A closing thought on “wilderness”

In popular US culture, our national parks and wilderness areas are thought of as places to escape; places to be out there with “real nature”. But settlers had to first make national parks and wilderness areas free of human occupation. Much of the awe that current national park lands inspired among European colonizers was in part the result of active ecosystem management by Indigenous peoples living with the land. Many national park ecosystems were dramatically changed with the loss of Native American stewardship (e.g. preventing forest fires)^vi.

As the first and now second edition of “We Are Nature” demonstrate for museum visitors, humans are part of, not separate from, nature. In fact, most of terrestrial Earth has been stewarded for thousands of years by Indigenous peoples. So the idea of an uninhabited “wilderness” is less ecological science and more of a settler colonial myth. That doesn’t mean national parks haven’t come to play an important role in conservation of biodiversity or that we shouldn’t visit national parks. I suggest, however, that we visit with greater awareness of park history and of the peoples for whom those lands are their homelands. I also suggest environmentalists use the term wilderness with care and understand it’s social-cultural implications^vii.

Get involved

People can take action by getting involved with a national campaign launched at WordsAreMonuments.org by the social justice pop-up museum, The Natural History Museum. Also, check out this new guide on how individuals, community groups, and Tribal Nations can change place names. The public is also invited to comment on potential replacements for derogatory names on federal lands by April 25.

Bonnie McGill, Ph.D. is a science communication fellow for the Climate and Rural Systems Partnership and based in the Anthropocene Studies Section at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Notes

^[i] From an essay by Wallace Stegner: “The Best Idea We Ever Had” in Wilderness magazine, Spring 1983 p4-13.

^[ii] A note on Blackfeet vs. Blackfoot: The nation in what is now Montana is Aamskapi Pikuni (Blackfeet Nation, including individuals shown in Fig. 1A), a member of Siksikaitsitapi (Blackfoot Confederacy), which also includes the Kainai-Blood Tribe, Siksika, Peigan-Piikani (including Chief Grier in Fig. 1B).

^[iii] Rose-Redwood, R., Alderman, D., & Azaryahu, M. (2017). The urban streetscape as political cosmos. In R. Rose-Redwood (Ed.), The Political Life of Urban Streetscapes: Naming, Politics, and Place (pp. 1–24). London: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781315554464

Alderman, D. H. (n.d.). Commemorative Place Naming: To Name Place, To Claim the Past, ToRepair Futures. In F. Giraut & M. Houssay-Holzschuch (Eds.), Naming Places. London:ISTE-Wiley. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341412389

^[iv] Smith, L. T. (2012). Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples (2nd Ed.). 1025 London: Zed Books Ltd.

^[v] The sovereign Tribal Nations of Yellowstone formally requested the Yellowstone Superintendent to support changing Hayden Valley to Buffalo Nations Valley (see Fig. 1B). Ferdinand Hayden was a geologist who led the first federally funded geological survey of Yellowstone in 1871. His report was essential in persuading Congress to establish the national park. His report also called for the forced assimilation or, failing that, extermination of Native Americans. Other writings of his also demonstrate his white supremacist worldview, a tool used by settler colonizers to justify dispossessing Native Americans from their lands.

^[vi] Read more about this in:

Anderson, M. K. (2013). Tending the Wild: Native American Knowledge and the Management of California’s Natural Resources. Oakland: University of California Press; Kimmerer, R. W., & Lake, F. K. (2001).

Maintaining the Mosaic: The role of indigenous burning in land management. Journal of Forestry, 99(11), 36–41. doi: 10.1093/jof/99.11.36

Kimmerer, Robin W. (2012). Braiding Sweetgrasss : Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants. (1st ed.). Minneapolis: Milkweed Editions

^[vii] Fletcher et al. 2021. Indigenous knowledge and the shackles of wilderness. PNAS https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2022218118

The Art of Making Fish Familiar

by Patrick McShea

Sculpture of a monster fish in a museum exhibition

Fish in the wild are difficult to observe, even for the scientists who study them. Monster Fish: In Search of the Last River Giants, an exhibition traveled and developed by the National Geographic Society, encourages visitors to learn about this challenge from one such scientist, Dr. Zeb Hogan, host of the popular Nat Geo Wild television show.

In the exhibition, now on view in the R. P. Simmons Family Gallery until April 10, 2022, stunning life-size sculptures, evocative illustrations, and informative panels set the stage for Hogan’s appearance on several well-spaced video screens. Here, in clips with run times of a few minutes, Hogan presents on-the-water, and sometimes in-the-water, reports from six continents about conservation efforts that involve not only other scientists, but also the local people who rely on healthy fish populations for their food or livelihood.

Observing Fish in the Wild

Away from the exhibition, the importance of images in sparking an interest in hard-to-observe wildlife can be noted at a scale where both the creatures involved, and the extravagance of their depictions, are much reduced. By personal example, much of my visual understanding of lesser known fish species in Pittsburgh’s rivers comes from viewing the scientifically accurate, full color, plates in Fishes of the Central United States (University Press of Kansas, 1990), a book illustrated and co-authored by Joseph R. Tomelleri.

Cover of the book "Fishes of the Central United States"

Over the past 36 years, the artist’s detailed portraits of our continent’s finned wildlife have appeared in over a thousand publications ranging from fishing magazines and field guides to outdoor clothing catalogues. Tomelleri’s career as fish artist began in Kansas in 1983 when he and other biology graduate students at Fort Hays State University wondered about the diversity of fish species in a stream that winds through the campus. The resulting student-driven investigation culminated in a publication titled, Big Creek and its Fishes, a work in which Tomelleri had responsibility for fish images. Because the full suite of physical characters that distinguish one fish species from another can rarely be captured in photographs, he used colored pencils in an attempt to accurately render every scale and fin ray.

As the artist’s attention to anatomical detail led to a professional career, his illustration process became standardized. Subjects are collected by seining, through the electrofishing techniques used by fish biologists, or by old-fashioned angling with rod and reel. A captured fish is immediately photographed to record natural colors, then depending upon size, preserved frozen or in a formalin solution that is later replaced with an ethanol solution.

Although Tomelleri says the physical requirements for preservation have limited his experience with “monsters” to creatures three feet long or less, one species account in Fishes of the Central United States makes a case for the frightening aspects of fish that size. A description of Flathead Catfish, a species that recently brought attention to Pittsburgh’s rivers because of the enormous specimens caught and released by local anglers, includes a cautionary warning:

Flatheads breed in natural cavities of river banks, an instinct that leaves them susceptible to illegal hand fishing or “noodling.” Adept noodlers can recognize a big cat’s den by feeling the cleanly swept cavity floor and mound of silt or debris in front of the hole. One may assume that it is the bone-crushing bite of a 60-pound flathead that keeps the slightly squeamish stuck on the bank with rod and reel.

illustration of a flathead catfish — Flathead Catfish. Image credit: Joseph R. Tomelleri

Patrick McShea is an Educator at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Learning From Misinterpretations

by Patrick McShea

Every job has its awkward moments, even work aiding museum visitors in their interpretation of exhibits. One memorable situation in that realm involved a father explaining skeletal bear remains to his three grade-school-aged children.

The setting was Discovery Basecamp during a busy December weekend in 2012. The exhibition had been established just two months earlier as an experiment in providing museum visitors with opportunities to examine authentic objects from the Educator Loan Collection, the enormous cross-discipline teaching collection that is managed to serve the needs of classroom teachers and other educators. In a section of well-lighted, first floor rear exhibit space, three free-standing racks of wire shelves held two dozen colorful toolboxes containing a wide range of natural history materials for visitors to examine, and the tops of five adjacent tables displayed large sturdy objects for close, hands-on inspection.

I was spending the day welcoming visitors to the space, and training a work-study student from the University of Pittsburgh and another from Carnegie Mellon University to do the same. We aimed to assist visitors in retrieving and returning toolboxes, and whenever asked, to answer questions. Listening to visitor conversations during that time was an important way to evaluate the success of the ongoing experiment.

“Hey, let’s look at this,” I heard the father say as he gathered his children around a display table and picked-up one end of a yard-long, rope-linked strand of more than 20 large resin-coated vertebrae. “The tag says ‘bear,’ so let’s see if we can figure this out.” He stretched out the column on the tabletop, and moved both hands to its far end where an irregularly shaped shoebox-sized bone structure anchored the string. The structure, which was not identified on the simple paper tag, was the fused combination of the creature’s sacrum and hip bones, and the father’s unfamiliarity with mammal skeletal anatomy was immediately apparent. He mistook the bear’s butt-end for its skull, explaining to his children how the hip sockets were holes for the eyes, and that it was a shame the animal’s teeth were missing.

Bear vertebrae, sacrum, and hip bones on a table. — For anyone unfamiliar with mammal skeletal anatomy, hip sockets that once secured rounded femur heads might be confused with eye openings.

I didn’t correct him. Instead I explained to the work-study students that I’d be down in the loan program’s basement storage area for a few minutes. By the time I returned with a black bear skull, the attractions of the exhibition had pulled the family unit apart. All three children were engaged with toolboxes containing insect material, while their father was examining mineral samples on another table.

Bear skull on a table. — Discoloration and broken and missing teeth mark this American black bear jaw as a long-used teaching specimen.

I approached him holding out the bear skull and saying simply, “Our lack of labels might have caused some confusion a little earlier.” He looked at the skull, glanced back at the table with the vertebrae column, and then, to my great relief, laughed and accepted the skull from me. He called his children back to the original table, and with the skull as a visual aid, offered them a two-minute remedial lesson. I stood as far away from the table as possible.

Patrick McShea works in the Education and Visitor Experience department of Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

For the Love of Dead Plants

by Koa Reitz

Reposted from Plant Love Stories.

One of my earliest memories as a child is my friend finding a big leaf when we were at the park, and me bursting into tears because I wasn’t the one who found it. Fall was my favorite season because as I walked around, there were plenty of things for me to pick up! I was absolutely captivated by the leaves that fell off of the trees, and would pick up as many as I could. I don’t remember why I was so attached to these leaves–the dead part of the plants around me–but I would always end up with a stack of leaves when I got home.

I think a big part of my obsession with collecting leaves was their colors. But sometimes I would find a particularly big leaf and, as a small child, I was absolutely dumbfounded at the leaf bigger than my head. I had to have them. When I brought the leaves home however, I never kept them, they would sit outside for a while until they would eventually blow away or decompose in the yard. This wasn’t exactly an issue for my young self, as object permanence had yet to fully develop. And there were always more leaves to find!

Person holding a leaf the size of their head. — The author can still find leaves larger than her head! Here, American sycamore (*Platanus occidentalis*)

As I grew up, I became less and less invested in picking up all of the leaves I saw. I think eventually I saw so many that it was hard to find a new color combination I had yet to see, so leaf searching had lost its allure. I would still stop to look at the leaves when there was a particularly vibrant red, or an exciting combination of green, yellow, and orange all in the same leaf, but I left the leaf where it stood. No more collecting for me.

Until recently, I had no reason to think that collecting plants could have any purpose, scientific or otherwise. Contrary to my thinking, there is a vast and important process of collecting and storing plants, of all kinds, to be used for reference and scientific research. Herbaria are collections of preserved plants dating as far back as hundreds of years ago. These specimens can be used for a variety of things including taxonomic classifications (scientific naming systems), DNA sequencing, and phenological observations. Phenology is the study of the time when certain things in the life cycle of a plant happen. For example, phenology can look at the time in a flowering plant’s life that it begins growing new leaves, when it grows flowers, when it develops its fruit, or when leaves turn colors in the Fall. Phenological data from herbaria have been used to look into the past in ways that wouldn’t be possible without a collection of old, dead, plants. A group of scientists at Boston University used herbarium specimens to determine that a warmer climate led to earlier flowering times. This conclusion has various implications including evidence that a warming planet has concrete impacts on the natural environment and changes how we look at climate science overall. It is important to look to the past if we’re going to make informed decisions about the future, and herbaria are full of accessible and valuable information that can help develop scientific claims of all different kinds.

Person standing between metal cabinets. — The author stands among the botanical collections at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s herbarium in Pittsburgh, PA.

I am particularly interested in Herbaria because of my work in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Herbarium. It was compelling to me to work with scads of cabinets full of dead plant specimens. Currently, I am working on a project where I look at digitized Chorispora tenella (purple mustard) specimens in the Carnegie Museum Herbarium, and herbaria from all over the US. Chorispora tenella is a plant that is invasive in parts of the Western US, and we are looking to see how the phenology has changed over the course of its invasion. There are endless questions about the timing of flowering or the spatial differences in flower or fruit number, just to name a few. I think I started to form a relationship with the plants, as I look at image after image and count the number of flower buds, flowers, and fruits, just as I had formed a relationship with the fallen leaves when I was young.

Above: purple mustard (Chorispora tenella ) botanical specimens stored at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.**

There’s so much to learn from these seemingly simple and still specimens. When I do this work, it brings me back to when I was a child and had the (not so permanent) leaf collections of my own. I think there was a part of me as a child that wished to observe what I gathered further, but I had no method or resources to preserve my collections. Now, with herbaria, there’s access to thousands of species of plants that span all over the world. They open up countless lines of study and things to learn and explore, all from dead plants in cabinets. I even find myself collecting and questioning things again, renewing my sense of exploration. And I still make time to find leaves bigger than my head.

Koa Reitz is an undergraduate student studying Ecology and Evolution at the University of Pittsburgh, and a research intern at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees, interns, and volunteers are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

** To learn more about these natural history specimens, you can visit the Mid-Atlantic Herbaria Consortium. Specimens are as follows (left to right): CM356992 collected in 1989 in Oregon; CM448686 collected in 1939 in Idaho; CM288678 collected in 1981 in Colorado; and CM288281 collected in 1982 in Colorado.

Facing Outward, Looking Ahead: Richard Serra’s “Carnegie” As Part Of An 125 Year Legacy Of Architecture and Outdoor Sculpture

by Albert D. Kollar and Mary Wilcop

On a sunny fall weekend last November 6th and 7th, a celebration honored the 125th Anniversary (1895 – 2020) of the founding of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (1895) and the Carnegie Institute Extension, now Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie (1835 – 1919)¹(fig. 1).

Sculpture of Andrew Carnegie in an ornate marble room. — Fig. 1: Andrew Carnegie, Music Hall Foyer

Although the event had been postponed for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 “Crash the Carnegies” celebration was enjoyed by thousands of visitors. Inside the Oakland museums, families enjoyed artmaking, performance, and learning activities that paid homage to Carnegie Museums’ past 126 years. Fronting Forbes Avenue, the statues and art works that lend much to the understanding of all that’s presented inside, continued their silent vigil.

The Buildings

The long stretch of buildings along Forbes Avenue in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh is home to Carnegie Museum of Art, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and Carnegie Music Hall. The entrance to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, the furthest west section of the massive complex, faces the gateway to Schenley Park. The connected buildings that comprise this modern campus were constructed in three distinct phases (the first building in 1895, an extension in 1907, and the new Scaife wing in 1974)². A review of the history of the Carnegie Library and Institute buildings’ is available in the posts “CMP Travel Program and Section of Invertebrate Paleontology Promote the 125th Anniversary of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh With a Walking Tour” and “A Journey to France to Uncover the Mysteries of the Carnegie’s Grand Staircase.”

Close-up of a steel bar with the name Carnegie on it. — Fig. 2: View from inside the museum: a Carnegie Steel Company I-beam supporting the roof of the 1907 extension.

With 1895-era facades made of elegant light gray Berea sandstone mined from a quarry in Amherst, Ohio ², the Carnegie Library and Institute building proclaimed itself to Pittsburgh and the world at large as, in Andrew Carnegie’s own words, a “palace of culture.”³ The library was built, both financially and literally, by Carnegie Steel. Earlier, the company’s structural metal beams were used in Pittsburgh’s first skyscraper, the Carnegie Steel Building, a structure designed by Longfellow, Alden, and Harlow (Floyd 1993)⁵. The Carnegie Institute Extension (1907), undergirded by a steel support frame, used steel beams fabricated at the newly created United States Steel Corporation Homestead Works, formerly Carnegie Steel¹ (fig 2).

John Massey Rhind Bronze Statues

Historic black and white photo of a group of people in front of a statue of Michelangelo. — Fig. 3: Michelangelo Statue. Courtesy of Carnegie Library Archives.

With the completion of the Beaux-Arts style Carnegie Institute Extension, departments of music, art, literature, and science were established as distinct administrative divisions of Carnegie Institute and Library. These now lapsed distinctions are mirrored on the building’s exterior in the bronze sculptures collectively referred to as the Noble Quartet. Seated in classical Greek chairs made of Barre Granodiorite of Vermont² are four male figures. The statues of Shakespeare (literature) and Bach (music) sit atop granodiorite slabs on either side of the main granodiorite staircase to the Music Hall entrance. Just east of them, at the entrance to the art and natural history museums, are seated Michelangelo representing art (fig. 3) and Galileo representing science.

Classical style stone building on a cloudy day. — Fig. 4: *Noble Quartet Muses*

John Massey Rhind (1858 – 1936), a close friend of Andrew Carnegie, was commissioned by him to create these works along with four others that tower three stories above them from parapets on the edge of the building’s roof (fig. 4). Known as the Muses, these standing female figures represent allegorical spirits whose achievements equal those of their seated counterparts. The creation of eight largescale architectural figures to match the Classical style of the building was not an easy task. Statue models shaped in clay by the artist, were shipped from his New York studio to Italy to be cast in the lost-wax process, then returned for assembly and finishing⁶.

Sarah Scaife Gallery

In 1974, the footprint of the Oakland campus expanded once more with the opening of the Sarah Scaife Gallery. Designed by renowned New York City architect Edward Larrabee Barnes (1915-2004), with large spaces and high windows, the gallery exterior is in some ways a modern equivalent of the Beaux-Arts Carnegie Institute Extension³.

The new building was constructed in a more modernist style commensurate with the contemporary architectural styles at the time. Its interior is clad with Larvikite, a beautiful gray blue iridescent igneous rock from Larvik, Norway⁸. The exterior cladding is also Larvikite, but here the stone has a bronze iridescent color to create visual continuity between the radically different Beaux Art and modernist structures.

By 1974, after nearly a century of atmospheric soot and pollutants from the steel mills and other modes of industrial and residential coal use, the old light gray Berea sandstone of the 1907 building darkened to a deep brown. This intended cohesion no longer exists because the sandstone underwent a major cleaning in 1989⁹. Its original pale tone now stands in contrast to the naturally bronze-toned Larvikite.

**Richard Serra Carnegie Sculpture and COR-TEN Steel**

In contrast to the bronze sculptures used in the 1907 Carnegie Extension, sculptures made of modern alloys of steel and aluminum are incorporated into the exterior plazas of the 1974 Sarah Scaife Gallery. The largest of these works is the Richard Serra Carnegie sculpture, which was installed as public art for the 1985 Carnegie International and was selected in a tie for that exhibition’s first prize¹⁰.

Richard Serra's Carnegie sculpture with the Cathedral of Learning framed in the background. — Fig. 5: Serra sculpture at CMOA

The 40-foot tower, made of four panels of 2.5-inch-thick COR-TEN steel with acute edges and corners, emerges from the Larvikite surface of the entrance plaza. The sculpture commands great sight lines with its height and profile echoing that of the nearby Cathedral of Learning, the University of Pittsburgh’s 42-story Gothic Revival, Art Deco tower (fig.5).

Steel skyscraper in downtown Pittsburgh. — Fig. 6: US Steel Tower. Image credit: Derek Jensen (Tysto).

COR-TEN is a proprietary high-strength, low-carbon steel alloy introduced by U.S. Steel Corporation in 1933. It features prominently in the company’s Pittsburgh headquarters, the U.S. Steel Tower, built in 1971 (fig. 6)¹². The name COR-TEN is an amalgam that references the product’s most notable properties, corrosion resistance and high tensile strength. The steel’s exceptional resistance to atmospheric corrosion negates the need for painting. After production, in a process that occurs over several months, a surface patina develops as the steel is exposed to wet and dry weather cycles. In many applications COR-TEN surfaces turn a reddish orange, but colors can vary from orange to brown depending, in part, on atmospheric conditions. Very fine surface oxidation layers can also build to create a rainbow-like iridescence, known as structural color – the same process that lends colorful beauty to peacock feathers and butterfly wings.

By the mid-1960s, the unique properties of COR-TEN attracted the interest of artists, especially those producing outdoor sculptures. Beverly Pepper, a sculptor known for her large-scale metal works, was introduced to COR-TEN’s properties while working at the U.S. Steel factory in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. In 1964 she was the first sculptor to explicitly use COR-TEN as a sculptural medium¹¹. Other artists soon followed, including Serra in the early 1970s. Although Serra was originally trained as a painter, he was already familiar with the working properties of steel. The artist’s father worked in steel mills and as a pipefitter. Later, Serra supported some of his schooling by working in steel mills¹⁴.

By the time Serra’s design was conceived in 1985, only one company, the Lukens Steel Company, which operated the world’s widest rolling mill in the southeastern Pennsylvania town of Coatesville, could produce the large plates required for the commission. After production the plates were shipped across the state to a Pittsburgh-Des Moines Corporation plant on Neville Island, just outside Pittsburgh, for assembly.

The Significance of Carnegie

In its sheer size and monolithic simplicity, Carnegie lends itself to many interpretations. Like the large institution it fronts, the sculpture can be experienced from walking around the outside and by standing within.

By the time of Carnegie’s installation, leaning metal plates were a feature of several of Serra’s public sculptures. For Carnegie, however, the plates were made both to lean and tilt diagonally, rather than being strictly vertical, a form Serra describes as “almost like a V or like lifting your arms up.”⁶ Implicitly, though perhaps unintentionally, this form and its materiality may speak to the original vision Andrew Carnegie expressed in an 1897 letter: “….not only our own country, but the civilized world will take note of the fact that our Dear Old Smoky Pittsburgh, no longer content to be celebrated only as one of the chief manufacturing centers[sic], has entered upon the path to higher things, and is before long […] also to be noted for her preeminence in the Arts and Sciences”¹⁶.

Symbolism. Alone in Carnegie

The bare steel, deliberately lacking any interior or exterior covering, stands prominently in the plaza asserting its own essentialness to the story of the museum.

Fig. 7: View looking up from the interior of *Carnegie*.

To enter the sculpture’s interior from its Forbes Avenue side, visitors slide through a tapered passage between two plates. Once inside, even on the brightest summer days, several minutes are needed to adjust one’s eyes to overwhelming darkness of the interior. Following the walls upwards leads to a glowing view of the sky, blue or gray, depending upon the weather, and undoubtedly occasionally rose pink for some moments at dawn and dusk. The effect is intentionally physically and visually destabilizing (fig 7).

Ornate stone staircase — Fig. 8. Carnegie Grand Staircase

Some visitors experience entering the tower-like structure as a representation of a steel mill’s blast furnace. In this sense, the design functions as an extension of the John White Alexander Crowning of Labor murals in the Grand Staircase, which depict workers making steel in the first floor murals and, as the smoke rises to the second floor, reveal female spirits bringing the fruits of labor to a knight in steel armor who resembles Andrew Carnegie¹⁷ (fig. 8).

Serra often hesitated to assign a single meaning to his sculptures, preferring their interpretation remain broad and therefore boundless. Still, in an interview with Art Historian Vicky Clark during the work’s installation, the artist struggled to completely separate the sculpture from its implicit connections to the museum and Pittsburgh. “There’s something about steelworkers and the tradition of steelworkers that means that they have a basic respect for how something is built. It becomes a metaphor for what the industry of the town has produced.”⁶

Sculptures and Thought in the 21^st Century

While John Massey Rhind’s Noble Quartet functions mainly as an embellishment to the building, with a specific interpretation dictated by Carnegie himself, the situating of Carnegie in the plaza speaks to the extent to which the function of art and architecture, near the end of the 20^th century, had fundamentally changed. Rhind’s Quartet were positioned to sit along the sides of the Carnegie Institute’s original entryways, out of the path of visitors. Carnegie, in contrast, stands imposingly in front of the Scaife extension entrance, almost requiring entering patrons and passersby to engage with it.

Sculptures of the modern era, particularly those of architectural scale, create environments for individuals to think and reflect, without necessarily a prescribed end in mind. A viewer’s interaction with an artwork like Carnegie can feel obtuse; its faceless abstraction refuses to tell us what it is or how we should feel about it. This ambiguity, for Serra, however, is essential, because it means that “the piece has the potential to engage people with various meanings they might have.”⁶ Like the Quartet, Carnegie, speaks to the outside world about what we might find within. That is, that art, and the museum itself, serve as a site for contemplation and reflection—and not only about art.

Albert D. Kollar is the Collection Manager in the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Mary Wilcop is Associate Objects Conservator at Carnegie Museum of Art.

References

¹Kollar, A.D. 2021. The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (1895) and Carnegie Institute Extension (1907): The Story of the Carnegie Building Stones and Architectural Design presented for the 125^th “Crash the Carnegie” Celebration held in north wing of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.

²Kollar, A.D., M. Feeley, A. Joyce Jr., R. Fedosick, K. Hughes, and A. Costanzo. 2020. Carnegie Institute Extension Connemara Marble: Cross-Atlantic Connections Between Western Ireland and Gilded Age Architecture in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. ACM, 86: 207-253.

³Gangewere, R. 2011. Palace of Culture Andrew Carnegie’s Museum and Library of Pittsburgh. University of Pittsburgh Press, 332p.

⁴Kollar, A.D. and B. Tucker. 2020. CMP Travel Program and Section of Invertebrate Paleontology promotes the 125^th Anniversary of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh with an outdoor walking tour. https://carnegiemnh.org/125th-anniversary-carnegie-library-of-pittsburgh-outdoor-walking-tour/

⁵Floyd, M.H. 1994. Architecture After Richardson, Regionalism before Modernism – Longfellow, Alden, and Harlow in Boston and Pittsburgh. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago. 546 pp.

⁶ Clark, V. November 1985. “Richard Serra’s Carnegie, an unpublished interview.” http://vickyaclark.com/serra_interview.html

⁷Gangewere, R. 1992. What the Muses Hold. Carnegie Magazine, 13-17.

⁸Heldal, T., and G. B. Meyer & R. Dahl. 2015. Global stone heritage: Larvikite, Norway. 21-34. Geological Society, London, Special Publication, 407.

⁹Gangewere, R. 1990. Cleaning The Carnegie. Carnegie Magazine, 31 – 35.

¹⁰CARNEGIE Fall 2021. 125 Years: A History in Objects Continues.

¹¹Smithsonian Archives of American Art. July 1-2, 2009. Oral history interview with Beverly Pepper. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution. https://www.aaa.si.edu/download_pdf_transcript/ajax?record_id=edanmdm-AAADCD_oh_283468

¹²Jester 1995.

¹²USS Cor-Ten Steel. 1980. USS Cor-Ten High Strength Low-Alloy Steel.

¹³https://www.aaa.si.edu/download_pdf_transcript/ajax?record_id=edanmdm-AAADCD_oh_283468

¹⁴ https://news.artnet.com/art-world/beverly-pepper-marlborough-contemporary-1470469

¹⁵ Lidji, E. 1985. CARNEGIE, Richard Serra. Carnegie International Article.

¹⁶Wall, J. F. 1970. Andrew Carnegie. University of Pittsburgh Press. 1137p.

¹⁷Gangewere, R. personal communication.

Tracking Pittsburgh’s Paddlefish

by Patrick McShea

If your work involves the study of river fish, boats are essential tools. In Monster Fish: In Search of the Last River Giants, an exhibition developed and travelled by National Geographic, the vital role of watercraft as research platforms is acknowledged through an interactive display that resembles a boat. Here visitors are welcomed aboard a simulated 15-foot vessel to sit on bow-facing bench seats and watch on-the-water video clips of big fish and Dr. Zeb Hogan, host of the popular Nat Geo Wild show.

Small boat with large antennae on the water.

Back in 2002 and 2003, when fisheries biologist Patrick Barry and a small team of assistants relied upon a similar-sized boat to study the movements of American Paddlefish in Pittsburgh’s rivers, an antenna towered 15 feet above the craft. “Other people on the rivers certainly noticed us when we were out on the water.” Barry explains, “The antenna made us pretty conspicuous.”

There was nothing secret about the research, which was a collaborative effort involving the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, California University of Pennsylvania, and Penn State University. There was, however, little local public knowledge about paddlefish, a native species that disappeared from the river system here in the 1920’s, and a creature whose fossil lineage dates back some 100 million years. Barry was then a fisheries science graduate student at Penn State, and his thesis research was intended to shed light on the limited success of paddlefish reintroduction efforts conducted by the PA Fish and Boat Commission during the early 1990s.

The project included targeted public outreach efforts. Barry created a bright yellow mini-poster bearing the headline “Have You Seen This Fish?” above a picture of his long-snouted thesis subject, and placed dozens of copies at marinas, boat launches, and fishing tackle shops along the sections of the Allegheny River and Ohio River in his study area. A pair of impressive paddlefish facts were shared below the picture – the creature’s potential to attain a length of seven feet, and a weight of up to 100 pounds – followed by a plea to release any paddlefish soon after capture, and to contact Barry with information about the circumstances of the catch.

Visitors to Monster Fish are presented with far more information about the big river resident known to science as Polyodon spathula. A six-foot long American Paddlefish replica is the centerpiece of the exhibition’s North American sector, owing to the species’ wide distribution in most of the larger rivers in the Mississippi River Watershed. Off the model’s left flank is an information panel describing the eye-catching long bill as an extraordinary sensory organ, explaining the species’ plankton diet, and introducing a Yangtze River relative last seen in 2003, the Chinese Paddlefish. Off the fish’s right flank a video display titled “OPEN WIDE” shows how the creature’s widely opened mouth and comb-like bony interior function as an effective plankton-capturing screen.

The fish Barry worked with were far smaller than the exhibit model. Over the two years of his study he and his team released a total of 66 hatchery-reared juvenile paddlefish ranging, in “eye-to-tail length,” from 10 to 12 inches. Each had been fitted with pencil-thin battery-powered radio transmitters that weighed less than 2% of the fish’s body weight. Releases were staged in late September both years, and Barry’s goal, during the nine weeks following each event was to relocate, with the aid of the boat-mounted antenna, each fish every day. Each relocation, when recorded with the aid of a Global Positioning System (GPS) unit, added important information about dispersal distance, direction of movement, habitat preference, and overall survival.

Today Patrick Barry is Watershed Program Manager for the Bridger Teton National Forest in western Wyoming, where instead of relocating wandering fish, his daily goals are related to the implementation of policy and management of staff to provide clean water and sustainable forests for current and future needs. From his office in Afton, WY during a recent phone conversation he was happy to summarize his findings from Pittsburgh waters nearly two decades ago. He noted that days relocating tagged fish frequently stretched into nights of doing the same, and the routine during the study periods was to “get up the next day, and do it all over again.”

He heard back from people who encountered his yellow mini-posters, and many of their reports reinforced a paddlefish behavior he had observed firsthand. “People in boats saw the fish in places where currents brought nutrient-rich waters up to the sunny surface, but these people were never in metal boats. They’d be in a fiberglass canoe, never an aluminum one. The long snout of the paddlefish contains sensors that can detect the electrical charge of anything metal in the water. You aren’t likely to see one if you’re in a metal-hulled boat.”

When asked about the long-term viability for paddlefish in Pittsburgh area waters, Barry pointed immediately to a longstanding gap in the species’ habitat requirements. “Historically the Pittsburgh’s rivers have been able to flood and recede, a cycle that creates gravel bars in some places. Paddlefish need gravel bars to spawn, and during the study we weren’t able to pinpoint a single suitable spawning spot it in the survey territory.”

Although Barry has worked professionally with our continent’s western trout and salmon species since his months on the water in Pittsburgh, his closing comments convey his continued fascination with paddlefish. “There’s a lot of current interest in the species’ sensory powers. A young paddlefish can detect the wingbeats of a single zooplankton in the water column and adjust its glide pattern to intercept and eat it.”

March Mammal Madness and Middle School Science Class

by Patrick McShea

At one suburban Pittsburgh school, the tournament bracket sheets currently generating discussions have nothing to do with basketball. Since 2013, science teacher Christian Shane has strengthened science engagement among the seventh and eighth students he teaches at North Allegheny District’s Ingomar Middle School through participation in a group learning project designed by scientists and educators that borrows its organizational structure, timing, and alliterative name from the annual NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Tournament.

March Mammal Madness is clearly a take on the far better known, March Madness, the branding name for the weeks-long college tournament whose single game elimination schedule, when plotted as a chart in advance of the start date, invites fans to use their background knowledge to predict, frequently as a bet or wager, the outcome of every game.

Participants in March Mammal Madness are also asked to make far-seeing predictions, but on theoretical battle encounters involving mainly mammals rather that basketball games. The online event began in 2013 as the idea of Dr. Katie Hinde, a researcher and Associate Professor at Arizona State University. Since its early days, tournament organizers have made great efforts to raise bracket-filling decisions beyond the realm of guess work through the creation of an extensive and easy to use website that is part of the Arizona State University Library system.

Once the creatures selected for the annual competition are announced in late February, participants of all ages and academic backgrounds can visit the site to locate a range of accurate and up-to-date information about each species. At Ingomar Middle School, Christian’s students used the site as an aid in creating a series of Animal Research Trading Cards for all 65 of this year’s combatants. In seventh grade classes, online research of some combatants, including black bear, grizzly bear, coyote, mountain lion, and beaver, was bolstered by firsthand examination of mammal skulls borrowed from the CMNH Educator Loan Collection.

Playing card with the image of an orca and the following text: Orca Orcinus orca
Common Name: Orca Scientific Name: Orcinus orca MMM Division: Queens of The Sea & Sky
Diet:
Carnivore Eat about 500 pounds of food a day Large prey & medium prey: seals, smaller whales, smaller dolphins, sea lions, penguins, different fish, sharks, squid, octopi, sea birds, sea turtles, sea otters, river otters
Habitat/Biome:
Widely distributed Found in every ocean Common in colder areas: Pacific Northwest, along northern Norway's coast in the Atlantic, higher latitudes of Southern Ocean Infrequent in warmer areas: Florida, Hawaii, Australia, Galápagos Islands, Bahamas, Gulf of Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa Very rarely in freshwater rivers: Rhine, Thames, Elbe, one even traveled about 110 miles up the Columbia River for fish
Physical Descriptions/Adaptations:
Size: 23 to 32 feet Weight: up to 6 tons Dorsal most black except for a grey/white saddle behind dorsal fin Underside of body is white White eyespot behind each eye Streamlined bodies (swim better) Blow hole to breathe Thick layer of blubber (for warmth, shape)
Animalia, Chordata, Mammalia, Cetacea, Delphinidae
Habitat/Biome: Marine (ocean)
Threats to Ecosystem:
Pollution: chemical pollutants, plastic, oil spills Whaling Noise pollution: boat/vessel traffic Entanglement in fishing gear
Terrain:
Movement:
Swimming: at speeds up to 28 mph (only for a few seconds at a time), cruise at 8 mph, ride waves Diving: depth to at least 100m or more, duration about 2-3 minutes, conserve oxygen slower heart rate Rest: half of brain goes to sleep, may swim slowly, mothers and calves don't appear to sleep or rest during 1st month of calf's life
Climate: cold/arctic, cool/temperate, warm/temperate
Interesting Facts:
The average lifespan of a male orca is around 36 years, while the average lifespan of a female is around 63 years old. Newborn calves are able to swim and dive at birth — Orca Animal Research Trading Card

In summarizing his own recently completed bracket, Christian provides an example of an epic pinnacle encounter. “I went with the Alaska theme in picking Grizzly vs Orca, with Orca for the win! #TeamOrca.” Lest a battle example featuring two top-of-the-food-web predators gives a distorted view of the sound and fury of theoretical matches, this information from the “Frequently Asked Questions” section of the tournament website reminds participants that some matches wouldn’t make for good television:

The battles are NOT always “nature, red in tooth and claw.” Sometimes the winner “wins” by displacing the other at a feeding location, sometimes a powerful animal doesn’t attack because it is not motivated to.

Evidence that this year’s bracket has created middle school-level excitement among the scientists and educators at Carnegie Museum of Natural History arrived in a recent email reminder Curator of Mammals John Wible sent to colleagues participating in this year’s event:

Now in case you were befuddled by some of the common names used in the brackets (e.g., therapsid or pangolin) I have attached a listing of all the taxonomic names for the combatants. So for example, there are 8 species of pangolins and which one is the pangolin here . . . Smutsia gigantea, the giant pangolin from Africa.

In the first two rounds, I remind you that the location of the battle is in the home habitat of the higher seeded (with the lower number!) combatant. From round 3 on, there is one of four random environments for the battles announced before the battle.

Providing greater public insight into how scientists think about the world we all share is in fact one of the broader impacts of March Mammal Madness. Last year, in a research paper documenting the event’s development, reach, and benefits, the creative team responsible for March Mammal Madness offered this insight:

Scientists situate ourselves in the domain of data collection framed by hypotheses and predictions as we speculate about the world(s) around us. But fundamentally these are just grown-up words for ideas hewn from imagination and the creative combination of what is known to journey into the unknown. March Mammal Madness is collective, “performance science” – the stories of animals, told creatively with awe for the natural world. We celebrate species and the ecosystems they inhabit, the scientists who conduct studies, and the funders who make the research possible. (https://elifesciences.org/articles/65066#s7)

As the March Mammal Madness tournament progresses, you’ll be able to follow some commentary from CMNH scientists and educators on Twitter @CarnegieMNH.

Teachers who would like to follow the overall tournament may also want to use #2022MMMk12 with their students for a more student-friendly twitter feed.

St. Patrick and Our Fear and Fascination With Snakes

by Patrick McShea

Through the lens of natural history, the legend of a Fifth Century Christian Missionary driving the snakes of Ireland into the sea has no factual basis. Ireland was snake-less territory long before the man now known to the world as Saint Patrick arrived on the scene, a condition attributable to the massive glacial ice sheet that covered the island and surrounding territories beginning approximately 26,000 years ago. In the centuries since the ice melted, as the Irish landscape became hospitable to various plants and animals, the surrounding cold Atlantic waters prevented the migration of snakes from nearby lands.

Colorful stained glass window depicting St. Patrick. — “Saint Patrick (stained glass)” by jcbwalsh is marked with CC BY-NC 2.0.

If St. Patrick’s enduring reputation as a reptile wrangler can be best explained by reference to religious symbolism, his legendary feat remains a testament to the long-standing fear and fascination humans have for snakes. Proof of this two-fold regard can also be found in the myths that persist in places where encounters with snakes are commonplace.

Colorful stylized snake — 2022 logo for the St. Patrick’s Festival in Dublin, Ireland

In Pennsylvania, where 21 species of snakes are considered to be native, a considerable amount of misinformation about our legless neighbors has developed during the Commonwealth’s 235-year history. Most of myths can be easily addressed – hoop snakes, creatures capable of holding their tails in their mouths to roll down hills, simply do not exist; the source of the cucumber smell some people associate with copperheads might be a habitat odor created by the rot of decaying bark and other vegetation; and snakes are simply not physically equipped to dig their own extensive tunnel systems.

One particularly persistent myth involves interbreeding between timber rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus), one of three venomous species found in Pennsylvania, and black rat snakes (Pantherophis alleghaniensis), a common species that frequently draws human attention because of its tree climbing abilities. Young black rat snakes have a banded pattern that has repeatedly led some human observers to speculate about rattlesnake ancestry.

Museum display of timber rattlesnakes. — In the display of Pennsylvania’s venomous snakes, a tiny button of a rattle is visible on the tail end of this nine-inch-long timber rattlesnake.

The Pennsylvania snake displays on the Daniel G. & Carole L. Kamin T. rex. Overlook are the perfect place to develop the type of memory image required identify a young black rat snake, and perhaps minimize the attendant anxiety of an unexpected future encounter.

Museum display of black rat snakes. — A display of Pennsylvania’s non-venomous snakes includes a juvenile black rat snake (right) next to a larger and darker adult.

Patrick McShea works in the Education and Visitor Experience department of Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Reptiles, and Amphibians, and Bones? Oh My!

by Anais Haftman

I am a fourth year biology student at Duquesne University who has had the pleasure to work in the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles since 2021. Most of my time working in the section has been dedicated to cleaning the bones of specimens in the collection to ensure proper long-term preservation. With over 7,000 osteology (skeletal) specimens in the section, bone cleaning can be a tedious task. With the help of the museum’s Conservator Gretchen Anderson, and Collection Manager of Amphibians and Reptiles Stevie Kennedy-Gold, the long process of conserving and improving the quality of the osteologic specimens has been a breeze.

Why is a clean osteology collection important?

Conservation of specimens (wet and dry) in research collections is of the of the utmost importance because each specimen is a time and place record of species occurrence that can be re-examined as necessary. Some specimens are notable for having informed past research, and all specimens are held in public trust for their potential to inform current and future research. Because our specimens are routinely loaned out to researchers for use in studies, we work to ensure that their work is not diminished by ensuring the highest quality specimens possible. As the quality of a specimen decreases, the quality of information received from it also decreases.

Close up of a turtle shell with the specimen number CM 114627 on it. — There’s no separating a turtle’s backbone from its shell, even for cleaning purposes. Photo by Stevie Kennedy-Gold.

What makes the osteology specimens unclean?

One of the most common culprits behind our need to clean bones are dermestid beetle larvae. But wait, why in the world would there be beetles in the bone boxes? Dermestid beetle larvae are commonly used to eat flesh and cartilage off specimens before they are added to the collection. During this process sometimes a larva or two wiggle themselves into small holes in the bones and are not seen when the bugs are cleaned off prior to storage. In these cases, we simply remove any long dead hitch-hiker larvae we find.

Sometimes natural oils and fats also remain on bones after the initial dermestid cleaning. In these cases, the cleaning process becomes more complicated. The most common circumstance that creates a need for cleaning, however, is the presence of inactive mold on specimens. Most of the time this issue can be easily solved by using a simple paint brush or Q-tip. But other times, particularly on large sturdy bones, I needed to put in a good amount of elbow grease!

How is the bone cleaning done?

Gretchen taught Stevie and I all we needed to know to properly clean bone specimens. The first step is always to visually inspect the specimen and record its condition. We make sure to write down its identifying collection number, what species it is, whether it’s a whole skeleton or only parts, if there were dermestid larvae still present on the specimen, and much more.

Person cleaning bones with a vacuum. — The author using the vacuum tube to clean bones. Photo by Stevie Kennedy-Gold.

Once the data collection on the initial quality is complete, the cleaning can begin. We initially use a Nilfisk HEPA vacuum tube (a device we named R2-D2) to clean any inactive mold from the bones. Wearing protective masks, we manually loosen the mold and push it into the vacuum using paint brushes. Once the mold is removed, we are able to inspect the bones for presence of larvae or secreted oils. If there are larvae present, we carefully remove them with tweezers and put them in our “bug box.” If there are oils present, a Q-tip is used to clean it off. For smaller bones, such as individual vertebrae, a soak in 70% ethanol is often part of the cleaning process.

Snake vertebrae in a container from above — The delicate ribs and vertebrae of a snake require a delicate cleaning touch. Photo by Stevie Kennedy-Gold.

Depending on the quality and size of the osteological specimen, it can take anywhere from fifteen minutes to an hour to clean completely. Overall, much of the work to preserve osteologic specimens happens behind the scenes. This vital work is an example of the never-ending important tasks performed by both staff and volunteers that make the museum an important resource for scientific research.

Anais Haftman is a biology student at Duquesne University and works in the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles at the museum. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Antarctica and the Anthropocene: Novel Species to the Polar South and Their Ecological Impact

by Nicholas Sauer

For better or worse, humans have left an impact on every corner of the globe, and Antarctica is no exception. One of the ways humans have altered Antarctica’s unique environment is by unintentionally introducing new plant and animal species to the continent. The presence on the continent of human-introduced novel species can be interpreted as a mark of the Anthropocene, a term scientists use for the recent decades during which human activities have created environmental impacts great enough to constitute distinct geological and earth system change, and a new era in the Earth’s history. While most novel species do not survive Antarctica’s polar elements, a few do. As of 2021, there were eleven known novel invertebrate species, including insects and mollusks, thriving on the more hospitable coastal areas of Antarctica. For context, there are 163 species of bivalves, 568 species of gastropods, and three species of insects that currently make the continent home. Of the three insect species, only the midge B. antarctica, flightless and measuring under a centimeter long, is native to Antarctica. Novel species while not always intrinsically dangerous to their new homes and neighbors, have the potential to change their adopted ecosystems in profound and unforeseen ways.

Eretmoptera murphyi – a novel midge to Antarctica changes nutrient cycling

One of the most fascinating of Antarctica’s human-introduced invertebrate species is the midge Eretmoptera murphyi, that has made Signy Island, Antarctica home since the 1960s. This species of midge inadvertently made its way to the polar South as a stowaway on a scientific expedition focused on plant transplantation. The insects found Signy Island well-suited for colonization: they have no predators there, can survive “ice entrapment,” continue to respire when in water, and produce larvae unfazed by freezing temperatures. The fact that the species is parthenogenetic—that is, reproduces without fertilization—also eases its survival. Each new generation emerges from the soil and melting ice over the course of the summer season and then disperses on the wind, expanding the species’ range. Today the density of some E. murphyi populations on Signy exceed that of any other insect population on the island.

Furthermore, the midge discovered an excellent food source in the island’s abundant peat deposits. E. murphyi consumes the peat and then excretes it as nitrogen-rich soil. In the area that the midge occupies, the amount of nitrogen in the soil matches what a scientist could expect to find in soil surrounding a seal colony. The novel midge’s excretion of nitrogen is “opening nutrient cycling bottlenecks” on the island says Jesamine Bartlett, a scientist studying E. murphyi on Signy. Bartlett compares the species to an earthworm regarding its creation of nutrient-rich soil. However, per Bartlett, the island has never before hosted a creature that performed such a role to her knowledge. It remains to be seen just how this heightened level of nitrogen in the soil—which acts as a fertilizer—could alter the abundance of the island’s plant populations, particularly that of mosses, hair grass, and pearlwort. In addition to its potential effect on Signy’s flora, scientists caution that E. murphyi could eventually outcompete and displace the island’s pre-existing insect populations, particularly that of B. antarctica, Antarctica’s only endemic insect species and one that can only reproduce via fertilization. Because it is parthenogenetic and reproduces more easily, scientists are curious to see if the novel midge E. murphyi could one day prove heartier than the native species, and what the presence of the novel midge means for Signy Island’s biodiversity in the long-term.

How Are Novel Species Introduced to Antarctica?

Species such as E. murphyi spread into new territories traveling with humans, often via the laces and tread of shoes, acting as literal living components of our footprint. Seeds of non-native plants hitch a ride to new habitats on human travelers’ clothes. In fact, each tourist unknowingly brings on average an estimated nine seeds with them to Antarctica according to Stephen Chown of Stellenbosch University in South Africa. In 2010 there were approximately 40,000 tourists who visited the continent. That’s potentially 360,000 novel seeds introduced to Antarctica in just one year, though most will not successfully establish themselves. According to a study led by researchers from Monash University in Australia, only sixteen percent of Important Bird Areas in Antarctica are found in regions “negligibly impacted” by humans. These scholars and conservationists argue that the image of Antarctica as “remote” is unhelpful and obscures the profound impact humans have on its coastal regions, regions that contain the continent’s greatest biodiversity. The goal of the team’s research is to encourage Antarctic Treaty nations to take concrete steps to further protect Antarctica’s natural environment and wildlife. As a landmass not under the jurisdiction of any one nation, Antarctica’s ecological protection hinges on global cooperation.

More than ever before, maintaining Antarctica’s unique ecosystems—safeguarding the continent’s biosecurity—is of paramount importance. The scientific community and the ecotourism industry are making efforts to adhere stringently to the Antarctic Treaty, the Antarctic Conservation Act, and Antarctic Science and Tourism Conservation Act, international agreements in place to protect the continent’s delicate ecology and facilitate ethical research and tourism. Per these agreements, travelers to Antarctica are prohibited from bringing seeds, plants, or animals including insects onto the continent. Travelers are also barred from bringing probiotics and SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast), a key ingredient of kombucha and yogurt. Both products contain “biologically viable organisms”—bacteria—that could have an adverse effect on the Antarctic environment if left uncontrolled. Under the Antarctic treaties, cargo en route to Antarctica must be thoroughly inspected and sanitized before being shipped and unloaded. Customs inspectors from treaty-member nations are on the lookout for rotting fruits and vegetables, food scraps, spores, mold, soil, living animals, and signs of living animals like wasps’ nests, and a vast array of other “biosecurity risk material.” The United States’ Antarctic Program Participant Guide asks that prospective researchers make sure that “there are no seeds or other plant parts caught in Velcro, no mud on boots, and no grass inside cuffs.” Even the smallest of novel organic materials onboard ship or onboard a traveler’s sleeve have the potential to impact Antarctica’s isolated environment.

Antarctica in the Anthropocene

In the profoundly interconnected world of the Anthropocene, people have introduced many novel species to Antarctica, be they mollusks attached to a ship’s hull, seeds stuck to a scientist’s parka, or midges clinging to a hiking boot or plant specimen. Novel species cause direct changes to the local ecology, and the impacts may be getting more dire, as the continent is also being altered by human-caused global climate change. Already Antarctica is warming five times as fast as the global average, and its ice sheets are melting (with grim consequences to the coastal regions everywhere as sea levels rise). Global climate change can only be solved through people and nations working collaboratively to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. And in the meantime in Antarctica, as we travel deeper into the twenty-first century, the scientific community and governments around the world are learning to be more mindful of the human impact on Earth’s southernmost continent and searching for ways—such as better biosecurity—to keep Antarctica’s unique ecology as intact and resilient as possible.

Nicholas Sauer is a Gallery Experience Presenter in CMNH’s Life Long Learning Department. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

References

“Antarctica.” National Geographic. 2021. <https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/antarctica/>.

“Antarctica more widely impacted by humans than previously thought.” Sciencedaily.com. 17 July 2020. <https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200717120155.htm>.

Bartlett, Jesamine, et al. “An insect invasion of Antarctica: the past, present and future distribution of Eretmoptera murphyi (Diptera, Chironomidae) on Signy Island.” Insect Conservation and Diversity, vol. 13, January 2020. <https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/icad.12389>.

Garcia, Sierra. “Antarctica Is Warming. Are Invasive Species on the Way?” Jstor.org. 28 June 2021. <https://daily.jstor.org/antarctica-is-warming-are-invasive-species-on-the-way/>.

Lucibella, Michael. “Insects in the Extreme: What the Genes of Antarctica’s Tough Little Midge Can Tell Us.” The Antarctic Sun. 29 June 2020. <https://antarcticsun.usap.gov/science/4427/>.

Perkins, Sid. “Antarctica Threatened by Alien Seed Invasion.” Wired.com. 3 March 2012. <https://www.wired.com/2012/03/antarctica-plant-seeds/>.

Scharping, Nathaniel. “Even Antarctica has Invasive Species.” Discovermagazine.com. 19 Dec. 2018. <https://www.discovermagazine.com/environment/even-antarctica-has-invasive-species>.

Sexton, Chrissy. “Non-Native Insect Species Become a Major Threat in Antarctica.” Earth.com. 19 Dec. 2018. <https://www.earth.com/news/non-native-insect-species-antarctica/>.

Shukla, Priya. “Tourists are Bringing Invasive Species to Antarctica.” Forbes.com. 27 Dec. 2021. < https://www.forbes.com/sites/priyashukla/2021/12/27/tourists-are-bringing-invasive-species-to-antarctica/?sh=1244b66f3bc8>.

Solly, Meilan. “How Antarctica’s Only Native Insect Survives the Freezing Temperatures.” Smithsonian Magazine. 10 Sept. 2019. <https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart- news/how-antarcticas-only-insect-resident-survives-freezing-temperatures-180973087/>.

“33 Antarctic Species We Love and Must Protect: Part 1.” Pew Charitable Trusts. 16 Sept. 2014. <https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/fact-sheets/2014/09/counting- downtoccamlr#:~:text=Antarctic%20mollusks,new%20species%20have%20been%20dis covered.>.

“United States Antarctic Program Participant Guide: 2018-2020 Edition.” National Science Foundation. June 2018. < https://www.usap.gov/USAPgov/travelAndDeployment/documents/ParticipantGuide_2018-20.pdf>.

“What is Biosecurity?” Australian Antarctic Program. 14 July 2020. <https://www.antarctica.gov.au/antarctic-operations/travel-and-logistics/cargo-and- freight/biosecurity-measures/what-is-biosecurity/>.

“What is Biosecurity Risk Material (BRM)?” Australian Antarctic Program. 14 July 2020.<https://www.antarctica.gov.au/antarctic-operations/travel-and-logistics/cargo-and- freight/biosecurity-measures/biosecurity-risk-material/>.

“To Cross A Bridge”: Fern Hollow Bridge in Pittsburgh, A Geology Story

by Albert D. Kollar and Wendy T. Noe

In the early morning of January 28, 2022, Pittsburgh’s 52-year-old Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed into Fern Hollow Run of Frick Park. Thankfully, there were no fatalities. The event made local and national news¹. On February 7, the National Transportation Board (NTSB) reported it could take 12 to 18 months for a final report to determine the cause of the collapse².

Fern Hollow Bridge

The now infamous bridge, which carried Forbes Avenue’s vehicle and pedestrian traffic between Squirrel Hill and Regent Square, crossed a Frick Park hollow at the 900-foot contour level from anchor points at the base of the sedimentary rock unit known as the Morgantown Sandstone (fig. 1, fig. 4b). The bridge, one of 446 bridges in the City of Pittsburgh,¹was a steel rigid frame, a design in which the superstructure and substructure are rigidly connected to act as a continuous unit. The structure included three spans, with a total length of 447 feet (48.7 meters). Its road surface was 160 feet above (48.7 meters) Fern Hollow Run, and the bridge operated with a weight limit of 26 tons².

To Cross a Bridge

Bridges are built to carry people, all manner of the materials we require, and the vehicles used to transport both, across obstacles that would otherwise disrupt the smooth and timely flow of traffic. In our modern world bridges are frequently constructed to cross other built structures. Think pedestrian bridges over roadways, or highway bridges over busy rail lines. Mostly, however, bridges cross geologically formed features such as rivers and the myriad forms of depressions carved into the landscape over time by flowing water. Whether we call them valleys, ravines, or hollows, our region’s familiar landscape features are evidence of the impact of erosion on what was once far more level terrain.

Pittsburgh, with 446 bridges within the city limits, has long been known as the City of Bridges. The title is appropriate because the tally far exceeds the number of bridges in Venice that cross the Italian city’s network of canals³. Bridges are so common in Pittsburgh that for many residents it’s a daily experience to both cross over and pass under a bridge.

In human history, one of the oldest existing bridges dating from antiquity is the single-arch stone bridge over the Meles River, built c. 850 BC in Izmir (formerly Smyrna) Turkey.⁴

In Pittsburgh, the first fixed river crossing structure was the Monongahela Bridge, which was built in 1818. The form of this landmark can be inferred from Russell Smith’s Old Monongahela Bridge, a painting in the Carnegie Museum of Art (CMOA) collection that depicts the bridge during its construction. This largely wooden bridge burned during the great Pittsburgh fire of 1845, destruction captured in another CMOA landscape painting, View of the Great Fire of Pittsburgh, by William C. Wall. In 1883 the award-winning Smithfield Street Bridge rose from the ashes at the site of the former bridge. The Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation designated the Romanesque Pauli lenticular truss as an historic bridge in 1970, recognition reinforced in 1977, when it was also cited as a City of Pittsburgh Historic Structure. It’s therefore reasonable to hope that a new Fern Hollow Bridge may one day be cited as having an award-winning design like the Smithfield Street Bridge.

Pittsburgh Geology

Paleogeography map of Pennsylvania — Fig. 2

Understanding the origins of the landscape features in Pittsburgh that make hundreds of bridges a necessity requires background knowledge of two long and widely spaced periods of Earth’s geologic history. Conditions during the first period help explain why rock layers here appear (mainly in roadcuts) stacked in relatively flat layers. During the Pennsylvanian Period (319 million to 299 million years ago), what is now Pittsburgh was centered near the equator where the fluctuating levels of a tropical sea deposited lime mud that later hardened to limestone. In lush swamps that covered much of a broad sea edge coastal plain, tropical plants grew so dense that their remains were later transformed into coal deposits. Large rivers that flowed from the eroding ancestral Appalachian Highlands, hundreds of miles east of Pittsburgh, carried sand, silt, and mud to the coastal plain, forming sandstone, siltstone, and shale along the way⁵ (fig. 2).

The lithified sediments formed strata that became the bedrock beneath the Pittsburgh area. Geologic forces have been changing the landscape ever since. First through formation of the Appalachian Mountains by the action of plate tectonics, c. 260 million to 250 million years ago, followed by 250 million years of erosion. The majestic Appalachians were reduced to a broad plateau in western Pennsylvania where rivers and creeks meandered across a gently rolling plain creating wide shallow valleys.

Before the Ice Age

As global climate cooled after the warm Pliocene Epoch (5.3 to 2.6 million years ago), glaciers started to form in Arctic Canada. In Western Pennsylvania at the time the drainage patterns of the ancestral Three Rivers and their tributaries flowed north and northwest from southern West Virginia through the Pittsburgh area and eastern Ohio, eventually converging with the Erigan River in what is present day Lake Erie (fig. 3). The Erigan River, thought by geologists to have been ancestral to the St. Lawrence River, flowed to the Atlantic Ocean⁶.

In Pittsburgh, Monongahela River sediments were laid down as terrace deposits (clay, silt, cobbles, and boulders), creating a relatively flat bottomland, a base for the major traffic arteries of the city’s East End (fig. 1)⁹.

Fig. 4a: Nine Mile Run Seen from Calvary c. 1928, John Kane. Fig. 4b: modern image with old Monongahela River level and Frick Park rock units. — Fig. 4

Fig. 5a: Panther Hollow, Pittsburgh c. 1933-1934 John Kane. Fig. 5b: modern image of Prehistoric Monongahela River with Schenley Park rock units — Fig. 5

Kollar and Brezinski (2010) visualized the pre-Ice Age ancestral Monongahela River through a geologic lens using two paintings by John Kane, “Nine Mile Run Seen from Calvary,” c. 1928 (fig. 4a) and fig. 4b geology version and “Panther Hollow, Pittsburgh,” c. 1930 – 1934⁹ (fig. 5a) and fig. 5b geology version.

Here Comes the Ice Age: The Pleistocene Epoch in Western Pennsylvania

It was during the Ice Age or Pleistocene Epoch (2.6 million to 11,700 years ago)⁷, when the erosional actions of water impacted Pittsburgh’s landscape.

Thick glacial ice sheets advanced into western Pennsylvania at least three times, starting with the earliest known advance, 700,000 years ago. The last glacial incursion occurred some 20,000 years ago, when the Laurentian Ice Sheet advanced to the N40⁰, about 40 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, depositing terminal moraine sediments in southern Butler and Lawrence counties⁸.

Fig. 6: Reconstruction of Lake Monongahela (blue) of the tri-state area with modern towns and state boundaries for reference. — Fig. 6

With each advance of the glaciers, ice dammed the northwest flowing rivers (fig. 3). Like a clogged bathtub, water levels rose, backing up into creeks, streams, and runs to an elevation of approximately 1,100 feet (335 meters)⁶ to form Lake Monongahela⁷. Fig. 6 indicates in blue the highest water level of Lake Monongahela, a level high enough to breach and subsequently erode channels over drainage divides.

This erosion through existing divides changed the region’s drainage from northwest towards the ancestral Great Lakes, to southwest towards the Gulf of Mexico, with the present-day Ohio River as the primary channel⁷.

An example of geology changing the course of history.

Lake Monangahela, Oakland 20,000 years ago — Fig. 7

Fig. 8a: Turtle Creek Valley No. 1 c. 1930 John Kane. Fig. 8b: modern image with approximate level of glacial ice 20,000 years ago. — Fig. 8

Lake Monongahela was geographically extensive. It extended east to Latrobe, south to Clarksburg, WV, west to eastern Ohio, and north to Elwood City (fig. 6). All of Oakland, including the current locations of Carnegie Museums and the University of Pittsburgh campus were flooded (fig. 7)⁵. Even the George Westinghouse Memorial Bridge (1932) in East Pittsburgh standing 240 feet (73.1 meters) above Turtle Creek would have been covered by Lake Monongahela (fig. 8b). See John Kane’s landscape painting, Turtle Creek Valley No. 1, c. 1930 (fig. 8a)¹⁰.

Geology of Fern Hollow

Fig. 9: Evolution of three rivers at downtown Pittsburgh from Early Pleistocene to the present. — Fig. 9

As the glaciers advanced into, and melted back from, northwestern Pennsylvania, the weight of the ice had impacts on the Earth’s crust in the northern latitudes of North America. The crust would compress with the advance of the ice, and then slowly rebound each time the ice sheets melted. As a result of these fluctuations and continued erosion, during the time period stretching from Early Pleistocene to the present, the landscape shifted from a gently rolling plain dissected by shallow, meandering stream valleys into broader, deeper valleys, deeper hollows, and ravines⁶ (fig. 9).

In Frick Park, the strata exposed along the eastern flank of the ravine at the Fern Hollow Bridge, as shown in (fig.1, fig. 4b,) consists of sedimentary rocks from the Carmichaels Formation⁹. The current floor of Fern Hollow is Saltsburg Sandstone, a unit formed about 300 million years ago⁹. Sedimentary rocks are, by nature, more prone to erode than igneous and metamorphic rocks, which don’t occur in western Pennsylvania. Some estimates propose that it takes about a million years to erode approximately 164 feet (50 meters) of rock¹¹ within the river valleys and hollows of this region. Assuming this estimate is valid, which might not be the case, it would have taken a million years for the valley of Fern Hollow Run, and that of nearby Nine Mile Run, to be eroded to their present elevations.

Summary

Every bridge crossing is a potential encounter with geology. This scientific discipline offers insight into the natural dynamics that shape landscapes through deposition of sediments, mountain building, and erosion, all factors that help account for the locations where our region’s hundreds of bridges were built as transportation necessities.

Albert D. Kollar is Collections Manager for the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology at the museum Kollar and Wendy T. Noe serve on the Board of Directors of Pittsburgh Geological Society. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

References

Brezinski, D. K. Fig. 7.

Harper, J. A. Figs. 1, 2, 3, 6, 9.

Kollar, A. D., and Brezinski, D. K. Figs. 4, 5, 8.

¹New York Times, 28 January 2022.

²Guza, M. 2022. NTSB report: Pittsburgh’s Fern Hollow Bridge collapse started on Squirrel Hill side. Pittsburgh Tribune Review.

³Bramgati, A., et al. 2003. The Lagoon of Venice: Geological setting, evolution and land subsidence. Episodes, 26, 264-268.

⁴ASMOSIA XII INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS. 8 – 14 October,2018, Izmir, Turkey.

⁵Brezinski, D. K. and A.D. Kollar. 2005. The Geology of Schenley Park: A Record of Climate and Sea Level Change 300 Million Years in the Making. PAlS Publication Number 1, 5 p.

⁶Harper, J. A. 2016. The Geological Evolution of Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers. PAlS Publication 21, 5 p.

⁷Harper, J. A. 2002. Lake Monongahela: Anatomy of an immense Ice Age Pond. Pennsylvania Geology, 32, p. 2-12.

⁸Harper, J. A., and A. D. Kollar. Geology of a Former Pleistocene Bog in Bridgeville, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Geology. In review.

⁹Brezinski, D.K. and A. D. Kollar. 2005. The Geology of Frick Park A 300 Million Years Record of Climate and Sea Level Change. PAlS Publication Number 3, 5 p.

¹⁰Kollar, A.D.,and ¹⁰D.K. Brezinski. 2010. Geology, Landscapes and John Kane’s Landscape Paintings. PAlS Publication 10, 5.

¹¹Kurak, E., et al. 2021. INCISION OF THE YOUGHIOGHENY RIVER THROUGH THE LAUREL HIGHLANDS DETERMINED BY A NEW RIVER TERRACE STRATIGRAPHIC AGE MODEL, OHIOPYLE STATE PARK, SOUTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA. Eds. Shaulis, J., Pazzaglia, F., and Lindberg, S. Guidebook for the 85th ANNUAL FIELD CONFERENCE OF PENNSYLVANIA GEOLOGISTS October 7 — 9, 2021.

Fall 2021 Lights Out Pittsburgh Overview

by Jon Rice

Why Lights Out Pittsburgh?

Over the past eight years, scientists from Powdermill Nature Reserve have conducted research in Downtown Pittsburgh, working with the generous help of the public to determine where and when birds collide with windows and other building surfaces. During this time, we have determined what building parameters make the structures deadlier to birds. Meanwhile, at Powdermill Nature Reserve, research on avian perception of glass has identified and tested products that can deter birds from colliding with windows. Outside of these research efforts, one major factor related to window collisions demands more attention – light pollution.

Pittsburgh skyline at night with lights on.

As birds migrate at night, using the moon and stars to navigate, they can become disoriented by light pollution coming from the ground surface below them. The source is often large cities, but urban sprawl and suburban areas can be just as detrimental. Disoriented birds are drawn out of the sky into these areas, often ending their migratory flight for the night, when otherwise they would continue flying. It’s at this stage, when migrating birds are close to the ground and moving among buildings, that a large percentage of window collisions occur.

Dark Sky Ordinances and Lights Out Pittsburgh

Many cities around the world have begun developing dark sky ordinances to reduce light pollution for multiple reasons, including public health, improved potential for astronomical observations, and wildlife conservation. The City of Pittsburgh created such an ordinance in August of 2021. At the same time, Carnegie Museum of Natural History was approached by the National Aviary at Pittsburgh and the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) with a proposal to start a local Lights Out initiative. A program modeled after existing ones in Philadelphia and several Ohio cities was developed with the input and aid of BOMA, whose participation ensured representation for the owners and managers of some of the city’s largest buildings.

Pittsburgh skyline with lights off during Lights Out Pittsburgh.

Skyscrapers aren’t the only buildings participating in the program. Residential homes, apartment buildings, and other low-rise buildings are also encouraged to participate in the Lights Out initiative. To participate, all one must do is turn out unnecessary external lights from midnight to 6:00 a.m. between March 15 and May 31, then again between September 1 and November 15. These weeks-long intervals are the peak spring and fall avian migration periods.

Fall 2021 Lights Out Results

In the first week of our Fall 2021 Lights Out campaign, 18 buildings signed up. Five were residential homes in the area, and 13 were large commercial buildings in Downtown Pittsburgh, including Point Park University, BNY Mellon Center and Client Service Center, and several PNC Downtown properties. Over the next month an additional 35 participants joined. In total, 73 buildings began participating in the fall migration period, and we are hopeful participation will grow in the upcoming spring season from March 15 to May 31.

To learn more about how you can get involved or participate in Lights Out Pittsburgh visit our website birdsafepgh.org or email us at birdsafepgh@gmail.com.

Jon Rice is the Urban Bird Conservation Coordinator at Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Powdermill Nature Reserve. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

World Pangolin Day: February 19, 2022

by Dr. John Wible

The third Saturday in February is celebrated as World Pangolin Day, a day to raise awareness of this endangered mammal. Pangolins, scaly anteaters, are heavily illegally trafficked for the bogus medicinal powers given to their scales, which are made of keratin, the same material that makes our semi-rigid fingernails.

CT scan of a pangolin curled up in a ball. — From CT scan of *Phataginus tricuspis*, Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History 014708; https://www.morphosource.org/concern/parent/000S26328/media/000091605

This image is from a CT scan of a preserved specimen from Cameroon in West Africa of the white-bellied pangolin, Phataginus tricuspis, from the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. There are eight species of pangolins, four in Africa and four in Asia. Some are dedicated tree dwellers, like the white-bellied pangolin; some are dedicated ground dwellers; and some are a mixture of the two. The existence of all eight species is threatened by some human actions.

The pose of this specimen is one that all living pangolins can readily replicate, rolling up into a ball as a defensive posture. The word pangolin itself is Malay for “roller.” With no teeth, the creature’s rolling posture and scales are its best defenses. Rolling is made possible in part by the aggregate mobility at the articulations between the individual bones of its backbone or vertebral column. And pangolins have a lot of these bones. The human body has 32 to 35 vertebrae, divided into regions: seven cervical, 12 thoracic, five lumbar, five sacral, and three to five tiny caudal vertebrae making the coccyx. And we know how mobile our bodies are! At 72 vertebrae, the white-bellied pangolin is double our count: seven cervical, 12 thoracic, eight lumbar, two sacral, and a whopping 43 caudal vertebrae. The black-bellied or long-tailed pangolin, Phataginus tetradactyla, has even more bones in its tail at 49!

For more about what you can do, visit WorldPangolinDay.org.

John Wible is the curator of the Section of Mammals at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Can Snails Feel Love?

by Dr. Timothy A. Pearce

A reader recently asked whether snails can feel love. I sometimes wonder that too; do my pet snails feel any affection for me? I don’t know the answer, but I’ll discuss this intriguing question from two perspectives: biochemical and philosophical.

Biochemically, many of our emotions are influenced by hormones. For example, higher levels of the hormone oxytocin are associated with greater trust and affection. Hormones in other species might have similar effects, for example, oxytocin in octopuses is associated with behaviors that are reasonably interpreted as affection. Humans and octopuses are very different evolutionarily – the common ancestor between our lineages occurred a very long time ago, at least 500 million years ago. The presence of oxytocin as an influencing hormone in both humans and octopuses could be interpreted as, (a) the ability to produce and respond to oxytocin might have been present in all or most animals living 500 million years ago and consequently is present in most modern animals that descended from those ancestors, or (b) the ability to produce and respond to oxytocin might have evolved independently in the lineage that led to humans and in the lineage that led to octopuses. A recent paper (Kumara et al. 2020) reported oxytocin-like proteins in a wide variety of vertebrates and invertebrates, suggesting the first possibility, that oxytocin might be widespread in animals due to shared common ancestry. If oxytocin, and other hormones that are associated with what we humans experience as love, are present in snails, then it could be reasonably argued that snails at least have the potential to feel love.

snail on a person's finger — Does my pet snail love me when it crawls on my finger? *Vespericola* sp. from Siskiyou County, CA. Photo by T.A. Pearce 31 Jul 1985.

Philosophically, in an evolutionary perspective, what would love be good for? Love in the broad sense might be useful in social organisms to strengthen bonds between individuals such as partners, parents and offspring, and group members working toward a common goal. Inter-species bonds, such as humans and their pets, or even between individuals of non-human species, are reasonably interpreted as manifestations of love. However, these evolutionary benefits of love are for social species, and I can’t think of any social snails. Snails do not show evidence of mate fidelity or parental care, and they do not seem to crave each other’s company. Although snails sometimes gather in large numbers, my study of such aggregations suggests mutually valued resources are the cause of such occurrences rather than a desire to be together (Pearce & Porter 2011). So, I can’t think how the capacity to experience love would be useful to a snail in a way that evolution could select for a snail’s ability to feel love.

Snails do copulate, for reproduction, and that can be interpreted as a form of love. Some snails use calcareous darts, often called “love darts” as part of a courtship dance before copulation (the darts themselves are not used in sperm transfer). Reproductive behaviors are probably influenced by hormones. I like to think that snails find reproduction to be a pleasurable experience, but we really don’t have much idea what is pleasurable to a snail.

We sometimes use the word love to mean intense liking. In this sense, snails might have the capacity to love. I have noticed some of my pet snails are so attracted to cucumbers that I commonly say, “Snails love cucumbers.” I interpret the consumption of cucumbers as being deeply satisfying to snails.

In summary, snails might have the biochemical potential to feel love, but they might not have a socially-mediated evolutionary reason to feel love. They engage in reproductive behaviors, but we don’t know whether they feel love or pleasure during reproduction. At least some snails seem to have an intense like for cucumbers. Maybe snails do feel love, and maybe they don’t; we don’t know. You are free to believe as you like. Your pet snail Fluffy might really love you!

Timothy A. Pearce, PhD, is the head of the mollusks section at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Literature Cited

Kumara, S., Vijayasarathya, M., Venkatesha, M.A., Sunita, P. & Balaram, P. 2020. Cone snail analogs of the pituitary hormones oxytocin/vasopressin and their carrier protein neurophysin. Proteomic and transcriptomic identification of conopressins and conophysins. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) – Proteins and Proteomics, 1868(5): 140391

Pearce, T.A. & Porter, K.A. 2011. Do Philomycus carolinianus (Gastropoda: Philomycidae) prefer to congregate? Nautilus 125: 83-85.

Climate Change Myth Busting at the Museum

by Dr. Bonnie McGill

If you’ve visited the museum recently you may have noticed some new orange labels throughout the exhibit halls. These are part of an innovative visitor experience titled, We Are Nature: A New Natural History. I helped write the label you’ll find in Benedum Hall of Geology next to the oil and coal specimens. Its six-word headline reads “Burning fossil fuels causes climate change”.

Tweet includes a selfie photo of the author in front of the new label. The tweet reads “That’s right—the fossil fuels exhibit @CarnegieMNH now states ‘Burning FF causes climate change’! A small but mighty change. #climatechange #scicomm” My twitter handle is @BonnSci and the museum is @CarnegieMNH. — Screenshot of a tweet I sent in December.

This is an important exhibit update. When looking at a big chunk of coal, it’s hard to not think about climate change. Fossil fuel combustion is the leading cause of climate change. For example, from 2010-2019, burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) accounted for 81-91% of total human-caused CO₂ emissions (IPCC AR6 WGI 2021 ch 5 p 6). Over that same time period the measured global average temperature was 1.6-2.2 ^oF (0.9-1.2 ^oC) warmer than the pre-industrial global average temperature. This increase cannot be explained by natural processes (such as changes in solar irradiance or volcanoes), which actually decreased the temperature by 0.2 ^oF (0.1^oC), according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (IPCC AR6 WGI 2021 ch 3 p4).

While the museum has understood the science of anthropogenic climate change for many years, adding these new labels explicitly linking fossil fuels to climate change has created opportunities for new discussion and questions about what scientists know and what they don’t know. To help address these questions, the CMNH Natural History Interpreters have been working with the Climate and Rural Systems Partnership (CRSP) to bolster their climate conversation skills and climate science knowledge. One tool we at CRSP have developed with our regional network of community partners is a climate change myth busting resource that breaks down some of the most commonly repeated myths about climate change.

Let me show you how the climate change myth busting resource works. For example, here is one myth we hear a lot:

“The climate has always changed, therefore this is natural.”

The guide provides three types of information to address the myth:

1. The science bottom line

Yes, the climate has always changed. This time it’s different. It’s more rapid than past changes and it can only be explained by human activity.

2. The science in more detail (not a script, simply background information)

Past climate changes were dominated by naturally occurring cyclical changes in the Earth’s orbit and axis. Volcanoes and asteroid impacts have also changed the chemistry of the atmosphere and, thus, Earth’s temperature in the past. These forces continue to have effects. Today natural forces contribute a -0.2 ^oF effect on modern day global warming, which cannot explain the warming observed today. Human activities contribute a net increase of 1.4-2.3 ^oF. This means humans are having a 7- to 11-fold greater impact on global temperature than non-human forces of nature.

Scientists have 99.999% certainty that current climate change is human-caused. As the IPCC says “its unequivocal”. One of the strongest lines of evidence comes from comparing observed (past) global average temperatures with projections from climate models for the same time period. Only the climate models that include heat-trapping gas emissions from human activities match the observed temperatures (see plot below). Climate models that include only natural forces of climate change do not match observed changes in global temperature.

Line graph of degrees C -0.5 to 2.0 on the vertical axis vs. year 1850-2020 on the horizontal axis. The lines stay near zero until about 1960 when the black (observed temperature) and brown (simulated temperature driven by humans and natural factors) move upward to about 1.5 degrees in 2020. The green line (simulated natural factors only) stays near zero and does not match the observed line. — Change in global surface temperature (annual average) as observed (in black) and simulated using human & natural (brown) and only natural (green) factors (both 1850-2020). Source: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group 1 (WG1) Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) Summary for Policymakers. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/#SPM

Additionally, fossil fuels are the only source of carbon (representing millions of years of plant-stored carbon) large enough to explain the observed increase in atmospheric CO₂. The carbon isotopes in the CO₂ match the carbon isotopes of fossil fuels.

3. Ideas for moving the conversation toward solutions

Recognize that the person engaging in conversation seems to agree that the climate IS changing–shared agreement is vitally important.

It’s true the Earth’s climate has always changed—our planet has had ice ages and Hothouse periods caused by natural changes in the Earth’s orbit and axis, changes in solar irradiance, and volcanoes. This time it’s different. Natural cycles, solar energy, and volcanoes alone are not enough to explain the increase in atmospheric CO₂ concentrations and Earth’s temperature. Human emissions of greenhouse gases, primarily from the burning of fossil fuels, do explain the increase in CO₂ and temperature.

Knowing it is human-caused means it can be human-solved! It is important that we’re on the same page about the cause of climate change, so that we can develop effective solutions. For example, you could say, “Perhaps you might be interested in learning more about climate solutions, many of which improve other conditions too like our health?” For solutions to talk about see Project Drawdown. Transitioning to renewable energy will benefit air and water quality and human health.

Climate change information added to galleries, and training staff on climate science and techniques for talking about it in friendly ways, are just a few examples of how the scientists, educators, and exhibitions team are working together at CMNH to explore Anthropocene topics like climate change. We want to engage museum visitors and work with our regional communities to have productive climate conversations, open discussions that are oriented toward climate solutions and a positive future. Because at the end of the day that is what really matters.

May 2022 update: Here is the completed myth busting resource, “Breaking up with climate myths with climate fact flip cards.”

We also recommend this resource from our partner the Climate Advocacy Lab for learning more about having relational climate conversations.

African Artifacts: Back Story and Current Use

by Patrick McShea

Teaching with African Artifacts at Pittsburgh Public Schools’ Gifted Center

At Pittsburgh Public Schools’ Gifted Center, Cheree Charmello Andrews has long used a set of handcrafted objects from the Educator Loan Collection of Carnegie Museum of Natural History to help her seventh and eighth grade students better understand the diverse Peoples of the African Continent. The K-8 school, which is in the city’s Elliot neighborhood, serves students throughout the school district whose Individual Education Plans (IEPs) identify them as gifted. Students visit the Center once a week to participate in innovative programs developed and presented by some two dozen faculty members.

Wood and cowhide container on a table next to a piece of paper with information about it. — A wood and cowhide container represents the handwork of Kenya’s Samburu and Turkana ethnic groups.

The set of materials Cheree borrows can be broadly described as contemporary African Artifacts that reflect deep cultural history. Among the 18-item set are carved wooden figures, hammered aluminum utensils, ornate leather pouches, miniature masks in cast brass, a colorful hand-stitched story cloth, a canteen fashioned from a dried gourd, and even a fully functional set of dance bells, a musical instrument traditionally worn as ankle adornment. All the objects are sturdy enough for handling, and in-hand their educational power is enhanced when the name of the cultural group each represents is supplied – Senufo, Samburu, Turkana, Akamba, and Masai.

ornate leather bag with beading and fringe on a table accompanied by an information sheet — An ornate leather bag from Mali.

Preparing African Artifacts for the Educator Loan Collection

Some of the Masai and Samburu materials were purchased for educational use in the 1980s by a CMNH mammal curator performing fieldwork in Kenya. The acquisition history of the other objects is unknown, but the story of the small collection’s organization for education use is clear, and worth wider sharing. During the summer of 1992, then Cornell University sophomore Marcus McFerren was a work-study student in the CMNH Division of Education. When he expressed interest in preparing the African cultural objects in a storage cabinet for classroom use, the project became his principal work assignment. Marcus established personal connections with the librarians who then managed the African American Collection at the University of Pittsburgh’s Hillman Library, and with their assistance, created simple background information sheets for each object.

Person wearing a suit and glasses — Dr. Marcus McFerren was a work-study student at CMNH in 1992.

For the past 25 years, Marcus has been Dr. McFerren. He is a Board-Certified Dermatologist with a practice in Connecticut, who completed a PhD in Plant Biology at Cornell before he entered medical school. As a skilled ethnobotanist, he has conducted his own fieldwork at several locations in Africa. Six years ago, when Marcus visited the museum with his wife and two sons, he asked to see the educational materials he prepared so many years earlier. He’s due for an update because of recent upgrades.

Brass mask on a table next to a piece of paper with information about it. — A brass mask from the Senufo People of Burkina Faso.

2021 Updates and Current Use

In the fall of 2021 two small teams of Duquesne University students created new labels for the African objects as a volunteer project for a seminar class titled, Science at the Service of Society. Labels now pair object images with simple maps marking their county of origin. Perhaps of greater importance, Cheree recently shared the story behind her use of the well-worn authentic objects. It’s a brief account that nonetheless encompasses art, natural history, and most of all, what skilled teachers can accomplish:

Years ago, I designed a class called #BlackMindsMatter in response to a beloved Black student who expressed that she felt her culture was consistently left out of the academic setting in any positive or substantial way. I began to use the museum boxes in my classroom as a way of helping students access a beautiful legacy that is not always included in Eurocentric curriculum. As a white woman, it can be challenging to help students connect to the vast diaspora of Black culture. I paired the artistic genius of old and new African art and artifacts with modern Black art. We explored the parallels between the older forms of African art with the work of historical and contemporary art and concluded that many artists had to be influenced by Black art and artifacts. It was illuminating and uplifting.
Cheree Charmello Andrews

Don’t Hang Up On Gorillas

by Jo Tauber

As you pass under the acacia tree in the Hall of African Wildlife, keeping wary of the leopard perched in the branches, you may find yourself mesmerized by the soulful eyes and powerful yet peaceful presence of George, the western lowland gorilla. George was a resident of the Pittsburgh Zoo until his death from natural causes in 1979, when he joined the museum’s collections. George is shown proudly standing in a diorama depicting his natural habitat, a patch of tropical forest in the Congo River Basin. While George’s story may be quite different from those of his wild counterparts, his presence here provides an excellent opportunity for learning more about wild gorilla populations and the threats they face.

Did you know that the mining of a mineral known as coltan has a negative impact on gorilla populations? Or that whatever device you’re reading this blog post on, whether it’s a laptop, cell phone, tablet, or other electronic device, contains tantalum, a product of coltan? Coltan is a shorthand name for columbite-tantalite, which is refined into tantalum, an element used in heat-resistant capacitors in many electronic devices. (Delawala, 2006; Rogers, 2008). If this is new or surprising information, you are not alone–not many people realize the connection between devices like cell phones and the conservation status of these charismatic great apes.

The Congo River Basin is home to two subspecies of gorillas, western lowland gorillas (like George) and eastern lowland gorillas. Unfortunately for both species, much of this area is rich in coltan. There are many factors affecting the conservation status of gorillas, but coltan mining is having a major effect. Both subspecies are critically endangered with fewer than 100,000 western lowland gorillas, and fewer than 4,000 eastern lowland gorillas living in the wild.

The mining of coltan alters the landscape, which not only reduces viable gorilla habitat, but also allows easier access for poachers who seek to kill or capture gorillas (Redmond, 2001). Poachers can also bring and spread infectious diseases that can affect gorillas and other humans alike (Redmond, 2001). Miners may also hunt gorillas as a food source while they work excavation sites (Redmond, 2001).

Gorillas aren’t the only primate species negatively affected by mining for coltan. Many of the people involved in the mining also suffer greatly. Mining operations are notoriously unsafe, exploit child labor, and require miners to work days over 12 hours long (Rogers, 2008). Coltan has been termed a “conflict mineral,” meaning the mining of this resource is used to fund the actions of warlords in the ongoing civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Rogers, 2008).

Before you swear off electronics entirely, there are less drastic, but still impactful actions we can all take to benefit gorillas! We live in a world where technology is a necessity for many of us. Practicing ways to be responsible with the devices we use is the best way to minimize the unintended consequences involved in their creation. Our individual and collective actions can benefit us all, gorillas included.

One small but important thing to do is keep your electronic gadgets as long as possible, and to recycle them when they need to be replaced. Such actions lessen the need for new coltan to be collected, meaning less mining needs to be done, and less gorilla habitat disrupted. Recycling cell phones also keeps both phones and the precious minerals they contain out of landfills. The EPA estimates that of the average 800 million phones in use annually, only 10% are recycled with the balance contributing to overly full landfills (“Recycle Your Cell Phone. It’s An Easy Call.” 2009).

If you’re wondering how to recycle a cell phone, there is some good news! Carnegie Museum of Natural History is introducing a cell-phone recycling program. When you come to visit us, you can bring unwanted cell phones and drop them in the designated collection bins. Museum staff will then ship them off to be recycled properly. Make sure you also stop by to see George, and the new exhibition We Are Nature, which tells other stories about how humans are impacting our world!

Jo Tauber is the Gallery Experience Manager in CMNH’s Lifelong Learning Department. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Works Cited

Delawala, I. (2006, January 6). What Is Coltan? ABC News. Retrieved July 11, 2020, from https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=128631&page=1

Eastern lowland gorilla. (n.d.). Retrieved July 11, 2020, from https://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/endangered_species/great_apes/gorillas/eastern_lowland_gorilla/

Environmental Protection Agency. (2009). Recycle Your Cell Phone. It’s An Easy Call. [Brochure]. Retrieved March 14, 2021, from https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi/P1009IF5.PDF?Dockey=P1009IF5.PDF

Redmond, I. (2001). Coltan Boom, Gorilla Bust: The Impact of Coltan Mining on Gorillas and other Wildlife in Eastern DR Congo.

Rogers, W. (2008, December 2). Coltan, Cell Phones, and Conflict: The War Economy of the DRC. Retrieved July 11, 2020, from https://www.newsecuritybeat.org/2008/12/coltan-cell-phones-and-conflict-the-war-economy-of-the-drc/Society), F., Breuer, T., Greer, D., Jeffery, K., Stokes, E., & Strindberg, S. (2016, January 29). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved July 11, 2020, from https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/9406/136251508

Western lowland gorilla. (2019, October 03). Retrieved July 11, 2020, from https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/western-lowland-gorilla

Paradise Found: The Real-Life Residents of Shangri-La

by Shelby Wyzykowski

In 1933, when British author James Hilton published the novel Lost Horizon, much of the world was in the midst of the Great Depression, and in some countries there were signs of movement towards another large-scale war. The book became a best-seller in part because it provided a welcome respite from reality. The focal point of the story is a serene paradise called Shangri-La, a fabled land hidden amongst the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas that is blissfully free of sickness, poverty, conflict, or struggle. The tantalizing tale of a mystical utopia with no shortage of security, beauty, peace, and excited weary readers and piqued their imaginations.

Sadly, for humankind, the enchanting world of Shangri-La is now, and will likely always be, a dream. However, for some fauna species of Central Asia with homes nestled high up amid the rugged and intimidating terrain of the frigid Himalayan mountains, life does seem to imitate literary art. At great heights within the boundaries of this mysterious and remote part of the world, they have carved out a little piece of heaven for their very own. But, unlike the idyllic scenario presented in Hilton’s fictional novel, living in a real-world paradise is not without its challenges.

Paradise Found for the Black Snub-Nosed Monkey?

black snub-nosed monkey in a tree — “Black Snub-nosed Monkey” by Rod Waddington is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

The black snub-nosed monkey, the rarest monkey in the world, lives at a higher altitude than any other primate besides humans. The species makes its home at roughly 10,000 to 15,000 feet above sea level in the majestic mountain forests of the Yunnan region in southern China. Lush, Eden-like valleys are their primary residence for much of the year. Here there is an ample supply of food (in the form of leaves) at their fingertips.

However, when winter arrives, they make a move that, at first, seems a bit counterintuitive. For the coldest months of the year, the monkeys choose to live in the highest part of their range. They brave the bone-chilling temperatures higher in the Himalayas because their favorite food, a particularly nourishing variety of lichen, is more abundant there. At high elevations, the monkeys rest on sunny rock outcrops to take advantage any available solar heat. This sensible tactic, along with huddling in groups of up to eight, helps the species survive.

Protecting the Black Snub-Nosed Monkey

Due to poaching and deforestation, the black snub-nosed monkey is considered endangered – even more endangered than the beloved panda. Conservation groups are hoping to make a change for the better as they work to find ways for the monkeys and their neighboring human communities to coexist. One notable development involves a forest monitoring campaign where some local villagers are trained as forest rangers who patrol the monkey habitat, searching for old poaching traps and installing infrared cameras to monitor and protect the small population. These positive and productive efforts are exactly what the black snub-nosed monkeys need in their ongoing struggle to survive in their mountain habitat. If these conservation initiatives are successful, the monkey population has an excellent chance of rebounding and recovering.

Snow Leopards Thrive at the Top

snow leopard in the snow — Image credit Marcel Langthim via Pixabay.

You might think that it’s lonely at the top, but snow leopards are very happy living a solo lifestyle. Mature adults live alone, high up (at elevations of 9,800 to 14,700 feet) in the steep and rocky mountains across Asia. They are perfectly designed to live in such a harsh and rugged environment. Their strong build allows them to effortlessly scale steep slopes, and their powerful hind legs give them the ability to leap six times the length of their body. Their long tail provides them with the agility and balance that is needed to traverse icy, slippery ground. It also does double duty as a soft, furry blanket that can be wrapped around the leopard’s body to provide warmth when sleeping. Appropriately referred to as the “ghost of the mountains,” they have an amazing knack of blending in with their frosty environment.

Threats to Snow Leopard Survival

Snow leopards thick whitish-gray spotted coat with black rosettes blends in seamlessly with the snowy, jagged cliffs and ravines. However, this gift that provides them with virtual invisibility has also been a curse. In illegal wildlife trade, poached snow leopard pelts bring a high price. Unfortunately, it’s not only law-breaking hunters that set their sights on the cats. As local human development has increased, livestock grazing has expanded into the snow leopard’s range. Argali and Blue Sheep, the snow leopard’s natural prey, have become harder to find (humans hunt these sheep as well); the leopards are forced to prey on livestock for sustenance. In retaliation, snow leopards are often killed by local farmers and herders.

Snow Leopard Conservation

This magnificent cat’s fate might seem a bit grim, but their future is brightening. In the Eastern Himalayas, conservationists are working with local communities to monitor and protect snow leopards. Predator-proof livestock pens are being installed to reduce the retaliatory killings, and in an attempt to spread the word about the leopard’s plight, leopard awareness programs are being presented to school students and the mountain communities at large. So, things are definitely looking up for the graceful and ghostly snow leopard.

Meet the Takin

close up of a Takin's face — “Takin in the Soft Light” by Mark Dumont is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

The takin almost appears to be an imagined creature from a Star Wars movie, and it would by no means look out of place if it were roaming the windswept tundra of the ice planet of Hoth. Yet this ungulate, which looks like a compilation of a goat, muskox, and a gnu, is quite real.

Weighing up to 770 pounds, you would think that such a bulky bovid could never survive at mountain elevations as high as 14,000 feet. This nimble creature, which is most closely related to wild sheep, is an expert at maneuvering up and down steep rocky slopes. Takins have also adapted to the challenging weather of their lofty, chilly sanctuary. The species’ massive, moose-like snout has large sinus cavities that warm up the cold mountain air. Without this high-elevation adaptation they would lose a large amount of body heat simply by breathing. Another physical adaptation this mammal relies upon to combat the weather is an oily bitter substance they secrete through their skin. The secretion coats the takin’s fur and acts as a natural raincoat during storms and periods of fog.

The Takin: Sacred and Endangered

Though this remarkable animal’s existence is generally unknown in the Western world, the creature is revered in Asia. The takin is sacred to Tibetan Buddhists, and it is also the national animal of the Kingdom of Bhutan, the landlocked country in the Eastern Himalayas, between China and India. Despite their elevated status, takins are endangered or vulnerable throughout much of their range. Habitat destruction is a major threat, and hunters poach them for food and fur.

In response to the takin’s dire situation, China’s government has taken steps to ensure that its national treasure will survive. The takin has been given the country’s highest legal protection, and, in 2013, in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy, the Laohegou Land Trust Reserve was established. This tract of land links several existing reserves in China that together sustain a wide array of animals, including the takin, golden snub-nosed monkey, and the giant panda. These linked protected areas, along with some recently established programs promoting ecotourism and eco-friendly agriculture, are slowly transforming the dream of a successful and sustainable takin sanctuary into a reality.

Shangri-La: Fictional or Real Place?

It’s unfortunate that Shangri-La is only a fictional fabrication found within the pages of a book. Yet even though it does not exist in our physical world, Shangri-La does seem to exist for us in spirit. In a pivotal scene in Lost Horizon, one of the novel’s key characters, the High Lama of Shangri-La, foretells of a time when the nations of the world will tear each other apart through war. He proclaims that, after the chaos has finally come to an end, all that will remain are Shangri-La’s messages of wisdom, harmony, and hope for the future. His one great wish is to see this hopeful and harmonious way of life spread throughout the entire world.

In our real world, a genuine spirit of hope for the future is visible in the joint efforts of conservation organizations, governments, and local Himalayan communities as they work together to save endangered mountain species. Their efforts are showing the snub-nosed monkey, snow leopard, and takin the kindness and respect that they so rightfully deserve. These three extraordinary animals have found their own special Shangri-La. And as the self-appointed caretakers of this planet, it is up to us to continue to help them to flourish in their wintry nirvana for many years to come.

Shelby Wyzykowski is a Gallery Experience Presenter in CMNH’s Lifelong Learning Department. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Collected on this Day in 1951: Bittersweet

by Mason Heberling

Leaves are gone, but fruits hang on

Bittersweet plant specimen on herbarium sheet

This specimen of bittersweet (Solanum dulcamara) was collected by Bayard Long on January 11, 1951 in a “rubbish dump” on West Chester Pike, near Broomall, Pennsylvania (outside of Philadelphia). Bayard Long (1885-1969) was a Philadelphia-area botanist and an active member of the Philadelphia Botanical Club (founded in 1891 and still an active organization). He was a prolific collector and for 56 years served as Curator of the Club’s Local Herbarium, which is housed at the Academy of Natural Sciences.

Bittersweet nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) is in an herbaceous vine in the potato or nightshade family (Solanaceae), not to be confused with the similarly named Asian bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus), which is also a woody vine in the staff vine or bittersweet family (Celastraceae).

Bittersweet is an invasive species, introduced from its native range in Europe and Asia as early as the 1800s. It is common to see climbing along fences in urban areas and elsewhere across North America.

In the winter, its fleshy red berries are commonly still attached to the vines, long after the leaves are gone.

Find this specimen of bittersweet.

Check back for more! Botanists at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History share digital specimens from the herbarium on dates they were collected. They are in the midst of a three-year project to digitize nearly 190,000 plant specimens collected in the region, making images and other data publicly available online. This effort is part of the Mid-Atlantic Megalopolis Project (mamdigitization.org), a network of thirteen herbaria spanning the densely populated urban corridor from Washington, D.C. to New York City to achieve a greater understanding of our urban areas, including the unique industrial and environmental history of the greater Pittsburgh region. This project is made possible by the National Science Foundation under grant no. 1801022.

Mason Heberling is Assistant Curator of Botany at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Rating River Residents on the Monster Scale

by Patrick McShea

person standing in the exhibition Monster Fish

The world’s big river systems are a sub-topic of Monster Fish: In Search of the Last River Giants, an exhibition developed and traveled by National Geographic Museum, and now on view in the R.P. Simmons Family Gallery.

Species featured in the exhibition as life-size replicas continue to inhabit portions of the Mekong, Amazon, Ganges, Murray, and Mississippi River systems. Text panels, maps, and in-the-field video testimony by National Geographic Explorer Dr. Zeb Hogan repeatedly present the current state of these enormous finned residents as a measure of each freshwater network’s ecological health.

The message is certainly locally relevant. The Ohio River, which forms in Pittsburgh at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers, drains the massive eastern flank of the Mississippi River Watershed. Visitors to Monster Fish from western Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia, or eastern Ohio will naturally wonder about the largest fish in our region’s flowing waters. Addressing such curiosity is second nature for Ryan Argo, a Technical Programs Manager for the Ohio River Valley Sanitation Corporation, a multi-state agency widely known in abbreviated form as ORSANCO.

The 73-year-old organization works with member states on water quality improvements in the Ohio River Basin to ensure the river system can be a resource for drinking water, industrial supplies, and recreation, as well as habitat for a healthy and diverse aquatic wildlife community. Ryan’s work involves regular surveys of fish and aquatic invertebrate populations along the whole 981-mile length of the Ohio River as well as lower portions of significant tributaries.

person holding a large fish at night — Ryan Argo holding Pittsburgh Muskellunge before releasing it un-harmed.

Speaking recently from ORSANCO’s Cincinnati headquarters, Ryan began a big fish conversation with a Pittsburgh reference. “During a survey on the lower Allegheny a couple years ago, we came upon a 50-inch-long muskellunge at a place well within sight of Downtown buildings. In that part of the river system, muskellunge are the top predator, and this one was waiting along shore in what seemed barely six inches of water to ambush its next meal.” That next meal could have been any one of a long list of fish species. Surveys document more than 120 species of fish in the Ohio River, a handful of which can approach monster standards in size.

In addition to muskellunge, Ryan mentions American Paddlefish, Flathead and Blue Catfish, and a species of sucker known as Black Buffalo as Ohio River fish with potential to grow particularly large and can exceed 50 pounds. “Perhaps Long-nosed Gar should also be considered. They’re thin bodied, completely without bulk, but a twenty-pound gar can be a fish more than four feet long.”

Ryan qualified his species selection by explaining that ORSANCO survey techniques generally involve near shore electrofishing, a practice that employs a weak direct electrical current to temporarily immobilize fish for easy capture. “Our surveys look at the entirety of fishery by sampling similar lengths of shoreline throughout the river system. The work documents not just species diversity, but also biomass. Species like paddlefish that tend to remain out in the main flow of the river don’t show-up much, so their presence is accounted for in other survey methods. The ongoing examination of the fish community tells us about the system’s health, and this information is shared with state and federal agencies.”

people in a boat on a river — ORSANCO survey crew at work.

In explaining how much the river has changed from the time when its fish and freshwater mollusks were a vital food resource for the Native Peoples who lived along its banks, Ryan cites the Ohio’s binary geologic structure as important baseline information. “There’s the cool water, high gradient, upper river that’s draining a portion of the Appalachians. Then there’s the warm water, low gradient, lower river that wanders across glaciated terrain. Same river, but for fish, different habitat.”

Active management of both sections for navigation, which began in the 1820’s with a federally-funded snag removal, eventually produced the current system of 20 locks and dams that create a dependable main channel for commercial and recreational watercraft. “We know fish can move through,” Ryan explains, “but continuing discussions are important, especially as more dam sites become hydro-electricity generators. We want our native fish populations to be as robust as possible, and that means discussions about how locks operate, and how hydro plants operate.”

After summarizing the Ohio River as a “large robust biologic system” that is always facing new emerging issues, Ryan concluded the conversation with an account of a big fish observation worthy of those Dr. Zeb Hogan shares in multiple Monster Fish videos.

“Along the lower Ohio River there are some places where the remnants of old wicket dams still cling to the shore. During periods of high water, when these anchor points are submerged, the water flow over them creates an enormous standing wave, perhaps six feet high. Amidst this churning water I’ve seen big paddle fish and gar moving with ease, the way those species have been doing for thousands of years.”

2021 Rector Christmas Bird Count Results

by Annie Lindsay

All week leading up to the Christmas Bird Count (CBC), the weather forecast threatened heavy rain for December 18, 2021, but that did not deter a group of 34 dedicated birders from going outside and counting birds all day! In fact, after a touch of rain before dawn, the weather cleared, and the day was mostly cloudy, pleasant, and perfect for birding. And what a Christmas Bird Count it was! The birders, along with six people who counted birds visiting their feeders and yards, tallied 7,239 birds of 79 species, broke the high-count records for several species, and added two new species that had never been seen during the Rector CBC before!

ruffed grouse on a branch in winter — Ruffed Grouse, photo by Alex Busato. Pennsylvania’s state bird can be difficult to find due to its well-camouflaged plumage and declining population, but one posed nicely on Laurel Moutain during this year’s Christmas Bird Count.

Christmas Bird Count History

The CBC is an annual tradition that began on Christmas in 1900. Participants counted birds they saw or heard all day, a step away from previous bird censuses during which people used shotguns to collect and count birds. The original group of 27 birders tallying birds in 25 count circles has now become an international event, sponsored by the National Audubon Society, with nearly 3,000 count circles spread across the Western Hemisphere. The compilers for each count circle choose a date between December 14 and January 5, and participants tally every bird they encounter within a designated 15-mile diameter circle. With such a large geographic range and over 100 years of data, the CBC is one of the largest community science projects. The data gathered has been used to study population trends and over 200 peer-reviewed publications have used CBC data.

The Rector count circle is centered just northwest of Powdermill Nature Reserve. Its variety of habitat types along an elevational gradient is excellent for species diversity. Begun in 1974, the Rector count has consistently tallied more than 50 species every year, with the highest species counts of 88 in 2012 and 80 in 2009. This year’s total of 79 species was the third highest in this count’s history! Although there are core species, like chickadees and cardinals, that we expect to see every year, rarities occasionally pop up, and Rector counters have tallied 131 species since 1974.

2021 Rector Christmas Bird Count Numbers and Highlights

The 2021 count started at 4:30 a.m. with several birders searching for owls. Despite the drizzle, the owlers counted three Great Horned Owls, three Barred Owls, a surprise Northern Saw-whet Owl that was spotted in headlights as it flew across the road, and an incredible 17 Eastern Screech-Owls, a number that shattered the previous record of 11. Off to a great start, the owlers were joined by the bulk of the participants to survey their assigned sectors within the count circle, and there were many surprises in store.

two eastern screech owls held in hands — Eastern Screech-Owls, gray morph and red morph. Although not encountered as frequently due to their nocturnal habits, Eastern Screech-Owls are a common species in our area. CBCers shattered the previous high count record for this species during this year’s count, tallying a total of 17 individuals!

At the end of the day, counters met at Powdermill for the tally dinner to report what they’d seen and share stories from the field. As we tallied, we quickly noticed that we were setting new high-count records, or tying existing records, for many species, including Ring-necked Duck, Bufflehead, Red-breasted Merganser, Black Vulture, Eastern Screech-Owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl (tie), Red-bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Northern Flicker, Merlin (tie), Common Raven, Ruby-crowned Kinglet (tie), Eastern Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Yellow-rumped warbler, White-throated Sparrow, and Eastern Towhee.

The owls certainly set new records due to the increased effort to find them this year: screech owls are a common species in our area, and saw-whets, although quite difficult to find and usually not vocal at this time of year, are likely here in the appropriate habitat.

gray catbird — Gray Catbird. A species that winters from coastal Massachusetts through Central America, catbirds have popped up during the Rector Christmas Bird Count in the past. However, this year we tallied three catbirds, which is quite unusual.

We noticed an interesting trend in the species with high counts: most are species that tend to spend the winter a bit south of us, or if they are species that are expected during the Rector CBC, their winter range tends not to extend much farther north of us and we generally do not expect them in high numbers. We speculate that the combination of a late fall, mild temperatures through the end of 2021, and an abundance of berries may have contributed to some individuals of these shorter-distance migrants not migrating as far south as they usually do.

Our biggest surprises were two new species that had never been encountered during the Rector CBC before. The first was a Palm Warbler reported on a farm in Ligonier foraging with a flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers on the edge of a cow pasture. Palm Warblers are seen annually in our area during migration, and we band several of them at Powdermill every year. Many Palm Warblers spend the winter in the southeastern US, but it is not expected in southwest Pennsylvania in the winter. The second species was a Surf Scoter spotted at Donegal Lake. Surf Scoters are a species of duck usually seen in the ocean along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts in winter, or perhaps on the Great Lakes or human-made lakes if they’re forced down by bad weather during migration. This is a very unusual species for our area and an excellent find.

As we submit the Rector count’s data to Audubon and wrap up another CBC, we thank all of the participants and look forward to the 2022 count!

Annie Lindsay is the Bird Banding Program Manager at Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Powdermill Nature Reserve. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Sea Snails from Christmas Island

by Timothy A. Pearce

There really is a Christmas Island. It is in the Indian Ocean about 250 km (155 mi) SW of Java and it is administered by Australia. Christmas Island, which was uninhabited by humans until the late 1800s, has a highly endemic flora and fauna, reflecting little human disturbance. Nearly two-thirds of the island is designated as a national park.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History has two species of sea snails from Christmas Island. Neither of these species is endemic to the island, and neither is rare.

Money Cowries from Christmas Island

Ten Monetaria moneta snail shells from Christmas Island on a red background. — Fig. 1. *Monetaria moneta*, the money cowry, from Christmas Island. Views from top left: aperture, dorsal, left side, anterior, posterior. Specimen CM 123323 at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Scale in mm. Photo by T.A. Pearce.

These Moneteria moneta (Fig. 1), also known as money cowries, are from Christmas Island. They were donated to the museum by Casimir Potyraj, Jr. in September of 2012, although we don’t know when they were collected. These specimens are smaller than average M. monetaria. This species of cowry is used as decoration and was used as currency in many islands of the south Pacific Ocean region into the 1800s. Both the genus and the species names, Monetaria moneta, reflect their use as currency. This species occurs broadly in tropical areas of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, but not in the Atlantic. Monetaria moneta is in the cowry family, Cypraeidae, a group of snails appreciated around the world for their shiny, colorful shells, that look like they have a zipper underneath.

Castor Bean Shells from Christmas Island

This Drupa ricinus (Fig. 2), also known as the castor bean shell, is also a sea snail from Christmas Island. It came to Carnegie Museum of Natural History by way of the British Museum of Natural Science on July 25, 1935. It’s unclear whether that was the date the British Museum gave it to us, or the date it was collected; my guess is the former. Like the Monetaria moneta, Drupa ricinus also occurs broadly in tropical areas of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, but not in the Atlantic. Drupa ricinus is in the murex family, Muricidae, which includes snails that produce the purple dye prized by the Romans and Phoenicians.

Every day is Christmas on Christmas Island! We wish Merry Christmas to all the creatures there.

Carnegie’s Water Fountains

by Albert D. Kollar

Potable Water Sources

Access to drinking water from a water fountain seems to be passé today with the ubiquitous availability of plastic water bottles from vending machines. In 2018, as an effort to ‘change the culture’ in the use of plastic water bottles by museum staff and patrons, the Oakland museums, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and Carnegie Museum of Art (respectively CMNH and CMOA), installed filling stations for reusable water bottles. These eco-friendly “fountains” are located adjacent to the Fossil Fuels Cafeteria in CMNH, and in the rest room lobby of CMOA¹ (Fig. 1), and their rapid and wide acceptance invites a deeper consideration of drinking water as an amenity in a public facility.

gray and silver water fountain — Fig. 1.

The public water supply in the massive Oakland building comes from the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority’s Herron Hill Reservoir, which in turn draws its supply from the Highland Park Reservoir in the city’s East End¹. The water, which is initially sourced from the Allegheny River, undergoes several treatments before it is pumped to the reservoir.

The geologic perspective on our water supply also bears mention here. The glacial melt waters of the Pleistocene Epoch filled the potable aquifers of western Pennsylvania²(Fig. 2 red arrows). With population growth in the 20^th Century, water demands for agricultural, industrial, and residential uses led to the depletion of these aquifers within the Allegheny River Basin. Today potable waters stored in reservoirs are principally drawn from the three rivers of Pittsburgh, waterways replenished to a significant degree by rain fall and snow melt.

chart looking at glacial outwash in the Allegheny River Basin in the Pleistocene and at present — Fig. 2

A myth in the minds of many Pittsburghers is the city’s Fourth River. According to a 2016 publication by John Harper²,the Fourth River does not exist as underground caves, fissures, or cavities under any of the three rivers. As shown in Fig. 2, (red arrows) glacial outwash and Holocene alluvium comprise thick deposits of sediment within the river valleys, and tiny interconnected pore spaces between sand grains and pebbles allow water from the rivers and their adjoining floodplains and riverbanks, to move slowly but freely through this sediment. At some locations this subterranean flow is accessed by artesian wells, the most prominent example being the fountain in Point State Park.

Carnegie’s Water Fountains

Presentation is important, especially for something as vital as drinking water, and within the halls and hallways of the Carnegie building complex in Oakland, carved stone is frequently part of the refreshment package. Visitors encounter three types of water fountains. In the 1907 Carnegie Institute Extension, a Beaux-Arts masterpiece designed by architects Alden and Harlow, water fountains are plumbed through either white Carrara Marble from Italy or yellow Hauteville fossil limestone of France. In the Museum of Art wing built in 1974, thirsty patrons are served by chrome water fountains (Fig. 3).

Carrara Marble was created during the Cenozoic Era when limestones formed during the Triassic or early Jurassic age limestones underwent metamorphosis.⁴The locations of the eighteen Carrara Marble fountains in the 1907 building include the engine room, basement hallways, the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh first floor lobby (Fig. 4), Carnegie Music Hall vestibule hallway, the Carnegie Lecture Hall, and exhibit halls on the second and third floors of Carnegie Museum of Natural History.³Although the Carrara Marble fountains originally had red brass fixtures (Fig. 4), some now operate with replacement fixtures of chrome¹.

There are three Hauteville limestone fountains along the walls of the three floors in the Grand Staircase Hall. These neo-Baroque fountains feature carvings that represent a diverse group of invertebrate fossils and an allegory human face (Fig. 5). The fountains are surrounded by the Hauteville limestone wall panels with Cretaceous age snail Nerinea (Fig. 6) visible in many Hauteville floor tiles, walls, door framing, and pedestals.⁵ Some 350 tons of Hauteville limestone were used for the interior stone in the Grand Staircase and throughout the Carnegie Institute Extension.⁶The Hauteville fountains also originally used red brass fixtures, and now function with chrome replacements.

A World-Famous Fountain In Rome And More

If there’s a place in a discussion of fountains to consider the top of the scale, an Italian reference belongs here. One of the most famous water fountains in the world is the Baroque Trevi Fountain (Nicola Salvi, Giuseppe Pannini, architects) that opened in 1762 in Rome⁷. The fountain had its moments in classic movies such as, Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita (1960) with Marcello Mastroianni and Anita Ekberg in the leads⁸ (Fig. 7, image by Hernán Piñera).

Around 19 BC, aqueducts were constructed in ancient Rome to bring pure water to the city from mountains 13 km (8.1 mi) from Rome⁹. Roman citizens enjoyed the function of a fountain not only as a source of clean water but as a gathering place.

The Trevi Fountain is made of travertine, a sedimentary limestone (calcium carbonate) quarried in the Italian village of Bogni di Tivoli¹⁰. The village is noted for travertine quarries that produced the exterior stone for the Roman Amphitheater opened in 80 AD¹¹ and the building of the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California (1997).

Travertine forms when ground water combines with carbon dioxide in the soils to form carbonic acid waters that then dissolve subsurface limestone. As these calcium carbonate-concentrated waters flow through the cracks in the bedrock they eventually precipitate a new rock called travertine.

An excellent example of travertine formation can be observed at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park. High above the Hot Springs, rainwater seeps into the buried Cretaceous age limestone where it mixes with carbon dioxide gas that rises from a subterranean magma chamber dissolving the calcium carbonate that is carried along in the underground streams through fractures in the overlying strata. Once the water exits the bedrock, travertine terraces start to build as the carbon dioxide gas escapes, leaving behind the calcium carbonate mineral.

Travertine in Oakland: In an abandoned sandstone quarry behind Phipps Conservancy in Schenley Park travertine deposits is preserved on the exterior of the quarry rock¹². The site is no longer open for visitors.

Albert D. Kollar is the Collection Manager for the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

References

Young, T. Carnegie Museum of Pittsburgh Facilities.
Harper, J. A. 2016. The Geological Evolution of Pittsburgh’s Three River. PAlS Publication 21.
Kollar et al. 2020. Connemara Marble at the Carnegie Institute Extension. ACM, 86, 207-2
Price, M. T. 2007. The Sourcebook of Decorative Stone: An Illustrated identification guide. 287 pp.
Kollar, A. D. 2020. https://carnegiemnh.org/carnegie-museum-grand-staircase/
Kollar, A. D. 2021 DE L’ÉCHAILLON À L’ANNEXE DU CARNEGIE INSTITUTE DE PITTSBURGH Saint-Quentin-sur-Isère, 18 Septembre 2021.
Pinto, J. A. 1986. The Trevi Fountain. Yale University Press. 326 pp.
Fellini, F. 1960. La Dolce Vita. The Criterion Collection, Paramount Home Entertainment
Beard, M. 2015. SPOR A History of Ancient Rome. Liveright Publishing Corporation. 606 pp.
Hirt, A. M. 2010. Imperial Mines and Quarries in the Roman World Organizational Aspects 27 BC-AD 235. Oxford Press, 551 pp.
Acocella, A. 2013. Travertine, An Italian Stone. Journal ARCHITETTURA DI PIETRA.
Kollar, A. D. The Geology of Oakland, in manuscript.

Climate Change Never Takes A Holiday: The Phenomenon of the Pizzly Bear

by Nicholas Sauer

three polar bears in the snow — Polar bears. Photo by Hans-Jurgen Mager on Unsplash

At this time of year, you’re apt see TV commercials in which cuddly and good-natured polar bears share delicious colas with one another in the spirit of the season. However, neither the mythology nor reality surrounding polar bears—nor bears in general—are quite so idyllic. Even their scientific names possess an element of menace and foreboding. Ursus arctos horribilis—the grizzly—speaks for itself. Ursus maritimus—the polar bear—hints that this predator is as much at home hunting its prey in water as it is on the Arctic ice. In fact, polar bears can swim for several days without stopping.

Throughout history these creatures have inspired fear in the heart of many a human. Members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition were shocked that none of their party were devoured by grizzlies in the Pacific Northwest. Some Renaissance cartographers labeled the mysterious Arctic realms: hic sunt ursi albi, or “here be white bears” (dragons are overrated anyway). Other Europeans of that era drew polar bears as if they were enormous white wolves with serpentine tails.

The stark whiteness of the polar bear fascinated Ishmael, the narrator of Herman Melville’s 1851 classic Moby Dick: “The irresponsible ferociousness of the creature stands invested in the fleece of celestial innocence and love; and hence, by bringing together two such opposite emotions in our minds, the Polar bear frightens us with so unnatural a contrast.” The white whale of the novel is terrifying in much same way—that such a beast should be the hue of angelic robes is overwhelming to Ishmael. Coincidently, try thinking of Moby Dick as a creature feature, and I bet you won’t find it as intimidating and esoteric a read (it worked for me).

Grizzly and polar bears have often been misinterpreted and sensationalized by their human neighbors. However, the scientific community in recent decades has begun to regard these two species of bear as complex and vulnerable creatures of great power. Indigenous populations in North America have long understood this. Specifically, the Inuit revere the polar bear for its human-like traits. For instance, both species hunt with patience and intelligence, are capable of play, and demonstrate maternal devotion to cubs.

Climate Change and Pizzly Bears

Regrettably, climate change is rapidly altering the Arctic ecosystem, putting the polar bears’ long-term future in jeopardy. Polar bears have a highly specialized diet, consisting mainly of seals. Sea ice has long provided the bears with a seal hunting platform, and its late formation and early melt creates progressively more difficult conditions for these bears to hunt their favorite blubbery menu item. Diminished ice cover has forced them to search out other food sources including garbage left behind by humans. In their quest for food, polar bears have come into increased contact with Inuit communities, sometimes resulting in human fatalities. In addition to these confrontations, polar bears are increasingly crossing paths with grizzly bears within the expanding overlap of each species’ geographic range. Polar bears and grizzlies are not so genetically distant from each other to preclude hybridization, and in 2006 the scientific community found that the bears do breed together in the wild. Their shared progeny are known as pizzlies, or grolar bears (which name do you like better?).

Grizzly bear. Image by Princess Lodges via Flickr.

Grizzly bears dominate the territory that they share with polar bears because they are better adapted to the varied climate, terrain, and available food sources. Unlike polar bears, grizzlies follow an opportunistic diet that includes plant tubers and carrion in addition to live prey. Paleontologist Larisa DeSantis of Vanderbilt University posits that the hybrid pizzlies may possess modified skulls and teeth that could plausibly allow them to adopt the indiscriminate feeding habits of the grizzly bear. However, DeSantis points out that the hybrid bears also lose some of the abilities of their parents; for example, pizzlies are not as adept at swimming as their polar bear forbears.

The twin fear among scientists is that 1) the number of polar bears will dwindle, and 2) hybridization will increase to such an extreme that polar bears will be one day be subsumed into the general grizzly population. The polar bear may face extinction over the next century if nothing is done to conserve the species. Much remains to be discovered about the hybridization of polar bears and grizzlies. What we do know for sure is that pizzlies are a product of profound environmental instability and crisis. Polar bears may star in heartwarming commercials during the holidays—but these creatures and their ecosystem are in grave danger of a different kind of warming, one associated with climate change.

References

“Bears on the Lewis and Clark Expedition.” America’s Library. Accessed 29 Sept. 2021. <http://www.americaslibrary.gov/aa/lewisandclark/aa_lewisandclark_bears_2.html>.

Casselman, Anne. “Longest Polar Bear Swim Recorded—426 Miles Straight.” National Geographic. 22 July 2011. <https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/110720- polar-bears-global-warming-sea-ice-science-environment>.

Cockburn, Harry. “Climate crisis pushing polar bears to mate with grizzlies, producing hybrid ‘pizzly’ bears.” The Independent. 15 April 2021. <https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/pizzly-bear-polar-grizzly-hybrid-b1831847.html>.

Engelhard, Michael. “How Polar Bears Became the Dragons of the North.” Smithsonian Magazine. 31 May 2017. <https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/polar-bears- dragons-of-the-north-180963502/>.

Melville, Herman. Moby-Dick; or The Whale. 1851. Project Gutenberg. Accessed 29 Sept. 2021. <https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2701/2701-h/2701-h.htm#link2HCH0042>.

“Polar Bear Figurine.” Bristol’s Free Museums and Historic Houses. Accessed 29 Sept. 2021. <https://museums.bristol.gov.uk/narratives.php?irn=11245>.

Strong, Walter. “It’s no surprise for Inuit — Baffin Bay polar bears defy past assumptions with stable population.” CBC. 3 March 2020. <https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/baffin-bay-polar-bears-nunavut-1.5472492>.

Tien, Caroline. “Polar Bear-Grizzly Bear Hybrids Likely to Become More Common Thanks to Climate Change.” Newsweek. 29 April 2021. <https://www.newsweek.com/polar-bear-grizzly-bear-hybrids-likely-become-more-common-thanks-climate-change-1587568>.

Ruthie the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Natural History Behind Some Classic Christmas Carols

by Shelby Wyzykowski

We all know Dasher and Dasher and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen. But do you recall the most famous reindeer of all? It’s Ruthie the red-nosed reindeer of course! No, that definitely does not sound quite right, does it. There is no Ruthie in the traditional song that we all know and love. The lead reindeer that guides Santa’s sleigh on that foggy Christmas Eve should be Rudolph, a boy, not Ruthie, a girl. Or so the song says. There are several widely known Christmas carols that incorporate animals into their lyrical stories. They are songs that many people know by heart and faithfully sing year after year. But have you ever taken the time to stop and really think about the ways in which wildlife are portrayed in these melodic tales? Are these stories scientifically accurate accounts that hold true to the realities of the natural world? Or are they simply lyrical flights of holiday fancy?

The Twelve Days of Christmas

“The Twelve Days of Christmas”, first published in England in 1780, is a carol that documents a very long list of gifts that a true love gives to their sweetheart over a period of twelve days. By the end of the ballad, the lucky giftee receives 184 birds, more than enough to open their own aviary. The large, feathered flock of six different avian species includes a partridge in a pear tree (twelve times over).

gray partridge on snowy ground — Gray Partridge. Image by Ekaterina Chernetsova (Papchinskaya) via Flickr.

A partridge in a pear tree would not be the most ideal gift since, not only would gift wrapping be a challenge, but it might not be possible to find such a gift. Do partridges even roost in pear trees? Though the iconic image of a treed fowl paints a pretty yuletide picture, it is not a natural occurrence in the real world. In North America, two species of partridge introduced as game birds have well-established populations. The Gray Partridge (Perdix perdix), a native of Europe, can be found in northern prairies, where it roosts and forages mostly on the ground, at the bases of shrubs, and, during winter, on the snow. The Chukar Partridge (Alectoris chukar), a native of Eurasia, inhabits the arid American West, where it roosts beneath sagebrush, under juniper trees, in rock outcrops, or in open rocky areas. Not only do both species build their nests exclusively on the ground, they are also both primarily seed-eaters (but they do enjoy the occasional leaf or insect). So, pears as a food source are of no real interest to either type of partridge.

swan on the water — Mute Swan. Image by Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Among the many other birds this carol features are the “swans a-swimming”. If your beloved happens to be an avian enthusiast, the Mute Swan just could be the most fitting of gifts on the seventh day of Christmas. These birds have traditionally been associated with romance because of their graceful swimming and their long and beautifully curved S-shaped necks. They also mate for life, and paired couples tend to charmingly swim side by side. Native to Europe and parts of Asia, Mute Swans were brought to the United States as pond ornaments for private estates and have since gained a foothold in this country. Mute Swans, being very territorial, usually do not migrate and may be present at the same location all year round. They are very content living in icy cold weather if there is an abundant supply of food at hand. But can they swim in the blustery, inhospitable conditions of December, as this song claims? Surprisingly, the answer is yes. You would imagine that swimming in frigid waters would unmercifully freeze the feet of waterfowl, but swans and other waterfowl avoid this frosty fate by utilizing an intricate heat-exchange system called counter-current circulation. Through an intertwining of arteries and veins, the circulation system in the legs of these birds functions as a natural radiator. When arterial blood moving from the body to the feet passes alongside the venous blood returning from the feet to the body, heat is transferred from the warm arteries to the cool veins. This process keep’s the swan’s body at the right temperature while the extremities are still just warm enough to avoid tissue damage. There’s no doubt that if humans were gifted with this same circulatory trick, many a day of snow shoveling, and car cleaning would be made much more bearable!

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

One of the time-honored favorites of the season is “Walking in a Winter Wonderland,” the 1934 classic song about a couple’s romance during the holiday season. Though a snowman plays a prominent part in this tune, two types of bird are also mentioned.

bluebird on a branch — Eastern Bluebird. Image by Kelly Colgan Azar via Flickr.

The first is introduced into the musical story with the line “gone away is the bluebird.” This bluebird might symbolize the sadness that comes with being parted from a loved one. Or could it just literally mean that the songbird has left the wintry weather for warmer climes? Feathered with eye-catching plumage of bright azure and rust, the Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) is found in many parts of our country during much of the year. However, as winter approaches, much of the population migrates to the southern U.S., with some members of the species flying as far south as Central America. Though they are occasionally seen in wintry weather, most do not return north again until February or March. So, if your own personal Winter Wonderland happens to be somewhere in the northern United States, the lyrics “gone away is the bluebird” are fairly accurate.

But what about the mysterious “new bird” that’s “here to stay” and sings a love song as the happy couple goes along? Some song aficionados suppose that the “new bird” represents the elation that two people share when starting their new life together. Others suggest that the unnamed bird is actually the stork, ready and waiting to eventually deliver a little bundle of joy. But storks cannot sing, can they? Well, no, not really. The Wood Stork is the only stork native to North America. It is a very large, heavy-billed bird that wades in the shallows of southern swamps, marshes, ponds, and lagoons. Adult storks are mostly silent except for the occasional hissing. They also can be heard bill clappering, which is when they make a loud, clattering sound by quickly opening and snapping shut their bills. But young storks do have a musical repertoire of sorts. Within stork breeding colonies, which are usually located in stands of tall cypress, nestlings will make a noisy ruckus as they beg for food. Their loud calls sound a bit nasally, kind of like a braying donkey. If the wood stork is in fact the “new bird”, his attempt at singing a love song would not be considered particularly romantic by many, unless you happen to be a lovesick donkey in search of a mate (as a side note, both male and female donkeys use bray vocalization during courtship).

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Now let’s get back to the catchy 1949 jingle about the gutsy hooved hero whose red nose saved Christmas. The surprising truth about “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” is that these animals can actually have red noses! Reindeer have densely packed arrays of capillaries in their noses, which can sometimes cause them to appear pink. An excess flow of blood to their nose warms the air that they breathe in and can also help regulate their body temperature under extreme environmental conditions. To avoid overheating while running (or, in Rudolph’s case, flying) for long periods of time, large volumes of blood are brought to the nose where the excess heat can radiate out into the air.

Also, according to the song, male reindeers at the North Pole sport their antlers well into the darkest days of winter. But outside the boundaries of Santa’s domain, males begin to shed their antlers in late autumn after the fighting of rutting season has ended. Females retain their antlers well into the spring when their calves are born. Access to food is critical during their winter pregnancy, so they must use their antlers to defend patches of vegetation in small areas of cleared snow. Also, during the colder months, females are in better physical condition than males because they have much larger stores of energy. Females enter winter with about fifty percent body fat, whereas the fat percentage of males can dip as low as five percent. So, although there don’t seem to be any females helping to pull Santa’s heavy, gift-laden sleigh, rest assured that these ladies would be more than capable of taking on the task!

Natural History of Christmas Songs

So now we know the true story behind some of our favorite Christmas ditties. Storks don’t sing sweet songs of love. And you’ll never see a partridge anywhere near a pear tree, not at Christmas or at any other time of the year. Yet despite the scientific inaccuracies of these traditional holiday songs, we still unconditionally adore them for what they represent…the joyous and hopeful spirit of the season. But what about Rudolph? If the reindeer rules of winter favor females, how can we account for our red-nosed friend and all of the other males that make up Santa’s team? Well, perhaps we can attribute it to a little bit of Christmas magic at work. Maybe some seasonal miracle allows these reindeer to hang on to their antlers for just long enough so that they can take part in that worldwide flight on the big night. We can only guess, since it seems to be a closely guarded secret between Santa and his crew. They’re the only ones that know the whole story. But that’s okay, because, during the holiday season, do we always need to know why things happen the way that they happen? Probably not. Sometimes, it’s perfectly fine just to wonder and imagine and not know all the answers.

Because, sometimes, just believing is enough.

Shelby Wyzykowski is a Gallery Experience Presenter in CMNH’s Life Long Learning Department. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

How to Talk with an Extra-Terrestrial Alien? Practice with an Octopus

by Timothy A. Pearce

Despite typical depictions of outer space creatures in movies and on TV, the chance that extra-terrestrial aliens will look like us is vanishingly small, and they are also likely to think and communicate very differently than we do. Most species on Earth communicate with smells (note that most animal species on Earth are insects), while fewer species, including humans, communicate primarily with sight and sound. As far as I know, humans are the only ones on Earth using radio waves to communicate, although radio transmitters and receivers are external to our biological bodies. (Nerds will point out that radio waves and light waves are all part of the electromagnetic spectrum, just pulses of the same phenomenon at different frequencies.)

illustration of a green creature with big black eyes

If we humans actually made contact with extra-terrestrial alien intelligence, how would we communicate with them? Extra-terrestrial organisms, likely being completely separate instances of life, and potentially evolving under dramatically different temperatures and chemical environments (think cold moons of Jupiter or Saturn where the solvent of life could be liquid hydrocarbons instead of water), might not use smell, sight, or sound as Earth creatures do. They might have very different ways of conveying information.

I suggest if we want to practice communicating with space aliens, we should look no further than our 8-legged ocean intelligence: the octopus. The octopus is evolutionarily the most different of all the intelligences on Earth. Here, I include in the “intelligence club” organisms such as primates (including humans), cetaceans (dolphins and whales), certain birds (parrots, jays, and crows), and cephalopods (particularly octopus). If you’d like to include other favorite creatures capable of acquiring and applying knowledge, such as elephants, dogs, and horses, well sure, we can include them in the intelligence club. What I want you to notice is that all of them except the cephalopods are vertebrate animals, and all but the birds are mammals.

The cephalopods are the most different of all those intelligences. The cephalopod and vertebrate lineages split from each other more than half a billion years ago. Although the common ancestors of the different vertebrate lineages were not likely highly intelligent, something about the vertebrate body plan might have been a precursor for intelligence. If this is the case, we might expect similarities in the different instances of vertebrate intelligence. On the other hand, because cephalopods and their intelligence came from a very different ancient ancestor, it is as different an intelligence as we can find on Earth. To appreciate how different, look up the fundamental difference between protostomes (including octopus) and deuterostomes (including vertebrates).

I suggest that our best chance to practice communicating with space aliens is to practice communicating with octopuses.

One other non-vertebrate I can think of that might be considered for the intelligence club is the jumping spider (family Salticidae, particularly genus Portia), whose intelligent hunting behaviors indicate they can reason and learn. And hey, they have eight legs, just like the octopus. Coincidence? What do you think?

Collected on this Day in 1930: Native…or Not?

by Mason Heberling

Though the supercontinent Pangea broke apart many millions of years ago, the Anthropocene is marked by a new kind of Pangea. The globalization of human activities has brought species from around the world into contact which otherwise would never interact. Though the seven continents as they are today may not be physically connected into a single landmass, they are perhaps more connected than they have ever been.

Some species are intentionally moved from one continent to another, such as the plants in gardens, while other introductions are accidental, mere unintentional passengers of humans increasingly global activities. Introduced species can fundamentally alter the landscape and are regarded as one of the top threats to native biodiversity.

Invasive species are those introduced species which are non-native and spread without human intervention. Many invasive species alter ecosystem functioning and change regional biodiversity. Invasive plant species have become a common part of our landscape. Some were brought over hundreds of years ago by European colonists. Others have arrived much more recently.

In Pennsylvania, the invasion of some plant species is obvious – that is, a unique species arrives, thrives, and become abundant. These invasive species have no record of being in the area and can spread rapidly, sometimes over the course of a human lifetime or shorter. Many invasive species are still actively spreading across the landscape. For instance, garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) is a well-known forest herb from Europe introduced to North America in the mid-1800s. After more than a century, the plant is now common across Pennsylvania’s forests. Another obvious example is giant knotweed (Reynoutria sachalinensis), a native to parts of East Asia, first recorded in western Pennsylvania in the 1920s, and since spread to line many of Pennsylvania’s rivers and streams. You can’t go far in the Pittsburgh region without seeing invasive knotweed.

Other species invasions are less obvious. These so called “cryptic invasions” are the introductions of very closely related species or subspecies which originated elsewhere.

specimen of common reed on an herbarium sheet

This specimen of common reed (Phragmites australis) tells the tale of a widespread cryptic invasion. The specimen was collected by Carnegie Museum botany curator Otto Jennings on November 2, 1930 along the shores of Lake Erie at Presque Isle, Pennsylvania. Common reed is a major problematic invasive species, crowding out native species in this unique habitat at Presque Isle. When this specimen was collected over 90 years ago, it was not nearly as abundant as it is now.

common reed plants with trees outside — A large stand of *Phragmites* at Presque Isle State Park, August 2019.

But is it non-native? Common reed, or often simply called Phragmites, has a very widespread distribution, found in wetlands and shores across all continents except Antarctica. It is even a common site along wet areas near highways. Common reed is among the most widely distributed plants in the world.

Reed is non-native to the United States…well, mostly. In the 1800s, botanists considered Phragmites to be a relatively uncommon plant. Evidence from fossils and paleoecological research show that the species has indeed been in North America for many thousands of years. However, it didn’t start to become abundant until the early 1900s and after. Some botanists suggested the sudden success of the species could be due to human disturbance. A pioneering herbarium-based study from 2002 published in PNAS by Dr. Kristin Saltonstall sequenced DNA from herbarium specimens collected before 1910 and recent collections to show that the spread of Phragmites in the United States was due to the introduction of a non-native strain of the species that originated from Europe.

Pretty cool, huh? And this finding was made possible with herbarium specimens.

So, is this particular specimen native or not? I don’t actually know, but with expert examination and genetic analysis, we could find out!

Find this specimen and 149 more in the Carnegie Museum herbarium here.

Check back for more! Botanists at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History share digital specimens from the herbarium on dates they were collected. These scientists are in the midst of a three-year project to digitize nearly 190,000 plant specimens collected in the region, making images and other data publicly available online. This effort is part of the Mid-Atlantic Megalopolis Project (mamdigitization.org), a network of thirteen herbaria spanning the densely populated urban corridor from Washington, D.C. to New York City to achieve a greater understanding of our urban areas, including the unique industrial and environmental history of the greater Pittsburgh region. This project is made possible by the National Science Foundation under grant no. 1801022.

60 Years, One Bird at a Time

by Mary Shidel, with special thanks to Pam Curtin, for her detailed history of the Powdermill Bird Banding Program

On June 18, 1961, a small brown bird with hints of blue on its wings and tail left its shrubby perch or perhaps its nest and flew into a soft nylon net. Little did this Indigo Bunting know that she would be the first data point in a long history of bird banding at the Powdermill Nature Reserve. Bob Leberman carefully extracted the bunting from the net, placed it in a bag for transport, then attached a small, almost weightless metal band to her leg, and collected data for age, sex, wing length and mass. Within minutes she was out flitting through the vegetation foraging for food. This same process has continued for 60 years, one bird at a time—capture, band, collect data, and release.

Powdermill Nature Reserve is the biological field station of Carnegie Museum of Natural History. In 1961, Bob Leberman, who had experience banding birds in Erie and near his hometown of Meadville, Pennsylvania, was hired by the museum’s director, Dr. Graham Netting, to establish a banding program at the Nature Reserve. Over the first decade or so the program evolved as Bob experimented with net sizes and placement, and honed skills and techniques for ageing and sexing that are still widely used today. In September 1961, a large pond was constructed and christened “Crisp Pond” after the village that used to exist nearby, and in 1975 two smaller ponds were added with shallower habitat for wading birds.

white building with tall evergreen trees behind it

In the early days, Bob banded from mid-March to mid-November. It wasn’t until 1974, when a permanent residence was established at the reserve for him, that Bob became the first person in the country to band year-round. By 1970, as Bob’s research expanded, a nearby garage and service building were repurposed into a laboratory and office space for the Banding Program.

A 1967 publication of the Carnegie Museum notes that “one of the most valuable assets” of Powdermill Bird Banding is the “considerable effort made to keep data consistent and comparable.” This is still true sixty years later. Just as Bob did in the early days, nets are opened one half hour before sunrise and checked every forty minutes (or adjusted if necessary due to weather conditions). Nets are kept in the same exact location from year to year, and net lanes are trimmed frequently to keep the vegetation surrounding the nets in an early successional state rather than just letting the forest overtake the banding area.

Data consistency and integrity is also still paramount at the banding lab. Over the years, very few people have held the “bander in charge” position, and those collecting the data work closely to calibrate measurements and methods. Amazingly, of the 800,000 records now in the banding database, Bob Leberman, who retired in 2004, collected the data for almost half! In 1983, Bob Mulvihill, whose connection to the banding program began as a volunteer four years earlier, joined Bob Leberman as Powdermill’s second full-time bander. Through the efforts of both “Bobs” the program grew and expanded. In 2004, in a recognition of ongoing research projects beyond the scope of the bird banding program, the lab was renamed “Powdermill Avian research Center,” a name frequently abbreviated as PARC.

The number of people who have supported the banding program in small and great ways over the years is much too vast to name here, but the program could never have grown and flourished without the thousands of volunteer hours and strong support from the staff at both Carnegie Museum of Natural History and Powdermill Nature Reserve. Generous funding from private donors and foundations over the years has extended the influence of PARC both nationally and globally.

Today, PARC is under the direction of Lucas DeGroote, Avian Research Coordinator, with Annie Lindsay, Banding Program Manager, directing day-to-day operations at the Banding Lab. Countless avenues of research focus on finding new ways to help birds. Each banding day, Annie and her staff will be opening nets before sunrise, checking the nets every forty minutes, and safely collecting and measuring the birds, growing the database and avian knowledge, one bird at a time.

And so the tradition continues…

Mary Shidel is a Banding Assistant at Powdermill Nature Reserve, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s environmental research center. Museum employees blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Pitt Outreach Efforts Enriched with Museum Materials

by Patrick McShea

person outside holding a crawfish — Audrey Sykes

At the University of Pittsburgh’s Community Engagement Centers in the Hill District and Homewood, the field of natural history has been well represented in this year’s children’s programming because of the knowledge and enthusiasm of graduate student Audrey Sykes. While she pursues a Doctor of Education degree in Out of School Learning, Audrey also serves as Outreach Coordinator for the university’s Department of Biological Sciences. In that capacity she has repeatedly set-up shop on Saturday mornings in classroom or lab space at the Blakey Center, on Wylie Avenue, for programs broadly billed as a “STEAM Science Saturday” series for topical connections to science, technology, engineering, art, and math.

“The goal of Pitt Biology outreach is to help students further explore concepts taught in the classroom in their own neighborhood,” Audrey explains, “and most of my programs do that through bringing nature into the classroom.” Her programs are designed for students in third through fifth grade, and group sizes have varied from six to more than one hundred students.

The West Liberty University graduate regularly utilizes materials from the museum’s Educator Loan Collection. She credits the authentic objects with “creating learning opportunities,” and her emailed requests to borrow materials often telegraph program plans. A question, months back, about the availability of a set of mammal skulls representing a carnivore, an herbivore, and an omnivore, indicated an upcoming hands-on investigation connecting tooth structure to diet. Likewise, a more recent request for wildlife-related objects to represent “seasonal cycles, nocturnal adaptations, and harvests” foretold fall programs designed to prime students to notice far more about late October than just Halloween decorations.

In considering how she coordinates her own schoolwork with the steady pace of outreach programs, Audrey concludes, “Everything I’m learning is immediately put into practice in the Outreach Program. Choosing the EdD program is one of the best decisions of my life.” Her dissertation project involves the ongoing development, evaluation, and modification of an aquatic eco-systems curriculum, titled Scales to Tails, at four rural high schools in Erie and Crawford County. Recently secured grant funding will enable an elementary version of the curriculum to also be developed. This will be received as good news by some of the participants in the STEAM Series programs at Blakey Center. Under Audrey’s guidance they’ve already tested some of the key activities.

Meet the Mysterious Mr. Ernest Bayet

by Joann Wilson and Albert Kollar

Imagine accumulating tens of thousands of fossils? While the exact number of fossils in Bayet’s collection has yet to be determined, estimates range from 20,000 to over 100,000. In 1903, William Holland, Director of the Carnegie Museum, negotiated a blockbuster deal to bring Bayet’s entire collection to Pittsburgh. The deal dazzled the public and made front page news in the New York Times. For over two years, the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology has been uncovering the stories of the collectors and dealers behind Bayet’s magnificent collection. Notable dealers include Lucien Stilwell, Frederick Stearns, and Dr. Friedrich Krantz, to name a few. But what about Bayet himself? What is his story?

Thanks to ongoing translations of the Bayet archive by volunteer Lucien Schoenmakers, we are excited to begin a series introducing Ernest Bayet, the person behind the collection.

How old was Bayet when he sold his fossil collection?

Bayet, who was Born in 1859, was just 44 years old in 1903 when he sold his collection to the Carnegie Museum.

How long did Bayet collect fossils?

Archival documents, that in 1903 arrived in Pittsburgh from Brussels with the purchased materials, indicate Bayet acquired the bulk of his collection in under 20 years. Assuming a range of 20,000 -100,000 fossils, Bayet would have acquired fossils at the blistering pace of 1,000-5,000 specimens per year. When you consider the logistics of shipping, along with the perpetual letter writing required to transact deals in the late 19th century, his acquisition rate is an amazing feat.

Signature on a piece of paper — *Is this Ernest Bayet’s signature? Portion of a recently re-discovered fossil label.*

Why did Bayet sell his collection?

In July of 1902, Bayet married countess, Maria van der Burch. The Bayet family had their first child in 1903. A second child followed in 1905. Was this a factor in Bayet’s decision to downsize his entire fossil collection? We are not yet sure of Bayet’s plans or motives. For over a century it was rumored that Bayet sold his fossils to pay for a new chateau, or home. In a letter to Andrew Carnegie dated June 8, 1903, William Holland, then Director of the Carnegie Museum, reported this as a possible explanation for the fossil sale. Although we have yet to verify that a chateau was acquired within that period, such a purchase is a possibility.

How long did Bayet live?

The Mysterious Mr. Ernest Bayet died in 1935 at the age of 76. What was his life like after the sale? To learn more about Bayet and how his fossils arrived in Pittsburgh, check out Annals of Carnegie Museum’s new publication, “Unraveling the 120 Year Mystery of Ernest Bayet and His Fossil Collection at Carnegie Museum”.

We are continually grateful to volunteer and Netherlands resident Lucien Schoenmakers for ongoing efforts to translate archival Bayet documents. Joann Wilson is an Interpreter in the Education Department at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Albert Kollar is Collections Manager for the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Trick or Tweet! Clever Creature Disguises

by Shelby Wyzykowski

It’s that time of year,

As Winter draws near,

There’s a crisp, fall-fresh chill in the air.

And the trees once so green,

Paint a colorful scene,

With their typical, Autumnal flair.

Everyone dresses up,

Like a monster or pup,

Or anything else in between.

To shout “Trick or Treat!”

And get something so sweet.

Hooray! It must be Halloween!

But be on your guard,

For if you look hard,

You’ll discover a curious thing.

Some animals, too,

Wear disguises (like you!),

Some slither, or flutter, or sing.

It could be oh so thrilling,

And maybe quite chilling,

To learn of the what, why, and how.

So let’s waste no more time,

With these whimsical rhymes,

And talk about some of them now!

Which Snake Is Venomous and Which Is In Disguise?

If you just happen to be a hiker, camper, or all-around outdoorsperson, you might just recognize this catchy saying:

“Red touches yellow,

Kills a fellow,

Red touches black,

Friend of Jack.”

Yes, it’s true that I did just claim that we were finished with rhyming for now, but knowing this pithy poem might just come in handy one day. As a matter of fact, if you are in the forests of the Southeastern U.S. and happen to stumble across a snake sporting vibrant bands of red, yellow, and black, this memorable rhyme could even save your life. It describes the very important differences between two similar-looking snakes, the Eastern Coral snake and the Scarlet Kingsnake.

The venomous and potentially deadly Coral snake has a pattern of red, yellow, and black bands encircling its body. The non-venomous, harmless Kingsnake’s body displays a pattern of red, black, and yellow bands. So, why would a harmless snake evolve in such a way that it intentionally displays bright colors that are easily spotted by predators? Because it’s hoping that a predator will spot it, mistake if for the dangerous Coral snake, and leave it alone.

This evolutionary visual deception is known as Batesian mimicry. Named after the nineteenth century naturalist Henry Walter Bates (in honor of his work with mimicry in Amazonian butterflies), this type of mimicry offers a protective function to the mimic yet offers no benefit to the species being mimicked. Not surprisingly, the more noxious the model animal is (as in the case of the Coral snake, for example), the more mimics it tends to accumulate!

*Can you spot the difference? The venomous coral snake is above the harmless scarlet kingsnake!*

A Butterfly Dressed Like an Owl

Besides venomous snakes, owls are also apex predators that many smaller predators make a point to avoid, and the Owl Butterfly has evolved to take advantage of this fact. With the conspicuous yellow and black “owl eye” spots in the middle of its hind wings, this giant insect can be easily spotted in the rainforests and secondary forests of Mexico and Central and South America. Smaller animals think twice when they see the face of an owl, and this hesitation gives the large, slow-flying butterfly the time that it needs to escape. But unlike the Scarlet Kingsnake, this butterfly’s wing pattern resembles multiple predatory models. Some small predators can also mistake their “large-pupil” eyespots to be lizards or amphibians, which are two other types of predators that hunt by sight. This multi-purpose disguise makes the Owl Butterfly look intimidating when it is in fact quite timid!

*The owl butterfly uses its distinct pattern to fool potential predators.*

Zone-tailed Hawk or Turkey Vulture?

But it’s not only prey species that take on other guises to deceive. Predators want to join in on the costume fun as well.

When a hunter mimics an inoffensive species to get closer to its prey, it is called aggressive mimicry. A prime example of a species that artfully employs this type of trickster predation is the Zone-tailed Hawk. This winged “wolf in sheep’s clothing” looks remarkably like a Turkey vulture.

Turkey vultures, which are scavengers, are not seen as a threat to living creatures, so small prey animals, such as mammals, lizards, and smaller birds, learn to ignore them. Hawks take full advantage of their vulture-like façade and further increase their chances of capturing unsuspecting prey by behaving like Turkey vultures as well. They circle about and fly with their wings slightly raised, rocking back and forth in the same way as vultures. To make the act even more convincing, these raptors often soar and sometimes even roost with vultures! It’s an ingeniously cunning way to stealthily sneak up on prey and make a direct and powerful attack.

Shrikes Are Excellent Mimics

Another bird that uses an ingenious trick to acquire a well-earned treat is the Northern Shrike. Unlike the Zone-tailed hawk that employs visual and behavioral mimicry to catch its prey, this pretty, seemingly unassuming songbird utilizes vocal mimicry. Like the Sirens of Greek mythology that used irresistibly hypnotic singing to lure in passing ships, shrikes mimic the calls and songs of their intended prey. As soon as their bewitching avian melodies have attracted their target animal to within attack range, they dispatch their prey and commence feeding.

Though the shrike has a falcon-like hooked bill (like a raptor), it still has a songbird’s feet. And since it does not have talons to tear apart its food, it has a unique method of consuming its meal. Shrikes will impale their quarry on sharp objects such as thorns or barbed wire. Once the prey is sufficiently secured, it is easier to tear apart and eat with their strong, sharp bills. They tend to favor starlings, house sparrows, and black-capped chickadees, but they don’t limit themselves solely to songbirds. Voles, mice, bumblebees, and beetles are also favorite choices, and they also catch lizards and frogs on occasion (however reptiles are normally not eaten and are left untouched once impaled).

And it’s not just adults that display this intriguing impaling behavior. Just after fledgling, young shrikes practice their impaling skills by gathering leaves or blades of grass and piercing them onto thorny branches.

Apparently though, impaling is not learned from their parents and is instead an inherited behavior, since juvenile shrikes raised alone in captivity will attempt to fix prey onto anything that is available in their cages. Ornithologists suppose that this impaling behavior has uses other than just the immediate consumption of a meal. They have observed shrikes building up caches of impaled prey in specific vicinities. Caching is a way for shrikes to store up food, similar to squirrels gathering up acorns for the winter. Also, it seems that the larger a male shrike’s cache is, the more females he attracts for mating. In addition, scientists have observed that impaled prey is deliberately positioned in specific patterns as a way to mark the boundaries of a shrike’s territory. It’s an unnerving yet effective deterrent that seems to successfully ward off rival shrikes!

*A juvenile Northern shrike,* Lanius borealis, *sitting on a branch.*

Mimic Octopus of Indonesia

A blog post about animal pretenders wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the ultimate master of disguise, the Mimic Octopus of Indonesia. Like other octopuses, it uses chromatospheres (color-changing cells on its skin) to blend in with the shallow, sandy ocean bottom. Yet, unlike other octopuses, this crafty cephalopod is a natural-born shapeshifter. As it forages in the open water in full view of potential predators, it changes color, shape, and how it behaves based on its surroundings. Purportedly, it can mimic up to fifteen sea animals! For example, to disguise itself as the poisonous lion fish, its arms take on black and white bands and flare out and trail behind it. And to mimic the sole, a poisonous flatfish, it turns a mottled brown, arranges its arms in a leaf-shape and undulates its body as it skims along the sand.

Incredibly, scientists think that this marine mollusk can decide which costume to wear based on which predator is floating nearby. They have observed mimic octopuses, when threatened by the territorial damselfish, hide six arms in a hole and raise the other two arms (color-changed to display black and beige bands) in opposite directions. Now appearing to the confused damselfish to be a venomous banded sea snake (a known predator of damselfish), the eight-legged trickster is given the time it needs to make its escape! This use of dynamic mimicry (which is considered Batesian mimicry) is a brilliant tactic that allows the otherwise vulnerable octopus to move about freely while remaining cool, calm, and collected in a jeopardy-laden, predator-rich environment!

So now you know why,

A creature’s disguise,

Can be such an important thing.

It helps them to thrive,

Or just stay alive,

To see what the next day will bring.

And as you have fun,

On your house-to-house run,

To collect all the candy you’ve earned,

Do make sure you recall,

This blog post, rhymes and all,

And please don’t forget what you’ve learned.

Yes, you should be quite wary,

‘Cause it could be real scary,

To see ghosts, ghouls, and goblins galore.

But remember, beware,

There’s a whole world out there,

Of real creatures that offer much more.

Like the owl butterfly,

And the hawks in the sky,

Or even a shrike or two.

Just know if shrikes could speak,

With those sharp little beaks,

They might shout “Trick or Treat!” right at you!

Happy Halloween!

It Isn’t Easy Being Different

by Stephen P. Rogers

In nature there is always variation among individuals. In fact, the ability of an organism’s genes to pass along variation to a subsequent generation accounts for how species evolve. When enough variation develops among a group of individuals that are in some way isolated from other similar individuals, a new species might evolve. Often, however, a variation leads to such a unique set of features that the individual does not survive long enough to reproduce.

In June, I received a call from a person named Joseph who enjoys watching birds near his home in Plum Borough. He and a neighbor had been watching an albino American Robin in the field behind their apartment complex for a few days. One afternoon three standard colored Robins began harassing this albino and chased it rapidly towards the field’s wooded edge. When Joseph heard a ‘thunk’ as the bird hit a poplar tree, he put on his boots to search for it. After some effort he found the bird, unfortunately dead. He called the National Aviary to report his find, and a representative he spoke with forwarded his number to me. I visited Joseph to retrieve the rare specimen, and he later sent me pictures of the living bird as well as an immediate post-mortem image showing pink eyes, a feature which designates the creature as a true albino.

albino American Robin laying on its side outdoors

Adding the Albino Robin to the Museum Collection

I contacted Annie Lindsay, Powdermill Nature Reserve’s Banding Program Manager, to ask if she had ever seen an albino at the museum’s field research station. She had not, but reported some encounters with birds bearing leucistic feathers. The term refers to feathers without pigment. Sometimes birds who lose individual feathers when they are not molting replace a lost colored feather with one that is white. I have seen this phenomenon in some birds I have prepared. I have also occasionally prepared birds with leucism, a condition caused by a genetic mutation that results in a partial reduction of color in a bird’s plumage, resulting certain areas white and other areas the typical colors of the species.

Among the American Robins in the CMNH collection we have an example of both a full albino and a leucistic individual. Both are pictured below alongside a male and female robin in normal coloration. The leucistic bird had been watched for three years before it was found dead. This lifespan can be interpreted as evidence that other robins must have accepted its’ coloration.

All of these birds are from the Pittsburgh area, a region which has been the primary source of birds added to the collection for many years. Typical collection addition situations involved vigilant bird watchers who found a bird that had been hit by a car (one of these individuals) or had been found dead near a window. Over the past 40 years I’ve transformed thousands of such feathered accident victims into museum specimens for current and future scientific studies. During this time, I’ve noticed a trend. If a person finds a dead bird, they may or may not contact the museum to see if we want the specimen. However, if it appears to be extra colorful, or rare by distribution, or in the case of the Plum Borough robin, albino, they may make a special effort to reach out to Carnegie Museum of Natural History. The albino American Robin is still in a museum freezer awaiting preparation. Perhaps it may become a taxidermy specimen rather than a study skin.

Stephen P. Rogers is Collection Manager in the Section of Birds at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Happy Highsmith Halloween! A review of two scary snail short stories by Patricia Highsmith

by Timothy A. Pearce and Alice W. Doolittle

Book cover featuring a face with snails for eyes. Title "The Snail-Watcher and other stories." Author: Patricia Highsmith.

Patricia Highsmith was an accomplished author of thrillers and horror stories from the 1950s to the 1990s. Film buffs might be familiar with Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train (1951), which was based on Highsmith’s first novel. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), starring Matt Damon, was also based on a Highsmith novel, as was Carol (2015), starring Cate Blanchett.

Highsmith was known to be enchanted with snails. Two short horror stories featuring snails, “The Snail-Watcher” and “The Quest for ‘Blank Claveringi’” are included in her collection The Snail-Watcher and Other Stories (1970, Doubleday, 177pp).

In “The Snail-Watcher,” readers meet Peter Knoppert who finds great delight keeping snails in terraria in his study, and enjoys watching them eat, mate, and reproduce. Scientifically accurate details in the story reflect Highsmith’s own careful observations of snails she kept. The snail population in Knoppert’s study grows rapidly through his diligent care and feeding (the story didn’t mention what the exorbitant weekly lettuce bill must have been) and he adds still more terraria to accommodate the mollusks. One day, after being otherwise occupied for a couple of weeks, Knoppert enters the study to find that the snails have escaped their terraria and are crawling on every surface in the room, including the ceiling. He slips on the slimy mucus and you can guess the gory ending.

In “The Quest for ‘Blank Claveringi,’” scientist Avery Clavering travels to a South Sea island where giant carnivorous snails are rumored to exist. Professor Clavering aims to collect one of this new species and name it after himself. Highsmith did not touch on the fact that among scientists, it is considered tacky to name species after yourself, so it is rarely done in the real world. Still, given Professor Clavering’s arrogant nature, it is believable that he could be egotistical enough to name a species after himself. He doesn’t yet know the genus of the snail, hence the “blank” in the title’s scientific name. He naively dismisses fears of locals from neighboring islands as superstitions, and considers stories of enormous snails to be exaggerations. When he encounters a snail the size of a Volkswagen, however, his plans to take one back alive quickly change. He can easily out-walk the giant beast, but when pursuer becomes the pursued, the slow-motion horror begins.

It was refreshing to read Highsmith’s accurate anatomical descriptions of the snails: the thousands of teeth in the snail’s radula, the fact that land snails are hermaphrodites, and the descriptions of the snails’ lung being visible within the translucent shell. Even the mention that land snails don’t normally tolerate salt water is accurate, heightening the horror when Professor Clavering learned that the snails on this island did not hesitate to pursue him into the ocean.

So, next time you are in the mood for a thrilling snail horror story, consider one of Patricia Highsmith’s short stories.

Two scary snail jokes for you:

1. Two snails named Gaston and Shelly are telling scary stories. Gaston says, “Psycho Snail isn’t really a snail at all, he is really a hermit slug. He murders snails then wears their shells so he can blend in with other snails and kill again.” Shelly says, “I don’t believe in Psycho Snail.” Gaston says, “You better believe, because *I* am Psycho Snail!” Shelly screams, “Ahhhhh!” Gaston, seeing no reaction, says, “You were supposed to jump and run away in terror.” Shelly says, “I did and I am.”

2. The snail prophet warned that if the snails didn’t behave, the snail God would punish them with a rain of young chickens. Although the snails started behaving only slightly better, the rain of chickens didn’t materialize. One snail said to another, “Phew, looks like we dodged a slug this time!” (I bet you thought I was going to say dodged a pullet!)

Timothy A. Pearce is Curator of Collections and Head of the Section of Mollusks and Alice W. Doolittle is a volunteer in the Section of Mollusks at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees and volunteers are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Grass Baskets of the Chumash

by Phillip Mendenhall

field under blue sky with puffy clouds — *Left: Chumash archaeological site near Lompoc, CA. Right: Baskets from the Alcoa Hall of American Indians, CMNH.*

woven baskets on a shelf — *Left: Chumash archaeological site near Lompoc, CA. Right: Baskets from the Alcoa Hall of American Indians, CMNH.*

On archaeological excavations we typically remove overlying vegetation as part of the process of looking for evidence of the past below ground. However, while on an excavation of a prehistoric lithic quarry near the southern California coast this past August, I was reminded of how much knowledge can be observed by orienting oneself in the surrounding landscape.

Anyone who visits the interior corridors of Alcoa Hall will find themselves confronted by the central displays of grass-weaved baskets obtained from the throughout the US. If someone looks closely enough in the California Basket case, they will see five baskets that measure no larger than a person’s thumbnail. These tiny specimens made sometime before 1938 near Pomo, California, were never meant to be used in any practical way, but were rather meant to display the mastery of the artisan that created them. Without the use of mechanical aids or lenses, the rough, sea-weathered grasses of the central California coast were meticulously threaded with exact precision into a near-microscopic version of their functional counterparts. Motifs that emulate the larger versions are still visible and thoughtfully organized as if they were a hundred times greater than their actual size, a remarkable demonstration of skill that dates back at least 2,000 years in the region.

Baskets, due to their organic components, rarely survive in the archaeological record. We archaeologists are forced underground to look for more tangible artifacts, such as stone tools and pottery to understand past lifeways. This can cause bias in what we believe a group of people used as resources because only a few types of durable artifacts survive from so long ago. However, as many of the Chumash people that I worked with this summer will explain, we who seek to understand better what has happened in the past have only just touched the surface of what lies hidden from our knowledge.

Phillip Mendenhall is a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, a PhD candidate in anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh, and an interpreter at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. His work in North America and southeastern Europe focuses on how native cultures persist in the face of cultural change and colonization.

Celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day

by Amy L. Covell-Murthy

Indigenous Peoples’ Day is observed in the City of Pittsburgh alongside Columbus Day and I would like to suggest some ways to observe the holiday for those who do not claim Indigenous heritage. In a state with no habitable federally recognized Indigenous land, Native people are all too often seen as existing only in the past. While educating yourself on the Indigenous history of the region is an important part of observing the holiday, it’s also important to recognize that many First Nations people live, work, and play in the Greater Pittsburgh Area. Indigenous Peoples’ Day should not be a memorial, but a recognition of the important history and cultural heritage of those who are the past, present, and future caretakers of this land. Here are some things you can do to respectfully celebrate on October 11, 2021.

Educate Yourself

Haudenosaunee Confederacy

Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania

Eastern Shawnee History

Wyandotte Nation

The Osage Nation

Person in a crowd holding a sign that says "We are still here" — Indigenous Peoples March, January 18, 2019

Educate Yourself Some More

Learn about the history that may have been left out of your primary and secondary school curriculums. You may be unaware of the atrocities that Indigenous people faced in the State of Pennsylvania. Many First Pennsylvanians were forced from their homelands and infected with unfamiliar diseases by colonizers. Later, beginning in 1879, the first assimilation school was created in Carlisle, PA and used as a model for 24 additional institutions whose primary goal was to force Indigenous children to abandon their Native languages and customs. In the 1960s, the building of the Kinzua Dam on the Allegheny River upstream from Warren, PA forced Seneca Nation citizens to move into the State of New York, breaking the 1794 Treaty of Peace and Friendship. Indigenous communities thrive despite these events and institutions, but it is important to recognize and not try to hide these gruesome parts of our shared American history. You can find more information about these examples on these websites:

Kinzua Dam

Smallpox

Carlisle Indian School Project

Support Local Indigenous Groups

The Council of Three Rivers American Indian Center is a regional intertribal nonprofit that promotes the socio-economic development of the Native American community and others who experience the same type of economic difficulties in the Greater Pittsburgh metropolitan area. One way to support them is to plan to attend their annual Pow Wow that is held just outside of Pittsburgh in Dorseyville in late September. Learn more about their Early Childhood Education, Native American Elders, Veterans, and Employment programs here:

Council of Three Rivers American Indian Center (website)

Council of Three River American Indian Center (Facebook page)

Honor the Land

gourds, corn, and seeds on a wooden platter on a black counter

Landscaping with Native Plants

List of Western PA Native Plants

Attend an Online or In Person Event

Many cities around the United States hold events to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day. A quick Google Search can point you in the right direction. I’m going to be learning about the current racial and social landscape from young Black-Indigenous activists at the Smithsonian. You can tune in to the National Museum of the American Indian at 1 p.m. on October 11^th to attend this free webinar titled, Indigenous Peoples’ Day: Black-Indigenous Youth Advancing Social Justice.

Support Indigenous Artists, Authors, Film Makers, and Musicians

You have so many options! The Sundance Institute has a version of its 2021 Indigenous Short Film Tour available to stream. It’s an 85-minute program featuring 7 short films. The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh website offers staff picks and lists of Indigenous authors. My favorite is a list of Indigenous Science Fiction from 2020 which is intended for adults, but they also have lists of Indigenous books for children and teens. Independent Lens presented a list of Indigenous musicians you should know in 2019, which included Raye Zaragoza and Pamyua. You can support Indigenous artists by purchasing art through the online gift shop of the Seneca Iroquois National Museum/Onöhsagwë:de’ Cultural Center.

Help Change Derogatory Mascots and Place Names

Sign petitions, attend community forums, and advocate for the changing of harmful stereotypes and offensive signage in our community. From the Cleveland Guardians to Hemlock Hollow Road, there are many instances of this happening around us. The National Congress of American Indians offers a state tracker of schools with offensive mascots, and Pennsylvania has 45 districts and 115 schools who need a change.

Consider Donating Time or Resources

The Seneca Iroquois National Museum/ Onöhsagwë:de’ Cultural Center is only a few hours’ drive from Pittsburgh and occasionally may be looking for volunteers. Check their website and follow their social media accounts (Instagram and Facebook) for more information.

If you are able, here are just a few organizations who can use your help:

Native American Agriculture Fund

NDN Collective

Honor the Earth

Indigenous Environmental Network

Amy L. Covell-Murthy is Archaeology Collection Manager at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Making Time Disappear

by Joann Wilson

Archivists control time. During a recent visit to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History Library, Kelsea Collins, Carnegie Museum Library Cataloger, demonstrated the magic of archival restoration on a 118-year-old document. Kelsea, along with Marie Corrado, Carnegie Museum of Natural History Library Manager, guided me to a windowless, climate-controlled section of the Natural History Library. In this room, rows of hand bound documents, and other archival materials, rest at a constant 65–68-degrees Fahrenheit.

Cleaning Historic Documents

On a flat surface, ready for cleaning, lay an historic “wove” paper cable. “Wove” paper production was introduced in 1750 at a time when paper was made by hand. It is sometimes confused with another of material, known as “laid” paper. Both types are made from wood pulp. The type of mesh, used during manufacturing, generates the differing appearance. Wove paper has a more uniform look when held up to the light. Laid paper has lines, grooves, and sometimes, watermarks. By the early 1800’s, machines were introduced to make paper in greater quantities. Kelsea indicated that our 118-year-old document was likely made by machine, not by hand.

historic document with arrows pointing out dust and fingerprints on the bottom right corner — Before cleaning: 118-year-old document from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History Library.

historic document with arrow pointing to where there was previously much more dust and fingerprints — Same document after cleaning.

Having washed her hands, Kelsea was ready for restoration. Current practice from the Library of Congress recommends clean, dry hands, without gloves for the handling of rare and old documents. Nitrile and cotton gloves, used in previous decades, can easily rip fragile paper. In less than a minute, and with just a few gentle swipes of a dry, vulcanized rubber sponge, Kelsea removed discernible marks from the past. Long forgotten fingermarks faded and dust lines, possibly from coal, disappeared. Our document still has a trace of the century old fingerprints, but the dust lines are almost completely gone. Skilled archivists know when to stop.

historic document being cleaned by hand with a vulcanized rubber sponge — Document cleaning with a vulcanized rubber sponge. The Library of Congress recommends cleaning rare documents without gloves.

So, the next time you see an old document, take a moment to see if there are traces of fingerprints or other marks from the past. Then remember the archivists and librarians that deftly decide, whether or not, to make time disappear.

Many thanks to Kelsea Collins, Carnegie Museum Library Cataloger and Marie Corrado, Carnegie Museum of Natural History Library Manager for taking the time to share this story. Joann Wilson is an Interpreter for the Education Department at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Sharing Shipping Space with Amphibians and Reptiles

by Stevie Kennedy-Gold

Your online orders of clothes and household goods might well have shared shipping space alongside preserved toads and snakes from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Don’t worry though – museum specimens are shipped following long-established rules and regulations, and the movement of herpetological freight is all in the service of science.

Wait, what?! Well, at a relatively low, but steady rate, natural history museums loan out specimens, and these materials are generally shipped, outgoing and incoming, via regular commercial carriers.

Why loan out a specimen?! Why, to ask and answer awesome scientific questions, to enhance an exhibit, or to use as artistic references! Just as every human has a story unique to their own life and experiences, etched in their wrinkles, freckles, and scars, the same is true for every specimen in the collection. Each frog and lizard, snake and turtle has experienced different environmental impacts, endured famine, parasites, pollution, or predation. Each specimen has its own story. Instead of being written down within the pages of a book, the animals’ stories are recorded within their muscles, organs, bones, and DNA. As such, an eastern fence lizard collected from Pennsylvania in 1893 will likely have a different body size, diet, or parasite load compared to the same species of lizard collected from the same town in 2005.

Scientists request loans from museum collections so that they can examine the specimens, unlock the stories hidden in each body, and answer their scientific questions. Alternatively, we receive requests from artists needing reference materials for their newest works of art, or to more accurately render images of a species they would otherwise not be able to see up close (I’m looking at you, venomous snakes, highly toxic frogs, or now extinct species!). And, of course, museums themselves loan from collections to use in displays as representatives of the far larger number of specimens housed behind-the-scenes. Walk through Dinosaurs in their Time towards Cenozoic – those bones can be considered as an inter-building loan from our Vertebrate Paleontology collection. Head up to the Foster Overlook and check out our hellbender who choked on a marshmallow – that specimen is certainly an inter-building loan from the collection I manage.

But how exactly are specimen loans arranged? The process varies from institution to institution and from section to section, so this description is the process specific to the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles at this museum. Overall, though, the process is a great deal easier than it would seem. Assuming a borrower knows what species to work with, a search of the Section’s online presence at iDigBio or VertNet will determine the specific specimens to request. After that, a formal request letter is required. This document must include details of borrower affiliation, the species and specimens requested, and the reason behind the request along with any planned examination techniques. The next step in the procedure is an email directed to me through the museum website (here), again providing a brief description of the borrower’s intent.

Table with specimen jars, paper, a metal tray, gloves, and other tools for herpetology work. — Image 1: Prepping a loan of anoles for a researcher. In the foreground are lists of specimen preferences from the researcher and specimens in the collection which fit the criteria.

Assuming a request is reasonable (i.e., doesn’t involve the complete destruction of the specimen!), I then begin pulling the requested specimens from the collection, placing tiny loan slips in each jar as I go as place holders signifying the specimen’s loaned status (Image 1). The slip has the specimen’s catalog number, the loan number, and the requester. Paper trails are vital in loaning specimens. I also make a notation in my fancy new Loan database, as well as in the general Herp Section Specimen database. Finally, I draft up the loan contract which will be sent out with the specimens. I then wrap the specimens in cheesecloth (Images 2 and 3), give them a good soaking in alcohol, triple bag and heat seal them in, and slap the appropriate documentation on and in the box. The package then goes off to the mailroom!

Specimen jar and herpetology specimens laid on cheesecloth. — Image 2: Laying out the specimens on cheesecloth in preparation for shipping. A loan slip can be seen behind the cup on the right side of the image.

Woman wrapping a specimen in cheesecloth — Image 3: Charlotte, a recent intern in the section, helps package up a loan of toads.

Once someone has completed their work with the specimens, they normally notify me and ship the specimens back as soon as possible. Assuming all the specimens are returned in good order, the loan is closed, the specimens are returned to the collection, the slips of paper are pulled from the jars, and the specimens once again become available for other people to use.

Unfortunately, some specimen loans, like library books, become overdue. A typical loan duration is 6 months, at the end of which the borrower can request a loan extension (much like requesting an extension on a library book) or they can send the specimens back. If the loan period elapses without any communication, I don my imaginary “Lizard Librarian” hat and kindly request their return as soon as possible.

Due to the size of this collection, the responsibilities of a collection manager, the number of loans we send out annually (some years over 40!), and the recent (with respect to the general age of the collection) technological adoptions within the Section (i.e., creating digital databases), it is not surprising that the retrieval of some loans lapsed, and even the documentation of some specimen locations is unclear. As a result, I recently took it upon myself, with the aid of my fearless and tireless group of interns, work study students, and volunteers, to determine the “active status” for all loans sent out since 1925 (the earliest recorded loan in the section). We have nearly 2000 loan records to look through, but fortunately my predecessors did a decent job tracking when a loan was returned or when contact was made to request the specimens be returned.

It’s a long arduous process making sure that all the specimens are back. Initially, our search to verify if the specimen was returned begins with the jars containing species from the location where the borrowed specimen was collected. This process takes time, and the pace is contingent upon how many specimens were requested per loan and how many specimens (and jars!) of a specific species from a specific place we have in the collection. For example, tracking the whereabouts of a loan of 50 eastern newts from Pennsylvania has taken us a few weeks because we have nearly 20 jars of newts from the state, each containing at least 100 specimens.

Jars of amphibians and reptiles preserved in fluid

If we emerge empty handed after examining all the jars of a specific species from a specific place, we then look in jars containing the same species collected from other locations. This process has resulted in finding almost 10 specimens previously deemed “missing” – some since the 1960s! On top of this process, we also record the catalogue number of every specimen in every jar we examine so we can update the jar labels with the specimen numbers (Image 4). This expedites finding specific specimens in the future and ensures that all specimens are placed in their correct jars. It’s a true labor of love and the process is a museum collection equivalent of an (ultra-ULTRA) marathon, not a sprint. When it all boils down though, I am just a librarian making sure that all my books (or specimens!) are where they ought to be.

Stevie Kennedy-Gold is the Collection Manager for the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Meet the Fossil Detectives in the Basement

by Suzanne Mills and Albert Kollar

Gray metal storage cabinets march in rows across the concrete floor. The collection space has no windows and there is a constant hissing sound from the overhead air ducts. No matter, the staff is looking for clues of the geologic and paleontological past, or History of the Earth, through the vast collection of fossil invertebrates. The staff and volunteers of the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology (IP) are tasked to reorganize, preserve, and curate fossils through the leadership of the Collection Manager Albert Kollar.

Person in a hallway lined with gray cabinets — Collection Assistant Kevin Love at the doors of the Invertebrate Paleontology section.

On any given workday, you’ll find us hefting drawers full of fossil-bearing rocks and playing specimen-box Tetris to make fossils fit in the available cabinet space. We examine century-old inventory books, search out (usually Google) maps to find absconded valuables (historical fossil sites), and decipher written scripts in unfamiliar French and German for valuable geologic data.

Long-term volunteers in IP include Rich Fedosick, a researcher assisting in the project to document the Carnegie building stones; John Harper, an expert on fossil snails taxonomy, Roman Kyshakevych, who is deciphering the famous Coppi collection from Italy; Tamra Schiappa, a paleontologist at Slippery Rock University who is updating fossil cephalopod identifications; and Vicky Sowinski, who performs collection support. Student researchers include collection assistant and graphic artist Kay Hughes, a 2021 Mount Holyoke College graduate who coauthored four peer-reviewed scientific publications produced by IP; and collection assistant Will Vincentt, who researched two Bayet collections, the Hunsruck Slate of Germany and Lyme Regis of England. Tara Pallas-Sheetz, a part-time assistant, has worked on various projects over the years.

Hear from some of our newest staff and summer volunteers in their own words below.

Woman with a drawer of coral fossils — Lizzie Begley with large fossil corals

Name: Lizzie Begley

About me: B.A. Anthropology Penn State 2021; masters candidate in Museum Studies and Non-profit Management certification in progress at Johns Hopkins University

Why IP: Working “behind the scenes” in IP has helped me develop a better sense of what it looks like to work in a museum such as the Carnegie. As an aspiring museum professional, experience behind gallery floors is invaluable as I work to find my place in the field. For this experience I couldn’t be more grateful and, honestly, couldn’t be having more fun!

woman with a drawer of fossil ammonites — Katie Golden with fossil ammonites

Name: Katie Golden

About me: B.S. Biology, Juniata College 2023 (expected)

Why IP: When I was in preschool, I told people I wanted to be a paleontologist when I grew up. Here in IP, I like exploring a part of the museum that most people don’t get to see. I particularly enjoy puzzle-piecing together fossils that need repair. The intricate ammonites, trilobites, and insects preserved in amber are especially beautiful. My favorite fossil organism is Anomalocaris.

Woman at a table with fossil corals — Tori Gouza with fossil corals

Name: Tori Gouza

About me: B.A. History and Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh 2023 (expected)

Why IP: I love working in IP. It is so exciting to be able to interact with others in the section and to learn what projects they are currently working on. Albert Kollar has encouraged not only discussion but also collaboration. It is great to converse with others who are passionate about their work.

Man sitting at a computer in an office — Kevin Love enters data about a fossil eurypterid

Name: Kevin Love

About me: IP Collection Assistant; B.S. Geology and Ecology & Evolution summa cum laude, University of Pittsburgh 2021

Why IP: I like solving puzzles at work. I find invertebrate fossils aesthetically appealing, but the main reason I like this job is that I get to understand little enigmas from Earth’s past. I like solving historical questions and compiling more information about fossils in the collection.

woman with a fossil trilobite — Suzanne Mills with fossil trilobite Isotelus gigas

Name: Suzanne Mills

About me: IP Collection Assistant, Professional Geologist, mom

Why IP: Every day is different when you work with a collection of 800,000 specimens. I may come across a 100-million-year-old ammonite sparkling with crystals inside, or a drawer full of trilobites acquired by the museum in 1903, when Andrew Carnegie was alive. I love that my work requires me to learn more about fossils which are beautiful, historical, and scientifically significant.

person with a drawer of fossil crinoids — Ellis Peet with fossil crinoids

Name: Ellis Peet

About me: B.S. Environmental Geoscience with Geology concentration, Slippery Rock University 2021

Why IP: The management and staff of IP are smart, kind, personable, and they take paleontology seriously. I also like the environment at IP because it smells like a library and limestone dust, which reminds me of the geology department at Slippery Rock.

Name: Joann Wilson

About me: Interpreter for the Department of Education, Carnegie Museum of Natural History

Why IP: Fossils inspire awe. I enjoy unravelling the stories behind the individuals that discovered, studied and collected these breathtaking specimens.

Suzanne Mills is a Collection Assistant and Albert Kollar is Collections Manager in the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

What Do Botanists Do On Saturday?

by Sarah C. Williams

Here in the section of Botany we’ve adapted in some strange ways, just like plants do, to the changes of the past year and a half. Let’s learn about the off days of some of our Super Scientists in the Section of Botany!

Mason Heberling, Assistant Curator of Botany

Collecting specimens has become a focus as more time was able to be spent in the field when we weren’t allowed to be at the museum. As our new Botany Hall entrance video shows, Assistant Curator of Botany, Mason Heberling and Collections Manager Bonnie Isaac collect plant specimens on a pretty regular basis. They also snag iNaturalist observations for these plants, taking photos that show what the plant and habitat looked before being picked and pressed.

Mason studies forest understory plants, in particular, introduced species and wildflowers in our changing environment. Mason has a bunch of fun projects going on this summer, ranging from coordinating seed collections of an uncommon native grass to send to Germany for a large greenhouse study to working with a team of students to study the effects of climate change and introduced shrubs on our forest wildflowers.

In addition to work in the field, the herbarium has been a busy place this summer too! Mason has been working with Alyssa McCormick, an undergraduate research intern from Chatham University, to examine stomata (the pores on leaves for air exchange for plants to “breathe”) and leaf nutrients in everyone’s favorite plant – poison ivy! Poison ivy has been previously shown to grow bigger and cause nastier skin rashes with increasing carbon dioxide in our air due to fossil fuel emissions. Alyssa is using specimens collected as long ago as the 1800s to examine long term changes in poison ivy.

Man setting up equipment in a forested area

Mason, where can we find you on a Saturday?

“This summer has been a lot of going to various places around western PA like Presque Isle or Idlewild to get out and enjoy the fresh air with my family. I can also be found most Saturdays around the house doing chores!”

Bonnie Isaac, Collection Manager

Bonnie, one of CMNH’s TikTok celebrities, and All-Star in the Mid-Atlantic plant world, has spent a lot of the past year doing fieldwork. Her PA Wild Resource Grant involved looking at most of the populations for 10 Pennsylvania rare species. She and husband Joe Isaac spent many days on the road and a few in the bog! You can see some of her videos about these unique Pennsylvania finds on Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Tiktok account: @carnegiemnh.

She diligently keeps track of various data points from latitude and longitude and elevation, to flower color, size, and associated species within a habitat. In addition to trying to make sure the plant names in our database are correct, she has also been busy georeferencing some of our specimens so that we can see on a map where each one was collected.

Bonnie, where can we find you on a Saturday?

“On most Saturdays I am either home taking care of my many chickens or getting some exercise in one of my kayaks with my spousal unit, Joe. I sometime even take a fishing pole for a ride or see how many different kinds of plants I can find on a hike. As long as I can get outside with Joe, I’m happy.”

Cynthia Pagesh, Herbarium Assistant

Specimens make their way home to the museum, where we assure they’re bone dry, flat as a pancake, and have been frozen twice to get rid of any pests. They then find their way into the nimble hands of Cynthia Pagesh, our resident plant mounter. Cynthia has luckily been able to do some mounting both onsite and at home over this past year, really honing her craft. She uses Elmer’s glue, dental and sculpture tools, linen tape, and a paintbrush akin to a magic wand: transforming roots, stems, flowers, and fruits into scientific and artistic renderings on an 11.5×16.5” archival herbarium sheet.

Mounting can be very detailed and challenging: wrangling a dry and brittle rare plant you want to salvage every detail from, or an oversized leaf ‘how-will-this-all-fit?’ ordeal, or finessing a delicate petal that glue is especially heavy on. Bulky bits, crumbly bits, spiky no nos: Cyn handles them all. Her work is just as much an art as it is a science. When she’s not making masterpieces, she’s probably doing something with plants.

Cyn, where can we find you on a Saturday?

“You can find me on Saturdays helping prune young trees in my community, collecting wildflower seeds or in my kitchen making preserves or homemade pasta noodles. I volunteer in vegetable, herb and flower gardens. I have a pollinator garden at home and raise Monarch caterpillars. I tag and release them to migrate south.

There are lots of Community Science projects for people of all ages: ask someone to help you find one related to a subject you have an interest in. I have an interest in pollinators including bees. I participate in a Community Science Project every Summer that counts types of bees on certain plants when they bloom.”

Iliana DiNicola

After another stint in the freezer for bugs-be-gone, it’s everyone’s favorite day: Picture Day! Each plant: sturdy and mounted, all data logged and super official, makes their way to the imaging station to spend some time under the bright lights. Since 2018, students, interns, and volunteers have lovingly held these plants’ hands as they get their close ups. We take high definition photos using a specially made lightbox and special software.

While this is part of a limited project, called the Mid-Atlantic Megalopolis, we are still hard at work going into our last year of the time we were given. This past schoolyear and summer, former Pitt student, Iliana DiNicola was taking pictures for us on the regular while also interning with the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy. She just graduated and I’m excited to hear what she does on her Saturdays in the future.

Iliana, where can we find you on a Saturday?

“I just graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in Environmental Studies, and I am now on the lookout for any jobs related to the environment back in my hometown of Phoenix, Arizona. I am interested in working with anything from sustainability, to policy or political work, or maybe even something more related to ecology and outdoor work.

On a Saturday, I am definitely helping clean my house since I am a semi-clean freak, I love to go hiking if the weather isn’t too hot, enjoy drawing and working on any art projects, or work on my future hydroponics garden.

As somebody who interned for Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, I highly recommend participating in any camps or activities the conservancy has to offer. It was super fun learning more about Pittsburgh’s history and ecology and getting to teach kids about these topics, alongside participating in fun outdoor activities.”

Sarah Williams, Curatorial Assistant

Next up, Sarah Williams, the Curatorial Assistant in the Section of Botany, is overseeing the digitization project, morphing the photos from raw camera files into smaller files for sharing and detailed files for archival storing using Adobe Lightroom. She takes the images from the newly photographed specimens and makes sure they get uploaded onto the Mid-Atlantic Herbaria Consortium’s website to be shared far and wide across the world.

There is also a lot she does in sorting, filing, and taking care of the specimens as well. She does a bunch of scheduling, hiring, and training of work study students, interns, and volunteers. We consider her a jack of all trades.

Sarah, where can we find you on a Saturday?

“Most weekends I work with a local catering company called Black Radish Kitchen. I usually end up serving delicious vegetable and farm focused meals at least one day a week, commonly Saturdays because they’re prime for celebrations. The re-start up since the pandemic has been cautious, and I’m excited to be amongst people and help them to make mouthwatering memories again. I’ve worked in the restaurant industry for over a decade and the skills I’ve learned doing it as well as the friends I’ve made are matchless. It has a big piece of my heart.

I also moved into a new house this year about five minutes from my mom, so if I’m not running to say hi to her and ‘borrow’ some groceries, I’m doing laundry, dusting and yardwork… but only after I sleep in, eat some delicious breakfast with my partner, and hang out with our two cats, Santi and Gil.”

We hope you enjoyed getting to know us here in the Section of Botany, look forward to updates and more introductions in the future as we continue to host volunteers, federal work-study students, and interns on their journeys to learn even more about the plant kingdom.

Sarah Williams is Curatorial Assistant in the Section of Botany at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Bayet and Krantz: 16 Words (Part 1)

by Joann Wilson and Albert Kollar

In June of 1903, William Holland, Director of the Carnegie Museum, seized a rare chance to acquire one of the finest private collections in all of Europe. The purchase was made with sixteen words. Within in Holland’s Archives at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History Library, on onion paper so fragile that it appears to float, is a carbon copy of the telegram that influenced the early history of the Paleontology Department. Mysteriously, only one name appears on this fateful cable, and it is not a name that you would expect. The name is “Krantz,” Dr. Friedrich Krantz of Bonn, Germany.

Black and white photo of a man in a suit holding a book surrounded by books and plants. — Dr. Friedrich Krantz sitting in the conservatory, or wintergarten, at his villa in Germany, (date unknown). Permission of Ursula Müller-Krantz, Executive Director, Dr. F. Krantz.

In 1859, Friedrich Krantz was born into a family that operated a geological supply business. In 1888, Krantz graduated with a PhD in geology from the University of Erlangen. That same year, he joined “Dr. A Krantz,” the company founded by his uncle, Adam August Krantz. By 1891, Friedrich Krantz took charge and changed the company name to “Dr. F. Krantz, Rheinisches Mineraliaen Contor.” The company continues operations to this day out of headquarters in Bonn.

Exactly when Ernest Bayet of Brussels and Friedrich Krantz met is uncertain. But thanks to the letters and fossil lists that arrived with the Bayet collection, we know that they corresponded at least three times. The difficult task of translating these documents into English is being handled by volunteer Lucien Schoenmakers, a resident of the Netherlands. Schoenmakers’ translation work here and with other records is contributing critical information to the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology’s multiyear project to fully document the invertebrate portion of the Bayet Collection.

From the archive, we know that Krantz visited Bayet at least once. On July 7th, 1897, Krantz wrote, “I intend to come to Brussels towards the end of next week and will be honored to visit you, I can use the numbered list to give you the exact individual prices for all the objects displayed by me.”

In fact, Bayet may have selected Krantz to act as his agent for the sale because he was so familiar with it. Krantz sold many museum quality specimens to Bayet; many with distinctive, elegant labels.

Fossil specimen with partial label underneath — *Encrinus liliiformis* Miller (CM 29840): a Triassic crinoid from Brunswick, Germany with Krantz label.

The sale of Baron Ernest Bayet’s fossil collection to the Carnegie Museum in 1903, made front page news in the New York Times, and other papers across the country. In a letter to Andrew Carnegie, thanking him for allocating $25,000 for the purchase, an enormous sum for that time, Holland wrote, “We are never likely to have another such chance, and you have done a most splendid thing in securing it [the Bayet Collection] for our Museum of Paleontology.” That most splendid thing transpired, over a century ago, with just sixteen words:

“Carnegie Museum buys collection. Will pay cash price fixed by Krantz. If satisfactory, telegraph answer yes.”

Photograph of a telegraph that reads: Baron de Bayet, Bruxelles, Belgium, Carnegie Museum buys collection. Will pay cash price fixed by Krantz. If satisfactory, telegraph answer yes. — Cable sent from Pittsburgh to Brussels on June 9th or 10th, 1903 offering to buy Baron Ernest Bayet’s fossil collection. “Krantz” refers to Friedrich Krantz of Bonn, Germany, a business man and fossil dealer who acted as Bayet’s negotiating agent.

Part 2 of this series highlights spectacular Krantz specimens within the Bayet collection.

Many thanks for the generous contributions of Ursula Müller-Krantz, Executive Director of Dr. F Krantz Rheinisches Mineraliaen Contor GmbH & Co., Marie Corrado, Carnegie Museum of Natural History Library Manager and Kelsea Collins, Carnegie Museum Library Cataloger. Continued gratitude to volunteer Lucien Schoenmakers’ ongoing effort to translate archival Bayet documents. Joann Wilson is an Interpreter in the Education Department at Carnegie Museum of Natural History and Albert Kollar is Collections Manager for the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Lights Out for Birds

by Patrick McShea

As innately land-bound creatures, our comprehension of what goes on in the sky above us is limited. These short-comings are compounded when the sky grows dark. Our disconnection with what amounts to be an adjacent, but largely inaccessible ecosystem, presents a challenge to the organizers of a seasonal project to protect migrating songbirds.

Enormous numbers of birds pass over the Pittsburgh region each year during migration, northbound in the spring, and southbound in the fall. These passages occur during the night, and bright lighting can disorient the migrants’ finely-tuned sense of navigation, sometimes resulting in disabling or fatal window collisions. Lights Out Pittsburgh, is a voluntary program that encourages building owners and tenants to minimize this problem by turning off as much internal and external lighting as possible, nightly from midnight to 6:00 a.m. between September 1 and November 15.

This fall, a group of organizations that includes the Building Owners and Managers Association of Pittsburgh, BNY Mellon, BirdSafe Pittsburgh, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, and the National Aviary announced their participation in the project. Long term, the sustainability of light reduction efforts will require greater appreciation of sky as ecosystem. To that end an essay in Vesper Flights, Helen Macdonald’s 2020 collection of nature writing and personal memoir, provides essential background information.

Cover of the book Vesper Flights by Helen Macdonald

In “High-Rise” the English naturalist, with Cornell Lab of Ornithology researcher Andrew Farnsworth as her guide, presents the 86th floor observation deck of Empire State Building as a portal for viewing a tiny slice of the northbound spring bird migration high above Manhattan. As Macdonald explains, by referencing the work of another researcher, the lofty vantage point is “a realm where the distinction between city and countryside has little or no meaning at all.”

From Vesper Flights by Helen Macdonald, Grove Press, 2020:

For every larger bird I see, thirty or more songbirds pass over. They are very small. Watching their passage is almost too moving to bear. They resemble stars, embers, slow tracer fire. Even through binoculars those at higher altitudes are tiny, ghostly points of light. I know that they have loose-clenched toes tucked to their chests, bright eyes, thin bones and a will to fly north that pulls them onward night after night. Most of them spent yesterday in central or southern New Jersey before ascending into darkness.

There are, of course, opportunities to make firsthand observations of the passage of migrating songbirds without a skyscraper as viewing platform. As night-flying migrants descend to lower altitudes just before dawn, their presence, numbers, and rough directional movement can be detected from quiet ground-level positions by listening for an irregular cadence of one and two syllable tweets and chips.

In a mid-Twentieth Century essay designed to guide parents in presenting the wonder of nature to their children, the renowned environmentalist Rachel Carson reflected upon this audio evidence of bird migration.

From The Sense of Wonder by Rachel Carson, Harper & Row, 1984 (a renewed copyright from 1956):

I never hear these calls without a wave of feeling that is compounded of many emotions – a sense of lonely distances, a compassionate awareness of small lives controlled and directed by forces beyond volition or denial, a surging wonder at the sure instinct for route and direction that so far has baffled human efforts to explain it.

Some dark early morning this fall, if you’re able to listen to the calls of descending migrants over the background buzz of crickets and the hum of traffic, you’re likely to become a stronger supporter of Lights Out Pittsburgh.

Hunting For Fossil Frogs In Wyoming

by Amy Henrici

Collection managers at Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH) typically spend their time on collection-based tasks. Sometimes, however, we are called on to clean out the office of a former curator in our respective sections. With the death of Section of Vertebrate Paleontology (VP) Curator Emerita Mary Dawson late last year, I’ve been spending time in her office sorting through numerous items she accumulated during her nearly 58-year career at the museum. While there, I can’t help but think of a conversation we had in her office many years ago when I expressed interest in obtaining a Master of Science degree in geology and paleontology at the University of Pittsburgh.

Mary agreed to be my advisor and suggested fossil fishes as a topic for my thesis, because at that time not many paleontologists were studying this group. She arranged for me to join a field crew from our Section led by curators Kris Krishtalka and Richard Stucky who planned to spend the summer of 1984 searching Eocene sediments (~56–34 million years ago) in the Wind River Basin of central Wyoming for fossils of mammals and other vertebrates. She instructed them to take me to the north end of Lysite Mountain, where during a 1965 reconnaissance geologist Dave Love (of the United States Geological Survey [USGS]) and his student Kirby Bay and others showed her some fish fossils.

Black and white candid photo of people on a rocky hillside. — 1965 reconnaissance of the north end of Lysite Mountain. The fish locality lies further below the group. Left to right, Dave Foster, USGS geologist Dave Love, Love’s student Kirby Bay, then CMNH VP Curator Craig Black, and Ted Gard. Photo by Mary Dawson, July 28, 1965.

As planned, in late June I set out from Pittsburgh in my un-airconditioned car on a three-day drive to Wyoming to join the crew who had arrived before me. Some of my time in the field was spent assisting the crew in their search for mammal fossils, something I had no experience with. My previous field work involved collecting ancient amphibian, reptile, and dinosaur fossils from the time before most mammals had evolved. Indeed, the first set of “fossils” that I collected on this trip turned out to be fragments of modern rabbit bones that Kris unceremoniously dumped into his ashtray while identifying the day’s haul after dinner. Fortunately, my skills at finding mammal fossils improved.

After a few days we went on the first of several reconnaissance trips to Lysite Mountain, which lies north of the Wind River Basin and forms part of the southern escarpment of the Bighorn Basin. To get there we drove deeply rutted and sometimes rocky dirt roads. Once there, the crew spread out in search of fossils. While some of us searched for and found incomplete and disarticulated fish fossils, others discovered a unit that produced frog fossils. When Kris and Richard showed me the frog fossils, they strongly urged me to base my thesis on the frogs instead of the scrappy fish I had collected. I quickly agreed, which was a decision that I never regretted.

We returned to our routine of prospecting for fossils in the Wind River Basin, until the planned arrival of Pat McShea (now my husband and Program Officer in the CMNH Department of Education) via a Trailways bus. The original plan was for Pat and me to drive my car daily to Lysite Mountain, but this was not feasible, given the condition of the roads. Instead the crew dropped us off with our camping gear for four days of fossil frog collecting. This was followed by a second field season in 1986, in which my sister, Ellen Henrici, joined us with her off-road capable SUV.

Rocky landscape with tools set out on the left side of the image. — The frog quarry, with the Bighorn Basin below, to right of quarry. Photo by the author, 1984.

Using a hammer and chisel to pry open pieces of rock, we collected nearly 150 specimens of frog fossils in varying degrees of completeness. The preparation of the fossils and the identification of the various bones took me a long time. I eventually figured out that they were all the same type of frog and represented a new genus and species in the family Rhinophrynidae, which today is known by a single species: Rhinophrynus dorsalis, the Mexican burrowing toad. The fossil collection even includes tadpoles in various stages of development, as well as a mortality layer preserving the scattered bones of many individuals. I named this new genus and species Chelomophrynus bayi in a 1991 paper published in CMNH’s scientific journal, the Annals of Carnegie Museum.

From left to right: three tadpole fossils, a subadult frog fossil, an adult frog fossil — Growth series of *Chelomophrynus bayi*, arranged in order of maturity from youngest (left) to oldest (right). The red arrow points to the thigh bone (femur). A tail, not preserved, would have been present in the tadpoles. Photos by the author, 2015.

Mortality layer rock sample. — Sample of the extensive mortality layer of *Chelomophrynus bayi*. Cause of death might have been disease. Photo by the author, 2021.

In paleontology, the study of living creatures can inform our understanding of fossils. The Mexican burrowing toad is very unusual in that it spends most of its life underground and only emerges to breed after heavy rain. The species currently inhabits dry tropical to subtropical forests along coastal lowlands in extreme southern Texas southward into Mexico and Central America. It has two bony spades on each hind foot that help it to efficiently dig, hind feet first, into the ground. Once underground, other skeletal specializations enable it to use its front feet and nose to penetrate termite and ant tunnels and then protrude its tongue into the tunnel to catch insects. Chelomophrynus possesses a number of these specializations (though some are not as well developed as in the modern Rhinophrynus), which strongly suggests that it too was able to burrow underground to feed on subterranean insects.

frog on the forest floor — *Rhinophrynus dorsalis*, the modern Mexican burrowing toad. Image from the CMNH Section of Herpetology.

Partial fossilized frog hind foot with labels for ankle bones and spades. — Partial hind foot of *Chelomophrynus bayi*, which preserves two bony spades that in life would have been covered in a keratinous sheath and used for digging feet-first into the ground. Photo by the author.

Rhinophrynids once occurred as far north as southwestern Saskatchewan, Canada around 36 million years ago. Their southward retreat to their current range could be because they apparently never developed the ability to hibernate in burrows, which would have protected them from seasonal sub-freezing temperatures which began developing around 34 million years ago.

The oldest rhinophrynid is Rhadinosteus parvus, a frog that lived with dinosaurs. In 1998, I was able to name and describe it based upon several late-stage tadpoles collected earlier from Dinosaur National Monument, Utah, a site where many of the dinosaurs on exhibit in CMNH came from. A cast of Rhadinosteus is displayed in CMNH’s Dinosaurs in Their Time gallery.

Amy Henrici is the Collection Manager in the Section of Vertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to share their unique experiences from working at the museum.

A Deeper Look at Dioramas

by Suzanne McLaren

On the second floor at Carnegie Museum of Natural History a visitor can see dioramas showing wildlife found in both North America and Africa. Often a visitor is drawn close to an exhibit by the taxidermy mount of a large mammal that is the diorama’s most prominent feature. The animal is posed as it would appear in its natural surroundings. The art and science of world class taxidermy can lead a visitor to focus only on what appears to be the main subject of the diorama. However, that would be unfortunate. In nearly every example on the second floor, the staff has gone to great lengths to include so much more. The next time you visit, look at different types of plants, birds, reptiles, amphibians and even insects and mollusks that share the habitat.

Some of the earliest Carnegie Museum dioramas exhibits, crafted by taxidermist Frederic S. Webster, have depicted locations unfamiliar to the average visitor of his day. Webster was sent to locations around North America to observe, sketch, plan and collect for the construction of dioramas that could bring the essence of those environments home to Pittsburgh. Subsequent generations of Carnegie Museum exhibit and scientific staff have followed that same general process. In many cases, one can look at a diorama and realize that the scene represents an identifiable location. Whether that location is Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya, or Powdermill Nature Reserve in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, the construction of a new diorama can take years of planning and months of construction to complete.

taxidermy caribou in a snowy museum display

If you can join us at Carnegie Museum of Natural History for Super Science Saturday on September 25th, Curator John Wible and Collection Manager Sue McLaren from the Section of Mammals will be on hand to talk about mammals and share stories about some of their favorite dioramas.

close up of an animal's face in a museum diorama

Suzanne McLaren is the Collection Manager in the Section of Mammals at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to share their unique experiences from working at the museum.

Milestones at Powdermill’s Banding Lab

by Annie Lindsay

On the morning of July 11, 2001, Powdermill’s bird banding crew knew that was the day they’d catch the program’s 500,000th banding record (which includes new birds and recaptured birds). With only 10 birds to go, each person on the field crew guessed what species #500,000 would be, then set out on a net round together. As we checked each net, our eager anticipation grew with each bird we extracted. It turned out that I, a young, green banding intern, guessed correctly: number 500,000 was a Gray Catbird, a very common species at Powdermill during the breeding season, and a charismatically sassy species that endears itself to many banders and birders.

Man holding a bird outside. — *Bob Leberman, founder of Powdermill’s bird banding program, with the 500,000th banding record, a Gray Catbird, caught and banded on July 11, 2001.*

We released #500,000, celebrated with sparkling grape juice, then continued the banding day with a demonstration for children attending Powdermill’s summer camp. The catbird was made famous in the local newspaper, and because we’d each wagered a dollar on our guesses, I earned a $5 bill with the catbird’s band number on it for correctly guessing the species. That year marked the 40th anniversary of Powdermill’s banding program, and another milestone about two months prior: the 400,000th new bird banded.

Over the next two decades, the number of birds banded continued to creep up. Before spring migration this year, we determined that we needed just over 5,000 birds to reach 800,000 banding records. The countdown was on, and by mid-summer we knew that we could expect to reach that number by early- to mid-August, perfect timing to celebrate the banding program’s 60th anniversary.

The morning of August 6 was the day! With 45 birds to go after banding on August 5, we knew 800,000 was within sight. We opened the nets at 5:50 a.m., but the first two net checks yielded surprisingly fewer birds than we expected. At the 7:50 a.m. net check, we still had 20 birds to go, and given the pace of the morning we assumed The Bird wouldn’t be caught until the following round, so the banding crew set out in different directions to clear the nets. About five minutes later our long-term volunteer and colleague, Nick, radioed back to say that he had 11 birds in the second set of nets he was checking! The nets in the other directions had only a few birds, so we all converged on Nick’s location, and the final countdown began with five birds to go.

Two people outside removing birds from mist nets. — *Kevin Chumpitaz and Nick Liadis, part of Powdermill’s banding crew, extracting birds #799,993 and #799,994.*

The next three sets of nets were empty, but Long Lane, a series of nine nets connected in a long line, delivered a Black-and-White Warbler, a Black-throated Green Warbler, a Gray Catbird, and a Canada Warbler. With number 800,000 just ahead, Mallory, PARC’s Motus and banding assistant, called back to the rest of us, “It’s here!” Our milestone bird was a young Cedar Waxwing, a species that is quite common at Powdermill during the migration and breeding seasons, and often is spotted in nomadic flocks during the winter.

Cedar Waxwing held in a hand outside — *Powdermill’s 800,000th banding record, a young Cedar Waxwing, caught and banded on August 6, 2021.*

Just beyond the waxwing was another Gray Catbird, which concluded the net round. We all made our way back to the lab where we banded the celebrity waxwing, recorded the usual data (age, sex, measurements, and mass), snapped a few photos and a quick video, and then released the bird.

Based on the waxwing’s plumage, we know that it hatched this summer, and it displayed an interesting plumage characteristic that is relatively common in young waxwings in southwest Pennsylvania. Cedar Waxwings have a yellow terminal band on their tails, but if an individual eats invasive honeysuckle berries while feathers are growing, the pigment from the berries, called rhodoxanthin, is incorporated into the yellow parts of the growing feathers. Honeysuckle berries are plentiful at Powdermill, and are ripe when young Cedar Waxwings are still in the nest and growing their first set of feathers. If they’re fed these berries, their tails have an orange tail band instead of the normal yellow! Adult waxwings molt when the berries are no longer ripe, so their tails have a yellow stripe. This phenomenon is a great example of how introduced plants can affect their environment.

Woman holding a bird outside — *Annie Lindsay with the 800,000th banding record.*

In keeping with previous milestones at Powdermill, #800,000 is a common species: Cedar Waxwing is the sixth most banded species at Powdermill, with over 24,000 of them banded in our 60-year history. We often like to attach meaning to notable events, and Cedar Waxwings lend themselves to this one in particular: the aberration in tail stripe pigmentation was described by Powdermill banders in a paper published in 1992, and the species was a favorite of the founder of Powdermill’s bird banding program, Bob Leberman.

Five-dollar bill with writing on the edges commemorating the 500,000th bird banding record at Powdermill. — *The commemorative $5 bill for guessing correctly what species the 500,000th banding record would be.*

I still have the $5 bill with #500,000’s band number on it, and feel honored to have been part of both milestones at Powdermill. The crew didn’t place bets on what species #800,000 might be, but several had guesses, and I was sure it would be another catbird. Cedar Waxwing was an excellent surprise, and we’re all looking forward to #900,000 and #1,000,000 in the coming years!

Guiding a Local Focus On Climate Education

by Patrick McShea

During the last three days of July more than 330 educators from across the country gathered virtually to learn how to more effectively teach about a topic generating increasingly alarming headlines. The event, titled Summer Institute for Climate Change Education, operated with three principle hosts, Climate Generation, a St. Paul, Minnesota-based educational organization with a national reach, the Youth Climate Program of The Wilds Center in New York’s Adirondack State Park, and the Climate Office of NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

On the middle day of the Institute, participants remotely joined one of a dozen sub-region programs for a more local focus on discussions, resource sharing, and reviews of potential classroom activities. Pittsburgh was the center of one such sub-region, and the host for our region’s day-long program was Katie Modic, Executive Director of a small and innovative organization known as Communitopia.

City of Pittsburgh from above showing buildings, bridges, a river, and many trees. — Image by Bruce Emmerling from Pixabay.

Communitopia is a 12-year-old organization, whose ongoing efforts to slow climate change and create healthier communities through new media and project-based campaigns have been distilled into a three-word mission statement, “Making Green Mainstream.” The 501©3 nonprofit operation is well served by the experience Katie brings to her leadership position. She is a University of Wisconsin-Madison alumni (M.S. in Education, B.A. in Spanish and Anthropology), whose work experience since graduation includes a two-year Teach for America middle school assignment along the US/Mexico border in Donna, Texas, public school teaching experience in Colorado and Florida, international teaching experience in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and the sharing of many of her first hand learning experiences with undergraduate education students as a professor at Central College in Pella, Iowa.

In planning the day’s schedule, Katie worked with staff from both Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens and Carnegie Museum of Natural History. In carrying out her role as a Zoom screen host for a territory that encompassed nearly all of Pennsylvania, she was able to direct attention to the revision of Pennsylvania’s academic standards for science as a current issue relevant in every corner of the state.

Katie’s position that the standards revision process creates an opportunity to strengthen how climate is addressed in both Science Standards and those for Environment and Ecology is outlined on Communitopia’s website. During the Summer Institute she was able to explain how her opportunity observations were largely based upon her experience in working with students at Woodland Hills High School in Pittsburgh’s eastern suburbs. When biology teacher Margeaux Everhart invited Katie to present Communitopia’ s classroom program about the local impacts of climate change, the session sparked a student-driven grassroots movement that eventually led to the Woodland Hills School District adopting a formal Climate Action Plan.

For many of the educators who participated in the Pittsburgh-based day of Summer Institute programs, watching and listening as some of those students made Zoom speaking appearances was an inspiring and empowering experience.

Pitfall Traps: Fieldwork Surprises

by Amanda K. Martin

Powdermill Nature Reserve is home to a wide variety of creatures whose presence remains undetected by most human visitors. One way that scientists can explore the animal diversity of an area is by a method called pitfall trapping (Fig. 1A). For research into the Reserve’s amphibian diversity, I was part of a small team who placed pairs of 5-gallon buckets in the ground 8 feet apart, with their rims at surface level. We then set up a low metal fence between each pair of buckets (Fig 1A). Animals moving along the forest floor who encountered the fence would generally follow the barrier, to the left or to the right, and fall into one of our traps.

We checked our pitfall traps every morning during the study period, noting which species we had captured, along with their size and weight, before releasing them unharmed. As an amphibian study our trapping targets were frogs, toads, salamanders, and newts, and we were successful in documenting their presence. Across ten sample periods of ten days each, we captured 1,962 individual amphibians representing 17 different species! (Fig. 1B)

Woman looking into a pitfall trap in the woods. — Fig 1A: Dr. Martin inspecting a pitfall trap array for captured amphibians. Photo by P. DeQueiroz.

College of reptile and amphibian photos. — *Fig. 1B: Species diversity from captures in traps along with a few surprise reptilian encounters.*

Pitfall traps also capture non-target species, called by-catch, a term that give little indication of the surprising encounters some of these creatures create. Normally I see a wide variety of invertebrate species when I check my traps, including millipedes, large beetles, spiders, crayfish, and even moths. Additionally, this year we captured a Northern water snake (Nerodia sipedon; Fig. 2A) and four eastern garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis; Fig. 2B). More surprisingly, one trap briefly detained a fledging Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo, Fig. 2C)!

Fledgling turkey. — *Fig. 2: Captured snakes and a surprise avian, Northern Water (A), Eastern Garter (B), and a fledgling turkey* (C).

Our study’s pitfall trap by-catch also included several different mammals that scurry across the forest floor: We caught different species of mice (Fig. 3A), shrews, voles (Fig. 3B), and on single occasions a chipmunk (Fig. 3C), mole, or even an opossum! Our traps contained moist sponges to provide water for these small mammals, along with small sections of PVC pipe for shelter. We also found that anchoring a jute string to the bucket edge overhang, with knots tied every 50 – 60 mm, reduced small mammal by-catch. The string provided a means for small mammals to climb up to the ground surface and escape on their own—except for a tiny eastern cottontail rabbit (Fig. 3D), which was safely released after we encountered it.

Bunny in a human hand. — *Fig. 3: Small mammal encounters with a mouse (A), vole (B), chipmunk ©, and a bunny (D).*

In addition to encounters with the animals caught in our pitfalls, the time we spent checking the traps provided opportunities to observe other wildlife passing through the forest. On one occasion while my field assistant and I were measuring an Allegheny dusky salamander (Desmognathus ochrophaeus) we heard a loud noise. When we both looked up a wooded slope in the direction of the sound we were shocked to see a black bear (Ursus americanus) approaching. I took a quick photo (Fig. 4), released the salamander, and we cautiously watched the bear come down the hill and walk off. The incident was nerve-wracking in the moment, but very exciting in retrospect! Also, while relaxing outside my cabin one day after a long fieldwork session, I was lucky enough to spot a bobcat walking past —a great bonus to spending so much time in the forest!

Forested area with a black bear in the distance. — *Fig. 4: A surprise black bear encounter while checking pitfall traps.*

All research was conducted under approved permits. Photos by A.K. Martin.

Amanda K. Martin is the Rea Postdoctoral Fellow in the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Fossil Matrix Under the Microscope

by Pat McShea

Museum visitors who approach the broad window of PaleoLab encounter an array of large fossilized bones. If not for the pair of microscope workstations positioned against the lab’s right wall, it would be easy to misinterpret the enormous jaws, ribs, vertebrae, and limb bones as evidence of a size bias in the science of vertebrate paleontology.

fossil matrix on a sorting tray — *A scoop of fossil-bearing matrix on a sorting tray.*

Small fossils have certainly made mighty contributions to our understanding of life during ancient time periods. Such fossils, which include loose teeth, small bones, and bone fragments, are the primary focus of some paleontological research. In other projects, where considerably larger fossilized creatures are the focus of study, the fossils of smaller creatures add information about species diversity, food webs, and even the climate conditions of ancient ecosystems. The sorting of fossil-bearing matrix that occurs under PaleoLab’s microscopes ensures that important discoveries will continue to occur.

The term matrix refers to the natural rock surrounding a fossil. In the case of fossil bones encased in rock, the matrix consists of the loose sediments that originally buried the bones, sediments that were later transformed into rock over long stretches of time by the pressure of other sediment layers deposited above them. When fossil-bearing rock layers erode, however, and loosened fossils are transported by water, wind, or other forces, the unconsolidated mix of surrounding materials in which the fossils eventually settle is also termed matrix.

In the field, paleontologists sometimes collect and screen loose matrix on site, using water to both separate floatable bits of plant debris and wash away soil, then sun-drying the resulting sludge for later screening. In the case of the matrix currently being sorted in PaleoLab, material eroded from a more than 50 million-year-old rock unit near Meridian, Mississippi was collected in bulk by CMNH paleontologists and brought back to Pittsburgh for washing and drying at the museum.

Container of fossil matrix with a person holding it. — *Unsorted fossil-bearing matrix.*

During a recent visit to PaleoLab, Scientific Preparator Dan Pickering pulled two containers from a shelf as “before” and “after” sorting examples. In the “before” container, a quart-sized plastic jug that once held ground coffee, a black, dime-sized shark tooth resting atop similar-sized irregular gray rock fragments hinted at the possible rewards for future sorting efforts. The considerably smaller and lighter “after” container bore not just an array of small marine fossils, including shark teeth and skate tooth plate fragments, but also the name and working notes of the sorter, CMNH volunteer Jason Davis.

fossils in a clear plastic container with a paper label — *Fossils picked from matrix, with volunteer Jason Davis’ notes revealing that the material is from the lowermost Eocene (~55 million-year-old) Tuscahoma Formation of Mississippi.*

Dan termed the recent finds typical for the current operation, but he also noted a now decades-old exciting discovery in matrix screened from a different, but adjacent Mississippi rock unit. In a scientific paper published in 1991, then-CMNH paleontologists K. Christopher Beard and Alan R. Tabrum described a tooth and jaw fragment from an early primate. The fossil was the first record of an early Eocene mammal in eastern North America, and because of its association with well-studied marine fossils, the find helped to better calibrate existing separate biochronologies of terrestrial and marine fossils.

Bringing Light to Dark Places

by Suzanne Mills

“May it be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

“Elrathia kingi,” the small square of paper declares. Regal yet a bit mysterious, the Latin name on the museum-issue label conjures Tolkien. From an unlidded box small enough to hold a wedding ring, I remove a chalky gray pebble. Its minute weight slides easily through my fingers; it seems as inconsequential as a penny. But it is not hard to see what gives this iota of stone its value. As if sculpted in bas-relief, a pair of tiny eyes peek out of a crescent-shaped head. Thin ridges of a segmented body, symmetrically paired about two fine center lines, taper to a tail. Each detail is delicately edged in violet. It is a fossil trilobite, an extinct relative of the horseshoe crab.

Penny next to a trilobite fossil, both are approximately the same size. — The trilobite *Elrathia kingi.*

But she is a humble beauty who lives a secret life. She is found behind the scenes in the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology (IP). In the fluorescent-lit museum basement, Elrathia kingi idles quietly in a long drawer with dozens of equally elegant companions. It is just one of thousands of drawers shelved in rows upon rows of gray metal cabinets. The cabinets stand silently at attention, protecting their specimens from dust, light, and heat while awaiting further orders.

More than 800,000 fossil marine organisms call the IP lab home. Collected from all over the world, they range in age from several thousand to almost a billion years old. Four thousand of these specimens have been featured in over 400 peer-reviewed publications. But others have never been studied in detail and hold valuable “dark data,”¹ ² undocumented information useful for studies about extinction³ and climate change.⁴ These data are central to the future advance of the science of paleontology and geology.⁵

Woman looking through a drawer in a large cabinet. — *Suzanne Mills working with the collections.*

As a part-time Collection Assistant, I help bring this “dark data” to light. My main tools are a laptop and a microscope. When I examine a trilobite, or fossil “bug,” under the microscope, I look for characteristics that verify the biological classification, based on what is written on the fossil’s label. Further information recorded on the label about the geologic layer and location where it was found helps to validate the scientific value. I verify all this information in professional peer-reviewed publications. Finally, I enter the data I glean into a new digital database and develop charts and graphs to summarize it. This is the beginning of highlighting the IP collection’s “dark data.”

The task of bringing more than three-quarters of a million IP specimens to light is daunting. My colleagues and I bow our heads to that number and acknowledge that it is far more than a life’s work. But we persist, hoping to help the world see the value of Elrathia kingi and her ancient ocean companions, one fossil at a time.

Suzanne Mills is a Collection Assistant in the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Citations:

1. California Academy of Sciences. 2018. Scientists quantify the vast and valuable finds stored on museum shelves: Quantifying “dark data” in fossil collections is a call to arms; heralds a digital revolution. ScienceDaily. https: /www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/09/180920102122.htm (accessed July 21, 2021)

2. Thiers, Barbara, John Bates, Andrew C, Bentley, Linda S, Ford, David Jennings, Anna K, Monfils, Jennifer M, Zaspel, James P, Collins, Manzour Hernando Hazbón, and Jyotsna L, Pandey. 2021. Implementing a Community Vision for the Future of Biodiversity Collections. BioScience, Volume 71, Issue 6, June. Pages 561–563. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biab036 (accessed July 23, 2021)

3. Casey, M. M., E. E. Saupe, and B. S. Lieberman. 2021. The effects of geographic range size and abundance on extinction during a time of “sluggish” evolution. Paleobiology, 47:54-67.

4. Lawing, A. M. 2021. The geography of phylogenetic paleoecology: integrating data and methods to better understand biotic response to climate change. Paleobiology, 47:178-197.

5. The Unique role of the Curator in Palaeontology. Special Papers in Palaeontology, 22, 7-15.

Special thanks to Albert Kollar and Joann Wilson for their insightful comments.

Diet-wise, Snails are Like Cows, Not Bugs

by Timothy A. Pearce

When classifying organisms into broad categories, many people would group snails with insects rather than mammals. When it comes to diet, however, snails are much more like mammals than insects. That’s because, when choosing what to eat, insects tend to be specialists, while most mammals, and most snails, tend to be generalists. This pattern is especially striking when considering just herbivorous species.

Snail eating a leaf — *Webbhelix multilineata* snail eating leaf.

Two cows in a grassy field. — Cows eating grass. Image by Shubham Khatri, from Wikimedia Commons.

Many herbivorous insects specialize on eating one or a few species of plants, and most often within a single plant family. For example, when we think of tent caterpillars, we expect to see them on cherry trees. In the caterpillar life stage of butterflies and moths, 69% of species feed upon just a single family of plants. If you look at just tropical butterflies and moths found within 25 degrees of the equator, the figure rises to 83% (Forister et al. 2015). Herbivorous mammals, on the other hand, tend to be generalists, eating a wide variety of plants from numerous plant families. Snails, it turns out, have broad diets including a variety of plants from numerous plant families, making snails more like mammals than insects, at least in their diets.

Of course, there are exceptions. While most herbivorous mammals are generalists, two mammals are famous diet specialists. Can you think of them? Hint: one eats bamboo, the other eats Eucalyptus leaves. Did you come up with panda and koala? Good for you! Similarly, while most insects are diet specialists, sometimes we do hear about plagues of locusts that have broad diets, so they eat practically every green thing in sight.

Most plants make chemicals that are not directly involved in growth or other metabolic functions. Scientists call these chemicals secondary compounds. In fact, secondary compounds are responsible for many of the distinct aromas and tastes in the spices we rely upon to flavor our cooking. But why would plants bother making secondary compounds that don’t directly benefit the plant? The most common hypothesis for why plants make secondary compounds is to protect the plants from diseases or herbivores.

Herbivores have ways (e.g., enzymes) to detoxify or reduce the effects of plant chemical defenses. Herbivorous insects that specialize on a few related species of plants can, over evolutionary time, develop strategies that effectively detoxify the defenses of those plants. Sometimes co-evolution results, an ongoing process in which the plant will modify its secondary compound to be more toxic, then the insect will develop the ability to detoxify that, and so on. The plant’s arsenal of chemical defenses protects it from the vast majority of herbivorous insects, but not the insects that specialize on that particular plant group. For example, milkweed is fed on by only a very few insects, including monarch butterfly caterpillars, that have countered its defenses.

Caterpillar hanging upside down eating a leaf. — Caterpillar eating leaf. Image by Krishna A. Gopala, from Wikimedia Commons.

In contrast to specialist insect herbivores, mammals tend to eat a wide variety of plant species. Consequently, mammals need general detoxification strategies that will protect them from a variety of plant secondary compounds. Thanks to detoxification enzymes located mostly in our livers and kidneys (Freeland & Janzen 1974), we can enjoy eating a wide variety of tasty plants without being poisoned.

Like herbivorous mammals, herbivorous snails also have general detoxification strategies, which might account for their large livers, where most of the detoxification occurs.

Now you know one way that snails are more like cows than insects: their diet!

Here is a joke about snails eating:

Two snails were munching a tasty salad made with a large number of different plants. One of the snails accidently dropped one of the exotic leaves from the salad. The other snail said, “You can still eat it, use the five-hour rule.”

Timothy A. Pearce is the head of the Section of Mollusks at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Literature Cited

Forister, M.L., Novotny, V., Panorska, A.K., Baje, L., Basset, Y., Butterill, P.T., Cizek, L., Coley. P.D., Dem, F., Diniz, I.R., Drozd, P., Fox, M., Glassmire, A.E., Hazen, R., Hrcek, J., Jahner, J.P., Kaman, O, Kozubowski, T.J., Kursar, T.A., Lewis, O.T., Lill, J., Marquis, R.J., Miller, S.E., Morais, H.C., Murakami, M., Nickel, H., Pardikes, N.A., Ricklefs, R.E., Singer, M.S., Smilanich, A.M., Stireman, J.O., Villamarín-Cortez, S., Vodka, S., Volf, M., Wagner, D.L., Walla, T., Weiblen, G.D. & Dyer, L.A. 2015. Global insect herbivore diet breadth. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(2):442-447; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1423042112

Freeland, W.J. & Janzen, D.H. 1974. Strategies in herbivory by mammals: the role of plant secondary compounds. American Naturalist, 108(961): 269-289.

Watercolors

by Samhita Vasudevan

Smooth reds, muted oranges, and sandy browns painted the landscape that graced my sight. An overcast sky drizzled almost cautiously onto our heads, while the crunch of the rocky terrain echoed after every footstep, as my parents and I trekked up the precarious path on the West Rim of the Grand Canyon. It was early December of 2019, on the Hualapai Reservation, a site our family reached after a two-hour cellular-signal-less drive from Las Vegas.

River running through a canyon with a date stamp of 12/07/2019 in the lower right corner.

As we hiked up the path to the second and last stop of our tour, Guano Point (aptly named considering its history—In the 1930s the U.S. government spent about $3.5 million to extract the nitrogen-rich bat droppings), the terror I felt about being so close to plummeting down hundreds of feet evaporated when an opaque, red-colored Colorado River came into my view. Like a ribbon, it weaved through the towering cliffs, drawing everyone’s attention. Today, however, it was especially eye-catching: its striking color was unlike anything I’d ever seen before.

Prior to the completion of the Glen Canyon Dam in 1963, the reddish color of the Colorado was much more prominent. In fact, the Colorado River’s original name, El Rio Colorado, meaning “the reddish river,” came about when the first Spanish explorers to see the river encountered an even more vibrant red than I did. The river’s color is tied to the amount of sediment its water contains while flowing through the canyon. Since the dam’s construction, however, this color has been dulled severely, as the dam blocks much of the sediment from travelling further downstream. Most days, the river is a clear greenish-blue. The reddish-brown color I saw on my visit can most likely be credited to the rain stirring up the sediments earlier that day.

The subject of sediment reminded me of my other favorite National Park, Crater Lake. Unlike the Colorado River, this waterbody’s bright color is caused by a lack of sediment. In 2013, I found myself boating on possibly the most beautiful body of water I have ever seen: Crater Lake in southwestern Oregon. This roughly 5-mile-wide lake, which formed through the collapse of a volcano more than 7,000 years ago, has no tributaries, or smaller rivers flowing into it. In much of the world today, rivers and their tributaries are impacted by human activities, and the effects travel downstream. The reason Crater Lake has some of the cleanest water in the world is because most of its water comes from melted snow or rain. Being free from the inward flow of potentially contaminated water and sediments, Crater Lake maintains its clarity resulting in one of the deepest, brightest, blues.

As beautiful as both bodies of water are, they can only be protected through active efforts to preserve their sanctity. The Colorado River, a source of water for 40 million people, has been negatively impacted due to climate change, population growth, nearby natural resource exploitation, and the over-allocation of its flow for crop irrigation. Crater Lake has become increasingly at risk due to careless visitors who head onto the lake with items prohibited by the National Park due to their potential to pollute the pristine water. The pandemic has only heightened this chronic problem. Increased visitation has brought an increase in people, knowingly or unknowingly, bringing in prohibited items like wetsuits, kayaks, and innertubes. These materials could introduce non-native species that are known to hitchhike on watercraft, jeopardizing the lake’s ecosystem. Visitors to such natural beauties must accept some responsibility to keep these areas alive and well. These positive outcomes can only be achieved by following park guidelines and being conscious of one’s impact on the environment around them.

Samhita Vasudevan is a Teen Volunteer in the Education Department. Museum employees, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Sources:

https://grandcanyonwest.com/explore/west-rim/guano-point/

Releasing a flood of controversy on the Colorado River

The American Nile

12 Things You Didn’t Know About Crater Lake National Park

Crater Lakes clear waters under threat

Magnificent Frigatebirds: The Flying Pirates of the Caribbean

by Nicholas Sauer

Fish and other aquatic animals aren’t the only ones who go splish-splash is an ocean biome. Let’s not forget our feathered friends, the birds. Today, we’ll be taking a closer look at one of the most conspicuous of all seabirds, the Magnificent Frigatebird (fregata magnificens), also known as the Man o’ War Bird.

Frigatebird taxidermy mount in a museum — Did you know the museum has a frigatebird on display in Bird Hall?

These birds primarily live and breed on the islands of the Caribbean having been observed by scientists and bird watchers on the Marquesas Keys and Dry Tortugas. They are also found nesting on human-made structures like pier pilings from Texas’s Galveston Bay to the Atlantic coast of southern Florida. Frigatebirds make both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans their home, flying on occasion over the isthmus of Panama. In fact, Magnificent Frigatebirds are able to remain airborne for up to a month and a half over their watery environs without the need to land. Some frigatebirds even adapt their hunting and flying practices to specific wind patterns that will allow them to travel and forage more efficiently.

The species is well-suited for such a lifestyle with a wingspan averaging 7.5 feet and a lengthy forked tail which maximizes their aerodynamic abilities. If you ever catch sight of a Magnificent Frigatebird from the shoreline you will see that this species is a stark example of sexual dimorphism. The female is covered in dark brown or black feathers and has a white breast and underbelly. The males are entirely black with a bright red throat pouch which they inflate like a balloon for mating purposes. To attract a mate, the males, often perched together among mangrove trees, will inflate their throat pouches, and then raise and vibrate their wings, calling out with guttural shrieks. When a female chooses a mate, the male takes on the responsibility of finding sticks to build a platform-like nest. He brings these materials to the female who then typically builds the nest on her own. Figatebirds live in colonies, but these communities are by no means free of strife. Both parents incubate a single egg between them each mating season and feed their young after it has hatched. It is paramount that the mother and father maintain vigilance over their nest. At least one parent must be present, or otherwise fellow members of the colony will prey on their neighbors’ eggs and newborns. After twenty to twenty-four weeks the juvenile is able to fly for itself. However, another sixteen weeks will elapse before the young frigatebird reaches full maturity and the mother feeds it for the last time.

Magnificent frigatebirds feed on flying fish, tuna, squid, jellyfish, and crustaceans. As opportunistic feeders they aren’t picky about their dietary choices. Interestingly enough, when hunting they never swim or float on the surface of the water. When swooping down to catch aquatic prey, they confine themselves to surface-dwellers, specifically life that resides in the top inch of water, that is, the epipelagic or “sunlight” zone.

Sometimes frigatebirds will dispense with hunting and foraging altogether and let other birds do the work. They are what scientists describe as “kleptoparasitic.” In other words, they are pirates stealing food literally from the mouths of other birds. Frigatebirds use their intimidating size, ferocious bill, and acrobatic flight abilities to wrest fish from the mouths of almost any bird they can, from seagulls to blue-footed boobies and even brown pelicans. Either that, or they force the weaker birds to regurgitate their prey during midair skirmishes. In these battles, the frigatebird often bites and tears at the target bird’s tail feathers until the victim submits to highway robbery. The frigatebird then catches their target’s lunch before it drops back into the sea. This strategy helps the frigatebird conserve energy and minimize risk while hunting and also gives the bird its extravagant name. Like the pirate ships and British navy man o’ wars of history and myth, the Magnificent Frigatebird prowls the tropics and takes what it likes by a show of force. These beautiful but fierce seabirds demonstrate the intricate adaptions—flying on specific winds and the use of kleptoparasitism—necessary for a creature to thrive in an environment divided between land and sea.

References

De Monte, Silvia et al. “Frigatebird behaviour at the ocean-atmosphere interface: integrating animal behaviour with multi-satellite data.” Journal of the Royal Society, Interface 9, no.77 (2012): 3351-8.

Kaufman, Ken. “Magnificent Frigatebird.” National Audubon Society. Accessed 29 July 2021. <https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/magnificent-frigatebird>.

“Layers of the Ocean.” National Weather Service: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Accessed 29 July 2021. <https://www.weather.gov/jetstream/layers_ocean>.

Osorno, J.L., et al. “Kleptoparasitic Behavior of the Magnificent Frigatebird: Sex Bias and Success.” The Condor 94 (1992): 692-698. <https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/condor/v094n03/p0692-p0698.pdf>.

Stittleburg, Vicki and Maria Hart. “Magnificent Frigatebird.” Houston Audubon Society. 2021. <https://houstonaudubon.org/birding/gallery/magnificent-frigatebird.html>.

Survival of the Fishiest: Astonishing Adaptations of the Aquatic World

by Shelby Wyzykowski

For Charles Darwin, all sorts of species—from birds and large land animals to flowers and tiny invertebrates—captured his interest and encouraged him to explore the great diversity of life. After years of observation and research, he published his famous book On the Origin of Species in 1859. In it, he presented his revolutionary and controversial theory of natural selection, which is also commonly referred to as “survival of the fittest.” His theory suggested that individuals of a species are more likely to survive when they inherit traits from their parents that are best suited for their specific environment. Essentially, beneficial adaptations give an organism the greatest chance to live and carry on its genetic line. This well-known theory is in part rooted in Darwin’s early experiences with and on the ocean. In 1831, he embarked on a five-year journey on the HMS Beagle, serving as their on-board naturalist. As the crew surveyed and mapped the South American coastline, Darwin marveled at the wonder and beauty of the sea, observing and collecting surface plankton as well as theorizing how coral reefs form. Unfortunately, with no photography and limited technology, studying ocean life was difficult even in shallow water. So, in Darwin’s time, little if anything was known about life far beneath the waves. But if he were alive now, Darwin would no doubt delight in all of the incredible underwater discoveries that have been made by modern-day science. And he would more than likely be awestruck by the many amazing adaptations that sea animals employ to survive.

Aquatic Adaptations: Antarctica

Icebergs on a stormy day. — *Image by Andrea Spallanzani from Pixabay.*

When one thinks of an environment in which adaptation is of the utmost necessity, Antarctica may be the first spot that comes to mind. The Southern Ocean, which encircles Antarctica, is an unforgiving and inhospitable place to live. Rotating currents almost completely isolate these waters from the rest of the Earth’s much warmer seas. This keeps temperatures low…it can drop to 28.6 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter! To combat the cold, Antarctic icefish produce and carry special antifreeze proteins in their blood and body fluids. These proteins bind to ice crystals, dividing their crystalline structures and therefore inhibiting crystal growth. Without this antifreeze, microscopic ice crystals would form in their bodies, severing nerves and damaging tissues to a deadly degree. It’s an incredible adaptation, but it did not happen quickly. About 25 million years ago, the Southern Ocean, flowing around the isolated Antarctic continent, began to cool. Aquatic life in this area had to evolve the special antifreeze proteins, find some other way to adapt to the cold, or go extinct. Today, thanks to their special cold-water adaptation, icefish make up more than 90 percent of all fish species in the Antarctic!

Aquatic Adaptations: Mariana Trench

But Antarctica is not the only harsh environment that demands extreme adaptations. You’d be hard-pressed to find living conditions that are more punishing and severe than in the Mariana Trench. Located in the western Pacific, it is considered to be the deepest part of the ocean anywhere on Earth. Near the trench’s bottom, the lunar-like landscape is pitch-black, and the pressure of the freezing cold waters would instantly kill any land animal. But, amazingly, sea animals have found remarkable ways to thrive.

In most places in the trench, the temperatures are between 34 and 39 degrees Fahrenheit. This extreme cold would not be good for most animals’ bodies because it would damage their cell membranes. These membranes are of a fatty consistency and must stay liquid to function properly. The Mariana Trench’s frigid temperatures would make the fat in a land creature’s cell membranes solid like butter. But deep-sea animals have evolved in a unique way that enables them to avoid such a chilly catastrophe. They have lots of unsaturated fats in their membranes, and these kinds of fats remain liquid at low temperatures and keep their membranes loose and intact.

Besides the bone-chilling temperatures, these aquatic creatures must contend with the pulverizing pressure. Extreme pressure can have a devastating effect on a body’s proteins (these are the molecules that do much of the work in a cell). To keep their proteins healthy and working well, sea life collect tiny organic molecules called piezolytes in their cells. These piezolytes prevent water from distorting and damaging the proteins. The deeper in the ocean an animal lives, the more piezolytes they need to have in their cells. One type of piezolyte, called TMAO (Trimethlyamine-oxide), gives fish their “fishy” taste and smell. Since TMAO increases with depth, being “fishier” is crucial for survival in the deep-ocean environment!

But food is also crucial for the survival of any organism; how is it possible to hunt in a world of darkness? Sea life have found many ways to deal with the lack of light. The stout blacksmelt, for example, has giant eyes that can capture the faintest glimmer of fleeting prey. The tripod fish has such unreliable vision that it mainly relies on sensors in its pectoral fins to detect the movement of a potential meal. And the anglerfish actually emits its own light by a process known as bioluminescence. The light from their built-in “headlight” will actually attract the prey to them!

Aquatic Adaptations Near the Ocean’s Surface

Marine life that live a bit closer to the ocean’s surface have also developed ingenious ways to search for food. The Great White Shark could very well be thought of as the bloodhound of the sea. Its sense of smell is so good that it can detect one drop of blood in ten billion drops of water! But, if the prey is close enough, it need not spill one drop of blood for the Great White to detect its presence. This is because these sharks are experts in electroreception, which is the ability to detect weak electric fields in water. Unlike in air, the ability to conduct electricity in water is extremely easy. This scientific fact allows many underwater species, including Great Whites, to sense the weak electrical fields of biological sources (such as their prey). These sharks are known to react to charges of one millionth of a volt (for reference, a tiny AA battery has a mere 1.5 volts of stored energy). This acute sensitivity to electrical fields can be traced to electroreceptors in the shark’s skin. Pore openings peppered over its head receive minute electrical signals from the water and channel these signals into tubes of highly-conductive gel. Each tube ends in a bulb known as an ampulla of Lorenzini. Sensory nerves are activated in the ampulla and send the message to the shark’s brain. Their electrosensitivity is so precise that they can detect prey hiding in the sand bottom!

With such an extraordinary adaptation, Great Whites can be a formidable and terrifying predator. But sometimes even the hunter can become the hunted. If a Great White is foolish enough to go after a sick or young Bottlenose Dolphin, they might find themselves biting off more than they can chew. Living in groups called pods, dolphins have tightly-knit family groups with complex social structures. They actually have their own cultures and display positive cultural behaviors such as compassion and cooperation. So when one member of a pod is targeted as prey, the others will come to its defense and work in a coordinated effort to combat the Great White. They’ll surround the shark and attack it relentlessly. Some use their sturdy, bony snouts like battering rams and slam into the shark’s underbelly and gills, causing massive internal injuries. If the shark is lucky enough, it can make a quick escape, but pods have been known to actually kill sharks. These incidents involving selflessness and cooperation have also crossed the species barrier from time to time when pods of altruistic dolphins have come to the rescue of humans in distress. There have been many reported cases of dolphins encircling and protecting swimmers as they work to successfully fend off a shark’s persistent advances.

The altruistic and cooperative behaviors of dolphins are adaptations that exemplify the true meaning of Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection. Believing that compassion was the key to evolutionary success, Darwin was in fact frustrated with the way many readers misinterpreted the phrase “survival of the fittest” (a term that he himself did not even coin…biologist Herbert Spencer did so in 1864). This phrase implies the use of selfishness, ruthlessness, and callousness to ensure survival. There’s certainly no denying that these actions have definitely played a part in evolution and in the realities of life. But Darwin chose to believe that sympathy, benevolence, and cooperation played even greater roles in the survival, flourishing, and evolution of a species. In the end, it’s the positive adaptive traits that determine as well as define the overall success of life on Earth.

Rising through the Educator Ranks

by Patrick McShea

Woman wearing a mask and t-shirt with dinosaurs on them. — Olivia McNulty (Liv)

Every morning, as young participants in the museum’s summer camp and the adults accompanying them approach an outdoor sign-in table, Olivia McNulty is prepared to explain all that the coming day might hold. “I’m the first face they see, and I try to radiate positivity,” explains the recent Seton Hill University graduate, who goes by her first name’s second syllable, Liv. “I’m wearing a facemask, and checking temperatures with a handheld scanner, but I’ve also got some idea of the day’s schedule in every camp session, and I welcome questions.”

As tempting as it is to describe Liv’s comprehensive knowledge of camp operations as “second nature,” the term short-changes the unusually deep experience she brings to her current position of Senior Camp Educator. To use a baseball analogy, she is major league talent nurtured through years of development in a professional team’s multi-tiered farm system.

During the nine summers between age 5 and 13, Liv experienced camp as a camper. Due to her parents’ work schedules, an hour or two of pre-camp and post-camp care at the museum was also always part of her daily schedule. She remembers regularly experiencing “pure excitement and joy” at the museum during those long days, explaining further how she now reflects back upon her summer camp experience as an early, prolonged, and wholly positive learning intervention. “I struggled at school with a learning disability. I’m dyslexic, and at camp that was never a barrier to learning.”

African Lion taxidermy mount — Liv cites the lion currently displayed in Discovery Basecamp as her constant visual anchor for 16 summers of camp experience.

When Liv aged-out of the camp participant demographic at age 14, she spent the next four summers as a teen volunteer with the program. “I knew how camp ran,” she explains, “and I wanted to emulate the camp counselors who had welcomed me for so many years. As a volunteer I started gravitating towards those children who had learning difficulties. I saw myself in some of their challenges and worked to support them.”

During the summer of 2018, Liv assumed broader camp responsibilities as a Museum Educator Assistant, a paid position that included some oversight of not just campers, but also teen volunteers. She summarizes the focus of each position as being complimentary, but drastically different. “For the teen volunteers the focus is fun – playing games, engaging the campers in those games. As an assistant educator your concerns involve safety and learning.”

This summer, Liv also holds the title of Teen Volunteer Supervisor. Her acknowledgement of greater responsibility is occasionally expressed in a motto, a saying now familiar to all the staff, volunteers, and campers she works with: “If we cannot be safe, we cannot have fun.” The statement of both warning and motivation seems particularly apt for these COVID times. It also contains evidence of all Liv learned as a psychology major at Seton Hill, and within an informal but highly effective summer training program at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Collected on this Day in 1925: A flower with no leaves?

by Mason Heberling

Dried allium specimen on an herbarium sheet.

This leafless specimen was collected in July 1925 in Rock Run, Forbes State Forest in Rector, Pennsylvania. This site is not far from what would only a few decades later became Powdermill Nature Reserve, the field station of Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

This specimen was collected by Otto Jennings, an influential botanist and curator at Carnegie Museum. Jennings had many roles during his 60 years at the museum (1904 until his death in 1964), including Director of Education, and even Director of the museum. He was also a professor at the University of Pittsburgh, serving as the Head of the Department of Botany, and later as Head of the newly formed Department of Biological Sciences in 1935. On top of that, Jennings somehow was a prolific plant collector. He ranks among the top contributors to the Carnegie Museum Herbarium with nearly 35,000 specimens, and additional plants he collected are preserved in herbariums across the world.

So, where’d the leaves go on this specimen? No, it isn’t parasitic. Wild leeks (also called ramps), Allium tricoccum, have a unique phenology, or timing, of leaf out and flowering. The species emerges very early in the spring, among the earliest in our woods. In this way, the species is a typical “spring ephemeral.” The long leaves soak up the sun before being shaded out by tree canopies a month or two later. At that point, the leaves die back. However, unlike other spring ephemerals, wild leek does not flower in the spring. Instead, months later, in July, the leafless plants send up a solitary flowering stalk. This is quite unusual – a flower coming out of the ground in the middle of the woods, with no signs of leaves.

The leaves of wild leeks carpeting the forest floor in early spring.

The solitary flower stalks poking through other vegetation in mid-summer.

Wild leeks or ramps are in the onion family (Amaryllidaceae, formerly Alliaceae), forming bulbs with a distinctive onion flavor and ball-shaped flower heads typical in the onion family. Ramps are edible, with a long history of human use by Native people and European settlers. Ramp festivals are common throughout Appalachia to this day. However, the species is prone to exploitation and overharvesting, so never harvest without permission, and where harvesting is allowed, follow sustainable practices to protect the plant population.

The species is often treated as having two varieties: var. tricoccum (wild leek) and var. burdickii (narrow leaved wild leek). It depends who you ask, but more studies are now more clearly showing that this species may in fact be multiple species based on very distinct phenology (timing of flowers) and leaf traits (color, width). This case highlights the importance of herbarium specimens in documenting our flora and understanding the complexities of biological diversity.

Also note the small label added to this particular specimen recording this specimen was used in the taxonomic treatment of the species in the Flora of North America, identified by T.D. Jacobsen who co-authored the treatment. Dr. Jacobsen is the current director of the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation at nearby Carnegie Mellon University.

Keep an eye out for those leafless flower stalks in the woods!

Find this ramps specimen and 174 more in the Carnegie Museum Herbarium here: https://midatlanticherbaria.org/portal/collections/list.php?db=328&taxa=Allium+tricoccum&usethes=1&taxontype=2

Jurassic Days: Icarosaurus

by Zach Lyons-Weiler

View of Dinosaurs in Their Time exhibition from above — Image credit: Joshua Franzos, Treehouse Media

Both visitors and staff love Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Dinosaurs in Their Time exhibition for many reasons. For some people, it is the huge dinosaurs such as Tyrannosaurus and Diplodocus that capture the imagination. For others, it is the Quetzalcoatlus that soars above the latest Cretaceous display, or the cute Psittacosaurus with its strange tail ornamentation. But for me, my favorite specimen is a rather obscure fossil replica hidden in plain sight in the Triassic and Early Jurassic area of the hall. Its name is Icarosaurus, and it is quite possibly one of the strangest animals that we have on display. When one first sees it, it looks like a cast of a jumble of bones on a background of dark shale. However, as you will come to realize, Icarosaurus is far more than just that!

The Carnegie Museum’s Icarosaurus (which is a high-quality replica of the only known original fossil) is displayed in a glass case alongside many other casts and fossils from what is known as the Newark Supergroup, a large deposit of rocks that snake their way from South Carolina to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. These rocks were deposited during the Triassic and early Jurassic periods, or from roughly 230 to 190 million years ago. The sedimentary rocks here are intermittently intruded by younger volcanic rocks, indicating that this area was undergoing tremendous geological change at this time. During the Triassic and Early Jurassic, the supercontinent Pangaea was in the process of splitting up. The eastern coast of North America was rifting from western Africa, opening a furrow that would become the Atlantic Ocean. Before it was ocean, though, the rift was filled with lakes that were similar to Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika in today’s Great Rift Valley in Africa. The climate was warmer, too, and so the environment was wet and tropical. Due to climatic changes and natural oscillations in Earth’s orbit, these ancient rift environments would go through stages, from deep lakes to mudflats. Each layer preserved the remains of life that lived during that specific interval. Layers of rock deposited in deep lakes often contain abundant fossils of fishes, invertebrates, and reptiles. Other layers preserve footprints of early dinosaurs and other animals. Still others preserve the remains of cynodonts, which were the forerunners of mammals.

Dating to the late Triassic Period, the remains of Icarosaurus were discovered in one of the deep lake deposits by three teenagers in a quarry near North Bergen, New Jersey, which is just outside New York City. Upon discovering the fossil, they realized its importance and donated it to New York’s American Museum of Natural History, where it was named in 1966 as Icarosaurus siefkeri. This is, to this day, the only known specimen of this reptile, so it is of tremendous scientific value. Other lizard-like reptiles had been found in these deposits, but what made Icarosaurus so unique were the extremely long and unusual ribs that extended from its body. These ribs are similar in form to those of lizards in the extant genus Draco, which have elongated ribs connected by membranes of skin that they extend to glide between trees in their Southeast Asian rainforest homes. Because the rib anatomy of this modern group is so similar to that of Icarosaurus, scientists reasoned that the latter would have glided between trees in a comparable manner.

Icarosaurus was not the first reptile to have evolved this trait, though. During the Permian Period, around 260 million years ago, reptiles such as Coelurosauravus had adapted to a gliding lifestyle. Other extinct reptiles that evolved gliding morphologies include Mecistotrachelos from the Triassic of Virginia and Xianglong from the Cretaceous of China. The extreme similarity between these distantly related reptile groups is a remarkable example of convergent evolution, which is a process where organisms evolve the same traits due to their populations facing similar selective pressures. Other examples of convergent evolution that can be seen in the Triassic and Early Jurassic exhibits in Dinosaurs in Their Time are the phytosaurs Redondasaurus and Rutiodon, which resemble their distant relatives, crocodiles, and ichthyosaurs such as Ichthyosaurus and Stenopterygius, which bear an uncanny resemblance to dolphins.

The high school students that discovered Icarosaurus were lauded for their donation, and the discovery of such an odd animal made headlines in both the local and national news. Unfortunately, though, the fame and unique nature of the fossil caused some issues. The man for whom Icarosaurus siefkeri was named, Alfred Siefker, repossessed the fossil to put it in his personal collection in 1989. It stayed there until 2000, when he tried to sell it at auction. Understandably, the scientific community was upset with this decision, because if the fossil were to be sold into a private collection then it would be unavailable for scientific study. It was bought at the auction for well under its appraised value, and the buyer, Dick Spight, donated it back to the American Museum that same year. The original Icarosaurus specimen is currently on display at that venerable New York institution.

Overall, Icarosaurus is a remarkable little animal that deserves more attention than it gets. Look for it and other unique prehistoric animals the next time you visit the Dinosaurs in Their Time exhibition.

Zach Lyons-Weiler is a Gallery Experience Presenter in CMNH’s Life Long Learning Department. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Folded Forest: Defining the Jurassic Period

by Jane Thaler

What’s in a Name?

Derived from the words for “middle life” in Greek, the Mesozoic Era consisted of three geological periods: the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous. While many of us might be aware of all three, the term “Jurassic” has seeped into our everyday lives in a way that the Triassic and Cretaceous have not. We can attribute much of this ubiquity to the wildly popular Jurassic Park books by Michael Crichton and their subsequent film adaptations, but have you ever wondered what “Jurassic” actually means and how scientists define the period’s geological boundaries?

Coining “Jurassic”

The “Jura” in Jurassic refers to the Jura Mountains that run along a large portion of the Swiss and French border. Named for the ancient Celtic word for forest, the Jura Mountains are known for their tree-covered peaks and the folded rocks that comprise them (Jones, 2020, p. 94).

Mountains covered in a combination of green forests and lush grassy fields. — Jura Mountains from Wikimedia Commons.

It was here in 1795 that Alexander von Humboldt, a Prussian explorer and naturalist, documented a series of carbonate shelf deposits from the period now known as the Jurassic and dubbed them the “Jura Kalstein.” Alexander Brongniart, a French scientist known for arranging and describing the geologic formations of the Tertiary Period (66.0 to 2.6 million years ago), coined the term “Terrains Jurassiques” to refer to all Jurassic strata in 1829. In 1832, German geologist Leopold von Buch established the three-fold subdivision of epochs based on the folds of limestone in the Jura: the Lias (Early Jurassic), the Dogger (Middle Jurassic), and the Malm (Late Jurassic). This arrangement remains the basic framework for our geological understanding of the Jurassic to this day (Ogg et al., 2012b, p. 732; Encyclopedia Britannica, 2021a).

Car parked in front of rock formation that appears to have folds in it. — Jura Mountain fold known as the “Chapeau de Gendarme” from Wikimedia Commons.

Beginning of the Jurassic

Nestled between the Triassic and Cretaceous periods, the Jurassic spanned from 201.3 million years ago to 145 million years ago (National Park Service, 2020). The end of the Triassic (so named because it is a group of three strata) and the beginning of the Jurassic is marked by the Triassic–Jurassic (Tr–J) extinction event, sometimes called the end-Triassic extinction. The fourth of five major extinction episodes on Earth (or sixth if you count the current, anthropogenic extinction), the Tr–J extinction wiped out around 75 percent of all marine and terrestrial life (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2021b).

Current evidence suggests that the Tr–J extinction was initially set into motion by movements of the Earth’s crust. As the all-encompassing mega-continent Pangea began to break apart, the associated tectonic shifts caused significant volcanic activity that spewed carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The resulting global warming disrupted the Earth’s carbon cycle and contributed to ocean acidification (Fuge, 2020).

The ecological niches left open by the Tr–J extinction were quickly filled by remaining species of pterosaurs, crocodilians, turtles, mammals, many species of plants and invertebrates, marine life, and dinosaurs. Though many species died out during the extinction event, the wet and warm climate of the Jurassic in many places encouraged the growth of lush vegetation along with the proliferation and diversification of fauna. Oceans teemed with life, forests flourished, and dinosaurs became the dominant forms of backboned animal life on land during this time (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2021b).

Mural of dinosaurs during the Jurassic Period. — Jurassic landscape in the Dinosaurs in Their Time exhibition at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

End of the Jurassic Period

The end of the Jurassic is a bit of a mystery as the geological boundary between it and the Cretaceous Period (the latter name derived from the Latin for “chalk”) remains formally undefined. In fact, the Cretaceous is the only period in the Phanerozoic Eon (541 million years ago to present day) that “does not yet have an accepted global boundary definition” (Ogg et al., 2012a, p. 795). This definitional challenge is due to a number of factors but is mostly attributed to the concept of provincialism or provinciality, which means that plant or animal populations were restricted to a particular area or group of areas (Gale et al., 2020). This resulted in endemic populations, particularly of ammonites, which left uneven or unclear fossil markers in the stratigraphic record (Wimbledon, 2017; see Énay, 2019 for more detail on the J/K boundary debates).

We do know that the end of the Jurassic was marked by the Tithonian–early Barremian cool interval, which began 150 million years ago and continued well into the Early Cretaceous (Ogg et al., 2012a). During this time, some groups of animals did go extinct or become less diverse, like the dinosaurian subgroup Stegosauria that included Stegosaurus, while others increased in abundance, like some ammonite subgroups who survived the Tr–J event. Plants were also developing in important ways during this time. Around 130 million years ago, angiosperms (flowering plants) began to diversify, and they became increasingly dominant throughout the Cretaceous (Friis et al., 2010). Taking the unknowns and variables into account, the end of the Jurassic is currently placed at 145 million years ago.

Naming Geological Periods

Many of the names we still use for geological periods went through a similar process to that of the Jurassic: a scientist named a phenomenon based on the strata they were studying and the nomenclature (the system of names) developed from there. Nowadays, defining and naming geological units is left to the International Commission on Stratigraphy of the International Union of Geological Sciences. The process by which this happens feels about as long as the geologic periods themselves, at least to those of us watching from outside the commission. This is, of course, an exaggeration, but it does take years of work and rounds of voting to arrive at an official stratigraphic boundary designation.

Check out https://stratigraphy.org for the latest updates on humanity’s understanding of geologic time.

Jane Thaler is a Gallery Experience Presenter and Floor Captain in CMNH’s LifeLong Learning Department. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

References:

enay, Raymond (2019). The Jurassic/Cretaceous System Boundary is at an impasse: Why not go back to Oppel’s 1865 original and historic definition of the Tithonian? Cretaceous Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2019.104241.

Encyclopedia Britannica (2021a). Alexandre Brongniart. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alexandre-Brongniart

Encyclopedia Britannica (2021b). End-Triassic extinction. https://academic-eb-com.pitt.idm.oclc.org/levels/collegiate/article/end-Triassic-extinction/474417

Fuge, L. (2020). Volcano link to end of Triassic extinction. Cosmos. https://cosmosmagazine.com/history/palaeontology/volcano-link-to-end-of-triassic-extinction/

Friis E. M., Pedersen K. R., Crane P. R. (2010). Diversity in obscurity: fossil flowers and the early history of angiosperms. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 365. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2009.0227

Gale, A. S., Mutterlose, J., Batenburg, S., Gradstein, F. M., Agterberg, F. P., Ogg, J. G., Petrizzo, M. R. (2020). The Cretaceous Period. In The Geologic Time Scale 2020 (Gradstein, F. M., Ogg, J. G., Schmitz, M. D., & Ogg, G. M., Eds.). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-824360-2.00027-9

Gore, R. (n.d.), The rise of mammals. In National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/rise-mammals

Ogg, J. G., Hinnov, L. A., Huang, C. (2012a). Cretaceous. In The Geologic Time Scale 2012 (Gradstein, F. M., Ogg, J. G., Schmitz, M. D., & Ogg, G. M., Eds.). Elsevier.

Ogg, J. G., Hinnov, L. A., Huang, C. (2012b). Jurassic. In The Geologic Time Scale 2012 (Gradstein, F. M., Ogg, J. G., Schmitz, M. D., & Ogg, G. M., Eds.). Elsevier.

Jones, P. (2020). Jura Mountains, France/Switzerland. In Around the World in 80 Words. University of Chicago Press. https://doi.org/10.7208/9780226682822-026

National Park Service (2020). Geologic time scale. https://www.nps.gov/subjects/geology/time-scale.htm

Pfiffner, O. A. (2006). Thick-skinned and thin-skinned styles of continental contraction. Special Paper of the Geological Society of America, 414.

Sauquet, H., von Balthazar, M., Magallón, S. et al. (2017). The ancestral flower of angiosperms and its early diversification. Nature Communications, 8. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms16047

Scotese, C. R., Song, H., Mills, B. J. W., van der Meer, D. G. (2021). Phanerozoic paleotemperatures: the Earth’s changing climate during the last 540 million years. Earth-Science Reviews, 215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2021.103503

Wimbledon, W. A. P. (2017). Developments with fixing a Tithonian/Berriasian (J/K) boundary. Volumina Jurassica, XV. https://doi.org/10.5604/01.3001.0010.7467

Real Dinosaurs Versus Reel Dinosaurs: Film’s Fictionalization of the Prehistoric World

by Shelby Wyzykowski

What better way can you spend a quiet evening at home than by having a good old-fashioned movie night? You dim the lights, cozily snuggle up on your sofa with a bowl of hot, buttery popcorn, and pick out a movie that you’ve always wanted to see: the 1948 classic Unknown Island. Mindlessly munching away on your snacks, your eyes are glued to the screen as the story unfolds. You reach a key scene in the movie: a towering, T. rex-sized Ceratosaurus and an equally enormous Megatherium ground sloth are locked in mortal combat. And you think to yourself, “I’m pretty sure something like this never actually happened.” And you know what? Your prehistorically inclined instincts are correct.

From the time that the first dinosaur fossils were identified in the early 1800s, society has been fascinated by these “terrible lizards.” When, where, and how did they live? And why did they (except for their modern descendants, birds) die out so suddenly? We’ve always been hungry to find out more about the mysteries behind the dinosaurs’ existence. The public’s hunger for answers was first satisfied by newspapers, books, and scientific journals. But then a whole new, sensational medium was invented: motion pictures. And with its creation came a new, exciting way to explore the primeval world of these ancient creatures. But cinema is art, not science. And from the very beginning, scientific inaccuracies abounded. You might be surprised to learn that these filmic faux pas not only exist in movies from the early days of cinema. They pervade essentially every dinosaur movie that has ever been made.

One Million Years B.C.

Another film that can easily be identified as more fiction than fact is 1966’s One Million Years B.C. It tells the story of conflicts between members of two tribes of cave people as well as their dangerous dealings with a host of hostile dinosaurs (such as Allosaurus, Triceratops, and Ceratosaurus). However, neither modern-looking humans nor dinosaurs (again, except birds) existed one million years ago. In the case of dinosaurs, the movie was about 65 million years too late. Non-avian dinosaurs disappeared 66 million years ago during a mass extinction known as the K/Pg (which stands for “Cretaceous/Paleogene”) event. An asteroid measuring around six miles in diameter and traveling at an estimated speed of ten miles per second slammed into the Earth at what is now the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. The effects of this giant impact were so devastating that over 75% of the world’s species became extinct. But the dinosaurs’ misfortunes were a lucky break for Cretaceous Period mammals. They were able to gain a stronger foothold and flourish in the challenging and inhospitable post-impact environment.

Cut to approximately 65 million, 700 thousand years later, when modern-looking humans finally arrived on the chronological scene. Until recently, the oldest known fossils of our species, Homo sapiens, dated back to just 195,000 years ago (which is, in geological terms, akin to the blink of an eye). And for many years, these fossils have been widely accepted to be the oldest members of our species. But this theory was challenged in June of 2017 when paleoanthropologists from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology reported that they had discovered what they thought may be the oldest known remains of Homo sapiens on a desert hillside at Jebel Irhoud in Morocco. The 315,000-year-old fossils included skull bones that, when pieced together, indicated that these humans had faces that looked very much like ours, but their brains did differ. Being long and low, their brains did not have the distinctively round shape of those of present-day humans. This noticeable difference in brain shape has led some scientists to wonder: perhaps these people were just close relatives of Homo sapiens. On the other hand, maybe they could be near the root of the Homo sapien lineage, a sort of protomodern Homo sapien as opposed to the modern Homo sapien. One thing is for certain, the discovery at Jebel Irhoud reminds us that the story of human evolution is long and complex with many questions that are yet to be answered.

The Land Before Time

Another movie that misplaces its characters in the prehistoric timeline is 1988’s The Land Before Time. The stars of this animated motion picture are Littlefoot the Apatosaurus, Cera the Triceratops, Ducky the Saurolophus, Petrie the Pteranodon, and Spike the Stegosaurus. As their world is ravaged by constant earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, the hungry and scared young dinosaurs make a perilous journey to the lush and green Great Valley where they’ll reunite with their families and never want for food again. In their on-screen imagined story, these five make a great team. But, assuming that the movie is set at the very end of the Cretaceous (intense volcanic activity was a characteristic of this time), the quintet’s trip would have actually been just a solo trek. Ducky and Petrie’s species had become extinct several million years earlier, and Littlefoot and Spike would have lived way back in the Jurassic Period (201– 145 million years ago). Cera alone would have had to experience several harrowing encounters with the movie’s other latest Cretaceous creature, the ferocious and relentless Sharptooth, a Tyrannosaurus rex.

Speaking of Sharptooth, The Land Before Time’s animators made a scientifically accurate choice when they decided to draw him with a two-fingered hand, as opposed to the three fingers traditionally embraced by other movie makers. For 1933’s King Kong, the creators mistakenly modeled their T. rex after a scientifically outdated 1906 museum painting. Many other directors knowingly dismissed the science-backed evidence and used three digits because they thought this type of hand was more aesthetically pleasing. By the 1920s, paleontologists had already hypothesized that these predators were two-fingered because an earlier relative of Tyrannosaurus, Gorgosaurus, was known to have had only two functional digits. Scientists had to make an educated guess because the first T. rex (and many subsequent specimens) to be found had no hands preserved. It wasn’t until 1988 that it was officially confirmed that T. rex was two-fingered when the first specimen with an intact hand was discovered. Then, in 1997, Peck’s Rex, the first T. rex specimen with hands preserving a third metacarpal (hand bone), was unearthed. Paleontologists agree that, in life, the third metacarpal of Peck’s Rex would not have been part of a distinct, externally visible third finger, but instead would have been embedded in the flesh of the rest of the hand. But still, was this third hand segment vestigial, no longer serving any apparent purpose? Or could it have possibly been used as a buttressing structure, helping the two fully formed fingers to withstand forces and stresses on the hand? Peck’s Rex’s bones do display evidence that strongly supports arm use. You can ponder this paleo-puzzle yourself when you visit Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Dinosaurs in Their Time exhibition, where you can see a life-sized cast of Peck’s Rex facing off with the holotype (= name-bearing) T. rex, which was the first specimen of the species to be recognized (by definition, the world’s first fossil of the world’s most famous dinosaur!).

Two T. rex skeletons displayed in a museum exhibit. — T. rex in *Dinosaurs in Their Time.* Image credit: Joshua Franzos, Treehouse Media

Jurassic Park

One motion picture that did take artistic liberties with T. rex for the sake of suspense was 1993’s Jurassic Park. In one memorable, hair-raising scene, several of the movie’s stars are saved from becoming this dinosaur’s savory snack by standing completely still. According to the film’s paleontological protagonist, Dr. Alan Grant, the theropod can’t see humans if they don’t move. Does this theory have any credence, or was it just a clever plot device that made for a great movie moment? In 2006, the results of ongoing research at the University of Oregon were published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, providing a surprising answer. The study involved using perimetry (an ophthalmic technique used for measuring and assessing visual fields) and a scale model T. rex head to determine the creature’s binocular range (the area that could be viewed at the same time by both eyes). Generally speaking, the wider an animal’s binocular range, the better its depth perception and overall vision. It was determined that the binocular range of T. rex was 55 degrees, which is greater than that of a modern-day hawk! This theropod may have even had visual clarity up to 13 times greater than a person. That’s extremely impressive, considering an eagle only has up to 3.6 times the clarity of a human! Another study that examined the senses of T. rex determined that the dinosaur had unusually large olfactory bulbs (the areas of the brain dedicated to scent) that would have given it the ability to smell as well as a present-day vulture! So, in Jurassic Park, even if the eyes of T. rex had been blurred by the raindrops in this dark and stormy scene, its nose would have still homed-in on Dr. Grant and the others, providing the predator with some tasty midnight treats.

Now, it may seem that this blog post might be a bit critical of dinosaur movies. But, truly, I appreciate them just as much as the next filmophile. They do a magnificent job of providing all of us with some pretty thrilling, edge-of-your-seat entertainment. But, somewhere along the way, their purpose has serendipitously become twofold. They have also inspired some of us to pursue paleontology as a lifelong career. So, in a way, dinosaur movies have been of immense benefit to both the cinematic and scientific worlds. And for that great service, they all deserve a huge round of applause.

Eating Shipworms to Save the World

by Timothy A. Pearce

Shipworms, which bore into the wood of ships and the pilings of docks have been a menace to mariners for centuries. Recently, however, some sustainable food advocates are pointing to the disreputable creatures as a key to feeding the growing human population.

Black and white illustration of a shipworm. — Figure 1. Body of a shipworm showing the tiny shell at the lower right. Image from Wikimedia Commons taken from Goode (1884).

Surprisingly, shipworms are not worms at all, but are a type of clam in the family Teredinidae whose bivalved shells have been reduced to small rasp-like structures at one end of a worm-like body (Fig. 1). Some shipworms grow exceptionally fast, reaching 30 cm (12 inches) in six months. The small shells, which are roughly 5% of the creature’s body length, function as excavators. The shipworm uses the tiny pair to dig into wood, forming a burrow to protect its soft body, and digesting the excavated bits of wood as food. Symbiotic bacteria in the clam’s gills provide the necessary enzymes to digest the wood.

wood damaged by shipworms — Figure 2. Wood bored by the shipworm *Lyrodus pedicellatus*. Image by T.A. Pearce.

Sailors and stevedores (dock workers) have battled shipworms over the centuries because the holes created by the tiny mollusks weaken the wood, eventually causing ships to sink and docks to collapse (Fig. 2). Consequently, instead of causing yawns, these boring mollusks caused people to take notice. And while the shipworms’ wood-eating regime continues to plague sea-faring people who rely upon wooden vessels, other people are now taking note for a culinary reason.

From baddy to buddy, from scourge to supper, shipworms are undergoing a reputation transformation. As we look to the future, we see staring back at us both the hungry, growing human population and the threat of climate change. We understand the need to produce more food sustainably, including more protein, while reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. As an alternative to methane-belching cattle, some experts have advised eating sustainable protein sources such as insects and shipworms.

Among the advantages of shipworms as food are their exceptionally fast growth, their ability to thrive on a diet of waste wood or sustainable microalgae, and their high protein and omega-3 fatty acids content. (Willer & Aldridge 2020).

Today, shipworms are eaten primarily in parts of southeast Asia. But because they show great promise as a sustainable protein source, they are being considered for aquaculture to help feed the growing human population. In the not-so-distant future, you might be spicing up your meals by including (not so) boring clams!

Keep clam and carry on.

Literature Cited

Goode, G.B. 1884. Fisheries and Fishery Industries of the United States: Section I, Natural History of Useful Aquatic Animals, Plates. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.

Willer, D.F. & Aldridge, D.C. 2020. From pest to profit—the potential of shipworms for sustainable aquaculture. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 4: 575416. doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2020.575416

Meet Our Animal Husbandry Team

by Leslie Wilson

Each year, animal care professionals from zoos, aquariums and yes, sometimes even museums, across the country celebrate National Zookeepers Week. What exactly is a “zookeeper?”

A zookeeper is a person who provides highly specialized care to animals. Did you know that Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH) has a living collection that includes 15 animal ambassadors, representing 12 species from all over the world? At Carnegie Museum of Natural History, we have a team of five “animal husbandry specialists” that perform the day-to-day care for the collection. Zookeepers go by a range of titles at different organizations; here at CMNH, “animal husbandry specialist” is what fits our team best.

Animals need highly specialized care every day of the year. Even when the museum is closed. Even on holidays. Even during a pandemic. As animal husbandry specialists, we provide loving and high-quality care to the living collection every single day of the year. Daily feedings, habitat cleaning, behavioral observation, enrichment, training, and record keeping are all part of hard day’s work for an animal husbandry specialist. Animal husbandry specialists have deep rapport and strong, trusting relationships with the animals in our care. From any animal ambassador’s first day at CMNH to their last days on this earth, the animal husbandry staff support each unique ambassador through all stages of life, including the final step of saying good-bye, which to most, is the hardest part about working with animals. Being a “zookeeper” requires emotional fitness in addition to physical fitness; both are necessary for a happy, healthy “zookeeper.”

It’s not all poop-scooping, though! “Zookeepers” do SO MUCH MORE than “clean up” after animals. Another large area of focus for “zookeepers” is education. Every member of the CMNH animal husbandry team works directly with our audiences to share the rich natural history and unique personalities of our animal ambassadors. Creating empathy for the plight of wild animals in wild spaces, animal ambassadors are a powerful force in helping the museum achieve its mission of advocating for a sustainable future.

Animal Husbandry During a Global Pandemic

The last year presented unique challenges, including caring for the animals during CMNH’s Covid-related closures and adapting programs for social distancing and virtual environments once we re-opened. Team members found new ways to support each other and the animals through the disruption of our normal routines and designed creative new enrichment opportunities to make sure that every animal was (and is) healthy and happy. Meet the CMNH animal husbandry team below and learn how they’ve risen to the challenges of the last year!

Each team member was asked: “How did you improvise, adapt, persist: Keep on keepin’ on?”

Person holding a bird during a live animal show in a theater.

Meet Jo, the collection’s registrar! As the registrar, Jo is responsible for maintaining all records for the animals. Jo also is a frequent host of our weekly virtual Live Animal Encounters.

“The challenge for me was supporting the team, both human and animal, while being unable to be there in person. Transitioning animal programming to a virtual space was a unique challenge that afforded me the ability to still be present for our ambassador animals, support the humans on the husbandry team, and keep our audience engaged. I also found ways to guide my coworkers through animal husbandry challenges from home, connecting virtually to troubleshoot minor medical issues and enclosure overhauls.”

Meet Jess, the lead animal husbandry specialist! Jess is responsible for managing animal-related inventory, training husbandry staff and crafting animal enrichment for our sun conure, Mango. Jess often presents the animals from the museum during Wild Wednesdays: Virtual Live Animal Encounters.

“Being away from the animals and other staff members was a struggle, especially in the beginning of our closure. It was hard to go from seeing the animals and staff who cared for them every day to not being able to offer direct support or guidance. One way I wanted to help boost morale in the beginning was to create coloring sheets to cheer up our staff members who were missing the animals. I drew our animal ambassadors in funny scenarios including our coati cooking or painting like Bob Ross; our sun conure flying as an astronaut in space; our pied crow dressed up as his Game of Thrones namesake, Jon Snow. I feel that I’ve been given a great opportunity not only to learn more about animal education and how I can better myself in this field, but also to connect with the animal husbandry staff who are dedicated to providing our animal ambassadors with unique life experiences and exceptional care.”

Meet Aaron, an animal husbandry specialist! Aaron plays a role in ambassador training, particularly with the birds in the collection. He also is great at building fun toys or furniture items for many of the animals, often from recycled materials, including expired fire hoses.

“I was fortunate to be one of the animal care team members to share in the daily care of our animal ambassadors during the museum closures. I relied a lot on the experience and skill of my human coworkers as I learned on-the-go. While the job was often difficult and dirty (at times literally poopy), I feel grateful that I had the opportunity to get to know my furry, scaly, and feathery coworkers more intimately. I still have a lot to learn about our animal ambassadors as we train and educate together. We’re constantly working to build trust and confidence in our relationships.”

Meet John, an animal husbandry specialist! John serves as an animal husbandry specialist in addition to his role of managing CMNH’s outreach programming. Many of the outreach programs incorporate live animal ambassadors, so this is a perfect match!

“Before the pandemic, my primary relationship with our animals was through programming, and I did more teaching with our animals than I did animal care. Due to COVID, I started to focus more on animal husbandry. Learning to better care for the day-to-day needs of our Living Collection has 100% made me a better teacher. I have a stronger relationship with our birds, I understand the needs and mannerisms of our mammals better, and I’ve been able to answer questions about our reptiles that I just plain didn’t know the answers to before!”

Meet Emma, an animal husbandry specialist! Emma is our newest animal husbandry specialist on our team. Emma works closely with Jon Snow, the African pied crow. Sometimes, it’s hard to tell the difference between their voices!

“The last year has been full of challenges when it comes to making sure that every animal here at the museum is getting the best possible care while also ensuring that we are following correct safety protocol. I owe a lot of my ability to adapt to the amazing connections that I and the other animal husbandry specialists have made with our education ambassadors. Something that sticks out to me specifically is the improvisation needed to ensure that the enrichment we provide every single day is just as impactful as the live programming that we were unable to do; every day proved to be a fun challenge when it came to creating a variety of new activities for the animals. Although it took some time to get into a new rhythm, I feel that our connections with our animal ambassadors are stronger than ever before.”

National Zookeepers Week

Zookeepers play an important role both in the specialized care of the collection and in educating our audiences about the plight of wild animals and wild spaces. This dedicated team of animal professionals seeks to generate empathy for all living things as part of the museum’s greater mission to find inspiration in our collections and advocate for a sustainable future. And that’s worth celebrating!

Thank you for celebrating National Zookeepers Week (July 18-24th) by reading this blog to learn more about “zookeepers” and the CMNH animal husbandry team. Other ways you can celebrate National Zookeeper’s Week include visiting your local zoo/aquarium/aviary/museum or sending a card to your local organization’s animal staff thanking them for their dedication to the animals in their care. If you know a “zookeeper” in your life, be sure to thank them for the important work they do!

“In the end, we will conserve only what we love;

we will love only what we understand;

and we will understand only what we are taught.”

-Baba Dioum

Interpreting Museum Exhibits Virtually

by Patrick McShea

Natural History Interpreters are a corps of educators charged with presenting the museum’s exhibits to audiences in a way that encourages the collective development of emotional and intellectual connections to the topics being discussed. During the past eight months, a small, but growing number of Interpreters have pursued this mission by guiding school groups on virtual tours of Dinosaur Armor.

Replica giant sea scorpion museum display — Details such as the sharp claws of this sea scorpion were clearly visible to students who participated in virtual tours of *Dinosaur Armor*.

The visually striking objects in the world premiere exhibition retain much of their captivating power when presented over electronic screens, and cell phone cameras, when paired with hand-held stabilizer units, have proven to be fully capable of live streaming all the required video.

During the recently completed school year 54 virtual tours of Dinosaur Armor reached an estimated student audience of 3,450, with classes in first to fourth grades accounting for the greatest number of those individuals. The geographical reach of the program has been particularly impressive, with schools in 13 states participating.

The Interpreters developed a team-based strategy for delivering their presentations as cohesive interactive lessons. Standard team positions, which rotate as necessary, include a camera operator in the exhibit, an accompanying narrator who occasionally appears on camera, and a director who participates via a computer link to both provide occasional commentary and facilitate communication between the audience, camera operator, and narrator.

According to Interpreter Joann Wilson the development was an easier-said-than-done proposition. “When I started virtual tours, I thought that it would be like my old in-person tour role with a few minor adjustments. How wrong I was! What I have discovered after over 8 months is that although the goal is the same, how we get there is very different.”

On June 8, I had the opportunity to observe a virtual Dinosaur Armor tour for a combined pre-school and kindergarten class. My computer screen displayed the same images the children watched on a large monitor at the front of their classroom. When the colorful image of a frightening looking Eurypterid, or sea scorpion filled the screen, audience excitement was transmitted back to the Interpreter team via the “oohs” and “ahhs” of young voices. Just as the Interpreters would do for any in-person audience, they quickly transformed student curiosity into a learning experience through the careful use of questions.

Students were initially asked to describe what they observed, and their responses (“The claws are sharp.” “The eyes are big ovals.”) provided immediate feedback about the clarity of the transmission. In this case the routine compilation of student observations was remarkable because of the distance involved. The pre-school and kindergarten class was in Bali, Indonesia.

As Program Manager Mandi Lyon explains, “It was 9:30 a.m. for us in Pittsburgh, and 9:30 p.m. for them in Bali. They came back to their school in their pjs for a pajama party so they could participate in the tour together.”

In most cases, however, the same COVID-19 restrictions that led to the development of Virtual Tours also placed many students in viewing conditions far less comfortable than the classroom in Bali. Whenever a Virtual Tour served a class in a school operating under a remote learning mandate, the Interpreter team faced the challenge of engaging dozens of students watching separately from their homes.

By supplying teachers with relevant digital resources, including video clips, blog posts, and work sheets, weeks before their students participated in a Virtual Tour, the Interpreters hoped to initiate teaching partnerships that made each live 60-minute program both instructive and enjoyable. The success of such efforts is currently being accessed through the review of post-Virtual Tour evaluations, several of which included heartening testimony. One teacher noted how the virtual tour had expanded the range of possible teaching resources: “I am so excited we had the opportunity to visit through Zoom. After doing this, it seems we could reach so many places and let the students have such a varied experience in the classroom.” Another teacher was particularly pleased with a potential career thread woven into the tour: “The idea of anyone becoming a scientist was evident in your presentation.”

Outside of the formal evaluations, one wholly positive real-time measurement stands out. Several times teachers remarked that students who kept their cameras off though weeks of regular remote classes turned their cameras on to watch and participate in the Virtual Tour.

CMNH Interpreters have also provide Virtual Tours exploring Ecosystems, Ancient Egypt, and Gems and Minerals. Besides Indonesia, other particularly distant schools served by the program were in Qatar, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Training is currently underway to expand the number of Interpreters who are able to participate on Virtual Tour teams.

The development and implementation of Virtual Tour Program was generously supported with funding from the Buncher Foundation and the Scaife Family Foundation.

Bird Architecture on Human Infrastructure

by Patrick McShea

cliff swallow nests — Image credit: Amy Henrici

Cliff Swallows are potters. The gourd-shaped earthen vessels the birds construct, one tiny mouthful of mud at a time, provide shelter for their eggs and young. In Pennsylvania, and across much of the species’ current continent-wide breeding range, bridges provide favored nest sites for birds whose ancestors, until the early decades of the 1800’s, seem to have been restricted to nesting against low elevation cliffs in western mountain ranges.

The nests pictured above adhere to the concrete supports of a bridge crossing an arm of Lake Arthur in Butler County’s Moraine State Park. During field survey work leading up to the publication of the Second Atlas of Breeding Birds in Pennsylvania in 2012, bridges accounted for 44% of Cliff Swallow nest sites, barns for 33%, and churches, houses, other buildings, and dams for the balance. The species nests in colonies, and the number of nests in bridge-based colonies also far outnumbered those at other sites.

In Birds of Western Pennsylvania, a 1940 publication by W.E. Clyde Todd, then the museum’s Curator of Birds, nest descriptions are a highlight of the Cliff Swallow account.

“The type is retort-shaped, globular, with a neck springing from above and turned to open downward: a beautiful, symmetrical structure. The shape however is modified to suit the space – truncated or extended, as need requires; and where the nests are close-set, the chamber within, though pouch-like, is not truly symmetrical.”

“The nests are built of pellets of mud laid wet and retaining in the finished structure, each its smooth-rounded individuality. The walls speak of cunning and labor and of security, as does a wall of human masonry.”

cliff swallow feeding young in the nest — Image credit: Amy Henrici

On a recent early summer morning the Cliff Swallows’ incorporation of our culture’s indispensable highway architecture into their reproductive cycle made for easy and entertaining bird watching. There were hungry young in every chamber of an easily viewed eight-nest cluster. As parent birds returned regularly from insect-catching forays over the nearby lake, the entryways to the dark clay pouches were brightened by the bright yellow gaping beaks of the young.

cliff swallow hanging out of nest — Image credit: Amy Henrici

Appreciation of the beneficial match between people and birds was leavened by a sight at another nest cluster on an adjacent bridge support. When a swallow perched against a nest remained still through several feeding cycles of its neighbors, an inspection with binoculars revealed a tragic circumstance. The bird appeared to have become entangled in, and eventually strangled by discarded fishing line, eight inches of which dangled from the lifeless feathered body.

Reference

Second Breeding Bird Atlas of Pennsylvania – http://www.pabirdatlas.psu.edu/

Fish and the Fourth of July?

by Patrick McShea

During the cold early months of 1778, did the outcome of the American colonies’ armed struggle for independence hinge upon a spawning run of fish up a Pennsylvania river? A 22-inch-long American shad displayed on a wall in Discovery Basecamp can serve as a focal point for consideration of this question, but many viewers will be aided by some framing background information.

In the chronology of the American Revolution, the harsh winter of 1777-1778 was notable for the British Army’s control of Philadelphia, and the encampment, some 23 miles northwest, of the opposing Continental Army, led by George Washington, at a site along the Schuylkill River known as Valley Forge.

In the more than two centuries since the United States achieved independence from Great Britain, an often repeated anecdote about the desperate conditions endured by the poorly clothed, poorly fed, and poorly sheltered soldiers at Valley Forge contends that starvation conditions were ended late in the winter by an unusually early spawning run of thousands of American shad up the Schuylkill.

American shad are an anadromous species, a term for fish that hatch in freshwater, migrate to the ocean where they spend most of their lives, and then migrate back to their natal waters to reproduce. The historic range for the species, whose Latin name, Alosa sapidissima, references its delectable flavor, encompasses western Atlantic Ocean waters bordering the east coast of Canada and the United States.

In 2002, renowned author and Princeton University professor John McPhee brought American shad to the attention of the book-reading public with the publication of The Founding Fish, a 358-page encyclopedic compilation of personal experience, firsthand reporting, historical accounts, and scientific research. (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux) The book’s title is a nod to the Valley Forge account, and in a central chapter of the same name McPhee addresses the story’s veracity by citing the research of a now retired professor of American History from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Wayne Bodle. “When I first got in touch with Bodle, in 1998, he said that fresh shad in all likelihood were consumed by soldiers at Valley Forge in the weeks before they broke camp in June, but that the large and providently early run is a legend not supported by a single document.”

Bodle’s analysis of his research into all aspects of the Continental Army’s storied winter encampment in eastern Pennsylvania is presented in his book, The Valley Forge Winter: Civilians and Soldiers in War (The Pennsylvania University Press, 2002). Like The Founding Fish, it’s available for borrowing from Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. If your summer reading schedule isn’t yet set, you might consider checking out either book.

Cuttlefish Pass Marshmallow Test

by Tim Pearce

The club for species that can pass the marshmallow test has recently gotten a new member: the cuttlefish. Cuttlefish are the first invertebrate known to show self-control.

The marshmallow test examines whether an individual has sufficient self-control to use delayed gratification. In the original marshmallow test, a child could have one marshmallow immediately, or if they were able to wait 15 minutes, they received two marshmallows. Some of the 3- to 5-year-old children waited and got the double treat, indicating that they could delay gratification for a larger reward. Other species such as chimpanzees, crows, parrots, and dogs have passed modified versions of the marshmallow test

We humans think we are special. We form clubs in which we initially believe we are the only member, but then other species creep into those clubs. In times past, humans thought they were the only members of the language club and the tool use club, but now we know many other species are in those clubs.

cuttlefish on dark background — Cuttlefish. Image by David Sim, from Wikimedia Commons under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

To examine whether cuttlefish could delay gratification for a better reward, researchers (Schnell et al. 2021) offered them an Asian shore crab (a less preferred food) immediately, or a grass shrimp (a more preferred food) if they were able to wait. The food was offered in two chambers with sliding doors. Before the test, cuttlefish were trained to recognize symbols on the doors that indicated if it would open immediately (a circle) or with a delay (a triangle). Most of the cuttlefish waited 50 to 130 seconds to get the more desirable grass shrimp, comparable to time delays shown by chimpanzees and crows.

Some cuttlefish appeared to move their bodies away from the immediate, less preferred reward. Similar behaviors are seen in humans and other animals (e.g., parrots close their eyes, dogs turn away) as they try to resist temptation while waiting for the better reward.

Furthermore, those cuttlefish that waited longest for their favorite foods also performed best during learning tests. Cuttlefish have good memories and can learn from past experiences.

The standard explanation for ability to use delayed gratification, is that it helps animals with long, social lives. This reasoning doesn’t apply to cuttlefish. They live just two years and are not social, so the benefits of delayed gratification to cuttlefish are less obvious. One possibility is that the evolution of self-control in cuttlefish is related to predator avoidance and camouflage; those that can stay camouflaged longer might avoid detection by predators.

Relevant joke:

What is the most affectionate fish in the ocean?

The cuttlefish!

Tim Pearce is the head of the Section of Mollusks at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Reference

Schnell, A.K., Boeckle, M., Rivera, M., Clayton, N.S. & Hanlon, R.T. 2021. Cuttlefish exert self-control in a delay of gratification task. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Biological Sciences, 288 (1946): 20203161 doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.3161.

What Did Dinosaurs Sound Like?

A Brief Foray into Paleoacoustics in Science and Film

by Niko Borish and Caroline Lee

Did Dinosaurs Roar?

When you think about dinosaurs as living animals, what do you think of? Many people imagine them as they are depicted in the Jurassic Park films – giant reptiles, clad in scales, generating reverberating roars that shake the screen. Although this image is certainly entertaining, research in recent years points to unexpected findings that are no less interesting. Evidence suggests that dinosaur vocalizations were not likely to have sounded like roars at all! We’ll explore what’s known about the real voices of dinosaurs with a paleontological source and an interview with an expert who has made relevant discoveries. We’ll also discuss how the sounds you hear in the Jurassic Park films were created!

Paleoacoustics and Dinosaur Vocalizations

We had a chance to interview Dr. Julia Clarke, a paleontologist at the University of Texas, to learn more about paleoacoustics (the study of sound associated with fossils) in non-avian dinosaurs and their evolutionary descendants, birds. In Antarctica in the mid-1990s, Vegavis iaai, an ancient bird dating to around 66 to 68 million years ago, was excavated. Dr. Clarke analyzed the fossil, and in 2013 found evidence that Vegavis had a vocal organ specific to birds, known as a syrinx. In extant (meaning alive today) bird species, the syrinx is responsible for all the vocalizations we identify as bird songs or calls. This means that Vegavis most likely honked (not unlike a goose), owing to an asymmetrical third segment in the syrinx. When we asked why it took about two decades to find the syrinx after the fossil’s original discovery, Dr. Clarke answered that “discovery is not just one moment.” She received the fossil for study in 2008. When she was about to return it in 2012, she went over its computed tomographic (CT) scan images again and noticed something new – a tiny structure that looked like a simple bone fragment or toe bone on the surface of the rock. It turned out to be the syrinx! Clarke and her coauthors noted that we still don’t know when the syrinx evolved because non-avian dinosaur fossils lack this structure. Vegavis is related to extant bird species, and despite searching, no earlier dinosaur syrinxes have so far been found.

Carnivorous dinosaurs are often pictured as chasing prey while letting out intimidating roars. Other new discoveries made from studies of extant birds indicate that this image is a misconception. Dr. Clarke explained that instead of open-mouthed roars, scientists theorize that many dinosaurs may have produced closed-mouth vocalizations. Animals produce closed-mouth vocalizations by inflating their esophagus (the tube that connects the throat and stomach) or tracheal pouches (pouches on their windpipe) while keeping their mouth closed, producing something comparable to a low-pitched swooshing, growling, or cooing sound. These closed-mouth vocalizations differ substantially from open-mouth vocalizations like bird calls. Think of closed-mouth vocalizations as being lower and more percussive, as opposed to bird calls, which are more varied in pitch and almost melodic. Modern examples of closed-mouth vocalizations include crocodilian growls and ostrich booms. As a result, scientists reasoned that many dinosaurs did not perform open-mouth vocalizations, but could have generated closed-mouth vocalizations instead. Although birds evolved from theropods (a group of dinosaurs characterized by, among other attributes, hollow bones and a bipedal stance), theropods likely did not have the ability to make complex sounds similar to those of extant songbirds.

Perhaps sadly, the exciting, blood-curdling roars in the Jurassic Park franchise are not scientifically accurate. Current evidence supports that Tyrannosaurus rex made closed-mouth vocalizations, but in the films, the Tyrannosaurus opens its mouth every time it roars. That begs the question: who or what voiced the Tyrannosaurus and other Jurassic Park dinosaurs? The majority of the sounds used to create the Tyrannosaurus sonic palette came from recordings of elephant bellows. Also used were crocodilian growls, roars from lions and tigers (but not bears), the sound of water coming up from a whale’s blowhole, and even growls from the sound producer’s dog. Some other animals’ sounds that were used to make different dinosaurs’ vocalizations include: hawing donkeys, neighing horses, growling tortoises, whistling dolphins, howling howler monkeys, oinking pigs, barking fennec foxes, and chirping birds! Most of these sounds were edited and pitched up or down to fit their roles.

Another popular misconception initiated by the Jurassic Park franchise was the concept of the “Velociraptor resonating chamber.” In Jurassic Park III, the protagonists search for a “Velociraptor resonating chamber” that allows them to communicate with the Velociraptor pack. However, the possibility of this structure was debunked by Dr. Clarke and Dr. Matt Lamanna, a paleontologist at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. The resonating chamber does not actually exist. If such a chamber existed, it would only amplify the sound (auditory vibrations that travel through the air) made by dinosaurs, not modify its timbre (the tone quality of a sound) or pitch (a measure of how high or low a sound is), which would not allow humans to imitate Velociraptor sounds as shown in the movie. In other words, it would not work like a giant duck call. Additionally, the way that scientists perceive closed-mouth vocalizations to function disproves the whole idea of a resonating chamber to begin with. This is because the organs involved in vocalization include either esophageal or tracheal pouches but no dedicated “resonating chamber.”

What non-avian dinosaurs really sounded like is an enigma currently being uncovered by teams of researchers like that led by Dr. Clarke. All in all, while the movies are certainly helpful for getting people interested in dinosaurs and paleontology, a logical next step is to schedule a visit to Carnegie Museum of Natural History to get the real facts!

We would like to extend a gargantuan thank-you to Dr. Julia Clarke and Dr. Matt Lamanna for generously offering expertise for our blog! Their help evolved our blog to the next level, and for that we are extremely grateful.

Niko Borish and Caroline Lee are Teen Volunteers in the Education Department. Museum employees, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

References

Analysis of fossilized Antarctic bird’s ‘voice box’ suggests dinosaurs couldn’t sing. (2016, October 12). National Science Foundation. Retrieved March 7, 2021, from https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=189996

Clarke, J. (2016, July 16). New Research Debunks The Dinosaur’s Roar (Interview by L. Wertheimer) [Radio broadcast]. In Weekend Edition Saturday. National Public Radio. https://www.npr.org/2016/07/16/486279631/new-research-debunks-the-dinosaurs-roar

Riede, T., Eliason, C. M., Miller, E. H., Goller, F., & Clarke, J. A. (2016). Coos, booms, and hoots: The evolution of closed-mouth vocal behavior in birds. Evolution, 1734-1746. https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.12988

Taylor, D. (Host), & Nelson, A., & Clarke, J. (n.d.). Tyrannosaurus FX (No. 105) [Audio podcast episode]. In L. Battison (Producer), Twenty Thousand Hertz. Twenty Thousand Hertz. https://www.20k.org/episodes/tyrannosaurusfx

Diamonds Are the World’s Best Friend: The Important Roles Diamonds Play in Society

by Shelby Wyzykowski

In the classic 1953 movie “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” is a memorable musical number performed by silver screen legend Marilyn Monroe. Wearing a striking pink satin gown and dripping in dazzling jewels, she is surrounded on the stage by a bevy of handsome suitors that are dressed to the nines. In this glamorous setting, she sings the praises of diamonds…how nothing in the world can compare to how it feels to possess these glittering gemstones. But off-screen, Monroe’s taste in brilliant baubles was radically different, preferring costume jewelry to the real thing. I have to admit that I agree with Marilyn. Diamonds have never held much interest for me. That is until now. After doing a little research, I’ve discovered that, besides their use in the jewelry industry, there are other ways in which diamonds are utilized in society today. In fact, there is so much more to these captivating stones than just their scintillating sparkle.

Perhaps you’ve heard the adage “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.” Well, it just might surprise you that this saying holds true for diamonds. In the jewelry world, a diamond with perfect clarity is the much-desired ideal. But in the scientific world, a so-called “poor” specimen that is full of inclusions (imperfections), could hold a treasure trove of geologic information. Researchers are studying them to try and uncover the secrets of the deep-Earth environment. The majority of diamonds are created fairly close to the Earth’s surface, between 93 and 150 miles down. But there are some diamonds, called super-deep diamonds, that come from far down in the Earth’s mantle and are as deep as 500 to 600 miles (the mantle, which is mostly made up of solid and very hot rock, is directly below the Earth’s surface layer, or crust, and makes up more than 80 percent of our planet’s volume). These 3.5 billion-year-old gems formed at a pressure that is 240,000 times the atmospheric pressure at sea level, and this fact makes these tiny stone time capsules extremely valuable to researchers. No doubt geologists would love to travel deep under our planet’s surface like the characters in Jules Verne’s 1864 science fiction novel Journey to the Center of the Earth. Unfortunately they can’t, but these super-deep diamonds are the next best thing to journeying there themselves!

With these diamonds, scientists are uncovering clues to the origins of water on Earth. Did water come from incoming asteroids and comets, or was water an integral component at the planet’s formation? We’re still not quite sure. But diamond research has brought us closer to figuring out how much water lies deep underground. Scientists think that there may in fact be as much water present in our planet’s deep subsurface as there is found in our oceans. They have developed this idea after discovering a special water encased in the inclusions of deep diamonds. Called ICE-VII, this water ice can only be formed under tremendous deep-Earth pressure. In addition to water, geologists have found an elusive mineral in diamond inclusions. Scientists had theorized it to be an extremely common mineral that makes up to 38 percent of the Earth’s volume, but it’s been impossible to create in a lab. Now that it’s been found in nature, researchers have the proof of its existence and have named it Silicate-Perovskite (or Bridgmanite). In addition to Bridgmanite, they have discovered other trace minerals and elements that are commonly present in the Earth’s crust. This means that the materials were subducted (drawn back down into the Earth) billions of years ago by plate tectonics. Deep in the mantle, the materials were encased in a forming deep-diamond and then eventually sent back up to the surface by way of volcanic eruptions. Even more exciting than all of these discoveries is the thought of what geologists still have yet to uncover. They still hope to find carbon from primordial organic matter in these special diamonds. That matter could be a clue to the origins of life on Earth!

specimen of bridgmanite — “Earth’s most abundant mineral finally has a name” by Argonne National Laboratory is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

In addition to their contributions to the scientific field, diamonds also have practical uses in society. In the mid-1950’s, synthetic diamonds were invented. Created in a lab, they are chemically and physically exactly the same as natural diamonds. However, these man-made gems do not possess the allure and mystery of natural diamonds, so they are not very desirable in the jewelry market. But since diamonds are the hardest known natural substance, they are ideal for industrial use. For example, they can be pulverized into a fine abrasive that can be made into a “diamond paste” and used for polishing other jewelry-grade gemstones. Small particles of diamond can also be embedded in tools like saw blades, drill bits, and grinding wheels. These diamond-coated tools are very wear-resistant and can be used for mining, deep-sea drilling, and road construction. And there are some ingenious uses for diamonds that you may find to be very surprising. Diamond windows can be made from very thin (thinner than a human hair) diamond membranes. These windows cover X-ray machines, laser openings, and vacuum chambers. A diamond can also make your music sound better. A speaker dome made out of diamonds can vibrate very rapidly because this gem is such a stiff material. So it is ideal for enhancing the performance of high-quality speakers. Diamonds can even help you keep track of time. Small mechanical devices, such as watches, have tiny bearings inside of them that make everything move (in a watch, it’s called its “movement”). A thin coating of diamond makes these parts wear-resistant and ensures accurate time-telling and lasting durability. From helping to build highways to making your timepiece tick, who knew that diamonds could be so useful in so many ways!

CM18561 is located in the Native Elements case in Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems. Source: https://carnegiemnh.org/emu_widgets/mineralogy.html#details=ecatalogue.2019718

Yet another important role that diamonds have played in our world is how they have influenced history. The brilliantly blue, supposedly cursed Hope Diamond, for example, has not brought much luck to its owners since it was discovered over 350 years ago. It was in the possession of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI until their untimely deaths during the French Revolution. Subsequent owners also met with unfortunate outcomes until it was donated to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History where it is now safely on display. Another famous diamond, the 750 year-old Koh-i-Noor, has been owned by many royal rulers. It once decorated the Peacock Throne that was used by the Mughal Emperors of India, including Shah Juhan, the builder of the Taj Mahal. Now in England, the stone is part of the Imperial Crown. Due to an alleged curse, it can only ever be worn by the royal family’s female members. Finally, there is the Regent Diamond, which was unearthed in the early 1700’s. After being owned by several rulers, it disappeared during the French Revolution. Years later, it reappeared in the sword of Napoleon. But he was unable to hold onto it for long. After being defeated by the British in the Battle of Waterloo, the once-great ruler was exiled to the tiny island of Elba in disgrace. Since 1987, the Regent’s home has been at the French Royal Treasury in the Louvre in Paris. But you don’t need to travel to France or Great Britain or Washington D.C. to see the Regent Diamond, the Koh-i-Noor, and the Hope Diamond. Replicas of these three stones plus many more world-famous diamond replicas are on display at the Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems. While you’re there, you can also admire some expertly crafted pieces of authentic diamond jewelry that would make any gem lover’s heart skip a beat.

Even though Hillman’s diamond collection is truly amazing, I can’t help but wonder if it would have impressed someone like Marilyn Monroe. Apart from a single piece of jewelry, the diamond wedding band that was given to her by Joe DiMaggio, she had no real affinity for diamonds. Apparently, the legendary actress didn’t believe that they’re a girl’s best friend. But if she had been given the opportunity to find out about all of the other meaningful ways in which diamonds benefit our world, perhaps this screen siren might have developed a new appreciation for these precious gems. I know that I have. I’d like to think that Marilyn would have too.

Super Science Coloring Pages!

Have fun coloring images featuring animals from our living collection this week drawn by Gallery Presenter and Floor Captain, Jess Sperdute. You can meet some of the animals in the living collection during our Virtual Live Animal Encounters!

Download PJ the Skunk as a Rock Star Coloring Image

Download Lupe the Coati as a Rock Star Coloring Image

Download Earl the Hedgehog as a Rock Star Coloring Image

June 21, 2021 by wpengine

Wulfenite and Mimetite: CMNH’s Crystal Banquet

by Nicholas Sauer

Scientific information provided by Dr. Carla Rosenfeld, Assistant Curator of Earth Sciences

Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s specimen of Wulfenite and Mimetite is one of its most fascinating. It first caught my attention because it looks so distinctly like a piece of abstract art made out of honey barbeque potato chips. It was only afterward that I discovered that the museum’s official nickname for the specimen is appropriately just that, “BBQ Chips.”

The potato-chip-shaped structures in question are thin, tabular crystals of wulfenite. A crystal is the physical, three-dimensional form that a mineral takes on in nature. The wulfenite is thin, broad, and relatively flat just like a table is, so that’s why scientists classify it as “tabular.” Sometimes, due to the conditions under which it was formed, wulfenite might also take on the shape of small pyramids.

close-up of wolfenite and mimetite specimen

The naming of wulfenite has a fascinating history itself. It was first discovered and described in the late 18th century by Austrian mineralogist Ignaz von Born (1741-1791) who gave it the name plumbum spatosum flavo pellucidum. Now, don’t be intimidated by the Latin, it is just a literal description of what von Born thought he found: yellow glasslike lead ore. Scientists later renamed the mineral wulfenite in 1845 when they discovered a deposit of it in Bleiberg, Austria. The new namesake, Franz Xavier von Wulfen (1728-1805), had spent his professional life studying the lead ores of the area. The mineral was also sometimes called melinose, after the Greek word “meli” meaning “honey,” so it is not surprising that the specimen first brought to my mind the image of honey barbeque chips in color as well as shape. While it was Austrian scientists who gave it its modern-day name, wulfenite exists in many locations around the world, including China, Arizona, and Mexico. Wulfenite even became Arizona’s state mineral in 2017. Our own BBQ chips specimen came from the San Francisco mine in Sonora, Mexico and was acquired in 1988.

However, there’s more than just wulfenite on display behind the glass in CMNH’s Hillman Hall of Gems and Minerals. If you look closer you will see groups—aggregates—of small spheres interspersed among the crystalline potato chips. These small spheres are composed of the mineral mimetite, which often forms alongside wulfenite in nature as both are leaden in their chemical makeup. Specifically, mimetite is a mineral that forms as a product of the oxidation of galena (lead sulfide) and arsenopyrite (iron arsenic sulfide). Mimetite got its name because it “mimics” the appearance of other lead-based minerals, particularly pyromorphite. The aggregates of mimetite you see at the museum have what scientists call a “botryoidal habit.” Translation: the mineral has a characteristic shape—habit—which in this case is grape-like—“botryoidal,” from the Greek. So, again, it isn’t so outlandish to describe wulfenite as “potato-chipian” when mimetite is described by scientists literally as a “cluster of grapes.” In fact, I’m starting to get a little hungry. Scientists often name their new discoveries after something familiar to them that has a similar shape or property.

But how did “BBQ Chips” come to take on its unique shape and remarkable coloration? Specific patterns of atoms that make up the minerals’ internal structure give wulfenite and mimetite their repeating and intricate form. The color of the specimens depends on their chemical composition. For instance, the wulfenite on display at CMNH gets its fiery orange hue from trace amounts of chromium lurking deep within the crystal. It is ironic that what scientists call an “impurity”—the chromium—gives the wulfenite one of its most striking and aesthetically pleasing features, its coloration. The mimetite, on the other hand, has a similar burnished orange color because of the presence of arsenic, mimetite being composed of lead chloride arsenate.

wulfenite and mimetite specimen from above

The Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s specimen of wulfenite and mimetite showcases the beauty and complexity of the natural world, the entwining of two distinct and breathtaking minerals in one display. Their bright colors and arresting shapes are the product of chemical reactions, time, and specific environmental conditions. The gastronomical names that their coloration and visible structures have garnered over the years—from “BBQ Chips” to “clusters of grapes”—make them a mineralogical feast for scientists and museum patrons alike.

References

Ascarza, William. “Wulfenite, Arizona’s State Mineral, is Theme for Current Tucson Gem Show.” Tucson.com. 12 April 2020. <https://tucson.com/news/local/wulfenite-arizonas-state-mineral-is-theme-for-current-tucson-gem-show/article_00d6cbc2-80bb-57fd-8288-9ba0f189041f.html>.

“Mimetite.” Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. <https://geogallery.si.edu/10026354/mimetite>.

“Minerals, Crystals, and Gems: Stepping Stones to Inquiry.” Smithsonianeducation.org. 2013 <http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/lesson_plans/minerals/minerals_crystals.html>.

“Mineral of the Year 2020.” Naturhistorisches Museum Wien. 2020. < https://www.nhm-wien.ac.at/en/research/mineralogy__petrography/mineral_of_the_year>.

Russell, Peter. “Oxidized Zone Minerals.” University of Waterloo. 1 March 2006. <https://waterloo.ca/wat-on-earth/news/oxidized-zone-minerals>.

“Wulfenite.” Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. <https://geogallery.si.edu/10026003/wulfenite>.

“Wulfenite—Collected from Sonora, Mexico.” Saint Louis Science Center. 2021. <https://www.slsc.org/wulfenite-collected-from-sonora-mexico/>.

The Power of the Falcon in Ancient Egypt

by Raina Holt

I have always been super curious about how the natural environment influences people’s beliefs and rituals. As I learned about ancient Egyptian religion, I found elements that fascinated me. My curiosity led me to build a replica of a pyramid in 5th grade with a secret trapdoor inside. In college, I learned about mummification and continued to discover how and why the ancient Egyptians’ belief in an afterlife was so extensive. My recent internship with Carnegie Museum of Natural History gave me the opportunity to dig deep into my interest in Egypt using research to explore the significance of birds in ancient Egyptian religion.

Research involves asking questions and searching for answers by finding facts and information to explain the unknown. My research allowed me to explore how birds, including vultures, ibises, and even owls, were a big part of Egyptian culture and religion. In ancient Egypt, birds were very commonly associated with different gods. For example, the falcon represented the god Horus. In a comprehensive compilation of related essays titled, Between Heaven and Earth: Birds in Ancient Egypt (University of Chicago Press, 2012), the culture-wide association of gods with birds is partially explained as people’s perception that birds could fly and therefore be closer to the gods. Some birds of prey such as falcons, hawks, and owls are particularly skilled flyers, owing to physical adaptations such as long wings, relatively short tails, and powerful chest muscles. These features, when combined with others, including keen eyesight, sharp, curved talons, and sturdy, razor-edged bills, enable them to capture and kill prey. In some predator-prey encounters, speed is also a vital part of the killing equation. Lanner Falcons, for example, a species well-represented in ancient Egyptian art works, can reach diving speeds of up to 90 miles-per-hour in pursuit of smaller flying birds. Their strength, speed, and beauty made them ideal representatives for certain Egyptian gods.

Staff member at the National Aviary training a Lanner Falcon (photo by author).

In the Summer of 2017, I participated in a program called Soar! On Skydeck at the National Aviary on Pittsburgh’s North Side. I signed up, along with a handful of other Aviary visitors, because I knew I could learn at a deeper level through firsthand observation of live birds of prey. The highly skilled trainer, who worked with a Lanner Falcon during the presentation, relied upon a thick leather glove so her left hand could serve as a suitable and talon-proof resting perch for the bird.

The highlight of the presentation was a hunting demonstration. The trainer first let the falcon circle above us for a short while. Then the bird saw a chunk of meat placed for it and dove quickly, spreading its wings at the last moment to slow down and grab the food with its sharp talons. The falcon, as I could see with my own eyes, was fast, fierce, and powerful, which is why it was used to represent a god in ancient Egypt.

The god Horus, represented as a falcon or a human with a falcon head, was a sun god as well as the ancient Egyptian god of kingship, representing the living king of Egypt. Falcons, along with other birds, could have easily been seen by everyone in ancient Egypt. The sight of a falcon soaring overhead near the sun would have been a particularly striking scene. The pharaoh was believed to be not merely a powerful ruler, but to be the embodiment of the god, Horus. The job of Horus was to protect Egyptians in their daily lives, just like the pharaoh. In recognition of Horus’s important role, people would decorate their tombs with falcons. In later periods the ancient Egyptians offered mummified falcons to Horus, gifts which were sometimes placed in a small coffin with a bronze falcon on top.

Pittsburgh currently offers several falcon viewing opportunities. You can see Lanner Falcons, as I did at the National Aviary, but you can also watch the livestream of the Peregrine Falcon pair and their offspring in their nest on a high ledge of the Cathedral of Learning in Oakland! Because the feeding territory of these birds extends far beyond this University of Pittsburgh landmark, Peregrine Falcons can also be seen flying high above Schenley Park, and much of the University of Pittsburgh Campus. Occasionally the birds can even be heard screeching loudly near Carnegie Museum of Natural History and Carnegie Museum of Art!

Raina Holt is currently an intern for Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Section of Anthropology. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Getting Started: a high school intern’s experience in the herp section

by Jaylynn Smith

Curator note: We currently have an intern from a local high school working with us for ten weeks. The goal of the internship is to gain experience working on collections care and maintenance, learn about amphibian and reptile biology and taxonomy, and to create social media content related to this experience. Look for more content from our intern in the coming weeks!

The first week of my internship was completed! So far it has been a very enjoyable experience. The opportunity to be behind the scenes and learn hands-on about the different specimens that are held in the Alcohol House, and the way they are separated into their taxonomic families has been exciting.

Before my first week I had no knowledge of how these animals were classified or the way they were preserved. However, after the first few days I gained a bit more information on them, like the way they’re stored in 70% ethanol and how there are sections for each major group (frogs, snakes, turtles, etc.). This was very fun since I got more insight and learned more about the reptiles and amphibians I’d be working with. I also learned a bit about how to maintain and take care of the collection, such as testing the concentration levels in the jars and making sure it is at 70%, and also that each jar is filled all the way to the top so the specimens won’t dry out.

Figure 1. Counting and sorting a loan of ring-necked snakes (*Diadophis punctatus*).

Additionally, we dove into checking the status of loans, a museum service which is very similar to the way libraries loan books. A researcher may borrow specimens for comparative study or to learn more about that specific animal. Once the borrowed materials are back in our care, we have to make sure every one of them has been returned safely. This sometimes means taking the specimens out of their jars and counting them all! (Figure 1) Doing this routine work gave me the chance to be up close with the specimens and more hands-on. I found it very interesting being able to touch the animals and see how different they are from each other, like the way patterns may differ on certain snakes or even seeing frog mating behavior (Figure 2)!

Figure 2. A male wood frog (*Rana sylvatica*) holding onto the female during amplexus, a mating position of frogs and toads.

Not only do I have this great opportunity through this internship, I also can share much of the museum experience with my family as well with the benefits that come along with it. Over the weekend I went to the museum with my younger siblings, allowing them to learn more and broaden their knowledge of different animals from both the past and present. While we were there, we came across the Alcohol House Interactive exhibit in Discovery Basecamp, a display featuring information, images, and even actual specimens from the Alcohol House. This gave me the chance to tell my younger siblings about what I do in the Alcohol House. I was able to talk about the specimens I worked with so far and how fascinating it all has been just in the first week. Moving forward my goal is to learn even more about the animals that I’m working with and the process that goes into taking care of them. I also hope to do my own research on them and find answers to questions I may have. But at this point in time I am very optimistic and thrilled about the future of being an intern at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Jaylynn Smith is an intern in the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Who put the Smile in Smilax?

by John Wenzel

The genus Smilax is one of our most common woodland plants. Known as greenbriar, sweetbriar, or catbriar, there are about 20 species in North America, and about 300 world-wide. Technically, the plant is defended by “prickles,” which are outgrowths of the outer tissue of the stem, and not “thorns,” which are modified woody branches, as are found on hawthorn or locust trees. By contrast, “spines,” as found in cactuses, are actually modified leaves. Male and female Smilax flowers occur on different plants, with females producing dense bunches of showy black, blue, or red berries. Some species are deciduous and some are evergreen. Light loving, they are typical of disturbed habitats, and will climb up and over shrubs, up to 30 feet high. The green stems have chlorophyll, meaning that even if deer eat all the leaves, the plants will continue to photosynthesize and survive.

Thickets of briars that have their tops bitten off are an indication of severe browsing by deer. When deer densities are high, other plants may be browsed out entirely, leaving behind an understory composed of only briars and a few plants deer do not eat, such as ferns. Briars may provide good cover for small mammals to escape from larger predators, as is related in Uncle Remus’ African folktales of Bre’r Rabbit. The stout prickles have different orientations along a stem and can be difficult to remove if more than one pierces the skin at the same time. Getting into (and out of!) a briar thicket is a very sticky situation, as we have inadvertently demonstrated after a minor slip-and-fall in the woods!

Close up of man's face with blood on it after injury from briar prickles.

John Wenzel is the Director at Powdermill Nature Reserve, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s environmental research center. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

New Anthropocene Publication: Stemming the Tide

by Nicole Heller

Blue and white cover of a book. Title: Stemming the Tide: Global Strategies for Sustaining Cultural Heritage Through Climate Change. Edited by Rebecca Rushfield.

I am pleased to share this Smithsonian Scholarly Press publication, Stemming the Tide: Global Strategies for Sustaining Cultural Heritage Through Climate Change. The e-book, edited by Rebecca Rushfield, is available online and freely available to read and download. It is the product of an international symposium organized and hosted by the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, March 5 – 6, 2020. According to Amber Kerr, Chief of Conservation, Smithsonian American Art Museum “The objective of the symposium was to empower cultural heritage authorities, managers, and advocates to pursue more ambitious engagement with, and collaborative approaches to, the climate crisis,” and “250 registrants and 1,100 live web stream viewers representing 33 states and 25 countries ranging from the United Kingdom, Spain, and Greece to Canada, Mexico, and Trinidad and Tobago” took part.

I was honored to be invited to participate and frame remarks about museums and climate change. Looking back, the symposium was at the beginning of difficult times. The crisis of the coronavirus pandemic was just becoming a known reality. I recall forgoing handshakes and hugs, and instead bumping elbows, with the awesome group of global professionals assembled.

Perhaps for this reason, seeing this volume published now gives me extra pause, and feels especially symbolic of the interconnections between people and planet – past, present and future – and the risks we face in the early 21st century. As Lonnie G. Bunch III, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, writes in the forward “This publication invites us to put our heads together and lead the cultural heritage sector in addressing the most pressing issue of our time.”

My chapter, “Museums Facing Climate Change. All Hands On Deck: Moving Past Climate Science and Into Culture,” is about the special opportunity for museums to lead on climate change action and education in their communities, and draws on the good works started at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History with We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene and Climate Systems Partnerships. Other chapters explore a wide range of issues. For example, there are chapters on adapting cultural heritage sites and historic buildings to increased risks from extreme weather and sea level rise, ensuring the preservation of collections and archeological sites, supporting resilience of displaced communities, sustaining and respecting Indigenous knowledge and storytelling, as well as tools for mitigating greenhouse gases and improving sustainability practices in collections and exhibition practices.

While intended for a professional audience, I imagine this book will be relevant to anyone concerned about human-caused climate change and interested in the diverse opportunities and challenges it presents. I commend the Smithsonian Institute for leadership in organizing the symposium and publishing this valuable resource. I look forward to using it with my colleagues at the Carnegie Museums and here in Pittsburgh toward pursuing more ambitious engagement and collaborative approaches to the climate crisis.

Read Stemming the Tide: Global Strategies for Sustaining Cultural Heritage Through Climate Change free online.

Nicole Heller is Curator of Anthropocene Studies at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences working at the museum.

Student of the World; Part 2: Stearns and Bayet

by Joann Wilson and Albert Kollar

“His [Frederick Stearns] love for that which was beautiful and useful, led him to collect a vast amount of material covering so many fields of human effort…”

Detroit Free Press, January 15, 1907

Fossils pass through many hands. Some hands hold discoveries, some buy and sell, others study and organize. Behind every fossil is a story and hopefully, for those in museum collections, a specimen label. With luck, the geology and paleontology of the label script is accurate. Beginning with the creation of the first color geological map by William Smith in 1815 and the subsequent organizing of the Geologic Time Scale in 1823, paleontologists worked to validate stratigraphy by collecting and describing new species from exposed strata in Europe and North America. It was not until the publication of Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species in 1859 that paleontological work shifted to include studying evolution as documented by fossil evidence.

Today we understand that many hands aided fossil discovery, often in anonymity. Thanks to technology and through a focus shift to the individuals behind the specimens, we can now provide a fuller picture of the past that acknowledges the roles of collectors, dealers, indigenous cultures, women, quarry workers, and all who aided in the pursuit of fossils.

In the basement of Carnegie Museum of Natural History, behind a set of gray steel doors in the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology, is an astonishing assembly of archival documents from the Bayet Collection. Andrew Carnegie made front page news in 1903 by purchasing an estimated 130,000 fossils from Ernest Bayet of Brussels. Along with the fossils, the museum also received hundreds of documents written primarily in French, German, and Italian. Most of it has remained untranslated, until now.

Thanks to volunteer Lucien Schoenmakers of the Netherlands, details of fossil trades and purchases from over 100 years ago provide links to narratives that have yet to be told. Join us as we start the journey. Our series, which began with an examination of correspondence between fossil collector Frederick Stearns and his client, Bayet, continues here with a deeper profile of Stearns.

Frederick Stearns, date unknown. Permission of the University of Michigan Stearns Collection.

Frederick Stearns of Detroit was a man not born into wealth, but with a passion for education, art, and science. His early life revolved around diligence, not fossils. Born in Lockport, New York in 1831, Stearns quit school at age 14 to find a job. Within a year, he found work as an apprentice to a pharmacist in Buffalo, New York. Of his early life, he later said, “one of my earliest memories is looking into the windows Dr. Merchant’s Gargling Oil Drug store and wondering at the mystery of the white squares of magnesia and the round balls of chalk.” Eventually, Stearns moved to another pharmacy, and became partner, but he was not convinced that Buffalo, New York was his ticket to success.

On a frosty New Year’s Day in 1855, Stearns, newly married and just 24 years of age, crossed the frozen Detroit River by foot to start anew. Of that period, he later said, “little money, fair credit, high hope.” He opened a retail pharmacy in Detroit. To reach customers, he made short trips to the surrounding area, leaving samples of his products. Over time, his business expanded to the manufacture of pharmaceuticals. In 1877, he made history by installing the first telegraph line in the city of Detroit. But despite the success, Stearns dreamed of the education lost to him when he left school at the age of 14. In 1887 at age 56, he turned the business over to his sons and he began to travel the world. Over the next twenty years, he collected many items, including fossils.

William Smith’s 1815 Color Geological Map.

Stearns pursuits led him to Africa, Europe, and Asia. In the late 1800’s, a voyage to Japan required weeks of travel as compared to a current 14-hour flight from New York to Tokyo. In the early 1890’s, Stearns travelled to Japan twice for the purpose of studying mollusks and other marine life. In a book published in 1895 titled, “Catalog of the Marine Mollusks of Japan,” Stearns credits Japanese fisherman Morita Seto for assisting in the collection of over “1000 forms of marine life.”

But Stearns interest did not stop with mollusks. He also collected fossils, art, and musical instruments. His collection of musical instruments at the Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor Michigan, is considered one of the finest in the world.

For a short time, Stearns also collected fossils. Between 1888-1889, he wrote two letters to Ernest Bayet about a trade deal. Stearns first letter offers a clue as to how they met. Both men appear to have known fossil dealer Lucien Stilwell of Deadwood, South Dakota. The trade between Stearns and Bayet did not go smoothly, but it does have a happy ending.

Stearns was a student of the world until the very end. In 1907, just days before he was scheduled to sail for Egypt, he became ill and died. At his passing, the Detroit Free Press wrote, “A remarkable phase of Mr. Stearns’s activities as a collector was their diversity… and all of this for the simple love of learning things that he might tell them to others without price.”

Many thanks to the generous contributions of Carol Stepanchuk, Outreach and Academic Projects at the U-M Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments Lieberthal-Rogers Center for Chinese Studies and Joseph Gascho, Associate Professor at the University of Michigan School of Music and Director of the Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments. Many thanks to volunteer Lucien Schoenmakers’ ongoing effort to translate archival Bayet documents written in French and German.

Joann Wilson is an Interpreter in the Education Department at Carnegie Museum of Natural History and Albert Kollar is Collections Manager for the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Expanding the Scope of Environmental Education

by Patrick McShea

Black man in a white collared shirt standing in front of a wooden door indoors.

Seven years after he graduated from Allegheny College with a degree in Environmental Studies, Will Tolliver Jr. accepted responsibility for teaching some aspects of that discipline at the 206-year-old liberal arts institution. As an adjunct professor, he presented an overview of environmental education’s foundations and its intersection with anti-bias and anti-racist education for 22 juniors and seniors during a recent semester-long course. As a Pittsburgh native, Will brought a hometown focus to some course work at the Meadville college by leading his students in developing lesson plans for Hilltop Urban Farm, an eight-year-old initiative that is transforming 108 acres of the former St. Clair Village housing complex into a national model of community food production.

“I think the relatively short interval between being a student and being a teacher worked to my advantage.” Will explains. “The course was taught remotely because of the pandemic, and during this time of continued civic and social unrest. l was mindful of the students’ situations, concerned about elements effecting their mental health and well-being that were beyond the bounds of the course.”

Will’s out-of-school experience prepared him well for the challenge. His resume includes current work as a consultant to the Public Broadcasting Service, and various teaching, training, grant-writing, and administrative roles for the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, Pennsylvania Association for the Education of the Young Child, Grow Pittsburgh, and the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. During each phase of his career CMNH helped Will to use authentic objects in his public presentations by providing him with a toolbox of touchable objects including feathers, mammal skulls, preserved plants, and fossils.

If there’s a theme to date in Will’s career, it might be expanding the vocabulary of the people he engages. He explains his first professional challenge, as a Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy naturalist, as “closing the word gap” for three- to five-year-old children in the city’s Homewood neighborhood. In a grant-supported program called “Buzzword Pittsburgh,” he used storytelling, play, guided hikes, songs, and museum objects to explore the meanings of individual words and build vocabulary related to science, math, art, and even local plants and wildlife.

Expanding the working environmental education vocabulary of college students in 2021 involved a greater level of sharing. As Will summarizes, “I wanted to be that better teacher, who covered the core principles and ideas, but also honestly shared what it has been like for me as a Black man working in this field.” His students explored the undeniable connections between environmental health and social justice. Their understanding of the history and importance of such collaborative community initiatives as Hilltop Urban Farm, for example was tied to understanding potentially new terms like urban food deserts, and red-lined neighborhoods.

Collected on this Day in 1982: One specimen isn’t always enough!

Archiving biological variation.

by Mason Heberling

Five herbarium sheets with specimens of trillium on them arranged with the smallest leaves on the left and largest on the right.

This specimen is not a specimen but a set of five specimens! Same species (large flowered trillium, Trillium grandiflorum). Same site (in Somerset county, PA). All collected on same date (June 4, 1982) by Frederick H. Utech and Masashi Ohara.

We know that one specimen of every species is not enough. Having many specimens of many species, across many sites, and through time are necessary to document what organisms lived where, when, how far species ranges extend, and how these change through time. We study these specimens to understand biodiversity and biodiversity change across many scales.

But why collect that many vouchers of the same species, from the same site, on same date? One reason might be to send “duplicate” vouchers to other herbaria, both to help other collections expand their holdings, to get expert opinions on identification, and/or to protect against (unlikely but very possible) damage that may happen in one herbarium (like fire, flood, insect damage – oh my!).

But that isn’t what happened here. All specimens are stored together at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Voucher series of trillium herbarium specimen sheets.

So why? Well, it is simple, but quite genius, really. Utech and Ohara collected a “life history” voucher series. That is, these specimens each show different stages of the species’ development from small cotyledon-bearing seedlings just germinating above ground, to one leaved plants, to small to large three leaved juvenile trilliums that have not yet flowered, to large adult plants with flowers.

Utech and Ohara, along with Shoichi Kawano, pioneered this method of collecting and advocated for its importance in a 1984 essay in the Journal of Phytogeography and Taxonomy. Historically, plant specimens are collected with a major specific purpose in mind – to document the plant was there at a given time. To do that, botanists of course collect specimens that are best for identification, such that others can verify the species. For most species, that means plants tend to be collected when they are adults and reproductive (with flowers and/or fruits). Specimens without reproductive organs (called “vegetative” specimens) are generally viewed as less useful for this purpose and often avoided.

But Utech and others found that this standard approach, though useful for some research, did not cut it for their work. As organismal biologists studying the life history, ecology, and life cycle of species, they found many species were not well represented in herbarium collections.

Many species, like trillium, have distinct life stages from seedling to juvenile to adult. Many species form overwintering leaves or juvenile leaves that differ dramatically, even unrecognizably, from “typical” adult specimens.

So there’s good reasons to collect across life history and across individuals within a population. Biological collections are all about archiving biodiversity in its many forms, whether across deep time with fossils, across species, within species, or even within populations at a specific site.

Man at a table of plant specimens talking to a child about them. — Dr. Frederick H. Utech, past curator at Carnegie Museum, at a member’s night in 1979.

Dr. Utech (1943-2021) was a curator at the museum from 1976 until 1999. He was then a research botanist at the nearby Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation until his retirement in 2011, notably contributing to three volumes of the Flora of North America project. More than 23 thousand specimens in the Carnegie Museum herbarium were collected by him. Dr. Utech passed away earlier this year but his legacy lives on. You can find his obituary here.

Inspired by the method of life history series and the need for new perspectives in the way we collect, CMNH Botany staff are working to promote and expand these ideas. We are presenting some of these ideas at the Society of Herbarium Curators annual meeting later this summer.

Find many more specimens (24,662 to be exact!) collected by Dr. Utech (including other life history series vouchers) here.

Leaping Slugs! Did that Slug Just Jump?

by Timothy A. Pearce

Some species of slugs and snails can thrash their tail from side to side, twitching with such vigor that the creatures seem to jump. In some cases, they can become airborne briefly. I don’t know whether this behavior can properly be called jumping, but given that slugs are the quintessential slow-moving animals (slugs gave their name to the word sluggish), the vigorous twitching is certainly an un-slug-like behavior.

In contrast to slugs, snails keep their internal organs (guts) within the shell on their back and they have a strong, nimble, muscular foot. Slugs, which evolved from snails, have hollowed out their foot to accommodate their guts, since they no longer have a convenient shell for that purpose. Because the slug’s foot contains the guts, it is no longer as nimble as the foot of a snail.

The transition from snails (with external shells) to slugs (with internal or no shells) goes through an intermediate stage called a semi-slug, in which the animal has an external shell too small to accommodate the body. The guts are partly in the shell and partly in a hump on the semi-slug’s back. In the semi-slug form, the foot is still strong, nimble, and muscular. Many semi-slugs persist around the world today; in the United States, we have one species in the Smokey Mountains and several species in the Pacific Northwest.

Semi-slug with its body twisted as it thrashes its tail. — Figure 1. *Hemphillia* semi-slug thrashing its tail so the body flops about (photo: T.A. Pearce).

Semi-slug crawling across a piece of wood. — Figure 2. *Hemphillia* semi-slug crawling in typical slug-like motion (photo: T.A. Pearce).

The semi-slugs in the Pacific Northwest, in the genus Hemphillia, are commonly known as jumping slugs, although they are not commonly seen. The yellowish shell is visible through a slit in the mantle, and the internal organs are contained in a hump on the back. When I have found them, sometimes they will thrash the tail from side to side or twist it into a corkscrew shape and flop about like a fish out of water (Figure 1). In my experience, the Hemphillia slugs will “jump” for a second or two, then they crawl away at a normal slug’s pace (i.e., sluggishly) (Figure 2).

When I was in Madagascar (off the east coast of Africa), I saw a semi-slug of an unknown species on a leaf about a meter above the ground. When I reached to grab the semi-slug, it vigorously thrashed its tail, propelling itself off the leaf and safely into the vegetation below, not to be found.

A jumping snail (Ovachlamys fulgens) originally from southern Japan, arrived in North America in the past few years.The jumping snail sustains its vigorous jumping for a longer period of time than do the Hemphillia jumping slugs I saw in Washington State, and it covers more ground with its antics. See a video of the snail jumping here.

Why do they jump? First, let me say “why” questions are some of the hardest to answer in science. Science can never prove something to be true, we can only prove some things to be false (falsifying). To answer “why,” we try to think of all the possible answers, then set about testing each one, falsifying as many as we can. The remaining possibility (or possibilities) is our best guess at the truth, but we don’t know for sure because we are not guaranteed to have thought of all the possibilities.

The answer to why they jump has not yet been thoroughly studied, but people have speculated. The most common thought is that the slugs and snails likely jump to startle predators. A hungry predator that saw a tasty morsel flopping about might want it for lunch, but when the gastropod stops flopping, the predator might not be able to find it (and meanwhile the slug or snail surreptitiously crawls away). The jumping snails in the video jumped in response to prodding, and the semi-slug on a leaf evaded my grasp by jumping; both consistent with the idea that jumping could be an adaptation against predation.

Why don’t more snails jump? There are way more species of snails than semi-slugs, and although some semi-slugs jump, I am aware of only one snail that jumps. Jumping is therefore more common in semi-slugs than in snails. If jumping is an anti-predator adaptation, and given that the reduced shells of semi-slugs offer less protection from predators, I speculate that semi-slugs benefit from an additional anti-predator strategy.

Here is another mystery that I believe has not been studied: how can these gastropods jump If their mucus sticks them to the substrate? Snails and slugs are famous for their tenacious slime, by which they stick so firmly that they can crawl upside down on the undersides of objects. The answer might be that the jumping species have less slimy mucus, but I suspect that the answer involves variability in the mucus itself. Mucus changes its stickiness depending on how much pressure is applied. That is how snails can move (when they are stuck to the surface). My guess is that the jumping species can rapidly reduce the stickiness of their mucus when it is time to jump.

After the past year, when time sometimes seemed to crawl slowly by, it seems appropriate to write about leaping slugs and snails. And here is a bonus joke:

A jumping slug could jump higher than the Empire State Building.

That’s because the Empire State Building can’t jump.

Tim Pearce is the head of the mollusks section at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Can’t Touch This

by Andrea Kautz

From the name of them, you may guess “blister beetles” are insects you might not want to handle. However, they sure are beautiful to look at! We’ve been noticing blister beetles out and about at Powdermill over the last week or so. Some fly around clumsily, while other flightless species scurry among the leaf litter. Beetles in this family (Meloidae) secrete a defensive substance called cantharidin, a skin irritant that can cause blistering. They are also very toxic when consumed, and can be fatal for livestock if present in the hay supply.

Shiny blue blister beetle on a rock. — Two different genera of blister beetles that are common in SW Pennsylvania: *Lytta* (top) and *Meloe* (bottom). Top image credit: Shaun Pogacnik. Bottom image credit: Christian Grenier.

Blister beetles are parasites, mostly in the nests of ground-nesting bees and wasps. Watch this short video clip to learn more about their life cycle. Spoiler alert: In this species, the newly hatched beetle larvae clump together and attract a male bee using a fragrance, and then transfer to the female he mates with, ultimately gaining access to her nest, where they feed on both the pollen provisions and the bee larvae themselves!

Whether larvae or adults, these striking beetles certainly have a fascinating dark side. There is always more than meets the eye when it comes to entomology!

Andrea Kautz is a Research Entomologist at Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Powdermill Nature Reserve. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Pittsburgh’s Moths Reflect Human Impact of Industry

by Nicholas Sauer

I began to think in earnest about industrial melanism while working at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in 2018 when the We Are Nature exhibit was on display as part of the museum’s intensive focus on the Anthropocene. There was an unassuming corner of the exhibit devoted to the fate of the peppered moth (Biston betularia) during the Industrial Revolution. Dark-colored—melanistic—peppered moths were rare in England and Germany until the Industrial Revolution and the inevitable increase of air pollution from the burning of fossil fuels. With the rise of heavy industry, pale peppered moths began to stick out like bright specks on soot-covered vegetation. These pale moths were easy targets for hungry birds. The coal-choked environment favored the moth populations that possessed a gene for darker coloration, providing an example of natural selection at work. In recent years, scientists have located the specific gene that accounts for the darker moths and can trace the changing selection on color variation in peppered moths back to at least 1819 when the burning of coal for industrial purposes began to pick up steam in the British Isles.

In 1896, English entomologist J.W. Tutt theorized that his nation’s industrial conditions profoundly affected local moth populations. He argued that lichen on trees provided camouflage for the salt-and-pepper-colored moths. According to Tutt, industrial pollution killed off the lichen and, in turn, the pollution—soot and ash—camouflaged the darker moths, particularly the dark form of Biston betularia, f. carbonaria. It was not until the 1950s that Tutt’s theory was tested. Through a series of experiments, lepidopterist Bernard Kettlewell demonstrated that when both light and dark peppered moths (f. typica and carbonaria respectively) were released in industrially-contaminated woodlands in Birmingham and Dorset, England, birds fed on the most “conspicuous” form, f. typica, the pale moths. Kettlewell’s experiment would wind up in science textbooks for decades to come as a demonstration of natural selection.

Black moth on light background. — “[1931] Peppered Moth (Biston betularia) f.carbonaria” by Bennyboymothman is licensed under CC BY 2.0

In the wake of Kettlewell’s findings, similar experiments were conducted in the United States, even in the Pittsburgh area. The scientist leading the melanism study in the Eastern United States in the 1950s, Denis Frank Owen (1931-1996), pored over the moth collections right here at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History as well as those of several other natural history museums in the Northeast and Midwest. A transplant from England at the beginning of his long career as an ecologist, Owen sought to test whether or not Kettlewell’s results would be reflected in his own data on the American side of the Atlantic. Owen’s own findings were very much like Kettlewell’s. This, of course, was unsurprising in the case of Pittsburgh considering the massive amount of pollutants that were emitted by the city’s steel mills. To get a good idea of how polluted the city was at that time, check out the two soot-stained squares that remain on the mural The Crowning of Labor on the second and third floors of CMNH’s Grand Staircase.

Owen discovered that Pittsburgh had some of the earliest records of industrial melanism in the Northeast—melanistic forms of Epimecis hortaria (or, the Tulip Tree Beauty) dating from 1922 and Biston cognataria dating from 1910. Owen posited in his research that the number of melanistic moths were increasing in the late 1950s and early 1960s, particularly in environs surrounding industrial cities like Detroit and Pittsburgh, even as far as outlying rural areas. At Westmoreland County’s Powdermill Nature Reserve, all eight of the peppered moths observed in a 1957 study were melanistic, according to Owen.

Unfortunately, records of industrial melanism were never kept as meticulously in the U.S. as they were in the U.K., so our understanding of how widespread the phenomenon was States-side is incomplete. However, since the 1970s, much more data has been collected on peppered moths in the U.S. than before. This data has reflected the implementation of clean air regulations and tracked the overall decline in the ratio of melanistic peppered moths in favor of the pale form, supporting the theory that these moth populations, either Biston betularia (f. typica or carbonaria) or their cousins, are subject to natural selection that is weighted by pollution. Biologist Bruce S. Grant has suggested that more recent data from the post-industrial era be put to greater educational use—not to supplant Kettlewell’s famous experiment, but to supplement it with more up-to-date scientific findings.

Regrettably, even in the “Post-Industrial” era following the birth of the Environmental Protection Agency (1970) and the Clean Air Act (1972), peppered moths are subject to human-exacerbated environmental threats. In the 1980s, when scientists sought an explanation for the continued presence of melanistic moths in rural eastern Pennsylvania, they instead discovered two major dangers to peppered moths and their habitat. First, so-called gypsy moths (Lymantria dispar dispar)—an invasive species introduced to the U.S. by humans in the 19th century—were rapidly defoliating the woodlands that the peppered moths called home. Secondly, the Pennsylvania Department of Forestry was spraying the area with the pesticides Dylox and Dimilin to combat Lymantria dispar and may have adversely affected the peppered moths in the process.

This example of the twin dangers of invasive species and pesticide use, in addition to the earlier instances of industrial pollution, demonstrate human beings’ profound effect on the natural world during the Anthropocene. The travails of the peppered moth are key to understanding the influence humans have on the ecosystems around them, so far as becoming even a variable in the way natural selection operates. The Pittsburgh area and the scientific collections at CMNH have played an important part in the study of industrial melanism in peppered moths and will continue to do so as the natural world responds in its way to human influence. The decline in melanistic moth numbers that correlates with cleaner air and more conscientious environmental regulations provides hope that that human influence is not uniformly negative.

Works Cited

Blakemore, Erin. “New Evidence Shows Peppered Moths Changed Color in Sync with Industrial Revolution.” Smithsonian Magazine, 1 June 2016. <https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-evidence-peppered-moths-changed-color-sync-industrial-revolution-180959282/>.

Cook, M.L., et al. “Post Industrial Melanism in the Peppered Moth.” Science, no. 3 (Feb 7, 1986): 611. Gale In Context: College, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A4128493/CSIC?u=pitt92539&sid=CSIC&xid=56d31b9d. Accessed 17 Apr. 2021.

Grant, Bruce S. “Fine Tuning the Peppered Moth Paradigm.” Evolution 53, no. 3 (1999): 980-984.

Grant, B.S. and L.L. Wiseman. “Recent History of Melanism in American Peppered Moths.” Journal of Heredity 93, 2 (March 2002): 86-90. <https://academic.oup.com/jhered/article/93/2/86/2187377>.

Manley, Thomas R. “Temporal Trends in Frequency of Melanistic Morphs in Cryptic Moths of Rural Pennsylvania.” Journal of the Lepidopterists’ Society 42, no. 3 (1988): 213-217.

Maynard, M. and Geoffrey T. Hellman. “Comment.” The New Yorker Magazine, 13 August, 1955: 15. <https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1955/08/13/comment-4365>.

Owen, D.F. “Industrial Melanism in North American Moths.” The American Naturalist 95, no. 883 (Jul.-Aug., 1961): 227-233. <https://www.jstor.org/stable/2458933?seq=1>. Accessed 18 April 2021.

Rudge, David Wyss. “The Role of Photographs and Films in Kettlewell’s Popularizations of the Phenomenon of Industrial Melanism.” Science and Education 12 (2003): 261-287.

Smith, David A.S. “Obituary: Denis Owen.” The Independent, 23 Oct. 1996. <https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-denis-owen-1359897.html>.

Super Science Activity: Snail Sensory Bag

By Emma McGeary, with scientific information provided by Dr. Tim Pearce, Curator of Collections & Head in the Section of Mollusks

This activity has a few steps, but it’s a great way to explore something really unique— the fluorescing slime of various land snails!

Dr. Pearce says that malacologists (people who specialize in the study of mollusks, like snails and slugs) aren’t sure yet as to why some snails have fluorescing slime, they have a few theories. For example, the slime of Mountain Tigersnails (Anguispira jessica), does not typically fluoresce. However, the slime produced as a defense mechanism by Mountain Tigersnails, which is a yellow-orange color, does fluoresce. With this information, Dan Dourson, a Biologist, suggested that the fluorescing slime could possibly be a way for the snails to protect themselves. If a predator saw the bright slime under the light of the moon, it could make them no longer want to prey upon the snail. Flamed Tigersnails (Anguispira alternata) have been found to have fluorescing slime as well.

Dr. Pearce also mentioned that this fluorescence may also be something not meant to be functional, but rather a “side effect” of evolution that serves little purpose. Because scientists are still searching for an answer, they have to look critically at all different kinds of possibilities.

Questions to Consider

Could the slime be a functional way to keep the snails safe? If so, when might they encounter UV light in the wild? Is the fluorescing quality of this snail slime a byproduct, or result, of evolution? If that’s the case, what evolved traits could have caused it? If you think that the fluorescent slime has nothing to do with defense or a random act of evolution, then what else could be behind the mystery? Using your knowledge of the natural world, see if you can think of explanations as you work on your own snail slime sensory bag.

Make-Your-Own Snail Sensory Bag

What You’ll Need

1 Bottle (6oz) of Elmer’s Clear Glue (this type of glue works best)
1.5 Teaspoons Baking Soda
1.5 Teaspoons Contact Lens Solution (I’m using Bio True)
Bowl
Spoon (or another mixing utensil)
Sealable plastic bag
Food coloring or paint (optional)
Permanent Marketing (optional)
Beads (optional)
UV light (optional)

Directions

Empty your bottle of clear glue into your bowl. If you are adding food coloring or paint, this is the best time to add it!
Add your baking soda to the glue and stir.
Add your contact solution and stir.
You may need to knead this slime with your hands to have it become less sticky.
Add your slime to your bag and close it. If you would like to turn this sensory bag into a sensory activity, draw a snail onto the front of the bag. Make sure the shell is large!
Add your beads, if you would like. You can use your fingers to move the bead in the bag around. See if you can color in the snail shell by moving the beads into it!

I made sure to use a neon paint for this bag so that it would glow under my UV light! The beads I added were glow-in-the-dark beads, which also meant they glowed under the UV light.

The mystery of fluorescing snail slime is only one of the many things that have caught Dr. Pearce’s interest. He has also been researching their decline and disappearance throughout Northeast North America, which may be attributed to past decades of acid rain and determining the amount of Anguispira species there are on the continent as well. Dr. Pearce says that the attempt to find that number is a large collaborative effort that involves looking at the snail’s DNA and taking trips out to collect specimens. While out in the field, Dr. Pearce has also attached spools of thread to snail shells to track their movement in the wild!

Sometimes, finding an answer to a scientific question can take a long time and many discussions with others. Now that you’ve learned a little more about how snail slime works and the unique type of slime that certain snails have, think about how you could put your own theories to the test, and what else you could learn about snails by observing them in their natural environment!

Of course, no discussion of snails could be complete without one of Dr. Pearce’s famous snail jokes:

What do tiger snails have that NO OTHER animal has?

Baby tiger snails!

Emma McGeary is a Gallery Experience Presenter in CMNH’s Life Long Learning Department.

May 20, 2021 by Kathleen

Super Science Coloring Pages!

Download Sun Conure and Sun Snail Coloring Image

Download Godzilla and Mothra Coloring Image

May 19, 2021 by wpengine

Incredible Junk Food Diets: Creatures That Clean Up Our World

by Shelby Wyzykowski with scientific information provided by Dr. Ainsley Seago, Associate Curator of Invertebrate Zoology.

What could be more thrilling than a summer weekend trip to explore one of the most exciting metropolises in the world, New York City. It has so much to offer, way too much to experience in a mere two or three days. There’s the sights…the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, and Broadway. There’s the sounds…the beeping horns of taxi cabs and the noisy, bustling, crowded sidewalks. And there’s the smells…the sweet fragrances that drift from stalls in the Flower District, the tantalizing aromas wafting from street-side food carts, and the unmistakable odor of sixty thousand hot dogs sitting under the noon day sun in Times Square. Sixty thousand hot dogs? Really?! Well, no, not really, at least not literally. But the city that never sleeps is a city that loves to eat. And with the number of people that live, work, and visit this town, enormous amounts of food can litter the streets at any given time. The battle to keep public spaces free of food waste is daunting, but humans do have some unlikely tiny allies in this unending garbage war…insects. These crews of itsy-bitsy street cleaners, along with other arthropods like spiders and millipedes, are surprisingly efficient scavengers. We undoubtedly know this thanks to the work of researchers at North Carolina State University. Their entomologists, or insect scientists, studied these mini trash disposals at work in the urban ecosystem of New York. They found that pavement ants, cockroaches, and other hungry foragers can eat 2,100 pounds of food refuse (the equivalent of 60,000 hot dogs) in one year. Now in the grand scheme of things, a ton of food is not a lot, but researchers have still taken notice. They know that diverting food waste from landfills benefits our planet. And they are experimenting to try and find innovative ways to use insects to transform edible trash into eco-friendly treasure.

macro photo of an ant holding a bit of bread — Image by cp17 from Pixabay.

Entomologists at Louisiana State University are also doing their part to make their Baton Rouge campus more environmentally responsible. They’ve collaborated with the nearby Fluker Farms, a pet supply business that sells insects as reptile food. Together they’re taking food bound for a landfill and transforming it into animal feed. But there is also a third indispensable partner in this entomological endeavor. It’s the black soldier fly, an insect that is common in the Southern United States. The larvae of the black soldier fly do one thing exceptionally well…eat. A black soldier fly larva can eat twice its own body weight in one day! During their larval stage, they consume all the food that they’ll need for the rest of their lives. The fly’s feeding frenzy results in rapid growth. They’ll grow 300% in size during their two-week larval stage. But, after these two weeks, they’ll never eat again. It would be impossible, because an adult black soldier fly has no mouth!

Before the larvae can chow down on the leftovers from the campus’s dining halls, the food scraps have to be blended into a slurry. Then the ravenous little larvae get two weeks to eat to their heart’s content. They are then sifted out of the remaining slurry. Some larvae are sold as Fluker Farms reptile food while the others return to the colony to become adults. The leftover slurry/compost mixture is then spread on the flower beds that decorate the university’s campus. In 2019 alone, 15 tons of food waste was processed this way! The joint effort between LSU’s Entomology department and Fluker Farms is helping the university to reach its goal to reduce the amount of waste the campus sends to landfills by three quarters by the year 2030.

But the LSU scientists have an even grander vision for their larvae farm and other farms like it. Black soldier fly larvae can also take the place of soy and fish meal as feed for livestock, and this helps to take the pressure off the world fisheries. With an ever-increasing world population, perhaps larvae may even become a food staple for humans someday. Food scientists at Stellenbosch University in South Africa are already using black soldier fly larvae to produce dairy-free ice cream and Vienna-style sausage. Imagine, someday, sitting down to enjoy a full seven-course dinner with larvae as a key ingredient!

Fly larvae are not the only insects that are being utilized as animal feed. Cockroaches, which are actually very fastidious, well-groomed insects, are great little amateur recyclers. They can chew down almost anything, but they can live without food for up to one month if they need to. Luckily, the roaches at the Shadong Agricultural Technology Company in Jinan, China never need to worry about going hungry. The food waste recycling plant works on a much larger scale than LSU, housing a billion cockroaches that are fed fifty tons of kitchen scraps each day. That’s the equivalent of seven adult bull elephants! The cockroaches are allowed to live out their natural lifespan. Then they are steamed, cleaned, and processed into a protein-rich, antibiotic-free livestock feed that, like larvae, can take the place of fish meal. This profitable food waste plant, as well as others like it in other Chinese cities, undoubtedly proves that insect farms can help to solve our landfill problems.

Landfill with bulldozer. Evergreen trees and gray sky in the background. — Image by Pasi Mäenpää from Pixabay.

With the success of these promising initiatives, scientists are taking things a step further and applying insects to the problem of plastic waste. It’s no secret that the many types of plastic that we use in our everyday lives are polluting the planet. Marine ecologists have even found plastic microfibers in sea ice samples from Antarctica! Some researchers, in their quest to try and help to solve our plastic problem, have made a surprising discovery; some insects are plastivores, meaning they can eat plastic! A March 2020 project at Brandon University in Canada studied the larvae of the Greater Wax Moth (a regular beehive pest) and their ability to consume LDPE, or low-density polyethylene. This type of soft plastic, which is used to make grocery bags, is one of the leading contributors to non-biodegradable waste. It can be recycled, but much of it ends up in the trash. At the landfill, LDPE breaks down and releases dangerous greenhouse gases, including methane. This is cause for concern, since greenhouse gases contribute to climate change. Brandon University researchers have been trying to figure out the exact way that these caterpillar larvae are able to digest this troublesome plastic. Their goal was to isolate and identify the specific chemical that the caterpillar uses to break down LDPE, and they got off to a promising start. The scientists found that the amount of the larvae’s gut microbes (bacteria and fungi) actually increased when fed LDPE. Their intestinal biome actually preferred it over the caterpillar’s regular natural diet of honeycomb. The larvae thrived on plastic! And they seemed to love it because LDPE has the same chemical structure (specifically, a long, open-chain hydrocarbon) as beeswax! Further research revealed that the caterpillar’s breakdown of LDPE is a complicated process that has to happen in vivo (inside their bodies). One of the waste products that the caterpillars produce when they digest LDPE is called glycol. Glycol is toxic to humans, but, fortuitously, it can be biodegraded by several common, naturally occurring bacteria. For now, recycling LDPE is still the best option. But further research into the Greater Wax Moth larva’s in vivo process of digesting plastic may prove to be fruitful.

This summer, even if you’re not able to escape for a weekend getaway to the Big Apple, you are still likely to get the opportunity to enjoy a Sunday stroll along the sidewalks of your own hometown. And if, by chance, you look down and see a line of ants diligently portioning out and carrying away a cast-off crust of bread, take a moment to stop and watch them hard at work. You can maybe even silently thank them for their Herculean efforts. If it weren’t for their help, food waste would be an environmental hazard, a threat to public health, and an additional financial burden to your city. It’s a dirty job, but somebody’s got to do it. Fortunately for us, our voracious, multi-legged little friends are ready and willing to take on the task.

Reading Results: CNC Final Phase

by Patrick McShea

Whether you participated in the recent City Nature Challenge (CNC) or not, the results of the Pittsburgh Region’s broadest annual citizen science biological survey might be of interest.

The visually rich and geographically referenced compilation is a record of 1,219 different species of free-living plants, animals, and fungi documented, via the iNaturalist phone app, by 446 observers within six southwestern Pennsylvania counties during four mid-spring days. It’s a site where anyone with an interest in local natural history can spend a lot of time exploring.

Participation in Pittsburgh’s 2021 CNC was 16% lower than during the 2020 event, a reduction resulting in a similar-sized decline in total observations, yet only a 10% drop in the total number of different organisms documented. This year’s event was held April 30 – May 3, nearly a full week later in the spring than the 2020 CNC, a modification that might have increased the likelihood for some organisms to be observed.

A flowering garlic mustard plant growing at the base of a black walnut tree.

Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata), a highly invasive plant introduced to North America in the mid-1800s for its herbal value and erosion control properties, was the most commonly documented organism, accounting for 98 of the Pittsburgh Region’s 7,045 total observations. On the results page, where visitors can further explore every documented species, there’s information to be gleaned beyond the common and scientific names of each entry. Far down the rankings, for example, all four images of organ-pipe mud-dauber nest chambers show the wasp-build tubes attached to human-built walls, and both seal salamander images appear to be illuminated by flashlight or headlamp.

Tubular nests built by the organ pipe mud dauber, a wasp species that preys upon spiders.

As a category, plants, and frequently their blossoms, account for over half the total species documented. Birds, which included some migrants passing through the Pittsburgh region, led the vertebrate class with 111 species documented. Mammals followed with 21 documented species, and documented species for amphibians and reptiles numbered 16 and 13, respectively. 197 species of insects were documented, as were 137 species of fungi.

Participation levels are also carefully recorded in the results, with CMNH’s own Mason Heberling, Assistant Curator of Botany, leading the pack with 403 recorded observations of 208 different species. He explains his level of activity as a response to the scientifically sound parameters established by the CNC organizers. “Because it is roughly the same time each year, I have made a habit of going back to the same several sites each year, mostly ones that are convenient and nearby to me, and ironically, ones I don’t often get to as much as I wish I could. I do that with hopes of after going back to the same handful of sites around the same time, year after year, we can look at year-to-year and longer-term differences.”

And CMNH’s own Bonnie Isaac, Collection Manager in Botany, was among 397 identifiers who contributed time and background knowledge during a critical six-day second phase of the CNC to review and identify the observations of other participants. In fact, Bonnie identified 872 observations during the challenge. Within the operations of the iNaturalist app, observations with GPS coordinates that are identified by two separate reviewers are termed “Research Grade,” meaning they can contribute to the data sets of future studies. Nearly 54% of the Pittsburgh Region’s CNC observations earned the research grade mark this year, a very slight increase over last year’s mark.

Through the CNC and other citizen science survey projects, the contributions of observers and identifiers enables the powerful image recognition software of the iNaturalist platform to increasingly transform our phones into broad spectrum field guides. As you scroll and click through this year’s CNC results it’s also worth reflecting upon what is both gained and lost through a digital interface.

In a 2015 New York Times essay titled Identification Please, naturalist Helen Macdonald pays homage to the low-tech field guide by first calling out their flaws:

Out in the field, birds and insects are often seen briefly, at a distance, in low light or half-obscured by foliage; they do not resemble the tabular arrangements of paintings in guides, where similar species are brought together on a plain background on the same page, all facing one way and bathed in bright, shadowless light so they may be easily compared.

She later explains the great value of field guides in preparing our eyes and minds for what we hope to observe:

Field guides made possible the joy of encountering a thing I already knew but had never seen before.

Queer Eye for Lakota Art

by Vuk Vuković

As a queer individual, I am in constant search of such representation in works of art and art institutions. However, Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH) was the last place I expected to find it.

In the last decade, there has been a push for art institutions to acknowledge queer identities within their galleries. From Tate’s Queer Lives and Art to Art 50 Years After Stonewall at Columbus Museum of Art, art institutions are gradually responding to the public outcry for queer visibility. Although it seems like these initiatives are contemporary, queerness has always been around, especially in institutions centering their work around humans. However, due to stigma, their identities were hidden from the public eye, stored away in warehouses, or worse, placed in the galleries with no context.

During my visit to CMNH’s Section of Anthropology at the “Annex” (the informal name for the Edward O’Neill Research Center), I was astounded by the richness of the collection that represents people in places ranging from the Latin American shores to the deserts of the Arab world. However, the work of art that caught my attention was a five-part panel by Thomas Haukaas, a contemporary Lakota artist. As a non-Lakota and non-Native person, I examine Lakota self-representation without claiming to participate in it myself. Instead, I focus on Lakota culture by citing sources created by members of the tribe and their allies. In Eye Candy (2008), the first panel (Figure 1) depicts a human hand situated next to the rainbow color palette. On the left side, eleven boxes are symmetrically distributed on the page and filled with different colors. Five out of eleven colors (red as a focal point) appear on the right side of the image that portrays a hand in a gesture that demands the viewer to stop. I regard the hand as a signal for viewers to pause and immerse themselves with the strikingly diverse pictorial elements, especially as other panels invite the viewer to look closely.

Figure 1. Thomas Haukaas, *Eye Candy*, 2008 (Photograph © Deborah Harding, provided by Carnegie Museum of Natural History)

The second, third, and fifth panels (Figure 2) portray several patterned horses – an animal that became a symbol of freedom and representation of many Native American cultures.¹ I grew up admiring the relationship horses had with the land through the animated film Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002). In the film, Spirit is set free from a U.S. army camp by a Native American man called Little Creek, who attempts to lead him back into the Lakota village. To a kid growing up in Montenegro, a small Mediterranean country in Europe, this was a film about the quest for freedom. As I am writing the blog post, I realize the visual elements Haukaas uses are easily interchangeable with the idea of running free as the horses in his work do. In Eye Candy, he uses the horses to express the diversity and inclusive practices of Lakota people. By applying subtle visual elements, Haukaas alludes to winyanktehca or winkte – “a term traditionally applied to male-bodied or biologically male individuals who did not identify as male or men.”² In contemporary Lakota culture, winkte is mostly used to refer to a homosexual man.³ While their status varied in historical records, most accounts treated the winkte as regular community members.⁴

Figure 2. Thomas Haukaas, *Eye Candy*, 2008 (Photograph © Deborah Harding, provided by Carnegie Museum of Natural History)

The fourth panel (Figure 3) brings the work together as it combines all sections into one abstract form. I find the ambiguity of this panel to be an overarching connection because the queer community is diverse and fluid, but when it comes together, it is as striking as this panel. However, queer art is not always abstract as artists such as Andy Warhol and Keith Haring are explicit about queerness in their works.

Figure 3. Thomas Haukaas, *Eye Candy*, 2008 (Photograph © Deborah Harding, provided by Carnegie Museum of Natural History)

As someone who has traveled across four continents and worked in different cultural settings, I am always on the lookout for queer representation, but my favorite encounters are when those representations find me.

Figure 4. Thomas Haukaas, *Eye Candy*, 2008 (Photograph © Deborah Harding, provided by Carnegie Museum of Natural History)

Vuk Vuković is a PhD student in the History of Art and Architecture at the University of Pittsburgh and an intern in the Section of Anthropology and Archaeology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees and volunteers are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

References

[1]Richard Koepke, Harnessing the Force: A Manual for Weary Seekers (Bloomington: AuthorHouse, 2011), 11.
[2] Robert Allen Warrior, The World of Indigenous North America (New York: Routledge, 2015), 1,442.
[3] Beatrice Medicine, “Directions in Gender Research in American Indian Societies: Two Spirits and Other Categories,” Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 3 (1), (2002): 4, https://doi.org/10.9707/2307-0919.1024.
[4] Sabine Lang, Men as Women, Women as Men: Changing Gender in Native American Cultures (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2010), 118.

The Story of Oil in Western Pennsylvania: What, How, and Why?

by Hannah Smith

State of Pennsylvania in green with illustrations of coal, oil, rivers, clouds, forest, and an electrical tower.

I am a fries-on-salad, haluski dinner, dairy farm heritage kind of Western Pennsylvanian. I grew up near Venango and Crawford County and had a rural childhood. I went to a small school with about 300 kids in K-6th grade. Around 4th grade, I remember taking a field trip to Titusville, Pennsylvania. I remember seeing the familiar road signs and buildings as our bus gassed along the back roads. I had family in the Titusville and Oil City area, so it was a familiar route to take with my parents. I remember thinking, even at that young age, that the area looked worn and just, well, tired. But I was too young to grasp how this tired little town’s geology had changed the global economy and course of human history. When I was older, I pursued a degree in geology and began to understand more about my local community.

Our field trip took us to Titusville, Pennsylvania to visit Drake’s Well, the first commercial oil well in the United States. The site is named after the well’s driller, Edwin L. Drake who in 1859 struck oil outside of Titusville for the Seneca Oil Company. The company took the name from the Seneca Nation, one of the original Five Nations of the Haudenosaunee or Iroquois Confederacy, who had long made use of the resource Drake sought by skimming naturally-occurring slicks of petroleum, or unrefined oil, from the surface of local waters. These Indigenous people, who were removed from their native lands in the 1700s, 1800s, and 1900s, did not benefit from the Seneca Oil Company.

In the early 1800s oil was an unwanted by-product from salt wells (wells used to mine salt), and before that, a traditional medicine. In small doses, oil was used to treat respiratory diseases, epilepsy, scabies, and other ailments¹. Even today, chemicals made from the refining of petroleum are responsible for many of our modern medicines. Ointments, antihistamines, antibacterials, cough syrups, and even aspirin are created from chemical reactions created from petrochemicals².

However, the purpose of Drake’s Well was to produce oil for refining into kerosene for lamps, and thereby provide an alternative to the whale oil then used to illuminate homes and workplaces. Salt wells used water to dissolve salt source rock, and then carry the resulting brine through piping to the surface where it would be evaporated to leave salt as a solid residue. Although this method works for producing salt, it was far less efficient for producing oil. Productive oil drilling required new techniques, and one of Drake’s most important innovations was the “drive pipe,” sections of cast iron pipe driven into the shaft to protect the drill bit from water and cave-ins. Through experimentation and innovation, on August 27, 1859, Drake struck oil when his drill reached a depth of 69.5 feet.

While Drake’s Well was not the most productive, or largest oil well, the Titusville site is globally significant because it kick-started the petroleum drilling revolution that eventually changed global economies and environments. While Edwin Drake lived a hard life even after his discovery, he is still considered the father of the modern petroleum practices and industry³.

When my field trip class arrived at the Drake’s Well Museum I remember seeing an odd looking wooden building with an awkward chimney-like structure on one side. We were led through single-file so everyone could get a look at the steel machinery used in the drill, and the pipes that dispersed oil into wooden barrels clustered in the building. In my 10-year-old brain there is no way I could properly fathom that this discovery was related to many of the comforts and conveniences I took for granted in my life, such as cars, heating, electricity, plastics, medicines, and even the asphalt roads that we drove on. Why was Titusville special? More specifically, why did western Pennsylvania have oil in the ground?

Illustration of the sea floor with various sea creatures including coral and ammonites.

From about 490 to 360 million years ago, during the span of geological time known as the Ordovician Period and Devonian Period, most of what is now Pennsylvania was an ocean basin teeming with life. Pre-Appalachian Mountains systems eroded over time and deposited sediment of sand, silt, and mud that mixed on the seafloor with the dead plant material. Currents at the ocean bottom were minimal, leaving the accumulating sediments and organic material relatively undisturbed and oxygen-free. Without oxygen, bacteria that normally break down organic material could not act. A thick, black, anoxic ooze formed, preserving the organic material. Over millions of years, forces caused by plate tectonics generated enough heat and pressure to compact the sediments into rock and “cook” the organic material into petroleum.

If you’re from western Pennsylvania, you’ve probably heard of the Marcellus and Utica shales. The natural gas extracted from these rock units formed in a similar way to petroleum but was subjected to a much longer period of heat and pressure.

Illustration of rock layers labeled from top to bottom: sedimentary rock, natural gas, petroleum, reservoir rock. Water is labeled to the left and right of the reservoir rock.

With Edwin Drake’s success, and layers of oil-bearing rock relatively close to the surface, Titusville boomed. The year Drake drilled his first oil well, Titusville only had 250 residents. However, by 1865 the population increased to 10,000. Nearby Pithole City, now a ghost town, had 50 hotels during the oil peak of the area around 1866. This boom was short lived as other drilling companies began operations in the area and excess production lowered oil prices. Companies picked up to look elsewhere almost as quickly as they appeared⁵. While Titusville boomed and busted, the oil industry itself was growing. Drake drilled for a product to compete with whale oil, but the oil industry underwent phenomenal growth because the demand for its product grew as a lubricant for engines and many other types of machines, a resource for heating on a distributed scale, and as a refined fuel for developing motorized vehicles. Two World Wars during the first half of the 20th Century and the population explosion of the 1950s further increased demand for petroleum. During the Century’s latter half advancements in oil drilling technology made ocean drilling platforms a reality, and with them an increase in oil production as well as an increase in negative impacts due to devastating oil spills.

As of 2016, the world consumed over 97 million barrels daily⁶. So what does combusting 97 million barrels of oil a day, a resource from below the surface, mean for the Earth’s atmosphere? The burning of fossil fuels produces greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases. Greenhouse gases absorb heat from the sun that the earth’s surface reflects back out into the atmosphere, similar to how a blanket traps in body heat. Burning fossil fuels causes climate change by increasing the total amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, thickening the “blanket” around the earth, and increasing the global average temperature. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), in 2019 greenhouse gas CO₂ emissions totaled 33 gigatons, or 1 billion metric tons, or about the weight of 1.5 billion school buses⁸. Climate change is responsible for increased frequency and severity of weather disasters, wildfires, and flooding, to name a few negative impacts. The abundant CO₂ in our atmosphere equilibrates with and diffuses into our oceans, causing the water to become more acidic and eroding the calcium carbonate structures of coral and other marine organisms. Climate change does not just affect wildlife, it also affects the lives of Pennsylvanians. In Pennsylvania climate change is likely to lead to increasing home insurance rates, higher taxes to replace infrastructure, longer allergy seasons, increasing heat stroke rates in citizens, rising food costs due to crops damaged by erratic weather and higher temperatures, and decreasing water quality and availability due to large storms causing water contamination⁷.

Early organisms were buried by sediment 488 to 360 million years ago and altered into petroleum by heat and pressure. For thousands of years, Earth’s petroleum reserves were largely untouched. Innovator Edwin Drake changed petroleum’s role by successfully drilling the first commercial oil well in North America that August day in 1859. Petroleum became a global commodity, eventually fueling a fast paced modern life. Now in the 21st century, the burning of fossil fuels, such as petroleum, is causing worldwide rapid climate change.

illustration of wheel with three images on the edges: a drop of oil, a cloud, and a lump of coal.

When I was on that field trip to Drake’s Well in 4th grade, we did not discuss the global or local implications of petroleum. This resource is responsible for many of the day to day conveniences that have come to define contemporary life, but it also feeds environmental change that is forcing a “new normal,” and will cause an existential threat to humanity. I could not have fathomed that this global resource had its start in my own family’s backyard. I think that Drake’s Well is a good reminder that Earth-changing innovations can happen anywhere. I don’t think Drake could have predicted the scale to which his discovery would change society and the environment over the next 160 years, in the same way that most people do not realize how their small individual actions are affecting the larger social-ecological systems, and sustainability of all life on Earth. Although individual actions can negatively affect Earth, they can also be positive. Who knows, the next innovation to combat anthropogenic climate change may be happening in your backyard. Wind and solar farms have been developing and growing throughout Pennsylvania since 2007, providing an alternative option for electric energy use.

I started having more appreciation for the Earth Sciences as I got older. This eventually led me to obtaining a bachelor’s degree in geology, interning with the National Park Service at the Hagerman Fossil Beds in Idaho, and working in mapping for a few years before returning to school for illustration and design in hopes to marry the sciences and arts together. While obtaining my geology degree I met my now husband who has a Master’s in Structural Geology, and worked in the natural gas field for five years before making the switch to environmental geology. Our family’s income was supported by the fossil fuels industry for a time, and therefore we understand a decent amount of the ethics and controversy that is in the industry. However we are both very invested in the earth sciences and look forward to more sustainable tech preserving a better environment for the future.

Hannah Smith is an intern in the Section of Anthropocene Studies. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

References:

1 Early Medicinal Uses of Petroleum 2015 https://daily.jstor.org/petroleum-used-medicine/

2 Modern Uses for Petroleum in Medicine 2019 https://context.capp.ca/articles/2019/feature_petroleum-in-real-life_pills

3 Drake’s Well History of Petroleum 2016 https://www.aoghs.org/petroleum-pioneers/american-oil-history/

4 Description of petroleum formation 2014 http://elibrary.dcnr.pa.gov/GetDocument?docId=1752503&DocName=ES8_Oil-Gas_Pa.pdf

5 The boom and bust cycle of the oil industry 2015 https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/23/business/energy-environment/oil-makes-a-comeback-in-pennsylvania.html

6 World Oil Statistics 2016-Current https://www.worldometers.info/oil/

7 List of the Effects of Climate Change on People and how to protect yourself 2019 https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2019/12/27/climate-change-impacts-everyone/

8 International Energy Agency 2019 https://www.iea.org/articles/global-co2-emissions-in-2019

9 Drake’s Well Museum https://www.drakewell.org/

10 Seneca-Iroquois National Museum https://www.senecamuseum.org/

11 Seneca Nation Oil Process in New York State https://nyhistoric.com/2013/10/seneca-oil-spring/

Stage and Screen Sharing

by Patrick McShea

Social Skills Instructor Stacy Smith wanted to convey just how challenging last year’s abrupt shift to remote instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic was for The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh. An initial challenge she had to solve was how to keep virtual learning engaging.

“Some of our students don’t even like watching TV,” Stacy said.

Not only did in-person collaborations with programs like Museum on the Move at CMNH have to be transformed into a remote experience, but the school day also had to function differently for students with unique needs. The 119-year-old organization serves more than 6,000 children each year at seven campuses across western Pennsylvania, helping to heal, teach, and empower individuals with special physical, social, and emotional needs.

Individualized instruction is the hallmark of Educational Services at The Children’s Institute, a characteristic readily apparent when Stacy recites a typical schedule for a student at the campus in Squirrel Hill.

“Morning groups of around six students last 15 to 30 minutes, and after that they would each have individual teaching sessions. They’d have individual speech, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and social skills or other ancillary classes. We work with some students to master abilities that aren’t even considered in other schools, like the balance required to simply walk in a hallway,” Stacy explained.

Museum on the Move programs provide a field trip-like role amidst such regular instruction, with museum educators using authentic materials to enrich presentations about dinosaurs, fossils, rocks and minerals, insects, and animal adaptations. Stacy cited Quintin Peacock, an educator who recently left the museum to pursue a master’s degree in education, as a particularly skilled in-person presenter in 2019 and early 2020, before the COVID pandemic forced the program into a remote, but still interactive delivery system.

John Bitsura holds up a turtle shell during a virtual presentation.

Museum educators John Bitsura and Aaron Young received Stacy’s praise as remote delivery heroes for their dedication to The Children’s Institute’s students and willingness to innovate.

“These guys were the only outside group we had this year and we were very fortunate to have them,” she said.

While some students returned in-person this school year, for the Museum on the Move “field trips” to maintain their effectiveness in a remote format, a familiar teacher needed to be an active visual and vocal participant. Technology and screen-sharing enabled both Stacy and the CMNH team to easily participate in presenting to the students together.

“I’ve always been on with them, and it’s been really nice that they’ve been so welcoming with me being a part of their presentation,” she said.

Aaron Young and Miley, a blue-tongued skink.

For the museum, the feeling is mutual. Aaron praises the radiant energy Stacy brings to the virtual programs and credits her constructive feedback with their continual improvement. John points to the solving of Zoom problems and a joint performance of a rap song about geology as key pieces of the collaboration. He also summarized this year’s efforts as creating the foundation for a wonderful partnership.

Natural History Discoveries

by Vanessa Verdecia

Collage of photos from the Section of Invertebrate Zoology. The top two photos show cabinets of drawers. The bottom two photos show jars of specimens preserved in liquid.

“Why do you collect so many?” That’s a common question we get from people who experience a glimpse into the Invertebrate Zoology collection at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. The Invertebrate Zoology collection, which consists of mostly insects, but also includes crayfish, spiders, and other invertebrates like millipedes and centipedes, is the largest collection at CMNH.

There are several reasons why we collect so many specimens. Nature is not always easy to interpret, even for the most knowledgeable scientists. In fact, an expert’s knowledge develops in part from time spent looking at many specimens, an unparalleled experience which helps create an accurate understanding of complicated species. So, one of the reasons we collect so many is to have enough material to look at and make informed decisions regarding species determinations. Some species can have significant variations across individuals. Having a lot of material also allows scientists to sacrifice some specimens for dissections or for use in molecular studies.

Another important reason for collecting so many is to create records of species occurring across as many geographical regions as possible and at different times of the year. By sampling and re-sampling, there is more data available to be analyzed and used to arrive at stronger conclusions. Having a historical collection is important for research that looks at species composition over time. Such collections help to answer questions about how biodiversity has been affected by climate change and other factors over time.

Collections as Scientific Tools

For these reasons, the insect collection at the Carnegie is an incredible scientific tool. We get many requests to borrow specimens, requests to visit the collection to gather data from the specimens, and requests for images of published specimens that are designated as types and deposited at CMNH. Type specimens are among the most scientifically valuable specimens, and the Invertebrate Zoology collection holds tens of thousands of specimens in type series that are referenced in scientific research and provide comparison material during the discovery of new species.

Drawer full of moth specimen with a larger moth over top. — *Marumba* drawer with types.

This background information leads to a nice little story for me to share. Sometimes requests for collection access come with a very special “thank you.” A request for images of type specimens in the Sphingidae (hawkmoths) collection earlier this year led to a publication that included new species, and instead of the usual acknowledgment, one of the authors named a new species after me—Marumba verdeciae. This type of taxonomic work, which involves making detailed observations related to the form and structures on the new specimens, requires the use of published museum specimens for comparative reference. Without access to the types, researchers would not be able to verify their discoveries, since comparison to the type material is essential in confirming the new species.

specimen of the moth Marumba verdeciae — *Marumba verdeciae*. Image from original description. Eitschberger, U. and H.B. Nguyen. 2021. Erster Schritt zur Revision des Marumba saishiuana auct. Artenkomplexes (nec Okamoto, 1924) (Lepidoptera, Sphingidae). Neue Entomologische Nachrichten 75: 123-327

Naming Species

Biological species are given a Latin name in the form of a genus and species. Placement of a species in a given genus is based on a biological relationship, but the species name is unique. There should be a section in the published work that explains the root of the name, which is often based on a Latin descriptive term related to a distinct feature of the species. However, sometimes a new species is dedicated to a person. In the case of Marumba verdeciae, the genus (Marumba) already existed, and one of the new species was dedicated to me as recognition of the effort I put into locating and imaging type specimens needed as a reference for the research the authors were doing with this group of moths. People might have a species dedicated to them for various reasons, which range from participating in or facilitating the research, to achieving prominence as an expert in a group of organisms. The species name verdeciae is a Latin conjugation of my last name, Verdecia.

The focus of this story, however, should be the importance of CMNH collections, and other museum collections across the world. In this case, the researchers in Germany needed to reference type specimens deposited at CMNH in order to complete their research. But CMNH scientists also need to borrow and request images of type specimens deposited at other museums when doing their research. Strong collaboration between scientists is very important. As stewards of our collections, we are not only maintaining the specimens for our use, but for use by the entire scientific community.

Cabinet of drawers with four drawers open showing specimens preserved inside. — Columns of Sphingidae protem.

Although it is an honor to have a new species named after me, the next step is the most exciting—the ongoing use of the new published work to hunt for specimens of the newly described species in our own collection. We have a vast collection in Invertebrate Zoology, and the moths and butterflies (Lepidoptera) comprise about 2/3 of the entire collection. There are many drawers with specimens that are not curated and there are over 100 drawers of mixed Sphingidae that, depending upon the geographical represented, might include some of the new species of Marumba. When new research like this is published, it allows curatorial staff to go into their collections to curate specimens, and update identifications. The Invertebrate Zoology collection is a work in progress, with many specimens waiting to be curated, and many discoveries yet to be made.

Vanessa Verdecia is Scientific Preparator in the museum’s Invertebrate Zoology Section. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Understanding Fossil Fuels through Carnegie Museums’ Exhibits

by Albert D. Kollar, Collection Manager, with assistance from Suzanne Mills, Collection Assistant, and Joann Wilson, Volunteer Section of Invertebrate Paleontology

The exhibits of Carnegie Museum of Natural History and Carnegie Museum of Art are ideal for a multidisciplinary study of fossil fuels in Pennsylvania and beyond. Such a study must properly begin with some historical background about the landmark Oakland building that houses both museums, as well as some background information about fossil fuels.

When the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh opened in 1895, the architects, Longfellow, Alden, and Harlow incorporated roof skylights for maximum daytime lighting in the Italian Renaissance designed building¹. Nighttime activities were illuminated by interior gas lighting fixtures, possibly supplied by the Murrysville gas field, which began production in 1878. With the opening of the Carnegie Institute Extension in 1907, the Bellefield Boiler Plant was built in Junction Hollow to supply in-house steam heat and electricity from bituminous coal¹. From the 1970’s, coal and natural gas had been used to heat the boilers that supply heat to the Oakland Campus, Phipps, the University of Pittsburgh and the Oakland hospitals. In 2009 coal was eliminated as a fuel source. Electricity on the other hand, is supplied through Talen Energy from multiple sources (coal, gas, and renewal energy sources). For the future, Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh plans to receive its electricity from renewable solar energy via Talen Energy².

What are Fossil Fuels?

Coal, oil, and natural gas (methane), known collectively as fossil fuels, are sources of energy derived from the remains of ancient life forms that usually are found preserved in coal rock, black shale, and sandstone.

Exhibit called "What's a Fossil Fuel?" Fossil fuels on display are labeled clockwise from the top as follows: peat, bituminous coal, anthracite coal, sub-bituminous coal, oil glass tubes, lignite. — Figure 1.

Coal is a rock. The coalification process starts from a thick accumulation of plant material in reducing environments where the organic matter does not decay completely. This deposit of plant residue that thrives in freshwater swamps at high latitudes forms peat, an early stage or rank in the development of coal. With the burial of peat over geologic time and a low temperature form of metamorphism produces a progression of the maturity or “rank” of the organic deposits that form the coal ranks of lignite, sub-bituminous, bituminous, and anthracite)³ (Fig. 1). The Pennsylvanian Period was named for the rocks and coals of southwestern Pennsylvania that formed more than 300 million years ago.

Oil and natural gas, collectively known as hydrocarbons, were forming in the Devonian rocks of Pennsylvania between 360 and 390 million years ago. These hydrocarbon deposits or kerogens are made of millions of generations of marine plankton and animal remains that accumulated in a restricted anoxia ocean basin that extended from southern New York, through western Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia to eastern Kentucky⁴. The thick layers of sediment formed black shales or mud rocks such as the Marcellus Shale. Black shales are rich in oil and gas and are called source rocks. Sandstones such as the Oriskany Sandstone that is older than the Marcellus Shale is a reservoir rock. An amorphous mass of organic matter or kerogen undergo complex geochemical reshuffling of the hydrocarbon molecules first with burial then by thermal “cracking” as heat and pressure through the geologic process of metamorphism over millions of years transform kerogen into modern day fossil fuels⁴.

Fossil Fuels in Modern Society

As commodities converted to fuels for our modern world, these resources account for 80% of today’s energy consumption in the United States⁵. All three fossil fuels, in furnaces of vastly different design, have been used to directly heat homes, schools, workplaces, and other structures. In power plants, all three have been used for generating electricity for lighting, charging mobile phones, and powering computers, home appliances, and all manner of industrial machines. In the United States, , coal became the country’s primary energy source in the late 1880s, displacing the forest-destroying practice of burning wood. It ceded the top spot to petroleum in 1950 but enjoyed a late-20th-century renaissance as the primary fuel for power plants⁵. Coal now generates approximately 11% of our country’s supply down from 48% just 20 years ago. Natural gas is currently used to generate approximately 35% of US electricity supplanting the use of coal⁶. While petroleum is less than1%⁶.

Transportation accounts for approximately 37% of total energy consumption. Coal played a historic role in powering railroads, and both compressed natural gas and batteries (charged with electricity generated from various sources) are of growing importance, however, refined oil products currently power 91% of the transportation sector⁶.

Newspaper clipping from The Rodnen & Otamatea Times dated Wednesday, August 14, 1912. The story shown is as follows: Science Notes and News. Coal Consumption Affecting Climate. The furnaces of the world are now burning about 2,000,000,000 tons of coal a year. When this is burned, uniting with oxygen, it adds about 7,000,000,000 tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere yearly. This tends to make the air a more effective blanket for the earth and to raise its temperature. The effect may be considerable in a few centuries. — Figure 2.

In the early 20^th century, scientists warned about how the burning of coal could create global warming in future centuries by raising the level of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse or heat-holding, gas, in the atmosphere. (Fig. 2 ). It took less than a century for evidence to mount of climate change associated with the burning of fossil fuels, the clearing of forests associated with industrial scale livestock production, and from waste management and other routine processes of modern life. In recent decades headlines have routinely proclaimed the risks of a warming planet, including damage to terrestrial ecosystems, the oceans, and a rise in sea level⁷.

Fossil Fuels and Museum Geology Displays

When architects Frank E. Alden and Alfred B. Harlow designed the Carnegie Institute Extension (1907), they incorporated Andrew Carnegie’s vision to create an introduction hall to the museum named Physics, Geology and Mineralogy⁸. This hall (the forerunner to Benedum Hall of Geology) was intended to introduce Pittsburghers to the regional natural history subjects of geology, paleontology, and economic geology (fossil fuels)⁹.

Exhibit in Benedum Hall of Geology with fake trees in the foreground and a swamp diorama in the background. — Figure 3.

In the 1940s, the 300-million-year-old Pennsylvanian age coal forest diorama was installed in a corner space of what is now part of the Benedum Hall of Geology (Fig. 3). Because coal converted to coke is a vital ingredient in steel production, this three-dimensional depiction of the conditions under which Pittsburgh’s economically important coal deposits formed was (and remains) an important public asset.

Exhibit labeled Pennsylvanian Marine Life. Below the sign is a diorama designed to look like an aquarium. — Figure 4.

In 1965, as part of an overall plan to bring more of the natural history museum’s fossil collection to the public, Paleozoic Hall opened with funding from the Richard King Mellon Foundation¹⁰. This exhibition featured nine dioramas that recreate the ancient environments through 290 million years of Earth history. Sadly, only one of the nine units remains on display, the diorama depicting the Pennsylvanian age marine seaway (Fig. 4 ), in the Benedum Hall of Geology.

Since the Benedum Hall of Geology opened to the public in 1988 the exhibition has featured an economic geology component with displays explaining differences between coal ranks Lignite coal to anthracite coal, and a variety of Pennsylvania’s crude oils and lubricants processed from the historic well Edwin Drake drilled in Titusville in 1859 (Fig. 1 )¹¹.

Benedum Hall of Geology strata wall. Shows different colors of rock stratigraphy from left to right: tan, blue-grey, maroon, beige, dark gray, olive green. — Figure 5.

Today, the Hall’s “strata wall,” a towering depiction of some of the rock layers found thousands of feet below western Pennsylvania, is in my opinion, an under-utilized display in terms of conveying information about fossil fuels. Although the wall is not currently documented with any geologic information, minor changes might allow visitors to use the lens of rock strata to better understand historical events such as the Drake Well, and economically important geologic reservoirs such as the Marcellus Shale (the second largest gas deposit in the United States), the natural gas storage reservoir of the Oriskany Sandstone, and the gas and liquid condensate (ethane) extracted from the Utica Formation (Ordovician Age) for making plastic products at the Shell Cracker Plant in Beaver County, PA (Fig. 5 ).

Exhibit case labeled Holzmaden. A blue arrow points to a crinoid fossil. — Figure 6.

Elsewhere in the museum, visitors can learn more about the topic of fossil fuels at several other locations. At the Holzmaden fossil exhibit in Dinosaurs in Their Time, there is a large fossil crinoid preserved in a dark gray limestone of Jurassic age, that represents a reservoir of crude oil in Germany (Fig. 6). At the mini diorama of the La Brea tar pits, oil seeps from natural fractures from an approximately six-million-year-old rock of Miocene age, to the unconsolidated surface sediment in what is now part of the City of Los Angeles (Fig. 7).

La Brea tar pits diorama. A vulture sits on a tree above the tar pits. — Figure 7.

Looking for Fossil Fuel Evidence in Art

In 2018, I reviewed 58 landscape paintings and the John White Alexander wall murals on the first and second floors of the Grand Staircase within Carnegie Museum of Art (CMOA) galleries to look for artistic documentation of what I interpreted to be causes for climate change based on the science. I found many examples based on the use of coal as a fossil fuel for power and coking in steel mills and the natural formation of bio-methane as portrayed in ecosystem landscapes of the industrial age of the middle 19^th and early 20^th century¹².

Collage of coal landscapes. Clockwise from top right: Waterloo Bridge, London, Claude Monet c. 1903; The Great Bridge, Rouen (Le Grand Pont, Rouen), Camille Pissarro, c. 1896; Pittsburgh Fifty Years Ago from the Salt Works on Saw Mill Run, Russell Smith, c. 1884; The Crowning of Labor Murals, John White Alexander, c. 1905 - 1908; The Coal Carrier, David Gilmore Blyth, c. 1854 - 1858 — Figure 8.

Collage of five illustrations of steel mills — Figure 9.

Searching for the CMOA landscapes paintings takes a little patience, but the visitor is rewarded by taking a new look at some of the art museum’s classic paintings (Fig. 8 and 9).

Three historic landmark signs. On left: First Mining of Pittsburgh Coal. This State's bituminous coal industry was born about 1760 on Coal Hill, now Mt. Washington. Here the Pittsburgh coal bed was mined to supply Fort Pitt. This was eventually to be judged the most valuable individual mineral deposit in the U.S. Sign on the top right: Drake Well Park. On this site Col. Edwin Drake struck oil Aug. 27, 1859; the birth of the petroleum industry. Sign on the bottom right: Murrysville Gas Well: First gas well in county and one of the world's most productive. Drilled, 1878. Caught fire in 1881, burning for years with tremendous roar and brilliance. Later was controlled and piped to Pittsburgh. Site lies 500 yards S.E. near railroad. — Figure 10.

Within day trip visiting distance of Carnegie Museums are historic plaques highlighting the discovery of coal on Mount Washington, natural gas in Murrysville, and oil in Titusville, Pennsylvania. (Fig. 10). At all three stops you’ll have a better understanding of the significance if you begin your investigation of fossil fuels at Carnegie Museums.

Albert D. Kollar is the Collection Manager for the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology. Suzanne Mills is the Collection Assistant and Joann Wilson is a volunteer Section of Invertebrate Paleontology. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

References

Kollar, A.D. 2020. CMP Travel Program and Section of Invertebrate Paleontology promotes the 125^th Anniversary of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh with an outdoor walking tour. https://carnegiemnh.org/125th-anniversary-carnegie-library-of-pittsburgh-outdoor-walking-tour/
Personal communications Anthony J. Young, Vice President (FP&O) Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh.
Brezinski, D. K. and C K. Brezinski. 2014. Geology of Pennsylvania’s Coal. PAlS Publication Number 18.
Geology of the Marcellus Shale. 2011. Brezinski, D.K., D. A. Billman, J.A. Harper, and A.D. Kollar. PAlS Publication 11.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-03/coal-consumption-in-the-u-s-declines-as-natural-gas-solar-wind-energy-rise
United States Energy Agency (EIA) 2019.
Bill Gates. 2021. How to Avoid A Climate Disaster.
Kollar et al. 2020. Carnegie Institute Extension Connemara Marble: Cross-Atlantic Connections Between Western Ireland and Gilded Age Architecture in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. ACM, 86, 207-253.
Dawson, M. R. 1988^.Benedum Hall of Geology. Carnegie Magazine, 12-18.
Eller, E. R. 1965. Paleozoic Hall. Carnegie Magazine, 255-338.
Harper and Dawson 1992. Benedum Hall-A Celebration of Geology. Pennsylvania Geology, 23, 12-15.
Kollar et al. 2018. Geology of the Landscape Paintings at the Carnegie Museum of Art, a Reflection of the “Anthropocene” 1860-2017. Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs, v. 49, 243.

Warmer Springs and Earlier Birds

by Bonnie McGill

Male Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) by Jonathan Eckerson via Macaulay Library.

Male Red-winged Blackbirds! For me, their calls and bright red shoulders are one of the signs that spring is really here. Mind you, this is no subtle sign of spring that takes an expert naturalist to notice. No, this is a sign of spring that slaps you across the face, as if spring is calling, “I’m here! CONK-A-REE! Look at me!” Next time you drive past a wetland area with cattails, there is a good chance you’ll see one or more showing off their red shoulders (the brown females are beautiful too). Red-winged Blackbirds have been back in western PA and announcing their territorial claims since March. Whether you live in the country or the city, bird watching is a great way to observe the change in seasons and connect with the nature around you (and in you).

As a member of the Climate and Rural Systems Partnership (CRSP) team I’ve been gathering evidence-based stories of how climate change is impacting natural processes in western PA. Since this week is the City Nature Challenge, folks might be paying closer attention to birds, creating an opportunity for museum scientists to explain what migratory songbirds in our region can teach us about climate change.

Since 1961 scientists at the museum’s Powdermill Avian Research Center (PARC) in Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands have been monitoring birds. In that time they have captured, studied, marked, and released almost 800,000 birds! This week, for example, PARC’s mist nets are temporarily capturing birds like the Common Yellowthroat, Yellow Warbler, House Wren, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, American Redstart, and Wood Thrush.

Migratory birds that are part of the PARC long term dataset (clockwise from left): Wood Thrush, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow Warbler, and Ruby-throated Hummingbird. All of these species are breeding earlier in the year in response to climate change that has already occured. Photos courtesy of Powdermill Avian Research Center.

All of these species are migratory–spending the winter in the southern US, the Caribbean, Central America, and/or South America. Many fly across the Gulf of Mexico (!) on their way north in the spring. All of these birds share another trait–they are nesting earlier in the year than they once did. We will follow the Wood Thrush as an example of how many birds are responding to the warming climate.

on the right side, text reads "Average April temperatures are projected to warm by four to five degrees Fahrenheit by 2050." On the left, there's an illustration of a bird holding a worm in its beak. — The artwork in this blog post is by the author and part of an infographic depicting the information written here.

PARC’s unique 50 year dataset allows scientists to study how birds respond to long term changes, including the warming climate. Average April temperatures in the Laurel Highlands have already increased by two degrees Fahrenheit since the 1960s, and are projected to warm by another four to five degrees Fahrenheit by 2050. Warmer springs trigger earlier plant budburst. Insects, especially caterpillars, feast on buds and young leaves, which have less toxins than mature leaves. Caterpillars are the breakfast of champions (among birds). So, migratory songbirds, including the Wood Thrush, need to synchronize their northward movement with the budburst. This means an earlier arrival, according to the calendar, at points all along their migration route.

Wood Thrushes arrive from Central America five days earlier than they did in the 1960s. Research suggests that migratory birds respond to temperature cues along their migration route and speed up (warmer temperatures) or slow down (cooler temperatures). Birds may be responding to temperature directly or indirectly via other temperature-dependent cues such as wind speed and direction and spring leaf out.

Early arrival is not the only adjustment Wood Thrushes are making, however. The birds are also making their nests and hatching young earlier. Wood Thrushes are nesting 24 days earlier than they did in the 1960s. All four of the bird species in the photo above are breeding earlier. Within the web of organisms that supplies food for birds, May 19 of the present feels like June 11 of the 1960s. The earlier nesting in response to a warming climate means birds that normally hatch and rear multiple broods per breeding season, such as House Wrens and Northern Cardinals, may have greater reproductive capacity. PARC research shows that Gray Catbirds and Northern Cardinals are having more young in warmer springs, but other multi-brood species such as House Wrens and Common Yellowthroats are not.

While birds seem to be keeping pace with climate change now, they may not be able to in the future. Their capacity to adjust migratory and reproductive behavioral traits in response to climate change is finite. Also, we’ve already lost an estimated 3 billion North American birds since 1970 due to factors including habitat loss, insect declines, pesticide use, and predation by domestic cats. Now climate change is making bird survival even more difficult. The capacity of bird populations to evolve in response to climate change is also limited – climate change in the Anthropocene is happening much more rapidly than climate change in past epochs, many times faster than evolution can keep up. The good news is we can help birds, ecosystems, and ourselves by taking action to reduce the severity of climate change.

illustration of two birds flying with the text "You can help birds and climate"

Here are three ways individuals and communities can help birds by mitigating climate change:

1) Conserve habitat: Habitats like forests, wetlands, and prairies provide food and shelter for birds while the plants and soils remove and store carbon away from the atmosphere. These habitats are needed throughout birds’ migratory ranges. Create habitat by reducing lawns and planting native plants. For example, many birds enjoy eating the fruits of spicebush, elderberry, and black cherry, which are native to western Pennsylvania. You can find more bird-friendly plants native to your area at https://www.audubon.org/plantsforbirds.

2) Renewable energy: A just transition to renewable energy sources like properly-sited wind* and solar will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, provide local jobs, improve air quality, and help protect birds and people from climate change. *The National Audubon Society supports properly-sited wind energy.

3) Eat your vegetables: A more plant-based diet is an impactful way to reduce greenhouse gas footprints. Also, choosing food that is grown with less pesticides, and using less pesticides in the stewardship of your garden, helps support the survival of insects that are food for birds. Reductions in demand for pesticides also reduces their manufacture, which further reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Learn more from Project Drawdown.

So get out there, find the signs of spring that are gentle (Trout Lilies) and not-so-gentle (Red-winged Blackbirds), log them in iNaturalist for the City Nature Challenge, and talk with your family and your community about how you can implement one or two (or three!) of the actions suggested above!

You can also read this as an infographic here.

Thank you to the many folks who helped with the development of this blog post and infographic: Luke DeGroote, Mary Shidell, and Annie Lindsay at PARC; the Laurel Highlands network of the Climate and Rural Systems Partnership; Nicole Heller; Taiji Nelson; and Sarah Crawford.

Bonnie McGill, Ph.D. is a science communication fellow for the Climate and Rural Systems Partnership and based in the Anthropocene Studies Section at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Water Bears: why my yard is like the moon

by Tim Pearce

Water bears, also known as tardigrades or moss piglets, are microscopic animals, famous for being cute and nearly indestructible. Looking a bit like the Michelin Man with eight claw-tipped legs, they can survive extreme highs and lows of temperature and pressure, and ionizing radiation. They are among the few animal groups that can completely dry up into suspended animation, a process called anhydrobiosis, and tardigrades can survive dried up for decades. Tardigrades have even survived in outer space (see “Tardigrade” in Wikipedia for more amazing feats).

Large ones can be 1 mm (1/25 inch) long, but most species are less than half that long. They live in many environments, and can often be found in moss and lichen. I even saw some tardigrades digesting the waste stream during an open house at ALCOSAN, Pittsburgh’s sewage treatment plant.

To practice for the 2021 City Nature Challenge, I looked for tardigrades in my back yard. I scraped up a bit of moss, shook it in some water, and then examined the settled material under a microscope. Within a few minutes, I had found the tardigrade illustrated here! I also saw nematodes and rotifers, two other common microscopic organisms. I just checked iNaturalist, and no tardigrades have been reported from Pittsburgh, so mine will be the first!

How does finding tardigrades make my yard like the moon? You might remember in 2019 an Israeli lunar probe crashed on the moon. Part of its payload was dehydrated tardigrades, which evidently have been scattered across a section of the lunar surface. My yard is like the moon because they both have tardigrades!

Examining the world of the small can yield big contributions. I encourage you to participate in the City Nature Challenge, and pay attention to tiny things.

Naturally Pittsburgh: Big Rivers and Steep Wooded Slopes

by Patrick McShea

Pittsburghers are accustomed to seeing their hometown visually portrayed with its river-hemmed Downtown as a focal point. If your goal is to understand how the city’s geographical position in the greater landscape of southwestern Pennsylvania influences its wildlife and plant cover, images from different perspectives are useful.

Nine Mile Island, left, and Sycamore Island, right, in the lower Allegheny River. Photo credit: Allegheny Land Trust.

The picture above offers a bird’s eye view down the Allegheny River at a point nine miles upstream from the 325-mile-long waterway’s confluence with the Monongahela River. That much-photographed merge point, which creates the Ohio River, can be spatially located in the frame’s right-of-center background by the hazy blur of Downtown’s tallest buildings. The eye movement required to locate the spot involves tracing steep left-bank wooded bluffs from suburban Penn Hills and along the Pittsburgh neighborhoods of Lincoln-Lemington, Highland Park, and Morningside.

This simple exercise has relevance to the upcoming City Nature Challenge (CNC) for the visual attention it brings to the paired Pittsburgh physical features that keep nature in continual view here – our river system and the steep wooded hillsides carved by these big winding waterways and their tributaries.

Corridors Support Biodiversity

Both features create habitat corridors that serve to enrich the city’s biodiversity. The pair of Bald Eagles with a long record of nesting success on a wooded Monongahela River hillside in Pittsburgh’s Hays neighborhood are the most prominent evidence of this phenomena. Some of the fish they feed their young at this time of year can be regarded as additional evidence.

Pittsburgh fish displayed in tank set-up by the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission.

Many of the organisms supported by Pittsburgh’s wooded and flowing water corridors do not, however, lend themselves to the photo-documentation of the CNC. Some notable tree specimens and spring wildflower stands are found on high inaccessible ledges, river visits by diverse forms of waterfowl occur more frequently in the winter rather than the spring, and the predictability of the dozens fish species found in Pittsburgh’s waters challenges even the anglers who pursue them.

Importance of Incomplete Survey

The solution to this dilemma, as you record CNC observations and interpret the collective results, is simply to regard this important citizen science initiative as necessarily incomplete. In a recent BioScience paper co-authored by Nicole Heller, Curator of Anthropocene Studies at CMNH, analysis of urban biodiversity studies from all over the world pointed to the importance of enhancing public engagement and environmental stewardship. That is something that can certainly happen this year between April 30 and May 3, in a City Nature Challenge that recognizes some unavoidable bio-survey gaps.

Citations for research paper:

“The Biological Deserts Fallacy: Cities in Their Landscapes Contribute More than We Think to Regional Biodiversity,” BioScience, Volume 71, Issue 2, February 2021, Pages 148–160,

Erica N Spotswood, Erin E Beller, Robin Grossinger, J Letitia Grenier, Nicole E Heller, Myla F J Aronson, The Biological Deserts Fallacy: Cities in Their Landscapes Contribute More than We Think to Regional Biodiversity, BioScience, Volume 71, Issue 2, February 2021, Pages 148–160, https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biaa155

Go For a Color Walk

by Jenise Brown

City Nature Challenge (April 29-May 2, 2022) is coming soon! Going for a “color walk” is one fun and easy way to participate no matter where you live.

What is a color walk you might ask? Each time you go for a walk, pick a single color—maybe green, white, red, pink, yellow. As you are out, keep your color in mind and look for it in the wild, noting plants, animals, and fungi that you see. When you find one (or evidence of one that you can’t see!), take a picture, and upload it to iNaturalist.

You’ll start to notice patterns among things you see in the color you’ve chosen, and you can make some hypotheses about the observations for each color, like what species you are likely to see in certain areas. Lots of plants are green, so a green color walk might help us to notice all of the plants that are around us, even in places like cracks in the sidewalk. Because the City Nature Challenge occurs during a season when Pittsburgh still experiences cold weather, this is probably the easiest color to find. In fact plants were the most common observations in Pittsburgh during the City Nature Challenge in 2020, with 9 of the top 10 observations being plants.

various green plants growing from a sidewalk crack — *Look at the variety of green plants in this sidewalk crack!*

green plants growing on rock — *Don’t forget to look for small patches of green in unexpected places.*

Yellow and purple are common colors in early spring flowers and might potentially switch your focus to exclusively flowering plants or even insects. City Nature Challenge tallies both the number of observations made and the species observed. Choosing one of these colors may help you to notice new and different species that you previously overlooked.

two yellow dandelions — *This dandelion flower is one of the earliest yellows of the season.*

two violets among leaves and sticks — *Don’t miss violets! They have both both broad green leaves and small purple flowers.*

Don’t forget about the less flashy, but still abundant fungi. Orange, white, or even brown might help you to notice them growing on trees, dead wood, soil, and rocks. An added element to help find more fungi is to look for and pick up fallen branches and inspect stumps. You can read more about urban fungi observations in this NY Times article.

There’s no need to leave the city or even go to a park to have a great color walk! You can plan a route near where you live and repeat it multiple times, picking a different color each time. You might be surprised by all of the things you never noticed before right in your own neighborhood!

Jenise Brown is a Museum Educator with Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

University of Michigan Helps Solve Century Old Fossil Mystery – Part 1: Stearns and Bayet. The Dispute

by Joann Wilson and Albert Kollar

“I am reluctantly, arriving at the opinion, that I am the victim of an imposition for which I hold you responsible.” –Frederick Stearns in a letter to Ernest Bayet, March 27, 1889

Frederick Stearns, date unknown. Permission of the University of Michigan Stearns Collection.

In 1903, Andrew Carnegie purchased the world-famous Bayet fossil collection for the Carnegie Museum. Since that time some invertebrates in the massive 130,000 specimen collection have been thoroughly studied, but the documents that arrived with the fossil shipment remained largely unexamined. Reasons for this neglect are understandable. The collection’s accompanying letters, lists, journals, and other documents were written primarily in French, German, and Italian, and in what has been described as “an impenetrable hand.”

Translation of the documents into English was a critical step in making them better known to researchers and the public. As part of Albert Kollar’s multiyear project to restudy the invertebrate portion of the Bayet Collection, that difficult task is ongoing thanks to volunteer Lucien Schoenmakers, a resident of the Netherlands.

The translated documents bring some life to the people behind the famous fossils, and our series begins with one of them, Frederick Stearns.

Which gets us back to the letter excerpted above. One wonders what Ernest Bayet thought in the spring of 1889 when he opened it. Bayet, who would become secretary to the cabinet of Leopold II, and Frederick Stearns of Detroit, Michigan, a retired pharmaceutical executive, business owner, and renowned fossil collector, had settled on a sizable trade deal. Stearns was to send over “1000 species of fossils” from the United States. In return, Bayet was to ship “5500 species of shells.”

One of the Frederick Stearns fossils in the Bayet Collection at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History: Horn Coral, Cyathophyllum, CM# 51102. On the bottom is an original Frederick Stearns label that survived crossing the Atlantic Ocean twice.

Stearns had shipped his lot of fossils, but by spring of 1889, he had yet to receive a shipment from Bayet. Fuming, he wrote, “to obtain legal redress through the advice of the American Minister at Brussels. Failing in this I stand ready to spend 2500 francs or even 5000 francs if necessary, to advertise you, and your way of doing things to the Scientific World. In doing which I shall at least have the satisfaction of check mating any similar future operations of the sort with other persons as credulous of your honor and integrity.” In current figures, Stearns was willing to spend $15,000-$30,000.

Stearns ended, “with this for warning, I subscribe myself indignantly etc.” After this letter, no more correspondence is known to exist between the two men. Did Bayet send his lot? As part of Albert’s project to investigate the individuals behind the Bayet Collection, we wondered, was it possible to solve this mystery over a century later?

Research into Stearns revealed that he collected more than fossils and shells. Carol Stepanchuk, Collection Outreach Program Coordinator for the Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments at the University of Michigan, provided a valuable starting point. With her guidance, and a hunch that Stearns may have left his other collections to the University of Michigan, we reached out across the Ann Arbor campus to Jennifer Bauer, Research Museum Collection Manager at the University’s Museum of Paleontology. Jennifer added Taehwan Lee, the museum’s Mollusk Collection Manager, to the search. After many months, our story has a happy ending. Jennifer and Taehwan located over 5000 specimens in the U-M collections, donated by Frederick Stearns, with “Bayet” as collector. Thanks to museum collections records and the amazing team at U-M, we now know that Ernest Bayet did send his shells!

In Part 2 of our series, we will take a look at the unusual path that brought Frederick Stearns into contact with Ernest Bayet and fossil collecting. As John Carter, former Curator of the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural history, once wrote about the Bayet Collection, “The best measure of the worth of this treasure trove, however, is not its size but its uniqueness. Many of the individual collections, all made in the nineteenth century, are essentially irreplaceable, because similar specimens from the same collecting localities are no longer available.”

Many thanks to the generous contributions of Carol Stepanchuk, Collection Outreach Coordinator for the U-M Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments, Joseph Gascho, Associate Professor at the U-M School of Music and Director of the Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments, Jennifer Bauer, Research Collection Manager at the U-M Museum of Paleontology, Taehwan Lee, Mollusk Collection Manager at the U-M Zoology Museum and volunteer Lucien Schoenmakers for meticulous language translation.

Joann Wilson is an Interpreter for the Education Department at Carnegie Museum of Natural History and Albert Kollar is Collections Manager for the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

An Illuminating Tale of Tracking Turtles

by Amanda K. Martin

*All research was conducted under approved permits from by IACUC, ODNR, and Metroparks. Do not try this at home with local wildlife. Photos by A. Martin unless noted otherwise.

Where do eastern box turtles go? When I started my graduate schooling in Dr. Karen Root’s lab at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, I was quite intrigued by this question. To address it, I conducted a study of box turtle movements in the Oak Openings Region, the distinctive landscape of oak savannas, woodlands, and wet prairies that stretches across seven counties in Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan.

A method called radio telemetry was vital to my work. I walked around under the forest canopy searching for individuals (female or male) and whenever I found one, typically sitting still on the ground, I would pick it up while wearing gloves. In order to track its movements, I attached a radio transmitter onto the carapace (upper shell) using a special type of glue (Fig. 1A). After about a month of searching, I was able to track box turtles at two locations in the Toledo Metroparks system, six individuals in Oak Openings Preserve, and three individuals in Secor Metroparks.

Two to three times a week, I would travel to these local parks and track each turtle using a silver three-pronged antenna and attached receiver. This portable combination detects the signal frequency produced by the transmitter on the tagged turtles, generating a “beeping” sound as it receives the electronic pulse. Guided by “beeps” I could re-find each turtle within an hour (Fig. 1B) depending on how dense the forest understory was. If I walked in the wrong direction, the noise would fade away and become quieter, but as I moved closer to the turtle’s location, the “beeping” sound would get louder and more frequent until I reached the turtle. Sometimes I would walk right past an individual sitting quietly in the leaf litter or under a log as their shell is often highly camouflaged to blend with the sunlit and shadowed patterns of a forest floor. One nice aspect of tracking box turtles with radio telemetry is that they do not run away very quickly, so they are easy to follow!

turtle on the ground among sticks and leaves

woman holding an antenna and receiver in the woods — Fig. 1A (top) and Fig. 1B (bottom): A box turtles with a transmitter (A) tracked by A. Martin using radio telemetry (antenna and receiver; B) in Oak Openings Region, Ohio, USA. Photo by S. Martin (B).

Radio telemetry is an excellent method for re-locating individuals, and provides a snapshot of where the individual is at a given time. With long-term tracking over the active season (mid-March to early November), researchers can better understand movements within a turtle’s home range, the area the animal regularly travels to meet its daily requirements, including food, shelter, and thermoregulation. Home ranges are estimated by drawing an outline around the outermost locations where a turtle was detected throughout the year, and assuming that the individual uses the area inside this boundary (Fig. 2A). Each time a turtle was found, I recorded the GPS coordinates of its location, and could then measure how far the turtle traveled by drawing a straight line between each location point. However, turtles may not always travel in a straight line, but rather follow an indirect route between detection points (Fig. 2B), so this method likely underestimates actual travel distance.

blue diagram showing box turtle home range

diagram showing box turtle distance traveled — Fig. 2A (top) and Fig. 2B (bottom): Box turtle home range (blue area) with daily movements (each color represents one day of travel) using fluorescent powder (A) and an example of an estimated distance traveled (solid black straight line) and actual distance traveled (dotted black curvier line) between location points (black circles; B).

A research technique involving fluorescent powder can produce a far more accurate picture of daily box turtle movements. Non-toxic fluorescent powder is applied to the turtle’s plastron (underside; Fig. 3A) which then leaves a distinct trail as the turtle travels throughout its environment. At night, with the use of an ultraviolet light (Fig. 3B) these trails can then be illuminated, traced, and mapped. Since box turtles tend to travel near or over the same pathways, and because individual home ranges frequently overlap, multiple powder colors are required for some tracking studies.

I used multiple colors (red, blue, yellow, orange) for different days and individuals. The results of my tracking work using this technique demonstrated that box turtles traveled 32 meters per day, with females traveling slightly less than males, and that 95% of movements were less than 6 meters.

two people at night in the forest illuminated by blue light

woman with a ruler in the forest — Fig. 3A (top), Fig. 3B (middle), and Fig. 3C (bottom): A freshly painted plastron of a male box turtle (A), A. Martin with a field assistant illuminating the fluorescent powder trail with an ultraviolet light (B, photo by A. Kappler), and A. Martin measuring leaf litter along a box turtle’s pathway (C).

Tracking animals with fluorescent powder is more laborious than radio telemetry but demonstrates fine scale movement patterns not detected by radio telemetry. The frequent use of short movements, for example, is likely related to thermoregulation requirements (the need to move in and out of cool, shady patches), or encounters with multiple obstacles ranging from small to large logs, dense shrubs, and trees. Radio telemetry provides an estimation of home range size, while fluorescent powder tracking provides details on how that home range is utilized. In tandem, these research tools can provide important information on habitat use for local land managers, who can facilitate preservation of these reptiles.

For more information on this project, including data on eastern garter snake movements, check out Chapter 4 of my dissertation.

Amanda K. Martin is a Post-doctoral Researcher in Section of Amphibians and Reptiles. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Who is the bigger fool – the fool or the fool that falls for it?

by Stevie Kennedy-Gold

The start of April only means one thing – pranks galore thanks to April Fools Day! Ok, ok, I realize that’s not necessarily true as April also marks that spring has sprung, many small critters are emerging from their hibernations, and we celebrate, among other things, Earth Day and Arbor Day. But we can all agree that April usually starts with a load of laughs, some fibs, and some fools. In the animal kingdom, however, fooling isn’t regulated to one day. In fact, many amphibians and reptiles rely on their ability to fool both predators and prey to survive.

Masters of Disguise

Fig. 1: Because of the large blotches on their backs, people often confuse the nonvenomous gopher snakes with venomous rattlesnakes. Gopher snakes play into this confusion, however, by imitating rattlesnake behaviors.

One of the oldest tricks in the book when it comes to fooling another is to transform to look like someone, or something, else. Although herpetofauna lack access to theatrical wardrobes teeming with makeup and outfits, they evolved behaviors and physical attributes that allow them to imitate other things. The gopher snake (Pituophis catenifer, Fig. 1), for instance, is a totally harmless colubrid species found across the western and middle United States and into Canada. They are beautiful animals, having splotches of gold, reddish-brown, and black along their bodies, and, due to these colorations, are often mistaken for rattlesnakes. What’s more, when spooked, gopher snakes tend to flatten their heads, coil into a strike position, and quickly sway their tails to and fro, a rattlesnake imitation that includes a realistic sound component when it occurs in dry grass. Most snakes are solitary animals and prefer to avoid conflict and avoid expending energy in get-away attempts, so scaring away potential predators through imitation is preferred over fighting and biting. Often times, this imitation works, and potential predators leave the gopher snake alone.

three horned frog specimens on a white tray with glass jars in the background

Fig. 2: Smooth horned frog (*Proceratophrys boiei*) specimens in the collection. Although the points above their eyes have been distorted due to preservation, it is clear to see how these frogs used their coloration, patterning, and morphological features to blend into leaf litter on the forest floor.

Predictably, snakes are not the only masters of disguise. Many frog species have unique morphological features that allow them to resemble other items in nature. The dark brown coloration and the points above the eyes of the smooth horned frog (Proceratophrys boiei) give it the appearance of a leaf (Fig. 2), allowing it to blend seamlessly into the forest floor and enabling it to both evade predators and ambush prey. Similarly, the entirely aquatic Suriname toad (Pipa pipa) looks like a dead leaf in the water due to its brown coloration and flattened body. Unless you’re an omnivore that prefers dead, low-nutrition leaves, the imitation tactics of these frogs improves their chances of survival and fools any prey items not clever enough to see past their disguises.

Deceptive Practices

Not all imitations are meant to help an animal blend in. Sometimes, imitations serve “nefarious” intents. Although not apparent to an outside observer, alligator snapping turtles (Macrochelys temminckii) have a sneaky tactic to lure prey directly into their mouth. The tongues of these turtles evolved a vestigial piece of flesh, called a lingual lure, to protrude from the tip. Alligator snapping turtles will sit on the bottom of lakes and rivers and open their powerful jaws to reveal this pink bit of flesh. They then move the lingual lure around to make it look like a tasty worm, fooling unsuspecting fish right into their giant maws.

Spider-tailed horned vipers (Pseudocerastes urarachnoides), a species endemic to Iran, employ a similar tactic, albeit far more noticeably to the casual observer. Admittedly, the common name of this animal gives away the punch line, but, nonetheless, this species of viper evolved to have a unique tail. Much like how a rattlesnakes’ rattle is made of modified scales, the spider-tailed horned viper’s tail scales evolved so that the last few scales bulge out into a small bubble and the scales leading up to that bulge are heavily keeled, or ridged. While keeled scales are common in most species in the Viperidae family, the keeling on these tail scales is extremely exaggerated, making the scales look like long spikes, or even legs. When you combine the long, keeled scales with the large, posterior bulge, the tail of a spider-tailed horned viper actually looks like a spider! With the snakes speckled coloration allowing it to blend into surrounding rocks and a solid tail wiggle performance, the snake’s tail looks like a tasty spider lunch to unsuspecting birds… which then become lunch for the snake. Imitation is the best form of flattery… or maybe a reliable way to fill your belly!

Now You See Me, Now You Don’t

Whereas some reptiles and amphibians are the masters of disguise, allowing them to hide from predators or to lure unsuspecting prey, other herps use subtler bodily alterations to fool potential prey, predators, and even conspecifics (animals of the same species). Take, for example, color changes. Chameleons often come to mind at any mention of lizard color changes, but it is actually a misconception that chameleons perfectly blend into their surroundings, mimicking every leaf and twig in the background. In truth, chameleons and many other lizard species change colors to improve thermoregulation and to communicate with conspecifics – males signaling to females that they’re ready to mate, or relying on darker colors to demonstrate aggression. There are, however, some species of frogs that do lighten or darken their hue to blend into their surroundings. The gray treefrog (Hyla versicolor) is present across most of the eastern and middle United States and, as its name implies, is an arboreal species. Because it spends its time among green leaves and gray-brown tree trunks and branches, the gray treefrog has evolved the ability to change its body coloration so it can blend in perfectly with the substrate upon which it perches. If it is on a bright green leaf, the frog will shift to a green hue. Upon landing on a mossy rock or a lichen-crusted tree trunk, the frog will change to a more gray, blotched hue instead. One second, you can see the animal perfectly and, in the next, it has completely melted away into its surroundings.

Leaving Something Behind

Other herpetofauna use more exuberant tactics to evade capture. Unlike the camouflage-wielding gray treefrog, many lizard and salamander species will self-autotomize their tails to avoid being eaten. In these instances, the herp has already been seen (or, worse, caught by a herpetologist!) and needs a quick getaway. Running away without a distraction means that the predator will likely give chase and possibly capture the lizard or salamander. However, by self-autotomizing – or breaking off – their tails, these animals increase their chances of escaping. This drastic tactic is effective because the tail continues to wriggle around and move once detached from the animals’ body, making it a tasty and easy to grab meal! Many predators become distracted by the tail, leaving the lizard or salamander free to make its escape. Interestingly, this behavior is not strictly regulated to predator attacks. I witnessed a prolonged aggressive battle between two male western fence lizards (Sceloporus occidentalis), where one male lost his tail and, instead of leaving it to writhe on the ground and eventually decompose, the lizard (attempted) to make a hasty, grapple-filled retreat from the other male, all while holding his detached tail in his mouth! Although this seems morbid, it’s actually quite clever – tails require a lot of energy and resources to make, but then the appendage stores energy in the form of meat and fat. This male fence lizard was likely keeping hold of his old tail so that he could later consume it and regain those resources. And, don’t worry, most salamander and lizard species can regrow their autotomized tails (Fig. 3), an ability that many herpetologists take advantage of when we need tissue for genetic studies.

Fig. 3: Example of tail loss and regrowth in a female *Anolis carolinensis* (green anole). The red arrows points at the old break point, and you can see how the tail color differs in the new growth.

The list of herpetofaunal imitators and imposters, pranksters and fibbers goes on and on. Although these disguises and imitations aren’t meant to make other animals giggle and laugh as our April Fool’s Day pranks often do, these tactics allow these reptiles and animals to live another day, evade unwanted attention, or snag a tasty meal. But, at the end of the day, it really does beg the question… who is the bigger fool – the fool or the fool that falls for it?

Stevie Kennedy-Gold is the collection manager for the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Evidence Counts for Absent Creatures – City Nature Challenge

by Patrick McShea

Participation in the upcoming City Nature Challenge (April 30 – May 3) can range from using your phone’s camera to document a couple front yard observations, to compiling hours’ worth of observations at multiple sites during all four days of the event. Additional information about the six-county Pittsburgh Region’s efforts in this international project can be found elsewhere on the museum’s website:

City Nature Challenge (how to participate and resources)

Teaching About Local Wildlife with the City Nature Challenge

If you have a little more time available, however, a deeper working knowledge of the City Nature Challenge’s scope, limits, and purpose can be obtained by reviewing the answers the project’s organizers provide to more than a dozen frequently asked questions. One very important aspect of the project addressed in the FAQs page is the broad range of observations that can be collected, interpreted, and compiled via iNaturalist, the innovative phone app that serves as the digital engine for the City Nature Challenge (CNC).

Mud Evidence

In answer to the question, What kinds of observations should I make during the CNC? organizers suggest exactly the range of noticeable phenomena that any naturalist leading an interpretive walk would stop to point out: Any observations of WILD plants, animals, fungi, seaweed, bacteria, lichen, etc. you find in and around your city! Observations of living or dead organisms, or evidence of those organisms, like shells, tracks, scat, feathers, etc., are fine. A photo of raccoon tracks in a muddy creek edge, for example, could count in a CNC tally as evidence of the mammal’s recent passage.

Another type of mud evidence indicates the presence of crayfish. In wet ground adjacent to ponds and streams, burrowing crayfish create distinctive and often fully-cylindrical mud structures above the holes they dig to reach groundwater. A photo of one of these “chimneys” documents the presence of the crustacean excavator somewhere below, but because there are multiple crayfish species in our region, further investigation would be necessary to refine such an observation to the species level.

Plants as Animal Evidence

Sometimes plants can serve as animal evidence. Beavers, for example, aren’t known for appearing in cell phone camera range very often, but their activity, in the form of gnawed tree trunks and branches is easy to document along local waterways, including all three of Pittsburgh’s rivers. When photos of beaver evidence include sufficient detail to identify the impacted tree or shrub, the document becomes a “two-for-one.”

On higher and drier ground, amid stands of goldenrod, the deformed stalks of some plants provide evidence of a specific insect. The globular swellings, which are known as galls, are produced by the plant in reaction to the secretions of a tiny parasitic fly. Females of the goldenrod gall fly, a species know to science as Eurosta solidaginis, lay eggs at the base of goldenrod flower buds. Larvae hatched from these eggs chew into the plant stem where their secretions ultimately result in the creation of a protective winter shelter. The distinctive galls are not fully secure, however. Females of the parasitoid wasp known as Eurytoma gigantea seek out galls and their fly larvae occupants as a food source for their own larvae. Downy Woodpeckers and Black-capped Chickadees are also known to peck into galls to eat the occupants. Most of the galls in the above illustration bear evidence of such bird beak chiseling.

Cities are Not Biological Deserts

by Nicole Heller

Cities are increasingly important in organizing the experience of people and their interactions with nature. In 1950 there were 2.5 billion people on Earth and 30% lived in cities. Today, there are 7.5 billion people and 55% live in cities. By 2050, there will be an estimated 9.5 billion and 68% will live in cities.

Generally, cities are not good places for other critters to live. The abundance of pavement, buildings, traffic, pollution, pesticides, herbicides, and other hazards make cities really hard places for plants and animals to survive and breed. From a conservation science perspective, cities have long been considered dead spaces, or biological deserts. But more recently researchers are paying more attention to nature in cities. One reason for their interest involves people’s need for nature. Study after study confirms the basic biophilia hypothesis, that people want to associate with nature; they are happier and healthier when they are near plants and animals in their daily lives.

Berlin is recognized as a city that works for people and biodiversity due to its high percentage of green space, variety of habitats, and thoughtful regional planning. Photo by Filipe Varela on Unsplash.

Cities have also drawn the attention of researchers because of some really exciting things are happening within their limits, such as growing populations of peregrine falcons , sightings of rare birds using cities parks during annual migrations, and even discoveries of new species not previously known to science. While cities are overall negative for biodiversity, recent research findings raise important questions: Can human cities be good for non-humans too? Can urban wildlife include a broader spectrum of creatures beyond the common city-adapted species like European sparrows, pigeons, and black rats? What about species special or unique to the regions in which cities are located? How can we make cities work for biodiversity?

A few years ago I posed these questions along with colleagues from the Resilient Landscape program at the San Francisco Estuary Institute. We wanted to learn if there were general lessons that could be distilled from recent and ongoing research projects about what kinds of species can benefit from cities and if so how might city planners utilize this information to prioritize actions that would help cities contribute positively to the resilience of regional biodiversity, or at least do more to diminish the negative impacts.

Earlier this year, some of our findings were published open source in the journal Bioscience, The Biological Deserts Fallacy: Cities in Their Landscapes Contribute More than We Think to Regional Biodiversity, byErica N Spotswood, Erin E Beller, Robin Grossinger, J Letitia Grenier, Nicole E Heller, Myla F J Aronson.

The study, which includes citations from dozens of regional research projects around the world, identifies five pathways by which cities can help regional biodiversity. “Cities can benefit some species by releasing them from threats in the larger landscape, increasing regional habitat heterogeneity, acting as migratory stopovers, enhancing regional genetic diversity and providing selective forces for species to adapt to future conditions under climate change (e.g., a phenomenon we are calling preadapting species to climate change), and enabling and bolstering public engagement and stewardship.”

Each of these pathways is described in greater detail in the study. Four categories of species commonly utilize urban habitat, with varying degrees of success, and the study explores examples of how specific species in specific places demonstrate these five pathways.

screen grab of a figure from a paper with birds and flowers

Overall, the role of cities in supporting landscape-scale biodiversity is an understudied area of research. As cities continue to grow in number and size, human populations rise, and climate change continues, paying attention to the experience of other critters, and how we can make space for them to survive and thrive in anthropogenic habitats, will be more important than ever. This research identifies opportunities to reconcile cities with biodiversity. Opportunities exist to learn more about the unique resources that cities can provide, which specific types of species can take advantage of these resources, and how this information can be incorporated into city plans for parks and green spaces. The San Francisco Estuary Institute has begun this applied work in their report Making Nature’s City, which presents a science-based framework for increasing biodiversity in cities.

What excites me are possibilities if we really try. For the most part cities have been developed with little or no concern for biodiversity. Often people think that humans and nature just can’t coexist. What if city planners and conservation professionals start applying these lessons from ecology more broadly and work together with citizens to deliberately steward biodiversity in cities? How abundant and rich with diverse life could cities become? How happy would that make humans? I wonder. And I am hopeful.

If you are interested in urban nature, you can help to measure its diversity by participating in the museum’s upcoming City Nature Challenge. You never know what you may find in our city. Our combined observations, coupled with the museum’s collections and records, will provide important benchmarks to help track how local species are doing as the region keeps growing and changing in the 21st century.

Full Article Citation

The Biological Deserts Fallacy: Cities in Their Landscapes Contribute More than We Think to Regional Biodiversity By ERICA N. SPOTSWOOD , ERIN E. BELLER, ROBIN GROSSINGER, J. LETITIA GRENIER, NICOLE E. HELLER, AND MYLA F. J. ARONSON BioScience, Volume 71, Issue 2, February 2021, Pages 148–160, https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biaa155

Nicole Heller is Curator of Anthropocene Studies at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences working at the museum.

Teaching About Local Wildlife with the City Nature Challenge

by Patrick McShea

Join the Challenge April 25-28, 2025

The sixth-grade student took the time to study a taxidermy mount from multiple angles before she approached with a question. “Is that Raticate?” she asked, pointing back at the lifelike preserved muskrat that had drawn her across the school cafeteria to the table promoting museum resources.

Raticate, she explained to my quizzical look, is a Pokémon creature. When she held up her phone, I conceded a striking resemblance between the cartoon-like beast filling the small screen and the sleek-furred stuffed rodent a few feet away. I then explained how the preserved muskrat represents a very real and relatively common mammal, one that in some seasons might be observable in the cattail-edged margins of Schenley Park’s Panther Hollow Lake, a location within a mile of where we stood.

The event, 14 months ago, was an evening meeting of a parent’s council at Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy. Although I spoke with dozens of parents during my two-hour visit, the information exchange with the student remains a clear memory because it reinforced a research paper I read days earlier.

A study published in 2002 found primary school students in the United Kingdom knew far more about Pokémon creatures than they knew about local wildlife. (Why conservationists should heed Pokémon. Balmford A, Clegg L, Coulson T, Taylor, Science 29 Mar 2002) If the study’s findings remain valid nearly twenty years later, museum strategies to counter them have become more innovative, collaborative, and purposeful. The primary example of these ongoing efforts is an upcoming event known as the City Nature Challenge.

What is the City Nature Challenge?

The City Nature Challenge (CNC), coming up April 25–28, 2025, is an international effort for people to document plants and wildlife in metropolitan areas across the globe. (The Pittsburgh Region’s six county territory for the CNC includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Westmoreland, and Washington Counties.) The event is a bioblitz-style competition with cities competing on several measurable fronts, including the number of participants, the sum total of recorded observations, and the total number of identified species. The technology enabling broad participation and accurate data compilation in this vast observational effort is the free app, iNaturalist, utilized through the same common device by which I first glimpsed Raticate, a smartphone.

iNaturalist and City Nature Challenge History

iNaturalist, originally developed as the Master’s Final Project of Nathan Agrin, Jessica Kline, and Ken-ichi Ueda at University of California at Berkeley’s School of information, is now a joint initiative of the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society. As the initiative’s website explains, “iNaturalist is an online social network of people sharing biodiversity information to help each other learn about nature.”

The City Nature Challenge also has California roots, beginning in 2016 as a Los Angeles versus San Francisco contest by citizen science staff at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and California Academy of Sciences. These two institutions continue to as the principal organizers for the global effort, and in 2021, more than 400 cities across the globe are expected to participate in the competition.

2021 marked the fourth consecutive year for Carnegie Museum of Natural History to serve as one of CNC’s city organizer agencies. Partner organizers for 2021 were the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy and the Pennsylvania Alliance of Environmental Educators. An online workshop for teachers and other educators to promote student participation in early March helped groups get an early start and a regularly updated web page contains current information about the event.

How to Participate in City Nature Challenge

If spending some time later this spring documenting the plants, animals, and fungi sounds interesting, please visit our City Nature Challenge page to learn how you can participate with the museum in the Pittsburgh region. We offer resources for educators, groups, and individuals interested in the annual bioblitz.

After the April 25–28 documentation phase, comes a vital second phase to the CNC that you might be able to support: identification of the photographed species. The identifications will be crowd-sourced through the online community April 29–May 1 still using the iNaturalist app.

Ocean Lessons

by Patrick McShea

During the late winter, students and faculty at Carnegie Mellon University’s Children’s School learned about the ocean all day, every day. A five-week study of a broad topic is an annual tradition at the school, which serves pre-school and kindergarten-aged children, and operates within the university’s Psychology Department to support developmental research and the training of educators.

Coordination of the ocean lesson plan was the responsibility of Donna Perovich, a kindergarten teacher at the Children’s School for the past 24 years who has worked as an overall support educator since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. I learned of her efforts during the project’s planning stages when she asked to borrow ocean-related materials from the museum’s Educator Loan Collection.

Materials for Ocean Lessons from the Educator Loan Collection

The museum’s longest running outreach program is operating with a significant borrowing limitations during the pandemic: materials that cannot be cleaned, or would be damaged by repeated cleaning, are not currently available for loan. In Donna’s case the restriction meant she was able to borrow encased taxidermy mounts of several saltwater fish, plastic scale models of six different whale species, and a sea turtle shell, but not touchable examples of sea stars, sponges, sea fans, and delicate corals.

“I have a lot of seashells.” Donna explains, “Over the years I’ve been blessed with boxes of them. So, we had plenty of material for the students to touch and closely examine.” Among the museum materials she found particularly useful were the whale models. “We did a big whale measuring activity, measuring and pacing-off the lengths of different whales in the halls. Everyone developed a good sense of the size difference between species like a great blue whale and a pilot whale.”

Classroom Aquariums

Setting up and maintaining aquariums in the school’s four classrooms was among Donna’s early Ocean project tasks. The tanks featured freshwater species, two classrooms had single Betta fish, and the other two classrooms had larger tanks with mollies, tetras, and barbs. Observations of the live fish were vitally important for learning more about the movements and behavior of ocean fish. In the case of several three-year-olds, such observations also influenced their initial expectations of fish taxidermy mounts from the museum. “The aquariums had been in the classrooms for awhile before the museum materials appeared,” explains Donna, “and some of the youngest students thought the loan boxes with the fish were another aquarium.”

*The Ocean Mural at CMU Children’s School.*

Lest you think the confusion diminishes Donna’s respect for the thinking power of the children she works with, she brings up the enormous three-dimensional mural the students created to convey much of what they learned. “We had wonderful conversations where the children would be talking about things like deep ocean trenches and how reduced sunlight impacted the creatures living there. In some ways I think their brains are better able to absorb new information than our cluttered brains.”

*Anglerfish by Children’s School student.*

Whole school study units at the Children’s School conclude with a family festival. Although the school has operated in-person with reduced capacity this year, the Ocean Family Festival was a Zoom event. The camera feeds of several event sessions focused on child-created details in the amazing mural.

A Little Harbinger of Spring…

by Bob Androw

As I begin to write this, it’s early March, the sun is shining, the temperature outside is climbing over 50°F and I’m starting to think… “I need to go look for some deer poop!”

As an entomologist, I’ve developed a mental calendar not based on seasons or months… but rather on what species of insects are likely to be out and about on any given day of the year. Once summer arrives, the specificity disappears and it just becomes a question of whether it’s a “good bug day” or not – based entirely on the weather and my chances of prying myself out of the museum (or the house, in these new times) to go somewhere and chase them.

During autumn, the onset of wet weather and cooling temperatures gradually reduces the number of active insects. Like most organisms, I tend to head for shelter from the outside environment, settling indoors to wait out the winter. Of course, winter is time for “bug work” as well – but rather than hunting living specimens, time is dedicated to catching up on the lab work set aside during ‘collecting’ season. This entails pinning and labeling specimens collected earlier in the year, performing identifications, data-basing specimen records, and working on manuscripts.

But then there’s spring – that pivotal period that influences one to keep checking the weather forecast, hoping for warming days. This seemingly never-arriving season focuses one’s attention on how fast the last snow is melting off. It’s a time that has me searching for signs of plant shoots breaking the soil surface and tree buds exhibiting tiny slivers of green to announce the upcoming burst of foliage.

Hardwood forest habitat in late winter at Powdermill Nature Reserve in the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania. Image courtesy of the Powdermill Nature Reserve Facebook page.

Once these signs converge to indicate spring is just around the corner – it’s time to test the theory that winter is finally ending by – you got it! – going to look for deer poop!

Now, don’t get me wrong – deer regularly poop all year round – which is good for them – but during the first warm days of spring – or more accurately the warmest days of late winter – a little beetle becomes active and begins its own search for deer dung.

A typical pile of deer dung. The pellet in the lower left corner shows a hole created by a feeding beetle.

The species Dialytellus tragicus (Schmidt, 1916) is a mere 3mm in length and one of only two species in the genus Dialytellus. My favorite location to search for it is the museum’s field research station, Powdermill Nature Reserve, in the Laurel Highlands. Dialytellus tragicus is found in forested areas of the northeastern United States, but is sporadic in distribution and never seems to be overly common. The other species in the genus, Dialytellus dialytoides (Fall, 1907), is more widely distributed in the eastern states, much more common, and is taken frequently in pitfall traps. The genus Dialytellus is a member of the large subfamily Aphodiinae in the large family Scarabaeidae, the scarab beetles.

The Aphodiinae is a diverse group of small to tiny beetles, with over 400 species occurring in the United States and Canada. Nearly all of them are specialists on animal dung for feeding as adults and for provisioning their larvae with food. Many are considered ‘generalists’ which means they will utilize whatever dung they find – from cattle, horses, deer, pigs, dogs, and even humans (Oh, there are some stories to tell there…). Some species dig tunnels in the soil under dung and create brood chambers where they lay eggs on dung brought down from the source on the ground surface, but most lay eggs directly in the dung and the larvae develop within.

A fair number of aphodiine species are ‘specialists’, utilizing dung from only certain species of animals. In the Great Plains region of the U.S., the group reaches its greatest diversity of species for North America, with most species being obligate associates with prairie dogs, living in the burrows and feeding in the dung ‘middens’ that the resident prairie dogs create. In the Pacific Northwest, aphodiines are often associated with the burrows of marmots. In the Southeast, many species are associated only with pocket gophers, while a few have evolved to live only in the nests of squirrels, or packrats, feeding on decaying nest materials. Some of these specialized beetles have even evolved to live in ant nests, feeding on plant detritus in the ants’ garbage heaps.

*Dialytellus tragicus* (Schmidt, 1916). Specimen data: PENNSYLVANIA: Westmoreland County, Powdermill Nature Reserve, 15 March 2003, in deer dung, R. Androw, coll. Image from BugGuide.net, courtesy of Blaine Mathison, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Dialytellus tragicus is able to pull me out of the house and into the woods in late winter on an annual search first for piles of deer dung, and then if lucky, beetles. The beetles can be found inside the deer dung pellet, which means the search entails splitting dung pellets to find the precious one with a beetle inside. Thankfully, deer dung is dry and hard and has little odor, so the process is less offensive than it sounds. Still, I would guess that laying on one’s side in the leaves, splitting pellets with a forceps as if they were little coconuts with prizes inside, isn’t a common way to celebrate the onset of Spring – no Facebook group for us folks!

Most specimens that I have collected have been found during the middle two weeks of March, always on days where the temperatures have been over 50°F for at least the preceding three days. It takes a few days of warmer weather to get the beetles up and moving. I’ve learned that searching for them later in the year – say mid-April – never produces specimens of D. tragicus, but instead produces numerous specimens of another aphodiine, the extremely abundant generalist, Oscarinus rusicola (Melsheimer, 1845). Circumstantial evidence would suggest that as D. tragicus evolved alongside O. rusicola in eastern forests of North America it shifted its period of activity to earlier in the season to avoid competition for resources with the more abundant O. rusicola.

By the end of February of any normal year, the urge to get out of the house and into the woods starts to become irresistible, but the insects are more patient – waiting for the perfect number of degree-days to become active. Knowing this little beetle is out there early – and is not necessarily easy to find – provides the perfect impetus to shake off the winter dust and go out to look for it. In a year like the one we’ve all suffered through, this little beetle is even more appreciated as an excuse to rouse and get moving again.

Bob Androw is a Collection Manager for Invertebrate Zoology. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

An Egg-cellent Hobby!

by Abbey Hines

When I first stumbled into writing this blog post, I had no idea what direction I wanted to take with this topic of eggs, but then I went to Carol’s house and heard her stories. It got me thinking of one of my least favorite topics as someone who studies zoology—humans. People have this unusual habit of talking. Language (particularly syntax) is one of the few characteristics that set humans apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. So please take a uniquely human journey with me as I tell you the story of Carol Megill’s eggs.

Carol and I are Gallery Experience Presenters here at the Natural History Museum; however, she’s been doing it a lot longer than I have—like 25 years longer. Before this job, Carol was a school teacher for mainly elementary grades. (She taught college for a while, too, but that’s not important to the story.) In the 1960s, a few years after she started teaching, Carol was tasked to teach a second-grade boy to read. He’d fallen behind and needed extra help that Carol was happy to give. She tutored him the whole school year and around Easter he was up to a proper reading level. As a thank you, the boy’s grandmother gifted her a blown decorated egg with a duckling inside. This was her first blown and decorated egg that would be the beginning of a collection and hobby that would change her life.

I’ve been trying to find an accurate definition of what Carol creates, but none seem fitting, so I will tell you how she makes them. She can only use certain regulation eggs due to the many proactive bird laws. Her eggs include a mix of chicken, goose, ostrich, rhea, emu, and peacock. First, she ‘blows out’ the egg by making a small hole in one end and blowing air into the cavity to empty out the albumen (whites) and the yolk. After it’s clean she can carefully cut into the shell without cracking it with a small Dremel drill. From there, it’s up to her imagination and artistic ability. They can take many forms, sometimes a scene erupts from within the eggs, a creature is formed from the egg, or it simply takes the shape of an amazing object to behold and interact with. She paints them with gold dust and glitter, adds hinges to make doors, and adds stands and scenery to transmute the egg into a stage for a story.

And the stories they tell! Each egg has its own history and Carol holds them carefully and is eager to share. Some are part of a set and belong with others, some she made to commemorate events or people, others she was trying a new technique that turned out amazing. Each is different and has a special place in the story of Carol’s eggs.

forest scene created from hollowed out eggs and paint

egg art of a couple looking at each other

Carol told me she used to travel with her eggs to display and sell them. Then her husband, who was nothing but supportive, asked her to stop selling her art so she did, keeping her creations in their large numbers to decorate her house.

Carol says she doesn’t know how many eggs she has made over the years, but without a doubt, they are part of her amazing story as an educator, tennis player, mother and grandmother, Christian, art collector, and lovely woman.

Abbey Hines and Carol Megill are Gallery Experience Presenters in CMNH’s Life Long Learning Department. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

MESOZOIC MONTHLY: Volaticotherium

by Lindsay Kastroll

Once again, spring has sprung. Prepare to see the gorgeous forests of Pennsylvania launch back into action. I, for one, can’t wait to get outside and explore as the weather continues to improve. I was recently reminded of the fact that Pennsylvania is home to two species of flying squirrels, and I am definitely adding them to my list of things to see. But of course, this is Mesozoic Monthly, so flying squirrels can’t be the stars of this article. Instead, the superficially flying squirrel-like “ancient gliding beast” Volaticotherium antiquum is stealing the spotlight!

Although Volaticotherium was about the size of a modern flying squirrel at 5–6 inches (13–15 cm) long, it belonged to a group of early mammals called eutriconodonts that includes some of the largest mammals that lived alongside non-avian dinosaurs. “Eutriconodont” means “true three-coned tooth,” in reference to the three longitudinally aligned cusps on their molars. Although not all mammals today have three-cusped molars, the ancestors of modern mammals did. Does this mean that modern mammals evolved from a eutriconodont? The answer is no, though they did evolve from a mammal with eutriconodont-like teeth.

We can split modern mammals into two main groups: the monotremes, which are egg-laying mammals like the platypus, and the therians, which include both marsupial and placental mammals (like kangaroos or humans, respectively). The ancestors of monotremes diverged (meaning, formed their own ‘branch’ of the evolutionary tree) before eutriconodonts and therians evolved. Eutriconodonts and therians share a different, more recent, and as-yet unknown common ancestor. Monotremes, therians, and eutriconodonts actually lived alongside one another for over one hundred million years before eutriconodonts became extinct near the end of the Cretaceous Period (the third and final division in the Mesozoic Era, or ‘Age of Dinosaurs’).

This flowchart represents a simplified phylogeny (aka, evolutionary tree) of the relationships discussed in the previous paragraph. A lot of ‘branches’ and intermediate steps are missing from this phylogeny to make it easier to follow.

The canines and molars of eutriconodonts were pointy, suggesting that these mammals were carnivores or insectivores. Volaticotherium is no exception, which makes it particularly unique, as most other gliding mammals are herbivores! Because it was so small, Volaticotherium was probably an insectivore, but a larger cousin, Jugulator, could probably eat small vertebrates. As an arboreal glider, Volaticotherium could soar from tree to tree to catch insects in midair. Instead of wings, it had a patagium, a broad flap of skin that stretched between the fore- and hind limbs, creating enough surface area to achieve gliding descents. The various limb adaptations necessary to make Volaticotherium an efficient glider also made it poor at maneuvering on the ground. It can be hard to understand why an animal would evolve features that would hinder its terrestrial movement, and multiple hypotheses have been put forth to try to explain this. Most of these focus on the benefits of leaping out of trees to escape predators or to quickly traverse territory between arboreal food sources, scenarios based on herbivorous mammals. Because Volaticotherium was a gliding predator, perhaps gliding conferred other advantages to this eutriconodont.

Restoration of *Volaticotherium* in mid-glide by Jose Antonio Peñas, used with permission. Take note of those sharp canine teeth, useful for catching tasty insects! You can find more of Peñas’ art on their DeviantArt, ArtStation, or YouTube.

The fossilized remains of Volaticotherium were found in a layer of rock called the Daohugou Bed in China. This deposit consists of lakebed sediment and volcanic ash compacted into solid rock over millions of years as more heavy sediment was deposited on top of it. There is a debate about how old the Daohugou Bed is, but most estimates place it near the middle or end of the Jurassic Period (the middle period of the Mesozoic). Getting the timing right is important. Because Volaticotherium is among the oldest known gliding mammals, its discovery pushes the origin of mammalian gliding back as much as 70 million years earlier than previously thought!

A variety of factors have led geologists to struggle in determining the age of the Daohugou Bed. In an ideal geologic record, rock layers would be perfectly horizontal, creating a continuous stack with the oldest layers on the bottom and the newest layers on top. However, this is rarely the case. Sediment may be eroded before new layers are deposited, creating a gap of time without record in that sequence of rocks. This phenomenon, where two rock layers do not represent a continuous progression of time and have a gap of data missing between them, is called an unconformity. Other issues with dating rock layers involve the squeezing, stretching, folding, melting, and chemical alteration of rock layers when they’re subjected to geologic processes. These forces can result in old rock layers being placed on top of younger ones, making it hard to determine the actual sequential order of the rocks. Changes can also occur within the minerals that compose the rocks, making radiometric dating much more difficult.

The Daohugou Bed has an unconformity above and below it, and it has been folded, which makes attributing an exact age to it that much harder. When you go out hiking in the beautiful spring weather on the horizon, take a moment to look at the rock outcrops you pass and think about what those layers might have experienced on their journey to where they are today. And if you continue your hike after sunset, be sure to keep your eyes peeled. If you’re lucky, you might just catch a glimpse of a flying squirrel gliding through the forest!

Lindsay Kastroll is a volunteer and paleontology student working in the Section of Vertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Super Science Activity: Paper Flowers

Spring is here, and the flowers are blooming! Not all flowers bloom at the same time, but with these instructions and a few supplies, you can make your own beautiful paper bouquet of spring flowers that will last all year. Plus, learn a few facts about their living counterparts and why plants are more interesting than you might think with Mason Heberling, assistant curator and Sarah Williams, curatorial assistant in the Section of Botany at the museum! *This activity requires a grown-up!

Before we start, let’s talk about spring flowers!

Many plants that go dormant in the winter, or stop growth, like hibernation for plants respond to certain cues so that they emerge and bloom at the “right” time. These cues include spring temperatures, length of daylight, known as photoperiod, and a set length of cold period (known as vernalization or “winter chilling”). It’s complicated and we are still learning how different species respond differently to each of these cues.

Like many spring flowers, both in your gardens and in the woods, the plants we are making today have big belowground structures called bulbs. Perennial plants with bulbs are known as geophytes (“geo” meaning earth and “phyte” meaning plant), these belowground bulbs come in many forms but serve as storage for energy (sugars) and water. Many geophytes can live many years and because their bulbs are protected belowground, have evolved to withstand many stresses, including fire, extreme temperatures, lack of water, and more. When the soil warms, sometimes even the slightest amount, in the spring, these belowground bulbs fill with water, cells expand, and out of the ground comes the beautiful flower! These flowers are not only beautiful to us—they signal to attract insects and wake up the web of life in our region.

What You’ll Need

Colored construction paper or card stock (make sure to have green paper for the stems!)
Scissors
Pencil
A small surface to roll paper (this project used the end of a paintbrush)
A ruler
Glue
*OPTIONAL* Green Pipe Cleaners for stems instead of green paper

How to Make a Paper Hyacinth

Measure and cut a 9×2 (or, if you are using cardstock, 8/8.5×2) rectangle from your colored paper (this is for the flower portion, please see the directions below on how to make stems and leaves. Measure out 3/8’’ from the bottom of your 9×2 rectangle and draw a line across the entire length of one side. Cut out small rectangles roughly 1/4’’ in size (these don’t need to be accurately measured and look more natural when a little different in sizes!), stopping before the pencil line at the top of the rectangle.
Repeat your cuts across the length of the entire rectangle. Flip your rectangle over to hide the pencil marks.
Using a small surface to roll your paper (like a pencil), roll each strip tightly (it’s ok if they loosen at any point during construction, just make sure they’re still rolled a little).
Flip your rolled-up strips so that your pencil marks from earlier are facing up
Glue along the bottom of the rectangle
Make a paper stem and some leaves, or use green pipe cleaners. Holding your stem and your rolled-up strips, begin by placing the end of the roll to the top of the stem and slowly work your way down by spinning the stem (this may take several minutes—just go slowly and hold your roll to the stem for a few seconds until it has a chance to stick!). Continue down until the end of the roll
Wait for the glue to fully dry before adding leaves

making a paper hyacinth by cutting paper into strips, rolling and gluing it

How to Make a Paper Daffodil

Cut out a 4×4 square from your paper
Fold your paper diagonally to make a triangle.
Fold your paper in half two more times to make a smaller triangle.
Cut a petal shape from the end of the outer corner of you triangle to the inner corner where all of the folds meet. Cut off the tip of the inner corner of your triangle.
Cut a circle out of your paper (size doesn’t matter, but don’t make it too small!).
Cut your circle in half.
Using one half of your circle, fold it into a cone.
Unfold your petal shape from step 4—it should look like a flower with a hold in the center (if it doesn’t, repeat the first steps and cut the petal shape from the opposite direction). Glue your cone from step 7 into the middle of the flower and hold it in place until the glue dries.
Gently push your cone through the center of the daffodil and glue where the sides of the cone meet the petals.
Create a stem (or use pipe cleaners), and glue the end of the stem to your daffodil.
Hold the daffodil in place for a few moments while the glue dries.
Create a leaf or two and glue to your stem.

steps to make a paper daffodil including folding and cutting paper shapes

How to Make a Tulip

Cut out three 3×3 sheets of paper. Stack the papers on top of each other and fold them in half.
Draw a petal shape on the side of the fold.
Cut out the petal shape using the pencil lines as a guide.
Take one petal and glue both sides. Place the other two petals on either side of the glue. Hold down the petals gently until the glue dries.
Create a stem (or use pipe cleaners), and glue the end of the stem to your tulip.
Create a leaf or two and glue to your stem.

steps to make a paper tulip by cutting shapes

About Hyacinths

Hyacinth has a single dense spike of fragrant flowers in shades of red, blue, white, orange, pink, violet or yellow
Hyacinth bulbs are poisonous; they contain oxalic acid. Handling hyacinth bulbs can cause mild skin irritation. Protective gloves are recommended.
Very fragrant, commonly used in perfume
Though only including three species, Hyacinths have been grown in gardens and bred over the past centuries, with thousands of named varieties (known as “cultivars”)
Wild hyacinths are native to Mediterranean and western Asia (including Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey) but are widely grown around the world.

About Daffodils

Though known by human cultures long before and grown for many centuries, Carl Linnaeus formally described and named Narcissus in his famous book Species Plantarum in 1753. The genus was also described in the Flora of North America in part by former Carnegie Museum of Natural History Curator of Botany, Frederick H. Utech, who studied many species in the Lily family, including daffodils.
Daffodils include many species and varieties, native to the Eastern Mediterranean, but very hardy, growing very well across North America. It is not uncommon for daffodils to get snowed on and still bounce back! It has even naturalized in many areas, meaning it can survive without a gardener’s help outside of gardens.
In Germany the wild narcissus, N. pseudonarcissus, is known as the Osterglocke or “Easter bell.” In the United Kingdom the daffodil is sometimes referred to as the Lenten lily.

About Tulips

Tulips have a very long human history of cultivation, dating back more than a thousand years.
Tulips were once so popular in the Netherlands that they were used as money in the 1600s!
Seeds take 7-12 years before they’ll form a flowering bulb
In Amsterdam, you can go on tours of whole fields and greenhouses of Tulips.
Tulips are native to N. China / S. Europe, cultivated in Turkey by the Ottoman Empire, imported to Holland in the 1500s.

More from our Botanists

What exactly is a botanist? What types of plants do you study?

A botanist is someone who is curious about plants. That’s it! No degree required, you don’t need to be a professional botanist, but you certainly can be! Like many botanists, I am interested in many different types of plants, but in particular, study plants in our forests, especially our native spring wildflowers.

Why is this information important? Does it connect to other sciences?

The understory layer in our forests comprise many different types of species. In fact, there are far more species in the understory than the overstory! Beyond their beauty, they serve important roles in the how our ecosystem functions – from the flow of nutrients and regulating our climate to feeding bugs, birds, and animals that depend upon them. In particular, I study the impacts of climate change and introduced species in our forests. I use field experiments, observations, and our museum collections to understand the past, present, and future of the plant which we all depend. Botany connects to many areas of science, including agriculture (the food we eat!), medicine, environmental chemistry, and many more. The Section of Botany has even been consulted in legal cases and crime scene investigations.

How long have you been a botanist?

Dr. Heberling: I’ve been fascinated by plants since college, but I actually didn’t refer to myself as a “botanist” until later. Even earlier, I loved nature as a kid and grew up with a garden. Yet, I did not really discover plants as a career or calling until college. I thought I had to be a doctor to go into biology, or at least had to study animals. But at some unknown point, it clicked – plants are incredible and incredibly important! My path to becoming a museum curator was driven by my interests and only partially planned. There are many avenues to explore, many equally as fulfilling and important. And I’m fortunate to have landed where I have, in a collection of more than half a million specimens, studying the power of plants.

What is your favorite flowering plant?

Dr. Heberling: My favorite spring flowering plant: There are many! But I have a special liking to our native Trillium species. Seeing a forest full of Trillium is an experience like no other.

Sarah Williams: Hyacinth because the smell is wonderful. Forsythia because it’s the first sign for me that it’s really real Spring is here. Dutchman’s breeches because they’re pretty and look like tiny teeth.

If a child is interested in plants, what career paths could they follow and where is a good place for children to start that path?

Dr. Heberling: Get outside! That’s the best place to start. It need not be somewhere exotic. Observe. Notice what you notice. Then, start trying to identify what’s around you. Join scouting if you can, or similar groups. The best thing is to discover your passion. There are many careers that involve plants – they not only are part of the landscape, but they ARE the landscape. From agriculture to parks/recreation to many areas of conservation and scientific study – many careers directly involve plants.

March 30, 2021 by Kathleen

Super Science Coloring Pages!

Download Boomer the Boa with Eggs Coloring Image

Download Quilliam the Hedgehog in Egg Basket Coloring Image

Download Lupe the Coati dressed as Rabbit Coloring Image

March 29, 2021 by wpengine

The Hunt Is On! Eggs-traordinary Animals That Hide Their Eggs

by Shelby Wyzykowski

Just once every year, an eggs-tra special day rolls around when a certain long-eared, fluffy-tailed fellow comes hopping down the bunny trail to your home. He brings with him all of the egg-ceptionally tasty springtime goodies that he knows will satisfy your sweet tooth. Your basket gets filled to the brim with chocolate rabbits, pastel-colored confections, and chick-shaped marshmallows, just to name a few delectable treats. It’s a holiday candy lover’s dream! But then you may just notice one thing that’s missing…where are all the eggs? No, the Easter Bunny didn’t forget them. He’s giving you a bit of a challenge this year. He’s remembered an old German tradition that started hundreds of years ago. It was so long ago that he had a different name…Osterhase! Osterhase would secretly lay eggs in the back garden so children could enjoy the outdoors and hunt for their Easter eggs. So, like long ago, you get to look outside (virtually) for eggs too! But as you search and discover egg after egg, little do you know that, beyond your garden, there are many more eggs concealed in secret spots. In fact, they’re all over the world…in mountain forests, on ocean shores, and in steamy swamps. But they’re not hidden by the Easter Bunny. All sorts of animals hide their eggs too! Let’s take some time to eggs-plore the planet and learn more about these eggs-traordinary creatures. Let’s go on an egg hunt!

First let’s search out West for the eggs of a plump, short-tailed bird called the American Dipper. They love to live in and around pristine mountain streams ranging from way up in Alaska and all the way down into Panama! That’s a lot of places for them to hide their eggs, so, for now, let’s just focus on one of the Dipper’s favorite spots in Montana’s Rocky Mountains. Dippers are the only songbirds in the United States that love to routinely swim. And they have several adaptations that make dunking and diving quite easy for them. At the base of their tails, they have what is called a uropygial (oil) gland. They use their beak to collect oil from this gland and, when they preen, it makes their feathers waterproof. They also have nictitating membranes (extra eyelids) and flaps of skin covering their nostrils that protect their eyes and beak when they’re submerged.

But all these swim-friendly features can also help immensely when Dippers nest. To keep their eggs safe from predators, they sometimes build their nests in hard-to-reach spots like cliff ledges, on boulders, and under bridges. But there is one very special, watery way that Dippers like to raise their chicks…behind waterfalls! It can get wet if you live behind a waterfall, so a Dipper nest is specially designed to withstand such damp conditions. The dome-shaped nest is about the size of a soccer ball and has multiple layers of moss, bark, leaves, and coarse grass. The thick, outside shell of moss absorbs moisture so the inside, lined with grass, stays cozy and dry. After around two weeks of incubation, the clutch of four to five eggs hatch. Mom spends a lot of time on the nest, but both parents feed the sparsely-downed chicks up to twenty times an hour! They must fly back and forth through the veil of falling water to get to and from their hungry babies.

After a little over three weeks, the fledgling Dippers are old enough to leave the nest. So, they must bravely make their first trip through the curtain of cascading water. Then they watch and learn from their parents how to wade, swim, and dive in the stream to hunt for food. Sadly, the Dipper’s preferred meals (crayfish, tadpoles, fish eggs, and aquatic insects) become scarce when streams are tainted by humans. Poor practices in logging, mining, and farming can cause these birds to abandon polluted areas. Luckily, for now, they do manage to find new locations with clean, cold, rushing water that they can happily call home.

Now let’s travel a few states over to Florida, one of several Southern states where the American Alligator glides through the waters of slow-moving rivers, lakes, and sweltering marshes. In June and July, the female alligator creates a huge nest out of mud, plants, and sticks. It can be up to two to three feet high and as wide as seven to ten feet! The nest needs to be this big because the mother alligator lays as many as thirty-five to ninety eggs. Once the nest is filled with eggs, she completely covers them up with more vegetation. As the eggs rest hidden and undisturbed for several weeks, an interesting process occurs within the massive mound.

alligator in the water — Photo credit: Rene Ferrer from Pexels.

Alligator embryos do not have chromosomes that determine gender, so the temperature of the nest determines how many of the young are girls and how many are boys. If, for example, the nest is located on a sunny riverbank (somewhere around 91 to 93 degrees Fahrenheit), the offspring are mostly male. The temperature of a nest in a cool, shady spot might hover around 86 degrees, and that environment produces mostly females. Around the end of August, the baby gators, still safe in their eggs, start making high-pitched noises. This lets their mom know that they’re ready to break out. She uncovers the nest for them to hatch. When the hatchlings are tiny, they hang out in a small group called a “pod”, but mom is always close by keeping a watchful eye on them. Unfortunately, climate change is beginning to affect the behavior of temperature-dependent species like the alligator. They are beginning to nest earlier and earlier in the year to preserve the correct male to female ratio. The alligators instinctively know that they need to keep a gender balance to allow their species to successfully thrive!

Our last stop covers a wide area, so get ready for the toughest challenge of our hunt! We’re going to search for the eggs of the Loggerhead Turtle. They like to swim in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, and the Mediterranean Sea. But between late April and early September, the females leave their aquatic homes to nest on the beaches where they themselves hatched decades earlier. Safely under the cover of darkness, a female Loggerhead will use her powerful rear flippers to dig a hole in the sand. After she lays around one hundred eggs, she once again uses her flippers to expertly cover up her eggs. She does such a thorough job that she erases any sign of her nest…it’s a safe and cozy hiding place for her eggs! They need to be well-hidden because the mother Loggerhead does not watch over her nest. Instead, she returns to the sea, leaving the concealed eggs to develop on their own.

Like alligators, the gender of sea turtle embryos is temperature dependent. A nest in warmer sand produces more females (this biological fact concerns marine scientists because global warming will disrupt the proper male to female ratio). After about two months of incubation, the baby turtles hatch and wait for nightfall. Then in a joint effort, they all climb out of the nest together and make a mad dash for the ocean waves. But their journey is fraught with danger.

Predators such as birds, crabs, dogs, and even raccoons are anxiously waiting to make these little turtles into scrumptious evening snacks. And the hatchlings have another, more insidious hazard to deal with…artificial light. To reach the ocean, the hatchlings use the natural light (the moon and stars) horizon to guide them. But beachfront lighting, highway lights, and campfires can disorient them and lead them in the wrong direction. It’s true that the odds are stacked against them, and even though it’s a treacherous trek to the water’s edge, many do make it. And then the real adventure begins for these little ones in their new ocean home!

Now that we’ve finished our egg hunting eggs-pedition, and you’ve fervently feasted on your Easter treats, your once-filled basket contains only some crumpled foil, a clump of Easter grass, and one squashed jelly bean. And, unfortunately, the only thing that you’ve got plenty of are the pangs of an eggs-cruciating stomachache. But while you’re laying back in your favorite comfy chair recovering from the day’s egg-citement, think about all those creatures out there in the world that work so hard to hide their eggs in the most interesting of places. And that leads you to wondering that maybe, just maybe, there might be one more egg still hidden in your garden. It might be hiding behind the daffodils or under the old wheelbarrow or in the tulip bed. And when you feel better, and you go back outside and find that last egg, it seems to me that would be an egg-cellent way to end an eggs-tra special day.

Carnegie’s Cactus: Carnegie gigantea

by Patrick McShea

Diplodocus carnegii, a sauropod star of Dinosaurs in Their Time, is not the only large organism exhibited at Carnegie Museum of Natural History that bears the founder’s name. Within the Hall of Botany, the tree-sized saguaro cactus whose prickly form visually anchors the Sonoran Desert diorama is a species know to science as Carnegie gigantea.

Carnegie gigantea — A blooming saguaro in a diorama depicting the Sonoran Desert of southern Arizona.

The name honors Andrew Carnegie’s support, through the Carnegie Institution, for the 1903 establishment of the Desert Botanical Laboratory in Tucson, Arizona. This groundbreaking research facility, which enabled long-term studies of desert plant adaptations, was sold to the U.S. Forest Service in 1940, and later was purchased by the University of Arizona in 1956.

Today the facility is known simply as the Desert Laboratory, and visitors to its website find an immediate reference to its location on Tumamoc Hill, a site of cultural and spiritual significance to the Tohono O’odham and other Native peoples. A mission statement follows, clarifying the expanded scope of the Laboratory’s work:

The role of the Desert Laboratory is to build on the complementary strengths of culture, science, and community rooted at Tumamoc Hill and the larger Sonoran Desert to become an integrative hub of novel research, education, and outreach about how linked human and natural systems face the future of life in the desert.

Ongoing studies of the Desert Laboratory’s 5,800 saguaros fit perfectly into this mission because of the plant’s importance to the region’s Native peoples for thousands of years.

A carving depicting the saguaro harvest.

In Pittsburgh, museum visitors can learn something about the ancient connection between people and the iconic cactus by following a Hall of Botany stop with one in the Alcoa Foundation Hall of American Indians. Here, near the middle of the exhibition’s central corridor, a series of displays exploring use of plants by Native peoples includes a carving by artist Danny Flores (Tohono O’odham) that depicts the traditional harvest of saguaro fruit by Tohono O’odham women.

Consider the walk between the blooming life-sized saguaro in the Sonoran Desert diorama and the tiny carved replica to represent a spring-into-summer transition when white cactus blossoms, pollinated by bird, bat, or insect, transform into ripening red fruit.

A text panel near the model explains how gathered fruit is boiled to create a syrup which is then fermented into wine used in rituals invoking the summer rains to begin. The label also identifies the source of the specialized harvesting tool, an implement as long as a saguaro is tall. The pole is a saguaro rib, a part of the wood skeleton that once helped to hold a massive cactus upright.

Spring Birds in Your Backyard

by Annie Lindsay

On spring mornings that I’m not banding birds, I like to sit on my back porch with my binoculars, watching for movement at the edge of the woods behind my house, keeping my ears tuned in to songs and short, usually high-pitched, chip and contact notes. On mornings following a night of heavy migration, small flocks of mixed species often move through the trees, feeding on insects as they refuel for the next stage of migration. These flocks often have warblers, thrushes, tanagers, grosbeaks, or sparrows foraging in their own niches: warblers tend to be in mid- to high-canopy, whereas thrushes stay low and sparrows are often on the ground.

Occasionally, I’ll stand outside in a quiet, dark spot just before dawn and listen for the soft, high-pitched flight calls of migrants settling into habitat after a night of flying. I’m an avid birder: I love to see both new and familiar birds, and watch the species that use my yard and favorite birding patches.

Baltimore Orioles arrive in southwest PA by mid-to late-April. Providing fresh orange halves on spikes can bring them to your feeders from spring through fall migration.

Last year, many people discovered birding. We spent much of the spring working from home, perhaps gazing out of our windows at our bird feeders or backyard plants, and for the first time noticed birds that we didn’t know existed or didn’t realize visited our yards. The opportunity to learn about the diversity of birds in our area and develop a passion for watching them was a bright spot (both literally and metaphorically!) in an otherwise difficult year. The seasons progressed, and now we once again eagerly anticipate the arrival of beautiful and colorful migratory songbirds. Let’s explore common spring backyard birds in southwest Pennsylvania and how to attract and find them!

Dark-eyed Juncos are a species we usually associate with winter in southwest PA. They start singing in March, then do an elevational migration up the nearby mountains.

Each year, as the temperature warms, migratory birds move through our area in search of their breeding grounds. Although arrival timing is a bit variable between years due to annual variation in weather patterns, there is a predictable progression of species, so we know what to expect next relative to what we’ve already seen. The first, and often most conspicuous, to arrive are Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles, usually in late February. They are followed by “peenting” American Woodcocks in early March, Eastern Phoebes in mid-March, and kinglets peaking in late-March. Keep your eyes to the sky any time you’re outdoors during these early spring weeks to watch for migrating waterfowl and raptors.

Rose-breasted Grosbeaks readily visit feeders with black oil sunflower seeds or safflower seeds usually in early- to mid-May before moving off into the forest to set up breeding territories.

By April, more songbirds, including vireos, swallows, early warblers, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (a tiny bird with a wheezy song), House Wren, and the fan favorite, Gray Catbird make their way through our region, many remaining here to set up their breeding territories. In May, the migration floodgates open and some of the most brilliantly plumaged birds we’ve ever seen, like Baltimore Oriole, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Scarlet Tanager, Indigo Bunting, and several warblers, may visit our yards and feeders, along with the less flashy, but equally beautiful, sparrows and thrushes.

Orioles readily come to feeders with orange halves, especially during migration, and seed-eating species like grosbeaks, buntings, and sparrows often visit feeders with sunflower or other seeds (or, in the case of many sparrows, clean up seeds on the ground under feeders!). Hummingbirds come to feeders with nectar (four parts water to one part white sugar, please avoid using food dyes or commercial nectar that has been dyed red). Most of these species are insectivorous, especially during spring migration, and are often observed picking things like caterpillars, midges, and spiders from foliage.

Yellow Warblers are often recognized by their signature “sweet sweet I’m so sweet!” song. You may see them flitting through small woody plants like dogwoods as they forage for caterpillars.

In addition to the migratory species that we see and hear in the spring, many birds that are year-round residents also frequent our yards. Black-capped and Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, White-breasted Nuthatches, Carolina Wrens, five species of woodpeckers (Downy, Hairy, Red-bellied, Pileated, and Northern Flicker, plus two more if we’re lucky – Red-headed Woodpecker and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker), and the colorful American Goldfinch, Northern Cardinal, and Eastern Bluebird mix with migratory birds. Most of these species visit bird feeders filled with sunflower or safflower seeds (chickadees, titmice, cardinals, nuthatches, woodpeckers), suet (woodpeckers, wrens), nyjer seed (finches), and mealworms (bluebirds, titmice, chickadees).

Gray-cheeked Thrushes are cryptic and secretive, but can be found skulking on the forest floor in mid- to late-May before they continue northward migration. They have a beautiful, flutey song and a distinctive call note.

One of the best ways to attract birds to your yard is planting native trees, shrubs, wildflowers, and other plants. Native plants are hosts for a high diversity of insects, especially during their larval stages, and provide nutritious seeds and fruit, all of which are important food resources for birds. These plants are also valuable as cover for safety and nest sites. Although often overlooked, a source of clean, fresh water, as simple as a bird bath or as complex as a pond with a bubbler or waterfall, can make your yard especially attractive to birds. And one of the easiest and most popular ways to attract birds for close viewing is providing bird food in clean, safe feeders. I recommend visiting your local bird feeding specialty store.

You may see all of the birds mentioned in this blog in your yard, but this is a non-exhaustive list and you may even see something unexpected. Visiting a local birding hotspot with complex and diverse habitats is certainly worth the effort as well. Birding these spots several times throughout the season will reward you with an impressive list and will boost your knowledge of natural history. The combination of a good pair of binoculars and a field guide with identification tips, range maps, and text about habitat is one of the best ways to maximize your birding, whether at home or in the field.

Please visit CMNH’s blog page to find bird ID tips and field guide recommendations.

The Audubon Society put together a great guide to the best binoculars at various price ranges.

You can put your bird observation skills to good use (or further develop those skills) by participating this spring in a broad survey of local wildlife and plants called the City Nature Challenge. The observation portion of this event is April 30 – May 3.

Center Court Culture Sharing

by Patrick McShea

In the final hour of a Saturday-long visit to the museum by a Kent State University class, a student who played high school basketball volunteered to read aloud to nine college classmates. “With that experience you’ll do a great job,” I explained as I handed her a paper bearing a single long paragraph, and then directed her toward a quiet corner of the exhibit hall to a practice the assignment.

While the majority of the 40-student class opted to spend the unscheduled block of time exploring the exhibits and visiting the museum shop, ten students had accepted my offer to guide them on a tour of the Alcoa Foundation Hall of American Indians.

The now 23-year-old exhibition is divided into quadrants with a different culture presented as a focal point in each, the Tlingit of the Northwest Coast, the Hopi of the Southwest, the Iroquois Nations of the Northeast, and the Lakota and their neighbors of the Great Plains. The twin themes of Native diversity and the continued vibrancy of Native cultures are repeatedly addressed in the hall’s displays. When I paused the group at the Lakota Winter Count display, and recruited the volunteer reader, I hoped to delve a little deeper into both themes.

photograph of a winter count on display in the museum

Winter counts are a method by which groups of Lakota People record and remember their history through pictographs on a tanned animal hide or sturdy cloth. Each year, after leaders review important events and agree upon the previous year’s most significant occurrence, a new entry is added to the unique document. A designated count keeper holds the responsibility to annually recite, in sequence, the story behind each pictograph, and thereby orally pass along the group’s history to a listening audience.

The Winter Count on display, which covers a period of 125 years for the Sicangu Lakota people on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, was created specifically for the exhibit by Dr. Thomas Red Owl Haukaas (Lakota/Creole). After summarizing the importance of winter counts for the students, I read aloud the artist’s explanation of his work from a nearby label: “My winter count is from a contemporary viewpoint. It purposely includes community and national events, men and women, fullbloods, and mixedbloods as an attempt to capture the richness and complexity of our tribe.”

close up of winter count showing animals drawn in black on off-white background

The mention of contemporary viewpoint provided the opportunity to introduce another, albeit non-Native one, author Ian Frazier’s description of high school basketball star SuAnne Big Crow in On the Rez, his 2001 account of life on the Pine Ridge American Indian Reservation.

I called back the volunteer reader and provided background for the description of an event that might be judged worthy of winter count commemoration. “The quote you’re about to hear is pulled from a considerably longer story. It describes how in 1988, SuAnne Big Crow, who was then a 14-year-old basketball player from the Pine Ridge Reservation, transformed the racially charged playoff game atmosphere during pre-game warm-ups at a school in Lead, South Dakota, a white town located outside the reservation. Her actions were brave, clever, defiant, desperate, and heroic – all at the same time.”

“Swish!” by Targuman is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

As someone who experienced the intimidating atmosphere of away basketball games, the volunteer brought an authentic voice to her task, confidently reading Frazier’s account of SuAnne dribbling as she led her team onto the court of the “deafeningly loud” high school gym. Her voice shifted to a slightly higher register, however, when the narrative departed from normal pre-game procedure.

Then she stepped into the jump-ball circle at center court, in front of the Lead fans. She unbuttoned her warm-up jacket, took it off, draped it over her shoulders, and began to do the Lakota shawl dance. SuAnne knew all the traditional dances – she had competed in many powwows as a little girl – and the dance she chose is a young woman’s dance, graceful and modest and show-offy all at the same time.

The reader’s calmer voice returned where the account quoted the impressions of SuAnne’s surprised teammates, then turned higher as the action continued.

SuAnne began to sing in Lakota, swaying back and forth in the jump-ball circle, doing the shawl dance, using her warm-up jacket for a shawl. The crowd went completely silent. ‘All that stuff the Lead fans were yelling – it was like she reversed it somehow,’ a teammate said. In the sudden quiet, all you could hear was her Lakota song. SuAnne stood up, dropped her jacket, took the ball from Doni De Cory, and ran a lap around the court dribbling expertly and fast. The fans began to cheer and applaud. She sprinted to the basket, went up in the air, and laid the ball through the hoop, with the fans cheering loudly now. Of course, Pine Ridge went on to win the game.

The reader earned a sincere round of applause from her classmates for her efforts. I, in turn, felt a rewarding sense of accomplishment when she asked to keep the now deeply creased paper in her hands.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History Blog Citation Information

Blog author: McShea, Patrick
Publication date: March 18, 2021

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March 15, 2021 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1957

Spring at Powdermill.

An early bloomer.

dried specimen of coltsfoot on an herbarium sheet

This specimen of coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) was collected at Powdermill Nature Reserve, the field station of Carnegie Museum of Natural History in 1957, just one year after the facility was established. It was collected by Leroy Henry, a Curator of Botany at the museum from 1937 until 1972 (though he was also affiliated with the museum before and after this period). Henry is an important collector for our region, with >36,000 specimens in the Carnegie Museum herbarium.

At first look, the plant may be confused with your common dandelion. It has definite similarities, as it is in the same plant family, Asteraceae, and bears yellow flowers. But, as you’ll notice from the specimen – flowering coltsfoot doesn’t have leaves!

Coltsfoot, which is native to Europe, was introduced to Pennsylvania, and is quite unique in our state’s flora. The plant blooms very early in the spring, with dandelion-like flowers frequently poking through the soil of otherwise barren slopes. The leaves soon follow, and they are shaped like – well – a colt’s foot! Quite different than the familiar serrated edge shape of dandelion leaves.

Coltsfoot’s early appearance also makes it a great species to track changes in bloom time using herbarium specimens. The species was among the first to be used in a pioneering study published in 2006 using herbarium specimens by Claud Lavoie and Daniel Lachance. In Southern Quebec, they found coltsfoot bloomed 15-31 days earlier in recent decades, compared to pre-1950. Earlier blooming was strongly linked to climate change in the region. The plants also showed a clear signal of flowering earlier in the city (due to a phenomenon known as urban heat island effect).

We have plenty of spring ephemerals that bloom early, but unlike these plants, coltsfoot doesn’t die off by summer. The plant keeps its leaves well after it blooms, into late fall.

This strategy is interesting, and I can’t think of many plants in our flora with similar growth patterns. Is the plant on to something?

Keep an eye out for coltsfoot, especially along wooded roadsides. Once you see a big bloom, check the same site later in the year. The leaves can grow to a surprisingly large size.

Find this specimen and more here.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History Blog Citation Information

Blog author: Heberling, Mason
Publication date: March 14, 2021

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March 11, 2021 by wpengine

Winter Wanderers On a Water Tower

On a late January afternoon, as I used binoculars to count roosting vultures on a water tower in a northern Pittsburgh suburb, the question of a friend and colleague echoed in my head. “What personal experience helped convince you that our climate is changing?”

Taiji Nelson, Senior Program Manager for the museum’s Climate and Rural Systems Partnership (CRSP), asked that question months earlier to begin a workshop session for educators about effectively engaging audiences in climate change discussions. He then spent 15 minutes fielding firsthand accounts from participants about extreme weather events, the spread of tree diseases, and the sudden appearance of previously unknown garden pests. When my vulture count reached double figures I silently vowed, “Next time Taiji’s going to hear about these birds.”

The birds, 17 Turkey Vultures and two Black Vultures, were the highlight of the three hours my wife Amy and I spent hiking and birdwatching. Black Vultures were a species we’d never before seen in western Pennsylvania. We’d frequently observed Turkey Vultures in the spring, summer, and fall, but our winter sightings of the species had been spotty. During the previous four winters we spotted a few Turkey Vultures who appeared to be spending the season in the Pittsburgh area instead of migrating further south. Before then, our year’s first sightings of these large soaring birds always occurred under mid-March skies.

Both species are scavengers who play vital roles in cleaning-up the carcasses of other animals in fields, forests, and along roadsides. Their slow, but steady northward range extension across eastern North America during the past four decades can be attributed to an increase in available food in the form of road-killed wildlife, the diminishing residues of DDT in regional food webs, and even a greater public acceptance of their presence. Warmer temperatures associated with global climate change have also played a role in the movement.

In a now 10-year-old essay on the All About Birds website of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, author Jack Connor argues that a long term view of vulture movements suggests climate change contributed to a gradual, but for those paying attention, a certainly noticeable northward expansion.

“At each step the first vagrant birds were seen in spring and summer over a period of a year or two, a handful of nests were found a few years later, and soon, only 20 or 30 years after the first rarities appeared, the species had taken up permanent residency in an area where once it could not be found.”

One of the Black Vultures on the tower was not a completely anonymous wanderer. A rectangular red tag about twice the size of a playing card was affixed to its wing, and with the aid of a spotting scope, the figures H 73 could be clearly seen. Some internet searching by Amy, and the email response to her formal sighting report, established a previous, if only temporary, residency for the bird in the area around Martinsburg, West Virginia. The eastern panhandle town is home to the 167th Airlift Wing of the West Virginia Air National Guard, a unit that since 2018 has been working with the US Department of Agriculture in a study of Black Vulture movements aimed at reducing aviation hazards.

For more information about the Climate and Rural Systems Partnership, check out Carnegie Magazine.

Patrick McShea works in the Education and Visitor Experience department of Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History Blog Citation Information

Blog author: McShea, Patrick
Publication date: March 11, 2021

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March 9, 2021 by wpengine

Section of Minerals and Earth Sciences Celebrates Being Lucky!

The etymology, or origin, of the word ‘luck’ is centuries old and has strong roots in minerals and mining. Although the exact origin is unknown, the verb “lukken,” meaning to “happen by chance” or “happen fortunately,” first appeared in Old English literature sometime in the mid 15th century and is thought to be associated with gambling. According to several sources, this meaning was likely borrowed from earlier Middle Dutch (“gheluc”) or Germanic (“gelücke”) speakers, who applied these words to good fortune and happiness associated with it.

Not long afterwards, beginning around the late 16th century, the traditional German miner’s greeting, “Glück auf!”, which translates to “luck to!” or “luck on!” became popular among many European miners. It describes a hope for good fortune to find ore that will bring riches, and was likely also directed to having luck in safety on their shift underground, since underground mining during that time was extremely dangerous.

The more modern term “luck of the Irish” also has likely origins in mining, since Irish immigrants and Irish American miners were considered to be some the most successful and famous prospectors during the gold and silver rush in the Western U.S. in the mid 1800s.

Miners sometimes encountered “unlucky” minerals underground that, at the time, were worthless and not considered pay dirt. Around the 1600s, silver miners in the Bohemia region of Czech Republic and Germany often encountered a dark and dense mineral that they referred to as “pechblende,” or bad-luck ore. This pechblende was actually the mineral uraninite, a major ore of the radioactive element uranium that would later become a hotly contested resource of developing nuclear nations.

Nowadays, good luck is linked to many minerals, including gold, mythical pots of which receive attention around St. Patrick’s Day. Gold is considered lucky because of its association with wealth and fortune, but did you know that the reason gold is used for money is linked to its mineralogy? Consider gold’s properties as a mineral: it’s very stable (doesn’t spontaneously burst into flames or corrode), melts at a relatively low temperature, and is easily malleable (hammered or pressed). Gold was an ideal candidate to be used as money for early civilizations. Matching all those requirements, plus being the right balance of rare, but not too rare, means that out of over 100 elements in the periodic table, gold hits the sweet spot for monetary value.

A 2.5 ounce leaf gold standing 12.5 cm tall from Tuolumne County, California, on display in the Masterpiece Gallery of Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems. Photo: Harold and Erica Van Pelt.

Carla Rosenfeld is the Assistant Curator of Earth Sciences, Travis Olds is Assistant Curator of Minerals, and Debra Wilson is Collection Manager of Minerals at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

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Carnegie Museum of Natural History Blog Citation Information

Blog author: Rosenfield, Carla; Olds, Travis; and Wilson, Debra
Publication date: March 9, 2021

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March 8, 2021 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1998

Spring is springing as we speak.

In the city and beyond.

dried common chickweed specimen on herbarium sheet

This specimen of common chickweed (Stellaria media) was collected on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University, in Pittsburgh, in a “mostly shady area.” Though small, if you look closely you’ll encounter a charismatic tiny flower. Common chickweed is a familiar plant across the world, found in every continent (except perhaps Antarctica?). Like many cosmopolitan lawn weeds, it is native to “Eurasia.” The plant’s exact native range is unclear, but it is considered not native to North America.

In Pennsylvania, common chickweed can be found in habitat ranging from urban lawns to forests. In some locations dense growth of the plant can form a mat along the ground. Common chickweed can be found just about year-round when snow isn’t on the ground, and like dandelion, the plant flowers throughout the year.

*Stellaria media* on January 30 in southwest Pennsylvania.

The tiny flowers now are also sending a signal – spring is on the way. For some plants, such as skunk cabbage and red maple, spring has already sprung.

*Stellaria media* on April 24 in southwest Pennsylvania.

This species is a good one to look out for during the upcoming City Nature Challenge!

Find this specimen and more here.

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Carnegie Museum of Natural History Blog Citation Information

Blog author: Heberling, Mason
Publication date: March 8, 2021

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March 8, 2021 by Kathleen

Super Science Activity: DIY Sundial

Today we use clocks to help us keep track of time, but in the past, humans relied on the planets, stars, and even our sun to mark significant yearly events. A useful tool different cultures independently invented was the sundial—a flat instrument that uses the position of the sun to accurately track the passage of time. You can use some simple supplies to make your own sundial and learn the science behind it! *This activity requires a grown-up!

What You’ll Need

Paper plate
Pencil, straw, or a long thin object
Tape measure or yardstick
Tape
Watch or clock
Ruler
An outdoor space in natural daylight
*OPTIONAL* Markers or crayons to decorate

Directions

*For best results, either start earlier in the day or work on this project for multiple days.

Find your test area—this should be an open space with good natural daylight and away from any shadows. Use chalk or a visual marker to mark this area.
Stand in your area and have a grownup trace the outline of your shadow on the ground with chalk. Write the current time at the top of your shadow.
Use a pencil or pen to poke a hole through the center of the paper plate
Write down the time on the edge of your plate. Use a ruler to draw a straight line from the number you wrote to the hole in the center of the plate.
Take your plate and plastic straw outside and place on the ground in your marked area. Slant the straw so that it points to the line you drew on the ground
Rotate the plate so that the shadow of the straw lines up with the line you drew
Place some stones on the plate to keep in place, but be careful not to tip over the straw
Check on your plate every hour. What happened to the shadow of the straw?
Record the position of the shadow of the straw by writing the current time on the edge of the plate where the shadow falls. What shape is your shadow moving in? What does this remind you of?

So, what’s the science behind the dial? Sundials come in many different forms depending on which cultures used them, but they have two key common features—they’re typically made on flat platforms or surfaces and have a thin, upright rod that casts a shadow on the dial called a gnomon. The reason the shadow moves so precisely on the flat platform is due to the Earth’s rotating axis; as the earth rotates around the sun, the shadows on earth change position as well.

Sundials aren’t just a part of ancient history, either; sundials were commonly used as late as the 16^th century!

The next time you see a clock, whether a digital or an analog clock on the wall, remember that these inventions and so many others we use day-to-day have very ancient beginnings!

March 5, 2021 by wpengine

Follow Your Dreams, My 70 Years as an Archaeologist

Archaeology usually conjures up Indiana Jones as an example of the thrills and dangers of archaeological research. Archaeology is a relatively safe occupation, although there are exceptions, such as the archaeologist who stood on top of a Mayan pyramid who was struck by lightning. There are many fields of archaeology that focus on geographic areas and time periods, from hunters and gatherers over hundreds of thousands of years to the last 10,000 years of the rise of civilizations around the world. There are many cultural specialties in archaeology such as Egyptology, Classical archaeology, focusing on the Mediterranean Greek and Roman, Mayan, Inca, U.S. Southwest and so forth. A field represented in Pittsburgh is Biblical archaeology at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary with its Kelso Museum of Near Eastern Archaeology. At the University of Pittsburgh in the Department of Anthropology there is a focus on Mexico, Central and South America, Eastern Europe, China, and Central Asia with currently over 30 graduate students and faculty conducting research in these regions.

The Section of Anthropology of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, for over 100 years, has conducted archaeological research in Egypt, Israel, Central Asia, Caribbean, Costa Rica, Peru, the Upper Ohio Valley and holds collections from other areas of the Americas and the world though donations or purchase. The richness of the Section’s collections can be seen in Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt, Polar World: Wyckoff Hall of Arctic Life, and Alcoa Foundation Hall of American Indians.

From an early age I wanted to be an archaeologist. My father was worried that archaeology wouldn’t provide much of a livelihood, so he arranged a visit with the director of the Peabody Museum at Harvard when I was a teenager. My father asked the director J. O Brew if one could make a living as an archaeologist and he answered, “it’s better if you’re independently wealthy.” This didn’t deter me from following my dream of becoming an archaeologist. My archaeological career is filled with luck and serendipity where seizing an offered archaeological opportunity or discovery of a significant artifact, not only guided my research, but where I worked. I have a parallel career in historic colonial sites and in prehistoric maritime adaptations. I became intrigued with archaeology at an early age visiting the Springfield Science Museum and joining a chapter of the Massachusetts Archaeological Society based at the museum. I went out on their excavations at sites in the Connecticut River Valley, one which was in 1957 in South Hadley where I learned how to uncover burials. From summering in the Lake George area of New York State I became interested in historic archaeology due to all the French and Indian War (1754-1763) forts in the region. In 1952 at age 16, I was a crew member for two summers at the excavations of Fort William Henry, made famous by James Fenimore Cooper’s novel The Last of the Mohicans.

Excavation of Fort William Henry at the Head of Lake George, New York 1952. (Photo Credit Dr. Richardson)

black and white photo of an archaeologist at work in a red frame — Excavation of Fort William Henry at the Head of Lake George, New York 1952. (Photo Credit Dr. Richardson)

I also summered on Martha’s Vineyard where in 1954 I dug at a coastal site with an associate of the Martha’s Vineyard Museum which stimulated my desire to become a maritime archaeologist. At St. Lawrence University I majored in Sociology and Anthropology and in 1957 I wrote a letter to the Smithsonian Institution asking to go on one of their expeditions and was accepted on a crew that set up a tent camp on the Big Bend of the Missouri River in South Dakota excavating at the Black Partisan village site. While at SLU I also was a crew member in 1959 at the excavations of Johnson Hall in Johnstown, NY, the home of Sir William Johnson, the British Superintendent of Indian Affairs during the French and Indian War.

Smithsonian Institution camp on the Lower Brule Sioux (Lakota) Indian Reservation in South Dakota, 1957. (Photo Credit: Dr. Richardson)

Dr. Richardson in the Smithsonian Camp 1957. (Photo Credit: Warren Caldwell)

Dr. Richardson lounging at the Black Partisan Site, an excavation of an earth lodge at Lower Brule Reservation. (Photo Credit: Warren Caldwell)

Dr. Richardson excavating a food storage pit at the Black Partisan Site. (Photo Credit: Warren Caldwell)

At Syracuse University for my master’s, I crewed in 1962-63 on 3 sites in up-state New York directed by William A. Ritchie, the State Archaeologist from the New York State Museum. I mentioned to him my interest in maritime archaeology and urged him to develop a research project on Martha’s Vineyard, which he did, excavating 6 sites from 1962-1966 on which I of course I participated. After Syracuse in 1963, I with my wife Judy went to the University of Illinois for my Ph.D. in northeastern U.S. archaeology, focusing on the maritime Vineyard. Here one of my advisors came out of his office and shouted down the hall to me “Jim, do you want to go to Peru?” To which I replied, “of course if you’re paying.” An excellent case of seizing the moment that fit well with my career goal of becoming a maritime specialist. In 1965 my wife Judy and I went to Talara, the second oldest operating oil field in the world after Drake well in western PA. Talara is 100 miles south of the Ecuadorian border and here I located an 8,000-year-old shell midden called Siches, which held evidence from warm and cold ocean fish and shellfish species. Based on the evidence at this coastal fishing and shellfish gathering society and other sites on the coast of Peru I and my colleague Dan Sandweiss, a Research Associate of the Section, developed the theory that this was evidence of a major shift in the change from a warm water to a cold water current washing the Peruvian north coast and the origins of El Niño around 5,800 years ago, the worldwide drought and flood disasters. My doctorate in 1969 was on the changing climate and coastal sites in the Talara region. I also dug in southern Peru at the Ring Site, an 10,500-year-old massive shell midden with cold water fish and shellfish. In addition, my students and I surveyed pyramid centers in the Talara area as well.

Dr. Richardson excavating Jackie Onassis’s property on Martha’s Vineyard in 1982. This site is called the Hornblower II Site. (Photo Credit: Jim Peterson)

Dr. Richardson in the cellar hole of the John and Experience Mayhew House Site c.1672-1658 on Martha’s Vineyard in 1985. (Phot Credit: Jim Peterson)

The Ring Site Ilo, Peru 1983 a 10,500-year-old Shell Midden. (Photo Credit: Dr. Richardson)

Dr. Richardson in the shell midden profile of the Ring Site, Peru. (Photo Credit: Daniel Sandweiss)

Aerial view of the Siches Site in the lower half of the photo, Talara, Peru (Photo Credit: Dr. Richardson)

Excavation at the Siches Site, which provided evidence for the origins of the El Niño weather catastrophe in 5800bp (Photo Credit: Dr. Richardson)

I did return to Martha’s Vineyard in the early 80’s excavating 2 shell middens and a Colonial house site of missionaries to the Wampanoag. In western Pennsylvania in 1970 I directed a field school for the University of Pittsburgh at the Revolutionary War site of Hanna’s Town in Westmoreland County, the first County Seat west of the Alleghenies. This town of 30 log cabins and a fort was destroyed by an Iroquois and British attack in 1782. Here we excavated Charles Foreman’s tavern.

Reconstructed Fort of the Hanna’s Town Site. (Photo Credit: Dr. Richardson)

1970 university of Pittsburgh Field School Excavation of Forman’s Tavern, Hanna’s Town, PA. (Photo Credit: Dr. Richardson)

I came to the University of Pittsburgh in 1967, retiring in 2009. While at Pitt serving as chairman, I was approached by then director Dr. Craig Black to take over the chair of the Section of Anthropology in 1978 and accepted a half-time position as chief curator until my retirement in 2006. The only thing that has changed in my retirements was receiving a salary! I am currently writing up some sites from my Peruvian and Martha’s Vineyard research and have a book in press on a colonial site on Martha’s Vineyard where I am a board member of the museum. I am also still involved with Pitt graduate students and in programs at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, so little has changed in my archaeological career since I first put a shovel in the ground in 1952.

Dr. Richardson holding a gold spider from the Royal Moche Tombs of Sipan in Lambayeque, Peru 1990. (Photo Credit: Daniel Sandweiss)

Dr. James B. Richardson III is Curator Emeritus in the Section of Anthropology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History and University of Pittsburgh Anthropology Professor Emeritus. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Super Science Activity: Natural Paints

In the modern world, it’s very easy for us to buy or make clothing, jewelry, makeup, or other decorations in almost any color we want, but we often don’t think about how those colors are made. Typically, items are painted or dyed with artificial or natural colorants—especially clothing or other textiles. But how did our ancestors create beautiful works of art or colorful garments and accessories? Believe it or not, applying color to objects with natural ingredients has been in practice for thousands of years, and is something archaeologists are still learning more about from different cultures at different points in human history.

There are two different types of methods to applying color on an object—either using a pigment, a natural material that is insoluble, orimpossible to dissolve completely, or a dye, a natural material that is soluble and easily dissolves when added to a mixture

Make-Your-Own Watercolor Paints

Natural dyes can also be used to make paint, specifically watercolor paints. The intensity of the color can be affected by adding more of the natural dye than water; adding more water will diminish the color. With the help of a grownup, you can make your own paints from natural ingredients you may have at home! *This activity requires a grown-up! (Although these paints are using natural ingredients, they are not intended for consumption)

*TIP: frozen fruits and veggies give off a lot of color when they’re thawed and mashed!

What You’ll Need

4 Tbsp. white vinegar
5 Tbsp. Corn starch
5 Tbsp. Baking soda
Watercolor paper
Paintbrushes
Water
Natural ingredients to make paints (examples down below)
Small mesh strainer
Mixing bowel
Whisk
Container(s) to hold watercolor paints (old ice cube trays work great!)
Towels/cleaning supplies
*OPTIONAL* blender or juicer
*OPTIONAL* cheese grater for root vegetables
*OPTIONAL* Markers or crayons to decorate
*OPTIONAL* Table salt to make unique designs

Directions

*Ingredients can vary depending on what you have or what colors you’d like to use

Combine the vinegar, baking soda, corn starch, and corn syrup in your mixing bowel
Stir or whisk until completely dissolved
Pour mixture into your container(s) to hold watercolor paints until about half-full
Find natural ingredients around your house that are different colors. These can include fruit like raspberries to make red; blueberries to make blue paint, paprika or other spices to make dusty reds and browns; carrots or beets; or even coffee grounds and tea bags! *Make sure to ask a grownup for help*
Place your mesh strainer over your mixing container. Begin placing ingredients into your mesh strainer and either using a whisk or potato masher to smash down your ingredients one at a time
- OPTIONAL: if you have a juicer or blender, use this to condense your ingredients instead
Once the liquid has been extracted and is in your mixing bowl, pour the liquid into one of the containers that has the vinegar, baking soda, etc. mixture. Use as little or as much to vary the color
Mix colors into the corn starch mixture well
Clean out mixing bowl to ensure no color contamination
Repeat steps 1-8 for other colors
- If you’re using leaves or root vegetables like beets or carrots, you can grate the roots down and use a muslin cloth to squeeze out juice
Once you have your colors, you’re ready to paint on your watercolor paper
- OPTIONAL: use markers or colored pencils to enhance your art
- OPTIONAL: if you have table salt, try putting down some paint on your paper and adding a sprinkle of salt. What happens to the painted area?
Because our combined mixture has corn starch, these paints will dry out quickly, but can be reused by adding a little water, just like artificial watercolors. Keep refrigerated when not in use. Paints will last (refrigerated) for 5-7 days

March 4, 2021 by wpengine

How I Became an Archaeologist

woman with glasses and gray hair sitting outside

If you had told me when I was 15 that I would spend my life as an archaeologist, I probably would have been pretty surprised. I didn’t grow up knowing a great deal about archaeology or even being fascinated by arrowheads. At that time, I might well have asked what an archaeologist really is and what one actually does. I did get to visit the Parthenon and other ruins while on a trip with my aunt when I was sixteen. Even then, I don’t remember having more than a casual interest in what could be learned from these places. I was more interested in the living people and the new food dishes I encountered on that trip, which was my first trip outside the United States.

From talking to other archaeologists, I’ve learned that there are a lot of paths to deciding archaeology is going to be your life’s work. In my case, what led me to archaeology was anthropology, and specifically an elective course I took in the Fall of my senior year in high school that was taught by a Ph.D. student at the University of Massachusetts. Until then I had not been a serious student, although I did well enough in school. Perhaps I was slightly bored by most of my courses, but anthropology was anything but boring! It looked at people elsewhere in the world and over great periods of time. Many of these people lived different lives than my friends and I did, and they sometimes thought very differently about what was important in life than people here in the United States. I was fascinated, and, honestly, I particularly liked the fact that the conventions of American society, which to my teenage self were sometimes a little confining, weren’t after all the only sensible way to approach life. That year, as I chose a college to attend, I specifically looked for anthropology programs. I chose Beloit College in Wisconsin, which to this day has an excellent anthropology program.

Initially, I thought that I was most interested in cultural anthropology, but like most anthropology departments in the United States, Beloit required its anthropology majors to take courses in biological anthropology, linguistic anthropology, and archaeology as well as cultural anthropology. These are what are known as the four fields of American anthropology and together, they give us a more complete picture of humans in both the past and the present. Most people focus their careers in one subfield or another, though we recognize the importance of each one for understanding humans, and in most cases in North America our degrees are in anthropology not one of the subfields. In college, I found all these courses more fascinating than anything I had studied before, and I actually became a good student as I explored anthropology. I was learning so much neat stuff! I also did volunteer work in the Logan Museum at Beloit, which was founded at the end of the nineteenth century and holds some pretty amazing ethnographic and archaeological collections. It was there I first became interested in artifacts and learned to clean and care for them. After a college internship in cultural anthropology convinced me that cultural anthropology was not the most interesting part of anthropology after all, I began to focus on archaeology. I was most intrigued by my courses in Mesoamerican archaeology and North American archaeology, which before college had been completely unknown to me.

When I graduated from college, I still wasn’t sure what I would do with my life. I worked for about two years both in social work and as a tax auditor for the IRS, but decided in 1974 to try graduate school in archaeology because I still found what archaeology had taught me about past people compelling. I lived in Chicago, so I enrolled in the Ph.D. program in North American archaeology at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

My graduate self in the late 1970s. Photo credit: Phillip Neusius

The biggest shock of graduate school was my professors’ almost immediate insistence that I pick what research I wanted to do. They pushed me to develop an expertise or skill within North American archaeology through my research. It sounds obvious to me now, but I think many beginning graduate students are like I was, lovers of the discipline’s knowledge, but a bit daunted by becoming an independent researcher. Developing an area of focus and specialty skills is part of becoming a professional archaeologist. One reason for this is because contemporary archaeological undertakings rely on teams of researchers, each contributing special skills and knowledge to accomplish the many aspects of excavation, analysis, and interpretation. If you envision archaeology as the solitary pursuit of an elusive artifact or site, you don’t have the picture quite right. Think instead of archaeological fieldwork involving groups of scientists working together to discover and carefully record many different bits of evidence about what the world used to be like and what people did in it. Also think about the many hours these scientists and others will spend not only in the field, but in the laboratory after an excavation is completed cleaning finds, describing artifacts, and analyzing data in order to make meaningful interpretations.

For someone like myself, who loved all aspects of anthropology, not to mention archaeology, and who had only gradually settled on North America as my geographic focus, picking a focus on entering graduate school was a hard task. There was so much that would be interesting to study! However, I did remember especially enjoying a research paper I had done in college on the relatively new interdisciplinary field of zooarchaeology, so under pressure, I told my professors I wanted to pursue this subfield in graduate school. Amazingly, this turned out to be a good choice of specialization for me. I found that I really love to work with collections of animal bone. For me, opening a bag of bone refuse from a site still is exciting. Bone identification work is a little like doing a jigsaw puzzle without all the pieces. It is challenging, and it takes concentration and careful observation to piece together what you can. There is so much to figure out about any single piece of bone! What animal is it? How healthy was the animal? What part of the animal’s body is it? Has it been burned or cut? How was the bone buried and changed after the humans were done with it? Then you have to record this information so it can be combined with other observations on the assemblage of bone you are looking at. After identification, making sense of what a collection of the bones means and correlating these kinds of data with other information from a site and region requires careful analysis, but also insight and creativity. To me it is endlessly fascinating.

Besides finding that I liked the work, choosing zooarchaeology was also serendipitous since my professors were looking for a student to work with them on this aspect of a big project they were undertaking in west-central Illinois centered on the Koster site, which was first inhabited more than 9000 years ago and then reinhabited by people right up into modern times. Most importantly the poorly known Archaic Period levels were numerous, well-preserved, and distinct from each other so we could add a lot of new information through our work. For my dissertation I was able to look at the animal remains from levels of this site dated between approximately 8500 and 6000 years ago, which represent how people used animals at that time.

Koster site strata. All those dark layers are from Archaic period camps at the site. Photo credit: Del Bastian, Center for American Archaeology.

Graduate school was intense, but I continued to be fascinated by archaeology’s ability to tell the story of people lost to standard Western history. In those days I was excited to be part of this science that could do so much more than describe and take care of cool artifacts. It was a heady thing to learn that I could contribute to what was known about people who lived thousands of years ago. In later years, I’ve had to think more critically than I did then about what a privilege it is for an archaeologist to learn about the history and lives of other ethnicities. Today’s archaeologists recognize their responsibility to present information about past people for both scholarly and public use in ways that are sensitive to what is considered sacred and private by the descendants of those people. I think this is an important change in perspective, but in the 1970s most archaeologists just wanted to show that people’s stories from the past could be told using the techniques of archaeology. I certainly was happy, if a little naively so, to have found a way to contribute to telling the human story.

If I consider entering graduate school as the start of my professional career as an archaeologist, I have been pursuing this career for more than 45 years! Over the years I have done zooarchaeological and archaeological work in the American Midwest, Southwest, Southeast, and Northeast working on telling the story of people who lived as long as 9000 years ago and as recently as the Sixteenth century. I’ve worked at several universities, in a small museum, and on small and large archaeological projects in the field of Cultural Resource Management (CRM) doing archaeological survey, site excavation, and zooarchaeological identification and analysis. I’ve written scholarly papers and articles as well as a textbook on North American archaeology. However, beginning in the late 1980s, I spent more than 31 years doing research and teaching anthropology and archaeology here in Pennsylvania at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. In this job I taught both undergraduates and graduate students, but, as is typical of university professors, I also spent time doing fieldwork and analysis as part of my research while at IUP. Fortunately, because archaeology is a team undertaking, I’ve been able to involve many students in my research. Working with students in research as they discover what fascinates them has been a highlight of being an archaeologist for me. I’ve now retired from teaching but not archaeology. I’m still working with both physical and digital archaeological collections both through CMNH and elsewhere and writing about archaeology. Who knows what this career still will bring me!

Drawing a profile at the Johnston site with one of my students in 2008. Photo credit: Erica Ausel, IUP Archaeology.

Tracking down a bone identification with one of my students in the Zooarchaeology Lab at IUP. Photo credit: Beverly Chiarulli.

If you are reading this blog because you are thinking about archaeology as either a career or a hobby, I hope you realize that mine is just one story among the many that could be told. Because there are so many aspects of archaeology, people come into it from all sorts of backgrounds and because of all sorts of interests. I think that it is important to remember though that it really is about understanding people and telling their stories through the artifacts and other evidence we find. This is what interested me in archaeology in the first place. Discovering the details of the human story is a giant undertaking. There is no shortage of research problems or work to do, but solving the puzzles presented by sites and collections is both challenging and fun. I’m certainly glad I decided to become an archaeologist and zooarchaeologist so many years ago!

Sarah W. Neusius is a Research Associate in the Section of Anthropology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History and Professor Emeritus, Department of Anthropology, Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Definitions of Bolded Terms

anthropology -the study of humans including the physical, cultural and social aspects in the past and present.

cultural anthropology – the study of the cultural aspects of humans especially recent and contemporary social, technological, and ideological behavior observed among living people.

biological anthropology – the study of the biological or physical aspects of humans, including human biological evolution and past and present biological diversity.

linguistic anthropology – the study of the structure , history, and diversity of human languages as well as of the relationship between language and other aspects of culture.

archaeology – the study of past human behavior and culture through the analysis of material remains.

ethnographic – relating to the scientific description of people and cultures especially customs and beliefs.

Mesoamerican archaeology – the archaeology of the area from central Mexico southward through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica.

North American archaeology – the archaeology of the area from central Mexico northward throughout the United States and Canada.

zooarchaeology – a subarea of archaeology involves the identification of animal remains from archaeological sites and investigates the ecology and cultural uses of the animals represented.

assemblage -a collection of artifacts from the same archaeological context.

Archaic Period – a time period from approximately 10,000 BP to 3000 BP that is recognized in most of North America.

Cultural Resource Management (CRM) – an applied form of archaeology undertaken in response to laws that require archaeological investigations.

archaeological survey – the systematic process archaeologists use to locate, identify, and record archaeological site distribution on the landscape.

Pennsylvania Archaeology and You

The Pennsylvania Archaeological Council (PAC) is an organization of professional archaeologists from all over the State dedicated to education, consultation, ethics, and advocation of Pennsylvania archaeology. The PAC works to advise policy and legislative interests in the commonwealth as well as provide consultation with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Anyone with a graduate degree in anthropology, archaeology, or a similar subject is encouraged to apply. Recently this membership has been expanded to include those with extensive experience and PAC has taken an interest in student membership. Check out this website for more information.

outline of the state of Pennsylvania with the letters PAC on it diagonally

For anyone interested in local archaeology, the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology (SPA) exists alongside PAC. Anyone is welcome to join this special interest group that is made up of regional chapters. Established in 1929, the goals of SPA include; promoting the study of archaeological resources in PA, discouraging irresponsible exploration, connecting avocational and professionals, and promoting the conservation of sites, artifacts, and information. To disseminate information, the SPA facilitates one of the oldest State Archaeology Journals, Pennsylvania Archaeologist. 83 years of the publication are available for purchase on the website.

The Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology, Inc., the parent archaeological society, meets annually at announced places. Membership in the SPA is highly recommended. Dues are $30 per year for individuals. Membership entitles one to receive The Pennsylvania Archaeologist twice a year. For those interested in taking an active role, the SPA is made up of many individuals from regional chapters. I’ve decided to highlight two of those chapters in this blog. To find your regional chapter visit pennsylvaniaarchaeology.com/Chapters.htm

If you live in Pittsburgh, our local chapter is called Allegheny Chapter #1. We meet the first Tuesday of every month at 7:30 p.m. Due to the pandemic, this is currently done virtually. For membership information contact Amanda Valko at amanda@quemahoning.com The chapters take an active approach by conducting investigations of sites in their region. The Allegheny Chapter started working on a local site called the Hatfield site back in July of 2007. The first thing we did was set up a grid and took some geomorphology samples under the direction of Brian Fritz.

Brian Fritz and Nina Larsen examining a soil core sample at the Hatfield Site. (Photo Credit: Amanda Valko)

Setting up the grid for soil sampling. Chapter members front to back: Brian Fritz, Peggy Sinclair, Ken Fischer. Chapter members under the shade shelter: Don McGuirk, Nina Larsen. (Photo Credit: Amanda Valko)

The Allegheny Chapter is hoping to produce a report of these excavations soon. Hopefully we can get the Chapter together over the summer to work with the artifacts and start the whole report preparation process.

Southeast of Allegheny County, the Westmoreland Archaeological Society Chapter #23 used to meet on Wednesdays, but due to the pandemic are following an erratic schedule. For membership information contact Jim Barno at bar3686@calu.edu (Jim Barno is a dedicated volunteer in the section of Anthropology at CMNH.)

Chapter #23 was actively engaged in 16 years of excavation at the Console Site, which was an important Monongahela Site. They reach out to the students and faculty at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania encouraging them to become involved with the Westmoreland Archaeological Society by participating in various public events such as artifact displays and colloquiums held at the IUP campus, Fort Necessity National Battlefield, Green County Historical Society as well as local community events such the Derry Agricultural Fair.

IUP students are actively involved in continuing excavations at the Bergstrom Hollow Rock Shelter Site (weather permitting). The chapter also publishes a monthly newsletter called The Trowel that has interesting archaeological subject material as well as listings of local archaeological events and now Zoom links for folks interested in these types of activities.

From the left are the following people Stephanie Zellers, Rachael Smith, Bob Oshnock, and Dr. Chadwick at the Bergstrom rock Shelter. (Photo Credit: Jim Barno)

Earth Day Event at St. Vincent College. Bob Oshnock and Dr. Lara Homsey-Messer (IUP) doing flotation. (Photo Credit: Jim Barno)

Remember to always report archaeological finds to the State Historic Preservation Office! Follow the guidelines specified in the links below.

PA SHPO/State Museum of PA: Instructions for Recording Archaeological Sites in Pennsylvania

PA State Historic Preservation Office (PA SHPO): Guidelines for Archaeological Investigations in Pennsylvania

Amy L. Covell-Murthy is Archaeology Collection Manager at Carnegie Museum of Natural History as well as a member of the SPA Allegheny Chapter 1, and a recently elected executive board member of the PAC. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Backyard Black Bird Mystery

It was a warm, almost-summer day in May 2020 when I accidentally stumbled upon an intense bird meeting. After a morning of attending online classes for school, I took a break by looking out a window that faced my neighbor’s fenced backyard. Perched on black fence posts and in the surrounding trees were a handful of crows watching a larger congregation of small black birds gathered on the ground below them.

The scene was reminiscent of a playground full of children playing while under the watchful eyes of their parents. “Those must be baby crows!” was the thought that first came to mind. But something wasn’t right. I pressed my face to the window, squinting to see the smaller birds. (If my neighbors had walked into their backyard at that moment, it would have been an awkward explanation.) The birds’ beaks were bright yellow, unlike the dark beaks of the crows, and when they moved in the sunlight their feathers revealed a beautiful green and purple iridescence.

Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I Googled “black bird with yellow beak.” Up came a list of various black birds, challenging me to match my observations with screen images. The birds I saw didn’t have a patch of red and yellow on the wing like a Red-winged Blackbird, had a more slender neck than a Brewer’s Blackbird, and had a shorter tail than Common Grackle. That’s when I discovered starlings. Clicking on the image, I knew that I had the right bird. As I scrolled through associated information, I found some riveting facts about these unassuming birds.

European Starling (*Sturnus vulgaris*). Photo credit: Powdermill Nature Reserve, Carnegie Museum of Natural History

The European Starling gets its name because it looks like a small, four-pointed star when its stubby, triangular wings are spread out in flight. Starlings tend to travel in mixed flocks of similar-looking bird species or one giant flock called a murmuration. Some murmurations can number several thousands of birds. The seemingly perfect flight coordination of such flocks make them a wonderful spectacle to witness. However, starlings can be rather aggressive in displacing other birds in feeding and nesting situations, earning them the title of a “bully bird.” The species is not native to North America. Instead, they were introduced from Europe by Eugene Schieffelin, a William Shakespeare enthusiast. His mission was to introduce birds mentioned in William Shakespeare’s works, although starlings appear only once in Shakespeare’s Henry IV Part I. From introduction points in New York’s Central Park in 1890, starlings have spread over much of North America.

American Crow (*Corvus brachyrhynchos*). Photo credit: Powdermill Nature Reserve, Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

The American Crow, on the other hand, is larger, measuring around 17.5 inches in length. Unlike the starlings’ shimmers of iridescent color, crows are all black, down to their beaks and feet. These relatively large plain-looking birds are better known for their intelligence. Studies have shown that crows can identify individual people and associated threat levels, and even pass that knowledge to their offspring and flock members. For example, John Marzluff, a wildlife biologist at the University of Washington, and two students trapped, banded, and released seven crows while wearing a caveman mask, creating, for the briefly captive birds, an association of danger with the mask’s exaggerated facial features. As an experimental control, the research team also used a Dick Cheney mask for neutral non-contact encounters with the targeted birds. In the following months, volunteers wore one of the two masks while walking around campus, not bothering the crows. Those wearing the dangerous mask were scolded by the crows, while those wearing the neutral mask were not harassed. As more time passed, the number of crows that attacked the dangerous-mask-wearers increased, indicating that crows learned to recognize humans from parents and other flock members.

As for the crow and starling meeting that afternoon? An overlap in their respective diets may explain the gathering. Starlings eat insects, invertebrates, berries, fruits, and seeds, while the omnivorous diet of crows includes all those items plus small vertebrates and carrion. Perhaps the crows had been simply waiting for their turn to feast on the buffet of insects and seeds in my neighbor’s backyard. The items on the menu must have been particularly delicious that day.

Angela Wu is a Teen Volunteer in the Education Department. Museum employees, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Works Cited

“American Crow: Identification.” All About Birds, Cornell University, 2019, www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Crow/id.

BBC. 24 Apr. 2014, www.bbc.com/news/magazine-27055030. Accessed 21 Nov. 2020.

Bradford, Alina. “Facts About Crows.” Live Science, Future US, 2 May 2017, www.livescience.com/52716-crows-ravens.html. Accessed 20 Nov. 2020.

“European Starling: Life History.” All About Birds, Cornell University, 2019, www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/European_Starling/lifehistory. Accessed 20 Nov. 2020.

Nijhuis, Michelle. “UW Professor Learns Crows Don’t Forget a Face.” The Seattle Times, 26 Aug. 2008, www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/uw-professor-learns-crows-dont-forget-a-face/. Accessed 23 Dec. 2020.

NPR. Npr, 4 Jan. 2017, www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2017/01/04/506400719/video-swooping-starlings-in-murmuration. Accessed 23 Dec. 2020.

“Starlings.” Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, 2020, www.maine.gov/ifw/fish-wildlife/wildlife/living-with-wildlife/avoid-resolve-conflict/starlings.html. Accessed 20 Nov. 2020.

Collected on this Day in 1949

Honeysuckles will be back soon.

But this one never really left for the winter.

This specimen of winter honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima) was collected in West Conshohocken, PA near the Schuylkill River outside of Philadelphia by Bayard Long. Collected flowering in a “rubbish-dump,” no less! Bayard Long (1885-1969) was a Philadelphia-area botanist and an active member of the Philadelphia Botanical Club (founded in 1891 and still exists today). He was a prolific collector and served as Curator of the Club’s Local Herbarium for 56 years (housed at the Academy of Natural Sciences). About 982 specimens collected by Long are preserved for the long haul in the Carnegie Museum herbarium.

Winter honeysuckle not only has a fun scientific name to say (“fragrantissima” rolls off the tongue) but is easy to identify among the many species in the honeysuckle genus (Lonicera in plant family Caprifoliaceae). That is, it has almost evergreen, thick leaves that partly persist into the winter, unlike any of the other shrub honeysuckles in Pennsylvania. (Emphasis on shrub, because the invasive vine Japanese honeysuckle – Lonicera japonica– also has persistent leaves through much or all of winter).

It is also known as “sweet breath of spring” for its aromatic flowers (hence its specific epithet, fragrantissima – think Bath and Body Works scent), which appear in late winter (and in this specimen!).

Introduced from China as an ornamental and often planted for its foliage, this species is now invasive in many states in the US. I must admit I don’t see it very often “escaped” outside of plantings in Western PA, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, or won’t escape in time, especially given it is problematic in other areas of the US.

So, you really shouldn’t plant it. Though Pennsylvania has native honeysuckles, the most abundant and common ones are introduced, affecting native vegetation and wildlife.

Find this specimen (and search for more) here.

Check back for more! Botanists at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History share digital specimens from the herbarium on dates they were collected. They are in the midst of a project to digitize nearly 190,000 plant specimens collected in the region, making images and other data publicly available online. This effort is part of the Mid-Atlantic Megalopolis Project (mamdigitization.org), a network of thirteen herbaria spanning the densely populated urban corridor from Washington, D.C. to New York City to achieve a greater understanding of our urban areas, including the unique industrial and environmental history of the greater Pittsburgh region. This project is made possible by the National Science Foundation under grant no. 1801022.

Super Science Coloring Pages!

Download Jon Snow the Crow Dusting an Artifact Coloring Image

Download Miley the Skink as Indiana Jones Coloring Image

March 1, 2021 by wpengine

Archaeological Adventures in Egypt

Hello! I am Dr. Lisa Saladino Haney, Assistant Curator at Carnegie Museum of Natural History and resident Egyptologist. An Egyptologist is someone who studies the history, material culture, architecture, religion, and writing of the ancient Egyptians – one of the ancient cultural groups living in Africa’s Nile Valley. Learning about ancient cultures helps us to better understand the world today and to appreciate the creativity and ingenuity of people who lived thousands of years ago. Archaeology is one technique that allows us to interact with and study the past and there are hundreds of archaeological sites and projects throughout the Nile Valley that constantly add to our understanding of what life was like.

Trying to determine some of my favorite archaeological sites from my travels in Egypt turned out to be an impossible task! Please join me on this photo exploration of a few of the many interesting archaeological sites in Egypt and learn where you can find more information about active archaeological excavations and other projects going on in those areas.

Saqqara

Saqqara is an important cemetery site associated with the ancient Egyptian capital city of Memphis, near modern Cairo. The cemeteries at Saqqara contain a number of tombs, both royal and private, including the famous Step Pyramid of the Third Dynasty Egyptian king, Djoser (ca. 2630-2611 BCE). The earliest burials at the site date to the creation of the ancient Egyptian state and it remained an important site through the Graeco-Roman Period.

Royal Tombs: The Step Pyramid of Djoser

The Step Pyramid of Djoser marks an important step in the development of the pyramid-shaped royal tomb. The complex was designed by the famous royal architect Imhotep, who would later become deified in ancient Egypt. You can see a bronze statue of Imhotep in Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt. A 14-year long restoration project at the site was just completed in 2020 which included strengthening the overall integrity of the structure by filling in gaps in its six rectangular mastabas as well work on the interior burial chamber and passages of the pyramid.

Check out some pictures from my visit to the Step Pyramid in 2011, early on in the restoration process, or, for a gallery of photos and more on the newly completed restoration, click here.

Views of the Step Pyramid at Saqqara showing the scaffolding used for the restoration project (photos by author).

Old Kingdom Mastabas: Tombs of Kagemni and Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep

The Old Kingdom (ca. 2649-2150 BCE) mastabas at Saqqara are some of the most beautifully preserved and decorated tombs. Here are two of my favorites from my last visit. The tomb of Kagemni is the largest mastaba in the cemetery associated with the reign of the Sixth Dynasty king Teti (ca. 2323-2150 BCE). Kagemni was a Vizier, the highest position in the royal administration.

The tomb of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhoptep, also known as the tomb of the two brothers, dates to the late Fifth Dynasty and contains a number of exceptional scenes that underscore the closeness of the two men, both of whom served as overseers of the royal manicurists. Archaeologists uncovered a number of blocks from the tomb’s entrance repurposed in the nearby causeway of the pyramid complex of the late Fifth Dynasty king Unas (ca. 2353-2323 BCE). Thanks to the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, you can now go on a virtual tour of the tomb!

Here you see the names of the two tomb owners, Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep on a stone doorway inside their tomb as well the exterior of the mastaba (photos by author).

Scenes depicting Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep inside their tomb (photos by author).

Images from the Tomb of Kagemni at Saqqara depicting the tomb owner himself, a parade of offering bearers bringing animals, plants, food, and other supplies to the deceased, and a scene taking place on the Nile where we get an underwater view of a crocodile eating a fish (photos by author).

Beni Hasan

Beni Hasan is a cemetery site located in Middle Egypt, near the modern city of Minya, that was important during Egypt’s Middle Kingdom (ca. 2030-1640 BCE). During that time some of the most elite Egyptians were buried on the escarpment (desert cliff) with one of the most beautiful views of Nile Valley around! For more on excavations at Beni Hasan in the early 1900s visit the Griffith Institute and for a virtual tour of the tomb of Kheti at Beni Hasan visit the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

Karnak

Karnak temple complex is one of the largest religious sites in the world. The first temple at the site was built during the Middle Kingdom (ca. 2030-1640 BCE) and the complex grew in size and complexity over time. The main temple at Karnak is dedicated to the Egyptian god Amun-Re, but there are smaller temples dedicated to Mut, Khonsu, and others. See if you can spot the snoozing pups in the pics below!

There are a number of ongoing excavations at Karnak that you can explore to learn more about the site. Check out this amazing minicourse on the Karnak Mut Precinct available on YouTube with Dr. Betsy Bryan, Alexander Badawy Chair of Egyptian Art and Archaeology and Director of Johns Hopkins’ excavations at the Mut Precinct.

Approach to Karnak Temple and processional way lined with Ram-headed sphinxes for the god Amun-Re (photos by author).

Inside Karnak Temple: Festival Hall of Thutmose III, Obelisks, exit towards the Sacred Lake, columns in the Hypostyle Hall (photos by author).

Lisa Saladino Haney is Postdoctoral Assistant Curator of Egypt on the Nile at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Teacher Profile: Emmanuelle Wambach

woman standing in front of a window wearing a face mask and a tie-dye t-shirt that says be kind

At the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh (JCC), the youngest students direct much of their own learning. “We focus on the philosophy of the of the Reggio Emilia Approach,” explains Emmanuelle Wambach, referencing the innovative childhood learning model named for the northern Italian town where it was developed more than 60 years ago. Emmanuelle, who has worked at the JCC since 2018, currently teaches a dozen pre-school students at the Squirrel Hill facility. Back in November, when this group of three- and four-year-olds became interested in birds and bird eggs, she was determined to assist their exploration of the topic.

Through the museum’s Educator Loan Collection, she was able to borrow an encased taxidermy mount of an American Robin posed next to its nest and eggs, along with sturdy replicas of Bald Eagle, Golden Eagle, and Peregrine Falcon eggs. “There were some early discussions about the robin not being alive,” Emmanuelle recalls, “but we were able to make wonderful comparisons between the Peregrine Falcon and eagle eggs, and of course to the chicken eggs they were already familiar with.” The museum objects and the resulting discussions eventually led to group explorations of other resources such as the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania’s live camera feed documenting activity in and around the Bald Eagle nest in the Hays neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

taxidermy mount of a robin with nest and eggs

This example of an educator connecting with a helpful resource was far from a direct link, however, and actually hinged on artistic accomplishment. Emmanuelle holds a Master of Fine Arts from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and in sharing her talents with ceramics she has taught classes at several Pittsburgh area locations. She learned about the museum loan program when she was teaching ceramics at an afterschool program and met a fellow artist who had borrowed taxidermy mounts for students to use as drawing models.

When asked about the impacts of the ongoing pandemic on her teaching, Emmanuelle notes a reduced class size of 12 instead of 16, and praises her students’ ability to “wear their masks well.“ Then after some refection she describes a system of mutual support that naturally developed between the young learners and those leading them. “I’m certain they’re helping me get through this difficult time. You have no idea how good it is to have a four-year-old greet you by saying, ‘Miss Emmanuelle, I’m so glad you’re here today!’”

How Do Trees Survive the Winter?

Winter brings cold winds, icy precipitation, long periods of below freezing temperatures – winter in the temperate zones takes a toll on all living things. Humans seek shelter, many animals hibernate, some insects may overwinter as eggs or life stages that are dormant. A walk in the forest in February clearly indicates that most plants become dormant and nearly inconspicuous during this time. For many plants, above ground portions die back so that the living parts, the root system, protected buds, and seeds persist below ground.

Slowing down physiologically offers a way to protect against the harshness of winter. But how do trees survive and persist in the often-harsh conditions? Trees can’t go below ground, as some smaller plants may; rather, trees encounter the winter, directly. Some trees can live hundreds (even thousands) of years making it difficult to imagine the extreme winter conditions that affect the tree over its lifetime. Trees persist, however, through the bitterness of deep winter. Most trees do ‘slow down’ during winter, and deciduous trees that lose their leaves shut down photosynthesis entirely. Trees with needles (evergreen trees) that are retained over winter can actually photosynthesize during the winter. Such productivity is not without risk: In addition to exposure to cold temperatures, trees can also experience water deficits because of frozen ground. Conifer needles might actually dry out, and turn brown during the winter if the trees are photosynthesizing and water is not available.

Ice and heavy snow certainly can damage trees, especially deciduous trees. Severe ice storms can cause branch breakage and may ultimately stress the tree sufficiently to cause death. A winter with heavy snow, ice and wind may mean that spring produces fewer leaves than expected. Conifers tend to have flexibility of sorts and pines, spruces, firs, and hemlock can tolerate heavy snow load and ice damage.

All trees have bark, and this protective covering serves as an insulator, protecting the vulnerable, living tissue just beneath the bark from cold and freezing. Bark also protects the tree from damage such as antler-rubbing, insects, or other physical and biological damage. However, bark can be vulnerable, too. Water (sap) inside the tree may freeze just beneath the bark, then rapidly thaw in bright winter sunshine. When repeated freezing, thawing, and re-freezing occurs, tissues beneath the bark will be damaged, dry out and crack. This process results in a very common looking tree damage known as frost cracking. The damage frequently occurs with thin barked trees, such as young maple, birch, beech, or many ornamental trees or fruit trees.

detail of a frost crack in a tree with rough bark

While the freezing-thawing cycle may cause problems for many trees, the same cycle in mid- to late-winter results in benefits for pancake lovers. At this time of year sap movement and production greatly increase in maples trees – and other trees that produce sap. Once temperatures start rising above freezing during the day, but remain frozen during the night, the sap may start to run and tapping the maple trees may begin.

Rose-Marie Muzika is the Director of Science and Research at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Mesozoic Monthly: Nasutoceratops

Although much of the Western world recognizes January 1 as the first day of the new year, many other cultures around the globe celebrate Lunar New Year, an alternate calendar system based on the cycles of the moon. Lunar New Year began on February 12 this year, ushering in, according to repeating cycles of the traditional Chinese zodiac, the Year of the Ox. While bovines hadn’t evolved by the Mesozoic Era, there were plenty of dinosaurs that could be compared to an ox. So, in honor of Lunar New Year, this month’s Mesozoic Monthly features Nasutoceratops titusi, a ceratopsian with a rounded nose and curving, bull-like horns!

An anterior (head-on) view of the skull of *Nasutoceratops*, clearly displaying its most iconic features: the frill and horns. You can view this skull in the temporary exhibition *Dinosaur Armor* at Carnegie Museum of Natural History until July 5, 2021.

Ceratopsian dinosaurs are famous for their huge, elaborate skulls adorned with ornate frills and large horns. Several different bones make up these unique structures. If you haven’t taken an anatomy class, you may not have realized that your skull is made up of several bones that fuse together as you age (fun fact: baby humans have more bones than adults, and this is why!). The horns above a ceratopsian’s eye arise from the postorbitals, bones that sit right behind the eye hole in the skull. The frill is made of two types of bones: the parietals, which make up the central part of the frill, and the squamosals, which act as the corners. Humans actually have both of these bones: the parietal is the large bone at the crown of your head, and the squamosal is fused into the temporal bones above your ears. The bones that form the nose horn of a ceratopsian are aptly named nasals, and we have them too, supporting the cartilage structure of our noses. Of course, our bones are shaped markedly different from those of Nasutoceratops, but the fact that we (and all other vertebrates, aka animals with backbones) have similar skeletal compositions is a feature we inherited from our most recent common ancestor.

Life restoration of a herd of *Nasutoceratops* providing a convenient perch for a flock of enantiornithine birds in what’s now southern Utah roughly 75 million years ago. Artwork by Harrison Keller Pyle. You can find more of Keller Pyle’s work on DeviantArt under kepyle2055.

The skulls of ceratopsians are huge: they grow as long as one third of their body length! The skull of Nasutoceratops was almost five feet (1.5 meters) long, and although we don’t have many bones from the rest of its body, paleontologists estimate that the animal was almost 15 feet (4.5 meters) long. But Nasutoceratops wasn’t even the largest ceratopsian! The most famous ceratopsian, Triceratops, has a skull that can reach a whopping 8.2 feet (2.5 meters) long, but even that isn’t the largest. The largest skull of all dinosaurs belongs to Pentaceratops (sometimes called Titanoceratops), a ceratopsian with an absolutely massive 8.7 foot (2.7 meter) skull!

You can view the skull of *Nasutoceratops* (foreground) alongside those of other ceratopsians (including *Utahceratops* and *Kosmoceratops*, mentioned below) in the temporary exhibition *Dinosaur Armor* at Carnegie Museum of Natural History until July 5, 2021.

Nasutoceratops shared its environment with several other species of ceratopsian, including Kosmoceratops richardsoni and Utahceratops gettyi. Each of these had very different-looking headgear. Nasutoceratops, as previously mentioned, had bull-like horns and a big round nose. Kosmoceratops, in contrast, had weird horns at the top of its frill that curled forward and down, almost like it had bangs, and Utahceratops had short postorbital and nasal horns but a large frill surrounded by spikes. Since all these ceratopsian species lived together, it’s likely that the unique skull ornamentation of different species helped with intra-species recognition (in addition to other functions such as sexual signaling or defense from predators). This meant that each animal could regard shared cranial features as a way to tell who was part of their species. These visual cues might have been especially important for ceratopsians born during the Year of the Ox – according to the Chinese zodiac, “oxen” have poor communication skills, so clear and direct signaling is crucial!

New Moth Species Marumba verdeciae Named for CMNH Scientific Preparator

Specimens from Carnegie Museum of Natural History are frequently cited in the research papers of scientists from all over the world. For researchers, access to these vital materials comes through the assistance of museum staff who are familiar with the physical organization of the collections, and this routine service is generally recognized in the “Acknowledgements” section of any resulting publications. A far rarer form of “thank you” occurred this month when German entomologist Ulf Eitschberger, the first author of a 200-page paper revising a species complex of a sphinx moth known from multiple localities across southeast Asia, named one of the resulting new species for Vanessa Verdecia, Scientific Preparator in the CMNH Section of Invertebrate Zoology.

Vanessa checking specimens in a collection storage unit.

Vanessa assisted Ulf in his study of the Marumba saishiuana species complex by taking images of specimens from the museum’s collection and sharing them with him via email. This process involved searching for and verifying many relevant type specimens in the IZ collection because Ulf needed to view images of numerous moths within the Marumba genus for his research.

The type locality for Marumba verdeciae is Qingchenhou Shan, in Sichuan, China. There were an additional 52 male specimens collected at the same site, between May and June of 2005, which need to be studied further. The new publication makes no mention of M. verdeciae collected at other sites, and at this time the female of the species is unknown.

The assistance of Vanessa Verdecia allowed a researcher in Germany to evaluate pinned insects in Pittsburgh.

Vanessa is pleased with the recognition. As she explains, “I feel honored to have this beautiful species dedicated to me as the Sphingidae are one of my favorite groups of moths and a part of the collection I enjoy working in. It was my pleasure to search for these specimens and provide the images necessary for this revision and ongoing work by this researcher.”

For reference the full citation of the publication is below:

“Erster Schritt zur Revision des Marumba saishiuana auct. Artenkomplexes (nec Okamoto, 1924) (Lepidoptera, Sphingidae)”

[TRANSLATION: “First step in revising the Marumba saishiuana species complex (Okamoto, 1924) (Lepidoptera, Sphingidae)”]

Authors: Ulf Eitschberger & Hoa Binh Nguyen

Journal: Neue Entomologische Nachrichten 75: 123-327, Marktleuthen (Februar 2021)

Introducing Matt Brandley, the Herpetology Collection’s New Science Communicator and Research Associate

Every herpetologist has an origin story – a time in their life when they realize that they want to spend their time studying the lives of amphibians and reptiles. For many, the love of herpetology started early, often after the spark of seeing their first salamander or snake in the wild. My path to herpetology, particularly a love of reptiles, developed more slowly.

Holding a juvenile Japanese four-lined rat snake (*Elaphe quadrivirgata*) on the remote island of Tadanae in the Izu Island Archipelago. Although this species lives throughout Japan, the species on the small, uninhabited island grow at least 50% larger than other populations. My research with Japanese collaborators determined that this body size difference is an adaptation to eating seabird eggs and evolved within the past 10,000 years.

I had known for a long time that I wanted to study evolutionary biology. I’ve always loved both history and biology, and what better career than to study the history of life itself? It wasn’t until a high school job at a pet shop that I became fascinated by the diversity of colors, body types, and behaviors among amphibian and reptile species. It helped that I had grown up in Oklahoma whose East-West gradient of forest to arid habitat is home to an evolutionarily diverse array of frogs, salamanders, lizards, and snakes. Perhaps even better, as a student of the University of Oklahoma, I had access to the herpetology collection at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History. Being able to freely roam the aisles of the museum collection was a dream come true.

Preserving gecko specimens with Alex Dornburg (UNC Charlotte) on the island of Curaçao. Our research is studying how the introduced non-native tropical house gecko (*Hemidactylus mabouia*) is outcompeting and displacing the native leaf-toed gecko (*Phyllodactylus martini*). Before we preserve specimens and accession them into a museum collection, we take a tissue sample for DNA analysis.

As my education progressed from an undergraduate internship at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, to Bachelors, Master’s, and PhD degrees, so did the breadth of my research interests. Over the years, I’ve studied how different groups of skinks are related in evolutionary time and what geological processes influenced where these groups of lizards live on the planet; what ecological pressures led to the loss of limbs over 25 separate times in lizard evolutionary history; and what genetic changes underlie the evolution of live birth from egg-laying ancestors. My research has allowed me to conduct fieldwork in Australia, China, Curaçao, Mexico, and Japan, at locations ranging from deserts to remote islands. In 2015, I was honored to play a role in the training of new herpetologists by authoring four chapters on reptile fossil history, amphibian diversity and systematics, reptile diversity and systematics, and biogeography in the Herpetology textbook (4^th Ed., Oxford University Press).

Comparing fish with Teresa Iglesias (Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology) in Okinawa for a project on the evolution of fish. As a certified scientific SCUBA diver, I consider myself an honorary marine biologist when I assist my ichthyologist friends with their research.

After working as a scientist in Australia for 10 years, I’m excited to join the skilled staff of the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. The museum collection will allow me to continue research on the evolution of lizards, including changes to the lizard skeleton during the evolution of a snake-like body form, and the phylogeny and biogeography of skinks.

Through blogs and social media, I look forward to sharing updates on my research and the stories behind some of the 230,000 specimens of amphibians and reptiles in Carnegie Museum’s herpetology collection.

Matt Brandley is a Science Communicator and Research Associate in the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Do plants have lips? No, but one genus sure looks like it does!

close up of bright red bracts of Palicourea elata, a plant nicknamed hot lips

Pucker up! Hot lips, Palicourea elata, is a tropical tree found in the rain forests of Central and South America with bright red lips, I mean bright red bracts – modified or specialized leaves at the base of the flower. The bright red bracts evolved to attract pollinators, including hummingbirds and butterflies, and they will eventually spread open to reveal the plant’s flowers. Interestingly, this plant’s flower does not give off a scent, and relies on visual cues to attract its pollinators.

Palicourea elata is part of an important group of plants in the coffee family (Rubiaceae), and it has more to offer than what the eye can see. Species in the Palicourea and the related Psychotria genus have also been shown to have antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and psychedelic properties. It is also used as traditional medicine among the Amazon peoples to treat aches, arthritis, infertility, and impotency.

Let’s revisit a “Collected on this Day” specimen from February 14, 2005.

Though this mounted specimen doesn’t show off its striking flower, it was collected on Valentine’s Day, so that’s pretty romantic! As one of more than half a million specimens in the Carnegie Museum herbarium, this preserved plant is notable for being collected as part of the PhD research at the nearby University of Pittsburgh by John Paul, now a professor at the University of California, San Francisco.

P. elata has become endangered due to deforestation in its native range, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, or IUCN, has reported that one-tenth of all the Psychotria species are considered threatened.

How can you help species of concern? Log your plant and animal observations into a community-based science platform, such as iNaturalist (like Hot Lips’ page). While you might not have Hot Lips in your backyard, iNaturalist can help you monitor plant and wildlife species, common or endangered. Your observations inform conservation practitioners on changes to a species range, population, behavior, phenology, etc.

Log your observations on iNaturalist the next time you’re in nature!

Heather Hulton VanTassel is Assistant Director of Science and Research at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Mason Heberling is Assistant Curator of Botany at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

For Some Snails, Reproduction is a Jab Well Done

Some land snails possess darts in their reproductive systems. During courtship, one or both partners jab the other partner with the dart, which some observers have likened to Cupid’s arrow. If the dart misses or otherwise fails to stab the partner, then courtship and mating stop, unfinished. And we’re not talking about tiny darts; in one species the dart is a fifth the length of the creature’s body!

Dart-bearing (not shown) hermaphroditic snail, Cepaea nemoralis (family Helicidae). Shell ca 2 cm diam.

In those species studied, the dart appears to deliver hormones into the partner to increase the chance of paternity. Most land snails are hermaphrodites (both male and female within one individual). During mating, sperm enters the partner’s copulation pouch, which is not a safe haven because digestive processes begin! The hormones help the sperm escape that pouch so they can find their way to the fertilization chamber.

Note that in these land snails, the dart is used during courtship before copulation. These land snails are not using the dart to transfer sperm, a behavior known as traumatic insemination in some other creatures such as saccoglossans (relatives of sea slugs), some flatworms, and bed bugs.

Dart-bearing snails that you might know include the escargot snails (family Helicidae), the large native snails in southwestern USA (Xanthonychidae), and some of the large native slugs of eastern North America (Philomycidae). Note that the Polygyridae, the larger land snails in eastern North America, lack a dart.

Love dart of *Cepaea hortensis*. Scale bar is 0.5 mm. Image from Wikimedia Commons, from Koene & Schulenburg (2005).

The dart is formed in a structure called a dart sac, and after the dart is used, a new one grows after about a week. While many species have a single dart sac, some snail groups possess two, four, or even more dart sacs, so presumably they can mate again without waiting for the single dart to re-grow.

A mystery: most groups of land snails lack darts in the reproductive system, although multiple, relatively un-related groups of snails possess darts. Two explanations exist for this diversity of having or lacking darts: (1) the ancestor of all land snails possessed a dart, and then evolutionarily the dart was lost in most groups, or (2) the ancestor lacked a dart, and then a dart was acquired independently in multiple lineages.

Some snail biologists favor the ancestral dart idea, although others (e.g., Tompa 1980) favor the independent origin idea. I like the independent origin idea because of dramatic differences among darts: in some groups, the dart is made of calcium carbonate, in others it is chitin, and in still others it is cartilaginous. I hold that in evolution, it is sometimes easier to start over from scratch than to change fundamental building materials. Nevertheless, most snail biologists agree that the ancestor to the superfamily Helicoidea, which contains the familiar escargot snails, had at least one dart (e.g., Schileyko 1989), but whether it was one dart that proliferated into multi-dart forms or vice versa remains unresolved.

One way to solve this mystery could be to examine molecular processes used in forming and deploying the dart. If all dart-possessing land snails use similar biochemical pathways to form and deploy their darts, those similarities would be consistent with the ancestral dart idea. On the other hand, if love darts of different groups rely on different biochemistry to form and deploy, that would suggest multiple independent origins of darts, with their apparently similar shapes and functions being due to convergent evolution.

Meanwhile, snails continue reproducing, and for those that use a dart, I say, “A jab well done!”

References

Koene, J.M. & Schulenburg, H. 2005. Shooting darts: co-evolution and counter-adaptation in hermaphroditic snails. BMC Evolutionary Biology 5(25): 13 pp. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-5-25

Schileyko, A.A. 1989. Taxonomic status, phylogenetic relations and system of the Helicoidea sensu lato (Pulmonata). Archiv für Molluskenjunde 120: 187-236.

Tompa, A.S. 1980. The ultrastructure and mineralogy of the dart from Philomycus carolinianus (Pulmonata: Gastropoda) with a brief survey of the occurrence of darts in land snails. Veliger 23: 35-42.

Tim Pearce is the head of the mollusks section at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

A Taste for Metal

Motus tower in a field with a hill behind it

Powdermill Nature Reserve researchers are using radio technology to track songbirds marked with grain-of-rice-sized nanotags as they migrate North and South through our region each year. Tracking these birds requires a network of automated radio receiving stations, termed Motus stations, tuned to listen for nanotags affixed to the birds under study as they fly by. Motus is Latin for movement. The name serves to acknowledge the importance of tracking animal movement in ecological studies. The same Motus stations that track songbirds also track nano tagged bats, butterflies, or dragonflies.

Over 100 of these Motus Stations have been installed in the Northeast US with over 30 in Western Pennsylvania alone. These stations have tracked songbirds as they travel from Canada to Central and South America, providing critical data for researchers to make discoveries about migratory behavior, stop over site importance, and impacts of weather events on migration of birds, bats, and insects.

Maintaining these stations often requires fixing issues related to wind, snow, or ice, but one station on a State Game Land here in Western PA has been regularly decommissioned by porcupines! The local porcupines detect salt in the metals used to construct the station and can’t help but chew through all manner of equipment. On three recent occasions, destroyed equipment had to be replaced after the porcupines chewed through plastic boxes, flexible metal tubing, steel turnbuckles, aluminum informational signs, solar panels, coaxial cabling, and even the steel tower itself!

detail of Motus station with part of the sign on it missing

Plans have been made to tear down the station and rebuild it to be “porky proof.” To do this a different structure will be used to hold the equipment well off the ground, and anti-climb baffles will be attached to keep the porcupines from getting to the equipment.

Mesozoic Monthly: Dreadnoughtus

Last January, we started out hopeful for 2020, but unfortunately it ended up being a very difficult year for almost everyone. After an equally challenging start to 2021, I think it is safe to say our attitudes toward this year are more guarded, but nonetheless brave. We know that more hard times might be approaching, but if we could make it through 2020, we can make it through its successor. It is in this spirit that this edition of Mesozoic Monthly features Dreadnoughtus schrani, a colossal sauropod dinosaur whose genus name literally means “fearer of nothing.”

Dreadnoughtus has many connections to Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH). Starting in 2005, a team that included CMNH’s own Dr. Matt Lamanna collected the only known fossil skeletons of the ginormous species in Santa Cruz Province of southern Patagonia, Argentina. Matt was also one of the authors of the paper that officially named the beast in 2014. Furthermore, many of the bones were scientifically prepared by staff and volunteers in the museum’s on-exhibit fossil lab, PaleoLab. Preparation involves freeing the fossils from the rock in which they were preserved (called matrix) using special tools, and then gluing/reinforcing the fossils back together as needed. Next time you visit CMNH, make sure to take a peek in PaleoLab to see our preparators in action!

CMNH Scientific Preparator Dan Pickering carefully removes rock from a gigantic cervical vertebra (neck bone) of *Dreadnoughtus*, ca. 2012. The top of the vertebra is projecting toward the viewer; the front is toward the left of the image. Photo courtesy Matt Lamanna.

Sauropod dinosaurs such as Dreadnoughtus are easily recognized by their frequently huge size, long necks, and long tails. CMNH’s Dinosaurs in Their Time (DITT) exhibition features real fossil skeletons of three different sauropods: Camarasaurus, Apatosaurus, and Diplodocus. Brachiosaurus, one of the stars of Jurassic Park, is also a sauropod, and is featured in the mural in the Jurassic Period atrium in DITT.

Dreadnoughtus belongs to a group of sauropods called titanosaurs that lived during the following Cretaceous Period, largely in the Southern Hemisphere. Titanosaurs have many interesting features that make them unique, such as simplified front feet with very few bones, extra-wide shoulders and hips, and even (in some species) bony plates called osteoderms embedded in the skin. However, as their name implies, titanosaurs’ primary claim to fame is their generally titanic size. Many titanosaurs were absolutely enormous – the smallest members of the group, such as Magyarosaurus, were outliers likely produced by insular dwarfism, a phenomenon in which typically large-bodied animals evolve smaller sizes that are more sustainable in geographically restricted habitats such as islands. Magyarosaurus lived in what’s now the Transylvania region of Romania, which was part of an island at the end of the Cretaceous. In contrast, Dreadnoughtus, which lived in prehistoric South America, was not restricted by an island habitat, and grew to an estimated 85 feet (26 meters) long. And, based on studies of the microscopic internal structure of its bones, it’s possible that the already-immense name-bearing specimen wasn’t even done growing before it died!

When you’re 85 feet long from head to tail, you tend to dwarf everything around you! I bet you didn’t even notice the two 13-foot-long *Talenkauen santacrucensis* at the bottom right – ornithischian dinosaurs that lived alongside *Dreadnoughtus* in the ~75-million-year-old ecosystem of southern Argentina’s Cerro Fortaleza Formation. This digital painting of *Dreadnoughtus* and company is by artist Charles Nye, used with permission. You can find more of his art under the name @thepaintpaddock on Instagram and Twitter!

As you can imagine, it’s very hard to determine how much a dinosaur would have weighed when it was alive, especially for a dinosaur as large as Dreadnoughtus! Although multiple methods for calculating the weight of an extinct animal have been proposed, one of the most commonly employed techniques is volumetric mass estimation. Paleontologists using this method work with typically incomplete skeletons to first estimate how much of each type of tissue (like muscle or fat) covered the skeleton; afterward, they calculate how much each tissue type (including bone) weighed. It’s a difficult, somewhat speculative process that can result in different researchers producing wildly different estimates for the same animal’s weight. Estimates for Dreadnoughtushave been anywhere between 24.4 and 65.4 US tons (22.1 and 59.3 metric tons), but the most recent estimate was 54.0 US tons (49 metric tons). For comparison, a typical school bus weighs around 12.5 US tons (11.3 metric tons)! Clearly, no matter how you estimate it, Dreadnoughtus was a massive animal.

It’s notoriously hard to find complete sauropod skeletons – because their bodies and bones were so large, they tended to break apart and to be at least partially destroyed before they could be buried and preserved. The holotype, or name-bearing, specimen of *Dreadnoughtus* is among the most complete giant titanosaur skeletons ever found. This reconstruction by scientific illustrator Lindsay Wright (a former volunteer here at CMNH) shows which bones of this titanosaur have been discovered (in white).

Gargantuan size has its drawbacks, but it also brings enormous benefits. It takes an absurd amount of resources to grow this large and power the organs needed to support life. However, if enough food is present to sustain this growth, predators are no longer an issue. Not even the largest meat-eating dinosaurs could pose a threat to something as large as an adult Dreadnoughtus. The only chances predators had to taste this sauropod were to hunt it when it was a small juvenile or to scavenge it when it was dead or dying. That seems to be what happened, too, because teeth of carnivorous dinosaurs were found scattered around the fossils.

So, as we continue our journey through 2021, let us think of ourselves like the unassailable Dreadnoughtus: the challenges of 2020 helped us to grow tremendously resilient, and the trials coming our way will not fracture our resolve. Times may be hard, but we are gigantic dinosaurs with no natural predators. We can do this.

Super Science Activity: DIY Helicopter Seeds

DIY Helicopter Seeds from CarnegieMNH on Vimeo.

February 2, 2021 by wpengine

Groundhog Architecture

drawing of a groundhog standing out an opening of a tunnel with tunnel illustrated underground

Contrary to the pervasive myth that is revived for public amusement every February 2, groundhogs are not able to predict the approach of an early spring. If these large members of the squirrel family possess a notable skill, it’s in the field of excavation. The image above was created to provide a hint of the remarkable subterranean earthworks groundhogs construct in suitable habitat.

For the species known scientifically as Marmota monax, and whose common names include woodchuck and whistle pig, burrow digging is a solo effort. For a greater part of the year, burrow occupancy is limited to one groundhog per unit. Exceptions occur when males visit the burrows of females during a late winter breeding season, and consequently, following a 32-day gestation period, when females give birth to four to six kits. After approximately a dozen weeks of rapid development, these young disperse from their maternal burrow to dig their own lodging.

Groundhogs excavate a complex, multi-chambered burrow system in which the total length of tunnels can measure up to 65 feet. When digging a burrow groundhogs use their powerful short front legs, which are tipped with sturdy claws, to loosen soil and rocks. Loosened materials are then moved, by mouth, and deposited on the surface at the main entrance. The groundhog depicted in the illustration is standing on a distinctive subsoil-covered mound of excavated material. In a research study where several entrance mounds were removed and their soil and rock contents weighed, the average weight of these animal-built features was 275 pounds.

Typically, burrows include as many as four additional entrances, all unmarked by tell-tale signs of soil disturbance because groundhogs excavate these features from below the surface. Although the ankle-turning potential of these hidden holes is enough for some people to regret having groundhogs as neighbors, there are under-appreciated benefits to tolerating some patches of burrow-riddled property. On the coldest winter days and nights, the upper portions of groundhog burrows provide shelter to other forms of wildlife while the burrow’s owner, curled in a grass-lined chamber, remains suspended in a hibernation state a few feet below. Cottontail rabbits, for example are common squatters.

Teaching About Trees

Joe Stavish doesn’t need any reflection time to summarize the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on his work. “The new challenge to me as an outdoor educator is working with students who are watching a screen.” The Associate Director for Community Education at Tree Pittsburgh laments months spent planning and presenting programs in which students never have the opportunity to get their hands dirty. “If you’re limited to showing pictures,” he explains, “the wow factor just isn’t there.”

Joe Stavish holding a hickory leaf in pre-pandemic times.

Tree Pittsburgh is a 15-year-old non-profit organization dedicated to the restoration and protection of our region’s urban forest through tree planting and care, education, advocacy, and land conservation. Joe’s role, in the eight years he’s worked for Tree Pittsburgh, is to make sure the organization’s contact with communities it serves are as broad as possible. He kids about “cradle-to-the-grave” points of contact before listing near parallel audience segments, K-12 school classes, scout groups, youth groups, university students, neighborhood groups, adult classes, and garden clubs.

Some of the presentations he is involved with are part of formal programs, such as One Tree Per Child, a school-focused tree-planting initiative, or Explorer’s Guide, a collaborative effort with Pittsburgh’s Park Rangers for 4^th and 5^th grades that is scheduled to soon expand beyond its initial test audience in the City’s Northside neighborhoods. Other programs can currently be described as situational. “Teachers have been eager to have any type of virtual program we want to present.” Joe concedes in recognition of the ongoing and widespread problems with remote learning.

Although Joe is concerned about the limits of screen learning, I found the videos he directed me to on an Explorer’s Guide website to be very well done. Since 2018 Tree Pittsburgh has been headquartered in a riverside campus in Lawrenceville spacious enough to include what is termed a Heritage Tree Nursery. Much of a short video titled, The Life Cycle of a Tree, was shot in the nursery, a facility at the forefront of urban forestry. I never cried “Wow” while I watched the segment, but I learned a lot.

Super Science Activity: Straw Rockets

Energy is necessary for flight, but how do scientists know how much is enough? You can make your own rocket to test different methods of liftoff!

*This activity requires adult supervision

What You’ll Need to Make Straw Rockets

Plastic straws
Printer paper or similar quality paper
Scissors
Tape
OPTIONAL: crayons/markers

Directions

Using scissors, cut a thin strip of paper roughly 2 inches wide.
Wrap the paper into a cylinder shape (TIP: use a pencil or another plastic straw to help the paper keep its shape).
Tape the paper at the seam to secure it.
Take one end of the paper and fold it into a triangle shape. Tape down to secure the “nose” of the rocket (it’s ok if it’s not a perfect point!).
Cut 2 triangles from your leftover paper and tape them to the bottom of your rocket, parallel from each other. This is the rockets tail and will help it glide in the air easier (TIP: make sure the bottom of your rocket has an opening big enough for your straw to fit into).
OPTIONAL: using crayons or markers, make a design on your rocket.
Once you’re satisfied with your rocket, place it on your plastic straw and blow through the other end

Observe:

So, what’s really happening? When you blow into the straw, you’re releasing hot air, which naturally wants to rise into the atmosphere. Because the air is being pushed through a narrow space in the straw, it launches the rocket into the air for a briefly—however, your rocket can’t create energy to keep itself in the air like a real rocket or animals like birds and insects can. Because it doesn’t have its own energy to keep it airborne, and because of Earth’s gravity, your rocket falls to the ground.

However, there’s also something else going on—although the air you blew into the straw is pushing your rocket up and away, there’s also air pushing against your rocket the minute it leaves your straw. This is called drag or air resistance, and it’s a real issue scientists and pilots face when trying to fly.

For the best results of this experiment, try making a few different rockets—try different shapes and sizes. Which one “flies” the longest?

Sponsors

Super Science Saturdays are sponsored by PA Cyber and Tender Care Learning Centers, a proud partner of Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh.

January 29, 2021 by wpengine

Winging It: Quetzalcoatlus and the History of Aviation

When I see Quetzalcoatlus northropi soaring above the Cretaceous in Dinosaurs in Their Time, I’m often reminded of the Spirit of St. Louis suspended aloft at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. It might sound strange that a pterosaur from 70 million years ago would bring to mind an icon of twentieth century flight, but Q. northropi is a perfect starting point for exploring modern aviation history and the interconnections between nature and aeronautical engineering.

The Spirit of St. Louis in the Smithsonian, Washington, D.C.

When I was first introduced to Q. northropi, I knew it was named after the Mesoamerican feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl, but I assumed the northropi part came from the name of the paleontologist who discovered the great pterosaur’s remains. I soon found to my surprise that the specific name northropi was bestowed in honor of Jack Northrop, the aeronautical engineer who experimented with flying wing aircraft designs in the 1940s. When the pterosaur was discovered in Big Bend National Park in the early 1970s by graduate student Douglas A. Lawson from the University of Texas at Austin, Lawson and his advisor were struck by its size (adults could grow as large as a giraffe), wingspan (up to 36 feet), and its lack of a tail. The last of these three features made Northrop a natural namesake for the species. As the fantastic news of Quetzalcoatlus spread in 1975, the journal Science unveiled one of its most memorable cover pages: depicted on the cover of its mid-March issue to dramatic effect is a Northrop flying wing aircraft (think the grandfather of the Stealth bomber), Quetzalcoatlus, a Pteranodon (with a puny wingspan of only 18 feet), and a condor (looking like a harmless sparrow in comparison). From the moment of its discovery in Far West Texas, Quetzalcoatlus northropi captured the imagination of both the paleontological and aviation communities and does so to this day.

The tailless design of Northrop’s flying wing allowed for better fuel efficiency and increased aerodynamics compared to traditional airplane designs. Debate, however, has raged over whether or not Quetzalcoatlus’s anatomy allowed the creature its own advantage in flight…or if it could fly at all. The jury is still out on the particulars of Q. northropi’s flying ability. Recent theorizing, from the mind of paleontologist Michael Habib, has the pterosaur capable of perhaps short flights powered by quadrupedal take-off as opposed to bipedal take-off, the method used by birds. Regardless of the debate, Q. northropi has itself inspired experimentation in drone technology. In 1985, at the behest of the Smithsonian, engineer Paul MacCready and a team of fellow scientists built and tested an orthocopter modeled after Quetzalcoalus with a modified wingspan of 18 feet. While the project was not without its technical hiccups, the team successfully test-flew their human-constructed pterosaur over Death Valley that year. This drone, called QN, is now housed at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and remains an ambitious and fascinating example of how scientists attempt to fathom the biomechanics of extinct species. With this in mind, maybe it isn’t so strange that I’ve imagined Quetzalcoatlus and the Spirit of St. Louis in the same thought after all.

Comparison of *Q. northropi* with a similar plane to the *Spirit of St. Louis*, the Cessna 172

While Q. northropi’s flying skills remain ambiguous, its namesake’s design is indeed found directly in nature. Northrop’s flying wing shares its form and function with the seeds of the Javanese flying cucumber (Alsomitra macrocarpa), a fruit-bearing vine found in Southeast Asia. When its fruit, football-sized gourds, have ripened they release their seeds from high in the canopy of the rainforest. These seeds, light-weight, papery in texture, and shaped like flying wings glide to the ground sometimes several hundred meters away using autogyration to guide and slow their descent; this is the same phenomenon, for example, that guides maple trees’ “whirligig” seeds, known scientifically as samaras, to the ground. Nature is full of designs and forms that aeronautical engineers mine for the advancement of flight technology. Paul MacCready, when lecturing before an esteemed audience at MIT, once called dragonflies, hummingbirds, and hawk moths “nature’s helicopters.” Happily, each of those animals will be common in Southwestern Pennsylvania when spring and summer finally return. So, whether you’re marveling at Quetzalcoatlus northropi any time of year at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History or taking a leisurely walk at your local park, you’ll be able to ponder with renewed attention the interconnections between the natural world and the science of aviation.

Young maple tree samaras, still attached to their branches.

Works Cited

Bryner, Jeanna. “How Huge Flying Reptiles Got Airborne.” Livescience.com. 7 Jan. 2009. <https://www.livescience.com/3190-huge-flying-reptiles-airborne.html>.

Carlson, Mark. “Northrop’s Radical Flying Wing Bomber of the 1940s.” July 2020. <https://www.historynet.com/northrops-radical-flying-wing-bomber-of-the-1940s.htm>.

MacCready, Paul and John Langford. “Human-Powered Flight: Potentials.” MIT Gardner Lecture, 27 April 1998. MIT Video Productions. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8C8-BB_7nw>.

Miller, David. “It’s A Bird; It’s a Plane; It’s a…Cucumber?” Boston University. 25 Nov. 2012. <http://blogs.bu.edu/bioaerial2012/2012/11/25/the-stabilizing-characteristics-of-alsomitra-macrocarpa/>.

“Texas Pterosaur Flies into Spotlight this National Fossil Day.” The University of Texas at Austin, Jackson School of Geosciences. 17 Oct. 2018. <https://www.jsg.utexas.edu/news/2018/10/texas-pterosaur-flies-into-limelight-this-national-fossil-day/>.

Super Science: She-Ra, the American Kestrel

Hi, my name is She-Ra and I’m an American kestrel. A scientist might call me Falco sparverius because that’s my species’ scientific name, but my friends just call me She-Ra or sometimes RaRa as a nickname! I may look small, but I am not—I am big, I am brave, and I am important.

American Kestrel perched on rope and wood — I’m a beautiful bird!

Kestrels like me are a part of the falcon family and are closely related to bigger birds like peregrine falcons. All the other falcons are bigger than us, because we are the smallest member of the falcon family in North America, where we are also the most populous and widely distributed falcon species. This means that there are a lot of birds like me living in the wild!

Falcons like me are raptors, or birds of prey, which means that we are meat eating birds. Wild kestrels will eat all sorts of insects, small rodents, lizards, and even smaller birds! We like to grab our prey with the sharp talons on our feet. Just like humans, some of us like to eat certain type of prey over others. My favorites are mice and bugs!

close up of American Kestrel talons — Look at my powerful talons!

I live at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but I used to live in the wild. But I can’t live in the wild anymore: four years ago, I was hit by a car and broke my wrist, which is in the top-central part of my wing. I was taken in by the nice humans at the West Virginia Raptor Rehabilitation Center after my accident, who nursed me back to health. But even after I got better, they realized that I was never going to be able to fly well enough again to survive in the wild—even though kestrels are fierce, we’re also tiny, and sometimes bigger birds of prey try to pick on us. If I returned to the wild, I wouldn’t be able to fly away from a bigger bird! I also wouldn’t be able hover in midair, which is something really cool that kestrels can do.

American Kestrel peeking out of a Bankers Box

These are photos of me on my first day at the rehab center. It was scary, but I’m happy the humans took care of me there!

Because I couldn’t return to the wild, I needed somewhere to live, so I came to the museum, where my coworker humans take good care of me. Yes, I have coworkers because I am a bird with a job! I am an educational ambassador animal, which means I help my coworkers teach people about kestrels by appearing in Live Animal Encounters.

American Kestrel perched on the arm of a blonde person wearing a blue shirt — Here I am, doing a Live Animal Encounter with my coworker, Jo Tauber.

Coming to live at the museum took a lot of special planning, care and attention. I am protected by something called the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, as are all kestrels and over 1,000 other migratory bird species in North America. The museum needed to get special permits, which gave them permission to have me live here. There are even special permits for my coworkers, which grants them the great privilege of working with me!

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 is important because it keeps birds safe. It prohibits people from killing or injuring birds or removing them from the wild. There are special cases like mine, where a bird needs to live somewhere they can be cared for by humans, but they are an exception. Something you may be surprised to hear is that the Treaty Act also protects eggs and nests, and even things like feathers! That’s right—even taking a feather from a protected migratory bird out of the wild is prohibited!

These are kestrel eggs. Please leave them alone if you see them!

Even though kestrels are the most populous and widely spread falcon species, wild populations seem to be decreasing. No one is quite sure why there are fewer kestrels in the wild, but some possible reasons include human interference with our habitats, the use of pesticides, bigger birds preying on us more often, and road collisions (like what happened to me).

There are things you can do to help keep my wild relatives safe. One big thing is please don’t litter, especially on roads. Litter attracts delicious bugs and mice and kestrels might try to hunt them and get hit by a car. Another thing you can do is respect our space; if you see us in the wild, just leave us alone. If we seem to be sick or injured, please call the local game commission or a wildlife rehabilitation center, they have people that are trained to take care of us, much like my coworkers are trained to care for me.

If you really feel like you want to do something more to help kestrels, look into building a nest box, which will give my wild relatives somewhere safe to lay their eggs and raise their babies. If you build a nest box, you can even monitor whether any kestrels come to use it and report that information. That will help scientists learn where kestrels are living and keep track of how many of us are in the wild!

Thank you for taking the time to read my story! I hope you enjoyed learning about me and my relatives. Please check out the videos linked below. I am the star and they can teach you even more information about me!

Enrichment Time for She-Ra

Weighing She-Ra

To report injured kestrels, or other wildlife:

PA Game Commission Southwest Region: 724-238-9523

Humane Animal Rescue: 412-345-7300

Jo Tauber is the Gallery Experience Coordinator in CMNH’s Life Long Learning Department. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Bird Coloring Pages!

Download Jon Snow the Crow on a Plane Coloring Image

Download Mango the Sun Conure on a Plane Coloring Image

Download She-Ra the American Kestrel on a Plane Coloring Image

January 27, 2021 by Kathleen

Sensory Bin Idea – Flying Animals Bin

We have a great sensory bin idea for you–create a Flying Animals Sensory Bin with materials you have at home!

What is a Sensory Bin?

Sensory bins are great tools for younger children or children who might have sensory processing disorders to experience some relaxed sensory learning activities. For example, a sensory bin might include textures that encourage fun or textures that you might want your child to get used to (like sand perhaps) as well as goaled learning activities, like foam letters or numbers. In this activity, we suggest including toy animals to learn more.

Flying animals living in different ecosystems use the materials they have at their disposal to their advantage, but not every ecosystem is the same; cardinals may use a very different strategy when building their nests up high in trees than a sandpiper, who typically construct simple nests near the shores where they search for food. The same can be said for various insect species and even mammals like bats. You can choose multiple flying animals as inspiration for a sensory bin, too!

Materials Recommended

1 small/medium-sized bin
Bird seed (or a granulated substance like rice or sand)
Plastic insects/birds/bat toys
Sticks or fake grasses
Rocks
Feathers*

*Be careful not to use feathers you find outside—these can carry a lot of different germs! Use craft feathers instead.

Directions

Pour enough bird seed or granulated substance into your large container to cover the bottom completely.
Decide what animal you want your bin to focus on (you can also create an entire ecosystem with multiple animals!).
Where does this animal live? What types of materials would be in its habitat (sticks, rocks, etc.). If the animal lives in a cold place, how would they keep warm? What would they need in a habitat with little water?
Place your animals and other materials inside the sensory bin. Get creative! Do some of your flying insects like to burrow? Place them under the seeds and out of sight.

We’ll be working on more sensory friendly content as soon as we can, find it on our Sensory Friendly Saturdays Page.

Sensory Friendly Saturday

For more activities to complete with your household, check our our Super Science Saturday Page.

Super Science Saturday

Sponsors

Super Science Saturdays are sponsored by PA Cyber and Tender Care Learning Centers, a proud partner of Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh.

January 27, 2021 by wpengine

Detecting Objects with Invisible Waves: Using Radar, Sonar, and Echolocation to “See”

The ability to see visible waves of light can be beneficial for determining the size, shape, distance, and speed of things in our surrounding environments. But in many situations, reliance on sight might not be the best option for the remote detection of objects. For example, most animals do not have eyes on the backs of their heads; many cannot see very well at night; and some live in the depths of the ocean where visible light doesn’t reach. Yet these conditions don’t hinder the ability to sense objects for many animals. So, how do humans and other animals “see” distant objects without depending on the use of sight?

One answer is that other types of waves outside of visible light exist and animals have developed methods for detecting them. Two of these methods, sonar and radar, are man-made detection systems that allow us to “see” what our eyes can’t. The other, echolocation, is a natural way for some animals to detect motion through sound waves.

Radar

Radar is a system used to detect, locate, track, and recognize objects from a considerable distance. R.A.D.A.R is an acronym for “radio detection and ranging.” It was initially developed in the 1930s and 1940s for military use, but is now common for civilian purposes as well. Some of these uses include weather observation, air traffic control, and surveillance of other planets.

Radar works by sending out radio waves, a type of electromagnetic wave, in pulses through a radio transmitter. The waves are reflected off of objects in their path back toward a receiver that can detect those reflections. Radar devices usually use the same antenna for transmitting and receiving, which means the device switches between being active and passive. The received radio wave information can help observers determine the distance and location of the object, how fast it is moving in relation to the receiver, the direction of travel, and sometimes the shape and size of the objects, too.

Radio waves have the longest wavelengths and lowest frequencies of all electromagnetic waves. Because they move slower and require less energy, they travel well through adverse weather conditions like fog, rain, snow, etc. Detection systems like lidar that operate through infrared and visible waves with shorter wavelengths and higher frequencies do not function well in such conditions.

While radar can effectively move through or around various environmental conditions, it is much less effective underwater. The electromagnetic waves of radar are absorbed in large bodies of water within feet of transmission. Instead, we use Sonar in underwater applications.

Sonar

S.O.N.A.R, an acronym for “sound navigation and ranging,” is a similar system to radar in terms of transmitting and receiving waves through pulses to determine distance and speed. However, it functions through the use of sound waves and is highly effective underwater.

Sound waves are mechanical waves, which means they are oscillations, or back and forth movements at regular speeds, of matter. When a mechanical wave strikes an obstacle or comes to the end of the medium it travels in, some portion of the wave is reflected back into the original medium. Water turns out to be a fantastic medium – albeit a slow one – for carrying mechanical waves long distances, making Sonar the top choice for underwater object detection.

Echolocation

Echolocation is a natural sound wave transmission and detection method used by animals to accomplish the same goal of object detection. Though sometimes referred to as sonar in casual conversation, echolocation requires no human-made device to function and is used both above and below water. Animals use echolocation by sending out sound waves in the air or water before them. They can then determine information about objects in their path through the echoes produced when those sounds are reflected.

Echolocation can be utilized by any animal with sound-producing and sensing capabilities. Humans have been known to develop methods of systematically tapping canes or clicking their tongues to produce the sounds needed for echolocation. However, echolocation is more generally associated with the use of ultrasound by non-human animals. Ultrasound is sound that has a mechanical wave frequency higher than the human ear can detect though they operate the same as audible sound waves.

Bats are among the most well-known users of echolocation. They use relatively high, mostly ultrasonic wavelengths and some can create echolocating sounds up to 140 decibels – higher than a military jet taking off only 100 feet away. In order to handle such intense sound wave vibrations, bats turn off their middle ears by just before calling to avoid being deafened by their own calls. They use muscles in their middle ear to pull apart bones that carry sound waves to the inner ear leaving no path for the sound waves to damage the cochlea. Similar to radar devices switching between active transmitters and passive receivers, Bats restore their full hearing a split second later to listen for echoes.

Most of the more than 1300 species of bats use echolocation to hunt and navigate in poor lighting conditions. Fossil evidence indicates that this capability developed in bats at least 52 million years ago. They can detect an insect up to 15 feet away and determine its size, shape, hardness, and direction of travel through their skillful use of echolocation.

Wave Echoes

Animals have long been able to detect objects at a distance through the manipulation of nonvisible waves using technologies like radar and sonar or natural echolocation. Though each of these methods operates a little differently and relies on various shapes, sizes, and types of waves, they each work by emitting waves then determining characteristics based upon the echoes of those waves.

Try it at Home

Go to a corner of a quiet room and close your eyes. Without moving your body too much, try turning your head while making clicking noises with your mouth. Can you tell when you are turned more toward a wall or if there are any objects near you through the way the clicking sound changes? Try holding your hand up in front of your face and moving it back and forth while you click. Can you tell how far away it is or which direction it is moving by the sound? Get creative and try it with different types of objects and different locations!

Jane Thaler is a Gallery Experience Presenter in CMNH’s Life Long Learning Department. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Fancy Feathers: An Unexplained Complexity in Evolutionary History

One of the most complex and highly intricate wonders of the flying world owes nothing to DaVinci’s studies on mechanical flight, the Wright brothers’ pioneering of aviation, or any other human-derived aeronautic technology. The most sophisticated piece of engineering used for flight has its origins in the Age of Dinosaurs and is one of the most common sights in our everyday lives: feathers.

Feathers as We Know Them

Modern-day feathers come in a seemingly infinite variety of sizes, shapes, and textures. Though their diversity is immense, each type is made of beta-keratin, a structural protein found in the skin of both reptiles and birds, and their branching structures have the same basic parts. The main shaft is composed of a hollow barbless base, known as the calamus or quill, and a central shaft, called the rachis. The rachis branches into main barbs and they branch even further into barbules.

illustration of feathers showing the quill, rachis, barb, barbule, and hooks

The variety of feathers comes from small modifications to this basic branching structure to serve different functions. Feathers fall into a few general categories, which will be briefly describe here, and many more specific subcategories.

illustration of six feathers from longest to shortest: Tail, Flightl, Semiplume, Filoplume, Bristle, and Downy

Bristles have a simple, stiff, and tapered rachis with few barbs. They are usually found on a bird’s head around their mouth, nostrils, and eyelids. Some experts think they are for protection much like eyelashes, others believe they serve a sensory function as evidenced by the nerve endings found at their base, and many support both theories.

Filoplumes are also simple and mostly bare of barbs except a tuft at the tip. They are found near contour feathers. Given their placement and the presence of unmyelinated nerve fibers, which are those that support peripheral sensory functions in their base, filoplumes act like whiskers by sensing the position of contour feathers.

Semiplume and down feathers are mostly hidden underneath outer feathers. Their loose branching structures appears fluffy and is highly effective for insulation.

Contour feathers include those that cover the surface of the bird. As their name suggests, these feathers follow the shape of the body, streamlining and weatherproofing it along the way like overlapping shingles. From the central shaft extends a series of slender barbs, each sprouting smaller barbules that are lined with tiny hooks. When these grasp on to the hooks of neighboring barbules, they create a structural network that is almost weightless yet remarkably strong. As the outer visage, these feathers also support decoration and camouflage.

Contour feathers also include the amazing evolutionary innovations mentioned in the introduction: flight feathers. Flight feathers are long, stiff, asymmetrically shaped, but symmetrically paired feathers on the wings or tail of a bird. They are built for durability, shaped for precision, and combined with musculature to produce the ultimate flying tool. The wing feathers, known as remiges, have uniform windproof surfaces, or vanes, on either side of the central shaft created by the interlocked hooks found on the barbules. These feathers are asymmetric with a shorter, less flexible leading edge that support stability and maneuverability. Similarly structured tail feathers, known as retrices, are arranged in a fan shape that allows for precision steering during flight.

While we can simulate some of these characteristics with our flying technologies, we have yet to create a machine that is as versatile, efficient, and effective as bird feathers in flight. Even more impressive, birds are not stuck with one set of feathers for their whole lives. Damaged or worn feathers can be replaced through the process of molting. During a periodic molt, old feathers are shed and new ones grow in their place keeping birds in top flying shape. You can’t say that about any of our manmade flying machines.

The Question of the Evolution of Feathers

The consensus among paleontologists is that birds, known taxonomically as the class Aves, are a group of maniraptoran theropod dinosaurs. Evidence found in the fossil record suggests that most major lineages of modern birds arose near the end of or right after the Cretaceous period (between 65-60 million years ago). Feathers now exclusively occur in avian dinosaurs (e.g., birds), but that was not always the case. With the discovery of the bird-like dinosaur Archaeopteryx in the 1860s and confirmed with further feathered dinosaur discoveries in the 1990s, feathers have been found on much earlier, non-avian species suggesting that their evolutionary beginnings stem at least as far back as the Jurassic.

illustration of feather evolution from the Triassic to Cenozoic

Several theories have been explored and subsequently unraveled in recent years regarding the origin of birds and the evolution of feathers. Once the link between birds and reptiles was evidenced, some scientists theorized that birds did not evolve from dinosaurs. Instead, they are related by a distant common ancestor that has yet to be discovered. This theory, however, does not account for the striking similarities between the skeletons of birds and those of the highly feathered theropods.

Others theorized that maybe scales and feathers were both flat because feathers were an elongation of scales with frayed edges that eventually became the feathers we see today. They supposed that this growth over generations could have been prompted as an adaptation for flight. Maybe they helped these reptiles live in tree canopies by aiding gliding, which turned into the capability of flight. Such a “feathers-to-flight” theory would nicely tie up answers to all of the questions posed above and was fairly long-lived. With the discovery of hundreds of feathered, ground-running theropods, however, this theory proved to be discardable. So, too, dinosaurs far removed from theropods and even further removed from birds have been found with feathers that were not used for flight.

The feathers on the earliest non-avian dinosaurs did not look like the modern-day feathers described above. This fact has led to a new line of thinking about the transition from scales to feathers. From what we know from the fossil records, the earliest feathers, sometimes called protofeathers, were small, hollow filaments that appeared more like fuzz than feathers. Studying feathered specimens chronologically, the feathers slowly became more and more complex over time possibly because of an evolutionary impetus. The study of this feather development has prompted a new look into the genomic manipulation of placodes. Integumentary placodes are embryonic structures involved in the development of hair follicles, feathers, and teeth. Recent studies using modern genomic methods to identify feather-associated placodes have demonstrated the ability to turn scales into feathers. By turning key molecular circuits on and off at critical stages of scale development, researchers have been able to stimulate feather-like growths in alligator skin cells.

Though interesting, indeed, and something to keep an eye out for in new studies, none of this research is conclusive. Other studies suggest that convergent evolution might solve some of these riddles or more digging for fossils might be the best option. In any case, there is still much to learn about how the feathered dinosaur that you watch at your birdfeeder or hear outside your window evolved into what it is today.

Super Science Activity: DIY Catapult

By Jane Thaler

Flight is possible because of the four basic forces of aerodynamics: lift, weight, thrust, and drag.
Lift and weight are opposing forces that, when controlled, allow things to stay up in the air. Thrust and drag are similarly opposing forces that either pull or resist movement through space. To be able to get into the air, animals and machines must be able to produce the two forces of lift and thrust against the forces of weight and drag.

model of the four forces of flight: thrust, lift, drag, and weight

Birds and helicopters have mechanisms that produce lift and thrust simultaneously. Birds do this through a twisting of their wings and helicopters accomplish the same idea through a single rotor. This allows them to conveniently take off for flight by moving straight up into the air. Not all flying machines can do this, however, and most require some sort runway to gain enough speed for taking off amongst all these flying forces. This can be fairly inconvenient when you don’t have a lot of time or space. Say you are trying to takeoff from an aircraft carrier in the sea for example that only has 300 feet of runway instead of the 2,300 feet needed for your average aircraft to takeoff. What you need, and what engineers have built, is a machine that can get those planes from 0 to 170 miles in less than 2 seconds. Aircraft carriers use steam-powered catapults to shortcut the force-based issues of flight takeoff.

Spring loaded catapults were used to launch aircraft beginning in 1903 and catapults were used on U.S. Navy ships as early as 1915, but their history as a tool for launching objects into the air for a distance began in 400 BC as weapons in siege warfare. Catapults work through a sudden release, or conversion, of stored potential energy to propel objects through the air. Essentially, energy stored as tension or torsion is converted during the release and transferred to the launched object. This energy of motion creates enough lift to get an object in the air while the force and angle of release provide the thrust necessary to cover long distances.

Let’s see how they work by building our own catapult! In this activity you will being using elastic potential energy stored in the tension of a wooden craft stick.

popsicle stick with plastic bottle cap glued on end

Eight popsicle sticks tied together with rubber bands

What You’ll Need to Make Your Own Catapult

• 10 craft sticks
• Rubber bands
• Plastic bottle cap – Or some other small, lightweight bucket
• Glue
• A cotton ball or small ball of crumpled paper
• Paint, markers, or other decorations – This is entirely optional

Directions

(Optional) Decorate the craft sticks and bottle cap to your liking and wait till dry. It is much easier to do this before you begin assembling your catapult.
Glue plastic bottle cap on the end of a craft stick facing up like a cup. Place aside to let dry. This will be the launching stick.
Stack 8 craft sticks together. Wrap both ends of the stack with rubber bands to secure them together.
Place a single craft stick on the bottom of the main stack at a perpendicular angle. Secure this cross shape with rubber bands wrapped in an X around the center.
Attach your launching stick (bucket side up) on the other side of the stack, also perpendicular so that is lines up with the bottom stick. Attach the launching stick to the bottom stick using a rubber band. This will create a V-shape.
Put your catapult on a flat area in an open space and place a cotton ball in the cup on the launching stick.
Push the cup down a little bit and let go. Try changing up the how far you push the cup down before launching.

Observe:
Does your ball fly higher or lower when you push down a lot compared with when you push down a little? Does it land farther or nearer? Did the flight path change? What else do you observe?

Stacked popsicle sticks attached to base popsicle stick

catapult cap stick attached to stacked popsicle stick perpendicularly

cotton ball in the catapult ready to launch!

Sponsors

Super Science Saturdays are sponsored by PA Cyber and Tender Care Learning Centers, a proud partner of Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh.

January 25, 2021 by wpengine

Super Squid! Flying Marvels of the Natural World

Look up in the sky—it’s a bird! No, a plane! It’s…it’s…a squid?! Most people wouldn’t expect a squid to fly, but truth is sometimes stranger than comic book fiction. The natural world is full of wonderful surprises, including many creatures that seemingly have no business being airborne. They can live in very different habitats, ranging from beneath the ocean waves to high up in the tree tops of a rainforest. Yet all these animals have expertly managed to adapt to their environments and utilize flight as a successful survival tool.

Flying Mammals

Wouldn’t it be a strange world if mice and rats could fly? Besides being a housecat’s worst nightmare, this notion also seems unbelievable. But out in the amazing world of wildlife, this isn’t so far from the truth! Gliding mammals can be found around the globe, from the tiniest of these arboreal aerialists, the Mighty-Mouse-sized Feathertail Glider, which lives in Australia, to the largest, the 16-inch-long Colugo, sailing through the tree tops of the rainforests of South East Asia.

The Southern Flying Squirrel (also called the assapan) measures 10 inches long from nose to tail and covers a wide range of the eastern side of North America. It lives in the deciduous forests that stretch from Southeast Canada to Florida. Their habitat is like that of the Gray Squirrel, but we often don’t see them because they’re nocturnal.

These squirrels are nocturnal, and eat a variety of fruits, nuts, insects, spiders, flowers, and seeds. They’ll also eat bird eggs and gastropods like snails and slugs!

Flying squirrels, like all gliding mammals, has specialized flight gear that enables it to take to the skies. This unique flying tool is called a patagium, which is a stretchy cape of loose skin that starts at their wrists, extends along their body, and attaches at their ankles. To become airborne, they usually like to take a running start from a tree top. But they can also take off from a stationary jumping point by pulling in their limbs and head close to their body. Then, like releasing energy from a coiled spring, they push off and propel into the air. Once they’re in the air, they stretch out their arms and legs to create an “X” shape with their body. This causes their patagium to billow up and stretch into a square shape. This allows them to turn into furry little pilots, expertly maneuvering around obstacles and trees. They can even manage to make last- second, hair-raising 90-degree turns!

When preparing to land, they raise up their flattened tail, which acts like the stabilizer on a kite or airplane. This allows them to adjust their trajectory and hone in on their landing site. By pulling their limbs in front of them, the squirrel’s patagium transforms into a parachute and slows them down when they reach the limb of their choice. Although they’re clumsy walkers because of their patagium, the Southern Flying Squirrel’s ability to glide is an effective adaptation for traveling long distances, and a great tactic for evading predators.

Flying Reptiles

It’s not just mammals that can sail through the wild blue yonder; reptiles have their superhero moments, too. When you think of a flying reptile, the first thing that might come to mind is a menacing winged serpent or dragon out of some mythical Medieval legend. But these captivating creatures don’t just live in the land of fairytales—they inhabit our world, too. The Draco Lizard, also called the Flying Dragon, makes its home in the jungles of Southeast Asia and Southern India. Measuring a mere 8 inches from head to tail, it’s astounding that they can fly through the forest for up to 100 feet! They accomplish this by using folds of skin that rest against their body. When unfurled, this skin acts as wings. This tiny “dragon” can travel quickly from tree to tree using their wings for lift and their long, slender tail for steering. Their airborne expediency is very useful for avoiding danger, finding mates, and tracking down meals.

You wouldn’t think this little lizard could be airborne, but they can glide distances up to 10 times their body length!

Another gliding reptile is the nocturnal Flying Gecko, which lives in the tropical forests of Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia. Measuring up to 8 inches, they can fly for up to 200 feet! They have special webbing that surrounds their neck, limbs, feet, trunk, and rudder-like tail. When the gecko stretches itself out, this webbing acts as flaps that create surface area and generate lift.

Lastly, there is one brave reptile that seems to break all the rules of flight and aerodynamics. It’s the flying snake. There are currently five recognized species, and they range from Western India to Indonesia. Scientists are not quite sure why snakes fly. Maybe it’s to escape predators, hunt prey, or quickly move from tree to tree. Whatever their reasons, it is an amazing sight to see. The Paradise Tree Snake of Southeast Asia will slither to the end of a branch, dangle in a J shape, then spring off using the lower half of its body. Then they use the speed of free fall to fly. In midair, it flattens its body into a concave “C” shape to trap air and provide lift. As it glides, it undulates side to side in an “S” shape. This action increases stabilization so that it can cover more horizontal distance. No other gliding animal maintains stability like this. At just 4 feet long, the Paradise Tree Snake can fly for up to 330 feet! It’s quite an achievement for a reptile with no legs or wings.

Flying Sea Life

Most people think that dolphins and whales are the only aquatic acrobats of the animal world. But there are many other sea creatures that peek above the ocean waves from time to time. Perhaps you’ve heard of the flying fish. There are 40 known species that inhabit the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. Their streamlined, torpedo-shaped bodies can be as long as 18 inches. They’ll rapidly beat their forked tails to break the water’s surface and propel themselves through the air at 35 miles per hour. Using their unusually large pectoral fins as wings, they can glide for up to 655 feet before re-entering the water. It’s an astonishing feat that seems incomparable, but there has been a recent discovery of another flying marvel of the seas…Super Squid! All joking aside, this mollusk is called a flying squid. Scientists think that there are possibly dozens of species of squid that can fly, some of which are the Neon Flying Squid, the Orangeback Squid, and the Argentine Shortfin Squid.

Although there are several different species of flying squid, they most likely all evolved their mantles and funnels similarly for the most effective speed and aerodynamics when airborne.

A flying squid launches itself out of the water like a rocket by using its mantle and funnel. A mantle is a cloak of soft, muscular tissue that surrounds its body. When the squid contracts its mantle, it sends water shooting through the funnel, a tube below its head. It blasts out of the water like a jet and can travel as far as 100 feet in 3 seconds and fly as high as 10 feet above the water’s surface! It glides by spreading out its fins and flapping. But it also forms wings by spreading out its tentacles in a radial pattern. A membrane between their tentacles enables them to catch air, and this creates lift. Upon re-entry into the water, the squid folds back its fins and dives under the waves. Scientists have observed groups of over twenty squid flying together, and they’ve noticed that the squid don’t just glide passively. They change posture based on their distance from the water and their phase of flight. Scientists also think, more than likely, squids fly as a defense method for predatory escape.

So, the next time you’re outdoors, take a moment to look up into the sky and imagine seeing a snake, a squirrel, a lizard, or a squid sailing high above your head. It’s seems utterly inconceivable, but these amazing animals really do exist. And no, none of them wear a little red cape and have an “S” on their chest. And they’re not able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. But that doesn’t make their gravity-defying feats of flight any less super.

Sponsors

Super Science Saturdays are sponsored by PA Cyber and Tender Care Learning Centers, a proud partner of Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh.

January 21, 2021 by wpengine

Nerding Out Over Masting, or Why Unusual Plant Reproduction Excites Animal Ecologists

As for many people, every pandemic month that passes marks another month since I’ve been able to travel. I realized recently that this is the longest time I’ve gone without getting on a plane since about the 5^th grade (my parents divorced and lived in different states), and the longest I’ve gone without leaving the country since 2004. One reason I became an ecologist is because the work afforded me the opportunity to travel as part of my job, and that aspect is one of the main things I love about my work. For many tropical ecologists, the pandemic has marked a year of lost opportunities to travel to our field sites. Though my ongoing projects will survive this missed year of data, I miss the forest, and have spent many hours remembering all the things that made me fall in love with tropical field work in the first place.

Figure 1. Seedlings at Danum Valley, Sabah, Malaysia, October 2019.

One of my favorite forest phenomena is masting. Trees in the family Dipterocarpacae dominate SE Asian rainforests. These are the world’s tallest rainforest trees, reaching more than 90 meters in height, and they reproduce by masting, which are irregular fruiting events. In northern Borneo, there is no set wet or dry season; rain falls year-round but there are sporadic dry periods that vary from year to year. Thus, there is no regular spring/flowering season like we have here in the US. Instead, the Dipterocarps reproduce in masting events, usually following strong droughts. The reason animal ecologists get excited by these masting events is because during these periods the forest seems to explode with life. The first time I went to one of my field sites (Danum Valley) was during a masting event (2010), and I had no idea how rare and special it was. I thought that it was normal to see two clouded leopards eating a mouse deer, or to see orangutans pretty much every day, or to have elephants tip over your car while you’re out surveying frogs (true story!). In the following years, I realized how incredible it was to have been there at that time. I was a little sad that my chances of seeing another masting event were low, but I got lucky again in 2019 when I spent a month at Danum during its most recent masting year.

As a herpetologist, I admit that I don’t fully appreciate all of the botanical intricacies of masting. But the most visually noticeable thing about a masting event is that it makes the forest look as though someone has planted thousands and thousands of seedlings all over the forest floor. This is incredibly striking because much of the forest doesn’t normally have a lot of undergrowth, but rather widely spaced giant trees. It would be like seeing the redwood forest with seedlings blanketing the forest floor. I have a ridiculous number of pictures of both the forest floor and individual seeds and seedlings in an enormous variety of shape and size, and will gladly bore anyone willing to look at them.

Figure 2. Borneo short python (*Python breitensteini*), caecilian (*Ichthyophis sp*.), and palm civet (*Paradoxurus philippensis*).

As I mentioned above, masting events also bring out heaps of animals that I don’t often otherwise see. In my first week, while setting up an introduction to electro-fishing for my students, we saw an orangutan about 30 meters away. He then came down to the forest floor, crossed the stream a little ways up from us, and walked off into the forest on the other side. Later that afternoon as I was setting up the exercise on a different stream, a lizard known as a water monitor (Varanus) was swimming downstream toward us, got spooked up onto shore by our presence, and ran right into the mouth of a concealed king cobra–!! While we couldn’t see the cobra’s full body, we clearly saw its unmistakable head scales as it was pulling the Varanus back into its hiding spot, and heard the incredible growl that cobras let out when they don’t want to be bothered. The rest of the month saw numerous species of snakes, a giant softshell turtle, my 4^th ever caecilian (a limbless amphibian), mom and baby civets (a small carnivorous mammal), and in keeping with the field session’s mission, awesome frog data collected together with my students. While these animals are always present in the forest, masting events seem to bring them out in force, making all of them much easier to see.

As we start 2021, I am cautiously hoping that this year will see us all getting vaccinated, making travel safe once again. I hope to return to Borneo for more incredible encounters alongside my regular data collection, to better understand the incredible forest that hooked me into tropical field ecology in the first place.

Jennifer Sheridan is Assistant Curator in the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Are You Pishing at Me? Winter Birding in Pennsylvania

Leaves have fallen and so has snow, low clouds shroud the blue sky in a drop-ceiling effect, and the frigid air either sits still or stings in gusty winds. Winter can be a bleak and unforgiving season, yet some birds stick around the Pittsburgh area for the coldest months while others arrive here from more northern climates to spend the winter. Why not head to the warmer south like other birds? What food is there among the leafless trees? Who are these hardy little things with wings?

In the forest, the birds work throughout the day. Moving in mixed flocks high up in skeletal trees, chickadees and titmice often lead a band of woodpeckers and nuthatches. The flock probes crevices in tree bark or lingering brown leaves on trees for overwintering insects as eggs, pupae, larvae, or adults. Spiders are also important food items. These invertebrate morsels are fat and protein-rich foods especially important for tiny birds to survive cold nights.

White-breasted Nuthatches are notable for scaling down tree trunks head-first. Listen for a nasal “yank” call.

Two white-throated sparrows, with namesake white throats, but also notice the differing yellow and orange lores on these two birds.

The curious and taunting titmice and chickadees are agile fliers and keep watch for hunting hawks and owls, sending out warning calls to alert the foraging party of danger. On the ground in protected thickets, a different flock searches for food in the forest’s leafy floor. Resident song sparrows and tree sparrows are joined by white-throated sparrows and dark-eyed juncos from the boreal forests. These birds avoid a long migration and the enormous energy toll it takes, choosing instead to scavenge for seeds and insects during the short winter days. Their reward is first dibs on prime summer breeding territory—surely a distant memory to keep them warm during the long, cold winter nights.

Dark-eyed Juncos are small birds with a gray back and white belly. Also, notice the pink bill.

When Carolina wrens join these flocks, their trilling and warning calls are distinct. For the naturalist, imitating the warning call of a bird like the wren can lure in a mixed winter flock for easier observation. Relying on a type of voice distortion to lure birds is called “pishing.” It is a great skill for birders to master, and it’s useful year-round. Pishing varies for the bird you want to attract, but usually has a short, staccato “p” straight into a loud “shhh” with variable inflections. The idea of pishing is to attract birds with a warning call, a sort of call-to-arms which then triggers the formation of a tiny bird gang ready to chase off a predator. The birds will often join in with their own warning calls and flit about nervously on nearby branches. Observing the diversity of mixed flocks in the winter demonstrates the unique way these amazing animals work together to survive.

A Black-capped Chickadee (left) and Tufted Titmouse (right) at a feeder. These two species often travel together.

Fall and winter are also the seasons for bird feeders, where hungry foragers can reliably find a banquet of millet, sunflower, and thistle seeds—even better when caked in suet. Under some conditions feeding stations become colorful places. The dull reddish-purple feathers of house finches and purple finches glow against a backdrop of snow, while goldfinches and cardinals ornament nearby trees. Sparrows, titmice, wrens, and blue jays dip in and out at a feeder to fill up on seeds. Chickadees come and peck at empty feeders, calling in a squeaky chant for a refill.

Aaron Young is a museum educator on Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Outreach team. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum. Images from Powdermill Nature Reserve’s bird banding highlights.

A Head Above the Rest: Unearthing the Story of Our Leatherback Sea Turtle

When you think of BIG sea creatures, you probably imagine great white sharks, huge blue whales, or ginormous cephalopods like the giant squid (or, for the more imaginative, the Kraken!). But would you believe me if I told you that the ocean is also home to a reptile that grows far larger than a human? Many people are familiar with the “typical” green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) or even the hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), known for its beautifully patterned shell. However, these species are dwarfed in size compared to the leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea). Adult leatherback sea turtles are usually 6 to 8 feet long and 550 to 1500 pounds. To put that into context, imagine 3 to 8 adult men of average height and weight huddled together or 8 to 24 Labrador retriever dogs playing about in a group (now THAT would be heavenly!). An animal that big takes up a great deal of room, which is fine in the expansive ocean but is rather problematic if such a turtle is to become a museum research specimen. That is exactly the case with CM 44460, the famous leatherback sea turtle housed in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Section of Amphibians and Reptiles.

Head and esophagus of leatherback sea turtle CM 44460. The esophagus is so large it needed to be split into pieces— the two circles at the lower left and right corners of the tank and the large mass in the top left corner. Leatherback sea turtles lack teeth, and instead rely on spikey protrusions present in their mouths and esophagi to keep down their favorite prey item, jellyfish.

Cast of CM 44460 hanging above visitors in Discovery Basecamp.

When people tour the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles, we make it a point to open one of the first metal tanks our guests see, tank 156. This tank houses a single impressive specimen – the giant head and esophagus of a leatherback sea turtle. I started as the collection manager of the section just under two years ago and, until recently, the only information I had for this specimen were the scant details noted in the section’s database and on a printed sheet attached to the lid of the tank: a fisherman had found the specimen dead when it washed ashore in Maine in 1965. That was it. I knew the entire animal (not just the head) had washed ashore since a cast was made of the body and that replica is now hanging in Discovery Basecamp. I also knew ecological and herpetological information about the species in general, but nearly every specimen in a natural history collection has a story, and I knew this one had to be good… but I didn’t know what it was…

… until I began digitizing the section’s archives.

Let’s take a step away from our leatherback sea turtle specimen to understand what “digitizing the section’s archives” really means. Carnegie Museum of Natural History is over 100 years old, and the herpetology archives date back to the museum’s inception. That means we had, at the time I became involved with the digitizing work, nearly 125 years of correspondence, field notes, specimen data, and collection-related events to clean, scan, and properly organize and house both physically and electronically. (For a more in-depth dive into this archiving process, see section archivist Ren Jordan’s post here.) It took a team of about 10 people (part-time and full-time interns, work-study students, and staff members) over a year to complete this daunting task. The treasure trove of information we unearthed in those archives is priceless, and CM 44460’s story is a treasure worth sharing.

Images from archives showing how staff members prepared CM 44460 to be accessioned into the herpetology collection and displayed to the public. Clockwise from the top left: Herpetology staff members C. J. McCoy and Arthur Bianculli lift the shell onto a cart for transport; Herpetology curator Neil D. Richmond and museum preparator Otto M. Epping measure out the cast of CM 44460 created from the shell and body measurements; Preparator Otto M. Epping and Exhibits staff member Forest Hart removing the shell from a cargo van upon arrival to the Carnegie Museum; Herpetology staff members C. J. McCoy, Arthur Bianculli, and Neil D. Richmond examine the head of CM 44460 in a large potato chip can; Herpetology curator Neil D. Richmond shows the head to museum director M. Graham Netting as another staff member looks on.

black and white photo of three men pulling a turtle head out of a can

Herpetology staff members C. J. McCoy, Arthur Bianculli, and Neil D. Richmond examine the head of CM 44460 in a large potato chip can upon its arrival to the museum (A). The complete description of the image as it appears affixed to the back of the image (B).

During the digitization work, the archival material I processed included the field notes of past-curator Dr. C. J. McCoy, and among his papers was a crumbly old folder labeled “CM 44460” that required rehousing. The number lacked any context for me at the time because the section has over 180,000 catalog (or CM) numbers and, try as I might, I don’t yet have them all memorized. When I pulled out pictures from the folder, though, CM 44460’s identity instantly became apparent, for I found myself looking at the images of our famous leatherback sea turtle. One picture showed the creation of the cast and another depicted the shell being carried by two men due to its size. Another image showed Dr. McCoy crouched with two other men near a huge open tin can labeled “Potato Chips” with, shockingly, the head of dear CM 44460 peeking out of the top. A note affixed to the back of the image read “C. J. McCoy, Arthur Bianculli, & Neil D. Richmond examining head which filled 7-gal. can. 27 Aug. 1965. Leatherback Turtle caught 16 Aug. 1965 off Swan’s Is., Maine by Lobsterman Robert Joyce. Presented to Carnegie Museum by Dave Shelton, Aqualand, Bar Harbor, Maine” (Image 4B). Suddenly pieces of the story were falling into place. This specimen was transported from Maine to Pittsburgh in pieces, with the head arriving separate from the body and shell in a 7-gallon potato chip container!

A couple months later, I unearthed another folder in the archives with data from the specimen. The documents recorded the preservation process of the turtle, including measuring and weighing different organs (knowing that they would be too large to properly preserve and store), and how long it took the head to become fully and properly fixed in formalin. Through these notes, I learned that the turtle was a female measuring 7’5” from the tip of her tail to the tip of her snout, and that her ocean wandering was powered by a flipper-span of 8’4”! Based upon her carapace (the top part of a turtle shell) measuring in at 5’5”, this turtle was likely sexually reproductive and, therefore, rather old. CM 44460’s story is so much clearer now and really goes to show how each specimen in a collection has its own unique history just waiting to be investigated.

Stevie Kennedy-Gold is the collection manager for the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Insect metamorphosis: the key to a fresh new start

For many people, the new year represents an opportunity to make a fresh start, consider self-improvement, or turn over a new leaf. As in all fields of human endeavor, insects are way ahead of us and have already developed the ultimate technology for personal reinvention: metamorphosis.

Among entomologists, “metamorphosis” refers to the process by which a tiny hatchling insect becomes a fully functioning adult. This process can take place in two ways. Incomplete metamorphosis is the process by which an insect molts through a series of increasingly large, adult-like stages (“instars”) before completing the final molt into an adult. Insects that develop this way include grasshoppers, stink bugs, dragonflies, termites, and mantises.

drawing of various insects including a butterfly, bee, and beetle

Complete metamorphosis, on the other hand, involves a (typically) worm-like larva which undergoes a quiescent, or inactive, pupal stage before reaching adulthood. Insects that undergo complete metamorphosis include beetles, ants, bees, wasps, lacewings and antlions, flies, and moths. These orders are often described as “holometabolous,” which simply means that their development includes pupation.

drawing of a moth teaching other moths about cocoons and turning to "mystery goo"

The process of pupation is fascinating and mysterious: essentially, the caterpillar zips itself up into a sleeping bag made of its own skin, turns to soup, and comes out a butterfly. How?

In fact, insect pupation remained a scientific mystery for many years, largely because of the difficulty in observing the pupation process without destroying or interfering with development. However, interfering with development turned out to be the key to understanding this process: early investigators (e.g. Jan Swammerdam, the 17^th century microscopist) discovered that structures corresponding to the approximate positions of future wings could be dissected from within late stage, prepupal larvae. Several centuries later, the ability to induce fluorescence in selected cell lines allowed researchers to observe the activity of these future wings, legs, and antennae throughout larval development. This research led to the identification of what are now known as “imaginal discs.”

caterpillar wearing headphones holding a record called "I, Ron Butterfly"

Here’s how it works: secret little collections of cells are formed during embryogenesis, and rest dormant inside the larva as it grows. The larva and its essential larval structures (usually the digestive system) grow larger, but the dormant cells do very little. These cells are known as imaginal cells and their aggregate structures are called imaginal discs (The term refers not to imagination, but to the imago, a synonym for the insect’s adult stage). The cells within these imaginal discs are largely dormant until a special cue— temperature, day length, growth, or otherwise— triggers the hormones that kickstart pupation. The larva forms a tough outer casing from its outermost exoskeleton or uses silk glands to create a protective nest (e.g. a cocoon).

metamorphosis diagram — Image source: Aldaz, S. and Escudero, L.M., 2010. Imaginal discs. Current Biology, 20(10), pp.R429-R431.

As pupation begins and the larval body breaks down into fluid, the imaginal discs begin to undergo rapid development, telescoping outward to form the longer legs, wings, antennae, mouthparts, and other complex adult body structures. The only remnants of the larva that stay functional are the tracheae, hollow tubes which allow it to breathe.

Once the adult structures are fully formed, they will remain soft in order to fit inside the now too-small pupa. The pupal case splits open, and the newly emerged adult insect forces air and fluid into its new wings to unfurl them fully before they harden.

butterfly emerging from cocoon — Image from Creative Commons.

Forming a hard outer casing and liquefying your existing body may not sound like an inspirational concept for the new year, but perhaps it should. The lesson of the butterfly is that the developmental foundations of the beautiful, functional adult were inside the awkward, squirmy larva all along. The imaginal cells were always there, just waiting to be awakened.

For more discussion of insect pupation and tips on using caterpillars to get kids into science, see this previous IZ blog post by Dr. Jim Fetzner, “Kids and Caterpillars: Fostering a Child’s Interest in Nature by Rearing Lepidoptera (Moth and Butterfly) Larvae.”

Ainsley Seago is Associate Curator of Invertebrate Zoology. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

King’s Dream and Natural History

During the summer of 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. referenced the geographic high ground of our region in his “I Have a Dream” speech when he intoned:

“Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.”

Fifty-seven summers later, in the face of indisputable evidence that King’s dreams have not become reality, many institutions are renewing commitments to equal opportunities at all levels of their operations. In the field of natural history, a territory that’s neither defined nor bound by museum walls, there have been clear calls for more and safer opportunities to explore the great outdoors, to routinely participate in experiences that build an interest in natural history.

photo of the book "The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man's Love Affair with Nature" by J. Drew Lanham

One of the most articulate calls can be found in The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature, a highly praised 2016 book by J. Drew Lanham, professor of wildlife ecology at Clemson University. In a chapter titled, Birding While Black, the author describes a field work incident while checking small mammal traps in a remote section of South Carolina mountains in the company of a white female wildlife biologist. The two, both South Carolina Department of Natural Resources biologists, were followed, turn for turn, on twisting logging roads by three white men in a battered pickup truck, triggering, before the pursuit was abandoned, what Lanham terms “an edge that I’d only experienced in very bad dreams.”

Several paragraphs later, Lanham offers this:

The wild things and places belong to all of us. So while I can’t fix the bigger problems of race in the United States – can’t suggest a means by which I, and others like me, will always feel safe – I can prescribe a solution in my own small corner. Get more people of color “out there.” Turn oddities into commonplace. The presence of more black birders, wildlife biologists, hunters, hikers, and fisher folk will say to others that we, too, appreciate the warble of a summer tanager, the incredible instinct of a whitetail buck, and the sound of wind in tall pines. Our responsibility is to pass something on to those coming after. As young people of color reconnect with what so many of their ancestors knew – that our connections to the land run deep, like taproots of mighty oaks; that the land renews and sustains us – maybe things will begin to change.

For many of us there’s a clear “ask” in Lanham’s statements. Our answers and actions have potential to move the heightening Alleghenies region closer to King’s dream.

Becoming a Science Educator

An American toad, similar to those found in the author’s childhood backyard.

Think back to when you were a child – what was your favorite way to learn how something works? Mine was to ask loads of questions and then jump in and get my hands dirty. I specifically remember catching toads in the backyard with my mom, asking questions about their appearance and where they lived. She would tell me about the myth of them giving you warts, that they might pee on your hand if they were scared, and how to hold them gently and then let them go. Twenty years later, I became a research ecologist studying amphibian diseases, and I learned how to sharpen these inclinations into more robust skills: how to create focused questions and experiments, collect and analyze data, and present the findings to a range of audiences.

Today, I teach and design curriculum for home-school and summer camp programs at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Fostering the learners’ own questions and devising hands-on ways to investigate them is the focus of my work. Science and nature provide unlimited opportunities for first-hand investigations, and the process of metamorphosis is one of my favorite examples.

An 8-year-old camper has likely learned about butterfly metamorphosis in school, and might be able to name the four stages: egg, caterpillar, pupa, and adult. Scientists call this four-stage process “complete metamorphosis,” a term whose qualifier invites one to wonder, “what is incomplete metamorphosis?” Enter the majestic dragonfly. Dragonflies also go through metamorphosis, but with only three stages: egg, nymph, and adult; their transformation is therefore termed “incomplete.” Noting this small difference suggests another question: what else is different about a dragonfly?

Above and below: Dragonfly nymphs collected and released in a Pittsburgh section of the Ohio River.

Well those first two stages – eggs and nymphs – are in water! That is why they are part of the far larger group of aquatic macroinvertebrates, creatures with no backbone that can be seen without magnification and that live at least part of their life in water. Some dragonfly nymphs are impressive predators and can live for years in this aquatic phase, even though their adult lives last only a few weeks. In what ways, I challenge the 8-year-olds, is this transformation similar or different from that of a caterpillar and a butterfly?

science educator Jenise Brown in a field looking through a tray of water — Jenise looking through a stream water sample for aquatic macroinvertebrates in a sorting tray.

After we’ve explored these questions, we make a trip behind the scenes to look at some insect specimens up close, and allow the students to directly ask the museum’s research scientists even more questions. Finally, we visit Powdermill Nature Reserve to get our hands muddy by looking for dragonfly nymphs and other aquatic macroinvertebrates in the research station’s namesake stream. And before we know it, we’ve done actual science: used the scientific method to gain understanding about the world around us!

I came to teaching from research science because I love building interactive experiences of the world around us like these into courses that can educate and inspire young people. This type of scientific inquiry is universal, and these practices can be adjusted for age. A class about dragonflies for a 12-year-old group, for example, might focus on data collection and include the presentation of our findings to the younger campers. Whatever the age level though…I get to get my hands dirty.

2020 Rector Christmas Bird Count Results

On December 20, 2020, 34 intrepid birders braved a wintry mix to count birds in assigned sectors within a 15-mile diameter circle centered just northwest of Powdermill Nature Reserve. Another eight, who lived within designated territory, closely watched their bird feeders and yards for avian visitors. Why would so many birders be out in less-than-ideal weather conditions? They were all participating in the Rector Christmas Bird Count.

Map of the Rector Christmas Bird Count circle with each count sector outlined with red, created by James Whitacre, GIS Research Scientist at Powdermill Nature Reserve.

Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is an annual event sponsored by the National Audubon Society that happens in mid-December through early January, with the compiler of each count circle choosing a specific count date within that timeframe. This year marks the 121^st anniversary of the activity. The count started on Christmas day in 1900 with the purpose of censusing birds by counting them in the field using optics rather than by using shotguns. Although there were only 25 count circles in the first CBC, it has grown into an international event with nearly 2900 circles spread across the Western Hemisphere and even to Pacific Islands as far away as Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Today, the CBC is a fun day for birders and bird watchers of all skill levels to head outside with the goal of identifying and counting every bird they see and hear within their count areas. The data gathered though this citizen science initiative contributes to both long-term and short-term population studies. To date, more than 200 peer-reviewed scientific publications have used CBC data in their analyses.

Although the count was a bit different this year with COVID-19 precautions keeping counters in different germ pools separate, we had an excellent turnout of both advanced and beginner birders, including some young birders.

And what a count it was! This winter is an irruption year (for more info on irruptive migration, please see this blog.) for many species, and although we didn’t find hordes of these birds during the count, we did see Pine Siskins, Purple Finches, Red-breasted Nuthatches, higher-than-average numbers of Black-capped Chickadees, and the much sought after Evening Grosbeak. The counters recorded many interesting and less common species this year, including the count’s third ever Snow Goose, third ever Eastern Phoebe, and fifth ever Common Yellowthroat. Both the phoebe and Common Yellowthroat are species that winter in the southeastern US. Counting efforts that began an hour before dawn produced exceptional owl numbers (eight Eastern Screech-Owls, one Great Horned Owl, and two Barred Owls). Additionally, the birders recorded high counts for several species including Ruddy Duck, Black Vulture, Bald Eagle, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Common Raven, Carolina Wren, and Song Sparrow. Most notably, the group counted a record-setting seven Red-headed Woodpeckers, a species that is uncommon in southwestern Pennsylvania and can be reliably found in only one spot of suitable habitat within the count circle.

We thank all of the participants for a wonderful count this year! In all, we tallied 4361 birds of 69 species, a remarkable result thanks to the valiant effort of all of the counters. We look forward to hosting the Rector count next year!

Annie Lindsay is the Bird Banding Program Manager at Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Powdermill Nature Reserve. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

A Visit to the Mammoth Site, Hot Springs, SD

Did you know that not all museums display their fossil specimens mounted in life-like poses? At The Mammoth Site of Hot Springs, South Dakota, visitors view fossils “in situ,” or as they were discovered, and because excavation continues year-round, this unique museum is also an active dig site.

brown sign that says The Mammoth Site — A sign welcomes visitors to The Mammoth Site of Hot Springs, South Dakota.

Instead of being held in place by the fabricated support structures that are so crucial to traditional fossil displays, bones at The Mammoth Site rest on sediment and appear in the same orientations in which they were found. The remains of more than 60 Columbian mammoths (Mammuthus columbi) have been documented here to date, comprising the world’s most extensive collection of skeletons of these Ice Age elephant relatives.

The Mammoth Site was discovered in 1974 when the landowner decided to build a housing development on the 14-acre plot. While the heavy machine operator was bulldozing a small hilltop, he found tusks and bone. Construction stopped and officials at four colleges were contacted, but none expressed interest in the find. Fortunately, the son of the heavy machine operator, who had taken geology and archaeology courses in college, was able to gain interest from one of his former professors, who was then conducting fieldwork in Arizona. When the professor arrived at the site a few days later he recognized the exposed bones of four to six individual mammoths and the potential for more nearby. He arranged for a field crew to salvage and stabilize the visible bones, teeth, and tusks, and returned the next summer with a group of students to do more excavating. A complete skull with tusks attached was the prize find of these more organized recovery efforts, and by the end of the summer the landowner had decided the tract’s highest value was as a place for scientific study.

mammoth skulls in situ — Mammoth skulls with tusks attached at The Mammoth Site. Notice the sediment supporting the fossils.

I recently had the opportunity to visit The Mammoth Site, which is located in the Black Hills, a scenic region of green pine trees and deep red earth. Once you purchase your admission, you are directed to a theater where a looped video introduces the relevant geologic history. The site is the result of a sinkhole that developed when groundwater dissolved the limestone layers through which it flowed. Subterranean water-filled caverns were an early product of this process, but as the water table lowered the caverns weakened and collapsed, resulting in a deep sinkhole with a chimney-like shaft, through which a warm artesian spring percolated to the surface. In three phases over a period of 750 years, the sinkhole refilled with sediment and the remains of mammoths and other creatures before it was eventually reduced to a mud wallow.

photo of geologic map — Geologic map of the beautiful Black Hills area of South Dakota and Wyoming.

After the theater, the bonebed is the next stop. The museum has a special app that can be listened to with headphones for a tour of the bonebed. The bonebed room is very large and naturally lit and has a high beam ceiling with windows at the top of one wall. There is a crane attached to the rafters that is used to move any specimens that need to be permanently removed from the ground. Because a large tusk can weigh over 100 pounds, and skulls far more than this, this overhead crane is an essential tool.

The most complete mammoth skeleton or “model mammoth,” found in the deep end of the bonebed. It is used to compare to the remains of others to determine attributes such as age, size, and sex.

How, you ask, do researchers know there are over 60 individuals in the sinkhole? For every mammoth or person or other critter with a skeleton, there are a certain number of each bone in the body. Because mammoths have two tusks it is possible to count the number of tusks in the bonebed, 123, and divide by two to calculate the presence of at least 62 individuals.

bonebed at Mammoth Site — How many tusks can you find in this section of the bonebed?

Determining the sex of a mammoth is possible when its pelvis is well-preserved with minimal crushing or distortion. By measuring a specific spot on the pelvis and the width of the pelvic canal at a certain area, and comparing these two measurements, it can be determined whether the pelvis belonged to a male or female mammoth. This calculation is possible because males are generally larger than females, and also because females had a proportionally larger pelvic canal to aid in giving birth. Mammoth remains recovered at The Mammoth Site have all been male. Although the presence of more than 60 males but no females at the site may seem surprising, studies have shown that “natural death traps” such as The Mammoth Site captured many more males than females. This may be because, rather than living in herds led by a knowledgeable matriarch, relatively inexperienced male mammoths typically traveled alone, making them more likely to get stuck in these kinds of traps.

It is also possible to age a mammoth using growth rates of bones and the state of fusion of the epiphyses (the ends of the limb bones); however, it is most accurate to age these animals by measuring their teeth. The length and width of the occlusal (= chewing) surface is then used to verify which of their six sets of teeth they were using at the time of death. Generally, a mammoth’s life span could be as long as 60 to 80 years, an age when the animal would be relying upon its sixth set of teeth. When these teeth wore down, starvation would follow. Dental comparisons at The Mammoth Site indicate that most of the remains represent mammoths that were between 15 and 29 years old when they died, with a few in their late forties or early fifties.

mammoth skull fossil in situ — An upside-down mammoth skull shows holes at the front where the tusks attach. Two sets of molars are also visible (I think).

When you next visit Carnegie Museum of Natural History, be sure to head to Pleistocene Hall, where we have our very own mounted Columbian mammoth skeleton on display!

mounted mammoth fossil — The mounted Columbian mammoth at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

And please remember to keep a tusk-length apart! (Social distancing the mammoth way.)

Linsly Church is a Curatorial Assistant in the Section of Vertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Teaching in the Parks

Allegheny County Park Rangers consider themselves to be ambassadors for a public asset whose value has increased during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic: nine regional parks encompassing more than 12,000 acres of largely green space, laced with some 100 miles of multi-use trails.

Allegheny County Park Ranger Elise Cupps in khaki shirt with black tie and tan hat — Ranger Elise Cupps. Photo credit: Allegheny County

For Elise Cupps being an ambassador for this unique resource involves teaching a variety of audiences, including school groups, scout units, garden clubs, and library patrons. The Robert Morris University (BS) and University of Pittsburgh (MA) alumna is a five-year veteran of a program just six years old, and as the Park Ranger’s Coordinator for Education and Outreach she makes regular use of the CMNH Educator Loan Program.

In many County parks, Ranger programs about owls and bats utilize taxidermy mounts borrowed from the museum. “We could just hold our hands apart to show the difference in size between a screech owl and a great horned owl,” Elise explains, “but it’s far more effective to have the preserved birds on display for the participants to inspect themselves.”

Campers at a Park Ranger program in pre-pandemic times inspect an American bison femur. Photo credit: Allegheny County

Other loans of museum materials enhance presentations that have ties to a specific park. Bison materials, including limb bones, hooves, and horn sheaths, for example, have been used for programs at South Park, where a small captive herd of the iconic prairie mammals have been a public attraction since the 1920s. Ranger programs about archaeology, which utilize authentic stone arrow points, adz heads, and fishing weights, make reference to a museum-led excavation in Boyce Park decades ago that documented how our region. was once the homeland of people known to science as the Monongahela.

During the past ten months, with the pandemic disrupting much of their planned program schedule, the Park Rangers paid close attention to their audience. “We’ve been fluid,” says Elise by way of summary. “We’ve made continual adjustments to meet the needs of groups – making live virtual presentations, sending pre-recorded videos, posting images and information on Facebook, sharing PowerPoint presentations – whatever it takes.”

Next week Elise will be borrowing a set of taxidermy mounts for upcoming programs about birds in winter. The means of program delivery has not been determined at this point, but it is a certainty that learning will occur.

Learn more about the Allegheny County Park Rangers.

Mesozoic Monthly: Vegavis

Disclaimer: Our dinosaur paleontologist Matt Lamanna typically edits Lindsay Kastroll’s Mesozoic Monthly posts before they go live, but due to some much-needed holiday revelry he was late in getting to this one. As such, it’s being posted in January rather than in December as Lindsay had intended. Matt sends his apologies!

‘Tis the season for eating candy canes, singing Christmas carols, and kicking off a new year of Mesozoic Monthly! That’s right – one year ago, the first Mesozoic Monthly debuted in December 2019, spotlighting the ceratopsian dinosaur with a candy cane-shaped nasal horn, Einiosaurus. This December, we’ll move from candy canes to carols as we feature Vegavis iaai, the first Mesozoic bird known to have had a syrinx (the avian “voice box”)!

Photo (left) and computed tomographic (CT) scan image (right) of the type, or name-bearing, specimen of *Vegavis iaai*, a partial skeleton inside a ~70-million-year-old rock concretion from Vega Island, Antarctica. Photo from the Antarctic Peninsula Paleontology Project website.

Birds evolved during the Mesozoic Era, the so-called “Age of Dinosaurs,” before non-avian dinosaurs became extinct. Last month, for the November edition of Mesozoic Monthly, we discussed what makes modern birds members of the group of theropod dinosaurs, but what I didn’t mention is that birds lived alongside non-avian dinosaurs! Birds evolved around 165 to 150 million years ago during the Jurassic Period, the second of three time periods in the Mesozoic. The Jurassic dinosaur Archaeopteryx represents a transitional stage between birds and non-avian dinosaurs: its fossils display obvious flight feathers like a bird, but it also has many non-avian dinosaur characteristics such as a toothy mouth, a long bony tail, and even a miniature version of a killing claw like that of Velociraptor.

Replica skeleton of *Archaeopteryx lithographica* on display here at CMNH. Photo from Wikimedia Commons.

Birds lived and evolved alongside their non-avian relatives for almost 100 million years, and by the end of the Cretaceous Period (the third and final time period of the Mesozoic), the distinct groups of birds that we recognize today were beginning to originate. Vegavis was an ancient relative of ducks and geese discovered on Vega Island, an island off the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula (the part of Antarctica that juts northward towards South America). At that time, Antarctica was warmer than it is now and home to lush temperate forests.

Sandwich Bluff, the site on Vega Island, Antarctica that has produced all known fossils of *Vegavis*. Photo by Eric Roberts, James Cook University.

With many skeletal features suggesting that it was a diving bird that propelled itself with its feet, Vegavis was probably as well-adapted to life in the water as it was to life in the skies. While it’s certainly incredible that scientists are able to deduce this much information about its behavior from just its skeleton, the story gets better: one specimen of Vegavis includes a fossilized syrinx, the organ that birds use to produce sound! A syrinx’s shape is directly related to the sounds it can make, and the fossilized syrinx of Vegavis was a distinctively goose-like asymmetrical shape. So, this ancient bird may well have honked! If it did, it would have sounded much more like six geese-a-laying than, say, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves, or a partridge in a pear tree.

The Bromacker Fossil Project Part XIII: What We Learned

Collage of the fossils highlighted in this series. Images not to scale. Photos by the author, Dave Berman, and Thomas Martens.

The Bromacker quarry is a rare site in that it preserves exquisite, articulated fossils of a unique vertebrate fauna that lived in an atypical or rarely recorded Early Permian (~290 million years ago) setting. Early in our work at the Bromacker, we became aware that the fossil vertebrates we were finding were unknown or extremely rare in Europe but were closely related or identical to species commonly found in North America. Until then, most of the fossil vertebrates found in Europe were discovered in gray to black sediments deposited in ancient lake beds, whereas the fossils from the Bromacker quarry occurred in red beds representing a terrestrial setting. Paleontologists looking for fossils in Europe typically prospected the gray to black sediments where fossils were relatively plentiful rather than red beds, which were thought to represent arid environments not conducive to fossil preservation.

Photograph of a diorama showing the Tambach Basin 290 million years ago, which was once exhibited at the Museum der Natur, Gotha. It was built in 1996, so many of the inhabitants of the basin weren’t yet discovered. One of these is Dimetrodon teutonis, which was inadvertently depicted as being large and numerous. Image provided by Thomas Martens, 2020.

In a collaborative effort to help determine how the fossil deposit at the Bromacker quarry formed and why its vertebrate fauna is unique, Dave Berman invited his colleague David Eberth to join us for the 1998 field season. David is a geologist/vertebrate paleontologist who was then employed by the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Canada but is now retired. The sediments preserving the Bromacker fossils are part of a rock unit called the Tambach Formation and were deposited in the Tambach Basin. The results of David’s study, built in part upon investigations by other geologists and paleontologists, indicate that the Tambach Basin was situated within an ancient mountain range and isolated from river systems. At the time the fossils were deposited, the basin was internally drained, and as a result, when it rained, water would flow towards the basin center and form ephemeral ponds and lakes. Based on the geology, fossil plant assemblage, and geographic setting of the Tambach Basin, David concluded that the climate was possibly similar to the wet‑and‑dry tropical climate of modern North African savannas, Brazilian Campos, or the Venezuelan Llanos.

Map showing the areal extent of the Tambach Formation today and the inferred boundary of the Tambach Basin, with arrows indicating direction of water flow. The northern boundary of the basin is not preserved, but it was thought to have been closed when the Bromacker fossil deposit formed. Modified from Eberth et al., 1997.

Most of the fossils discovered at the Bromacker quarry came from two massive units, the more fossiliferous of which is about 21 inches thick, that formed in separate major flooding events. David theorized that these deposits formed when heavy rain caused a sheet-flood of sediment‑laden water to sweep down the sides of the Tambach Basin and across the basin floor, killing any animals that couldn’t escape the flow. The sheet-flood transported the carcasses to the basin center where they were deposited, rapidly buried, and eventually fossilized. These deposits record a unique snapshot of vertebrate life in the Tambach Basin, because only animals inhabiting the basin would have been captured by the sheet-flood.

In contrast, most Early Permian fossil‑bearing deposits in North America formed on coastal or alluvial plains. Carcasses would’ve been transported to the deposition sites by rivers, some of which had a large geographic reach. These types of deposits can accumulate over a long period of time and have potential to mix together fossils from different environments.

Photograph of a diorama once exhibited at Carnegie Museum of Natural History that shows a typical Early Permian peat swamp or backwater swamp of a major river system. A similar modern environment would be the Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia. Photo by Mindy McNaugher, 2007.

Besides having an atypical geographic setting, the makeup of the Bromacker vertebrate fauna differs from those known from other Early Permian sites. The Bromacker vertebrate fauna has a low diversity of terrestrial tetrapods, but more importantly, it lacks fishes and aquatic to semi‑aquatic constituents. This is probably due to the Tambach Basin’s isolation from regional river systems and because it experienced seasonal to sub‑seasonal drying, making it difficult for water-reliant vertebrates to become established. Based on numeric counts of individual specimens, we determined that the relatively large‑sized herbivores Diadectes, Orobates, and Martensius greatly outnumbered the synapsid apex predators Dimetrodon and Tambacarnifex. We think the rarity and low diversity of synapsid carnivores is probably due to the lack of an aquatic to semi‑aquatic component in the food chain.

In contrast, most Early Permian North American localities preserve a diverse, mixed aquatic‑terrestrial fauna that either lived in water or was closely associated with water and aquatic food chains. Herbivores were rare in terms of both diversity and numbers, whereas synapsid apex predators were diverse and numerous.

A more dynamic North American Early Permian scene that includes a mixed aquatic‑terrestrial vertebrate fauna. The Dimetrodon on the right has caught a freshwater shark, demonstrating the importance of aquatic animals in the food chain. © Julius Csotonyi/Houston Museum of Natural Science.

The Bromacker is the oldest known terrestrial vertebrate ecosystem in which herbivores greatly outnumber apex carnivores, and in that respect, it resembles terrestrial vertebrate ecosystems of today. A modern example is the African savanna in which large herds of herbivores such as zebra, wildebeest, and buffalo provide a food source for a much smaller number of carnivores including lions, cheetahs, and hyaenas. Indeed, we consider the Bromacker to represent an early stage in the development of the modern terrestrial vertebrate ecosystem and that these early stages were restricted to upland areas isolated from aquatic‑based food chains.

This summary concludes the Bromacker Fossil Project blog post series. I hope that you’ve enjoyed reading it. Cast replicas of many of the fossils described in this series are exhibited in the Fossil Frontiers display case in CMNH’s Dinosaurs in Their Time exhibition, so be sure to look for them on your next visit. I’m grateful to Dave Berman, Albert Kollar, Thomas Martens, and Stuart Sumida, who answered numerous questions and provided photographs, and to Patrick McShea and Matt Lamanna for their editing skills. Click here to read the paper by Eberth et al. 2000.

Amy Henrici is Collection Manager in the Section of Vertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Milkweed Observations

Opportunities to capture dramatically different seasonal pictures of the same subject come with the territory of our temperate region. Next year, consider challenging yourself to document how a flower bed or prominent deciduous tree transforms seasonally in response to changing light, temperature, and moisture.

The picture above, taken on the first day of winter, records the deteriorated condition of the common milkweed plant (Asclepias syriaca) I began observing during the first week of summer. The image might easily be termed an end point, but for documentation images that preceded it.

Here, on a bright early November day, the burst seed pod offered dozens of matchhead-sized brown seeds, each attached to sparkling down-like filaments to the wind. With this picture as reference, the empty winter solstice pod implies continuance as much as conclusion.

My observations began in late June, several days after the summer solstice, and just before the milkweed plant bloomed. My resolution for future observations is to begin them far earlier in the growing season, and to learn more about the insect fauna associated with the plant.

Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus), a species currently experiencing alarming population declines, are the most well-known insects associated with milkweed. This one pictured above visited the plant’s lavender blossoms on July 25.

Monarch butterfly caterpillars, such as the one photographed eating this leaf on August 19, are dependent on milkweed for nourishment and the predator protection they gain from the plant’s toxins.

milkweed tussock moth caterpillar on milkweed

A lesser known milkweed dependent insect is the milkweed tussock moth (Euchaetes egle). A caterpillar of the species was photographed on the plant in mid-August.

The diet of the large milkweed bug (Oncopeltus fasciatus) includes seeds, so the presence of seed pods does not necessarily guarantee a bountiful crop the next growing season. The insect pictured above visited the plant on August 21.

Collected on this Day in 1934

Has your Charlie Brown tree lost its needles yet?

dried specimen of larch on an herbarium sheet

Not all needled-leaved trees are evergreen! Yes, there are deciduous species in the Pine family (Pinaceae). That is, unlike most needle-leaved trees that retain their leaves all year long (evergreen), there are several conifer species that shed their leaves each year for the winter. Perhaps most famous are a group of species called larches.

No, this needle-free specimen of twigs and a cone wasn’t collected by Charlie Brown on Christmas Eve. Rather, this humble yet festive specimen of European larch (Larix decidua) was collected by J.F. Lewis on December 24, 1934. Native to the mountains of central Europe, this species was planted in a cemetery in Northumberland county (central Pennsylvania). It is highly likely the tree is still there – many decades later – as European larches can live for many hundreds of years (perhaps even a thousand years!).

The herbarium at California University of Pennsylvania is named for the person who collected this specimen – John Franklin Lewis.

European larch recently made the big time news too, featured in a new study published in the scientific journal Science. The researchers used leaf out and leaf fall data collected from across Europe since the late 1940s for four tree species (including European larch). Surprisingly they found that trees may drop their leaves much earlier than expected with ongoing climate change. In other words, as spring temperatures warm, deciduous trees produce leaves earlier in the spring, but this also causes trees to drop their leaves earlier in the fall. This means that climate change may not result in longer growing seasons, as has been previously predicted. You can read more about this study here.

Find this Charlie Brown larch specimen (and more) here.

A Hop, Skip, and a Stomp

The Lebanese are known for their love of music, songs, and dance. The most well-known and traditional Lebanese dance is called Dabkeh or “stomping of the feet.” It is a tradition that has been taught and passed down for centuries and has withstood the trials of migration as it lives on through the children of Lebanese immigrants.

painting of six people dancing in a line

The history of the Lebanese Dabkeh goes back to olden days when snow used to cover the roofs of the houses in the tight-knit Lebanese villages. The snowfall would be so great, that in order to protect the roofs of the houses from cracking, the villagers would form a line on the roofs and stomp on the snow/mud while yelling “Alawneh” which means “let’s go and help.” This then turned into “Ala Dalouna” and spurred many songs with that lyrics and title. The villagers had to be unified and on rhythm with their moves to effectively stomp the snow off. It wasn’t long before this practice, born out of necessity, turned into one of the richest aspects of Lebanese culture.

The villagers would stomp their feet to the music of the various woodwind and percussion instruments associated with the melodies of Dabkeh, like the mijwiz (double flute). Nowadays, the mijwiz is still the main instrument, in addition to the derbakeh (hand-held drum), that provides energetic beats to every spontaneous gathering in Dabkeh.

In a way, dancing Dabkeh helped those villagers stay warm through the bitter cold of the winter and sheds light on the innate characteristic of the Lebanese community to help one’s neighbor. We see that reflected beautifully in the Dabkeh line as it starts from right to left, with everyone holding hands, stomping their feet to the beat of the music, and keeping a unified rhythm. The world is our dance floor!

The standard Dabkeh step is rocking back and forth from your left foot, in the front, to your right and stomping your left foot twice. You can even spice up the basic steps with some hops and turns. Normally, the Dabkeh line has a leader who can make more artistic and difficult steps while holding a masbaha, or beads line, handkerchief, or stick, and controls the energy and tempo of the line. You could also be like me, and compliment or challenge the leader by being their second in line or dancing outside of the line altogether.

My holidays can usually be associated with beautiful random outbursts of song and dance and Dabkeh is at the center of it all. It may have begun in snow-piled villages but it has blossomed into a dance for all seasons and occasions. I dance Dabkeh holding the traditions of my people in my heart with the goal of sharing that lively energy with the rest of the world.

Tamara Alchoufete is a Work-Study student from the University of Pittsburgh and works in CMNH’s Section of Anthropology at the Edward O’Neil Research Center. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Waddling in a Winter Wonderland: How Penguins, Humans, and other Animals Traverse Ice and Snow

Winter in Pennsylvania has it pros and cons. The not-so-wonderful aspects of the season, such as shoveling sidewalks and trudging through knee-deep snow drifts, can be considered character builders at best. But then there’s the fun stuff, like ice skating and sledding. These can more than make up for the negative things, especially if you’re a kid. As a child, I remember doing these winter activities (plus making snowmen and snow angels, too). A lot of the activities that we see as leisure fun have actually been around for thousands of years. Through invention and adaptation, both humans and animals have learned how to deal with their wintry landscapes and safely travel from one icy area to another.

Today, people associate ice skating with sports and recreation. But, for a long time in human history, skates were essential for winter travel. They date back at least 3,000 years to around the end of the Bronze Age, when the people of Eastern Europe and Russia created skates out of animals’ shin bones (most likely cow and horse). These bone skates lied flat to the ice so the wearer could glide in all directions. However, control and speed were somewhat lacking.

But a dramatic change happened in the 13^th century when the metal blade was introduced. Two hundred years later, better control and faster speed were achieved when sturdier bindings were added. Rapid travel was now possible during the cold winter months. In the 15^th century Netherlands, for example, the canals that were built to power water mills and irrigate farmland in the summer would transform into frozen highways for thousands of travelers in the winter.

Today, we no longer need to depend on nature because temperature-controlled ice rinks are at our disposal all year round. But, whether the ice is natural or man-made, scientists are still not 100% sure how ice skating is possible. There are multiple theories. One is that the extreme pressure of the skate blade on the ice creates a high viscosity bead of melt water that the skate glides on. Another theory says that the uppermost layer of ice is made up of an extremely thin (10-20 nanometers) layer of freely moving water molecules. The skate blade glides across this quasi-liquid layer. It’s very similar to the support provided by the surface tension of the top layer of liquid water. Whatever the reason that makes skating possible, people just know that they really like it. Skating is an extremely popular activity, especially as it relates to sports.

Athletes can prefer different temperatures and textures of ice. “Slow ice” is warmer, softer, and rougher, and figure skaters prefer it for pushing off and landing complicated jumps. In contrast, hockey players prefer “fast ice.” It’s colder, harder, and smoother, which makes skating faster, passing easier, and puck behavior more predictable.

And if you could equate a hockey player to any creature in the animal world, it would be a penguin. These experts of ice travel prefer “fast ice.” This is because they use tobogganing as a primary way to get around. The toboggan, a thin, flat, flexible piece of wood, has been used for centuries by humans as a transporter of supplies as well as for leisure fun. But, in the case of penguins, they themselves are the toboggan! Walking for penguins is slow-going. They can only waddle along at about 1.5 mph. With tobogganing, penguins can move faster with no risk of falling. On horizontal ice, they slide around on their bellies, using their flippers and feet for propulsion, steering, and braking. But when they find a nice downslope…stand back! Like tiny tuxedoed torpedoes, penguins can slide down an icy hill at surprising speeds.

While penguins love to take advantage of ice’s gliding properties, polar bears have developed adaptations that keep slipping and sliding to a minimum. The sole of a polar bear’s foot has thick, black pads that are covered with small, soft dermal bumps (also called papillae) that create friction between their foot and the ice. Long hairs growing between the pads and toes, plus curved claws, also provide traction. They are the only bears that walk in a plantigrade, heel-to-toe, manner. Their gait is almost human-like, with the one slight difference that their toes point inward to avoid slipping. Their forepaws are also similar in structure to a human hand, so much so that it would be difficult for the average person to tell the difference between the bones of a polar bear paw and the bones of a human hand. This round, flattened paw shape acts like a snowshoe that spreads out their weight as they move over the snow.

Polar bears aren’t the only animals adapted to walking on top of snow.

Thousands of years ago, large regions of the world were snowbound for much of the year, including North America. This meant animals needed to adapt to their environments; some of these animals are still around today, like the snowshoe hare, whose wide, furry, large-toed feet—larger than any other rabbit species— allowed them to move easily over deep snow.

Like the hare, the ptarmigan, a partridge-like grouse, also lives in North America and has its own set of built-in snowshoes. As winter approaches, its feet become more feathery and they grow longer claws. These seasonal changes increase the weight-bearing surface of their feet by four times and reduce sinking in the snow by half.

Caribou (also known as reindeer in Russia and Scandinavia) go through a similar transformation with the coming of winter. Their sharp-edged hooves grow longer, their foot pads get tougher, and extra fur grows between and around their toes. These changes transform their already wide, flat feet into the ideal snowshoe for a frosty trek. For animals such as these, developing coping strategies for cold weather transport are essential to surviving and thriving in a frozen landscape.

So this winter, if you just happen to be strolling along admiring the Narnia-esque view around you, and you fail to notice that patch of ice at your feet, you may end up flat on your back, staring up at the sky, wondering “Why me?” but don’t despair. Instead, take comfort in the fact that even penguins, the masters of the ice, slip and take spectacular spills from time to time. At least you’re in good company!

Tuscarora Nu Yah

NU YAH! NU YAH! NU YAH! The sounds of the New Year at Tuscarora Nation in western New York. For the past one hundred years and longer the Tuscarora have celebrated the New Year in a very unique way.

Three days before the new year our men go out on a hunting competition. Old men versus young men is the battle. It doesn’t matter if you are 60 and have no children you are considered a young man. Old men are considered anyone with children. Only the reservation boundaries are eligible for the hunt. Rabbits, pheasant, and deer beware this day our men are looking for game to slay for the New Year’s Feast.

The hunt takes place from sunup to sun down. At 8:00 p.m. sharp all game must be at the Old Gym for The Count. There is a young man captain and an old man captain. Each present their group’s game and proceed to count in Tuscarora to see who will win the prize! The prize? The winner gets to watch the loser clean all the game.

The women of the territory will prepare the game for The Feast which will take place at noon on New Year’s Day.

The highlight of our New Year’s festival is the morning of January 1^st when Nu Yah takes place. Young and old go door to door calling “Nu Yah! Nu Yah!” at each resident’s door. You must yell loud to be heard. If you don’t yell loud enough adults will prompt you to “say it again.”

Homemade cookies, brownies, rice krispie treats, doughnuts, and sometimes an apple are given from each home very similar to Halloween but adults participate too. Many visitors request a treat for the driver.

In the old days when I still participated in Nu Yah (before my family came along and I had to stay home to watch the door while my husband took our children Nu Yahing) we would often find a store bought cookie or an apple tossed to the side of the road. Homemade goods were the desired treats of the day.

If it was 10 degrees out we bundled up like snowmen and ran from the car to the house and yelled Nu Yah, threw our treats in our bag and headed right back to the warm car that waited. If it was warm out our Ma, Aunt, or Uncle or whoever was our driver would usually come to the door with us and spend some time standing at the door visiting and catching up with friends and family.

While our clan system of bear, deer, wolf, beaver, turtle, eel, and snipe runs through our maternal line, on New Year’s Day we also celebrated our father’s clan. If your father’s clan was a member of the house you visited for Nu Yah you also called out “Uwiire” to receive a special treat sometimes a gingerbread man or a piece of pie. In this way on this special day of the year the men were also recognized and important.

My mother who is 80, and one of 10 children, recalls her father walking with them to Nu Yah and directing them to his family clan homes so they knew which houses to ask for uwiire. I imagine this was also a way of teaching them to know who their family was. Her mother was a beaver just as all her sons and daughters were. Her father was a bear. A household that included a bear was a bonus for them to collect an extra goodie.

In the old days she said people would start coming at 6:00 a.m. and it was custom to yell Nu Yah and just walk in and grab your treat which was usually ready and waiting on a table by the door. Nowadays the first visitors arrive about 8:00 a.m.

While we looked forward with great anticipation to go Nu Yahing, we also looked forward to being old enough to help serve at The Feast. The women cooked for 3 days to prepare for this special day. The rabbits were soaked in water to make rabbit pie. The deer cooked to serve as a side dish.

While the men prepared the cornbread and cornsoup, the women peeled potatoes for mashed potatoes, baked hams and about 150 different pies all while visiting and laughing together. On the day of the feast when we got to be teenagers we would rush home from Nu Yah, change our clothes to something nice and get to the Old Gym to help bring the plates to the guests.

Everyone is welcome to come to The Feast. Many families planned their visits home on this special day so they could see and visit as many family members as possible.

The past few years at our Tuscarora Elementary School, our culture teacher has organized a school wide Nu Yah for our students. They go by grade to different rooms in the school and yell Nu Yah to receive their cookies. The Tuscarora Language teacher bakes cookies with the students for the adults to pass out. In this way each child can participate in Nu Yah and know our tradition even if, for some reason, they don’t get out to take part on New Year’s Day.

The best Nu Yah times that I can remember always involved the adults participating with us, coming in to the homes and taking a few minutes to visit.

To come from a cold, crisp morning into a cozy house with smiling faces and delicious aromas, relatives happy to see us, happy to share their lovely goods, and leave with a Nu Yah! Nu Yah! warmed us better than huddling over my grandparent’s old kerosene heat stove.

We always knew who had the best baked goods, who would be the happiest to see us, who would say every year, “gosh, you look just like your ma!” It was a good feeling to belong to such a loving community where our special New Year’s Festival has happened every year for over a hundred years because of the efforts and dedication of all our Tuscarora people.

Angela Jonathon is a resident of the Tuscarora Nation and affiliated with the Seneca-Iroquois Museum thorough the Tuscarora History Group. She has written this blog at the request of Dr. Joe Stahlman, Director of the Seneca-Iroquois Museum.

Snowstorm in a Jar Activity

Winter storms can appear out of nowhere and grow intense quickly throughout the northern hemisphere, but with a little science, you can control your own snowstorm at home! Follow this easy recipe below and remember to ask a grownup for help!

What You’ll Need

1 cup water
Baby Oil
Alka-Selzer Tablets
Tall Glass or Clear Jar
Mixing Bowl
Stirring Utensil
White Paint
Optional: Blue or silver glitter or food coloring

Directions

Pour enough baby oil into your jar to fill it three-fourths of the way full.
In a bowl, combine water and paint in equal parts.
Optional: add glitter and food coloring to bowl as desired.
Pour your water and paint mixture into the jar.
Drop in an Alka-Seltzer tablet, making sure to clear the space in case of spills.
Watch what happens!

What’s Happening?

The baby oil isn’t as heavy as water, meaning your water and paint mixture should sink to the bottom of the jar. So why did it jump back up and down? When Alka-Seltzer begins dissolving in the water, it releases one of its ingredients—sodium bicarbonate, also known as baking soda, which reacts with the dioxide in water to create carbon dioxide gas. This creates upward pressure, making the water and paint mixture rise. However, the oil creates downward pressure to immediately force the mixture back down.

Now that you can make a snowstorm, try gathering some more data! How long does it take for the “snow” to settle down? What happens when you put in another Alka-Seltzer tablet after the first one has melted? Be sure to share your results with the #MuseumFromHome!

December 18, 2020 by wpengine

Mary Anning: For the Love of the Blue Lias

Figure 1: Albert Kollar holding a fossil, Lyme Regis, 1999.

Two hundred million years before the birth of Mary Anning, a village in southeast England known as Lyme Regis, (Figure 1) was a shallow, watery world filled with pointy toothed reptiles, fish, and an abundance of ammonites. By 1799, the year of Mary’s birth, these ancient seas that deposited lime, silt and mud, had long receded, but evidence of the watery past remained in the Lyme Regis limestone and mudstone cliffs. Today, this region is part of a geologic formation of early Jurassic age known as the Blue Lias.

Figure 2: Drawing of Mary Anning’s house in Lyme Regis, Dorset, England. June 1842. Text on the drawing reads: The House in which the famous Mary Anning lived when she first sold fossils. Sketched June 1842 by W. H. Prideaux and Edward Liddon. The round table for the fossils used to stand in front of the open cellar window which was a work shop. Cockmoil Square

Mary’s father, Richard Anning, hunted fossils along the Lyme Regis coast to supplement his meager carpentry income. Mary and her brother, Joseph, accompanied their father along the landslide prone cliff in search of fossils to collect and sell to wealthy patrons and the scientific community. When she was 11, Mary’s father died of tuberculosis. His death left Mary, her mother and brother destitute. Despite the loss, they continued the family fossil business. At the age of 12, just one year after her father’s death, Mary excavated and identified the first ichthyosaur. Although Mary had no formal education and received no formal recognition for her monumental find, word of her abilities spread in the male dominated paleontological community. By the 1820’s, she managed the family fossil shop (Figure 2), a business where survival depended on finding major new specimens. At the age of 24, Mary uncovered the first plesiosaur skeleton and just five years later, the first pterosaur discovered in England.

Figure 3: Carnegie Museum of Natural History Lyme Regis display, *Dinosaurs in Their Time* exhibition. Includes real fish, ammonites and an ichthyosaur.

Visitors to Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Dinosaurs in Their Time exhibition can scrutinize fish scale sized details in fossils from the Lyme Regis cliffs, an extraordinary level of preservation that Albert Kollar witnessed in the field when he collected fossils from the locality in 1999. (Figure 3).

A new movie, titled “Ammonite,” staring Kate Winslet as Mary Anning, promises to captivate a new generation with this often-overlooked chapter in the history of paleontology.

Despite hardship, lack of recognition, and danger, Mary continued working until her death from breast cancer in 1847. Her contributions to science were not formally recognized for over a century. In 2010, the Royal Society of London named her “one of the ten most influential women scientists in British History”

In a recent CMNH blog post, William Vincett, University of Delaware graduate student and Collecting Assistant for the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology, wrote, “It’s easy to see how she developed a love of fossils after discovering such a magnificent creature as a child.” Yes. Mary wondered, suffered, and persevered for the love of the Blue Lias.

Joann Wilson is an Interpreter for the Department of Education and volunteer with the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology and Albert Kollar is Collections Manager for the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology. Thanks to author Barry Alfonso for thoughtful insight. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Dutch Letters: A Sinterklaasavond Treat

Baking traditions are shared across the globe during the winter holiday season. Like many others, my family typically gets together every year to make batches of different cookies to hand out to our friends and loved ones. While this baking tradition is among the best experiences every year, my favorite baked holiday tradition is actually one that we have delivered. Deeply rooted in my family’s Dutch heritage, I look forward to our annual shipment of Dutch letters from the Jaarsma Bakery in Pella, Iowa.

Known in Dutch as banketstaaf, banketletter, boterletter, or letterbanket, Dutch letters are rolled, log-like pastries made with banket, a puff pastry with an almond paste filling. The pastry is formed into the initial of families’ surnames or the letter S. The S shape represents the first letter of the holiday Sinterklaasavond, or Saint Nicholas’ Eve, celebrated on December 5^th in the Netherlands. Letters became associated with Sinterklaas in the 19th century when a sheet was used to wrap holiday presents. A bread dough letter was then placed on top of the sheet to identify the gift’s recipient.

A typical box of Dutch letters. Note the distinct S shape.

Though common throughout the Netherlands on Sinterklassvond, it is rare to see these treats outside of Pella, Iowa in the United States. Pella was settled in 1847 by Dutch immigrants who sought to escape religious persecution in Holland, a region of the Netherlands. They brought with them many customs still around today including Delft Blue porcelain, tulips, windmills, wooden shoes, and daily coffee times known as koffieklets.

A close-up of the flaky dough used in some Dutch letter recipes.

One early immigrant to Pella, Harmon Jaarsma, brought his family recipes to the new city and founded the Jaarsma Bakery in 1898. These recipes included his recipe for the legendary Jaarsma Dutch letters, which he made in brick ovens. Along with their popularity during the winter holiday season, Dutch letters have also become an integral part of Pella’s Tulip Time Festival that occurs every May, but they’re one of my favorite family traditions I celebrate during the holiday season.

Make Blubber Gloves Activity

Blubber is a thick layer of fatty tissue under the skin of all cetaceans (whales and porpoises), pinnipeds (seals and walruses), sirenians (manatees), and polar bears. Blubber is the primary fat storage for animals that feed and breed in different parts of the ocean or in the Arctic. It’s kind of like how we dress up in layers before going outside to play in the snow. Want to test how it really works? Follow these simple instructions to make your own blubber glove!

What You’ll Need

Crisco or shortening
Two ziplock bags large enough to fit your hands comfortably
Duct tape
Large Bowl of water
Ice
OPTIONAL: stopwatch, paper, thermometer and writing utensil to record your data
OPTIONAL: for extra security, you can use staples in between the layers of duct tape (this tutorial uses the staple method)

Directions

Fill one ziplock with a generous amount of shortening (do not seal the bag).
Place your hand inside the second, empty ziplock bag, and push it into the shortening-filled one.
Using your hands, spread the shortening around the ziplock bag until the inner bag is mostly covered (try not to spill any shortening outside the bag or near the edges!).
Fold the top of the inner ziplock bag over the outer bag.
Duct tape the fold to ensure the shortening will not overflow or leak out of the glove.
OPTIONAL: for extra strength, staple the duct tape between the layers of duct tape. Use more duct tape to cover the staples to prevent injury.
Now that your blubber glove is ready, dunk your hand with the glove into the bowl of ice water and see what happens!
OPTIONAL: use a stopwatch to count how long it takes for your hand to feel any temperature change (don’t leave your hand in for too long!). Record your data.
- Record how cold the ice water is with a thermometer

one ziplock bag filled with shortening, another empty

empty ziplock bag inside ziplock bag filled with shortening and taped shut

blubber glove inserted into ice-filled cooler

What’s Happening?

Shortening, a type of fat that’s solid at room temperature, stores energy. While the shortening doesn’t have nearly the same amount of energy-storing capabilities as blubber, it does work in a similar way. Blubber’s primary functions include:

Adding Buoyancy—this allows the animal to conserve energy while swimming and even float near the surface of the ocean to breathe during periods of rest.
Providing extra insulation—this helps the animal survive harsh weather conditions and sudden temperature drops. In colder weather/water, the blood vessels in blubber constrict, decreasing the amount of blood flow and conserving heat.
Storing energy—like the shortening, blubber stores energy, but is richer in proteins and a type of fat called lipids.

Many cultures rely on blubber, even today. Muktuk, thick slices of whale blubber and skin, is a traditional food consumed by some Innuit and First Peoples groups. Blubber is a vital food source in cold conditions, as it contains a high amount of vitamins D and C, which isn’t easy to come by in colder areas of the world. However, recent studies show blubber is susceptible to biomagnification—the process in which a foreign substance increases in level as it passes up the food chain. Toxins such as PCB, a chemical now known to cause cancer in humans, has been found in fish and animals that consume them. When these predators, often at the top of the food chain, consume fish with toxins in them, their blubber also becomes toxic. PCB is often hard to break down and doesn’t degrade over time.

For many animals, blubber is the key to their survival. The next time you go outside during a chilly winter day, make sure to wear layers to keep yourself warm, too!

December 16, 2020 by Kathleen

Holiday Coloring Pages!

Download Candy Cane & Boa Coloring Image

Download Earl the Hedgehog in a Holiday Sweater Coloring Image

Download Skunks with Winter Hats Coloring Image

December 16, 2020 by wpengine

A Steeler Prayer

carved figure of a Pittsburgh Steelers football player holding a football

A celebratory touchdown dance in carved cottonwood has been quietly occurring at Carnegie Museum of Natural History for more than 22 years. Within the Alcoa Foundation Hall of American Indians, in the quadrant of the exhibition devoted to conveying information about the Hopi and their culture, a nine-inch high figure of a Pittsburgh Steelers player wearing number 53 holds a football aloft in his right hand. The wide-eyed grinning figure is displayed with plenty of colorful company, and its significance is best understood in terms of this carefully assembled cast.

The carved figures, which are properly called tihus, and more frequently referred to as katsinas, represent the benevolent spirit beings who live among the Hopi on three high mesas of northern Arizona for approximately a six-month period each year. An important role for the carvings is the imparting of knowledge and understanding of these beings or katsinam, and the target audiences for these life lessons are the Hopi themselves.

This aspect of limited cultural sharing was explained to museum educators in the months before the exhibition hall opened in 1998 when Hartman Lomawaima, a Hopi consultant, conducted a training session about the carvings. After a 90-minute presentation that included information about how the katsinas displayed in the hall had not been used in sacred ceremonies, he fielded a particularly pertinent question. “When we take students through the hall we won’t have the time you’ve just shared with us,” explained an experienced interpreter. “What can we tell students about these figures in a minute or two?” “That’s easy,’’ replied Hartman, “just tell them they’re three-dimensional prayers.”

A little more information about the black and gold figure can be gleaned from exhibit text. Here the carving is described as PITTSBURGH STEELER CLOWN KOYAALA, the carver identified as Regina Naha, and the creation date listed as 1992. A reputable reference on katsinas describes the word “Koyaala” as referring to clown figures of the village of Hano on First Mesa, and an internet search under the artist’s name reveals that she is from Hano.

For Steeler fans, and perhaps even for the team’s players, coaches, and administrators, there might be small comfort in knowing a “three-dimensional” prayer clad in their team’s uniform resides under the same roof as Tyrannosaurus rex. For fans of the city itself, the story of how the carving came to be on display offers another example of Pittsburgh Pride. In a font smaller than the rest of the display’s text, the figure is noted to be a “gift of Les and Joan Becker.” Deborah Harding, Collection Manager in the museum’s Section of Anthropology, was able to share some information about the couple. “Les and Joan were long-time and valuable volunteers in this section. During a visit to Arizona they spotted the Steeler carving in the shop at The Heard Museum in Phoenix, and bought it for the museum with the approval of the curator directing the hall’s development. According to the story I heard, Les was able to barter for a lower price by arguing that the figure would be displayed where it belonged, in Pittsburgh.”

New Anthropocene Studies Paper in Curator: The Museum Journal

two hands clasped together and painted to look like the earth

A recent paper in Curator: The Museum Journal sheds light on the particular and growing relevance of natural history museums in sharing information about the Anthropocene, a proposed geological epoch, generally defined by the significant impacts of human activities on the Earth’s systems. In the 18 pages of The Anthropocene in Natural History Museums: A Productive Lens of Engagement, four co-authors use a careful comparison of two recent ground-breaking exhibitions devoted to the topic, one at a small natural history museum in Switzerland, and the other at Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH), to establish how museum spaces as well as the unique materials that museums collect and preserve were effectively used to provide visitors with the means to experience the complexity, uncertainty, and interdisciplinary nature of current work in this relatively new field of study.

The Swiss exhibition, Objectif Terre: Vivre l’Anthropocene (Destination Earth: Living the Anthropocene) which was open during 2016 and 2017 at the Valais Nature Museum in the town of Sion, was the very first natural science exhibition worldwide speciﬁcally about the Anthropocene. The CMNH exhibition, We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene, which was open in 2017 and 2018, was the ﬁrst major exhibition in North America to focus on the topic.

The paper also explores ways that the Anthropocene is driving changes in the practice of natural history science. The Anthropocene shows that humans are an integral part of nature, creating a challenge to the nature/human dichotomy that has been a common organizing principal in Western science and cultural worldviews. The authors maintain that recognition and study of ongoing human-induced changes is coupled with responsibility. Clear calls are made for scientists to explode the boundaries between natural science and social sciences, humanities and arts; and to think more critically about cultural assumptions and biases that are limiting scientific understandings and human responses to ecological crises. Analysis of the success of both exhibitions is tempered with advocation for more transdisciplinarity (people from different fields and backgrounds working together) and more attention to humanistic concerns and social equity in natural history museums. The overall conclusion of the peer-reviewed work is that in facing the Anthropocene, natural history museums are more relevant than ever. They have a critical role to play in 21^st century education about social-ecological challenges, and in mobilizing community understanding and motivation to act for just sustainability.

The four co-authors came together to collaborate in the context of Gil Oliveira’s 6-month visit to CMNH to intern in the Anthropocene Studies section under the mentorship of Nicole Heller. His internship was part of attaining his Master of Arts in Museum Studies at the University of Neuchâtel. Gil had worked on the exhibition Objectif Terre: Vivre l’Anthropocene at the Valais Nature Museum with Museum Director, Nicolas Kramer.

The Anthropocene in Natural History Museums: A Productive Lens of Engagement in Curator The Museum Journal

GIL OLIVEIRA, ERIC DORFMAN, NICOLAS KRAMAR, CHASE D. MENDENHALL, AND NICOLE E. HELLER

Full Article can be found here, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cura.12374.

Nicole Heller is Curator of Anthropocene Studies at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences working at the museum.

What does it mean to be for a Place?

The following is a summary of a recent publication in Pacific Conservation Biology by a group of David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellows: Stephanie Borrrelle, Jonathan Koch, Caitlin McDonough MacKenzie, Kurt Ingeman, Bonnie McGill, Max Lambert, Anat Belasen, Joan Dudney, Charlotte Change, Amy Teffer, and Grace Wu. You can read the full article here.

When asked “Is protecting biological diversity and the ecosystems that support all life important to you?” most people would say “yes.” This is the work that conservation scientists like me and my friends do. We do things like figure out how to protect endangered bee species in Hawaiʻi (Koch), inform agencies how to manage the endangered whitebark pine in the Sierra Nevada (Dudney), and study how plants that grow on mountaintops in Maine are impacted by climate change (McDonough MacKenzie). However, many of us are not from the Places* we’re working to protect. In fact, many conservation scientists are descendants of colonizers and settlers (settler-colonizers) who removed, or benefited from the removal of Indigenous Peoples from these Places, which are their ancestral lands. Indigenous Peoples practicing diverse cultures lived for millennia in North America stewarding the land.

The Indigenous Peoples displaced by colonialism have distinct knowledges and cultural identities directly rooted in their lands. For example, Mauna Kea is more than a dormant volcano on the island of Hawaiʻi to the kānaka maoli (Native Hawaiians). The mountain is their biophysical and genealogical ancestor, a sacred site for cultural and spiritual activities. Another example is how Aboriginal Peoples in Australia practice cultural fire “for biodiversity, to protect the landscape, and for cultural reasons, all in one” (Steffensen 2019, p233).

Indigenous Peoples’ distinct genealogical and cultural relationship to the land and all the other beings they share the land with is far different than the relationship of settler colonizers to Place and nature. Industrial society is traditionally and intentionally very disconnected from nature, beginning with European states removing peasants from forests and the commodification of nature (Tsing 2005). For example, many of us don’t know where our food comes from; don’t have religious or cultural traditions connecting us to Place, the land, or nature; and don’t know the natural history of the creatures we encounter everyday.

So you can imagine it is more than awkward for settler-colonizer conservation scientists to be the only or dominant source of knowledge about how to conserve a colonized Place, yet for decades this has been a common occurrence. In some cases, conservationists have attempted to act as “white saviors” to local Peoples by centering the work around themselves and excluding local experts (see this piece about conservation in Africa by Mordecai Ogada). In other cases, settler-colonizer conservation has furthered the oppression of local Indigenous People by removing them from their homelands and calling them poachers when they hunt there (see this piece on US National Parks by Isaac Kantor). All with few long term conservation achievements to show for it—for evidence, look no further than the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. Turns out, preserving biodiversity is hard, as is adapting to climate change. At the local level, both of these issues require some global settler-colonial science as well as intimate knowledge of and human interaction with individual Places. I wonder who has that? …

Some settler-colonizer/non-Indigenous conservation scientists are now beginning to listen to Indigenous knowledge keepers, collaborate on research with Indigenous groups, and, in some cases, supporting and following the lead of Indigenous managers of their ancestral lands and waters. Conservation scientists are beginning to understand that the only way to long term conservation successes is to develop conservation strategies that also support the social and physical wellbeing and self-determination of the people who live there. But these settler-Indigenous partnerships are built on a troubled history of colonial violence and oppression. So, how do settler-colonizer conservationists proceed in a way that does not perpetuate harms to Indigenous Peoples? In other words, what does it mean to be for a Place when you’re not from that Place?

Several of my scientist friends and I wrestled with this issue after visiting kia’i (protectors) of Mauna Kea (Mauna a Wākea). It was October 2019 and we were hosted by Moana “Ulu” Ching and Noelani Puniwai, both of whom are kānaka maoli, conservation scientists, and friends with one of us (Koch).

Noelani Puniwai and Moana “Ulu” Ching (far left) met with our group of Smith Conservation Fellows at Pu’u Huluhulu near the base of Mauna Kea. We sat on black lava rock from an old lava flow. (Photo by Joan Dudney)

We met at the bottom of the access road to the summit of Mauna Kea. Here was a tent community of kiaʻi protesting the construction of a new telescope called the Thirty Meter Telescope on the summit of their ancestral Mauna Kea. They were occupying the entry road to prevent construction vehicles from accessing the summit; 33 kupuna (Elders, grandparents, ancestors) were arrested several months earlier marking the escalating tensions between the kiaʻi and the governmental and private institutions involved in developing the Thirty Meter Telescope. The telescope is the continuation of colonialism on Mauna Kea sponsored by 11 nations and universities against the wishes of and providing little economic benefit to kānaka maoli. Not only does construction of a 14th research structure threaten the fragile ecosystems and endangered species at the summit of Mauna Kea, construction also perpetuates a long history of colonization in Hawaiʻi that threatens the cultural, economic, and ecological well being of kānaka maoli.

One of the tents at the protest site. The upside down American and Hawaiian flags represent the kānaka maoli rejection of these colonial powers. The upside down Hawaiian flag can be seen on cars and buildings throughout Hawai’i. (Photo by Joan Dudney)

We listened as Ulu and Noelani described their experiences and perspectives on Mauna Kea and the telescope. Afterward they invited us to participate in midday protocol, and we were humbled by the experience. Protocol is a sacred community building activity that happens every day and consists of oli (chants), pule (prayer), and hula (dance). Non-kānaka maoli were allowed to observe the protocol and were invited to participate in a certain part. We showed our respect to Mauna Kea by standing in our bare feet on the road to her summit for the protocol. In one hula we were sending our energy and strength to Mauna Kea.

As conservation scientists we wanted to show our solidarity with the kiaʻi. We wanted to voice our objections to the Thirty Meter Telescope in terms of conserving the fragile summit ecosystem, and equally important, call for an end to continued colonialist practices in the name of settler-colonizer science. We channelled this energy into a policy statement opposing the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea, which was later adopted by the Society for Conservation Biology. We further reflected on the experience and wondered what first-hand learning we could share with other conservation scientists embarking on anticolonial conservation work. We came up with a series of recommendations for scientists. You can read all of them here. Here are three major ones:

Recognize the ways conservation theory and practice perpetuate the myth that North America was “empty” and “new” upon European “discovery.” For example, the mistaken belief that US National Parks never had human inhabitants despite the fact that Indigenous People have been living in and managing the lands and waters of North America for millennia.
Build authentic relationships with the Indigenous Peoples whose lands we are working on. Realize that settler-colonizer science is not the “correct” or only way of knowing.
Educate ourselves by learning about the history of the Places where we work and live and the Indigenous people affected by colonization. Read books and articles written by Indigenous scholars. Teach ourselves. After you have done the work to learn about the history and people(s), then reach out to Indigenous scholars, land stewards and managers.

We believe that being “for a Place” when you’re not from a Place means respect for Indigenous knowledge, continuous reflection on the consequences of our actions, and a willingness to act with humility, embrace complexity, and maintain hope. We are excited to grow and learn and contribute to the transformation of conservation science into a more inclusive, equitable, and just discipline.

*I capitalized Place throughout to emphasize its importance, akin to a person’s name being capitalized.

The Carnegie Museum of Natural History is on Seneca land and waterways, the homeland of the people we call the Monongahela, and lands and rivers used by and culturally connected to the Lenape, Shawnee, Wyandot, and Osage. I honor these ancestors, am grateful for their stewardship of these lands and waters, and acknowledge and respect their descendants alive today.

Bonnie McGill is a science communication fellow in the Section of Anthropocene Studies. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Work cited

Steffensen, V. 2019. Putting the people back into the country. In: Decolonizing Research: Indigenous Storywork as Methodology. J. Archibald Q’um Q’um Xiiem, J. B. J. Lee-Morgan, and J. De Santolo, eds. Zed Books (London).

Tsing, A. L. 2005. Friction: An Ethnography of Global Connection. Princeton University Press (Princeton and Oxford).

An Indigenous Presence: Cultural Survivance and Contemporary American Indian Art & Design

Museum exhibitions, especially those featuring cultural items, can sometimes give the impression of cultures or peoples frozen in time. Behind the scenes, however, CMNH is a flurry of active research and knowledge production. Work to link our collections and exhibitions to the present moment is vital.

As an art historian who studies modern and contemporary art, I often think about the connections over time and space between historic objects. Lately, I’ve been thinking about many of the American Indian belongings we have on display in Alcoa Hall, and contemporary art. This contemplation reveals the influence American Indian artists have exerted and continue to exert on the American art world.

In the early 20^th century, Indian artists were instrumental in the formation of American modernism. Artists such as Awa Tsireh (San Ildefonso Pueblo), the members of the Kiowa Five (Spencer Asah, James Auchiah, Jack Hokeah, Stephen Mopope, Monroe Tsatoke and Lois Smoky), Angel De Cora (Ho-Chunk), and potter Maria Martinez (San Ildefonso Pueblo) influenced the growing trends of abstraction and patterning that defined modernist painting in the United States. These artists, along with other American Indian artists and artisans helped establish the US as a growing center of modernism in competition with Europe. Despite having their contributions and innovations undercut or co-opted by Euro-American artists and collectors, Native artists continued to produce artwork as acts of survivance. Survivance, a concept developed by cultural theorist Gerald Vizenor, is an expression of active presence. The term denotes a response to the attempted cultural and physical genocide of Native peoples in the United States that is beyond simple survival, but involves acts of resistance that declare a dynamic presence – often combining traditional ways of knowing with contemporary technologies that are specific to an individual or tribal affiliation.

Later in the century, Native artists continued to define the American art scene. Artists like Fritz Scholder (Luiseno), Kevin Red Star (Apsáalooke), Edgar Heap of Birds (Cheyanne and Arapaho), and Jaune Quick-to-See Smith (Salish) continued (and continue) to challenge the mythology of the Indian in American imaginary. These artists, whose creations have been collected and exhibited by major museums across the country, also view their art as a form of resistance. Their work can therefore be understood as acts of survivance.

Contemporary American Indian artists are still grappling with the politics of representation, regularly fighting stereotypes while also working to preserve the cultural knowledge that the settler state tried to destroy through forced assimilation. Because of these complicated and often violent histories, it is important that, most of us, as descendants of settlers, think critically about Native inspired designs in the objects or clothing we buy. Instead of coopting from indigenous cultures, shop from companies that employ Native designers. Better yet, buy directly from Native artists who are demonstrating how traditional knowledge and ways of making are thriving in the 21^st century. Featured below are just a few of the artists whose work is connected to the cultural forms and belongings on display in Alcoa Hall. Many of them also have great items for sale on their websites – just in time to find some special holiday gifts!

Bunky Echo-Hawk. Image credit: Ryan Redcorn

Bunky Echo-Hawk (Pawnee and Yakima) is a painter and designer who has worked with companies such as Nike and Pendleton to design Plains Indian inspired products and fundraise for Native organizations. His eye-catching and exciting work plays with indigenizing popular culture and addressing environmental racism while reinterpreting Plains Indian oral history and record keeping traditions, like winter counts, through his live painting performances. To learn more about winter counts, visit the display in Alcoa Hall featuring the Carnegie Winter Count by Dr. Thomas Red Owl Haukaas. Echo-Hawk was also the subject of a recent episode of American Masters, the PBS documentary series. Check out his website to browse some of the great prints and stickers he has for sale.

Bethany Yellowtail (Apsáalooke and Northern Cheyenne) is the brilliant designer behind B. Yellowtail, a fashion brand launched in 2015. Her work is intimately connected with her social justice work in Indian Country. Her website features indigenously designed goods as well as her own collections – inspired by Apsáalooke traditions, like elk tooth dresses and ribbon skirts. Her clothing functions as wearable art that demonstrates the power and resilience of Native women and matrilineal cultural systems. I’ve purchased some of their cloth face masks – the proceeds of which benefit Native communities suffering from COVID-19. I’m confident you’ll find something you love on B. Yellowtail’s website.

John Isiah Pepion (Blackfoot) understands the ceremonial importance of making artwork, including its healing power. Pepion’s paintings, drawings, and designs are inspired by traditional practices such as winter counts and ledger drawings. Ledger art dates to the 1850s, when ledger books became one of the primary materials available to Plains Indians, especially to those imprisoned in forts as prisoners of war during the 19^th-century Indian wars, without access to traditional materials like bison hides. Pepion’s work in this medium serves as cultural preservation, keeping him and his artwork tied to Blackfoot history and to Blackfoot ancestral lands. His website features original artwork, prints, and all sorts of items with his designs including scarves, stationery, blankets, and jewelry.

Sage Protection Pin by Margaret Jacobs. Image credit: Taylor Robinson.

Margaret Jacobs (Akwesasne Mohawk) is a sculptor and jewelry designer who works primarily in steel and pewter. Her forms are primarily abstract, but the material represents not only strength and resistance, but also references the history of Mohawk iron workers, featured in Alcoa Hall. Her abstract forms play between the organic and man-made, connecting color and shape with storytelling and family histories. You can find her sculpture or jewelry, which truly functions as wearable art, on her website.

It is important to note that Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and much of Western Pennsylvania, is on the traditional lands and waterways of the Seneca, Lenape (Delaware), and the people we refer to as the Monongahela (their autonym is currently unknown). These lands and waters were also important to the Shawnee, Wyandotte, and Osage nations. These lands carry the histories of these people from before their forced removal and through their struggles and triumphs for survivance well into the present moment. To find out more about the Seneca Nation (including about Seneca artists) visit the Seneca-Iroquois National Museum or Ganondagan Seneca Art & Culture Center. To learn more about the Lenape, go to the Delaware Nation or the Delaware Tribe of Indians. Or visit the Museum of Indian Culture, in Allentown, PA.

Jessica Landau has a joint appointment as Assistant Curator of Anthropology and Archaeology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History and as a Lecturer in Curatorial Studies in the History of Art & Architecture at University of Pittsburgh. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Oh deer, that’s a lot of parasites!

by Andrea Kautz

When a permitted hunter harvested a deer from Powdermill Nature Reserve in mid-November, I took the opportunity as an entomologist to inspect the hide for parasites. I was not surprised to find deer ticks and deer keds on the animal, but I was surprised by how many parasites there were, and the presence of two additional species of ticks not previously known from Powdermill.

Deer ticks (Ixodes scapularis) are infamous to most Pennsylvanians as the main vectors of Lyme disease. Over 300 deer ticks were found on this single deer, so that should give you an idea of how they can be so abundant, especially in areas with high deer densities. Adult females (Picture 1) were mostly found attached to the skin, in the process of becoming engorged with blood. Many adult males were also found on the deer, but since they don’t require a blood meal, what were they doing on a host? It turns out, a deer is a great place to locate a mate! While the female is attached for days feeding on blood, a male can easily locate and mate with her by inserting his mouthparts into an opening on her ventral side. Many of the females removed from the deer had a male attached (Picture 2).

female deer tick with male deer tick attached

Deer keds (Lipoptena cervi) are sometimes called tick flies because of their resemblance to ticks (both are flattened dorsoventrally), but they behave rather differently. Keds move much faster than ticks, and don’t remain attached for long periods of time while feeding. They are indeed true flies, in the same group of insects as the typical house fly, but they remove their wings once they locate a host, to make it easier to move within the dense hair. The adult females and males both feed on blood, and the female carries one larva at a time internally, giving birth to a mature larva ready to pupate. This is rare among insects, which typically lay many eggs at one time. About 450 keds were collected off this one deer, so the strategy seems to be working for them!

Winter ticks (Dermacentor albipictus) are closely related to the more familiar American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis), but have a different life cycle. While most ticks utilize different hosts throughout their life cycle (feeding on three different animals as a larva, nymph, and adult), winter ticks spend their whole life on a single host, most commonly a deer, elk, or moose. They can be a serious problem for moose when infestations are severe. Three males of this species were collected off the deer. Although the winter tick has a broad distribution across North America, this trio represents the first Powdermill record.

The fourth and final parasite recovered from the deer was a single female Lone Star tick (Amblyomma americanum). Easily recognized by the white dot on the back of adult females, Lone Star ticks are found across the eastern U.S. and use a variety of mammals and birds as hosts. This is our first time encountering this species at Powdermill as well!

Penn State is conducting a citizen science project called PA Parasite Hunters to learn more about deer parasitology and vector-borne diseases, so the keds and ticks we collected will be sent there in order to contribute to these important studies.

Andrea Kautz is a Research Entomologist at Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Powdermill Nature Reserve. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Make Your Own Snow Activity

Want to build a snowman but don’t have any snow? This play snow is a great substitute—it’s cool to the touch, moldable, looks just like real snow, and only requires two ingredients!

What You’ll Need

½ cup hair conditioner (preferably white to mimic real snow)
2 cups baking soda
Measuring cups
Mixing bowl
Container or placemat for play
OPTIONAL: Beads, plastic toys, etc. to bury in snow if desired

Directions

Combine baking soda and hair conditioner in mixing bowl until the texture is crumbly (the “snow” should be moldable, like kinetic sand).
OPTIONAL: add optional toys if desired
Now take your snow over to your play area and start having fun! The best part about making this type of snow is that you can store it for later use—if it dries out slightly, just add a little more conditioner the next time you want to play!

Hand mixing the wet and dry ingredients of the DIY snow

December 14, 2020 by wpengine

Pork, Peppermint, and Prosperity

The Peppermint Pig

pink peppermint pig with red bag and small silver hammer

On Christmas Day, after we’ve had dinner and dessert and all sit around the table chatting, my family observes one of my favorite holiday traditions. This tradition involves a red velvet pouch, a tiny metal hammer, and a piece of bright pink, peppermint-flavored hard candy in the shape of… a pig!

The peppermint candy pig is placed in the velvet pouch and we pass it around the table, every person giving it a solid whack with the little hammer and sharing a fond story or memory from the past year. After the pig is broken into small enough pieces, we each eat a piece of the candy, and continue enjoying each other’s company. Some years, the whole family is together—gathered from far away—and the pig is broken quite quickly. Other years, when we can’t all be together, it may take the smaller group longer to break the pig; but that just gives each of us the chance to share more memories.

This tradition is not unique to my family, but I haven’t met anyone outside my family that also observes this custom! It originated during the Victorian Era (1837-1901) in Saratoga Springs, New York. Pigs were honored in Victorian holiday celebrations as symbols of health, prosperity, and happiness. Peppermint oil has a long history of use in medicine, as it helps calm an upset stomach, and has been a popular candy flavoring for a very long time – in fact, no one is entirely sure when peppermint candy was first developed!

Believe it or not, breaking the peppermint pig is not the only pig-themed custom my family observes!

Pork and Sauerkraut

My family is mostly German, though we are also Austrian and Slovakian. One German custom we observe during the holiday season is eating pork and sauerkraut, a dish made from fermented cabbage, for our New Year’s Day dinner. This is another favorite tradition of mine, and one of my favorite meals, though I didn’t like sauerkraut when I was a kid! Now I love pork and sauerkraut and look forward to the smell of it filling my house on New Year’s Day as it slowly cooks all day long.

Germans eat pork and sauerkraut for New Year’s because it’s meant to be lucky, and we want to start a new year off with some luck. This tradition came to the United States with German immigrants in the 17^th and 18^thcenturies. Many of these immigrants settled in Pennsylvania and their descendants are now known as Pennsylvania Dutch (Dutch is derived from Deutsch which means German in the German language). My family is not Pennsylvania Dutch, though we do originate from the same part of the state.

Pigs are lucky animals because they root forward when looking for food, much like we want to look forward as the year begins. For this reason, we don’t eat any chicken or turkey on New Year’s Day; these birds scratch their feet behind them, and we don’t want to move backward, we want to move forward!

Sauerkraut is a lucky food for a few reasons. The long strands of cabbage can represent a long life and the green color of the cabbage (before it’s been fermented) represents money. Sauerkraut is also a great health food: it is a source of vitamins C and K, calcium, and magnesium, it’s low in calories, and it promotes good gut health! This might be another reason it’s considered lucky–people probably felt pretty good after eating it!

Guess what! There’s still one more pig-themed tradition I’d like to share!

Glücksschwein (the Good Luck Pig)

I have a small rubber pig that I have had since I was very young. For a very long time, I stuck it to the wall by my bedroom door, but now I have it sitting safely in a box of memories. This pig is my good luck pig, or Glücksschwein in German. Pigs are kind of similar to a four-leaf clover in representing good luck!

I’ve mentioned a few ways that pigs are related to luck, but I haven’t shared one major reason why pigs are considered lucky. Pigs are related to farming and livestock, and therefore wealth and prosperity! In Germany, pigs made from marzipan, a sweet made of sugar or honey and almond meal, might be given out to eat for New Years.

We don’t eat marzipan pigs for New Years, but instead I have my little glücksbringer—good-luck bringer, or lucky charm—to bring me luck and prosperity!

Ice and Snow: The effects of temperature

Winter is coming! The temperature is dropping. The first snow fall in the Laurel Highlands was gorgeous. The snow was hanging on the trees and piling up around the cabin we were staying in. Driving home to Pittsburgh in the storm was not so fun, reminding me of scenes from Game of Thrones and my childhood. By the next morning the beauty of the snow was already receding as the temperatures climbed in Pittsburgh.

Snow laden pine tree at Powdermill Nature Reserve. December 1, 2020.

Full disclosure, I love winter – but then I am from Minnesota where one either embraces the cold and snow or hibernates for the long cold days. We celebrate winter in Minnesota. The St. Paul Winter Carnival began in 1887, when some east coast journalists claimed that the state was as inhabitable as Siberia. The annual festival developed its own legend with events like ice skating, a night parade, a full-sized ice palace, and an ice sculpting contest. It can be magical. The carnival is in January – often the coldest time of the year, with sub-zero temperatures and bitter cold winds. However, occasionally there is a thaw.

The ice sculpting contest is in held in Rice Park, across from the Courthouse and St. Paul Public Library (yes, it is one of the Carnegie Libraries). Dozens of intricate sculptures are carved each year. When I lived in the city, I used to walk across the park daily on my way to work from my bus stop. It was fascinating to watch the sculptures take form. Artists would use hot water to build blocks of ice into the basic form, then use chain saws, chisels and more hot water to carve and sculpt. My favorites were the fanciful forms that were crystal clear. Standard practices changed during the heat wave of 2008. Temperatures rose to the mid 30’s during the day and refreeze each night. With each passing day the sculptures deformed and lost definition. That year the judging did not take place.

Within a few days this elegant swan went from a crystal-clear sculpture to the distorted image you see here. What a little warmth will do! The extreme and fluctuating temperatures that we experience during the winter months pose a challenge. Have you ever wondered why potholes develop or why slabs of the sidewalk tilt? What we think of as the ground freezing is mostly the water in the ground freezing. As this happens the water expands (think ice cubes). As the temperature warms up, above 32 degrees Fahrenheit, the ground subsides. Of course, it does not do this in a uniform manner – some areas freeze faster and thaw faster than others. Rocks and soil shift. The hard surface of the road or sidewalk is dislodged. The concrete slab tilts or the pothole develops. Of course, heavy traffic from cars and trucks just aggravates the situation. The more often the temperature fluctuates between freezing and thawing – the worse the problem is and the more damage to your car as you hit that pothole.

As the Objects Conservator at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, I do not have to worry too much about these kinds of extreme temperature fluctuations. Most of the collections under my care are quite happy at the same temperatures that we humans find comfortable. Most materials are stable enough to survive moderate fluctuations, which can be maintained using heating and air-conditioning.

Gretchen Anderson is a conservator and the head of the Section of Conservation at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Staying Connected to Nature in the Winter Months

December brought in a thick blanket of snow, and Pittsburgh looked like a winter wonderland. As I write, from my chair looking out into the wonderland, I am reminded of the beauty that nature has to offer and the splendor of Pittsburgh’s seasonal climate. While all I want to do today is curl up with a good book next to a fire sipping a hot drink, I am aware that too much indoor time is not the best for my wellbeing as it can reinforce the “winter blues.”

I personally find that getting outdoors is the best way to re-center, reconnect, and restore my wellbeing. As described by Bratman et al. (2012), “for hundreds of years and across many cultures of the world, influential traditions in science, philosophy, poetry, and religion have emphasized the role that nature plays in providing feelings of wellbeing. In the modern era of scientific enterprise, a large body of work has demonstrated the importance of nature to human physical health, characterizing the numerous ways in which people depend on the natural environment for security in the supply of food, water, energy, climate stability, and other material ingredients of well-being.”

However, while beautiful, winter can make it difficult to get out and get reconnected with nature. So, how do I get out in nature during the winter months? Here are some tricks that I use to keep a hike comfortable during the colder months:

1. Stay local! The days are short, and there are limited daylight hours – if you stay local, you get to make the most of the shorter days. Staying local also allows shorter outdoor time commitments if it’s too cold, too wet, or there’s just not enough time in the day.

2. Layer up! We produce a lot of heat when we are active, and we might need to add or take away layers while outside. Layering up (or having layers available) allows us to maintain a more comfortable temperature while outdoors.

3. Protect your feet! This is a big one for me. My feet’s comfort are my gauge for how long I can stay out. Good socks (or layered socks) with waterproof boots or shoes can really make an outdoor adventure in winter enjoyable. If you are really into the winter hiking, snow shoes or shoes with ice spikes might be necessary for the more adventurous types.

4. Eat! Bring snacks and keep your metabolism going. Being outdoors in colder weather requires a lot of energy; so bring those snacks! Don’t be afraid of those Christmas cookies if you’re outside burning all those calories!

5. Be Cautious! Do your homework on where you are going and bring a friend if possible. Knowing the terrain ahead of time and looking up the safest route(s) can help you make the most of your trip. Having someone with you is also important for both safety and overall enjoyment.

Sometimes, it’s just not possible to hike safely during the winter months. Poor road conditions can make hiking sites inaccessible, and extreme temperatures and weather can create hazards. Sometimes, you just don’t have the time, or you are feeling under the weather. Well, there are little ways that you can still reconnect with “nature” indoors. You can grow indoor plants, watch nature TV or programs, read about nature, or even paint/draw nature. Get creative on how you bring the outdoors inside.

If you are feeling the winter blues or you feel out of sorts – try reconnecting with nature. It could be the boost to your wellbeing that you need to get through the indoor season.

Heather Hulton VanTassel is Assistant Director of Science and Research at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Bratman et al. (2012). 118–136. New York Academy of Sciences. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06400.x.

The Bromacker Fossil Project Part XII: Tambacarnifex unguifalcatus, the Tambach executioner

New to this series? Read The Bromacker Fossil Project Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII, Part IX, Part X, and Part XI.

Holotype specimen of Tambacarnifex unguifalcatus, preserved in couterparts. Photographs by Dave Berman, 2010.

Tambacarnifex unguifalcatus was discovered by Thomas Martens and his father Max in 1995 in the same pocket of fossils from which the first-discovered specimen of the herbivorous basal synapsid Martensius bromackerensis was recovered. Because numerous fossil animals were jumbled together, Thomas and Max weren’t able to collect individual specimens from the bone pocket using our standard technique of surrounding a specimen in a plaster and burlap jacket. Instead, they collected all the individual pieces of rock that contained bone or at least appeared to contain bone, as most rock pieces were coated in goopy mud. Thomas cleaned the rock pieces with water to reveal the bone, and then pieced together the various specimens.

He eventually sent us the specimen that became the holotype of Tambacarnifex, along with pieces that he thought might go with it. Dave and I spent hours piecing together the remainder of the skeleton, and we searched the collections at the Museum der Natur, Gotha for missing pieces in subsequent field seasons. The majority of the specimen was recovered, but the skull, a few vertebrae, and distal finger and toe bones are missing. A rock piece with the greater portion of a lower jaw with teeth was also collected from the bone pocket, though it couldn’t be associated with the skeleton and may represent a second individual. A lot of bone was lost from the specimen, but impressions of missing bone were preserved, which proved useful for identifying wrist and ankle bones, among others. Dave used a white pencil to color in the bone impressions so they would stand out for study and in photographs of the specimen. Ultimately, we realized that Martensius and Tambacarnifex were preserved one on top of the other, though separated by several inches of rock.

The lower jaw piece of Tambacarnifex unguifalcatus. Photograph by Dave Berman, 2008.

The teeth of Tambacarnifex preserved in the lower jaw are strongly recurved and flattened side-to-side, which, along with other features preserved in the skeleton, indicate it is a member of the basal synapsid group (family) Varanopidae and in the subfamily Varanopinae. The Varanopidae have been likened to the actively predaceous modern monitor lizards in the family Varanidae, hence the similar name. Varanopids were the most diverse and longest-surviving basal synapsids, being known from the Late Carboniferous–Middle Permian (~309–260 million years ago) of North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. With their sharp, recurved teeth and a gracile skeleton, scientists think varanopids were agile predators, at least compared to other animals of their time. They range from about 12–78 inches in length, with the smallest ones probably being insectivorous and the larger ones carnivorous. Tambacarnifex has an estimated body size of about 35 inches, and as a medium-sized varanopid with gracile limbs it would have been an agile carnivore, preying on on any of the Bromacker vertebrates that it could catch.

An articulated but incompletely preserved series of 11 vertebrae of Tambacarnifex unguifalcatus. Notice that the neural spines are low and subrectangular, so it is unlikely that they supported a sail, as occurs in some other basal synapsids such as Dimetrodon teutonis. The front of the animal is to the left. Photo by Dave Berman, 2008.

Unlike Dimetrodon teutonis, the other apex predator at the Bromacker, Tambacarnifex has broad, low neural spines that alternate in height. It differs from other varanopines in the shape and anterior inclination of its neural spines and in having greatly elongated and recurved bony claw supports in its hands and feet. The generic name Tambacarnifex was coined in reference to its position in the food chain: “Tamba,” for the Tambach Basin, which the holotype inhabited, and the Latin “carnifex,” meaning executioner, for its role as an apex predator. “Unguifalcatus” was derived from the Latin “unguis,” nail or claw, and “falcatus,” meaning sickle-shaped, in reference to the long, strongly recurved bony claw supports.

Incomplete front (left) and hind (right) feet of Tambacarnifex unguifalcatus. Notice the extremely long bony claw supports preserved on the first, third, and fourth fingers of the front foot and the fourth toe of the hind foot. I–V refer to finger and toe numbers. Photos by Dave Berman, 2008.

Illustration of Tambacarnifex unguifalcatus consuming a Dimetrodon teutonis carcass. Outline drawing by Matt Celeskey, colored (with permission) by Carnegie Museum of Natural History Vertebrate Paleontology Scientific Illustrator Andrew McAfee.

Stay tuned for the final post of this series, which will summarize what we’ve learned about the Bromacker. Click here if you would like to download your own copy of the outline drawing of Tambacarnifex consuming Dimetrodon to color in. The paper describing Tambacarnifex unguifalcatus can be viewed by clicking here.

Bobcats

With winter approaching, visitors to Powdermill Nature Reserve can anticipate seeing the tracks in the snow of one of our most splendid residents, the bobcat! These wild felines do not hibernate, rather they remain very active in winter because of their high metabolism. Although they are commonly photographed on trail cameras at Powdermill Nature Reserve, bobcats have excellent vision and hearing and are unlikely to show themselves to people. The stealthy and efficient predators are found state-wide, and the range for the species known scientifically as Lynx rufus stretches across the North American continent from southern Canada to northern Mexico.

This adult female was photographed in late October, but photos do not really capture the full beauty of these animals. Image credit: John Wilkinson.

Bobcats are known to walk on top of fallen logs to move silently through the understory. Adults weigh up to 20 pounds, feed mostly on rodents and birds, but are capable of taking small fawns and perhaps even yearling deer. Bobcats are highly adaptable and do well even in close proximity to humans and coyotes. In our area, males wander over areas as large as 10 square miles, territories that span the smaller territories of several females. Bobcats are protected except for a brief trapping season in winter. Their coats are highly variable, and pelts are considered prime in winter, and more valuable when spotted. The highest quality, large pelts from the Rocky Mountains may sell for as much as $900. However, luckily for our cats, the market here is unlikely to provide $40 for a pelt, which will keep them safe from most trappers.

The Christmas Bird Count During an Irruption Year

Since 1900, the National Audubon Society has hosted the Christmas Bird Count (CBC), a fun day for birders and bird watchers of all skill levels to get outside and count everything they see and hear within a designated count circle. The CBC was started with the purpose of creating a new way of censusing winter birds. Before binoculars and optics were widely available, people used shotguns during a competition to see who could bring back the biggest pile of birds and mammals. In 1900, conservationists developed a non-destructive way to tally what they saw, and the Christmas Bird Count was born. The CBC’s initial 25 count circles have blossomed into coverage across the continent, in Central and South America, and to the Pacific Islands.

Each year, Powdermill Nature Reserve sponsors the Rector, PA Christmas Bird Count. This year, with some extra pandemic-related safety precautions, an intrepid group of local birders will canvass a 15-mile diameter circle centered just a bit north of Powdermill on Sunday, December 20. Upcoming counts promise to be interesting and exciting locally and across much of North America due to the irruption of many species of “winter finches.”

So, what is an irruption and what birds might we expect to see during an irruption year? Irruptive migration happens most often when there’s a change in food availability over much of a species’ normal range. It’s less predictable than the annual migration that we observe every spring and fall, and often happens in a cyclical pattern, reflecting normal changes in abundance of food items. Species that breed in the far north and winter generally farther north than Pennsylvania are those most likely to be irruptive migrants. When there is a poor seed crop, birds that eat things like conifer seeds, such as Pine Siskins, Red-breasted Nuthatches, and Evening Grosbeaks, as well as birds that prey upon small seed-eating animals, such as Snowy Owls, are often seen south of their typical range. This year has already proven to be a major irruption year and the season has barely begun!

At the beginning of September, we started to see Red-breasted Nuthatches at Powdermill in higher numbers than in previous years. They were followed in early October by large flocks of Pine Siskins, small finches that look a bit like streaky goldfinches. Although many remain in the area, quite a few siskins continued south and are currently flocking to feeders in the Carolinas and beyond! Even more exciting was the influx of Evening Grosbeaks, which first appeared in mid-October. This species’ population is in steep decline: these birds used to be commonly seen here in the winter until about 30-35 years ago, but now visit during only the biggest irruption years.

Northern Saw-whet Owl. Photo credit: Catherine Werth

Northern Saw-whet Owls are a species that we generally see each year, but this year banders are catching more than usual. One evening at Powdermill the team caught eight individuals, three of which were foreign recaptures! (This term refers to birds that were banded and recaptured at different banding stations. The three owls from that evening came from northeastern Pennsylvania, southeastern Ontario, and, for a bird initially banded four years ago, western Virginia.) Even familiar and common species that we see year-round but that have ranges that extend far north, such as Black-capped Chickadees and Purple Finches, are being seen in higher numbers this year.

What species can we expect next? Red Crossbills and Common Redpolls haven’t been reported in the Powdermill area yet but are creeping ever closer, and if we’re really lucky perhaps we may even spot White-winged Crossbills, Pine Grosbeaks, or Hoary Redpolls. So, keep your eyes peeled, your ears primed for unfamiliar calls, your binoculars polished, and a field guide nearby, and you may have a spectacular Christmas Bird Count season!

For more information about the Christmas Bird Count, please visit: https://www.audubon.org/conservation/join-christmas-bird-count

And for a fun kickoff to the Christmas Bird Count season, Powdermill avian researchers, along with colleagues and a very special guest, will be hosting a watch party of the movie The Big Year the evening of December 18. For more information and to register: https://carnegiemnh.org/event/the-big-year-watch-party/

“Quaran-Teened”: Closed Spaces, Open Minds

We are living in a time of drastic changes, uncertain futures, and confounding boundaries. The pandemic shook our core values by keeping everyone physically separated. Here at Carnegie Museum of Natural History, educators had to think outside-the-box for ways to keep staff connected and our audiences engaged. Creating virtual programs was no small feat, but a special group of young people embraced the changes.

A handful of museum educators with responsibility for summer camp programs pressed onward with a group of returning teen volunteers, including some who have been volunteering with CMNH for a several years. Creating virtual programs was no small feat as Online Museum sessions replaced in person camps. Our teens embraced the changes and helped participants feel comfortable in this new normal by providing positive energy and continual encouragement. As part of their transformation from classroom helpers to virtual instruction assistants, several teen volunteers developed insightful, natural history-related literature in the form of blog posts. The Museum is proud to introduce these keyboard warriors, our very first cohort of teenage volunteer bloggers. You may have already read some of these blogs, and there are more to come! Meet just a few of these promising young writers:

Claire Ianachione: Hi, my name is Claire Ianachione, and I am excited to be writing blogs for the museum. I love learning new things about history and sharing them with other people. I cannot wait to start sharing blogs and I hope people enjoy reading them.

Samhita Vasudevan: My name is Samhita Vasudevan, and I’m super excited to write blogs for the museum! In my free time, I enjoy baking, going on runs, listening to music, and watching movies. My favorite exhibits at the museum are the Hillman Hall of Minerals & Gems and the Art of the Diorama.

Caroline Lee: My name is Caroline Lee and I’ve been involved with Powdermill since I was 10. When I heard of this great opportunity to write blogs for the museum, I was very excited to start because while I love PNR and Carnegie Museums, I also love writing! In my free time I am a musician in my school marching band, and a member of the “Science Matters” club!

Niko Borish: A longtime admirer of natural science, I attended summer camp at Powdermill Nature Reserve several times before becoming a volunteer there. Though primarily interested in herpetofauna, I enjoy investigating all aspects of the natural world whenever I can. Currently a junior in high school, I plan to study environmental science in college.

Angela Wu: Most of my passions can be summarized by “I love to create.” I’m interested in software development and its many applications in a variety of fields, but I also create writings, drawings, paintings, and music (albeit not very well). In my spare time, I enjoy reading, writing, and eating Ramen.

Xavier Ramirez: I am a sophomore in high school. I enjoy acting, music, and STEM. Currently, I keep myself busy with writing and long games of Risk.

Teen volunteers are an integral part of making summer camp a meaningful experience for campers. While 2020 brought about some difficult challenges that radically changed the summer camp experience, we want to extend a big thank you to all of our teen volunteers who helped the program!

Sara Klingensmith is an Environmental Educator & Naturalist at Powdermill Nature Reserve and Brandon Lyle is a Museum Educator at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Teaching About Teeth

Porcupine skull from the Educator Loan Collection

The term “teachable moment” doesn’t accurately capture the opportunity first grade teachers have to guide their students in making observations about dental structure and function. “First graders are all about teeth,” explains Carolyn Mericle of the University of Pittsburgh’s Falk Laboratory School. The 29-year teaching veteran has long noted how the shared experience of tooth loss and replacement among these young students creates a high level of interest in all things dental that lasts for months, not moments.

Carolyn shared these observations during a recent phone conversation about how the mammal skulls she recently borrowed from the museum’s Educator Loan Collection would enhance student learning. Ideally, she explained, the students’ observations of the diversity of dental arrangements represented in the dozen skulls (a set which included black bear, white-tailed deer, striped skunk, and porcupine), would help them make connections to each creature’s diet. This experience would in turn lead to a better understanding of related classification terms such as, carnivore, herbivore, and omnivore.

Like every educator who is teaching through the COVID-19 pandemic, however, Carolyn is facing the necessity of modifying and adapting established plans. “Everything is hard this year.” she summarized, citing a school year that began with some of her students in her classroom and others at home, before a recent transformation to all remote instruction.

In the past, her students encountered the skulls firsthand by circulating among classroom tables where the objects were displayed. Each table included enough adjacent elbow room for students to make tooth-focused observational drawings. This week Carolyn plans to photograph the skulls and share the resulting images electronically to create a similar observational opportunity. “You have to re-think everything,” she adds, “because we’re working with a different set of tools.”

When the conversation concluded with a question about hope, Carolyn’s answer came without any hesitation. “The resilience of children gives me hope. They make the best of it. They’re powered by curiosity.”

Digital Developments: Why Archiving and Herpetology Go Hand-in-Hand

This field notebook from 1945 belonged to Paul Walker. It contains observations and specimen measurements, all of which are organized by date.

Careers in librarianship are often depicted as quiet, solitary positions that allow ample time for reading on the job. Images associated with archival librarianship (a career usually pertaining to the collection, preservation, and management of historically relevant materials) get even more visually specific than the first, for they frequently involve mahogany framed spaces filled to the brim with dusty, leather-bound, centuries-old texts. Though whimsical, these notions about texts and their caretakers cause people to overlook a critical part of archival work: digital management of texts and data.

Our society’s emphasis on the importance of technological advances and virtual storage has not only advanced the librarian’s ability to scan and virtually distribute texts and documents with ease; it has also gone so far as to set the expectation that archival texts will be digitized, or converted into a digital form. This digitization both protects data from being lost to physical damage and, through mechanisms like databases, helps interested people gain greater levels of insight into the exciting and unique collections that exist around the world.

While libraries have always housed a wide range of texts and items from a variety of professional fields, the level of priority placed on digitizing archival collections has ultimately allowed for even more crossover between people of different professional backgrounds. My job in the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles is a prime example of this. Though I have been entrusted with caring for and scanning the section’s 20^th-century field notebooks, my area of expertise is not herpetological by any means. I come from a strictly literary background, with my research focusing on 19^th-century magazines for children. How, then, do these professional paths intersect?

Paper is not the only archival material that needs to be scanned. The museum is home to large flatbed scanners made for digitizing delicate materials like this one, a 1957 skin sample of a Black Rat Snake.

Apart from the fact that I have handled older texts before, my background and the needs of the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles exist in harmony because of a mutual recognition of the value of accessibility. While working with archival databases through transcription-based volunteer projects and past research positions, I learned that accessibility is as much about small details as it is about sharing the museum’s materials with other institutions and, ultimately, the public. For example, if my scans are too dark or are surrounded by too much black space, the readability of the document may be affected and people with limited access to printer ink may not be able to make copies of the material. Digitization may appear to simply prevent a loss of information, but the need for accessibility causes it to take on new meaning. As a future archivist, I prioritize scan quality and the organization of digital files so that museum employees and the public alike can always find and use these important scientific materials with ease. Though we come from different fields, the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles consistently prioritizes its concern with the use of these materials in the long run as well.

These tools are just some of the necessary pieces of equipment used to handle texts and materials during digitization. Pictured (from left to right): brushes for removing dust and dirt, a metal tool for the delicate removal of metal objects like staples and paperclips, plastic paperclips for keeping pages together without the risk of rust, a sponge for soot removal, and nitrile gloves for safely handling negatives and photos.

I am grateful that I am continuing to learn about the relevance of scientific specializations like herpetology to other fields. Likewise, I am glad that my understanding of librarianship continues to intersect with fields that I may not otherwise encounter. Perhaps, then, popular depictions of librarians and archivists can begin to recognize their preoccupation not only with reading and quieting patrons, but also with collaborating across disciplines to expand people’s access to information.

Ren Jordan is a Curatorial Assistant in the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

A Gorilla for Our Imagination

The lowland gorilla within the Hall of African Wildlife has a far different back-story than other large mammals in the exhibition’s dozen dioramas. All of the hall’s mammal taxidermy mounts are the preserved remains of creatures that once lived in the wilds of the African Continent. Most were collected between 1909 and 1912, during the course of two hunting safaris led by Childs Frick, son of Pittsburgh industrialist Henry Clay Frick. The gorilla was a far later addition to the stuffed menagerie, and its arrival occurred under entirely different circumstances.

The animal that grew to be a magnificent 350-pound silverback, was captured at a young age in Gabon, West Africa, sometime in the early 1960s. The gorilla lived in zoos afterward, initially in Copenhagen, Denmark, and later in Pittsburgh, where it died unexpectedly of natural causes in 1979.

Zoo staff offered the gorilla remains to museum curators, and through the efforts of a skilled team of taxidermists, an animal long known to zoo visitors as “George” came back into public view in an alert, but frozen stance.

Today it’s not unusual to occasionally hear museum visitors recalling the gorilla’s crowd-pleasing antics as a zoo attraction. The taxidermy mount’s far more important role, however, is as an educational tool capable of holding eye contact, and thereby encouraging contemplation. In staring contests that the glass-eyed mount never loses, the gorilla represents all of its wild living kind, the entire population of our planet’s largest primates, close relatives of modern humans, and a group whose continued existence is increasingly threatened by illegal hunting, habitat loss, and disease.

Scientists who study these great apes recognize two species of gorillas, each of which contain two sub-species, and all of which are considered critically endangered. The museum specimen, owing to its origin in Gabon, bears the echoing scientific name Gorilla gorilla gorilla to note its genus, species, and subspecies designation.

For anyone at a loss about what to contemplate while holding the gaze of this hall’s famous resident, consider some of what Terry Tempest Williams has to say in her 2019 work, Erosion: Essays of Undoing. The author begins an essay about a guided visit to observe mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) in the Virunga Mountains of Rwanda with an appeal to senses that don’t come into play in museum exhibit halls. “We smelled them before we heard them. We heard them before we saw them.”

Later, amidst information about how members of the observed gorilla clan were refugees from an adjacent national park in war-torn Congo, and how their continued sanctuary in Rwanda is tenuous due to that nation’s rapidly growing population, relatively small size, and the discovery of oil deposits in the Virunga Mountains, Williams offers this thought:

“I wish there was a gorilla in every corner of our imagination to remind us what we are choosing to harm and ignore. I wish we could smell them, hear them, see them for who they are in place, and know them by name: the most gentle of creatures, with strength and power.”

For more information about gorillas, please visit this Wildlife Conservation Society site.

Mesozoic Monthly: Scipionyx

My high school calculus teacher, Mr. Surovchak, once told me about a competition he and his brother had every Thanksgiving. They would weigh themselves before and after dinner to indisputably measure who was able to eat the most. When it comes to dinosaurs, it’s typically much harder to tell what and how much they ate. However, a few fossils give us windows into the guts of dinosaurs – literally! Paleontologists are extremely thankful for spectacular fossils like that of Scipionyx samniticus, a small theropod dinosaur with several internal organs preserved!

Oil painting of *Scipionyx samniticus* in its Early Cretaceous environment by Emiliano Troco, used with permission. You can find more of their work on their Tumblr and contact them via their WordPress site.

Theropods, like Scipionyx, are dinosaurs that stand on two legs, usually with only three prominent toes on each hind foot. Some of the most famous dinosaurs are theropods, like Tyrannosaurus, Velociraptor, and previous Mesozoic Monthly honoree Citipati (does that make it famous? I like to think so). Most theropods interacted with the world primarily with their heads rather than their hands, hence why several of them look like they have oversized skulls and relatively underdeveloped forelimbs. Many also had hollow bones, and, as we can see in extremely well-preserved fossils, feathers. Is this all starting to sound familiar? That’s because these are also features of birds! If you’ve ever heard someone say that birds are dinosaurs, that’s because modern birds, which are called Aves or Neornithes, are just one evolutionary subset of theropod dinosaurs! Birds have all these features of theropod dinosaurs, plus others like toothless beaks and wings made partly from fused wrist and hand bones. If you are eating turkey for Thanksgiving dinner, remember that you’re eating a dinosaur!

Scipionyx didn’t look much like a turkey, though. It belonged to a group of theropods called compsognathids, which were long-tailed, slender, and relatively small predators. It wasn’t imposing size or an especially fascinating appearance that made Scipionyx special – it was the way the only known specimen was fossilized. It is so well preserved that many of its internal organs are intact in its body cavity! Petrified tissue from the trachea, small intestine, and even rectum can be seen in the fossil, as well as muscle tissue, blood vessels, and traces of other organs. We can tell from the bones and scales in its digestive tract that it ate several meals of lizards and fish before it died. There is such a wealth of biological information preserved in this single specimen, and we can learn even more when we consider its relatives. Although skin didn’t preserve in Scipionyx, at least one fossil of another compsognathid named Sinosauropteryx has such well-preserved skin and filament-like ‘protofeathers’ that we can even see pigments preserved! Based on Sinosauropteryx, we can assume that Scipionyx had some sort of filamentous or fuzzy covering as well, at least over some parts of its body.

The incredible fossil of *Scipionyx* preserves the dinosaur’s internal organs in 3D! For example, the sinuous shape of the small intestine is visible immediately behind the right elbow. Photo by *Giovanni Dall’Orto on Wikimedia Commons*. You can read more about this specimen in *a paper by Dal Sasso and Maganuco (2011).*

The fossil of Scipionyx is very small because the individual in question was just a hatchling when it died. Paleontologists can tell it was a hatchling, and not a small adult animal, because its proportions are similar to those of other juvenile dinosaur fossils and many of its bones had not yet fused together (you can learn more about how bones fuse as organisms get older in the Nemicolopterus edition of Mesozoic Monthly). The baby Scipionyx individual represented by the fossil would have measured around 18 inches (46 cm) long in life, and estimates based on how other compsognathids grew suggest that its species reached about 7 feet (2.1 meters) in length at adulthood. Not much is known about its habitat, but it was likely one of the largest animals around. Scipionyx was found in deposits laid down in a marine environment in what is now Italy. Back in the early part of the Cretaceous Period (the third and final division of the Mesozoic Era, or ‘Age of Dinosaurs’), when Scipionyx was alive, Italy was mostly under a shallow sea dotted with small islands, and the dinosaur would have lived on one of these. Since then, tectonic activity has dramatically changed the region, creating new mountains and lowering sea level to what it is today.

So, this Thanksgiving, if you’re looking for a conversation starter at the dinner table/family video call (or if you urgently need to divert discussion from a more sensitive topic), here’s an idea: ask your dining partners whether they think non-avian theropods like Scipionyx would have tasted more like turkey or chicken! Or, if your loved ones would rather learn than debate, you could perhaps offer to read them any of the 12 Mesozoic Monthly animal spotlights (that’s right, December makes one whole year of Mesozoic Monthly!). I’d certainly feel honored to make an appearance at your Thanksgiving feast.

One man’s trash is another man’s weather instrument

A piece of debris was recovered by staff Friday afternoon while hiking along Powdermill Run at Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s biological research station, Powdermill Nature Reserve. What initially looked like nothing more than a pile of orange plastic garbage turned out to be something much more exciting! It was actually the remains of a weather balloon carrying a recording instrument called a radiosonde.

Powdermill Run, where the instrument was found. Thank you to Bobby Ankney, Maintenance Manager at Powdermill, for wading across the stream to recover it!

These devices are deployed by the National Weather Service in order to gather data about the upper atmosphere. A large balloon (5 feet in diameter) filled with helium or hydrogen gas carries the radiosonde upward at a rate of 1,000 feet/minute. The balloon can reach an altitude of over 20 miles before it expands (due to decreasing air pressure) to a diameter of 20-25 feet and pops. Temperatures at that height can be as cold as -130⁰F!

During its ascent, the radiosonde transmits data on temperature, pressure, humidity, and GPS location to a ground tracking antenna. GPS data indicate wind speed and direction during the flight. After the balloon pops, an orange parachute carries the spent instrument slowly to the ground, where it may be recovered and returned to the National Weather Service to be reused.

close up of weather balloon label that says "Harmless Weather Instrument"

The radiosonde we found was deployed in Pittsburgh on June 28, 2020. Pittsburgh is one of 69 stations in the contiguous United States and over 800 worldwide. Weather balloons at each station are typically deployed at the same time each day, 365 days a year. Data from these instruments are used in weather forecasting, air pollution modelling, and climate change research. While removing litter from the environment is a great thing to do anyway, in this case there was a bonus learning and recycling opportunity included. Cool!

Holiday Stowaway: Northern Saw-whet Owl

Northern Saw-whet Owls have a reputation for showing-up in surprising places. The late November news that one of these small predators accompanied a 75-foot Norway spruce on a 200 mile journey from Oneonta, New York, where the 11-ton tree was cut, to Mid-town Manhattan, where the massive evergreen was installed in a place of honor at Rockefeller Center, fits the species’ profile.

The 8-inch high birds, whose common name reflects the resemblance of one of their calls to the sound of a saw being sharpened with a whet stone, are the smallest owl found in the mid-Appalachian region. As recently as 30 years ago infrequent sightings of the owls were interpreted as evidence of the species’ decline. That assumption began to change in the 1990s with the establishment of Project Owlnet, an ongoing multi-state field study that now consists of more than 100 owl migration banding sites where on late nights every fall researchers rely on recordings of the reclusive bird’s too-too-too breeding call to lure and temporarily capture owls in mist nets. These nocturnal labors have documented healthy populations of the owls in suitable habitats, although this good news is leavened with cautions that the species’ association with higher elevation forests could make it susceptible to the effects of climate change in the coming decades.

The individual owl getting attention as a holiday tree stow-away was driven back upstate to a wildlife rehabilitation facility in the town of Saugerties, where caregivers reported the bird seemed unharmed by its odyssey. The owl, according to reports, was quickly approaching condition for release back into the wild. Back in New York City, however, a counter explanation has developed for how and when the owl arrived in the Rockefeller Center Tree. According to some interested parties, the owl could have been in the city ahead of the tree’s arrival, and sought refuge in the big spruce before it was unloaded.

A taxidermy mount of a Northern Saw-whet Owl is a popular attraction in Discovery Basecamp.

A relatively recent experience leads me to view this explanation as within the realm of possibility. One fall day four years ago, while I was rolling a cart bearing owl taxidermy mounts into a basement classroom, a visitor stopped me by pointing directly at the smallest bird in the set. “Might I have seen this bird last week?” he asked excitedly. “At a bus stop?? On the Northside???” He then explained how the owl had been perched motionless at eye-level within leafy bushes beside a bus shelter, and that, “The owl was still there when I got on my bus.”

The museum basement, I later learned, has a direct claim to an even more remarkable sighting of species now being widely celebrated for cuteness and resilience on social media. In Birds of Western Pennsylvania, the encyclopedic 1940 volume written by the museum’s then Curator of Ornithology, W.E. Clyde Todd, the account for Northern Saw-whet Owl includes this note:

“A curious instance of a young bird found alive in one of the basement storerooms of the Carnegie Museum in June, 1927, was duplicated in July, 1932. There must have been a nesting pair in the immediate vicinity, although one would scarcely expect this owl within the city limits.”

Because the Saw-whet was the original mascot of PA’s Wild Resources Conservation Program, some vehicles still carry license plates bearing ¾ size images of the owl.

For the past seven years, proof of the owl’s seasonal movements through the Pittsburgh area has been found in Sewickley Heights Borough Park where Bob Mulvihill, ornithologist at the National Aviary, has operated a Project Owlnet banding station during the late fall. Information about this important local research can be found on the National Aviary website.

To see a video of a Northern Saw-whet Owl recently banded at Powdermill Nature Reserve, please visit the museum’s TikTok.

Camouflage in YOUR yard?

When most people think of camouflage occurring in nature, they think of exotic frogs blending into vivid plants and jaguars’ spots helping them melt into the shadows. However, did you know that there are lots of examples of camouflage you can find in your backyard or a park? Here are some fun examples I have personally found in nature, and I hope you can find some, too!

An impressive example of camouflage is the tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta)! Unless you are looking carefully, tobacco hornworms will blend right in with your tomato plant. These caterpillars are viewed by gardeners as pesky tomato munchers, but they have AMAZING camouflage! Tobacco hornworms, which can be four to five inches long, are the same shade of green as a tomato plant. Tobacco hornworms also have white stripes to help break up their outline, almost appearing like a part of the tomato stalk. Sometimes their camouflage doesn’t always work. In one of the photos, the caterpillar has parasitic wasp larvae on it! The wasps naturally control tobacco hornworm populations by using a few unlucky caterpillars as both nursery and food source for their young. I thought this method of predation was really neat!

tobacco hornworm covered in larvae on a tomato plant

Noteworthy camouflage often goes unnoticed! Everyone knows of spiders, but do you know about the group known as trashline orbweavers (Cyclosa sp.)? A trashline orbweaver will arrange desiccated insect carcasses in a line on their orb web and then sit among them, waiting for the next victim. To the average pair of eyes, the spider’s “trash” will not look any different from the spider itself, so both predators and prey of the spider will not be able to find the concealed hunter. Trashline webs are actually very common; I’ve found more than 15 in my garden, and so far have not been able to find the actual spider. My garden and especially tomato plants are full of them!

One of the most impressively camouflaged creatures is the common toad (Bufo sp.). If a toad is not moving, it can be one of the hardest creatures to spot. Walking through my garden, I have had many experiences of only noticing a toad when it suddenly jumps away from my approach. The toad might have been just as startled as I! Toads are often found in the woods, on grass, or perhaps in a garden tucked under some soil. Toads come in many colors, sizes, and shapes, with those I’ve noticed typically being gray with speckled spots. It’s hard to beat a toad’s camouflage.

toad in muddy grass — Image credit: Charles and Martha Oliver

The American Woodcock (Scolopax minor) is a bird with various shades of brown, white, and beige to blend into thickets and woods. They blend into grass thickets so well that my father almost stepped on one on the ground! Woodcocks are an interesting bird because they have a long beak to help probe for worms. A fun fact about woodcocks is that they do a strange but cute dance to help bring worms to the surface. If you are interested about learning more about woodcocks, I recommend watching their dance on YouTube.

woodcock bird — Image credit: Powdermill Nature Reserve

Make sure to look carefully on your tomato plants for tobacco hornworms and a very similar caterpillar known appropriately as the tomato hornworm. Also, investigate strange orb webs with what seems to be a line of dead bodies on it, look carefully when a toad-like rock moves, and make sure to not step on any woodcocks. I chose these four creatures because I thought they were some of the coolest examples that are native, but they are also common to areas surrounding Carnegie Museum of Natural History. On personal reflection, I will definitely choose to write about something that’s easier to take pictures of next time. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed my impressions and learned something new, and finally, I hope you can find some of these in your yard or at a local park.

Caroline Lee is a Teen Volunteer in the Education Department. Museum employees, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Herd Immunity and the Anthropocene

When is getting an infection actually a good or a bad thing? Let’s start by talking about herd immunity. What exactly is it, and why have we been hearing about it so much during the Covid-19 pandemic?

Herd immunity, as described by the CDC, is a situation in which a sufficient proportion of a population is immune to an infectious disease (through vaccination and/or prior illness) to make its spread from person to person unlikely. When a group has a high enough percentage of immunity in its population, transmission becomes increasingly difficult for a disease to spread to even the more immunocompromised members of the community.

Although, herd immunity is obtained at different levels of community immunity depending on the disease. Some highly infectious diseases, such as measles, require about 94% herd immunity to stop community spread. According to the Mayo Clinic, about 70% of the US population would need to have immunity from Covid to stop our current pandemic.

So how do we even get herd immunity? Well, we can achieve herd immunity through two different methods. The first method is infection. Herd immunity can be achieved by having a large amount of the population getting the virus naturally. The downside of this method is that the population has to get sick and recover. Depending on the disease, short or long-term side effects or mortality rate can be very detrimental to the population.

Germs have most likely existed for around 3.5 billion years (the age of the oldest living organisms, bacteria). Modern humans have only been around for about 130,000 years. Humans have only been around for a fraction of the time diseases have, but they are both a part of nature. However, in response to their presence, humans have developed immune systems that have been a part of a back and forth protecting us from harmful germs. Terrestrial vertebrates such as humans have complex immune systems that have evolved to protect them from new immunological dangers. Getting sick is a part of life. Diseases have always been a part of nature, and that is especially true of the current time period, the Anthropocene. The Anthropocene is the current geologic age where humans have a substantial effect on their environment. During this time period, the way we interact with nature through contributing to climate change, deforestation, and urbanized lifestyles has increased the likelihood of pandemic-like illnesses to sweep over our communities. Deforestation causes loss of habitat; and with loss of habitat animals will be forced to come into contact with animals they originally wouldn’t have, including humans. This increases the chance for germs to spread to new hosts. Climate change and urbanization are also causing organisms to live closer together, allowing for diseases to spread more easily through communities. So, while diseases are a part of life and nature, occasionally there is one germ that can come around and have a profound effect on society.

I remember the news stories when NYC was first getting taken over by Covid. Medical personnel lacking PPE, hospitals overflowing, using ice trucks to store the deceased, and exhausted nurses and doctors. All of that resulted in just 22% herd immunity. At 22% herd immunity most of the population of NYC is still susceptible to Covid. If natural infection was the only way forward, so many more of NYC’s citizens would die or become severely ill. However, because this happened NYC was quick to understand the importance of instituting mitigating measures to slow the spread of the disease. Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York, is similar to Rand Paul in that he is in a position that he can implement policies. When Andrew Cuomo, governor of New York, saw what was happening in his state, he used his ability to implement policies to follow scientific guidance surrounding closures, social distancing, masks, etc. As a result, the rates in NYC decreased. Not because of herd immunity, but because of serious measures against Covid. If we look at a different state, such as Florida, that did not take measures against Covid seriously, there were consecutive days in the state where they were having 10,000 to 15,000 new cases a day. This lacking approach to Covid caused thousands of preventable deaths. Even after months of lockdown the US is not close to herd immunity. All of the preventable deaths and long-term health complications that I’m seeing in people are going to continue with the natural spread. This is why the global race for a vaccine is so important.

The second method of reaching herd immunity is through vaccinations. By developing a vaccine for an infectious disease, we are able to reach herd immunity without having to subject our population, community, and families to the side effects and overall awful experience of falling ill. By using widespread vaccinations, we can also protect our most vulnerable members of society, like our loved ones in an older or younger age range, immunocompromised individuals, or those with allergic reactions making them unable to receive vaccines. Herd immunity is a good thing. When we have a disease like Covid, however, natural infection will cause crippling long-term effects in what were healthy people, and hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths. This is why herd immunity is good, but it depends on the method used to obtain it.

Immunity is an important part of preventing diseases in my home. Herd immunity helps me protect my family, friends, and people I come across every day. When paired with vaccines, I am able to protect more people in my community. I have a small child in my home, and older family members who I come into regular contact with. My family (my herd) and I get our vaccines and flu shots every year to help protect those more immunologically vulnerable members of our family. By doing this, my herd is creating a mutually benefiting environment where our personal actions protect those around us. The actions that we take to protect our family also protect the members of our communities and your herd too.

Humans are a part of nature, and so are diseases. Individual actions have a larger inter-connected effect on surrounding environments and society. The same thing could be said about the Covid virus spreading through the country. Society as a whole needs to develop a larger scope of thinking about how the actions of individuals affect the environment and planet. The factors I mentioned earlier, climate change, deforestation, and urbanization, are keeping steady and increasing. If these continue as they are currently, we can expect more pandemic-like diseases in our future. And when it happens, society will have to come together again to figure out the best way of adopting herd immunity to combat the disease.

As for my advice for the rest of this year, think critically, look at scientific data, vaccinations work, and in the words of Mr. Rogers, “Real strength has to do with helping others.”

Hannah Smith is an intern in the Section of Anthropocene Studies. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Works Cited

Glossary

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS): A medical condition where the immune system cannot function properly and…

www.cdc.gov

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/terms/glossary.html#commimmunity

Herd immunity and COVID-19 (coronavirus): What you need to know

Understand what’s known about herd immunity and what it means for coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID-19). Curious as to…

www.mayoclinic.org

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/herd-immunity-and-coronavirus/art-20486808

Vaccines Protect Your Community

Did you know that when you get vaccinated, you’re protecting yourself and your community? This concept is called…

www.vaccines.gov

https://www.vaccines.gov/basics/work/protection

Anthony S. Fauci, M.D.

Dr. Fauci was appointed director of NIAID in 1984. He oversees an extensive portfolio of basic and applied research to…

www.niaid.nih.gov

https://www.niaid.nih.gov/about/anthony-s-fauci-md-bio

https://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/26/science/when-humans-became-human.html

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/prehistoric-world/precambrian-time/

https://www.britannica.com/science/immune-system/Evolution-of-the-immune-system

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/c-change/subtopics/coronavirus-and-climate-change/

https://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/45-quotes-from-mr-rogers-that-we-all-need-today.html

Seldom seen—archaeological textiles in the eastern United States

In my very first “Introduction to Anthropology” class, the professor, a cultural anthropologist, tried to steer us away from archaeology by telling us it was a childish pursuit for those who liked to play in the mud and hunt for treasure. That sounded like it was right up my alley. I ended up spending my summers and an internship term working in Plymouth, Massachusetts, doing historical archaeology. In addition, I also spent a lot of time in the collections of the college anthropology museum, found that I especially loved working with textiles and basketry, and eventually learned to weave both.

Working in the eastern United States, it’s hard to find archaeological textiles; the very world is against it. Acid soils and a temperate climate create conditions where little organic material survives to be studied, except in the rare instances of charred material or pieces in contact with copper, or still rarer, textiles deposited in dry caves. Even then the evidence is usually fragile and fragmentary.

What eastern archaeologists find is a lot of pottery, and luckily for us, much of it has been impressed with cordage or fabric. As part of the pottery making process, clay coils were consolidated by being beaten with a wooden paddle, a tool frequently wrapped with cordage or fabric. This technique may have initially developed to create decoration, but the resulting roughened surface also made for a better grip, and the increased surface area caused pots to heat quicker in cooking.

Archaeologists study the long-vanished textiles by making durable impressions of pottery surfaces with modeling clay or dental impression material. The information revealed through the thorough study of such impressions is not limited to the determination of just what type of cord or textile was used in making the original object.

The making of pottery impressions to look at textiles was first published by the pioneering archaeologist, W.H. Holmes, in “Prehistoric Textile Art of the Eastern United States.” Holmes started his scientific career as an illustrator, and included schematic drawings of the textile structures in his article.

When I worked at what is now the Florida Museum of Natural History, I got interested in the earliest pottery found in Florida, from what is known as the Orange culture. Dating from about 1500 BCE, these distinctive pieces were thick and very simply decorated. Their most interesting feature, at least to me, was that the clay pot bottoms had been pounded flat on matting, and the applied force made deep impressions. At least three different techniques were used, with variations and patterns within each, including several different matting materials.

Mat impressions from flat-bottomed pots, Tick Island, Volusia County, FL.

In one instance, a thick pot sherd had a smooth top surface, but a deep dent in the bottom; evidence the potter hadn’t removed a small pebble that was under the mat before the pot making.

Many studies have been done since W.H. Holmes, looking at such things as direction of the twist in cordage—a majority of right-handed or left-handed twist could indicate a culture-wide preference. Similar twist types in neighboring geographic areas might indicate related cultural or kin groups, while different twist types could indicate a cultural boundary. The type of material used [soft fiber, hard rods, flat cane-like splints] may indicate cultural preference, or perhaps the materials available in the immediate environment.

One study by Dr. Penelope Drooker, Mississippian Village Textiles at Wickliffe, introduced me both to some incredible textile impressions in pottery and the information that can be gleaned from them. Drooker’s work also analyzed and illustrated some textiles preserved in dry caves of eastern Tennessee, part of the Cherokee people’s ancestral lands. Among the materials she studied were skirts and bags from the Cliffty Creek Cave, artifacts now housed at the Smithsonian Institution. Working with the Museum of the Cherokee Indian in Cherokee, NC, I was able to re-introduce members of the tribe to one of the oldest weaving techniques of their ancestors. A few tribal members have visited the Smithsonian to photograph Cliffty Creek Cave pieces [as have I], and are now making skirts for use in festivals and pageants. Several are making decorated bags for their own use, and for sale.

Kara Martin McKinney wearing reproduction of Cliffty Creek Cave skirt, and reproduction woman’s feather cape. Image Credit: Scott McKie, reporter for the Cherokee One Feather weekly newspaper in Cherokee, NC.

One of the great things about textiles or pottery is that you could spend your entire life studying them, and still not learn all that these materials embody–techniques, cultural traditions, and art, all rolled into one. My grandfather, who kept his faculties up to his death in his mid-90s, said, “The day you stop learning is the day you start to die.” I try to live by that.

Deborah Harding is the Collection Manager of the Section of Anthropology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

References and further reading:

Drooker, Penelope Ballard 1992 Mississippian village textiles at Wickliffe, University of Alabama Press: Tuscaloosa and London

Holmes, W. H. 1896 “Prehistoric Textile Art of the Eastern United States” Thirteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution 1891–1892, Government Printing Office Washington, pages 3–46.

Milanich, Jerald T. and Charles H. Fairbanks 1980 Florida Archaeology Academic Press: New York

Petersen, James B [editor] 1996 A most indispensable art: native fiber industries from Eastern North America, University of Tennessee Press: Knoxville

http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/portal/communities/archaeology/native-american/early-middle-woodland-period.html

Collected on this Day 105 years ago

So long, leaves.

Autumn has fallen.

specimen of red maple on herbarium sheet

This specimen of red maple (Acer rubrum) was collected on November 13, 1915 by Otto Jennings near Finleyville, Pennsylvania (about 30 miles south of Pittsburgh). Jennings was an influential botany curator (and biology professor at University of Pittsburgh and director of Carnegie Museum, among many other roles through his many decades career at the museum).

Just imagine how beautifully red these leaves must have been. And you’ll have to imagine because this specimen is just twigs!

But upon closer look, the twigs have a lot to admire. As with other deciduous trees in Pennsylvania, the buds are primed and ready. In spring (as early as March for red maple!), these buds will swell and flowers will emerge. Leaves will follow.

But first, we wait it out through winter.

Pay attention to tree buds this winter. They have a lot to say.

Find this red maple specimen here (along with 512 others!).

Mason Heberling is Assistant Curator of Botany at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Places to Visit During a Pandemic

Pandemic got your down? Don’t know what to do with your family on the weekend? Nature might be the answer! During the pandemic places with enough space have been hard to find, but I’ve found the following three outdoor destinations to be perfect for keeping 6 feet apart.

1. Moraine State Park

Moraine has something for the whole family to enjoy, from swimming to hiking. Lake Arthur, the park’s centerpiece, is much bigger than expected from looking at the park map! My family always loves fishing at Moraine because there are plenty of fish for us to catch, from bluegills to bass. Besides fishing another one of our favorite activities to do at Moraine is geocaching! If you are not familiar with geocaching, I highly suggest it. This outdoor interactive challenge is basically a “treasure” hunt hike! Participants can bring small toys or trinkets to switch out with the ones you discover within the small hidden containers, or caches. To reach these caches, you need to plug coordinates into a GPS unit and follow them to your destination. The activity is great for kids because sometimes hikes can be hard with small children, and the trinkets in the caches are a great way for them to stay engaged. We plan for the day and pack a big lunch with lots of snacks. Maintaining social distancing at Moraine is easy because the park has tons of picnic areas to choose from. Due to the pandemic we have visited there a lot more this summer!

2. Keystone Safari

Keystone Safari is a place I never heard of until this year when my sister purchased a house about a mile away. I wished I had known about it sooner! It is a huge zoo near Grove City where you can encounter all sorts of different animals from the tiniest butterfly to the tallest giraffe. You can feed those animals if you do the walk-through park which has all sorts of other amenities such as ziplines. This year, due to COVID-19 the park added a feature where you can drive through a separate area of the park and feed all sorts of animals as they walk up to your vehicle. We decided to try it out since it was the ultimate social distancing activity! It was such a cool experience. The park provides a bucket of food for you as you drive through the safari, and as you put your hand out with food the animals will walk right up to you. My niece is 3 and could not stop smiling and giggling the whole time! This was undoubtedly one of our favorite activities during the pandemic.

3. Neighborhood Walks

Sometimes people forget they can enjoy nature right outside their own front door. Neighborhood walks are an out-of-the-house activity the whole family can get involved in, especially during the pandemic. Every time I walk around my neighborhood, I notice new things in nature. Whether the sighting is an interesting bird or a scary looking spider, I always learn something new. Sometimes, if you are lucky enough to snap a good picture, you can use an app called iNaturalist to help identify unknown life forms. The app is free and easy to use. You upload a picture, and other nature enthusiasts can help identify it! My family uses this app all the time, especially for flowers and different spiders we see around our neighborhood. It makes a walk around your neighborhood ten times more fun. This is a great activity and fully compliant with COVID-19 guidelines.

During the pandemic everyone has been trying new things. Exploring new places in nature has been my favorite one and it is something people of all ages can enjoy. I love finding new places to go and cannot wait to discover more social distance friendly activities. Hopefully others can enjoy these places too!

Claire Ianachione is a Teen Volunteer in the Education Department. Museum employees, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Veterans Day

cover of the book Birding Babylon: A Soldier's Journal from Iraq by Jonathan Trouern-Trend

Every November, Veterans Day reminds us to acknowledge the sacrifice of fellow workers who have served in our Nation’s military. In recent years, I’ve found books can sometimes create enough common ground for such recognitions to go beyond the simple statement, “Thank you for your service.”

Birding Babylon, a pocket-sized Sierra Club book published in 2006, enabled me to learn more about CMNH Finance Manager Brian Nusida’s service as a Marine Squad Leader during two combat tours in Iraq. The book is a simple compilation of bird sighting blog posts by Sergeant First Class Jonathan Trouern-Trend, of the Connecticut National Guard, during his year-long deployment to Iraq. After reading the book, I left the copy on Brian’s desk while dropping off a routine expense report. “I didn’t know the names,” Brian reported the next time we passed in a museum hallway, “but I recognized some of the birds.” The exchange was the first of an ongoing series of conversations that have allowed me to begin understanding both the risks he faced and the responsibilities he shouldered as an American soldier.

In our most recent exchange Brian updated me on the fate of the Birding Babylon copy. “The book you left for me is currently in Afghanistan although I cannot say with who or their branch of service. I believe 3 Marines and a soldier have had that book with them over there. Some even signed the first flap before returning it. It’s a well-traveled book.”

A book I borrowed from Carnegie Library sparked a conversation with Security Guard David Lanier about his Air Force service decades ago in Vietnam. In the spring of 2018 when the Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures series brought author and University of Southern California professor Viet Thanh Nguyen to speak at Carnegie Music Hall, I prepared for the event by reading one of his recent books titled, Nothing Ever Dies: Vietnam and the Memory of War. Within that scholarly work, as part of a discussion of Zippo Lighters as icons of American military involvement in Vietnam, Nguyen refers to a 2007 publication titled Vietnam Zippos: American Soldiers’ Engravings and Stories (Sherry Buchanan, University of Chicago Press). The library had a copy of the book, and one morning when I set the copy on the counter of the Security Console to sign-out some keys, Dave took note of the cover and immediately reached for it saying, “Hey! I had one of those.” Once again, the book served as an ice breaker for later conversations about risk and responsibility of military service.

More than twenty-four years ago, Carnegie Magazine set a standard for broad sharing of information about the past service of museum employees in an article by freelance writer Mike Sajna, titled, From the Sands of Iwo Jima to Carnegie Museums: Our Guards in World War II. You can read the article here.

What Does Climate Change Mean for Western PA Farmers?

Agriculture is many things when it comes to climate change: a source of heat trapping gases, a casualty of extreme weather events, and part of the solution. At Carnegie Museum of Natural History, we’re working with rural communities in western Pennsylvania to talk about climate change in conversations that connect the dots between agriculture as a source of emissions, a sector of vulnerability, and an under explored reservoir of much needed solutions. This work is happening through the Climate and Rural System Partnership (CRSP, which we pronounce “crisp”), a National Science Foundation-funded program involving three CMNH components (the Education Department, the Section for Anthropocene Studies, and Powdermill Nature Reserve), partner researchers at the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Learning Out of School Environments, and the Mercer County Conservation District. In CRSP, we are using methods of co-production and co-design to develop climate change science and communication resources with our community partners that are relevant to the lived experiences and concerns of those partners’ and their audiences.

How is climate change impacting farmers in western PA? What would help them to make adaptive planning decisions? What mitigation actions are most attractive to western PA farmers and will best help to sustain livelihoods into the future? Are Western PA farmers already, or interested in becoming, climate champions–leading their community in mitigating and adapting to climate change on their farm? How can the museum help? These are some of the questions we are exploring in CRSP.

Working alongside local livestock and row crop farmers, Penn State agriculture extension educators, and representatives of the Natural Resource Conservation Service (the agency formerly known as the U.S. Soil and Conservation Service), and the Mercer County Conservation District (a CRSP network hub), I have the privilege of exploring these issues and co-producing useful communication resources. Co-production is an iterative collaboration involving diverse perspectives to produce locally relevant knowledge and solutions (Norstrom et al 2020, Meadows 2015). Instead of scientists being the sole creators of new knowledge, in co-production all are creators of new knowledge.

Mercer County Conservation District, CRSP partners, and other Mercer area farmers at a soil health workshop and demonstration in a no-till soybean field at Goddard State Park.

CRSP partners and I have started by developing an agriculture working group at the Mercer hub (also called the Shenango Climate and Rural Environmental Studies Team or Shenango CREST). In this group, we have compiled climate thresholds, which are climate data types that are meaningful to the everyday lives of farmers in Shenango River Valley. Global averages are not applicable here, instead we’re looking for things that affect farmers’ decision making or impacts the physical conditions required to operate. To do this, I asked the group “How do we make existing climate data, past and present, most useful? What connects climate to the everyday life of a farmer of both row crops and livestock. What is going to mean something when we talk with farmers in the Mercer area?“ Some of the thresholds that the group identified were: too much rain in the spring for planting crops, too much rain in the fall for harvesting the crops, and warmer winters in which the ground does not freeze leading to problems for soils and livestock.

Here’s an example of how the co-production process works. First, I found the best available data from 11 rural weather stations in the western PA region, each with 80-100 years of daily rainfall and temperature measurements, obtained from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency’s Climate Data Online tool. Then, one of the network members identified a climate threshold as how the “July and August heat hurts milk production.” So, I explored the data to see what is happening with summer heat in rural western PA: has it been getting hotter? Will this continue in the future?

The short answer is yes. One analysis I used to explore these questions looks at the daily minimum temperatures. Warming daily minimum temperatures would mean less relief at night for the livestock as well as for crops. So, I conducted statistical analyses, and created a “rough draft” data visualization showing the minimum temperatures per month and the increasing trend over time in all months except April, May, and June (see figure below).

Preliminary analysis and rough draft visualization of monthly minimum temperatures for 1900-2020 from 11 western PA long term weather stations. Numbers at the top of each panel indicate the month. Red lines indicate a statistically significant increase over time. Each gray dot represents one weather station’s monthly minimum for that year.

Regarding dairy cows in the summer heat, this analysis revealed that since 1900 the coolest August nights have warmed 7^oF in our region. Upon seeing this, one of the network members said, “Really great, local data, people can feel like they can trust it.” Another reacted, “Interesting to take a piece of climate change, make it understandable and relatable. Put science to something already happening, a thing they [farmers] are living.” The visualization prompted talk of impacts on milk production as well as changes in calving time, lambs needing shearing more often, and with soils not freezing as much in the winter, hooved animals face a potentially greater parasite load from the mud in the warmer months.

This successful first iteration of CRSP co-production suggests we are identifying climate trends with which local farmers can personally identify. Into the future, climate projections for low and high emissions scenarios show the number of days per year over 90^oF in Mercer County increasing, and highlights how mitigation of climate change now will reduce that increase in temperature.

With these kinds of analyses, the Mercer agriculture working group is aiming for evidence-based and locally relevant outputs in the form of talking points, maps, and graphs about climate change impacts and solutions. We will also collect personal stories of network members and people they know that illustrate a shared experience among people in the region and a hopeful message of climate adaptation and/or mitigation.

Impacts of this work, we hope, will be to bring the narrative about climate change from insurmountable, global, and blaming, to a community-scale conversation that is tractable, local, and hopeful. Within the museum itself, this work will help us better understand how to better serve rural audiences, bridge rural and urban connections (not divisions), and have productive conversations about socio-scientific issues that cut through politicization and misinformation. The diverse connections between climate change and food production provides a “ripe” opportunity to explore how to have such conversations.

Bonnie McGill is a science communication fellow in the CMNH Anthropocene Section. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Works cited:

Norström, A.V. et al. 2020. Principles for knowledge co-production in sustainability research. Nature Sustainability 3:182-190. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0448-2

Meadow, A.M. et al. 2015. Moving toward the Deliberate Coproductin of Climate Science Knowledge. Weather, Climate, and Society 7:179-191. https://doi.org/10.1175/WCAS-D-14-00050.1

Thanksgiving and Nutritional Mineralogy

by Travis Olds

We each have plenty to be thankful and hopeful for this year, but did you know that our traditional American Thanksgiving feast “with all the fixings,” would not be possible without minerals or the people who mine, process, and manufacture the mineral-related materials found in our kitchens?

You should thank miners, in part, for the kaolinite clay used to make the fine porcelain china or ceramic plates at your dinner table. When kaolinite is fired in the factory, it partially melts, and crystals of an aluminum-silicate mineral called mullite that hold the ceramic together and give it high heat resistance form on cooling. Also, whether you eat and serve food with silver, steel, or aluminum utensils, extensive work and energy were needed to extract and refine the silver, iron, or aluminum metal necessary for their creation. Silver ore, for example, usually contains many other elements, including lead, zinc, copper, and gold, which can require lengthy chemical or electrochemical processes to separate.

silver on copper — *Silver on copper. Photo credit: Debra Wilson*

There might also be some unwanted mineral interactions occurring at the dinner table. If your gluttonous Uncle Ned consumes too much salt (sodium) with his gravy and potatoes (high in oxalate) this year, his body may begin to form kidney stones; which are biologically formed minerals made up of crystals of the phosphate mineral struvite and the calcium oxalate mineral whewellite. These biominerals, which can form when your bladder isn’t fully emptied after a sodium or oxalate-rich meal, can be extremely painful, so be sure to drink plenty of water with your meal. Large crystals take time to grow and drinking more water can reduce the concentration of sodium and oxalate in your body, slowing growth of the kidney stones.

Turkey meat, the mainstay of many Thanksgiving meals, also depends heavily on minerals. Did you know that turkeys actually need to swallow small rocks and pebbles, which are made of minerals, in order to digest their food? “Gastroliths,” or stomach stones, are used by other species of birds, reptiles, amphibians, worms, whales, and even some fish to crush their food and provide more nutrients! Fortunately, we humans have a variety of enzymes and strong stomach acids to break down nutrients in the food we eat.

A surprising amount of nutritional science is applied to raising turkeys; their diet is closely monitored and controlled for proper protein and “mineral” content so that they grow large. You have likely heard the term “mineral” applied to many of our dietary items as well, from mineral water, to a variety of products being fortified with vitamins and minerals, or even the advice that it’s important to maintain a healthy balance of minerals in your diet. The term is somewhat misleading because “minerals” in this sense typically refers to individual atomic elements such as potassium or iron, or to other compounds containing these elements, rather than actual minerals in the strict sense. To a mineralogist like me, minerals are naturally occurring crystalline solids made from a specific combination of elements.

hematite — *Hematite. Photo credit: Debra Wilson*

Most often, the elements essential for our diet have been pre-digested, extracted or processed by another plant or animal, or have been chemically separated from a mineral source that makes it easier for our bodies to absorb. For example, most rice and cereal in the U.S. is fortified with B-vitamins and iron with a coating of finely ground nutrient powder. While the source of iron used in the fortifying powder varies, it all originates with the iron-oxide minerals hematite and goethite. Plants, bacteria, or stomach acids break down these minerals into iron cations that are easier for our body to process.

Thanksgiving vegetable dishes deserve special attention because plants can be the best sources for certain nutrients. In many cases, fruits and veggies grown on the farm also need help with their diet. Feldspar minerals present in soil hold on strongly to certain elements like K, more commonly known as potassium, making it hard for plants to extract this element. Farmers address this problem by using fertilizers like manure, containing predigested and readily absorbed phosphorous, nitrogen, and potassium, to produce a bountiful harvest

This year, please extend a bit of thankfulness to minerals, but mostly give thanks and recognition to the people that work hard to make your Thanksgiving possible; be it a miner, factory worker, your grocer, butcher, farmer, doctor, or all those working behind the scenes and on the front lines that keep us happy, healthy, and well fed.

Travis Olds is Assistant Curator of Minerals at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences working at the museum.

The Surrounding Trees Whispered with Their Leaves

A fictional short story about a new era of inter-being communication and earth healing from past human mistakes.

two children on bicycles riding on a path in the woods

As a transdisciplinary scholar, I am always pushing myself to experiment with new ways of communicating and exploring ideas. This summer, I was invited with my long-term collaborator, Tomas Matza, associate professor of Anthropology at University of Pittsburgh, to contribute to a Post-Covid Fantasies blog series published by the journal American Ethnologist. The prompt was to “propose imagined or speculative future scenarios for how things could be better in a post-covid world than previously.”

Writing this fantasy illustrated to me the power of speculative fiction for confronting the complexity of the Anthropocene. Anthropocene problems – climate change, biodiversity loss, pandemics – are overwhelming. How are we possibly going to solve the myriad of challenges that we all face living on a crowded, hot planet? It’s hard enough these days just to go to the grocery store! But with speculative fiction – or imagining futures, we can transcend the practical affairs of “real life” and let our minds wander freely. We can explore unthinkable changes and fantastical scenarios.

For me one of the most surprising aspects of the pandemic experience was how it caused society to stop, at least for a while. The sudden downturn in consumerism, production, travel, and consequently large drops in carbon emissions, was remarkable and unprecedented (documented in the scientific literature here and here). It made me wonder…how will society change in the 21st century? How might people in the future look back at the world today and see it from a radically different perspective? What will trigger the changes that result in our society becoming sustainable? Rather than being through incremental policy work and gradual change, perhaps it will come in a most unexpected way – a giant jump forward – caused by interspecies mingling beyond our wildest dreams?

I hope you enjoy our fantasy, and the other contributions in this series. And I encourage you to write your own post-covid fantasy! What do you imagine for the future?

Nicole Heller is Curator of Anthropocene Studies at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences working at the museum.

Teaching in a Pandemic

Full immersion in a different culture was the plan back in August 2019, when Rika Opio signed a yearlong contract to teach English in the port city of Busan, South Korea. The museum educator and Pittsburgh Public School substitute teacher could never have imagined that her adventure would include experiencing another nation’s response to a global pandemic.

Rika has been back in Pittsburgh since early September, engaging remotely with students at Sunnyside Elementary on a daily basis as part of her regular assignment to the Stanton Heights school. During a recent interview she offered striking examples of how, earlier this year, daily life in Busan differed from what we experienced in the Pittsburgh area.

photograph of bridge over a river with mountains in the background at sunset — Busan, South Korea

In response to the public health threat of COVID-19, South Korea went into lockdown at the end of February, with everyone strictly at home for two weeks. Schools, including the English language hagwon, or private academy, where Rika taught, remained closed through May. An enormous amount of effort was put into contract tracing. Anyone who had a Korean phone number would get the emergency alerts about those with confirmed cases. The alerts would say where that person lived and the places they may have been in contact with others. People who had direct contact with confirmed cases could get tested for free, and treated for free if they did have COVID. As Rika explains, “There were times when I would be awakened at night by my phone ringing with alerts for three minutes straight.”

Although Rika now recalls the weeks of lockdown and school closure as “a time when I tried to pick-up hobbies,” she summarized the nation-wide policies as “sensible rules that treated the pandemic as the serious threat it is.” Daily life began returning to normal in Busan by late spring. Rika’s English language hagwon operated at 50% capacity during its re-opening month, and attendance climbed steadily as the weeks passed.

Face mask wearing remained a key virus reduction strategy, and as Rika explains, “It was never a problem for students to wear masks. Korea has something of a culture of wearing masks to reduce disease transmission. The mindset is simply, you don’t want to infect other people.”

The teacher’s first hint that her life back in Pittsburgh would proceed under different circumstances occurred on her flight home. “On the International flight from Seoul to Dallas passengers sat in widely spaced seats, and everyone wore face masks. On the domestic flight from Dallas to Pittsburgh every seat was occupied, and most passengers didn’t wear masks.”

Why Do Leaves Change Color?

*Image by 👀 Mabel Amber, who will one day from Pixabay*.

This fall seemed to sneak up on me as time has been simultaneously moving at a rapid pace and in slow motion. As someone once told me when I became a parent, “the days are long, but the years are short,” and this global pandemic brings those words even closer to home. Nevertheless, I took the time to slow down and bask in the beauty of the changing fall leaves this October. For me, nature is truly restorative, and there aren’t many things more beautiful than driving through the mountains of Western Pennsylvania during peak color change.

But, why do leaves change their color?

During the warmer months in Pennsylvania, trees take advantage of the increasing amount of light and good weather available from longer and warmer days. Using their leaves, trees absorb energy from sunlight, breathe in carbon dioxide, drink up water to produce their own food sources – sugar and starch. This process is only possible through chlorophyll housed in the leaf cells – giving leaves their vibrant green coloration.

Leaves also contain other color pigments ranging from yellow to orange – these pigments are often masked by great amounts of green coloring. But in the fall, the tree begins to prepare for shorter days and colder weather, and the leaves stop their food-making process. To prepare for the upcoming winter, the chlorophyll begins to break down, causing the green color to disappear. This change allows the ever-present yellow, orange, and red pigments to become visible. While chlorophyll breaks down, other chemical changes in the leaves can occur, creating an additional ray of colors through the development of red anthocyanin pigments. The yellow and orange pigments mixed with the red anthocyanin pigments give rise to the reddish and purplish fall colors of trees, such as dogwoods and sumacs.

Each species of tree shows off their own fall color. All these colors are due to the mixing of varying amounts of the chlorophyll residue and other pigments in the leaf during the fall season. This winter preparation creates a nature show like no other.

Another aspect of the leaves changing colors is that those leaves will eventually drop to the ground. Most of the broad-leaved trees in Pennsylvania shed their leaves in the fall (some trees retain their dead leaves until new growth starts in the spring). So, what should you do with your leaves in the fall? According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, leaves and other yard debris account for more than 13% of the nation’s solid waste—33 million tons a year. In typical landfills, there isn’t enough oxygen to decompose the yard waste, causing the development and release of the greenhouse gas methane.

So, what do I do? LEAF IT! (get it?). Leave your leaves where they fall in the fall – or at least, find a nice place in your yard to pile the leaves. Leaf litter can act as both a fertilizer returning the nutrients back into the ground, and as a weed suppressant by acting as a ground cover. Leaf litter is also a vital habitat for much of our favorite wildlife. Many critters – from insects to mammals and everything in between – rely on leaf litter for food, shelter, and nesting material. Many of our favorite moth and butterfly caterpillars overwinter in fallen leaves before emerging in spring! So, if you want free mulch and fertilizer, to create wildlife habitat, and have more free time – LEAF IT!

The 12,000-Year Journey Of The Cheeseburger

In one large bite, a bun, ground beef patty, cheese, lettuce, and tomato could finally fulfill its purpose: to be my lunch. Many people have seen ads for, or even eaten a cheeseburger before. But where do all the ingredients come from? The tasty combination of meat, vegetables, grain, and milk product has 12,000-year-old roots in a faraway land across the sea. From there, over thousands of years and thousands of miles, it made a journey to its ultimate destination … my stomach. As delicious as it is, every good ending has a story.

The Bun

For a proper burger, you need the bun to sandwich all its deliciousness. The main ingredient for the bun is flour, which comes from wheat. Today, there are 25,000 distinct forms of wheat, all descended from a plant called emmer, which first originated in the Fertile Crescent within the Middle East. The earliest evidence for emmer being deliberately grown by humans for food (domestication) was from at least 12,000 years ago.

Ancient humans, just like us today, enjoyed eating wheat products (I love my pizza!). Where it grows abundantly, wheat is easily harvested and can be stored for extended periods of time, making it a stable source of vegetable protein. Thus, some of the first civilizations, like the Babylonians and Assyrians, sprung up in the Fertile Crescent. Emmer wheat spread to Greece, Cyprus, and India by 6500 BCE, and to Egypt shortly after. In fact, the Egyptians are the first people known to make bread.

The Patty

Now let’s get to the deliciousness housed between the buns: the patty. Traditional cheeseburgers are made from beef, which comes from cattle. Unlike emmer wheat, cattle, which descended from wild oxen called aurochs, were domesticated separately in two (possibly three) different places: the Fertile Crescent, the Indus Valley (modern-day Pakistan), and possibly northeast Africa 10,000-8000 years ago. From there, domesticated cattle spread across the continents of Africa, Asia, and Europe.

Cattle were one of the first mammals to be domesticated. They provide many useful products used for consumption (meat, milk, fat) and tool making (horns, hooves, hides). Additionally, their large size allowed them to pull heavy objects like plows for farming. Because of their importance, many religions and cultures considered cattle to be sacred. In Ancient Egypt, many of their gods had cattle forms, including Hathor, Ptah, Menthu, and Atum-Ra, Ancient Greeks often used cattle as sacrifices to the gods. Even today, Hindus do not eat cattle meat.

The Cheese

Finally, a cheeseburger would hardly be a cheeseburger without the cheese (which is made from milk). Although cow milk is the most popular source material today, cheese was originally made from goat or sheep milk. Cheesemaking began over 4,000 years ago, but how it started is unclear. Legend has it that it was an Arabian merchant who accidentally created the first cheese. He put his milk in a pouch made from a sheep’s stomach as he traversed across the desert. Sheep stomachs contain an enzyme called rennet, and when the milk chemically reacted to the enzyme and heat from the sun, it separated into curd and whey. The curd is what we commonly refer to as the cheese.

Although cheesemaking’s origins remain ambiguous, the Romans were the first to make cheesemaking a widespread industry. Aging and smoking cheese extends the product’s shelf-life, enabling Roman soldiers to carry this excellent source of protein with them. As they conquered the European continent, they spread their cheesemaking. At the height of the Roman empire, they were making and trading hundreds of different kinds of cheese. Only later during European colonization was cheese spread to the Americas and Asia.

The Cheeseburger

So what genius put it all together? None other than a 16-year-old named Lionel Sternberger. His father owned a sandwich shop, and one day in 1924, Lionel put a slice of American cheese on one of his father’s hamburgers. He called it a “cheese hamburger.” One decade later, a Kaelin’s restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky gave the sandwich the name “cheeseburger,” which was trademarked in 1935 by Louis Ballast of Humpty Dumpty Drive-In.

man wearing pink glasses and a hat holding a cheeseburger

The End (of This Story of Deliciousness)

Who knew that there was so much behind a basic cheeseburger? From sheep stomach pouches to Babylonians, each played a role in creating the cheeseburger in your hands. Even Pittsburgh has some cheeseburger fame! Did you know that Jim Delligatti, who owned a restaurant in Uniontown PA, part of the Greater Pittsburgh Region, created the McDonald’s Big Mac in 1967?

Angela Wu is a Teen Volunteer in the Education Department. Museum employees, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Sources:

The Big Mac turns 40, gets a museum. (2007, August 26). ABC News. Retrieved August 9, 2020, from https://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=3524528&page=1#:~:text=The%20Big%20Mac%20was%20first,staple%20of%20McDonald’s%20menus%20nationwide.

Cooper, R. (2015, July). Re-discovering ancient wheat varieties as functional foods. ScienceDirect. Retrieved August 5, 2020, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2225411015000401

Cownie, E. (2018, August 27). Why cattle mattered in the Ancient World. Medium. Retrieved August 8, 2020, from https://medium.com/@emmafcownie/why-cattle-mattered-in-the-ancient-world-4e27b1c37e58

Hirst, K. (2019, July 9). Wheat Domestication. ThoughtCo. Retrieved August 6, 2020, from https://www.thoughtco.com/wheat-domestication-the-history-170669

History of Cheese. (2020, January 25). International Dairy Foods Association. Retrieved August 6, 2020, from https://www.idfa.org/history-of-cheese

Mitzewich, J. (2020, May 15). Who Invented the All-American Cheeseburger? The Spruce Eats. Retrieved August 7, 2020, from https://www.thespruceeats.com/birth-of-the-cheeseburger-101426

Pitt, D., Sevane, N., Nicolazzi, E. L., MacHugh, D. E., Park, S., Colli, L., Martinez, R., Bruford, M. W., & Orozco-terWengel, P. (2018). Domestication of cattle: Two or three events?. Evolutionary applications, 12(1), 123–136. https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.12674

Roberts, B. (2018, March 5). The Fascinating 7,500 Year History of Cheese. Forbes. Retrieved August 5, 2020, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianroberts/2018/03/05/the-history-of-cheese/#4807da304ca1

The Bromacker Fossil Project Part XI: Dimetrodon teutonis, an apex predator

Holotype specimen of *Dimetrodon teutonis*, which consists of a partial vertebral column. The preserved portion of this vertebral column is highlighted in the reconstruction of *Dimetrodon* (lower right). Photograph by the author, 2007. *Dimetrodon* reconstruction modified from Romer and Price, 1940.

Specimens of two top predators have been discovered at the Bromacker quarry. Like Martensius, both are basal members of the group Synapsida, the later members of which gave rise to mammals. You might be familiar with one of them – Dimetrodon, a synapsid sometimes incorrectly portrayed with dinosaurs, which carried a tall sail on its back that was supported by bony spines. The other is a new genus and species that will be presented in my next post.

The fossil pictured above, the first-discovered specimen of Dimetrodon from the Bromacker quarry, may not look like much, but it was the first record of Dimetrodon outside of North America. The circumstances under which it was found were very different from the discovery of other fossils from the Bromacker quarry. Before Dave Berman and I arrived for the 1999 field season, Thomas Martens noticed that someone, possibly a fossil poacher, had been in the quarry overnight and knocked some rocks off the quarry lip. The rocks apparently broke upon hitting the ground, which exposed some bones. Thomas carefully picked them up and took them to his lab at the Museum der Natur, Gotha (MNG). When Dave and I met Thomas at the quarry on our first day of the field season, Thomas mentioned the find and told us that he thought the bones were ribs. We didn’t think much of it, other than horror at learning a fossil poacher might have visited the quarry overnight, one of our worst fears.

As planned, Dave and I spent the last day of the field season in the museum collections, and when Thomas let us in that morning, he reminded us to look at the potential ribs and told us where they were. Shortly after we began examining them, Dave and I simultaneously realized that the “ribs” were actually spines of Dimetrodon. We couldn’t believe our eyes, because of all the Early Permian fossils known from North America, Dimetrodon was Thomas’ favorite. Indeed, he’d used an image of it on signs at the Bromacker and included a model of Dimetrodon in a diorama, once on display in the MNG, that showed models of Bromacker animals in their environment. Thomas jumped for joy later that day when we gave him the news.

So how did Dave and I so quickly realize that the “ribs” were spines of Dimetrodon? Besides Dimetrodon, some other basal synapsids had sails, the function of which remains unknown, though scientists have speculated they could’ve been used for display or regulating body temperature. The spines (known as neural spines) supporting the sails vary in shape and length, with those of Dimetrodon and its herbivorous relative Edaphosaurus being tall and narrow, and those of another relative, the carnivorous Sphenacodon, being shorter and blade-like. Neural spines of Dimetrodon are easy to distinguish, because in addition to being long they bear fore and aft grooves, which create a dumbbell-shaped cross-sectional outline, and they lack the ‘crossbars’ that occur on the long neural spines of Edaphosaurus. When Dave and I saw the fore and aft grooves, the dumbbell-shaped cross-sectional outline of some broken spine ends, and an absence of crossbars, we knew that the “ribs” were indeed spines of Dimetrodon.

Flesh reconstructions of *Sphenacodon sp*. (left), *Dimetrodon grandis* (middle), and *Edaphosaurus pogonias* (right) to show the differences between their sails. Note that *Dimetrodon* and *Sphenacodon* are more closely related to one another than they are to *Edaphosaurus*, despite their different sail shapes. Reconstructions of *Sphenacodon* and *Dimetrodon* by Dmitry Bogdanov and that of *Edaphosaurus* by Nobu Tamura, all from Wikimedia Commons.

The Bromacker Dimetrodon is considerably smaller than other known species of the genus, and this is one character among other more detailed anatomical features that distinguishes it. For the new species name, Dave selected the Latin “teutonis,” which means an individual of a German tribe, in reference to the geographic origin of the holotype specimen.

Two additional specimens of *Dimetrodon teutonis*. Left, hindleg and shoulder girdle bone (fused scapulocoracoid) and right, several vertebrae bearing complete to nearly complete neural spines of an individual that was larger and presumably more mature than the holotype. Photographs by the author, 2007.

Dave was able to use a mathematical equation involving measurements of the vertebrae to estimate the holotype’s weight as a living animal at 31 pounds. In contrast, other known Dimetrodon species have estimated weights of about 81–550 pounds. We later discovered additional partial specimens of Dimetrodon at the Bromacker quarry, and Dave estimated the weight of the largest specimen with vertebrae at 53 pounds, still considerably less than that of what had previously been the smallest species, D. natalis from Texas. Dimetrodon is otherwise known from numerous species from the American mid-continent and southwest that generally got larger through time.

Reconstructions of various species of Dimetrodon drawn to scale. The diminutive D. teutonis is at bottom center and D. natalis, no longer the smallest species, is at bottom left. Illustration adapted from Dmitry Bogdanov via Wikimedia Commons.

All Dimetrodon species have teeth adapted for meat-eating in being teardrop-shaped with sharp edges for slashing flesh. By size and jaw position these sharp teeth are divided into precanines, canines, and postcanines of varying numbers. Unlike D. teutonis, some species even had fine serrations on their tooth edges. The only known upper jaw bone of Dimetrodon teutonis clearly has two canines, but one is missing and represented by a large gap in the tooth row that would have accommodated this tooth. The second canine is represented only by its broad base, but it too must have been large. Although it was a small animal, the teeth of D. teutonis indicate that it was a meat-eater and as such would have preyed on other vertebrates from the Bromacker, many of which were even smaller.

Diagrammatic drawing of the skull of Dimetrodon (left) and photograph of the maxilla or upper jaw bone (right) of D.teutonis. Abbreviations: c, canine; pc, postcanine; prc, precanine. Photographs by the author, 2007. Drawing of skull from Wikimedia Commons.

Stay tuned for my next post, which will be about the second-known apex carnivore from the Bromacker. In the meantime, here are links to scientific papers on Dimetrodon teutonis:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325670232_A_new_species_of_Dimetrodon_Synapsida_Sphenacodontidae_from_the_Lower_Permian_of_Germany_records_first_occurrence_of_genus_outside_of_North_America

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/288544821_New_materials_of_Dimetrodon_teutonis_Synapsida_Sphenacodontidae_from_the_Lower_Permian_of_Germany

Keep Reading

The Bromacker Fossil Project Part XII: Tambacarnifex unguifalcatus, the Tambach Executioner

November 3, 2020 by wpengine

Turkeys

by Stephen Rogers

November is the month best known for the holiday celebrated on the fourth Thursday of the month, Thanksgiving, which revolves around one of the classiest of birds in Pennsylvania, the Wild Turkey. Most people are familiar with the local, reasonably tame, birds that roam around Pittsburgh, but few know the history of this noble bird. By the early 1900s habitat loss and over-hunting had left the species in dire shape. Wild turkeys disappeared at one point from Ohio, New York, as well as 16 other states of its original range. The Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) can be credited with bringing back the species in the state. The birds became more common field and forest scenery beginning in the mid-1980’s as the agency abandoned a turkey farm that produced captive-bred birds for stocking, and focused restorations efforts on trapping wild turkeys from the areas with sustainable populations, notably northcentral PA and the mountainous areas of Somerset and Westmoreland counties, and re-locating them to areas with suitable habitat. The PGC continues to set the hunting seasons within the state, expanding or restricting both the time periods and locations for hunting to maintain a healthy wild turkey population.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History has wild turkey egg sets, skeletons, study skins, taxidermy mounts, and some fluid-preserved specimens from eight states as well as a couple from the failed PGC turkey farm. I was raised in northcentral PA and have contributed two turkey specimens to the collection over my years of working for the museum. One of these, a preserved fluid head, had the distinction of being dissected to study its brain by an ornithologist at the Smithsonian Institution who worked with a CMNH curator, Brad Livezey. They studied higher-level phylogeny and their publication can be seen here.

In recent years the PGC has brought back turkey hunting for two days around Thanksgiving throughout that state as an addition to regional seasons that vary depending on population levels. Because we are encouraged to blog, I thought I would relate a Thanksgiving Turkey tale here.

Among my most memorable Thanksgivings was the holiday 49 years ago, in 1971, when our family had the family of my mother’s twin sister over for dinner. Hunting was what occupied most of my waking thoughts in those days, but my hunting partner, my dad, had to work that morning and it became my task to take my Uncle John and cousin Ronnie out in four inches of new snow that had fallen the day before. My aunt, who was undergoing breast cancer treatment, wanted to spend time with her twin to celebrate perhaps their last holiday together. For these sisters and their daughters, getting the “menfolk” out of the way seemed to be the best way to create the proper atmosphere.

I had never hunted with Uncle John or Ronnie before, but I knew where to find a turkey flock. After a mile-long hike we busted up a flock and John promptly missed one of the scattering big birds. At this point we split up, hoping to run into lone turkeys as they tried to regroup. I headed in the direction of some of the fleeing birds to use a turkey call, while John and Ronnie sat amid the large laurel thicket we had rousted the flock from.

After a period of time, Uncle John had to do what bears are notoriously known for doing in the woods. An experienced hunter would always keep his shotgun handy anywhere while hunting, but John leaned his gun against a tree and went a few feet away to do his business. Of course, out came a few turkeys into a clearing just yards away from him, looking at him with apparent wonder at what he was doing with his pants down.

We never got a turkey that day, but among the many Thanksgivings I have experienced it was the most memorable. As we all ate turkey around the ping-pong table in the basement that evening, Uncle John took his ribbing with great humility, and the banter took my aunt’s thoughts away from the cancer which was late stage at that time.

As we commemorated Breast Cancer Awareness last month, it should be on everyone’s mind that mammograms should still be done in this era of COVID.

I hope to take my gun out for a walk this Thanksgiving, but I imagine the turkeys will socially distance from me. Shooting a bird isn’t the end all of a hunt, it’s the memories we make afield.

For more history on the wild turkey see:

History of the Wild Turkey in North America

A Look Back at Wild Turkeys

Stephen Rogers is Collection Manager in the Section of Birds at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Did Neanderthals Make Musical Instruments?

Do you like to listen to music? Have you ever admired the skill of a musician? Maybe you even know how to play an instrument yourself. Unsurprisingly, humans (Homo sapiens) have enjoyed this rewarding art for all of recorded history. In fact, the earliest evidence of musical instrument construction dates back to the great unknown ages of prehistory.

In 1995, researchers excavating deposits thought to be between 40,000 and 60,000 years old in a cave called Divje Babe (which translates to “Witch Cave”) in Slovenia found the femur (a leg bone) of a juvenile cave bear with an unusual line of small holes perforating one side. The find was recognized as being a fragment of a flute-like musical instrument. Due to the age and location of the discovery, the manufacture of the flute was attributed to Homo neanderthalensis (the Neanderthals) rather than Homo sapiens!

This discovery was extremely important in shaping our view of the Neanderthals, another species of hominid with which we share a common ancestor. Prior to this, they were often viewed as brutish, animalistic, and wholly incapable of aesthetic sensibilities. However, if they made musical instruments and played them for entertainment or ritual purposes, these activities mean that the Neanderthals were creating a complex culture reminiscent of our own when they went extinct around 40,000 years ago for reasons still unclear. The ability to modify a material so that it can then be used to create a variety of pitches implies, in the minds of some researchers, greater motor ability and a higher capacity for abstract thought.

There are many skeptics, however. Some posit that the holes in the bones are the result of hyenas making a meal of a juvenile cave bear, while others point to uncertainty about exactly when the perforations in the bone were created. Perhaps the interpretation of a modified bone as a musical instrument is all exaggeration brought on by our desire to relate to those who came so long before us. As of this writing, the scientific community is still undecided about how the holes into the bone were created and when it happened. There are two things we can all agree on, though: we hope someday to uncover the true origin of the Divje Babe bone flute, and musical instruments certainly rank among the greatest inventions of members of the genus Homo.

Niko Borish is a Teen Volunteer in the Education Department. Museum employees, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Works Cited

Montagu, J. (2017, June 20). How Music and Instruments Began: A Brief Overview of the Origin and Entire Development of Music, from Its Earliest Stages (A. Nikolsky, Ed.). Frontiers in Sociology. Retrieved September 5, 2020, from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2017.00008/full

National Museum of Slovenia (Ed.). (n.d.). Neanderthal flute. Narodni Muzej Slovenije. Retrieved September 5, 2020, from https://www.nms.si/en/collections/highlights/343-Neanderthal-flute

The Royal Society. (2015, April 9). Are Neanderthal bone flutes the work of Ice Age hyenas? Phys.org. Retrieved September 5, 2020, from https://phys.org/news/2015-04-neanderthal-bone-flutes-ice-age.html

University of Wisconsin (Ed.). (2017). Neanderthal jam. The Why Files. Retrieved September 5, 2020, from https://whyfiles.org/114music/4.html

Mesozoic Monthly: Gargoyleosaurus

Do you know what you’re going to dress up as for Halloween? This year, I’ll be going to work dressed as Velma Dinkley from Scooby-Doo. For the October edition of Mesozoic Monthly, I’ll be ‘unmasking’ a dinosaur with a monstrous name: Gargoyleosaurus parkpinorum, an armored dinosaur from the Jurassic Period!

Handy infographic of the ankylosaur *Gargoyleosaurus parkpinorum* showing its appearance, size, geographic and temporal occurrence, and more. Art by cisiopurple on DeviantArt, used with permission.

Gargoyleosaurus belongs to my favorite group of dinosaurs: the ankylosaurs! The group Ankylosauria is comprised of many big-bodied herbivores covered in osteoderms, which are pieces of bone embedded in the skin that act like armor. Their osteoderms came in many shapes and sizes, from tiny ossicles that protected their bellies, to large, fused pieces of bone that formed club-like structures on their tails. In most cases you can easily distinguish between the two major groups of ankylosaurs based on their style of osteoderms (though there are other features that distinguish them as well). Ankylosaurids are famous for their tail clubs: the last vertebrae in their tail overlap to form a rigid ‘handle’ that ends with a mass of fused osteoderms akin to a club. Nodosaurids, their sister group, sported massive osteoderm spikes on their shoulders instead of clubs on their tails. Some paleontologists distinguish a third group of ankylosaurs, called polacanthids, which have a rectangular ‘pelvic shield’ made of fused osteoderms that rests over the hips. There’s a lot of overlap between ‘nodosaurid’ and ‘polacanthid’ characteristics, though, so ankylosaurs with pelvic shields are typically grouped in with the nodosaurids instead of being recognized as their own group.

Conveniently, the Dinosaur Armor temporary exhibition at Carnegie Museum of Natural History features representatives of all three (or both, depending on your taxonomic preference!) ankylosaur subgroups: the ankylosaurid Akainacephalus, the nodosaurid Peloroplites, and the polacanthid (= nodosaurid?) Gastonia.

The imposing nodosaurid ankylosaur *Peloroplites* as seen in CMNH’s *Dinosaur Armor* exhibition. Check out those giant, spike-shaped shoulder osteoderms, a nodosaurid hallmark. Photo by Matt Lamanna.

There’s been some debate over where to place Gargoyleosaurus on the ankylosaur family tree because it displays a range of features from both major groups. It has pointy, horn-like osteoderms on the back of its head, which is a feature of ankylosaurids, but its skeleton lacks evidence of a tail club or other ankylosaurid characteristics. It also has a long snout, shoulder spines, and a pelvic shield, all features of nodosaurid (or polacanthid) ankylosaurs. The best explanation for the mix of features seen in Gargoyleosaurus is that it was one of the most basal nodosaurids, meaning it was one of the earliest nodosaurids to evolve and is therefore located at the base of the group’s evolutionary tree. If Gargoyleosaurus was a basal nodosaurid, that would explain why it still had features similar to those of ankylosaurids: because it had only recently evolved from the common ancestor of ankylosaurids and nodosaurids, not enough time had elapsed for features of that common ancestor (such as ankylosaurid-like skull osteoderms) to be removed by natural selection. This would be in keeping with the status of Gargoyleosaurus as one of the geologically oldest ankylosaurs of any kind discovered to date.

Albany County, Wyoming, ca. 150,000,000 B.P.: a solitary *Gargoyleosaurus* enjoys a shady spot by a stream in its Morrison Formation ecosystem. Art by Batavotyrannus on DeviantArt, used with permission.

No matter which ankylosaur subgroup Gargoyleosaurus belongs to, everyone can agree that it was a well-armored tank. Armor is a very useful defense against predators, since it generally covers the most vulnerable places on the body, such as the neck. Gargoyleosaurus lived in what is now the Morrison Formation, a famous set of rocks in the western US made of sediment deposited during the late Jurassic Period (the second of three periods in the Mesozoic Era, or Age of Dinosaurs). Most of the Jurassic dinosaurs on display at CMNH come from the Morrison Formation, such as our beloved long-necked sauropod Diplodocus, the even more massive sauropod Apatosaurus, and the forever popular Stegosaurus. But the Morrison ecosystem was home to a horde of formidable carnivores too—Allosaurus, Ceratosaurus, and Torvosaurus among them—so the armor of Gargoyleosaurus undoubtedly came in very handy. Contrary to what certain “Jurassic” franchises would lead you to believe, though, Tyrannosaurus rex did not live during the Jurassic Period, and so it never interacted with Gargoyleosaurus or any other members of the Morrison dinosaur community. That said, if trick-or-treating had been a possibility in the Jurassic, I’d imagine those inflatable T. rex Halloween costumes might have been very popular. Who doesn’t love those silly costumes?!

Clams in the Concrete! How Old is this Sidewalk?

Mollusk shells persist long after the death of the soft-bodied animals whose secretions formed the protective covers. These sturdy remains can inform us about species living in an area at that time. Many mollusks occur in specific habitats and during certain time periods in Earth’s history. When we find mollusks in sediment with dinosaur bones, for example, we receive a clue about the geologic age and habitat in which those dinosaurs lived. When mollusks first appear in an area, deposits containing their shells allow us to estimate when events in Earth’s history occurred, including archaeological events, or even relatively recent construction projects.

This morning as I walked across the Panther Hollow bridge near Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, I noticed clam shells in the concrete of the sidewalk. What can the presence of these clam shells tell me about how long that sidewalk has been there?

tip of boat shoe on sidewalk near clam shell for scale

clam shell embedded in concrete — Top: Clam shell in sidewalk on Panther Hollow Bridge. Bottom: Close-up of clam shell, inside view. Scale in mm.

Concrete is a mixture of cement with sand and gravel. When sand and gravel are taken from rivers, this natural resource sometimes contains clam shells. I believe the clam shells in this sidewalk were scooped up along with the sand and gravel to make the concrete. Then after the sidewalk was poured, but before it fully hardened, the clam shells floated to the upper surface.

As an aside, information about comparative densities is instructive here. Two common crystal forms of calcium carbonate are calcite and aragonite, which have different densities (calcite 2.71g/cc, aragonite 2.93). Most mollusks form shells of aragonite. However, shells are not pure aragonite, containing small amounts of protein and other substances, so clam shells can have densities around 2.5-2.6. In comparison, the density of quartz, which makes up much of the sand used in making concrete, is 2.65. The clam shells are slightly lighter than the sand, which probably explains why they floated up to the sidewalk surface.

I identified these clam shells as Corbicula fluminea (common name: the Asian clam). They have the characteristic shape and size, the outside has strong regular growth ribs, and on the inside, the lateral teeth bear minute serrations. This species was first recorded in North America in British Columbia about 1924. As an invasive species, it has spread, through human activity, to at least 46 US States.

close up of clam shell embedded in concrete — Top: Outside view of clam showing strong ribs. Middle: Partly broken clam, inside view showing external rib impressions in concrete below. Bottom: Close-up of clam’s lateral teeth showing minute serrations. Scale in mm.

When did the species appear in southwestern Pennsylvania? There is a record of Corbicula fluminea in 1979 from the Ohio River just downstream from Pittsburgh and another in Greene County, southwestern Pennsylvania from 1981. Museum records of this species became more common after about 1993, suggesting that the clam probably became more common about then.

top of clam shell on blue background — *Corbicula fluminea* collected in 1993 from Loyalhanna Creek, Southwestern Pennsylvania. Top: inside of shell. Bottom: outside of shell showing strong ribs. Scale in mm.

Consequently, I conclude that the Corbicula fluminea-containing concrete sidewalk on the bridge next to Carnegie Museum must have been poured after the late 1970s, and possibly after 1993, when the clam became abundant in freshwater of western Pennsylvania, the region where Pittsburgh is located.

Museum collections provide useful information about when non-native species arrived in an area. Now you know that one of the many uses of mollusks is estimating ages of things.

Although some people might think of clams as an abstract concept, here is an example of clams in the concrete!

Timothy A. Pearce, PhD, is the head of the mollusks section at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Duck Bite

Most people assume that ducks are pretty friendly birds. That assumption was not necessarily demonstrated when I was sitting on a bench at a boardwalk in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, enjoying a double scoop of Ben & Jerry’s with my friend. As we savored our ice cream, a well-deserved treat after practicing rigorously for an orchestra competition, one of the many ducks that spend their days along the boardwalk waddled close to our bench.

Unconcerned, we continued to converse. Soon, the duck was right by my foot, investigating my cone, and I was frozen, unsure about what to do. I nervously continued to eat my ice cream, ignoring my new feathered friend and hoping it would waddle on. That, however, was not the case. After examining my ice cream cone for a couple more seconds, the duck sounded two warning quacks, and then proceeded to grab my pinky finger. My beloved ice cream cone fell to the ground, as I sat shell shocked wondering why this duck had unleashed the wrath of its beak upon me.

My mind was left with one lingering question—why? In my experience, most ducks fly away if a human gets close to them. So why did this duck approach me with its eyes set on my ice cream cone? The answer was in the duck’s environment.

The large flocks of mallard ducks that swarmed that fated boulevard had a single temptation: the fish food dispensers stationed around the area that visitors used to feed the fish in the large pond nearby. As a result, many ducks patrolled the area, hoping to be fed by visitors. The constant contact with humans tamed the mallards; their inherent fear of humans was overridden by the hands that fed them.

Taming, often confused with domestication, is the process of making individual animals comfortable around humans. Domestication, on the other hand, is a process involving multiple generations of selective breeding, to strengthen favored traits.

Mallard ducks, the species of duck that inhabited the boulevard, are very easily tamed through regular feeding. Therefore, the ducks developed a learned behavior, one formed through experience, to approach humans for food. Thus, the duck, most likely familiar with humans feeding it, approached me. Assuming my waffle cone was intended for its stomach, it promptly bit me when I refused.

However, feeding (most) wild animals can be a detriment to their lives. A well-maintained bird feeder in your backyard is okay, as the feed can supplement birds’ diets. However, feeding other wildlife can cause a higher risk of disease transmission, as well as diet problems for wild animals. Feeding wild animals causes them to become more dependent on humans.

Consequently, they may start to hang around areas heavily populated with humans, which can lead to disease transmission and rash behavior towards us.

Moral of the story: don’t feed the ducks junk food, it’ll come back to bite someone else in the pinky.

Samhita Vasudevan is a Teen Volunteer in the Education Department. Museum employees, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Works Cited
Bittel, Jason. “Why You Shouldn’t Feed Wild Animals (Except Maybe Birds).” National Geographic, National Geographic Partners, 5 July 2019, www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/07/dont-feed-wild-animals-except-birds/. Accessed 15 Aug. 2020.

Brittingham, Margaret C., and Stanley A. Temple. “Does Winter Bird Feeding Promote Dependency?” Searchable Ornithological Research Archive, University of New Mexico, 1991, https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/jfo/v063n02/p0190-p0194.pdf. Accessed 1 October 2020.

“Don’t Feed the Wildlife.” United States Department of Agriculture, 2 June 2020, www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/wildlifedamage/sa_program_overview/ct_dontfeedw ildlife. Accessed 10 Aug. 2020.

“Learned Behavior of Animals.” LibreTexts, 15 Aug. 2020, bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Introductory_and_General_Biology/Book%3A_Introducto ry_Biology_(CK-12)/10%3A_Animals/10.05%3A_Learned_Behavior_of_Animals. Accessed 16 Aug. 2020.

“Living with Wildlife.” Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center, 2020, www.southwestwildlife.org/resources/living-with-wildlife.html. Accessed 8 Aug. 2020.

“Mallard Duck.” National Wildlife Crime Unit, 2020, www.nwcu.police.uk/animal-of-the-month/mallard-duck/. Accessed 9 Aug. 2020.

Sadedine, Suzanne. “Why Can Some Animals Be Domesticated, but Not Others?” Forbes, Forbes Media, 24 Oct. 2016 www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2016/10/24/why-can-some-animals-be-domesticated-but-no t-others/#68c454de5df4. Accessed 9 Aug. 2020.

Collected on This Day 98 Years Ago

Chestnuts (used to be) on Chestnut Ridge

And across the entire state of Pennsylvania.

American chestnut (Castanea dentata) was once a very common tree, native from Maine to Mississippi. In the heart of the Appalachians, the historical range covered the entire state of Pennsylvania. I say “historical” and “once a very common tree” because it is no longer. You may occasionally stumble upon an American chestnut tree, especially small trees and saplings persisting as sprouts from the large trees that graced our landscape a century ago. Older trees, with mature fruits, are quite rare.

In fact, some estimates suggest American chestnut accounted for one in four trees in some forests! So, what happened? In the early 1900s, a disease caused by a pathogenic fungus (Cryphonectria parasitica) was accidentally introduced with imported Asian trees. It was first recorded in New York City in 1904. In a matter of decades, American chestnut was nearly decimated by this disease known as Chestnut blight.

The Carnegie Museum of Natural History herbarium captures this change in our forests.

American chestnut specimen on herbarium sheet

This specimen of American chestnut was collected by influential Carnegie Museum curator Otto Jennings on October 21, 1922 on a field trip of the Botanical Society of Western Pennsylvania to Chestnut Ridge, near Derry Township, Pennsylvania. Chestnut Ridge is a ridge of the Allegheny Mountains, presumably named for its (once) many American chestnuts.

This specimen is from the fruit collection of the herbarium. These specimens are different than the “standard” pressed flat specimens on paper. Instead, they are stored to maintain their three-dimensional structure.

Note the note made by Jennings on the label on this specimen: “Trees from ¼ to all killed by blight.”

The case of the American chestnut is an interesting one. It served important cultural and ecological roles; some even calling it a “keystone” species. There is no doubt that the functional extinction of American chestnut ricocheted through the ecosystem, causing long-term biological changes. Many of these changes we may not know. Yet, at the same time, despite the species importance, our forests continue. Presumably other species have filled the functional and physical space of American chestnut.

Disease and pest outbreaks in Pennsylvania’s forests continue. Many of our critical tree species are likely to decline in coming years and decades. Some iconic species have already declined or are at risk. These include our ash species (mortality caused by introduced Emerald Ash Borer), American beech (Beech leaf disease, Beech bark disease caused by an introduced scale insect), and eastern hemlock (mortality caused by introduced sap sucking bug, the hemlock woolly adelgid)…to name only a few threats.

What will Penn’s woods look like in another 100 years?

Our collections document the past and present to inform our decisions for the future.

Find this American chestnut specimen here (along with 268 others!): https://midatlanticherbaria.org/portal/collections/list.php?db=328&includecult=1&taxa=Castanea+dentata&usethes=1&taxontype=2

Booseum: Wiggly Worms Activity

Wiggling gummy worms are super delightful for little inquiring minds.

*This activity requires adult supervision!

What You’ll Need

Gummy worms
Baking soda
Vinegar
Two clear cups or glasses
Small kitchen knife

Directions

Cut gummy worms into two strips lengthwise
Fill clear glass with 1 cup warm water and 2 Tbsp. baking soda and stir.
Add gummy worm strips and soak for 15 minutes.
In the meantime, fill second glass with vinegar.
After 15 minutes, scoop gummy worms out of glass with baking soda and transfer to the glass with vinegar.
Watch your gummies wiggle.

What’s happening to my gummies?

Acetic acid in vinegar plus bicarbonate in baking soda equals carbon dioxide gas bubbles. Acid + Base = Bubbly reaction. The baking soda absorbing into the gummy worms makes bubbles when transferred to the vinegar. Bubbles rise to the top, taking your gummy worm with them giving the appearance of wiggly worms.

Try different gummy worm lengths and sizes to see which ones wiggle the most, which ones wiggles the least, and which ones don’t wiggle at all. Take notes in a notebook and draw some pictures. Measure with a ruler for exact measurements.

What other gummies wiggle? Gummy bears, gummy spiders, gummy insects?

October 16, 2020 by Kathleen

Booseum: Hotdog Mummification Activity

Most people associate mummies with Ancient Egypt. The remains of dead people and animals have been mummified at many places in the world, sometimes as a planned process, and sometimes because of ideal climate conditions for preservation. In this activity you can use a hotdog to find out how mummification occurs — just be sure to have a grownup to help!

What You’ll Need

Uncooked hotdog (cut up fruit pieces can be used in place of a hotdog)
Ziploc or an air-tight, sealable bag/container
Salt or baking soda
Cutting board/ newspaper to keep workspace clean
Ruler
Kitchen scale (optional)

On the desert road from Cairo to Sheikh Abada

Directions

Line the bottom of the bag/container with at least one inch of baking soda (bottom should be covered thoroughly and not visible).
OPTIONAL: measure and weigh your hotdog with the ruler and kitchen scale. Then record your results!
Place the uncooked hotdog in a Ziploc or sealable bag/container.
Cover the hot dog completely in another layer of baking soda.
Place the bag/container in a dark location with a neutral temperature.

The Ziploc bag or sealed container is like a portable desert! Deserts can be hot or cold. Their defining condition is little yearly precipitation, in the form of rain or snow. Because deserts are so dry, it takes bacteria far longer to break down or decompose organic material. This allows once living tissues to be preserved—so long as they remain in the same dry conditions. The process of organic material drying out or mummifying is called desiccation and will start to happen to your hotdog in as little as 2 days!

Examine your hotdog after a few days. If you weighed and measured it before, do so now. What’s different? Does it still feel the same? You can put the hotdog back in the Ziploc bag or container and leave it for a few more days and repeat this process. Just don’t eat the hotdog when you’re done!

October 16, 2020 by wpengine

Superstitions and Black Cats

The number 13, four-leaf clovers, walking under an open ladder, stepping on a crack in the sidewalk, and opening an umbrella inside are just a few of the superstitions that I learned about as a child—either from my own family or from friends. As an adult, it might be easy to laugh off superstitions or look at data to “disprove” them, but there is no denying that superstitions are present in cultures across the globe. And they have a real impact on the way people experience the world.

A study published in the International Journal of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences describes the possible origin of superstitions as a way of creating the perception of “having control over outer conditions” (1). This means that superstitions are used to create understanding and exert control over aspects of our lives that we may have little to no control over, like the weather. Additionally, in an interview with the British Psychological Society psychologist Stuart Vyse explains there is evidence that performance in skills-based activities may be improved when “luck-enhancing” superstitions are employed (2). His statement suggests that superstitious behavior has a psychological benefit or reduction in anxiety for the individual.

Now that we have a small understanding of the origin and impact of superstitions, I’d like to look specifically at one object of superstition that often appears around this time of year: black cats.

Figure 1: Black cat in front of a window. Credit: @daykittymeow on Instagram, used with permission.

Before taking the time to learn more about the superstitious history of black cats, I thought that they were only considered a sign of bad luck, but I quickly discovered that this is not the case! Black cats appear in the folklore of many more cultures as both good and bad omens. In some European folklore, black cats are considered common companions of witches and bringers of misfortune if they happened to cross your path. In contrast, Welsh folklore depicts black cats would bring luck to a home and could even be a reliable weather predictor (3).

Did you know of these superstitions about black cats? Are there any other superstitions or other lucky rituals that you practice?

Figure 2: Black cat sitting in a green box. Credit: @daykittymeow on Instagram, used with permission.

If this post inspired you to adopt a black cat of your own, don’t forget to check out our Cat Adoption Guide!

Riley A. Riley is a Gallery Experience Presenter in CMNH’s Life Long Learning Department. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Sources:

1. Mandal, F. (2018). Superstitions: A Culturally Transmitted Human Behavior. http://article.sapub.org/10.5923.j.ijpbs.20180804.02.html

2. Fradera, A. (2016, November). The everyday magic of superstition. https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-29/november-2016/everyday-magic-superstition

3. Owen, E. (2006). WELSH FOLK-LORE: A collection of the folk-tales and legends of north wales. Project Gutenberg. http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/20096

The Jack-O-Lantern’s Origins

It’s dark out. The wind blows through the branches, bringing a chill that isn’t necessarily due to the temperature. Suddenly you find yourself hyper aware of every sound around you, and you start as you realize you see a pair of eyes glowing at you…until you realize it’s a jack-o-lantern. Happy Halloween, indeed.

You may be wonder how jack-o-lanterns became so popular, or why we carve them out of pumpkins. To know the origins of jack-o-lanterns, we have to go all the way back across the Atlantic to the fens, or marshes, of rural Ireland. In the early 1600’s, the legend of a shadowy figure began to arise known as Stingy Jack (Jack the Smith, Drunk Jack, Flakey Jack, and other names are also in the folklore and can be used interchangeably).

The most popular version of the tale involves Jack first tricking the Devil into changing his form, then trapping him in his transfigured state. Jack then offered the Devil out of the deal in exchange for not taking his soul for a long time. Some longer versions of the story have the Devil being tricked 3 or 4 different times.

Eventually though, time caught up with Jack and he was unable to trick the Devil again. Stingy Jack was sentenced to roam the Earth for all eternity with nothing but an ember given to him by the Devil to light his way.

There is also other folklore from this time surrounding what’s known as ignis fatuus, or false fire. False fire is an actual occurrence— scientifically, ignis fatuss, is known as marsh gas and occurs during the spontaneous ignition of methane created by decaying plant matter in marshes or swampy areas. These two legends began to intertwine—when many people in the moors of the British Isles saw the naturally occurring marsh gas, they attributed to Stingy Jack.

Many people in those areas also continued the Gaelic celebration of Samhain, with its rituals of going from house to house in search of food and drink (these are the origins Trick or Treating). As it was naturally dark in pre-industrial revolution Ireland, many would carve turnips, potatoes or other root vegetables and add coals or candles to create makeshift lanterns to help guide those celebrating. Occasionally these would be carved with faces, a tradition that continues to this day in Britain and Ireland.

The waves of immigrants created by the Great Potato Famine of the 1840’s. As with most immigrants also had a role in traditional jack-o-lanterns. They arrived in America to celebrate Halloween and were able to find a very particular new world crop that was much larger and easier to carve than their root vegetables of home; the winter squash, the most famous of which is a pumpkin. (There are also several French recipes for a pumpkin soup that suggest carving pumpkins for decoration as early as the 1760’s).

Pumpkins themselves were introduced by the Indigenous Peoples to Europeans as early as the 1600’s, when tales of Jack first began to be told. Several cultures mixed together in celebration of Halloween, creating the iconic pumpkin faces we still know today.

Andrew Huntley is a Gallery Experience Presenter in CMNH’s Lifelong Learning Department. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Booseum: Jack-o-Lantern Chromatography

Sometimes the easiest way for scientists to learn what components make up a mixture is to separate them. Chromatography is a simple technique for separating different mixtures using a liquid. But chromatography can also be used to separate colors! Follow the steps below to make a truly unique jack-o-lantern this Halloween!

What You’ll Need

Coffee filters (or paper towels)
Washable markers
Spray bottle with water
Drying station
Optional: additional decorations like tissue paper, pipe cleaners, tape, or glue

Directions

Using washable markers, start to color the coffee filter or paper towel cut into a circle. Don’t color a face yet; we’re saving that for last! Use whatever colors you’d like.
Spray the coffee filter with water. Try not to use too much! You’ll see the colors begin to bleed almost immediately.
Place the filter on your drying station. Allow about 5-10 minutes to dry.
What jack-o-lantern would it be without a face? Put the final touches on your creation!
Once your jack-o-lantern is fully dry, you can use tissue paper and tape or glue to add a stem. A pipe cleaner can be used if you’d like your jack-o-lantern to have a vine.

But what actually happened? In chemistry, a mixture is a combination of two or more substances that can be separated because they aren’t chemically bonded. Because the washable markers aren’t chemically bonded to the paper, they bleed through when sprayed by water. What do you notice about the colors you used? Did some of them blend together? Color chromatography can be used to see different color combinations as well!

coffee filter pumpkins with faces drawn on

coffee filter jack-o-lanterns with stems

October 13, 2020 by wpengine

Booseum: Vampires!

Vampires, creatures of folklore that feed on the lifeforce of the living, have long fascinated us. Many cultures have their own version of how vampires behave and are repelled by many different things. Modern vampires in movies, TV shows, and books have some similar main characteristics—let’s explore some interesting or common beliefs about vampires and where they may have come from.

Garlic

It’s a common belief that garlic repels vampires, but did you know that some of that belief is grounded in fact? Garlic, specifically the chemical compound allicin inside garlic, is a powerful antibiotic. Some European beliefs around vampires stated they were created by a disease of the blood, so a powerful antibiotic would “kill” a vampire.

An actual disorder of the blood, porphyria, may also be an origin for this belief: porphyria can cause those who suffer from it to look pale and even make their teeth look bigger because their gums shrink. Garlic makes these symptoms worse, so people with porphyria would often avoid it—making others around them believe they were vampires.

Mirrors

Vampires avoiding mirrors is a more recent belief— the first known reference to this is from Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which was published in 1897. But why wouldn’t a vampire show a reflection?

There are a few reasons that this belief may exist. Mirrors were traditionally backed with silver (and some still are today). Silver was commonly believed to repel evil spirits, possibly because it has antimicrobial properties; so, much like garlic, the healing properties may be what was supposed to scare off a vampire.

Another reason that suspected vampires may have avoided mirrors is because of the changes to their appearance from diseases commonly confused with vampirism, porphyria and rabies. People afflicted with these diseases may have avoided looking in a mirror for that reason, causing others to assume that “vampires” avoid mirrors.

Counting

Why does Count von Count, a vampire, teach us how to count on Sesame Street? It comes from a European belief that vampires are compelled to count spilled seeds or grains. Some Slavic coastal towns also believed that vampires would count the holes in a fishing net. It was common practice to scatter seeds outside the entrances to a home (or drape fishing nets over them). Some Chinese myths say that a vampire must count every grain if they come across a bag of rice. A vampire would stop to count, delaying them until sun-up, and we all know that vampires don’t do well in sunlight.

A common seed used was mustard seed, which was also known as eye of newt!

Now that we’ve learned a little about fictional vampires, let’s explore some real-world vampires!

Vampire Ground Finch

The Galapagos Islands are home to many unique and unusual species, so the vampire ground finch fits in well. This species of sharp-beaked finch lives on Darwin and Wolf Islands, and like most other finches it feeds primarily on seeds. However, seeds can sometimes be a limited resource, so vampire ground finches supplement their diet by eating small amounts of nutrient-rich blood from Nazca or blue-footed boobies.

It is believed that this behavior developed because the finches were first eating ticks from the bodies of other birds, which steadily transitioned into them eating small amounts of blood. Believe it or not, the other birds don’t seem to mind the vampire ground finches doing this, and don’t try to stop them!

Vampire Bats

There are three species of bats that survive by exclusively feeding on the blood of other animals- the common vampire bat, the hairy-legged vampire bat, and the white-winged vampire bat. All three species are found in Central and South America.

Like other bats, they hunt at night and rely on echolocation to find their prey, which is typically sleeping livestock, like cows. Vampire bats use their sharp teeth to make a little cut and then lap up the blood. It doesn’t hurt the animal they’re feeding from, in fact most animals don’t even notice it happening and stay asleep! These bats occasionally try to feed off humans, but it is very rare.

Mosquitos & Ticks

We’ve all felt the aftermath of an itchy mosquito bite! Mosquitos feed on blood from humans and other animals, but it’s only female mosquitos that eat blood. Female mosquitos need the protein from blood to produce eggs, and male mosquitos don’t so they feed on plant nectar.

Ticks drink the blood of both warm and cold-blooded animals, latching on and feeding slowly over several days. They can fast for a long time between meals, but do need to feed on blood as they progress through the stages of their life cycle.

Neither mosquitos nor ticks (or any other blood eating insects) eat enough blood to be dangerous to humans. The biggest danger is that these insects can carry diseases, so make sure to properly care for and clean any insect bites, and see a doctor if necessary!

Jo Tauber is the Gallery Experience Coordinator for CMNH’s Life Long Learning Department, as well as the official Registrar for the Living Collection. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Is this what they call overkill? Toxin and venom in the herp world

preserved frog specimen — Figure 1. *Bufo japonicus*. The large glands behind the eyes are called parotid glands, and are a source of toxins in toads. Additionally, all of the bumps you see all over the body are glands that produce skin toxins. Image credit: Stevie Kennedy-Gold.

I recently participated in a Zoom event for Museum members focused on toxins and venom in the natural world. Mason Heberling, Assistant Curator of Botany, and Ainsley Seago, Associate Curator of Invertebrate Zoology, spoke about how the organisms they study produce toxins, and how these chemicals impact their environments and other organisms around them. As an ecologist focused on impacts of climate and land use change, I don’t consider myself an expert on toxins and venoms in amphibians and reptiles, but researching my portion of the joint presentation reminded me once again why herps are the best.

First, a refresher: toxins are poisons, and they have to be consumed or encountered (touched) by an organism to do harm. For example, many frogs produce toxins in their skin, but you would have to either consume that frog or touch its skin for the toxin to do you any harm. Most frogs don’t produce toxins strong enough to hurt humans, though a few notable exceptions exist. Some species of poison dart frogs have skin toxins strong enough that if you touched them and then touched your eyes, nose, or mouth, or if you had a cut on your hand, you could indeed become very ill and perhaps die. Venom, on the other hand, is a toxin that one organism can inject into another. Typically, we think of snakes when we think of injectable toxins. Many snake species have venom glands that produce toxins, and they can forcibly inject that toxin into their prey. The action, which can occur in a flash, involves the use of fangs to puncture the skin, and muscles surrounding the venom gland to force the toxin out along the fang and into the other organism.

preserved frog specimen, two preserved snake specimens, and two specimen jars — Figure 2. *Bufo japonicus* and *Rhabdophis tigrinus*. *Rhabdophis* are one of the only snakes that are both venomous and toxic. They sequester toxins from the toads they eat into a gland called the nuchal crest. Image credit: Stevie Kennedy-Gold.

Most people tend to think of amphibians as toxic and snakes as venomous. This is true, but it turns out that snakes aren’t the only venomous reptiles, and amazingly two frogs are known to be venomous. Gila monsters (Helodermatidae) and water monitors (Varanidae) produce venom, but their venom glands are in their lower jaws (unlike snakes whose venom glands are in their upper jaws), and they lack the muscles to forcibly inject that toxin the way snakes do. Instead, the act of chewing on their prey causes their jaw motion to work the venom toward their grooved teeth, which then enables the venom to be injected through the bite wound. Using a very different delivery system, two frogs in the family Hylidae (tree frogs from the Americas) have very spiny skulls. Their skin produces toxins, and by “head-butting” another organism, they can effectively inject that toxin into another organism. This unusual delivery system technically makes them both toxic (the toxin can be transferred to you if you touch their skin) and venomous (they can inject that toxin into you).

two preserved snake specimens and one specimen jar — Figure 3. *Rhabdophis tigrinus*. If you look closely at the back of the neck just behind the head on the snake on the left, you can see a slightly raised bit of skin, which is the nuchal crest used to store toxins sequestered from toads. Image credit: Stevie Kennedy-Gold.

One of the most surprising things I learned is that there are snakes that are both toxic and venomous, and these are snakes I see frequently in the field. The genus Rhabdophis is common across South and Southeast Asia, and have long been known to be venomous. What I didn’t know is that in addition to making their own venom, they sequester toxins from their prey, and store it in a gland on the back of their neck called a nuchal crest. Rhabdophis feed on toads, which are toxic, and the snakes are able to sequester that toxin, rather than being adversely affected by it. Interestingly, scientists have shown that Rhabdophis tigrinus are toxic only where their range overlaps with Bufo japonicus, a highly toxic toad—so on some islands of Japan the snakes are toxic, while on other islands they are not.

preserved toad specimen — Figure 4. *Bufo japonicus* with its many toxin glands! Image credit: Stevie Kennedy-Gold.

There are numerous other interesting adaptations involving toxin and venom in the herp world—tweet me (@JenASheridan) if you want to learn more!

Early Bats: Ancient Origins of a Halloween Icon

Specimen Carnegie Museum (CM) 62641, the holotypic, or name-bearing, right dentary (lower jaw bone) of the tiny fossil bat *Honrovits tsuwape* in lingual (= internal) view, still partially encased in ~50-million-year-old rock of the Wind River Formation of west-central Wyoming. Note the length of the scale bar, only 1 cm (less than half an inch)!

Did you know that bats have been around for at least 55 million years? In 1992, several fossils in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History collection, including the lower jaw bone shown above, were described as representing a new genus and species of ancient bat, Honrovits tsuwape—Shoshone for “bat” and “ghost,” respectively—by a team that included two former curators in the museum’s Section of Vertebrate Paleontology, Christopher Beard and Leonard Krishtalka, both now of the University of Kansas. Honrovits dates to the early part of the Eocene Epoch of the Cenozoic Era (the ‘Age of Mammals’), about 50 million years ago, and is a member of a now-extinct bat group called the Onychonycteridae.

Replica of a beautifully preserved fossil skeleton of *Onychonycteris finneyi*, a close relative of Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s own Eocene-aged bat Honrovits tsuwape, on display at Fossil Butte National Monument in Wyoming. Photo by Matthew Dillon.

Interestingly, Honrovits shares dental characteristics with a mammal group known as insectivores, which includes today’s hedgehogs, shrews, and moles, and in that sense, it differs from the condition in most other bats. However, bat teeth possess distinctive diagnostic features, so although Honrovits is known only from a few tooth-bearing jaw bones and a skull fragment, there’s no doubt that the diminutive beast was indeed an early bat. The fragmentary nature of its fossils means that we don’t know for sure what Honrovits looked like in life, though it’s a good bet that it bore a close resemblance to other onychonycterid bats, such as Onychonycteris finneyi, which is known from exquisitely preserved skeletons (such as the one shown above).

Flesh reconstruction of the ~50-million-year-old bat *Onychonycteris finneyi*. There’s an excellent chance that Honrovits tsuwape would have looked like this. Art by Nobu Tamura.

The incompleteness of the Honrovits fossils is, unfortunately, the norm rather than the exception when it comes to prehistoric bats. Fossils of these creatures are exceedingly rare because most bats have very small, light skeletons and achieve their greatest diversity and abundance in areas that have low potential for fossil preservation, such as tropical forests. Occasionally, complete skeletons such as those of Onychonycteris are found, but not nearly as often as fragments.

So, this autumn, if you happen to catch a glimpse of a bat silhouetted against the evening sky, acrobatically wheeling and plunging in pursuit of flying insects, pause and reflect on the history of these extraordinary flying mammals whose ancestry dates nearly to the time of the dinosaurs.

Invasion of the Leaf Galls!

Happy Gall-oween! Mwah-hahaha! Prepare yourselves for the silent invasion of the leaf galls! Over the summer and into the early fall, you may have seen something very strange happening to the oak trees of Southwestern Pennsylvania. Small, furry growths, brown or orange in color, have been appearing on oak leaves. If you haven’t seen them, imagine a Tribble from Star Trek, but in miniature size growing directly on the leaves of a shady oak.

These are leaf galls—but they aren’t an alien lifeform nor a devastating tree blight. They are the product of a fascinating chemical reaction.

Early in the spring, just as the oak trees are beginning to bud, gall wasps (from the family Cynipidae) lay their eggs on the brand-new leaves. These creatures—smaller than a fruit fly and lacking the ability to sting—might also lay their eggs on the twigs of the trees or on the stems of goldenrod. Once the wasp eggs hatch, the larvae begin to eat the leaf on which they were deposited. This is when things get interesting: when the chemicals in the larvae’s saliva mingle with the plant hormones in the leaf, the gall begins to form. Depending on the drop site and the species of gall wasp (there are over 700 species in the United States alone that target oaks), the appearance of the gall will be different. For instance, when the eggs hatch on a branch or twig and begin their feast, the gall will have a dense, spherical appearance. This is the specific kind of gall that gives the phenomenon its name: “galla” means “oak-apple” in Latin. Some leaf galls might take on the shape of tiny brown flying saucers as they did in Jefferson and Forest Counties in recent years. Some other galls have the appearance of spindly red fingers or peppers protruding from the leaf. The variety of tree and leaf galls are, in a word, kaleidoscopic.

While there is great variation in the physical appearance and structure of leaf galls, they each serve a shared purpose. The chemicals that the larvae secrete as they “chew” stimulate the leaf into creating a gall for shelter and sustenance. The gall is a protective, nutrient-providing dome over the developing larvae. While the galls sometimes interrupt the process of photosynthesis and cause some leaf browning and curling, they won’t kill the tree itself. The gall wasp is a mostly benign parasite. By mid-October, the wasp-bearing galls will fall from, or with, their leaves. The next spring, the surviving wasps will emerge from the soil.

Some years, this new generation will breed sexually. Other years, it will be entirely female and reproduce asexually. That is, through parthenogenesis, the same process that the dinosaurs in the original Jurassic Park reproduce. Remember Dr. Malcolm’s famous “life finds a way” monologue? Galls are misunderstood by the general public because they perceive the phenomenon as a nuisance and eyesore. Scientists warn against treating infested trees with pesticide or scraping off the galls. Such actions would do more harm than good to the trees. Instead of being an unnerving menace, the gall wasp is an awe-inspiring example of how one animal uses its surrounding ecosystem—without excessive harm—to ensure that its kind will perpetuate itself safely and successfully. Furthermore, the weirdly wonderful shapes and designs of the leaf gall demonstrate that nature isn’t just useful but also beautiful. It’s that beauty that makes this seemingly bizarre invader more than a seasonal annoyance.

Nicholas Sauer is a Natural History Interpreter and Gallery Experiences Presenter at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Booseum: Spooky Coloring Pages!

Download Mango the Sun Conure Coloring Image

Download Natasha the Tortoise Coloring Image

Download Boomer the Python Coloring Image

Download Lupe the Coati Coloring Image

October 12, 2020 by Kathleen

Booseum: Make Snail Slime!

Everyone knows snails and slugs are a little slimy, but did you ever wonder why? Gastropods—snails and slugs—generate a type of mucus (or mucopolysaccharide) just like some plants, animals, and humans do. While we can’t make mucopolysaccharide with ease, we can make something similar by combining cornstarch and water to make a polysaccharide that is very similar.

What You’ll Need

Cornstarch
Water
Measuring Cup (1 cup)
Food coloring (optional)
Mixing bowl
Spoon or whisk

Directions

Pour 2 cups of cornstarch into your mixing bowl.
Add 1 cup of water. (If you want more or less slime than 2 cups worth, just mix the cornstarch and water to a 2:1 ratio.)
Mix until combined.
Add food coloring if desired.

The trick to creating true snail slime is the consistency, or the way in which a liquid holds itself together. While it’s not actual snail mucus, our snail slime has similar properties and can help us understand more how snails and slugs move—by sliding along their mucus, they press down on it gently. What happens when you press down on your snail slime?

This type of polysaccharide acts like both a liquid and a solid—you can pour it like water or let it ooze out of your hands, but pushing it creates a solid reaction instead. This consistency of a liquid can be measured. In science, this is called viscosity; the state of being thick, sticky, or semifluid due to internal friction. This is why snails and slugs can climb virtually anywhere on their mucus—even upside-down!

If your snail slime is too runny, try adding more cornstarch. If you grab it and it stays in a ball without oozing out of your hands, add more water.

October 8, 2020 by wpengine

How Do You Preserve a Giant Pumpkin?

giant pumpkin being moved with a forklift

A few years ago, I came across a dilemma that I wasn’t sure how to resolve. The Section of Botany was given permission to preserve, for the scientific collection, part of the giant pumpkin that was in the exhibition, We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene. This was an intriguing offer. I just wasn’t sure how to go about it. Preserving any large fruits or plant parts can be a real challenge. Plant materials must be dried before they rot, and the process must happen at a temperature low enough to prevent the material from being cooked. The normal procedure of putting a plant or plant part into a plant press and drying it with warm dry air was not really an option; at least not for a 2,090-pound pumpkin that wouldn’t even fit in my car, let alone my plant press.

Pumpkins are a type of squash, but trying to literally squash one to dry it seemed a bit daunting. The farmers who grew this giant pumpkin were more than willing to give us whatever parts of the pumpkin we wanted to preserve, and they were even willing to help with cutting them from the pumpkin. We decided on trying to keep the unique parts of the pumpkin, like the stem and the blossom end (bottom). We also saved some of the inner tissue and a few seeds. The seeds on a pumpkin this large are a prize commodity. If a pumpkin from which seeds are properly harvested was a champion, as this one was, each seed could sell for $30 to upwards of $50. It was very generous of the farmers to allow us to have some of these seeds for our collection.

dried pieces of a pumpkin on an herbarium sheet

Pumpkin farmers keep close tabs on the genetics of these giants and actively work at growing larger pumpkins. You can actually find family tree information for this very pumpkin online if you search for it. Who knows how large mankind will eventually enable pumpkins to grow? The plants that grow these large squashes (the Cucurbita maxima variety known as ‘Atlantic Giant’) are a variety of the same species that produce Hubbard Squash. This species, which was originally from South America, has become one of the more diverse domesticated plants.

Giant pumpkins have been a focal point of imagination and literature for some time. Think of Cinderella. There are several variants on the Cinderella tale going back hundreds of years that involve large squash. Back when these stories were written though, it was a fantasy to think there actually could be a pumpkin that a person could fit inside.

Now that we are using QR codes on our herbarium labels, it’s easy to add photographs to plant specimen records. I wish we had thought to do this before the massive pumpkin was cut up. Maybe I will go back and add a QR code to the label, so the actual pumpkin can be seen again in its full glory. What we have in the collection now are bits and pieces, mere remnants of the gentle giant that grew 45-50 pounds per day in 2017.

Getting back to my original question, how do you preserve a giant pumpkin? I guess the answer is a little bit at a time!

More on this giant pumpkin:

Sasquatch Squash

Giant Pumpkin Seed Harvest

Collected on This Day: November 25, 2017

Bonnie Isaac is the Collection Manager in the Section of Botany. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

October 7, 2020 by wpengine

Halloween and Birds

Birds, being the happy creatures they are, don’t seem to me to connect with Halloween. Sure, death scenes in old movies, or exaggerated depictions of nighttime itself, are often populated with vultures, owls and corvids (crows and ravens), but Halloween itself, not so much. About the only “scary” term I can think of relating to birds is the group popularly referred to as “GOATSUCKERS.”

Early stories about goatsuckers can be credited to Aristotle and Pliny over 2000 years ago. Rumors about a group of birds now classified Caprimulgids, indicated they would suck the milk out of goats, and afterwards the goats would go blind. Of course, the stories are false, but the persistence the common group name might very well continue to frighten young children.

The 70 species of Caprimulgids remain saddled with a Family name, and in some cases a Genus name, that translates from Latin, “capra” for nanny goat, and “mulgēre” to milk, as “milker of goats,” or considering how a bird might attempt such a feat, “goatsucker.”

taxidermy mount of whip-poor-will — Image credit: Pat McShea

The family Caprimulgidae is a nocturnal group of birds referred to as nightjars or nighthawks that live worldwide except in New Zealand and on some islands in Oceania. In Pennsylvania the only birds of this group seen routinely are the Common Nighthawk and the Whip-poor-will, and both species are declining in numbers. Both are insectivorous birds with what appears to be small mouths that can actually open extremely wide to swallow insects in flight. The sounds of Whip-poor-wills can be haunting to those unfamiliar with them. For an image of the bird and a recording of their distinctive sound click this YouTube link.

taxidermy mount of common nighthawk — Image credit: Pat McShea

The CMNH Section of Birds collection, with nearly 207,000 records, includes only three “goatsuckers” collected on Halloween. Two are Pauraques (Nyctidromus albicollis yucatanensis) from Veracruz, Mexico collected in 1963, and a single Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor minor) found dead by former Amphibian and Reptiles Curator Jack McCoy in Schenley Park on Halloween night 1989. Migration should have happened long before that date – in fact this fall Pittsburgh’s estimated peak occurred September 14, when an estimated flight of 50,000 birds of various species passed overhead overnight.

Sympathy for the Devil

Bats and devils are among the most popular topics associated with Hallowe’en. Of course, the research collection in the Section of Mammals has worldwide examples of bats species, but we don’t find them scary and we think about bats and their vital ecological roles all year long. Perhaps more mysterious and less well-known are the two Devil specimens stored among the wombats, kangaroos, and koalas in our collection. Even school children have heard about *our* kind of devils. Yes, the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is a marsupial – a pouched mammal, like our opossum – that is found only on the island of Tasmania, located some 140 miles off the southeast coast of Australia. Fossil evidence tells us that it once lived on the Australian mainland, but it may have been wiped out on the continent by the introduction of the Dingo, Australia’s legendary wild dog.

The Tasmanian devil is a stocky mammal with short legs, short black fur and a distinctive white throat patch. Its head is noticeably large for the size of the body. An adult male may weigh up to 20 lbs. They are nocturnal with a good sense of sight, smell, and touch. Devils are known to cover significant distances nightly, in search of carrion or prey. They can move surprisingly fast and seem to enjoy swimming. In the wild, individuals can live between five and seven years, but many die within the first year of birth. Although it is the largest living marsupial carnivore, the Tasmanian devil is predominantly a scavenger.

A close look at the skull shows evidence of space on the side of the head for large jaw muscles. For its size, the Tasmanian devil has the strongest bite force of any mammal – more powerful than even a hyena! With the large masseter muscles and especially large molars, it can easily crush bone. In fact, devils are such efficient carrion-eaters that they willingly consume an entire carcass, including the fur.

Although this animal gained a reputation for having a bad disposition, it is speculated that this impression was derived from the poor conditions it was kept in when first captured for observations. Since then, it sometimes has been kept humanely as a pet and been found to be much friendlier than initially reported. Tasmanian devils do not seek each other’s company except during the mating period. However, they often come together to feed on a dead animal, where vocalizations and as many as nineteen different behavioral cues are used for communication. These communal gatherings are characterized by aggression and loud sounds, described as “frequent growling” and “blood-curdling screams”!

In 1996, a sad chapter began in the existence of the Tasmanian devil. A deadly infectious cancer called devil facial tumor disease, began to spread within the population. In 2012, the Australian government transferred 30 disease-free individuals to tiny Maria Island off the coast of Tasmania, in what was called ‘island insurance’, while researchers worked on perfecting a vaccine. By 2017, the disease had led to a 90% extinction rate on Tasmania. In hopeful news, by 2019 there were indications that surviving individuals’ immune systems may be undergoing modifications to fight the disease. In early September 2020, a consortium of conservation groups released 11 Tasmanian devils to a wildlife sanctuary in the state of New South Wales, placing the Tasmanian devil on the Australian mainland for the first time in more than 3000 years. An additional 15 devils were released in early October and more releases are planned.

Currently, the Tasmanian devil is not extinct, but its recovery hangs in the balance. It would be tragic if we are left only with museum specimens and Taz, the Looney Tunes cartoon image, of this fascinating mammal.

Suzanne B. McLaren is the Collection Manager in the Section of Mammals at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to share their unique experiences from working at the museum.

Changing Seats in Changing Times

If only classroom seating changes were the biggest disruption facing teachers and students this fall. During a recent interview Ellen Sanin, Post-Secondary Coordinator for St. Anthony School Programs, mentioned the switch from group tables to tray tables as an example of a physical COVID-19 adjustment. Within the pair of classrooms at Duquesne University’s Fisher Hall that serve as her home base, the flexibility of individual seating allows for social distancing. Like every other teacher, the far bigger adjustment she’s currently dealing with involves the drastic reduction in enrichment opportunities for her students.

At eight locations in the Pittsburgh area, St. Anthony School Programs offer inclusive education for students age 5 -21 with primary diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Down Syndrome, and Intellectual Disabilities. At the Duquesne University site where she has worked for the past five years, Ellen is responsible for teaching gym, technology skills, and job preparedness to 29 students between the ages of 18 and 21.

Although the disruptions she and her students faced in the wake of the mid-March lock down are hard to imagine, Ellen’s summary of the turbulent time is understated. “Like everyone else, we went to remote learning, but with a population with particular challenges to using the technology – some who can’t read, and some who are nonverbal.” This fall, in-person teaching has resumed, with instruction for three of her students restricted to on-line.

In former years, post-secondary students and instructors in the St. Anthony Program routinely visited as many as 20 different Pittsburgh sites as part of job preparedness training. Current COVID-19 restrictions, Ellen explained, have reduced these field trip destinations to a handful of locations on the Duquesne University campus, the Allegheny County Court House, and a life skills and home skills training apartment in Squirrel Hill. “We made regular visits to Carnegie Library locations, but libraries, like lots of other places are operating under new guidelines.”

Because Ellen in also a veteran museum educator, with deep experience teaching summer camp programs, the interview closed with a question about her insight into parallels between the students she works with on a daily basis and those she has taught during summer. “The main difference is age, of course, but the similarities in interests are remarkable. One of my current students is fascinated with dinosaurs. He would have loved being in a dinosaur class.”

Vampire Squid: Cutest Dracula

The Vampire Squid is your go-to mollusk for Halloween. It’s covered with glow-in-the-dark spots, and it can hoist its cape-like webbed arms over its head to transform into a pumpkin shape complete with outward-pointing fleshy spines. But wait, there’s more. With the largest eyes relative to body size of any animal, this has got to be the cutest Dracula you ever saw. And the scientific name, inspired by the cloak-like webbing and the dark body color, literally translates to “vampire squid from hell.”

Vampire Squid, showing cloak-like webbing between arms, large eye, and ear-like fins. [Image from Wikimedia Commons]

The Vampire Squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis) is an extreme deep-water cephalopod more closely related to octopuses than to squids. It is so bizarre that scientists classify it in its own taxonomic order, Vampyromorphida, to show that it differs markedly from other living cephalopods. Like octopuses, it has 8 arms with webbing between them, but unlike octopuses that have suckers on the entire length of the arms, the Vampire Squid bears suckers only on their outermost half. The prominent feature on the arms of the Vampire Squid are fleshy spines or cirri. In addition to the eight arms, it has two velar filaments, in pouches in the webbing, that are analogous (and maybe homologous) to the two long tentacles of squids.

Regarding superlatives, the Vampire Squid has the largest eyes relative to its body size of any other animal, a detail noted in the Guinness World Records. A fully-grown individual can be 28 cm (11 inches) long with eyes 2.5 cm (1 inch) in diameter. Adding to the cuteness factor, they have adorable ear-like fins, which adults use for swimming; juveniles also have fins, but primarily use jet propulsion to move around.

They live in the lightless ocean depths 600-900 m (2000-3000 feet) deep in temperate and tropical oceans world-wide. The ocean at these depths is an oxygen minimum zone with so little dissolved oxygen that most complex organisms cannot survive. But the vampire squid survives perfectly well with a low metabolism and blue blood that is more efficient at carrying oxygen than that of other cephalopods. They use ammonium in their tissues to regulate their buoyancy (ammonium is a wee bit lighter than water), reducing the need for active swimming. Living in the oxygen minimum zone probably helps it to avoid predators.

If disturbed, the Vampire Squid kind of turns itself inside-out into the “pumpkin” or “pineapple” posture by curling its arms and webbing up to cover the body with the spiny cirri pointing outward. Their body is covered by photophores, or light-emitting organs, which they can use to flash a wide range of patterns. In the pumpkin pose, they conceal most of the photophores, but they can light up the tips of the arms and wave them around to distract predators. If it gets really annoyed, the Vampire Squid can release a sticky cloud of luminous mucus that glows for nearly 10 minutes, presumably long enough for the Vampire Squid to make a get-away into the inky darkness.

Vampire Squid, underside of arms showing fleshy spines. [Image from Wikimedia Commons]

Much of what we know about their behavior comes from videos made by Remotely Operated Vehicles. It is hard to keep Vampire Squids alive in aquariums at the much lower pressure of our human world, but the Monterey Bay Aquarium succeeded for a while and has some great videos. Aquarium scientists were able to solve the mystery about what the Vampire Squid eats. No, it doesn’t eat blood! It eats detritus (organic debris), also known as marine snow. As the Vampire Squid drifts in the current, any debris that touches an extended filament is moved by the creature’s arms to its mouth. Unusual for being the only known cephalopod to eat non-living food, the Vampire Squid is adapted to eat material that falls through the oxygen minimum zone. Marine snow includes dead bodies, feces, and a lot of mucus from above, and because of the mucus, it is sometimes jokingly referred to as marine snot.

I imagine if Dracula learned about the Vampire Squid, he might exclaim, “I thought it was eating blood, but it’s snot!”

Do Snakes Believe in the Tooth Fairy?

When a child loses a baby tooth, the Tooth Fairy will sneakily appear a short time later to snatch that tooth up and leave behind a little treat. But what happens when vipers or other snakes with large fangs lose their teeth? I doubt the Tooth Fairy would be too keen about sneaking up on a sleeping snake…and as someone who studies and admires snakes, I would not recommend it!

Vials containing Viperidae snake fangs. The middle vial (with clear lid) contains fangs of the Gaboon viper.

I recently learned the answer to this question when I was given seven tiny vials containing dozens of fangs. These fangs came from various species of snakes in the Viperidae family, including the Mojave green rattlesnake (Crotalus scutulatus), the Northern Pacific rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus), and the Gaboon viper (Bitis gabonica), which has the longest fangs of any snake species. The researcher who gifted us these fangs was curious about the outcome of shed snake teeth and wanted to determine how frequently snake fangs may be swallowed and passed through the snake’s digestive tract. To answer this question, he dissected and examined dried snake feces for the possible presence of shed fangs.*

As it turns out, snakes will occasionally swallow their shed fangs! Vipers are carnivores that have to hunt down and subdue live prey in order to eat and survive. Often there is a struggle between predator and prey and, in that process, a fang may be wiggled lose. Instead of falling out of a snake’s mouth, the snake may swallow the fang along with the prey item. The fang will ultimately pass through the snake’s digestive system and emerge in its feces.

Pacific rattlesnake (*Crotalus oreganus*) in the Mojave Desert, California. One of the vials contained fangs from this species, but from snakes in the northern portion of the species’ range.

As the collection manager of the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles, I oversee and care for the museum’s massively beautiful and useful collection of cool and creepy herpetofaunal specimens. These specimens include full body wet specimens preserved in alcohol, the osteology collection of bones and turtle shells, and other items such as histology slides, gut contents, and even fangs. Regardless of their preservation form, all the reptile and amphibian specimens within the collection are useful for researchers and could serve to answer future scientific questions. Although the fangs within these seven seemingly unimposing vials have already answered one burning scientific question, they will be added to the collection so see what other answers they can provide!

*Researchers take careful precautions when handling feces as it can carry disease. Do not handle feces you may see in the wild.

The Bromacker Fossil Project Part X: Tambaroter carrolli, an amphibian with a wedge-shaped head

Thomas Martens at the construction site for a new store in Tambach-Dietharz where he found fossils by checking loose pieces of rock on the excavation floor. Photo by Stephanie Martens, 2008.

Paleontologist Thomas Martens has an amazing ability to find fossils. After he discovered the first vertebrate fossils at the Bromacker site in an abandoned commercial quarry in 1974, he and his father Max found additional fossils in the bottom of a deep pit they’d dug with hand tools, an excavation that Dave Berman, Stuart Sumida, and I fondly dubbed the “elevator shaft.” Years later, Thomas used funding from the German federal government to drill rock cores in the field surrounding the Bromacker quarry to help understand the geology of the fossil deposit. Amazingly, at one of the spots Thomas had selected, the drill core penetrated a skeleton of Diadectes absitus. So, it wasn’t surprising that in 2008 Thomas found a skull and partial skeleton of D. absitus and a small skull of a fossil animal new to science at a construction site for a new store in the nearby village of Tambach-Dietharz.

Dave Berman (left) and Stuart Sumida (right) pose with a shopping cart in front of the Netto Discount Store, which was built in the excavation site where *Tambaroter* was found. Rocks of the Tambach Formation can be seen behind the retaining wall. Photo by the author, 2008.

It makes sense, however, that vertebrate fossils were found close to the Bromacker quarry. Fossils from the Bromacker were preserved in the Tambach Formation, a 200–400-foot-thick unit of sediments that were deposited in the small intermontane Tambach Basin about 290—283 million years ago during the Early Permian Epoch. The Tambach Basin covered an area of about 155 square miles and was internally drained; that is, there were no rivers or streams flowing into and out of the basin. During periods of extremely heavy rain, water and mud would flow down the basin sides in what are called sheet floods and pool in the basin center, which is where the present day Bromacker quarry and Tambach-Dietharz are thought to be located. Any animals killed during these events would be carried by the sheet floods to the basin center where they’d have been quickly and deeply buried in mud settling out of the ponded water and later become fossilized. It is assumed that animals captured by the sheet flood events inhabited the Tambach Basin, because carcasses couldn’t have been carried into the basin by rivers and streams.

Map of Germany with inset showing the Bromacker locality and the nearby town of Tambach-Dietharz. Although the Tambach Basin in which the Tambach Formation was deposited covers about 155 square miles, outcrops of the Tambach Formation today occur in an area of only about 31 square miles.

While preparing Bromacker fossils, I’d typically read literature related to the fossil I was working on, write notes on what I thought were important features in the fossil, and give my notes to the person leading the project. When Dave was the lead, we’d typically have lots of discussion about certain features preserved in the animal, conversations that often directed the course of preparation. This time, in addition to preparing the new find, I was designated as the lead author for the publication that would name and describe it.

View of the underside of the skull of *Tambaroter carrolli* before preparation. The shiny area surrounding the skull is glue, which I applied to a crack to stabilize the specimen before preparation could begin. I had to free the skull from the surrounding rock before exposing as much of it as possible through preparation. Photo by the author, 2008.

Tambaroter is a member of the Microsauria, a diverse group of small amphibians that were once thought to be reptiles, a hypothesis that some paleontologists are currently revisiting. Microsaurs inhabited a variety of habitats and exhibited a range of body forms. Some were highly terrestrial with limb proportions similar to those of lizards, whereas others were aquatic and had elongated bodies and reduced girdles and limbs. Still others were adapted for burrowing or rooting through leaf litter. Tambaroter belongs to this latter-most group, which is named Recumbirostra for their recurved snout, in which the front of the mouth is overhung by the snout.

Photographs and line drawings of the skull of *Tambaroter carrolli* in (clockwise from upper left) dorsal (top), ventral (underside), and left lateral (side) views. Photographs by the author, 2008 and drawings by the author and modified from Henrici et al., 2011.

Tambaroter is member of the recumbirostran subgroup Ostodolepidae. I coined the name Tambaroter, which is derived from “Tamb,” for the Tambach Formation, and the Greek “aroter,” meaning plowman, in reference to the snout shape. Two previously named ostodolepids, Micraroter and Nannaroter, have the “aroter, suffix in their name, so usage of the “aroter” suffix was a continuation of this. The species name, carrolli, honors microsaur expert Robert Carroll (then Curator Emeritus at the Redpath Museum, McGill University, Montreal, Canada).

Skulls of representative ostodolepid microsaurs from geologically oldest (left) to youngest (right). A reconstruction drawing of the skull of *Tambaroter* was used instead of a photograph for comparison because the original fossil skull is extremely flattened (see previous image). Photographs, except for that of *Nannaroter*, by the author, 2009. The photograph of *Nannaroter* was modified from Anderson et al., 2009. *Tambaroter* skull reconstruction by the author and modified from Henrici et al., 2011. Scale bar of the tiny *Nannaroter* and other ostodolepids equals 1 cm.

When Tambaroter was published on in 2011, it was the first ostodolepid to be found outside of the USA (the others are from Oklahoma and Texas) and is the oldest one known. Other, possible ostodolepids have since been described from the American Midwest and Germany. All ostodolepids have a wedge-shaped skull and recumbent snout, which is accentuated in Pelodosotis. Based on these features, scientists think that ostodolepids burrowed or searched for worms and other prey in leaf litter. Remarkably, the skull of the tiny Nannaroter is so strongly built that it could have withstood burrowing headfirst into the ground by using its shovel-like snout to loosen dirt and its broad, flat head to push soil against the burrow ceiling. Because the sutures between individual skull bones in the Tambaroter type specimen are not tightly fused together, we think it belonged to a juvenile, so we don’t know if the adult skull would’ve been as strongly built as that of Nannaroter.

Life drawing of the ostodolepid microsaur *Pelodosotis elongatum*, which is known by a nearly complete specimen. *Tambaroter* probably had a similar body shape, though its skull would not have been as strongly wedge-shaped. Drawing modified by Carnegie Museum of Natural History Scientific Illustrator Andrew McAfee from outline drawing in Carroll and Gaskill (1978).

Stay tuned for my next post, which will feature one of the Bromacker’s top carnivores. To learn more about Tambaroter, read the publication that described the animal here.

Keep Reading

The Bromacker Fossil Project Part XI: Dimetrodon teutonis, an apex predator

September 29, 2020 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1967: Fall blooms rival those of spring

photo of aster flowers with white petals

In the northeastern United States, we often think of spring as a time for wildflowers. But the fall is, too.

It is easy to be distracted by the beautiful fall foliage, when our landscape turns brilliant shades of red, orange, and yellow. But when many plants are shutting down for the winter, others are just kicking into gear.

Many wildflower species bloom well into fall, both in open areas and in the forest understory. One group of plants are the fall blooming “asters.” In same plant family as sunflowers and dandelions (Asteraceae), Aster was once a very large plant genus in our native North American flora (somewhere along the lines of >175 species!), but as we learned more about the evolutionary relationships of these plants, they have since been split into multiple genera (plural of genus). In fact, there is only one “true” Aster in Pennsylvania, Tatarian aster (Aster tataricus), which is actually not even native to Pennsylvania! Regardless of the scientific name, these plants are commonly referred to as asters. And they put on quite an autumn show in Pennsylvania.

dried specimen of aster flower from Carnegie Museum of Natural History herbarium

Perhaps one of the most common woodland asters in Pennsylvania is white wood aster (Eurybia divaricata, formerly known as Aster divaricatus). This specimen was collected September 29, 1967 by N.R. Farnsworth in Pittsburgh’s Schenley Park. This species can still be found in Schenley Park, and many parks, woodlands, and wooded roadsides across Eastern North America.

Fall foliage is beautiful in Pennsylvania. But don’t forget to look down at the flowers, too!

Find this white wood aster specimen here: https://midatlanticherbaria.org/portal/collections/individual/index.php?occid=11826562

Herbarium specimens hold more information than we realize

The first herbarium I visited was the Pringle Herbarium at the University of Vermont as part of an undergraduate class on plant taxonomy and systematics. Prior to this visit, I assumed herbaria were fairly mundane collections of dead, dry, flattened plants, and that they couldn’t possibly interest me as much as emerald-green plants thriving in the wild. However, within moments of entering the Pringle Herbarium, I was captivated by the football-sized cones of the sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana). These giant cones, of a species native to mountain slopes in California and Oregon, were the largest of any gymnosperm I had seen at that time, and I quickly discovered that herbaria were fascinating resources for studying plant diversity around the world.

Plant specimens capture important information on plant traits across species, continents, and centuries. With over 390 million specimens worldwide and becoming increasingly available online (500,000 specimens at Carnegie Museum alone), that’s a lot of potential information! We found that measurements using herbarium specimens strongly correlate to those measured in the field, including two leaf traits and one stem trait.

Years later as a graduate student interested in plant functional ecology, I was reminded of the diversity contained within herbaria, but learned that herbarium specimens were rarely used to study plant functional traits. Functional traits are characteristics that provide ecologists with information about growth, reproduction, or survival strategies, and in plants they are often measured using living tissue. For example, three commonly measured functional traits are specific leaf area, wood density, and leaf thickness. Specific leaf area (equal to the fresh area of a leaf divided by its dry mass) indicates how much dry mass plants invest in their leaves, a factor coordinated with their rate of photosynthesis. More specifically, plant photosynthetic rates tend to increase the bigger leaves get relative to their dry mass. On the other hand, wood density is used to understand carbon storage, which is important for studying carbon sequestration and climate change. Leaf thickness can help understand leaf thermoregulation, herbivory, and gas exchange. Currently, it’s unclear if herbarium specimens can provide reasonable estimates of these traits, but if so herbaria can vastly expand our understanding of plant functional diversity.

Recently, I teamed up with scientists Jessica Rodriguez and Dr. Mason Heberling (Assistant Curator of Botany at Carnegie Museum of Natural History) to understand if and to what extent herbarium specimens could be used as proxies for functional traits collected from fresh plant tissues. In our study just published in the American Journal of Botany, we found that herbarium specimens can provide accurate estimates of specific leaf area, branch wood density, and leaf thickness. Although drying plant tissues may lead to some inaccuracies in functional traits that are typically measured using fresh tissues, our study suggests the dead, dry, flat plants I once considered uninteresting could rapidly advance what scientists know about plant functional diversity. Importantly, our research highlights herbaria as rich sources of functional trait data with the potential to accelerate the study of important ecological processes like species responses to climate change.

Timothy M. Perez, Ph.D. is a postdoctoral scholar at the University of British Columbia whose research focuses on plant heat tolerance and the conservation of plants in the tropics.

From Collector to Director

Figure 1: CM 50625 – Rugosa Coral. Collected by M. Graham Netting in 1912. Coral body shape has a radial symmetry.

In 1912, eight-year-old M. Graham Netting unearthed 13 coral fossils within the city limits of Louisville, Kentucky. Later, as a 22-year-old Pitt student, he donated them to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History (Figure 1). When the Great Depression cut short his graduate studies at the University of Michigan in 1929, he returned to the museum as Assistant Curator of Herpetology, and worked his way up to Curator in 1932. In 1954, six months before turning 50, he was appointed Director of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Along the way, the Wilkinsburg native left an astonishing legacy that includes a steady growth in scientific collections, numerous wildlife dioramas in the Halls of Wildlife, and a mid-Appalachian field research station, Powdermill Nature Reserve. Upon his retirement in 1975, the Post-Gazette noted, “Long before it was “in,” Netting saw pollution of the air and water ravaging the land.”

Albert Kollar, Collection Manager of the of Section of Invertebrate Paleontology, re-discovered young Graham Netting’s horn corals while working on a multiyear review of the Bayet Collection. Netting’s label note did not provide any evidence for the stratigraphic unit that he collected from, but more on that later.

Figure 2: Carnegie Museum of Natural History exhibit reconstruction of an Early to Middle Devonian reef, 375 – 390 MYA. The reef shows Rugosa and Tabulate corals, a spiny trilobite about 18 inches in length and several straight cephalopods. Coral tentacles (shown in white) are illustrated in feeding mode. Both Rugosa and Tabulate corals went extinct at the end of the Permian Period.

Rugose corals are often called horn corals because many species have a horn shape. Horn corals attach to the sea floor by way of a sticky tentacle that protrudes from the base or curved end of the animal. Other invertebrate animals, such as brachiopods, attached in this position are described as sessile. The coral animal or “polyp” built its skeleton from calcium carbonate, a mineral formed from Bicarbonate and Calcium ions in seawater. The polyp tentacles or feeding polyp extend out from the top of the basic body for feeding (Figure 2). When the animal died, its soft tissues would have decayed and left behind the external hard mineral skeleton that fossilized.

Netting’s Louisville coral specimens are fossilized in a different way than similar corals from the nearby Falls of the Ohio middle Devonian fossil beds. His corals are lighter and fragile to the touch, conditions which gave Albert reason to compare Netting’s fossils to similar invertebrate paleontology corals from strata within the Louisville area. Sometime during or after burial, these horn coral skeletons were replaced by silica or quartz, a process known as silicification. The mineral silica can saturate a column of seawater when the seabed is overwhelmed with a large population of sponges. Sponge skeletons are composed of silica and when they die silica is added to a column or more of seawater. Volcanic eruptions eject silica into the atmosphere that eventually settles into the sea. Again potentially adding higher amounts of silica. Whatever the cause, Albert believes Netting’s corals were collected from the fossiliferous Middle Devonian age Jeffersonville Limestone, where the “lower foot of a “conglomerate” of reworked silicified Louisville Limestone” of Upper Silurian age is known to occur with silicified coral fossils (Conkin and Conkin, 1972).

Horn and Tabulate corals thrived in shallow seas forming diversified ecological reefs from about the late Silurian Period to the beginning of the Late Devonian epoch. During the Middle Devonian epoch roughly 400 Ma to 390 Ma years ago, reefs formed in central New York, southern Ontario, central Ohio, central Iowa, western Alberta, Canada, western Australia, and in Eifel, Germany.

Figure 3: Paleogeographic Map of the Middle Devonian Period – Kentucky is well south of the equator.

Louisville, during the Devonian Period, was centered in the southern hemisphere about 40 degrees south of the equator. Because of plate tectonics, the coral beds of Louisville would travel 5,500 miles over the next 390 million years to their present-day location of 38 degrees north (Figure 3). Today, fossil outcrops in the city limits of Louisville are difficult to find.

Figure 4: Graham Netting in his twenties.

When Netting retired as Director of Carnegie Museum of Natural History, he moved to a modest house next to Powdermill Nature Reserve. A seat was saved for him each Sunday at the reserve’s weekly nature talk. In 1996, he passed away. Steve Rogers, Collections Manager for the Section of Birds, recalls sipping fresh lemonade on Netting’s back porch in 1981. According to Rogers, Netting was reflective and humble. The fossil collector who became a museum director had a habit of rubbing his chin while listening to someone speak. When asked about his legacy, Rogers replied, “He was more instrumental in forming Powdermill than anyone. He had an amazing ability to be a part of a team that got things done.”

Figure 5: Graham Netting at Retirement in 1975.

As Netting prepared to step down as director in 1975, he said, “These great collections are a natural resource to answer questions about the life of the world.” On a recent day, I saw two children jumping up and down in front of the Glacier Bear diorama in Hall of North American Wildlife on a family visit to the museum. When one of the children asked, “what’s a diorama?” I thought about Graham Netting, smiled, and encouraged their engagement with the life of the world.

Many thanks to Xianghua Sun, Carnegie Museum Library Manager, Marie Corrado, Carnegie Museum Library Clerk, Stephen Rogers, Collections Manager for the Section of Birds, and John Wenzel, Director of Powdermill Nature Reserve for help researching this post.

Mesozoic Monthly: Champsosaurus

Good news everyone: it’s September! We’ve made it to month nine of 12! Sometimes it feels like this year will never end. I take comfort in the idea that if life can survive the traumatic Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) extinction that killed the non-avian dinosaurs, I can make it through 2020. One of the survival champs of the K-Pg extinction was Champsosaurus, a superficially crocodile-like reptile belonging to the extinct group Choristodera.

The skeleton of *Champsosaurus laramiensis* looks superficially like that of a crocodilian, but this is the result of convergent evolution. Choristoderes (like *Champsosaurus*) and crocodilians lived contemporaneously for at least 150 million years, until the choristoderes said “after a while, crocodile!” and went extinct. Photo by Triebold Paleontology, Inc., used with permission.

The class Reptilia encompasses an incredible variety of animals: lizards, snakes, turtles, crocodilians, pterosaurs, dinosaurs, and even birds are just a few of its members. In addition to the familiar reptiles that live today, many other reptile groups thrived for millions of years before eventually going extinct. It’s easy to think of dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus or Triceratops when we talk about extinct reptile groups, but in reality, many extinct groups of animals with no living relatives escape the public eye. Choristodera, an order within the class Reptilia, is one of these groups. Choristoderes were semi-aquatic or aquatic carnivorous reptiles that evolved during the Mesozoic Era (the Age of Dinosaurs) and died out in the Cenozoic Era (the Age of Mammals). Just because they went extinct does not mean they were unsuccessful; the group survived for at least 150 million years! Like many animals, a rapidly shifting environment was probably the source of their demise. Until that point, choristodere evolution was able to ‘keep up’ with the changing times, including the monumental global changes that came with the K-Pg extinction. The combination of a massive asteroid impact in what’s now Mexico, extensive volcanic activity in India, and worldwide climatic shifts resulted in the extinction of over 75% of all species. Research on choristodere teeth suggests that they beat the odds by adapting to new prey.

When you think of an aquatic carnivorous reptile, you probably think of a crocodilian – and that’d be right! The crocodilian body plan is a very successful build for hunting prey in the water. As another aquatic carnivorous reptile, Champsosaurus evolved similar traits. This is an example of convergent evolution, in which unrelated species develop similar characteristics to deal with comparable circumstances. (You can read about more examples of convergent evolution in the January edition of Mesozoic Monthly about the sauropodomorph dinosaur Ledumahadi.) Some of the shared features between Champsosaurus and crocodilians include long, muscular jaws for catching fish, eyes at the top of the head for peering out of the water, and a flattened tail that was paddled side-to-side for propulsion. Of course, Champsosaurus and the rest of the choristoderes had many features that set them apart as well. Unlike crocodilians, which have bony armor called osteoderms embedded in their skin, choristoderes just had skin covered with tiny scales. In addition, crocodilians have nostrils on top of their snouts so that they can breathe while lurking beneath the surface of the water; choristodere nostrils were at the end of their snouts, so that they could stick the tip of their nose out of the water like a snorkel and breathe from down below.

A right dentary (tooth-bearing lower jaw bone) of *Champsosaurus sp.* from the Upper Cretaceous of Wyoming in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Vertebrate Paleontology collection (specimen number CM 96509). The bone is facing upwards, so you’re looking down on the teeth. Check out the dark ‘stripes’ on the enamel of each tooth. These unusual enamel striations are a hallmark of neochoristoderes, the particular choristodere subgroup to which *Champsosaurus* belongs. Photo by Joe Sawchak.

The traits we see in the skeleton of Champsosaurus help paleontologists paint a picture of its behavior. Instead of lurking at the surface of the water, Champsosaurus would wait on the bottom of a shallow lake or stream for prey to come close, lifting the tip of its snout out of the water to breathe. When a tasty fish approached, it would spring off the bottom with its powerful legs and snatch it with its toothy jaws. Despite having strong legs, Champsosaurus was not adapted to a terrestrial lifestyle. In fact, adult males may not have been able to leave the water at all! Fossils attributed to females have more robust hips and hind limbs, allowing them to crawl onto land to lay eggs. According to this hypothesis, the less-robust males would have been restricted to an aquatic-only lifestyle.

Some of the freshwater environments that Champsosaurus inhabited were relatively cold, but that wasn’t a big deal; choristoderes may have been able to regulate their body temperature (a talent known as endothermy or ‘warm-bloodedness’). Crocodilians, by contrast, live in warm, tropical habitats because they are not capable of regulating their body temperature and rely on the sun to warm their bodies (aka ectothermy or ‘cold-bloodedness’). This would explain why choristoderes were able to live further north than crocodilians. However, it seems that crocodilians had the right idea; temperatures around the tropics change less during cooling and warming periods than those at higher latitudes. So, when the current Antarctic ice sheets began to form and the planet started cooling, the temperate choristoderes had to deal with more environmental change than the tropical crocodilians, and finally went extinct. I think the moral of the story is, we would all be handling 2020 better if we lived in the tropics!

CMP Travel Program and Section of Invertebrate Paleontology Promotes the 125th Anniversary of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh with an outdoor walking tour

Before Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh (CMP) reopened to the public on June 28^th, Barbara Tucker, Director of CMP’s Travel Program, talked with me about ways to reengage members and bring them back to the Oakland museums.

With knowledge about my research on the 125^th Anniversary of the founding of the Carnegie Library, Barbara suggested a 90-minute outdoor walking tour around the exterior of the massive building. Starting from where the oldest portion of the building (Portal Entry) meets the newest (Museum of Art) to the front of the historic library entrance, past the Diplodocus carnegii statue, to Forbes Avenue and the entrances of the music hall, natural history museum, and fine arts museum guarded by the statues of the noble quartet.

photo of people standing in a circle in a park — Fig. 1

The tour was advertised on the CMP website under the Travel Program link, https://carnegiemuseums.org/things-to-do/travel-with-us/ and https://carnegiemuseums.org/kollar/, and accurately described as an activity fully compliant with CDC protocols. Within a week, the tour received overwhelming signups, which were organized by date and number of participants by Travel Program assistant Isabel Romanowski. Three tour dates were set in August and several more in September. Special private tours for donors and others in the fall continue to be arranged.

Andrew Carnegie, Founder:

As guide for an exercise that involves close observation of architectural details, I face the challenge of getting participants to imagine this section of Pittsburgh long before any of the structures around in Oakland existed. The library and museums cover five acres of flat bottom land formed by the pre-Ice Age Monongahela River more than 1.2 million years ago. In far more recent times, the land was part of the Mary Schenley Mount Airy tract of 300 acres which was donated to the City of Pittsburgh in 1889 to create Schenley Park in her honor. Andrew Carnegie, (1835 – 1919) industrialist, steel magnate, and philanthropist, in 1895 saw the site as a place to build a complex with a library, fine arts gallery, science museum, and music hall that would represent the noble quartet of literature, art, science, and music.

The Library Tour Themes:

the word Carnegie in gray above the word Carnegie in red — Fig. 2

Tour groups assemble on the dark stone steps outside the Carnegie Museum of Art (CMOA) rear entrance for an introduction focusing on the two connected, but architecturally different buildings: the Beaux-Arts style Carnegie Complex, with the original structure dating to1895, and later addition to 1907, which was built by Longfellow, Alden, and Harlow using Carnegie Steel (Fig. 2), and the modern Carnegie Museum of Art, built by architect Edward Larrabee Barnes in 1974.

Two rock types distinguish the building exteriors. The older portions of the building are clad in a light grey, easily carved, 370 million-year-old Berea Sandstone from Amherst, Ohio, while the exterior and much of the interior of Museum of Art is covered in the 295 million-year-old bluish iridescence Larvikite igneous rock from Larvik, Norway. When Barnes was commissioned to build CMOA, he chose the dark rock to blend with the older building’s coal dust veneer, a grime coating that was removed when the exterior stone was cleaned in 1990.

Landscape Art and Geology:

image of the painting "Cathedral of Learning" by John Kane — Fig. 3

Pittsburgh’s landscape painter, John Kane’s (1860 – 1934), Cathedral of Learning, circa 1930 (Fig. 3), depicts the 150-foot-deep Junction Hollow with its operating railroad. The work also includes many important architectural references, the Schenley Park Bridge (1897), Carnegie Institute’s Bellefield Boiler Plant (designed by Alden and Harlow in 1907 to supply electricity and heat to adjacent buildings), the Carnegie Institute Extension (1907), and a then unfinished Cathedral of Learning. This painting is part of CMOA Fine Arts collections.

image of John Kane painting "Panther Hollow" above a photo of the same spot with geological images on top — Fig. 4

Another John Kane landscape, Panther Hollow, circa 1930 – 1934, (Fig. 4A) in combination with Cathedral of Learning has been used in teaching about the 300 million-year-old geology of Schenley Park (Fig. 4B2) and the pre-Pleistocene Monongahela River that formed the flat bottom landscape of Oakland, and through erosion, Junction Hollow (Fig. 4B1). Kollar and Brezinski 2010, Geology, Landscape, and John Kane’s Landscape Paintings.

Junction Hollow Landscape:

Kane’s Cathedral of Learning (1930) is an idealized green space of Junction Hollow, the Wilmot Street Bridge in the foreground (1907) now replaced with the Charles Anderson Bridge (1940), and Carnegie Tech’s (now Carnegie Mellon University’s) Hamerschlag Hall or Machinery Hall (1912), built by Henry Hornbostel, a Pittsburgh architect. Hornbostel designed a circular Roman temple wrapped about a tall yellow brick smokestack (Fig. 4A). The design is based on the Roman temple of Vesta in Tivoli, Italy, dating to the early 1^st century BC. Hornbostel’s overall campus design focused on connection between art and science, with Junction Hollow representing the geological sciences. The architect Philip Johnston, who built Pittsburgh’s postmodern PPG Place (circa 1984), once contrasted the Bellefield Boiler Plant smokestack as “the ugliest in the world to Machinery Hall’s smokestack as the most beautiful.” In novelist Michael Chabon’s debut novel, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, (1988) the Bellefield Boiler Plant, termed “the cloud factory” by the narrator, is the setting for a pivotal scene.

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (Main):

black and white image of Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh — Fig. 5

The separate institutions we now know as Carnegie Museum of Natural History and Carnegie Museum of Art can track their origins to exhibits and galleries within space now fully occupied by Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. An image of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh in 1902 from the Bellefield Bridge, a structure now buried under the Mary Schenley Memorial Fountain (1918), reveals eclecticism in architectural features (Fig. 5). The west facing frontage doorways and portico of the library features, CARNEGIE LIBRARY, FREE TO THE PEOPLE, and 24 carved writer names. Missing from the names is Carnegie’s favorite poet, Robert Burns, whose statue was dedicated in 1914 on the grounds of Phipps Conservancy. Three separate entrances are served by granite steps of Permian age from Vermont, one for the science museum, one for the Department of Fine Arts, and the third, with distinctive Romanesque round doorways, brass doors with intricate features, and keystone scrolling, for the Library. This entrance was designed by Harlow, who was the draftsman on the McKim, Mead, and White team responsible for the Beaux-Arts Boston Public Library (1895). When the Carnegie Institute Extension was constructed in 1907, the science museum and fine arts museum collections were moved into the new space. The former spaces in the library became the Children’s Room, Pennsylvania Room, and Music Library.

drawing of Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh — Fig. 6

A challenge at this point in the tour involves discussing features that are not visible up close. The Longfellow, Alden, and Harlow’s Italian Renaissance and Beaux-Arts H-shaped parallelogram winning design featured a copula (Fig. 6) on top of the red tile roof that was never built. Eclecticism features include a double apse, a smaller shaped semi-circular extension of the library’s wall on the southside of the building, and larger apse on the north or Forbes Avenue side of the building, with the semicircular Music Hall auditorium, designed by Longfellow. The music hall exterior was structurally changed by the 1907 construction (Fig. 7).

The exterior Berea Sandstone reveals rustication masonry techniques with the cut blocks on the exterior first floor level distinguished by ashlar pillow horizontal border stone, and smooth masonry from the second floor to the cornice below the roof line. The second floor late Gothic style windows are divided by a vertical element called a mullion that helps with rigid support of the window arch and divides the window panels. Two symmetrical Campanile towers that Carnegie called “those donkey ears” were modeled after the San Marco Bell Tower in Venice, Italy. The towers served as an architectural offset to the semicircular exterior walls of the music auditorium and were removed in 1902 for the construction of the Carnegie Institute Extension. The installation of the towers can be interpreted as a tribute to Henry Hobson Richardson’s Allegheny County Courthouse twin towers (1888).

Architects choice of light grey sandstone and red tile roof:

The library’s red tile roof incorporated multiple glass roofs over the library, fine arts galleries, and science museum (all shaded from exterior sunlight today) which typified the Beau-Arts style. Keep in mind, the library did not have electric light. Light was provided by gas lighting and natural sunlight. Longfellow, Alden, and Harlow wrote that “the choice of a red tile roof and grey Ohio (Berea) Sandstone was intentional to contrast with Pittsburgh’s grey skies and the changing seasonal colors of the foliage in Schenley Park.”

The Beaux-Arts Architecture of the Carnegie Institute Extension 1907:

photo of Carnegie Institute extension — Fig. 8

sign that reads Historic Landmark Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Carnegie Music Hall Carnegie Museum of Natural History Carnegie Museum of Art Built 1895 and 1907 Longellow, Alden & Harlow, Architects Listed in the National Register of Historic Places Department of the Interior, United States of America Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation — Fig. 9

After Longfellow returned to his Boston practice in 1896, Alden and Harlow received the commission to build the Carnegie Institute Extension (1907) (Fig. 8). Their efforts created one of the great Beaux-Arts building in the United States. As Cynthia Field, Smithsonian Architecture Historian, stated in 1985, “the building itself is the greatest object of the entire museum collection.” Formal recognition of the building’s architectural importance exists in two historic landmark plagues placed outside of the Carnegie Library entrance and the Museums’ Carriage Drive entrance (Fig. 9).

New exterior features of the 1907 extension work included the replacement of the red tile roof with copper, the addition of an armillary sphere, the construction, with a colonnade of solid Corinthian fluted columns of Berea Sandstone, four portico porches over the main entrances to the library, music hall, natural history and art museum, and eastside of building (now removed), and the creation, along Forbes Avenue, of a main Carriage Drive entrance with direct access to the galleries. The carved names of authors, artists, musicians, and scientists in the buildings’ entablature, a Victorian era practice, extends around the building from the library’s southeast corner to the music hall entrance, and natural history and the fine arts entrances.

Also notable along Forbes Avenue are John Massey Rhind’s noble quartet statues that guard the Music Hall and Natural History and Art entrances. The four male figures all seated in classic Greek chairs are Michelangelo (art), Shakespeare (literature), Bach (music), and Galileo (science). Standing three stories above the quartet on the edge of the roof, four groups of female allegorical figures represent literature, music, art, and science as well. The bronze figures were casted in Naples, Italy in 1907 (Fig 8).

Inside the 1907 Architecture and Building Stones:

The architects created 13 new interior spaces where three grand spaces stand out for specific architecture styles such as, the Beaux-Arts Grand Staircase (voted in 2018 as the 8^th best museum staircase in the world), the Neoclassical Hall of Sculpture, and neo-Baroque Music Hall Foyer. The extension used 32 varieties of marbles and fossil limestones, many from antiquity, quarried and imported from Algeria, Croatia, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, and the United States.

Since 2004, the collaboration between the CMP Travel Program and the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology has been highly successful reaching out to our members and patrons. This summer’s tours generated some particularly appreciative comments:

The Carnegie’s resident scientists are a defining characteristic of this noble institution. Might be an anachronism in an era when museums are focused on providing ‘destination’ entertainment and hosting special events for swells, but while treasures like Dr. Kollar are still on staff, it’s a splendid idea to facilitate interaction between them and museum visitors. Congratulations on a most enjoyable program. -Ron Sommer

Albert was very informative and interesting. I found it most valuable learning the history of the area. -Janet Seifert

I can’t stress enough how unusual and interesting it was to have a geologist give us the tour. It had never occurred to me before that there’s so much one can learn about building materials from a geologist. -Neepa Majumdar

Albert D. Kollar is Collection Manager and Carnegie’s Historian of the Carnegie’s Building Stones. Barbara Tucker is Director of Carnegie Travel Program.

Scientist Takeover: Invertebrate Zoology Specimens

Murray Crayfish

The Murray Crayfish (Euastacus armatus) is a favorite of Jim Fetzner, Assistant Curator of Invertebrate Zoology. It can be found in the Murray and Murrumbidgee River catchments in the Australian states of New South Wales and Victoria. The species was originally described back in 1866 by Eduard von Martens. The species is becoming rare due to habitat degradation and overfishing and is considered Threatened or Endangered by Australian conservation agencies. The species is one of the largest species of freshwater crayfish in the world, second only to the Giant Tasmainan Freshwater Crayfish, Astacopsis gouldi. It can reach maximum sizes of over 4 pounds and about 16 inches in length. The claws are typically bright white, and the body is usually black or dark greenish/brown and covered in large spines, making it a quite striking crayfish when seen in the wild.

Lasiocampidae moths

Lasiocampide is the favorite moth family of Vanessa Verdecia, Scientific Preparator in the Section of Invertebrate Zoology. There are approximately 2,000 species worldwide which include moths commonly referred to as the eggars, lappet, and tent caterpillar moths. Check out this drawer which includes mixed species that need to be curated into the main collection. These moths have reduced mouthparts and do not feed as adults, so all the eating is done in the caterpillar stage. Some species in this family are well known, including the Eastern Tent Caterpillar (tray 3 and 4), which is a pest. However, there is interesting species diversity in the Tropics, with species waiting to be discovered and named. Although there are only 35 species in the US, questions remain about the life cycles and number of species in some of the groups. Field work and molecular data using specimens in the Carnegie collection will help to answer these questions and revise studies that have been published in the past.

Bold Jumpers

Phidippus audax, commonly known as the Bold Jumper, is one of the favorite species of invertebrates of Catherine Giles, Curatorial Assistant in the Section of Invertebrate Zoology. They’re very common in North America, but what makes them stand out from others is their iridescent chelicerae—their “jaws.” Members of the genus Phidippus can all easily be identified by this iridescence, and typically males will have brighter iridescence to attract a mate. P. audax is very docile with some people even keeping them as pets! Spiders are always handy to have around as they eat problematic insects, like mosquitoes. Specimens of P. audax in our spider collection have been found in nearby Frick Park. See if you can spot these shiny-faced little ones on your next walk through the park!

Manticora, Adult Beetle

Manticora imperator is a tiger beetle in the family Carabidae, and a favorite of Bob Davidson, Collection Manager Emeritus in the Section of Invertebrate Zoology. The genus Manticora (“the one who devours men”) consists of 15 known species confined to the southern portions of Africa, mostly to the oldest geologic portions of that region, and mostly to open desert and dry savannah habitats. They are relatively primitive, flightless, predatory black tiger beetles of enormous size. The males of some species are particularly spectacular, with huge asymmetrical mandibles, reaching the extreme in Manticora imperator, with a toothed left mandible and a larger right mandible bent like a sickle. Mandibles in both sexes are used to attack prey, and, in males, also to combat other males and to clasp the female during copulation.

Manticora, Beetle Larva

The larva of Manticora mygaloides, one of 15 known species in this genus which is only known from the southern portions of Africa. The Manticora larvae look and behave more like tiger beetle larvae from other parts of the world, except that they are enormous. They mostly occur in open desert and dry savannah habitats, where they dig a vertical burrow up to a meter in depth, depending on substrate, which they can drop down into when disturbed. The larval head is like a big armored plug with jaws attached. In attack mode, they block the burrow entrance with the head (making the hole difficult to see) and wait. There is also a large hook toward the rear on the larva’s back which makes it difficult for anything to dislodge it from the burrow. If something edible gets within striking distance, the larva throws its forebody out, grabs with its large jaws, and drags the prey into the burrow.

Death’s Head Hawkmoths

The African Death’s Head Hawmoths, Acherontia atropos, are found in Europe and Africa. They are members of the family Sphingidae, which include about 1,450 species commonly referred to as the hawkmoths, sphinx moths, and hornworms. There are two other species in this genus—A. lachesis and A. styx, which are found in Asia. All three species are known for the skull-like color pattern formed by the scales on the thorax and the rib-like color patterns on the abdomen, which have inspired stories and superstitions in the regions of the world where they occur. Acherontia styx was referenced in the book The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris. A scene of the movie adaptation was filmed in the Section of Invertebrate Zoology which depicted an entomologist identifying the pupa of a sphingid moth. The drawer imaged here includes specimens in the caterpillar and pupal stages of Acherontia atropos, prepared and preserved dry according to historical standards. Larval and pupal specimens are now preserved in ethanol. All three species are known for their interesting biological adaptions including a mechanism that allows them to squeak, and the ability to feed on honey which they steal from the combs of honeybees.

Saturniidae moths

The family Saturniidae, which includes about 2,300 known species, are commonly referred to as the royal, emperor, and giant silk moths. They are known for their large size, colorful scale patterns, and some have “eyespots” on the hindwings that serve as a defense mechanism for scaring off predators. The adults have reduced mouth parts, so they do all their feeding in the caterpillar stage and cannot feed as adults. Therefore, they only live for a few days in the adult stage—long enough to mate. Pictured here are some of the species known to occur in Pennsylvania. The Pine Devil Moth (tray 1) and the Royal Walnut Moth (tray 3) are closely related and there is evidence of population decline, especially in the Northeastern United States. They have horns that look scary but are harmless. The Imperial Moth (tray 2) has also experienced population decline and has four color forms seen in the caterpillars. One culture may include dark brown, light brown, red, and green caterpillars all from a single parent! The Cecropia Moth (tray 4) is very common in Pennsylvania but has also experienced population decline that is thought to be due to parasitism by a tachinid fly introduced to control Gypsy Moths, which are an introduced pest that threatens our forests.

Pachyrhynchus specimens

Members of the genus Pachyrhynchus are the favorites of Ainsley Seago, Associate Curator of Invertebrate Zoology (who calls them “disco weevils”). The glittering colors of these party beetles come from tiny photonic crystals inside their flattened scales; several of Bob Androw’s cerambycids have independently evolved a similar structural color mechanism. No one is sure what these Indonesian weevils use their colors for, but it may be a signal warning predators not to bother… their fused elytra and tough exoskeleton are too thick to pierce.

Sternotomus callais

The longhorn beetle genus Sternotomis has convergently evolved structural colors based on three-dimensional photonic crystals, just like those of Pachyrrhynchus but arising from a different ancestral lineage. These colors are created by the nanoscale interactions of photons with a crystalline structure within the beetle’s flattened hairs (“setae”), and will last as long as the specimen itself. Paleontologists have even found fossil beetles that retain their iridescence after 60 million years!

Longhorn Beetles

The longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae) are a favorite of Bob Androw, Collection Manager in the Section of Invertebrate Zoology. Although these beetles are typically known for their very long antennae, that character varies and quite a few species have short antennae.

Check out this drawer of diverse looking specimens from the Carnegie collection which represents just a few of the 26,000 species known. It’s a large taxonomically diverse and economically important family of beetles which contains many common and showy species, some serious plant pests, and a number of species that are considered rare enough to be afforded legal protection.

Some species mimic other insects, such as ants, bees, and wasps in both shape and coloration. The larvae are mostly wood-boring and occur in dead or decaying wood, with a few species feeding on live plant tissue. A few are soil-dwelling as larvae, feeding on the roots of grasses and other plants. The adult beetles have a wide range of feeding habits that include visiting flowers for nectar and pollen; feeding on fruits and sap from trees; and feeding on bark, stems, and leaves. There are also some that don’t feed at all as adults and just one genus, Elytroleptus, is known to be carnivorous as a predator on net-winged beetles (family Lycidae).

A: Moneilema sp. – Subfamily Lamiinae. These flightless species breed as larvae in the living tissue of cactus in the Southwest United States and Mexico. The adults are mimetic of darkling beetles like Eleodes spp., in the beetle family Tenebrionidae.

B: Enoplocerus armillatus – Subfamily Prioninae. This is one of the largest species of Cerambycidae in the New World, surpassed only by the enormous Titanus giganteus. Both occur throughout the Amazon Basin, while Enoplocerus ranges north as far as Costa Rica.

C: Callisphyris sp. – Subfamily Cerambycinae. A spectacular example of mimicry of a wasp by a cerambycid, involving coloration and the fuzzy hindlegs.

D: Hypocephalus armatus – Subfamily Anoplodermatinae. One of the most atypical species of cerambycids, possessing very short antennae, legs adapted for digging and an oddly shaped body. It is primarily soil-dwelling, occurring in the northern parts of South America.

E: Aphrodisium cantori – Subfamily Cerambycinae. While such brilliant metallic colors make this species stand out against a white background, it would well camouflaged in its natural habitat, sitting on a green leaf in a sun-dappled jungle in Southeast Asia.

F: Petrognatha gigas – Subfamily Lamiinae. Native to tropical Africa, this species can almost disappear while sitting on charred wood despite its size. Females are attracted to recently burned areas where they deposit eggs in the damaged wood as a host for their larvae.

G: Onychocerus scorpio – Subfamily Lamiinae. This South American species is a great example of cryptic coloration which allows it to blend into its surroundings when sitting on dead wood.

H: Acrocinus longimanus – Subfamily Lamiinae. The spectacularly elongate forelegs of this species make it notable amongst the Cerambycidae. The evolutionary driver for this is unknown, and no behavior involving these long appendages differing from other cerambycids has been observed.

I: Rosalia alpina – Subfamily Cerambycinae. This beautiful blue species is found across the European continent but is restricted to old-growth forests, leading to a decline in numbers. It is protected by law in a number of countries. The closely related Rosalia funebris (L) is found in the western United States, and while not uncommon, is not often observed. Can you find the third species, Rosalia batesi, from Japan, in the drawer?

J: Acanthocinus aedilis – Subfamily Lamiinae. The source of the common name of “long-horned beetle” is obvious in this species. It has one of the longest antennae-to-body length ratios in the Cerambycidae.

K: Leptura quadrifasciata – Subfamily Lepturinae. This common species is an example of the lepturines, the “flower longhorns” – showing a common color pattern mimicking the pattern of bees or wasps. The subfamily contains many species that are diurnal pollen feeders.

September 18, 2020 by Kathleen

Scientist Takeover Activity: DIY Field Kit

Field Work

Research can take on many forms and occur in a variety of locations. We can conduct research through controlled experiments in sterile labs, or by closely reading of historical texts found in archives, among other research methods. Research can also occur “in the field.” This type of research is often called fieldwork, field research, or field study. Fieldwork in natural sciences like biology, geology, or ecology is used to understand how natural environments function. It involves the observation and collection of data about organisms and habitats in their everyday settings.

Fieldwork requires a good deal of preparation. Along with planning accommodations, food, clothing, medical supplies, and the other usual travel needs, researchers conducting fieldwork also have to prepare for their on-site scientific investigations. To do this, they bring all the necessary gear required for observing, recording, collecting, etc. Some of the standard equipment is more highly specialized and expensive like GPS and certain measuring devices. However, most of the tools used in field work are similar to items easily purchased at your local grocery or hobby store. This means that we can actually make low-cost versions of these fieldwork kits to use in our very own backyards.

gloves, measuring tape, camera, tape, jar, notebook and pens

DIY Field Kit

Observing

When you are out in the field, your main task is to detect or discover. You might want to look for a particular species or maybe a pattern of interactions. To do this, you can mostly rely on your own senses of sight, smell, touch, and hearing (taste might also be useful in some instances, but we advise against tasting anything without consulting a professional). However, it can be helpful to have some tools that enhance your observational senses.

Binoculars and/or Magnifying Glass – Though our eyes are useful tools, they sometimes need help seeing things outside our normal abilities during observation. Binoculars are helpful for seeing higher detail of things in the distance. Magnifying glasses help enlarge finer details on objects up close.
Naturalist Guide Book or App – Print and online guides for observing can aid in knowing what to look for, where to look, and identifying what you observe. There are numerous options available at your local library as well as retailers.

Recording

After you have observed something new, exciting, or simply something you want to remember, you need to record information about your findings. This step is key for future comparison, developing plans for ongoing observation, and keeping track of the things you have already observed.

Pencils and Pens– Always have a few writing implements with you during field work. You would not want to be empty handed when you see something important!
Notepad or Notebook – Smaller sizes can be more convenient for storage and movement in the field. However, any size will do. You will want to record the date, location, and details about your observations in the field in these notebooks. These entries can include sketches, descriptions of sights/sounds/smells/etc., and any other details that you find important.
Ruler or Measuring Tape (optional) – If you want to be fairly precise in your notes, you might want to have a tool for measuring specimens.
Camera (optional) – A camera can be useful for documenting a scene or specimen in nature. If you plan to use a camera, be careful with any sudden or invasive movements that might disturb the scene you hope to capture.

Collecting

Collecting samples may be useful for continued examination.

Gloves – Unless you know exactly what you are collecting, it is always a good idea to protect yourself. Use gloves when interacting with your samples.
Scissors – Depending on what you collect, scissors may not be necessary.
Glass and/or Plastic Containers – You will need some place to store your samples once collected. Rigid, hard containers will better ensure the safety of your samples, but plastic bags can also be used.
Labeling Marker and Tape – Always make sure to label your samples with date and location information. This way, you can more easily identify and compare your samples with your notes and other samples.

And last, but not least is the most important tool in your field kit… Patience. Patience is not technically a tool you can purchase, but it is extremely important for field work. It can sometimes take days, weeks, or even years to observe certain phenomena.

Now, put all these items in a case of your choosing (one with sections for organization, if possible) and see what you can find!

This activity was written by Jane Thaler, a Gallery Presenter in the museum’s LifeLong Learning Department.

September 18, 2020 by wpengine

Western Bird, Eastern Waters

If you enter Bird Hall from the Grand Staircase Balcony, the first taxidermy mount you’ll encounter is an American Avocet, an elegant species commonly associated with the shallow margins of western lakes. The life-like preserved remains of the 20-inch high, long-legged, and long-billed bird occupy the lower-right position within a display case visually dominated by a flamingo. “Adaptations for Feeding” is the comparative theme for the display’s six preserved birds, a select group the Avocet earned membership among by virtue of its long, reed-thin, and slightly up-turned bill.

The species, known to science as Recurvirostra Americana, feeds by swinging its bill scythe-like through the water to capture small invertebrates. Remarkably, on a recent evening, I was able to observe an Avocet demonstrate the technique in waters less than three miles from the museum.

American Avocet (lower left) downstream from boats moored at the South Side Marina. Credit: Amy Henrici.

On July 24, a local birder used an online forum to share a lunchtime sighting of an avocet in the shallow waters of Monongahela River near the Birmingham Bridge. The report enabled other birders to make quick plans for riverside visits, and by 7:00 p.m. I was among a handful of binocular-bearing observers who watched the bird for 30 minutes from a South Side path before it flew upstream and out of sight.

American Avocet in Monongahela waters. Credit: Amy Henrici.

In the following days I tried to retroactively enrich the firsthand observation. I read the American Avocet account on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s informative All About Birds website, re-read relevant passages in The Wind Birds, author Peter Matthiessen’s 1967 tribute to the diverse tribe of species collectively termed “shore birds,” and finally, made a narrowly-focused visit to Bird Hall.

Kneeling on the marble floor in front of the avocet, I was able to inspect a key physical feature that days earlier had been concealed by murky Monongahela waters – the species’ fully webbed feet. Studying anatomical details on taxidermy mounts can enhance field observations of wildlife. This statement can be something of a mantra for natural history museum educators.

In the Field: Following the Work of a Paleontologist

Introduction by Jessica Sperdute

Edited by Matt Lamanna

With 22 million specimens housed at Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH) and nearly 10,000 on display at any given time, chances are you’ve seen a dinosaur or two during your museum visits. But have you ever wondered how those dinosaurs get to the museum after they’re found? Or how we know where to dig for them in the first place?

What is a Fossil?

Fossils are the remains of animals, plants, and other ancient life that have been preserved in rock layers, or sediment. Fossils can include things such as leaves, skin, feathers, hair, footprints, and, most commonly, hard material such as wood, shells, teeth, and bones. Even poop can be fossilized! Many kinds of fossils are rare, and studying them can help us understand how the world looked tens of thousands or even millions of years before our time. Scientists who study fossils are known as paleontologists.

Looking at the Layers

Paleontologists use many tools to help them find fossils, but the key to knowing where fossils may be hidden underground lies with rocks—massive layers of rocks, called strata, are piled onto one another over time. These layers of different rocks can tell us not only what type of rock the layer is made of, but also approximately how old the layer is. The study of rock layers is called stratigraphy, and paleontologists use it to find potential fossil beds. For instance, if a paleontologist is looking specifically for fossils of dinosaurs, they would use stratigraphy to locate exposed layers of sedimentary rocks that formed at the time when dinosaurs lived and died—the Mesozoic Era. Once rocks from the Mesozoic Era are found in a location, the paleontologist goes to that location to hunt for fossils.

Big Prospects

Finding the right type of strata is only half the work of finding fossils; once paleontologists arrive at the field site, they need to physically walk around and search for clues that fossils may be around or underneath them. This is called prospecting, and the best place to prospect is usually at the base of a hill. Wind and rain will erode or gradually wear away rocks, allowing some fossils to break loose from higher sediments and roll downhill. If a fossil fragment is found, the team can then search the area to see if there may be other, more complete fossils—oftentimes higher up the hill and still embedded in rock.

Once prospecting has yielded an area where a fossil is likely to buried, the team can begin to block out the site and start digging. They use a wide variety of tools—even household items like paintbrushes, shovels, and hammers—to uncover fossils without damaging them. Records are taken of this step-by-step process to ensure all the data, from the precise location of the dig site, to the type of fossils found and their spatial relationships to one another, and even the measurements of the quarry, is kept for further study.

Safety First

The team has found a fossil, dug it up, and recorded the data. Now what? Once a fossil has been carefully excavated, it needs to be protected. Most fossils are delicate, so to transport them, especially larger ones, paleontologists use a method called plaster jacketing to protect them. First, they wrap the fossil in soft material such as paper towels, toilet paper, or aluminum foil to cover it. Then they wrap the covered fossil in strips of burlap that have been soaked in liquid plaster. This method is like using a cast on broken bones. After the plaster hardens, it acts as a shield. When the fossil has been safely transported and is ready to be studied or put on display at a place like Carnegie Museum, the paleontologist can gently cut away the plaster without damaging the fossil inside.

Paleontologist Photos

Dr. Matt Lamanna, Mary R. Dawson Associate Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology here at CMNH, has shared some of his favorite photos of his work at previous fossil dig sites. Look at the photos—do you recognize some of the locations, the tools that Dr. Lamanna is using, or the fossils that he’s digging up?

Here, Carnegie Museum of Natural History Mary R. Dawson Associate Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology Dr. Matt Lamanna is pointing at two ribs of a small—possibly baby—sauropod (long-necked plant-eating dinosaur) projecting from a rock face in the Bahariya Oasis of Egypt in 2001. He’d found this small sauropod only minutes before this photo was taken. Sometimes prospecting yields great finds! Credit: Mandi Lyon.

Dr. Matt Lamanna (right) on an expedition that found dozens of roughly 120-million-year-old fossil bird skeletons, mostly belonging to the species *Gansus yumenensis*, in the Changma Basin of Gansu Province, China in 2004. Lamanna is with collaborator Hailu You. Credit: Ken Lacovara.

In this photo, also taken in 2004 in Gansu Province, China, Dr. Lamanna poses next to the ribs of a giant sauropod—these ribs were just part of the massive skeleton that was discovered. Credit: Hailu You.

Dr. Lamanna on the expedition that found the new and gigantic titanosaur (a type of sauropod, again, a long-necked plant-eating dinosaur) *Dreadnoughtus schrani* in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina in 2005. Lamanna is shoveling loose rock out of the Dreadnoughtus quarry. Credit: Ken Lacovara.

Members of the expedition from Drexel University, the Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia San Juan Bosco, and CMNH that found the giant titanosaur *Dreadnoughtus* in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina in 2005 (left to right: Lucio Ibiricu, Chris Coughenour, Ken Lacovara, Matt Lamanna, Marcelo Luna, and Gabriel Casal). The huge femur (thigh bone) and tibia (shin bone) of *Dreadnoughtus* are visible in the foreground. Credit: Matt Lamanna.

Dr. Lamanna on the expedition that found the titanosaur *Dreadnoughtus* in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina in 2005. He’s sitting behind the 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) femur, or thigh bone, of *Dreadnoughtus* not long after its discovery. Credit: Chris Coughenour.

Here, Dr. Lamanna is using a rock drill (one of his very favorite field tools!) to help collect the skeleton of a new armored dinosaur in Queensland, Australia in 2008. Credit: Steve Salisbury.

Dr. Lamanna (right) with collaborator Gabriel Casal making a plaster-and-burlap jacket to protect bones of the titanosaur *Sarmientosaurus musacchioi* in Chubut Province, Argentina in 2008. Credit: Mandi Lyon.

Lamanna on the day he found the only known fossil of the new, ~90-million-year-old crab *Hadrocarcinus tectilacus* on James Ross Island, Antarctica in 2009. Credit: Patrick O’Connor.

Here’s another photo of Lamanna on James Ross Island of Antarctica, this time in 2011. The team found tooth and bone fragments of the theropod—meat-eating dinosaur—*Imperobator antarcticus* at this site. Credit: Meng Jin.

During the 2011 Antarctic expedition, Lamanna and his fellow paleontologists also found lots of fossils on nearby Vega Island, especially those of approximately 70-million-year-old birds. Credit: Meng Jin.

In this photo from 2015, Lamanna is shown collecting fossils in a New Jersey quarry with a research team from Drexel University, who were uncovering marine creatures from the very end of the Mesozoic Era. Credit: Ken Lacovara.

Jessica Sperdute is a Gallery Presenter II Floor Captain and Lead Animal Husbandry Specialist in CMNH’s Lifelong Learning Department. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Scientist Takeover Activity: Measuring Leaves

The Surface Area of Leaves

The surface area of leaves plays an important role in plant growth and photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the process by which plants transform light (light energy) into food (chemical energy). Light, water, and carbon dioxide gas are all necessary for photosynthesis to occur. Light is absorbed by leaves and differences in surface area exposed to light can change the rates of photosynthesis. Cell structures involved in carbon dioxide exchange, called stomates or stomata, exist in proportion to a leaf’s surface area. Water also evaporates, or transpires, through the many stomata on the leaf surface. As such, the rate of transpiration is directly related to the surface area.

One method of measuring the surface area of leaves is known as the grid method or the grid count method. The grid method is useful for measuring a small quantity of leaves and is known for being highly accurate.

Grid Method

Print or draw graph paper with a 1-centimeter grid (search “1 cm grid paper template” for printable options).
Carefully remove leaf from plant and place on grid paper.
Trace the leaf’s outline and remove the leaf.

4. Count the number of squares that are completely within the outline.

Estimate the areas partially covered – The simplest way to do this is: count a partial square if it is at least half covered by the leaf; do not count partial squares that are less than half covered.

Add up the number of squares counted (fully filled + half full squares) and you now have the surface area of the leaf in centimeters squared (cm²).

This activity was written by Jane Thaler, a Gallery Presenter in the museum’s LifeLong Learning Department.

September 17, 2020 by wpengine

When Perspective Meets Research

Note: This piece uses both person-first and identity-first language, based on how the persons referenced choose to discuss their neurodiversity. In unsure situations, the author has defaulted to person-first language.

Science is an ever-evolving thing. As we learn more, do more, and see more, science changes and grows as well. Certainly, there are a plethora of things that contribute to the ability to do better and more efficient research; when asked, people may answer with better tools, new technology, or even funding. However, the researchers themselves play a crucial role in the evolution of science. With new researchers, of course, comes a much-needed addition to scientific study: diversity.

Laurent Mottron, a psychiatrist who specializes in cognitive neuroscience research in autism at the University of Montreal, knows exactly how important neurodiversity is to research as a whole. One of his most prolific partnerships is with Michelle Dawson, an openly autistic researcher. In his publication, “The Power of Autism,” Mottron makes a point to highlight the fact that “… autistic behaviors, although atypical, are still adaptive.” Because of this, he says that neurotypical researchers can unfortunately display a negative bias even as they seek to research neurodiversity. His partnership with Dawson, with whom he has co-authored over 13 works, has served to solidify the idea that neurodiverse perspectives are not just helpful— they are a necessity.

Mottron also points out that the diagnostic criteria of many conditions, like autism, rely on negative aspects, rather than positive ones. This underscores something that many neurodivergent researchers already know: studies on neurodivergency also have a tendency to pin their focus on its negative manifestations. Without the perspective of neurodivergent researchers, the trend towards exclusive study of negative traits can contribute, however unwittingly, to stigma. Jac den Houting, a research associate in the Department of Educational Studies at Macquarie University, echoes the this sentiment in an interview for the article “Meet the Scientists Redefining Autism Research,” saying “[t]here’s a lot of research coming out that unfortunately doesn’t take into account the fact that autistic people are going to read what you’re writing.” Reading research that is informed by stigma can contribute to a snowball effect; if new research is based on the research that came before it, it can be difficult for stigma to be broken— and as a result, a feeling of being “othered,” or an outcast, in academic environments can persist.

As neurodiverse voices contribute more and more to their fields, however, stigma has begun to show a slow, yet promising, fade. Monique Botha, a researcher with autism who studies stigma and discrimination against autistic people and is an associate lecturer at the University of Surrey, shared her perspective: “For every high-quality piece of work an autistic researcher puts out on autism, the more the autistic perspective will be valued or recognized.”

The perspective of neurodiverse individuals is a necessity in fields other than psychology. Temple Grandin, a faculty member with Animal Sciences at Colorado State University, has extensively documented her personal experience with autism. Grandin credits her ability to empathize with livestock to her neurodivergency, which has in turn led her to creating more humane methods of treating them. With over 60 published works and numerous appearances in other media (including multiple TV appearances, films, interviews, and even a song named after her), Grandin is among the most famous researchers of animal sciences.

Her prominence is a clear indicator of the benefit of neurodiverse perspectives in science. Within the realm of research on neurodivergence, researchers whose own experience mirrors elements of their research often provide insight which benefits neurodiverse individuals as a whole. Neurodiversity is also linked to higher levels of creativity in many publications, pointing towards unique research and research methods that could further shape and advance numerous different fields to amazing heights.

Works Cited/Additional Reading:

Grandin, T. (n.d.). Temple Grandin: Inside ASD. Retrieved from https://www.autism.org/temple-grandin-inside-asd/

Mottron, L. (2011). The power of autism. Nature, (479), 33-35.

Nuwer, R. (2020). Meet the Autistic Scientists Redefining Autism Research. The Scientist.

Emma McGeary is a Gallery Presenter and Natural History Interpreter in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s LifeLong Learning Department. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

This post is part of Super Science Days: Scientist Takeover!

September 16, 2020 by Kathleen

Scientist Takeover: Coloring Page Plants!

Download Dandelion Coloring Image

Download Goldenrod Coloring Image

Drawings by Sarah C. Williams, Curatorial Assistant, Section of Botany

September 16, 2020 by Kathleen

Scientist Takeover: What is a Dichotomous Key?

A dichotomous key is a tool that allows the user to determine the identity of items in the natural world, such as trees, wildflowers, mammals, reptiles, rocks, and fish. Keys consist of a series of choices that lead the user to the correct name of a given item.

Let’s think of a plant or animal and practice using a very simple example of a dichotomous key together!

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September 15, 2020 by wpengine

Scientist Takeover: Mammals!

What is the largest mammal?

This is an easy one because it is not even close; the blue whale, which is also the largest animal to ever live on Earth, weighs around 100 tons (220,000 pounds) and is about 100 feet long. Females are typically larger than males. Despite their bulk, blue whales are filter feeders subsisting on krill, small crustaceans less than an inch in length.

In 1758, Carl Linnaeus gave the blue whale the Latin name Balaenoptera musculus. The first part, Balaenoptera, the genus name, means winged whale for its long, slender flippers; the second part, the species name, is thought to be a joke by Linnaeus because it is also the species name he gave to the house mouse, Mus musculus.

Here is the left mandible (lower jaw) of a blue whale on the second floor in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Notice that it dwarfs the adult polar bear behind it.

What is the smallest mammal?

This is harder than the largest one—the blue whale—because there are two mammals considered to be very close in weight: the Etruscan shrew with a Mediterranean and Asian distribution weighs in about 1.8 grams, which is less than the bumblebee bat from Thailand and Myanmar, weighing in around just 2 grams, but the shrew is longer than the bat. Remember there are 28 grams in one ounce and 2 grams is the weight of one paperclip!

This is the smallest North American mammal, the American pygmy shrew. This example, from the research collections of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, is under four inches in total length.

What is the fastest land mammal?

The cheetah is hands down the fastest, but it does not sustain speed over a great distance; the cheetah is a burst-predator with a chase lasting typically less than a minute. The cheetah goes from 0 to 60 miles per hour in about three seconds, which is what a good sports car can do! At top speed, the length of one stride is 21 feet and there are four strides per second.

Everything about the cheetah is built for speed and hunting. This view of a skull in the research collection of Carnegie Museum of Natural History shows enormous orbits for its large eyeballs providing keen vision and its very large nasal opening, which allows more oxygen to enter the lungs.

What is the slowest land mammal?

The name says it all…sloth! There are two types of sloths found in the tropics of Central America and northern South America, usually called three-toed and two-toed sloths. This is a misnomer as both types have three toes on their hindfeet; what differs is the number of fingers on the forefeet. So, they really should be called three- and two-fingered sloths. Both sloths live most of their lives in trees on a diet of leaves and move so slowly or so little that algae grow on their fur, providing camouflage. Of the two sloths, the three-digited one is smaller and slower.

This skin of a three-toed sloth from the research collection of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History shows a mammal built for hanging around in trees, with its long arms and hook-like claws on all four limbs.

What is the strongest mammal?

This is just a playful question. It usually isn’t one of the comparisons that scientists try to make. However, the armored hero shrew seems like a good nominee. This shrew lives in the forested region of central Africa. Its spinal column is unique among mammals. The mid-portion is extremely modified with many interlocking bony tubercles that project forward and backward to fortify the spine. The exact purpose is unknown. However, it has been reported that a full-grown man could stand on the back of an armored shrew without harming the animal.

The skin and partial vertebral column of an armored hero shrew from the research collection of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History shows the beautifully intricate bony structure of the spinal column, which lies hidden inside of a perfectly normal looking long-haired shrew.

John Wible is Curator of the Section of Mammals and Sue McLaren is Collection Manager of the Section of Mammals at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. This post is part of Super Science Days: Scientist Takeover!

Super Science: The Virtual Amazon

No, we’re not talking about a video game featuring an ancient woman warrior. We’re talking about making the museum’s Amazon Basin collections electronically accessible to the people of that region, as well as to scientists and the public. Through collaboration with the indigenous people whose cultures these objects represent, we hope to more widely and authentically share information about the way of life in Amazon Basin villages. The significance of fishing, hunting, gardening, and even rituals ablaze with celebrated feather work can all be better understood through the visual exploration of materials already in the CMNH collection.

Three young Kuikuro men singing joking songs during the manioc festival (Carlos Fausto, June 2017).

With the ongoing massive deforestation in the Amazon by neo-Brazilians for logging, farming, and mining, the “lungs of the world” are under threat, as are the lives of the indigenous people whose way-of-life depends on the flora and fauna of the forest they have managed successfully for centuries. If the forest disappears, or is even diminished much more, its loss will have a devastating effect on the world’s climate. A number of scientists and non-government organizations (NGOs) from Brazil and other countries are partnering with the indigenous people to preserve their lands, their cultures, and their lives.

The border between the Território do Xingu and a neo-Brazilian soybean farm is very distinct.

Although the CMNH project will take some time—and a lot of planning and resources, the growth of collaborative efforts to address the looming threats to the Amazon Basin have made conditions optimal to bring collections-centered stories to the American public. The idea to provide wider access to the artifacts got started two years ago, when on September 2, 2018, Museu Nacional, the national museum of Brazil, was almost entirely destroyed by a fire. The blaze destroyed a magnificent natural history collection, and also one of the largest archeological and ethnographic collections in the world. The institution’s holdings of Amazon Basin material were unparalleled, and are now gone.

By great good fortune and the foresight of then-curator James B. Richardson, the CMNH Section of Anthropology developed an outstanding Amazon Basin collection, starting in the early 1980s. Richardson was also a professor of anthropology, and divided his time between the University of Pittsburgh and the museum. As an archeologist working in Peru, he regularly advised South American-focused graduate students. Whenever one of these students prepared for fieldwork, Richardson would make museum funds available for artifact collection and shipping. Through this process, and aided by purchase of existing collections, the museum amassed materials from 72 Amazon Basin tribes. The three most-complete assemblages (with associated collectors) are from the Yanomamo [Dr. Giovanni B. Saffirio], the Kayapo [Dr Darrel A. Posey], and the Kuikuro [Dr Michael J. Heckenberger]. With the loss of Museu Nacional, these collections are now the best and most complete in the world.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult to predict project timing, but we plan to eventually document every relevant item with high-resolution digital images, and a smaller number with 3-D images, beginning with the Kuikuro collection. Ideally, we would like to bring several Kuikuro people to Pittsburgh to co-curate the artifacts by identifying component materials, and explaining each item’s creation process and use.

Aerial view of Ipatse village, the main Kuikuro settlement. The basic layout of Xingu villages has remained unchanged for over 800 years.

Dr. Heckenberger, whose archeological findings were recently featured on the Discovery Channel’s 3-part series, “Lost Cities of the Amazon,” continues to work with the Kuikuru in the upper Xingu River basin. Chief Afukaka Kuikuro, who helped Heckenberger gather materials for the museum in the early 1990s, and is involved in other collaborative projects, will likely play a critical role. Because ethnographers were historically male, women’s views and artifacts got short shrift in museum research. In an effort to remedy such bias, several Kuikuro women will be included in the project.

Working around the computer. Archeologist and CMNH Research Associate Michael J. Heckenberger is second from the left. Chief Afukaká is on the right.

Kuikuro man using the mapping function on his cell phone.

What will be the outcome of this endeavor? At the very least, a small exhibit in the museum will make select artifacts accessible to the people of the Pittsburgh Region as windows into the culture of the Kuikuro. Other possibilities include an online catalog, or a large installation with visiting Kuikuro to present lectures and show the films of film-maker Takumā Kuikuro. At the very least, artifact images will be shared with the Kuikuro themselves, so that they have a record that will remain available to their craftworkers, children, and grandchildren.

These ambitious plans might not happen anytime soon. With time and funding, however, bringing these wonderful objects to the attention of the public will provide a glimpse of life in a very different world. The Kuikuro have much knowledge to share, and we’d like to be a part of making it available to the rest of the world.

Sunrise over the Xingu river, at Ipatse village.

Additional resource: The Xingu Firewall

Deborah Harding, M.A. is the Collection Manager of the Section of Anthropology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. This blog is part of Super Science Days: Scientist Takeover!

The Strange Saga of Spinosaurus, the Semiaquatic Dinosaurian Superpredator

I’ve been captivated by dinosaurs for as long as I can remember. My parents tell me that I told them that I wanted to be a paleontologist as early as age four. Naturally, then, I had lots and lots of books about dinosaurs when I was a boy growing up during the 1980s. One of the dinosaurs that always fascinated me the most was Spinosaurus aegyptiacus. Found in 1912 in the Bahariya Oasis of the Western Desert of Egypt (could anyplace sound more exotic to a small-town kid from upstate New York?!), Spinosaurus was originally known from a highly incomplete but also very large and extremely distinctive partial skeleton found in a middle Cretaceous-aged (roughly 95-million-year-old) rock layer in the oasis. Among the few skeletal elements known were part of a strangely shaped (for a dinosaur) lower jaw, some crocodile-like teeth, and most strikingly, several back vertebrae that each sported tall spines, some of them measuring nearly six feet. These spines clearly impressed Ernst Stromer von Reichenbach, the German paleontologist who studied the skeleton and gave the animal its name in a 1915 publication. Tragically, however, that original Spinosaurus skeleton—and all of Stromer’s other dinosaur fossils from Egypt—were destroyed during the Second World War, more specifically in a British Royal Air Force bombing of Munich on April 24, 1944. The story of Stromer’s lost dinosaurs found its way into many a children’s book, including several that I read cover-to-cover. As such, the tale took on near-legendary status for me, and, I’m sure, many other young dinosaur enthusiasts around the world. Here was an absolutely extraordinary dinosaur from a faraway land, similar in size to the gargantuan Tyrannosaurus rex, but clearly very different from all other predatory dinosaurs known at the time – and it was represented only by a few teeth and bones that had been blasted into oblivion decades ago and so now existed only as pictures in books.

A scan of my photocopy of plate I of Ernst Stromer’s original 1915 publication on *Spinosaurus aegyptiacus*, showing some of the teeth and bones preserved in the holotype (= name-bearing) partial skeleton, discovered in 1912 in Egypt’s Bahariya Oasis. Check out the long spines on the back vertebrae at lower left!

Stromer’s conception of *Spinosaurus*, as depicted in a 1936 publication and on a glass slide of his that colleagues of mine scanned during our visit to the Paläontologisches Museum München in Munich, Germany in 2001. Stromer knew this animal was big, as evidenced by the human skeleton he included for scale. Interestingly, too, he reconstructed *Spinosaurus* with unusual proportions for a carnivorous dinosaur, such as an abnormally elongate torso and short hind limbs. We’ll come back to those odd proportions a little later…

When I arrived in graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania in 1997, one of the first things I did was make a lengthy list of all the paleontological sites I was interested in exploring, ranked by their potential (in my mind, at least) to produce scientifically significant finds. The Bahariya Oasis and the search for a ‘replacement Spinosaurus’ quickly rose to the top of the list. Amazingly, no one had ever found—or at least officially reported—new dinosaur fossils in the oasis in the more than half-century since Stromer’s beasts were obliterated during that fateful airstrike. A need to keep this post to a reasonable length prevents me from describing the stars that had to align to make this happen, but in January 2000 I found myself in the Bahariya Oasis—one of the places I’d dreamed about going since I was a small child—as part of the first significant ‘dinosaur hunt’ to take place at the site since the early 20^th century. It was bittersweet, though, in the sense that we never really found that ‘replacement Spinosaurus’ I’d fantasized about – all we ever discovered of that creature were a few isolated, fragmentary teeth and bones (and, in a very different location, a couple previously unpublished photos of the original skeleton in a Munich archive). We did find and dig up a gigantic new species of long-necked, plant-eating sauropod dinosaur, Paralititan stromeri, a creature that to this day is one of the largest land animals of any kind that’s ever been found, anywhere – but that’s another story for another time.

One of the rare contributions that I personally have made to scientific knowledge of *Spinosaurus*: a glass slide showing the only known photo of the right dentary (tooth-bearing lower jaw bone) of the original, name-bearing partial skeleton from Egypt. Like all of Stromer’s Egyptian dinosaur material, this specimen (including this bone) was destroyed in a British air raid on Munich during World War II. Several colleagues and I ‘rediscovered’ this photo—which nobody apparently knew existed—in an archive at the Paläontologisches Museum München in 2001. We published it and one other previously unknown photo of the Spinosaurus type specimen in a 2006 paper in the Journal of Paleontology.

A much younger yours truly digging up the incomplete left humerus (upper arm bone) of the gigantic sauropod (long-necked herbivorous dinosaur) *Paralititan stromeri* in the Bahariya Oasis of Egypt, February 2000. *Paralititan* is one of the largest dinosaurs ever discovered – a nice ‘consolation prize’ given that we didn’t find much of *Spinosaurus* during our expeditions to Bahariya. (A cast replica of the complete right humerus of *Paralititan* is on display in *PaleoLab* at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.) Credit: Josh Smith.

Back to the matter at hand, meaning Spinosaurus. Fast-forward to 2011. I had the honor of serving as the external thesis examiner for Nizar Ibrahim, a promising doctoral student at University College Dublin in Ireland. I’d known Nizar for years, ever since he reached out to me by email while an undergraduate at the University of Bristol, England, to discuss our mutual interests in African Cretaceous dinosaurs. Nizar’s Ph.D. thesis was on dinosaurs and other middle Cretaceous-aged vertebrates from the celebrated Kem Kem beds of southeastern Morocco, a set of rocks that had yielded a fossil fauna very similar to, though seemingly more diverse than, that of the Bahariya Oasis. Among the many finds that Nizar documented in his colossal thesis were intriguing new remains of Spinosaurus. I went to Dublin to participate in his successful thesis defense, and afterward, he and I hit up some of the city’s finest public houses to celebrate (no surprise for those who know me). Over a pitcher of yummy Irish stout, he told me an exciting story – he and his team had lately discovered not just isolated bones of Spinosaurus in Morocco, but parts of a probable new skeleton. If so, this find would be the first skeleton since Stromer, and moreover would be exceedingly important given how little was known about Spinosaurus, even as recently as the early 2010s. The more parts we paleontologists have of a given fossil animal, the more we can generally learn about it, so the prospect of a new and relatively complete Spinosaurus skeleton—in other words, many bones belonging to a single individual dinosaur—was thrilling to say the least.

Again I’ll skip details for brevity’s sake, but fast-forward once again, to 2014. I was contacted by an editor of Science—one of the foremost scientific journals in the world—to peer-review a paper that had been submitted by (you guessed it!) Nizar and a long list of collaborators describing that new skeleton of Spinosaurus that he’d told me about over beers in Ireland three years before. Nizar and team had revisited the quarry and it had panned out in a big way. From this one, single individual Spinosaurus—again, the first associated skeleton of this dinosaur to have been found in roughly a century—they had bones from the skull, backbone (including a few of those famously long-spined vertebrae!), forelimb, pelvis, and hind limb. More importantly, these ‘new’ bones revealed that Spinosaurus was even more bizarre than anyone imagined! We already knew, from Stromer’s specimen and other, isolated finds made through the years, that the shapes of the skull and back were really weird for a predatory dinosaur. Now, the new skeleton showed that the bones were remarkably dense, the hind legs were oddly short, and the hind feet may have been webbed! All of this led Nizar and colleagues to propose that Spinosaurus may have been semiaquatic; in other words, that its lifestyle was much more comparable to that of a modern-day alligator or crocodile than it was to a more ‘typical’ land-living predatory dinosaur such as T. rex. Other evidence for an affinity to watery habitats had been found in Spinosaurus and closely related dinosaurs (known, perhaps unsurprisingly, as spinosaurids) before, but this was, in my mind, the most convincing case yet made that these animals spent significant amounts of their time at least partly submerged in lakes and rivers. The paper was published in Science a few months later, accompanied by a cover story in National Geographic magazine and a special on the venerable PBS TV series NOVA. Almost exactly one hundred years after it had been named, Spinosaurus had become a celebrity.

Nizar Ibrahim and colleagues’ initial conception of *Spinosaurus aegyptiacus* in the flesh, released to coincide with the publication of their *Science* paper in 2014. Two aspects stand out: as Stromer already knew (see his skeletal reconstruction above), the animal is enormous, but it was more oddly proportioned than even he had imagined. Note also the ‘regular-looking’ (for a dinosaur) tail, and read on. Credit: Davide Bonadonna.

Semiaquatic *Spinosaurus* chowing down on a tasty lungfish in what is now northern Africa some 95 million years ago. Italian paleoartist Davide Bonadonna has produced some of the most beautiful and accurate modern depictions of this extraordinary dinosaur, and I’m grateful to him for letting me reproduce his art here.

But the story didn’t end there. Some prominent paleontologists criticized Nizar and colleagues’ semiaquatic interpretation of Spinosaurus. These opinions weren’t a final judgment. Instead, this is just how science works: we scientists propose ideas, or hypotheses—in this case, that Spinosaurus lived and behaved more like a crocodile than your garden-variety carnivorous dinosaur—and then test these hypotheses by reevaluating the existing evidence and/or bringing new information to light. If a hypothesis repeatedly stands up to testing, then it gradually gets incorporated into the body of knowledge. Other paleontologists presented evidence that they claimed refuted the semiaquatic hypothesis, but Nizar and team eventually countered with new data of their own. In late 2019, another prominent scientific journal—this time it was Nature—came calling, asking me to review a second paper by Nizar et al. on Spinosaurus. What, I thought, could these researchers have to say about this dinosaur that they hadn’t already said before? Well, as it turns out, Nizar and colleagues had kept digging at their Spinosaurus skeleton site, and incredibly, they’d continued to find important new bones belonging to the same specimen. Among these post-2014 finds was the almost complete tail. When I saw what it looked like (via an illustration in their paper), I literally laughed out loud with surprise and delight. Somehow, the shape of the Spinosaurus tail Nizar’s team had discovered—the first even reasonably complete tail of this dinosaur to have ever been unearthed—was simultaneously both unexpected and predictable. It looked really dissimilar from the tails of other predatory dinosaurs, but it was nearly exactly like what one might expect for a dinosaur that used its tail to propel itself through water. In other words, the tall, fin-like tail of Spinosaurus looked more like that of a supersized alligator or newt than that of T. rex.

Nizar and team’s Nature paper on their Spinosaurus tail was published this past April 29. Is it the last word on this dinosaur and its mode of life? Most certainly not, but the evidence is now stronger than ever—in my opinion, very strong—that Spinosaurus spent more time in the water than any other non-avian (= non-bird) dinosaur that we currently know about.

The modern view of *Spinosaurus*, not as a ‘regular’ predatory dinosaur, but rather as a specialized semiaquatic hunter that spent much of its life in the water. Self-serving side note: the three smaller, spiky-looking fish are *Bawitius bartheli*, a polypterid (an archaic, still-extant group of thick-scaled ray-finned fishes) that several colleagues and I named in 2012 from fossils found in the Bahariya Oasis. The larger fish at lower left is the giant coelacanth *Axelrodichthys* (sometimes called *Mawsonia*) *libyca*. Credit: Davide Bonadonna.

Two *Spinosaurus* invite the sawfish *Onchopristis numidus* to lunch in what’s now northern Africa some 95 million years ago. Look at those fin-like *Spinosaurus* tails! Credit: Davide Bonadonna/National Geographic.

Nizar (who’s a Research Associate here at Carnegie Museum of Natural History), myself, and our many colleagues and collaborators are continuing to study the mysterious dinosaurs and other fossil vertebrates from the middle and Late Cretaceous of northern Africa. Indeed, Nizar and I have several collaborative papers in the works right now, and I’m also working with an amazing team of paleontologists at Mansoura University on multiple new Egyptian fossil finds. It’s a good bet that African Cretaceous dinosaurs even stranger than Spinosaurus are still out there, waiting to be discovered!

Further reading/watching:

Nothdurft, W. E., with J. B. Smith, M. C. Lamanna, K. J. Lacovara, J. C. Poole, and J. R. Smith. 2002. The Lost Dinosaurs of Egypt. Random House, New York, 256 pp.

Smith, J. B., M. C. Lamanna, H. Mayr, and K. J. Lacovara. 2006. New information regarding the holotype of Spinosaurus aegyptiacus Stromer, 1915. Journal of Paleontology 80:400–406.

Ibrahim, N., P. C. Sereno, C. Dal Sasso, S. Maganuco, M. Fabbri, D. M. Martill, S. Zouhri, N. Myhrvold, and D. A. Iurino. 2014. Semiaquatic adaptations in a giant predatory dinosaur. Science 345:1613–1616.

Bigger Than T. rex (NOVA documentary): https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/bigger-than-t-rex/

Henderson, D. M. 2018. A buoyancy, balance and stability challenge to the hypothesis of a semi-aquatic Spinosaurus Stromer, 1915 (Dinosauria: Theropoda). PeerJ 6:e5409.

Ibrahim, N., S. Maganuco, C. Dal Sasso, M. Fabbri, M. Auditore, G. Bindellini, D. M. Martill, S. Zouhri, D. A. Mattarelli, D. M. Unwin, J. Wiemann, D. Bonadonna, A. Amane, J. Jakubczak, U. Joger, G. V. Lauder, and S.E. Pierce. 2020. Tail-propelled aquatic locomotion in a theropod dinosaur. Nature 581:67–70.

Matt Lamanna is Mary R. Dawson Associate Curator and Head of the Section of Vertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Egypt and the Nile

Over the course of some five millennia the ancient Egyptians developed a distinctive material culture shaped in large part by their local geography, natural resources, and relationship with the Nile River. In the 5^th Century BCE, the Greek historian Herodotus noted that “any sensible person” could see that Lower Egypt was a “gift of the river” (Herodotus, 2.5). While his comments were limited to the areas in the north and in the Delta, they really ring true for all the Nile River Valley. Every aspect of life in Egypt depended on the river – the Nile provided food and resources, land for agriculture, a means of travel, and was critical in the transportation of materials for building projects and other large-scale endeavors. It was a critical lifeline that literally brought life to the desert.

Map of Ancient Egypt (www.shutterstock.com 211163719)

The modern name of the Nile River comes from the Greek Nelios, but the Egyptians called it Iteru or “River.” The Nile is the longest river in the world, measuring some 6,825 km. The Nile River System has three main branches – the White Nile, the Blue Nile, and the Atbara river. The White Nile, the river’s headwaters, flows from Lake Victoria and Lake Albert. The Blue Nile brings about the inundation or annual flood and provides most of the river’s water and silt. The Atbara river has less of an impact, as it flows only occasionally.

In the south, the Nile has a series of six main cataracts, which begin at the site of Aswan. A cataract is a shallow stretch of turbulent waters formed where flowing waters encounter resistant rock layers. In the case of the Nile cataracts, large outcroppings of granite make the flow of the river unpredictable and much more difficult to traverse by boat. The cataract system created a natural boundary at Aswan, separating Egypt from its southern neighbor, Nubia.

Ancient Egypt was located in Northeastern Africa and had four clear geographic zones: the Delta, the Western Desert, the Eastern Desert, and the Nile Valley. Each of these zones had its own natural environment and its own role within the Egyptian State. Cities could only flourish in the Nile Delta, the Nile Valley, or desert oases, where people had access to water, land, and key resources. The ancient Egyptians, who were always keen observers of nature, often associated the Nile Valley with life and abundance and the neighboring deserts with death and chaos.

Kemet or, “black land,” denotes the rich, fertile land of the Nile Valley, while Deshret, or “red land,” refers to the hot, dry desert. The contrast between the red land and the black land was not just visible or geographic, it effected the Egyptians’ everyday lives. The dry climate of the desert, for example, made it an ideal location for cemeteries. There, the annual Nile flood would not disturb people’s graves and the dry climate acted to preserve tombs and their contents. Good preservation and the fact that most people do not live in the desert, are the main reasons that so much of what archaeologists and anthropologists study comes from a funerary context.

View with the Nile River Valley in the foreground and the desert cliffs in the background. (www.shutterstock.com 1082850872)

The landscapes of Upper and Lower Egypt also differ. The Egyptian word Tawy, means “Two Lands” – this refers to the two main regions of ancient Egypt, Upper and Lower Egypt. Lower Egypt is in the north and contains the Nile Delta, while Upper Egypt contains areas to the South. These two designations may seem counterintuitive to their physical locations, but they reflect the flow of the Nile River, from South to North.

The expansive floodplain of the Nile Delta and the very narrow band of fertile land present in the Nile Valley led to different ways of life. In the Nile Delta for example, the Egyptians constructed their towns and cemeteries on turtlebacks; natural highpoints in the landscape that became islands during the inundation. In addition, the location of the Delta along the Mediterranean and at the entry point into the Levant made it an important area for trade and international contacts. The Delta was a very multi-cultural region throughout Egyptian history.

Ancient Egyptian Sema-Tawy – represents the eternal unification of Upper and Lower Egypt (www.shutterstock.com 1778750570).

The Egyptians thought of the king as the unifier of the “Two Lands.” One of the king’s primary roles was to keep Upper and Lower Egypt united; the Egyptians expressed this visually using something we call the sema-tawy motif. Here you can see two Nile gods symbolically uniting the lands of Upper and Lower Egypt – each depicted in the form of their characteristic plant, the papyrus for Lower Egypt and the lotus for Upper.

The Egyptians constructed their calendar around the yearly cycle of the Nile. It included three main seasons: Akhet, the period of the Nile’s inundation, Peret, the growing season, and Shemu, harvest season. The Egyptians made Nilometers to measure and track the height of the annual inundation – they used the recorded readings from these Nilometers much like more contemporary farmers would use almanacs. One particularly well-preserved example is located on Elephantine Island at Aswan.

The close connection between the Egyptians the Nile River led them to identify a number of Egyptian gods with aspects of the river, its annual flood, and the fertility and abundance associated with them. Hapi, for example, is the incarnation of the life force that the Nile provides; he also symbolizes the annual inundation of the Nile. His round belly and folds of skin represent abundance. Osiris, who is most often recognized in his role associated with the afterlife, is fundamentally a god of regeneration and rebirth. Artists often depicted him with black skin, linking him to the fertility of the Nile River and its lifegiving silt. The broader natural world was a further source of inspiration for Egyptian religion.

The Nile was also an important highway, it was the easiest way to travel and played an essential role in mining expeditions, trade, architectural projects, and general travel. The Egyptians were expert boat builders; images of boats are some of the earliest designs that appear on Egyptian Predynastic Vessels dating to ca. 3500-3300 B.C.E. River access decreased the time and number of individuals needed for the transportation of large objects, like stones, obelisks, and architectural elements. Boats were also common in the funerary religion as well – as a part of the funeral itself and for the afterlife.

Although I’ve only been able to touch on a few key elements here, the natural environment of Egypt and the Nile River impacted every aspect of life in ancient Egypt. The river’s floodplain, water, and silt provided the foundation for civilization and served as a source of inspiration for the people who inhabited northeastern Africa during this pivotal period in history.

Lisa Saladino Haney is Postdoctoral Assistant Curator of Egypt on the Nile at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Overwintering for Amphibians and Reptiles

by Amanda Martin

With Autumn upon us, temperatures are dropping, and it is getting colder out. Especially in the northern regions, amphibians and reptiles need to prepare for brumation (essentially, hibernation for ectotherms). Ectotherms like frogs, salamanders, snakes, and turtles are highly sensitive to changes in their environment and need to stay warm by actively moving in and out of areas with heat. When temperatures increase, ectotherm metabolism increases, and when temperatures go down, so does their metabolism. But how do they survive during winter, won’t they freeze?

Fig. 1. Eastern garter snake. Photo by A.K. Martin.

Many snakes, like eastern garter snakes (Fig. 1) find shelters called hibernacula and curl up inside, sometimes intermixed with other snake species. These hibernacula are often small mammal burrows, dens, or tunnels below the frost line. During winter, typically between October and March, several hundred individuals will gather in the same den, tightly coiling their bodies together to stay warm enough to survive. They stop eating during this period because it is too cold to properly digest food and will stay hydrated by absorbing moisture through their scaly skin. Even though snakes are awake and sluggishly active, they expend very little energy during this time and do not lose much weight.

Fig. 2. Eastern box turtle. Photo by A.K. Martin.

Turtles, on the other hand, are a bit different. Aquatic turtles survive winter underwater, and the terrestrial eastern box turtle (Fig. 2) buries itself underground by digging into the soil. One extreme overwintering survivor is the painted turtle, which spends most of its time in ponds and slow-moving freshwater. When these ponds freeze, painted turtles bury themselves up to 45 cm (nearly 18 inches) in mud beneath the pond’s surface. Amazingly, these turtles can survive for months in low or no oxygen environments. During warmer months, they breathe air, but when submerged for overwintering they absorb oxygen through the thin skin of their cloaca, a phenomenon called cloacal respiration.

Fig. 3. Wood frog. Photo by A.K. Martin.

Another amazing overwintering feat is the freeze tolerance of wood frogs (Fig. 3) which can become frogsicles! Wood frogs are unable to bury themselves completely, like turtles, so part of their body is often exposed when trying to stay underneath the mud. This is beneficial for obtaining oxygen through their skin. However, they still need to avoid freezing and will move around to warmer areas as needed. Many frogs stay in burrows or under leaf litter to escape the frost, but wood frogs will stay at shallower depths because they have high concentrations of glucose, which produces an “antifreeze” effect. This protects their organs when over two-thirds of their body freezes!

Fig. 4. Red-backed Salamander. Photo by A.K. Martin.

Other amphibians, like salamanders, do not have freeze tolerance like the wood frog. Red-backed salamanders (Fig. 4) are one of the most abundant species in the eastern United States. They are typically found underneath logs and leaf litter at shallow depths, but during winter when temperatures drop below 30°F, they travel as much as 15 inches under the ground in animal burrows. Other species, like spotted salamanders, will also look for deep burrows that are below the frost line.

In early spring when temperatures warm, amphibians and reptiles emerge from overwintering to look for basking sites, sunny spots to warm themselves. With warmer temperatures, the prey of many of these species also become more available. Garter snakes will look for slugs, earthworms, amphibians, minnows, and rodents, for example, and red-backed salamanders will eat a wide variety of invertebrates, such as spiders, worms, snails, and insects. The exact timing of emergence for amphibians and reptiles depends on a given year’s weather, resulting in variable emergence times from year to year that correspond to temperature. Not every individual makes it to the spring, but it is amazing that species that are so dependent on the temperature of their environment are capable of surviving up north!

Written by Amanda Martin, Post-doctoral Researcher in the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Edited by Jennifer Sheridan, Assistant Curator in the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Feeding the Monster in the Sewer

Water is a resource that I often take for granted. I take daily showers, wash my dishes, and do my laundry without a second thought to the amount or quality of water that is used. I only experience small aspects of the natural water cycle on a daily basis, from a bit of condensation on a cold glass of water to the sporadic downfall of rain that occurs in Pittsburgh. The water cycle that I’ve learned about in school can be boiled down to: precipitation, surface runoff, infiltration, evaporation, and condensation; but how do I, as a human being, fit into all of this? What is the human water cycle and how have parts of the water cycle changed within the Anthropocene?

drawing of the city water cycle from waste water to drinking water

As intrigued as I was, I didn’t know enough about my own impact on the water cycle, so I took a deeper dive into learning about what was actually happening to the water that I used. In order to explore the concept of the human water cycle I needed to start by looking at infrastructure. In the case of water infrastructure, outside of irrigation, the water purification systems and sewage systems are some of the most impactful additions human beings have included into the planet’s water cycle. These infrastructural systems span thousands and thousands of miles underground, connecting houses, neighborhoods, and cities. And yet, at least for me, there was a vast mental disconnect between the water that flows underneath us and the water that we consume. I wasn’t sure how to visualize something that was happening underground, hidden away from sight. That’s when I learned about fatbergs.

In 2017 an 820 foot long mass weighing 130 metric tons was discovered in the sewers of Whitechapel in London, England. The same type of mass, weighing 42 metric tons was found in Melbourne, Australia during the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, most likely due to the flushing of “toilet paper substitutes” (i.e. paper towels, sanitary products, facial tissues). These masses are called fatbergs and can be found in most major cities, especially those with older sewage systems like Pittsburgh. A fatberg is a solidified mass of fat, formed overtime in sewers, that sticks to the build-up of un-flushable sewage. Fatbergs cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to remove, and also reduce river and stream water quality by making sewer overflows more likely. In the Pittsburgh Area, whenever the combined storm and sanitary sewer system is overloaded, excess flow is dumped directly into the rivers.

drawing of a pipe with a fatberg forming in it

Fatbergs are a human phenomenon that directly impacts both us and the greater environment. The sewer overflows that they cause impact both the built and natural environment, introducing pollutants such as human waste from our toilets and fats from our kitchen sinks into the living domain. But as harmful as they are, they can be easily prevented.

How, you ask? The solution is simple… don’t flush down anything other than toilet paper and bodily waste. But why? What makes toilet paper any different from other paper-like materials? The answer lies in the unique quality of the material that toilet paper is made up of. Unlike paper towels that use long fiber pulps, which improves the strength and absorptivity of the material, and facial tissues that contain additives that hold the fibers together, toilet paper is made using approximately 70% hardwood pulps with short fibers and 30% softwood pulps with longer fibers. Due to the hardwood pulps, once the toilet paper makes contact with water, the short fibers, which also help keep the toilet paper soft to touch, are able to untangle and fall away into smaller fragments, eventually dissolving into tiny bundles of short fiber that can easily flow through the sewage system.

jar, wet paper, and a drawing of paper fibers

Objects like ‘flushable wipes’, unlike toilet paper, take hours to days to break down. This means that just because we are able to flush something down, doesn’t necessarily make it safe for sewer and septic systems. If you want to try an experiment to explore this concept, try putting ‘flushable’ wipes and toilet paper into two separate containers of water. See for yourself what happens.

Fatbergs are all the more relevant to us during the times of the pandemic, especially in the United States. As people stay home, more objects that aren’t healthy for the sewage system are being flushed. Think about the times you flushed anything other than toilet paper. Are you feeding a potential fatberg in your neighborhood?

Daniel Noh is an intern for the Center for Anthropocene Studies, Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Snails in the Desert

Land snails are leaky bags of water that survive on dry land. Snails lose water through evaporation, and because mucus is more than 90% water, they must expend water just to move, gliding on their silvery slime trails. Most land snails occur in moist environments where they can readily replenish lost water. But some snails live in the desert or other arid areas! How is that even possible?

Several strategies help snails survive in arid situations. For example, some close their aperture with a door or with a mucus sheet, some have small apertures or modify their growth direction to make better seals, some have mucus that inhibits evaporation, and some manage moisture loss by choice of microhabitats.

Fig. 1. Two *Clydonopoma poloense* snails from Dominican Republic showing their opercula. (Photo by S.P. Aiken with permission.)

An operculum, or door, closes the shell in some land snails (Fig. 1), although most land snails lack one. The operculum is attached to the rear of the snail’s tail; when the snail pulls into its shell, the tail withdraws last and positions the operculum to make a tight seal. In addition to protecting the snail from water loss, it also protects from predators.

Fig. 2. Two *Helix pomatia* edible snails from Russia (CM154077) with apertures closed by an opaque epiphragm. (Photo by T.A. Pearce.)

Snails that don’t have an operculum can cover the aperture with a mucus sheet called an epiphragm. In most snails, the epiphragm is thin and clear, but in some species, the epiphragm can be thick and opaque (Fig. 2). During dry periods, snails can form an epiphragm over the aperture or they can make a tight mucus seal between the aperture edges and substrates such as a rock or plant. The seal helps to retard evaporative water loss. Some snails in the desert remain sealed under a rock for years before a rainstorm wakes them.

Fig. 3. *Coelocentrum gigas* from Guatemala CM62.8574 (left); *Achatina zebra* from Africa CM62.6917 (right). Land snails in drier areas tend to have relatively smaller apertures like the shell on the left. Shells pictured are 8 and 8.5 cm tall, respectively. (Photo by T.A. Pearce.)

Snails of arid areas usually have a relatively small aperture (Fig. 3). The smaller surface-area-to-volume ratio reduces moisture loss through evaporation. Just like you would lose less heat (on a cold day) with your parka zipped up and your hood cinched around your face, the snail loses less water with less of its skin exposed, as in the case of a smaller aperture.

Fig. 4. *Ganesella fusca* (left) from Japan (CM106167) and *Zachrysia guanensis* (right) from Cuba (CM152889). Land snails in drier areas tend to have greater change in direction of growth when reaching full size, allowing the plane of the aperture to make a closer seal with flat surfaces. (Photo by T.A. Pearce.)

As growing snails approach their final size, many dip the direction of shell growth toward the shell base (Fig. 4). This results in the plane of the aperture making a tighter seal on a flat surface. Snails of arid areas tend to have shells that make tighter seals on flat surfaces than snails of moister areas.

Fig. 5. Urocyclid semi-slug from a dry area in N Kenya. (Photo by T.A. Pearce.)

The mucus of some species retards evaporation. Snails produce different kinds of mucus, for example, the mucus they glide upon to move, sticky or distasteful mucus when irritated, and mucus on their skin that can retard evaporation. One day when I was traveling in northern Kenya during the dry season after at least 6 months without rain, I was surprised to find a semi-slug (a gastropod whose shell is too small to fit the entire body) resting among some dry leaves and soil (Fig 5). It must have had special mucus covering the body that retarded water loss, allowing this species to survive many months of aridity.

Finally, snails influence their moisture loss by choosing their microhabitats. Some snails burrow underground during hot, dry weather to escape the heat. Other snails crawl under moist logs or descend deep into rock piles to avoid the harshest weather.

Why would snails even choose to live in the desert? I’m not sure anyone knows the answer for sure. My guess is that snails might live in a desert because it allows them to escape predators or competitors who can’t or don’t want to live there.

How do they do it? Snails survive in the desert by leaking water a bit more slowly than snails in moist areas.

From the Allegheny to our Kitchen Sinks

There are more than 326 million trillion gallons of water on our planet. Our bodies are made up of around 60% water. Even the air that we breathe has water vapors in it. Water is everywhere, but the water we can use is limited. According to the National Groundwater Association, the Earth is made up of about 71% water. Out of that, 99.7% is trapped in oceans, icecaps, soil, and the atmosphere. That leaves us with around 0.3% of the Earth’s water to use and drink. The same water that all living and nonliving things have used again and again since water has been on the planet.

Every morning I go downstairs to the kitchen and pour myself a glass of cold water from a water filter. Without a second thought, I drink the water because I consider this water to be safe. After all, the porous, activated carbon filters absorb various chemicals, including chlorine, lead, and mercury, which ‘purifies’ the water. Furthermore, I don’t have to worry about what could be in the water, because I know that the water is thoroughly cleaned before it enters the house. But how is it cleaned? Where does this water come from and what does it go through in order to splash into my kitchen sink?

Let’s start with a broader concept: rivers. Most major cities can be found along rivers: Paris along the Seine River, London along the River Thames, Seoul along the Han River, and New York along the Hudson River. This is no surprise, as communities need fresh, drinking water as an essential part of building a city. Pittsburgh is no different. In fact, in Pittsburgh, two rivers, the Monongahela and the Allegheny form a third, the Ohio, which on its passage through Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, is the primary water source for over five million people. Within the city, the Allegheny River provides us, the people of Pittsburgh, with fresh water that we use on a daily basis.

illustration of the water cycle: condensation, precipitation, runoff, evaporation

If my water comes from the Allegheny River, what’s the difference between drinking tap water and river water? That’s where the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority, or the PWSA, enters the picture. PWSA is the organization in charge of providing quality water throughout the city of Pittsburgh. The organization’s drinking water system “contains approximately 965 miles of water lines, five reservoirs, and 11 tanks with a water storage capacity of 455 million gallons” (pgh2o.com). And their process for making clean water looks like this. First, the collected river water is coagulated using ferric chloride, potassium permanganate, carbon, and catatonic polymer, which react to the polluting particles in the water, causing them to stick and clump together. The water is then taken through the filtration process, where it flows through pulverized anthracite coal and sand to remove any of the remaining particles. Afterwards, the water is disinfected with sodium hypochlorite, a type of chlorine compound that is used to remove microbial particles. Lastly, once the water has been completely purified, fluoride, the processed form of a naturally occurring mineral, is added back into the water as recommended by the Center for Disease Control to prevent tooth decay.

image of sewage treatment and water treatment over water cycle

As complex as this purification process is, it isn’t perfect. The quality of the water that we receive is affected by what we put into it and there are countless compounds that cannot be completely filtered out by the processes used in water treatment plants. For example, trace amounts of dioxane, a likely human carcinogen from plastic manufacturing runoff, can be found in Pittsburgh’s own water system. Moreover, as of 2019, the PWSA has introduced orthophosphate in order to reduce lead levels, originating from the city’s ancient water pipes, in our tap water. In the end, all the water treatment plants can do is clean the water, test for contaminants, and research new ways to produce and deliver as clean a product as possible. The rest is up to us, the community. It’s up to us to be cautious of how we treat water by watching what we flush, preventing littering, or even reducing plastic use to reduce both microplastics and plastic production.

Water treatment is a growing process; new methods to remove previously unfilterable chemicals are constantly being discovered. With this in mind, think about your relationship with water. How do you treat it? What kind of objects do you flush down the toilet? What are your direct and indirect interactions with our water system? All of our actions matter. Because what we put into the river, will eventually come back to us.

Resources

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/the-purest-of-them-all/

https://www.portpitt.com/pages/monongahela-river

https://www.wpxi.com/news/what-you-need-to-know-about-pittsburghs-three-rivers/739536503/

http://www.orsanco.org/river-facts/

https://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/ask/67-How-much-water-does-Earth-have-#:~:text=There%20are%20more%20than%20326,in%20ice%20caps%20and%20glaciers

Canada Goose

When I think of September and waterfowl, my first thoughts go to the Canada Goose (notice I did not say Canadian Goose which is actually an incorrect name of the bird – there are of course “Canadian Canada Geese”). Nevertheless, my thoughts go to the “American Canada Goose” which seems to be everywhere near water come early fall, and the sounds of them honking puts a little flutter in those Pennsylvanians who hunt. September 1 was the first day of the resident Goose season which runs through September 25^th.

Eighty years ago, Canada Geese almost never spent the summer in Pennsylvania. W.E. Clyde Todd, the first curator in the Section of Birds at the Carnegie Museum, kept meticulous records of the comings and goings of many birds in Western Pennsylvania. He has the distinction of the longest tenure of any employee at the museum, having started as a field collector in 1898 and retired and became emeritus curator in 1944. Even after retiring, he continued to come to the museum almost daily until his death in 1969. Mr. Todd, who lived most of his life in Beaver, published the landmark book Birds of Western Pennsylvania in 1940. Several paragraphs in the chapter on the Canada Goose mention early arrivals of the species from the north where they spent the summer as well as late migration to the north where they bred after having spent the winter roaming Pennsylvania fields and waterways. He mentions in the account that the first breeding of American Canada Goose did not occur until 1937 when a few pinioned geese released a few years earlier were successful in breeding in the state.

Today the Canada Goose is almost TOO prevalent for many residents. County and state parks, farm ponds, golf courses, and lawns adjacent to the three rivers seem to be very littered with “fertilizer” which prevents people from running barefoot on the lawns. There are actually professional Geese Police who use Border Collies to chase the geese away from unwanted areas, especially those where lethal means cannot be used. Loud noises have also been used, but as soon as the noises cease or the Border Collies leave, the geese return to foul the lawns and make the water “foul” also. Goose droppings contribute to over fertilization of ponds and lakes causing algal blooms which can be harmful to native fish, invertebrates, and the natural ecosystems of our waterways

Hunting is the only guaranteed method of keeping the resident Canada Goose population in check, of course only in areas where hunting is safe and legal. Hunting can reduce the negative impacts of a species that was not historically a year-round resident. In areas where the practice is safe, legal, and well-regulated, hunting can help to restore ecosystems, reduce local nuisances, provide nutritious food, and get people outdoors! Although the nuisance goose season has liberal bag limits, populations of the birds continue to increase.

Goose recipes can be found on the web using a simple Google Search. There are those who love the taste of a well-prepared bird, and those who think the meat is unfit for human consumption. Make a friend with a goose hunter and you can decide yourself.

Biography of Mr. Todd: https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v087n04/p0635-p0649.pdf

Book review: https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v057n04/p0579-p0595.pdf

Canada Goose sounds: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Canada_Goose/sounds

Teaching in a Changed World

For several years Leslie Vandegrift has used materials from the Educator Loan Collection to enhance reading lessons for kindergarten through third grade students. As the librarian for West Hills Primary School in the Armstrong School District, she’s put authentic objects to use in building vocabulary, sparking curiosity about the ideas conveyed through ever longer strands of words and sentences, and promoting the reading of all kinds of books. In the library of West Hills Primary, materials from the museum illustrating topics ranging from nocturnal animals to the wildlife discoveries of the Lewis and Clark Expeditions have helped diminish the 44 highway miles separating the two buildings.

When reached by phone a dozen days before the start of in-person classes, the 24 year veteran educator expressed concern about how the school year would proceed and whether her library could function as it did in the past. As she summarized, “The most challenging part of this new normal, is that the students will be unable to check out books for at least the first semester of school. There is zero sharing of materials in our school building in order to keep our students as safe as possible. It’s disheartening to engage students in new topic areas and authors, but not be able to allow them to pursue it independently.” Student well-being was her utmost priority, and she expressed pride in knowing that was also the case for every one of her co-workers.

If the spread of COVID-19 pushes her school to on-line instruction, Leslie expressed confidence that the transition would be far smoother than what occurred across the country back in mid-March. Days of in-service training in August were devoted to mastering the intricacies and capabilities of a digital learning management platform called “Canvas,” and the first order of business after the opening day of school will be getting the students comfortable interacting with the electronic interface.

Leslie’s description of the learning platform’s flexibility leads me to remind more teachers about the Educator Loan Program’s continued importance as a resource. Materials can be borrowed to create digital products. Cell phone still images or brief videos of authentic objects can improve lessons presented on learning platforms. Your productions don’t have to meet the standards of the library displays at West Hill Primary School for learning to occur.

The circle of life… and invasion

If you have a garden in Pittsburgh, chances are that it has been invaded by nonnative plants. Nonnative plants are species that have been introduced by humans to a location outside their native range. Typically this means that humans have carried a species across oceans or mountains or very long distances that the species would be unlikely to travel on its own. This includes dandelions (Taraxacum officinale), English ivy (Hedera helix), garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata), Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica), and thousands more. In many cases, nonnative, invasive species hurt our efforts to protect and restore natural areas by displacing native plants from their environment and reducing the healthy functioning of ecosystems.

As an invasion ecologist at the University of Pittsburgh, I aim to identify the traits that make nonnative plants unique from native plants and investigate how these traits influence a nonnative species’ ability to invade and persist within ecosystems. I’ve become fascinated by one plant trait in particular: phenology, or the timing of a plant’s life cycle events, like flowering in the spring or leaves changing color in the fall. Phenology is critical to the survival and reproduction of all organisms. Plants, for example, need to be able to germinate at the exact right time in the spring; early enough to maximize their growth potential, but late enough that they avoid damaging winter frosts. Plants must also flower and set fruit at a time when their chances of reproduction are highest, such as when pollinators are the most active, or when seeds are most easily dispersed. The timing of phenology also impacts a plant’s ability to compete with other species. An older, mature plant is likely to be a better competitor than a newly germinated seedling. As a result, most species have evolved to become sensitive to a wide array of environmental factors, including temperature and precipitation, which signal the “ideal” time to enter into a new stage of the life cycle.

dried plant specimen with purple flowers

dried plant specimen with yellow flowers

In a recently published study, I partnered with Dr. Mason Heberling and Bonnie Isaac at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History to explore how phenology differs between native and nonnative plant species. Plant specimens from the museum’s herbarium provide us with valuable snapshots of phenology from more than the past 120 years. By looking at a specimen’s collection date and identifying reproductive structures on the specimen (did the plant have open flowers or fruits?), we can determine the annual timing of life cycle events for a species and compare it with other species throughout time.

First, our research team asked: are there differences in the timing of reproduction between native and nonnative plant species? We referenced nearly a thousand herbarium specimens that were collected in old-field ecosystems (i.e. abandoned agricultural fields) since 1900. We found that nonnative plants reproduce substantially earlier than native plants in old-field ecosystems. Specifically, nonnative plants flowered 50 days earlier, and set fruit 17 days earlier, on average, than native plant species. When considering that the growing season in western Pennsylvania only lasts for 121-180 days in total, this is a very large difference in the activity periods of these species! We predict that the early reproduction of nonnative plants may actually help them to survive in invaded ecosystems, and my current research is experimentally testing some of these ideas at the Unviersity of Pittsburgh field station. I hypothesize that nonnative plants are accessing important resources, like soil nutrients and light, by growing and reproducing earlier than native plants.

We also found that all old-field species, regardless of origin, are flowering approximately 10 days earlier, and fruiting 13 days earlier today than they were at the beginning of the 20^th century. What is causing plant species to shift their phenology over time? This is likely a response in-part to climate change, which has caused warmer and wetter springs in Pennsylvania

Next, we asked: are there differences in the sensitivity of native and nonnative phenology to climate signals? Sensitivity is defined as the number of days a plant will shift the timing of reproduction in response to a change in the environment. For example, a species with “high” sensitivity to temperature might flower several days earlier than normal in response to a particularly warm spring. By contrast, a species with “no” sensitivity to temperature will flower at the same time every year, regardless of temperature. To answer this question, we paired plant specimens from the CMNH herbarium with historic climate records that date back to 1900. This source tells us the temperature and precipitation conditions for each month and year that a specimen was collected. Our study found that native and nonnative species are not sensitive to the same types of climate signals. When looking across a range of temperature and precipitation signals, the timing of reproduction in native plants often would shift by a different number of days than in nonnative plants. This information may be important in helping scientists to understand how plant phenology will respond to future climate change: Will native and nonnative species respond similarly, as seen in the past, or will their responses begin to diverge?

Herbarium collections such as those found at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History provide invaluable insight into the traits of species throughout history. We hope that, through the continued exploration of these data sources, scientists will continue to uncover new findings about the relationship between invasion, plant phenology, and climate.

Rachel Anne Reeb is a PhD candidate at the University of Pittsburgh.

Mesozoic Monthly: Gryposaurus

The Late Cretaceous-aged (~75 million-year-old) large-nosed North American hadrosaur (aka duck-billed dinosaur) *Gryposaurus* by ginjaraptor on DeviantArt.

Anyone who frequents the Pittsburgh area is familiar with ‘Pittsburghese,’ the regional dialect given full voice in what was once voted America’s ugliest accent (a fact that does not diminish our pride for it). One of my personal favorite Pittsburghese words is “nebby,” which translates to “nosy” for any non-local readers. “Nebby” can be used in a variety of contexts: the distant relative asking prying questions about your love life at Thanksgiving dinner is nebby, the pet cat trying to crawl under the bathroom door to see what you’re doing is nebby, and even the statue of Carnegie Museum of Natural History mascot Dippy the Diplodocus, silently judging your driving on Forbes Avenue, is nebby. We can assume other dinosaurs were nebby too, since so many had huge noses to stick into things. One of the biggest noses in the fossil record belongs to Gryposaurus notabilis, the star of this edition of Mesozoic Monthly.

Gryposaurus belongs to a group of dinosaurs called hadrosaurs, which are commonly referred to as duck-billed dinosaurs. Hadrosaurs were herbivores that got their nickname from the flat, toothless, somewhat duck-like beaks at the tips of their jaws. These beaks were used to bite through tough vegetation so that it could be ground up by the numerous teeth embedded in the rear half of the jaws. There are two main groups of hadrosaurs, both of which are featured in CMNH’s Dinosaurs in Their Time exhibition. Probably the more famous group is the Lambeosaurinae, known for their distinctive head crests that housed extra-long nasal passages. Virtually everyone can recognize the incredible backward-curving crest of Parasaurolophus (featured multiple times in the Jurassic Park franchise), and visitors to CMNH will also know the helmet-like crest of Corythosaurus. The second group is the Saurolophinae (traditionally known as the Hadrosaurinae), which typically lack bony crests. You can find a simulated carcass of the saurolophine Edmontosaurus (lovingly known to those of us in CMNH’s Section of Vertebrate Paleontology as “Dead Ed”) between the two imposing Tyrannosaurus skeletons in Dinosaurs in Their Time.

A gallery of hadrosaur heads. Top left: the lambeosaurine *Parasaurolophus* at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago (photo by the author). Top right: the lambeosaurine *Corythosaurus* at Carnegie Museum of Natural History (photo from Wikimedia Commons). Bottom left: the saurolophine *Edmontosaurus* at the Houston Museum of Natural Science (photo from Wikimedia Commons). Bottom right: the saurolophine *Gryposaurus* at the Natural History Museum of Utah in Salt Lake City (photo from Wikimedia Commons).

As a crestless hadrosaur, Gryposaurus was a saurolophine. Despite its lack of crest, its skull still had pizzazz: its nasal bone arched dramatically, giving the impression of a ‘Roman nose’ (which is very noticeable if you compare the skulls of Edmontosaurus and Gryposaurus in the image above). The name Gryposaurus notabilis means “notable hooked-nose lizard” in homage to this feature. G. notabilis is the type species of Gryposaurus; type species are typically the first ones to be named in a genus, and therefore become the reference to which all new specimens that may belong to that genus are compared. The other species (such as G. monumentensis, shown in the photo montage above) are similar enough to the type species that they can be referred to the genus Gryposaurus, but they differ in too many ways to be assigned to G. notabilis itself.

Occasionally, paleontologists will revisit a fossil species or genus and decide that it is either too similar to another to justify its own name or that certain specimens are too different to be grouped under the same name. Kritosaurus, another saurolophine with a ‘Roman nose,’ has fallen victim to both of these circumstances. It was originally considered its own genus, but was subsequently revisited by paleontologists who decided that it was so similar to Gryposaurus that the two genera were lumped together under the name Gryposaurus (when combining taxonomic groups, the first name that was published is the one that gets used). However, later paleontologists reviewed the evidence again and split a single species of Kritosaurus back out of Gryposaurus. The famous sauropod (giant long-necked herbivorous dinosaur) Brontosaurus underwent a similar series of changes over the years: originally, it and Apatosaurus were considered different animals, but after a review they were lumped together under Apatosaurus. Recently, the two were split apart again and the name Brontosaurus was revived (to the delight of fans of that name around the world).

It is not uncommon in paleontology for species to be lumped or split based on new or revisited evidence. When you consider that the decision to name new fossil species is often based on fragmentary, highly incomplete skeletons, you can see why it might be difficult to get things right the first time! These changes sometimes give people the impression that paleontologists “can’t make up their minds” or “contradict themselves,” but we must remember two things. First, that science is meant to change based on new evidence. Second, there have been thousands of paleontologists over the course of history, and every one of them is an individual person who can draw their own conclusions based on the same evidence. Although the resulting changes can disappoint fans of a specific animal or hypothesis, revision is normal and beneficial for the field as a whole. Scientists are supposed to be nebby – it’s how we make new discoveries!

Armored Advantage

A folded hindwing of this lightning bug is visible beneath a raised forewing.

As adaptations go, the hardened forewings of beetles have a long track record of success. The paired structures, known as elytra (or singularly as elytron), don’t contribute significant aerodynamic advantage to beetle flight. Because they protect the delicate hindwings under all other circumstances, however, elytra help to ensure the capability of flight whenever it’s necessary.

Evidence for the survival advantages conveyed by the wing covers is impressive. The order Coleoptera, the scientific category of beetles, contains more than 380,000 named and described species, a figure that represents nearly a quarter of currently known animal species.

In Dinosaur Armor, the world premiere exhibition occupying the R. P. Simmons Family Gallery for the next 10 months, a colorful array of preserved beetles illustrates the insects’ built-in shield adaptation.

Visitors interested in elytra can visually study a far larger and more diverse beetle display just outside the Dinosaur Armor exit. Here hundreds of curated specimens from the scientific collection have been arranged in a wall-sized display.

Collectively and individually, this mass of pinned beetles serves to reinforce an unstated theme of Dinosaur Armor: functional exterior armor does not necessarily preclude natural beauty.

Protecting Plant Specimens from Decomposing

It takes a lot of time and care to keep our collections and specimens out of harm’s way. A TikTok viewer asked us on a video of mounting a herbarium specimen, “How do you protect it from decomposing?” and we sought to answer that question, but it would certainly take more than 150 characters. From start to finish, the process can take anywhere from 7 days to weeks, depending on the amount of specimens that we receive. We have roughly 533,000 specimens, and that number continues to grow. Here’s a look at what steps we take to ensure they will last and be preserved for use in the future.

First, we press the new fresh plants between sheets of newspaper and corrugated cardboard and use cam straps to bundle them as tightly as possible.

cardboard, wooden boards, and red cam straps

We dry them rapidly with a box crafted by Bonnie and Joe Isaac. A small space heater forces warm dry air between the pieces of cardboard. The quick drying is essential to preserving the colors of plants we collect. Quick drying also makes it less likely a plant specimen will rot, mold, or have browning of leaves than if it were just drying at room temperature for several days or weeks. Our method usually dries them in 72 hours or less.

box setup for quick drying of plant specimens

side view of box setup for quick drying of plant specimens

After they are pressed, we place the specimens in a freezer for at least 24 hours. This will be their first freeze: it is done to get rid of any living pests that may be hiding in the material.

Next, we mount dried plant specimens onto cotton fiber neutral pH archival acid free paper. The basic Elmer’s glue we use to stick the specimens to the paper is also acid free and good for archival use, as well as the paper and ink used on the data labels. After they are mounted, they will meet with the freezer for at least another 24 hours, assuring any pests that were able to survive the last freeze will be eliminated.

mounting tools: Elmer's Glue-All, archival pen, Glue Stic

Their data are then entered into our database, and we take high resolution photos so that we can post the images alongside their data for use.

Finally, the metal cases we store them in are light tight and airtight, preventing exposure to UV light, insects and pests, humidity, water, and in some cases fire damage. UV light can be the most harmful to the fading and quality of specimens. The longer things are on display the more faded the colors can become, which is part of why behind the scenes collections are so important.

open cabinet full of stacked plant specimens

Maintaining and protecting the collections that we house is a full time labor of love. You see these specimens through so many steps and look closely at each item. You learn their names, their attributes, where they are from, and you share these tiny joys with everyone else when you are able to display these beautiful works of nature and art. So maybe another answer to the question “How do you protect it from decomposing?” is… you just love it a little extra.

Sarah Williams is Curatorial Assistant in the Section of Botany at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

The Bromacker Fossil Project Part IX: The Dissorophoid Amphibians Tambachia, Rotaryus, and Georgenthalia, Capable Travelers

New to this series? Read The Bromacker Fossil Project Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, and Part VIII.

The Dissorophoidea are a group of ancient amphibians that were common about 290 million years ago, when the animals fossilized in the Bromacker quarry were alive. The group consists of small to medium-sized water- and land-dwelling vertebrates (animals with backbones) that ate invertebrates (e.g., dragonflies, cockroaches, and millipedes) and vertebrates smaller than themselves. Most scientists agree that modern amphibians (frogs, salamanders, and the reclusive, worm-like, subterreanean caecilians) had their origins among the dissorophoids. Three disssorophoid species are currently known from the Bromacker quarry, and at least one and possibly two more are yet to be described. Two of the described species, Tambachia trogallas and Rotaryus gothae, are members of the dissorophoid subgroup Trematopidae, and the other, Georgenthalia clavinasica, is a member of the subgroup Amphibamiformes. All of them inhabited the terrestrial realm and most likely only returned to water to breed.

Photograph (left) and reconstruction (right) of the skull of the holotype and only known specimen of *Tambachia trogallas* in dorsal (= top) view. Photograph by the author (2013) and reconstruction by Stuart Sumida, modified from Sumida et al. (1998).

The first trematopid discovered in the Bromacker quarry was found by Thomas Martens in 1980, and it is represented by a poorly preserved skull and skeleton. Stuart Sumida, as lead author of the scientific paper presenting it, coined the name Tambachia trogallas. Tambachia refers to the Tambach Formation, the rock unit preserving the Bromacker fossils, which in turn is named after the nearby village of Tambach, which is now merged with the adjacent town Dietharz to become Tambach-Dietharz. “Trogallas” is from the Greek “trogo,” meaning munch or nibble, and “allas,” meaning sausage, in reference to all of the bratwurst consumed during Bromacker field seasons by the authors of the Tambachia publication (Stuart, Dave Berman, and Thomas). The state where the the quarry is located, Thuringia, is famous for its bratwurst and rightly so. A hot bratwurst for lunch was always welcomed when we experienced what Thomas called “Scandanavian summers,” which were cold and rainy. The then-Bürgermeister (mayor) of Tambach-Dietharz, who also was a butcher, was so thrilled by the name that he hosted an annual bratwurst lunch featuring brats that he’d made. This tradition was carried on by subsequent Bürgermeisters, though they had to buy the featured main course.

Bratwurst lunch in the Thuringian Forest close to the Bromacker quarry. Seated are (from left to right) unknown, Rainer Samietz (then Director of the Museum der Natur Gotha, now retired), Thomas Martens, Johannes Müller (then field assistant and now Professor at Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin), the author, and Stuart Sumida. The Bürgermeister is standing behind Thomas. His bratwurst grill, which he transported in his SUV, is between the vehicles. Photo by Dave Berman (2002).

Skull and partial skeleton of *Rotaryus gothae* in left lateral (= side) view. Photograph by the author, 2008.

When Rotaryus gothae was found in 1998, only part of the skull was exposed, so we took out a large block expecting a complete skeleton to be preserved, as typically occurs at the Bromacker. Once I began preparing the specimen, however, I was extremely disappointed to find that only a small portion of the body of the animal was present. At least we had the skull, the most scientifically important part of the skeleton. Dave led the scientific study of Rotaryus, and he named it in honor of the Gotha Rotary Club, an organization that generously provided financial support for Bromacker fieldwork. Dave sent the head of the Gotha Rotary Club three choices for the fossil’s name, and the members voted on which one to use.

At the time that Tambachia and Rotaryus were named and described in scientific publications in 1998 and 2011, respectively, trematopids were known only from the USA. Their presence at the Bromacker added to the growing list of animals previously thought to only inhabit North America, such as Diadectes and Seymouria. In hindsight, it is not surprising that trematopids also had a more cosmopolitan distribution, because although they are amphibians, their skeletons were strong enough to support their body out of water and withstand the effects of gravity, thus enabling them to disperse to far corners of the world (though hypotheses of such dispersal assume that no physical or climatic barriers prevented movement).

I was the lucky person who discovered, in 2002, the amphibamiform Georgenthalia clavinasica. I recall lifting up a block of rock that I had loosened with a hammer and chisel and seeing two ghostly eye openings staring back at me. The rest of the skeleton was preserved with the skull, but unfortunately all bone beyond the skull was extremely eroded from groundwater and had the consistency of mashed potatoes.

Photograph (left) and reconstruction (right) of the skull of *Georgenthalia clavinasica* in dorsal (= top) view. Both by Jason Anderson, 2007.

After Tambachia was named, the Bürgermeister of the nearby village of Georgenthal, whose boundaries included the Bromacker quarry, approached Dave about naming a fossil after his village. Dave then asked Jason Anderson, a colleague from the University of Calgary and the project’s lead researcher, to name it Georgenthalia. Jason created clavinasica from the Latin “clavis” for key, and “nasica” for nostril, in reference to the fossil’s keyhole-shaped nostril, a unique feature that differentiates Georgenthalia from all other amphibamiforms.

Jason, as lead author of a 2008 scientific publication, concluded that the relationship of Georgenthalia to other amphibamiforms was uncertain. Computer algorithms are used to analyze relationships of organisms by tabulating the proportion of unique characteristics shared between the members of the group under study. A group of organisms that share unique characters is called a clade, and members of a clade are considered to be more closely related to each other than they are to members of other clades. These relationships are depicted in a diagram of relatedness called a cladogram.

A 2019 study by dissorophoid expert Rainer Schoch (Curator, Naturkunde Museum Stuttgart) that investigated the ancestry of modern amphibians revealed Georganthalia as a member of a clade that also includes modern amphibians (see figure below). The fossil Gerobatrachus, however, is more closely related to modern amphibians than it is to the clade consisting of Georgenthalia and Branchiosauridae (a group of aquatic amphibamiforms). This indicates that although Georgenthalia (along with Branchiosauridae) is in the clade containing modern amphibians, it is not directly ancestral to them.

Cladogram showing the relationship of *Georgenthalia* (far right) to modern amphibians. Cladogram modified from Schoch (2019); images of modern amphibians from Wikimedia Commons.

Stay tuned for my next post, which will feature yet another terrestrial amphibian, a fossil from a locality in Tambach-Dietharz.

If you would like to learn more about Tambachia, Rotaryus, or Georgenthalia, please follow the links below.

Tambachia

Rotaryus

Georgenthalia

Keep Reading

The Bromacker Fossil Project Part X: Tambaroter carrolli, an Amphibian with a Wedge-Shaped Head

August 20, 2020 by wpengine

First ever American Malacological Society virtual meeting, 13-14 July 2020

During two days in mid-July the American Malacological Society (AMS) held its 86^th annual meeting over Zoom because of COVID-19 concerns. The occasion marked the first time the organization, whose members study mollusks, convened the gathering virtually. Attendance was greater than recent in-person AMS meetings, perhaps because of the low cost of the event (no travel or accommodation costs) and its appeal to people who shun air travel for its immense carbon footprint. There were more than 150 participants, 49 formal presentations, and 18 posters. Remarkably, thirteen presentations were by students.

As usual I enjoyed hearing about my colleagues’ research, rejuvenating old friendships and making new ones, and simply talking with people who already know that mollusks are vitally important. One surprising piece of information I learned from colleagues is that Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh are ahead of other museums (e.g., Field Museum, University of Florida Museum) in re-opening to the public. Bravo to CMP!

The talk I presented summarized a publication I co-authored with Heather Hulton Van Tassel, Assistant Director of Science and Research at CMNH. The presentation, titled Is acid precipitation a factor in the decline of the terrestrial tiger snail, Anguispira alternata, in northeastern North America?, “was well-received and elicited some insightful questions. You can hear a 12-minute recording of the talk here:

Current plans are to hold next year’s AMS meeting in Nova Scotia, but if the COVID-19 virus remains a threat, and with the successful outcome of this year’s meeting, we might gather virtually.

The BSF – Leveraging Our Collections and Expertise to Help Fight Invasive Species

Within the CMNH Section of Invertebrate Zoology resides a program called the Biodiversity Services Facility – the BSF for short. The program is a revenue-generating insect screening and identification service whose principle client is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and Plant Protection and Quarantine Program (PPQ), as well as various state departments of agriculture. The BSF is designed to support time-sensitive survey work being performed by these agencies to detect invasive species, primarily wood-boring beetles.

As the Primary Identifier and Program Manager of the BSF, I can accurately describe 2020 as a busy year by citing a workload of nearly 8,000 raw trap samples generated through 23 survey projects being run in 16 states, stretching from Maine to Georgia and west to Nebraska and Kansas.

So how did it all begin? Let’s take a look…

In 2001, the country suffered the greatest tragedy in recent memory, the terrorist attacks of September 11. As a response, in 2002, the Office of Homeland Security was created, and during the following years, federal funding and personnel were reallocated from efforts to guard against agricultural and environmental threats to increase screening for human-centered security threats to the country. This resource shift created a void in the areas of pest detection and identification, and it became increasingly important to find outside support to help fill the gaps.

In 2005, through collaboration with Dr. Robert Acciavatti, an entomologist with the U.S. Forest Service and a long-time Research Associate in the Section of IZ, a proposal for a proof-of concept study was submitted to the U.S. Forest Service to determine if the museum could provide the needed identification services as a private contractor to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The proposal called for funding staff to do the contract work as well as providing some collection support for the Section of Invertebrate Zoology. All aspects of the process were quantified: how long it took to check in samples; the time spent in proofing data; the number of samples that could be screened in a day; the number of specimen ID’s generated from any given sample; the resources needed to archive specimens; and the time involved in managing the activities. And most importantly – could it all be done in a fiscally responsible way to offer a service cheaper than existing options, while generating enough funding to complete the work as well as support the essential staff? The results of the project concluded that, yes… it could.

The icing on the cake during the proof-of-concept study was the detection of an invasive bark beetle species (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) native to eastern Asia, Anisandrus maiche Stark. It was found in samples collected at the Moon Industrial Park near the Pittsburgh International Airport. It had not previously been recorded from the United States and in subsequent years was found to already have spread into eastern Ohio and the West Virginia panhandle before its discovery in the Pittsburgh area. Not only had the project proved the work could be done at a competitive price for the USDA, it proved that the taxonomic expertise in the Section of IZ was up to the task. The BSF was officially launched in 2006 and to date has processed nearly 95,000 raw samples, generating nearly $2,000,000.00 in outside funding.

Figure 1. *Anisandrus maiche* Stark (a species of bark beetle), about 2 mm in body length.

First detected in the United States in 2005 by Robert Androw.

(Image courtesy of Dr. Robert Acciavatti)

When I screen samples, I work against a ‘Priority Pest List’ developed by the USDA that contains the exotic species considered to be the greatest potential environmental threats should they be introduced into the country. In addition to the twenty or so priority pests, I screen for nearly 75 other species known to have been previously intercepted at ports or established in the U.S. to aid in monitoring the distribution of those species. The USDA efforts are guided by a practice dubbed EDRR – Early Detection, Rapid Response – a plan of responding quickly to any new pest detection to improve the likelihood that it can be extirpated before it can spread and become a major problem. To help meet this goal, I work under a self-imposed 90-day deadline for every sample – from the time a sample arrives with its associated collection data, it gets processed and the results reported to the client within 90 days. Prior to the BSF’s formation and involvement, samples could sometimes take as long as two years to get processed by the over-taxed screeners within the existing system.

Most samples are collected using one of two types of traps: the Lindgren funnel trap and the Cross-vane panel trap. Both act as “silhouette” traps – their dark, vertical design can appear to be the trunk of a tree to a flying insect. These can effectively capture many species through this deceptive visual cue alone, but most often, the traps are baited with various chemical lures designed to attract specific species or genera of beetles. Traps can be deployed in forests, in urban parks, outside of warehouses or any other location where pest species may potentially be found. Most traps are run for a period of 10-14 days before the sample is removed from the collection cups and submitted to the BSF.

Figure 2. A Cross-vane panel trap (left) and Lindgren 12-funnel trap (right). Flying insects collide with the trap and fall down into the white sample collection cups which are filled with preservative. The white and blue pouches are filled with chemical lures. (Images from the BSF advertising flyer)

The two most commonly monitored lineages of beetles – Curculionidae (weevils and bark beetles) and Cerambycidae (long-horned beetles) – are both wood-boring taxa, with the damage usually being done by the larvae. The nature of the damage differs across lineages, with most of the damage caused by long-horned beetles being physical in nature – burrows and holes in the wood which hasten decay as well as providing avenues of access to other wood-boring insects. The bark beetles cause a variety of damage but are more likely to spread plant disease by boring into wood and creating chambers in which fungus is deposited by the female as an eventual food source for the larvae. While the long-horned beetles are moderate to large in size, most bark beetles in the weevil subfamily Scolytinae – the primary group of concern – are tiny insects generally less than 3mm in length.

Many target species are small enough to be accidentally discarded if attempts are made to “clean” the sample by removing leaves or other debris. Therefore, the BSF requires raw, unsullied samples to be submitted by our collaborators to ensure that no target taxa are lost during handling of the samples. We have another benign ulterior motive for raw samples to be submitted – to allow us to assess the “bycatch” in detail. This includes examining all specimens in the sample, not just checking for the species on the lists of known pests. This scrutiny ensures the detection of any new invasive not yet known to occur in the country, as was the case with Anisandrus maiche. The bycatch also provides a wealth of native specimens to augment the main IZ research collection. As I screen the samples, I extract all target species, specimens of uncommon to rare native species, specimens representing groups of special interest to the IZ staff, and specimens in groups for which specialists are available to provide identification.

Once the specimens are extracted from the samples, they are prepared and labeled and then sorted by taxonomic groups for identification by me or other specialists. Once ID’d, the specimens have their data captured in a data base with the information made available to the customer through their project page on the BSF web site. In a recent data dump, over 70,000 records of a wide variety of insects, but primarily beetles – were provided to USDA in response to their request for data for a bycatch assessment study. All specimens extracted and data based are permanently archived in the research collections in the Section of Invertebrate Zoology. This allows for reexamination of the actual specimens reported upon as well as providing the comparative material for future identification efforts.

Figure 3. A curated drawer of identified bark beetles from the research collection in the Section of Invertebrate Zoology.

Many of these specimens were acquired from BSF projects over the years.

The bycatch also provides a continual influx of material for various projects underway in the Section of IZ. My personal group of interest is the Cerambycidae – or long-horned beetles – and thousands of specimens have been documented in support of several faunal studies in progress. Lindgren trap samples from West Virginia have generated many records for long-horned beetles that will be used for an eventual publication on the Cerambycidae of West Virginia. Records of ground beetles taken from the trap samples are being compiled for a publication by Robert Davidson, Collection Manager Emeritus, documenting new state records of Carabidae. Thousands of specimens, from many families of beetles, have also been loaned to various specialists to garner determinations to further enhance the main research collection.

Figure 4. The ‘velvet long-horned beetle’ – *Trichoferus campestris* (Faldermann) – is a species introduced from Asia into the United States. Specimens from several eastern states have been found in BSF samples. (Image from BugGuide.net, courtesy Jeff Brown, Huber Heights, Ohio)

All-in-all, the Biodiversity Services Facility is a win-win situation – the funding supports collection staff and provides revenue for supplies and equipment, and the USDA and other clients get much needed support in their screening and identification efforts at a competitive price. The samples provide an annual infusion of specimens into the Carnegie collection and the clients receive information that would be otherwise lost about the insects coming to their traps. And maybe most importantly, the BSF leverages the taxonomic expertise of the IZ staff against real-world problems and contributes to making an impact in protecting our environment from invasive pest species.

Bob Androw is Collection Manager in Invertebrate Zoology. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

How to Prepare Insect Specimens

specimens and specimen preparation tools

Museum collections play a significant role in helping scientists answer questions about biodiversity and in providing data that may be used for conservation studies. Every specimen in the Invertebrate Zoology collection tells a story and all together they contribute to the story of life on Earth. Picture it, millions of specimens prepared and labeled. Each has a story to tell about where, when, and how it was collected. This critically important data is also gathered when samples are collected in the field.

The next step is processing the sample and picking specimens to be prepared. So, how do we prepare specimens? Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) are usually pinned in the field or preserved in the freezer and then pinned and spread in the lab. Most non-Lepidoptera are preserved in alcohol and prepared in the lab. Preparation techniques differ, therefore, with what is being collected.

High quality scientific preparation is important, not just for aesthetic reasons but also for a specimen’s future in the service of research. In some situations, characters on the bodies of the specimens need to be viewed under a microscope, sometimes segments need to be counted to identify a species, and more excitingly, a new species might need to be described from a series of specimens.

Handling of specimens that will be prepared needs to be done when the specimens are flexible—either from an alcohol sample, or a dry specimen that was rehydrated overnight. The pin should be inserted within the thorax, which is the mid region of the body. Insects are bilaterally symmetrical (left and right sides are duplicates), so the pin is always inserted slightly to the right of the midline. This will preserve the integrity of the midline which might possess unique characters that are not duplicated.

In 2018 a culture of Callosamia promethea caterpillars were reared. A record of each stage of metamorphosis was preserved in alcohol and stored with reared caterpillars in the collection. Some of the cocoons were kept alive to allow the adult moths to emerge. The adults were then preserved in the freezer so they could be prepared and added to the collection as a record of the offspring from that culture.

The moths were placed in a humidifying chamber overnight. This chamber is kept humid by adding water to the absorbent paper towels that are layered in above a layer of sand mixed with an antifungal agent that keeps the specimens from getting moldy.

container labeled moth relaxing chamber number 3

The specimens were thawed, and moisture kept the specimens relaxed enough to handle. Specimens were pinned through the thorax and placed in a wooden pinning block designed for spreading the wings.

A series of very thin pins (size #000) were used to arrange the wings by carefully moving the forewings up high enough to expose the hindwings. String was then wrapped around the block to hold the wings down and allow the specimens to dry. Spread specimens remain on the spreading blocks for about a week to ensure they are completely dry and remain in the desired position. Spreading moths and butterflies allows for all the characters on the hindwings to be visible, and it also allows the underside of the specimen to be viewed more easily. The string is carefully unwrapped a week later, and specimens are removed from the blocks and ready to be labelled.

lepidoptera specimen on blocks in various stages of preparation

Non-Lepidoptera are usually pinned straight out of alcohol, when they are flexible enough to handle. If they are collected and kept dry before preparation, then a relaxing chamber may be used to rehydrate them. After the pin is inserted, the specimen is placed on a Styrofoam board lined with white paper. Legs, antennae, and wings are arranged using brace pins that hold everything close to the body. Specimens remain on the board for about a week until they are fully dry.

If specimens are too small to be pinned, they are mounted on paper points using shellac glue. The pin goes through the point made from archival paper using a tool known as a point punch. After laying the specimens with the underside facing up, the tip of the point gets a dab of glue and each specimen is glued on to the tip of the point.

Guess what the next step is…labeling!

As mentioned before, specimens tell an important story. The data is just as valuable as the specimens, and that data is printed on archival paper using a laser printer. A labeling block is used to apply the label on the pin, below the specimen. Any specimen that is prepared and labeled is ready to be identified and curated into the collection.

In a collection with 13.5 million specimens, space is valuable. Well prepared specimens take up less space and are less vulnerable to damage. A damaged specimen is still valuable because of the story it tells through its labels, even if damage makes the story incomplete. High-quality preparation is important because it allows for easier examination of the specimens and interpretation of the differences between species. These specimens are not just a bunch of bugs—all together, they are part of the record of life on Earth.

examples of good specimen preparation and bad specimen preparation

Vanessa Verdecia is Scientific Preparator in the museum’s Invertebrate Zoology Section. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Traub Flea Data Books

With work-from-home restrictions in place, I’ve been transcribing the handwritten field notes (Figures 1-2) of world-renowned flea expert Robert Traub into a digital database. Between 1995 and 1997, Traub donated most of his collection to CMNH. Materials housed in the Traub collection span the globe, from the middle east to central America to islands in the pacific and beyond. The notebook I’m currently transcribing dates back to the mid-1900s, with records from particular field expeditions to Pakistan and Mexico.

Figure 1. Some of the notebooks written by Robert Traub containing information on his flea specimens.

Figure 2. One of the pages from a Traub notebook illustrating the specimen data it contains. Eventually, all of this data will be transcribed into electronic format so it can be searched and shared.

This type of retroactive data capture allows us to put standard locality information on specimens formerly associated with just an identification or data code number. This process also allows us to verify and update taxonomic names as necessary. While it’s not nearly as fun as field work, data capture and transcribing are still an important part of collections work.

The Traub collection is estimated to contain nearly 75,000 specimens mounted on glass slides (Figure 3), with 5,000 associated genitalic dissections. The enormous collection is housed in antique cabinetry as well as modern Eberbach cabinets. Almost 7,000 of these specimens only have a data code; thus, my digitization efforts and subsequent labeling continue!

Figure 3. Several slides from the Traub Flea collection.

Since I started working in IZ nearly three years ago, I have had the distinct privilege of working with different taxa every few months. From Lepidoptera, to Odonata, to Coleoptera, to Arachnida, and now Siphonaptera, these tasks serve as beautiful reminders of the diversity of life here on planet Earth.

Catherine Giles is Curatorial Assistant in the Section of Invertebrate Zoology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Working with the Type Collection

The staff of the Section of Invertebrate Zoology are currently working on many projects. One of those projects is gathering, organizing, and taking inventory of our type collection materials.

Image 1. A drawer of Lepidoptera types from the Invertebrate Zoology collection at CMNH.

Type specimens are the specimens upon which the scientific name and description of a species are based. In other words, when scientists describe a new species, they use particular specimens to characterize the unique features of that particular species. Once a new species description is published, the specimen(s) used in the process of formally naming and describing the species become the type specimens.

Image 2. The original description of *Dikraneura affinis* (a leafhopper) as published in the Annals of Carnegie Museum, Vol. 18.

As such, type specimens are very valuable to science. Museum type collections serve as a sort of ‘library’ of species for scientific researchers. With millions of insect species found on the earth, identification of a specimen you have in hand can be a daunting task. Researchers around the world can compare specimens in their own collections with these scientific types to apply species-level determinations.

Image 3. The plates included as part of the original species description. Characteristics of *Dikraneura affinis* are illustrated in Figs. 24, 24a, and 24b.

It is estimated that there are approximately 40,000+ type specimens in the Invertebrate Zoology collection at CMNH. A more complete inventory and cataloguing of the type specimens in Invertebrate Zoology is currently required so that our type collections can be of greater use to the scientific community.

Image 4. A drawer containing Hemipteran types, including *Dikraneura affinis*. These particular insects are very tiny and are adhered to paper points for preservation and study.

Image 5. Tray containing the two type specimens of *Dikraneura affinis* and their associated labels.

Prior to the availability of computers, George Wallace, a curator who worked at the museum on Hymenoptera from the 1930s to the 1970s, compiled and maintained a card catalog file of non-lepidopteran types in the Invertebrate Zoology collection.

Image 6. Image of ‘card catalog’ of types compiled and maintained by curator George Wallace.

Image 7. A sampling of the cards and associated information captured by George Wallace.

Many of the cards contain information about the published species descriptions, the numbers and kinds of type specimens in our collection, and label data associated with the specimens, including geographical, accession number, date, and collector information.

Image 8. Type card showing information for *Dikraneura affinis* (a leafhopper).

To assist in the type collection organization effort, I have been tasked with digitizing over 1100 of these cards. Digitizing the information renders it searchable and accessible to staff and allows for a more accurate inventory of our types.

Image 9. Screenshot of file containing digitized data from Wallace type cards. Information for *Dikraneura affinis* is highlighted on the screen.

Currently, researchers must contact us directly with queries that relate to our type collection. In the future, we hope to photograph our type specimens and make all of their specimen data available via the internet so that researchers worldwide may have access to the invaluable type collection resource that resides in the Section of Invertebrate Zoology at CMNH.

Hillary Fetzner is a Laboratory Assistant in the Section of Invertebrate Zoology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Delving into Lepidoptera Life History Studies

For a number of years now in the Section of Invertebrate Zoology (IZ), we have been rearing larvae (= caterpillars) of different species of Lepidoptera (moths & butterflies) for both fun and research. This summer, given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the need for everyone to isolate, I have taken to collecting and rearing a number of different species at home that were collected at a bug sheet in my own back yard (Figure 1).

Figure 1. A set up “bug sheet” used to attract insects at night.

Female moths are collected live and held in a plastic jar we call a “live jar” (Figure 2), until they lay eggs. If eggs are laid, and they are fertile, they usually hatch in about 7-10 days. This gives you enough time to identify the female adult to species (a recent field guide to moths and butterflies is a good place to start) so you can find out information on its preferred food source(s), or host plant(s), before the little larvae hatch are start searching around for food. If the eggs do hatch, rearing the resulting little caterpillars is a fun way to break up the tedium of being cooped-up at home for so long and is a nice way to bring Nature indoors.

Figure 2. Plastic “live jar” used to hold female moths until they lay eggs for rearing.

We have a little bit of experience rearing caterpillars at home. As you may know from a previous IZ blog post, my son and I reared some caterpillars that were not yet known to science, which resulted in a small publication. Right now, we have caterpillars of ten different species at various developmental stages. I check on them daily, making sure to keep their containers clean, and provide them with enough food to eat from their preferred host plant (Figure 3). It is amazing how quickly these little guys grow and change, all in the matter of a few short weeks. I try to capture images of them as they develop (see Figure 4), so they can be used on our websites, in blog posts (such as this one), or in eventual scientific publications that may result from the work.

Figure 3. Clear plastic rearing chambers containing caterpillar cultures, each started from eggs laid by a single female moth (= iso-female culture). Host plants include Maple, Willow, Oak, Sassafras, Cherry and Poplar.

Figure 4. Images of various species of caterpillars currently being reared by the author at home. A.) Early instar of *Gluphisia septentrionis* (Notodontidae), B.) Early instar of *Acronicta dactylina* (Noctuidae), C.) Later instar of *Metarranthis sp.* (Geometridae), D.) Last instar of *Lithophane disposita* (Noctuidae), E.) Later instar of *Antheraea polyphemus* (Saturniidae), F.) Two different early instars of *Heterocampa obliqua* (Notodontidae), G.) Early instar of *Paonias excaecata* (Sphingidae), H.) Last instar of *Besma quercivoraria* (Geometridae), I.) Later instar of an unknown caterpillar that was found on host plant food obtained for other caterpillars. The species will be determined when the adult moth emerges from the pupa later in the summer.

Once the females have laid eggs, they usually die as a result, having completed their task in the moth’s life cycle. The females are then pinned, and the wings are usually spread on wooden blocks until they dry, so that the specimens can be easily identified and examined by experts in the future (Figure 5). They then receive data labels that includes information on the specific locality and date of collection, method of collection, and the collector name(s).

Figure 5. Moths that have been pinned with their wings spread to aid in identification. Note the data labels have been associated with each specimen (lower right of each block).

My son and I are looking forward to watching our little menagerie of caterpillars progress throughout the summer, eventually completing their life cycle and becoming adult moths. I’m glad that we are able to give you a glimpse of our progress to date and hope you have enjoyed seeing some of these diverse little spineless wonders. Hopefully, when we can all return to our normal outdoor activities, you will have a newfound appreciation for these amazing insects when you encounter them out in the wild.

James W. Fetzner Jr. is Assistant Curator of Invertebrate Zoology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Meet Ainsley Seago, New Associate Curator of Invertebrate Zoology

Dr. Ainsley Seago (pictured with *Vespula germanica*, one of Australia’s many, many invasive species). Photograph by Jude Keogh.

Dr. Ainsley Seago studies the evolutionary history of beetles, from systematics and diversification of Staphylinoidea (rove, carrion, and fungus beetles) to the evolution of iridescence in Curculionoidea (weevils and their relatives). She has used everything from rotting squid traps to synchrotron radiation to better understand beetles in all their glory, but believes that the most important tool of all is a strong museum collection. Dr. Seago is thrilled to work with the CMNH collection and exhibit teams to bring the museum’s outstanding invertebrate collection to a wider audience, while using it to support research in Pittsburgh, the US, and beyond.

Dr. Seago is originally from Tacoma, WA, and has just returned to the U.S. after 12 years in Australia.

Abstract of recent research (bearing in mind that I have a very loose grasp on what 8th graders are up to these days)

Australian stag beetle, *Lamprima aurata* (Coleoptera: Lucanidae). Photograph by Lauren Drysdale.

Among the world’s beetle species are hundreds of “living jewels,” insects with stunning jewel-like colors or shining golden armor. These so-called structural colors arise from nanoscale patterns in the exoskeleton, from variations in the thickness of chitin layers to intricate three-dimensional crystal lattices. Because they’re made by fixed structures and not chemical pigments, these types of insect color last indefinitely– even through fossilization.

Within the last 20 years, scientists have learned that several species of weevils (not to mention butterflies and longhorn beetles) make their glittering, sequin-like colors with microscopic lattices called three-dimensional photonic crystals. We have also learned that these photonic crystals can generate different colors depending on how tightly spaced they are. However, the evolutionary origins of this type of iridescence have never been explored.

Iridescent scales of *Pachyrhynchus orbifer* (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Photograph by Ainsley Seago.

Working with researchers from Yale-NUS (Singapore) and the Australian National Insect Collection (Canberra), I have conducted the first ever research placing a wide variety of photonic crystal structures from across the weevil family tree in an evolutionary (“phylogenetic”) context. The surprising result was that these crystals, found in hundreds of species of weevils, all derive from a single ancestral origin. Although three-dimensional photonic crystals have evolved repeatedly in insects, they appear to have evolved only once in weevils. The weevil lineages that gained these iridescent crystals then diversified rapidly, suggesting that the jewel-like colors aren’t just beautiful, they also confer a distinct evolutionary advantage.

Meowfest: Oglebay Good Zoo Big Cats

August 8, 2020 by wpengine

Cats: The Original Social Distancers

Science is always changing as ideas grow and evolve—it’s one of my favorite things about the topic. During my undergraduate years at Canisius College, I joined a research team to experience this first-hand. We were focused on studying the welfare of shelter cats to find ways to lessen their stress, so they were more likely to be adopted. The project I worked on focused on space requirements in colonially-housed cats and the conclusions are very relevant to current world events. I am lucky enough to have worked with an amazing advisor who has become a very good friend—Dr. Malini Suchak, Associate Professor of Animal Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation at Canisius College and Feline welfare and cognition researcher. I reached out for her personal experience and description of some of the findings of the project:

Although I’ve studied cats for eight years, and animal behavior much longer, the pandemic has offered me a unique, 24 hours per day look into my cat’s life. I’ve found myself fascinated by how he socializes with me on his own terms—at times endlessly “Zoom-bombing” my meetings, demanding attention, and other times disappearing for hours at a time into some secret napping spot I still haven’t found. This independence of spirit at least partially stems from the fact that cats were domesticated from a solitary species, the near Eastern wildcat. In fact, in true independent cat fashion, we didn’t domesticate them; they did it themselves in a process called self-domestication that took place about 9,000 years ago.

Fast forward to 2020, and we have a (sometimes) cuddly companion, living a posh life in the house, sometimes with other cat companions. Cats are interesting because their ability to tolerate (or maybe even like) being around other cats is dependent on them being exposed to other cats early in life. They tend to vary a lot in this regard; while some cats have close friends, most fall somewhere between accepting other cats and barely tolerating their presence.

When they do live together, whether at home or in animal shelters, cats are experts at keeping distance between themselves and others, which might help them cope with too much social contact. They might “time share” favorite resources like a box or a windowsill, where everyone gets a turn at different times of day. They use items in their environment, like shelves, crates and boxes to create “personal space bubbles” and physically separate themselves from others. All these actions help increase their distance, or their sense of distance from other individuals.

three cats on three different shelves — Photo credit: Robin Foster

In fact, we found that cats living in groups at a shelter kept an average of 6ft (2m) from each other. If that sounds familiar, it’s because that’s the recommended distance we humans should maintain to social distance and reduce the spread of coronavirus. We also found that cats living in groups were no more likely to develop an upper respiratory infection than those housed alone, despite the fact that you would predict exactly the opposite—increased disease-risk is one of the major costs of living in groups. Now, there could be a lot of reasons why the disease rate was the same, but we can’t discount the fact the cats naturally keep the recommended distance between themselves.

So, in addition to channeling our inner cat during that afternoon nap, we can look to them for advice on how to keep a safe distance from others.

Being part of this team changed my life in many ways; I realized collecting and processing data (which is most of research) wasn’t what impassioned me. I found I loved teaching others what the research was discovering instead.

So, here’s hoping you enjoy the rest of Meowfest a comfortable distance from your feline friend!

Abbey Hines is a Gallery Experience Presenter as well as an Outreach Educator and Animal Handler in CMNH’s Life Long Learning Department.

Dr. Malini Suchak teaches courses in introductory animal behavior, animal cognition, and animal welfare at Canisius College, as well as researches how nonhuman animals think about other individuals in their social groups.

Cat Chat 101: The Basics of Domestic and Wild Vocalizations

Whether they are greeting you at the door, asking for a meal, or letting you know you’re interrupting their fifteenth nap of the day, most cats have no qualms about speaking up and telling you how they feel. But, when it comes to vocalizing, your pet actually has more in common with their wild relatives than you may realize.

The way all cat species communicate is different than the methods used by humans; yet the ways they vocalize are effective and deeply significant to each other. Vocalizing helps cats in a variety of ways—from social bonding, to showing off, and even for self-defense. Here are some of the main methods of communication of both wild and domestic cats:

Roaring and Purring

For the most part, big cats (lions, tigers, leopards, and jaguars) can roar, but they can’t purr. Cougars and smaller cats (bobcats, ocelots, lynxes, and house cats, among others) can purr, but they can’t roar.

Purring is possible because of tightly connected links of delicate bones that run from the back of a small cat’s tongue up to the base of the skull. When a cat vibrates its larynx, or voice box, it sets the twig-like, bones called hyoid bones to resonating. The hyoid is a U-shaped bone directly above the thyroid cartilage; also known as an Adam’s Apple in humans. No one knows for sure why smaller cat species developed this ability, but one theory is that a mother’s purr helps to camouflage the mewing of her nursing kittens—thus avoiding the attention of possible predators. If you listen to your own cat carefully, you will notice that their purr is one continuous sound that they make while breathing both in and out.

When it comes to big cats and roaring, a length of tough cartilage runs up the hyoid bones to the skull. This tough cartilage prevents purring but gives the larynx enough flexibility to produce a full-throated, terrifying roar. In the case of lions, their roar can easily be heard and “felt” up to five miles away—their deep roar is loud enough to almost reach a human’s pain threshold if they’re standing nearby. Although they can’t purr, lions do have the equivalent (or, in the case of some other big cats, the equivalent of a chuff. But more on chuffing later). Instead of purring, older lions will lowly moan and groan when socially bonding with one another, sometimes trying to drown each other out with their sounds.

Tigers are capable of roaring, but their roar sounds more like an impressively loud growl; a “growl” that can carry for almost two miles. A tiger’s roar can serve multiple purposes. It can be used as a warning to other tigers in their territory or serve as an invitation to potential mates.

Cheetahs are unique when it comes to vocalizations; they purr instead of roar and are in a special cat-category all their own; this is mainly because they can’t completely retract their claws like all other cats. Instead of roaring, they emit a high-pitched sound similar to a canary’s chirp. Cheetahs chirp when they are in distress, want to attract a mate (in the case of females), and when they need to locate each other.

Growling and Hissing

If you have multiple cats in your household, then there is no doubt you have probably heard your fair share of growling and hissing. All cats, both big and small, growl and hiss to some degree. Whether wild or tame, it’s easy to understand the meaning of these two sounds; the cat is not a happy camper. A growl is a raspy, guttural sound that is produced by pushing air through the cat’s vocal chords. Cats growl when they feel threatened (either by another cat or another animal), when they want to tell a pride member to back off, or to claim possession over something like dinner. If the message hasn’t quite been received, hissing usually follows. A hiss is created when a cat forces a short burst of air out through its arched tongue. Some feline experts believe that cats may have developed this defensive habit by imitating snakes; mimicking another species is a survival tactic among many animals. Hissing is primarily used as a last resort before a full-blown attack. But this serpent-like sound can also serve other purposes, such as establishing dominance in a hierarchy or intimidating a prey animal.

Chuffing

Tigers, Jaguars, Snow Leopards, and Clouded Leopards chuff. Chuffing—also called prusten—is the equivalent of a domestic cat’s purr. It is a low-intensity sound that a big cat will emit in short, loud bursts. To vocalize a chuff, air is blown through the nostrils while the mouth is closed, producing a breathy snort. It is typically accompanied by a head bobbing movement. It is often used between two cats as a greeting, during courting, or by a mother comforting her cubs. Chuffing is always used as a non-aggressive signal and helps to strengthen social bonds.

Meowing

Surprisingly, meowing is not expressly reserved for domestic cats. Snow Leopards, Lion cubs, Cougars, and Cheetahs also meow. Meowing can be used to locate each other or simply a request for food or affection.

If there is more than one cat in your home, you may have noticed that domestic cats never meow at each other. House cats use meowing as form of communication with humans and no one else (you lucky human, to have such an honor bestowed upon you).

Just in case you may be new to cat ownership and are not quite sure what your cat is trying to tell you, here is a quick cat-to-human language lesson:

· Short meow—short and high-pitched, this just means “Hi!”

· Multiple meows—can be a sign your cat is happy to see you or wants attention.

· Mild-pitch meow—usually a request such as “Can I please have some food…pretty please?”

· Drawn-out, mild-pitched “mrroooow”—is more of a demand or an early warning of aggression/fear.

· Drawn out, low-pitch “MRRRooowww”—usually a complaint but, can also signal heightened aggression/fear. If agitated for much longer, the cat may lash out.

· High-pitched, loud “RRRROWW!”—is reserved for pain or maximum aggression. In this state, a cat is most likely to lash out at whatever is causing the agitation, fear, or pain.

It’s never much fun in any household when, for whatever reason, your cat(s) work themselves up into such a state that you hear hissing and yowling as the fur flies. But, when all the feline drama is over and done with and your cats have relaxed and returned to contentedly purring, appreciate the fact they took a little time to get in touch with their wild side.

Shelby Wyzykowski is a Gallery Presenter in CMNH’s Life Long Learning Department. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Mobilizing Millions of Marine Mollusks: Seashells by the Eastern U.S. Seashore

“What a pretty seashell, where did it come from?”

Perhaps the most important information that natural history museums keep about their specimens is where they came from. For many researchers, locality information is more important than the specimen itself. The specimen is useful to verify correct identification, but you can’t look at a specimen to determine where it came from.

As more and more museums share their specimen databases on-line, locality information is being used to document changes in distributions of organisms, including new occurrences of invading species, range shifts due to climate warming, and the disappearance of species becoming locally extinct.

To facilitate uses of locality information, museums are scrambling to georeference their specimens. This term refers to the electronic pairing of the historic recorded location for each collected specimen with an established system of latitude and longitude coordinates. Georeferencing can be tedious and time-consuming, what with interpreting messy handwriting, dealing with misspellings, and tracking down obscure names, some of which have changed over time. Once I spent over an hour and got only two specimens georeferenced.

The US National Science Foundation (NSF) recognizes the importance of georeferenced specimens to facilitate understanding of where species occur and how their distributions change over time. Consequently, NSF has awarded $58,762 to Carnegie Museum of Natural History as one of 14 collaborating museums on a $2.3 million grant for a project titled: Mobilizing Millions of Marine Mollusks of the Eastern Seaboard. The project is spearheaded by Rudiger Bieler at The Field Museum in Chicago.

The main goal of the project is to georeference, and make available online, 535,000 lots representing 4.5 million specimens of marine mollusks (snails, clams, etc.) from the eastern USA. Only 15% of Eastern Seaboard mollusks in museums are currently reliably georeferenced. To facilitate georeferencing and promote standardization, each collaborating museum will focus on georeferencing all lots from particular geographical areas. Notably, for the first time, these museum records will distinguish between live- and dead-collected specimens, important information given that shells of dead mollusks sometimes persist for hundreds of thousands of years, and can be moved by currents and other animals such as hermit crabs. Whether or not a shell was collected alive is therefore crucial information for studies of biotic change using mollusks.

Two lots of East Coast USA seashells ready to georeference.

For CMNH, this award primarily means support for georeferencing our 11,436 lots of marine mollusks from eastern USA. In addition, we will catalog the eastern US part of our backlog, image relevant type specimens, create an exhibit, and, the aspect I am most excited about is creating an IPT, or integrated publishing toolkit, which will allow automatic updates from our in-house database to our web presence in the InvertEBase Symbiota portal.

The grant-funded new public display will interpret our biologically, commercially, and recreationally important marine mollusks from the Eastern Seaboard, and showcase mollusk diversity. The display will appeal to anyone who has beachcombed shells. Labels will describe how scientists use modern and historical specimens to study change in marine ecosystems over time. My hope is that visitors will learn that mollusks are diverse and beautiful, that museum collections are useful, and that evidence-based studies show ecosystem changes.

The Eastern Seaboard region includes 18 states, nearly 6,000 km of coastline, and about 3,000 molluscan species. Boundaries, from Maine to Texas, stretch from the shore outward to the edge of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. The 14 collaborating U.S. collections contain 85% of all Eastern Seaboard marine mollusk museum holdings. These museum holdings average 8 specimens per lot – a lot is one species from one place at one time.

One hundred million mollusk specimens have been documented in natural history collections across North America. Each mollusk species in these collections average 1100 individuals, revealing geographic and morphological variation, and making mollusks among the best sampled group of metazoans, or multi-cellular animals. So far, freshwater and terrestrial mollusks have dominated digitization efforts of mollusks. This project is the first to focus on marine mollusks.

Shells are bio-archives. Shell skeletons record information about the animal and its environmental conditions throughout its life cycle. Shell material can be used to infer past ocean temperatures, seasonal fluctuations, and growth rates. Shell testing can reveal presence of trace elements and pesticides, allowing detection and identification of marine contamination and pollution.

In addition to their use in documenting what lived where and when, mollusks are important in other ways. Shells bring us joy when we find them on the beach. And many of us eat them. In 2016, three of the top 10 most valuable fisheries in the US, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, were mollusks: scallops, clams, and oysters.

Cat Adoption Guide

Adding a new feline friend to your household is a process that can be both exciting and scary, especially for first-time cat owners and even the cats themselves. With so many things to consider, it can feel as though a million things could go wrong. Thankfully, there are many things you can do to make the transition as smooth as possible!

Part 1 — Before

In every case, the best way to ensure a new pet adoption goes smoothly is to prepare beforehand. If you are considering getting a cat, there are a few things you should ask yourself first:

1. Am I ready to be responsible? While a new animal is always very exciting, remember that there is more to pet ownership than having a cuddly companion. It costs money to care for a pet its whole life; food, toys, litter, and veterinarian visits can add up. Caring for a pet, especially when you first bring them home, also takes time to ensure the transition runs smoothly. Do you have room in your budget and schedule for pet care? If you adopt a cat with special needs, will you be able to provide specific care for them?

2. Will this addition go over well? Make sure all members of your household—including other pets—can handle the change!

3. What do I know about caring for a cat? If you are going to be a first-time cat owner, take some time to read online about the sort of care your new friend will need. Take time to research what different needs cats may have— adopting a kitten can be different than adopting an adult or senior cat. Cats with special needs may also require different sorts of care.

Once you’ve determined that cat ownership is right for you, you can begin to prepare your home and search for your new friend! Here are a few things you can do before you bring your cat home to make the process more comfortable:

Figure out your space. Determine where you can put things like litter boxes, food, and beds. If you have other pets, make sure you can set aside a room away from them for your new cat to spend time in for the first few days. Make sure the area has enough space for their litter box, food (which should be placed away from the litter box), and areas for your new friend to hide in so that they feel safe and secure.

Determine your game plan. Who will be there when you bring your new cat home? If you have small children, it is always a good idea to remind them that your cat may need their own space for a few days before they want to come out and play. If you are a first-time pet owner, or if you’ve moved to a new area, make sure to do some research beforehand to choose what veterinarian in your area you plan to go to with your cat, and be prepared to make an appointment for soon after you have adopted your cat.

“Kitty-Proof” your home. On the day you know you will be bringing your furry friend home, make sure the area you plan to let them adjust in has no open windows, dangling or exposed electrical cords, dangerous chemicals, or delicate objects.

Part 2 — During

Remember when choosing your new family member that all cats have different personalities and needs. Are you prepared to care for a kitten, or would an adult or senior cat be a better fit for your family? Are you able to properly care for a cat with special needs? Are you looking for a cat who doesn’t mind sharing their home with other pets or children, or are you looking for just one pet?

Make sure when you’re adopting your cat that you communicate these things to the people or group you are adopting from. Often, these groups have a great understanding of their cats and can help to match you with an ideal companion. It is also important that you know the medical history of your new cat— are they spayed or neutered? Do they need to take medication? What is their vaccination history? The place you are adopting from may also be able to tell you what sort of food and treats your cat likes, which can take the guesswork out of buying their diet.

Part 3 — After

This part can often be the most stressful for both people and pet; a new space, filled with new sounds and smells, can be confusing and scary for a cat. Experts often recommend doing the following:

Set up a vet visit. It is always a good idea to take your new pet to the vet about a week after their adoption. Make an appointment with the vet of your choice and be sure to take you cat’s medical records with you.

Set a schedule. Try to feed your cat at the same time every day. A routine is a good way to make your cat feel at ease in a new space. It is normal for a cat to not eat much at first, but if you notice that they have not eaten or drank for more than a few days, contact your veterinarian.

Give them their space. Remember that area you decided to set aside for your new friend? Allowing your cat to have one area of the house to get used to and feel comfortable in can lower stress for everyone involved. If you have other pets, make sure you do not introduce them to your new cat for at least the first few days. Introducing pets can take a long time; be sure not to rush the process. Additionally, allow your cat to approach you and other people within the room when they feel comfortable doing so. It is not uncommon for your furry friend to hide for a few days in a new environment until they feel more comfortable.

Establish trust. Recognizing a friendly face can make your cat feel more at ease. Sitting on the floor and allowing your cat to get used to you and your smell can build a relationship that makes them feel comfortable. Remember to always let your cat come to you; do not chase or corner them. Speak in a soothing voice and be sure to tell your new kitty how happy you are to have them in your family!

Allow them to move at their own pace. Once your kitty has begun feeling comfortable in the space you gave them, determine how to safely allow them to explore the rest of your home. Again, make sure that the spaces your cat is in are safe for them; close your windows, make sure chemicals are out of reach, and make sure your cat cannot chew on cords or access human food that could be harmful for them.

Provide Enrichment. Many cats love to play and being active is an important part of keeping your cat happy and healthy. Provide them with plenty of toys that they can bat around, chew, pounce on, and scratch. Over time, you may start to notice which toys your cat likes best. Play time is also a good time to build a relationship with your cat— just remember not to overwhelm them. Crafting home-made toys for your cat can also be a great family activity, but remember to always use materials that are safe for a cat to play with. Many websites offer free tutorials on how to make great cat toys!

Remember that patience and respecting boundaries are two key things to ensure your new family member adjusts well to your household. Giving your cat the opportunity to take things at their own pace removes a lot of the stress that the both of you may feel. Planning ahead to make sure your cat receives quality care means that they can enjoy their new forever home to the fullest!

Emma McGeary is a Gallery Experience Presenter as well as an Outreach Educator and Animal Handler in CMNH’s Life Long Learning Department. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Meowfest: Cat Whisker Activity

Have you ever seen a cat investigate a space they’re interested in by putting their head in the space, only to back up and change their mind? A cat has a built- in measuring tape that lets them know when their curiosity may just get them stuck in a space that is too small for their bodies—their whiskers. A cat’s whiskers are the same length as the width of their body. They have small heads, which means going into a space head first without knowing if the rest of their body will fit can be problematic. Luckily, they know if their whiskers touch or bend upon entering a space, it is too small for their body!

Let’s Investigate

You can create a set of cat whiskers with a few items at home that can help you get a hands-on look at how a cat uses its whiskers.

Materials Needed

Ball (any size/material is fine)
Pipe cleaners
Strong tape (such as duct tape or packing tape)

Directions

Twist pipe cleaners together to form a set of whiskers. Trim them into desired length, but make sure they are symmetrical—meaning they are the same length from the center to the ends on both sides.
Tape the center of the whiskers to the ball.
Use the ball and whiskers and see if it can fit through tight spaces just like a cat. If the whiskers touch the sides of a space, bend or get pushed back, the space is too small for a cat!

Collect Data

Take notes, or pictures on where your cat whiskers will fit. What spaces would your imaginary cat be able to fit into and where would your cat need to back out of?

August 5, 2020 by wpengine

Meowfest: Sabertooth Tiger

sabertooth tiger and dire wolf museum exhibit

If you ever think you’ve found yourself in a sticky situation, it doesn’t compare to what this sabertooth tiger found itself in. This specimen of Smilodon, otherwise known as a sabertooth tiger, the Dire Wolf, and Harlan’s Ground Sloth at the museum were recovered from excavations at the La Brea Tar Pits.

Smilodon itself is the general name for three separate related species: Smilodon populator, Smilodon fatalis, and Smilodon gracilis. Despite their name, they’re not closely related to tigers or other big cats in the genus Panthera, which also includes lions, leopards, and jaguars. The three species mostly differ in size—while Smilodon gracilis typically weighed in at around 55-100 kg (100-220 lbs), Smilidon fatalis tipped the scales at 160-280 kg (350-600 lbs); approximately the same weight as a Siberian tiger.

All three species of Smilodon have elongated canine teeth. Some specimens have teeth measuring up to 11 centimeters (4.33 in.). However, these teeth are incredibly fragile. If the Smilodon were to hunt the same way as modern cats, they would have broken their canine teeth. Instead, it’s thought Smilodons would use their upper body strength to tackle the intended prey and then use their canines to puncture and tear away meat. Due to the distribution of fossils found, it is believed that they were most likely pack hunters.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History is proud to feature a Smilodon fatalis specimen, which had a roundabout journey 2,000 miles and approximately 11,000 years in the making.

It all began at the La Brea Tar Pits—a series of naturally occurring asphalt pits where petroleum oozes from the ground. What makes the pits at La Brea unique is the fact they have been continuously active for 50,000 years. As history has progressed, modern-day Los Angeles has grown around them. The pits are now one of the only paleontological sites located inside of a major city in the world.

The Rancho La Brea Tar Pits are a virtual treasure-trove for fossils from the Ice Age. Over 100 excavations since the early 1900s have resulted in the recovery of over 3.5 million fossils from all manner of species, including over 2,000 individual sabre tooth tigers. This is due to the unique fossilizations process created by the pits themselves. As the tar oozes, pools, and warms on the ground, it becomes sticky; prey mammals can easily become stuck in as little as four centimeters (1.57 in.) and unable to move. A strong and healthy animal might be able to escape, but for the majority trapped in the tar, it was only a matter of time until they succumbed. Sometimes, a passing predator would hear a stuck animal and try to seize them first (such as Smilodon). This would often result in the predator becoming stuck as well, and both predator and prey would be found well-preserved thousands of years later.

Even today, the Rancho La Brea site is still actively producing fossils. A variety of flora and fauna have been preserved here, allowing us to have an unparalleled look at species from the end of the last major Ice Age. By studying these fossils from the past, scientists in turn can learn how things like climate change may affect us in the future.

Andrew Huntley is a Gallery Presenter in CMNH’s Lifelong Learning Department, as well as part of the Animal Husbandry staff for the Living Collection. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Big Cats, Big Personalities

You may have heard the phrase “big cat” before. No, it doesn’t refer to a particularly large house cat, but rather to a category of cats. “Big cat” is a term typically used to describe any member of the genus Panthera, though it can mean different things to different people.

Some consider every member of the larger subfamily Pantherinae to be big cats—for example, clouded leopards (genus Neofelis). Sometimes, the phrase “big cat” just refers to any member of the cat family (Felidae) that is large, such as the cougar (genus Puma), the cheetah (genus Acinonyx), and the Eurasian lynx (genus Lynx, species lynx).

Tigers, Lions, Jaguars, Leopards, and Snow Leopards are the extant (or currently living) members. You may be wondering how leopards and snow leopards are members of genus Panthera but clouded leopards are not. Clouded leopards are not true leopards—they branched off into their own genus roughly six million years ago; they are in the larger subfamily of Pantherinae, but not Panthera specifically.

One feature sometimes used to distinguish big cats from other cats is the ability to roar, but that ability is only found in the Panthera genus, not the additional species. Roaring itself is an important vocalization, but it isn’t a surefire way to distinguish what a “big cat” is. For example, snow leopards, in the family Panthera, cannot roar.

So, big cat can mean something different to everyone, but let’s learn a little bit more about each of the cats listed above:

Tigers

Tigers are the largest cat species on the planet! There are several subspecies and they are easily recognized by their orange color with black stripes (though Bengal tigers are occasionally white with black stripes).

They are solitary and territorial animals; cubs (big cat offspring are not called kittens) stay with their mother for 2 years. These cats are found throughout Asia—although they are endangered—and their population is dwindling.

Lions

Lions are a social species of large cats found in the grasslands and savannas of Africa. Males are recognizable by their long hair surrounding their necks, called manes. Lionesses do the hunting for the pride (social group of lions), which is comprised of several adult males, related females, and cubs. These animals are listed as vulnerable, which means they are close to becoming endangered.

Jaguars

Jaguars are the only member of the Panthera genus found in the Americas. Individual cats can be found in the Western United States, but they have had a reduced range in Central and South America since the early 20^th century. They are solitary animals and ambush predators, hunting in tropical and subtropical forests and swamps. They are recognizable by their spots, which are black rosettes with spots in the middle. However, melanistic (or all black) jaguar occasionally appear; these cats are informally known as black panthers—although they are not a separate species—and the phrase “black panther” has been used to describe melanistic leopards as well. Jaguars are near-threatened, which means their numbers are decreasing and their populations are being closely monitored.

Leopards

Leopards have a wide range and are found in Sub-Saharan Africa, in parts of Western and Central Asia and on the Indian subcontinent. They are recognizable by their spots; they look like jaguars with their spotted fur, but leopards are shorter with a smaller head, and their rosette-shaped spots do not have dots in the middle. Leopards are opportunistic hunters, hunting mostly on the ground at night; though in the Serengeti, they are known for attacking prey by leaping from trees. Leopards are listed as vulnerable, meaning they are potentially on their way to the endangered species list.

Snow leopards

Snow leopards live in the mountain regions of Central and South Asia, living at elevations from 3,000 to 4,500 feet. Their fur is whitish grey, with black rosettes, distinguishing them from other leopards which are yellow or brown in color. Snow leopards have large nasal passages which helps warm the cold, dry air they breathe. Their tails are covered thickly with fur and provide fat storage; sleeping snow leopards use their warm tails like blankets to protect their faces when they sleep. They are listed as vulnerable, meaning they may appear on the endangered species list in the future.

Clouded leopards

photo of a clouded leopard lounging on a branch

There are two species of clouded leopards—the mainland clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) and the Sunda clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi). The mainland clouded leopard is found in the Himalayan foothills in Southeast Asia and southern China and the Sunda clouded leopard is found in Borneo and Sumatra. They are considered an evolutionary link between two cat families Pantherinae and Felinae. Their fur is dark grey with a black blotched pattern. Clouded leopards are solitary and hunt by stalking or ambushing prey. They are excellent climbers and use trees as rest sites. Both species of clouded leopards are listed as vulnerable, meaning they can potentially end up on the endangered species list.

Cougar

The cougar (also known as a puma, mountain lion, red tiger, or catamount) is the only cat on this list that you may see in the wild around Pittsburgh; however, their populations are severely reduced in the eastern half of North America. These cats are adaptable to a wide variety of habitats, which is why they are found all throughout North and South America. This wide range is the reason people living in different regions have different names for them. They are ambush predators, preferring to hunt deer, though they will eat insects and rodents. While cougars are large, they are not always the apex (or top) predator and will occasionally give food they caught away to jaguars, grizzly bears, or even alligators! Cougars are listed as least concern, meaning their population is holding steady, though their range has shrunk.

Cheetah

Cheetahs are known for their speed; as the fastest land animal, they are capable of running up to 80 miles per hour! Cheetahs can be found in the Serengeti, Saharan mountain ranges, and in hilly areas of Iran. Cheetahs separate into three kinds of social groups—females with cubs, all-male groups, and solitary males. Females are more likely to travel further distances while males will establish and stay in smaller territories. They are active during the day and spend most of their time hunting for things like impala or springbok. Cheetahs are listed as vulnerable, with one of the main threats being a lack of genetic diversity, which makes it difficult for the species to adapt and evolve over generations, reducing the chance for individual animals to survive.

Eurasian lynx

The Eurasian lynx is found from Europe into Central Asia and Siberia, living in temperate or boreal (snow or Taiga) forests. They have short, red-brown coats, and are more colorful than most animals sharing their habitat. In the winter, their fur grows in thicker and greyer. These cats have relatively long legs and large webbed and furred paws that act like snowshoes, allowing them to walk on top of the snow. They have bobbed (or short) tails, much like one of their cousins you might see around Pittsburgh—the bobcat. They hunt small mammals and birds but will occasionally take down young moose or deer. The Eurasian lynx is listed as least concern, with a stable population.

Meowfest: DIY Cat Toy

August 3, 2020 by wpengine

Cats: The Archeological Site!

There’s an internet meme making the rounds that says if dogs are “man’s best friend” then cats are basically weird roommates. However, if you happened to live in ancient Egypt, you’d consider cats to be tad more special—a veritable link to the divine, in fact. Cats were of great importance in matters both earthbound and spiritual in Egypt, beginning even before the First Dynasty over 5,000 years ago. Aloof but lovable, cats played the role of pet, hunter, and deity in ancient Egypt and to this day they haven’t forgotten. Believe me, cats know.

Let’s start with the practical role that cats played in Egypt. Has yours ever left you a present of a dead mouse or bird? Odds are that it has—whether you liked it or not. Ancient Egyptians valued cats for this very skill. Cats hunted the rodents that threatened to devour Egyptian grain and spread deadly diseases. Cats also hunted animals dangerous to humans like snakes and scorpions. Tomb paintings also depict cats helping their royal owners hunt elusive marsh birds for sport. Egyptians loved cats for their companionship as well—not just as hard-working professionals—and played a major role in domesticating them. Ancient Egyptian art captures cats wearing collars and lurking under chairs not so differently from the cats that keep us company today.

When cats stretched themselves out in the sun for a catnap, ancient Egyptians associated them with the sun god Ra and his daughter Bastet. Bastet was the goddess of the home, fertility, joy, and the protection of children; and she is often depicted in statuary as a woman with the head of an alert, attentive cat. Even earlier depictions of Bastet, however, show a fierce and wild lioness. Some scholars believe this shift in imagery is connected to the domestication of cats—from the Near Eastern wildcat (Felis silvestris lybica) to the modern-day housecat (Felis catus). These traits of the goddess Bastet—vigilance, protectiveness, companionship—were reflected in the characteristics of Felis catus. Ra, in his cat form, also shared these characteristics. When accompanying a deceased Egyptian to the afterlife, Ra was prepared to defend them from Apep, the serpent god of chaos and disorder.

By the Ptolemaic period of Egyptian history (305-30 BCE), Bastet was hugely popular. Her temples drew thousands of pilgrims every year. These pilgrims would buy statuettes of the goddess or actual cat mummies to leave at the temple. This was a way for the pilgrims to commemorate their visit and to venerate Bastet. When the number of these statues and cat mummies grew too large, the priests of the temple would dig special trenches and bury them to make room for more. About two thousand years later in the nineteenth century, archeologists would begin to unearth these trenches and discover more cat mummies and Bastet statuary than they knew what to do with. Unfortunately, some English excavators even sent the cat mummies they discovered back to Britain…to be ground into fertilizer!

Millions of cats were mummified in ancient Egypt either to be buried alongside their owner or to be sold to pilgrims devoted to Bastet. Cat mummification in the name of Bastet became an industry because many temples—depending on the whim of pharaonic decree—had to sustain themselves financially on their own. Sometimes a temple might sell a pilgrim a “fake” cat mummy! And it’s one of these curiosities that the Carnegie Museum of Natural History has on display in Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt. While it looks like a standard-issue cat mummy (Roman period, c. 30 BCE), an x-ray led to the discovery that the remains belong to another undetermined animal.

Cats played a central role in the daily life and religious practices of ancient Egyptians. They kept their humans safe from snakes and scorpions and Egypt’s grain supply safe from rats and mice. Cats even came to represent in animal form some of Egypt’s most important gods. So, the next time your cat ignores you and wanders off, know that one of its ancestors quite possibly did the same thing to a pharaoh.

Nicholas Sauer is a Gallery Experiences Presenter and Natural History Interpreter at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Works Cited

“Bastet.” The Louvre Museum. 2009. <https://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/bastet>.

Castellano, Nuria. “The Sacred and Secret Rituals in the Egyptian Book of the Dead.” National Geographic, 8 February 2018. <https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/magazine/2016/01-02/egypt-book-of-the-dead/>.

Grimm, David. “Ancient Egyptians May Have Given Cats the Personality to Conquer the World.” Science Magazine, 19 June 2017. <https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/06/ancient-egyptians-may-have-given-cats-personality-conquer-world>.

Little, Becky. “Kitten Mummies.” History.com, 18 November 2018. <https://www.history.com/news/ancient-egypt-cat-mummy-discovery-scarab>.

Macdonald, James. “Why Ancient Egyptians Loved Cats So Much.” JSTOR Daily, 27 November 2018. <https://daily.jstor.org/why-ancient-egyptians-loved-cats-so-much/>.

“Paintings from the Tomb-chapel of Nebamun.” Khan Academy. 2020. <https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/egypt-art/new-kingdom/a/paintings-from-the-tomb-chapel-of-nebamun>.

Meowfest: Why Do Cat Eyes Glow in the Dark?

Have you ever walked around a dark corner only to be surprised by glowing eyes staring back at you? The glowing eyes of a cat at night can sometimes be shocking and even a little scary if unexpected. Ancient Egyptians believed cats captured the glow of the setting sun in their eyes and kept it safe until morning. Ancient Greeks believed there was a light source inside the eyes that was like a gleaming fire. We now know that cat’s eyes appear to glow because they, along with the eyes of many other nocturnal animals, reflect light.

All eyes reflect light, but some eyes have a special reflective structure called a tapetum lucidum that create the appearance of glowing at night. The tapetum lucidum (Latin for “shining layer”) is essentially a tiny mirror in the back of many types of nocturnal animals’ eyeballs. It basically helps these animals see super-well at night. It is also what causes the glowing eye phenomenon known as “eyeshine.”

How Does It Work?

When light enters a cat’s eye, it can take a few routes. Some of the light directly hits the retina, a layer at the back of the eyeball containing cells that are sensitive to light. These photoreceptor cells trigger nerve impulses that pass via the optic nerve to the brain, where a visual image is formed.

Some of the light passes through or around the retina and hits the tapetum lucidum. The tapetum lucidum reflects visible light back through the retina, increasing the light available to the photoreceptors. This allows cats to see better in the dark than humans.

In the last route, some of the light that bounces off the tapetum lucidum, misses the retina, and bounces back out of the cat’s eyes. This reflected light, or eyeshine, is what we see when a cat’s eyes appear to be glowing.

Do Humans Have a Tapetum Lucidum?

Though our eyes have much in common with cats’ eyes, humans do not have this tapetum lucidum layer. If you shine a flashlight in a person’s eyes at night, you don’t see any sort of reflection.

The flash on a camera is bright enough, however, to cause a reflection off of the retina itself. This is the infamous “red-eye” in photographs. What you see is the red color from the blood vessels nourishing the eye.

Activity

In this two-part activity, you will be able to see how the tapetum lucidum works and then simulate how this reflective layer helps cats see well at night.

Materials Needed

Flashlight
Mirror (or a shiny/reflective surface)
Thick paper or cardboard
Pencil (or an object you can poke a hole with) REMEMBER TO ASK A GROWN-UP FOR HELP!

Directions

Make about a hole in your paper or cardboard using a pencil or pen. It does not have to be perfect! If using a thinner paper, try folding it a few times before making the hole (the harder it is to see light through, the better!).
Hold the cardboard about 6 inches away from a blank wall and shine the flashlight through the hole toward the wall.
Without looking directly into the light, glance at the side of the cardboard facing the wall. Take note of what you see.
Repeat steps 2 and 3 while using your mirror instead of a wall. Again, avoid looking directly into the light or its reflection in the mirror! Note the difference in light on the side of the cardboard facing the mirror.

Imagine that the cardboard is a retina and the mirror is a reflective layer like the tapetum lucidum. What happened to the “retina” when the mirror was used instead of the wall?

This experiment shows how the amount of light from a singular light source is doubled when a reflective layer is present. Thus, it shows us how having a reflective layer—like a tapetum lucidum—increases the amount of light information available.

Materials Needed

Flashlight
Clear Glass container (jar or cup work well!)
Water

Directions

1. Place your glass container about 6 inches away from a wall.

2. Shine your flashlight through the glass toward the wall and observe how the light appears on the wall.

3. Fill the container with water and place in the same spot as before.

4. Shine your flashlight through the glass toward the wall and observe how the light now appears on the wall.

Imagine that the wall is the retina and the water is a reflective layer like the tapetum lucidum. How does the reflective layer change the presence of light on the retina?

While this experiment is technically showing how light refraction works in water, it can also show us how having a reflective layer—like a tapetum lucidum—increases the amount of light available to cats’ eyes. Also, that the extra reflective light is not as clear as the original light input.

August 3, 2020 by Kathleen

Meowfest: Museum Scavenger Hunt

If you visit the museum in the near future, prowl around for these favorite feline finds!

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July 31, 2020 by wpengine

Mesozoic Monthly: Aspidorhynchus

As we all seek out responsible ways to enjoy our summer months while the world continues to respond to COVID-19, many of us are embracing the therapeutic effects of the great outdoors. One popular activity, especially in and around the Three Rivers, is fishing. Some modern fishes look positively primeval, as if they were hooked straight out of the Age of Dinosaurs and reeled into the present day. For July’s edition of Mesozoic Monthly, our star is Aspidorhynchus, one of the weird and wonderful fishes that inhabited the oceans of the Mesozoic Era.

Let’s start with a quick lesson on fish, for context. There are two main groups of bony fishes. One group, the class Sarcopterygii, are called the lobe-finned fishes because they have fleshy, limb-like fins that they use to paddle through the water like oars. The first vertebrates to go on land were sarcopterygians, and the descendants of these adventurous fish eventually evolved into amphibians, reptiles, and mammals – including us! Despite their prolific limbed descendants, sarcopterygians make up only a small fraction of fishes today. The vast majority of fish belong to the other class: Actinopterygii, or the ray-finned fishes. These fishes have delicate ray-like bones supporting thinly webbed fins instead of the meaty fins of the sarcopterygians. Actinopterygians are so successful that they dominate both freshwater and saltwater ecosystems, thrive in a variety of habitats, and fill various ecological niches. Such diverse lifestyles mean that actinopterygians come in many shapes and sizes. Nemo (a clownfish) is an actinopterygian. So is the barracuda that ate his mother, the catfish in the Monongahela River, and the unfortunate goldfish you won at the carnival as a kid. Most fossil fishes, like Aspidorhynchus for example, are also actinopterygians.

Aspidorhynchus is an extinct member of the order Holostei, nested, in diagrams of relatedness, within the class Actinopterygii. The only members of the Holostei today are gars and bowfins. Superficially, Aspidorhynchus looks like a gar, but it is more closely related to bowfins. Its name means “shield snout,” in reference to its pointy, swordfish-like upper jaw. Unlike swordfish, which lack teeth as adults, this snout was filled with many sharp teeth. The limited flexibility of its skull restricted its diet to tiny fish, two inches (5 centimeters) in diameter at the largest. Aspidorhynchus was not very large itself, its slender body only growing to approximately two feet (60 centimeters) in length. It was covered with ganoid scales, which are hard, diamond-shaped scales made with a shiny compound called ganoin. Only a few types of modern fishes have ganoid scales, including gar, sturgeon, and paddlefish.

Jurassic feeding frenzy: the pterosaur (flying reptile) *Rhamphorhynchus* and the predatory fish *Aspidorhynchus* attack a school of smaller fish. Usually, the baitfish were the only casualties here, but once in a while, everybody lost (see below!). Art by RavePaleoArt on DeviantArt, reproduced with permission.

Although species of Aspidorhynchus lived in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, we know that it encountered the same struggles as some modern fish due to several remarkable fossils. Just like swordfish, the pointy snout of Aspidorhynchus frequently got it into trouble by impaling other animals! The abundance of fossil evidence for this was provided by the unique conditions of the habitat preserved in the famous Solnhofen Limestone of Germany. In the Late Jurassic, this area was an isolated series of lagoons that accumulated a bottom layer of anoxic brine, which is extra-salty, low-oxygen water where oxygen-dependent (aerobic) life cannot survive. Despite this, the surface still teemed with life: fishes and marine reptiles dominated the water, small non-avian dinosaurs scurried along the shore, and pterosaurs (flying reptiles) and archaic birds flew overhead. The fish-eating pterosaur Rhamphorhynchus seems to have been a fairly frequent victim of the snout of Aspidorhynchus, with multiple fossils documenting unfortunate collisions in which the fish’s snout pierced and became entangled in the wing membrane of the pterosaur. (For a summary of pterosaur wings, check out the March edition of Mesozoic Monthly, on Nemicolopterus.) It’s obvious from the size of the animals that neither was trying to eat the other, but somehow, they became stuck together. As the two animals struggled to survive, they slowly drifted downward into the anoxic brine, where they suffocated and settled onto the bottom of the lagoon. If any other animals had tried to eat or otherwise disturb the corpses, they would have died in the brine as well, so the fossils of the Solnhofen Limestone are typically pristine and undisturbed by scavengers.

Three views of the most famous (and probably the most beautiful) *Aspidorhynchus* vs. *Rhamphorhynchus* fossil from the Upper Jurassic Solnhofen Limestone of southern Germany. Avid fisherman Matt Lamanna, the head of Vertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH), jokes that the *Aspidorhynchus* looks angry, as if it’s mad about getting its snout stuck in the *Rhamphorhynchus* and dooming them both. Sorry Matt, this is just a quirk of preservation – the compression of the *Aspidorhynchus* skull during fossilization gave it the appearance of having grouchy eyebrows that weren’t there in life. You can learn more about this specimen in a paper by Frey and Tischlinger (2012).And if you want to see real fossils of both of these animals in person (albeit preserved separately), come visit the Solnhofen case in CMNH’s *Dinosaurs in Their Time* exhibition.

Because Aspidorhynchus lived only during the Mesozoic, there’s no chance that a modern-day angler will ever hook one. But should you find yourself fishing in one of Pennsylvania’s rivers or lakes this summer, and manage to land a gar or bowfin, pause for a moment and reflect on the ancient legacy of these fishes – a heritage that dates to the Age of Dinosaurs.

The Bromacker Fossil Project Part VIII: Martensius bromackerensis, Honoring a colleague

Adult, holotype specimen of *Martensius bromackerensis*. Image digitally assembled by the author from five photographs taken by Diane Scott (Preparator at University of Toronto Mississauga [UTM]), 2010–2013. The specimen was collected in several large blocks.

The formal publication of some of the Bromacker discoveries took more time to complete than others, and our most recently pubished fossil, Martensius bromackerensis, holds the record in that regard. Four nearly complete specimens of Martensius were collected from the Bromacker quarry between 1995–2006. The first, discovered by Thomas Martens and his father Max, came from a jumbled pocket of fossils. Unfortunately, muddy groundwater had penetrated cracks in the subsurface of this portion of the quarry and coated and eroded bone present along these cracks. Despite this damage and the lack of a skull, we could identify the specimen as a caseid synapsid (synapsids, also known as mammal-like reptiles, are a group of amniotes whose later-occurring members gave rise to mammals).

Drawing of 1995 *Martensius bromackerensis* specimen. Because the specimen was collected in numerous pieces of rock, with parts of some bones exposed on apposing rocks, Scientific Illustrator Kevin Dupuis (UTM) had to first draw the bones exposed on each piece and then assemble all of the drawings digitally. Dotted lines indicate bone impression in the rock. Arrows point to healing scars from two fractures in the last right rib. Additional healing scars can be seen in preceding ribs. This animal apparently survived a serious injury. Modified from Berman et al., 2020.

The next specimen was discovered in 1999 by Georg Sommers (Preparator, Museum der Natur, Gotha), who prepared the fossil. It consists of a vertebral column, ribs, some limb bones, and a few scattered skull elements. Unfortunately, a more complete skull was needed to allow for comparison to other caseids, some of which are based only on skull material. It wasn’t until the discovery of two more specimens in 2004 and 2006 by Stuart Sumida and Dave Berman, respectively, that the long sought-after skull was found. Preparation of these specimens took a long time due to their size and the considerable amount of rock covering the bones in some of the blocks. My promotion to Collection Manager in 2005 left me with considerably less time to prepare fossils. Other preparators were asked to help with the preparation at both Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH, Dan Pickering and Tyler Schlotterbeck) and in Dr. Robert Reisz’s lab at the University of Toronto at Mississauga (Diane Scott and Nicola Wong Ken). Robert was originally slated to lead the study, but other commitments prevented him from working on it, so Dave took over.

Besides preparation, the scientific study and publication of the specimens required illustrations and photographs, most of which were done by Diane, Nicola, and Kevin. Andrew McAfee (Scientific Illustrator, CMNH) made skeletal and flesh reconstructions of the animal, as well as an illustration of two Martensius in their ancient habitat (see The Bromacker Fossil Project Part III for a link to this illustration). All of this effort was worth it, however, because besides adding to the diversity of the Bromacker vertebrate fauna, Martensius has an unusual life history.

Juvenile specimen of *Martensius bromackerensis*. Image digitally assembled by the author from two photographs (skull and body) taken by Diane Scott in 2013. The skull, shown in ventral aspect, is incomplete and eroded on its dorsal surface.

Caseid synapsids are a diverse, long-lived group known from the Late Pennsylvanian–Middle Permian epochs (~300–259 million years ago) of Europe, Russia, and the USA, and, with one exception, all are adapted to eating plants (herbivorous). The most advanced caseids (such as the enormous Cotylorhynchus romeri) have ridiculously small skulls when compared to those of carnivores, spatulate (spoon-shaped) teeth tipped with small tubercles (cuspules) for cropping vegetation, and huge, barrel-shaped ribcages to support a large gut for fermenting cellulose-rich plants. The exception is the earliest known (Late Pennsylvanian epoch, ~300 million years ago) caseid, Eocasea martini, represented by a single, incomplete juvenile specimen from Kansas. The teeth of Eocasea are small and conical, which indicate that it most likely ate insects. Because it’s skull and ribcage are of normal size, in contrast to juveniles of Martenius, Eocasea probably ate insects throughout its life.

Reconstruction of the skull of *Martensius bromackerensis* (left) from the Early Permian (~290 million years ago) Bromacker quarry, Germany, and the more advanced caseid Ennatosaurus tecton (skull, middle and skull fragment with cuspule-tipped teeth, right), from the Middle Permian (~263 million years ago) of Russia. Skull reconstruction of *Martensius* made by Diane Scott and modified from Berman et al., 2020. Ennatosaurus skull reconstruction and jaw fragment drawing modified from Maddin et al., 2008.

Martensius has a modestly expanded ribcage and a small skull, suggesting that it was herbivorous. Furthermore, the feet of Martensius, like those of other caseids in which the feet are known, are large, with massive, elongated, strongly recurved claws. Martensius also has a well-supported hip region that may have enabled it to rise on its hind legs to reach and tear down overhead branches to feed upon.

The upper and lower teeth of the adult Martensius differ from those of more advanced caseids in being triangular and lacking cuspules. The upper jaw teeth of the juvenile resemble those of the adult, but the lower jaw teeth are more numerous—31 in the juvenile compared to 25 in the adult—and surprisingly, they resemble those of Eocasea. Dave concluded that juveniles of Martensius had teeth adapted for eating insects, which were replaced by an adult dentition that would’ve been good for cropping plants and piercing insects. Remarkably, the juvenile Martensius apparently died while in the process of replacing its juvenile dentition with that of adults.

So why have different juvenile and adult dentitions? Modern animals that eat fibrous plant matter have micro-organisms called fermentative endosymbionts in their large guts, which break down difficult-to-digest plant matter via fermentation. It is assumed that early fossil plant-eaters with broad ribcages also had large guts housing fermentative endosymbionts. Prior to the discovery of Martensius, other scientists hypothesized that early herbivores acquired endosymbionts by eating herbivorous insects that already had these microbes in their guts. In Martensius, the introduction of endosymbionts apparently occurred during the juvenile, insectivorous stage of life, which set the stage for adults to add plants to their diet.

Flesh (top) and skeletal (bottom) reconstructions of *Martensius bromackerensis*. Illustrations by Andrew McAfee and modified from Berman et al., 2020.

The generic name Martensius honors Thomas Martens for his discovery of vertebrate fossils at the Bromacker quarry and his perseverance in maintaining a highly successful, long-term field operation resulting in the discovery and publication of the exceptionally preserved Bromacker fossils. Bromackerensis refers to the Bromacker quarry, the only locality from which this species is known.

Stay tuned for my next post, which will feature some terrestrial dissorophoid amphibians.

For those of you who would like to learn more about Martensius, here’s a link to the 2020 Annals of Carnegie Museum publication in which it was described.

Keep Reading

The Bromacker Fossil Project Part IX: The Dissorophoid Amphibians Tambachia, Rotaryus, and Georgenthalia, Capable Travelers

July 29, 2020 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1966: Santa Clauses

Christmas in July…”Santa Claus” floating in the air.

(Or I guess, technically Boxing Day in July, if that’s a thing.)

thistle seed fluff "Santa Claus" in hand

Make a wish!

Have you ever seen fluff floating by in the air, especially in late July, early August? Kids love chasing the fluff around, often referring to them as “Santas” or “Santa Clauses.” You catch it, make a wish, and let them go again, floating away.

dried thistle specimen on herbarium sheet

These are seeds! Most likely thistle seeds, like this specimen here. Or other seeds that have similar “fluff”-like structures. The botanical term for this “fluff” is pappus. Pappus is a modified part of flowers in many species in the sunflower family, Asteraceae (think dandelion). These structures help the seed disperse in the wind, floating away in the breeze, carrying the seed far away. If you’ve tried to catch them, you know they float away in the air very easily. The seeds are small, and often times have already disconnected from the pappus when you catch them.

Check out the “Santa Claus” pappus on this specimen of bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare), collected on July 26, 1966 by Leroy Henry near Woodbine (Butler county), Pennsylvania. Leroy Henry was a botany curator at the Carnegie Museum. All species in the genus Cirsium are known as “thistles.” They have distinctive spiny leaves and stems, with even more distinctive purple flower heads. There are native thistles, but many are introduced. Thistles are common in disturbed areas, and in and around agricultural fields across the country. Bull thistle is native in Europe and Western Asia, but widely introduced across the world, including North America. It is the national flower of Scotland, but the species is considered invasive in many places.

Keep an eye out for thistles, and “Santa Clauses.” Don’t forget to make a wish.

Find this bull thistle specimens here.

A Bumble’s Blog and Bumble “Weee” Catapult Craft

Wander outside in the spring and summer and I bet you will bump into a busy bumble bee bumbling among the wildflowers. Bumble bees (Bombus sp.) are rather rotund, fuzzy bees usually with black and yellow-orange stripes. Unlike the famous honey bee that hails from Europe and Asia, most bumble bee species are native to our area. Bumble bees have small underground colonies with a loose social system, compared to that of a honey bee. While bumble bees produce honey, it is in small quantities and certainly not enough to share on an industrial scale. Still, these fuzzy bumbles play an important role as pollinators of local wildflower populations and are even adapted to pollinate certain flowers!

This fashionable bumble bee is trying to squeeze into a little pair of white breeches! Duchman’s breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) to be exact. A bumble bee’s proboscis (tongue) is long enough to reach the nectaries within the nectary spurs or “pant leg” and the bee is strong enough to push open the flower petals to collect pollen.

This bumble bee is sipping nectar from squawroot (Conopholis americana). Bumble bees and flies are the typical visitors of this parasitic plant! Fun fact: bumble bees “buzz” pollenate, which means they vibrate their bodies, effectively knocking pollen down into the flowers they visit.

Upon observing the flight of a bumble bee, I have noticed that while they are strong flyers, they are not the most graceful. Sometimes they miss their mark and land on a chunk of moss instead of the flower. However, they just take that moment to rest their wings before firing up their little motor and buzzing off into, hopefully, the next flower. Their rather clunky flight pattern gave me an idea for a fun activity to help young children learn about pollinators (and sneak in a STEM activity): The Bumble “Weee” Catapult! See below for assembly instructions:

Materials

3 pipe cleaners

Paper

Pen or pencil

Coloring supplies

Scissors

Recycled egg carton

Recycled plastic spoon

4-5 large Rubber bands

Let’s dismiss the idea of launching real bumble bees and begin building the bee puppet 😉. Pick 3 different colors of pipe cleaner. Feel free to go with traditional bee colors or mix it up!

1. For the body, twist together two pipe cleaners.

2. Wrap the twisted pipe cleaners tightly around a pen or pencil and slide it off.

3. Tuck the loose ends inward and tighten up the coils on the end you would call the head.

4. For the wings, shorten the remaining pipe cleaner by 1/3, then loop it under one of the coils of the bee’s body.

5. Adjust the pipe cleaner for equal length on either side and twist at the base.

6. Roll in the loose ends to finish forming your wings, thus completing the bumble bee.

step by step photos of creating a bee from pipe cleaners

Next, build the catapult to help your bee puppet fly. The catapult consists of half of an egg carton, 4-5 rubber bands, and a recycled spoon. Tension energy is generated when the spoon is pulled back. The arm stores that energy as potential energy. Upon release, that potential energy is transferred to the object as kinetic energy, moving the object away from the arm. Pictured is the simplest catapult design with rubber bands holding the spoon, or arm of the catapult, in place. Feel free to design something more elaborate!

photo of catapult made from egg carton, plastic spoon, and rubber bands

Finally, the bumble bee needs a flower to land in! Draw a flower of your choice on a piece of paper and color it in. Many bees are able to see UV light, which means they are able see colors and patterns invisible to the human naked eye. Some flowers have nectar guides that really stand out to bees, so feel free to draw some nectar guides, or lines that point to the center on your flower targets to help guide your bumble bee!

Feel free to create as many flowers as you like and propel your little bumble bee into as many flowers as you can. Happy pollinating!

Sara Klingensmith an educator at Powdermill Nature Reserve, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s environmental research center. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

The Bromacker Fossil Project Part VII: Eudibamus cursoris, the Original Two-legged Runner

New to this series? Read The Bromacker Fossil Project Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, and Part VI.

Holotype specimen of *Eudibamus cursoris*, the most complete bolosaurid reptile known. Photo by the author, 2013.

Stuart Sumida discovered some small bones in the Bromacker quarry in 1993, the same year that the holotype skeleton of Diadectes absitus was found. Dave Berman told me that when Stuart showed them to him, he couldn’t see anything because they were so small. Upon closer examination, Dave, Stuart, and Thomas Martens identified them as those of the captorhinomorph reptile Thuringothyris mahlendorffae. Thomas’ wife Stefani, whose maiden name is Mahlendorff, discovered the first specimen in the Bromacker in 1982, and Thomas and a colleague named it in her honor in a 1991 publication.

The fossil was exposed in several pieces of rock, which Thomas shipped to Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH) along with the large block of rock containing Diadectes. I didn’t prepare the specimen until several years later, as other projects, including the Diadectes, overshadowed it. Once I began working on it, though, Dave and I realized that it was not Thuringothyris. Indeed, we had no idea what type of animal it was, and our puzzlement grew as I exposed more of it. The identity wasn’t revealed until I had uncovered some very unusual, tiny teeth, which under the high magnification of the preparation microscope appeared to have a bulbous cusp towering over a basin. They looked vaguely familiar to me, but because I couldn’t immediately put a name on them, I rushed to get Dave from his office. Once Dave saw the teeth, he realized that the specimen was a new genus and species in the rare, enigmatic reptile group Bolosauridae.

Tiny teeth of a bolosaurid reptile, *Bolosaurus striatus*, in lateral (side; left) and occlusal (chewing surface; right) views. The specimen is in the CMNH Vertebrate Paleontology collection. Photos by Spencer Lucas (Research Associate, CMNH).

Until the discovery of Eudibamus cursoris, bolosaurids were represented in the fossil record by two genera, Bolosaurus and Belebey, which were based mainly on poorly preserved skull and fragmentary jaw fossils from Texas and Russia, respectively. Even though bolosaurids had been known since 1878, their relationship to other reptiles was not well understood. The nearly complete anatomy of Eudibamus allowed our team to determine that bolosaurids are the oldest member of the ancient group of reptiles called Parareptilia. This group has no living relatives, except possibly for turtles, a hypothesis that is highly debated by scientists.

Eudibamus cursoris fossil — Closeup of front and hind legs of *Eudibamus*. The hind leg, folded upon itself, is considerably longer than the front leg. Photo by the author, 2013.

When our study of the fossil began, we realized that Eudibamus was very different than other reptiles from that time. Proportions of the limbs and positions of the articulation surfaces on the upper and lower hind leg bones indicated that, in terms of posture, Eudibamus resembled a bow-legged human with a bad back instead of a typical sprawling reptile on four legs. It could stand and locomote on its hind legs in an upright posture (bipedal) with its legs held close together and in the same plane (parasagittal).

Dave was in constant phone communication with team member Dr. Robert Reisz (Professor, University of Toronto at Mississauga). One day Robert called Dave to ask if all the tail had been exposed, because he learned that modern lizards that are able to run bipedally have a long tail to help maintain their balance. The specimen was in Dave’s office and he immediately uncovered more of the tail and then let me finish the task. The tail was indeed very long and extended close to the edge of the block, which I had previously reduced in size. Additionally, we determined that the third, fourth, and fifth toes of the hind foot also were greatly elongated through lengthening of some of the individual toe bones, and that the first and second toes were extremely shortened by the reduction in size of individual toe bones. We hypothesized that when Eudibamus ran bipedally, it would rise on its toes, so that only the tips of the third, fourth, and fifth toes would contact the ground.

Drawing of the hind leg of *Eudibamus cursoris* (left) and the roughly contemporaneous reptile *Captorhinus* (right). Leg drawings are scaled to the same torso length of the whole animal. Illustrations of the animals are not to scale. Hind leg drawings are modified from Berman et al., 2000 and animal illustrations are from Wikimedia Commons.

Eudibamus occurred at least 60 million years before other bipedal, parasagittally-running reptiles appeared in the fossil record. This is reflected in its scientific name, which is derived from the Greek “eu,” meaning original or primitive, and “dibamos,” meaning on two legs. “Cursoris” is Latin, meaning runner. Examples of other reptiles using this locomotion mode are the dinosaurs Allosaurus fragilis and Tyrannosaurus rex, which you can view in CMNH’s Dinosaurs in Their Time exhibition.

So, what was the advantage of being able to run bipedally instead of running on all four legs? Lengthening the hind leg and foot would greatly increase stride length, especially if only the tips of the toes contacted the ground, which is an efficient way to increase speed. Eliminating arm to ground contact while running removes forelimbs from the path of the long-striding hind legs. The bulbous teeth and jaw structure of Eudibamusindicate that it was herbivorous. It seems likely, then, that Eudibamus used its ability to sprint to avoid becoming a tasty meal for a pursuing predator.

Eudibamus cursoris illustration — Peter Mildner (exhibit preparator at the Museum der Natur, Gotha) made a surprise visit to the Bromacker one afternoon to show us a model of *Eudibamus cursoris* he’d made. This image shows the model in the present day Bromacker quarry, part of the region it inhabited 290 million years ago. Photo by the author, 2006.

One of our laments is that a fossil trackway preserving Eudibamus walking quadrupedally and then switching to a bipedal gait has yet to be found.

Next time you are at CMNH, make sure you see the cast of the fossil skeleton and a model of Eudibamus that are exhibited in the Fossil Frontiers display case in CMNH’s Dinosaurs in Their Time exhibition. Stay tuned for my next post, which will feature the herbivorous mammal-like reptile Martensius bromackerensis.

For those of you who would like to learn more about Eudibamus, here is a link to the 2000 Science publication in which it was described: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/290/5493/969.

Keep Reading

The Bromacker Fossil Project Part VIII: Martensius bromackerensis, Honoring a Colleague

July 14, 2020 by wpengine

Meet Amanda Martin, New Post-Doctoral Researcher in the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles

Hello everyone, my name is Amanda Martin and I’m a new post-doctoral researcher in the Amphibians and Reptiles section. I received both my Ph.D. and M.S. in Biological Sciences from Bowling Green State University, and my B.S. in Psychology and Interdisciplinary Studies from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

My herpetological career all started after watching Anaconda, the movie, when I was about six years old. I did not like the depiction of this wonderful creature, and since then I have been passionate about conserving and reducing other’s fear of snakes. During graduate school, I discovered that I really enjoy other amphibians and reptiles, especially the abundant red-backed salamanders which I found under logs almost every day during my research surveys. Even though I love studying snakes, I spent most of my time working with eastern box turtles using radio telemetry. One of my favorite aspects of working with these turtles is that they are easy to catch! I did, however, have some ninja turtles that liked to hide from my volunteer research assistants. Finding amphibians and reptiles can be quite challenging. I love this kind of treasure hunt because it is incredibly rewarding when you do find them!

Check out my website for more information about my previous research at: https://amandkm.wixsite.com/martin

Conservation in Action: Exploration of Changes in Land Cover over Time

In northwestern Ohio and southeastern Michigan lies a dynamic and diverse landscape, the Oak Openings Region which has been the focus of large ongoing conservation by the Green Ribbon Initiative. Over ten years ago, a land cover map was created to facilitate the enhancement and restoration of critical natural areas. Since then, local conservation partners have been changing the landscape to increase the area of natural habitats, such as upland prairie and savanna. But to see whether these efforts worked or not, they needed a new map to see these changes on the landscape. We, Martin and Root 2020, worked together with our local partners to build an updated map for region and explored these changes in land cover over a 10-year period.

We used satellite imagery and trained our model with confirmed ground sites for 14 different land cover types, including five communities of concern (swamp forest, floodplain forest, deciduous forest, upland savanna/prairie, and wet prairie). We then examined change over time by comparing total area or number of patches per land cover between the 2016 map and the 2006 map. We found that natural land covered 33% and human-modified land covered 67% of the total region. Over 10 years, natural classes increased, and cultural classes decreased in total area by 5.8%, although not all types of natural habitat increased (e.g., forest habitat decreased) and much of the natural habitat was found in small isolated pieces rather than large blocks of similar habitat. Many of these changes are likely a result of natural recovery and disturbance, and conservation efforts by the Green Ribbon Initiative. This large-scale view for conservation is needed to create conservation initiatives for different species and their natural habitats and illustrates the challenges that land managers face in restoring natural lands as humans continue to modify their surroundings.

Scientists use these types of land cover maps to better understand the interaction between species and their habitats. One aspect of this interaction is the creation of habitat suitability models, where you identify potential new habitat locations for species using occurrence data (where you find an individual) and environmental layers (land cover, elevation, distance to streams or roads, etc.). We did this for 15 target species focused on the 5 major communities of concern for Oak Openings Region using this land cover map. As Dr. Martin starts her new work with Dr. Sheridan in the amphibian and reptile section, they will be exploring this type of research utilizing the museum’s vast collection!

Link to article: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-020-01316-2

Journal: Environmental Management

Title: Examining Land Use Changes to Evaluate the Effects of Land Management in a Complex, Dynamic Landscape

Abstract: Anthropogenic alterations to landscapes have increased as the human population continues to rise, leading to detrimental changes in natural habitats. Ecological restoration assists in recovery by altering habitats to improve conditions and foster biodiversity. We examined land cover changes over time within a complex, dynamic region in the Midwest to assess the long-term effects of conservation. We used Landsat 8 bands for a 15-class land cover map of Oak Openings Region using supervised classiﬁcation. We validated our map and achieved an overall accuracy of 71.2% from correctly classiﬁed points out of total visited points. Change over 10 years, from 2006 to 2016, was explored by comparing class statistics from FRAGSTATS between our map and original land cover map. We found that natural land, i.e., forest and early successional, covered 33%, with 10% permanently protected, while human-modiﬁed land, i.e., agricultural and developed, covered 67% of the region. Over 10 years, natural classes increased, and cultural classes decreased by 5.8%. There were decreases for the three forest communities and increases for the two early successional communities. These changes are likely the result of natural recovery and disturbance, and conservation efforts by the Green Ribbon Initiative. Changes in habitat also came with distribution changes, e.g., increased fragmentation for some classes, which was readily visible. Our useful method measured functionality by emphasizing changes in composition and conﬁguration. Our approach provides a tool for assessing cumulative regional-scale effects from site-level management and conservation. This large-scale view for conservation is needed to effectively mitigate future changes.

July 14, 2020 by wpengine

Meet Lisa Haney, new Postdoctoral Assistant Curator of Egypt on the Nile

photo of woman's face with Egyptian statue face

Hello! I am Lisa Haney, the new Postdoctoral Assistant Curator of Egypt on the Nile. I received my PhD in Egyptology from the University of Pennsylvania, my MA in Ancient Near Eastern and Egyptian Studies and a concentration in Museum Studies from New York University, and my BA in Antiquities from Missouri State University. I am so excited to be here for the re-installation of the Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt and to share my love of all things Egypt with the people of Pittsburgh!

As a scholar, my work has focused largely on the archaeology and material culture of Egypt’s Middle Kingdom (ca. 2030 – 1650 BCE), a period that is well represented in the museum’s collection. My research utilizes archaeological evidence, ancient Egyptian texts and written records, astronomical sources, and material culture to examine the political landscape of Egypt’s 12^th Dynasty and to assess how the kings of that period chose to have themselves represented and why. I have worked as an archaeologist and an epigrapher in Egypt and Oman, and I love traveling to new parts of the world to experience and learn about local cultures both ancient and modern.

I worked for two seasons as a part of the combined University of Pennsylvania-Yale-Institute of Fine Arts, New York University Expedition to Abydos under the direction of Dr. Josef Wegner, at the funerary complex of the 12^th Dynasty pharaoh Senwosret III at South Abydos. Senwosret III is a pretty exciting guy and he also happens to be the owner of the Carnegie Boat – the large funerary boat from the site of Dahshur on view in the Walton Hall. Unlike most other kings, Senwosret III had two funerary complexes – one at Dahshur and one at Abydos. His reign is a particularly interesting period of time in terms of modern Egyptology as well, because both of his funerary complexes are actively under investigation and every year we learn more and more about him and his reign.

My family and I just moved from Kansas City in May and I’m excited to get to know Pittsburgh and find out where the good BBQ is at!

July 14, 2020 by wpengine

How to catch 311 amphibians in 10 days

Step 1: Deploy pitfall traps across Powdermill Nature Reserve

Step 2: Get out of the way and let nature do the rest

Over the course of 10 days in June of this year, I captured 311 amphibians of 12 different species. Every day, rain or shine, I spent over four hours checking 132 pitfall traps and several more hours identifying, measuring, and weighing the day’s amphibian haul. I did a rinse and repeat of this cycle for 10 days straight. Why would anyone do all of this for what Carl Linnaeus, the father of modern taxonomy, once described as “vile animals” with “a foul odor” (Wahlgren, 2011)? Although this sentiment might still ring true for some people today, I did this because amphibians are in serious trouble—more than 30% of species are facing extinction. The threats to amphibians range from habitat losses to disease epidemics, but these are merely symptoms of the underlying cause: unnatural changes brought about by the Anthropocene. Human-induced alterations to nature are irrevocably modifying biodiversity so rapidly that species we learned about in grade school are now extinct and, if we view amphibians as sentinel organisms, then the worst is yet to come.

The Powdermill Nature Reserve is a protected site in Pennsylvania’s Allegheny Mountains where, since 1956—the year it was established by a forward-thinking herpetologist— the property has functioned in a similar way as forests did before human settlement swept across the region. In the early 1980s, scientists at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History studied the amphibian community at the Powdermill Nature Reserve and, serendipitously, established the empirical baseline necessary to study how environmental changes have affected amphibian biodiversity in the Alleghenies (Meshaka, 2009).

close up photo fo orange salamander with black stripes

Examining the results of amphibian trapping during two long ago Junes offers insight into the reserve’s value. In June 1982, 78 traps captured 262 amphibians of 11 species. In June 1983, 54 traps captured 174 amphibians of 11 species. While the species richness has not changed much since the 1980s, there has been species turnover and shifts in abundance, with some species becoming more common in the community. The Two-lined Salamander (Eurycea bislineata), for example, went from 0 captures in June of 1982 and 1983 to 7 captures this June. In terms of standardized trap nights in June (i.e., the number of traps multiplied the number of days opened), a combined rate of 0.11 amphibians per trap was detected across the two years in the 1980s, compared to a rate of 0.24 amphibians per trap this year. What could the ecological scenario be that has led to such an apparent increase in the amphibian capture rate over this 40-year period? Could trophic cascades be involved? Perhaps the protection of habitats in 1956 helped forest regeneration, and this change led to improved stream health and greater water retention later into the season via increased canopy cover. By providing better habitat and more resources for the streamside invertebrates that makeup the main prey base of forest-dwelling amphibians, such a transformed system might benefit amphibian communities indirectly. It’s also possible that some entirely different mechanism produced this result.

The species that dominated captures historically and today was the Allegheny Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus ochrophaeus), which went from 0.048 individuals per trap in June from the 1980s to a slightly increased rate this June of 0.052 individuals per trap. Interestingly, the average body size of female Allegheny Dusky Salamanders has not changed over the 40-year study period, suggesting stability in morphology despite other studies reporting salamander species either shrinking (Caruso et al., 2014) or growing (McCarthy et al., 2017) in response to warmer temperatures brought about by recent climate change. Without the founding of the Powdermill Nature Reserve and the herculean efforts of historical and modern scientists from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, we would not be able to understand the extent that humans have impacted biodiversity, let alone the data needed to solve mysteries of the modern world.

photo of black salamander with white spots

So, when I look at a Spring Salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus) or a Slimy Salamander (Plethodon glutinosis) or a Four-toed Salamander (Hemidactylus scutatum) from the Powdermill Nature Reserve, I don’t see Linnaeus’s “terrible animal” with a “ghastly color”, rather, I see profound resiliency in the face of tremendous pressure, and the power that natural history collections and protected areas hold for improving our relationship with biodiversity.

Daniel F. Hughes is the Rea Post-doctoral Fellow in the Herpetology Section at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

References:

Caruso, N.M., Sears, M.W., Adams, D.C. and Lips, K.R., 2014. Widespread rapid reductions in body size of adult salamanders in response to climate change. Global Change Biology, 20: 1751–1759.

Meshaka, Jr., W.E., 2009. The terrestrial ecology of an Allegheny amphibian community: Implications for land management. The Maryland Naturalist, 50: 30–56.

McCarthy, T., Masson, P., Thieme, A., Leimgruber, P. and Gratwicke, B., 2017. The relationship between climate and adult body size in redback salamanders (Plethodon cinereus). Geo: Geography and Environment, 4: e00031.

Wahlgren, R., 2011. Carl Linnaeus and the Amphibia. Bibliotheca Herpetologica, 9: 5–37.

The Molecular Lab at Powdermill

The Molecular Lab at Powdermill is a great resource because it allows us to analyze samples in-house from field studies being conducted on the reserve.

Currently, we are extracting and amplifying insect DNA from Chimney Swift feces in order to determine the dietary composition of these declining aerial insectivores. We are also screening swabs taken from amphibians and reptiles surveyed across the reserve for the presence of pathogens such as chytrid fungus, which is decimating amphibian populations across the globe.

Another ongoing lab effort involves devising a protocol for the detection of gill lice DNA from trout stream water samples. Gill lice are parasites that attach themselves to the gills of trout. This protocol would allow us to detect the presence of the parasite from a sample of water alone, without having to catch and examine the trout directly.

Relevance and the Spirit of Research at Powdermill

three people collecting specimens from a stream

When people think of scientists doing research, they tend to think of a laboratory with microscopes, technical machinery, exotic chemicals, and a person in a white coat doing “experiments” to invent a miraculous new compound, or maybe cure a disease. We have a technical laboratory with microscopes, machines, and chemicals at Powdermill, and we enjoy that kind of work. In reality, most of our research is done outside, with living plants and animals in the field. Usually we are in muddy boots, and we are more likely to be wearing rain gear and backpacks than white coats.

Our research comes in several flavors. Because we own the land, we can invest in long-term studies that require strong continuity. Examples of this would be our studies of birds that migrate in spring and autumn along the Appalachian ridges, traversing routes from the Caribbean and South America to Pennsylvania, Canada, and the Arctic. Since these studies were initiated in 1961, we have compiled the longest continuous data set of this type for any American research institute. Another example would be our forest succession research, initiated in 2012, and intended to last several decades. These long-term studies are not likely to be undertaken by the college professor who must show results promptly for promotion and tenure, so it is important that places like Powdermill commit to them.

two people doing field research in the woods

On the flip side, we support student researchers to use Powdermill for their projects that have to be completed in a short time, between one summer and three years, depending on whether the research is for a senior thesis or a PhD. Together, the students embrace many topics across the entire diversity of biological systems: What do trout eat? How effective are birds at dispersing seeds? The work of the long-term studies can be thought of as composing a careful symphony, where student projects represent the catchy tunes coming from a dance club: each centered on a good riff, immediate and focused; then another tune, and another. Both the symphony and the dance band are important to our scientific culture, and together they demonstrate the relevance of the nature reserve.

Field stations necessarily focus on topics that occur on their landscape. Most of our work has a strong relevance to Pennsylvania in particular, but also to Appalachia and eastern North America in general. Sometimes our work in Pennsylvania connects us to a much broader audience, as the migrating birds that spend the winter in South America do. We often host researchers from other countries who view Powdermill as an exotic locale. Every year we host a series of workshops to train the next generation of scientists, and every year we have far more applicants than spaces. In the last decade, an award-winning program that sponsors Latin American guests (so that the actual cost of the program is not a barrier to applicants) has trained about 120 scientists from 10 nations who came to Powdermill to learn our research techniques. When they return to their home countries to resume their scientific careers, some of our Powdermill culture goes with them.

The visitor traffic through Powdermill presents a learning opportunity for us. Getting to know our visitors sometimes introduces us to new methods or entirely new fields of research. We expand our research interests and capacity, too.

A pleasing and unique aspect of a research career at a field station is being in tune with the pulse of the natural world. You care about when it rained last, how cold it was the previous night, and why you have seen so many porcupines this year. The late freeze hurt the beeches and spice bush, but the maples and oaks are okay. Observing a small wildflower where you did not see it last year is like finding a gemstone. Training your eye to notice when certain plants bloom or when certain animals appear becomes rewarding, like playing a favorite game. We expect hummingbirds to arrive from Mexico on April 30. On May 1, they appear at our feeders. All of these observations make each day an experience with its own reward and mystery. And being connected to the natural world makes you feel very much alive.

Bird Banding with a Crew of One

This year, spring migration was different. Cold weather early in the season (one night during peak migration saw a low of 23 degrees and was accompanied by snow) seemed to delay the arrival of many species. The paucity of insects resulting from the low temperatures seemed to drive many birds like Baltimore Orioles to find food at feeders, which delighted socially distancing observers. Then, when warm winds from the south brought the bulk of migrants north, there were a few days of really great birding until those birds either settled into local breeding territories or continued to trickle north.

One gauge of “really great birding” is seeing more than 20 species of warblers in one day, and this eye-pleasing event happened at Powdermill more than once this spring!

Just as spring migration was a bit different for the birds, it was quite different for those who study birds. Across the continent, field seasons were cancelled and research projects redesigned or postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. For the first time in nearly 60 years, Powdermill’s bird banding program was unable to be run as normal. A banding operation of this magnitude requires many staff and volunteers working as a team to safely and efficiently extract, band, and process birds each day. Because bird banders’ priorities place bird safety and well-being along with human health ahead of dataset continuity, the difficult decision was made to cancel the banding season.

Despite the pandemic, there were many bright spots this spring. Although a lot of research was put on hold, projects that could be run solo or by people in the same germ pool were given approval to proceed. As part of my dissertation work, I conducted a research project that is a collaboration between Powdermill and the University of Toledo to investigate the distance migratory songbirds fly between stopover locations. This project uses a novel method, sampling subcutaneous fat deposits to infer the geographic location of previous stopover areas using the data generated by stable-hydrogen isotope analysis. This first phase of the larger project was a success: I sampled 39 individuals of two species! I had mixed emotions about operating the mist nets at Powdermill alone. It was certainly lonely, but it was also peaceful and rewarding. Because the focus was on banding only a few study species, I released all other birds that I caught at the net. This meant that there were a few extra moments to marvel at the beauty of spring birds in their fresh and brightly colored breeding plumage, and to reflect on the incredible migratory journeys these relatively tiny birds make each year. There were even a few surprises in the nets, including a Prairie Warbler that stayed in the Powdermill banding area for a few weeks, and Powdermill’ s fifth ever capture of a Least Bittern, a secretive marsh bird that many yearn to see! Despite the pandemic and shutdown, spring banding with a crew of one was successful and productive.

Jurassic Days: Specimen Scavenger Hunt

Carnegie Museum of Natural History has many type specimens in our collections. A type specimen is the name bearing specimen of a species. That means that that specimen was the first to be identified and named as a unique species. In Dinosaurs in Their Time there are 12 type specimens on display. Learn a little more about them below and the next time you visit see if you can find them all!

Redondosaurus bermani

Redondosaurus bermani lived during the Triassic period. While this animal looks like a large crocodile, it is a phytosaur, or an animal that closely resembles a crocodilian, though they are not closely related. The specimen here is a skull.

Dolabrosaurus aquatilis

Dolabrosaurus aquatilis lived during the Triassic period. It was a small reptile and specimens have been found in modern New Mexico. lived during the Triassic period. While this animal looks like a large crocodile, it is a phytosaur, or an animal that closely resembles a crocodilian, though they are not closely related. The specimen here is a skull.

Ceradotus felchi

Ceradotus felchi was a lobe-finned lungfish that lived during the late Jurassic period. Though this species of lungfish is extinct, there are still several lungfish species that still exist today, including relatives of this species. The fossil on display is a tooth plate.

Hoplosuchus kayi

Hoplosuchus kayi is a tiny, heavily armored land crocodile that lived during the Jurassic period. This is the only definitive specimen of this species and it was discovered by a ten-year-old boy, Jesse York, in 1917.

Apatosaurus louisae

Apatosaurus louisae was a sauropod (long-necked) dinosaur that lived during the late Jurassic period. This species was once incorrectly called Brontosaurus. Only one Apatosaurus louisae skull has ever been found and it is in our collection, though the skull on display is a replica because the real skull is very delicate. Apatosaurus louisae got its name from Andrew Carnegie’s wife, Louisa.

Camptosaurus aphanoecetes

Camptosaurus aphanoecetes stood on display at the museum for over 60 years, embedded in the rock in which it was found and incorrectly identified as Camptosaurus dispar. When Dinosaurs in Their Time was renovated it was discovered that our Camptosaurus was a brand-new species!

Diplodocus carnegii

Diplodocus carnegii or Dippy, is our most famous dinosaur because numerous copies stand in museums around the world! This species lived in what is now the North American mid-west during the late Jurassic period. Dippy was discovered in 1899 and has been on display since 1907.

Tyrannosaurus rex

Tyrannosaurus rex is perhaps the best-known species of dinosaur. Our specimen was discovered by Barnum Brown, the assistant curator of the American Museum of Natural History in 1900. The Carnegie Museum of Natural History bought this specimen for $7,000 in 1941. T. rex lived during the Cretaceous period.

Opisthotriton kayi

Opisthotriton kayi was a large salamander that lived in what is now known as Montana during the Cretaceous period. The fossils shown here are skull fragments and vertebra (the bones that make up the spine). These are the only known fossils of this species.

Anzu wyliei

Anzu wyliei was a large oviraptorosaur that lived during the Cretaceous period and discovered by our own paleontologist at the museum, Matt Lamanna! The fragments here are original pieces of the skull, but even if they were put together, they would not form a complete skull.

Goniopholis gilmorei

Goniopholis gilmorei was a common crocodile found in the Morrison Formation, in the U.S. West, during the Cretaceous period.

Deinosuchus rugosa

Deinosuchus rugosa was a massive Late Cretaceous crocodile, growing up to 26 feet long and weighing 11,000 pounds. Like modern crocodilians, Deinosuchus was an ambush predator, waiting in shallow water for prey to pass by.

July 10, 2020 by Kathleen

Jurassic Days: Tyrannosaurus rex

Even though we have a soft spot for Dippy (Diplodocus carnegii) here at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Tyrannosaurus rex—the “king of the tyrant lizards”—is arguably the most famous dinosaur of all. T. rex was a fearsome theropod that weighed up to 9 tons, had a mouth full of razor-sharp, serrated teeth, and dominated what is now western North America during the Cretaceous period about 68 million years ago. But for all these ferocious credentials, T. rex’s closest living relative may surprise you. Take a moment or two to think about it. I’ll give you a hint, you may have eaten one of these in its nugget form at some point in your life. That’s right, the common chicken (gallus gallus domesticus), a slightly less intimidating animal! Was that your first guess?

Not only do T. rex and other dinosaurs share anatomical characteristics with birds—the wishbone, or furcula, for instance—but scientists in the twenty-first century have found molecular evidence to support the relationship, specifically from collagen proteins extracted from T. rex fossils, proteins that are strikingly similar to those found in modern birds. Scientists have also discovered through expressing the gene for feathers in embryonic alligator skin that feathers are highly modified scales. “It tastes like chicken,” the saying goes. But what does chicken taste like you ask? Perhaps a little like dinosaur.

While T. rex is a part of a fascinating evolutionary web that includes the birds we see today, the history of how T. rex got the name T. rex in the first place is no less fascinating. It all began in 1900, when the famous paleontologist Barnum Brown was quarrying in Wyoming for the American Museum of Natural History. Brown was looking for a triceratops skull to wow patrons back in New York City. Spoiler alert: he did not find the triceratops skull of his dreams. What he did find that autumn in Wyoming were the fossil remains of an enormous carnivore. Brown sent this new discovery back to the American Museum of Natural History where curator of vertebrate paleontology Henry Fairfield Osborn analyzed the unknown specimen, finally naming it Dynamosaurus imperiosus (literally, dynamic imperial lizard)—quite a tongue-twister.

Two years later, in 1902, Barnum Brown found another impressive cache of fossilized carnivore bones, this time in Montana. Osborn believed this second find to be a separate species from the first and called it Tyrannosaurs rex. Osborn published a scientific paper in 1905 officially naming and describing both theropods. However, after spending another year studying the two specimens, he came to the startling conclusion that they were one and the same species! Even legendary scientists have face-palm moments. Convention in the field of paleontology states that in such cases the first name sticks—but, lo and behold, Osborn had mentioned T. rex first in his 1905 paper. So, because of this seemingly small technicality, T. rex is T. rex…and not D. imperiosus. T. rex may be the most famous of the dinosaurs, but to this day it keeps its share surprises, both scientific and historical.

Written by: Nicholas Sauer is a Gallery Experiences Presenter and Natural History Interpreter

July 9, 2020 by Kathleen

Jurassic Days: Cookie Excavation

Materials Needed

Paper towel
Paint brush/small brush of some type
Tooth picks
Paper and pencil
Chocolate chip cookie (or any type of cookie with bits like raisins, fruit, or other ingredients)

July 9, 2020 by Kathleen

Jurassic Days: Camptosaurus

I remember visiting the museum often as a child. My favorite gallery was always Dinosaur Hall, now called Dinosaurs in Their Time. The gallery has changed a lot since I was a kid with specimens being displayed in ways that we now know to be scientifically accurate and even some specimens finally being displayed as free-standing mounts.

If you are exploring Dinosaurs in Their Time, as you pass underneath Dippy’s (Diplodocus carnegii) tail you will spot a relatively small and seemingly unassuming dinosaur, Camptosaurus. While Camptosaurus may not have the grand presence of Dippy or T. rex or the cuteness of baby Apatosaurus or Protoceratops it is still a remarkable specimen, with an interesting history.

Our specimen of Camptosaurus was discovered in 1922. It was on display for over 60 years, half embedded in the rock in which it was discovered. In 2005-2006, during renovations of the dinosaur exhibit, it was decided that Camptosaurus would be freed from the rock and turned into a free-standing mount. At that time, it was discovered that our Camptosaurus specimen was not Camptosaurus dispar like we thought. It was actually a species that had never been discovered before! Our specimen, described in 2008 by Kenneth Carpenter and Yvonne Wilson, is Camptosaurus aphanoecetes and it is the holotype, or the specimen that defines this species. Its new scientific name is accurate- Camptosaurus means “flexible lizard” and aphanoecetes means “hiding in plain sight.”

Camptosaurus lived in the late Jurassic period, about 150 million years ago. It was an herbivore, or plant eating dinosaur. The wear on its teeth shows that it likely ate tough vegetation. It was originally thought to walk on all four limbs, but now we know that was able to walk on its hind limbs or all four limbs as needed. Camptosaurus was the ancestor to later dinosaurs like iguanodonts and duck-billed dinosaurs.

Camptosaurus is a great demonstration of the fact that scientists are always learning. Paleontology, despite being the science of studying animals that existed long ago, is constantly changing and evolving. We discover new ancient species, sometimes hiding in plain sight, all the time.

Written by: Jo Tauber, Gallery Experience Coordinator

July 8, 2020 by Kathleen

Jurassic Days: Quetzalcoatlus northropi

Soaring high over the tallest of treetops, snatching up an unlucky land-dweller for lunch, and emitting long screeches that echoed far and wide— these are a few of the images one could imagine when asked to think about pterosaurs. And, for some, this might be correct; smaller species of pterosaurs were easily capable of flight, hunting or even scavenging in many different ways. But for other species, an air of mystery remains. Pterosaurs tend to be far more complex than people think at first— for one, they aren’t even considered dinosaurs, despite living alongside them throughout the Mesozoic. For another, pterosaurs likely could have varied drastically in how they lived. We still have a long way to go before we figure out these winged reptiles, and perhaps none of them are as awe-inspiring as Quetzalcoatlus northropi, often considered one of the largest flying animals that ever existed.

Living throughout the late Cretaceous, Quetzalcoatlus northropi could grow to have a wingspan of up to 36 feet— about the size of a standard city bus. Early scientists estimated that this species of pterosaur may have weighed anywhere from 200 to 500 pounds. Like today’s birds, pterosaurs had hollow bones, which made them light enough to fly.

Scientists, however, are not sure if Quetzalcoatlus could take to the skies like its cousins. Even with special bones, a reptile as big as Quetzalcoatlus may have had a hard time getting up into the air. It isn’t always easy for us to know how an ancient animal might have lived during its time, but a Paleontologist can make educated guesses based on the bones that they study. Sometimes, the best clues lie in the animals that we have today; by comparing some of the features of Quetzalcoatlus to modern-day birds, Paleontologists have proposed a few different theories as to how one of the largest pterosaurs lived.

Quetzalcoatlus had a very long, sharp beak similar to the storks that we know today. Based on this observation, it is commonly thought that this pterosaur may have hunted small animals on the ground, similar to storks or hornbills. Supporting this hypothesis is the front and back limbs, which suggests to many modern scientists that Quetzalcoatlus may have been more suited to walking on land than we would expect. However, this alone does not rule out flight. A more recent study, aided in part by Chatham University’s Mike Habib, revealed through a computer model that Quetzalcoatlus could have been capable of flight, and likely flew in short bursts. This likely was used by Quetzalcoatlus before soaring, much like today’s vultures.

Even with modern technology, what we know about creatures like Quetzalcoatlus northropi still leaves plenty of mystery around the winged giant. Able to fly or not, there is no question that this pterosaur is a breathtaking reminder of the complex nature of the Mesozoic era.

Written by: Emma McGeary, Gallery Experience Presenter

July 7, 2020 by Kathleen

Jurassic Days: Make Your Own Amber Slime

Create your own slime using everyday household craft materials. Using toy insects, recreate what would happen to insects when they were caught in tree resin, fossilizing them. This would be great for kids who love Jurassic Park, dinosaurs, rocks, and insects!

Materials for Version without Borax

½ cup of preferably clear PVA glue
½ cup of Water
¼ – ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
5-10 drops of yellow food coloring
Measuring cups and spoons
Dry container
2 Medium Size Bowls
Insect Toys (also get creative and draw insects on small rocks if you do not have these!)

Materials for Version with Borax

½ cup of preferably clear PVA glue
½ cup of water to mix with glue
¼ teaspoon of Borax Powder
½ cup warm water to mix in with the Borax Powder
5-10 drops of yellow food coloring
Measuring cups and spoons
Dry Container
2 Medium Size Bowls
Insect Toys (also get creative and draw insects on small rocks if you do not have these!)

Directions without Borax

Put your ½ cup of glue in a bowl.
Mix your ¼-½ teaspoon of baking soda and ½ cup of water in a bowl until baking soda is completely dissolved.
Add your 5-10 drops of yellow food coloring to baking soda and water mixture.

Gently add the food coloring, baking soda and water mixture to your glue and mix together.
Add 1 tablespoon of saline solution and mix quickly until slime starts to form.
Put a few drops of Saline solution on hands and start to knead the slime together.
Add toy insects to mixture and then place in dry container

Directions with Borax

Mix ½ cup of water and ½ cup of glue completely together in bowl.
Add you 5-10 drops of yellow food coloring to this mixture.
Mix the ¼ teaspoon of borax and ½ of warm water in a separate bowl. Stir completely until completely mixed in.
Add the borax and water mixture slowly to your glue and water mixture. Start stirring immediately! Your slime will soon start to form immediately.
Keep mixing until your slime has formed and then immediately take out and put in the dry container.
If you have any left over liquid in the bowl keep stirring until all the liquid turns to slime. Transfer it to the dry container once you are done.
Start kneading your slime mixture and add your pretend insects! It will feel stringy at first but if you keep working it with your hands the texture will start to change.

**To keep your slime from going moldy, place slime in refrigerator**

July 7, 2020 by Kathleen

Jurassic Days: Mighty Mosasaur

Let’s go on a trip! We’ll have to travel about 1,000 miles and roughly 66 million years to arrive on the rocky beach of the Western Interior Sea of Kansas. There is lush plant life with ancient birds and bugs buzzing around the water – we might feel as though we’ve been transported to the land of Oz! Better stop Toto before he leaps in for a swim though, it’s full of dangerous creatures!

One of the creatures in these waters were the Mosasaurs. These animals evolved from the same ancestor as today’s monitor lizards like Komodo Dragons and Water Monitors. Feeling the predation pressure from larger dinosaurs, this little lizard adapted to life in the water and soon became fully suited for life in the oceans as they developed the ability to give birth to live young, eliminating the need to lay eggs on land.

The mightiest of all the mosasaurs was Tylosaurus. They grew more than 45 feet long, making them the largest. Mosasaurs had a long and muscular tail that was vertically flattened, like a shark, that powered Tylosaurus through the water. This allowed them to ambush its prey with rapid bursts of acceleration. Paddle-like limbs helped steer their slim body, covered in lizard-like scales, through the water. (Image 1- illustration of blue Tylosaurus)

Tylosaurus was the deadliest hunter of the ancient seas, ready to seize and kill just about any smaller creature that crossed its path using jaws that were lined on each side with two rows of pointy, cone-shaped teeth. This reptile used its snout to locate prey, which, once inside the mosasaur’s jaws, was swallowed whole. When the sea monster opened wide for the final gulp, two extra rows of teeth on the roof of its mouth started digestion by shredding the prey as it was being swallowed.

Though not a dinosaur, Tylosaurus lived alongside them and went extinct around the same time. Many Tylosaurus remains have been found near the Great Plains in Nebraska and Kansas, which was once covered by a large ocean we went to visit. Don’t be fooled, we couldn’t swim in this ocean like we can in today’s waters

Written by: Abbey Hines, Museum Educator

July 6, 2020 by Kathleen

Jurassic Days: Make Fossil Impressions!

Fossils are the preserved remains, or traces of remains, of ancient organisms. There are many types of fossils and many different ways that fossils form. Most fossils are not the actual body parts of the original organisms. Rather they are altered remains, impressions, molds, and casts of parts of the organisms.

Fossil impressions are prints, or indented marks, of plants or animals from long ago. The plant or animal lands in mud, silt, or sand and leaves an imprint in the soft earth. Over time, the plant or animal disappears, but the impression remains. When the imprint hardens, it forms a mold. Later, mud or other materials can fill the mold to make a cast—a copy of the original. Some examples of impressions are trace fossils such as footprints, trails, burrows, or other traces of an animal rather than of the animal itself.

In the following activity, you will create your own impression molds to see how fossil impressions are formed and discover what they can tell us about the organisms that leave them behind.

Materials for Outdoor Version

Soil – From your garden or yard
Water
Container with edges – Just to keep the soil mixture all in one place
Mixing spatula
Sturdy plastic toy – Use a dinosaur if you have one!

Materials for Indoor Version

1 cup of water
1 cup of salt
1 cup of flour
Large mixing bowl
Mixing spatula
Wax paper
Sturdy plastic toy – Use a dinosaur if you have one!

Directions for Outdoor Version

Line the bottom of your edged container with about a ½” layer of soil.
Mix in water until moist, but not muddy. If you overwater, simply add more soil until you get a thicker consistency.
Walk your plastic toy through the soil mixture, making footprints as you go.
Gather leaves, plants, and flowers from the backyard and see how each one creates a different impression.
Smooth out the mixture to try more variations!

Directions for Indoor Version

1. Make a salt dough – Add about half of your salt to your flour and mix. Then, slowly add water and start mixing the ingredients. Add more water and salt until you get your desired consistency. The dough should be firm and not too sticky.

2. Take some of the dough and roll it into a ball, then squish the ball into a disc or pancake shape on a piece of wax paper.

3. Place your dinosaur’s feet in flour so they won’t stick, then walk the dinosaur through the dough disc, making footprints as it goes.

4. If you want to preserve your fossils, let your dough dry for a few days or bake it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes on a baking sheet or parchment paper (do not bake the wax paper!).

July 6, 2020 by Kathleen

Jurassic Days: An Adventure Under the Sea

Let’s take a swim through the Western Interior Seaway! This area, also called the Cretaceous Seaway, was a shallow sea filled with abundant marine life. This sea was about 100 feet deep, like the Mediterranean, which enabled many forms of marine life to thrive. The Western interior Seaway existed during the mid-to late Cretaceous period (145-65 Mya). This body of water split the continent of North America into two land masses. These areas stretched from the Gulf of Mexico through the middle of North America. Several wonderful specimens of marine life have been found in Kansas, which was under water during the Cretaceous period.

Ready to go for a swim? As an interpreter, when I am educating visitors, as we approach the exhibit, we mimic swimming with our arms in the air and walk toward the display! That is always fun and gets our imagination ready! Here we go….

As we approach this Gallery, we see a diorama (a full size 3-D model of museum collection pieces) with an azure blue background. It really gives the impression that we are underwater! Luminescent lighting gently fluctuates creating a beautiful reflection, much like flowing water on the ground. In the background, softly echoing music plays and creates a floating sensation. as the light reflects.

Slowly, a large marine reptile comes into view. This is a creature called Dolichorhynchops bonneri (Dol-lee-kor-in-chops), meaning “long-nosed face.”

Let’s call it “Dolly” for short! Dolly is a Plesiosaur – primarily identified by its distinct characteristics: a short tail, long flippers and a flattened body structure which enables it to be a faster swimmer to catch its prey. The creature’s jaws are not thought to have a powerful bite force. The teeth are long and thin, not meant for tearing, but more for the ability to puncture soft, slippery prey. These creatures most likely swallowed their prey whole. In this diorama, Dolly appears to be pursuing a flightless bird with teeth called Hesperornis regalis (“western bird”) which had stout legs for swimming and tiny wings used for marine steering rather than flight. Dolly and Hesperornis regalis fossils were found in the late Cretaceous marine limestone of Kansas.

Our specimen of Dolichorhynchops bonneri is a cast. The fossil remains were recovered by George F. and Charles A. Sternberg from the Smoky Hill Chalk and Fort Hays Limestone-Kansas. The original is a type specimen on display at the Museum of Kansas. A type specimen, or “holotype” is a single specimen known to have been used to formally describe a species.

I hope you enjoyed our undersea adventure and I invite you to explore the numerous exciting areas of our museum. It’s a great place to learn about the past, present and future

Written by: Shari Bechtel is a Gallery Experience Presenter and Natural History Interpreter.

July 2, 2020 by wpengine

Behind the Scenes with the Baron de Bayet and L. W. Stilwell Collection, Part 4: Buying and Selling Fossils in the 19th Century

Figure 1: Letter from Stilwell to Bayet, June 29, 1897 (Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Section of Invertebrate Paleontology)

In this, our fourth and final installment, we will look at the Stilwell-Bayet letters. Because letter writing was the central form of communication in the late 19^th century, this correspondence documents past collecting practices. Although the Carnegie Museum’s Bayet archive retains only Stilwell’s part of the correspondence, the letters provide insight into their business relationship.

Procuring Fossils Was Time Consuming and Expensive

In June of 1897 (Figure 1), Lucien W. Stilwell wrote, “In reply, I am glad you are pleased with the Fossils. As to their getting there a little late, I did all on my part and cannot be made to suffer in any way for lateness. Had you ordered earlier and hand [sic] not correspondence been necessary previous to my shipment, I would have sent them earlier.” Shipping was labor intensive and costly in the late 1800’s. Additionally, the risk of breakage was high. The trip from South Dakota to Brussels required multiple carriers and involved wagons, trains and ships. From start to finish the trip could take months. One Stilwell receipt dated January 12, 1889, shows the cost of shipping two boxes from New York to Brussels at $5.05, or about $141 today. Keep in mind, this figure does not include the cost of shipping from the Dakota Territories to New York.

Negotiating Was as Wild as the West

Deal making was a delicate dance. Stilwell wanted to maximize profit. Bayet wanted the best price. In March 1889 Stilwell states “I do not know what new animal you spoke of. I sent the new ammonite. As to shipping and getting them away across the ocean, before we agree on price, that is a rather indefinite way and might be an expensive thing. I can say now, that if people do not want to give what I ask for these heads [Cenozoic mammal heads], I do not care to collect them for when I base my prices on the cost of finding and cleaning them and the cash expense and place them as reasonable as anyone can afford to do the work then I would cease to collect them.”

Let the Buyer Beware

Sometimes, lines were crossed. In addition to invertebrates, Stilwell sold Bayet Cenozoic mammal fossils from the Badlands. Stilwell references a mammal skull in the quote above. In 2004, Spencer Lucas of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, wrote a paper titled “O.C. Marsh and the Eocene Brontothere Teleodus: A Paleontological Hoax. In it he describes negotiations between paleontologist O.C. Marsh and Lucien W. Stilwell. Lucas concludes that Stilwell, or someone in his employ, added extra teeth to a brontotherium skull in order to induce Marsh into paying a higher price. At that time, Marsh did not notice that the teeth were doctored. According to Lucas, Marsh was determined to have the skull at the lowest possible price. He convinced Stilwell that the skull was not a new species and Stilwell eventually sold him the skull for a reduced figure. The altered teeth were not discovered until 1982 by Lucas and Schoch. Lucas concluded in 2004 that, “The Teleodus avus hoax is yet another example of the authenticity problems inherent to the commercial purchase of fossils as well as the great capacity all paleontologists have for seeing what they want to see in a fossil, not what actually is there.”

Albert Kollar notes that to his knowledge there is no indication that any of Bayet’s invertebrate specimens were fabricated or distorted.

The Stilwell-Bayet Correspondence is a fascinating look at collecting and negotiating in the “Wild West” a century ago. Preparation of fossils for shipping was time consuming and risky. Rarity and preservation quality often dictated price and it was a “buyer beware” marketplace. The items in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History collections give a glimpse into the mores, history and values of a past business climate. Stories, such as this one, also provide an opportunity to think about the future. One wonders what collecting adventures, conducted by museum scientists today, will resonate with future generations and what conclusions they may draw.

Joann Wilson is an Interpreter for the Department of Education and a volunteer with the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology and Albert Kollar is Collections Manager for the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Powdermill at a Glance

Facilities: Comprising 2,200 acres with various habitats typical of central Appalachia, Powdermill Nature Reserve is one of the larger private experiment stations in the USA. We maintain 20 buildings including the Nature Center (12,800 sq. ft), a state-of-the-art DNA laboratory, and eight fully furnished buildings for overnight guests, totaling about 40 beds and featuring campus wide Wi-Fi. For material, mechanical, and motorized support, we have a carpentry shop, barns and garages, two pickup trucks, passenger car, two-person ATV with dump bed, tractor, and mini backhoe. Our ample technical gear includes laptop computers, GPS devices, and two helicopter-type drones with cameras and spectral sensors.

five people walking along a trail in a wooded area

Staff: The number of employees varies with grant funding. Presently, we have 15 year-round staff and up to 12 seasonal staff. These are (full time) Director John Wenzel; Operations Coordinator MaryAnn Perkins; maintenance workers Bobby Ankney, Rick Paesano, and Ryan Carter; educators Lauren Horner and Sara Klingensmith; scientists at Powdermill are Luke DeGroote, Annie Lindsay, Mary Shidel, James Whitacre, and Andrea Kautz; scientists stationed in Oakland are Chase Mendenhall, Jonathan Rice, and Mallory Sarver. Seasonal (temporary) staff include about two for avian research in spring and three in autumn, four or five summer camp instructors, and usually two summer assistants in other programs.

Visitors: About 5,000 people visit Powdermill per year, of which 600-700 are school groups, some of which get transportation grants from us to pay for bussing. We host about 2,000 person-nights in our lodging by visiting researchers and students, primarily from May to September.

students with teacher looking at small animals

Education: Our free public programs include “Storytime And More” every first Sunday of the month. Every second Sunday (fall, winter, and spring) a “Science And Nature” lecture for adults is offered concurrently with “Nature Explorers” for children. Every third Wednesday, we host “Nature At Night,” nighttime nature walks or films. Themed, seasonal special events attract approximately 100 visitors. In 2019, these events were “Cicada-Palooza” and “Pollinator Festival.” Children’s summer camps support about 110 enrollments every year. For researchers, we host professional workshops that offer advanced technical training. In 2019, 100 people participated in seven such programs, the most notable of which was our award-winning Latin American graduate-level training, now in its ninth year. Our gardens are home to more than 200 species of native plants in their typical environment, and our web site provides information to gardeners for growing about 120 of these featured plants.

Public profile: The Powdermill Facebook page, which has 3,950 followers, reached 450,000 users and engaged 58,000 of them in 2019. We have a separate website for anyone interested in following our avian research programs closely, and that website logged 45,000 visits by 21,146 visitors in 2019. We appeared in popular media outlets nine times in 2019, including twice in National Geographic. A number of scientific datasets are made available through web tools we created, including the definitive resource for tracking unconventional (hydro-fractured) gas wells in PA, a water quality data set of 1.3 million specimens from nearly 7,000 surface water locations across PA, an interactive gigapixel digital teaching collection for identifying aquatic macroinvertebrates, and a tool to explore the data compiled in a vegetation survey of Powdermill.

Scientific productivity and roles: Our staff members are annually featured in approximately 20 presentations at scientific society meetings. The staff also serve regularly as Councilors, Associate Editors, Board members, etc., of professional societies in their fields, currently collectively holding 22 such offices. Powdermill as a research site is prominent. In the last three years, 32 papers in journals were published by our staff, or other scientists who conducted their research at Powdermill or used publicly archived Powdermill data. Using Google Scholar to assess significance, Powdermill publications earn an H index of 25, meaning that Powdermill’s importance as an engine of research is comparable to a Full Professor at a major university. Our main research threads include biology of migratory birds (for which we are known historically, and still provide international leadership), Geographical Information Services, pollination and aquatic entomology, and forest plant ecology. We enjoy close partnerships with more than 40 scientists and institutions that share our research goals and efforts.

Extramural funding: Our funding sources in the last three years include grants and contracts from National Science Foundation, Richard King Mellon Foundation, Colcom Foundation, Laurel Foundation, US Fish and Wildlife Foundation, PA Wildlife Resource Conservation program, American Bird Conservancy Foundation, and Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. These proposals are conceived, initiated, and largely written by Powdermill staff, with strong support from Advancement and Community Engagement, and total more than $2,000,000. We currently have about $3,000,000 in proposals under review.

woman looking at a bug under a microscope

NOTE: Information about educational programming and visitors refers to activity before the COVID-19 pandemic. Visit Powdermill’s website for information about visiting and programs in 2020.

Mystery Spit

spittlebug froth on a leaf — Spittlebug froth on the stalk and leaf stem of a sneezeweed plant.

You’ve likely noticed the stuff at this time of year even if you didn’t have a ready name for it – grape-sized globs of frothy white foam on all kinds of plant stems.

The bubbles are made by the nymph stage of a large group of insects known commonly as frog hoppers, and scientifically as members of the widespread insect superfamily Cercopoidea.

Because the activity of the nymphs is so noticeable, they’ve earned their own common name – spittlebugs.

spittlebug on a leaf — A spittlebug temporarily removed from its frothy shelter.

The nymphs, which hatch in the spring from eggs laid the previous summer, are sap drinkers. They pierce plant stems to access the juices produced by the growing plant, drink deeply, and after processing vital nutrients, turn their waste stream into a protective shelter. Although spittlebug froth visually resembles spit, it contains no saliva. The bubbles are mixture of the tiny creature’s urine and a sticky fluid produced in an abdominal gland.

The frothy layer keeps the soft-bodied insects from drying out and it also serves as a predator barrier. Because spittlebugs produce urine in amounts more than 150 times their own body weight, their bubbly shelters generally offer ample protection.

Research about spittlebugs has been conducted at University of British Columbia. Information about this research, including a short video narrated by New York Times Science Writer James Gorman can be found at: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/19/science/spittlebugs-bubble-home.html

Fourth of July and the Firefly

drawing of firefly that says World Firefly Day July 4-5, 2020

Although many fireworks shows are cancelled this Fourth of July, this is a great opportunity to get out over the holiday weekend and enjoy nature’s very own light show during World Firefly Day, on July 4^th and 5^th!

Fireflies, AKA lightning bugs, are neither flies nor bugs. They are actually a type of beetle with soft wings and the ability to bioluminesce (light up).

There’s a good chance you will see (or have already started seeing) firefly light displays this summer. There are six genera of fireflies that you are likely to encounter in Pennsylvania. Three are diurnal and don’t light up as adults (Ellychnia, Pyropyga, and Lucidota). Their light organs are absent or reduced in the adult stage. The remaining three genera are nocturnal and use light displays as adults. One is Pyractomena, which is a spring-active firefly that has already finished displaying for the year. That leaves Photinus and Photuris as the hosts of nature’s fireworks this Fourth of July. If you pay close attention to the flash patterns you’re seeing in your yard or get a chance to see one up close, you’ll probably be able to tell which one it is!

Photinus fireflies (top) are flattened in appearance and their heads are usually concealed from above, whereas Photuris fireflies (bottom) are hump-backed and you can often see their heads from above.

firefly on a leaf during the day — Creative Commons © David Cappaert, Bugwood.org

firefly on gray fabric — Photo credit: Andrea Kautz

Flash patterns vary by species, as do the timing and location of the display. Some species display low to the ground, while others display high in trees. Some are active at dusk, and others after dark. The most common firefly in the eastern U.S. is Photinus pyralis which has a lazy J-shaped flash pattern. Other flash patterns you may have seen are single or multiple rapid blinks. The displays you see are male fireflies advertising to females, who respond inconspicuously with their own flash pattern from a lower perched position. Some “femme fatales” in the genus Photuris will actually hunt by flashing in response to males of other species to lure them in, and then eat them!

Speaking of hunting, firefly larvae (below) are predators that live in moist soils, feeding on slugs and snails, which is a great method of pest control! Adults of some species are predators, but others drink nectar from flowers or simply do not eat at all.

The light-producing behavior has its origins in the larvae, which use the glow as a warning to predators that they are toxic. Other animals use bright colors to achieve this, but this wouldn’t be effective for nocturnal species in darkness. Adult fireflies light up to warn predators, but also to communicate with members of their own species, specifically potential mates. The distress signal is different from the mating signal, which you may notice if you capture a firefly in your hand and it starts to blink repeatedly.

We hope you get a chance to celebrate both the Fourth of July and World Firefly Day this year by witnessing some natural firework displays in your own back yard! We encourage you to share your experiences on the Fireflyers International Network Facebook page.

Mesozoic Monthly: Protostega

June 20^th was the first day of summer! The weather here in Pittsburgh is already beautiful. It’s enough to make one dream of a socially distant beach! Summer, of course, is sea turtle nesting season: during the next several weeks, female sea turtles all across our planet’s Northern Hemisphere will return to the beach where they hatched, drag themselves onto land, and lay their eggs in the sand. It would have been an incredible sight to see Protostega gigas, one of the largest sea turtles of all time, hauling itself onto the beach to lay its eggs! For June’s Mesozoic Monthly, we’re going to “dive in” to the paleontology of this giant reptile.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s spectacular skeleton of Protostega gigas is a composite made from the fossilized bones of two different individuals. Come see it on display in our Dinosaurs in Their Time exhibition when the museum reopens at the end of this month. But don’t forget to purchase your timed ticket in advance!

All turtles, including sea turtles like Protostega and tortoises like the Galápagos giant tortoise, belong to the group Testudines. This group originated during the Triassic Period, the first of the three time periods of the Mesozoic Era (aka the Age of Dinosaurs). Turtles split from other reptiles to form their own group before crocodiles and dinosaurs evolved! This means that turtles are not descended from dinosaurs, no matter how primordial some tortoises may look. Turtles differ from other reptiles in many ways, the most noticeable being their iconic shells.

A turtle shell is formed of two main parts: the carapace, or top shell, and the plastron, or bottom shell. The shell is made of bone fused directly to the spine and ribcage, so a turtle cannot crawl out of its shell without leaving its skeleton behind! Another major difference between turtles and other modern reptiles involves skull anatomy. Turtles have anapsid skulls: the bony case that protects their brain lacks any external openings behind their eyes (known as temporal openings). All other extant reptiles plus birds are diapsids, meaning their skulls have two holes behind their eyes. Mammals differ from both conditions because we have only one temporal opening, making us synapsids. Traditionally, the anapsid condition of turtle skulls has been taken to indicate that they are the most primitive of living reptiles. More recently, however, many paleontologists and biologists have uncovered evidence that turtles are in fact diapsids whose evolutionary course led, for some reason, to a secondary closure of their temporal openings. According to these scientists, the closest relatives of turtles among today’s diapsids are either lepidosaurs (lizards, snakes, and kin) or archosaurs (crocodilians and birds).

A bird’s (or pterosaur’s!) eye view of Protostega gigas (left) swimming past two long-necked elasmosaurid plesiosaurs in shallow waters of North America’s Western Interior Seaway roughly 85 million years ago. (This scene is set in what’s now Kansas!) Art by Julio Lacerda; see more of his beautiful work here.

Reptiles, mammals, and birds all belong to a group called Amniota, and the key defining feature of amniotes is a protective layer around their eggs that allows this vulnerable life stage to survive on land. Having eggs that did not have to be laid in water meant that animals could move to less-wet habitats, a significant step in evolution! Unfortunately for sea turtles, which spend most of their lives at sea, this means they must return to land to lay their eggs. An amniotic egg would “drown” in water because the embryo still needs access to air. As a sea turtle, Protostega would have faced these same reproductive challenges, plus one more: it was huge!The largest modern turtle, the leatherback sea turtle, can grow over seven feet (2.1 meters) long; Protostega dwarfs it at 9.8 feet (3 meters)! If you’ve ever seen video of a sea turtle crawling onto the beach to nest, you know that it’s an awkward process. Imagine seeing a turtle that weighs at least a ton try to do the same! Although surely clumsy on land, Protostega was a graceful swimmer, using its four rigid flippers like wings to “fly” through the water.

Protostega lived in the Western Interior Seaway, an inland sea that stretched across much of North America during the Cretaceous Period (the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era). The seaway was warm, shallow, and teeming with all kinds of aquatic life: the perfect habitat for an omnivorous sea turtle. Because sea turtles are ectothermic (sometimes erroneously called “cold-blooded”), they cannot regulate their own body temperature. Instead, Protostega relied on warm water temperatures and sunlight hitting its back to keep warm. Although we don’t have a fossil record of the coloration of Protostega, we know that today’s large sea turtles are counter-shaded, with heat-absorbing, dark-colored backs and pale undersides. In an ocean environment where both predator and prey shift positions in the water column, this combination aids concealment. From below, a light-colored underside blends with light-saturated water. From above, a dark back blends with dark water. Camouflage in the water was an important feature when living alongside so many sizable predators. Protostega fossils have been found with bite marks from the large shark Cretoxyrhina mantelli, and it almost certainly was also on the menu for the mighty mosasaurs as well. Fortunately for us, we humans can enjoy the ocean knowing that few creatures are interested in eating us!

Indiana Jones and the Rosetta Stone

Have you ever watched a film about archaeology and wondered how characters like Indiana Jones or Evelyn from The Mummy (1999) can run their fingers along a carved wall or slab, translating Egyptian hieroglyphs smoothly as they go?

The ability to read ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic writing today is all thanks to the Rosetta Stone. You may have heard of the Stone before, perhaps in the context of a popular language learning software, or you may know about the Stone itself, but do you know why it was such an incredible archaeological find?

The Rosetta Stone is a black granodiorite (similar to granite) slab standing 4 feet tall, 2 ½ feet wide, and 11 inches thick. It is part of a larger stele, a stone or wooden slab erected to commemorate occasions, act as territorial markers, or for funerary purposes. The Stone bears three blocks of text written in three different languages- Egyptian hieroglyphs, Egyptian Demotic, and Ancient Greek.

The Rosetta stone was carved during the Hellenistic period and moved at some later point. It was eventually used as construction material for a wall of Fort Julien in Rashid (or Rosetta). It was rediscovered there in 1799. While the history of its discovery is not particularly well-documented it is typically attributed to Pierre-Francis Bouchard, a French soldier on a Napoleonic campaign in Egypt. The Rosetta Stone was taken by British troops after they defeated France and transported to London. It has been on display at the British Museum since 1802.

black and white image of boat in the water

The reason the Rosetta Stone is so significant is because it was the key that unlocked our understanding of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, giving us a window into the ancient civilization. The text on it is pretty mundane and of no great historical significance. It is a decree (called the Decree of Memphis), outlining the achievements and good leadership of King Ptolemy, who ruled Egypt from 204-181 B.C.E. The decree was made and copied onto several stelae which were placed in temples throughout Egypt, the Rosetta Stone being just one of them. Since the discovery and eventual translation of the Rosetta Stone, several other more intact stelae inscribed with the Decree of Memphis have been found.

Ancient Greek was already well known to scholars, so the translation of that section happened fairly quickly, though unknown religious and administrative jargon delayed the process. Hubert-Pascal Ameilhon published the first translation of the Greek text in 1803. Before the discovery of the Rosetta Stone, there had been little success in translating Demotic and even less in translating hieroglyphs. Having all three languages together was an incredible resource for scholars because for the first time, they could study whether there was a direct link between the languages, and use their translation of the Ancient Greek text to translate the other languages on the stone.

Swedish scholar Johan David Åkerblad had already been working on translating an unknown script found in Egypt. He called this script “cursive Coptic” though it did not share many similarities to Coptic, a language derived from the Greek alphabet and used in Egypt through the 17^th century C.E. The language he was studying was actually Demotic, and the discovery of the Rosetta Stone aided his research. He, along with Antoine-Isaac Silvestre de Sacy, set to work translating this larger text. Having the Greek text side by side, they were able to locate where names lined up, and begin deciphering Demotic. Åkerblad proposed an alphabet of 29 letters, half of which were correct, but they failed to identify the remaining characters.

The translation of the hieroglyphic text similarly revolved around proper names. As early as 1761, scholars believed that characters enclosed in cartouches (or ovals with a line at one end) were proper names. By sorting through the Greek text and comparing where names would most likely be Thomas Young, foreign secretary of the Royal Society of London, was able to discover phonetic characters that aligned with Greek names. This discovery was incredibly important, as Young found these phonetic characters were similar to the Demotic characters in proper names, and then further discovered about 80 other similarities between Demotic and hieroglyphic writing. This shows that Demotic is actually a mix of phonetic characters and ideograms, which is what prevented Åkerblad and Silvestre de Sacy from progressing further with their translation, they had assumed Demotic used only phonetic characters.

series of letters and symbols in various languages

In 1814, Young corresponded with Jean-François Champollion, a teacher at Grenoble who had done scholarly work on Ancient Egypt. Champollion was able to construct an alphabet of phonetic hieroglyphs, which was announced publicly on September 27^th, 1822. From there, Champollion went on to develop an Ancient Egyptian grammar and hieroglyph dictionary, which was published after his death in 1832. Other scholars drew upon the work done by Åkerblad, Silvestre de Sacy, Young, and Champollion to delve deeper into the text on the Rosetta Stone and create a full translation.

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark takes place more than 100 years after Champollion’s dictionary was published. We can assume that during his studies and explorations, Indy studied this dictionary, and any others that followed, giving him the ability to read Egyptian hieroglyphs at any moment. While Indiana Jones is a fictitious archaeologist and scholar, we have real scholars to thank for the fact that we can enjoy films about this character today!

Jo Tauber works in LifeLong Learning at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

June 25, 2020 by wpengine

Behind the Scenes with the Baron de Bayet and L. W. Stilwell Collection Part 3: The Wild West Formed Million of Years Ago

photo of Badlands National Park — Figure 1: Badlands National Park today, National Park Service photo, 2014. This view of the Badlands topography illustrates the erosion that took place over the last 2 million years.

The Lakota called the Badlands “Mako Sica” or “land bad.” The early French-Canadian trappers referred to it as “les mauvais terres pour traverse” or “bad lands to travel through.” Seventy-five million years ago, this area was a lush underwater seaway filled with creatures such as mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, diving birds, fish, baculites, and ammonites (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Taxa that swam in the Western Interior Seaway from *Dinosaurs in Their Time* exhibit at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Photo by Patty Dineen.

The Stilwell fossils of Cretaceous age (Figure 3) were deposited in a black mud that accumulated on the sea floor from 82 to 70 million years ago (Figure 4). The Pierre Shale is part of the extensive Western Interior Seaway of North America (Figure 5). Museum visitors can view a changing geographic representation of the seaway on a wall-mounted flat screen monitor within the Dinosaurs in Their Time exhibit. The seaway extended from the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, and southern Gulf Coast, north through Texas, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, the Dakotas, and the Canadian Provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. This vast waterway terminated in the Artic region of Canada. At the time of the Pierre Sea, the ice sheet-free greenhouse to hothouse paleoclimate was much warmer than it is today, creating the highest sea levels in earth’s history. Sea level rises and falls were primarily controlled by the presence or melting of glaciers in the polar regions, the shifting of the continents, and the uplifting of proto-Rocky Mountains by plate tectonics.

Figure 3: Western Interior Seaway fossils on display at Carnegie Museum’s *Dinosaurs in Their Time* exhibit. Stilwell fossils are highlighted in blue.

Figure 4: Outcrop photo of Pierre shale.

Figure 5: Western Interior Seaway approximately 75 million years ago. Red dot locates Deadwood, South Dakota today.

Fast forward to the Wild West of the 1890’s, and dealers such as Stilwell found and sold fossils to museums and private collectors. Knowledge of Badlands fossils spread as far as Europe, and by 1889 Bayet wanted some for his own collection.

Next, in our final post of this series, we will delve into the Stilwell-Bayet correspondence in search of clues about how fossils were bought and sold over a century ago.

Joann Wilson is an Interpreter for the Department of Education and a volunteer with the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology. Albert Kollar is Collections Manager for the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

The Bromacker Project Part VI: Seymouria sanjuanensis, the Tambach Lovers

New to this series? Read The Bromacker Fossil Project Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, and Part V.

Seymouria sanjuanensis fossils — Two exquisitely preserved, nearly complete adult skeletons of *Seymouria sanjuanensis* that were discovered in the Bromacker quarry in 1997. Photo by Dave Berman.

At lunchtime on the last day of the 1997 field season, Thomas Martens discovered the two exquiste specimens shown above, the only fossils found that year. Thomas had uncovered a piece of the hip region with some attached vertebrae that resembled, once again, those of the ancient amphibian Seymouria. Because our work time was limited, we estimated the length of the specimen and rushed to extract it from the quarry. When we flipped the block over, a few pieces of rock fell out, revealing a series of vertebrae of a second individual in the block. We were thrilled to learn that Thomas had discovered two specimens of Seymouria. We put the rock pieces back in place and quickly finished plastering the block. There was just enough time for Dave, Stuart Sumida, and I to return to our hotel, clean up, quickly pack, and meet Thomas, his family, and his fossil preparator Georg Sommer for a celebratory dinner. What a great way to end the field season.

Working in tight quarters to quickly extract the *Seymouria* specimens discovered at lunchtime on the last day of the field season. Clockwise from right: Georg Sommer, Dave Berman, and the author. Photo by Stuart Sumida, 1997.

Seymouria had already been known from the Bromacker quarry. Thomas had discovered and identified two skulls in 1985, fossils he brought with him when he came to Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH) in 1993 to study for six months with Dave Berman under a CMNH-financed fellowship. Both skulls were of juvenile individuals. Of the two known species of Seymouria, Dave and Thomas were excited to discover that the Bromacker skulls were nearly identical to those of Seymouria sanjuanensis. The 1997 lunchtime discovery of the two complete adult specimens confirmed the identification of the Bromacker Seymouria as S. sanjuanensis.

The first discovered species of Seymouria was Seymouria baylorensis, from near Seymour, Baylor County, Texas, from which its name was derived. Seymouria sanjuanensis was first found in San Juan County, Utah, by Dave Berman and the field team he was leading as a graduate student at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dave’s advisor, Dr. Peter Vaughn, named it Seymouria sanjuanensis in reference to the county of discovery. Another discovery of five specimens of this species preserved together was made by Dave in New Mexico in 1982.

Comparison of the skulls of *Seymouria baylorensis* (top) and *S. sanjuanensis* (bottom). The individual bones of the skull are color coded. Skulls scaled to same size. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

Seymouria baylorensis is geologically younger than S. sanjuanensis and has a more robust skull, larger and fewer teeth of variable size, and a subrectangular postorbital bone compared to the chevron-shaped postorbital of S. sanjuanensis.

Seymouria is considered a terrestrial amphibian that only returned to water to breed. Its strongly built skeleton provided the support needed to move on land. With its numerous, slender, pointed teeth, S. sanjuanensis most likely ate insects and small land-living vertebrates. We know that the Bromacker Seymouria didn’t consume fish, because not a single fish fossil, scrap of fish fossil, or fish coprolite (fossil poop) has ever been found at the Bromacker quarry. Study of the rock deposits preserving the fossils at the Bromacker indicate a lack of permanent water, which would explain the absence of fish.

Growth series of skulls of *Seymouria sanjuanensis* from the Bromacker Quarry showing (left to right) early juvenile, late juvenile, and adult growth stages. Photos by the author, 2006.

Conditions for breeding must have been favorable in the Tambach Basin, the ancient basin where sediments preserving the Bromacker fossils accumulated, because several juvenile specimens of Seymouria are known. The smallest is a skull measuring about ¾ of an inch long. In a study led by our colleague Josef Klembara (Comenius University, Slovak Republic), we determined that the smallest individual was post-metamorphic—in other words, no longer a tadpole—based on the presence of certain ossified bones in the skull. In tadpoles, these skull elements are cartilaginous; that is, they haven’t yet turned to bone.

The discovery in Germany of the same species of Seymouria previously known only from New Mexico and Utah has important implications in terms of paleobiogeography (the study of the distribution of species in space and time). At the time S. sanjuanensis was alive, the continents were merged to form the supercontinent Pangaea. The presence of S. sanjuanensis across Pangaea, north of a roughly east-west trending mountain range, indicates that climatic or physical barriers (e.g., deserts, inland seas, mountain ranges) didn’t prevent its dispersal.

Map showing the arrangements of the continents in the Early Permian. The locality where *Seymouria* occurs in present-day New Mexico, Texas, and Utah and the Bromacker locality in present-day Germany are indicated. Map modified from Scotese, 1987.

The two Seymouria specimens preserved together were a big hit in the local region in Germany. Museum der Natur (MNG) exhibit preparator Peter Mildner nicknamed them the “Tambacher Liebespaar” (“Tambach Lovers”) after a painting entitled “Gothaer Liebespaar” (“Gotha Lovers”) on exhibit in the Herzogliches Museum of the Stiftung Schloss Friedenstein (also the parent organization of MNG). This name caught on and is fondly used by our German friends and colleagues. Peter even made a fleshed-out model of the two Seymouria specimens in their death pose. The proprietor of the hotel in which we stayed hung a copy of the model of the Tambach Lovers and a framed collage of newspaper articles featuring the Bromacker on a wall in one of the hotel rooms, which she named the “Präparation Suite” (i.e. “Preparation Suite” in reference to the preparation of fossils). I often stayed in this room.

The painting entitled “Gothaer Liebespaar” (“Gotha Lovers”), which is on display at Herzogliches Museum of the Stiftung Schloss Friedenstein, Gotha, Germany. Image from Wikimedia Commons and provided by Thomas Martens.

Tambach Lovers postcard — Postcard showing the Tambach Lovers. The postcard was made for and sold by the Museum der Natur, Gotha. Photo of the postcard by the author, 2020.

Stuart Sumida (left) and Heike Scheffel, proprietor of the Hotel Wanderslaben where we stayed (right), with the model of the Tambach Lovers in the “Präparation Suite.” The framed collage to the right of the model holds newspaper articles featuring the Bromacker project. Photo by the author, 2003.

A cast of the Tambach Lovers specimen and a model of Seymouria sanjuanensis are exhibited in the Fossil Frontiers display case in CMNH’s Dinosaurs in Their Time exhibition. Be sure to look for them once the museum re-opens. And stay tuned for my next post, which will feature the unusual bipedal reptile Eudibamus cursoris.

For those of you who would like to learn more about Seymouria sanjuanensis, here is a link to the publication describing the 1997 specimens: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1671/0272-4634(2000)020%5B0253%3AROSSSF%5D2.0.CO%3B2.

Keep Reading

The Bromacker Fossil Project Part VII: Eudibamus cursoris, the Original Two-legged Runner

June 22, 2020 by wpengine

The Zebra Mussel and the Shopping Cart

Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) are eastern European freshwater bivalves that invaded North America. Something unusual about their biology facilitated this invasion.

In marine waters, many benthic (living on the bottom) animals add their babies to the plankton, the mix of small and microscopic organisms largely adrift in the water column.

The situation is different in freshwater where almost all benthic animals lay their eggs on the bottom. (Freshwater plankton exist, but the organisms that compromise it spend their whole lives as plankton.) I don’t know why marine and freshwater animals differ that way, but they do. Zebra mussels are a major exception to this rule; they live in freshwater, but they put their babies (larvae) in the plankton.

How did zebra mussels invade North America? Partially loaded ships require ballast to safely navigate at sea. Decades ago, ships were loaded with rocks and dirt (and slug eggs) as ballast, and when they reached their intended port these materials were removed and replaced with cargo. That is why so many invasive slugs (essentially all your garden slugs are non-native) arrived first in seaports and spread from there. Ballast tanks that can be easily filled with water and drained are a design feature of modern ships, and depending upon some ship’s departure points, their ballast water sometimes contains larval zebra mussels. For many years, ships were slow enough that zebra mussel larvae arrived in North America dead, but eventually reductions in ocean crossing time worked in the invaders’ favor. In 1988 some larval zebra mussels arrived alive in the ballast water pumped out into Lake St. Clair near Detroit. By 1990, zebra mussels had infested all the Great Lakes and now they occur in more than half of the 50 United States.

Fig. 1. Freshwater snail (*Elimia livescens*) colonized by zebra mussels (left) and uncolonized (right). From Douglas Lake, Michigan 30 Aug. 2015 (photo by T.A. Pearce).

The economic and ecological devastation caused by zebra mussels is legendary. Zebra mussels make threads (byssal threads) for attaching to hard objects. They clog intake pipes of city water supplies and power station cooling pipes, requiring costly removal. They compete with native mussels and young fish for food and can smother or hinder movements of our native mussels, snails (Fig. 1), and crayfish when they settle in large numbers.

Fig. 2. Replica of shopping cart covered in zebra mussels.

A noteworthy item that became encrusted with zebra mussels is a shopping cart that was dredged out of Lake Superior in 2012. A replica of the shopping cart was on display during the We Are Nature exhibit at Carnegie Museum in 2018 (Fig. 2).

Lest you think I am biased against zebra mussels, I will note two possibly positive things you can say about them. First, they filter water efficiently and because they pump up to a liter (quart) per day, they cleaned up the formerly polluted water in Lake Erie. But even that can be negative, because they removed so much plankton from the water that our native species now have a hard time finding enough to eat. Second, because zebra mussels selectively concentrate certain toxic metals, including uranium, they have potential to be used in bioremediation efforts to clean water of this radioactive pollutant (Immel et al. 2016). But those are the only good things you can say about them. Mostly, they wreak havoc.

Literature Cited

Immel, F., Broussard, C., Catherinet, B., Plasseraud, L., Alcaraz, G., Bundeleva, I. & Marin, F. 2016. The shell of the invasive bivalve species Dreissena polymorpha: biochemical, elemental and textural investigations. PloS One, 11(5): e0154264. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0154264

Stuffed Animal Safari: Build Your Own Safari Tent

blanket supported by pole in center of couch

Sometimes animal research expeditions or safaris that scientists participate in can last a long time. Camps are often set up in the savannah so researchers can be as close to wildlife as possible without disturbing animals’ natural behaviors. Here’s how you can build your own safari fort for you and your favorite stuffed buddy!

Materials Needed:

Blankets
Pillows or soft cushions
A couch or an area that has space to fit inside
Chairs or a small table for structure and support
Something to secure blankets (string works)
Lights

Directions

Gather your supplies in the area you’d like to build your safari tent. If using a couch and chairs, try to set up your structure with your couch in the center, and the chairs in front of the couch on either side, facing outward. (Check our photo for reference!)
If you’re using a pole to support the top of your tent, try to stick the pole down between the center of the cushions as safely (to you–and your couch!) as your can, like in our photo.
Place your blankets on top of the furniture you’re using to make your safari tent. This will be the “roof” and should sit lightly on top. Make sure your blanket is long enough to cover the entire tent structure and leave an opening at the front for easy entry.
Your safari tent can be as big or as small as you’d like. If you have multiple blankets, you can also try to make a door flap at the entrance to your safari tent. Researchers sometimes have these door flaps to hide themselves from animals so they don’t scare or interfere with them. Make sure your blankets are supported on top of your safari tent—if they’re loose or in danger of falling, try to make the safari tent smaller or use something like clothespins or books to weigh them down and secure them. If you’re having trouble, ask a grownup for help! *Do not enter your safari tent until you know for sure it won’t fall down*
If you have lights, ask a grownup to help you set them up. Any type of light works well in a safari tent, and is important for nighttime study. If you don’t have string lights like the ones pictured, you can also use flashlights.
Finally, decorate the inside of your safari tent by bringing in cushions, pillows, or extra blankets. Be sure to bring all of your stuffed animal friends and some snacks inside while checking out the rest of the Stuffed Animal Safari activities!

June 19, 2020 by wpengine

Behind the Scenes with the Baron de Bayet and L. W. Stilwell Collection, Part 2: The Wild West a Century Ago

black and white photo of Deadwood from a distance — Figure 1: Deadwood, Dakota Territories 1879. Image courtesy of the Deadwood Historic Preservation Commission, City of Deadwood Archives.

black and white photo of a Deadwood street — Figure 2: Deadwood, Dakota Territories 1879. Image Courtesy of Deadwood Historic Preservation Commission, City of Deadwood Archives.

Fancy yourself on the hottest day in summer in the hottest spot of such a place without water — without an animal and scarce an insect astir — without a single flower to speak pleasant things to you and you will have some idea of the utter loneliness of the Bad Lands.” Thaddeus Culbertson, 1850

When Lucien Stilwell stepped off the stagecoach on September 25, 1879, he was not your typical visitor to Deadwood. Photos of Stilwell in later years show a thin scholarly figure with glasses. In 1879, Deadwood, Dakota Territories was known for gold prospecting, gambling and lawlessness. Just three years prior, Wild Bill Hickock had been shot in the back while playing poker here. It would be a few more years until Seth Bullock, first sheriff of Deadwood, would begin to bring order to town.

As Stilwell stepped off the stagecoach, he was leaving a fifteen-year career in the grocery and grain business in Cairo, Illinois. A yellow fever epidemic blanketing parts of the United Sates prompted him to uproot his life. He arrived just one day before a fire destroyed over 300 buildings and displaced over 2000 people in Deadwood. According to Michael Runge, City Archivist of Deadwood South Dakota, photos of Deadwood in 1879 (Figures 1 and 2), were taken just before the great fire. If you look closely at Figure 2, you can see a law office, hardware store, liquor store, and city market.

Despite the great fire and the dangers of Deadwood, Lucien W. Stilwell found a job at a bank, brought his family to town and built a home. Along the way, he became fascinated by the fossils in the surrounding Black Hills. He began a careful study of the region and developed relationships with other fossil collectors. Eventually, he turned his hobby into a side business.

Figures 3 & 4: CM 33067 – Baculites collected by Stilwell. Baculites, translated as “walking stick rock”, are an extinct group of straight cephalopods that swam the seas 75 to 80 million years. “Sutures” or growth lines are formed when the animal adds new shell material as it grows. Sutures assist paleontologists in the identification of the genus and species.

Prior to leaving the bank in 1890, Stilwell began selling Badland fossils and minerals. In a correspondence to the Baron de Bayet of Brussels dated January 12, 1889, Stilwell said, “I tried to catch your meaning in your last letter. As I understand it, you wanted one of every specie and variety of fossils I had, excepting the large and costly specimens of mammals.”

In one letter to Bayet, Stilwell wrote, “I put in a number of baculites, all of which have some different interest. One is to show fine sutures another to show iridescence to rare degree, another to show size, another to show form so differing as to be a specie of baculite by another name…” Albert Kollar of the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology explained that in circumstances when the exact stratigraphic locality is questionable, having the original fossil labels as seen in Fig. 4 are critical to accurate fossil identification. Stillwell was a capable researcher because of his grasp of the geology and paleontology of the Badlands region. Figures 3 and 4 show a baculites sold by Stilwell to Bayet. There are 100 Stilwell fossils in the 130,000 specimen Bayet collection.

The next post in this series will explore why dealers such as Lucien W. Stilwell, found so many fossils in the Badlands.

Many thanks to the generous assistance of Michael Runge, Archivist for the City of Deadwood, South Dakota.

Stuffed Animal Safari: Giraffe

Can you answer these giraffe questions?

Grab your best stuffed animal friend and a notebook to use for this week’s activities–your safari field journal–and let’s get started! If you need help answering some questions, an adult can help you look for answers online.

Where do giraffes mainly live?
What does this habitat look like? Draw it in your safari field journal!
Could your stuffed animal friend live in this kind of habitat? Why or why not?
What is one special adaptation giraffes have to help them survive in their habitat?
What do giraffes eat? Are they carnivores, herbivores, or omnivores?
Are giraffes endangered, vulnerable, or something else? What does this mean for future populations?

Learn More About Giraffes, Including Giraffes in the Museum Collection!

As the tallest terrestrial animal on Earth, giraffes (Giraffa) can get to fruits and leaves that other animals can’t reach. But giraffes’ long limbs aren’t their only extraordinary features!

Giraffes are at home in the forests and savannahs of Africa. These habitats are also where giraffes can find plenty of food high up in trees. While tree leaves are the main part of their diet, they might also eat fruit, grass, and smaller shrubs. Between 14 to 20 feet tall, adult giraffes can eat up to 75 pounds of leaves a day! In order to easily pull all of those leaves out of trees, giraffes have an 18-inch-long purple tongue covered in thick hairs to protect against thorny twigs.

Baby giraffes start their life at six feet tall—which is as tall as an adult giraffe’s neck. Within hours, the newborn giraffe can almost keep up with a running herd at 35 miles per hour. Giraffes need to run fast from predators like lions and hyenas, but they can also defend themselves with a deadly kick powered by their long legs.

Not all giraffes are the same; there are at least eight different types or subspecies of giraffe found in Africa. The pattern of blocky spots is one way to tell them apart—some giraffes’ spots have jagged edges and others are light or dark in color.

There are two different giraffes on display at the museum. In the water hole exhibit is a Reticulated giraffe with large blocky spots that almost touch. The other giraffe on display is a Masai giraffe with jagged spots. The Masai giraffe was collected by Pittsburgh-born Childs Frick on an expedition to Africa in 1912. The completed giraffe display was the first of its kind in North America.

Giraffe taxidermy being constructed in early 1900s — Masai giraffe from Child’s Frick expedition being constructed as a taxidermy display for the museum.

Giraffes are listed as “Vulnerable” for conservation concerns and some types of giraffe are endangered. This means that giraffes face serious risks in their native habitat and the number of wild giraffes is decreasing. Major threats to giraffes include agricultural competition and illegal hunting. Farmers and ranchers often exclude wild animals like giraffes from their land in order to prevent damage to crops or livestock. Poaching, or illegal hunting, also directly impacts giraffe populations and can harm conservation efforts. The Giraffe Conservation Foundation is a great resource to learn more about and help wild giraffe populations!

June 18, 2020 by Kathleen

Sensory Bin Idea – Safari Bin

We have a great sensory bin idea for you–create a Safari themed Sensory Bin with materials you have at home!

What is a Sensory Bin?

Make a Sensory Bin that resembles the Sahara and fill it with any desert-like materials that may stimulate the senses. This craft lists material examples but you can design a sensory bin to be themed around anything!

Materials Recommended

1 small/medium-sized bin
Tongs or measuring cups
Rice (different colors/varieties)
Small Pebbles/Rocks
Fake plants or flowers
Any sort of pasta (penne, rigatoni, and elbow work great!)
Green or brown play-doh
Stuffed animals or small animal toys to recreate your own animal safari
A few drops of essential oil that you find pleasant

Directions

Find a medium size bin that can be you can fill with your materials
Fill it with your base, which could be pasta or rice.
Fill with any materials listed above, whatever you think your child would get most excited over!
Once your bin is filled, use the tongs and measuring cups to help them pick our specific materials like the rocks or pieces of pasta! Pretend you are on a safari and learn about your animals. Get Creative and have fun!

We’ll be working on more sensory friendly content as soon as we can, find it on our Sensory Friendly Saturdays Page.

Sensory Friendly Saturday

For more activities to complete with your household, check our our Super Science Saturday Page.

Super Science Saturday

June 18, 2020 by wpengine

Eastern Garter Snake Encounter

The eastern garter snake never moved. I only noticed the harmless reptile because my hands were within inches of its sleek body as I crouched to photograph a large-flowered trillium. The image above is a result of an abrupt subject change, but rushing wasn’t necessary. I was later able to photograph the intended wildflower without disturbing its striped neighbor.

After perhaps 90 seconds of sharing space with the snake, I backed carefully away from the blooming patch of forest understory within the Allegheny Land Trust’s Barking Slopes Natural Area. Later that day, in the pages of a trusted reference book, I found an explanation for what seemed an unusually passive predator.

Amphibians and Reptiles of Pennsylvania and the Northeast, is a Cornell University Press publication from 2001 by three authors with deep ties to CMNH, Arthur C. Hulse, long a Research Associate for the Museum’s Section of Herpetology, the late C. J. McCoy, a curator within the Section between 1964 and 1993, and Ellen J. Censky, a curator within the Section between 1994 and 1998.

The 5 pages of the 400-page volume devoted to garter snakes includes a description of the snake’s wide range of reactions to close encounters with our species.

“At one extreme, some remain fairly quiescent and allow themselves to be picked up and will not attempt any defensive behavior. At the other extreme, individuals flatten the head and body, flare the lips to expose teeth, and strike violently.”

The authors cite research indicating that young garter snakes are more aggressive after eating a large meal, a behavior that might occur because recently ingested food reduces their mobility, and therefore their chances for successful escape.

By this line of reasoning, the docile creature I encountered might simply have been hungry.

Stuffed Animal Safari: Walrus

Can you answer these walrus questions?

Where do walruses mainly live?
What does this habitat look like? Draw it in your safari field journal!
Could your stuffed animal friend live in this kind of habitat? Why or why not?
What is one special adaptation walruses have to help them survive in their habitat?
What do walruses eat? Are they carnivores, herbivores, or omnivores?
Are walruses endangered, vulnerable, or something else? What does this mean for future populations?

The Atlantic Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) is an easily recognizable Arctic mammal due to their large ivory tusks. Both male and female walruses have tusks and use them to make and maintain ice holes and pull themselves out of the water. This is how the walrus gets its scientific name—odobenus literally means “tooth walk.” Male walruses will also use their tusks to fight.

Walruses search for food in the shallow waters along coastlines and prefer to eat bivalve mollusks (like clams), but are opportunistic feeders. This means walruses will eat whatever types of aquatic animals are available including crustaceans (like crabs), sea worms, and fish. Their special whiskers, called vibrissae, are blood-and- nerve fed, which make them more sensitive than the whiskers we see on cats, dogs, or rodents. Those sensitive vibrissae help them feel small animals on the sea floor when they are foraging.

Walruses are well-suited for their chilly habitat. A layer of blubber, or fat, keeps them warm, even when swimming in freezing water. That layer of blubber can be almost 4 inches thick! Their blood vessels near the skin also constrict, or become smaller, when they swim in cold water, which helps keep more warmth on the inside of their body. When on land, walruses like to cuddle together to stay warm, and this is why they are known for being friendly and agreeable, at least with other walruses.

The Atlantic walrus is considered “vulnerable” or “near threatened” which means that this species is not endangered, but the numbers of wild walruses are decreasing and they may become endangered if that continues. Threats to wild populations include habitat loss and noise disturbance from ships and airplanes—walruses get startled easily and can stampede if a loud noise disturbs them.

June 17, 2020 by wpengine

Meet our two new curators!

Dr. Travis Olds

photo of new curator of minerals Travis Olds

Hello! My name is Travis Olds. I’m Assistant Curator of Minerals in the Section of Minerals and Earth Sciences at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. I’m from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the northern part of the state that is sometimes confused as being a part of Canada, but also considered by many as one of the most beautiful places on Earth. People born in the U.P., as we call it, are known colloquially as “Yoopers,” and like Canadians we are some of the kindest people you will meet. Many Yoopers have an accent that is best described as a mix between Canadian and Minnesotan; we tend to elongate and over-emphasize vowels in spoken words, with favorites being “ya, eh, you betcha, and don’tchya know.” Our favorite dish is the pasty (“pastee”), a baked meat and vegetable-filled pastry that was introduced early in our state’s history by Cornish miners who traveled to the area to make a living and share their knowledge of mining techniques developed overseas.

Hundreds of mines have operated in the U.P. over the last ~200 years, yielding billions of tons of iron and manganese used for the steel produced here in Pittsburgh, and millions of tons of copper used across the world for plumbing, electrical lines, and electronics. Although many mines in the U.P. have long been abandoned, a few iron and copper mines are still in operation today. For several generations my family has made a living working in the mines, including my father and uncle, who were large influencers to my interest in minerals.

As I started collecting and learning more about minerals I became fascinated by radioactive minerals, the ones containing uranium and thorium. Uranium minerals come in many beautiful shapes and colors. They sometimes fluoresce neon green and yellow colors under UV light, and emit invisible high-energy particles during their decay. Although we owe our basic understanding of X-rays and many modern medical technologies and treatments to early studies of radioactive minerals, uranium remains one of the most controversial elements on the periodic table. It has been used to create exceptionally valuable technology but has also created unimaginable evil and pain. In the future, I believe nuclear power will likely become one of the dominant methods for producing “base-load” power to replace the antiquated and highly pollutive coal and natural-gas burning energy plants. I study the atomic arrangement and properties of uranium minerals because they are good analogs for advancing several aspects of nuclear power generation, from mining to processing and storage of used fuel and waste. My mineral collecting trips have taken me to unique places underground in Colorado, Utah, and the Czech Republic, and thanks to the group of friends and researchers that I work with, I have been lucky to find and describe 20 new minerals. At the museum, I research minerals to improve technology and better understand how humans are changing the minerals found on the Earth’s surface.

Photos of our new minerals can be found on my Mindat.org page.

Dr. Carla Rosenfeld

photo of new curator of earth sciences Carla Rosenfeld

Hello! I’m Carla Rosenfeld, the new Assistant Curator of Earth Sciences in the Section of Minerals and Earth Sciences at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. I received my Ph.D. in Soil Science and Biogeochemistry from Penn State and a B.S in Chemistry from McGill University. Following my Ph.D., I worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and University of Minnesota. After several years away, I am so excited to be returning to Pennsylvania to continue my research!

As a researcher, I am an interdisciplinary environmental biogeochemist. I use tools from mineralogy, geochemistry, and microbiology to study how pollutants and nutrients behave in the environment. I am fascinated by how biology, geology, and chemistry interact – for example when plant roots scavenge nutrients from soils by dissolving minerals, or when organisms form biominerals (think teeth, shells, and corals). Understanding how living and non-living things interact in different environments helps us to understand and predict how nature will respond to changing climate and other human impacts. Because I’m interested in how microbes make and alter minerals in soils, I’ve visited all sorts of places to collect soils, plants, water, and microbes (mostly bacteria and fungi). I’ve been down to the bottom of the deepest and oldest underground iron mine in Minnesota (Sudan Mine, ~ 1 mile below the ground surface!), to hot springs and the world’s only captive geyser in Idaho, and, right here in Southwest PA, to acid mine drainage remediation systems! Outside of science, I love to spend time outdoors biking (I even biked across the US from CT to CA one summer), mushroom hunting (my favorite mushrooms to find are golden chanterelles, Cantharellus cibarius or Cantharellus lateritius), and generally spending time outdoors. I also love to bake (including science cakes!), and I’ve kept a spreadsheet detailing everything I’ve baked for the last 5 years!

Stuffed Animal Safari: Jaguar

Can you answer these jaguar questions?

Where do jaguars mainly live?
What does this habitat look like? Draw it in your safari field journal!
Could your stuffed animal friend live in this kind of habitat? Why or why not?
What is one special adaptation jaguars have to help them survive in their habitat?
What do jaguars eat? Are they carnivores, herbivores, or omnivores?
Are jaguars endangered, vulnerable, or something else? What does this mean for future populations?

It’s a lion…it’s a leopard…it’s a jaguar, or Panthera onca! Jaguars are the largest cats native to the Americas and although they’re related to lions, tigers, and leopards, they don’t live anywhere near these big cats. Their range extends from Mexico through Central and South America, including much of the rainforests known as Amazonian Brazil. Historically, jaguars once lived in the southern United States, but due to habitat loss and overhunting, only a few individual jaguars are still occasionally seen in states like Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico.

The majority of a jaguar’s habitat includes dense, forested areas with high humidity and frequent rainfall. Jaguars are known as apex predators, meaning they are highest on the food chain and aren’t hunted by other animals. Because of this, scientists often call them a keystone species; because they are opportunistic hunters and prey on a variety of animals, jaguars unintentionally help keep the forests they live in from becoming overpopulated and destroyed by one specific species of animal.

Jaguars are obligate carnivores—they eat meat and only meat. While they prefer larger prey like capybaras and giant anteaters, they will hunt smaller prey if desperate for food or if they are still young and inexperienced. Like their relatives, jaguars will often stalk and catch their prey by surprise rather than chasing their prey out in the open. They are excellent swimmers and have been known to ambush animals near or in rivers or during seasonal floods.

There are several adaptations jaguars have to help them survive—one of the most important being their spots. Although similar to a leopard’s spots, jaguars have far less spots and a distinctive dot—sometimes called an “eye”—in the middle of their spots that leopards lack. These spots provide them with camouflage to hide from prey or other jaguars competing for territory. They also have short and stocky limbs which allow them to climb and swim quickly and effortlessly.

Even though jaguars are apex predators, they are still considered “Near Threatened” on the IUCN Red List and their populations are currently in decline. A number of factors, including habitat loss, poaching, and increasing competition with humans. However, many steps have been taken to protect these big cats, like prohibiting hunting jaguars in a number of countries including Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, French Guiana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, the United States, and Venezuela. Large areas of open wild areas, called “Jaguar Units” have also been preserved for jaguars to live and breed safely.

June 16, 2020 by wpengine

The Mineralogy of Ice Cream

by Travis Olds

Have you ever made ice cream at home?

You may have noticed that homemade ice cream has a different texture than what you buy at the grocery store or get at an ice cream shop. Homemade ice cream can taste “grainy” with a coarse texture, unlike the creamy Ben and Jerry’s from the store. This is because ice crystals in homemade ice cream are usually much larger than the ice cream made by professionals.

close up of ice crystals — “Ice Crystals”by glenngurley is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

This is where mineralogy comes in. In nature, large mineral crystals take time to grow, sometimes growing for up to 100,000 years or more! The same is true for ice and snow, which happen to be minerals too. The shape and size of snow crystals that fall from the sky are controlled intricately by the outside air temperature, relative humidity, and time. Snowflakes are usually largest when they spend a long time in the air and at temperatures a bit below the freezing point, near 15 °F. At colder temperatures, the crystals grow quickly and are smaller. Fortunately, we won’t be seeing snow for a while, however, summer can bring even larger balls of ice from the sky! During thunderstorms, hail stones can grow VERY large (up to 15 cm or nearly 6 inches in diameter), sometimes spending up to 30 minutes swirling around updrafts in the icy and rainy conditions within storm clouds.

two-inch piece of hail next to ruler in the grass

To make a smooth and creamy ice cream, companies like Ben and Jerry’s use freezers cooled to very cold temperatures, -40 °F, that quickly freezes the cream thereby producing tiny ice crystals. Ice cream prepared at home is made with a salty mixture of ice and water that can reach nearly -5 °F, but at this temperature the ice crystals grow more slowly and larger. When the crystal size reaches about 50 micrometers, roughly the width of a human hair, your mouth senses the coarse texture.

Three steps you can take to make creamier ice cream at home:

1. Use a higher fat content by adding more cream. More fat will “spread” out water molecules in the cream, creating more nucleation sites, or growth places, for ice and smaller crystals.

2. Using crushed ice, instead of ice cubes, will bring the ice/salt mixture to a lower temperature. Also, pre-chilling the cream and sugar before placing it in the salt bath will help speed up freezing, producing smaller crystals.

3. Use “dry ice,” or frozen carbon dioxide, available at many grocery stores, for even lower temperatures and faster crystallization. But be careful, dry ice should only be used with proper gloves and under adult supervision.

Travis Olds is Assistant Curator of Minerals at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences working at the museum.

Stuffed Animal Safari: Gila Monster

Can you answer these gila monster questions?

Where do gila monsters mainly live?
What does this habitat look like? Draw it in your safari field journal!
Could your stuffed animal friend live in this kind of habitat? Why or why not?
What is one special adaptation gila monsters have to help them survive in their habitat?
What do gila monsters eat? Are they carnivores, herbivores, or omnivores?
Are gila monsters endangered, vulnerable, or something else? What does this mean for future populations?

Gila monsters were one of the first venomous lizards discovered, and the first found within the United States! Found in Arizona, New Mexico, and the Mojave, Sonoran, and Chihuahan deserts of Mexico, gila monsters prefer dry, desert habitats. They’re also burrowers, which means they dig underground holes to live in to help them stay out of the sun on super-hot days.

A full grown gila monster is a little under two feet long. They have stout, flat bodies with bright orange stripes to warn would-be predators of their venom. Unlike snakes, a gila monster doesn’t use fangs to inject venom into their prey. Instead, venom flows into the wound created by the bite. Gila monsters’ venom is an important adaptation that helps paralyze prey like small birds, mammals, smaller lizards, and insects. However, they usually prefer to eat “helpless” prey like eggs and carrion.

Like all reptiles, gila monsters are ectothermic, which means they receive heat from external sources such as the sun, sand, and the hot rocks they live on. And because their bodies aren’t using energy to keep their bodies warm like birds and mammals, gila monsters in their natural habitat don’t need to eat too much in order to stay alive. A gila monster, when observed in the wild, only needs to eat five to ten times per year. Imagine if you only needed to eat a few times a year!

Since gila monsters prefer prey that doesn’t move, scientists believe they mainly use their venom to stay safe! In the wild, gila monsters need to worry about predators like coyotes and raptors, birds of prey. However, the biggest threat to gila monsters are people. Since these reptiles are large and venomous, a lot of myths began circulating around pioneers settling in the American North West, including the myth that gila monsters possessed a deadly, noxious breath and that their bites were fatal! Today, we know this isn’t true, but in the past, people feared gila monsters and hunted them to the point that they were once endangered; however, strict laws in states like Arizona have helped them recover, and they are now considered “Near Threatened.”

On the rare occasion that a gila monster does bite a human, its venom can cause paralysis, make it difficult to breath, and cause convulsions. But a gila monster bite is rarely fatal to people! Despite being called “monsters,” these lizards don’t often attack people. This is because they’re sluggish and react slowly. However, like any wild animal, gila monsters are best left alone and should be appreciated from a safe distance.

June 16, 2020 by Kathleen

Stuffed Animal Safari: Map Activity

Map Key

map of backyard — Click on the image to enlarge our example of our backyard map!

Materials Needed:

Paper
Something to write with
Something to color with
Scissors (optional)

Use those materials to create a map of an outside space. It can be your yard, your neighborhood, even your city, or state! You can draw your map from memory or by exploring outside.

You can make your map interactive! If your environment changes you can update your map. Or if you want to track when and where animals are visiting, try drawing and cutting out a symbol that you can attach or remove!

A map key will help you, and others, understand your map. A key is a little guide that explains what the different symbols or colors represent.

Why is mapping important?

Mapping increases your understanding of your own environment and improves your sense of place. Sense of place is the attachment you feel to your surroundings. By sitting down to map out what is around you, you are using your senses to experience the world and thinking about what you are experiencing.

Maps can often reveal what is most important to you. For example, my map features the cherry tree in my front yard because I love watching birds land on it and squirrels climb it. Even though it isn’t in bloom this late in the year, I drew cherry blossoms because I love seeing the pretty flowers. Your map may include your sandbox, swingset, or whatever is most important to you!

Participatory Mapping

For a different challenge, you can work together as a family or household to make one map that everyone creates together. Just like a map you create by yourself, a map made by a group can show what is important to everyone. Participatory maps are even used by cities and towns to discover what their citizens find most important about their environment!

What do maps mean for safaris?

Safari guides will use maps to navigate as they take people to explore. Those maps may show where animals are typically found, what areas are dangerous and should be avoided, and other important landmarks. Those maps will exist because someone explored or remembered their environment and created them, just like your map!

June 16, 2020 by Kathleen

Stuffed Animal Safari: Binocular Activity

cutting paper to cover toilet paper tubes

rolling paper around toilet paper tubes and gluing it on

punching hole in toilet paper tubes for ribbon

What safari is complete without binoculars? Use this step-by-step guide to build your own set of binoculars to see all of the animals on our safari up close!

Materials Needed:

Sheet of paper at least 11 inches long (can be plan or patterned)
3 feet of ribbon (or less depending on desired length)
2 empty toilet paper tubes (or 1 empty paper towel tube, cut in half)
Scissors
Pencil
Hole punch
Glue stick
Tape
Crayons (for coloring paper)

Directions

Lay 1 toilet paper tube against the back of the paper and mark the length of the tube with a pencil
Cut at your mark to create a long piece of paper that is as wide as the tubes
Decorate the outside of the paper, if desired
Turn paper pretty side down
Use the glue stick to place glue all over the back of the paper
Use the glue stick to place glue all over the tubes
Line up tubes with the edges of the paper and roll to cover the tubes
Secure the seam with a piece of tape to hold everything in place as the glue dries
Place a hole punch on one side for the string to go through
Place a hole punch in the same place on the opposite tube for the other string attachment
Measure the length of string to your desired length
Tie each end through the holes that are punched in the sides

June 15, 2020 by wpengine

What Do Minerals and Drinking Water Have to Do With Each Other?

In the same way scientists discover new plant or animal species, new minerals are usually found by exploring new places with hard work and determination, but also sometimes by pure chance and luck. In fact, you do not need to be a scientist to make exciting discoveries. You do need, however, to follow the basic steps of the scientific method when doing any research: (1) first ask a question you are interested in; (2) research that question; (3) develop a hypothesis; (4) test it; (5) analyze the data your tests generate; (6) draw conclusions; (7) and communicate the results.

When describing a new mineral, mineralogists like me gather a slew of analytical data about the atomic arrangement, chemical makeup, and optical and physical properties to completely characterize the mineral. The data we gather is recorded and accessible, so that when others find similar crystals the analytical data for those specimens can be compared. Allowing your findings to be further tested and improved, or even shown to be wrong, forms the foundation of all fields of science and medicine.

tiny hydroxylpyromorphite crystals — A microscope image of tiny transparent crystals of hydroxylpyromorphite from the Copps mine, Marenisco, Gogebic County, Michigan. Field of view is 0.45 mm.

I recently gathered analytical data for the new mineral hydroxylpyromorphite, a mineral with a mouthful for a name, but one that is extremely important to removing toxic lead from drinking water. Hydroxylpyromorphite is a lead phosphate mineral, and part of a larger group of minerals with related crystal structures (the arrangements of atoms) called the apatite group. Our bones and teeth are made of apatite, calcium phosphate, and the natural processes that move this critical building block throughout our bodies are disrupted when exposed to lead, potentially causing brain damage and other diseases. Lead is especially dangerous to children, and to prevent lead poisoning, water treatment plants often add phosphate to the water supply. Under the right conditions, phosphate grabs strongly onto lead atoms, forming hydroxylpyromorphite and removing it from the water. Until our description, the crystal structure of this mineral was unknown. Now that we understand the crystal structure, the information can be used by others to develop better techniques or processes that reduce lead in drinking water.

Travis Olds is Assistant Curator of Minerals at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences working at the museum.

June 15, 2020 by Kathleen

Stuffed Animal Safari: Mountain Goats

Can you answer these mountain goat questions?

Where do mountain goats mainly live?
What does this habitat look like? Draw it in your safari field journal!
Could your stuffed animal friend live in this kind of habitat? Why or why not?
What is one special adaptation mountain goats have to help them survive in their habitat?
What do mountain goats eat? Are they carnivores, herbivores, or omnivores?
Are mountain goats endangered, vulnerable, or least concern? What does this mean for future populations?

Mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) are unique to the mountains of Northwestern North America. Funnily enough, these animals aren’t even true goats, but goat-antelopes. They can be found from southeastern Alaska all the way through northern Colorado. These animals are very versatile in nature and are constantly on the move in their mountainous habitat.

Also known as Rocky Mountain goats, these animals have thick white layers of fur that cover their bodies. The white color allows for perfect camouflage in their snowy habitat. Their fur is divided into two layers—a shorter wool layer covers most of their body to protect them from the colder weather and longer, hollow hairs comprise the outer layer. These coverings, and their long beards, help with cold temperatures that can get down to -46°F.

Mountain goats are the largest mammal to live in a mountain range—they even climb into altitudes exceeding 13,000 feet! They are constantly on the move, roaming the mountains looking for food, protecting themselves from predators, resting, or regulating their body temperature. They also move seasonally! Their clove-hoofed feet allow them to balance on rocks while the rough pads on their feet act like grips.

Mountain goats have a very interesting diet. Being herbivores, they rely a lot on grasses, herbs, and lichens to name a few. They will also salt lick, a practice in which certain mammals will lick the salt and other minerals off of designated deposits. This allows for the mountain goats to maintain a happy and healthy diet.

Mountain goats’ conservation status is technically “least concern” which means these animals have a steady population, but there are plenty of practices humans can do to prevent them from being harmed and help protect them. This includes citizen science efforts that can help maintain and observe goat population and migratory patterns, as well as scientist-lead research efforts, like observing habitat and disease.

June 12, 2020 by wpengine

The inequity of summer heat

Ah, summertime! In Pittsburgh, after months of cold, grey days, the warm temperatures and sunshine bring a collective sigh of relief. Plants are roaring back, coloring the world green. Animals are out and about singing and foraging; people are picnicking, barbequing, gardening. Life feels abundant. But summer can quickly become oppressive, even deadly, if it gets too hot. Extreme heat is among the deadliest weather-related phenomena in the US, and cities are most at risk for this hazard.

The concentration of impervious surfaces and low-rise buildings in cities raises temperatures significantly, creating what is termed the urban heat island effect. Temperatures in a single urban area can vary as much as 18 F depending on the density of the grey stuff (buildings, sidewalks, roadways, and parking lots) relative to the green stuff (trees, parks). The urban heat island effect also interacts with global climate change. Rising temperatures due to emissions of heat-trapping gases from the extraction and burning of fossil fuels is making urban communities increasingly vulnerable to extreme heat. And like so many other pressing issues in the early summer of 2020, namely the coronavirus pandemic and police violence, extreme heat is experienced inequitably.

In the US, communities of color and resource limited communities are both disproportionately exposed and sensitive to extreme heat. One recent study explores this climate inequity and its relationship to the historic racially discriminating housing policy, called ‘redlining’. In an analysis published in the journal Climate in January 2020, Jeremy Hoffman, Chief Scientist at the Science Museum in Virginia, and colleagues ask: “do historical policies of redlining help to explain current patterns of exposure to intra-urban heat in US cities? and how do these patterns vary by geographic location of cities?” As the study describes, in the 1930s, redlining distinguished neighborhoods that were considered “best” (outlined in green) and “hazardous” (outlined in red) for investment by the Home Owner’s Loan Corporation, a federally funded program. Categorization on a scale from A (best) to D (hazardous) was based largely on racial makeup. The program prioritized white neighborhoods for economic investment and access to credit. While the practice ended in 1968 with passage of the Fair Housing Act, its legacy has persisted in structuring the social-economic and ecological landscape of US cities today. The study examines the pattern of land surface temperatures in cities today in relation to historic housing policy.

The results for 108 urban areas in the United States can be explored in an open access article, and also shared through an explorable map. Overall, Hoffman and colleagues found that yes, for 94% of US cities, historical policies of redlining track surface land temperatures. Historically redlined neighborhoods are about 5 degrees F warmer on average today than historically greenlined neighborhoods. While temperature patterns within a city are complex and influenced by microclimates and other factors, the authors argue that the heat burden in redlined neighborhoods has been aggravated by housing policy. Redlined neighborhoods have significantly fewer trees, and an abundance of public highway projects and large building projects that create especially high asphalt to vegetation ratios.

Examining the map of the analysis in Pittsburgh, shows a complex relationship between redlining and land surface temperature, part of which I would guess reflects our extremely variable topography and a complex history of shifting neighborhood demographics associated with the boom and bust of the steel industry. I encourage you to investigate the results yourself.

Hoffman’s research demonstrates how structural inequities and institutional racism in the US affects people’s differential experience with the Anthropocene. Anthropocene challenges, like global warming and global pandemics, reveal the coupled dynamics among human social-economic-political systems and ecological-climate systems. They reveal the way that discriminatory race-based policies from the past animate the present. The experience of the pandemic, the experience of summer heat, the experience of poor air quality, the experience of police violence, the list goes on, are not evenly felt across communities. In the US, research shows time and time again that low resource communities and communities of color are disproportionately suffering. In the processes of doing sustainability and adaptation to address the Anthropocene, the work of undoing injustice is essential. In the case of increasing urban heat, as cities adapt, an important research and practice will involve work to ensure greening policies undo racial discriminatory neighborhood investing practices, while also ensuring protection from gentrification and displacement.

Putting research into practice, Hoffman in his role at the Science Museum of Virginia, is collaborating with youth community organization, Groundwork RVA, to build solutions to urban heat that are both low-cost and high impact. At CMNH’s Center for Anthropocene Studies we are inspired and motivated by the role that museums are playing in empowering communities to understand global change and build social equity and resilience.

Nicole Heller is Curator of Anthropocene Studies at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences working at the museum.

June 11, 2020 by wpengine

Behind the Scenes with the Baron de Bayet and L. W. Stilwell Collection, Part 1: Crossing the Atlantic with a Boatload of Fossils

Figure 1: Baculites fossil from the Bayet Collection with L. W. Stilwell label.

Why did a wealthy European baron seek out a Dakota Territories fossil dealer in the winter of 1889? This post is the first of a four-part series on renowned 19^th century fossil collectors Baron de Bayet of Brussels and Lucien W. Stilwell, and their connection to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Bayet assembled one of the great private fossil collections in Europe. In 1903, Andrew Carnegie bought the 130,000-fossil collection and had it shipped from the Port of Antwerp in Belgium across the Atlantic to the United States. The purchase garnered headlines in newspapers across Europe and in the United States and launched Carnegie’s fledgling museum onto the world stage. Thanks to the archival materials purchased by Carnegie as part of the Bayet deal, the relationship between Baron de Bayet and Lucien W. Stilwell provides a glimpse into how the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and other institutions built their collections. In part one, we consider what forces may have prompted Bayet to assemble a large collection of fossils in the first place.

The Pathway to Fossil Collecting Travelled Through the Principles of Stratigraphy and Geology

From the late 17th century until the early 19th century, collecting fossils was a hobby of gentlemen farmers and naturalists. Some of these collectors developed fundamental principles of geology and stratigraphy through observations and deductive reasoning, as to how rock layers, or strata, are formed, fully earning credentials as scientists. For example, in the 17th century physician Nicolaus Steno’s (1638 – 1686) observed simple patterns in strata during his walks through the hills of northern Italy. The four Laws of Stratigraphy he proposed are the law of superposition, the law of original horizontality, the law of cross-cutting relationships, and the law of lateral continuity.

The principles of stratigraphy were later interpreted by James Hutton (1726-1797), a Scottish geologist, to formulate his Doctrine of Uniformitarianism in 1785. This line of thinking assumed that the same natural laws and processes that currently operate in the universe had always operated in the universe and applied everywhere in the universe. Hutton’s Uniformitarianism included the gradualistic concept that “the present is the key to the past”.

William ‘strata’ Smith (1769 – 1835), considered the Father of Stratigraphy was a geologist and engineer who uncovered fossils from strata as he worked to build a water canal from Oxfordshire, England to the Thames River at London. In 1815 he made the first color geologic map of England, Wales, and part of Scotland, a document that developed from his identification of strata based on fossil taxa within the rock layers. His careful tracking suggested that fossil organisms, both faunas and floras, recorded in each geologic formation succeed one another in a definite and recognizable order, a principle summarized as the law of faunal succession.

Smith’s map led, in 1822, to geologists William Conybeare and William Phillips naming the Carboniferous Period for the younger (coal beds) and older (limestones) boundaries respectively for this ancient unit of geologic time. Because a single time period could not rest alone in any record of Earth history, the pioneering work of Conybeare and Phillips, Smith, Hutton, and Steno led eventually to the establishment of the Geologic Time Scale, a framework of three unimaginably long Eras, the Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic, for studying the evolution of life as preserved in the fossil and rock record over Earth’s 4.6-billion-year history. Within the Geologic Time Scale the Carboniferous Period is one of seven periods of the 290 million years that represent the Paleozoic Era.

As these principles of geology grew in acceptances, Charles Lyell (1769 -1875) an English field geologist who traveled extensively throughout Europe and North America, wrote a three-volume Principles of Geology (1830 – 1833), a work that Charles Darwin read during his Voyage of the Beagle (1831 – 1836). Darwin’s Theory of Evolution as written in his The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection – or the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life circa 1859, was influenced by the geology and stratigraphy ideas put forth in the Principles of Geology.

Museums Emerged

Amateur fossil collectors such as Stilwell and Bayet perhaps recognized opportunities to supply and acquire fossils to satisfy demand for fossils by museums and universities across Europe and the United States. The first museum to become established in Europe was the Muséum national d’histoire naturelle in Paris, France in 1793, followed by the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin in 1810. Museums in Belgium, London and Austria followed.

In the United States, the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804 – 1806), mandated by President Thomas Jefferson, was the first U.S. government expedition to explore the unknown territory of the Louisiana Purchase in search of minerals, fossils, and indigenous artifacts. Co-led by Merriweather Lewis (1774 – 1809) and William Clark (1770 – 1838), the expedition collections were deposited at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, now known as the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University. Soon, other university museums came into existence such as “The Louis Agassiz Museum of Comparative Zoology”, of Harvard University in 1859, and the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University in 1866. The United States government established the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in 1866. Before long, private institutions such as the American Natural History Museum in New York City, the Field Museum of Chicago, and Carnegie Museum appeared on the scene.

As museums hired scientific staff, rivalries between experts at different institutions developed. By the 1870’s, paleontologists Edward Drinker Cope, of the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, and O.C. March, of the Peabody Museum at Yale University, began a two-decade competition to outdo each other in a battle to collect and name as many vertebrate fossils as possible. Their exploits are often referred to as “the Bone Wars” (Rea 2001). In 1874, O. C. Marsh arrived in the Dakota Territories. Word of the exotic sea creatures from the Western Interior Seaway and mammals from the Oligocene Period reached Europe, leading the Baron de Bayet to contact Lucien W. Stilwell for his assistance in acquiring “one of every species and variety.”

Next: Lucien W. Stilwell arrives in Deadwood Dakota Territories, a town known for gold, gambling and lawlessness.

Joann Wilson is volunteer with the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology and Albert Kollar is Collections Manager for the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

June 11, 2020 by wpengine

Fungi make minerals and clean polluted water along the way!

Fungi are all around in the environment. For example, the mold that invades wet basements, the mushrooms that we cook with, and the yeast that people use to make bread, wine, and beer are all members of the fungal kingdom. Fungi are also essential parts of natural ecosystems, breaking down complex carbon compounds like dead leaves or bark and returning nutrients to the soil. In addition to all this, many fungi are also extremely tolerant of polluted environments and can transform pollutants from highly toxic dissolved forms to less or non-toxic solid forms.

photo of biominerals being formed by fungus — Biominerals being formed in a flask by fungus, Paraconiothyrium sporulosum (pink color is Se(0) biominerals and brown color is Mn oxides).

Between 2016 and 2018, as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Minnesota, I led a small research team in an investigation of how common soil fungi responded to two environmental pollutants, manganese (Mn) and selenium (Se). Our study, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, was entitled, A fungal-mediated cryptic selenium cycle mediated by manganese biominerals. For our study we used two different species of fungi from the lab’s culture collection, a resource that contains microbes isolated from natural and polluted environments all over the US. Both elements investigated are micronutrients and important in small amounts, but can be harmful at high concentrations, such as in coal mine drainage where they are highly abundant.

Two fungal cells surrounded by Mn oxides (thin black rods) and elemental Se (black circle) biominerals imaged using a transmission electron microscope.

We knew that under certain circumstances the fungi make biominerals, a subset of solid minerals formed through biological activity. So, we designed an experiment to track the fate of the pollutants during fungal growth. What we observed was that the fungi did, in fact, turn dissolved forms of our targeted elements into solid biominerals. Using a variety of geochemical techniques including a high-powered electron microscope, we identified manganese oxide and elemental selenium biominerals formed side-by-side, indicating that they can coexist in natural environments. The Mn oxides also seemed to recycle some of the Se back to dissolved forms, which is exciting because this transformation indicates there is a cryptic, or ‘hidden’ part of the natural Se cycle that was previously unknown. We are now working on follow-up engineering experiments using these same fungi to see if they can effectively remediate different types of contaminated wastewaters. We’re hopeful that these fungi can offer low-cost, low-input alternative remediation solutions for a wide variety of environmental clean-up applications. In the meantime, we’re also studying other biominerals that our fungi make and collecting new biomineral-forming fungi.

Carla Rosenfeld is the new Assistant Curator of Earth Sciences at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Article citation:

Rosenfeld, C.E, Sabuda, M.C., Hinkle, M.A.G., James, B.R., Santelli, C.M. A fungal mediated cryptic selenium cycle linked with manganese biominerals. Environmental Science and Technology 54(6): 3570-3580 doi:10.1021/acs.est.9b06022

June 10, 2020 by wpengine

The Bromacker Project Part V: Orobates pabsti, Pabst’s Mountain Walker

New to this series? Read The Bromacker Fossil Project Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV.

In 1995, my first year of field work at the Bromacker quarry, Stuart Sumida discovered a fossil that we initially thought was that of the amphibian Seymouria, based on the size and shape of the exposed vertebrae. This tentative identification made sense, because before our collaboration began, Thomas Martens had discovered in the Bromacker a skull of Seymouria, a creature known from localities in the USA. Months later, while I was preparing the specimen, Dave Berman and I realized the fossil wasn’t Seymouria, and that it belonged to the same unnamed animal that Thomas had collected a partial skeleton of before our collaboration began.

image of orobates pabsti — Specimen of *Orobates pabsti* collected in the 1995 field season. We determined that it is a juvenile. Photo by Dave Berman.

In the 1998 field season I discovered a third specimen, which is by far the most spectacular fossil that I have ever discovered. I found it towards the end of the field season when I pried up a piece of rock from the quarry floor. Upon turning over the rock piece, I saw an articulated foot preserved in it. I couldn’t believe my eyes! I knew that at the Bromacker if an articulated foot was found, the rest of the articulated skeleton should be attached to it. The problem was, we didn’t know if I had discovered a front or a hind foot, so we weren’t sure how the specimen was oriented in the quarry and whether it penetrated the nearby rock wall. Dave carefully lifted another piece of rock and thought the bones exposed in it were part of the shoulder girdle. Unfortunately, closer examination revealed that it was a piece of skull roof—another lobotomy—but, lacking x-ray vision, this is how we find fossil bone at the Bromacker. The good news was that the fossil specimen appeared to parallel the quarry wall.

A film crew from the regional MDR television station visited us early on the day of my discovery to interview Dave and Thomas. The discovery was made after they left, so Thomas immediately notified them. They returned and recorded a reenactment of my discovery. The piece of rock I am holding contains the foot. The rest of the fossil lies in the low mound of rocks in front of me. Photo by Dave Berman, 1998.

Dave and Stuart finish plastering the block. The red flag is a north arrow to indicate the orientation of the block in the quarry. Photo by the author, 1998.

Dave, Stuart, Thomas, then-graduate student Richard Kissel (University of Toronto, Mississauga), and I named the animal Orobates pabsti, which is from the Greek “oros,” meaning mountain, and “bates,” meaning walker, in reference to the Bromacker fossil environment being an intermontane basin. “Pabsti” is in honor of Professor Wilhelm Pabst for his pioneering work on the Bromacker fossil trackways.

We determined that Orobates is very closely related to Diadectes, and like Diadectes, was herbivorous. Orobates differs from Diadectes and other diadectomorphs in the group Diadectidae in a number of features, some of which are as follows: spade-shaped cheek teeth that are oriented on the jaw at an angle of 30–40° to the jaw line, rather than being close to 90°; narrower and shorter vertebral spines; 26 vertebrae between the head and hip (Diadectes has 21); proportions and shapes of individual toe bones; and digit (finger or toe) length.

The Bromacker has long been famous for its exquisitely preserved fossil trackways. Identification of the particular fossil animal that made a given trackway is almost always very difficult, because body fossils often lack completely preserved hands and feet and typically are not found in association with trackways. As a result, trackways are given their own set of names, called ichnotaxa (“ichno” means track or footprint), which are typically referred to major groups of animals instead of individual species. The Bromacker is unique, however, because nearly completely preserved body fossils occur in a rock unit above the trackways, indicating they are very nearly contemporaneous. Five ichnotaxa are known from the Bromacker, and one of them, Ichniotherium, has been attributed to Diadectidae.

A large slab of rock being inspected for trackways shortly after it was unearthed in the commercial rock quarry. The polygonal patterns in the rock are mudcracks. Photo by the author.

Graduate student and trackway expert Sebastian Voigt (now Director at Urweltmuseum GEOSKOP, Burg Lichtenberg, Germany) often visited us at the Bromacker. In 2000, a time when Diadectes was the only known Bromacker diadectid, Sebastian and his advisor Hartmut Haubold (now emeritus at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany) proposed that Ichniotherium cottae made two track types, designated as A and B, that differed according to the speed at which the trackmakers moved. This contrasted previous studies that proposed three species of Ichniotherium at the Bromacker.

Once the skeletal anatomy of Orobates became known, Sebastian realized that there were two species of Ichniotherium, and they were made by Diadectes and Orobates, respectively. He invited Dave and me to co-author a paper to present this hypothesis. We supplied Sebastian with information about skeletal differences between Diadectes and Orobates, and Sebastian used these data to firmly establish that Diadectes made Ichniotherium cottae (type B) tracks and Orobates was the trackmaker of trackways formerly identified as I.sphaerodactylum (aka I. cottae type A). Even though the makers of the trackways are now known, the ichnotaxon names are still used when referring to the trackways.

Photographs of trackways of Ichniotherium sphaerodactylum made by *Orobates pabsti* (top) and Ichniotherium cottae made by *Diadectes absitus* (bottom). Modified from Voigt (2007).

In Diadectes, the fifth digit of the hind foot is relatively shorter than it is in Orobates, which can be seen in the tracks of I. cottae and I. sphaerodactylum, respectively. Furthermore, in I. cottae trackways, the hind foot track overlaps the track of the front foot, whereas in I. sphaerodactylum the hind foot track typically doesn’t overlap the front foot track. This is because Diadectes has less vertebrae between the head and hip (21 vertebrae) than Orobates (26 vertebrae) does.

Front and hind foot track pair of *Ichniotherium sphaerodactylum*. Track made by the front foot is above the hind foot track. Digits 1–5 indicated. Modified from Voigt, 2007.

Front and hind foot track pair of *Ichniotherium cottae*. Track made by the front foot is above the hind foot track. Digits 1–5 indicated. Notice that the hind foot track overlaps the front foot track. Drawings are of different specimens than the one photographed. Modified from Voigt, 2007.

A cast of the holotype skeleton of Orobates pabsti is exhibited in the Fossil Frontiers display case in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Dinosaurs in Their Time exhibition. Be sure to look for it once the museum re-opens. And stay tuned for my next post, which will feature the amphibian Seymouria sanjuanensis.

For those of you who would like to learn more about Orobates, you can access the abstract here or contact Amy Henrici here. The publication on the track-trackmaker association can be found here.

Amy Henrici is Collection Manager in the Section of Vertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Keep Reading

The Bromacker Fossil Project Part VI: Seymouria sanjuanensis, the Tambach Lovers

June 9, 2020 by wpengine

Hip and “Trashy” Ice Cream

I grew up in the country, on a gravel back road where the diary truck drove by to fill its tank at the local dairy farms. Those cows, I know now, were living the high life. Grazing idyllic in oak tree savanna fields, with miles of territory to wander. I knew the farmers’ kids. I even helped them with their chores, although not often because it wasn’t fun, even though they said it would be.

My assistance did result in my first taste of milk squirted straight from the udder! The term “Organic” was not used then, but now I know those were family owned organic farms in every sense of the term. No hormones. No cages. Hey, the farm kids even gave the cows names! At the time, my mom would buy name brand ice cream from the town’s market. My favorite was mint chocolate chip ice cream (the green kind). The flavor is super hip right now for being a “trashy” flavor. When I say hip and trashy, I mean in a weird nostalgic unhealthy food like tater tots and grilled cheese kind of way. Some basic research reveals those cheap ice creams were, for their time, wholesome, waaaayyyy more wholesome than they are now.

Things have since changed in my hometown. Those family owned dairy farms are gone, replaced with mega dairy farms. And ice cream, especially my favorite trashy and hip flavor, has changed into what I consider to be really unhealthy in an environmentally unfriendly way. Palm oil. You might not know this, but palm oil is an ingredient in most frozen desserts and frozen dairy desserts (ice cream with a sub label). Palm oil is high in saturated fat and can affect cardiovascular health. The FDA does not require palm oil to be labeled, and instead the term vegetable oil is frequently substituted. Because most palm oil plantations are unsustainable, their spread across the landscape threatens rain forests, causes habitat loss for endangered species, violates human rights, and impacts climate change. Most name brand ice cream manufacturers currently use the stuff, but don’t want to be identified with its impacts. Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Assistant Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles, and tropical conservation ecologist Jennifer Sheridan has some serious concerns about the palm oil industry and has witnessed firsthand its impacts on rainforest ecology. Check out her work here.

So how do I fix this? Or maybe, how do I get my chocolate mint chip ice cream fix?

First off, during the pandemic, I’ve been making homemade ice cream. I’ve been able to control the ingredients and add in special touches like fresh mint (growing out of control in my neighbor’s garden). Here’s a quick blender recipe I’ve used. When I need ice cream from the store for my movie binges, I choose companies that clearly label their ice cream to be palm oil free. Ben and Jerry’s does this very well. As the ice cream shops open up, I will go local.

bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream with mint leaves and spoon — Homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream.

All of these options may seem high priced or too much work. Surprisingly the homemade recipes are really easy to make, and pretty cheap considering the quality of ice cream produced. The great thing is you can enjoy the process, sit back and not feel guilty about using palm oil, the really unhealthy and not cool ingredient in ice cream. And for me, it takes me back, to when ice cream had ingredients I could point to.

Asia Ward is CMNH Anthropocene Program Manager and Science Communication Fellow. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

June 9, 2020 by wpengine

Our Eureka Moment!

Searching for rare or endangered plants has become a passion for me. It’s always exciting to find something that hasn’t been seen by very many people. It’s also special when I can share these finds with someone close to me who cares as much about them as I do. I am rather lucky in that my husband, Joe, is also a botanist and shares my passion for finding rare plants. Our household pursuit has even become a bit competitive. I will freely admit, when Joe spots a rare plant first, there is some jealousy intermingled with my excitement that we were in the right place at the right time.

For the last couple of years, we have been on a quest to find Viola glaberrima, a yellow violet last seen in Pennsylvania in 1920, May 30, 1920, to be exact.

I’ve pressed my friend Harvey Ballard, a professor at Ohio University and a renowned Violet expert, for details about habitats to investigate, the characteristics that distinguish the plant from other violets, and any tidbits I could glean to help us find this elusive plant. At least a dozen of my emails to Harvey involved questions about information I’d found in other sources relating to the plant commonly called the smooth yellow violet.

In all honesty, I was suspicious that this violet ever grew in Pennsylvania, even going so far as questioning Harvey about whether he had correctly identified one of the historic specimens. In many ways Viola glaberrima resembles other yellow violets. Pennsylvania has about 30 different kinds of violets, five of which are yellow. The other yellow stemmed violets known to occur in the Commonwealth are usually many stemmed with stems that more-or-less lay down on the ground. These other violets also have either heart shaped or what are termed hastate shaped leaves, that is leaves with outlines reminiscent of a spear point with two points protruding from its base. Many of the plants in this group have flowers that are yellow on the front and back. Some of these flowers develop purple coloring on the back of the petals with age. The violet we’ve been searching for has a single, upright stem with cuneate or wedge-shaped leaves and always has purple on the back of the petals.

Harvey served as a coach for our search for Viola glaberrima, and in doing so he did much more than advise us to look on moist wooded slopes. Many floras list our target plant as merely a variety of Viola tripartita, a flower commonly known as the threepart violet. Harvey assured us that Viola glaberrima is a good species in its own right, and provided additional motivation by making a prediction. He told us that if we found it in the field we would have a “Eureka” moment, because the species is visibly different from the other yellow violets.

Historically, the smooth yellow violet was collected 5 or 6 times in Pennsylvania. The earliest collection is pretty vague, “Mercersburg Pa. in 1845.” The other collections aren’t any more precise. One collection from 1900 is from somewhere “between Ruffsdale and Jacobs Creek in Westmoreland County.” There are two collections from the area of Hillside, PA collected in 1907 and again in 1909. The site we felt we had the best chance of relocating this difficult to find violet was Killarney Park in Fayette County. This seemed to be the most precise locality and the most recent. In May of 1920 Otto Jennings of Carnegie Museum fame and Ernest Gress, a student of Jennings who later worked for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, both collected this violet at this location on the same day. Killarney Park, established in 1909, was a popular place for folks to get out of town and have a picnic or a reunion. It featured a dance hall, lakes for boating, picnic grounds and overnight accommodations. With a stop on the Indian Creek Valley Railroad, the park was easily accessible to rail travelers.

The park property changed hands a few times over the years. Its name changed in 1926 and again in 1939, and it was eventually sold in 1941 to the Christian Church of Somerset for use as a summer camp. Thus, the current name of Camp Christian came into being. In June of 2016, Joe and I spent some time at Camp Christian helping guide field trips for the Botanical Society of America, Northeast Section Joint Field Meeting. I got to know the manager of Camp Christian and told him about the rare violet that had last been collected there. June was a little late, the violets were pretty much done blooming. We looked around for the violet without any luck, but the manager invited us to come back and look anytime. Last year, 2019, we spent parts of two days looking around the property again for the little yellow violet that seemed so elusive.

Most of the violets had already gone to fruit at the time of our 2019 visit, which coincided with the historic collection calendar date of May 30. This year, we visited earlier in May, found many violets blooming, and checked thousands of them without finding a smooth yellow violet.

photo of viola glaberrima showing underside of petals

So, in the process of doing field work and looking for other rare plants, it became a habit for us to look for what seemed to be mythical yellow gems. During a field work day in Indiana County on May 16, while cutting up over a hill to take a shorter route back to the car, we came upon a small patch of yellow violets that were different than any we had seen before. They had single stems, with lance shaped leaves and purple coloring on the backs of the petals. There was no denying that this violet was different than any we had seen before. The plants fit all the characteristics that Harvey had so patiently described for us over the many e-mails. This was finally our promised “Eureka” moment.

Begrudgingly I’ll admit that Joe was first to spot it. (He walks faster than I do.) Of course, Harvey was one of the first people I contacted, I sent him several photographs and to my delight we received the following response: “Hi Bonnie and Joe, YOU NAILED IT!!! You found Viola glaberrima! What a great find! It is likely rare and sporadic along that mountain range. Congratulations. Big ice cream sundaes for you!” How did Harvey know I love ice cream sundaes?

I would love to say this was a “Eureka “moment 100 years in the making, but it was only 99 years and 351 days.

Is that snow…in June?

Collected on this Day in 1942

cottonwood seeds covering an outdoor trail

It can’t be snow, right? It’s summer! Maybe that is cotton falling from the sky? Well, kind of! It is cottonwood seeds!

Perhaps you’ve seen little cotton-like white particles falling from the sky in early summer, especially around Pennsylvania’s rivers or lakes. It is a common site along the dunes of Presque Isle, for example, and in areas along southwestern PA’s rivers. Aptly named, Eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides) is a native tree found across the eastern United States that produces seeds that fall from high up in the canopy, attached to cotton-like strands. These fibers act like mini-parachutes and allow the wind to widely distribute the seeds.

This specimen of Eastern cottonwood was collected by Henry T. Skinner on June 8, 1942 on the sand dunes of Presque Isle, Erie. You might notice this specimen is not from the Carnegie Museum herbarium like most of these posts. But instead, this specimen is held at the Morris Arboretum (part of the University of Pennsylvania). Now that museum collections are being digitized, we can search for species of interest, or plants collected from certain places or by certain people, or more…that’s the power of specimen digitization. The Mid-Atlantic Megalopolis Project, funded by the National Science Foundation, is digitizing nearly a million specimens across our region, including Carnegie Museum specimens. This makes our collections all the more powerful, combining all specimens collected in the region and making them accessible to scientists and the public alike.

Find this and more Eastern cottonwood specimens from Presque Isle here.

June 8, 2020 by wpengine

Tulips in June?!

Collected on this Day in 1920

Your tulips may be long gone as spring has faded, but tulip trees are in full force! Although it’s hard to catch a glimpse of them way up in the canopy, tulip tree flowers are just as stunning. Completely unrelated to tulips, Liriodendron tulipifera (called tulip tree, tulip poplar, or sometimes yellow poplar) is named such because its leaves have a distinctive shape reminiscent of tulips.

Found across eastern North America, Tulip trees are one the tallest and fast-growing trees native to Pennsylvania, growing up to nearly 200 feet tall! Tulip trees are relatively shade intolerant and therefore are especially common in young forests (early successional). However, the species can still be found in older forests too. Its tall straight trunks can be impressive, and its wood is widely used by woodworkers, who often refer to it as “poplar.” The tree is not related to true poplars (Populusspecies), which are in the willow family, Salicaceae. Tulip trees are a member of the magnolia family (Magnoliaceae). This beautiful specimen was collected on June 6, 1920 near Trafford, Pennsylvania by Otto Jennings. Jennings was an influential botany curator at the museum for many years.

Find this stunning specimen here.

June 4, 2020 by wpengine

The Bromacker Project Part IV: Diadectes absitus, A Project-Saving Fossil

New to this series? Read The Bromacker Fossil Project Part I, Part II, and Part III.

This post will be the first of a series focusing on notable fossil animals discovered in the Bromacker quarry. I selected Diadectes absitus, a member of the ancient group Diadectomorpha, to present first because, had it not been discovered in the first year of the collaborative field work, the project might not have continued.

Dave Berman and his colleague Stuart Sumida (California State University, San Bernardino) joined Thomas Martens for five weeks of field work in the summer of 1993. They dug a quarry over six feet deep in their search for fossils, while working in a mix of hot and humid or near freezing temperatures, with plenty of rain. It wasn’t until the second-to-last day of the field season that the Diadectes specimen was discovered. By then, as Dave later told me, he was so discouraged by the lack of fossils that he assumed this would be his first and last field season in Germany. I should mention that Stuart had previously uncovered a few small vertebrae, but because the vertebrae resembled an animal described from the Bromacker in 1991, the team was not very excited about the discovery. They couldn’t have been more wrong in their field identification of the vertebrae, however, but more on that in a later post.

The 1993 quarry shortly before discovery of *Diadectes absitus*. Pictured are Stuart Sumida standing in the quarry and Thomas Martens crouched to his right. The *Diadectes* fossil was found in the corner opposite Stuart’s left shoulder, which is out of sight in this image. Photo by Dave Berman, 1993.

The team’s collective attitude changed when Stuart knocked off a chunk of bone-bearing rock from a bench in the quarry corner while shoveling away rock rubble. Careful examination of the fragment revealed part of the top of a roughly five-inch-long skull. We have since joked that Stuart gave it a lobotomy. While collecting the large block of rock containing the remainder of the skull, another piece of rock popped off the the edge of the block adjacent to the quarry wall. This piece had vertebrae in it. The team then realized that only the front portion of the animal was in the block freed from the quarry. The rest of the fossil skeleton remained in the quarry wall. Thomas later excavated the rest of the specimen and shipped it separately to Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH).

You can watch Dave and Stuart excavate the fossil-bearing block by clicking on the video link at the end of this post.

Based on the shape of both the exposed teeth in the broken skull and the exposed vertebrae, Dave and Stuart were able to identify the fossil animal as the genus Diadectes. Thomas had already collected a juvenile skull and other bones of Diadectes before his collaboration with Dave, but the specimen discovered in 1993 was by far the most complete and best preserved.

Skeleton of *Diadectes absitus*. Some of the limb bones are preserved on the underside of the block. Photo provided by Thomas Martens.

Once my preparation of the specimen was completed, which took a little over a year, Dave, Stuart, and Thomas begin their detailed study and description of the fossil. They determined that it represented a new species, which they named Diadectes absitus. “Absitus” is Latin for distant or far, in reference to the species being the first occurrence of Diadectes outside of North America. The generic name Diadectes was coined in 1878 by the famous paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope, and is a combination of the Greek “dia,” meaning crosswise, and “dēktēs,” meaning biter, in reference to its broad teeth. Other species of Diadectes occur in similar-aged rocks in the American southwest, and a few specimens are known from the Tri-State area of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia.

Diadectes is a member of the group Diadectomorpha, which has oscillated between being considered a member of Amphibia or Amniota. Amphibians lay their eggs in water, which then hatch into tadpoles that later undergo metamorphosis. Today this group includes frogs, salamanders, and caecilians (limbless, worm-like burrowing amphibians). In contrast, amniotes either lay their eggs on land, like reptiles and birds do today, or the embryo develops sufficiently in the mother for live birth, as in most mammals. Except in rare cases, the type of developmental pathways of fossil animals cannot be determined because they are rarely preserved with their eggs or fetuses. Paleontologists instead study a variety of preserved features to determine group membership. As an example, amphibians typically have four fingers, whereas amniotes generally possess five.

Diadectes and its close relatives were herbivorous, that is, they ate plants. Their spatulate, incisor-like front teeth project forwards and were adapted for cropping vegetation. Longitudinal, parallel striations on their broad cheek teeth suggest that Diadectes could move its lower jaw fore and aft to grind plant matter against its upper jaw teeth, a motion called propalinal.

Skull of *Diadectes absitus* in right lateral (= right side) aspect. Notice the forward-angled front teeth and the bulbous cheek teeth. A black pen was used to mark the boundaries of individual bones in the skull, which aided study of the animal. Modified from photo provided by Thomas Martens.

The presence of an enlarged torso and teeth adapted for grinding tough vegetation are evidence that Diadectes absitus likely consumed a diet of high-fiber plants. Animals that eat high fiber plants, such as cows, have enlarged torsos framed by a rounded rib cage to hold large guts for processing plant cellulose through fermentation by microorganisms.

Diadectes absitus lived at a time when herbivores were just beginning to evolve. One of the oldest known herbivores is the diadectomorph Desmatodon hollandi, which lived about 305 million years ago, whereas Diadectes absitus lived roughly 290 million years ago. We discovered a surprisingly high number of herbivores at the Bromacker.

Teeth of one of the oldest known herbivores, the diadectomorph *Desmatodon hollandi*. This specimen was discovered in Pitcairn, PA by Percy E. Raymund (Assistant Curator, Section of Invertebrate Paleontology) in 1907 and named in honor of Dr. William Holland, the second Director of CMNH. The teeth of Desmatodon are very similar to those of *Diadectes absitus*. Photo by the author, 2018.

A cast of the skeleton of Diadectes absitus is exhibited in the Fossil Frontiers display case in the Dinosaurs in Their Time exhibition. Be sure to look for these once the museum re-opens. And stay tuned for my next post, which features another diadectomorph, Orobates pabsti.

Photograph of a model of *Diadectes absitus* made by the Museum der Natur, Gotha exhibit preparator Peter Mildner. Photo provided by Thomas Martens.

Dave and Stuart excavate the fossil-bearing block (video)

Keep Reading

The Bromacker Fossil Project Part V: Orobates pabsti, Pabst’s Mountain Walker

June 1, 2020 by wpengine

What’s So Good About Being a Slug?

When lifestyles or forms evolve multiple times, we often think they must have some benefit. For example, flying creatures evolved at least 4 separate times: birds, bats, insects, and pterosaurs. These 4 separate origins of flight support the idea that there must be an advantage to flying. (You can probably think of some advantages.)

Slugs evolved from snails more than a dozen separate times. By that logic, there must be an advantage to being a slug, but compared to flight, it’s harder to think what the advantage might be. Slugs evolved from snails by reducing the size of the shell and internalizing it (yes, most slugs have an internal shell), and there are likely to be consequences of reducing the shell.

A snail with an external shell large enough for the body to pull back into. *Webbhelix multilineata* from Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Furthermore, in the lineages leading from snails to slugs, an intermediate stage occurs called a semi-slug (not a slug the size of a semi-truck). In contrast to snails that have an external shell large enough to accommodate the body, or slugs in which the shell is completely internal or absent, semi-slugs have an external shell, but the shell is too small to accommodate the animal’s entire body. Many semi-slugs live on our planet today (for example, Vitrinizonites latissimus lives in the Great Smokey Mountains). Curiously, semi-slugs evolved from snails at least 22 times.

A semi-slug whose external shell is too small for the body to fit into. Family Urocyclidae from Mount Kenya

Let’s consider some possible advantages and disadvantages of these body forms: protection from predators, protection from desiccation (drying out), need for calcium, and fitting into tiny hidey holes. As shown in the table, shells protect snails from predators and from drying out, but the snails still need lots of calcium to build shells, and the rigid shell prevents them from squeezing into tiny hidey holes. Snail score: 2 advantages, 2 disadvantages. Slugs, on the other hand, are not protected from predators or drying out, but have less need for calcium and can fit into tiny hidey holes. Slug score: 2 advantages, 2 disadvantages. However, semi-slugs seem to have all disadvantages: no protection from predators or drying out, a need for calcium, and can’t fit into tiny hidey holes. Semi-slug score: 0 advantages, 4 disadvantages.

	Predator protection	Desiccation protection	Need less calcium	Fit in tiny hidey holes
Snail	+	+	–	–
Semi-slug	–	–	–	–
Slug	–	–	+	+

In evolution, every form in a lineage must have at least a limited track record of survival, so how did slugs evolve from snails if they had to go through a life form having so many disadvantages, and how could that evolution have happened so many different times?

A slug with an internal shell (not visible). Ariolimax cf californicus from the Santa Cruz Mountains, California.

Although we don’t know the answer for sure, my studies suggest some possible answers. I examined locations where slugs and semi-slugs evolved from snails. I discovered that many of those events seem to have happened on oceanic islands (40%) and within 35° of the Equator (80%). Islands often have fewer predators and tropical and subtropical islands often have regular moisture inputs (daily rain or fog), so on islands there might be less need of shells or hidey holes for protection from predators or desiccation. I’m not sure what to predict about calcium because many islands are volcanic, with calcium-poor soils, but calcium carbonate would be available from empty seashells washed up on the shore. If calcium were difficult to find, that might favor forms needing less calcium. Evolutionary biologists use the term “relaxed selection” to refer to a situation in which changes to an organism’s environment cause less need to maintain certain forms or behaviors.

It seems likely to me that relaxed selection on tropical islands allowed the evolutionary transition from snails to semi-slugs to slugs by reducing the disadvantages of having, or not having, a shell.

Where better to be sluggish than on a tropical island?

May 29, 2020 by wpengine

Plants with bladders?

Collected on this Day in 1940

This specimen was collected on May 29, 1940 by Leroy Henry along Pine Creek, north of Wildwood outside of Pittsburgh. Leroy Henry was a mycologist (studied fungi) and botanist who was curator at Carnegie Museum from 1937-1973.

Aptly called “bladdernut” (Staphylea trifolia), this charismatic native understory shrub produces clusters of white flowers in the spring. These dangling flowers develop into striking bladder-like fruit. In each “bladder” pouch are seeds. These fruit often persist through fall and some linger through winter, though the plant is leafless.

Bladdernut has a wide range across eastern North America, and can be found in relatively undisturbed forests in our area, often forming thickets.

Find this specimen here.

Check back for more! Botanists at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History share digital specimens from the herbarium on dates they were collected. They are in the midst of a three- year project to digitize nearly 190,000 plant specimens collected in the region, making images and other data publicly available online. This effort is part of the Mid-Atlantic Megalopolis Project (mamdigitization.org), a network of thirteen herbaria spanning the densely populated urban corridor from Washington, D.C. to New York City to achieve a greater understanding of our urban areas, including the unique industrial and environmental history of the greater Pittsburgh region. This project is made possible by the National Science Foundation under grant no. 1801022.

May 29, 2020 by wpengine

Educator Spotlight: Christian Shane

In mid-March, like every teacher who suddenly found work and home life disrupted by Covid-19 related school closings, Christian Shane was concerned about his students. During the earliest days of sheltering restrictions, however, the science teacher from North Allegheny School District’s Ingomar Middle School was also worried about fish.

Christian and his seventh-grade students participate in Trout in the Classroom, an inter-disciplinary program made possible by a unique partnership between the Pennsylvania Council of Trout Unlimited and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. A 55-gallon tank in Christian’s classroom held some 200 fingerling rainbow trout, fish raised from eggs since November, and destined for eventual release in designated stocked trout waters.

The release occurred far earlier than planned, and without any student participation. “When the school closed, teachers were instructed not to enter the building,” Christian explained, “but a custodian called that very first Saturday and said I’d better come get the fish.”

Fingerling trout on the early release date. A video of the release was shared with students.

I learned of the rescue and release weeks afterward when I called Christian to ask if his home-based lessons involved any of the mammal skulls he borrowed from the Museum’s loan program in early March. The skulls were secure in his classroom, Christian reported, but the first-hand learning experiences the specimens provided for students before the school closure proved to be vitally important during later home bound instruction. “I’ve been trying to get the students outside. Whatever the size of their yard, I want them to notice things where they live that relate to what we’re covering in our remote lessons.”

A teach-from-home innovation: Christian Shane created a driveway graph of mammal gestation periods.

According Christian, in a semester where teaching goals progressed from understanding the structures and processes of organisms to fuller comprehension of the roles of organisms in ecosystems, being able to make detailed observations of something as common as fern or a blooming violet was vitally important. “Students took two weeks to acclimate to the new conditions, but I’m confident they’ve learned a lot this spring.”

No doubt an innovative teacher had something to do with that progress.

May 27, 2020 by wpengine

Mesozoic Monthly: Citipati

The month of May that we’re living in is very different from the one we all anticipated at the start of the year. However, society somehow manages to march on. College students are still graduating, moms are still being celebrated, and Mesozoic Monthly continues! Our honoree for the month of May is known to have been a dedicated parent due to several specimens that show adults guarding eggs. Say hello to Citipati osmolskae!

illustration of Citipati, a dinosaur that looks similar to a bird, on a nest of blue eggs

A devoted Citipati parent guarding its nest. Some evidence suggests that the Citipati skeletons found atop nests may have been males (rather than females as was originally thought). Also, recent research indicates that—believe it or not—oviraptorid eggs were blue! Art by ginjaraptor on DeviantArt.

It might not look like it, but Citipati is a theropod, like the more famous dinosaurs Tyrannosaurus, Allosaurus, and Velociraptor. Most theropods were carnivores, sporting skulls with big toothy grins, but not all theropods were ravenous predators! There are several groups of theropods that evolved toothless beaks for specialized diets. One of the stars of Jurassic Park, Gallimimus, was part of a predominantly herbivorous group of beaked theropods called Ornithomimidae. Citipati belongs to another group of beaked theropods called Oviraptoridae. “Oviraptor” means “egg thief,” in reference to an old hypothesis that oviraptorids stole and ate eggs from other dinosaurs’ nests. The discovery of a Citipati skeleton perched in a brooding position atop a nest of eggs was pivotal in changing this idea. We now know that instead of stealing others’ eggs to eat, fossilized oviraptorids preserved near eggs were actually protecting their own eggs! The eggs in an oviraptorid’s nest were arranged in circles with a space in the center for the parent to sit and spread their feathered arms over their incubating young.

Citipati and other oviraptorids are closely related to one of Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s most bizarre dinosaurs, the ‘Chicken from Hell’ Anzu wyliei, shown here on display in the museum’s Dinosaurs in Their Time exhibition.

So, instead of eggs, what would the toothless beak of Citipati have been used to eat? Because most oviraptorid beaks are very deep, like those of modern parrots, most paleontologists infer that these dinosaurs ate mostly plants. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that meat was off the menu; it would still have been possible for oviraptorids to have eaten small animals, making them omnivores. On top of its thick skull, Citipati possessed a tall, triangular crest that gave its small head a square-shaped profile. This crest was not as impressive as those on some other dinosaurs, but since Citipati grew to ten feet (three meters) long, the animal would still have been quite imposing. I certainly wouldn’t want to get between a Citipati parent and its eggs!

Citipati fossils are found in the modern Gobi Desert of Mongolia, in rocks known as the Djadokhta Formation. The Djadokhta rocks are made of sediments that were deposited late in the Cretaceous Period, preserving details of the ecosystem that existed there roughly 80–75 million years ago. The name Citipati means “funeral pyre lord,” which is fitting due to the hot environment in which this oviraptorid lived. Also, Citipati shares its name with a Buddhist deity that is believed to protect cemeteries from thieves, which is an appropriate parallel considering how the skeleton of this dinosaur was found guarding its fossilized nest.

Although the habitat Citipati lived in was a desert, like the Gobi Desert that is there today, this prehistoric desert was probably not as dry. In the event of rain, water gathered in temporary streams that drained the water to basins and oases. Since desert rain events are by definition few and far between, any animals that did not live near these oases would have needed to have adaptations for going without water for a long period of time. Some of the animals that lived in this unwelcoming environment alongside Citipati included everyone’s favorite small theropod Velociraptor, the hornless ceratopsian Protoceratops, and the tail-club wielding ankylosaur Pinacosaurus.

May 26, 2020 by wpengine

South American Hippo Habitat

In the wake the groundbreaking exhibition, We Are Nature, museum educators increasingly recognize opportunities for existing exhibits to foster discussions of profound human impacts. Because of a recent research study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, even these sturdy plastic components of the African Wildlife Play Table (above) can spark wide ranging discussions about the impacts of large animal relocations.

The research paper Introduced herbivores restore Late Pleistocene ecological functions, by ecologist Erick Lundgren (University of Technology, Sydney, Australia) and ten co-authors, documents the establishment and growth of a hippo population along a section of Columbia’s Magdalena River over the past three decades. The founding members of a population now estimated to include as many as 80 individuals were four hippos, three females and one male, acquired during the 1980s by notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar for a private zoo on his estate.

According to researchers, the population of Magdalena River hippos could grow to between 800 and 5,000 animals by the year 2050.

For a summary of the research and its implications by The New York Times science writer Asher Elbein, please visit “Pablo Escobar’s Hippos Fill a Hole Left Since Ice Age Extinctions.”

May 22, 2020 by wpengine

The World of Bee Vomit

If you’re squeamish, this blog post might not be for you. We are deep diving in the world of vomit. Did you know insects like bumblebees vomit just like we do? Humans tend to vomit (upchuck, throw up, whatever you want to call it) as a reaction to something we don’t like or a sickness. However, bees are more methodical with their vomit.

The Thought Process

A bee collecting nectar from a redbud. Photo by Melissa Cagan.

Bumblebees put a lot of thought into choosing which flower to gather nectar from. Some common factors are how far the flower is from the hive, the shape of the petals, and how sugary the nectar is.

A recent study published in the Journal of Royal Society Interface shows bees also consider how long it will take for them to vomit the nectar back up.

Bees will go out on foraging duty to drink and collect the nectar. Then, they return to the nest and regurgitate the nectar into wax honeypots so the other bees can have nectar.

Observing the Bee Vomit

Beekeepers looking for the queen bee. Photo by Melissa Cagan.

Bumblebee vomit is something that is normally overlooked when observing the insect. Scientist Dr. Johnathan Pattrick from The University of Oxford was so intrigued he set up a nest to observe this important step.

In his lab, Dr. Pattrick’s team set up a nest and filled it with Bombus terrestris, which is Europe’s common bumblebee. The experiment started off by giving the bees access to three different sugar solutions of different thicknesses, one as thick as maple syrup and the thinnest being a soupy liquid. The object was to see which solution the bee preferred and the timing difference between how much they’re slurping and the thickness.

Scientists found that the thicker nectar could take almost 2 minutes for the bee to throw back up. When vomiting up the less thick solution, the vomiting was faster and less energy intensive. Overall the bees chose a less concentrated nectar so they could get the job done in a timelier manner.

How Can We Help

Dr. Pattrick’s study helped us realize that vomit and regurgitation is actually very important to consider during the process of pollination. One thing we can do to make this process easier for bumblebees is be cautious of what flowers we are planting. This video from Cambridge University does a great job at demonstrating what research is being done in pollination.

Fun Fact

Bombus dahlbombii is one of the largest species of bees in South America. The queen bees can grow up to 40 mm long and have been described to look like flying mice.

May 21, 2020 by wpengine

The Bromacker Fossil Project Part III: Fossil Preparation

New to this series? Read The Bromacker Fossil Project Part I and Part II.

Most of the important fossil discoveries from the Bromacker quarry, located in the Thuringian Forest, central Germany, were shipped to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH) for scientific preparation. Between 1993 and 2005 I was the principal preparator of Bromacker fossils.

At CMNH the arrival of a field season’s worth of fossil crates was highly anticipated by Curator Dr. Dave Berman and myself. I’d be often notified of the crate’s early morning delivery by either a grinning security guard or shipping and receiving personnel upon my arrival at the museum. Later that day it would take a team of able-bodied staff from various departments to move the crate from the loading dock to the basement preparation lab, and to lift the plaster and burlap encased block from the crate onto a table.

photo of fossil preparation lab — My work area in the basement preparation lab. The table in the center is my main work table and is a made from a dentist chair. The blue cabinet with a hose extending from it is a dust collector, and the microscope (seen at the end of the hose) is mounted on an articulated arm to make it easier to maneuver over a block. Photo by the author, 2007.

The first step of the preparation process involved opening the block; that is, removing the top of the jacket. I’d use a cast cutter, the same tool doctors use to remove a cast protecting a person’s broken bone, to cut through the top perimeter of the plaster jacket. If all went well, the top would easily lift off the block. But if the top of the jacket stuck to the block or wedged in an undercut, I’d have to cut it into smaller pieces to remove it.

photo of fossil preparation: a block of rock with a cast cutter on top — The block collected in the 2006 field season with its top removed. Exposed bone can be seen left of center. The blue tool resting on the surface of the block is a cast cutter.

Blocks from the Bromacker quarry typically have numerous cracks coursing through them, which must be stabilized before preparation begins. The product Carbowax works well for filling cracks, because, unlike plaster, it doesn’t shrink when it solidifies. Carbowax comes as a powder, which I’d melt it in a double boiler. Before pouring the hot wax into a crack, I’d heat the surrounding rock with a heat gun so that the wax could penetrate additional cracks not visible from the surface. I’d typically repeat this process numerous times during the preparation process.

image of using a heat gun on a slab of rock in the process of fossil preparation — Using a heat gun to heat the rock before pouring wax into a crack. I’d have to carefully watch the direction I aimed the heat gun so that strands of burlap sticking out of the plaster jacket wouldn’t catch fire. Photo by Norman Wuerthele, 2007.

Spooning hot Carbowax into a crack. The spoon was heated beforehand so that the wax wouldn’t solidify on it. It was a delicate balance between getting the spoon hot enough so the wax stayed melted but not so hot that the spoon handle burned my hand. Photo by Norman Wuerthele, 2007.

Once the block was stabilized, I began removing rock to expose the fossil. Where thick rock covered the fossil – and it sometimes was more than six inches – I’d use a small hammer and chisel to chip away chunks of rock. As I’d get closer to the fossil, I’d switch to an airscribe, which can be likened to a miniature pneumatic jack hammer. Although fossilized bone from the Bromacker was softer than the surrounding rock, the airscribe would flake the rock from the fossilized bone, leaving behind a thin veneer of rock that I’d remove using a pin vise. I’d also use the pin vise to scrape rock from bone in tight and/or delicate areas, such as teeth. All this work was performed while looking through a microscope.

photo of seven tools used for fossil preparation — Pictured are the tools that I’d use the most when preparing Bromacker fossils. From bottom left to upper right: small hammer and chisel, three pin vises that hold a rod of tungsten carbide of varying thickness and ground to different shaped tips, and two airscribes. Photo by the author, 2007.

In the block pictured in this post, I could see some tips of some vertebral spines (these are the bumps that you feel down the midline of your back) poking from the rock surface, so I began exposing them first. Because I was working on an articulated specimen (one bone connected to the next bone), I exposed it from front to the rear by simply following one bone to the next bone.

The skeleton emerging from the rock—vertebrae, ribs, and the right upper arm bone (humerus) are visible. Notice also the tips of vertebral spines leading away from the exposed portion of the skeleton. The lines in the rock were made by the airscribe. The white substance along cracks is Carbowax. Photo by the author, 2007.

Closeup view of the right foreleg and ribs. Horizontal cracks underneath the fossil made preparation difficult, because they formed gaps underlying the bone. I had to build a dam (upper left) to contain the hot wax so that the wax would penetrate the horizontal crack underlying the bone, instead of running all over the block. Photo by the author, 2007.

More of the fossil skeleton is exposed, including the torso, the right foreleg, part of the left foreleg, and most of the left hind leg. Photo by the author, 2007.

Parts of the hind legs and tail were collected separate from the block, because rock pieces containing them inadvertently had been tossed on the dump pile. This occurred before the specimen had been discovered, and the bone in these pieces was covered by mud and dirt. Instead of gluing them back in the block before preparation, I prepared them individually at a table under the microscope, as it made for easier viewing. Once all the fossil had been exposed and prepared, I removed excess rock to make the block smaller and lighter weight.

My work on the block has been completed, except for adding some plaster bandages to the end where I had removed excess rock to make the block smaller and lighter. Photo by the author, 2007.

Dave Berman and I later transported the block to a colleague’s lab at the University of Toronto, Mississauga, Canada, where the lab staff and students completed detailed preparation and scientific illustrations of the specimen. This specimen along with several others were recently described as a new genus and species, Martensius bromackerensis, in a paper published in the Annals of Carnegie Museum. This ancient creature will be the topic of a future post. To whet your appetite, here is a link to the news release announcing the publication.

Keep Reading

The Bromacker Fossil Project Part IV: Diadectes absitus, A Project-Saving Fossil

May 20, 2020 by wpengine

Many ways to be a forest wildflower

photo of flowers with white petals and yellow centers

What exactly is a wildflower? Well, that depends who you ask!

Wildflowers in the broadest sense are any flowering plants growing naturally outside of gardens. These could include trees, shrubs, and non-woody (herbaceous) plants. However, most people tend to think of herbaceous plants with showy blooms. Wildflowers are present all year long, but they are exceptionally noticeable during the spring. For most plants, spring is a time of new growth. Our landscape blossoms with new life, both figuratively and literally.

I can state without reservation that scientists in the Section of Botany love wildflowers of all types, sizes, shapes, colors, and smells. I have fallen in love with forest wildflowers. My research is largely focused on wildflower diversity in the understory in our woods, which is collectively known as the herbaceous layer. Though comprised of plants of diminutive size, the collective role of the herbaceous layer in forest ecosystems is immense. In fact, this layer comprises the most plant diversity in forests, ranging from two to ten times more species than in the overstory!

Forest wildflowers in our deciduous forests have diverse strategies, all of which depend upon the timing of when leaves and flowers are produced. Most fit into one of three categories based upon their growth strategy. “Spring ephemerals” include plants that produce leaves and flower early in the spring, completing their aboveground activity before being shaded out by trees. “Summer-greens” include plants that produce leaves and flower just before or around when overstory tree canopies begin to produce leaves. These plants keep their leaves late into summer. Finally, other species have leaves year-round and can legitimately be termed “evergreen.”

May 19, 2020 by wpengine

Finding Resilience Through Plant Love

Feeling a little extra thankful for spring blooms? Taking extra care of your house plants? Urge to garden a little stronger than usual? People in Pittsburgh and across the US are turning to plants to find solace and a connection to nature this spring of COVID-19. Of course, people have always been drawn to plants, but this spring is different. If you’re not able to garden or are looking for some plant-y inspiration, look no further than PlantLoveStories.com. This is a project started in 2018 by a group of young women conservation scientists–including Dr. Sara Kuebbing, a professor at Pitt and collaborator with CMNH’s Mason Heberling, and me, a science communication fellow in the CMNH Anthropocene Section. At the site you’ll find first-hand stories about how plants have shaped people’s lives along with a sincere invitation for you to share a plant-based story of your own.

The Plant Love Stories logo designed by the author.

In the museum’s Anthropocene Section we believe that storytelling, emotions, and personal connections are keys to connecting with the public, communicating science, and empowering people to act. Plant Love Stories is a great example of these principles. Plant Love Stories was founded on the idea that plants tend to blend into the background and the public pays less attention to them than animals. We thought the public sharing of personal plant connections might lead, down the road, to greater awareness and funding for plant conservation.

The Plant Love Stories website is a blog, a collection of stories submitted by the public about the role of plants in shaping our lives, relationships, and, in a recent post involving swamp milkweed, resilience during the pandemic.

Plant Love Stories in the CMNH Herbarium: A swamp milkweed (*Asclepias incarnata*) specimen from the CMNH Herbarium collected in Allegheny County in 1882.

A number of Plant Love Stories have western PA roots (pun intended). We have a few stories written by Dr. Kuebbing’s Pitt students, including “Learning to Look Up” by Swapna Subramanian and “Fidel and the Hopeless, No-Good, Super Sad Raspberry Bush” by Fidel Anderson. I have posted two Plant Love Stories linked to Indiana County, where I grew up: one I wrote about how I did not break my brother’s arm (really, it wasn’t my fault), and one my aunt wrote about her grandmother, my great-grandmother, teaching her how to cook pokeweed. We also have a human love story from Butler County featuring flowering maple trees.

Plant Love Stories at the CMNH Herbarium: A sugar maple (*Acer saccharum*) specimen from the CMNH Herbarium collected in Butler County in 1925.

Whether you’re planting your biggest ever vegetable garden, tending a single tomato plant, or reading accounts posted on Plant Love Stories, try some plant love to help you get through this difficult time.

May 19, 2020 by wpengine

Joining the iNaturalist Team!

Carnegie Museum of Natural History has promoted participation in the Pittsburgh City Nature Challenge for the past three years. Because I live outside the six-county “Challenge” region, I decided to help the best way I know how, by participating, as time permits, in the identification phase of the iNaturalist-based project.

Although publicity about the City Nature Challenge tends to focus on the value of participants documenting the diversity of life around them by taking pictures and submitting them via the iNaturalist app, the proper identification of submitted images is critically important.

My normal carpool commute time to the museum is usually a little over an hour. So, I decided that what would normally be my commute time to work would become my iNaturalist identification time. This process proved to be enlightening in several ways. First was the digital proof that a lot of people in the Pittsburgh region are interested in the outdoors. That is a good thing! Second, was the ample evidence that people of all ages got involved in a project that can potentially help me and other scientists track what is going on in the outdoors. Also, a good thing. Submitted images can help us track phenology, the timing of recurring events such as plant blooming or fruiting.

Photo of *Stylophorum diphyllum* mislabeled as *Chelidonium majus* in a native plant garden. Credit: BL Isaac

We can also use iNaturalist records for distribution studies. For instance, there is a “native” plant known as the woods-poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum) that we don’t have any records of from natural populations in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. There are nine documented Pennsylvania specimens in herbaria that I am aware of. Only one of those is older than I am. The locality data on it is very vague and suspect as to whether it is really from Pennsylvania. (“Probably near Zelienople” is a far from precise location.) The other eight specimens are all known to be from cultivated populations. These specimens are from only three counties. State botanists have been discussing and debating this plant for several decades. It is native in Ohio and west, but is it native in Pennsylvania? There are now nearly 300 observations of woods-poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum) from across Pennsylvania on iNaturalist.

What is going on here? Have botanists just been overlooking this thing for decades? Is it escaping from cultivated populations? I know that it is being sold in native plant nurseries, so are folks just buying it and planting it out and about? I do know that we need to get out and get some of these populations documented. Maybe by visiting some of the sites we can postulate why this plant that wasn’t seen in Pennsylvania for centuries is now popping up everywhere.

I have also learned that there is plenty of room for educating people on the importance of knowing how to identify plants. It is almost scary the number of people (it doesn’t take many) who have trouble identifying poison ivy. There are also plenty of problems with identifying common backyard plants. I have been active the last few years with plant identification workshops, and there is certainly a need for more of these. I’ll continue to learn as I continue to help identifying plants for the City Nature Challenge while I “commute” to work. I’m eager to see what other mysteries may pop up that pique my curiosity about the world around us.

Garden for the Birds (or bees, or butterflies, or creepy crawlies, or you get the picture)…

“What do I plant?” you may be wondering as spring starts to set in. Maybe you are a master gardener, or maybe you are a novice trying to fill the time during quarantine. Nevertheless, putting plants in the ground is on your mind. What if I told you that choosing native plants over non-native ornamentals does more than create a beautiful landscape – it creates habitat for native wildlife, connects our backyards to bigger natural landscapes, and can help mitigate negative impacts of environmental change.

photo of cedar waxwing on a serviceberry branch with a berry in its mouth

Native plants are the plants that occur naturally in the area, and they have evolved with the local environmental conditions and other plants and wildlife that occur in the area. Because of this, native plants often provide the necessary shelter and food needed for local wildlife while requiring little to no fertilizers, pesticides, or water after they are established. Having more native plants in your backyard increases wildlife habitat, reduces air pollution (no mowing required!), decreases erosion (choose plants with deep root systems over non-native grassy lawns), reduces chemicals and excess water use (easy maintenance!), and adds natural beauty to your very own backyard or patio!

Imagine a world where our backyards, patios, and shared spaces are full of native plants – creating a completely connected world full of beautiful plants and providing food and shelter for wildlife. Our landscapes don’t have to be “Developed” OR “Wild”. Our landscapes can be a mosaic of varying levels and sizes of native habitats and local ecosystems – but always with some habitat, connecting one place to the next.

If you want to know more about the benefits of native plants, the sites below are a good place to start.

Benefits of Native Plants for Birds and People

Where I found my inspiration to plant native

What do I plant?

Heather Hulton VanTassel, PhD is the Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Assistant Director of Science and Research. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

May 18, 2020 by wpengine

Air Quality and Urban Gardening

Transforming my ultra-tiny backyard into a garden has been a kind of mental, physical, and spiritual therapy for me during this COVID-19 pandemic. It’s work, even at this scale. But is it healthy? I’m new to Pittsburgh, and unlike my past community gardening experiences at places with better air quality and soil ratings, I now wonder if it’s safe to eat the plants I grow. When I look at the soil, I wonder what more than 150 years of air pollution has done to it. How can I amend past damage, manage the current risks and then eat from it?

I’m not alone in this work. Before I dive in, I want to share a quote by Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants:

“Even a wounded world is feeding us. Even a wounded world holds us, giving us moments of wonder and joy. I choose joy over despair. Not because I have my head in the sand, but because joy is what the earth gives me daily and I must return the gift.”

Professional advice guided my urban garden work. If you are contemplating a similar project, information at the sites listed below will be valuable.

Resources: amending the soil, soil testing, garden planning, and a cool foraging app

Grow Pittsburgh: Info Hub

University of Minnesota: How to Manage Soil and Nutrients in Home Gardens

Phipps Conservatory: Modifying PH Levels in Soil

Falling Fruit – Map the Urban Harvest!

Resources: dangers and benefits of urban gardening and foraging

The Geological Society of America: Hunting Down Hidden Dangers and Health Benefits of Urban Fruit

EurekAlert!: Risk of Lead Poisoning from Urban Gardening is Low, New Study Finds

Oxford Academic: Phytoremediation of Lead: What Works, What Doesn’t

First Step: Soil Test

The work I did to make my soil safe for gardening began with a soil test. A City of Pittsburgh site directed me to a Penn State University Agriculture Extension Office, where for a $9.00 fee, postage to mail a soil sample, and a couple of weeks’ time for testing, I learned that my typical Pittsburgh soil is full of clay and in need of compost and lime.

My front yard faces a busy intersection and contains lead and other contaminants. I decided to try phytostabilization, which is a cheap way to use plants, lime, and compost to both reduce the mobility of heavy metals in the soil and lower the bioavailability of contaminants to the food chain. I wore a mask and gloves when I tilled this soil because contaminants can bind to soil particles and can be inhaled. I mixed some nearby oak leaves into the soil to break up the clay, mixed in some lime, and planted sunflowers. (Any additions of lime should be done according to package directions about how much to use and when to plant.)

photo of a backyard garden under construction

Soil conditions in my backyard were better, requiring only lime to adjust the pH and lots and lots of compost. The backyard is where I will grow vegetables. I learned during my research that pH and compost are the key elements to healthy soil. If the air quality fluctuates during the gardening season, I will be fine as long as I wash the produce thoroughly before consuming and wash my hands after gardening. Now, after long days of online meetings, I’m able to retreat to my garden and, in good way, work myself tired. I feel better now. I feel happy.

I confess, I’m a renter, and I’m doing this work (with my landlord’s approval of course) even though I don’t own the property. My homeowner neighbors ask me why I care and put in so much energy and money into something I don’t own. I think it’s an easy answer: I live here for now, and I do this work to improve my quality of life, and because “joy is what the earth gives me daily and I must return the gift.”

May 16, 2020 by Kathleen

Sensory Bin Idea – Lady Bug Bin

We have a great sensory bin idea for you–create a Lady Bug themed Sensory Bin with materials you have at home!

What is a Sensory Bin?

Make a Sensory Bin that resembles a lady bug and fill it with any red and black materials that may stimulate the senses. This craft lists red and black material examples to create a Lady Bug, but you can create any kind of bug play bin; for example, if you have mostly green things around the house or don’t like lady bugs as much, you can make a Grasshopper bin!

Needed to Make the Sensory Bin

1 small/medium-sized bin
Scissors
Black & red constructions paper
Black and red markers
Black or red pipe cleaners
Tongs or measuring cups
tape

Ideas to Fill the Sensory Bin

Red and black dried beans or oats
Red and black pompoms
Hard pasta colored red or black
DIY red or black play-doh/slime
Red or black-colored rocks
Red and black-colored buttons
Small plastic insect toys

Fill your lady bug bin with any materials you’d like to explore. There are some red and black options listed above, but feel free to use anything you have available!

child holding rice from sensory bin in hands

Directions

Using your scissors, markers, and pipe cleaners, create the 6 legs, 2 antennae, and the head of the ladybug.
Tape down the antennae, legs, and head onto the small/medium-sized bin.
Fill your lady bug with any of the materials listed above or substitutes as desired. You can make all items black and red to resemble a lady bug.
Once your sensory bin is filled use tongs and measuring cups to help your child pick our specific materials like small plastic insects or insect toys! Get Creative and have fun with it!

We’ll be working on more sensory friendly content as soon as we can, find it on our Sensory Friendly Saturdays Page.

Sensory Friendly Saturday

For more activities to complete with your household, check our our Super Science Saturday Page.

Super Science Saturday

May 15, 2020 by Kathleen

Bug Bonanza: Virtual Bug Display

Bugs from our Research Collection

This is a specimen drawer of Blue Morpho butterflies from our Section of Invertebrate Zoology! This species is well known for its sexual dimorphism, which means that males and females of this species look physically different. The males of Blue Morpho butterflies are the bright blue specimens in the drawer above, and the darker brown specimen above is the female.

This species of scarab, Eudicella gralli, which is sometimes referred to as the “Flamboyant Flower Beetle,” is on display at the museum. These scarab beetles are also sexually dimorphic, or males and females look physically different. The male scarabs in the picture above have large, Y-shaped horns that they mainly use to fight for females, while the females (look closely at the bottom right beetle) have shorter, shovel-like tusks great for digging and burrowing.

John Bauer (pictured above) was an entomologist at Carnegie Museum of Natural History for 43 years in the mid 1900s. He is pictured preparing beetle specimens, like the kind you see on display at the museum. Behind the scenes, our scientists continue to do incredible research with the hundreds of thousands more specimens they have collected and prepared since this photo was taken. Learn about some amazing ways our scientists help to share our collection with other scientists.

Bugs at Powdermill Nature Reserve

All of the photographs of the insects below were taken at Powdermill Nature Reserve, the museum’s environmental research center.

Life Stages of the Baltimore Checkerspot Butterfly

Baltimore Checkerspot Caterpillar — Caterpillar

Baltimore Checkerspot Chrysalis, with caterpillar skin — Chrysalis, with caterpillar skin

Baltimore Checkerspot chrysalis, with adult emerging — Chrysalis, with adult emerging

Baltimore Checkerspot Adult, top of wings

Baltimore Checkerspot Adult, underside of wings

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

The adults of this species of butterfly feed on nectar from flowers. This species is dimorphic, meaning males and females look different, with females being either black or yellow. A yellow female will look similar to a male, other than having blue spots on her hindwing. Do you think the butterflies shown here are male or female?

Eastern Swallowtail pollinating small purple flowers

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail pollinating tree flowers

Honey Bees

Honey Bees harvest nectar and pollen from flowering plants. They are social insects that live in large colonies. Female worker bees will fly around and gather pollen and nectar to take back to the hive, while male drones stay in the hive with the queen, who is in charge of the hive and lays all the eggs. You may see a swarm like the one shown here. If you do, please remember that it’s best to leave them alone: they are protecting their queen, and looking for a home. If the swarm is somewhere that is dangerous or inconvenient, try calling a local beekeeper to remove it safely!

May 15, 2020 by Kathleen

Bug Bonanza: Jumping Spiders

Join spider science educator Sebastian Echeverri to learn about jumping spiders with real-life “spidey-senses.” Discover the mechanics of how they jump, where you can find them, and how well they can see.

May 15, 2020 by wpengine

Going Digital for Nature

The Section of Botany continues to make progress on our NSF funded Mid-Atlantic Megalopolis digitization project. This massive three-year effort involves the creation of a searchable database of nearly a million herbarium specimens from thirteen institutions within the urban corridor stretching from New York City to Washington, D.C.

Although the imaging portion of the project has come to a screeching halt with no access to the specimens and the camera, work continues with the processing and posting of existing images. Since 2018, when the Museum became involved in this project, critical work has been masterfully handled by Curatorial Assistant Sarah Williams. Please check out our collection and their images at midatlanticherbaria.org.

Despite all work being performed away from the museum since March 14, great strides have been made in getting specimens georeferenced. This term refers to the electronic pairing of the historic recorded location for each collected plant with an established system of geographic ground coordinates. In an effort to keep this project on schedule, I have spent about half my time working on it, adding over 7000 images to our Symbiota portal and georeferencing over 3800 specimens.

Screenshot of georeferencing portal for CM specimens.

With more images going up almost every day, the georeferencing problems have become easier to find and fix. In addition to being able to see the specimen and its label, it is also possible to query where the collector was on a given day. So not only can we see if the data was possibly mistyped or misread, we can also check to see if the locality is within the known range for each species collected. All this associated information makes for fun sleuthing projects. With almost half of our specimens currently georeferenced, I am also currently working on fixing problems with localities that map outside of the geopolitical unit to which they were assigned.

Screenshot of Pennsylvania locations with collections by former Botany Curator, Dr. Dorothy Pearth.

Georeferencing has become a bit of an obsession for a few of our volunteers and me because it combines history, plant collecting, and old maps into one big bundle. I must sometimes watch that I don’t go down some historical wormholes while looking for some very obscure place names. Some sets of georeferenced specimens have also added insights into the habits of some former Carnegie staff and volunteers and the haunts they liked to visit. I now know which collectors were precise in their collecting locality descriptions and which were more likely to stick to roadsides. We had at least one former curator who preferred to make localities vague when they were near parks and another who seemed to favor collecting where roads crossed streams. Fun times were had by all electronic explorers, or at least by me, and I’m learning a lot in the process.

Bonnie Isaac is the Collection Manager in the Section of Botany at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

May 15, 2020 by Kathleen

Bug Bonanza: Cockroach Race!

May 14, 2020 by wpengine

The Bromacker Fossil Project Part II: The Hunt for Fossils

New to this series? Read The Bromacker Fossil Project Part 1 here.

Finding fossils at the Bromacker quarry was tedious and physically demanding, but it was extremely rewarding when a fossil is discovered. Our annual summer field season generally lasted three and a half weeks. Because the weather usually wasn’t conducive to camping or cooking outdoors, we stayed at the same hotel and dined at the hotel or local restaurants.

The original 1993 fossil quarry was opened using heavy equipment and operators from the nearby commercial quarry, and in the early years we relied on these people to expand the fossil quarry’s boundaries as needed. When the commercial quarry was temporarily shut down due to the lack of contracts for building stone, our collaborator Dr. Thomas Martens fortunately was able to obtain funding to annually rent a Bobcat, which he became skilled at operating. Thereafter, Thomas would use the Bobcat to expand the quarry and remove soil and weathered rock layers, so that we could begin our yearly excavation on unweathered rock.

The Bromacker quarry on the first day of fieldwork in the 2006 field season. Shovels were used to clear loose rock from the surface of the quarry. Pictured (counterclockwise from left) graduate student Andrej Čerňanský and Dr. Jozef Klembara (Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovak Republic) and Dr. Dave Berman (Carnegie Museum of Natural History [CMNH]). Photo by the author, 2006.

We would each stake out an area of the quarry to work in and then proceed to work through the rock layers by using a hammer and chisel or pry bar to free a piece of rock. Its surfaces and edges would be checked for fossil bone, and if there was none, the rock piece would be broken into smaller pieces, which were also checked for bone. As is the case at many other fossil sites, the rock tended to split along the plane a fossil was preserved in, because the fossil would create a zone of weakness.

The quarry after a couple days of excavation. Pictured (clockwise from front) are Dave Berman, Jozef Klembara, and Andrej Čerňanský. Photo by the author, 2006.

Once a fossil specimen was discovered—and there were a few frustrating years when this didn’t happen—the hard work of extracting it from the quarry began. Here, I’ll use a fossil discovered during the 2006 field season as an example of how this was done.

A discovery! Fossil bone and bone impression are exposed to the left of the lens cap. Photo by the author, 2006.

First, we would isolate the fossil specimen from the surrounding rock, exposing as little of the fossil as possible while determining its extent, because it would have been easy to lose pieces of bone in the dirt and mud. Then we would encase the specimen in a plaster and burlap jacket to protect it during extraction, shipping, and preparation.

To make the jacket, we’d coat cut strips of burlap in wet plaster and then spread them across the surfaces of the rock containing the specimen, or block. A layer of plastic (plastic bags worked well) was applied to the top surface of the block to keep plaster from sticking to any exposed bone.

The block is partially isolated from surrounding rock. In this case, we decided to encase the top and some sides of the block in plaster and burlap bandages to hold the rock pieces together before we finished isolating the block from surrounding rock. Photo by the author, 2006.

After a couple layers of plaster bandages were applied to the top and sides of the block, the block was undercut, with plaster bandages added periodically to hold the undercut rock in place.

Pictured (left to right) are Dr. Stuart Sumida (California State University, San Bernardino, CA), Dave Berman, and Mr. Jerome Gores (Museum der Natur, Gotha [MNG]). Jerome is holding a plaster and burlap bandage while Dave and Stuart are pressing plaster bandages against the bottom of the block. They must hold the bandages in place until the plaster sets. Photo by the author, 2006.

Using hammers and chisels to undercut the block. Photo by the author, 2006.

When deemed safe, we would crack the block free from the quarry floor using hammers and chisels, and flip it over, unless it broke free on its own. Excess rock would be removed from the bottom of the block to make it lighter in weight. Then we would apply burlap and plaster bandages to the bottom of the block. The block would be removed from the quarry and stored at the MNG until it was shipped to Pittsburgh.

The block has now been safely flipped over and excess rock is being removed. Photo by the author, 2006.

We encountered several problems during our quarry operations over the years. As we worked our way through the rock column in the quarry, processed rock piled up on the quarry floor. In the early years, we tossed or shoveled the processed rock into wheelbarrows and pushed the heavy, unwieldy wheelbarrows out of the quarry to a dump pile. Fortunately, the Bobcat eventually replaced the wheelbarrows for moving processed rock. As we ran out of space outside the quarry to dump processed rock, the rock was used to backfill older portions of the quarry.

Former CMNH volunteer Linda Rickets (front, right) and the author (left, rear) line up to push loaded wheelbarrows out of the quarry to the dump pile. Photo by Dave Berman, 1996.

At the dump pile. Over time rain and the freeze/thaw cycle would break down the rock and vegetation would grow on it. Photo by Dave Berman, 1996.

Another problem was that fossils found at the bottom of the quarry were often extremely difficult to undercut because the rock so was hard. Sometimes a well-hit chisel would just bounce off the rock instead of cracking or penetrating it. One year we had to resort to a rock saw to undercut a block.

Dave Berman uses a rock saw to undercut a block. Photo by the author, 2004.

Rain was always a problem. We would shelter in our cars during intervals of rain, or work at the museum if the rain was heavy and persistent. Occasionally heavy rain would flood the quarry, forcing us to work in the ‘dry’ areas of the quarry while a pump drained the water. Of course, we had contests to see who could skip a rock the farthest or make the biggest splash.

A flooded quarry greeted us in the morning after heavy overnight rain. Pictured are Thomas Martens (front) and Stuart Sumida (rear). Photo by the author, 2010.

Next week’s post will describe the process of fossil preparation, that is, removing rock to reveal a specimen in the lab. The fossil collected in the 2006 field season will be used as an example.

Here are some videos taken by taken by Thomas Martens’ wife, Steffi, during the 1993 and 2006 field seasons. These show the process of searching for fossils (1993 video) and collecting the fossil highlighted in this post (2006 videos).

May 14, 2020 by Kathleen

Cockroach Racing: Athlete Profiles

Cockroach Racing? What is that?

Cockroach racing began in Australia 38 years ago, and according to the pub where the cockroach races are still ceremoniously held, it all began when two Australian pub patrons were arguing “over which suburb had the biggest and fastest roaches.”

Our race is happening tomorrow, so it’s time to meet our athletes!

Cupcake “Speedster” Carnegie

Favorite Food: Enchiladas
Hobby: Reading
Secret Technique: uses spiracles to distract opponents

Franklin “Supersonic” Carnegie

Favorite Food: Sushi
Hobby: White-water rafting
Secret Technique: eats protein before every event

Franklin “The Flash” Carnegie

Favorite Food: Fruit sald
Hobby: Gardening
Secret Technique: meditates for 30 minutes before every race

Cupcake “Speedy” Carnegie

Favorite Food: Fudge brownies
Hobby: Painting
Secret Technique: uses her antennae to feel the corners of the race track

May 13, 2020 by wpengine

Spring is in the Air, Botanists are in the Field

*Antennaria solitaria* in Ryerson Station State Park. Photo: BL Isaac.

With the arrival of warmer weather, botanists stop dreaming about what plants will be blooming and get out and look. CMNH botanists managed to make an early spring trip to the southwestern corner of Pennsylvania, visiting Ryerson Station State Park in Greene County. At Ryerson, we found some of the more common spring flowering species along with some non-native invasive species. While collecting more than a dozen plants as current vouchers for ongoing phenology comparisons with older specimens, we also visited a known site for a Pennsylvania proposed Endangered plant species, the single headed pussy-toes, or Antennaria solitaria.

While out and about, I am always interested to see how well plants that have been labeled are identified. Over the years I have found some gross misidentifications on signs along trails. Last year I visited a boy scout camp that had a tree trail with over half of the trees misidentified. I found an especially egregious label along one of the trails in Ryerson Station State Park. This one was not on a park sign but was placed there by some misguided soul. What is obviously a beech tree (Fagus grandifolia) is clearly labeled as a goose (Branta canadensis). Evidently there were no scientific editors around when this mislabeling abuse took place by someone who not only can’t tell the forest for the trees but can’t tell a tree from a bird.

Beech tree in Ryerson Station State Park. Photo: BL Isaac.

All silliness aside, as spring moved along important field work stalled. With visits to Yellow Creek State Park and Cook Forest State Park in the works, we were notified by the Bureau of State Parks that all scientific permit holders must suspend collecting in the parks until further notice. So, our state park project, which has been running since 2017, was temporarily suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Collecting restrictions were lifted weeks later, however, we have missed one of the most important seasons for our long-term state park phenology study. With our 10-year plan in place it may be another decade before we can collect to evaluate Yellow Creek State Park flora. Hopefully we can double up on parks next year, so we won’t have to wait another 10 years to get these parks involved in our phenology project.

Bonnie Isaac is the Collection Manager in the Section of Botany. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

May 13, 2020 by Kathleen

Butterfly Chromatography Craft

What is Chromatography?

Chromatography is a very easy to observe chemical process where one state of matter–in this chromatography craft (and for ancient Greek art forms!) ink or paint–gets dissolved by another state of matter–in this case, water.

What You Will Need for your Butterfly Chromatography Craft

Pipe Cleaners
Spray Bottle
Water

Coffee filters
Washable Markers
Drying station, somewhere to dry the butterflies

*Most of these items can be substituted for other items if you don’t have them. You can also use clothespins, twist ties, or paper towels to make your Butterfly chromatography craft instead!

spraying water onto colored coffee filter

Directions

Using your washable markers, draw an image or pattern on your coffee filters. This can be as complex or colorful as you’d like!
Spray the coffee filter with water. Try not to use too much! You’ll see the colors begin to bleed almost immediately. Allow about 5-10 minutes to dry.
Once fully dry, take two fingers and pinch the middle of the coffee filter to create a shape that looks like a bow. Carefully spread each side out to make them look fuller and wing-like.
Use a pipe cleaner or clothespin to tie around the middle of the wings. Try to shape the ends of the pipe cleaner into antennae or attach some yarn or string to your clothespin.
Your butterfly craft is finished! Be sure to show off your creations using the #MuseumsFromHome!

Try other Super Science Days Activities

May 13, 2020 by Kathleen

Bugs Scavenger Hunt

Look in your backyard or around your neighborhood to find one of each of the invertebrates on our scavenger hunt below (we’re including slugs, snails, and worms on our list).

If you can’t get outside, watch the video to learn how to use iNaturalist to complete the scavenger hunt online.

Find One of Each Kind of Invertebrate!

Butterflies

Big and small, butterflies are some of the most impressive insects. Look for them around flowers and near muddy ponds and puddles where they take a drink.

True Bugs

They’re insects that have wings and sucking mouthparts because they love the sap from plants. Look for them in the garden, the field, or the forest.

Bees and Wasps

Listen for these black and gold fans buzzing around flowers and fields. Some bees are active in the morning and others in the middle of the day.

Spiders

These creepy-crawlies might hang out in your yard, the forest, or even your basement! Maybe you’ll find them feasting on insects.

Beetles

Some are black, but some beetles can be colorful like ladybugs. Beetles like forests, fields, and even collect pollen from flowers.

Moths

These camouflaged insects tend to fly around at night, maybe you can find some near porch lights at night or napping on trees and buildings during the day.

Flies

Flies sometimes get inside our houses, but they’re also pretty fond of flowers and wet places like streams, puddles, and ponds.

Many Legs

Look around for any kind of invertebrate with many legs like a millipede, centipede, or crayfish. They can be found in many habitats.

Ants

Sometimes they come out in great numbers to bring food back to the colony. Ants live where they can find open soil to build their underground communities.

No Legs

Worms like damp places like under rocks and logs but come out after a heavy rain. You might find snails and slugs hiding from the rain or eating plants in forests, fields, or gardens.

May 12, 2020 by wpengine

Draw a Flower

This is the season of colorful flowers and we can truly appreciate their vibrance after a typical grey and chilly winter. One way to make the beauty last and keep a reminder of springtime all year-round is to draw a flower.

Andrey Avinoff was an entomologist and Director of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History from 1926 to 1946. But he was also an illustrator and painter in his free time! Many of his beautiful illustrations can be found in “Wild Flowers of Western Pennsylvania and the Upper Ohio Basin,” a botanical guide authored by the botanist Otto E Jennings, and later Director of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

One of the most ubiquitous flowers of the season, for me, is the violet. I love the way they sprout up through lawns and in the forest alike. They come in a dazzling array of colors—pink, white, yellow, blue, and purple—and the detail when you look closely is inspiring. There are about 600 species in the Viola genus, so there are plenty to choose from.

Before we get started you might need to gather some supplies. Use a pencil and eraser, just in case you make some mistakes (it’s okay to make a mistake). Get some paper and a comfy spot to draw—make sure you cover your table to avoid making marks on it. Don’t forget the colors! I like colored pencils, but you can use markers, crayons, paint, or anything else to color with.

Here’s a tip: try out some ideas on scrap paper so that you know what works best for you. Practice makes perfect!

Step 1: Shapes

circles and lines drawn in pencil to show the basic shapes to begin drawing flowers

Use some basic shapes—circles, triangles, squares, and lines—to make up the general shape of your flower. You can draw little lollipops or popsicles for now and we’ll add more details as we go. Use light pencil strokes so that they’ll be easy to erase later.

Try to keep all of your flower shapes the same size—you want all your flowers to be similar in size.

I also draw some leaf shapes. Make sure your leaves are balanced to your flowers and don’t worry about how they overlap just yet.

I also like to have a photo that I’ve taken or found online to use as a reference for what I’m drawing. I even picked some flowers to get a good idea of what they look like—just make sure you leave some flowers for the wildlife.

If you want to take it to the next level, you can also check out some botanical illustrations (like Andrey Avinoff’s) where individual flower parts, seeds, leaves, and roots are sometimes drawn to help with identification.

Step 2: Silhouette

Next let’s draw individual flower petals. It’s good to know how many petals your flower has and how they look—violets have five that look a little like a butterfly. Flowers come in a lot of shapes, so take some time studying the flower and practice drawing the shape. If you haven’t already, you can also draw the flower stalks, or petioles.

The leaf shape is important too, leaves come in lots of shapes like the violet’s heart-shaped leaves.

Step 3: Details

Add more details. Mark where colors might change on flower petals and if there are any veins on the leaves or petals. You can add details to the leaf edges to make them wavy, scalloped, or toothed.

It’s also important in this step to know how detailed you want to be. Remember: a smaller sketch doesn’t need as much detail, but a bigger sketch can have more. Whatever you think looks best.

Step 4: Color

colored drawing of flowers with purple petals, yellow centers, and green stems and leaves

This step is optional, sometimes a black and white sketch can tell a great story. However, if you have some time, then adding color to your drawing can also really bring it to life.

You can use crayons, markers, paint, or any other color tool you want. It’s always a good idea to test your colors on a separate piece of paper to see if they’re right for you or to try out a mix of colors. Flowers are many colors, so you can be really creative!

Be proud of your sketches! No one else could have made it the same way that you did. By drawing and coloring plants, animals, and other nature you can sharpen your observation skills and gain a better appreciation for the beauty and uniqueness of all life.

May 12, 2020 by Kathleen

Create Bugs in Amber Slime!

Create your own slime using everyday household craft materials. Using toy insects, recreate what would happen to insects when they were caught in tree resin, fossilizing them. Great for kids who love Jurassic Park and fossils!

Borax Recipe

½ cup of (preferably clear) PVA glue
½ cup water (mix with glue)
½ teaspoon borax powder
½ cup warm water (Mix with Borax)
5-10 drops of yellow food coloring or substitute
Measuring cups & spoons
2 medium-sized bowls
Insect toys

Non-Borax Recipe

½ cup of (preferably clear) PVA glue
½ cup water
1 tbsp. saline solution (must contain boric acid and sodium borate!)
¼-½ tsp. baking soda
5-10 drops of yellow food coloring
Measuring cups & spoons
2 medium-sized bowls
Small plastic insect toys

Did you know, in 2017, the museum received a collection of prehistoric ticks trapped in amber called “Dracula’s Terrible Tick?”

Read about Dracula’s Terrible Ticks!

Directions for Borax Recipe

Mix ½ cup of water and ½ cup of glue in bowl.
Add 5-10 drops of food coloring to glue mixture.
Mix ¼ tsp. of borax and ½ cup warm water in a separate bowl. Stir until completely mixed in.
Add the borax and water mixture slowly to your glue and water mixture. Start stirring immediately! Your slime will soon start to form immediately.
Keep mixing until slime has formed. immediately take out and put in the dry container.
Continue to stir any leftover liquid until it turns into slime. Transfer it to the dry container once you are done.
Start kneading your slime mixture and add pretend insects! It may feel stringy at first but will change in texture the more it is kneaded.

Directions for Non-Borax Recipe

Put ½ cup of glue in bowl.
Mix ¼-½ tsp. baking soda and ½ cup water in a bowl until baking soda is completely dissolved.
Add 5-10 drops of food coloring to baking soda and water mixture.
Gently mix both glue and food-colored mixture.
Add 1 tbsp. saline solution and stir quickly until slime starts to form,
Put a few drops of saline solution on hands and start to knead slime together
Add pretend insects, and you’ve created your own amber slime!

Want to keep the slime you’ve created longer? Keep it in the fridge!

May 11, 2020 by Kathleen

Let’s Find Some Bugs!

Museum Educator Aaron takes us to different places you can find friendly bugs around your house. He also shows us some of what we’ve been learning about on our blogs in action, like coverboards and bug hotels!

Optional Insect Identification Activity Sheet (FOR PRINT USE ONLY)

May 8, 2020 by wpengine

City Nature Challenge Recap

photo of black and red bug on white flowers

With the COVID-19 pandemic hitting, the entire world had to adapt how we participated in this year’s City Nature Challenge. This year we focused on a global collaboration instead of a competition, and physical distancing over public events. We are amazed at the creativity and resilience that we saw – and 2020’s City Nature Challenge results show just how important it was both globally and in the Pittsburgh region.

City Nature Challenge Results

graphic of Pittsburgh City Nature Challenge 2020 Results: 8281 total observation, 1225 total species, and 487 total observers

This year, over 40,000 people around the world came together virtually to participate in the City Nature Challenge. Collectively we shared over 800,000 observations of nature near our homes, and documented 135,435 different species of fungi, plants, and animals. Want to see what was found in any of the more than 200 cities that participated? You can explore at this link.

Pittsburgh’s numbers are incredible too. At the end of the challenge, the Pittsburgh region ended up having 487 observers, 8,281 observations, and 1,225 different species. We almost doubled the number of observers from last year!

The identification phase was a success as well with 419 users helping identify 13,446 different observations. You can explore all the Pittsburgh Region’s observations from this year at this link.

photo of candle flame lichen — Pete Peng has 1,310 observations and these Candleflame Lichens are beautiful.

Don’t Stop Observing!

We can’t put into words how thankful we are for everyone’s resilience and hard work. The results from this year’s City Nature Challenge prove that even though we have to distance from each other right now, we can still come together to accomplish something awesome.

closeup photo of a fly — Check out this observation of a fly from Julia Schwierking!

The City Nature Challenge may be over, but the observations don’t have to end here. Nature is around you 24/7 and waiting to be observed. You can use the iNaturalist app anytime to share what you find!

We’d love to see your observations. Email them to nature360@carnegiemnh.org or tag us on social media @CarnegieMNH.

Get more nature activity ideas from Nature Lab!

May 7, 2020 by wpengine

The City Nature Challenge Family Experience

photograph of a boy with a camera in a field

In these unprecedented times, it can be the simplest acts of normalcy that are most welcome.

It had been a while since we piled the entire family, including my wife, son, daughter, and myself, into the family minivan and headed off on an adventure.

The past six weeks consisted of self quarantine, at-home work, at-home schoolwork, neighborhood walks and riding bikes in the alley behind our house. The occasional trip to the grocery store, a most routine act any other time that I would probably have put off, had become a welcome escape.

Enter the City Nature Challenge. This worldwide event provided everything we needed: Fresh air. New experiences. Wonder. An opportunity to explore new worlds and use new technology.

Each previous year was an awesome event. This year’s felt more like a necessary one.

The drive over started off a little rough, with choruses of “I’m bored” and “My toe hurts.” As I passed the exit off Route 28 for St. Margaret’s Hospital, I made the tough decision not to pull off for the supposedly injured toe and keep the hospital bed free for another patient.

As we pulled into the parking lot of Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve in Fox Chapel, the gravel crunching beneath our tires was like a wakeup call. The kids shot up in their carseats and bobbed their heads as they desperately tried to get a view of the nature reserve. Once it was safe, they bounded through the lot and onto the trail with a relentless energy and optimism. My wife and I took a more leisurely stroll and joked how they looked like a couple of labradors let off their leashes.

The main idea of the City Nature Challenge is to collect images of plant and animal specimens and upload them through the iNaturalist app. This allows others to identify your collection and thus help researchers around the globe better understand the ecosystem of your hometown. The simplest way to do this is by taking an image on your phone and uploading it to the app. Easy. Because I am a writer and photographer by trade, I had several DSLRs on hand for the family to use. I think it is important to note that you can also use a camera of your choice. There is a huge contingency of DSLR, and now mirrorless, camera buyers who love wildlife and nature photography. In fact, the flagship models of every major camera brand, and many of their lower tier models, specifically mention wildlife photography in their product descriptions. If you are like me and prefer this method of shooting, chances are you don’t mind going back home, finding a few keepers, and uploading those images from your computer. That is what we did. I feel like it’s good to know that iNaturalist is versatile and can be more than an app on your phone if you would like it to be.

Beechwood Farms did not disappoint. Our first stop was a pond teeming with life. American Toads leaped off the trail and into the grass as we approached. The closer we got to the water, we could hear the “sploosh!” and catch a quick glimpse of hind legs as the toads jumped into the water.

The pond was filled with those toads, numerous species of fish and Canada geese. We just kept snapping away and asking each other, “Did you see that?”

From there, we hiked a loop of trail that took us through sunny meadows and patches of forest where we spotted mayapple, violets, numerous blooming trees and more. I am always interested in what catches the kids’ attention. My son, who is 7 and already has a terrific eye and excellent ability, operates by the well-known photographer’s motto: “If you think you’re too close, take one step closer.” His shots are well framed and detailed.

photo of pink and white flowers on a tree branch

My daughter, who is 4, had the wide-angle lens and preferred sweeping images of scenery. She liked one particular field because the yellow grass looked like blonde princess hair.

My wife is a fan of contrasting texture and color, like moss carpeting a dead tree trunk. (Insert Jill moss pic)

photo of moss growing on a dead tree trunk

I prefer wildlife and action shots.

As we neared the end of the loop, we clunked along a bridge atop a stream. The kids couldn’t resist it and before we knew it, their socks and shoes were off and they were in the water. Their toes appeared to be just fine.

When we got back to our house, we couldn’t wait to look over the photos and upload them to iNaturalist. We weren’t sure what everything was – and that’s OK! Let your natural curiosity and wonder carry you through. There’s an entire support system to help classify and identify. You can even do the same for others.

We could use your help identifying our photos! Look for phillipps_family in your iNaturalist app or the website.

Eddie Phillips is an educator at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

May 6, 2020 by wpengine

The Bromacker Fossil Project Part I: Introduction and History

If you follow Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH) on social media, then you may have seen a post announcing that Section of Vertebrate Paleontology (VP) Curator Emeritus Dr. Dave Berman and I, along with our collaborators, had recently published a new genus and species of caseid synapsid (a large lizard-like, very distant relative of mammals), Martensius bromackerensis, the specimens of which were discovered at the Bromacker quarry, central Germany. Dave and I are part of an international team from Canada, Germany, Slovakia, and the USA who have discovered, named, and described exquisitely-preserved fossils from the Bromacker quarry over the past 27 years. This recent publication most likely represents the last of the new Bromacker discoveries that Dave and I will publish on, due, in part, to the quarry having been closed to excavation for the past nine years.

With CMNH’s role in the Bromacker project winding down, and much of the world currently staying home and practicing social distancing, I thought this might be a good time to present the project’s highlights as a series of blog posts for you to enjoy. This post will introduce and present the history of the project, while topics of subsequent posts will include the discovery and collection of the fossils, fossil preparation, descriptions of the animals discovered, the geologic history of the quarry, and, finally, a summary of what we learned.

The author (Amy Henrici) standing next to a road sign for the Bromacker quarry in the Thuringian Forest of central Germany. Translation is as follows: “Ursaurier Discovery Site ‘Bromacker.’ Please follow these tracks.” Dr. Thomas Martens coined the term “Ursaurier,” which he translates as “primary saurian,” to indicate that the fossil animals from the Bromacker predate dinosaurs. Photo by Dave Berman.

In the Bromacker area of Thuringia, central Germany, a thick rock layer known as the Tambach sandstone has been intermittently quarried for use as a building stone for more than 150 years. Evidence of life preserved in the Tambach sandstone in the form of tetrapod (four-footed backboned animal) footprints was discovered in 1887 and later studied by Professor Wilhelm Pabst from 1890 to 1908. Pabst was an amateur paleontologist who taught high school in the nearby city of Gotha.

Undated photograph showing quarry workers and Professor Pabst (right center in white jacket and hat). Photo provided by Thomas Martens.

Dr. Thomas Martens (now retired Curator, Museum der Natur Gotha [MNG]) discovered the first vertebrate (backboned animal) body fossils at the Bromacker quarry in the summer of 1974. He was trained as an invertebrate paleontologist and was sent there by his major professor to look for fossils of conchostracans (‘clam shrimp’), a type of very small crustacean. After his first discovery, Thomas continued to collect at the Bromacker from 1975 to 1991, finding a variety of early Permian-aged (approximately 290-million-year-old) fossil vertebrates that were otherwise known only from North America. At that time, Thuringia was part of East Germany, so Thomas’ travel to other countries was restricted by his government, but fortunately he could communicate by mail with paleontologists overseas. He eventually began a correspondence with an expert on the types of fossils that he was discovering, CMNH’s Dave Berman (then Associate Curator). In 1992, two years after the reunification of Germany, CMNH sponsored Thomas to come to Pittsburgh to study with Dave for six months, which began a long and productive collaboration.

Thomas Martens with his East Germany-produced Trabant automobile. Though Thomas had to endure a long waiting list before he was able to purchase this car, he replaced it shortly after the reunification of Germany in 1990. The Trabant then became his field vehicle. Photo by the author, 1994.

The Bromacker quarry is in the Thuringian Forest near the village of Tambach-Dietharz. It lies in a large field surrounded by thick forest traversed by dirt roads. People from the surrounding villages who regularly visited the Bromacker area to walk, ride their bikes, and pick wild mushrooms would stop to ask us what we were doing. School groups came regularly to learn about the fossil ‘diggings’ and to watch us work.

Aerial view of the commercial rock quarry and the fossil quarry at the Bromacker site. Photo provided by Thomas Martens.

View of the fossil excavation at the Bromacker quarry. Photo by the author.

Field work at the Bromacker was conducted annually from 1993 to 2010 by Dave, Thomas, myself, and our other collaborators, which led to the discovery, collection, and scientific preparation and description of 13 fossil vertebrate species, 12 of which were new to science. Most of the fossils discovered were shipped to CMNH, where I prepared them in the paleontology lab in the museum’s basement. Once the fossils had been published in scientific journals, they would be shipped back to the MNG, because that museum is the legal repository for the Bromacker fossils. CMNH retained cast replicas made by VP staff of some of the more exquisite specimens, and some of these are exhibited in the Fossil Frontiers display case in the Dinosaurs in Their Time exhibition. Be sure to look for these once the museum reopens. And stay tuned for my next post, that will describe how we found and collected the fossils!

Keep Reading

The Bromacker Fossil Project Part II: The Hunt for Fossils

May 5, 2020 by wpengine

Pokémon Inspired by Animals

When Pokémon launched as a franchise in 1996, quickly becoming a worldwide multimedia phenomenon, the Pokémon creators had their work cut out for them imagining a whole new world with new creatures that we had never seen before. Or had we? Believe it or not, most Pokémon creatures have real-life animal inspirations!

Caterpie and Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Caterpillar

photo of Eastern Tiger Swallowtail caterpillar

Caterpie is a bug type Pokémon. It’s known for devouring leaves bigger than its body and releasing an intense odor from its orange antennas when battling another Pokémon. You can’t miss the similarities between Caterpie and the eastern tiger swallowtail caterpillar. Both creatures have a distinct green body with bright orange antennas.

The eastern tiger swallowtail is a butterfly native to eastern North America. Similar to Caterpie, the swallowtail caterpillar possesses something called an osmeterium, an orange fleshy organ that emits a foul smell to ward off enemies when threatened.

Magikarp and Yelloweye Rockfish

photo of Yelloweye rockfish held out of water

Magikarp is a water Pokémon and a large fish with orange scales. Magikarp flops around while blinking its large bulging eyes with its mouth open.

Yelloweye rockfish are one of the biggest members of the genus Sebastes and are prized for their meat. Both the real fish and the Pokémon are orange in color and have long rigid head spines to protect them from predators. Yelloweyes also have bulging eyes and a gaping mouth like Magikarp.

Drowzee and Malayan Tapir

What about Drowzee, a hypnosis Pokémon with insomnia who senses dreams with its trunk-like nose? Drowzee has beady eyes and triangular brown ears.

It can’t sense your dreams like Drowzee, but the Malayan tapir has many resemblances to the Pokémon. The tapir is a large mammal with a short trunk. It uses its snout to pick up things or as a snorkel when in water. Aside from both having a short snout, Drowzee seems to have been inspired by the tapir’s two-toned coloring.

What other Pokémon/real-life animal resemblances have you noticed?

Fun Fact

Poliwag, Poliwhirl, and Poliwrath are all based on tadpoles. They each have a spiral on their stomach that resembles the intestines which are visible through a tadpole’s translucent stomach.

May 4, 2020 by wpengine

Math In Nature? It All Adds Up!

For all of its breathtaking beauty and seemingly spontaneous happenings, there are also some surprisingly consistent patterns in nature that math can help us understand. These patterns literally shape nature and the world around us. Let’s a take a closer look at some of these phenomena and how they work.

The Fibonacci Sequence

What do the numbers 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233 have in common? At first glance, it’s just a jumble of numbers, right? But there’s a distinct pattern within. Starting with 0 and 1, you add those numbers together. What does it equal? 1! Then add 1 and 1 to get 2, then 2 and 3 to get 5 and so on. This sequence can be found in the spirals of shells, the shape of a pine cone and even in the family trees of certain animals. Can you add to the sequence mentioned in the first line of this paragraph? What comes after 233? See how far you can go!

Don’t Be Stumped By That Tree

You can tell how old a tree is by counting the rings. Each one changes in shade from light to dark and is separated by a distinct dark circle. The lighter area is wood that grew faster in the spring in summer. The dark parts represent the slowed growth in the winter and fall. Knowing how old the tree is benefits scientists in numerous ways, including the study of climate change. Those rings hold secrets to the weather patterns of each year and by studying each ring, scientists can get a detailed look at how climate changed during the tree’s lifetime.

Math Is Out Of This World

That’s right, math’s reach goes way beyond earth. Our solar system is actually a Fibonacci spiral. One of the coolest events in the galaxy, a solar eclipse, can be explained by math. The eclipse happens when the moon blocks the view of the sun from earth. But how can this happen when the sun is 400 times larger than the moon? The moon is about 400 times closer to the sun, creating the perfect angle for an incredible occurrence.

Fun Fact

While rounded shapes are common in nature, so are shapes with angles. One of the most common is the hexagon. Honeycombs, snowflakes, and the eyes of some insects are just a few examples of the hexagon appearing in nature.

Help Create Dippy’s Fabulous Fibonacci Tail!

You have probably noticed that Dippy has a sense for fashion. In addition to that iconic scarf collection, not to mention all of those trendy hats, Dippy is looking to expand his fashion sense. Dippy is pretty tired of that whip-like tail and wants to try on something new. Since we just learned about the Fibonacci sequence, we’ll need you to create a stylish new tail. Use the template below to draw a Fibonacci spiral tail and then decorate any way you like. With a parent’s permission, tag Dippy on social media (@Dippy_the_Dino) to show them the awesomeness you created!

May 1, 2020 by wpengine

The Giant Eurypterid Trackway: A Great Fossil Discovery on Display in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History

Figure 1.

When museum patrons enter Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Benedum Hall of Geology, they encounter a one-ton block of coarse sandstone with a series of bilateral footprints encased on the rock’s surface. Most visitors don’t know what type of creature made these footprints (Fig. 1) or realize that this fossil trackway represents one of the great fossil discoveries in the history of western Pennsylvania paleontology.

Figure 2. Illustration by Kay Hughes.

Last month, the cover of Pennsylvania Geology (Fig. 2) helped address both deficiencies. The magazine bears a colorful illustration by Kay Hughes of a 315 million-year-old scene: a large six-legged arthropod emerging from the water and dragging its tail onto a sand bar among fallen Lepidodendron logs. The intruder is a Giant Eurypterid, a creature known to science as Palmichnium kosinskiorum, and a member of an extinct family of arthropods informally called “sea scorpions” that are distant biological cousins.

Within the journal is a fuller explanation for the artistic interpretation of the creature behind the Benedum Hall trackway, an article I co-wrote with Kay Hughes and John Harper titled, Reflections on Palmichnium kosinskiorum-The Footprints of Pennsylvania’s Elusive Elk County Monster.

Fortuitous Discovery

Figure 3. Photograph of Elk County in situ trackway looking southward (Brezinski and Kollar 2016).

Figure 4. Trackway closeup showing tail drag on display in Benedum Hall of Geology (Brezinski and Kollar 2016)

Seventy-two years ago, in an Elk County section of the Allegheny National Forest, James Kosinski, a preparator in the Education Department of Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and his brother Michael were hunting deer in heavily wooded terrain. When Michael stumbled upon a large sandstone boulder bearing a pattern of unusual impressions, he informed James, who (Fig. 3) immediately recognized the impressions as the fossil tracks of an unknown animal (Fig. 4).

Later, when James described the discovery to Carnegie Museum’s Dr. E. Rudy Eller, Curator of the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology, and Dr. J. Leroy Kay, Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology, plans were made to remove a section of the boulder containing the best-preserved section of the trackway and transport the heavy block to the museum.

Exhibit History

Figure 5. Former Paleozoic Hall Silurian Period Marine Diorama with Eurypterids.

Upon arrival at the museum in 1948, the sandstone block was prepared for exhibition and placed near the museum’s Coal Forest exhibit in 1949. In 1965, the trackway was incorporated as a floor centerpiece in the newly open Paleozoic Hall which featured dioramas of characteristic life forms of that Era’s time periods (Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Pennsylvanian, and Permian) along with representative fossils from the museum collection. (Fig. 5) In 1998, when Paleozoic Hall was dismantled, the trackway was placed temporarily in the Invertebrate Paleontology lab. The trackway returned to public view in 2007 as part of Bizarre Beasts, a temporary exhibition in the R. P. Simmons Family Gallery about unusual life forms. When Bizarre Beasts closed, I worked with James Senior, Chair of the museum’s Exhibit Department, to place the trackway in the Benedum Hall of Geology entrance as an introduction to great fossil discoveries from western Pennsylvania.

The Research – Locality Data Supports Recent Theory

The fossil trackway was initially identified by Dr. Kay as a hopping reptile inhabiting a Pennsylvanian coal forest 300 million years ago. Although Dr. Eller, citing his own research, suggested the track was formed by a crawling eurypterid, it would take 35 more years for the fossil trackway to be studied by expert arthropod paleontologists from Europe.

The eventual designation of Palmichnium kosinskiorum as a holotype specimen (CM 34388), a category of first order scientific importance, dates to the fossil’s description as a eurypterid trackway in a 1983 research paper by Dr. Derek E. G., Briggs and Dr. W. D. J. Rolfe, titled, A giant arthropod trackway from the Lower Mississippian of Pennsylvania (Journal of Paleontology, 57, 377 – 390). In paleontology, when a non-scientist such as Michael Kosinski discovers a fossil of importance, paleontologists, in this case Derek Briggs and Ian Rolfe, name the new fossil species after the founder, hence P. kosinskiorum.

For years, paleontologists in the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology assumed the scientific conclusions of Briggs and Rolfe (1983) about the eurypterid trackway were beyond dispute. This situation changed in 2009, when Yale University Professor Adolph Seilacher, a world-renowned expert on fossil trackways visited the museum. While Briggs and Rolfe concluded the trackway formed in a marine sandstone, Seilacher explained to me that the trackway was likely formed in an eolian or wind-blown sand environment. He also recommended that someone investigate the rocks at the fossil location in Elk County to substantiate his hypothesis.

Figure 6. D.K. Brezinski at trackway.

Later that year, when I accompanied David K. Brezinski, Associate Curator Adjunct, Section of Invertebrate Paleontology, to re-locate and re-examine the sandstone boulder with the remaining tracks, we discovered the original geologic and deposition conclusion by Briggs and Rolfe (1983) was incorrect (Fig. 6). In 2011, we reported these new findings at the Northeastern Sectional Meeting of the Geological Society of America in Pittsburgh. After the meeting, we continued our research and eventually published our conclusion that the geologic age of the trackway was Early Pennsylvanian age and the embedded footprints represented a fluvial sand bar environment of deposition.(Reevaluation of the Age and Provenance of the Giant Palmichnium Kosinskiorum Eurypterid Trackway, from Elk County, Pennsylvania, Brezinski and Kollar (2016), Annals of Carnegie Museum 84, 39 – 45,)

School Groups and Museum Interpreters

Based upon repeated anecdotal reports from the Interpreters who guide tour groups through the museum’s exhibit halls, the eurypterid trackway is one of the most celebrated education stops for elementary school students. According to Interpreter Patty Dineen, the appealing factors of the trackway include the size and possible scariness of the creature who made the tracks, the fact the track-maker lived long before the dinosaurs, the fossil’s local origin, and the sheer amount for information that can be gathered from the ancient preserved tracks.

Figure 7. Interpreter field trip.

As part of an effort to better inform school groups about the eurypterid trackway, in 2017 Patty Dineen and Joann Wilson, co-coordinators and instructors for the museum’s Natural History Interpreters, arranged for six Interpreters to participate in a PAlS geology fall field trip to the fossil site in Elk County. (Fig. 7) An important by-product of field excursion was the creation of an instructional video that explains how museum scientists conduct research.

“Treasures of the Carnegie” Planning for a better Trackway Experience

Now that an illustration exists (Fig. 1) of the eurypterid that shaped the trackway walking out of the 315 million-year-old Olean River onto a sand bar, it might be time to consider how to best devise an improved visual and virtual tour experience for the Carnegie patrons and school groups.

Albert D. Kollar is Collections Manager for the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

April 29, 2020 by wpengine

The Great Roly-Poly

April showers may bring May flowers, but they also create the perfect moist conditions for one of my favorite garden residents—the humble woodlouse. These are cute little terrestrial isopods known by many, many regional names. They have too many legs to be an insect or arachnid, but they’re also not leggy enough to be millipedes or centipedes. Instead, woodlice are crustaceans, sharing family gatherings with lobsters and crabs, and although they are mostly land lubbers, they do prefer damp soil and wetter environments—like cool, humid basements.

The name is often the most confusing bit. I called them pill bugs as a kid, but others called them potato bugs. In the United States and Canada, you might also call them tomato bugs, sow bugs, wood bugs, armadillo bugs, doodle bugs, roly-polies, carpenters, or boat-builders. In Australia they’re a butchy boy, and in New Zealand they’re a slater. But in the playfully creative UK they are cheesy bugs, cheesy bobs, or cheeselogs; chiggy pig, chucky pig, or chuggy peg; and daddy grampher, crawley baker, or granny grey. In science they’re a terrestrial isopod in the suborder Oniscidea, but for now I’ll call them woodlice.

Perhaps they’re most endearing characteristic is their ability to roll up into a ball, or conglobate, to evade predators—of which they have many, including the specialist woodlouse spider. The woodlouse’s ball form is an impressive feat, reminiscent of hedgehogs and armadillos, and to miniature predators the rolled-up roly-poly is a fortress—though the mouse may see a convenient bite to eat.

The purpose of a woodlouse might seem unclear. What is this crustacean doing in a garden or a forest? And the truth is that the woodlouse is a member of a unique class of organisms that perform an incredibly important function—decomposing. Woodlice munch on dead plant matter, such as wood, leaves, and fruits. In return, woodlice add organic matter to soil which helps plants and animals up the food chain—also think fresh, free fertilizer for your garden.

So, here’s to the unsung hero of the understory! Here’s to the great roly-poly!

Lost and Found

In the darkening woods of an early spring evening, the deer antler practically glowed. After retrieving and examining the bone-like left-side appendage, I walked a wide circle within my neighbor’s wooded property hoping to spot a matching right-side antler.

Male deer grow and shed antlers annually, a process driven by changes in daylight, and controlled, like so many biological operations, by the chemical signals of hormones. Antler to skull connections are solid during the breeding season but dropping testosterone levels eventually weaken the link. Because white-tailed deer bucks in our region frequently shed antlers by mid-January, my multi-point find might well have spent ten weeks on the ground.

As a museum educator I appreciate the potential of antlers as teaching tools. Science teachers often borrow sets of them to illustrate lessons about sexual selection in evolution, and in Discovery Basecamp, the museum’s object-centered learning center, visitors frequently pose for pictures holding white-tailed deer antlers just above their own ears.

The specimen pictured above has been put to a different use. It currently rests on the ground amidst a tangle of wild grapevine near where I originally found it. The location is a place where I can occasionally check the rate at which various rodents gnaw on the antler, and thereby recycle much of its calcium into the same system it was briefly pulled from.

April 29, 2020 by wpengine

The Birds and the Trees

The City Nature Challenge is a great way to get outdoors in a socially responsible way and see the living things that make up our neighborhoods. If you want to make it even more of a challenge, try this game in which you collect sightings of birds and trees from common to rare to ultra rare. Play with your friends to see who can collect the most points and share your findings on iNaturalist!

Birds

1 point: Rock Dove. You may know this well-known city dweller by its common nickname, the pigeon. Their gray bodies and black banded wings make pigeons easy to recognize.

2 points: Northern Cardinal. Also known as redbirds, these brightly-colored birds are hard to miss. Males have red bodies, a prominent crest, orange beaks and black markings around their face. Females have brown bodies and a reddish-orange tint in their wings, although their facial markings and beaks are similar to males.

3 points: American Robin. This songbird is recognizable by its orange-red breast, gray body, and stocky build. Because robins feed on the ground at this time of year, they are easy to spot.

4 points: Great Blue Heron. Rare! A larger bird than the others mentioned so far, this bird enjoys wading in water and using its long bill to snatch up meals. It’s more of a grayish blue shade with a yellow bill and prominent black plumes of feathers on its head. You may even find one close to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. They have been known to visit Panther Hollow Lake in nearby Schenley Park.

5 points: Peregrine Falcon. Rare! About the size of a crow, this bird of prey has a white breast speckled with brownish dots and a darker back. They like to perch in high places, like the Cathedral of Learning in Oakland. When these birds fly over Oakland, they can sometimes be identified by their sharp-winged silhouette.

Trees

1 point: Flowering Dogwood. How can you identify a dogwood tree? By its bark! Beneath the lovely white and pink bloom of flowers, this tree features a distinct bark that resembles scales. In the coming weeks, look for the incredible bloom of flowers to locate a dogwood tree. These are planted along streets in the city, where they can bloom a few weeks earlier because the hard surfaces in cities trap heat.

2 points: American Sycamore. These can grow up to 100 feet high and can live for 600 years. They are known for their scaly white and gray bark, and the brown, bumpy fruit balls that hang from branches and drop in the fall. Look for them in parks.

3 points: Sassafras. Perhaps easier to spot in the fall with their exuberant colors, sassafras leaves are recognizable all year-round due to their unique leaves. This park tree produces leaves with three shapes – oval, two-lobed, and three-lobed – sometimes right next to each other.

4 points: Sweet Gum. Rare! This tree is known for its distinct star-shaped leaves and spiky fruit balls that hang from its branches. Its seeds feed wildlife like squirrels and different species of birds. Look along city streets, where these may have been planted.

5 points: Eastern Hemlock. Rare! This large coniferous tree sports small needles and pine cones. Its large, shady branches keep forests cool and provide shelter to numerous bird species. It favors locations such as stream hollows in parks and also is the state tree of Pennsylvania.

Did you see a bird on the list perched in one of the mentioned trees? That’s an ultra-rare! Give yourself five additional points if that happened. Now, add up your total and compare it with friends.

April 29, 2020 by wpengine

Nature in Sidewalk Cracks

When you hear the word “nature,” what scenes do you think of? Mountains, streams, and forests? Cities are probably not the first places that come to mind. Living in Pittsburgh, you might notice buildings and roads at first glance, but what happens when you start looking a little closer? Try searching for nature in unexpected places and you’ll see that nature has the power to survive in and transform spaces all around you.

Growing in Strange Places

Nature is most likely crawling past you while you’re walking on the sidewalk. Most sidewalks and roads have cracks where small amounts of soil form and different plants can begin to flourish. Shallow cracks will house things like mosses while larger cracks favor small weeds or flowering plants. Anything growing in a sidewalk crack or groove must adapt to harsh environmental conditions like heat and lack of nutrients.

Some people have even gone as far to purposefully grow plants or herbs in their sidewalk cracks. With replacement concrete being expensive, some homeowners have grown herbs like thyme or mint so when someone walks by the scent is released. Although this may expand the sidewalk cracks further, it’s a fun way to incorporate nature in your urban life.

Exploring Sidewalk Cracks

Pat Howe, coordinator of the Natural History Interpreter program at Carnegie Museum of Natural History, shared photos of plants growing in unusual places right in her neighborhood. She was able to find moss growing on rocks and inside of a sidewalk crack, garlic mustard growing between stairs, and grass beginning to sprout on a manhole cover.

If you’re having trouble identifying what you found, iNaturalist is a great tool for learning the names of some things we see daily but don’t know much about. Download the app, snap a photo, and let other users identify your findings for you! If you share your photos on iNaturalist between April 24 and April 27, 2020 you’ll be a part of the global City Nature Challenge!

What can you find in different cracks around you? The next time you’re walking down the street, take a closer look at your sidewalk and see what you can find! We’d love to see your findings. Email them to us at nature360@carnegiemnh.org or tag us on social media @CarnegieMNH.

April 29, 2020 by wpengine

Observing Nature at Night

When the sun goes down, you may think nature observations are over for the day, but darkness brings out a whole new group of creatures to look for. With the City Nature Challenge on iNaturalist coming up April 24th-27th, we wanted to give you some tips for observing nature at night.

Using Your Senses

It’s harder to see at night, so you should try using some other senses to explore. What can you find if you listen very carefully, or use your nose as a guide? You can even record sound files and share them on iNaturalist – they count for the City Nature Challenge!

Safety comes first, though, especially in the dark. Try not to startle or disturb animals, and keep them (and you!) safe by avoiding any physical contact.

Nighttime Observations

• Earthworms, snails, and other creatures with damp body surfaces tend to take cover during the day to protect themselves from drying out in the sun. At night, try spotting their slimy trails across pavement or grass with a flashlight. You may not find the animals, but their trails will let you know they’re nearby.

• If you have a porch light, you may be able to watch creatures from the comfort of your home. The light will draw in insects like moths, in turn attracting hungry creatures like spiders. Can you find a web-spinning arachnid hunting for its next meal?

• Try exploring with a red light! Use a headlamp with a red light setting, or tape a piece of red paper to the front of your flashlight and explore your backyard. Red light is easier on your eyes and causes less disruptions of animal behaviors than a white light.

•Be sure to check any flowers in your yard. Pollinators visit them both day and night!

•Attract bugs with a white sheet. Hang or lay a sheet in your back yard and shine a light on it. Insects will fly around then settle on your sheet so you can observe and photograph them.

We want to see your nighttime discoveries! Share your photos and sounds on iNaturalist between April 24-27, or use the hashtag #CityNatureChallenge and tag @CarnegieMNH on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

Fun Fact

If you’re having trouble observing nature around you, visit the Explore tab of the iNaturalist App. This will let you see what iNaturalist users are observing all over the world!

April 29, 2020 by wpengine

A Walking Tour of Blooming Trees in Pittsburgh

I live within walking distance of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in the neighborhood known as Squirrel Hill. One of my favorite things about living in this neighborhood is springtime – more specifically all of the beautiful blooms. I decided to practice my picture taking skills for the upcoming City Nature Challenge, while staying socially distant from neighbors, by taking a walking tour of the blooming trees of Squirrel Hill. Let’s see what I found.

This tree is most likely an almond tree, based on the flower shape and colors. For some trees it is easier to identify them from their leaves, but this early in the year the tree doesn’t have any yet. I used my handy iNaturalist app to help me out with initial identification. While I don’t know for sure if it is in fact an almond tree and not a plum or something similar, now that I have posted it on the app, hopefully someone else will correct or verify the identification in the future.

Like the almond tree and this weeping cherry tree, most of the flowering trees in the neighborhood are fruit trees that individuals planted in their yards. This is important to remember when uploading information to iNaturalist, especially during the City Nature Challenge. When I uploaded these images I clicked on the button “Captive / Cultivated” to make sure that it is documented that these trees were purposefully planted by people and would not grow native here in Pennsylvania. While there is nothing wrong with adding non-native plants to our yards, it’s important for people using the data on iNaturalist that we include that information.

My last stop on the neighborhood tour is one of my very favorites: my neighbor’s giant magnolia tree. I recently found out that magnolia trees are a very ancient group of flowering plants, and they evolved to be pollinated by beetles instead of bees! There are a couple of characteristics that show that they were adapted for this type of pollination, including their flower color and size, and a special covering over their seeds to protect them from beetle mouthparts. This lineage of trees is so old that Tyrannosaurus rex and other late Cretacous dinosaurs walked past its relatives. Next time you visit the museum keep an eye out for a tree in Dinosaurs in Their Time that looks a lot like our magnolias today.

As spring continues the neighborhood will start to look different. All these shades of white and pink will turn to green as the trees grow their leaves and new blooms closer to the ground will take their place. I’m excited to go for more walks and document more nature!

You can learn more about magnolias from the Magnolia Society.

April 29, 2020 by wpengine

City Nature Challenge Activity: Make Your Own Birdfeeder

During the City Nature Challenge (April 29-2, 2022) you can share your nature discoveries with people around the world! And one great way to find nature is to bring it right to you. A simple bird feeder made with items you can find inside or around your house can turn your front or back porch into a bird sanctuary. If you are lucky, you might observe some other visitors from nature. By using the iNaturalist app you can share photos with others and be a part of the City Nature Challenge.

Here’s what you need:

· Pinecones (collect as many as you want to make!)

· Birdseed in a plastic or glass container

· Peanut butter (use an alternative if you have a nut allergy)

· A spreading utensil

· String

· Cardboard, wax paper or foil

Here’s what to do:

· First, gather your materials and get your station ready. Lay down a piece of cardboard, wax paper or foil to contain any mess. Trust us, your parents will thank you.

· Smear some peanut butter on your first pinecone with your spreading utensil. This layer will give the pinecone a sticky surface and one more layer of flavor for your feathered friends to enjoy.

· Next, roll the pinecone in the container of bird seed until it has a nice, even coat.

· Tie your string around the stem of the pinecone and make sure it is secure enough to hang. If your pinecone does not have a stem, that’s not a problem. Just tie it around the widest end.

Hang it from a secure location and wait for nature to come to you!

What happens next?

Now it’s time to get scientific! Use a journal to keep track of the different birds and animals that visit. Check at different times of the day, too – does anything change from morning to evening? If you take photos or record sound files, you can share them on the iNaturalist app (with a grownup’s permission!) and learn more about what you found. Bonus: any photos you take & share on iNaturalist between April 24-27 count for the City Nature Challenge. We would love to see your findings as well! Use the hashtag #CityNatureChallenge and tag @CarnegieMNH on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or TikTok.

Fun Fact

One of the earliest known bird feedings took place in India in roughly 1500 B.C. The practice of “bhuta yajna” involved feeding birds traditional rice cakes. This practice is still occurs today and the birds remain well fed!

April 29, 2020 by wpengine

How-to Draw a Squirrel

If Pittsburgh had an animal mascot, I think it would be a squirrel. So, let’s draw a squirrel together.

Early naturalists, explorers, and scientists didn’t have cameras to take photos of the animals and plants that they saw. Instead they would draw them so that they could show fellow scientists and the public what kinds of new species they discovered.

One of the many squirrels that live in our area is the gray squirrel. Gray squirrels usually have a grayish or brownish back and a white belly. Some gray squirrels are melanistic—that means that they’re all black—and we call them black squirrels, but they’re actually a gray squirrel.

Here’s a tip: try out some ideas on scrap paper so that you know what works best for you. Practice makes perfect!

Step 1: Shapes

Use some basic shapes—circles, triangles, squares, and lines—to make up the general shape of what you want to draw. Use light pencil strokes so that they’ll be easy to erase later.

Try to keep all of your shapes balanced to one another—you don’t want your squirrel to have a huge head!

I started by drawing a big circle, like a boundary zone, to keep all of the other shapes from getting too big. It doesn’t have to be a perfect circle; we can erase it later.

I also like to have a photo that I’ve taken or found online to use as a reference for what I’m drawing.

If you want to take it to the next level, you can also check out some anatomical and skeletal models of squirrels or other animals online to understand more about their muscle and bone structure.

Step 2: Silhouette

Next let’s connect our shapes so that we can have a good outline of our subject. You can add eyes and some of the rough edges. Try to zone out where your colors will change too—for instance the squirrel’s white belly will be different than its greyish brown back, so I’ll add a line to mark that.

We can also erase that boundary zone circle we made earlier, unless you want to add a colored background for your squirrel.

Let’s also give our squirrel a nut to eat.

Step 3: Details

Add more details. Add some furriness to the body, add in details on the ears and face—including some whiskers, and make that tail really fluffy. You can also erase some of those shapes we made in step 1 and feel free to make a few changes to balance it all out if you want to.

It’s also important in this step to know how detailed you want to be. Remember: a smaller sketch doesn’t need as much detail, but a bigger sketch can have more. Whatever you think looks best.

Step 4: Color

This step is optional, sometimes a black and white sketch can tell a great story. However, if you have some time, then adding color to your drawing can also really bring it to life.

You can use crayons, markers, paint, or any other color tool you want. It’s always a good idea to test your colors on a separate piece of paper to see if they’re right for you or to try out a mix of colors. Squirrels that live in North America are usually brown, black, red, or gray, but there are very colorful squirrels in the tropics. Have fun with it!

April 29, 2020 by wpengine

Bugging Out…and Coming Back

From the first blooms of spring through the end of summer, insects (and many other things we often call bugs), are plentiful. They make their presence known at all hours by buzzing along during the day and chirping throughout the night. But where were they all winter? There is no one answer and that is what makes it so fascinating! Let’s take a closer look at where the insects we are seeing now have been hiding.

Flying South for the Winter

When we think of migration, we usually attribute it to birds. However, insects are known to migrate as well. Generations of monarch butterflies from the United States and Canada fly south to Mexico and roost in mountain forests. Different species of dragonflies also migrate. In the US and Canada, adults of migrating species leave for Mexico in the early fall and return in the early spring. What’s really amazing is that the young larvae stick around in our winter creeks and rivers, and hatch into adults in the spring.

The Next Generation

The end of fall can mean the end of a life cycle for many insects. To keep their species going, they lay eggs in the fall that either survive the cold as larvae or hatch in the spring. This is known as overwintering. Young woolly bear caterpillars find shelter in the cover of decaying leaves and logs or under rocks. Those praying mantises you see in the spring and summer? They hatched from eggs that survived the winter. Mayfly nymphs live in the water, even under ice, and are known to feed and grow all winter.

Yawn…See Ya in the Spring

That’s right, some insects even hibernate. Honey bees will group together in their hive and keep each other warm by slowly flapping their wings to generate heat. Certain arthropods like isopods can even produce a kind of antifreeze known as glycerol that keeps them from freezing. Now that spring is here, it’s the perfect opportunity to observe flowers in a garden, park or street and see what insects visit. You can also note these in the iNaturalist app during the City Nature Challenge.

A Buggy Challenge

How many photos of insects can you take and share on the free iNaturalist app during the 2020 City Nature Challenge, April 24-27.

Let’s Play Bug Bingo!

Get three in a row and you win! Head outside and cross off each insect (or other type of arthropod) that you see, in the order in which you spot it. Give yourself a bonus point each time you snap a picture and upload it to the iNaturalist app (with your parents’ permission!) during the City Nature Challenge that takes place April 24-27! Have socially distant fun with family and friends to see who can get bingo and then collect the most bonus points.

April 29, 2020 by wpengine

Field Guides: An Introduction

How do we identify birds? Some, like this Northern Cardinal, are easy because they are very distinctive. Others, like this lineup of thrushes, are more subtle and require a bit more sleuthing.

A male Northern Cardinal’s distinctive red plumage, crest, and heavy, seed-cracking beak make him an easy bird to identify.

At first glance, these thrushes look very similar and could be confused as the same species (left to right: Hermit Thrush, Swainson’s Thrush, Gray-cheeked Thrush).

What identification steps do we take when we encounter a bird that looks similar to other birds? The first step is to try to narrow down which taxonomic group the bird belongs to. This might sound daunting, but it’s often pretty easy. Is it a duck? Is it a hawk? Is it a woodpecker? Is it a sparrow? Often things like the bird’s beak size and shape, body size and shape, posture, and plumage can help you figure out what family the bird belongs to. Now start to notice field marks: what plumage colors and markings does the bird have; is it streaked or spotted or barred, or does it have other obvious patches of color or pattern; what color are the eyes and legs; does the bird have ornamentation like a crest? Watch the bird for a little longer and estimate its size as compared to familiar objects, watch its behavior, notice what habitat it’s using. Birders often find it useful to carry a field notebook to jot down descriptions of what they see and even draw birds with the field marks they’ve noted. Writing down what you’ve seen makes it easier to remember as you work on identifying the species.

Now it’s time to look in a field guide (there are many to choose from and we’ve listed our favorites below). Some field guides cover birds found across a large geographic range and some are more regional or local. Most good field guides will include a range map, a written description including field marks, and multiple illustrations of photographs of each species. The best field guides taxonomically, that is with closely related species grouped together and the overall order of these groups representing taxonomic relationships. Note that taxonomy changes as scientists study the relatedness of species, and some field guides might not reflect recent updates. Beware of field guides that organize birds by color as many species are sexually dimorphic (males and females have different plumage coloration!).

To illustrate how to use a field guide, let’s practice identifying a group of three birds that look very similar. This photograph was taken during fall migration, so we know that these birds are in non-breeding plumage. The first thing we notice is their size relative to adult hands. These birds are small and slender with beaks that are pointed and perfect for picking insects off of vegetation. So, what family are they members of? Yep, they’re warblers! In fact, some field guides have a section devoted to “confusing fall warblers” because many of them are more cryptic and look very much alike in the fall. Now, let’s note some field marks on each bird.

Birds 1 and 2 both have a faint eyeline whereas bird 3 has an eyering. We’ll focus first on bird 3. It’s quite yellow underneath on the breast and in the undertail coverts area, but whitish in the vent area. The head is gray and there looks like there might be some brown feathers in the crown. Now let’s take a closer look at birds 1 and 2. They look like they could be the same species, but let’s investigate more and note some key differences. Bird 1 is a more uniform olivey-green above and a creamy color underneath and the supercilium (stripe above the eye) is yellowish. There seems to be a hint of orange in the crown. Bird 2 is white underneath, has a greenish back that contrasts with a blue-gray head, and the supercilium is whitish.

Now that we have our notes with field marks, let’s open the field guide and turn to the warbler section. We know that these birds were encountered in southwestern Pennsylvania during fall migration, so range maps can help eliminate a few species right away. Using the field marks we discussed, can you identify these three species? (answers below!)

Favorite field guides to birds of North America

The Sibley Guide to Birds by David Allen Sibley (recommend the second edition, second printing) – this field guide has paintings of birds in all plumages and in similar poses to help with identification. Sibley has a series of guides to North American birds and to other taxa.

https://www.sibleyguides.com/

https://www.facebook.com/DavidAllenSibley

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America – this guide is frequently updated and reprinted so taxonomy and range maps are up to date.

https://www.amazon.com/National-Geographic-Field-Guide-America/dp/1426218354

Kaufman Field Guide to the Birds of North America – this is a photographic guide to North American birds, and the guide was the first of its kind to be published in Spanish. Kaufman has a series of field guides to other taxa in North America.

http://www.kaufmanfieldguides.com/

https://www.facebook.com/KaufmanFieldGuides

Peterson Field Guide to Birds by Roger Tory Peterson – this guide points out noticeable field marks that help an observer more easily identify species. Peterson has a series of field guides to other taxa in North America.

https://www.hmhbooks.com/series/peterson-field-guides

There are other excellent field guides that are for specific taxa (e.g., warblers, sparrows, gulls, waterfowl, etc.), for narrower geographic areas, or that highlight behavior or bird life history. There are many books to help explore and identify wildlife!

Answers to the warbler quiz:

Bird 1 – Orange-crowned Warbler, Bird 2 – Tennessee Warbler, Bird 3 – Nashville Warbler

Annie Lindsay is the Banding Program Manager at Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Powdermill Nature Reserve. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

April 29, 2020 by wpengine

Photogenic Fungi

by Sara Klingensmith

Often hidden in plain sight, mushrooms are silent drivers of forest ecosystems. They are busy decomposing the dead, but sometimes, they secretly steal nutrients from the living. Underground, fungal mycelium networks are quietly abuzz with the latest arboreal gossip and tapped into nutrient supply chains that connect the forest in a “Wood Wide Web.” Occasionally, experienced foragers hunt for edible fruiting bodies; however, aesthetically, mushrooms are often outshined by wildflowers. Fungi are uniquely beautiful in their odd shapes and color. They deserve much more attention than simply “can I eat it?” So, grab your camera and keep a sharp eye out for these photogenic fungi (and more), many of which can be found at Powdermill Nature Reserve!

Be sure to share your findings on iNaturalist and social media during the City Nature Challenge on April 30 to May 3!

Red Tree Brain Fungus (*Peniophora rufa*

Hold on! Did that log sprout brains? Nope! This growth is not a part of the tree’s anatomy, but rather, it is an “intelligent-looking” crust fungus. It prefers to grow on aspens, but it can be found on other hardwood species. According to iNaturalist, the likelihood of observing this fungus peaks in April and November. (Note: The tree pictured is not the typical host species.)

Common Bird’s Nest Fungus (*Crucibulum leave*)

Measuring just 4-10mm across, these infinitesimal “nests” look as though they have been built by itsy-bitsy birds. The spore-containing “eggs,” called peridoles, are kinetically dispersed by raindrops. These little mushrooms can be found growing on woody debris and even in your mulch bed! You just need to look closely.

Splitgill Mushroom (*Schizophyllum commune*)

Spiltgill mushrooms are among the most widely distributed fungi. Beneath their plain caps lies a delicate fan containing basidiospores. These mushrooms have the unique ability to open and close their gills based on moisture levels. When the mushroom dries out, the gills split; hence the name. Look for this hidden beauty on fallen twigs and branches during your next hike.

orange and brown mushroom held in a hand

piece of white mushroom in hand — False Turkey-Tail (Stereum sp.) & Turkey-tail (Trametes sp.)

For starters, they look like a turkey’s tail! These seemingly ever-present fungi can be found growing on decaying hardwoods. False turkey-tail, with concentric rings that display deep hues of orange, red, or sometimes white, is often eye-catching. It is called “false” turkey-tail because of its similarity to another group of fungi colloquially called turkey-tail (Trametes sp.). One difference is that Trametes is a polypore (pores on the underside) and Stereum is a crust (smooth on the underside).

Sara Klingensmith is an Environmental Educator and Naturalist at Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Powdermill Nature Reserve. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Mesozoic Monthly: Sophogramma

Welcome to April! Have you seen any flowers blooming yet? Often, when we think of flowers, we also think of their pollinating buddies, the bees. However, bees are not the only pollinating insects around today, and the same was true during the Mesozoic Era (the ‘Age of Dinosaurs’). One interesting prehistoric pollinator is Sophogramma lii, a beautiful pollen-eating lacewing from the Cretaceous, the third and final time period of the Mesozoic.

Sketch of Sophogramma lii alongside the Jurassic/Cretaceous seed plant Cycadeoidea by ginjaraptor on DeviantArt. Cycadeoidea was not a flowering plant, even though it looks like one; the flower-like structures are known as strobili and are actually types of cones!

Modern lacewings, for those who aren’t familiar, are a group of small flying insects with two pairs of wings of about equal size. They get their common name from the net-like pattern of veins on their wings. Most of today’s lacewings are predators that eat other small insects. Sophogramma, however, belongs to an extinct group of relatively large lacewings called the Kalligrammatidae, which were not predators but rather pollen eaters and juice drinkers. This group is commonly called the “butterflies of the Jurassic” due to several similarities with modern butterflies: their mouthparts formed long, tube-like siphons for drinking plant juices; their feeding habits resulted in the transference of pollen between plants; and their wings had scales and were distinctly patterned to ward off predators. Astoundingly, we know that kalligrammatids had patterned wings because these patterns are actually preserved in their fossils! Sophogramma lii had whimsical winding stripes along the edges of all four wings. Although we don’t know the exact color of the wings, we do know that these stripes were lighter in color than the rest of the wing. Other kalligrammatids had large eyespots adorning their wings, like many butterflies today.

Beautifully preserved fossil of Sophogramma lii clearly showing the light-colored wavy stripes along the edges of its wings. Image from a research paper by Yang et al. (2014).

The plants that Sophogramma snacked on (and incidentally, pollinated) almost certainly lacked flowers. Flowering plants, technically called angiosperms, didn’t evolve until early in the Cretaceous, roughly 130 million years ago, but kalligrammatids had been around since at least the middle part of the preceding Jurassic Period, about 160 million years ago. So what plants were kalligrammatids eating for all that time? And why did these insects die out just as angiosperms were becoming common? Well, kalligrammatids’ host plants probably consisted of spore-bearing vascular plants such as ferns and non-flowering seed plants including conifers, cycads, ginkgos, and a variety of extinct forms. Before angiosperms burst onto the scene, these types of plants dominated land ecosystems. Despite lacking flowers, these plants would still have used spores and pollen to reproduce, providing kalligrammatids with plenty of food. Once angiosperms evolved their flowers, these plants rapidly diversified and presumably outcompeted the host plants that kalligrammatids such as Sophogramma would have relied upon.

With a wingspan of six inches (15.3 cm), Sophogramma lii was a relatively large insect. Its fossils have been found in the Yixian Formation, an Early Cretaceous-aged rock unit that crops out in northeastern China. The Yixian represents a forested environment that many dinosaurs, archaic birds, pterosaurs, and other hungry critters called home. The distinctive stripes of Sophogramma likely helped it survive attacks by drawing these predators’ attention to its relatively ‘expendable’ wingtips instead of vital parts such as the head or body. I wouldn’t personally be inclined to eat one of these ancient lacewings, but with so many of those polarizing Peeps® on the shelves at this time of year, I think some people might actually prefer a seasonal Sophogramma snack!

April 29, 2020 by wpengine

Wind and Migration

Spring is just around the corner, even if it doesn’t feel like it the last few days. In the Laurel Highlands, the trout lilies and trillium are blooming, the closed umbrella forms of May apples are poking through the leaf litter, and the migrating birds are on their way. Some are already here. For many birders, spring is the most exciting time of year. We’ve waited months to see something different, all dressed up fancy and bright after growing new feathers over the winter. We also get a chance to see some birds as they lay over, northward bound to the boreal forest or arctic tundra. So, when will they be here? That depends on two things: time and wind.

Birds want to arrive as soon as there’s food to eat so they can stake their claim on a nice plot of land to raise a family. Since the tundra is still frozen, birds that breed there, like the Grey-cheeked Thrush, won’t be coming until around the second week of May. Louisiana Waterthrushes on the other hand, arrived the beginning of April, as soon as insects were flying along the mountain streams they call home. Both species know when to depart their wintering grounds based on daylength, honed over thousands of years through natural selection.

Gray-cheeked Thrush

Louisiana Waterthrush

The other thing birds base their decision to leave upon is weather, specifically wind. And it effects how many migrants might be arriving on a particular day at a particular place. Put another way, birds’ instincts effect the range of dates they arrive, weather influences the specific dates.

How is wind important? Hawks soar using thermals (warm air rising from heated land masses) or ridges (wind pushed up by ridges). Songbirds on the other hand, migrate at night and fly when the winds are light or are in the direction they are heading (when they literally have a tail wind). Because low pressure systems spin counter-clockwise fall migrants will move after a low front passes in the fall or before a low front arrives in the spring. We like to use Hint.fm wind maps to help predict when and where migrants can move. Besides being informative, these maps show the beautiful complexity of wind patterns.

You might now be wondering how we use these maps. Let’s use Sept 19th, 2012 as an example. At 1pm EST there are light, southerly winds along the eastern seaboard and throughout the Southeast. There are also strong southerly winds in the western part of the Midwest. If you imagine that these patterns will slowly move eastward (say half an inch by sunset) you might predict strong migration for the eastern seaboard, the southeast, and the Midwest.

If you made such a prediction you would be right, but you don’t have to take our word for it. It turns out that birds taking off and migrating at night are picked up on radar. Here’s a radar loop from 5pm EST Sept 19th to 1:40am EST Sept 20th. At the very beginning you can see storm systems across Wisconsin and Iowa. As the frames progress you can see intense circular “clouds” appearing across the east, Southeast, and Midwest. These “clouds” are millions of birds taking off after sunset and continuing to migrate throughout the night. They’re circular because they are centered around each radar. We call these appearances “blooms” because they blossom around the radar sites.

Notice that where the storm system is and several hundred miles to the east (about an inch) there aren’t any blooms. That’s because this is the area which is experiencing strong northerly winds. Rather than fighting the headwind, birds in this area are staying put until more favorable winds come through. The winds along the gulf appear to be favorable for a trans-gulf crossing and you can see the clouds of birds take off and begin to move off the gulf coast shoreline (especially Texas). Looking at the longer loop from 3pm EST the 19th to 2pm EST the 20th you can also see birds taking off in Illinois and Iowa after the front has passed through.

What about the spring you ask? Remember, since the low-pressure systems spin counter clockwise birds migrate ahead of a front. A few days ago, the night of April 11^th, there were southerly winds resulting in good movement northward across the southeastern U.S. Looking ahead, the next significant warm-up with nightly, light, southerly winds won’t occur until next week, mid-week (around Tuesday April 21^st). If piecing together wind patterns and radar isn’t your thing, Cornell Lab of Ornithology has you covered. They’ve put together something they call BirdCast which puts combines weather, radar, and bird data (ebird) to forecast bird migration for the U.S.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

We may be quarantined but that doesn’t mean we have to miss the magic of migration. As I write, there’s a ruby-crowned kinglet singing in a maple across the street. We can bird, or learn birds, in our backyard or neighborhood. We can bird a new local patch and contribute what we see to science by logging our sightings into ebird.com. Over the last few years people in Pennsylvania have found some amazing birds in their own backyard. A Black-backed Oriole from Mexico, a Painted Bunting which overshot the Carolinas by more than a few states, and even a Bahama Woodstar. With migration, we never know exactly what we’re going to get. To me that’s part of the magic. That, and knowing that it’s time for them to come, carried hundreds or even thousands of miles by their wings and the wind.

Luke DeGroote is the avian research coordinator at Powdermill Nature Reserve, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s environmental research center. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

April 29, 2020 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1998: Spontaneous mints in your backyard

by Mason Heberling

This specimen of purple dead-nettle (Lamium purpureum) was collected on April 17, 1998 by Kevin McGowan and Meggan Scanlon near Settler’s Cabin County Park in Oakdale, PA on property that is now the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden. As seen in the title of the specimen label, it was collected as part of a biological survey for the planning of the site, a large ongoing restoration of the formerly mined property.

Purple dead-nettle is probably in your backyard. Or if not, you likely don’t have to go far to find it in a lawn or sidewalk crack. Some call it a “weed.” Or, in the case of in your lawn, “spontaneous vegetation” is a lighter hearted term. It is native to Europe and Asia but now widespread across the world, including North America.

Purple dead-nettle is not related to stinging nettle, despite the name. It was named “dead-nettle” because is reminiscent to nettles (well, at least to whoever came up with the common name) but does not have stinging hairs.

Purple dead-nettle is in the mint family (Lamiaceae) with square stems often characteristic of mints. Try rolling the stem between your fingers and you’ll notice the square stems.

The City Nature Challenge is just around the corner (April 30 – May 3, 2021)!

Lamium purpureum was the 9^th most observed species in the Pittsburgh region for City Nature Challenge 2019. Here’s an observation of purple dead-nettle from the 2019 challenge from the flower bed near the Dippy statue at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

The City Nature Challenge is a global event where cities come together to share the biodiversity seen in their urban areas. Your nature sightings are shared through the free community science platform, iNaturalist. If you have never used iNaturalist, the City Nature Challenge is a great way to introduce yourself to iNaturalist. You’ll be hooked.

Past years have been (friendly) competitions among cities, competing for the most observations or species. But given the current pandemic, this year is different. It is not about the number of observations you make. It is a celebration of nature, wherever you can safely be this year…which for most, is your backyard! Or the sidewalk near your house. Or the parking lot. Or a local park. Or maybe even inside your house.

Keep a look out for purple dead-nettle. You won’t have to go far! In City Nature Challenge Pittsburgh 2019, this species was the 9^th most observed species!

Or if you can’t safely be outside, you can view other observations on iNaturalist.org at any time! You can help identify photos or just click around and go for a virtual botanical hike around Pittsburgh!

Or look online at Carnegie Museum’s 185 herbarium specimens of purple dead nettle, going back to 1826 in England! Or this one growing 138 years ago collected in Beaver county.

However you can, there are plenty of ways to participate and connect with nature while staying safe!

Find this specimen of purple dead-nettle here.

Mason Heberling is Assistant Curator of Botany at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

What is City Nature Challenge?

Get ready, nature explorers! April 24-27, people all over the world will be working together to share photos of nature where they live.

All you need is a phone or digital camera and the free iNaturalist app to help the Pittsburgh region collaborate (safely!) with cities everywhere.

Operation Observation

Start practicing now!

· Work with a grownup

· Download the free iNaturalist app & create a family account

· Take photos of plants and animals that you find and share them on iNaturalist

· The app and the online community will help you identify the nature in your photos!

· Think about ways you might attract more wildlife to your area before the challenge. Check https://carnegiemnh.org/visitor/city-nature-challenge/ often for activity ideas.

During the Challenge

· Take as many photos of nature where you can safely find it between April 24-27, and share them on iNaturalist

· Some great places to look for plants and animals include backyards, gardens, parks (but only if you can keep a safe distance between you and other people), and even the cracks in sidewalks!

A bullfrog perched on a rock. Photo by Melissa Cagan.

Staying Safe for the City Nature Challenge

Keep up-to-date on the latest state regulations at https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/disease/coronavirus/Pages/Coronavirus.aspx.

You may want to stay close-to-home and see how many different kinds of plants and animals you can find right where you live!

If you visit a park or trail, please stay 6 feet or more away from other people. You may want to wear a homemade mask, too.

Get social with your observations! Use the hashtag #CityNatureChallenge on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram or tag @CarnegieMNH.

April 29, 2020 by wpengine

Egg Carton Seed Starter

If you’re anything like me, then you love eating eggs. Fried, scrambled, boiled, poached, even pickled! So, let’s take all those leftover egg cartons and do something fun.

Another food I love is tomatoes. Sometimes when I cut up tomatoes, I get a bunch of seeds left on the cutting board. You can take those seeds or try some other vegetable or fruit seeds to start in an egg carton seed starter. I like to use tomatoes because they’re easy to grow and don’t take up too much space in the garden.

A quick note about growing seeds from fruits and vegetables: Most of the time seeds that come from fruits and vegetables that we eat aren’t as successful as the seeds that come from a packet. For example, seeds from a big beefsteak tomato might turn out to make smaller tomatoes.

Before we get started, we’ll need some supplies. Find some tomatoes (any variety) and cut them up for a BLT or a snack—we need some of those seeds. Always ask an adult to help out with a knife. We also need an egg carton and some soil.

Let’s fill that egg carton with soil and gently pack it down. You can use any gardening or potting soil. Make sure there’s at least one to two inches of soil. Poke the tip of your finger in the soil in each egg cup to make a hole—the hole doesn’t need to be deep. You can put two or three seeds in each hole (make sure the seeds don’t touch) and then cover them up loosely. Once all of your holes are filled in, you can gently sprinkle water over them until they’re really wet.

Set your egg carton in a plastic dish or on a plate to keep water from dripping out and place your planted seeds inside where they’ll be warm. Keep an eye on them to make sure the soil doesn’t dry out too much. Only water when the soil feels dry on top and watch out for mold growth—you can scoop the mold out of the soil if you see it.

After a week you might see little tomato plants poking up from the soil. Make sure they get lots of light in a south-facing window. You should plant them up to a bigger pot or into the garden when they’re about two or three inches tall. Just cut or tear the carton away.

This is a fun way to reuse waste and to grow your own food. It’s also a ton of fun to watch plants grow from a little seed into a big bush filled with fruit. And what a reward that will be!

A few tips on tomato plants:

· You can pinch off a few of your tomato seedlings so that there’s one strong one in each cup—tomatoes need a strong root system and don’t do well with too much competition.

· Plant tomatoes or place potted tomatoes where they get at least six hours of direct sunlight.

· When you plant them up, use a big, deep pot, like a five-gallon bucket with holes for drainage. Plant the stem into the soil so the root system can really jump out.

· Fertilize or provide rich compost, tomatoes love good soil. Water your plants if the soil feels dry or if the plants look droopy.

April 29, 2020 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1906

(Not quite yet) flowering dogwood

This specimen of flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) was collected on January 21, 1906 in Fern Hollow, Frick Park, Pittsburgh by Otto Jennings. The specimen was collected 13 years before Frick Park became a city park, bequeathed by the well-known industrialist Henry Clay Frick after his death. Otto Jennings was an influential botanist in western Pennsylvania, serving as curator at the museum for many years.

I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again – specimens without leaves are cool! Why did Jennings collect this specimen?

Flowering dogwood has distinctively big flower buds through the winter. The flower is in there, remaining dormant, waiting to blossom in the spring. Like many other woody species in our area, the leaf and flower buds are pre-formed by the previous fall. They remain dormant until they reach their chilling requirement (number of cold days), the air temperature warms, and/or the days get longer (in plants, this is called “photoperiod”). Different species have different requirements, with some species being more conservative than others to prevent premature leaf out in the middle of winter.

Only about two and half more months until flowering dogwood awakes in western Pennsylvania. In the meantime, you can admire the species in the spring diorama in Botany Hall, or look for their buds outside.

Find this specimen and more here.

April 29, 2020 by wpengine

A Rare New Species for Natural History: Earth System Scientists

Part of Anthropocene science is earth system science, the study of anthropogenic change of whole earth systems–the water systems, geological systems, ecosystems, and atmosphere–and their feedbacks with each other and human society. Historically earth system scientists have been a rare species at natural history museums, because they do not collect organismal specimens or valuable rocks. Instead they collect samples of air, water, microorganisms, and soil. But CMNH recognizes these scientists are key to understanding the Anthropocene and translating it to the public.

Two earth scientists have recently joined CMNH. Dr. Carla Rosenfeld will be the museum’s first curator of Earth Sciences. Rosenfeld’s work focuses on the microbial ecology of earth systems: how they naturally mediate the vast majority of water and soil chemistry and can be used to remediate pollution. For example, she is testing the potential for fungi to remove toxins from acid mine drainage.

Dr. Bonnie McGill is a science communication fellow with the Climate and Rural Systems Project (CRSP) in the Anthropocene Science Section. With CRSP she is working with rural communities to explore local climate change impacts, identify the social and ecological systems involved, and design community-level actions. Much of her previous work was in the Midwest studying how soil and water conservation in corn and soybean production impacted greenhouse gas emissions and nitrate pollution of rivers.

Bonnie McGill is a Science Communication Fellow at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences working at the museum.

April 29, 2020 by wpengine

“Say Cheese!” – Specimen Imaging in Invertebrate Zoology

“A picture tells 1,000 words.”

Specimen imaging is a method of documenting specimens in the Invertebrate Zoology collection for research as well as collection maintenance. Digitizing the collection allows it to be more accessible to the scientific community. Specimen-based documentation includes capturing the data from the specimen as well as images of the specimen from different angles. Images of labels serve as a primary data capture that may then be used to populate a database of specimen records.

Most of the imaging currently being done is based on requests from the entomology community needing images of specimens known to be deposited at the Carnegie. There are many historical specimens that are not otherwise imaged but are referenced in older publications. These specimens include cataloged species vouchers referred to as types, or specimens referenced in publications that are of interest to researchers studying those species.

Specimen photography is also essential when discovering new species. When a paper is published describing a new species, images of the designated types are included. The type series includes the series of specimens that were examined and used to describe the new species in detail. These images should be taken with a scale line to show the size of the specimen. Images of prepared dissections are also included.

Imaging techniques include using a copy stand, flash lighting, and focus-stacking through software that produces a final high-quality image with all parts of the specimen in focus. A light box may also be used, as an alternative to flash lighting, to provide even lighting and sharp images.

A macro ring flash helps with producing even lighting when imaging live insects that are moving or are very small and need to be really close to the lens.

Photographing live specimens that will lose their color when preserved in alcohol, such as caterpillars, is crucial. Larval images are a major component of the caterpillar collection and are incredibly valuable documentation of larval growth. Raising caterpillars is a way to document the life history of different species of moths and butterflies, and their associated caterpillars. Since the caterpillars will be stored in alcohol, the color will be lost in the preserved specimen, but these characteristics will be recorded through high-quality images.

Several other types of equipment are used to capture images at higher magnification so that characters may be seen in greater detail. Taking an image through a compound microscope allows one to capture an image that may be used to draw a detailed illustration. An image taken through a Scanning Electron Microscope offers even greater detail. All-together, the image collection is a major component of the archived data that contributes to the understanding of the specimens in the collection. This includes digital files and images on older slide film that still need to be scanned. The digital image collection continues to grow daily, and serves the broader entomological community that needs access to the reference specimens stored in the Invertebrate Zoology collection at the Carnegie.

Vanessa Verdecia is a collection assistant in the museum’s Invertebrate Zoology Section. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

April 29, 2020 by wpengine

What is the Anthropocene and How Does it Relate to Earth Day?

The Anthropocene translates roughly to “human” “times” and it is the proposed current geological period that started when the activities of human beings collectively began to have big impacts on Earth system processes, so much so that it leaves a record in Earth’s geology. While it is hard to untangle when exactly the Anthropocene should start, the leading proposal is around 1950, when human population and technology really started to grow rapidly.

The first Earth Day was organized about 2 decades after the Anthropocene “officially” started. Back then the public was already seeing how much impact humans were having on the planet and they were concerned. In the 1970s, America responded and passed all of our major environmental laws, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Endangered Species Act. Today, 50 years later, we know a lot more about how human activities are changing the planet, including the threat of global climate change. And like those folks celebrating the first Earth Day, we again have the great opportunity to respond and protect what we love.

Stewardship in the Anthropocene

One big question with the Anthropocene is what the heck are we going to do about it? How can we respond? The concept of stewardship is helpful here. Stewardship can be defined in different ways, but generally it refers to the job of ‘caring for the land and species.’ At CMNH a number of our scientists use their research to inform how people can live and care for the land to produce things they want while taking care of nature. We want to find these beneficial land-use and stewardship practices and share them more broadly. If more people can find ways to support the human economy while also protecting the health of ecosystems, the Anthropocene may cease to be a problem.

Examples of Stewardship Research

Ancient Canyon Live Oak, Santa Cruz Mountains

Curator of Anthropocene Studies, Dr. Nicole Heller conducts field work in California, where she works to adapt conservation frameworks to better include people and their positive stewardship practices in conservation decision-making. She is working with a group of scientists, farmers, foresters, conservationists, and Indigenous tribes to map and monitor all the different stewardship practices on the landscapes and understand how those practices work together to affect ecological and social health.

Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles, Dr. Jennifer Sheridan, conducts field work in Borneo, where she works with a consortium of scientists and a large palm oil producer to assess how spatial arrangement of forest and plantation can maximize biodiversity conservation. Because deforestation for oil palm plantation is the largest driver of deforestation in this biodiversity hotspot, such partnerships are critical to effective conservation.

Curator of Birds, Chase Mendenhall is a leader in establishing methods for monitoring changes in biodiversity and quantifying factors that enhance re-diversification of human-disturbed landscapes. This work has largely been conducted in Costa Rica.

Matt Webb and Jon Rice installing decorative bird safe window film.

Since 1961, Powdermill Avian Research Center (PARC) staff have operated one of the North America’s best bird banding programs, recording the timing of bird migration and a broad variety of life history and ecological attributes of migrating birds. PARC uses their data on birds to inform a wide variety of stewardship actions across the landscape to help birds survive. In one project, PARC works jointly with the American Bird Conservancy and select industrial partners to develop window glass that birds can see and avoid collisions.

Nicole Heller is Curator of Anthropocene Studies at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences working at the museum.

April 29, 2020 by wpengine

A Century Ago, a Donor Walked into the Carnegie Museum

Figure 1: Accession #6163, Donated By Major J.P. Young

What could have inspired someone to arrive at the Carnegie Institute, on a cold winter day to donate a small collection of fossils found while serving in World War I, less than a month after returning to the United States?

Albert D. Kollar, Collections Manager for the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, discovered this mystery while undertaking a multi-year project to take a fresh look at the Baron de Bayet Collection, a collection of 130,000 fossils purchased by Andrew Carnegie in 1903. While looking at the trilobites, an extinct group of arthropods, Albert noticed a few specimens missing the characteristic “BH” letters and/or labels that typically identify the Bayet collection. After some detective work, Albert uncovered evidence of a previously unknown collection, “a small collection of fossil shells,” from France, that had been donated by a “Major J.P. Young” in 1919. (Figure 1).

Major Young, born in 1873 in Middletown, Ohio, developed a love of collecting early in life, spotting artifacts from indigenous cultures of North America, while working as a surveyor, for the Pennsylvania Railroad. His connection to Pittsburgh was further strengthened by his marriage to Margaret Young Oliver, daughter of George T. Oliver, industrialist and United States Senator from Pennsylvania. After World War I, John and Margaret settled in Ithaca, New York, where John was affiliated with his alma mater, Cornell University, for the remainder of his life. From 1925-1935, he painstakingly illustrated eight volumes of diatoms, single celled algae with sharp exterior coatings made of silica. Many of these illustrations were published by Dr. Mathew Hohn in 1951. During World War II, John Young volunteered as a “dollar a year man;” so that a Cornell staff member could serve in the war effort. After the war, he returned to his fascination with indigenous artifacts when he reorganized the Seneca and Cayuga collections of the DeWitt Museum in Ithaca, New York. But his longest tenure of service involved the Cornell Paleontological Research Institution (PRI), which he joined in 1934. He served as president from 1941-43 and remained active until his death in 1957. Fellow members of the PRI described him as “scholarly and pleasant” in a memorandum published after his passing.

Which brings us back to those fossils. In 1917, at age 44, John Paul Young joined the United States Army, and was tapped to lead the 5^th Trench Mortar Battalion, a unit of 600 soldiers. Sometime between September and November of 1918, while managing his soldiers’ cold, thirst, hunger, and conditions such as “trench foot,” a complication from extreme wetness and cold that could turn a soldier’s foot into a gangrenous mass, Major Young uncovered the trilobite fossils during the excavation of trenches under his command. The construction of a World War I trench is shown in real time in the first 17 minutes of the movie, 1917. After this blog’s original release, Albert watched 1917 on the big screen in January 2020 to gain an appreciation of the difficulty in trench construction shoring the walls with wood, tin, and wire while a battle takes place. To Albert’s amazement the process of digging a 7-foot-deep trench to the top of the parapet out of brown mud and brown colored rock, closely matches the Major’s accession description (Fig. 1) and fossil colors (Fig. 4). The Major noticed fossiliferous rocks at the bottom of a trench along the Western Front in Vitrey-sur-Mance, France (Figure 2). Intrigued to find fossils in a trench, the Major collected and then later donated them to the Carnegie Institute in 1919.

Figure 2: French Locations of Carnegie Trilobites

This fall, Albert travelled to Paris to visit the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle in Paris seeking to uncover this 100-year-old French trilobite mystery. Albert met with Dr. Sylvain Charbonnier, Collections Manager of Invertebrate Paleontology at the Muséum to discuss this puzzle. Albert’s query is to verify the genus, species, age, and stratigraphic locality of these trilobites. At this point, his preliminary research indicates that the Bayet trilobites are distorted and preserved in a black siltstone rock, that Albert recently coated with a white salt to enhance the fossil detail (Figure 3). In contrast, the three trilobites without labels possibly attributed to Major Young (see Figure 4) are also distorted; but preserved in a brown iron color siltstone. The iron oxide coating gives them a reddish appearance. They too are coated with a whitish salt to enhance detail.

Figure 3: Sample of a Bayet Trilobite from Vitré

Figure 4: Trilobites From Major Young Donation

An established paleontological collecting method, crucial to the identification of specimens, is to know the exact placement of the fossil to the stratigraphic locality (rock layer) which can support a known geologic age verified in the Geologic Time Scale. If someone makes a collection, such as the Baron de Bayet, and a paper label is preserved (Figure 3) then, Albert must confirm through paleontology literature and the geologic map of France, all known stratigraphic localities in the region for evidence of similar trilobites. For example, the Vitré label in Figure 3, establishes the location for this trilobite as Bretagne in the northwest of France. To ascertain the proper locality of the Major’s donation (Figure 4), we assume at this point, that it is from Vitrey-sur-Mance in the northeast of France; but further research is planned to resolve the exact location of the of the trenches that the Major occupied in World War I.

Following the advice of Dr. Charbonnier, Albert will proceed to digitize all 50 plus trilobites and send these images and other documentation to the Paris Muséum for further review. While we await the results, the fact that the fossils are sparking a new vein of research is probably exactly what the Major had hoped for all along.

Joann Wilson is the Interpreter for the Department of Education and Volunteer for the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology at CMNH and Albert Kollar is the Collections Manager for the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Many thanks to the fabulous Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh staff, with special acknowledgment to Carnegie Museum Library Managers, Xianghua Sun and Marilyn Cocchiola Holt, and Carnegie Reference Librarians Joanne Dunmyre and Leigh Anne Focareta. Special thank you to Peter Corina at the Kroch Library, Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections at Cornell University.

April 29, 2020 by wpengine

From cultivation to invasion: a common route

Collected on this Day in 1937

This specimen of princess tree (Paulownia tomentosa) was collected on January 13, 1937 in Schenley Park, Pittsburgh by R.J. Templeton and J.R. Steck. Though subtle, note the heading on the label “Flora of Cultivation.” This header suggests that this tree was planted in the park, rather than naturally occurring on its own.

Princess tree has a remarkable presence – large wide leaves larger than your face (though you can’t see that in this winter collected specimen) and very showy, fragrant flowers that burst from large buds in the spring. Signs of the flowers/fruits remain obvious on the branches year round.

Princess tree is a common urban weedy tree that is not native to Pennsylvania or the United States. Rather, it is native to Central and Western China. It was brought to Europe in the 1830s (and then to the US) by the Dutch East India Company, with many historical medicinal and ornamental uses, as well as its wood. The tree was named after a Romanov princess, the Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna.

Princess tree can still be found in Schenley Park. It is especially noticeable, with its flowers at eye level, as you walk or drive across the bridge from the museum to Phipps Conservatory (Schenley bridge).

Listed as invasive by the state, Princess tree should not be planted in Pennsylvania. It grows quickly and actively spreads beyond its planting, into roadsides, streams, and disturbed forests with potential to displace native plants.

Find this specimen and more here: http://midatlanticherbaria.org/portal/collections/list.php?db=all&catnum=CM120710&othercatnum=1

April 29, 2020 by wpengine

Nameless Writing

Names create a dilemma for museum educators. During some guided tours, when students are provided with the name of a creature, their observations of the animal’s physical characteristics abruptly end.

As a remedy to this situation, some teachers challenge their students to fill a notecard, page, or computer screen with words describing, but never naming, the subject under study.

At Carnegie Museum of Natural History, the dioramas within the Hall of North American Wildlife and Hall of African Wildlife are particularly well-suited for such exercises.

With practice, effort, and encouragement, student generated works can become much more than disconnected lists of adjectives. Consider, by way of a polished professional, and completely subjective example, writer Trudy Dittmar’s description of the head of a creature whose iconic whole-body outline is embedded in the minds of many people from glimpsed silhouettes on moose crossing signs along north woods highways:

The nose end of his face looks too big for the rest of it – his face is nose-heavy, wide and huge-nostrilled, finished off below with pendulous upper lip – and against the bigness of the nose end of the face, the smallness of his eyes way up back off the muzzle is unsettling. He looks disproportioned and ungainly, a ragtag mix of a lot of things, none of them fully realized – the head an early attempt at something equine;

From: “The Moose,” in Fauna and Flora, Earth and Sky, by Trudy Dittmar, University of Iowa Press 2003

April 23, 2020 by Kathleen

Super Science Activity: Rabbit Wranglers

Sponsors

Super Science Saturdays are sponsored by PA Cyber and Tender Care Learning Centers, a proud partner of Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh.

April 23, 2020 by Kathleen

Super Science Activity: Whipped Cream Eggs

What You’ll Need

Hard boiled eggs
White vinegar
3 cups whipped cream/whipped topping
Assorted food coloring

Directions

Fill a bowl with white distilled vinegar, and place your hard boiled eggs in the bowl for about two minutes, making sure to cover the eggs completely.
Remove the eggs, and dry them thoroughly.
In a baking dish, spread your whipped cream evenly, about a half inch deep.
Drop single food coloring drops about one inch apart, using whatever colors you choose. Then swirl the dots around with a toothpick or something similar trying not to make the colors run together too much. You’re looking to create a marbled effect.
Roll the hard boiled eggs you let soak in vinegar in the whipped cream and let them sit for 10 to 15 minutes.
After 10 to 15 minutes, rinse the eggs thoroughly and let the eggs dry completely on paper towels.

April 23, 2020 by Kathleen

Super Science Activity: Dino Hatch Eggs

What You’ll Need

One Quarter (1/4) cup baking soda
10-15 drops food coloring (optional)
Two (2) Tablespoons cornstarch
Two (2) Tablespoons dry citric acid (optional)
One to Two (1-2) teaspoons water
Small dinosaur toy

Gloves (optional)
Whisk
Large Bowl
Plastic Easter egg (for mold)
One Quarter (1/4) cup vinegar (to help dissolve egg)

Sponsors

Super Science Saturdays are sponsored by PA Cyber and Tender Care Learning Centers, a proud partner of Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh.

April 23, 2020 by Kathleen

Super Science Activity: Make a Bird’s Nest

What You’ll Need

Paper plate
Crayons
Markers
Brown paper bag
Scissors

White glue
Craft paper
Wrapping paper
Easter grass (or paper strips)
Cotton balls
Cotton swabs

bird nest craft plate with sky colored in

bird nest craft with grass glued on to create "nest"

bird nest craft complete with grass "nest" and colored eggs added

Directions

Use crayons or markers to color the sky on your paper plate (or whatever you’ve chosen as the base of your nest).
Cut the paper bag in half, crinkle it, and glue it to the edge of the plate.
Let the glue dry and cut off the extra paper.
Use cotton balls and white glue to add clouds. You can also add a sun and rainbow or another decoration.
Fill your nest. The example in the photos use Easter grass. You can use craft paper, markers, and colored cotton swabs with the ends cut off to add color and texture.
Use white glue to attach everything
Add whatever you’d like to your nest! Make some bird eggs, add some flowers, get creative!

Sponsors

Super Science Saturdays are sponsored by PA Cyber and Tender Care Learning Centers, a proud partner of Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh.

April 22, 2020 by Kathleen

Super Science Activity: Spring-o Bingo

Happy spring! Take a look outside your window or go for a walk with a grown-up. Check off anything you see and try to get bingo!

Do you see a robin?
Draw one when you’re done!

Can you find a bird’s nest?

Do you smell a skunk?

Learn about our Striped skunks, Gouda and Pepper Jack, animal ambassadors at the museum!

Can you spot a bird with twigs on its way to build a nest?

Read a blog about evidence of birds using plastic in nest-building.

Is it raining?

Do you see a Redbud or a Magnolia?

Do you see (or hear) an American Goldfinch?

Is the sun shining?

Can you hear any frogs, like this Spring peeper?

Read a short blog about what frogs do in Autumn!

Have you helped plant anything yet this year?

Can you spot an Eastern Cottontail?

Do you see any of these bright yellow bushes? They’re called Forsythia, and they’re blooming now.

drawing of a bird with rabbit ears sitting on a nest of easter eggs

Free Space! Color our Sun Conure, Mango, protecting some Easter eggs.

Have you seen or or heard any squirrels?

Read a short blog about what frogs do in Autumn!

Can you find any ants on the ground, like small honey ants or carpenter ants?

Do you see or hear any Bumble bees (pictured) or Honey bees pollinating plants?

Read a blog about why some Honey bees might be attracted to your bird feeder.

Do you see or hear any hawks, like this Red-tailed hawk?

Can you see, or smell, Pyrus calleryana, also known as Bradford or Callery Pears? They grow along Pittsburgh streets and in many other cities.

Do you see any trees with bark like this around your house? They’re Sycamore trees–an easy one for beginner naturalists to identify year-round.

Read a short blog about what frogs do in Autumn!

plants growing in between sidewalk crack

Can you find some plants growing in sidewalk cracks? We’ll post an activity later this month to help identify them!

Can you find any edible plants? Maybe there are some in your garden or a neighbors. DON’T eat them unless a grown-up says it’s okay.

Can you spy any earthworms? Many earthworms that you find are not native to North America.

Can you find five (5) dandelions?

Do you see any spiderwebs?

You can document evidence of nature like this as well as seeds, animals tracks, and more in iNaturalist for City Nature Challenge as well!

Can you hear this Song Sparrow?

April 22, 2020 by Kathleen

Super Science Activity: String Eggs

What You’ll Need

Balloons*
String or yarn
White glue**
Water
Wax paper/plastic wrap to dry eggs on

*If you don’t have balloons, follow these same instructions and use an overturned bowl to make a string basket instead.
**Cornstarch and flour can be used if white glue isn’t available

Directions

Thin out the glue so that it’s not too thick, but still sticky enough to soak string.
- Boil 1 ½ cups water (This is a job for grown-ups.).
- Mix in 1 tablespoon of flour and 3 tablespoons of cornstarch
- Let cool before using
Put the string in the glue mixture and make sure it’s even coated (make sure to keep your workstation and yourself tidy!).
While the string soaks, blow up balloons into an egg shape.
- Choose a bowl to use and flip it upside down
- You may want to cover the bowl with plastic wrap for easier clean up
Wrap your string around your balloons, leaving the tied end of the balloon uncovered
- Use a few strands to make an edge where the top of your basket will be before wrapping the rest with string (there is no right or wrong way to do this, just have fun!).
Set them on your wax paper and let them dry overnight.
Using a needle, pop the balloon (This is a job for grown-ups.).
Pull the popped balloon gently out of your egg.
Display and enjoy your new string eggs!

Sponsors

Super Science Saturdays are sponsored by PA Cyber and Tender Care Learning Centers, a proud partner of Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh.

April 13, 2020 by wpengine

Smoking Fossils

Figure 1: CM 5881 Trilobite (Isotelus maximus) with “smoke”

Figure 2: Same Trilobite without “smoke”

Ever wonder how scientists make fossils jump off the printed page? Enter a centuries-old technique known as “smoking fossils.” While there are many ways to “smoke” a fossil, one of the more commonly used methods was refined by paleontologist-geologist, Dr. Curtis Teichert. In 1948, he developed a process to heat aluminum chloride powder in a test tube with the result creating a white vapor that could be applied with a pump to a fossil. Although the Teichert process involves vapor rather than smoke; you will hear it informally referred to as “smoking fossils.” Today, Dr. Teichert’s method is still practiced behind a set of metal doors in the basement of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History with one modification: a ventilator hood runs at a low hum in order to remove vapors circulating in the air during the “smoking” process.

A few weeks ago, Albert Kollar, Collections Manager for the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology, “smoked” a few fossils for an upcoming blog post on state fossils. As Teichert noted in 1948, “… the application of a white coating to fossils is essential for photographic reproduction in order to eliminate spottiness and to bring about fine structural details otherwise lost on a black background.” One of the fossils selected by Albert was a 480-million-year-old trilobite (Figures 1 and 2). Trilobites are an extinct group of marine animals with an exoskeleton. In Figure 1, all three segments of the body are easy to see. The cephalon (head), thorax (mid-section), and pygidium (end) are well defined and the calcite crystal eyes stand out. By contrast, the same fossil without “smoke” (Figure 2) is difficult to study because it appears to merge with the rock.

It takes years of practice to add the aluminum chloride vapor with precision. Too much vapor gives the fossil a hazy appearance and it makes it difficult to see the fine details, while too little vapor imparts a splotchy appearance with some details visible and others disappearing into the stone. Albert selected a “death assemblage,” or group of fossils that died on the sea floor, to illustrate the art of getting the vapor just right (Figure 3). And how long does the vapor last? Albert explained that the effect can last up to a week if left in a closed cabinet, but it can also be removed with a damp cloth anytime.

Figure 3: PA State Fossil (CM 53898) – Trilobite (Phacops rana) with too much, not enough and just enough “smoke”

So, the next time you are enjoying a photo of a fossil on exhibit or in a magazine, look for evidence of “smoke.” It is just one more way that scientists help to bring ancient creatures to life.

Joann Wilson is a volunteer with the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology and Albert Kollar is Collections Manager for the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

April 13, 2020 by wpengine

Behind the Scenes…a Life in the Details

Perhaps on a past visit to the museum you have noticed the large, heavy wooden doors and wondered what lay beyond. You might have seen staff members using these doors to access the mysterious spaces beyond and wondered what they do. Maybe when you think of the museum, you think in terms of its ‘collections,’ which are vast—specimens, artifacts, dinosaur bones, gems, and more. Indeed, many of the museum staff do manage the collections, tirelessly cataloguing, preparing, and preserving our Natural History.

This past January, we had the opportunity to celebrate the work of Marilyn Niedermeier who was employed at the museum for almost 43 years! In a quiet corner of the third floor, behind a door labeled “Section of Birds,” Marilyn spent her career caring for a collection of data.

Since 2007, Marilyn was the person in charge of data gathered at the Bird Banding Lab at Powdermill Nature Reserve, the Carnegie Museum’s scientific research station in the Laurel Highlands, about an hour (58 miles) southeast of Oakland.

Started in 1961, the Powdermill Avian Research Center bands about 10,000 birds per year and processes another 3-4,000 recaptured birds (already banded). Marilyn’s job was to organize, proof, catalogue and submit those data to the National Banding Lab. How did she do all that from 58 miles away, and what does that collection of data look like?

In the early days, long before the invention of desktop computers, Powdermill data were handwritten on paper data sheets which were hand-delivered to the museum up until 2010! Although they rarely met face-to-face, Bob Leberman (founder of the banding program) and Marilyn frequently exchanged hand-written letters to resolve discrepancies in the data. Reports to the banding lab were prepared on a typewriter and snail-mailed to Maryland.

Over the years, as the database grew bird by bird, Marilyn witnessed many changes in the way the data was handled, from the antiquated computer punch cards (so advanced for the time) to the evolving world of desktop computing. As the binders filled up with datasheets, Marilyn navigated through several iterations of software needed to maintain the growing database and soon hand-written letters were replaced by email and eventually the data sheets were replaced by a direct-entry program at the Powdermill banding lab. Even with direct-entry of data, it doesn’t end there. The data must still be checked for accuracy and consistency and then submitted to the national lab.

For the over two decades, Marilyn worked tirelessly, with a ready smile, under a sign above her desk that read “No one notices what I do until I don’t do it!” Through her efforts and that of the scientists at Powdermill who faithfully collect the data each banding day, the dataset of the Powdermill Avian Research Center is one of the largest and most accurate in the country. Marilyn, we wanted to say, “We noticed,” and we couldn’t have done it without you!

Mary Shidel is a Field Assistant at Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Powdermill Nature Reserve. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

April 13, 2020 by wpengine

A Quarantine Art and Science Collaboration

Local environmental artist Ann Rosenthal creates two prints inspired by the research of Mason Heberling, Assistant Curator of Botany at Carnegie Museum of Natural History during this quarantine art and science collaboration.

Ann Rosenthal is an environmental artist and educator who examines the intersections of nature and culture through timely issues, including climate change, biodiversity, and biophilia. In 2019, she co-curated “Crafting Conversations: A Call and Response to Our Changing Climate” for Creatives for Climate through Contemporary Craft’s BNY Mellon Satellite Gallery in Pittsburgh. She is currently one of four editors for a field guide on ecoart practices on behalf of an international network of ecoartists.

“I am interested in the relationships within and between the human and natural worlds. In this unprecedented time, we can see systems and relationships more clearly; for example, how just a few weeks of staying at home has cleared our air and water,” says Ann Rosenthal. “I am fascinated by the research CMNH botanist Mason Heberling is conducting in forests around Pittsburgh, including at Beechwood Farms. He and collaborators from the University of Pittsburgh and Boston University are studying how climate change is driving the early leaf-out of the tree canopy and how that, in turn, impacts what grows and lives in the understory.

“My monoprint is inspired by those relationships: the red maple and red oak spring leaves suggest the tree canopy under which a hooded warbler perches on a spicebush branch. All of these species can be seen at Beechwood. The trees depicted are part of Heberling’s current and past research, and Thoreau studied their leaf-out in the 1850s. Researchers can thus compare Thoreau’s findings with their own. I hope my print will prompt readers to pause and consider the invisible threads that bind us to one another and to nature.” As Thoreau counseled, “Shall I not have intelligence with the earth? Am I not partly leaves and vegetable mould myself?”

See more of Ann’s work at locusartstudio.org.

Ann Rosenthal is an environmental artist. Asia Ward is an Anthropocene Science Communication Fellow at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences working at the museum.

April 9, 2020 by wpengine

Building Webs and Making Connections: Working with the Arachnid Collection

At one point in the long history of Invertebrate Zoology, we went by the name “Section of Insects & Spiders.” It may be surprising to some readers, but spiders aren’t actually insects. Insects and Arachnids (spiders and their kin) are two very distinct groups of animals that make up part of the mega-diverse lineage of organisms known as the Arthropods (phylum Arthropoda; which also includes the crustaceans (crabs, shrimps, and lobsters, etc.) and myriapods (centipedes and millipedes).

Arthropods are characterized by having segmented bodies, the presence of an exoskeleton, bilateral symmetry, and paired jointed appendages. Within this phylum, the classes Insecta and Arachnida vary in several key ways. Arachnids have a fused head and thorax (called a cephalothorax) with a separate abdomen, while insects have three distinct regions: a head, thorax, and abdomen, typically unfused. Additionally, insects have 6 legs, while spiders have 8.

Within arachnids, there are several orders, including Araneae (spiders), Acari (mites & ticks), Opiliones (Harvestmen/“Daddy Long Legs”), Scorpionida (scorpions), Solifugae (camel or sun spiders), and others. Spiders comprise the majority of the order Araneae and includes the tarantulas.

Historically, spiders have been treated differently from most of the insects housed here in IZ. As largely a section of entomology, the main focus has been on class Insecta, while still building on donated arachnid materials where applicable.

In early 2019, I was tasked with bringing the arachnid holdings together and began databasing its contents. This was part of a larger digitization initiative pioneered in IZ as well as many museum collections world-wide. As with many soft-bodied organisms, we store our spider specimens in alcohol (80% ethanol), as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. A standard alcohol drawer, containing arachnid specimens in 6 dram vials.

I began by bringing determined material together taxonomically. Determined materials are those that an expert has identified to the genus and/or species level. I can then catalogue that information into a database so that the holdings here can be shared electronically to other arachnologists around the globe.

Currently, we have over 900 spiders databased of the estimated 2700+ arachnids in our collection. Most of our spiders are from field expeditions to the Dominican Republic, from a large donated collection from Brazil, and from a former curator’s backyard in Gibsonia, PA.

We plan to move on to other arachnid groups in the future, and ultimately hope to have our specimens completely digitized and available for loans to the scientific community.

I’d like to give a special thank you to two of our wonderful volunteers, J. Murphy and A. Bianco. Their dedication and hard work have allowed this project to really blossom and our “web” of arachnid lovers to grow ever larger.

Catherine Giles is the Curatorial Assistant of Invertebrate Zoology at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences working at the museum.

April 8, 2020 by wpengine

The Largest Snail I Have Ever Seen

An inquiry came in (with the subject line: urgent snail question) asking, “How big is the biggest snail you’ve ever seen?” Thinking that others might be interested, here is my answer.

The largest snail? There could be many ways of answering that question. Size could refer to length, diameter, volume, or mass. The longest mollusk I have seen is the giant squid on display at the Smithsonian, but that is a cephalopod, not a snail, and it doesn’t have a shell. The largest shell I have seen is a fossil ammonite that was more than 2 meters in diameter, but that is also a cephalopod, not a snail, and maybe fossils are not acceptable for this answer.

The largest modern shell I have seen is that of a giant clam, but that is a bivalve, not a snail. The largest bona fide snail I have seen could be the snail in the Dr. Dolittle movie that carried Dr. Dolittle under the sea, but movies don’t always depict reality (sorry), so maybe that one doesn’t count. Another large snail I read about is a fossil sea snail from the Eocene Epoch (34-56 million years ago) called Campanile giganteum, which grew up to 1 meter long (Houbrick, 1984). But I haven’t actually seen one, which is really what you asked, and maybe you don’t want to include fossils.

Real answers start here. I would have to say the largest modern snail shell I have seen is that of the Australian sea snail Syrinx aruanus (which gets up to 91 cm long). The two largest shells of that species I have seen are at the Delaware Museum and the Philadelphia Academy, both of which were shorter than 91 cm; I didn’t measure them, but my memory suggests they were probably 65 to 75 cm long, which is pretty big for a snail! Given that slugs are also snails (gastropods), there are reports of slug-like sea hares (family Aplysiidae) whose bodies can get nearly a meter long, but the longest one I ever saw was around 25 cm long, so the Syrinx still wins for what I have seen. Another way to answer your question about largest is not longest but instead greatest volume. For that, the sea snail Melo melo might have the greatest volume (although it’s possible a large Syrinx might also win at volume, I’m not sure).

Syrinx auruanus by Bill & Mark Bell is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 .

Then again, given that my specialty is land snails, you might be asking about the largest land snail I have seen. That would be the giant African snails in the family Achatinidae. I have seen plenty of living Achatina fulica, with shells up to about 12 cm, but I have seen shells of larger species, such as Achatina achatina and Archachatina marginata. Note that we do have some large snails native to South America in the family Strophocheilidae (including a very large extinct one), but the giant African snails are larger.

Giant african land snail by Steve Slater (used to be Wildlife Encounters) is licensed under CC BY 2.0 . Shell estimated to be 10-15cm (4-6 inches) long.

Or maybe today is opposite day and you are really asking about the smallest snail I have seen. Although I do know about a minute sea snail, Ammonicera minortalia, at 0.4 mm diameter reported to be the smallest snail in the United States (Bieler & Mikkelsen 1998), I have never seen one. If you mean land snails, I recall that Wenz (1938-1944) reported some land snails in the family Diplommatinidae to be 0.5 mm, although I have not seen any Diplommatinidae that small, and I wonder if Wenz was reporting shell diameter rather than maximum dimension (most Diplommatinidae are taller than wide). (On the subject of narrow snails, I have seen the minute Carychium nannodes, which is only 0.4 mm diameter, but it is about 1.4 mm tall.) I do know some tiny snails from east Asia got a lot of press a few years ago for being able to fit into the eye of a needle (Páll-Gergely et al. 2015), and at 0.8 mm in greatest dimension, they are certainly minute, but again, I have never seen one.

The smallest adult land snails I have seen are either Punctum minutissimum or Guppya sterkii, both on the order of 1 mm diameter. Of course, their babies are even smaller, and I have seen babies of both those species, especially of P. minutissimum. Amazingly, Punctum minutissimum appears to be one of the most abundant land snails in northeastern North America, but it is rarely noticed due to its minute size.

Punctum minutissimum. Shell 1 mm (1/25 inch) diameter.

To recap (and more directly answer your question), the largest snail shell I have seen is Syrinx aruanus, the largest land snail shell I have seen is one of the giant African land snails, the largest living land snail I have seen is Achatina fulica, and the smallest land snail I have seen is babies of Punctum minutissimum.

References

Bieler, R. & Mikkelsen, P.M. 1998. Ammonicera in Florida: notes on the smallest living gastropod in the United States and comments on other species of Omalogyridae (Heterobranchia). The Nautilus 111(1): 1-12.

Houbrick, R.S. 1984. The giant creeper, Campanile symbolicum Iredale, an Australian relic marine snail. In: Eldredge N. & Stanley S.M. (eds.), Living Fossils. Casebooks in Earth Sciences. Springer-Verlag, New York.

Páll-Gergely, B., Hunyadi, A., Jochum, A. & Asami, T. 2015. Seven new hypselostomatid species from China, including some of the world’s smallest land snails (Gastropoda, Pulmonata, Orthurethra). ZooKeys 523: 31–62. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.523.6114.

Wenz, W. 1938-1944, Gastropoda, Teil 1, Allgemeiner Teil und Prosobranchia. In: Schindewolf, Handbuch der Palaozoologie, v. 6. Borntraeger, Berlin. vii + 1639 p.

April 6, 2020 by wpengine

Make Your Own Thermometer

What’s the first thing you do before going to bed or upon waking up in the morning? For many people, it’s checking the weather. This simple activity sets the tone for the rest of your day. It will determine the outfit you wear, whether you walk or ride the bus and so much more. It can be as easy as checking an app or watching the morning news, but where’s the fun and excitement in that? With a little effort, you can make your very own thermometer that will provide an up-to-the-minute indoor or outdoor temperature, depending on where you leave it.

What You’ll Need

· A 20 ounce plastic soda bottle

· A small funnel

· Water

· Rubbing alcohol

· Food coloring

· Straw

· Modeling clay

· Permanent marker

· Bowl of hot (but not boiling!) water

· Bowl of ice

Directions

Fill your bottle halfway with 5 ounces (a little more than half a cup or about 150 ml) of water and an equal amount of rubbing alcohol.

Add a few drops of food coloring to the mixture. About 1-3 drops should do the trick!

Now drop your straw into the bottle, but don’t let it rest on the bottom. Doing so will block the mixture from entering the straw. Leave a little bit of room so that the straw can fill. Wrap the modeling clay around the opening at the top of the bottle to create a seal. Do not cover the top opening of the straw. Try and keep the straw centered inside the bottle.

It’s time to calibrate your temperatures. You can use the store-bought thermometer for this. Start at room temperature and look for the highest point of the liquid in your straw. Mark that spot’s temperature on the bottle. Then set the bottle in a bowl of hot (but not boiling!) water and mark that temperature. Lastly, set the bottle in a bowl of ice and wait two minutes. Mark that temperature on your bottle.

Now you have cold, moderate and warm temperatures on the bottle. When you wake up tomorrow morning, use your new thermometer to see what the temperature is like!

So how does this work?

Well, the warmer temperatures cause the liquids to expand. This forces the liquid up the straw, the same way that mercury moves in a thermometer you would buy at the store. In colder temperatures, the opposite happens and the liquid contracts and slides back down the straw.

Fun Fact

The first medical thermometer was invented by Sir Thomas Allbutt in 1867. It could take a person’s temperature in about five minutes. Do you think you could wait that long?

Learn more with Nature Lab.

April 2, 2020 by wpengine

Rabbit Bone Reward

During a mid-March search for a great horned owl nest in an Allegheny County park, a loose jumble of rabbit bones and fur served as a consolation prize. On a mile-long hike that lacked a definitive owl sighting, the rabbit remains were at least evidence of the big winged predator’s recent presence.

Owls swallow their prey whole or in large chunks. After chemical processing within an owl’s stomach separates digestible tissue from bones, teeth, fur, and feathers, these indigestible elements are compressed into a pellet and coughed-up.

The rain-dissected pellet rested on an oak-leaf cushion directly below a 12-foot high trail-crossing branch that might well have been the owl’s cough-up perch. As I imagined a well-fed owl occupying the perch, I recalled a challenge distilled through the wide-ranging conversations of the museum’s recent 21^st Century Naturalist Project: How can all who utilize natural history collections routinely summon the imagination necessary to link individual specimens with the environments that once sustained them?

The energy flow represented just by the tiny bundle of white bone and blue-gray fur, for example, ran back in time to the rabbit and all the plant growth that nourished it, and infinitely forward to an owl then incubating eggs of another generation on a hidden nest.

For more information about owl pellets please visit:

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/what-are-owl-pellets

April 1, 2020 by wpengine

Draw a Bird!

Have you been spending a lot of time looking out your window? I have and I’ve decided to do something about it. So, let me show you how to draw the birds that you see.

Illustrating or drawing nature is a method that some scientists use while taking notes. Sometimes a photo doesn’t always capture the details that a scientist wants to make notes about, so they’ll draw an animal, plant, insect, or even a whole scene in order to fully record what is happening. It’s also fun to make a sketch of your favorite flower or animal.

This time of year, there are a lot of robins around my neighborhood, so I’ll show you how I created this sketch of one and you can follow along too.

Step 1: Shapes

Use some basic shapes—circles, triangles, squares, and lines—to make the general shape of what you want to draw. Use light pencil strokes so that they’ll be easy to erase later.

Try to keep all of your shapes balanced to one another—you don’t want your bird to have a huge head! I like to use a photo that I’ve taken or found online to use as a reference for what I’m drawing.

If you want to take it to the next level, you can also check out the different field marks on a bird.

Step 2: Silhouette

Next let’s connect our shapes so that we can have a good outline of our subject. You can add eyes and some of the rough edges. Try to zone out where your colors will change too—for instance the robin’s red belly will be different than its grey back, so I’ll add a line to mark that.

Step 3: Details

Add more details. Add feathers on the wing and tail, add in details on the beak, head, and eye. You can also erase some of those shapes we made in step 1 and feel free to make a few changes to those shapes if you want to.

It’s also important in this step to know how detailed you want to be—sometimes simple is good. If your sketch is small, then less details might be better, but if your sketch is big, then you can add lots of little details. It’s up to you!

Step 4: Color

This step is optional, sometimes scientists will just write down what colors they noticed because they can’t always carry around a whole art kit. However, if you have some time, then adding color to your drawing can really bring it to life.

March 31, 2020 by wpengine

Mesozoic Monthly: Nemicolopterus

Welcome back to Mesozoic Monthly! Spring has sprung, and you know what that means: baby animals are coming! It only makes sense that the star of this month’s post should be as small and cute as chicks or puppies. With a wingspan of less than 10 inches (25 centimeters), Nemicolopterus crypticus is one of the tiniest known pterosaurs – about the size of an American Robin!

Life reconstruction of the adorable little pterosaur (flying reptile) Nemicolopterus crypticus by paleoartist Connor Ashbridge, used with permission. You can find Connor’s other work on Instagram @pantydraco.

Nemicolopterus is a pterosaur, a kind of prehistoric animal that is commonly called a “pterodactyl” or “flying dinosaur.” However, pterosaurs are not dinosaurs! Dinosaurs are all animals within a specific group of reptiles known as the Dinosauria. Pterosaurs comprise a separate group of reptiles that were specialized for flight, called the Pterosauria. These flying reptiles are extraordinary; they not only represent the earliest-known flying vertebrates (animals with backbones), but they also achieved flight in a different manner than did modern flying vertebrates (birds and bats)! Over half the length of a pterosaur’s wing was made up by a single super-long finger (specifically, the fourth finger, aka the ‘ring finger’ of a human) that anchored a broad skin membrane. It might seem like it’d be impossible to fly on just one finger, but many pterosaurs managed to grow to gargantuan sizes. Cousins of Nemicolopterus known as azhdarchids (one of which, Quetzalcoatlus, soars above T. rex in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Dinosaurs in Their Time exhibition) could reach estimated wingspans of 39 feet (12 meters). That’s as big as a small airplane!

Tiny, fuzzy, and adorable, Nemicolopterus would have looked a lot like a baby bird if you could take a trip back to the Cretaceous and see this pterosaur in the wild. In fact, the only specimen we have of Nemicolopterus may have been a baby! It’s often difficult to tell just based on its fossilized skeleton whether a prehistoric animal was fully mature or still in the process of growing and changing when it died. One way of telling if a fossil reflects an adult is whether certain bones have completely fused together (the technical term is coossified). You may know that humans have more separate bones as babies than we do as adults; this is because, as a person grows, certain bones like the ones that make up your skull fuse together along lines called sutures. Many baby bones also tend to be soft and flexible because they start out as cartilage, which is replaced by solid bone over time through a process called ossification. Several important bones in the Nemicolopterus fossil are ossified, so we can be sure that it was not a hatchling. However, since paleontologists agree that this specimen was still young when it died, and also that baby pterosaurs were precocial (i.e., able to effectively move about and find food on their own shortly after hatching), there’s still a significant chance that the Nemicolopterus fossil represents a young life stage of another, larger pterosaur.

There’s a good candidate for which pterosaur might be the adult form of Nemicolopterus, if indeed the only known fossil is just a baby of another species: Sinopterus is a tapejarid pterosaur that lived at the same time and place as the little fellow. Tapejarids are unique because they were likely arboreal and had beaks that appear useful for eating plants or fruit. Nemicolopterus crypticus was named the “hidden flying forest dweller” as an homage to the forested wetlands in which it lived roughly 120 million years ago, in what is now Liaoning Province in northeastern China. It spent its time in the trees, attempting to avoid predatory dinosaurs such as the famously bird-like dromaeosaurid Microraptor or the distant T. rex relative Sinotyrannus.

March 27, 2020 by wpengine

Lantern Slides

As someone who was born in 1998, I grew up in a world full of LED screens. With the click of a button, screens come to life and display anything and everything. The black mirror suddenly stops reflecting your anticipating face and a myriad of icons and a colorful image burn themselves into your retinas. I couldn’t imagine another way of consuming images. I’ve perused old photo albums with glossy, physical photos as a fun trip down memory lane with my parents, but digital images displayed on our computer desktop or our television screen was my first remembered experience of imagery. Holding a camera, clicking a button, and having the image still and lit up on the camera screen. How else could it be?

I’ve worked in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History for 3 years now in the Herpetology department, and it never ceases to amaze me. I’ve been fascinated by the beautiful specimens from all corners of the world, some of which can’t be found in nature anymore. Our Alcohol House is home to many preserved frogs, salamanders, snakes, and turtles that I have worked closely with and appreciated for their features and patterns. Seeing these creatures that I would have to travel across the world to see in real life is a treat every time I go to the museum.

I recently moved from working on our physical preserved specimens to start a project of cataloging lantern slides that were used for presentations in the 1920s. We pulled out the boxes labeled Lantern Slides with numbers from 1- 1000. I opened it up, imagining vintage, unedited photographs with bright colors on glass. And instead it was filled with hundreds of dusty, sooty (Pittsburgh’s classic problem) rectangle slides stacked up in an unassuming row. I gingerly picked one up to see if I could see the image, and I could see a dull outline of a frog, nothing special, and less colorful and detailed than the preserved frogs I had seen from all corners of the world in the Alcohol House or the beautiful National Geographic photos I have seen online. Just a piece of dark glass with an outline of a frog. This…was going to be boring.

I sat down for my first day of going through the slides and set up my station for cleaning and recording the information on the slides. I saw that a new gadget had been added to my repertoire of conservation tools, a light box. I plugged it in and pressed the button–nothing. Sighing, I did the archaic press-and-hold, and the light slowly flickered on, creating a large rectangle of plain, white light. Buttons were meant to immediately turn something on and show me images, and this silly box not only required a press-and-hold but just showed me light! Dejectedly, I picked up the first lantern slide, number one, and looked at the dark image with the outline of a frog. I wiped off the black soot, and began to record the information, slide 1, photograph, frog… I wrapped it up to make sure that the glass and image wouldn’t get damaged and placed it into a new box. 999 more to go.

I went to pick up the next slide, when my eyes fell on the light box, which was currently acting as a glorified lamp. Should I make this task even more grueling by adding the extra step of placing the boring image on the boring light or should I just work through all of them as fast as possible and go back to handling our amazing specimens? I decided to take the extra step of placing the slide on the light box.

And suddenly, the image came to life.

The vague green with some dark splotches that was dull on the slide became the vibrant color I had imagined, and the details of the frog’s pattern were crisp and clear. The image had an almost 3D, life-like quality that the screen does not have the depth to convey. I was shocked that these dust covered glass rectangles were holding such secrets within them, and that all it took was placing them on a light box to unveil their beauty. Without immediate gratification, I had made up my mind that these images weren’t beautiful, when all I had to do was take a few extra steps to discover images unlike those that I had seen on screens. I proceeded to take the image off and watch it revert back to dull and lifeless, and place it back on to the light box and watch it come to life, and marvel at how these little glass slides went from boring to fascinating in a second.

Lantern slides felt like they were of the past, a time where image projecting and quality must have been worse—right? By working with these old, dusty slides, I was able to see images of reptiles and amphibians the likes of which I hadn’t seen before. I now relish every opportunity I have to go into the museum and look at salamanders, snakes, alligators, and a whole host of other creatures (and researchers) on the light box. The Carnegie Museum of Natural History is rich with resources from the past and working with the Herpetology Department has given me the opportunity to get an inside look into how the museum might have operated far before even my grandparents were born. Getting involved in helping out at the museum is a wonderful way to get involved in outreach, science communication, and is an overall enriching experience!

Swapna Subramanian is an Anthropology and Ecology & Evolution double major at the University of Pittsburgh, and a volunteer in the Section of Herpetology at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

March 25, 2020 by wpengine

Robin Watch

(above) The American Robin Box in the CMNH Educator Loan Program, with art work by John Franc. The loaning of educational materials has been suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic.

As a bird watcher, I’m out of the house early at this time of the year, listening for the calls of newly arrived migrating birds. New days begin in a still dark neighborhood with a steadily growing feathered chorus. Although the calls of a few Northern cardinals and Carolina wrens are close enough for me to guess the location of each singers’ perch, they are far outnumbered by American robins whose blended notes reach my ears from every compass point.

On recent mornings I’ve come to value the abundant presence of robins as a tonic to human nerves frazzled by the life-disrupting spread of Covid-19. The species’ horizon-wide dawn concert is a prelude to an active visible presence in the same territory all day. With minimal effort, little prior planning, and without violating protocol for social distance spacing, you can observe robins flying to and from cover, hopping over grassy feeding areas in search of worms, fighting rivals for mates and territory, and even gathering dried grass and mud for nest construction.

Photo by Amy Henrici.

Through such simple observations it’s possible to reach what naturalist Margaret Renkl, writing recently in The New York Times, termed “the alternate world we need right now, one that exists far beyond the impulse to scroll and scroll.”

A pre-pandemic, but still contemporary call for all of us to become better robin watchers can be found in A Season On The Wind, ornithologist Ken Kaufman’s 2019 account of spring bird migration near his home along the Lake Erie shore in western Ohio.

“Their songs are loud and rich and their colors are bold, from the deep yellow of the beak to the bright rufous orange of the chest. If the American robin were a rare bird, we would climb mountains or walk through fire to catch a glimpse of it. Why should we appreciate it any less just because it’s around us every day?” (A SEASON ON THE WIND, Inside the World of Spring Migration, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019.)

A far older robin endorsement can be found in the writings of John James Audubon. In early June of 1833, when the renowned bird artist arrived on the barren coast of Labrador, he encountered a robin singing from a snow-free patch of grass.

“That song brought with it a thousand pleasing associations referring to the beloved land of my youth, and soon inspired me with resolution to persevere in my hazardous enterprise.”

Audubon’s praise for the species continues for several paragraphs, and his deep appreciation for the wide-ranging bird includes an aspect unfamiliar to modern robin watchers. After describing how wintering robins in the American south feed on “the fruits of our woods,” he reminds readers that under these circumstances “they are fat and juicy and afford excellent eating.”

For more information about robins including song recordings:

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Robin/id

For read a fuller account of Audubon’s praise for robins:

https://www.audubon.org/birds-of-america/american-robin

For Margaret Renkl’s full essay about the value of nature observation:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/23/opinion/coronavirus-nature-outdoors.html

March 20, 2020 by wpengine

Stay Connected to Nature with These At-Home Activities

With schools, the museum, and many other places temporarily closed, one thing remains open and available to all – nature! As Rachel Carson noted in The Sense of Wonder, “Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth finds reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.” To keep our connection with nature alive (and kids from getting bored!), we’ve rounded up eight blog posts from Nature Lab that you can do right at home, in your backyard, or at a local park. These activities are appropriate for all ages, but we’ve noted an ideal age group for each activity to help guide you.

First up, make your own Nature Notebook with materials you already have in your house, then head outdoors and start exploring! Make Your Own Nature Notebook (Ideal for ages 8-13)

While you’re exploring, follow these photography guidelines to capture what you see and document your discoveries. Nature Photography for Kids (Ideal for ages 8-13)

You might want to grab a compass to help you navigate! How to Use a Lensatic Compass (Ideal for ages 8-13)

Finding lots of cool stuff? You can search for mushrooms and spiderwebs in just about any place. Glowing Mushrooms and Pokémon (Ideal for ages 8-13) Spiders as Interior Designers (Ideal for ages 6-13)

Do you love Dippy as much as we do? You can make your own Dippy from things you find in nature! Create Your Own Dippy from Nature (Ideal for ages 6-10)

And speaking of Dippy, when you head back inside you can make a special placemat for Dippy and invite him as your dinner guest. Dippy Dinosaur Placemat Activity (Ideal for ages 6-10)

Last but not least, if you are stuck inside on a rainy day, you can make your very own cloud with some simple items you have around the house. Make Your Own Cloud (Ideal for ages 8-13)

We hope you enjoy these fun activities and keep your connection to nature strong! Be sure to check back for more fun ways to discover the world around us in Nature Lab. https://carnegiemnh.org/visitor/nature-lab/

March 19, 2020 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1898

Spring goes on! Spring seems to happen fast, which makes it all the more special and worth our attention. Comfort can be found in the new life of spring, a time of change.

Happy official first day of spring! For many people, spring conjures images of sunshine (and rain), birds tweeting about, and plants emerging from winter. Trees flower and leaf out high up in the canopy. Wildflowers emerge below, many playing a delicate balance between getting injured by cold or frost but taking advantage of the longer sunny days before being shaded out by tree leaves.

Many deciduous trees flower before, during, or just after they produce a new spring flush of leaves. That’s right – trees flower too! Keep a careful look out for them now and over the coming month. Many trees flower early in the spring, with small clusters of flowers. These easy to overlook flowers 40 feet or more up in the canopy are easy to overlook. They are often quite small and are wind pollinated. That means that rather than relying on insects, the wind blows their pollen, transferring it to female flowers. (And also…as many with allergies know, we breathe in pollen too.) Upon fertilization, seeds begin to develop. Flowering early, before leaves are out, is adaptive because the flowers are not blocked by vegetation.

This specimen of silver maple (Acer saccharinum) is in flower, but leaves are not yet emerged. Silver maple is native to swampy, wet areas such as around lakes across eastern North America. It is also planted, so it is now found in many habitats. It has beautiful bark that forms distinctive strips and with “maple-looking” leaves that are deeply loped.

Beyond the science, this specimen also tells an important cultural story about the history behind the Carnegie Museum. This specimen was collected by Otto Jennings in Olena, Ohio in 1898. Otto Jennings was one of the first curators of botany at the museum. This specimen was collected when he was only 20 years old, six years before he moved to the museum. He was born in 1877 on a farm in Olena, Ohio. He collected this specimen not far from his childhood home. Jennings started his 60-year tenure at the Carnegie Museum six years later, in 1904. He made many contributions throughout his career, serving as the Curator of Botany, Director of Education, and eventually Director of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. He also was Head of the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh, having advised many students. His legacy remains to this day for his influence on the museum, botany, conservation, and environmental education.

So many stories behind these specimens.

Find this specimen and the 304 other specimens Jennings collected near his childhood home here.

March 18, 2020 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1951: Bedstraw

This bedstraw specimen was collected on March 18, 1951 by Bayard Long in Philadelphia county, Pennsylvania.

Bayard Long (1885-1969) was a Philadelphia-area botanist and an active member of the Philadelphia Botanical Club (founded in 1891 and still exists today). He was a prolific collector and served as Curator of the Club’s Local Herbarium for 56 years (housed at the Academy of Natural Sciences).

Fogg writes of his collections in 1970 in the journal Rhodora: “It is doubtful that anyone ever possessed a higher standard for the quality of an herbarium specimen than Bayard Long. Every leaf had to be laid out flat, every inflorescence properly displayed, every flower part clearly shown. Extra flowers and loose fruits and seeds were placed in pockets affixed to the sheet. Root systems (collected in their entirety whenever possible) were scrupulously clean, habitats were accurately described, and localities were identified to the nearest tenth of a mile and closest compass point. All of this seems the more remarkable when it is realized that Long collected close to 80,000 numbers, not including collections made as a member of Fernald’s expeditions.”

Bedstraws (species in the genus Galium, in the coffee family Rubiaceae) are common and memorable in our woods. They have many historical and traditional uses. In particular, they were used to stuff mattresses, hence the funny name. Also called cleavers or catchweed, the stems are sticky (due to fine hook hairs) and can be fun to stick on your clothes. They have likely stuck to you or your pet. This specimen is Galium aparine. An annual plant, seeds germinate in spring and produce tiny white flowers. They are emerging now, poking through the leaf litter.

Find this specimen and more here.

There are >64,000 specimens collected by Bayard Long currently digitized and online.

March 13, 2020 by wpengine

An Introduction to BirdSafe Pittsburgh

It is estimated that 599 million birds die every year in North America after colliding with buildings. BirdSafe Pittsburgh was created in 2014 to research why birds collide with windows and how best to resolve this immense problem. Since then, every Spring and Fall the Downtown area of Pittsburgh, and some surrounding areas, have been monitored for migrating birds that have collided with windows.

Fall first year female magnolia warbler. It was caught after colliding with a window downtown and later released in Schenley Park.

The unfortunate birds found dead are brought back to the museum where they become part of our collection. The birds found alive after a collision are taken to a local rehabilitation center and are eventually released if they survive their injuries. These efforts help us understand what about a building makes it dangerous to a bird and using this information we can mitigate deadly areas with the help of building owners and managers.

Every person’s effort makes a difference, volunteering to walk a predetermined route downtown or monitoring your own home helps us continue to learn and spread the word of this problem. For more information about the project and how you can get involved visit our website: birdsafepgh.org, our facebook page: facebook.com/birdsafepgh/, or contact Jonathan Rice at ricej@carnegiemnh.org.

Jon Rice Urban Bird Conservation Coordinator is at Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Powdermill Nature Reserve. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

March 11, 2020 by wpengine

Tarantula relative found at Powdermill

On March 6^th, CMNH herpetologist Dr. Danny Hughes came across a very cool spider at Powdermill while digging holes for a salamander survey, and graciously captured it for us. We were excited to find out that it was a folding-door spider in the family Antrodiaetidae and genus Antrodiaetus! It is related to tarantulas and belongs to the same group of primitive spiders called mygalomorphs. They are uncommonly encountered, partly because they spend most of their lives in underground, silk-lined burrows. The entrance to the burrow is camouflaged with debris so that when unsuspecting prey walk by, the spider can just reach up and out of the opening, grab its meal, and retreat (see this YouTube video for an example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5owIY63g3E).

While the large fangs of these spiders may seem intimidating, they are not aggressive and are not of medical concern to humans because their venom is not very potent. In the ventral image, note the two pairs of yellow patches on the underside of the abdomen. These are respiratory structures known as book lungs. Nearly all spiders have a pair of book lungs, but only the primitive groups have two pairs.

Most folks are familiar with tarantulas which are found more in warmer climates, but these lesser-known mygalomorphs can be found right here in western PA. In fact, Powdermill is home to another family of mygalomorphs, the purseweb spiders (in the family Atypidae) which look similar, but they build silken tubes that run up along the base of a tree or rock above ground. We will be keeping our eyes peeled for this other cool family of spiders so we can photograph and show them off in another post. Stay tuned!

March 9, 2020 by wpengine

How to Wear Your Shell: Snail vs. Monoplacophoran

Do you wear your baseball cap with the brim in front or in the back? For some headgear, the orientation matters, for example, a football helmet worn in non-standard orientation might hinder your ability to see.

In most snails (gastropods), the shell coils over the tail. In some other mollusks, the shell coils over the head.

Torsion is a feature of all snails. Torsion is a 180° twisting of the head-foot with respect to the shell and internal organs, early in development. Torsion results in the anus being over the head (snails are real poop heads!). Why snails are torted remains a biological mystery, but a common hypothesis is that torsion also brings the gills and sensory organs to the front, and the anus just came along for the ride.

Snails have muscles that attach their bodies to the inside of their shells. Snails tighten these muscles to pull the body into the shell. A consequence of torsion is that the muscle scars (where muscles attach to the shell) are asymmetrical.

Monoplacophorans are a class of mollusks like snails except they do not undergo torsion. The lack of torsion means the shell coils over the head (in those having coiled shells). Furthermore, the muscle scars on their shells are symmetrical. Few monoplacophorans survive today, but they were more plentiful millions of years ago.

When I see snails in the funny pages in the newspaper, I notice that the cartoonists drew the shells in the standard orientation about half the time (50%, or random chance). When you see a cartoon snail with its shell in a non-standard orientation, you might wonder if it is really a monoplacophoran?

Next time you put on your baseball cap, think about how snails wear their shells, and remember the famous baseball snail: Slicky Mantle – he was quite a slugger – you should see him slide into home plate!

Cartoon mollusks with shell oriented as gastropod (left) and monoplacophoran (right). Illustration by Geoff Weber.

March 9, 2020 by wpengine

Groundhog Day 2020!

One of my favorite taxidermies in the Section of Mammals, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, is our groundhog with a malocclusion. Say what?

So, in dentistry, a malocclusion is the imperfect positioning of teeth when the jaws are closed, usually a cosmetic issue. If you are a rodent, like our groundhog, a malocclusion is not just cosmetic, but life threatening.

Rodents (including squirrels, beavers, rats, guinea pigs, and capybaras) are the most successful group of living mammals, accounting for about 40% of all species (2,500 out of 6,000). A key innovation that has led to their evolutionary success is their pair of enlarged upper and lower incisors that continue to grow during the life of the individual. Looking at a rat skull (below), you will notice that the incisors are enormous, especially compared to a molar tooth in the CT scan. When the upper and lower incisors occlude (that is, contact), over time they create a sharp, chisel-shaped cutting blade that is, for example, the reason a beaver can cut down a sizeable tree. Their incisors continue to grow and maintain that cutting blade. In contrast, your teeth don’t grow (nor do the molars of the rat or groundhog); in fact, they get smaller as they wear down.

If something goes awry with a rodent’s incisors such that the uppers and lowers get off kilter and don’t meet to create that cutting blade, the incisors will still continue to grow, and grow, and grow, as with our poor maloccluded groundhog. Ultimately, the animal will be unable to eat and starve to death. Ironic that the key innovation leading to the success of the rodent lineage can also be deadly for an individual on the rare occasion that things go wrong.

Rattus norvegicus, brown (Norway) rat, skull in lateral view (above) with sagittal section from CT scan (below).

John Wible, PhD, is the curator of the Section of Mammals at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. John’s research is focused on the tree of life of mammals, understanding the evolutionary relationships between living and extinct taxa, and how the mammalian fauna on Earth got to be the way it is today. He uses his expertise on the anatomy of living mammals to reconstruct the lifeways of extinct mammals. John lives with his wife and two sons in a house full of cats and rabbits in Ross Township.

March 9, 2020 by wpengine

Happy Groundhog Day from Nature Lab

A Brief History of Punxsutawney Phil

For the last 133 years, people in the US and Canada have been ignoring the forecast on February 2nd and instead using a rodent to predict the weather. That rodent happens to be a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil. With Groundhog Day 2020 coming up, let’s brush up on our groundhog facts!

Groundhogs in Their Natural Habitat

Groundhogs are known to hibernate for the winter so when they decide to come out of their burrow, it tends to be a natural sign of Spring.

The burrows this creature makes have impacts beyond protecting the individual groundhog. When a groundhog digs its multi-chambered burrow, it moves nearly 700 pounds of dirt and rocks which mixes the different soil layers. Burrows can measure 65-feet long and have plenty of room to shelter other creatures while the groundhog sleeps away the winter.

Groundhogs are mostly solitary animals and prefer to be alone. That means there are far more burrows than we realize, and each burrow only has one groundhog in it.

The History of Groundhog Day

Germans who migrated to Pennsylvania during the 1800s brought a European tradition of watching hedgehogs on Candlemas Day, February 2nd. Hedgehogs hibernate, just like groundhogs, and people would watch how they behaved during a brief break in their slumber to predict spring’s arrival. Because there were no hedgehogs in Pennsylvania, but groundhogs were so abundant, they became the North American harbinger of spring.

In the late 1800s a group of friends went into the woods of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to look for groundhogs, beginning a local tradition that has grown over time to become an annual celebration. People travel from all over to learn in person whether Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow and predict six more weeks of winter, or whether there will be an early spring.

Punxsutawney Phil’s Fame

Punxsutawney Phil now lives in a climate-controlled habitat that connects to the Punxsutawney Library where he is a local celebrity. Phil gained national fame in 1993 when the movie Groundhog Day came out. Phil’s weather predictions are even recorded in the Congressional Records of our National Archive! He’s known to have seen his shadow 85% of the time, meaning we receive 6 more weeks of Winter. Do you think Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow this Groundhog Day?

Make A Human Sundial

Since Groundhog Day is all about shadows, let’s learn how shadows are made and how they’re influenced by the earth’s rotation. By creating a human sundial, you’ll be able to track your shadow throughout the day and see how the sun changes it.

What You’ll Need

• An open space with nothing creating shadows. We recommend a driveway or parking lot.

• Sidewalk Chalk

• A Camera

• A journal to record your observations

Step One

This activity works best on a sunny day with no clouds or rain. Wait for a nice day then find an open area with cement or asphalt where the sun shines throughout the day.

Step Two

Place an X on the ground where you will stand each time your shadow is being traced. Have your parent or a friend trace your shadow. After they finish tracing, have them take a photo. Make sure to record the time you traced your shadow in your journal. Do this 3-5 times throughout the day.

Step Three

Observe the different outlines of your shadow and how they correspond with the time of day they were traced. What differences do you see in your shadows based on the time of day? What direction did your shadow move? At what time of day was your shadow the longest and the shortest?

Fun Fact

Phil’s full name is Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators and Weather Prophet Extraordinary.

Blog post by Megan Jones.

March 9, 2020 by wpengine

Time For The Great Backyard Bird Count

Look up! It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s…oh, it was a bird. The question now is: What kind of bird? If you’re able to develop some basic bird identification skills, you can contribute to a scientific research project in mid-February. The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual event where amateur birders help scientists across the globe gain a better understanding of current bird populations. This year’s event will take place from Friday, February 14 through Monday, February 17.

The Eye Test: Notice Physical Features

Your first observations should be simple. When you observe a bird, note as many physical features as possible. What is its size and shape? What color (or colors) are its feathers? Also note the size, shape, and color of such features as beak, feet, legs, and, if you’re close enough, even eyes.

Whatcha Doing? – Observe Behavior

Pay attention to what an observed bird is doing. If you’re watching the feathered traffic at a bird feeder, can you determine what’s on the menu? Some species show a great preference for sunflower seeds, others favor tiny thistle seeds. Still others use their beaks to bite wax-like blocks of suet.

Bird songs also provide identification clues, but many kinds of birds appear to find little to sing about in mid-winter.

Sense of Place – Where are you (and the bird)?

“Backyard” is part of the project title, but you can count in other areas. By paying close attention to landscape differences you can improve your bird identification skills. Expect different bird species in an overgrown field than in clusters of tall trees.

Now that you know what’s involved in leveling-up your skills, make plans to head outside. With your parents’ permission visit www.birdcount.org, the project site supported by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society. You’ll find participation information plus lots of well-illustrated bird identification information.

Fun Fact

The 2019 Great Backyard Bird Count was a global event. Check out these statistics:

32,497,355 individual birds counted
More than 160,000 (human) participants
6,850 species of birds observed

With your help, this year’s event could be the biggest ever!

This blog is part of our Nature Lab programming.

March 9, 2020 by wpengine

I love this interspecies friendship!

I confess I am not big on social media, but occasionally I see something that I can’t stop watching. This short clip caught on a wildlife camera in San Jose, California shows a coyote leading a badger though a culvert under a highway. And I am not alone in appreciation as this post has gone viral with millions of views! Simply put, this duo is absurdly cute. I can’t stop watching. While it is well established scientifically that coyotes and badgers hunt together, this video conveys so much more. The way the coyote leaps playfully, tail wagging, beckoning his short-legged little friend to follow conveys friendship. It conveys two buddies out for an adventure.

View this post on Instagram

🐾 Our wildlife cameras spotted this coyote and badger traveling together through a culvert (tunnel) under a highway in the South Bay. We believe this is the first observation of its kind documenting these two together. Studies have shown that a badger and coyote hunting together can be beneficial for both species, as they pursue favorite prey such as ground squirrels. Maybe that’s where they’re headed? See what else our wildlife cameras have spotted with the link in our profile or at openspacetrust.org/blog/wildlife. Video: @peninsulaopenspacetrust / @pathways_for_wildlife . . . #Coyote #Badger #Wildlife #BayAreaWildlife #WildlifeCameras #WidlifeMovement #CuteAnimals #Animals #CoyoteAndBadger

A post shared by POST – Open Space For All (@peninsulaopenspacetrust) on Feb 4, 2020 at 10:25am PST

There are so many examples of non-human animals, individuals of the same species and of different species, interacting in complex ways that reveal their unique personalities, friendships, kindness, and dare I say, love. Traits or expressions we tend to confer only to humans for fear of anthropomorphizing, a big no-no in science. (For example, see this national geographic blog about this coyote-badger video). And yet I would argue that the most apt description of these behaviors is to describe them with the same words we would use to describe them in humans. Our brains are similar. These arguments are well developed by ecologist Carl Safina, in his best-selling book Beyond Words, and summarized here in this powerful TEDX talk.

A recent study about African grey parrots also captured the surprise of scientists. African grey parrots were very helpful in sharing tokens to other parrots so that parrot could exchange the token for food. The helping parrots did this without any direct reward for themselves. This type of helping behavior, most simply described as generosity or kindness, is surprising to scientists and many expressed doubt that it is real. Why? Other creatures are our close kin. We share the same nervous systems. It makes sense that we also share feelings and thoughts, emotional and social lives too. I think this is obvious to anyone who has a pet. For this badger and coyote pair, why shouldn’t we all, scientists alike, call it a friendship? Which raises another question: if we start calling these behaviors friendship, without fear of anthropomorphizing, might this help us to better empathize with our fellow animal kin and take better care of them and the Earth?

I wonder.

Nicole Heller is Curator of the Anthropocene for Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences working at the museum.

This video was captured by Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST), a land trust nonprofit where Heller worked as the Director of Conservation Science prior to joining the museum. POST is doing terrific conservation work to make the busy San Francisco Bay Area safe for wildlife to move around, find habitat, and successfully reproduce in the face of daily human traffic and long-term urban growth and climate change.

March 9, 2020 by wpengine

Collected on this Leap Day in 1984

Unnamed, but not forgotten!

Today, we celebrate the 9^th birthday of this specimen collected 36 years ago.

This specimen was collected on leap day, February 29, 1984 in Brazil by Keiichi Mizoguchi.

Fun fact: In the Carnegie Museum herbarium, there are 85 specimens collected on leap day, collected between 1872 until 1990. That’s a lot of leap years!

Aside from it being collected on leap day, the specimen label might seem even more unique. Where most herbarium specimen labels have the species name, this one is blank. A big blank spot. The collector did not identify this specimen, nor has anyone else in the past 36 years (yet). This is an “indetermined” or unidentified specimen. It is filed in the sunflower family (Asteraceae) based on its flowers, but it is otherwise not identified.

We can’t forget about these unidentified specimens. Especially those collected on leap day!

Specimens in the herbarium are arranged by plant family, then genus, then geography (where it was collected), and in nearly every genus, at the bottom of all these folders is a black colored folder labelled “undetermined” (also called “indet.”) that includes those specimens that have not yet been identified to species. Of the over 525,000 specimens in the Carnegie Museum herbarium, about 2% (= 10,588 specimens), are not (yet) identified to species.

This specimen is most likely a member of a species already known to science, but an expert has not yet identified this particular specimen. However, many undetermined specimens may be undescribed (that is, new to science). The name and description of new species (alpha taxonomy) is a major purpose of herbaria. A study in 2010 estimated that of the estimated 70,0000 species yet to be described, over HALF are lying in herbaria right now! They also found that only 16% of new species descriptions were done within 5 years of specimen collection, and 25% of new species descriptions involved specimens that were more than 50 years old!

Study abstract here: http://www.pnas.org/content/107/51/22169.abstract

Taxonomy (branch of science on classification of organisms) is always changing. Species names are changed, what was once thought to be one plant species or family is split into many, and what was thought to be several species is lumped into one. And with further information or upon review by experts in particular plant groups, specimens are determined to be a different species than what the original collector called it. Annotation labels are added to specimens all the time – these labels revise the species listed on the original label. A typical annotation label includes the revised species name and details, the name of the person making the annotation, and the date.

Some specimens can have many annotations, which nicely demonstrates the community culture of science as a process with constant revision as we learn more about the world around us.

Find this specimen here. Check back, maybe it’ll have a species name on it by next leap year!

March 9, 2020 by wpengine

The Connemara Marble: A Cross-Atlantic Connection Between Ireland and Pittsburgh

Fig. 1: Irish Dippy

Each March in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, the full-size dinosaur replica of Dippy (Diplodocus carnegii) that stands guard outside the Carnegie Complex along Forbes Avenue in Oakland, is draped in an iconic Irish scarf (Fig. 1). Inside the classic halls of the Carnegie Complex is a green marble from County Galway, western Ireland. It is called Connemara Marble and is ubiquitous in the museum’s architectural floor designs. Before visiting Ireland for the first time in 2015, my only reference to the green Isle was watching a classic John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara movie, titled, The Quiet Man circa 1952. Much of the movie was filmed amongst the Connemara landscapes and many of the films iconic locations survive to this very day, such as the famous Quiet Man Bridge (Fig. 2). Moreover, researchers from the Carnegie Museum, National University of Ireland Galway, Connemara Marble Industries Ltd., Moycullen and Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, are investigating the significance of this Irish green marble in the architectural design of the Carnegie Institute Extension built by Alden & Harlow in 1907 (Fig. 3), Kollar et al., 2017; Feely et al., 2019, and Kollar et al., in review.

Fig. 2: Quiet Man bridge

Fig. 3: Connemara Map

The Streamstown Quarry in Western Ireland

A cross-Atlantic research connection between Ireland and Pittsburgh was initiated in the winter of 2015, when I visited Martin Feely at the National University of Ireland, Galway, an expert on the geology of the Connemara Marble, and Ambrose Joyce, owner of the Streamstown quarry. The objective was to determine the provenance and geology of the Carnegie’s Connemara Marble quarry and to compare the varieties of colored marbles used in the Carnegie’s floor tiles against other buildings with Connemara Marble from the Streamstown quarry (Fig. 4). The Connemara Marble can be found in the twelve public spaces, corridors, and private rooms, including the Hall of Sculptures, Grand Staircase, Green Room, President’s Office, and entrance corridors to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. A unique use of Connemara Marble is as inlays in the design of the Thistle, the Scottish National flower in the Music Hall Foyer walls.

Fig. 4: Connemara Marble at the Carnegie Museum

The best way to get to the Streamstown Quarry is by car. The 50-mile drive, along the N59 from Galway to Clifden takes about an hour and 15 minutes through quaint villages and along scenic winding roadways. Understandably, it rained that day as it commonly does in County Galway, circa 45 inches per year. In comparison, Pittsburgh receives about 36 inches of rain per year. Like Pittsburgh, Galway has lush green landscapes because of the annual rainfall. Visible from the road are mountainous outcrops and lakes e.g. the Twelve Bens quartzite mountains formed over millions of years ago. Their present topography resulted from ice-sculpting during the last glacial maximum. The peat bogs in the low-lying regions formed 5,000 years ago. The history of the Streamstown quarry (Fig. 5) was always best recounted by the patriarch of the family Ambrose Joyce Sr., who sadly passed away in 2015 (Fig. 6 a, b). The entrance to the quarry is hidden from the main road and access is through a gate and then along a minor road shared by other land owners – access to the quarry is strictly by permission only, from Ambrose Joyce. The quarry and its buildings are surrounded by stockpiles of large marble blocks (Fig. 7). I walked around the quarry with Ambrose Joyce Jr. to see the old equipment and hear about the marble quarrying operations dating back to its late 19^th century active period (Fig. 8). Then we viewed the modern quarry (Fig. 9) as Martin Feely explained the geology of the 650 Ma. pre-Cambrian limestone that would become green marble during the Ordovician Period some 470 million years ago.

Fig. 5: Streamstown Quarry

Fig. 6 a: Ambrose Joyce, Sr.

Fig. 6 b: Ambrose Joyce, Sr. and Albert Kollar

Fig. 7: Streamstown Quarry setting

Fig. 8: Streamstown Quarry history

Fig. 9: Albert Kollar, Martin Feely, Ambrose Joyce Jr.

We returned to Galway via the Connemara Marble Industries Ltd., Moycullen, County Galway to meet with the Joyce family (Fig. 10). At the Connemara Marble Industries Ltd., Moycullen marble souvenirs and jewelry are produced for the tourist trade using the marble extracted from Streamstown quarry (Fig. 11, 12, 13). Today, the ongoing global demand for Connemara Marble, for use in interior decoration projects, is supplied by the Italian company Antonlini. They source the marble from another Connemara marble quarry located several miles to the east of the Streamstown quarry.

Fig. 11: Christmas ornaments

Fig. 12: Coaster and Cube Shamrock

Fig. 13: Kennedy, Joyce, and rosary shamrock

Global Heritage Stone Resource

In 2019, the Connemara Marble was proposed as a Global Heritage Stone Resource with a citation to the Connemara Marble used in the Carnegie Museum (Wyle Jackson et al. 2020) This Irish Heritage Stone was a much sought-after green marble for use in architecture, buildings and sculptures in Ireland, England, and the United States from the mid-19^thcentury to the early 20^th century including the Carnegie’s Hall of Sculpture (Fig. 14 a) and the Founder’s Room (Fig. 14 b) floor designs.

Figs. 14 a and b: Floor tiles

Have a Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

Albert D. Kollar is the Collection Manager in the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

March 9, 2020 by wpengine

Summer Dreaming

At this time of year, the sight of some battered bird-built structures can trigger summer dreams. Consider the Baltimore Oriole nest dangling from a linden branch above a Flagstaff Hill sidewalk in Pittsburgh’s Schenley Park. Watch the bundle of plant fiber and ribbon scraps sway in a cold late winter wind and you might be able to imagine the nest partially concealed by bright green leaves and periodically visited by a bird with goldfish-orange feathers.

Baltimore Oriole pair in CMNH Bird Hall with nest and nest cross-section.

Such out of season thoughts are far from original. One hundred and sixty-one years ago, and some 500 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, naturalist Henry David Thoreau used a different common name for the species when he referenced the bright and melodic warm season residents in a winter journal entry.

What a reminiscence of summer, a fiery hangbird’s nest dangling from an elm over the road when perhaps the thermometer is down to -20, and the traveler goes beating his arms beneath it! It is hard to recall the strain of that bird then.

Henry David Thoreau – journal entry December 22, 1859

March 9, 2020 by wpengine

Big Foot

Studying anatomical details on taxidermy mounts can enhance field observations of wildlife. A common loon in the museum’s Discovery Basecamp, offers a great example of this benefit.

Within an acrylic-sided display box, the nearly two-foot long stuffed bird rests on a tiny simulated mud island, as if the spear-billed creature just waddled from the water on its large and widely-spaced webbed feet.

Common loons don’t do much waddling from the water in western Pennsylvania. That behavior occurs much farther north where the species’ summer range includes much of Canada and a northerly strip of the US stretching eastward from the upper Great Lakes to New England. Here the fish-eating birds push themselves from the waters of their home lakes mostly to reach immediately adjacent nests.

Photo by Steve Gosser.

Loons do make seasonal appearances on Pittsburgh area waters during migration rest stops, however. Although their big feet aren’t visible to shore-bound observers during these visits, it’s the hidden actions of the flexible spatula-sized paddles, that makes loon watching such a challenging endeavor.

Just when you bring a resting loon into binocular focus, the bird can disappear in a minute-long feeding dive and reappear, in an unpredictable direction, many yards from its original location.

The bird’s unseen propulsion is well explained in a 2012 post in Maine Birds, a blog by Colby College biology professor Herb Wilson.

When a loon is first diving from the surface, it breaks the surface by alternating strokes with the left and right leg. Once underwater, the legs beat synchronously.

The lateral placement of the legs makes for hydrodynamic efficiency. If the legs were close together, the turbulent eddies created by one leg would interfere with smooth movement through the water of the other leg. The lateral arrangement allows a loon to generate maximum thrust while minimizing hydrodynamic drag.

The feet of loons are large and webbed. The real power in swimming is generated by the rearward movement of those webbed feet against the water. When the loon moves its feet forward during the recovery stroke, the toes are brought together causing the web to collapse and minimizing the effort needed to get the foot ready for the next power stroke.

Spring appearances of migrating loons in western Pennsylvania normally occur between mid-March and early May. Forty miles north of Pittsburgh, common loons are known to visit the deep water sections of Lake Arthur in Moraine State Park.

February 27, 2020 by wpengine

CMNH Hosts Science Bowl

Learning in museum exhibit halls and classrooms isn’t normally presented as a competition. This situation changed on four days in late January, however, when more than 700 students visited the museum to compete in the Allegheny Intermediate Unit’s Science Bowl.

For the third year, the museum had the privilege of collaborating with the Allegheny Intermediate Unit to host this vibrant competition. The Allegheny Intermediate Unit (AIU) is a regional public agency that acts as a liaison between suburban school districts in the county and the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Science Bowl, one of many academic events planned annually by the AIU, is open to students in grades four through eight from schools throughout Allegheny County and even reaching some neighboring counties.

Students search for clues about dinosaur anatomy and diet in Dinosaurs in Their Time during Science Bowl.

Working in small teams, students complete a series of challenges which change each year. This year, guided by the museum’s natural history interpreters, students compared skeletal structures in mounted dinosaurs, studied details in images composed by professional photographers, and made firsthand observations of fur, feathers, and scales.

Amy Davis, Career Ready State Project Co-Director and Western PA Gifted Liaison for Teaching and Learning for the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, starts planning Science Bowl in April. Students from dozens of districts in Allegheny, Washington, and Westmoreland Counties have participated during the more than 20 years the AIU has been offering the competition. Amy feels the experience is a valuable one for the students. “It gives the students a chance to work together, to be creative, and to meet kids from other schools. They not only get to see the museum, but we take it a step further.”

In Dinosaurs in the Their Time, students were given a series of descriptions of dinosaurs and were challenged to locate and identify the species. Descriptions included clues about the dinosaur’s diet, estimated weight, length, and skeletal features.

Students studied photographs in National Geographic: 50 Greatest Wildlife Photographs, to identify species’ scientific names, determine what the subject is doing in the photo, and understand the perspective of the photographer.

In museum classrooms, teams compared feathers with the aid of microscopes, sketched scales of various snakes, and described mammal fur color patterns to decipher how each covering aids the animal’s survival.

Using microscopes, students compared vaned and downy feathers in the classroom challenge. The activity is based on the museum’s Fur, Feathers, Scales extended tour.

Lisa Donovan and Dr. Chuck Herring, teachers with South Fayette Township School District, attended Science Bowl with 24 students. “The students like to do the hands-on activities,” Ms. Donovan said. “They like the freedom to explore the museum.”

Dr. Herring looks forward to Science Bowl each year. “The kids really enjoy the challenge,” he commented. “It gets them to think, but not to the point of frustration.”

After participating in the challenges and completing a worksheet with museum-wide questions, teams gathered in the Lecture Hall for the awards ceremony.

Amy Davis and her colleagues from the AIU scored the challenges and awarded the top three teams in the two categories. A perfect score consisted of 63 points.

When asked what challenges they enjoyed the most, students’ answers ranged from dinosaurs to photos to snake skins. One student smiled and added, “Definitely using the microscopes.”

Jessica Romano is a Museum Education Writer at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

February 27, 2020 by wpengine

The Real James Bond and his Connection to CMNH

Bondi. Tyto alba bondi.

Did you know a subspecies of barn owl (Tyto alba bondi) is named after James Bond? James Bond the ornithologist that is.

The holotype specimen of Tyto alba bondi was collected by past Carnegie Museum of Natural History curator Arthur C. Twomey on April 7, 1947 at French Harbor, Isla Roatan, Honduras and later described by Kenneth C. Parkes, another curator at CMNH, together with Allan R. Phillips.

A soon-to-be-released book The Real James Bond: A True Story of Identity Theft, Avian Intrigue and Ian Fleming tells the story of the ornithologist and author of Birds of the West Indies, and how his name became the name of Fleming’s incredibly popular epic thriller series. Fleming, an avid birder himself, admits to lifting the name directly from Birds of the West Indies and acknowledges that the real James Bond’s actions outshine anything the fictional James Bond has done.

Photo credit: Kaylin Martin

The new book includes an image of museum specimen CM P131548, Tyto alba bondi, a subspecies first described in the Annals of the Carnegie Museum. It is endemic to Roatán and Guanaja in the Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras.

Tyto alba bondi is not the only nod to birds that Ian Fleming made in his James Bond stories. Goldeneye is a species of duck, the name of Ian Fleming’s estate in Jamaica, and a 1995 James Bond movie. Not only that, in Die Another Day, 007 goes undercover in Cuba as an ornithologist, a nice little “Easter egg” for those who know the real story of James Bond.

Want to learn more about the James Bond Barn Owl? Consult the December 1978 issue of Annals of the Carnegie Museum, available online here.

Holotype of Tyto alba bondi. Parkes, Kenneth C., and Allan R. Phillips. 1978. Two new Caribbean subspecies of Barn Owl (Tyto alba) with remarks on variation in other populations. Annals Carnegie Museum, 479-492. Page 486, Published 1 December 1978.

February 27, 2020 by wpengine

Biomimicry is Real World Inspiration

We humans are pretty innovative creatures. Our understanding of space, time and our place in nature are beyond that of other animals. But sometimes, we look to nature for inspiration.

Millions of years of evolution have shaped the world around us and created many incredible things. Biomimicry is when we observe a trait in nature and copy it or parts of it for human technology and design. There are numerous examples of biomimicry in action.

A toe-tally awesome way of climbing

Many species of gecko can walk up smooth surfaces like stone walls and even glass. Scientists studied the pads on the toes of one species, the Tokay gecko, and discovered that tiny, microscopic hairs help them “stick” to surfaces. Who would have thought having hairy toes could have its advantages? By mimicking gecko toes, we have developed adhesives, a way to close wounds without stitches, and more.

Ants may have the answer to traffic jams

Nobody likes sitting in traffic, not even ants. Have you ever seen lines of ants travelling right next to each other but going in opposite directions? They appear like traffic flowing on a highway, but without rush hour gridlock. Learning how ant columns move can help us improve highway traffic, especially as autonomous vehicles develop.

Fun fact

Perhaps the most famous example of biomimicry is Velcro. In 1941, engineer George de Mestral was walking his dog when he noticed burrs (like the ones pictured below) sticking to both of them. When he studied the burrs under magnification he found their clinging property was the result of hundreds of tiny hooks. His observation sparked the idea for the very useful invention we know as Velcro fastening.

What would you create using biomimicry?

Inspiration can be found by land, sea and air! Here are a few more examples of biomimicry:

Down feather insulation. Heavy winter coats are stuffed with down or other feathers so that we can stay warm without flying south for the winter.

Termite mound cooling. The way these tiny insects drill holes in their mounds to cool down in the hot African Savannah has inspired architects to develop buildings that are more efficient.

Humpback whale wind turbines. The ridges on the pectoral fins of humpback whales create an aerodynamic flow in water. They also inspired the shape of wind turbine blades.

Beetle water collection. The dung beetle may be most popular for other attributes, but it also collects fog on its shell and funnels it to its mouth to drink in arid environments. This has inspired researchers to study how we can pull fresh water from fog or dew.

Spider web glass. A spider’s web is one of the strongest designs in nature. The webbing pattern has been copied by automotive industries so that windshields crack but do not shatter.

Now it’s your turn to create a new innovation based on something found in nature! Be as creative as you want and, with your parent’s permission, tag us on social media @carnegiemnh so we can see what you made!

A Nature Lab blog by Eddie Phillips.

February 27, 2020 by wpengine

Mesozoic Monthly: Thrinaxodon

Happy Valentine’s Day from two cuddly Thrinaxodon, a close relative of mammals from the early days of the Age of Dinosaurs. The pose of the two Thrinaxodon is based on a real fossil. Art by ginjaraptor on DeviantArt.

Ah, February. It’s a time when love is on our minds, whether we are sharing our love with a romantic partner or with friends and family. For this edition of Mesozoic Monthly, prepare to fall in love with the adorable Thrinaxodon liorhinus, a little mammal relative that appreciated a good cuddle!

The Mesozoic Era (after which this blog series is named) is often known as the Age of Dinosaurs. After dinosaurs (except their descendants, birds), pterosaurs, and many other large reptiles became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous Period, a new era began: the Cenozoic Era, also known as the Age of Mammals. While mammals certainly became more prominent in ecosystems around the planet during the Cenozoic, mammals actually evolved during the Mesozoic alongside the dinosaurs. Mammals are the only survivors of a group of animals called cynodonts, which were warm-blooded (endothermic) creatures with specialized teeth and simplified lower jaws. Paleontologists are not yet sure if early cynodonts had evolved fur, one of the hallmark traits of mammals, but it is quite possible that critters such as Thrinaxodon had furry little bodies! Small pits that dot the snout of this cynodont suggest that it sported sensitive whiskers, which supports the hypothesis that it had a form of hair.

Whiskers are very sensitive to touch, making them useful for navigating the dark burrows that Thrinaxodonlived in. Many specimens have been found fossilized in their burrows as they slept, sometimes even in groups! A remarkably cute fossil preserves two juveniles curled around each other with their heads pressed close together in an eternal cuddle. It’s easy to imagine this as a case of young star-crossed lovers who died together, but it is just as likely that these two individuals were siblings sharing the same small burrow. Due to the number of fossils of mixed-aged groups of adults with younger individuals, paleontologists believe that Thrinaxodon parents provided some form of childcare before their offspring grew up and ‘flew the nest.’ Regardless of whether Thrinaxodon experienced romantic or familial love, it certainly gives us warm-and-fuzzy feelings today!

Carnegie Museum of Natural History has a couple Thrinaxodon fossils that we got from the South African Museum in the 1970s. Here’s one of them—our nice skull CM 30758—viewed from the left and right sides. Photos by Andrew McAfee.

Other Thrinaxodon weren’t the only animals that visited their cozy burrows. One noteworthy fossil shows a Thrinaxodon sharing its home with a small amphibian called Broomistega, which apparently took shelter in the burrow after being injured by a larger carnivore. Although Thrinaxodon was itself a carnivore, the bite marks on the Broomistega do not match up with the jaws of its roommate. Instead, Thrinaxodon probably ate little reptiles or other small vertebrates that roamed the Early Triassic of South Africa. Some of its above-ground neighbors included the large, predacious reptile Proterosuchus and the odd-looking dicynodont (distant mammal relative) Lystrosaurus. Fortunately or unfortunately, dinosaurs did not evolve until at least a few million years after Thrinaxodon became extinct. A prehistoric animal’s relationship with dinosaurs is not what makes it endearing, of course; Thrinaxodon is proof of that, since it has managed to steal our hearts all on its own!

February 27, 2020 by wpengine

What is Bird Banding?

A bird bander extracts a Black-capped Chickadee from a mist net at Powdermill.

What is a bird band?

Bird bands are small aluminum rings that are engraved with a series of numbers that identifies individual birds. The bands come in different sizes from a tiny hummingbird band to a “size 9” that fits an eagle. A band fits a bird’s leg like a bracelet: it can spin around the bird’s leg but not slip over ankle or foot joints.

Bird band. Photo credit: John Fraser

How do we band birds?

There are different ways to catch birds but at Powdermill, we primarily use mist nets or potter traps. Mist nets are very fine mesh nets that are 12 meters long and about 8 feet high that are suspended between poles in various habitat types. It’s very difficult to see mist nets, so as birds fly through the area they hit the net and gently drop into one of the net’s pockets. An experienced bird bander carefully extracts the bird, places it into a clean cotton bag, and brings it back to a central banding station or lab. In the lab, banders use specially-designed pliers to carefully close the band around the bird’s tarsus, then determine the age and sex of the bird, measure the wing length, quantify fat, weigh the bird, and release it. The banding process is quick: it usually takes less than a minute for each bird!

Who bands birds?

Bird banders operate under a permit from the federal Bird Banding Lab. Banders train as apprentices, often for many years, to learn and perfect the highly-specialized skills necessary to run their own banding stations. High-volume banding stations, usually those that operate during the migration seasons or that can catch hundreds of birds each day, usually have field techs, interns, and volunteers who help while they hone their skills.

Mist net at dawn.

When do we band birds?

Bird banders can band year-round and any time of the day or night, as long as it’s safe for birds! If it’s too hot, too cold, too windy, or too rainy we wait until conditions improve. Of course, the species and number of birds we catch depends on when we band: for example, it’s usually most productive to band songbirds in the mornings and to catch owls at night!

So, what is bird banding?

Bird banding is the process of catching birds, placing a numbered band on their legs, collecting data about each bird, then letting them go. The resulting database can be used to answer all kinds of questions about bird populations. Please stay tuned for our next blog to learn what sorts of questions we can answer from the data we collect during banding!

Annie Lindsay is Banding Program Manager at Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Powdermill Nature Reserve. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

February 27, 2020 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1984: Tobacco

Put that in your pipe and smoke it!

Well, please don’t really. This is a scientific specimen.

This tobacco specimen was collected in Ecuador by Hendrik Balslev on February 21, 1984. Hendrik Balslev is now a professor at Aarhus University, Denmark, an expert in the taxonomy and ethnobotany of plants of the Amazon. This specimen was planted by the Secoya tribe in the “area of tropical rainforest.” The Secoya are a group of indigenous peoples, with a distinct culture and language, living in the Amazon regions of Ecuador and Peru.

Tobacco refers to more than 70 species of plants in the genus Nicotiana. In the nightshade family (Solanaceae), tobacco is related to deadly nightshade, potatoes, and tomatoes. They famously contain the addictive alkaloid stimulant chemical nicotine. Nicotine is a neurotoxin for insects, produced by plants for its insecticide properties. For that reason, tobacco has also been used as an insecticide.

Tobacco is a culturally important plant, far beyond a pack of cigarettes. The commonly cultivated species is Nicotiana tabacum. Tobacco has rich, long history of medicinal and traditional use in the Americas, especially Mesoamerica and the Caribbean, and with many native American tribes growing and using tobacco for centuries. It was used for smoking, in religious ceremonies, socially, as a sign of peace (peace pipes), as a good for trade, and more. There is evidence suggesting its cultivation in Mexico as early as 1500 BC.

When Europeans arrived in the Americas, tobacco was quickly prized and popularized in Europe. Tobacco was influential in European colonization in North America, becoming a major cash crop. Tobacco was important to the history of the United States, but with a dark side. Many of America’s founding fathers had tobacco plantations, mostly operated through slave labor. The cultivation of tobacco fueled the early slave trade in 17^th and 18^th century America. The number of slaves from Africa in the Chesapeake region (Virginia) and North Carolina increased greatly.

A complicated plant – botanically and culturally.

Find this specimen and more here.

February 10, 2020 by wpengine

MESOZOIC MONTHLY: LEDUMAHADI

January brings with it a new year and a new installment of Mesozoic Monthly! At the start of a new decade, perhaps the perfect prehistoric creature to honor this month is the dinosaur Ledumahadi mafube, the “giant thunderclap at dawn.”

Ledumahadi was an early sauropodomorph, a group of herbivorous dinosaurs that ultimately produced the famous sauropods. Sauropods such as Brachiosaurus or Diplodocus are popular dinosaurs because of their often monstrous sizes, long necks, and lengthy, sometimes whip-like tails. One of the traits that paleontologists believe helped sauropods get so big was their pillar-like legs. Their legs were straight, like stilts, and heavily constructed so that they could support the weight of the animal. Modern elephants also have columnar legs, similar to those of sauropods, because this style of limb is so efficient for big animals. Non-sauropod sauropodomorphs tended to be smaller than their sauropod cousins, and could walk on either two legs or four. Quadrupedal early sauropodomorphs such as Ledumahadi did not have the columnar legs of sauropods, but instead walked with their forelimbs partially bent.

Life reconstruction of Ledumahadi by Nobu Tamura with a human silhouette for scale. This was a big beast! Note how, unlike its sauropod kin, this early sauropodomorph walked with its forelimbs flexed at the elbow. Read the 2018 scientific paper that described it (for free) here.

The largest known dinosaur of its kind, Ledumahadi weighed over 13 tons (12 metric tons), and reconstructions estimate that it grew over 30 feet (9 meters) long! This size is noteworthy, because it shows that it was possible for sauropodomorphs to reach gigantic sizes without columnar legs. This demonstrates that terrestrial animals can get big due to a variety of adaptations. In this case, the tremendous size of both sauropods and Ledumahadi is an example of convergent evolution, a process in which unrelated animals can evolve similar features. One classic example of convergent evolution is wings. Birds, bats, and pterosaurs are unrelated, yet all evolved similar structures that increase surface area for flying. But they all did it in different ways: birds have feathers anchored to the forearm and a fused hand, bats have skin stretched across five fingers, and pterosaurs had skin stretched along one long finger. Although we may not definitively know how Ledumahadi achieved its status as a “great thunderclap,” we do know that it did so along a different evolutionary pathway than its sauropod relatives.

The name Ledumahadi mafube means “great thunderclap at dawn,” referring to the massive size of the animal and its early place in the rock record. Unlike many dinosaur names, it is not derived from Latin or Greek; instead, it is from Southern Sotho, one of the languages spoken in South Africa, where the creature’s fossils were discovered.

Not many well-known animals lived in the Early Jurassic of southern Africa alongside Ledumahadi; the most famous dinosaurs are other sauropodomorphs such as Massospondylus, the small bipedal herbivores Heterodontosaurus and Lesothosaurus, and the small carnivore Coelophysis (formerly called Syntarsus) rhodesiensis. They all lived in an arid floodplain that was crisscrossed by meandering streams. Every so often, after a long period of stability, these water channels would flood, depositing new soil and nutrients and rejuvenating the ecosystem. A great deal of plant growth occurs after floodplains drain, reflecting a cycle of renewal that is familiar to us during each and every new year.

February 10, 2020 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 2012: Wintercreeper

This specimen of wintercreeper (Euonymus fortunei) was collected on January 31, 2012 along the Monongahela River in Fayette County, PA by Alison Cusick. Alison Cusick is a current Research Associate in the Section of Botany at the museum. He can be frequently found in the Carnegie Museum herbarium. He has a unique wealth of knowledge on plants, herbaria, botanical history, and more. He authored three books and more than 50 scientific papers on the flora of eastern North America. Before retiring, he was the Chief Botanist for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. He continues to collect today, and many thousands of his specimens can found at herbaria across the country.

Note the label on this specimen reads “Cusick, A.W. 37174” The number following a collectors name is known as the…you guessed it… collector number (surprise!). The collector number is the number assigned to a specimen by the collector. It is common for several specimens to have the same collector number, if they are from the same individual or species in the same location on the same day (“duplicate specimens”). Unfortunately, there are no universal rules on how collector numbers are used or assigned. Collector numbers primary use is so the collector and/or others using the specimen can go back to the collector’s field notebook for additional information on the specimen. Collector numbers are different from specimen numbers (which are assigned by the herbarium, such that every specimen has a unique ID for reference). Most collectors number their specimens chronologically in order they were collected (but not always), but some collector numbers consist of dashes and/or letters, too.

Anyway, what I’m getting at is that this specimen (Cusick 37174) suggests Alison has collected AT LEAST over 37,000 specimens. The number is actually higher than that, with duplicates and an additional 8 years of collecting. Not that numbers are everything, but Alison’s contribution to the herbarium record is clearly impressive and impactful.

Ok, now back to the plant! Winter creeper (Euonymus fortunei), native to Asia, is commonly planted in Pennsylvania and many other places, and unfortunately has also spread to become invasive. It is still commonly planted. It is a woody vine that climbs trees, but also is a thick ground cover. It has leaves that persist through the winter, with attractive fruits. Despite those advantages, it can impact native species and habitats as an invasive species, and therefore, should not be planted.

Find this specimen and more here: http://midatlanticherbaria.org/portal/collections/individual/index.php?occid=12134036&clid=0

February 10, 2020 by wpengine

Land Snail Webbhelix multilineata Rediscovered Living in Pennsylvania After 72 Years

Imagine the excitement of finding an organism that was presumed extinct. Until 2019, the handsome land snail Webbhelix multilineata had not been documented anywhere in Pennsylvania since 18 May 1947 so it was presumed locally extinct (it does still survive elsewhere in the Mid-West). Finding a living individual of that species in Pennsylvania this year is cause for excitement.

Webbhelix multilineata has never been an abundant snail in Pennsylvania. Of 10 museum records of that species in PA, all but one is in western Pennsylvania from 1898 to 1947. The one record from eastern Pennsylvania, in Berks County, was collected about 1938.

Fig. 1. Webbhelix multilineata juvenile found in York County in 2019 (photo: Kerry Givens).

Photographs of an immature Webbhelix multilineata in Hellam Hills Natural Area in York County, Pennsylvania were sent to me on 2 Jun 2019 (Fig. 1). I recognized the species by the reddish spiral lines on the shell and by the relatively large, reddish body tubercles. This sighting is the first record in 72 years of Webbhelix multilineata anywhere in Pennsylvania, and it represents a new county record as well.

Curiously, this snail was seen in the relatively dry habitat of a mature deciduous forest, at least 150 m from the nearest stream. Five scientific publications indicate its habitat to be low, moist areas including floodplains, marshes, and swamps. I wonder why the York County snail is from such a different habitat.

Because this snail is now known to be living in Pennsylvania, it can no longer be considered locally extinct, so conservation organizations such as the Natural Heritage Program will monitor it. Although there is no evidence that the snail population recovered (as opposed to just being overlooked), I like to think that conservation efforts have played a role in improving conditions for this snail.

I am grateful to Kerry Givens for noticing and photographing the snail, and for alerting me to its existence.

February 10, 2020 by wpengine

A Journey to France to Uncover the Mysteries of the Carnegie’s Grand Staircase

The Carnegie Institute has been in existence for 125 years and is one of the greatest architectural buildings ever designed in Pittsburgh. In 1985, Carnegie Institute President Robert Wilburn invited Dr. Cynthia R. Field, the Smithsonian’s Architecture Historian, to assess the artistic value of the museum. He asked, “what do you think is the most valuable specimen or painting in the museum?” She said, “The Building Itself is the Greatest Object of the entire Museum Collection” (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1: Carnegie plaque

The internationally-famous architect, I.M. Pei, who designed the Louvre’s glass pyramid that sits in the Louvre’s central courtyard in Paris, France, opined, “Architecture is the very mirror of life. You only have to cast your eyes on buildings to feel the presence of the past, the spirit of a place; they are the reflection of society.” In 2018, Architecture Digest ranked the Carnegie’s Grand Staircase the 8th best museum staircase in the world. The Grand Staircase was built by the Pittsburgh architectural firm of Alden and Harlow at the apex of America’s Gilded-Age building boom. During my research, I discovered that the architects employed multicolored classic marbles and fossil limestones in the interior design from Algeria, Croatia, Greece, France, Ireland, Italy, and the United States. The commission to build the Grand Staircase in 1907 incorporated two classical French fossil limestones in the columns and pillars, floor tiles, steps, walls, balconies, and water fountains. This monumental Beaux-Arts style staircase is modeled after the L‘Opéra Garnier ‛a Paris, Grand Staircase in France, c. 1875, and was visited by a French Delegation with Andrew Carnegie (Fig. 2). The architecture described as Beaux-Arts was taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, from the mid-19^th century until 1900. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism and used modern building materials, i.e., iron and glass. And as such, it became a preferred architectural style in the United States from 1895 until 1910 in cities such as, Boston, Chicago, New York City, Pittsburgh, and Washington D.C.

Fig. 2: French delegation and Andrew Carnegie

In 2019, The Carnegie’s Grand Staircase and Music Hall Foyer were recognized in the book La pierre de l’Échaillon Une histoire locale, une renommée international for the use of Échaillon jaune (yellow) ornamental stone in the museum’s columns, pillars, and walls (Fig. 3). This book was published by S.P.I.A. (Sauvegarde du Partrimoine Industriel d’Autrefois, a historical society founded by Jean Paul Rey, president) (Fig. 4). In the book, they describe how a small French village of l’Échaillon, pronounced Esh-ee-own, received recognition for its white marble (a limestone) used by famous French architects in 64 classic buildings and sculptures from 1875 to the early 20^th century (Fig. 5). I first met Jean Paul in October of 2016, when I was invited to give a presentation at an S.P.I.A. meeting on my research on the Carnegie’s l’Échaillon. The meeting was held in an old schoolhouse in the village of Saint-Quentin-sur-Isère, Département de Isère, in southeast France.

Fig. 3: The Grand Staircase

Fig. 4: Jean Paul Rey and Albert D. Kollar

Fig. 5: Book cover

The French Limestones in the Carnegie’s Architecture

The Carnegie building stones research project progressed significantly, once we obtained the digital images of the architect’s blueprints from the Carnegie Museum of Art’s Architecture Department. With the assistance of my co-authors, Rich Fedosick and Kay Hughes of the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology, we examined the blueprints to understand the architects Marble Index terminology (Fig. 6). Eventually, we were able to interpret and recognize the location of the two French limestones based on the Marble Index letters, E for Échaillon and H for Hauteville. From a nonscientific perspective, the architects considered the Carnegie’s interior stones to be marbles. However, the geological definition of a marble is when a rock defined as a limestone or dolomite is subjected to high heat and pressure from geologic forces forms a metamorphic rock. The six stones listed in the Marble Index as marbles, are limestones, a sedimentary rock enriched with fossil seashells. The characteristic rudist fossils and yellow color that distinguish the Échaillon stone are found in the 18 pillars and the 22 columns that rise 3.8 meters or 12.5 feet about the Grand Staircase, and in the walls of the Music Hall Foyer (Fig. 7).

Fig. 6: Marble index E and H letters

Fig. 7: Échaillon fossils

The other French limestone used in the Carnegie is Hauteville. This limestone was quarried from the Plateau d’Hauteville in the Ain Department, in eastern France. I visited this quarry in 2016 to investigate the geology of the quarry operation, to uncover evidence of the common fossil snail Nerinea in the quarry rock (Fig. 8), and to learn more about the cultural history of the region (Fig. 9). The Hauteville limestone was used in the Grand Staircase walls, balcony features, water fountains, vestibule steps, and as floor tiles. Other locations include, the Hall of Sculpture and Hall of Architecture floors, the walls along the grand hallway, the Music Hall vestibule floor, the Founder’s Room vestibule floor, the floor and steps in the Smoking Room (now offices), the Forbes Avenue vestibule entrances to the music hall, carriage drive, and museum and fine arts. Moreover, the Hauteville floor tiles are distributed throughout the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh main entrance corridors. The Hauteville stone is beige in color and contains many visible fossils, none more distinctive than the robust Nerinea, a 12.7 cm/5-inch-long snail that serves as the index fossil for the limestone identification (Fig. 10).

Fig. 8: Hauteville Quarry fossil snail

Fig. 9: Hauteville directional signs

Fig. 10: Nerinea snail in Carnegie floor

Introduction to the l’Échaillon Carrières

There are three carrières or quarries in the Vercors cliffs located in the Isère River Valley that were excavated for White Echaillon or “Echaillon blanc,” Yellow Echaillon or “Echaillon jaune,” and Pink Echaillon or “Echaillon rose” during the 19^th and early 20^th century (Fig. 11). These unique color combinations became popular for various interior and exterior architecture features in 194 buildings in western Europe, North Africa, and the United States. In 2016, Jean Paul Rey and members of S.P.I.A. led me on a field trip to the abandoned classic l’Échaillon white quarries (Fig. 12). We explored what is thought to be a 2,000-year-old Roman quarry and walked through a maze of underground caverns and narrow tunnels that contained abandoned mining equipment. The other two Echaillon carrières are located several kilometers south in the small villages of Lignet, where the Pink Echaillon was quarried (Fig. 13) and Rovon, where the Yellow Echaillon was excavated (Fig. 14).

Fig. 11: Echaillon quarries locations, S.P.I.A.

Fig. 12: Visit to Echaillon

Fig. 13: Lignet Quarry Marker

Fig. 14: Rovon quarry

Cularo, Grenoble, and the white l’Echaillon stone

A fortuitous discovery was made by S.P.I.A. for their book while searching for evidence of the white l’Echaillon in the Gallo-Romans era 4th century Cularo or Grenoble, France today. In the Saint Laurent crypt that is preserved many meters below the modern-day street level tramway, a white capitol on top of a white limestone column was identified as l’Echaillon. This white capitol stone is presumably from the Roman quarry adjacent to the white l’Echaillon underground caverns. When Emperor Gratian ruled the Roman Empire from 367 to 383 A.D., he renamed Cularo after himself. Cularo thus became Gratianopolis, which through a later phonetic shift became Graignovol and then Grenoble. Although hard to find among the narrow streets and passageways of Grenoble, is a section of a Roman wall that once encircled Cularo, a portion of which is protected by a fence. This historic wall can be seen at Passage Sainte-Claire on the corner of Rue Lafayette, in the central city of Grenoble (Fig. 15). I suspect some of the white cobbles embedded in the wall may have their origin from the white l’Echaillon Roman quarry. Undoubtedly, more research will be necessary to make an affirmative conclusion.

Fig. 15: Roman wall

“Geology of the l’Échaillon Carrières”

The drawing of a new geologic map on the l’Echaillon carrières by Professor Thierry Dumont of the Université Grenoble-Alpes, confirms stratigraphically, the ages of the three limestone quarries. Among the three, the white Echaillon limestone is late Jurassic in age, whereas the pink Lignet and yellow Rovon limestones are early Cretaceous in age. The formal geologic name for the rose and yellow limestones is the Urgonian Formation. Fossils are abundant in the three limestones. Dr. Claudie Durand of Le musèum d’Histoire naturelle de Grenoble (Fig. 16) curated a diverse collection of 163 species of invertebrate fossils from l’Echaillon first published in 1919. Geologically, the three limestones were deposited in the tropical Tethys Seaway a circum-equatorial ocean of the Mesozoic Era. The strata form the Vercors carbonate platform, a buildup of late Mesozoic rudist (bivalve mollusk) reefs spanning 25 million years of evolution from (late Jurassic 140 million years ago to early Cretaceous 165 million years ago) (Fig. 17).

Fig. 16: Dr. Claudie Durand

Fig. 17: Rudist (bivalve) reef fossils

The Rovon carrière provenance and fossils

The primary goal of this research is to define the geology and authenticate the specific provenance of all marbles, fossil limestones, sandstones, and the singular igneous granite rock used in the Carnegie building. The search for the provenance of the Carnegie’s yellow Echaillon was initiated in December of 2017 by Jean Paul Rey, when we were introduced to the Forman of the modern-day Rovon quarry. After a long discussion about our objectives, he granted permission to visit the old quarry. As darkness fell, we met with a local farmer who directed us to the quarry location in the Vercors cliffs that rise some 538 meters above his snow-covered field (Fig. 18).

Fig. 18: Verors cliffs and old Rovon quarry

In October of 2018, the S.P.I.A. team pre-arranged to have several 4-wheel trucks transport ten people including Professor Fabienne Giraud-Guillot of the Université Grenoble-Alpes to the Rovon quarry. We ascended the long steep road that ended some 500 m from the main quarry. Surprisingly, the quarry was filled with massive limestone boulders that were cut by mechanical wire saws from the cliff rock (Fig. 19). Such large boulders make it virtually impossible to break with small hammers. For actual fossil collecting purposes, it is better to search for smaller size rocks to break apart (Fig. 20). This past October, transport to the Rovon quarry riding in a 55-year-old Russian built farm tractor was a treat (Fig. 21). And the fossil collecting was a success with 21 complete specimens collected for the museum of the diagnostic Caprina rudist bivalve clam (Fig. 22). The shape of these fossils closely resembles the fossils preserved in the Echaillon limestone in the Grand Staircase and Music Hall Foyer. Additional geologic data is being reviewed by colleagues from the Geology Department at the University of Zagreb in Croatia and the University of Ireland at Galway.

Fig. 19: S.P.I.A. team

Fig. 20: Collecting fossils

Fig. 21: Russian tractor

Fig. 22: Caprina rudist clam

“Carnegie’s Grand Staircase in the 21^st Century”

A study published this month by the BMJ, formerly The British Medical Journal, suggested that “when people of all ages participate in the arts and visit museums once a month or even every few months, they are likely to be more engaged in the world and may actually live longer.” Years ago, the Oscar winner actor Russell Crowe was in Pittsburgh, and he was asked what he did on his days off. In reply, he said, “I ride my bicycle to look at buildings and the architecture of the city.” I. M. Pei states, “Architecture brings people together.” I agree.

Maybe it’s time to reconsider how the Carnegie’s Grand Staircase is promoted to the public at large. For instance, the current arrangement of the free-standing dioramas situated on the first floor, awkwardly impede the flow of patrons walking among the pillars, columns, and the taking of photographs of the Grand Staircase. Moreover, the placement of these dioramas detracts from the visual enjoyment of the famous John White Alexander multicolor murals. An artistic feature of the murals is their connection to the stone colors to enhance the first and second floors architectural features. The best vantage points to see this fabulous spectrum of color is from the third-floor balcony looking down to the first and second floors.

The Carnegie Museum of Art (Museum of Fine Arts) will be celebrating its 125^th Anniversary in the fall of 2020. The Grand Staircase was designed as the showcase entrance to the Museum of Fine Arts for Pittsburghers of the early 20^th Century. One hundred and twenty-five years later, perhaps, this world-class space can once again establish a new generation of museum patrons and become the destination as a place to be for its cultural and intellectual heritage. And don’t forget, this staircase can be an Instagram-worthy site for a family portrait to encourage our younger audiences to visit too.

December 19, 2019 by wpengine

Dippy in Star Wars?

Hello again from Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Section of Vertebrate Paleontology. With Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker—and, not coincidentally, CMNH’s own Star Wars After Dark event—on the horizon, I figured it was finally time to call attention to something that, as a dinosaur scientist and ginormous Star Wars nerd, I think is pretty cool. I’ll cut right to the chase: I’m about 95% sure that our museum’s beloved ‘Dippy’ (formally known as the type, or name-bearing, fossilized skeleton of the dinosaur Diplodocus carnegii) makes an appearance of sorts in the original 1977 Star Wars (now known as Episode IV: A New Hope).

Why, you ask, do I feel comfortable making this pretty random claim? Well, a couple summers ago, the title image on this Kickstarter page (shown immediately below) led me down one of the internet’s countless rabbit holes.

David West Reynolds with some original ‘bones’ of the krayt dragon in the Sahara Desert of Tunisia.

The photo shows archaeologist and filmmaker David West Reynolds in the Tunisian desert in 1995, at one of the sites where the scenes on the planet Tatooine were shot for the 1977 film. The big white objects are the actual ‘bones’ of the gigantic replica skeleton (that of a huge Star Wars Universe beastie known as a krayt dragon) that appears behind C-3PO on Tatooine early in the film. Here’s a shot on the off chance your memory needs refreshing:

C-3PO may be fluent in six million languages, but I bet he has no idea what he’s really looking at here. Photo from this site.

Yes, the krayt dragon’s fake bones were actually just left in the Tunisian desert after George Lucas and company were done with them. They’ve since been ‘rediscovered’ by David Reynolds, my good friend and fellow paleontologist Michael Ryan, and many others.

After encountering Reynolds’ pic, and therefore seeing some of the krayt dragon’s bones up close for the first time, I realized that they had clearly been modeled after those of a sauropod (a giant long-necked plant-eating dinosaur, what most people think of when they hear the word “brontosaurus”). In particular, the bones seemed to strongly resemble those of Diplodocus carnegii. Being the resident dinosaur researcher here in ‘the house that Dippy built,’ this piqued my interest. Could the krayt dragon have somehow been inspired by D. carnegii?

Three views of the type specimen of Diplodocus carnegii here at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. If its vertebrae (backbones) don’t look familiar, they should.

This led to some Googling, which yielded this decade-old blog post from my colleague and sauropod specialist Matt Wedel of the Western University of Health Sciences. Therein, Matt convincingly argues that the backbone of the krayt dragon is based on Diplodocus, though he can’t be sure which particular species or specimen of this dinosaur would have served as the inspiration. (The dragon’s skull, however, bears no close resemblance to that of any actual dinosaur, so it was clearly just invented.) Moreover, a few of the commenters on Matt’s post claim that the dragon skeleton is one and the same as the replica ‘sauropod skeleton’ used in the obscure (and apparently quite terrible, though I’ve never seen it) 1975 Disney film One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing, which is set in and around the Natural History Museum in London. Even more Googling supports this hypothesis, as do images of the fake skeleton itself:

Two views of the hideous ‘sauropod skeleton’ from One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing. It should look familiar too. Images from IMDB.

Assuming this was indeed the case (i.e., that the krayt dragon skeleton is the same sauropod prop that was used in One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing), and that (as Matt Wedel had already demonstrated), that sauropod was almost certainly based on Diplodocus, I then tried to determine where the Disney Diplodocus could have come from; in other words, what real Diplodocus specimen(s) it might have been cast or sculpted from. Sadly, I was unable to do so. But the only Diplodocus skeleton (or the only substantial portion of one, anyway) at London’s Natural History Museum during the 1970s was the cast of CMNH’s very own Diplodocus carnegii that was presented to England by Andrew Carnegie himself in 1905.

The London Dippy—a copy of ours—in the Natural History Museum in 2008. How sick are you of seeing these vertebrae? From Wikipedia.

So, in a nutshell, although I can’t absolutely, definitively prove it (yet?), I think there’s an excellent chance that the krayt dragon in Episode IV was ultimately based on Diplodocus carnegii. Specifically, the evidence suggests that it was inspired by the cast of D. carnegii in London, either a sculpted replica of that cast or even potentially a second-generation cast of that cast. And by the way, I’m not the only paleontologist who thinks so: as Darren Naish recently said in reference to the skeleton in One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing, “… it’s funny to think that it’s meant to be one and the same as Dippy of NHM London fame, and that it ended its life a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.”

In other words, the freakin’ krayt dragon is Dippy – which means Dippy is in Star Wars!

Matt Lamanna is the Mary R. Dawson Associate Curator and Head of Vertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

November 4, 2019 by wpengine

Bugs That Really Bug Us—Systematic Freezing of the Entire Collection in Invertebrate Zoology

With a collection of over 13.5 million specimens, some could say that the Section of Invertebrate Zoology “loves” bugs. We’ve amassed an enormous volume of arthropods (including bugs) in all shapes, sizes, varieties, forms, variants, and life cycles. We’ve preserved them to the best of our abilities, away from many of the activities and threats that would do them harm. However, one not-so-loved bug in our section is the dermestid beetle, a pest that threatens many museum collections worldwide.

In the taxonomic order Coleoptera, the beetle family Dermestidae is a group of about 500-700 species from all over the world and are sometimes known colloquially as “Carpet Beetles.” This holometabolous group has an especially destructive larval stage, feeding on dead animal or plant matter. An infestation of these beetles can easily wipe out a small collection, so to preserve the integrity of our collection, we are ever vigilant in our efforts to prevent this irksome critter.

moth specimen and a dead dermestid — **Figure 1.** Dermestid frass under a moth specimen. At front center, a dead dermestid can be seen.

Dermestid beetles are relatively small, sometimes measuring just a few millimeters at their largest. Spotting them can be difficult; often, they’re only detected after damage has already occurred. Figure 1 shows their frass, a light brown/tan powdery substance left over from a feeding session. Other dermestid signs are their exuvial skins, shown in Figure 2. These are left behind when a larvae molts, typically growing larger each time (although some species in the genus Trogoderma have been known to molt backwards, growing smaller each time, if food is scarce).

dermestid exuviae — **Figure 2.** A dermestid exuvia, shed once the beetle larvae molted.

While the dermestid beetle is certainly a resilient insect, there are a few ways to eliminate it; through severe cold or complete desiccation (i.e., 0% humidity). My predecessor used to freeze at-risk portions of our Holland Room in chest freezers, which reach only about -8°F. Up until last year, the most feasible option for our collection was to spot check and freeze at-risk areas, as well as freeze all specimens coming into the building, no matter the source.

cart full of Holland drawers — **Figure 3.** A freezer cart loaded with Old Holland Drawers, inside the Kolpak freezer.

In April of 2018, the IZ staff began an extensive integrated pest management protocol involving the freezing of the entire pinned insect collection. This was the first time the section has attempted to methodically freeze all of its various parts and pieces. This massive undertaking took over 17 months to complete, and hundreds of hours of staff time, as we shuffled roughly 30,000 drawers in and out of our walk-in freezers.

Beginning in the Holland Room, we systematically placed drawers onto freezer carts, shown in Figures 3 and 4. These metal carts can house 40 drawers per cart, one per slot. We arranged these carts to fit in our walk-in Kolpak freezers (a size akin to something like a restaurant meat freezer). These freezers reach down to -16°F, and live dermestid beetles in a drawer will perish at that temperature. Once freezing is complete, dermestized drawers are cleaned prior to returning them to their place in the collection. We froze cyclically every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, leaving drawers in the freezer for 2–3 days. After removing carts from the freezer, the drawers were thawed to prevent the introduction of moisture, which may damage the specimens, and they were put back into the collection in the same order they were initially retrieved. Maintaining drawer order is especially important in curated sections of the collection, as one proceeding drawer may contain specimens from the same group as the next, and so forth.

Although our protocol may seem straightforward, with all the different methods of storage in our section (See my blog on different Drawer Types housed here in IZ), freezing from one session to the next could entail a multitude of different drawer types, heights, and sizes. At our most productive, we froze 5 freezer carts at a time, moving 400 drawers per freeze day (200 in, 200 out). We concluded the freezing earlier this year on 13 September 2019, and we anticipate the next time we’ll start a complete freezing of the collection again will be in January 2021.

“Minecraft™ Lied to Me!?”

On October 19, 2019, the Section of Anthropology once again had the pleasure of assisting the Education and Interpreter staff in awarding the BSA Scouts Merit Badge for archaeology. The Scouts spent the day learning how to excavate artifacts from dig boxes and creating mini-exhibits for museum visitors to enjoy. The mini-exhibits were focused on typology. Scouts were asked to organize lithics (mostly arrow heads and spear points) by physical characteristics. Stem and shoulder shape, cross section, and flaking styles are often used by archaeologists to categorize objects. Other basic morphological typology categories can rely on color, weight, or material.

The Scouts were asked to create labels for their mini-exhibits to explain the reasoning behind their classifications. Some Scouts organized objects by size, while others chose to compare the different shapes. One Scout was organizing objects by material, specifically obsidian. He asked if it was nearly indestructible like in Minecraft™ and I had to tell him that obsidian is actually volcanic glass that breaks pretty easily resulting in a conchoidal fracture, which is why people have made so many arrow heads and spear points out of it. He replied, “well, next you’ll tell me that it doesn’t create portals into a nether dimension.” Sorry Scout, to my knowledge it does not.

black arrow head with index card that says Minecraft lied to me, obsidian is actually glass, obsidian is not unbreakable, obsidian cannot be used to make portals, it's volcanic glass, you can chemically test obsidian to find its volcano!

To investigate further into how obsidian is used in Minecraft™, I called the most knowledgeable gamer I know. My nephew, Zak, was happy to explain to me that in the game you combine lava and water to create obsidian blocks. This isn’t exactly true. Obsidian is formed when molten rock material cools so fast it cannot form a crystalline structure at an atomic level. It usually solidifies on the Earth’s surface, making it an extrusive rock. According to Zak, the obsidian in Minecraft™ can be used to create a very strong wall or to access the nether dimension that I had learned about from the Scout. Weapons are not made from it and it is very hard to break. In reality, obsidian is easily broken by human action and can also be worn down by the weather. This would make it a terrible substance from which to build a fortress. While obsidian is not used to build indestructible walls or portals, it is used to make surgical tools. It can be made sharper than steel and can be placed in scalpels for precision procedures. So, while the obsidian in Minecraft™is different than obsidian on Earth, at least it sparked a conversation.

The obsidian artifacts in this photo are a part of the educational collection maintained by the Section of Anthropology.

To learn more about the BSA Merit Badge for archaeology visit: https://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Archaeology

To read another CMNH blog about obsidian visit: https://carnegiemnh.org/tag/emerald-obsidianite/

Amy L. Covell-Murthy is the Archaeology Collection Manager at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

October 29, 2019 by wpengine

Tornadoes, Snails, and Sample Sizes

woman collecting snail species specimens — Abbey collecting snails after braving unkind vegetation. Photo by Tim Pearce.

In 2012, a tornado felled trees in four places at Carnegie Museum’s field station, Powdermill Nature Reserve in southwestern Pennsylvania, about 1-hour drive East of Pittsburgh. Each blowdown was 3-6 ha (8-15 acres), within 3 km (2 miles) of each other. These blowdowns provide natural replicates to examine land snail response to habitat change. Given that some snail species are known to occur in forests and others in meadows, we might expect the snail species composition to shift when the wind turns part of a forest into a meadow.

Samples taken in 2016 showed differences in snail species community composition between the blowdown areas and the adjacent, intact forest. However, other statistical tests did not show differences that were significant, but they were nearly significant.

A good scientist should readily accept “no difference” when statistical results show that the differences are not significant. However, when the differences are tantalizingly close to significant, one might wonder whether “no difference” is real, or if a larger sample size might have demonstrated a significant difference.

So, we sampled again this year and took more samples. We are still processing the samples, so results are not in yet, but with the larger sample size, we will accept “no difference” if that is what the statistics tell us.

In the photo, Abbey is collecting leaf litter (containing snails) at the Laurel Run blowdown. The sample she collected contained 23 snails, of five species: Glyphyalinia indentata, Punctum minutissimum, Striatura ferrea, Striatura milium, and Zonitoides arboreus.

Timothy A. Pearce, PhD, is the Head of the Section of Mollusks and Abbey Hines is a Gallery Experience Presenter at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

October 24, 2019 by wpengine

Centipede or Millipede? What’s the Difference?

Quick, what was that? It scuttled by in a flash, but you caught a few defining characteristics. It had many legs and a long, segmented, wiggling body. You know you’ve seen one before. Was it a centipede or a millipede?

A few unique characteristics help define which of our many-legged friends is which.

What’s the difference?

Both centipedes and millipedes are made up of segments that link together to form one, long body. With this body form in common, it might be hard to tell the difference between the two at first glance. Here are a few tips to spot the differences:

Millipedes have two sets of legs per segment positioned directly under their body. Centipedes have one set of legs per segment positioned on the side of their body.
Centipedes mostly eat insects after killing them with their venom. Millipedes feast on decomposing plants.
If looking from the side, centipedes have a flatter body while millipedes are more rounded.
They respond to threats in different ways. A millipede will coil up and release a smelly secretion. Centipedes can bite (which is typically harmless to humans) and run away quickly.

It’s all in the “family”

These two also have enough in common to make them “cousins” in the animal kingdom.

Scientists have grouped them together because of their similar segmented bodies.
Both have poor or non-existent vision and rely on other senses, like the feel of vibrations.
They prefer to live in dark environments, which is why you may have seen them in an unlit corner of your basement.
The longest species of each measure about six inches in length.

Say no to “Nope!”

Of course, they may not be the most pleasant creatures to some folks. There is, however, plenty to observe and you’ll find they really are quite fascinating! At the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Curatorial Assistant Catherine Giles and Collection Assistant Vanessa Verdecia study these animals and many more in the Section of Invertebrate Zoology. Scientists like them across the world could use your help!

There are not many known studies of centipedes or millipedes, even though they are incredibly common and span the globe. Catherine said she would urge people not to say “Nope!” when it comes to centipedes and millipedes. Instead, we should be curious. Studies need to be done in the field with live specimens (ecology) and in labs or offices classifying specimens (taxonomy).

There are more than 3,000 known and an estimated 8,000 species of centipedes. There are upwards of 7,000 known and 80,000 estimated species of millipedes. Millipedes can be found in moist forest areas, while centipedes prefer dry environments. Try and find examples of both species. Take a closer look. Do you notice the differences outlined here? What about the similarities? If you were to study these creatures, would you prefer to be on the scene or in the lab? There’s no wrong answer as long as you don’t say, “Nope!”

Curatorial Assistant Catherine Giles and Collection Assistant Vanessa Verdecia with a box of specimens

Fun Fact

“Milli” is a latin prefix for 1,000 and “centi” is for 100. Don’t assume that’s exactly how many legs each has on its entire body, though!

Some species of millipedes can have as many as 750 legs. Centipedes can have more than 350 legs.

Learn more in Nature Lab!

October 22, 2019 by wpengine

Bright Flying Mammal

museum display of mammals found in Pennsylvania — Mammals of Pennsylvania within the Hall of North American Wildlife

Can you name our region’s most colorful mammal? If the question was asked in front of the museum’s Mammals of Pennsylvania display, many people would choose the red fox near the center of the exhibit’s floor-level row.

Five feet above fox, and just inches from the tip of a raccoon’s tail, a far smaller, but equally bright alternate exists in the form of a gliding eastern red bat.

Eastern red bat — Eastern Red Bat, known to science as Lasiurus borealis

In color, red bat fur ranges from golden brown to bright rusty orange, with males typically sporting brighter shades than females. The bright fur coats of this widespread insect-eating species provide surprisingly effective camouflage when the bats are at rest. Red bats are tree bats, a term that indicates the species’ preference for spending daylight hours roosting within the foliage of deciduous and sometimes evergreen trees.

With wings folded, they hang upside-down from the grip of a single foot, looking, to casual observers, like dead leaves or pine cones.

Red Bats have so far escaped the devastating effects of white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease that since 2007 has caused mortality rates as high as 90% at hibernation sites of many other bat species. Remarkably, on fall migration flights to southern portions of their North American range, red bats have been known to cross long stretches of territory with flocks of migrating birds.

For more information about eastern red bats, please check the species account prepared by Bat Conservation International.

For information about the vital ecosystem contributions of the world’s 1,300 bat species please visit Merlin Tuttle’s Bat Conservation.

October 18, 2019 by wpengine

The History of Jack-o’-Lanterns + Make Your Own Dippy Jack-o’-Lantern

Did you know jack-o’-lanterns were once carved from turnips? Ancient Celtic cultures were known to carve turnips and place embers inside to ward off evil spirits. That’s because Ireland didn’t have pumpkins. When immigrants brought over their carving tradition, Americans began carving jack-o’-lanterns from pumpkins. This gave us a bigger canvas to work with!

This is a traditional Irish jack-o’-lantern carved from a turnip.

The Great Pumpkin Flood

Can you imagine Halloween season without pumpkins? More than 200 years ago, eastern Pennsylvania experienced heavy rain causing the Susquehanna River to flood. The flood waters were so strong they washed away entire pumpkin crops. People were said to have seen pumpkins floating down the river, which was 5-10 feet higher due to the flooding. When the water began to subside, pumpkins were everywhere. This was known as The Great Pumpkin Flood of 1786.

The Nature360 Staff had a pumpkin carving party. Can you see Dippy riding a broomstick?

Dippy the Dinosaur Jack-o’-Lanterns

Our friend Dippy had so much fun with our last challenge, that they asked us to give you another! Do you think you can carve a Dippy jack-o’-lantern?

We have three pumpkin carving stencils for you to use that will bring Dippy to life, pumpkin style! You can choose to carve Dippy wearing a witch hat, Dippy in the night sky, or Dippy on a broom stick.

We’d love to see your jack-o’-lantern creations! Email them to nature360@carnegiemnh.org or tag Dippy on Twitter @dippy_the_dino.

Dippy in a witch hat jack-o-lantern pattern

Dippy in the night sky jack-o-lantern pattern

Squash Dolls

Although pumpkins didn’t serve a large purpose in home decor until we began carving them, squash was popular to the Hidatsa Indians. Little girls were known to use squash as dolls. They would bring them in from the field, picking the ones that were multicolored, so the dolls looked to be wearing clothing.

Try more fun activities in Nature Lab!

October 16, 2019 by wpengine

Buried histories, alternative histories, toward a clean and just future

Image from Fire Underground, Nick Crockett, 2019

As part of ongoing Anthropocene engagement at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, we aim to support transdisciplinary conversations about urgent issues facing our community. Through dialogue we hope to spur creative exploration about the interconnectivity of nature and people across time, and thinking towards a clean and just future.

Toward this goal, we are super excited to host our inspiring colleagues from The Natural History Museum next week, October 23 – 26, in Pittsburgh as part of their event series, Power Beyond Extraction. The series examines power in terms of both energy and the people power needed to bring about the just transition to a clean energy economy. The Natural History Museum and the House of Tears Carvers of the Lummi Nation collaborated with us two years ago in producing a powerful program and exhibition about indigenous leadership in US struggles to protect land and water, entitled, Kwel’ Hoy: We Draw the Line!

Next week’s event series is organized to coincide with the Shale Insight Conference, an annual convening and conversation about the future of energy that is hosted by the petrochemical industry. Power Beyond Extraction invites community leaders, activists, artists, and scholars to contribute to this conversation of regional, international, and inter-generational importance.

At the Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History, we are co-hosting two events in the series.

First, on Thursday evening, October 24 in the CMOA theater from 6 – 8:30 p.m. join us in a free community conversation. A Buried Conversation is planned to kick-off with a selection of coal mining songs performed by labor leader and professional musician Joe Uehlein. Then Uehlein along with a selection of other coal scholars and activists will join together for a panel discussion about the joint history of coal and the history of labor. Exploring how the long struggle for work with dignity can inform a just transition that supports both clean energy and good jobs.

Second, please join us from 2 – 4 p.m. on Saturday October 26, for another free event and special dialogue held in the CMOA theater. We will be screening Fire Underground, a feature length fantasy animation presenting an alternative history of coal. After the screening, the artist, Nick Crockett will be there to discuss the film in dialogue with CMNH’s Director of Science and Research, Steve Tonsor, and art historian and member of The Natural History Museum, Steve Lyons.

I was especially inspired to share Fire Underground at our museum after Nick told me about his time hanging out in the galleries and the influence that the experience had in spurring his imagination and making this film. You can spot the inspired critters and landscape in the eerily familiar and unfamiliar world Crockett animates to journey through layers of deep time from ancient carboniferous forests to the speculative present.

Nicole Heller is Curator of the Anthropocene for Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences working at the museum.

October 15, 2019 by wpengine

Carnegie Geologists Win National Award

In the fall of 2018, Albert D. Kollar and John A. Harper (volunteer and research associate) of the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology in collaboration with the Pittsburgh Geological Society conducted a geology field trip titled: Geology of the Early Iron Industry in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. Back then, we had no idea this field guide would be recognized by the Geoscience Information Society with their GSIS Award 2019 for Best Guidebook (professional) at the Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America (GSA). On September 23, 2019, Albert attended the Awards Luncheon in Phoenix, Arizona, to receive the GSIS Award.

Albert D. Kollar and Michael Noga representing Geoscience Information Society.

As stated by the GSIS committee chair, “The Geology of the Early Iron Industry in Fayette County, Pennsylvania is well-written and well-illustrated, with both professional and popular sections. I can see local geology teachers taking students on these trips to show a chapter in the development of an important early ore industry in the United States. With the aid of detailed road logs guidebook users can see and learn about the geology, industrial development, history, and fossils in Fayette County. Field Trip leaders can use the guidebook to expand on several topics, depending on the interests of their trip attendees. An additional benefit of the guidebook is its free availability online, so any traveler with an interest in the area can explore on their own. The Pittsburgh Geological Society has performed a great model for other local societies that are interested in spreading the benefits of their field trips to wider audiences.”

In receiving the award, Kollar opined that the guidebook has been recognized for the diverse geology of the region and the many historical sites that can be seen and visited respectively throughout southwestern Pennsylvania. These include, the geology of Chestnut Ridge, a Mississippian-age limestone quarry with abundant fossils and Laurel Caverns, the history of oil and gas exploration, the historic Wharton Charcoal Blast Furnace, the geology of natural gas storage, the country’s First Puddling Iron Furnace, and the birth place of both coke magnate Henry Clay Frick and Old Overholt Straight Rye Whiskey, West Overton, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.

Another feature of the guidebook is its dedication to Dr. Norman L. Samways, retired metallurgist, geology enthusiast, and good friend who spent many years as a volunteer with the Invertebrate Paleontology Section of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Sam, as we called him, passed away in February 2018. His contribution came about when he was instrumental in the research and writing of the Geology and History of Ironmaking in Western Pennsylvania, with his co-authors John A. Harper, Albert D. Kollar, and David J. Vater, published as PAlS Publication 16, 2014. Moreover, Sam was solely responsible for a new historical marker, AMERICA’S FIRST PUDDLING FURANCE along PA 51, dedicated on September 10, 2017 by the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission and the Fayette County Historical Society. David Vater contributed to the guidebook’s content by drawing a schematic diagram of a typical puddling iron furnace, which is greatly appreciated. Key fossils and iron ores of the section’s collection are referenced as well. The cataloged fossils cited in peer review journals authored by section staff and research associates includes those on the trilobites by Brezinski (1984, 2008, and 2009), Bensen (1934) and Carter, Kollar and Brezinski (2008) for brachiopods, and Rollins and Brezinski (1988) for crinoid-platyceratid (snail) co-evolution.

In recent years, the section has run highly successful regional field trips about various geology and paleontology topics based on the museum collections, collaborations with the Pittsburgh Geology Society, the Geological Society of America, Osher Institute of the University of Pittsburgh, Nine-Mile Run Watershed, Allegheny County Parks, Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, Montour Trail, Carnegie Discovers, and the section’s own PAlS geology and fossil program. A future field trip is being planned to assess the dimension stones that built the Carnegie Museum and noted architectural building stones of Oakland.

October 15, 2019 by wpengine

Callery Pear from October 11, 1979: 40 years ago

From wild to cultivated to invasive

This specimen of Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana) was collected on October 11, 1979 by W.Z. Fang in Jiangsu, China. Callery pear is native to East Asia (China, Vietnam).

But…Callery pear can be found in the United States. It was (and is) widely planted as an ornamental landscape tree. Along streets, in residential yards, in parking lots – it was a prized plant for well-groomed anthropogenic landscapes. It uniformly grows in low resource conditions, explodes with many beautiful blossoms each spring, provides shade, and has a decent foliage display in the autumn. As many introduced plants go, it went from prized ornamental to an unwanted “invasive species,” spreading across the landscape and affecting the environment. It is now widely recognized invasive species in many states or closely watched as a species likely to become invasive. That said, beyond the legacy of over half a century of mass plantings across the country, it is still commonly planted and old and new cultivars are commercially available. USDA estimated over $23 million in sales in the US in 2009 alone.

How’d Callery pear get to the US? The story behind the introduction of Callery pear is a fascinating one. Like many of our cultivated plants, seeds were collected on special expeditions in search of plants useful to horticulture, agriculture, or just because. Pyrus calleryana was first introduced to the US in the early 1900s, though not for its attractive blossoms as you might expect. Instead, it was first introduced for its disease resistance. It was successfully used in horticulture as a root stock for European pear fruit production. At the time, European pears in the Pacific northwestern US were being hit hard, grafting to a Callery pear rootstock dramatically decreased crop losses to disease. Callery pear does not produce edible fruit.

The tree was widely planted starting in the 1960s, when it became commercially available and promoted by the nursery industry as a hardy ornamental tree. Before that, it was planted by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) for testing at Plant Introduction Stations in Corvallis, Oregon, and Glenn Dale, Maryland. One of these Maryland planted trees was targeted for its special traits and became the source of the hugely popular ‘Bradford’ cultivar (“Bradford pear”). In 1952, one tree was used to graft to rootstock, a plant propagation method making all plants genetically identical. Other cultivars have since been commercialized, but ‘Bradford’ were/are exceptionally popular. Though intended to be sterile (non-reproducing), it turned out the trees were capable of setting viable seed. The cultivars themselves are not invasive, but because multiple cultivars exist, together they can cross-pollinate to become invasive.

This flowering specimen (above) from University of Maryland Norton-Brown Herbarium (MARY) was collected in 1963 from the US Plant Introduction Garden in Glenn Dale, MD – THE site behind the widespread introduction of this species!

Herbarium specimens have been critical to understanding the spread of this species. In a 2005 study, Dr. Michael Vincent (Miami University in Ohio) found that 50% of all specimens examined over the range of 39 years were collected between 2000-2003. Though some specimens were collected in the 1960s in natural areas, it became widely “escaped” from cultivation in many natural areas in the 1990s.

You may have noticed that most of our specimen images to date are those collected in Pennsylvania and surrounding states. That’s because these specimens are being digitized as part of a multi-institutional project, the Mid-Atlantic Megalopolis Project, with the overarching goal to mobilize herbarium specimens across the region to understand the effects of urbanization on plant life. However, this project is a step towards digitizing the entire Carnegie Museum Herbarium. The herbarium is worldwide in scope, and specimens in the Mid-Atlantic region account for only 35% of the 540,000 specimens.

As more specimens become digitized as part of the Mid-Atlantic Megalopolis Project, we’ll have a more complete understanding of the introduction and spread of Callery pear in the region.

Herbarium specimens are collected in the native range too! We’ll be able to compare specimens collected in the invaded range to those in its native China. The use of cultivated specimens and those collected in the native range are underutilized but can provide critical information.

This historically fascinating specimen (above) from Howard University Herbarium (HUDC) below, digitized through the Mid-Atlantic Megalopolis Project, is among the oldest specimens collected in the region. Collected in spring of 1965 in Maryland by Frederick Meyer from a cultivated plant at the US National Arboretum, with the note on the label: “China: Seeds collected by Peter Liu, Hupeh Province. Rec’d. March 10, 1932.” The US National Arboretum was instrumental in the development and popularity of the ‘Bradford’ and other cultivars.

Escaped from cultivation. This specimen (above) from Muhlenberg College Herbarium (MCA) was collected along the roadway in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania by Bayard Long in 1962. This specimen is probably the earliest specimen collected in the wild in Pennsylvania.

Many more specimens like this will be brought to light through the Mid-Atlantic Megalopolis Project.

Read more about this species introduction history in the popular press, published in the Washington Post last year, and in an excellent overview by Dr. Theresa Culley (University of Cinncinati) in Arnoldia and another in BioScience.

See all the Pyrus calleryana specimens being made available online from the Mid-Atlantic Megalopolis project here: http://midatlanticherbaria.org/portal/collections/list.php?db=277%2C328%2C334%2C329%2C333%2C320%2C330%2C40%2C410%2C316%2C335%2C331%2C332%3B11&includecult=1&taxa=Pyrus+calleryana&usethes=1&taxontype=2

October 15, 2019 by wpengine

Glowing Mushrooms and Pokémon

Nature’s Nightlights

Have you ever walked through the woods at night and noticed a small glowing object near the base of the trees? That’s bioluminescence happening in mushrooms – the creation and emission of light by organisms. Glow-in-the-dark fungi aren’t just something you’ll see in the woods. If you’ve seen the new Detective Pikachu movie, you may have encountered another species of glowing mushrooms!

The radiant glow of bitter oyster mushrooms were used to mark trails prior to electricity!

What We Know About The Glow

By now, you’ve probably got some questions, like how does the glowing occur? And why? Well, the greenish light emitted from the mushrooms is the result of a release of energy from a chemical reaction. Research has shown that when the oxyluciferin in the mushroom releases its oxygen molecule, then it’s time to get lit. Only about 80 species of fungi are known to glow. Perhaps these funny fungi are drawing the attention of insects or animals that feed on the mushroom to disperse its spores, like the way a sweet-smelling flower attracts insects for the same reason.

These mushrooms are as plain as Clark Kent until they give off a super glow at night.

Glowing Mushrooms From Different Worlds

If you’re having trouble finding glowing mushrooms in the woods, have no fear, Detective Pikachu is here! The new movie shows off different types of Pokémon, including the Morelull. The Morelull is a Pokémon that resembles a mushroom with its stem-like body and three sprouting mushroom caps on its head. At night, the Morelull can make its spores glow with glittering sparks just like glowing mushrooms around you.

glowing mushroom-like Pokemon — A Morelull resembling a glowing mushroom appears in the wild during the Detective Pikachu movie trailer.

Fun Fact – Hypnotizing Spores

You can find Morelull in the Detective Pikachu trailer! When the trainers come across a herd of Bulbasaur, look for a few Morelull fluttering around them.

Detective Pikachu screenshot of Morelull

It’s Time For An Adventure!

Now it’s time for you to find glowing mushrooms near you. If you’re stumped on where to find nature’s nightlights, well, look for a stump! They are known to surround the bases of dead trees or wrap themselves around dead branches.

Popular glowing mushrooms:

-Luminescent Panellus

-Honey Mushroom

-Bleeding Fairy Helmet

-Jack-o-Lantern

Western Pennsylvania is home to several varieties. They can be found in backyards, along trails and in our parks such as:

-Powdermill Nature Preserve

-Beechwood Nature Reserve

-Frick Park

-Hartwood Acres

-Salamander Park

While you’re out looking for mushrooms, keep your eyes open for fireflies! Fireflies use luciferins, light emitting compounds, like mushrooms to glow.

glowing mushroom — A Jack-o’-Lantern Mushroom glows under the moonlight at Beechwood Nature Reserve.

The same Jack-o’-Lantern Mushroom in the daylight.

Can You Find The Words Relating to Mushrooms?

Learn more in Nature Lab!

October 4, 2019 by wpengine

October 4, 1940: 79 years ago

Loved and hated: An urban plant with history

”There’s a tree that grows in Brooklyn. Some people call it the Tree of Heaven. No matter where its seed falls, it makes a tree which struggles to reach the sky. It grows in boarded up lots and out of neglected rubbish heaps. It grows up out of cellar gratings. It is the only tree that grows out of cement. It grows lushly…survives without sun, water, and seemingly earth. It would be considered beautiful except that there are too many of it.“

-from Betty Smith’s classic novel, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1943)

(Fact check: the species is impressively resilient but does indeed require light and water. But we’ll let it slide with an artistic license here.)

This specimen of tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima) was collected on October 4, 1940 by D. Berkheimer near Klapperthal in Berks county, Pennsylvania.

Tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima) is a species with a fascinating and complex cultural history. It was once glorified as a beautiful urban street tree in the United States. It was tolerant of insects, pollution, and poor growing conditions. The earliest recorded planting in the US (via England) was at William Hamilton’s estate (currently the “Woodlands Cemetery”) in Philadelphia around 1784. It was also in Bartram’s famous garden nearby. It became popular in the plant nursery industry after 1820. But that feeling didn’t stay long, and within decades it was vilified as an unwanted weed – it had an unpleasant smell, produced prolific seeds, and resprouted from suckers causing it to spread. Today, it is a common urban “weed” found in urban and non-urban areas across the eastern US. It is considered invasive in Pennsylvania (and many other states). It is also considered invasive in many parts of Europe.

But where’s it from? Ailanthus altissima is native to East Asia, including China, Taiwan, and Korea. It has a deep ethnobotanical history in China, where it has been used in various ways in traditional Chinese medicine, with written records of its use dating to 732 AD! It also has deep roots in Chinese literature and culture. Among other uses, it has also been used in silk production, as it is a food host to a silkworm.

The oldest herbarium specimen from the Eastern US is undated but inferred to date from 1815-1831 from Philadelphia. It is in the herbarium of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University (PH). The second oldest Pennsylvania specimen is dated 1841, also from Philadelphia.

It is around this time of year that the abundance of Tree of Heaven in the Pittsburgh area becomes especially obvious, especially along roadsides. With large, compound leaves and found in disturbed, “weedy” areas, Ailanthus can be easily confused with the similar looking native tree, staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina). Staghorn sumac is in a different plant family (poison ivy family, Anacardiaceae), but this confusion goes way back. Linnaeus even described the species as in the same genus as sumac, so don’t feel too bad if you make the same mistake! (Side note – the taxonomic history of the species is also intense. It has been given many different scientific names over the past three centuries, with three people independently naming it at around mid-1700s!) The leaves are noticeably different upon closer inspection. The fruits are even more clearly different. Ailanthus has brown clusters of winged seeds (called samaras, like that of maple trees’ “helicopter” seeds). These seeds can be clearly seen now on trees as their leaves drop along most highways around Pittsburgh.

Given its introduction history in the Mid-Atlantic and its intentional planting and affinity for urban areas, the Mid-Atlantic Megalopolis Project will be important and fascinating to understanding more about this plant. The Mid-Atlantic Megalopolis Project is a specimen digitation effort involving more than 12 herbaria (including Carnegie Museum herbarium) funded by a National Science Foundation grant to database (put in computer), image (high res. pictures), and georeference (put on map) all specimens in the region. The region is significant because it is one the oldest densely populated urban corridors in the US, from New York City to Washington, D.C. The Mid-Atlantic Megalopolis Project is producing a critical dataset to look at the introduction history and invasive success (and failure) of species in urban and non-urban areas across this connected region – including Tree of Heaven and many other species.

This specimen image (and many other Tree of Heaven specimens in the region) are available online: http://midatlanticherbaria.org/portal/collections/list.php?db=328&taxa=Ailanthus+altissima&usethes=1&taxontype=2

The earliest specimen in southwestern PA at the museum was collected in 1881 in Beaver county.

For more on the species’ fascinating history and biology in our region, check out this detailed study by Dr. Matt Kasson and colleagues done at Penn State published in 2013 in Northeastern Naturalist.

October 2, 2019 by wpengine

A harmless necessary cat

It’s a little daunting contemplating finding something novel to write about cats, the unofficial mascot of the internet. But we’re thinking of getting one (or two), to add some fun – and a few hair balls – to our household. There’s a lot to think about. What to get and how to get it? We’re looking online because there seem to be so many cats in need of re-homing.

Keep reading this blog post at EricDorfman.com.

Eric Dorfman is the Daniel G. and Carole L. Kamin Director of Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

September 27, 2019 by wpengine

An Annual Return to My Bug-loving Roots

black and beetle on goldenrod — Image used by permission of Stuart Tingley, Cormierville, New Brunswick, Canada. *Megacyllene robiniae* (Forster), female on bloom of goldenrod

It’s that time of year again when one of my favorite beetles, Megacyllene robiniae (Forster), is starting to appear. Called the “locust borer” due to its larva’s habit of feeding in the living wood of black locust trees, it is one of the last species of long-horned beetle (family Cerambycidae) to emerge in late summer. Adults can be found feeding on the flowers of goldenrod, starting around late August and persisting in the field well into October. The beautiful yellow and black patterned beetles are strikingly colored, but can be quite cryptic when resting on the flowers of goldenrod, which shares the same shade of yellow as the beetle. As long as a larval host source is nearby, a stroll in a field of goldenrod is sure to produce a few adults, boldly feeding on pollen in broad daylight, yet still difficult to visually sort out from the background of the flowers which they visit.

Megacyllene is a genus of Cerambycidae that elicits as much sentimental as scientific interest for me, because it was one of the first long-horned beetles I encountered as a kid. I can still remember coming home from school in the early autumn and heading out into a large field of goldenrod behind my Ohio home to look for the beetles. The only other species of Megacyllene present in Ohio and Pennsylvania is Megacyllene caryae (Gahan) – the “painted hickory borer.” Contrary to M. robiniae – it is one of the earliest cerambycids to emerge in late April to early May, the adults having eclosed in the fall and remaining in their pupal cells until spring. I vividly remember my grandfather bringing home a load of hickory firewood one January, unaware that it was infested with the beetles. Upon splitting a log, he found the adults in their pupal cells awaiting the Spring warmth to emerge. He and I together split those logs smaller and smaller looking for more specimens. We ended up with a nice series of beetles and a bunch of wood whittled down to kindling size!

Image used by permission of Shannon Schade, Elkton, MD. *Megacyllene caryae* (Gahan), mating pair

Monochamus notatus (Drury) is a spectacular species of long-horned beetle, common in Pennsylvania in stands of white pine. The larva feeds under the bark of dying or dead pine and its feeding can be heard as a high-pitched rasping sound as far as 20 feet from the tree. This behavior has earned the species the common name of “pine sawyer” – the noise resembling the sound of an old-fashioned two-man crosscut saw raking back and forth through a log.

Image used by permission of Carolyn Waddell, Bugguide #1184417, Creative Commons, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Monochamus notatus (Drury), male

When I was thirteen, while camping at Mohican State Park in north-central Ohio with my family, I was sitting at a picnic table eating lunch. Suddenly, a large male M. notatus came wafting through the campsite, its lengthy antennae trailing behind it, and looking about the size of a small bird to my young bug-enthusiast eyes. I dropped my food, jumped from the table, grabbed my net, and swept the beast out of the air – the first cerambycid beetle that I ever collected! I still have that specimen 46 years later and I attribute it with starting me on the road to specializing on the family Cerambycidae – now my strongest area of taxonomic expertise. I have seen millions of specimens of long-horned beetles from all around the globe during my career, but that one specimen generates more sentiment than the rest combined – I can still smell the pine scent in the air on that day I caught it.

Collecting insects as a kid was the gateway into an amazing world of diversity, and as it turned out, the foundation of what would become my career and lifelong passion. When I look at specimens I caught in those early years, they produce a flood of memories – of specimens caught and of those that got away; of woods where I memorized every fallen log and patch of flowers; of the copy of Josef Knull’s 1946 book “The Long-horned Beetles of Ohio,” with its pages worn and every word read over and over again a thousand times; even the long bike rides, carrying my net and jars out to areas remote from my home in search of “wild” areas in which to hunt for beetles. The specimens serve as little time machines – carrying me back to my childhood and the dawn of my interest in entomology. Going into the field now is more sophisticated, and structured, and planned – better gear, GPS units to record localities, a lifetime of experience to rely upon – not to mention a car that can take me farther afield. But those days of simple exploration, where nearly every venture outdoors uncovered some new wonder, will always be some of my most cherished memories – and those beetles on pins will always be the vehicles that carry me back to that wondrous time in my life.

Bob Androw is a Scientific Preparator in Invertebrate Zoology. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

September 25, 2019 by wpengine

Create Your Own Dippy From Nature Around You!

Dinosaur statue wearing scarf — We are lucky enough to have 1 of 10 Diplodocus displays with original bones around the world right here at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

We have a challenge for you! Our friend Dippy the Diplodocus wants you to make a distinctive dinosaur shape from items you find outside. Dippy isn’t picky about looks, if you don’t forget its extremely long neck and tail.

Diplodocus is known for its long body and could be up to 88 feet long. Dippy’s front limbs are shorter than his hind limbs.

The Longest Dinosaur That Ever Lived

Diplodocus was one of the longest known dinosaurs and lived during the end of the Jurassic Period, around 150 million years ago. Diplodocus was known to be a vegetarian and loved stripping the leaves off branches for a snack, like many other herbivores.

Instead of using leaves for a snack, see if you can find a leaf on the ground with a long stem that can represent Dippy’s neck or tail!

Dippy will need something to represent its four legs too. Maybe you can break a stick into pieces so Dippy can walk!

The History of Dippy The Dinosaur

In 1899, a team of scientists discovered and assembled the Diplodocus carnegii. This was Carnegie Museum’s very first dinosaur find! In 1999, a life-size statue of Dippy was placed in front of the museum to celebrate his 100^thanniversary of being Pittsburgh’s Dinosaur.

Dippy the dinosaur statue in a hat and scarf with a thought bubble that says Hola!

Although Diplodocus wasn’t named by Andrew Carnegie, he was able to donate complete casts of Dippy skeletons to multiple locations around the world. There are 12 museums with Dippy replica exhibits worldwide on display and we have the real one right here!

Celebrating 120 Years of Dippy

It’s been 120 years since Dippy became the face of our museum and we can’t think of a better way to celebrate than creating your own Dippy from nature. Are you up for the challenge?

Fun Fact

Did you know Dippy is on Twitter? @dippy_the_dino

Dippy has a lot to say every day!

Find Dippy on Twitter with your parent’s permission for museum updates, facts about prehistoric creatures, and dinosaur memes.

The Dippy Challenge

Create Dippy’s distinctive shape from different items found outside!

Step One:

•Find a leaf stem on the ground that can represent Dippy’s long neck.

• Bend it into a curved shape.

• Find a tiny leaf (like one from a clover) for Dippy’s head.

Step Two:

•Find something round (a rock, a leaf, or whatever you can find) on the ground for Dippy’s body.

• Dippy has four legs, so find a stick and break it into four pieces. Now Dippy can walk!

dinosaur without tail made from leaves and sticks

Step Three:

•Find something else long to represent Dippy’s tail. A blade of grass works perfectly.

• If you want, you can add a colorful scarf on your Dippy like the statue outside the museum wears. We used a pipe cleaner, but we’d love to see how creative you can be!

Dippy the dinosaur made from leaves and sticks with a pipe cleaner for a scarf

We’d love to see your Dippy creations and post them on our blog to celebrate 120 years of Dippy!

Tag Dippy on Twitter @dippy_the_dino with the hashtag #TheDippyChallenge or email your creations to nature360@carnegiemnh.org.

Try more fun activities in Nature Lab!

September 20, 2019 by wpengine

September 20, 1952: 67 Years Ago

It’s fall seed dispersal time!

This specimen of Virginia stickseed (Hackelia virginiana), also interestingly called beggar’s lice, was collected on September 20, 1952 by Leroy Henry (Carnegie Museum Curator of Botany at the time) in the woods of Blair county, Pennsylvania.

The common name for this plant is quite appropriate. The small seeds have many burs on them, making them very sticky. And stick to your clothes with barely a touch, making them easily dispersed (unknowingly) by animals.

If you have a dog, you’ve likely pulled these out their fur in the fall! My dog was covered in them the other day, which was both amazing and annoying at the same time.

Stickseed is in the borage family, Boraginaceae. It has very small white flowers that resemble forget-me-not, also in the same plant family. However, it is the fruit/seeds that are most memorable.

Find high resolution image of this Virginia stickseed specimen (and more) online here:
midatlanticherbaria.org/portal/collections/individual/index.php?occid=12253345&clid=0

September 18, 2019 by wpengine

Is It a New Species? Wish They All Could Be California Snails

Discovering a new species is exciting but determining whether it’s a new species can take some doing.

photo of possible new Trilobopsis species snail — Fig. 1. *Trilobopsis* species from Santa Cruz Island. Note scale-like hairs on shell. Diameter approximately 8 mm (1/3 inch). (Photo by T. Pearce)

During our project on land snails in the California Borderlands, team member Jeff Nekola discovered a population of the land snail genus Trilobopsis on Santa Cruz Island (Fig. 1). That genus does not occur on any other California Channel Islands; in fact, the closest known mainland locality for that genus is 335 km (210 mi) north in the Salinas Area. We recognize that conditions on the northern Channel Islands tend to be cooler than the adjacent mainland, due to the California Current, and some other typically northern plant and animal taxa (or close relatives) also occur surprisingly far south on the northern islands. The Santa Cruz Island population of Trilobopsis represents a serious range extension to the south for the genus (Fig. 2). Is it merely a range extension of a known species, or could it be a new species?

Fig. 2. Trilobopsis on Santa Cruz Island are 335 km south of the nearest other population near Salinas.

Peculiarities about the distribution of Trilobopsis on Santa Cruz Island make us wonder if it is a long-established native species or a recent introduction from the mainland. Its localized occurrence on Santa Cruz Island spans only a couple of hectares (a few acres) near an area where humans have been active over the past century or so. Small ranges, near human activity, often hint that a population was introduced. In contrast, if the snail had been on the island for thousands of years, we would expect it to have spread to other parts of the island that have suitable habitat.

Fortunately, team member Barry Roth is an expert on Trilobopsis. He is a very careful worker, scrutinizing shell features and internal soft-part anatomy before drawing conclusions. His impression is that the Santa Cruz snail is different from any described species. The next question could be, to what mainland form is it most closely related?

These days, DNA can supplement evidence from shell and internal anatomy features to help elucidate relationships. To get DNA, we usually need live-caught individuals. While museum collections contain libraries of snail shells, and sometimes soft parts, rarely do they contain all the species needed, or fresh enough DNA for the comparison. So, it was time for a field trip.

In August 2019, team member Charles Drost organized an expedition to northern California to seek live specimens of Trilobopsis species for DNA. Jeff had annotated numerous maps with known locations, compiled from some of my past field work (when I was a student at Berkeley in the mid-1980s) and extensive field work by Barry. Fortunately, despite the normal late summer drought conditions, we were able to find living specimens of Trilobopsis at nearly all the target sites we visited.

Fig. 3. Charles showed me where to find live *Trilobopsis* snails in a log. (Photo by C. Drost)

We were struck by the differing habitats of some populations. We think of typical Trilobopsis species living in talus rock piles (as does the one on Santa Cruz Island), but we found some populations living in leaf litter, and one population we found was living inside of rotting logs (Figs. 3-4).

Fig. 4. Living *Trilobopsis* in a cavity in rotting log. (Photo by C. Drost)

One likely side benefit of this research will be a revision of the genus; there might be more species of Trilobopsis than currently recognized, or there might be fewer species than currently recognized if some forms simply look different by growing in different environments.

We await results of the DNA comparisons, so we can learn which mainland populations are most closely related to the Santa Cruz Trilobopsis. Gotta love those California snails.

September 13, 2019 by wpengine

Hillbilly Gourmets: Snail-eaters of the Yew Mountains

High in the mountains of West Virginia, there occurs an emerald-green beauty about the size of a half-dollar. It is something of a finicky gourmet in that its preferred dinner is snails. Its unusual external appearance is a conglomerate of specializations for tracking snails, capturing snails, poking its front end into snail shells, and digesting snail meat. In fact, these beetles are so highly specialized that the word for any other beetle evolving similar snail-predation adaptions is “cychrinization,” based on the tribal name of this group, Cychrini. In Figure 1 of our as-yet-unnamed green beauty (Scaphinotus new species), and Figures 2 and 3 of another species (Scaphinotus viduus), some of these special adaptions are obvious: very long and narrow head with long, toothed jaws; tapered front end; in side view, slightly curved for walking into snail shells; and, perhaps most striking, four mouthparts with the last segment enlarged, curved, hatchet-shaped, held out forward like mine detectors, with masses of sensory organs concentrated along the front edge.

side view of beetle specimen — Figure 2.
Image credit: Vanessa Verdecia, Section of Invertebrate Zoology

When hunting, their favored technique is to spiral upward around tree trunks until they cross the slime trail of a snail. They seem to be able to detect which direction the snail was going, and they are after it like a hound, those four enlarged “detectors” held forward. When a snail is captured, they shake it around like a puppy with a slipper. The long mandibles with large internal teeth hold the shell on one side of the opening, and they begin to egest digestive enzymes onto the snail meat as they gradually work their way deeper into the shell. In essence, they are throwing up enzymes into the snail as they go along, so perhaps they are not as finicky as I originally suggested. But they are finicky compared with less elegant, cruder invertebrates that eat snails by simply crushing the whole shell, rather than leaving the shell intact.

Snail-eaters occur over much of the temperate Northern Hemisphere in mountain and forest regions. We have six species right here in Pennsylvania, varying in size and structure to fill various ecological niches and to capitalize on different sizes of snail. There are three lanky tree climbers (though they will also hunt on the ground): one large, one medium and one small, all bright purple with bluish reflections. There are two chunkier surface dwellers: one medium and one small, both black with blue trim. And there is one tiny brown species living deeper in the leaf litter, spending much of its time beneath the surface. The tiny one eats small species of snail, as well as young small individuals of larger snails; the big purple fellow (Figure 3) eats the largest snails.

Robert L. Davidson is the collection manager for the Section of Invertebrate Zoology. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

September 9, 2019 by wpengine

Don’t Overlook the Lichens

Lichens are scenery elements in many museum dioramas. Within the Pronghorn Antelope diorama in the Hall of North American Wildlife, for example, these frequently overlooked organisms coat a foreground boulder with irregular patches of gray, red, and gold.

If you approach this artfully recreated western scene with a little background information about lichens, you might find the colorful cluster of immobile organisms in the bottom right corner just as interesting as the four galloping centerpieces.

Lichens are found on every continent and estimates of their global diversity range from 13,000 to more than 17,000 species. Every lichen is a partnership of two different organisms, a fungus whose tissue provides the physical structure to support a second organism capable of photosynthesis. For most lichens the partner with the solar energy power is some form of green algae. The fungus/algae partnership is a living arrangement in which separate identities fade while combined abilities allow for survival in locations where neither organism could live alone.

Crustose or curst-like lichen and pronghorn antelope scat.

Three distinctive growth forms provide a means for categorizing lichen. The colorful trio sharing the pronghorn antelope diorama are termed “crustose” or crust-like lichens. Lichens with a leaf-like appearance and structure are termed “foliose,” and those with shrubby upright or dangling strands are termed “fruticose.”

Because lichens absorb so much of their nourishment from the air and rainfall, they serve as living air quality indicators. By monitoring a region’s changing balance of pollution sensitive species and pollution tolerant species, a researcher can visually chart the build-up or decrease of pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide.

For more detailed information about lichen ecology, including information about local research efforts, please visit the site maintained by Point Park University Professor Matthew Opdyke.

September 4, 2019 by wpengine

Box Turtle Time Capsule

The year is 1974. Powdermill founder and Carnegie Museum of Natural History Director Dr. Graham Netting measures and marks a female box turtle found on the reserve and releases her. He estimates her age to be at least 16 years old. One wonders if he had any idea that during the 45 years since, Powdermill staff would continue to find her, alive and well.

We had the pleasure of encountering box turtle 22, as she is known, on August 29. The number etched into her bottom shell is still readily visible all these years later. She was last seen 8 years ago in 2011, and again 8 years before that, in 2003. In all, she has been recaptured 15 times since 1974! For a 61-year-old (at least), she is looking good and is as close to her 16-year-old weight as we’ve ever seen. Box turtles are known to live for over 100 years in captivity, but often much less in the wild due to predation and disease. Males typically travel more than females, covering distances of up to 10 km in 14 months!

Field stations like Powdermill are so valuable to biologists because of the knowledge that can be gained from these long-term datasets. Perhaps it will be another 8 years until we see her again, and who knows how many more decades she will continue to roam the forests of the reserve. After all, with an approximate birth year of 1958, she is about as old as Powdermill itself (founded in 1956).

September 3, 2019 by wpengine

How to Use a Lensatic Compass

Have you ever heard someone say they need to find their bearings? It dates back to the Age of Discovery and refers to the bearings inside a compass that move the directional needle. That saying has lived on and so has the simple compass! Let’s learn about the military’s preferred version, the lensatic compass. It’s incredibly precise, affordably priced at just a couple of dollars, and easy to find in your local big box or sporting goods store.

What you’ll need

Lensatic compass

Enough room to rotate in a circle

Step 1

● Hold the compass in the hand that you write with.

● Make sure the side facing up has the open slot in the cover.

Step 2

● Use your thumb to pull the thumb ring back about halfway.

● Flip up the lid to a 90-degree angle.

● Flip up the small magnifying glass.

● Pull the ring underneath the compass and put your thumb through.

● Wrap your middle, ring and pinky finger around your thumb for support. Use your index finger to steady the front of the compass.

Step 3

● Notice the slot in the lid has a sight wire running down the middle.

● Turn the dial until the larger line aligns with the sight wire.

● Notice the second line of numbers surrounding the outside of the dial goes from 0 to 360 degrees to represent a full circle. That provides a more accurate direction. Saying an object is at 340 degrees Northwest is more accurate than saying it is Northwest.

Step 4

● Hold the compass in front of your nose with the lid facing out.

● Pick an object, rotate your entire body (not just the compass), and align the object with the sight wire.

● Look through the magnifying glass and find the green line that we matched to the sight wire.

● Locate the number on the inner dial. You will also see the directions North, South, East, and West. Congratulations, you found your bearings!

● Pretend your compass is a cool space laser and say “Zzzap!” as you pretend to fire away at your landmark….OK that last part isn’t necessary, but might be fun!

Fun Fact

The lensatic compass is very versatile. You can also use it as you would a standard compass by pulling back the lid and magnifying glass to fully show directions North, South, East, and West. Hold your elbows tight against your body and the compass near your waist to get your bearings and find out which direction you are facing!

“There’s an app for that”

True, but learning how to read a compass can come in handy.

Do you have a phone or tablet? Look down and check the battery life. How about the WiFi and cellular service? Remember, batteries lose their charge and service can be unreliable in some areas.

Learn this skill in familiar territory like your backyard or a local park.

That way, if you need to use it in unfamiliar territory, you will be ready.

Can you com-pass this text? Give it a try!

Now that you know how to use the compass, let’s put your knowledge to the test! Head into your yard or an outdoors area to begin. Ready? Set? Go!

Locate North. What do you see? _______________

Rotate to the East. What do you see? _______________

Now West. What do you see? _______________

Find South. What do you see? _______________

Great job so far! Let’s make things a little more challenging by incorporating the degrees.

Locate 340 degrees Northwest. What do you see? _______________

Now turn to 120 degrees Southeast. What do you see? _______________

You are now part of a group of navigators that goes back hundreds of years. Research dates the use of the magnetized mineral lodestone as a compass all the way back to the year 1,000. Ancient Chinese explorers learned that they could float the stone on a small piece of wood in a cup of water and the stone would always point to the north pole. Sailors later discovered that rubbing a needle against a piece of lodestone made the needle magnetic and the evolution of the modern compass began, along with superstitions. Prior to the scientific explanation, sailors thought the compass was a magical object that could tell fortunes and cure illness. They also thought that onions and garlic could block the magnetic force, so those ingredients never boarded their ships.

Luckily, we know that compasses today are useful tools that help us find our bearings – no magic required. Congratulations on joining the club of compass navigators!

The ancient Chinese are believed to have created the first compass. This version was used on a ship around 1760.

Blog post by Eddie Phillips. Graphics by Megan Jones.

Learn more in Nature Lab!

August 28, 2019 by wpengine

Cephalopod Fossils from Lyme Regis, England

My position as a Research Volunteer in the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology (IP) allows me to delve into stories about the collection that I find interesting. One of my research assignments is to investigate the fossils from Lyme Regis, England. The Lyme Regis fossils are part of the 130,000 specimens purchased by Andrew Carnegie from the Baron de Bayet of Belgium in 1903. Some of the Bayet fossils are incorporated into the museum’s Dinosaurs in Their Time (DITT) in the Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, and a special Lyme Regis case that showcases 13 invertebrate and vertebrate fossils.

The village of Lyme Regis is situated on the Dorset Coast, and as such, receives some of the worst weather associated with the English Channel. The Lyme Regis cliffs and beaches have been a fossil hunting graveyard for two hundred years, first made famous by resident Mary Anning (1799 – 1847). When she was just twelve years old she found a large skeleton of a marine reptile known as an Ichthyosaur (literally “fish lizard”). Ichthyosaurs were predators that fed on Jurassic fishes and ammonites. It’s easy to see how she developed a love of fossils after discovering such a magnificent creature as a child. For years, she amassed collections of plesiosaurs, pterosaurs, fish skeletons, and other marine fossils and sold them for a living to paleontologists worldwide. In DITT, there are two examples of Ichthyosaur specimens, a skull (CM 877) and a three-foot-long skeleton (CM 23822). Unfortunately, Mary Anning was not recognized during her life for her accomplishments, probably because she was not a trained paleontologist and she was female. After her death, the collections became widely known to the scientific community, bringing about a better understanding of the paleontology of the Dorset coast.

A fascinating piece of trivia about Lyme Regis is the filming of the 1980 movie, The French Lieutenant’s Women, which depicts the lead male actor, Jeremy Irons, using a simple rock hammer to extract a fossil ammonite from the cliff. If only it was that easy to collect from the 300-meter sheer cliff. My supervisor, Albert Kollar, collected fossils along the Lyme Regis beach in 1999. He opined “most fossils are eroded naturally because of the storm waves coming in from the English Channel that eat away at the rock each year, collapsing to the beach in broken blocks that eventually expose the fossils over time.”

Albert Kollar holding a fossil among rocks

My project was to research the Lyme Regis mollusks i.e., ammonites, nautiloids, and belemnites, update their identification, and review the climate aspects of the Jurassic sea that once covered this part of Europe approximately 199 to 190 million years ago. Paleontologists use marine fossils to interpret past paleoclimates and the paleoenvironments in which the animals once lived. The Jurassic is commonly considered as an interval of sustained warmth without any well-documented glacial deposits at the polar regions. The Lyme Regis fossils are preserved in very discrete layers of limestone strata often named “Lias” by European geologists. The terminology used today is early Jurassic Sinemurian Stage. The fossil mollusks are singular specimen’s that measure approximately 1 inch to 8 inches in diameter. The Carnegie of Natural History collection contains 16 invertebrate specimens from the genera Acanthoteuthis, Asteroceras, Eoderoceras, Liparoceras, Lytoceras, Microderoceras, Nautilus, Radstockiceras, and Xipheroceras.

All Bayet fossils were recorded in the Carnegie Museum Catalog of Fossils. The Cephalopod Catalog contains ammonite, nautiloid, and belemnoid fossils assigned by Bayet and includes details such as collection localities and stratigraphic horizon. Some Lyme Regis specimens are recognized by having two letters “BK” and a painted number, as seen on CM 40666. In 1975, a Swiss paleontologist, Dr. Felix Wiedenmayer, was on a research sabbatical to study fossil sponges at the Carnegie Museum, as well as an expert on Mesozoic ammonites from Europe. He reviewed many Mesozoic ammonites providing updated identification to genus and species, and stratigraphic horizon data, including some of the Lyme Regis ammonite fossils.

To complete the project, I created a virtual geology, paleontology, and exhibit folder in PowerPoint. This includes photographs of the specimens, a geologic map of Lyme Regis and the Dorset Coast, a Paleogeographic map, the distribution of genus and species in the collection, and references. The photographs in this study were taken by IP Research Associate/volunteer John Harper.

I have had a great experience at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History gaining knowledge about these fossil collections, stratigraphy, and geologic time. Now, I look forward to graduate school in part to study microfossils that lived in the seas during a climate “event” around 56 million years ago during the Paleogene Epoch. This event is called the “Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum” (PETM), and is so named because it demarcates the boundary between these two epochs of geologic time. It has been a pleasure looking at these exceptional cephalopods at the Carnegie Museum, and I look forward to any more potential collaborations in the future.

William Vincett is a research volunteer in the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology and a graduate student at the University of Delaware. Museum employees and volunteers are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

August 26, 2019 by wpengine

Make Your own Cloud

Are you the kind of person who always has their head in the clouds? Come back down to earth, but bring the clouds with you. With just a few household items, you’ll get to see clouds form right in front of you!

Here’s What You Need:

A glass jar with a lid
Hot (almost boiling) water
Ice
Aerosol hairspray

Here’s What To Do:

Fill your jar about 1/3 full with hot water.
Place the lid upside-down on top of the jar.
Fill the lid with as many ice cubes as will fit.
Let the jar sit for about 10 seconds.
Quickly, lift the lid and spray some hairspray into the jar.
Place the lid with ice back on top of the jar.
Watch as a cloud forms above the water!

For step-by-step visuals, check out this quick animation!

Here’s How It Works:

Clouds are formed when water vapor (the gaseous form of water) condenses (turns from a gas into a liquid) into very small, visible droplets. The water vapor condenses onto other particles in the air, like dust or smoke. In the jar, the hot water gives off water vapor that cools when it reaches the ice on the top of the jar. By spraying hairspray in the jar, we give the water vapor particles to condense onto. The water vapor condenses into tiny droplets that we see as a miniature cloud.

Go outside and take a look at the clouds. How do they compare to the cloud you saw in your jar? What is the same? What is different?

Fun Fact:

Clouds are actually quite heavy. Those white, fluffy clouds that look weightless as they float through the air can contain millions, billions, or even trillions of pounds of water! Clouds float because they are not as dense or heavy as the dry air beneath them. It’s similar to the way that oil floats on water.

Blog post by Eddie Phillips.

Learn more in Nature Lab!

August 22, 2019 by wpengine

A couple of creepers: plant doppelgängers

Did you know that many plant species have doppelgängers?

Check out these two species, both collected at the same site on August 22, 1965 by David Berkheimer in Everett Borough (Bedford county), Pennsylvania.

With its distinctive hand-like leaves, Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) is fairly well known, or at least familiar by look to many. It is a woody vine in the grape plant family (Vitaceae), common to forests, forest edges, and urban areas across eastern North America. It is one of those ubiquitous but overlooked plants. The species is just about everywhere, climbing high up trees. But upon closer look, there are two similar looking species in Pennsylvania. Although less commonly recognized (though not all that uncommon to find!), thicket creeper (Parthenocissus inserta) looks very similar. (Note: there is some confusion, with some botanists calling this species P. vitacea, but either way, there are definitely two species here).

So what’s the difference? There are two easy ways to tell the difference. First, the species have differences in their tendrils (the structures that wrap around branches, attaching the vine to the tree it is climbing). Virginia creeper has clear adhesive, swollen disks where the tendrils attach to the tree. In contrast, thicket creeper does not have these. (But to confuse you, they rarely do). Second, the flowering/fruiting structures are different. Thicket creeper has branching inflorescences (stem structure with flowers/fruits), often in two main axes, with noticeably larger berries than Virginia creeper. Virginia creeper has an inflorescence that branches, often in zig-zag, random looking pattern, but most importantly – with a clear central axis.

A couple years ago, I was confident I could pick Virginia creeper out of a line up. But I must admit, I didn’t even know until last year there was another species that looked like Virginia creeper. It was a mind-blowing moment, and pretty much dropped everything to go exploring for the two species. I’m always curious every time I see these vines to figure out which species it is. It turns out, thicket creeper is more common than I thought around Pittsburgh, especially along the rivers.

And keep an eye out for these species this fall, when they have developed fruits to easily tell them apart. And on top of that, they have some of the most bright red, beautiful foliage of any plant in our area!

Check out these specimens (and more!) here.

August 21, 2019 by wpengine

Lasius will Amaze-i-Us

*Lasius* workers tending a flock of aphids underground. Photo by Alex Wild.

Common Lasius ants tend aphids that live underground feeding on plant roots. They protect the herd of aphids from other ants, and move them to more productive roots if the plant dies back. Sometimes the future queen will pick up an aphid in her mandibles and carry it along on the mating flight, and place it on a good root in the wall of the first nest chamber to start a new herd of aphids.

At this time of year, Lasius have their mating flights. A warm day with some rain in the afternoon to soften the soil, and then a clear sky near sundown would be perfect. The ants will be in the top of the nest, awaiting the exact right moment. Somewhere between about 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm, when the atmosphere is just right, workers dig several passages to the surface, and usually the small and slender male ants emerge first, taking flight quickly. Future queens, much larger than the workers or males, and bearing large wings, emerge next and take flight. All the colonies in the landscape where the weather is appropriate may emerge in a time span as short as five or ten minutes. We found dozens of colonies of two species (below) emerging in an area of our lawn about 20 feet by 40 feet.

Silver wings of many male *Lasius neoniger* are obvious as they prepare to take flight. Photo by Donna Wenzel.

The many gossamer wings may give the impression of smoke rising from the soil. Swallows, swifts, and other birds will fly in circles snapping up the winged ants. The queens will mate with one or a few males, who die promptly, and then the queens will dig into the moist soil and create a chamber for her new nest, maybe with an aphid she carried along the way to start her new colony.

But the life of Lasius ants is not all pastoral peace and harmony. Two different methods of parasitic attack have evolved where a queen of one species of Lasius will invade the nest of a different species of Lasius to take it over. In one of these methods, the parasitic queen releases citronella, a lemon-like odor that is pleasant to humans but communicates alarm to ants. The workers avoid the invading queen who works her way into the chamber where the host queen is. Quickly, the parasitic queen accumulates the odor of the host colony, and the workers will not recognize her as an alien usurper.

Here we see several large, winged *Lasius claviger* queens among many small workers, preparing to fly. These queens will parasitize mature colonies of other species, such as L. neoniger above. A few small, dark males are visible top, center. Photo by Donna Wenzel.

A different method used by some species is that the queen is very hairy or armored, and simply fights her way into the host nest. There, the invader may kill the host queen. By either method, the parasitic queen takes over the host nest, and the workers of the original colony, not knowing any better, spend their lives raising the offspring of the parasitic queen. As the original workers die out, the workers of the parasitic queen replace them until the colony is entirely of the parasitic species.

If you keep a sharp eye out at this time of year, you have a good chance of observing a mating flight of Lasius or another ant species, but you have to be in the right place at exactly the right time!

August 20, 2019 by wpengine

A day late, but thanks for your Impatiens!

Two specimens of jewelweed, Impatiens, collected on this day (well, yesterday) by Carnegie Museum curator Leroy Henry in 1944 in Ben Avon Heights, near Pittsburgh.

There are two species of jewelweed commonly found in Pennsylvania and in relatively wet, partly shady habitats across eastern North America. They can form dense stands along wet roadside ditches at edge of woods and in floodplain forests. Henry collected both species in the same location, as they commonly grow together.

What’s the difference between these two specimens? Though less obvious in specimen form, the most noticeable difference is flower color. Common jewelweed (Impatiens capensis), also called spotted or orange jewelweed, has orange flowers. In contrast, the flowers of yellow jewelweed (Impatiens pallida), also called pale jewelweed, are…well, yellow. Flowers of both species have distinctive nectar spurs that jut out of the back of the flower. It is entertaining to watch bumblebees go from flower to flower in a stand of jewelweed.

Jewelweeds are herbaceous, annual plants with juicy stems that can range in size, from short to very tall. A widespread story is that jewelweed can treat skin irritations, and in particular, helps prevent poison ivy rash by rubbing jewelweed on skin after contact with poison ivy. I don’t know of this being supported with data.

Jewelweed is also often called “touch-me-not” because the developed seed pods eject seeds out when touched. It can be a fun activity for kids (and adults).

Jewelweed flowers open mid-summer and the plants continue to flower until killed by autumn frost.

Jewelweed produces two types of flowers – the obvious ones with nectar spurs that are visited by bees and also, tiny inconspicuous flowers that do not open. These small flowers are self-pollinating (cleistogamous).

Deer often eat jewelweed. A recent study found that some populations of the species that have historically received a lot of deer browsing have evolved greater tolerance to herbivory.

I’m always amazed how sensitive jewelweed leaves are to the sun. When exposed to direct sun, their leaves get very droopy. But they seem to quickly bounce back.

Impatiens commonly planted in gardens are related (in the same genus) but are not the same species.

Check out these specimens (and more!) here.

Check back for more! Botanists at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History share digital specimens from the herbarium on dates they were collected. They have embarked on a three-year project to digitize nearly 190,000 plant specimens collected in the region, making images and other data publicly available online. This effort is part of the Mid-Atlantic Megalopolis Project (mamdigitization.org), a network of thirteen herbaria spanning the densely populated urban corridor from Washington, D.C. to New York City to achieve a greater understanding of our urban areas, including the unique industrial and environmental history of the greater Pittsburgh region. This project is made possible by the National Science Foundation under grant no. 1801022.

August 14, 2019 by wpengine

Frontier History Wizards

white snakeroot plant — White snakeroot blooming along the Allegheny River shoreline in early August.

Written descriptions for Carnegie Museum of Natural History summer camp, Wizard Academy, invite 8 – 10-year-old participants to experience a collision between “magic and science.” Based upon my recent experience with campers in the popular Harry Potter-themed program, the advertised subject could also include “history.”

During a discussion of poisonous plants with two dozen want-to-be wizards in the Hall of Botany, I drew the group’s attention to a display labeled “LOCAL SPECIES TO AVOID.”

The focus for my remarks was white snakeroot (Ageratina altissima) a straight-stemmed and flower-topped species in the display’s front row. I explained how the plant’s common name is an historic reference to its alleged value in treating snake bites, and that its designation as a plant to avoid was based upon on its connection to an often-fatal illness know as milk sickness.

The disease, which occurred when people drank milk from cows that had fed upon white snakeroot, was a scourge of pioneer life during the early nineteenth century, the decades-long period when settlement across what was then the American frontier dramatically altered vast forests west of the Appalachians.

One of the campers assisted my narration by reading from a handout about how Abraham Lincoln’s mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, died from milk sickness. When another camper asked how the plant-to-cow connection was “figured-out,” I confessed ignorance but promised to find out.

herbarium sheet of white snakeroot — White snakeroot herbarium sheet, part of the Educator Loan Collection’s “Poisonous Plants of Pennsylvania” box.

Much of the life-saving credit, I learned, belongs to a pair of women whose friendship crossed conflicting cultures of 1820’s Illinois; a frontier doctor, and an elderly fugitive of the federal government’s forced relocation of the Shawnee to territory further west. The doctor, Anna Pierce, lost family members to milk sickness and, based upon observations of disease occurrence, promoted the avoidance of milk drinking between June and the plant-killing frosts of autumn. The relocation resister, known to settlers as Aunt Shawnee, took Dr. Pierce into the woods to show her white snakeroot and explain the plant’s lethal properties. Pierce then conducted experiments to confirm the plant’s toxicity and shared her findings with other doctors.

More than 70 years later carefully controlled scientific studies documented year-to-year and geographic variations in the toxicity levels of white snakeroot, but it wasn’t until 1928 that the plant’s toxic chemical, an alcohol termed tremetol was isolated in a laboratory. Today, largely because of better pasture management, milk sickness is not a concern in commercial dairy operations.

The takeaway lesson, kindled when a ten-year-old camper’s question illuminated a nearly 200-year-old ethnobotany story, is to more fully value the indigenous knowledge of the vibrant Native cultures that continue to exist across our country.

(Information source: Natural History, July 1990, “Land of Milk and Honey” by David Duffy Cameron)

August 12, 2019 by wpengine

Travels with a Sketchbook: A Natural History Artist’s Observations at the Museum

Carnegie Museum of Natural History has a large and expansive collection of artifacts, oddities, and wonders. It also has its fair share of mounted animals and skeletons on display, which makes it an ideal spot for the wandering artist. Where else can an artist study both extinct and extant species up close and in great detail? If, like me, you’re an illustrator who loves to draw animals, you could, for example, grab your sketchbook and head to the museum’s Bird Hall to get a close look at the flightless dodo (Raphus cucullatus). Driven to extinction by European colonists during the 1600s, early artists’ renderings provide some of the best evidence for the dodo’s appearance in life. Perhaps surprisingly, this bird is now known to be closely related to pigeons!

Dodo (*Raphus cucullatus*) in Bird Hall at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Sketch by the author.

If your tastes are more prehistoric, check out the museum’s sprawling Dinosaurs in Their Time exhibition. Travel back in time to ancient seas and imagine the graceful movements of the plesiosaur Dolichorhynchops bonneri while the giant carnivorous mosasaur Tylosaurus proriger hovers ominously above you. These marine reptile groups vanished in the mass extinction that also wiped out non-avian dinosaurs roughly 66 million years ago.

Skeleton of the short-necked plesiosaur *Dolichorhynchops bonneri* in the *Dinosaurs in Their Time* exhibition at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Sketch by the author.

Or perhaps you’re more interested in observing and sketching modern day animals? If so, visit the Hall of North American Wildlife and Hall of African Wildlife on the museum’s second floor. Get up close and personal with the Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) trio and capture their anatomy in detail. It’s the safest way to do so – not to mention the only way to do so here in Western Pennsylvania! (Reports of alligators in our rivers notwithstanding.)

Nile crocodile (*Crocodylus niloticus*) in the Hall of African Wildlife at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Sketch by the author.

So, my fellow artists and nature lovers, as I hope this post has shown, there are scores of species to inspire you here at the museum. Grab your sketchbook and come on over!

Hannah Smith is an intern working with Scientific Illustrator Andrew McAfee in the Section of Vertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees, interns, and volunteers are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

30 years ago today: A milestone for Botany at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History

Bonnie Isaac in the museum herbarium — Bonnie in the lower herbarium at the Carnegie Museum in the early 1990s.

On August 7, 1989, Bonnie Isaac started at the Carnegie Museum. She was initially hired at the museum to work on a project to database the plant collection, making it searchable and therefore more useable to understand the occurrence and distribution of plants across Pennsylvania (and beyond). Since then, a lot has happened. Thirty years later, Bonnie is now Collection Manager in the Section of Botany and Co-chair of Collections.

It is no exaggeration to say Bonnie’s influence on the Section of Botany has been monumental. And continues to be.

As one of the top plant collectors over the Carnegie Museum’s 120+ year history, she has actively contributed to the growth of the herbarium, collecting several tens of thousands of specimens from across Pennsylvania and North America. These specimens now reside in herbaria across the world and are actively used by researchers around the world to make exciting discoveries.

yellow jewelweed specimen collected by Bonnie Isaac and Joe Isaac — Collected on this day, eight years after she started working at the Carnegie Museum, this specimen of pale touch-me-not (aka yellow jewelweed; *Impatiens pallida*) was collected by Bonnie Isaac (and her spouse, Joe Isaac) on August 7, 1997 along the roadside at Neff Barrens, Huntington County, PA. Largely thanks to Bonnie, this specimen (and many more!) can be found online.

Bonnie played a pivotal role in the digitization of the Carnegie Museum herbarium, one of the first of its size to have all specimens in the entire collection with label data entered into a database and publicly available online. A huge accomplishment that took over a decade of her career to complete, the collection database has increased the research value and led to a massive increase in specimen use. The digitization of the herbarium continues today through a project facilitated by Bonnie and funded by the National Science Foundation to make high resolution digital images and georeferences (assign latitude/longitude to plot on a map) to all specimens collected in the region.

Bonnie Isaac collecting plants — Bonnie pressing plants in the field in 2017.

Although she’s humble about it, Bonnie is an incredible field botanist and leading expert on the plants of Pennsylvania, especially those rare and threatened species of conservation concern. An expert in natural history collections management and methods, Bonnie has a specialized diploma on herbarium techniques from Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, England. She has a master’s degree from Youngstown State University, where she studied the ecology and distribution of a rare species.

Bonnie’s science and botanical knowledge impacts conservation decisions. Since 2001, she has served as a member of the Vascular Plant Technical Committee of the Pennsylvania Biological Survey, serving at various times over the past decades as president and recording secretary, which advised the state in determining the status of endangered and threatened plant species. She is currently working on a project funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources through the Wild Resources Conservation Program, revisiting many historic sites of 10 threatened species across the state to assess their current rarity status.

Beyond the walls of the museum, Bonnie has a huge impact on botanical research in Pennsylvania and fosters a public appreciation for the role of plants in our lives and ecosystem health. She is a founding member of the “Pennsylvania Botany Symposium,” a group of committed volunteers who provide education and networking opportunities for professionals, amateurs, and students of botany, including a biennial symposium that gathers Pennsylvania botanists of all levels. Bonnie is also very active in the Botanical Society of Western Pennsylvania, one of the oldest botanical organizations in the country. She has served as President of the organization since 2005.

And if that is not enough – she is friendly, too!

Happy work-iversary, Bonnie!

Check back for more! Botanists at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History share digital specimens from the herbarium on dates they were collected.

August 6, 2019 by wpengine

Spiders as Interior Designers

by Megan Jones

spider hanging from a spider web — A spider meticulously builds an orb web.

Did you know you can recognize a family group of spiders by the way a spider web is designed? These web-making skills are important to a spider’s survival, and each style helps spiders catch prey in slightly different ways.

There are over 40,000 known species with different types of silk and designs. The most common four spider web designs you’ll see while exploring nature are orb webs, tangled webs, woolly webs, and sheet webs.

Silky Smooth Designs

Orb webs

Orb webs are the classic looking spider webs with a wheel-shape that allows spiders to fully enter a vertical space. Orb webs help attract prey, catching up to 250 insects per day!

Tangled webs

Tangled webs or cobwebs are known for their messy and shapeless design.

These are the webs you’ll see in the corner of an un-swept room. The ends of this web have sticky droplets that help catch unsuspecting prey.

Woolly webs

Woolly webs have a unique texture with adhesive silk. Woolly webs aren’t perfectly made but are usually built horizontally in a geometric shape.

Sheet webs

Sheet webs can be found strung across bushes acting as a maze of silk. When an insect flies into one of the silk strings, it is knocked into a net below where the spider waits for its prey.

Too Much Time On The Web

Spiders don’t just use their silk for web-building. They are known to use their silk as a trail behind them when hunting and as material for creating egg sacs. Some spiders even hang glide by sailing through the sky attached to strands of silk!

What Designs Are Around You?

Although most web designs are done with purpose, some spiders are known to actively decorate their webs. They creatively weave their webs daily. Now that you know what you’re looking for, even your backyard can be an adventure!

tangled spider web on a plant — A tangled web covers a plant in wait for prey to land.

Can You find all four types of webs around you? Draw a picture of each web you find!

Spider webs can be found anywhere. We recommend your backyard, the nooks and crannies of your porch, or even the corners of an undusted room in your house!

Blog post and illustrations by Megan Jones. Photos by Melissa Cagan. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Western Pennsylvania Mushroom Club (WPMC) and Carnegie Museum Team Up for New Fungarium

WPMC is pleased to announce that Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Museum of Natural History has been added to the list of Partner Fungaria for the North American Mycoflora Project (NAMP).

From left to right: La Monte Yarroll, Bonnie Isaac, Richard Jacob, Cecily Franklin, John Stuart.

NAMP is a collaboration between professional mycologists and citizen scientists to identify and map the distribution of macro-fungi throughout North America. Key components of the project include careful documentation and preparation of specimens (vouchering), depositing these specimens in herbaria where they can be accessed for later examination by anyone researching the organism, and DNA sequencing to complement the morphological observations that amateur mycologists already use. NAMP provides a framework and tools to allow independent projects, organized and administered by local mushroom clubs and other groups, to contribute data to a unified framework for documenting and understanding fungal biodiversity in North America.

During May, WPMC representatives met with Bonnie Isaac, Co-Chair of Collections for Carnegie Museum, to discuss and formalize our agreement to provide the new fungarium with high-quality collections, appropriately preserved and with all of the necessary meta-data. Carnegie Museum would then accession the specimens and upload storage information to the MyCoPortal collections index. On behalf of WPMC’s Scholarship Committee, we presented Bonnie with a check in support of our new partnership.

Blog post courtesy of the Western Pennsylvania Mushroom Club Newsletter, July/August 2019.

Bonnie Isaac is the Collection Manager in the Section of Botany. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

July 31, 2019 by wpengine

Dressing Fleas

“If we do not mass produce products, we vie with one another
in the difficult, exquisite and useless art of dressing fleas”

Octavio Paz [diplomat, poet, writer, winner of 1990 Nobel Prize in Literature]

The art of dressing fleas in costumes and creating tiny tableaus began in Mexico in the 19^thcentury, centered around the state of Guanjuato. Some people believe that Pulgas Vestidas (dressed fleas) began being made in convents; they went on to become a craft done by ordinary people. Eventually they became something to sell to tourists. Dressed fleas were still being created well into the 1930s, the most popular forms being bride and groom or farmer and wife sets. Some were as elaborate as an entire mariachi band, complete with instruments.

One set of dressed fleas from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History collection. Each block underneath this box represents just one centimeter!

In the 1920s Octavio Paz called it a “difficult art, exquisite and useless,” and added, “I shall never be one to disparage this amazing skill, since where spiritual health is concerned, building a skyscraper and adorning a flea are each as monstrous as the other.” A British entomologist, Tim Cockerill, has taught himself how to make them, and includes a modern bride and groom set on his website.

The museum’s three sets of dressed fleas were acquired in the 1930s, and donated by different people in the late 20^thcentury. They are part of an extensive collection of ethnographic and historic dolls. They are a must-see for anyone having a behind-the-scenes tour of the Anthropology storage areas. Dressed fleas are a prime example of human ingenuity and skill, even if a reason for being is not immediately obvious.

Deborah Harding is the collection manager of the Section of Anthropology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

July 23, 2019 by wpengine

Brood VIII Birthday Bash

Millions upon millions of tiny cicada nymphs are being born. The periodical cicadas that emerged in our area (called “Brood VIII”) earlier this summer mated and laid eggs in the twigs of woody plants. Cicadas do not feed on twigs; they pierce the twigs on the underside, with a knife-like egg-laying tube called an ovipositor, and lay 10 to 20 eggs per incision. In the photo above, you can see the ovipositor behind the female’s back leg, inserted into the twig. At rest, the ovipositor would extend the length of the abdomen, so this one is about half embedded in the twig. In mid or late July, those eggs will hatch and the tiny nymphs will fall to the ground. They burrow down to find roots, where they will remain for 17 years, sucking plant juice.

Females can make dozens of separate incisions to lay hundreds of eggs in total. Because the cicadas need to leave their offspring on roots that will persist for 17 years, they prefer laying eggs in trees rather than shrubs, and tend to pick harder species, such as oaks, rather than softer woods like tulip poplar. Although they can feed on evergreen roots, the resinous nature of the sap in the twigs tends to suffocate the eggs, and they rarely lay eggs in evergreens. They can also feed on grass roots, and a big tree above a lawn becomes a popular egg-laying site. The many separate wounds on the twig interrupt water flow from the roots, and the twig often breaks or dies.

These damaged twigs are called “flagging” by cicada biologists, and they are a clear indicator of the density of females at a site. This red maple over a lawn shows extensive flagging. A big tree may be supporting hundreds of thousands of eggs.

Despite the obvious damage to the tree, it appears that most trees do not suffer much unless they are little saplings. In fact, fruit tree farmers in the 1800s reported that their trees produced better crops the year after this natural pruning process. Another benefit of the cicadas is that the millions of emergence holes open up the soil for air and water penetration and provide an avenue for nutrients at the top to pass into lower soil layers. Although many people find the mass emergence of periodical cicadas to be annoying, they represent an inspiring and beneficial piece of our ecosystem, unique to eastern North America.

July 18, 2019 by wpengine

BirdSafe Pittsburgh Makes Museum Windows Visible

The birds flying around the Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History are a lot safer now, thanks to Jon Rice, the Urban Bird Conservation Coordinator and leader of BirdSafe Pittsburgh. Over the summer, Jon and his colleagues were able make a deadly wall of windows visible to birds by installing thousands of stylish reflective dots. By breaking up the reflection of the surrounding trees on the East side of the museum, birds are more likely to see the window and avoid impact.

BirdSafe Pittsburgh is a partnership between 8 local conservation organizations working to reduce bird mortality in Pittsburgh. Learn more about how you can become involved at https://birdsafepgh.org/volunteer/.

Windows on the East side of the building have been outfitted with stylish, reflective patterns to make windows visible to birds and reduce collisions.

Chase Mendenhall is Assistant Curator of Birds, Ecology, and Conservation at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

July 15, 2019 by wpengine

Master of Optical Illusion

Michael Dyber, known as the Master of Optical Illusion, is among the world’s foremost lapidary artists today. He began working in metal and wood at the age of nine and won his first design competition while still in grade school. After earning his BA degree in Fine Arts and Humanities from New England College, he moved from metal and wood into jewelry design. He opened his own shop in New Hampshire but began to feel restricted by the pre-cut gemstones available for his artwork. He then turned his artistic focus toward handcrafting his own unique gems. He started by acquiring top quality gem rough and instead of using standard carving and polishing equipment, Michael built his own specialized tools.

Using these custom-made tools enabled Michael to invent his own unique techniques to create the optical illusions you see within the stones. He calls them the Dyber Optic Dish ^TM, Luminaires^TM, Photon Phacets^TM, and Channels^TM. Each artwork is a one-of-a-kind signed original, based on the characteristics of the individual gem, the hand-crafting skills like the old masters, and the added bonus of Michael’s unique artistic vision. To quote Michael, “My work is asymmetrical, but visually balanced, my goal is to go beyond what has been done, to create infinite designs.”

Wertz Gallery: Gems and Jewelry can now boast of having four pieces of lapidary art on display that were carved by the Master of Optical Illusion, Michael Dyber. Two carvings were purchased in anticipation of a new gem and jewelry gallery and were put on display when Wertz Gallery opened in 2007, one in the Birthstones exhibit and the other in the Quartz as a Gemstone exhibit.

95.45 carat quartz variety citrine entitled “Straw” in the November section of the Birthstones exhibit.

74.15 carat rutilated quartz entitled “Sliders” in the Quartz as a Gemstone exhibit.

The third was on temporary display in 2014 (May 31^stthru August 31^st) during the special exhibit in Wertz Gallery that featured all of Michael’s twenty-three award-winning carvings and some of his new creations. We purchased one of his new creations after the exhibit and put it on permanent display later that year in the Quartz as a Gemstone exhibit.

86.41 carat quartz variety amethyst entitled “Twist” in the Quartz as a Gemstone exhibit.

The fourth carving was put on display just last month (June 18^th) in the Birthstones exhibit. It was donated to the museum by Michael in 2015.

32.95 carat beryl variety aquamarine (untitled) in the March section of the Birthstones exhibit.

These carvings began with gem rough from Brazil and they utilize three of the four techniques that Michael has created. Straw has Dyber Optic Dishes^TMand Luminaires^TM; Sliders has Dyber Optic Dishes^TM; Twist and the untitled carving have Dyber Optic Dishes^TMand Channels^TM. Eventually we would like to add to the collection a piece of lapidary art that has his Photon Phacets^TMtechnique. It will be exciting to see what new technique Michael comes up with next!

Debra Wilson is the Collection Manager for the Section of Minerals at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

July 12, 2019 by wpengine

Who Likes Teaberry? Collected 56 Years Ago

This specimen of eastern teaberry (Gaultheria procumbens), also called American wintergreen, was collected on July 12, 1963 by Leroy Henry (Carnegie Museum Curator of Botany at the time) and Dean Ross in a cranberry bog in Somerset county, Pennsylvania.

It is perhaps best known by many as a unique wintergreen flavor of chewing gum and ice cream, especially in Pennsylvania. Atlas Obscura says Teaberry ice cream: “sometimes looks like Pepto-Bismol and smells like Bengay.” Penn State Berkey Creamery calls it the “best treat of a bygone era.”

Teaberry is in the heath (blueberry) family, Ericaceae. It is a small shrub growing along the ground, found across the Eastern US and has distinctive evergreen leaves.

Find a high resolution image of this teaberry specimen (and more) online at midatlanticherbaria.org.

July 10, 2019 by wpengine

Citizen Science, The Last Ice Age in Western Pennsylvania and Carnegie Museum of Natural History Exhibits

Recent education initiatives in the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology encourage citizen science collaborations among professional geological societies to elevate the value of fossil collections, research and museum exhibits of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. For example, this April, 20 members of the North Alleghenies Geological Society were introduced to exceptional Pennsylvanian age fossils on display in Benedum Hall of Geology, i.e., the giant Eurypterid trackway (discovered in Elk County, PA) and the amphibian fossil skull Fedexia (discovered in Moon Twp., near the Pittsburgh International Airport), and the Jurassic age Lyme Regis of England, Holzmaden and Solnhofen fossils of Germany in Dinosaurs in Their Time. And yes, we did view the Carnegie dinosaurs from the Morrison Formation of Sheep Creek, Wyoming and Dinosaur National Monument, Jensen, Utah. The group was amazed with the behind-the-scenes in fossil invertebrates. This month, another citizen science field trip event took place to Slippery Rock Gorge and Moraine State Park in Butler and Lawrence Counties for 40 members of the Pennsylvania Council of Professional Geologists (PCPG). The title of the field trip: The Last Ice Age in Western Pennsylvania: A Changing Climate as Seen in the Glacial Landscape co-led by Albert D. Kollar of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and Dan A. Billman (Billman Geologic Consultants, Inc). Dan and his wife Pam (both geologists) are longtime supporters of the section and museum. They are members of the section’s PAlS (Patrons and lauradanae Supporters). Dan co-authored the 2011 PAlS Publication 11, Geology of the Marcellus Shale and has provided drill cuttings of the 390 million-year-old Marcellus Shale for the section’s Geology and Energy workshops. Dan served as president of PCPG in 2017 and 2018 and asked if I would be interested to co-lead a glacial geology field trip for PCPG in June of 2019.

The 23,000 year old Jacksville Esker in Butler County, PA. The esker is the ridge between the shrubs and base of the tree line.

So why propose a field trip to the region known with the best-preserved landscapes of the Last Ice Age in western Pennsylvania? In Dan’s opinion, many of the PCPG members are certainly aware of the current discussion on human induced climate change but may be less familiar with the climate change and landscapes that occurred and formed respectively just 23,000 years ago. For instance, a summary of the professional affiliations of the 40 participants on the field trip confirms a division of sorts in disciplines. The dominant groups in attendance are made up of sixteen environmental geologists, followed by nine oil and gas geologists, four with PA DEP, four earth resource scientists, four geologic consultants, two academic professors, and one part-time school teacher – who asked to volunteer in the section – a new citizen scientist for the section.

To plan the field trip, we reviewed past geologic field trip guides and publications on the subject and visited the sites several times over the last six months. We also looked at key exhibits in the Carnegie Museum that mimic many of the glacial and climate change features that we would see on the field trip. These include the bedrock geology of western Pennsylvania i.e., coal, sandstone, limestone and shale that represent depositional cycles associated with the Milankovitch cyclothems and Earth’s precession. These are related to some 120 glaciation events in the rock record that occurred over Permo-Carboniferous time (Pennsylvanian Period) 319 MA to Early Permian 270 MA. In the museum dioramas: A replica coal forest and coeval marine seaway can be seen in Benedum Hall of Geology. In Botany Hall, the Northern Pennsylvania Bog is an example of a glacial tundra bog like the West Liberty Bog – a paleoclimate indicator. And the Muskox exhibit of the Arctic tundra biome is representative of the Alpine permafrost periglacial environment in the Appalachian ridges, which formed “rock city”. The Last Glacial Maximum, a +/-23,000-year-old Kent glacial terminal moraine, Jacksville Esker, and the scenic gorge at Cleland Rock were the highlights of the trip.

Blog post by Albert D. Kollar, collection manager in the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and Dan A. Billman of Billman Geologic Consultants, Inc.

July 8, 2019 by wpengine

A Plant Popular During the Revolutionary War

Happy Independence Day! What better way to celebrate than with herbarium specimens of New Jersey tea (Ceanothus americanus), named for the fact that it was used as a substitute for tea by colonists and American soldiers during the American Revolutionary War. There was presumably a shortage of black tea, which was imported. Although the leaves contain no caffeine, it fit the bill. The plant also has a much longer history before European settlement. Tribes of the Missouri River used the leaves for tea as well, and tribes of the Great Lakes used the plant to treat digestive ailments.

New Jersey tea, also called Indian tea, can be found not only in New Jersey, but across the eastern United States. It is in the buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae), which is unsurprisingly also family to introduced shrub/tree, common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica).

These specimens were both collected in Pennsylvania on the 4th of July. One in Luzerne county by Alfred Twining 1907, who wrote a flora of Northeastern PA ten years later. Many of his specimens are at the Everhart Museum of Natural History, Science, and Art in Scranton, PA.

The other Independence Day New Jersey Tea specimen was collected by Robert Leberman in Crawford county in 1986. Leberman established the bird banding program at the Carnegie Musuem of Natural History’s Powdermill Nature Reserve in 1961. It continues today as the longest running, year-round banding research operation in the country.

New Jersey Tea is a beautiful shrub, important for many pollinators, and food source for other wildlife. The plant is also sold commercially by many native plant nurseries to plant in your yard or garden.

All plants have a cultural history and a scientific one. As you remember the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution, think too about New Jersey Tea’s impact on our country. Did John Hancock drink it before signing? (Totally made that up).

Find high resolution images of these specimens (and 290 more!) online: http://midatlanticherbaria.org/portal/collections/list.php?db=328&taxa=Ceanothus+americanus&usethes=1&taxontype=2

July 3, 2019 by wpengine

What Do Bugs Do During the Winter?

Ever wonder what happens to insects during the winter? Depending on the species they will overwinter during one of the stages of their development. In the case of the Promethea moths that were reared in Invertebrate Zoology last year, the caterpillar culture formed cocoons in the summer of 2018. In their natural setting those cocoons protect the pupae as they experience diapause during the cold winter months. Diapause is a state of dormancy that allows the specimens to survive harsh environmental conditions.

The pupae need to experience diapause before responding to the normal queues that trigger the adult moths to emerge from their cocoons. Insects depend on light and temperature queues which dictate when to enter the stages in their life cycle. In the lab setting, winter conditions were simulated by placing the cocoons in the refrigerator from November through March.

Luckily, the overwintering technique was successful and we had adult moths emerge in late May. Look for these moths in your backyard as they emerge from their cocoons this summer. Watch for caterpillars that look like these, which will hatch from eggs laid by the adult moths flying this summer. These caterpillars will grow and form cocoons which will enter diapause this winter and continue the cycle.

July 3, 2019 by wpengine

What does Pittsburgh have to do with the Wimbledon tennis tournament?

Recently Penny See came to visit me here at the museum to show me her mother’s seed collection. My interest was piqued when she told me about her mother, Janet Emma Gregory. This is one of those situations where all my favorite things collided. Anything having to do with botanical history, women in science or Pennsylvania will catch my attention. The story I was told captures all of those and more. I asked Penny to tell me about her mother in her own words. Here is what Penny wrote for me.

Penny See with her mother’s seed collection.

My mother, Janet Emma Gregory, always had a special place in her heart for plants. She used to say, “My hands are always dirty, but my heart is always happy.” She was born in Surrey, England on April 21st, 1943. Her Father, Thomas Gregory, was awarded by the British Royal Horticulture Society for his accomplishments in Floral Landscape Design.

I recall all sorts of stories that she shared about her life and growing up in England with all the lush gardens. One of my favorites was about a Laburnum or Golden Chain Tree. An elderly man that lived two doors down from them had a large one growing in his garden. One day, he had decided to cut it down, but my Mother walked over and begged him to spare it. He obliged and allowed her to come and spend time with the tree whenever she liked, she took him up on the invitation often. When they moved to the United States in 1972 she planted one of her own and I too, have one growing in my yard now.

As a young teen, she attended Nonsuch County School for Girls, a selective specialist science school in the London borough of Sutton. In those days, boys and girls were schooled separately and each school had focused studies for the students, collegiately training them for careers beginning at a young age. Following in her father’s footsteps, Janet chose to focus her time at Nonsuch studying Botany and Latin.

Upon leaving school, she was employed at Carter’s Tested Seeds of Raynes Park in Southwest London. Carter’s was a premier seed supply company renowned for their quality standards with a goal of providing unadulterated seeds to large companies, farmers, and the everyday gardener. Rising to fame with the hybridization of the Sweet Pea, Carter’s quickly gained national respect.

Photo of lantern slide showing the grass plots at Carters Tested Seeds.

Janet’s focus at Carter’s was creating new grasses, from ornamental and specialty to everyday grasses like you’d find in your yard. As the hybrids were created, they would plant samples in long strips in the gardens outside of Raynes Park. Interested customers could come and choose the variety that suited their purposes best. To her delight, one of the grasses she created was chosen to be used on the courts at Wimbledon and they showed their appreciation by offering her a lifelong invitation to attend the Wimbledon matches.

Janet Gregory working with seeds at Carters Tested Seeds.

During her employment at Carter’s she created a very impressive collection of seeds. Everything from English flowers and weeds, to vegetables and trees, she meticulously gathered, packaged, labelled, and organized them alphabetically and by genus. I have fond memories of browsing through them as a kid and when she passed, she left them to me. It’s this seed collection that brought me to The Carnegie Museum of Natural History to meet with Bonnie Isaac.

So back to the original question. What does Pittsburgh have to do with the Wimbledon tennis tournament?

It turns out, that the woman who created the grass mix used on the courts has family right here in Pittsburgh!

Seed collection video by Sarah C. Williams.

Bonnie Isaac is the Collection Manager in the Section of Botany. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

June 28, 2019 by wpengine

Students, Research Associates, and Volunteers: Anthropology’s Real Treasure

The Anthropology Department is very fortunate to have a strong core of dedicated volunteers, research associates, and students. Without their valuable assistance, we would have a very hard time maintaining the quality of collection care and excellence in public engagement for which we feel immense amounts of pride. We’ve hosted volunteers for many years; some have specific interests which can help to augment our knowledge base, and others simply love the museum and want to help in any way that they can. Students come to us mostly from nearby universities, but occasionally from farther away. We have a long-standing partnership with Duquesne University to fulfill their Masters of Public History Collection Management internships. We’ve hosted students from the University of Pittsburgh, California University of Pennsylvania, Clarion University of Pennsylvania, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Humboldt University (California), University College (London), and even students from China, the Netherlands, Australia, and Costa Rica. Our Research Associates fill in knowledge gaps that we lack in the section and use the collections to further their research and contribute to the academic world. Their expertise covers a wide range of topics from zooarchaeology and Eastern Woodlands archaeology to ethnology and cultural anthropology.

I’d like to toot a few horns regarding the annual meeting for the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology, which was held in Uniontown, PA on April 5-7^th, 2019. Two of our distinguished research associates were interviewed for an oral history project being conducted by representatives of PennDOT, the State Historic Preservation Office of Pennsylvania, and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Dr. Mark McConaughy and Dr. William C. Johnson sat down to talk about their unique experiences with the history of archaeology in Pennsylvania. They also presented papers at the conference along with many other research associates. The collection at CMNH was mentioned in 75% of the papers given all weekend!

Three of our outstanding students/volunteers were presented awards at the banquet. Mr. James Barno has been a volunteer in the section for two years. He began as an intern from California University of Pennsylvania and has remained a volunteer since his graduation. He was given this year’s Archey Award, which is presented to members of the Society able to devote only spare time to their archaeological interests. It is given for some significant contribution (or contributions) over an appreciable period toward the unselfish furtherance of archaeology. We’re very proud of him!

Also awarded were two James W. Hatch Scholarships for students presenting at the conference. One went to Tamara Alchoufete, who is our current work-study student from the University of Pittsburgh, and the other went to Indiana University of Pennsylvania graduate student and CMNH volunteer, Kristina Gaugler. Ms. Gaugler was also awarded the W. Fred Kinsey Scholarship, which is given to a student who presents a single authored paper at the meetings. It comes with a complimentary Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology membership and free conference banquet, along with a stipend for research expenses. Congratulations to both!

Tamara Alchoufete and Kristina Gaugler at the award ceremony

Cultivating an interest in professional development is something that we can offer to our students and volunteers, besides valuable museum related skills training. Volunteers, students, and research associates are truly our most valuable treasure.

More information on how to volunteer with CMNH can be found here: https://carnegiemnh.org/visitor/things-to-do/volunteer/

More information on the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology can be found here: https://www.pennsylvaniaarchaeology.com/

June 25, 2019 by wpengine

Sperm Whales and Giant Squid: Just-So Story and Co-Evolution

Sperm whales dive to great depths (to more than 2 km or 1.4 mi deep) to catch one of their favorite foods: giant squid. But how did the first sperm whale know it would find giant squids in the ocean depths? The following story is speculation that makes sense but has no facts to support it. Scientists often refer to such stories as just-so stories, named after the stories by author Rudyard Kipling. But while Kipling’s just-so stories are fanciful, my story is plausible.

Before whales evolved, it could be that giant squids lived near the ocean surface. After whales evolved and discovered that squids are tasty, the giant squids might have started living in deeper water, to escape the whale predators. Some whales might have started diving more deeply (and developed specialized physiology allowing them to hold their breath up to 90 minutes and to resist the great pressure at depth) so they could feast on the squid, so the squid might have responded by living deeper still. Cycles like this, between predators and prey, are examples of co-evolution. This cycle could have continued until the squid lived in some of the deepest parts of the ocean, and the sperm whales dove to those great depths to eat the tasty squids. That just-so story might explain why giant squid live at depth, and how sperm whales are able to dive that deep to find them.

Humans hunted sperm whales heavily from the 1700s to the middle 1900s and reduced their numbers possibly to a third what they were historically. Fewer whales would mean less predation pressure on giant squids. With reduced predation pressure, giant squids might venture into shallower water.

It is possible that such a change in squid behavior could lead to more sightings of giant squids over the last few decades (squids caught in fishing nets and caught on cameras). Or it is possible that improvements in technology explains the increased sightings. You might be thinking that humans have interacted with giant squids for centuries – consider the myths of giant squids attacking ships. I agree that humans have known about giant squids for centuries, but I doubt anyone had previously ever seen one alive. Humans are likely to have known about giant squids from examining the gut contents of sperm whales, or possibly from a squid carcass that floated to the ocean surface after it died.

drawing of a kraken devouring a sailing ship

We might never know the real answer to why giant squid live at depth, and why sperm whales are able to dive to such great depths (and how they know squids are there). This co-evolutionary just-so story is a plausible explanation.

June 21, 2019 by wpengine

Cow Parsnip: All collected 112, 85, and 59 years ago!

Whoa, this plant will catch your attention! Although towering in at up to eight feet tall with leaves two feet wide, Cow parsnip (Heracleum maximum, aka Heracleum lanatum) is not a tree, but herbaceous (non-woody). This species is the largest member of the carrot family (Apiaceae) native to North America. It can be found along shaded roadsides, waterways, and the edge of woods. Its flower structure consists of many small white flowers on short stalks connected at a single point – an umbrella of flowers – botanically known as an “umbel.” Umbels are characteristic of the carrot family (think of the perhaps better recognized Queen Anne’s lace, Daucus carota, which is also known as “wild carrot”).

These specimens were all collected on June 21 – but years apart in 1907 (Westmoreland county, PA), 1934 (Pittsburgh), and 1960 (Beaver county, PA).

This species is often confused with giant hogweed. Cow parsnip is often confused for the non-native plant called giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum). Giant hogweed has hit the news media in the past few years and is on many people’s radar, as it is considered a significant public human health concern. This plant is highly poisonous and designated as a federal noxious weed. The sap of giant hogweed causes “phytophotodermatitis,” meaning serious skin inflammation occurs when contacted skin is exposed to sunlight. Skin rashes can be very severe. The sap can cause temporary or permanent blindness. Cow parsnip has a similar set of chemicals in its sap, and although not as poisonous, be careful around these plants.

Giant hogweed can be 8-20 feet tall with leaves up to 5 feet wide! It is thought to be eradicated in Pennsylvania. Although similar to the Pennsylvania native species cow parsnip, giant hogweed is noticeably larger in height and flower size. (see herbarium specimen here – it took 6 sheets!)

See here for a nice comparison between these similar species.

Given the size of members of the genus, the name Heracleum (derivative of Hercules) is quite fitting.

Specimen records and images for this species in the CM herbarium are now publicly available online.

Harriet Tubman Was a Naturalist

statue of Harriet Tubman — Photo Credit: Maryland Department of Natural Resources

Last fall, when Akiima Price spoke to museum staff and visitors as part of the R.W. Moriarty Science Seminar series, the renowned environmental educator discussed the potential and the challenges of using nature-based experiences to help heal economically stressed families and communities.

The one-time National Park Service Ranger advised anyone who hoped to model her efforts to look for connections between seemingly disparate groups, topics, and situations. When Akiima invoked Harriet Tubman as a mentor, she helped identify a connection between the 19^thCentury historic figure and existing museum educational materials.

Akiima Price speaking at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

“Harriet Tubman was a naturalist!” Akiima stated. “She had to be!” A summary of Tubman’s most celebrated accomplishments followed – her escape from slavery in 1849, and her work over the next decade planning and guiding the successful escapes of dozens of other slaves. As Akiima explained, those multi-day journeys, across marshes and through forests, implied a deep working knowledge of tides, seasons, weather, wildlife, and plants.

The testimony led me to read more about Harriet Tubman and her success as a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad. Her understanding of the landscape apparently began at an early age. Several accounts mentioned how Tubman’s slave labor as a child on a tidewater Maryland farm included trapping muskrats in adjacent marshes, work performed barefoot, even in freezing weather.

museum exhibit featuring Harriet Tubman — Photo Credit: Maryland Department of Natural Resources

For the past two years, this forced work has been memorialized in a life-sized bronze sculpture within the Visitor Center of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historic Park in Church Creek, Maryland.

At Carnegie Museum of Natural History, a picture of the sculpture, along with information about Tubman and the park that commemorates her heroic accomplishments, now reside within the Muskrat Box of Educator Loan Collection. The additions do not diminish the unit’s traditional use. The muskrat taxidermy mount, skull, and pelt continue to help teachers present more effective lessons about mammal adaptations and wetland ecology. The new materials simply add an American history facet, a connection to a fearless woman’s struggle against the slavery system she was born into.

Muskrat taxidermy, skull, and pelt — Muskrat box and contents

June 17, 2019 by wpengine

Slowest Process Ever Observed: a Trillion Times Longer Than the Age of the Universe

Xenon atom showing electron shells. [figure modified from Wikimedia commons]

Xenon-124, one of the radioactive noble gases, has an extremely long half-life. The half-life of xenon-124, one isotope of xenon, was recently measured to be a trillion times longer than the age of the universe! This is the slowest process ever measured by direct observation. You might well ask who measured such a slow process. Was it a scientist who thought watching paint dry or snail migrations were too exciting? In fact, the half-life was determined as a by-product of the search for dark matter. The XENON1T dark-matter detector in Italy, containing 3.2 metric tonnes of liquid xenon, detected energy release from the decay of 126 xenon-124 atoms over a year, which allowed Aprile et al. (2019) to calculate the half-life.

Speaking of radioactive decay, within the last decade, researchers have reported that the radioactive decay constant (the rate at which a radioactive element decays, thought to be constant – that’s how atomic clocks keep perfect time) is not constant! Certain radioactive elements decay faster when closer to the sun (Jenkins et al. 2012), leading some to speculate that neutrinos could explain the changed decay rate. (Counterintuitively, earth is closer to the sun during northern hemisphere winter.) Neutrinos are tiny particles, abundantly produced by the sun, that interact with essentially nothing and about 100 trillion pass through your body every second). Maybe a particle that doesn’t interact with anything can change something that never changes!

This correlation of neutrinos and radioactive decay rates makes me wonder whether every instance of radioactive decay might result from interaction with a neutrino. Neutrinos are abundant and some elements decay in less than a second, other rates are much longer. If neutrinos influence radioactive decay, perhaps some atoms are easier to hit in just the right way for decay to happen. If so, then I wonder why Xenon-124 is so slow to decay; is its nucleus harder for a neutrino to hit just right? It turns out that the decay of xenon-124 is unusual because it results from two-neutrino double electron capture, which means two electrons from the atom combine with two protons in the same atom, releasing two neutrinos. If neutrinos have an influence, perhaps getting two neutrinos to interact simultaneously with a xenon-124 atom in just the right way to cause decay must be a very rare event.

Reference

Aprile, E., Aalbers, J., Agostini, et al. 2019. Observation of two-neutrino double electron capture in 124Xe with XENON1T. Nature, 568(7753): 532-535. doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1124-4

Jenkins, J.H., Herminghuysen, K.R., Blue, T.E., et al. 2012. Additional experimental evidence for a solar influence on nuclear decay rates. Astroparticle Physics, 37: 81-88.

June 12, 2019 by wpengine

Why Do the King Penguins in Bird Hall Look so Different from Each Other?

king penguin chick and adult in Bird Hall

Visitor comments often offer insight into the effectiveness of museum displays. The most candid comments are overheard snatches of conversation, some as touching as they are humorous.

The setting: Bird Hall at Carnegie Museum of Natural History, 2:00 p.m. on a summer afternoon.

Three siblings, the oldest about nine, were studying a pair of king penguin taxidermy mounts while their mother, a few display cases away, looked at a different group of birds.

The mother walked toward her children as the nine-year-old explained the birds to his younger brother and sister, “This one is the girl penguin, and this one is the boy penguin. They really look different. The girls are brown and fuzzy, and the boys are black and white.”

The mother quickly surmised the misinterpretation and offered a gentle correction without any trace of ridicule: “The brown one’s a young bird. The label says ‘chick,’ but that doesn’t mean it’s a girl.”

June 11, 2019 by wpengine

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in Real Life

If you’re a fan of Harry Potter and other fantasy stories, you probably have read about many wondrous and otherworldly creatures that only exist in your imagination. You may have come across dragons that spit fire and rule the skies, sea creatures that live in the depths of dark waters, or trolls that live under bridges with vicious teeth and claws. But did you know that some of the fantastical creatures you’ve heard of in stories have counterparts in our world? Here are some creatures from the Harry Potter universe that are based on real life critters.

1. Acromantula

A large, hairy tarantula – one of the inspirations for Acromantula.

As you might imagine, these giant spiders are based on big, hairy spiders you can find in your backyard or in other places around the world. Specifically, the acromantula that you see in Harry Potter films were inspired by the wolf spider, which you can find in right here in western Pennsylvania! Other spiders that resemble acromantula include the huntsman spider often found in Australia and, of course, the tarantula – the hairiest and most famous of the three spiders. In fact, the world’s largest spider is a type of tarantula, the goliath bird-eating tarantula, which can reach up to one foot in length – although luckily not as large as a fifteen-foot acromantula.

2. Salamanders

A red salamander slithers over wet leaves. Photo credit: Joe Stavish.

Wait – how can a real animal be a fantastical creature? Well, as it turns out, salamanders have been surrounded by myth and legend since the time of the Roman Empire, when Pliny the Elder declared that salamanders could put out fires with their bodies and spit poisonous fluids. In the Harry Potter universe, salamanders are born and live in fires and can only survive as long as their birth fire continues to burn. In Pittsburgh, salamanders live in moist areas, such as near streams or in damp forests, because they need to keep their skin wet to breathe. In fact, there are over 20 species of salamander in Pennsylvania including the brightly colored Red Salamander and the yellow-flecked Spotted Salamander, both of which you can find in the western half of the state. Some good places to look for salamanders are in parks around the city – there’s even one in Fox Chapel Borough named Salamander Park!

3. Bowtruckles

A green walking stick that looks remarkably like a fantastical bowtruckle.

In the Harry Potter world, bowtruckles are creatures that look like bark or twigs and guard trees used to make wands. They have sharp claws and are very protective of their habitats. In our world, stick insects mimic bark or twigs to blend into foliage, and while bowtruckles eat tree lice, stick insects are actually herbivores, with each species preferring particular leaves. Stick insects belong to the order Phasmatodea, which also includes leaf-bugs – creatures that mimic leaves as a form of camouflage.

4. Dragons

t - rex skull fossil — A *Tyrannosaurus rex* skeleton at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Photo Credit: Joshua Franzos, Treehouse Media.

One of the most famous mythical creatures in our world, dragons are ferocious creatures in the Harry Potter universe with big claws, big teeth, and the ability to breathe fire. While there are no real animals that breathe fire (as far as we know 😉), there are groups of extinct creatures who resembled dragons with sharp teeth, hooked claws, and, sometimes, scaly, lizard-like bodies. Some of these creatures even had wings! You guessed it – dinosaurs and pterosaurs! At the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, there are multiple dinosaur and pterosaur skeletons on display. Some skeletons reminiscent of dragons include two ferocious looking Tyrannosaurus rex and a large pterosaur called Quetzalcoatlus northropi that had a wingspan of up to 37 feet.

5. Harry Otter

A North American River Otter (part of the Lutrinae subfamily) at the Pittsburgh Zoo.

The Lutrinae who lived.

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Explore nature together. Visit Nature 360 for activities and information.

Blog post by Melissa Cagan.

June 7, 2019 by wpengine

Collected 189 Years Ago: Strawberry Bush

This is a special specimen. The Carnegie Museum of Natural History herbarium is full of specimens of scientific and historical importance. And this is a notable one, collected in June 1830 by William Darlington in West Chester, Pennsylvania. William Darlington (1782-1863) was an important figure in the history of Pennsylvania botany. Darlington was a physician, politician (US House of Representatives 1815-1823), and as you might guess – a botanist! At the University of Pennsylvania, Darlington studied botany under Benjamin Smith Barton, a well-known botanist who also trained Meriwether Lewis (of the Lewis & Clark Expedition). He spent most of his life in West Chester, PA. He wrote some of the earliest botanical works, including a flora of Chester County in 1826 and others on agriculture. Many of his specimens are among the earliest documentation of Pennsylvania’s flora and are preserved in the William Darlington herbarium at West Chester University.

This particular specimen is of the native shrub Euonymus americanus, commonly called “strawberry bush.” Despite the name, it is not related to strawberries, but is in the bittersweet/spindle family, Celastraceae. You may recognize some similarities with the related species from East Asia, burning bush (Euonymus alatus), which is commonly planted due to its bright red fall color (around Cathedral of Learning in Pittsburgh, and many other places). However, burning bush should not be planted, as it is invasive, spreading into natural areas.

In the Carnegie Museum herbarium, there are 62 specimens collected by Darlington between 1828 and 1840, mostly from Chester County, PA.

How’d some of Darlington’s specimens end up at the Carnegie Museum? This specimen is part of Jacob Wolle’s personal collection, who was the grandfather of William Holland, the first director of the museum.

This specimen image is now publicly available online.

Read more about Darlington and other influential figures in the history of botany in Pennsylvania at Herbarium World.

June 4, 2019 by wpengine

Roll Out the Beryl

Beryl has many different varieties that you may be familiar with, the most recognized being: Emerald (green), Heliodor (yellow), Morganite (pink), and Aquamarine (blue or blue-green). One that you may not be familiar with is Red Beryl, a very rare variety of the species. The red is due to the trace element manganese. Red Beryl occurs in only a few places in the world and of those localities, only one of them produces crystals of the size and quality suitable for cutting gemstones, namely the Ruby Violet claims in the Wah Wah Mountains in Beaver County, Utah. For over a dozen years the Section of Minerals & Earth Sciences staff have been on the lookout for a faceted Red Beryl to put on display in the Beryl as a Gemstone exhibit in Wertz Gallery: Gems and Jewelry. But, alas, most of the Red Beryl gemstones on the market are very small because nearly all the gem rough that is produced is less than a carat in size. Faceting rough of that size usually yields gemstones of only ¼ to ½ carat, which would be too small to use in the exhibit. Occasionally we have come across gemstones of around one carat, but they were not of high enough quality for the exhibit due to poor color, poor cut, or numerous inclusions. But, as luck would have it, in March of this year I was able to acquire from Pala International a worthy, cushion cut Red Beryl gemstone with the amazing size of 2.45 carats! Together with the crystal from the same locality (acquired two years ago from Collector’s Edge) we now have a stunning rough & cut pair to represent the variety Red Beryl in the Beryl as a Gemstone exhibit.

Cut gemstone & crystal of Red Beryl from Utah

Another lesser known variety of Beryl is Goshenite, which is colorless. When Wertz Gallery opened in September of 2007 the Beryl as a Gemstone exhibit had a nice crystal of Goshenite on display from Pakistan but lacked a cut gemstone from Pakistan to go with it. In May, I acquired a beautiful 5.06 carat emerald cut Goshenite from Dudley Blauwet Gems to complement the crystal. Now every crystal on display in that exhibit has an accompanying gemstone.

Crystal & cut gemstone of Goshenite from Pakistan

Both of these new gemstones were placed on exhibit in Wertz Gallery on June 4, 2019, so stop by and see them in the Beryl as a Gemstone case!

May 31, 2019 by wpengine

Poison Ivy – Collected on This Day

Watch out for poison ivy! It is a fascinatingly cool plant but can also be dangerous. This flowering specimen of poison ivy was collected on May 31, 1903 by John Shafer (the first curator of botany at Carnegie Museum) and O.P. Medsger in the Laurel Highlands of southwestern PA.

What is Poison Ivy?

Poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) is a woody vine found in forest understories, but does especially well on forest edges. It is very common in urban and suburban areas. It takes many forms, climbing high up a tree, along the ground, or even a short shrubby thing. The leaves take a range of shapes, but as the adage goes (“leaves of 3, let it be”), it has three leaflets.

Poison Ivy Chemistry – What Causes the Rash?

Poison ivy is known for its chemistry, producing a class of organic compounds call urushiol. These are found in the plant’s sap and on leaves/stems/roots. Urushiol causes a nasty rash to those who touch it. Not all people have a reaction (but most are sensitive). Don’t be too confident if you haven’t had a rash before – it can develop with repeated exposure. Incredibly itchy, the rash can become a serious health issue if infected, especially if its oils get in contact with your eyes, face, or throat. The rash can appear days after exposure and can last for weeks.

Research indicates poison ivy will get more poisonous with climate change, both in terms of growth and producing higher quantities of forms of urushiol particularly toxic to humans.

Is Poison Ivy a Weed?

Some people call Poison ivy because of its fear-causing rash, but it is native to eastern North America. The species has a wide distribution across our region, and across the world (native subspecies in China). Although native, the species seems to be getting more common as we create more forest edge habitat. The colorful foliage can be quite beautiful in the fall, and the berries are a food source for birds and other animals. Humans seem to be the only ones allergic to it.

Plants Similar to Poison Ivy

Poison ivy is often confused with other non-poisonous and poisonous plants.

Some common confusions:

Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), a vine in the grape but different leaves, and not with leaves of three
Box elder maple (Acer negundo), a tree that has compound leaves unlike most stereotypical maples, but with samaras (aka “helicopter” seeds)

Poison ivy and some other rash-causing plants are in the cashew family (Anacardiaceae) – which also includes poison oak (not found in Pennsylvania, but in western USA), staghorn sumac (not rash causing), poison sumac (rash causing, but you likely won’t come across it unless in very wet habitats)….and even a few familiar species like pistachio, cashew, and mango (some people are allergic).

What an amazing plant.

This specimen image is now publicly available online: http://midatlanticherbaria.org/portal/collections/individual/index.php?occid=12232529&clid=0

Check back for more! Botanists at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History share digital specimens from the herbarium on their collection dates. They have embarked on a three-year project to digitize nearly 190,000 plant specimens collected in the region (like Poison ivy!) making images and other data publicly available online. This effort is part of the Mid-Atlantic Megalopolis Project (mamdigitization.org), a network of thirteen herbaria spanning the densely populated urban corridor from Washington, D.C. to New York City to achieve a greater understanding of our urban areas, including the unique industrial and environmental history of the greater Pittsburgh region. This project is made possible by the National Science Foundation under grant no. 1801022.

May 28, 2019 by wpengine

Bird Watching Bonus

The fawn sighting was a bird-watching hike bonus. The days-old creature rested barely three feet off a Boyce Park hiking trail, motionless but fully awake, amidst rotting wood and spring green vegetation.

I quickly snapped a picture and moved along, confident a wary doe was just out of sight in the nearby tangle of spice bush and wild grapevine. Hours later, I found the image’s juxtaposition of two seemingly healthy young organisms could be interpreted as evidence of a forest’s ill health.

The plant partially concealing the fawn’s head is garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata), an invasive species capable of proliferation into stands dense enough to choke out native understory plants and tree seedlings. Because white-tailed deer find garlic mustard unpalatable, the plan’s presence in the landscape results in higher, and often unsustainable browsing rates of native plants.

May 22, 2019 by wpengine

O-Do-nates or O-Don’t-nates—Dragonflies and Damselflies in the Section of IZ

Here, in the section of Invertebrate Zoology, we have a large collection of moths (order Lepidoptera: particularly in the families Sphingidae and Noctuidae), beetles (order Coleoptera: particularly in the family Carabidae), and fleas (order Siphonaptera: from all over the world). However, one of the most interesting groups we have in our collection is the order Odonata (pronounced oh-DOE-naw-ta), also known as dragonflies and damselflies (Figure 1). Aquatic in their juvenile stages, these masters of air and water are stunningly beautiful in overall design and coloration, and are phenomenal hunters. Truly, these delicate predators are impactful and under-appreciated among insect taxa.

Figure 1. A pinned dragonfly, undetermined. Photograph taken by Catherine Giles.

Odonates are insects that undergo incomplete metamorphosis, and have three primary life stages: egg, nymph, and adult (or imago). Incomplete metamorphosis (also called hemimetaboly) is a process where juveniles look like miniature versions of the adults, but get larger over time. Organisms undergoing complete metamorphosis (also called holometaboly) have a pupal stage, and juvenile and adult stages appear very different. For example, a caterpillar turns into a pupa, before emerging as an adult moth or butterfly. Odonates can spend months or years in their nymphal stages, depending on the taxon. Most people (myself included!) are more familiar with the adult phase of an odonate’s life cycle, and see them darting around freshwater ponds and rivers, hunting to satiate their carnivorous diet.

Recently, I transferred our pinned and papered odonate material from one kind of drawer (USNM) into other drawers (Old Holland and Ortmann) due to space limitations in our collection. (For a refresher on drawer types found around the section, see the “Ants in our Pants and Bugs in Our Drawers” blog post!) Among much of our pinned material were numerous nymphal exuviae, or skins cast off by young, immature, juvenile odonates as they grew towards adulthood.

Pictured below is not a Hollywood monster, but rather a dragonfly nymph, Anax junius, in the family Aeshnidae, with the labium extended (Figure 2). While this image could be considered the stuff of nightmares, for an entomologist like me, it makes me excited! Nymphs use the labium to grab for prey in the water, and on the end of this particular specimen’s labium, you can clearly see additional pincers, used to grasp prey more securely. Pictured below is a close-up view of these pincers (Figure 3). Even as juveniles, dragonflies are top predators, making them masters of both water and air.

Figure 2. Nymphalexuviae of Anax junius. Photograph taken by Catherine Giles.

Figure 3. A close-up of pincers on Anax junius’s labium. Photograph taken by Catherine Giles.

At last count, we had approximately 40,000 pinned and papered odonate specimens in our collection. Having nymphal exuviae, like the ones pictured here, only enrich and enhance the diversity and magnificence of our insect collection here at the Carnegie.

May 16, 2019 by wpengine

A Lot to be Fascinated By in the Herbarium

Are you fascinated by plants? Fascination of Plants Day is upon us (don’t worry, we didn’t know it was a thing either, but agree celebration is in order!). As you might guess, we in the Section of Botany at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History are definitely into any and all things plants. Plants are inextricable from our daily lives and play critical roles in our environment. Plus, they are just pretty cool, too. Amid chirping birds or a lion chasing a gazelle, they might be easy to overlook, but they are well worth your attention. From the sidewalk cracks in front of the museum to a remote tropical rainforest, there is a lot to celebrate.

With over half a million plant specimens in the Carnegie Museum herbarium, we have a lot to be fascinated by. Botanists here at the museum and across the world are making new discoveries about plants through these collections. On this 5th annual Fascination of Plants Day, I’d like to share some exciting new work in our collection – extracting fungal DNA from herbarium specimen roots collected over a hundred years ago.

plant specimen with long roots on herbarium sheet

Unexpected inspiration often comes from looking at old specimens in new ways. Museum specimens were collected for many different reasons. The uses of specimens are many, and recently, being used in new ways. Museum specimens have a lot to tell us. If we look.

Recently, I became fascinated by something often ignored – roots on herbarium specimens. Why do herbarium specimens have roots?

It is standard practice for botanists to collect the entire plant when possible. Of course, that isn’t possible for a huge tree, but many plants can fit nicely on an herbarium sheet, roots and all. And not only do many specimens have roots, but they have soil too.

For some plants, roots can be very helpful for identification. But for the most part, roots on herbarium specimens have not been generally used. But what can 100-year-old roots tell us?

With this new fascination with herbarium specimen roots, I contacted Dr. David Burke, a microbial ecologist and expert in belowground forest ecology at the Holden Arboretum in Kirkland, Ohio. David studies belowground microbial soil communities and their interactions with plant roots. Nearly 75% of all flowering plant species form close relationships with mycorrhizal fungi. Many plant species in our forests across the eastern United States rely upon these mycorrhizal fungi to obtain water and nutrients necessary for growth. In return, the fungi get food (sugars) from the plant.

herbarium sheet of dried flower with roots

Can herbarium specimen roots tell us about relationships between mycorrhizal fungi and plants? And perhaps more importantly: Have human activities affected these plant-fungal relationships over the past century?

David Burke had not extracted fungal DNA from herbarium specimen roots, but he was eager to try. (In fact, to our knowledge, no one had done this with herbarium specimen roots before.) We sampled roots from herbarium specimens of four common forest wildflowers collected in western Pennsylvania between 1881 to 2008. These species included some favorites familiar in our area: red trillium, large-flowered trillium, false Solomon’s seal, and jack-in-the-pulpit.

David was able to extract and sequence fungal DNA from plant roots as old as 137 years old! We published our results in a special issue on belowground botany in Applications in Plant Sciences. You can read the full study here. While there is still much to be done, we showed that museum collections across the world hold enormous potential to provide new insights in the basic belowground biology of plants. They can also help us understand how human activities may affect the web of life in overlooked ways.

Herbarium specimen roots have a lot to tell us about the past, present, and future of our forests in the Anthropocene. And that is fascinating!

woods with many spring wildflowers in bloom

May 16, 2019 by wpengine

Learning to See, Seeing to Learn, Freshwater Insects

The Atlas of Common Freshwater Macroinvertebrates of Eastern North America is an online guide and accompanying set of teaching and learning resources designed to support water quality monitoring in citizen science projects and fresh water ecology education.

A suite of visual resources developed to help learners to identify fresh water insects.

For the team of entomologists, learning scientists, software engineers and designers who collaborated in the National Science Foundation-supported effort to plan, develop, test, and revise the site, six words guided the key design goals for this educational resource—Learning to See, Seeing to Learn. Team members aimed both to support the development of observational skills and provide the rich visual resources needed for observation and identification.

In freshwater environments the term macroinvertebrates refers to animals without backbones that can be seen with the naked eye. Because these insects, crustaceans, worms, and mollusks fill vital roles in aquatic food webs, their presence, absence, abundance, and diversity is key to assessing water quality in streams and freshwater bodies over time.

In early April, I spent several hours demonstrating www.macroinvertebrates.org at a table display during the Creek Connections Student Research Symposium held at the Campus Center of Allegheny College. The Meadville college has been providing opportunities for students to become stream researchers for more than 20 years, so I was confident the website would be well received by these budding young freshwater scientists.

The table displayed two iPads for visitors to explore the Macroinvertebrates.org site, a set of stream insects embedded in Lucite cubes, a traditional Riker mount of pond macros, a field microscope, and a stack of promotional postcards.

During the event I spoke with and handed-out information to approximately 100 people, a mix of middle school and high school students presenting their stream study projects, their teachers, Allegheny College students and faculty, and representatives from other organizations participating in the symposium.

Images showing dynamic zoomed and full-scale views of a caddisfly.

Table visitors were particularly impressed by set-ups on the paired iPads – one screen fully zoomed-in on the abstract art-like image on the “setal fan on a proleg” of a net-spinning caddisfly, the other featuring a whole-body image of the tiny beast. The companion images addressed the linked challenge of learning to see and seeing to learn.

toolbox with macroinvertebrates painted on it

As teachers continue to experiment with ways for their students to use the online guide, the museum has added a set of preserved macroinvertebrates to the Educator Loan Collection. Pictured above is a stonefly embedded in a block of clear resin, and the colorfully-illustrated toolbox that contains a set of ten different specimens prepared in the same manner.

Partners involved in the development of www.macroinvertebrates.org include Carnegie Mellon University’s Human Computer Interaction Institute, University of Pittsburgh’s Learning Research & Development Center, Stroud Water Research Center, Clemson University, and Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

May 14, 2019 by wpengine

Horizontal Gene Transfer, the Placenta, and Velvet Worms

Everyone reading this (except you robots out there) inherited genes from their mother and father. This is the predominant way, in multicellular animals and plants, for genes to be transferred from one organism to another, from parent to child, and is called vertical gene transfer. But less commonly, genes can be transferred from an individual unrelated to you, possibly from a different species, and is called horizontal gene transfer. Viruses accomplish horizontal gene transfer naturally, while in the lab, genetic engineers use viruses to transfer genes horizontally to create genetically modified organisms.

The gene syncytin-2, which produces an essential membrane between the mammalian placenta and the developing fetus, appears to have come from retroviruses, who use the gene to produce a membrane around their virus capsule. If our ancestors had not acquired this retrovirus gene, you and I would not be here today. We have to be grateful for horizontal gene transfer.

Now for the speculative part of this article. Velvet worms (Onychophora) are a whole phylum (major group) of animals most people have never encountered. They look kind of like a cross between an earthworm and a millipede.

A velvet worm of the genus Oroperipatus. [image from Wikipedia]

Nowadays, they are tropical and terrestrial, but their marine relatives once occurred 500 million years ago. Unusual for their bizarre habit of shooting strings of glue at their prey, some (not all) velvet worms have placentas. That leads me to two questions, the answers to which I do not know. (1) Did retroviruses transfer this essential membrane-producing gene to the velvet worms, as they did for mammals? (2) Do the velvet worms that have a placenta also have a belly button?

To address the question whether retroviruses transferred the gene, researchers could examine whether the syncytin-2 gene occurs in velvet worms, and if so, determine whether the gene’s DNA in velvet worms matches that of the retroviruses? Finding a close DNA match for the syncytin-2 gene in both groups of organisms would be a strong case that the retroviruses are responsible. To determine whether they have a belly button, let’s get some velvet worms and scrutinize their bellies with a microscope.

May 9, 2019 by wpengine

Honey Bees Hunt Bargains, Bumble Bees Go Gourmet

It is rewarding to receive questions and reports from people who turn to the staff at Powdermill Nature Reserve for information on nature in our area. Usually, we have a pretty good idea of what people are asking about, but once in a while visitors ask about something completely new to us. Last year, a visitor asked why he saw honey bees on his bird feeder in great numbers. The feeder was only stocked with bird seed. What were the bees doing? We had no explanation. Recently, in the February 2019 issue of NY Conservationist, we read the answer. Mr. Gary Ennis provided a photo of the same phenomenon, and had the same question. According to beekeeper Bob Henke, during shipping and handling the seeds rub against each other and produce a fine powder similar to pollen, and the honey bees collect it as if it were pollen.

bees at a bird feeder — Photo credit: Gary Ennis.

But, why don’t we see other bees doing this? Why are there no bumble bees on the feeder? Bumble bees and other native bees sample the world one scout at a time, each bee making her own decisions. Researchers at Penn State showed that bumble bees monitor the nutritional value of the pollen they take, trying to keep an appropriate balance of protein versus lipids (fats, oils, and waxes.) If a certain plant produces pollen that has little lipid, then the bumble bee will favor pollen that is richer in lipids on future trips. This effort to balance their diet means that they specifically vary the pollen they harvest. It is as if they go to the grocery store and take a few items from the vegetable section, and a few from the dairy section, and a few from the bakery, creating a balanced plate on a daily basis.

On the other hand, honey bees are well-known for their ability to recruit to a good food source, and marshal large numbers of workers to harvest nectar or pollen. If an experienced scout finds a tree in bloom, she will recruit her sisters to that tree. They will go to that site directly without sampling other flowers on the way, and then return for another load, and another, and another. This form of shopping is more like discovering that the grocery has potatoes on sale, and then buying 100 pounds of potatoes. Of course, a different scout will find a different resource, and she will recruit workers to harvest that in great numbers. As the weeks go by, the bees collect many different kinds of pollen, providing a broad selection for the nurse bees to feed the larvae. If we collect the separate loads of pollen from each returning bee: we see that each bee collected only one kind of pollen (all the same color), but different bees collected different pollen (many colors among the separate loads.)

Aside from the importance of recruiting, the scout honey bees also make some effort to balance their diet, particularly regarding the important fatty acids, omega-3 and omega-6. Work by Hebrew University in Jerusalem has shown that if these nutrients are not eaten in an appropriate ratio, the bees learn poorly and do not remember what they learn. For example, bees with adequate omega-3 in their diets are much better at learning to associate an odor with a food reward compared to bees with no omega-3. Further, the bees with good nutrition remember what they learned the next day, whereas those with a poor diet forget. We are only just appreciating what this means for bee pollination of large monoculture crops. When the 1.2 million acres of almonds are in bloom in California, about 3 million commercial bee hives are there to pollinate them for several weeks. During this time, almond pollen is all the bees will get. Almond pollen has almost no omega-3 fatty acids. When these poor bees are moved to other sites, how long will it take them to learn what flowers are good, and will they remember?

Thanks to NY Conservationist for allowing us to reprint the photo and retell the bird feeder story.

May 7, 2019 by wpengine

Everything Pennsylvania

On May 10^tha new temporary exhibit is scheduled to be installed in Wertz Gallery: Gems and Jewelry that will feature gemstones, cabochons, polished spheres and carvings made from minerals unearthed in our own state of Pennsylvania. While we may be known as a coal producing state, there are lapidary and faceting grade minerals that are found in Pennsylvania as well. And, believe it or not, one of the polished pieces in the exhibit is a type of coal known as JET.

A carved egg made from JET, a type of LIGNITE which is a precursor to COAL.

The English noun “Jet” derives from the French word for the same material: jaiet (modern French “jais”). The adjective “jet-black,” meaning as dark a black as possible, derives from this material.

Another unusual piece in the exhibit is a carving of an elephant made from a translucent variety of ANTIGORITE known as WILLIAMSITE which is found in the State Line Chromite District in Lancaster County.

Elephant carved from WILLIAMSITE found at Lowe’s Chromite Mine in Fulton Township.

WILLIAMSITE was named in 1848 in honor of its discoverer, Lewis White Williams, a mineralogist and geologist of West Chester, Pennsylvania.

I don’t want to give away too much because I want you to come the museum to see the exhibit in person, but I will reveal two other pieces. They were personally collected at the Bingham Mine in Hamiltonban Township, Adams County, by the 1988 Carnegie Mineralogical Award winner, John Sinkankas, who also cut and polished them. The colors in these cabochons are due to the epidote and cuprite in the META-RHYOLITE, which is a silicified, or metamorphosed, RHYOLITE (an extrusive igneous rock).

META-RHYOLITE cabochons purchased from John Sinkankas in 1990.

Besides those pieces mentioned here, you will also see faceted gemstones of QUARTZ, AMETHYST, SMOKY QUARTZ, AQUAMARINE, and TITANITE; cabochons of MALACHITE, BLUE QUARTZ, SUNSTONE, and AMAZONITE; and polished spheres of COPPER & QUARTZ, and BLUE QUARTZ. The Cut and Polished Pennsylvania Gems and Minerals will be on exhibit in Wertz Gallery at least through the end of summer. Don’t miss it!

May 3, 2019 by wpengine

Is Jabba the Hutt a Slug?

Jabba the Hutt action figure — Image credit: Tomasz Mikołajczyk from Pixabay.

The movie Star Wars introduced us to Jabba the Hutt, with a slug-like body form. In the movie, he was an unsavory character and notorious Crime Lord with a fondness for Princess Leia.

Was Jabba the Hutt a real slug, or did he just look like one? In biology, we know that creatures can look similar either by descent or convergence. Two individuals that look similar by descent implies that their past common ancestor also looked similar. An example of similarity by descent is crows and canaries, that fly and look similar because their common ancestor could fly and looked similar. On the other hand, two individuals that look similar by convergence implies that their past common ancestor looked different, but they acquired their similar features independently. An example of similarity by convergence is birds and bats, that both fly and have wings, but their common ancestor did not fly or have wings.

It is easy to notice that Jabba the Hutt has a body shape like a slug, but I also noticed that he has features of other groups of creatures, for example, he has arms with fingers, as many tetrapod vertebrate animals have.

California banana slug (*Ariolimax cf californicus*), photo by Tim Pearce.

To evaluate whether Jabba the Hutt is slug-like because he is a real slug by descent or due to convergence, let’s compare Jabba the Hutt’s features with those of slugs and tetrapod vertebrates.

Table comparing 10 features of Jabba the Hutt to those of slugs and Tetrapoda

table comparing Jabba the Hutt to slugs vs. tetrapod vertebrates

The table shows that Jabba the Hutt’s features match those of Tetrapoda in 9 out of 10 features (checked off in the table), suggesting he belongs to Tetrapoda vertebrates.

I conclude that Jabba the Hutt was not a slug.

I note that one can find suggestions on the internet that Jabba the Hutt had a skeleton, which is further support for my conclusion that he was not a slug.

Finally, I want to note that slugs can be very nice creatures. Comparing the villainous Jabba to a slug is disrespectful to slugs.

May 1, 2019 by wpengine

What’s in the Rivers?

We all know that Pittsburgh has three rivers – it’s one of the first things you learn about Pittsburgh! There’s the Allegheny, the Monongahela, and the two rivers meet to form the Ohio River. But have you ever wondered what kinds of creatures might be lurking beneath the three rivers’ surfaces?

A channel catfish sits on the floor of a river.

Three Rivers Thrive

The three rivers are currently home to almost 70 different species of fish! Some of the most common fish found in the rivers are:

-Smallmouth Bass

-Rock Bass

-Muskellunge

-Channel Catfish

-Flathead Catfish

-Freshwater Drums

-Sauger

-Common Carp

You may have heard of a few of these before – bass and catfish are well known fish – but did you know that some of these watery creatures can grow to be more than 3 feet in length? A flathead catfish, for example, can grow to be more than three and a half feet long and can weigh more than 40 pounds! That’s crazy!

Fish Flourish

When the rivers flourish and are filled with fish, they draw predators such as bald eagles and ospreys to the Pittsburgh area. In the 1970s, work began to restore the water quality of the three rivers back to good health. Since then, as the waters have become less polluted, more diverse fish have been found in the rivers and streams of Western Pennsylvania – allowing other aquatic creatures to thrive, like river otters.

A river otter at the Pittsburgh Zoo sits on a log.

Keeping Pittsburgh Clean

We’ve made a lot of progress in cleaning our rivers during the past 50 years. However, there is still quite a lot of work to be done. One way to keep track of the progress we’ve made is by monitoring the water quality of streams and watersheds in the Pittsburgh area. Allegheny College’s Creek Connections is an organization that works with Pittsburgh-area schools to monitor the health of local water sources. For more information on Creek Connections’ work you can visit https://sites.allegheny.edu/creekconnections/.

Students working with Allegheny College’s Creek Connections inspect a crayfish found in a local stream.

You Otter Be Kidding Me

Because of pollution and environmental destruction, the river otter population in Western Pennsylvania was almost extinct in the 1900s. To help, conservationists spent years working on rebuilding habitats and cleaning the rivers before finally reintroducing river otters to the Pittsburgh area in 1982. Since then, river otters have continued to reclaim their habitat along the three rivers.

Explore nature together. Visit Nature 360 for activities and information.

Blog post by Melissa Cagan.

April 26, 2019 by wpengine

One of the Best Kept Secrets: The Collaboration of the Carnegie Museum and Shady Side Academy Middle School 2014 – 2019

Each spring, when the Robin first appear on the landscape, 70 students from Shady Side Academy Middle School in Fox Chapel, descend upon the Carnegie Museum for their yearly four-hour tour. Led by National Earth Science Teacher of the Year Award Winner, Matt Brunner, the seventy students are divided into four groups that partake in arranged educational activities that last 45 minutes each. One of the most important activities is lunch, without which, the entire school visit would collapse – seriously! Each group is toured by museum educators and staff i.e., interpreters for the natural history exhibits and CMOA art staff for that class. A unique, behind the scenes fossil and geology workshop in invertebrate paleontology is the highlight of the visit. After Mr. Brunner started teaching at Shady Side Academy in 2004, we developed a behind the scenes Earth Science learning/activities class. Years later, the class has become very popular with the students, chaperones and school administrators. Continuing with this collaboration, Matt developed an energy debate class for his sixth graders, which focuses on fossil fuels and other sources of energy in the student’s daily lives. To help address the student’s questions on energy, Matt invited Ray Follador and me, and other scientists to come to Shady Side Academy to talk about the use of fossil fuels, nuclear, and renewables in energy production. Each January, 70 bleary eyed sixth graders wait in anticipation for our 8 AM to 8:45 class in the school auditorium. The class is divided into two ten-minute PowerPoint presentations, a Question and Answer session, and the use of a 200-foot long rope, that fully engage the entire class to help visualize the depth of the Marcellus Shale Gas Deposit below the school parking lot.

Shady Side Academy Middle School visit to the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology, April 03, 2019. Back row. left to right, Matt Brunner, Albert Kollar, Ray Follador, Tara Pallas-Sheetz

Behind the Scenes in Invertebrate Paleontology: As each class of 18 students enter the Invertebrate Paleontology office, they are asked to sit down on the carpeted floor for a brief introduction to the section’s staff, and to sign their names to a gallon-size zip-lock plastic bag and a copy of the section’s Geology and Fossils Coloring Book. The class is then divided into three equal groups that rotate among the three scheduled activities that last approximately ten – twelve minutes each. The fossil activities include, 1. Breaking fossil rocks on the one-hundred-year-old rock breaker coordinated by Tara Pallas-Sheetz. 2. Building a fossil and rock kit from duplicate (non-accessioned) fossils with geologist Ray Follador. 3. Learning about the evolution of trilobites, the state fossil of Pennsylvania, Phacops rana (a trilobite) and fossil arthropods such as, eurypterid, horseshoe crab, and cockroach with Albert Kollar. In activity 3, some of the fossils shown on the table are naturally preserved in various colors of yellow, red, gray and black. Keeping in mind the fossil colors, each student is asked to use colored pencils to color in the black and white illustrations of arthropods on page 35 in the coloring book. For many students, this activity showcases their artistic talents. All students are encouraged to handle fossils and ask questions. Each group keeps their fossil kits and each student keeps the fossils collected from the rock trimmer activity (the reason for the plastic bag). The invertebrate paleontology learning activity class is later reviewed by Mr. Brunner in his Earth Science classes at Shady Side Academy.

Albert D. Kollar and Tara Pallas-Sheetz, Section of Invertebrate Paleontology

Ray Follador, Pittsburgh Geological Society

Matt Brunner, Shady Side Academy Middle School

April 23, 2019 by wpengine

Broken Egg Evidence

Challenges involving eggs aren’t limited to the Easter season. The pictures below are of songbird egg shells I came across in early July of 2018. Each fragment hints at a different outcome for the developing bird that once occupied the structure. My speculation about those outcomes is mainly informed by details about the places where the shells were found, critical information not captured in the photographs.

This northern cardinal egg shell fragment rested on a brick sidewalk near a forsythia bush where a pair of the birds had been observed nesting. Blue jays frequented the area, as did eastern chipmunks. Either could have removed an egg from the nest, broken the shell, eaten much of the contents, and left drying yolk for ants to scavenge.

It’s likely this wood thrush egg fragment was deliberately dropped by a parent bird as part of routine post-hatch nest-keeping duties. The blue shell rested on a gravel State Game Lands road inMercer County, a place that echoed with flute-like Wood Thrush song. The fragment’s spotless interior was evidence that this egg had almost certainly been opened by its occupant rather than a nest visitor.

April 22, 2019 by wpengine

Avengers Scavenger Hunt at the Museum

https://www.tumblr.com/carnegiemuseumnaturalhistory/184370461166/infinity-stones-groot-a-hulk-we-got-em-try

This event has ended. Keep an eye on our website and social media for more fun events!

April 19, 2019 by wpengine

More Info: Steel City Nature Challenge on the Blog: Here We Go Pittsburgh!

Ever wondered what wildlife is thriving in your city? One way to learn about what is in your backyard is to team up with other people to explore nature through the City Nature Challenge! The competition has been running since 2016, beginning in California, and growing into an international event. This year people will be participating from Antarctica to India!

We Need Your Help!

Your challenge is to look around and take pictures of as many types of plants, animals, and fungi as you can in four days! Cities around the world are competing with each other to see who can log the most observations on iNaturalist (a free online and mobile application) – and we want Pittsburgh to have its best year yet! This year, the City Nature Challenge takes place in two stages: the first part is April 26 – April 29 and the second part is April 30 – May 5. We’re calling for anyone in the Allegheny, Butler, Washington, Armstrong, Beaver, and Westmoreland counties to put their exploring hats on and help us identify the wildlife in our area!

bird on a post — Spring is a great time to go outside and look for wildlife!

Three Simple Steps

All you need to remember to participate are these steps:

1. Find Wildlife!

2. Take Pictures!

3. Share your Findings on iNaturalist!

Stage One: April 26 – April 29

Take a picture of every wild plant or animal you find, even if it’s something you see every day! Only photos taken during this period of time will count for the Challenge. Last year the City Nature Challenge had over 420,000 observations – can we get even more this year?

Places to look for wildlife: your backyard, local parks, hiking trails, gardens.

Stage Two: April 30 – May 5

Identify what you’ve found and explore others’ observations! You can confirm other people’s identifications or suggest a different identification. If you receive two confirmations for a picture you’ve shared, you’ve got yourself a research grade identification! Cool!

How Do I Use iNaturalist?

Below are two videos to help you navigate iNaturalist. The first will explain how you can upload observations onto iNaturalist for stage one. The second will show you how you can identify others’ observations during stage two.

Stage One: Uploading Observations

Stage Two: Identify and Confirm Observations

image has text at the top that says City Nature Challenge is Organized By, underneath the text are logos for California Academy of Sciences and Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

Explore nature together. Visit Nature 360 for activities and information.

Blog post by Melissa Cagan.

April 17, 2019 by wpengine

Defeating Thanos and his Malthusian Mission of Population Control

Thomas Robert Malthus penned an essay on population growth in 1798 that mathematically demonstrated the relationship between food and human population. Malthus argued that whenever food supply increases, population rapidly grows to eliminate the abundance resulting in perpetual human suffering unless we control human population. From bacteria growing in a petri dish to lynx feeding on hares, Malthus’ essays on the principle of population are essential tools to ecologists forecasting population changes relative to resources. Malthus’ ideas also greatly influenced the early architects of the theory of evolution and sparked a great deal of debate on the improvement of society, birth rates, and forced sterilization. In fact, Malthus’ work is usually taught with care in today’s classrooms and museums because of its role in the development of eugenics and policies that violate human rights.

Malthus died almost 200 years ago, but his legacy continues to appear in debates on sustainability and to inspire apocalyptic plots in science and popular culture. One of the best-known Malthusians was Charles Dickens’ character Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserable old man who suggested that the poor ought to perish sooner rather than later to “decrease the surplus population.” Another example is Aldous Huxley’s novel Brave New World, which was based on a society where people were mass produced using in vitro technology to precisely control the population and people wear their contraception on so called “Malthusian belts.” And, today, Malthus’ latest incarnation comes as the supervillain Thanos in Avengers: Endgame, the next film from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Over the course of many films, we follow Thanos on a Malthusian mission to wipe out half of all living things to achieve a “perfect balance” in the universe and to eliminate suffering caused by limited resources, a hard choice requiring Thanos’ strong will.

Thanos action figure — Credit: Krikkiat / Shutterstock.com

Despite the fact that wildlife populations repeatedly demonstrate Malthus’ principles of resources and population growth followed by population crashes, nearly all predictions of human suffering forecasted by Malthusians have been proven wrong. The world has generally gotten better with less human suffering as quality of life rises every year since Malthus’ first predictions. For decades apocalyptic predictions by biologists who studied butterflies and bacteria have not been realized because there was no way to account for the innovative abilities of human beings. We humans have radically altered our population and quality of life with inventions like vaccines and chemical fertilizers. Of course, population size and growth underlie nearly every measure of environmental impact in existence, but our ingenuity as a species has tended to prevent human suffering at the apocalyptic scales predicted by Malthusians.

When it comes to innovation for solving big problems caused by human population size and growth, like climate change and extinction, diversity matters. Unlike the world Malthus knew 200 years ago, the source pool for innovative solutions consists of over 7 billion people and includes women, people of color, and others who have been historically suppressed. Diversity leads to more creative and more novel solutions to problems; this has been proven in ecosystems with high amounts of biodiversity, companies with diverse workforces, and, maybe, diverse teams of superheroes defeating Thanos. In the upcoming battle for balance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, diversity in numbers may be their greatest strength. Is diversity in numbers our greatest strength for solving our biggest problems, like climate change and extinctions?

female Avengers action figures — Credit: Krikkiat / Shutterstock.com

As far as decent ways to balance birth and death on our finite planet, the best strategy seems to be liberating girls and women around the world. In fact, family size shrinks, and quality of life almost always improves when girls are allowed to go to school, when women are allowed to earn money, and when contraceptives are available. Equity for women worldwide sounds like something we can all support regardless of our current planetary boundaries.

April 15, 2019 by wpengine

Holy Vibrissae Batman!

black cat face with the word wow in comic book lettering

Boom! Pow! When you think of superheroes, who do you think of? Wonder Woman? Black Panther? Batman? Well, did you know that there’s a superhero you’ve likely met that might even live in your house? It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s a cat! Yup, that’s right…cats have superpowers!

My Feline Senses Are Tingling

Cats can “see” what’s around them even in the dark, detect predators, and almost always land on their feet. How can cats do this? All of these superpowers are helped by a kind of radar you’ve seen right on their face – whiskers! Whiskers, also called vibrissae, are long, thick hairs that are packed with “super” nerves and are sensitive enough to detect even the slightest movements of air. At the end of each vibrissa is an organ which tells the cat about the position of its body and legs, helping them move stealthily and react quickly.

black cat face with the word cool in comic book lettering

Mind Reading

Vibrissae on a cat can also act as a “cat-signal” to let people know what that cat is feeling. When a cat is relaxed, its whiskers will mostly be still and at rest. One “cat-signal” to watch out for are whiskers that are bunched together and lying flat on the cat’s face. In this case, the cat is telling you “back off” or “I’m scared” so you should give that cat some space – you don’t want that cat to “hulk out” on you! You can also tell when a cat is going into hunter-mode when its whiskers are pointed slightly forward.

Rule Number One

If you are the sidekick to a super-cat at home, you must remember one thing: never cut or trim your cat’s whiskers. Cutting a cat’s whiskers will leave them scared and disoriented. Whiskers can be shed and grown back naturally. So don’t mess with a cat’s whiskers! Hands off!

Secret Weapon

Did you know that cats have whiskers in places other than their nose? It’s true! Cats have whiskers above their eyes (like very long eyebrows), on their chin, and even on the back of their front legs! Whiskers on the back of a cat’s front legs help with catching and trapping prey. These vibrissae tell the cat whether their prey is struggling or trying to escape. It’s their secret weapon!

Imagine you could have the superpower of anything in nature. What power would you choose?

Night Vision

Owls can see well in the dark thanks to sensitive retinal rods and a layer of tissue in their eyes that reflects light. An owl’s eyes are so big, they can even take up 3% of its body weight!

Super-Smell

This absurd-looking plant is known by a dramatic name – the corpse flower. The reason for this name is the extremely foul odor that the flower emits when it blooms, which smells like a rotting corpse.

Lightning Speed

Peregrine Falcons are the world’s fastest animal. They can reach speeds of over 200 mph when going into a dive, making them especially deadly predators.

Regeneration

Did you know that salamanders can regrow entire limbs and even organs? A salamander might even sacrifice a tail or limb as a defense mechanism, knowing it can regrow it once the salamander gets to safety.

Explore nature together. Visit Nature 360 for activities and information.

Blog post by Melissa Cagan.

April 12, 2019 by wpengine

Otto Emery Jennings Honored in New Exhibit at Jennings Environmental Education Center

Carnegie Museum of Natural History herbarium specimen from Jennings EEC. (Photo credit: Bonnie Isaac)

I had the privilege of attending the opening of the new exhibit at Jennings Environmental Education Center on Saturday April 6th. The new exhibit is in honor of our very own Otto Emery Jennings. The exhibit highlights Jennings and the research he did while employed by The Carnegie Museum.

Reproduction of Jennings’ desk. (Photo credit: Bonnie Isaac)

There is a desk with reproductions of items from Jennings’ career on it and a small speaker that plays an actual voice recording. This was the first time I got to hear the voice of Otto.

Video of Bonnie Isaac talking about Otto Jennings. (Photo Credit: Bonnie Isaac)

There is also an interactive video with folks talking about why Jennings EEC is an important place. I am one of those talking heads, which is why I was invited to the opening. Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn of the Department of Conservation & Natural Resources attended to thank the people who helped with the exhibit, which took about 3 years to create.

Bonnie Isaac talking to DCNR Secretary Dunn. (Photo Credit: Joe Isaac)

It was an honor and a privilege for me to help these great folks. Carnegie Museum of Natural History is given credit throughout the exhibit for helping with content. If you get a chance to get out to Jennings EEC you should check out the exhibits about Otto and the prairie that is named after him. They did a great job!

Bonnie Isaac is the Collection Manager in the Section of Botany. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

April 10, 2019 by wpengine

Another Reason to Love Ladybugs

The Marsh Machine at Powdermill is great for recycling the nature center’s wastewater. It’s also great for building up huge populations of pests, such as aphids, scales, and mealy bugs (Picture 1). These plant-feeding insects thrive in the warm greenhouse environment, free from the natural predators they would encounter in an outdoor setting.

So what would be the logical solution to combatting these pests, which are highly destructive to the Marsh Machine plants that are working so hard to treat our wastewater? Bring the predators in, of course! The convergent ladybug (Hippodamia convergens), is a native predatory beetle that prefers just the types of insects that infest the Marsh Machine. We purchased 4,000 of these ladybugs (Picture 2) and have just released them into our greenhouse. The voracious predators immediately began their search and started feasting on a buffet of teeny bugs (Picture 3).

According to our ladybug vendor, each adult ladybug can consume about 5,000 aphids in its lifetime! The adult females lay about 10-15 eggs a day, and the larvae that hatch out consume 50-60 aphids per day. At this rate, we anticipate our infestation will be under control in no time!

Note: While releasing ladybugs is an effective way to control greenhouse pests, releasing them outdoors generally results in the ladybugs flying away from the intended target, so keep this in mind when considering pest control options in your own backyard. Other options include eliminating the use of pesticides, which also kill the beneficial predators (and pollinators), and gardening with native plants, which are adapted to defend against native pests.

April 5, 2019 by wpengine

What Makes Reptiles So Unique?

What makes reptiles so unique? Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles, Jennifer Sheridan, shares some of her favorite facts about the unique adaptations of reptiles including flying lizards and flying snakes. She also addresses how human activities impact reptiles like turtles, and how they adapt to changes in climate.

Ask a Scientist is a video series where we ask our research staff questions about the millions of amazing objects and specimens stored in our museum collection. Tune in on YouTube, and submit your own questions at https://carnegiemnh.org/visitor/ask-a-scientist-videos/

April 1, 2019 by wpengine

Bayet’s Bounty: The Invertebrates That Time Forgot

book about the baron de bayet collection

interior of book about baron de bayet collection

Albert Kollar, Collections Manager for the Carnegie Museum of Natural History Section of Invertebrate Paleontology, is on a mission to re-examine the Bayet Collection, a collection of 130,000 invertebrate and vertebrate fossils brought to the Carnegie more than 100 years ago. Albert is re-examining the invertebrate portion of the Bayet (pronounced “Bye-aye”), which as it turns out, is 99.9% of the collection.

The story starts with a last-minute trip that began on July 8, 1903 by Carnegie Director William Holland, who had received word of a world-class fossil collection that had been put up for sale in Europe by the Baron de Bayet, secretary to the cabinet of Leopold II of Belgium. Holland immediately booked passage to Europe on the steamer “New York” to complete the deal. At stake were 130,000 invertebrates, combined with a small number of vertebrate fossils (several on display in the Dinosaurs in Their Time exhibition), sought by museums throughout Europe, Great Britain and the United States. This collection became the largest addition to the department of paleontology at the Carnegie Institute, since the discovery of the dinosaur Diplodocus carnegii, at Sheep Creek, Wyoming in 1899.

Mr. Carnegie personally wrote a check for $25,000 for the project, a sum so large it exceeded the entire 1903 budget for all art and natural history acquisitions combined. Eventually, Mr. Holland negotiated a price of just under $21,000 with the Baron de Bayet for the entire collection. Another $2,300 was spent to pack, insure and transport everything back to Pittsburgh. Twenty men and women worked for three weeks to meticulously wrap each fossil in cotton, batting, or straw and by September 1903, two hundred and fifty-nine crates arrived safely in Pittsburgh. Storage of the crates was an issue, since the Carnegie Museum building would not be completed until 1907; so Mr. Holland rented space in a warehouse on 3^rdStreet in Pittsburgh for storage of 210 of the 259 crates.

This decision, however, almost destroyed the collection when a fire broke out on the upper floors of the 3^rdStreet warehouse. On December 30, 1903, Mr. Holland wrote, “Yesterday brought with it a fire in which it appeared as if the Bayet collection, the acquisition of which we had so prided ourselves, was destined to go up in smoke.” Fortunately, the Pittsburgh Fire Department contained the fire to the upper floors and the Bayet collection, stored on the lower floor, and meticulously wrapped and crated, survived with minimal damage. The crates returned to the Carnegie Institute to dry out.

In early 1904, William Holland hired Dr. Percy Raymond, a graduate of Yale University, to be the first curator of Invertebrate Paleontology. His primary directive was to catalog and organize the Invertebrate portion of the Bayet collection. Today, over 100 years later, Albert Kollar with the help of Pitt Geology student E. Kevin Love, is undertaking a multi-year project to translate Percy Raymond’s beautifully hand-written catalogs and to migrate all 130,000 specimens into a new database.

Pictured below is (BH1) the very first Bayet specimen cataloged by Percy Raymond. BH1 is an exquisite 510-million-year-old, CM 1828 Paradoxides spinosus, a 17.17 cm or 7” long trilobite from Skreje, Bohemia – or the Czech Republic of today.

Albert’s goal in revisiting the Bayet collection is to better understand the great history of the how, why and where of fossils collected in the late 19^thcentury, especially in Europe the birthplace of paleontology and geology. “This project will give us insight into why certain Bayet fossils were recovered from classic European fossil localities, many of which are designated stratotype (significant geologic time reference) regions. These fossils and localities have been used to document the validity of evolution, extinction, and the Geologic Time Scale over the last 100 years. With an improved database, we hope to better appreciate the scientific value of the entire collection and create new statistical measures for future research and education.”

When asked if he expected any surprises as we go forward, Albert smiled, “Not until all the data has been analyzed will we have an opportunity to review the collection’s full scientific worth.”

Check back in a few months, Bayet’s invertebrates may have a few secrets yet to share.

Many thanks to Carnegie Museum Library Manager, Xianghua Sun for help researching this post.

Joann Wilson is an Interpreter in the Education department at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

March 29, 2019 by wpengine

Adventures with Taiji Nelson

“If you stop and look with some intention, you can find some really amazing things…”

Frick Park has an extensive network of trails and is home to more wildlife than you might imagine. Taiji Nelson is there to help you explore it all.

“When nature shows up for you as an educator, it’s so great…”

Taiji works for the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy at the Frick Environmental Center as a Naturalist Educator. What does that mean? It means that he works with middle school and high school students to look at ecosystems in the parks and restore park health. He shows students how parks can connect communities and introduce people to nature.

A red-belied woodpecker sips from a water droplet.

“Finding a salamander, finding a snake, finding an owl…you don’t expect to be able to see that kind of stuff in the middle of a city, in the middle of Pittsburgh, but it’s out here.”

“An interest in nature can be a really strong force to connect people.”

Taiji loves parks because he thinks they are places where groups of people can come together and be excited about being outside.

“There’s a ton of value in bringing people with different perspectives together. Being a queer person of color, I understand the value of meeting people who think differently than you and being able to find common ground.”

“I’m the hype man for nature.”

Nature is always there for adventurers who want to see new and exciting things. Taiji is there to guide those adventurers along.

A World of Wonder

In the parks, Taiji has seen all sorts of interesting sights. There are always birds flying from tree to tree, there are great horned owls that come out when it gets dark, and even a beaver that’s been known to frequent a stream in the park’s ravine.

Explore nature together. Visit Nature 360 for activities and information.

Blog post by Melissa Cagan.

March 26, 2019 by wpengine

New Mineral Acquisitions

I had a successful trip to Tucson, Arizona in January/February of this year. This is an annual event where the Section of Minerals participates in the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show by not only exhibiting a mineral display, the Carnegie Mineralogical Award is also presented during the show, and many of the minerals acquired for the collection are found amongst the dozens of venues around the city where vendors are selling their specimens. Numerous motels turned into shopping centers starting as early as January 28^th, where each room is a separate store for an individual vendor. Tent shows were set up along streets and in parking lots. The Tucson Convention Center housed two major shows: The American Gem Trade Association Show (AGTA), which was held February 5^ththrough 10^th, and the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show, which was held February 14^ththrough 17^th. In total, I brought back 10 specimens acquired for the collection, five of which were acquired specifically for exhibit in Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems or Wertz Gallery: Gems and Jewelry. Two gemstones were put on display in the “What is a Gemstone?” exhibit in Wertz Gallery on March 12^th: a 44.27 carat, cushion cut spodumene from Afghanistan, and a 7.08 carat, trillion cut titanite (also known as sphene) from Zimbabwe.

CM33876: 44.27 carat spodumene, Afghanistan

A special exhibit to highlight the museums acquisitions will be put in Hillman Hall on March 26^ththat will feature a world class Kermesite specimen from China. This specimen measures 20 cm and is probably the finest example of its species in the world. The largest kermesite in our collection prior to this acquisition is only 3cm.

CM33868: Kermesite, Caiwa mine, Shaanxi, China

Two other specimens will be going on display soon in the Systematic Collection area of Hillman Hall: a blue tabular beryl from Afghanistan in the Silicates 2 case, and a bornite from Montana in the Sulfides 2 case. The beryl is a recent discovery in Afghanistan that is different than any other type of beryl, while the bornite was collected sometime in the 1950s in Butte, Montana which is known as the best locality in the United States for this species. Watch for announcements of when these two special pieces go on exhibit!

CM33875: Blue Alkali Beryl, Deo Darrah mine, Badakhshan, Afghanistan, 4.4 cm across

CM33877: Bornite, Butte, Montana, 6.6 cm across

March 22, 2019 by wpengine

So, Just What is a Wheel Bug?

As March was approaching, I knew I was ‘on deck’ to produce a blog entry originating from our Section of Invertebrate Zoology. Looking at the calendar, I saw that the deadline would land around the 15^thof the month, and something nagged at me about that date – what was the significance? Why, yes – the Ides of March was looming! Shakespeare’s Caesar failed to heed the warnings, and in the end… met his assassin…

So, let’s take a look at an insect that carries the moniker of “assassin bug” – a species that possesses a bite of which everyone should truly beware. The insect is Arilus cristatus (Linnaeus), a species of ‘true bug’ in the order Heteroptera, in the family Reduviidae, collectively known as the assassin bugs. Arilus cristatus also carries the common name of ‘wheel bug’ due to the distinctive, serrated crest on its pronotum that in profile resembles a portion of a wheel or gear. No other insect in the United States possesses such a structure and the ‘wheel’ allows this species to be readily identified. In addition to the odd cog-like crest, the bug is large – nearly 1 ½ inches in length in mature adults and is dull gray in coloration. The immatures, or nymphs, look entirely different – they are small, bright red and lack the ‘wheel.’

Wheel bug, Arilus cristatus (Linnaeus) (Heteroptera: Reduviidae) (Image ©Rich Kelly, New Hyde Park, NY. Used with permission)

The wheel bug occurs throughout the southern half of the United States, ranging northward to the upper Midwest and southern New England. While Southwest Pennsylvania is within its natural distributional range, it appears to have become more common in our area over the last decade. People began bringing specimens into the museum for identification at an increasing rate starting around 10 or so years ago. While the evidence is anecdotal, the apparent increase in their abundance in our area could be a result of our changing climate – as our region becomes warmer on average, the environment becomes more suitable for the wheel bug, allowing it to thrive. Another potential factor for its increased numbers in our area is the introduction of an invasive species, the brown marmorated stinkbug, Halyomorpha halys Stål — a true bug species native to eastern Asia. With an increase in easily captured prey, the wheel bug may be exploiting this new food source. On a number of occasions, I have witnessed wheel bugs feeding on the introduced stinkbugs in the field.

Immature of the wheel bug, Arilus cristatus (Image ©Seth Ausubel, Washington Crossing, PA. Used with permission)

All of the reduviids are predatory on other invertebrates, using their beak-like mouthparts to pierce their prey and inject a powerful mix of enzymes that kills and begins digesting their prey from the inside, similar to the feeding habits of spiders. I can attest, from personal experience, to the extreme pain this insect can inflict by its bite. Wheel bugs, like many Insects, can be attracted to lights at night, and while collecting around some bright gas station lights some years ago, I foolishly decided to pick one up by the wheel with my bare fingers, assuming it could not reach me with its relatively short beak – and oh, how wrong I was! The initial bite was not terribly bad, but unusual, feeling like a tiny electrical shock. In less than a minute, however, a sharp, burning sensation began spreading the length of my thumb. The pain reached a crescendo in about 5 minutes and stayed at that level for several hours. The next day, the burning had subsided, but was replaced by a dull, throbbing ache that felt as if I’d smashed my thumb with a hammer. That discomfort persisted for a couple more days, yet oddly, there was no swelling and no obvious redness or sore at the site of the bite.

Arilus cristatus feeding on a hymenopteran (Image ©Seth Ausubel, Washington Crossing, PA. Used with permission)

While the bite of the wheel bug can certainly be a painful experience, and potentially worse in individuals that have a sensitivity or allergic reaction to the bite, they are rightfully considered a beneficial insect. Their predatory behavior helps rid gardens and forests of a wide variety of pest insects, from leaf-feeding beetles to caterpillars — a process of natural pest elimination known as biocontrol. So, if you should encounter a wheel bug — mid- to late summer is their peak time of activity — enjoy observing this odd insect and appreciate it for the role it plays in the environment. But heed my warning — resist any temptation to pick it up for a closer look!

Bob Androw is a Scientific Preparator in Invertebrate Zoology. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

March 20, 2019 by wpengine

Frosty Frogs and Tunneling Toads

by Melissa Cagan and Hannah Smith

In the fall, many animals begin to prepare for winter. Squirrels collect food, groundhogs eat extra food to store as fat, birds migrate to warmer regions…but what do frogs do? Although frogs and toads don’t seem to make any special preparations for the approaching cold, they survive extraordinarily cold temperatures every winter. How do they manage this?

An American toad hops through fallen leaves.

A Long Winter “Nap”

Like other amphibians, frogs and toads are cold-blooded. This means their body temperatures change to match the temperatures of their environment. When winter comes around, frogs and toads go into a state of hibernation. They find a place to “sleep” through winter and slow their metabolism, heart rate, and breathing rate to conserve energy. Frogs and toads rely on two different hibernation strategies depending on whether they spend more time on land or underwater.

Above are models of three different sized frogs. The largest model is a leopard frog, the medium model is a grey tree frog, and the smallest model is a spring peeper.

Beneath the Icy Ground

Aquatic species, such as the green frog and the bullfrog, rest on pond or river bottoms. So long as the water doesn’t completely freeze, frogs or underwater toads will be able to survive the winter…by breathing through their skin! If these animals buried themselves in mud, they would not be able to absorb enough oxygen. Species that spend more time on land however, such as the American toad or the spring peeper, find drier places to sleep the winter away. Since the ground surface can freeze when temperatures drop dramatically, land frogs and toads need to find places that protect them from snow or frost. This may require a frog or toad to dig deeply enough into the ground that they reach below the frost line – around 50 cm. or more than 20 in. deep!

Frogging Awesome!

Frogs and toads are much tougher animals than you might imagine. Next time you see a frog or a toad, give them a tip of your hat – they are exceptionally hardy (resilient) creatures!

Frozen Frogs

A few, unique species of frogs have found a different way of dealing with cold temperatures. These frogs, like the wood frog and some tree frogs, actually freeze part of their body! These special creatures are able to freeze around 40% of their body’s water content. In this state, the frogs don’t breathe, have no heartbeat, and stop all blood flow. Once spring comes, the frog thaws its body and comes back to life!

Can You Find the Frogs?

Frogs are great at hiding amongst their environment. They often hide in reeds, plants, and on the banks of ponds or other bodies of water. There are frogs hiding in each of these photos…how many can you find?

March Mammal Madness Update

sabertooth cat fossil on black background with yellow dandelions

It’s time to break out the big cats.

Last night’s matches pitted various “cats” against each other, although some cats were only cats in name (for example, the catfish and antlion).

Our most anticipated match had a nimravid (a fossil false sabertooth cat) versus a dandelion. We weren’t sure if the nimravid would only be fossilized bones and stand little chance against the dandelion, or if the nimravid would come to life and be allergic to dandelions. So when the contest began, the nimravid was alive but it began sneezing and as a by-product bit down decapitating the fearsome dandelion. If you fancy seeing a real nimravid, there is one on display in Cenozoic Hall at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

For more details on this year’s tournament, click here.

Blog post courtesy of the Section of Mammals.

March 18, 2019 by wpengine

New Zealand, Realm of Birds

I recently returned from three weeks’ vacation on New Zealand’s South Island. I had expected to see bazillions of sheep (I heard there were 7 sheep for every person in New Zealand), but I found that New Zealand is characterized by birds and ferns (and although we saw lots of sheep, many farmers are turning to dairy). In this post, I’ll touch on the birds of New Zealand.

Kiwi bird. Photo courtesy of Kiwi Birdlife Park.

Before humans arrived, the only land mammals on New Zealand were two species of bats and a now-extinct mouse. That left birds to radiate into numerous niches, and without ground-based predators, many birds became flightless and fearless. (The fearsome Haast eagle, with a wingspan up to 3 m or 10 ft, hunted from the air, but is now extinct.)

42% of the bird species have become extinct since year 1300. New Zealand was colonized by humans comparatively recently: Polynesians, who became the Maori people, arrived about year 1300 AD and brought the Polynesian rat, or kiore, which started to harm ground-nesting birds, and the Maori wiped out the large, herbivorous moa birds (evidently, they were tasty). Europeans colonized in the 1800s and brought mammals that further devastated the bird fauna: Norway rats, cats, and stoats (relatives of weasels).

The New Zealand Department of Conservation traps and poisons the mammals, which helps some birds recover. Mammal lovers who oppose the control efforts don’t offer an alternate plan, but without control, even more birds would now be extinct. There is a move toward complete eradication of the introduced mammalian predators by 2050.

One of the widespread and friendly flightless birds is the weka. It is a member of the rail family and is roughly the size of a chicken. I tried to show one weka how to read a map, but I think it had trouble understanding my U.S. accent (see photo).

weka bird and man with a map — Weka, one of the flightless birds of New Zealand. Photo by Alice W. Doolittle.

Thanks to conservation efforts, five species of kiwi birds still live in New Zealand. They are primarily nocturnal, and we were fortunate to see some at Kiwi Birdlife Park (see photo). The mother kiwi lays an unusually large egg that is about a quarter of her mass (I imagine her saying ouch at egg laying). Recent DNA evidence suggests the kiwi is more closely related to the (extinct) elephant bird of Madagascar than to the (extinct) moa of New Zealand. I believe the large size of the kiwi’s egg relative to its body size could be from evolution shrinking the adult size faster than it shrank the egg size. Kiwis have a very long proboscis, and the Maori name for one of the kiwi species translates to weka with a walking stick. Kiwis are the only bird with nostrils at the end of its proboscis. Given that bill length is measured from the nostrils to the tip, despite its prodigious nasal protuberance, technically the kiwi has the shortest bill of any bird!

Timothy A. Pearce is Curator of Collections, Section of Mollusks at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

March 18, 2019 by wpengine

What’s a Shamrock?

There is no overwhelming scientific consensus on which species is the well-known Irish national emblem. There was survey of Irish botanists in the early 1890s asking which species was the “true” shamrock. A similar survey was repeated in 1988. The results suggest the shamrock is either Trifolium dubium(aka “lesser trefoil”) or Trifolium repens (aka “white clover”). The plants commonly sold around St. Patrick’s Day as “shamrocks” or “4-leaf clovers” are in the plant genus Oxalis(“wood sorrel”), which belong to different plant family than true clovers.

Top left: Trifolium repens (collected 1974 in Louisiana), aka “white clover”

Top right: Trifolium dubium (collected 1961 in Pennsylvania), aka “lesser trefoil”

Bottom left: Oxalis tetraphylla (collected 1981 in India), aka “lucky clover,” although not a true clover

Bottom right: Oxalis debilis (collected 1989 in cultivation), aka “pink woodsorrel”

These specimens were recently imaged (along with many others in the legume family, Fabaceae) and are publicly available online.

March 15, 2019 by wpengine

March Mammal Madness

In case you missed it, March Mammal Madness has already started! What you may say is that?

As an alternative to College Basketball’s March Madness, Dr. Katie Hinde, currently at Arizona State University, began a bracket tournament that pits mammals against one another and sometimes other odd creatures.

The Section of Mammals is very excited about this year’s tournament with all staff members having made their predictions. Three of us have picked the Bengal tiger as the ultimate champion, one has the small spotted cat shark, and two others have chosen tag teams (coyote & badger on the one hand and batfly and gammaproteobacteria on the other).

For more details on this year’s tournament, click here.

march mammal madness brackets hung up on a wall

The only repercussion so far is that our lunch time includes a certain amount of trash talk. One of the upsets in the first round was the streaked tenrec defeating the markhor (a small hedgehog-like mammal versus a large screw-horned goat). The markhor had the advantage of size and home turf, but the tenrec won by poking the markhor in the face with its quills.

John Wible is Curator in the Section of Mammals at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences working at the museum.

March 14, 2019 by wpengine

Natural History and a Unified Museum Definition

By Eric Dorfman

person standing in front of a museum exhibit

Much is being said within the museum industry about the definition of museums. ICOM is considering the current definition and whether it needs to be rethought. I think a review is worthwhile, regardless of whether changes are ultimately made. Robust thinking about museums (or any field, in fact), whether related to practice or theory, should be based on the intrinsic nature of the field. Defining museums is a critical step along that journey.

For natural history institutions, whose main business is to study and interpret the diversity of life, the relationship between museums and the state of the Earth must by necessity play an important role in constructing a definition. At the very least, an exploration of this relationship provides a context for natural history museum collections and, at best, it has the power to incite people to explore their identity and connection to one another through the prism of nature.

To some degree, natural history museums can be defined by what they do. At Carnegie Museum of Natural History, we have defined our work through three distinct but interrelated lenses:

The Tree of Life: The study of evolutionary relationships among taxonomic groups,
The Web of Life: The collection-based and in situ study of ecological systems,
The Future of Life: The study of the trajectory of species, populations and ecosystems, especially in the context of anthropogenic disturbances, as well as actions to ameliorate those effects.

The collections and other infrastructure provided by our museum support this work and the story-telling that arises from them.

While the study of evolution and ecosystem relationships is the traditional work of natural history museums, the future of life bears further consideration. By most measures, conditions on the planet we bequeath to our descendants are highly uncertain. Even discounting the seemingly inescapable reality of a future effected anthropogenic climate change, many factors inhibit our predictive ability. Will we run out of power or meat? Will plastic and mercury pollution render produce from the oceans inedible? Will at least some of the planet run out of water in the face of increasing desertification?

These are “wicked problems” (Churchman 1967; Levin et al. 2012) – issues that have so many facets we cannot know the answers, but for which at least some of the alternative outcomes are negative. The interrelationships between these issues create bewildering complexity.

These effects have been recently amalgamated into the concept of the “Anthropocene”, a proposed geological era that reflects human impacts so pervasive as to influence the geological record. These effects will be detectable millions of years from now, by whoever might be looking, as an unprecedented band of plastics, fly ash, radionuclides, metals, pesticides, reactive nitrogen, and consequences of increasing greenhouse gas concentrations (Waters et al. 2016), as well as highly modified fossil composition, featuring an overwhelming preponderance of chicken bones.

How does this ‘Age of Humanity’ structure our visitors’ perceptions and help them phrase questions about their environment? How will it influence our research? Most germane here, how does lack of certainty about the future of the planet influence the museum definition as it pertains to natural history institutions?

A Natural History Perspective

Fifteen of the world’s top natural history museums collectively contain, at rough estimate, almost 570 million specimens[1]. This represents the largest category of collection across the museum industry. Collections underpin the field. Any discussion of a unified perspective of natural history museums must therefore take into account the fact that collections form the basis of much of that is undertaken by natural history museums. This focus on collections, often from deep time, intertwines physical and temporal considerations:

Natural history museums and their collections are often thought of in terms of the past, which is not surprising. We are probably the only scientific research facility that can claim the ability to time travel, albeit in a patchy and far from perfect way. Our business is intimately connected with the past, both recent and deep time, and much of what humans know about the natural world a hundred, a hundred thousand, or a hundred million years ago arises directly or indirectly from the specimens held in our collections. When your child states with certainty that Tyrannosaurus rex lived in the Cretaceous they are, knowingly or unknowingly, drawing on the results of research done using museum collections. Norris, 2017, p. 13.

Norris (ibid.) follows this with a comment: “There is, however, a considerable difference between studying the past and belonging in the past.” Natural history institutions also focus strongly on the present and future and use information about the past uncover, contextualize and predict changes in the world around us.

Natural history museums, sitting at the crux between nature and its artistic representations have an important place in facilitating exploration of personal identity. Inasmuch as enhancing self-perception can have a positive influence on behavior, (see Falk, 2009), natural history museums’ capacity to contribute to society increases as their activities in this sphere become more purposeful. Those visitors who care about wildlife, and there are many, want natural history museums to deepen and expand their understanding. Museums like to feel that they occupy a place of credibility in the hearts and minds of the public that other channels of information, for all their worth, do not (but see Museums Association, 2013). Whether we truly are more credible than other types of institutions or not, our self-perception provides a significant opportunity to strive for best practice.

Albert Bierstadt: Rocky Mountain Landscape

The grounding of natural history museum practice in the study of physical specimens means that these institutions have at least a goal of objectivity, however influenced by curatorial subjectivity the framing of questions can sometimes be (see Dorfman, 2016). The articulation of evidential knowledge, concern over changing political environments, even in quality of governments themselves, is not new, nor restricted to the museum field.

How are museums responding to the melange of environmental, sociopolitical and technological changes that that are beginning to set the context in which they operate? Customer focus and using people’s own languages, both culturally and linguistically, to communicate touches every aspect of activities at natural history museums, including exhibitions, marketing, strategic planning, science, cleaning regimes and providing sufficient seating. Conflating individuals’ perspectives into stereotyped offers based on age, gender, race, socioeconomic background, sexual orientation undermines the relevance on which natural history museums pride themselves. Every institution has the opportunity to provide leadership in the sense that Covey (2005) wrote “…leadership is communicating to people their worth and potential so clearly that they come to see it in themselves.”

For natural history museums, the unique signature of our industry is formed by using collection-based and in situ research to elucidate evolutionary and ecosystem relationships, as well as the intersection of these processes with humanity and its impacts, and then facing these stories outwards to the public. For all the many facets of the work of natural history museums, this is the most important and the aligned with our mission.

The Definition Through the Eyes of Natural History

The current definition of a museum as provided by ICOM is as follows:

A museum is a non-profit, permanent institution in the service of society and its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment for the purposes of education, study and enjoyment. (ICOM Statutes art.3 para.1)

At first blush, much of the definition of the definition as it stands is generic enough to include natural history museums. One question, however, that comes to mind is how well the term “humanity and its environment” fits the practice and perspective of our industry. For one thing, any organism that existed before the evolutionary rise of Homo sapiens (~2mya) could, by this definition, be considered irrelevant to the work of museums. While this is patently not the case, a careful review of the definition should take this wording into consideration.

This semantic argument notwithstanding, the implicit question embodied in the words “its” poses a deeper consideration, namely the ideological friction between the notion of ecosystem valuation versus that of the intrinsic worth of nature. Both these perspectives have their strong adherents.

Formal cost-benefit analyses and the generation of market value were first developed in 1997 by Robert Costanza, Distinguished University Professor of sustainability at Portland State University, Oregon, building on earlier discussions of economic benefits of the environmental (e.g. Rolston, 1988). Constanza and his colleagues calculated that such services were worth US$33 trillion annually, or US$44 trillion in 2019 currency (Constanza, 1997). The rationale for undertaking this exercise is that ecological system services and the natural capital stocks that produce them are critical to the functioning of the Earth’s life-support system for humans. They contribute to humanity’s welfare, both directly and indirectly, and therefore represent part of the total economic value of the planet.

Since then, the field of environmental economics has proliferated and non-market valuation has become a broadly accepted and widely practiced means of measuring the economic value of the environment and natural resources. A variety of methods, including opportunity cost, travel-cost, hedonic price and contingent valuation have been applied in highly nuanced and complex models (e.g. Weber, 2015). In most, but not all cases, environmental goods and services are geared solely toward protecting inter-generational human welfare. For instance, considering mangrove ecosystems, benefits might be characterized by direct ecological yield in the form of fish or timber, contrasting with indirect value, such as filtration services and storm protection. There is also a line of reasoning that suggests that sentimental or “existence” value: simply knowing something exists provides a distinct, discernible benefit (Krutilla 1967).

An opposing viewpoint lies in the philosophy that nature has intrinsic worth and that the environment should be protected based on its own merits without reference to real or potential benefits for humanity (McCauley, 2006). This viewpoint is strongly based in environmental philosophy and ethics (see, for instance Callicott’s 1992 criticism of Rollston, 1988).

Young humpback chub (Gila cypha) swimming in Shinumo Creek, inside Grand Canyon National Park soon after release. They are part of a reintroduction program of this federally protected species with the goal to establish a second population, after they became extinct everywhere except a small part of Little Colorado River. Photo: Melissa Trammell, NPS

For instance, in discussing conservation efforts of the humpback chub (Gila cypha) a large minnow with no value to humans, native to the Colorado River, Smith (2010) suggests that all currently existing (biological) species have their own intrinsic goods, framed in terms of their ability to flourish. Based on this ethical stance alone, it could be argued that even a species like the humpback chub, that competes successfully with economically important introduced species (such as rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss), should be preserved.

The work of natural history museums is firmly rooted in this second philosophy. For one thing, much of the research we do is based on advancing knowledge for its own sake or, like the example of the humpback chub, taking conservation action out of professional ethics and a moral sense that it is the right thing to do. Additionally, natural history institutions, like other types, use the museum medium of engagement to instill empathy with the subject. In the introduction to her book Fostering Empathy Through Museums, Elif Gokcigdem highlights this necessity:

…Having visibly altered our planet’s outermost layers, scientists are debating whether our footprint is worthy of naming an entire geological epoch on Earth’s billions-of-years-old timescale after ourselves: Anthropocene, the Age of Humans… A steady proliferation of new and ever more powerful technological tools seems unable to correct these ills. One must wonder why they have not succeeded. I believe it is because the tools that are at our disposal are most beneficial when filtered through a worldview that values the collective well-being of the “Whole” – our unified humanity and the planet, inclusive of all living beings as well as of its life-supporting natural resources. Such a unifying worldview cannot be attained and sustained without empathy, our inherent ability to perceive and share the feelings of another. (Gokcigdem, 2016. xix)

Connecting people both intellectually and emotionally to the world’s major stories sits firmly within the scope of work of museums. The opportunity to bring people outside themselves to engage more deeply with the world is an element of the definition of that should be incorporated across all its nuanced facets. If the definition of museums chases, these considerations should sit beside many others as influencors of the conversation.

Eric Dorfman is the Daniel G. and Carole L. Kamin Director of Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Footnote

[1] Information taken from the websites of the following museums: Smithsonian Museum of Natural History: 137 million; Natural History Museum (UK): 80 million; Jardin des Plantes: ‎68 million; Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History: 35 million; American Museum of Natural History: 32 million; Naturhistorisches Museum: 30 million; Field Museum: 30 million; Museum für Naturkunde: 30 million; California Academy of Sciences: 26 million; Carnegie Museum of Natural History 22 million; Australian Museum: 21 million Harvard University Natural History Museum 21 million; ; Natural History Museum of Geneva 15 million; Yale Peabody Museum: 13 million; Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales: 6 million. No attempt to verify these figures has been made.

References

Callicott, J. B. 1992. Rolston on intrinsic value: A deconstruction. 1992. Environmental Ethics Vol. 14. Number 2. 129-143.

Churchman, C. W. 1967. Wicked problems. Management Science, Vol. 14, No. 4, pp. B141-142.

Costanza, R., d’Arge, R., de Groot, R., Farber, S., Grasso, M., Hannon, B., Limburg, K., Naeem, S., O’Neill, R. V., Paruelo, J., Raskin, R. G., Sutton, P., van den Belt, M. 1997. ‘The value of the world’s ecosystem services and natural capital,’ Nature, Vol. 387, pp. 253–260.

Covey, S. R. 2005. The Eighth Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness. New York, NY: Free Press.

Dorfman, E.J. 2016. Who owns history? Diverse perspectives on curating an Ancient Egyptian Kestrel. Taipei: Proceedings of the International Biennial Conference of Museum Studies Commemorating the 80th Birthday of Professor Pao-teh Han 30^th and 31^th October 2014.

Dutton, D. 2009. The Art Instinct: Beauty, Pleasure and Human Evolution. New York, NY: Bloomsbury Press.

Falk, J. H. 2009. Identity and the Museum Visitor Experience. New York: Routledge.

Gockigdem, E. 2016. Fostering Empathy Through Museums. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.

Krutilla, J. 1967. Conservation Reconsidered. The American Economic Review, Vol. 57, Issue 4, pp. 777-786.

Latour, B. 2015. Telling friends from foes in the time of the Anthropocene. In: The Anthropocene and the Global Environmental Crisis: Rethinking Modernity in a New Epoch. Edited by Hamilton, C., Bonneiul, C. and Germenne, F. London and New York: Routlege.

Levin, K., Cashore, N., Bernstein, S., and Auld, G. 2012. Overcoming the tragedy of super wicked problems: Constraining our future selves to ameliorate global climate change. Policy Sciences, Vol. 45, No. 2, pp. 123-152.

Louv, R. 2011. The Nature Principle: Reconnecting with Life in a Virtual Age. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books.

McCauley, D. J. 2006. Selling out on nature. Nature 443(7107), p. 27.

Museums Association. 2013. Public perceptions of – and attitudes to – the purposes of museums in society: a report prepared by BritainThinks for Museums Association. Museums Association, London. http://www.museumsassociation.org/download?id=954916 accessed January 13, 2019.

Norris, C. A. 2017. ‘The Future of Natural History Collections,’ in The Future of Natural History Museums. Edited by Eric Dorfman. New York, NY: Routledge, pp. 13-28.

Oxford Dictionaries. 2019. Word of the Year 2018 is… Available at: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/word-of-the-year/word-of-the-year-2018, Accessed January 13, 2019.

Rolston, H. Environmental Ethics: Duties to and Values in the Natural World. 1988. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.

Smith, I. A. 2010. The Role of Humility and Intrinsic Goods in Preserving Endangered Species: Why Preserve the Humpback Chub? Environmental Ethics. Vol. 32, No. 2, pp. 165-182.

Waters, C., N. Zalasiewicz, J., Summerhayes, C., Barnosky, A.D., Poirier, C., Gałuszka, A., Cearreta, A., Edgeworth, M., Ellis, E.C., Ellis, M., Jeandel, C., Leinfelder, R., McNeill, J.R., Richter, D., Steffen, W., Syvitski, J., Vidas, D., Wagreich, M., Williams, M., Zhisheng, A., Grinevald, J., Odada, E., Oreskes, and Wolfe, N. 2016, The Antrhopocene is functionally and stratigraphically distinct from the Holocene. Science, Vol. 351. No. 6296, p. 137.

Weber, W. L. 2015. Production, Growth and the Environment. Boca Raton, FL: Taylor & Francis Group.

Weil, S. 2002. Making Museums Matter. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Books.

White, M. 2000. Leonardo: The First Scientist. London: Little Brown.

March 13, 2019 by wpengine

Photos of Fluid-Preserved Specimens: A Different Kind of Portrait

detail of snake specimen preserved in alcohol

I met Kaylin Martin, a curatorial assistant for the Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH), at an internship fair when I was a transplant to Pittsburgh in September 2018. I was immediately drawn to her booth because it was made up of the most alluringly macabre set of oddities. The table was comprised of floating, translucent creatures in glass jars that I would come to know had been preserved in alcohol. In addition to the slick, scaly bodies of reptiles, there were vibrantly colored feathers of birds and their delicate skeletons splayed out on the white linen cloth of the booth. I thought then what I know to be true in an even greater sense now: that each was like a tiny work of art which had once been alive.

My background is in photography, which I studied at NYU before transferring to Pitt to major in the broader subject of digital media. I got the sense that CMNH was looking for interns with more of a scientific bent to their interests and education, but I was persistent about working in the alcohol house because I felt that there is an element of romanticism in going to great lengths to preserve such small lives. This appealed to me as my main interest has always been in portraiture. I felt like this could be a new kind of portraiture and the next step for me in my creative endeavors.

That fall I learned that the sum total of specimens of a particular type at a natural history museum is called a collection, in the same way that the Carnegie Museum of Art has its impressionist or modernist collections, for example. The Section of Amphibians and Reptiles at CMNH has the 10th largest such collection in North America, making it no small task for Stephen Rogers, the collections manager, to keep up with the care and preservation of each specimen.

salamander next to ruler showing salamander is just over 4 centimeters long

Since starting as a photographic intern last year, I have photographed over 300 specimens (a fraction of the more than 230,000 specimens) from this collection as part of an ongoing project to digitize and upload images of paratypes to iDigBio.org. Mainly I work with tiny salamanders, some no larger than my fingernails, as many of the snakes were photographed the summer before I arrived. Sometimes Kaylin comes to me with special requests she’s received from researchers, which can be for photos of anything in the alcohol house, from frogs, to skinks, to snakes. In fact, some photos I shot of one such request were of a holotype (the individual from which a species is described) and will be published in Annals of Carnegie Museum this year.

After hours spent inspecting these creatures up close, I’ve come to recognize undeniably human qualities in them. In particular, the salamanders’ feet at the lower half of their bodies, which remind me of human hands. At times I remember that they are our distant ancestors and feel slightly ashamed that I barely thought of them or the well-being of the ones still living before my time at CMNH. It’s what I like best about being able to spend my time at the museum: that you never know what you might learn but also what you might remember. Facts you may have read or retained from school take on new meaning when you’re able to see evidence of them up close.

cleared and stained specimen preserved in alcohol in a jar

Just the other day in the CMNH offices, I saw a specimen that had been “cleared and stained.” After inquiring about it, I learned that this is a very old technique in anatomy, a process by which the specimen is chemically treated to render it transparent and stain its nervous system different colors. While the resulting specimen is useful for scientific research, it is also strikingly beautiful. I thought while looking at this strangely beautiful and arresting object that it wholly encapsulated my realization that scientists are more like artists than most people expect. For instance, both are inclined to ask the larger and more difficult questions of our existence such as: what is life? what happens after it? where did we come from? and what will we leave behind?

The researchers at CMNH are largely responsible for investigating and attempting to answer such questions. Jennifer Sheridan, assistant curator of Amphibians and Reptiles at CMNH, is specifically concerned with how climate change and human actions are affecting these indispensable species. If you are an inquisitive person who appreciates natural beauty and finds yourself motivated to preserve it then I encourage you to volunteer your time and talents to learn and work alongside the herpetology team at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Rosemary Bencher is a work-study student in Amphibians and Reptiles. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

March 11, 2019 by wpengine

A Match Made by Coevolution

Darwin once predicted the existence of a pollinator after examining the star-shaped flower of the orchid Angraecum sesquipedale, a flower whose nectar is at the end of a 30 cm tube. Darwin wrote that “in Madagascar there must be moths with probosces capable of extension to a length of between ten and eleven inches [25.4–27.9cm].” Twenty years after Darwin’s death, his prediction was proven correct with the discovery of a moth, Xanthopan morganii praedicta, which boasted a proboscis 20 cm in length. In 1992, natural history observations of the moth feeding on the extreme flower and transferring pollen provided even more evidence that this plant and insect were tangled in a coevolution that resulted in their extreme morphology.

Coevolution is now a cornerstone of biology and has been well developed through examples of flowering plants and insects, parasites and hosts, predators and prey, and even gut microbiomes and human health. In fact, the influence of closely associated species on each other in their evolution is so ubiquitous one could argue that evolution is coevolution—as the boundary between what is an individual versus a consortia of different species blends as we dive deeper into the units that natural selection is acting upon. The microbiome and human health example helps illustrate the problem of defining an individual, specifically because scientists now think that microbial cells outnumber human cells in your body. Moreover, there is growing evidence this diversity of symbionts on our bodies complete metabolic pathways and serve other physiological functions. Coevolution crisscrosses the natural histories of organisms, creating nuances that sometimes complicate things.

With so much excitement and work surrounding coevolution, it is romantic to stumble across an example of coevolution fit for a kindergarten class. In the collection of birds at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, we recently finished an analysis of 24 Costa Rican hummingbirds and the pollen types found on their bodies and were reminded of Darwin’s predictions of coevolution over 100 years ago with orchids and moths. The White-tipped Sicklebill (Eutoxeres aquila) is a hummingbird with an extreme bill curve, with an appearance that would remind kindergarteners of Jim Henson’s Gonzo Muppet. Putting this bird next to its favorite food, Centropogon granulosus, illustrates coevolution in an exciting way that doesn’t tangle you up in learning about microbes or imagining other complex ecological relationships. Like Darwin’s orchid and moth, this hummingbird and its preferred flower allow us to see coevolution is all around us.

sicklebill hummingbird and its preferred flower

In an ongoing study at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Section of Birds, we were reminded of the natural history observations and predictions that led to an explosion in the field of coevolution. By studying pollen types collected from hummingbirds in Costa Rica we confirmed that the White-tipped Sicklebill (Eutoxeres aquila) feeds mostly on Centropogon granulosus, a match made by coevolution.

March 11, 2019 by wpengine

The Symbol of the Anthropocene in Preparation at the Carnegie Museum

As an intern in the Anthropocene section at the Carnegie Museum, I had the privilege of exploring some of its treasures, either preserved in the collections or displayed for the public, and reflecting on how objects can help us consider the planetary changes underway in the Anthropocene.

During my explorations, I was asked what was my highlight, or what object best exemplifies the Anthropocene to me?

Picture from case in Bird Hall. Taxidermy mount in preparation because Steve Rogers, collections manager of Birds, is still waiting to find a specimen that looks like the Foghorn Leghorn.

Turns out – my most vivid symbol of the Anthropocene is absent. It is not found in either the collections, or in the gallery halls (although it is found in the cafeteria)!

Yes indeed, my favorite symbol is the commercial broiler chicken, likely one of the most common birds in the world because it reaches slaughter weight in less than half the time of other domestic or wild chickens! Surprised? Disappointed? Let me explain…

Last year, the director of the museum, Dr. Eric Dorfman, wrote a compelling blog titled Counting Your Chickens: The World’s Most Numerous Bird. Chickens are likely the most numerous bird in the world. In light of the Anthropocene, we could even say in Earth history. There are about 23 billion chickens alive at any given time. By comparison, the second most numerous bird reported is the red-billed quelea, which lives across the continent of Africa, with an estimated population of 1.5 billion.

You probably wonder how the chicken conquered the world. Its long journey began around 7,000 years ago when it was first domesticated from the red junglefowl (Gallus gallus), native to south-east Asia. But the bird’s trajectory radically changed in the second half of the 20^thcentury, during what is now called “The Great Acceleration.” With changes in farming practice and the intensive production of broilers, the chicken population exploded. Meat-chicken consumption is still on the rise with more than 65 billion chickens consumed globally in 2016.

The commercial broiler chicken is even more radically different from its ancestors and other kinds of chickens. The change is about their shape, genes, and chemistry. Their genes, for instance, have been altered so that the birds are constantly hungry. In other words, they have been bred for a specific purpose: to gain weight rapidly (and they do it five times faster than chickens from the mid-20th century). It is a perfect example of what Richard Pell, director of the Center for PostNatural History and Associate Professor of Art at Carnegie Mellon University, means by the term “postnatural,” that is an organism that has been intentionally and heritably altered by humans.

The commercial broiler chicken is the direct result of human intervention. One could argue that selective breeding practices are not new. However, the Anthropocene captures a very recent rupture in Earth’s history by highlighting rapid and unprecedented changes at a planetary scale. Commercial broiler chickens and their biology shaped by humans, created in just a few decades, symbolize the transformation of the Earth’s biosphere. And new research suggests that the commercial broiler chicken’s distinctive bones could become fossilized markers of the Anthropocene. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to talk about the Gallucene.

Stories like this show how the Anthropocene offers an opportunity to rethink how we view natural history and what we put in our collections. The Carnegie Museum of Natural History is undertaking this ambitious and necessary shift in order to understand what it means to live in this new epoch.

Gil Oliveira is an intern in the Section of the Anthropocene. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

March 8, 2019 by wpengine

What are Seventeen-Year Cicadas and Why Does It Seem Like They Emerge More Than Once Every Seventeen Years?

There are different broods of periodical cicadas. Any given brood has adults emerging only once in 17 years and has a defined range of occurrence. The brood we will see in Allegheny County this year (2019) is Brood VIII. It is a brood with a relatively small distribution, occurring mainly in eastern Ohio, the panhandle of West Virginia, and about a dozen counties in southwestern and western Pennsylvania.

Adults will emerge in a couple of months (mid-May, but with climate change issues this is becoming less predictable; when the subsurface soil reaches 64 degrees Fahrenheit, emergence will begin), females will lay eggs, nymphs will hatch 6-10 weeks thereafter, and those nymphs will drop to the ground, burrow into the ground below deciduous trees, tap into the roots to syphon the plant juices, and remain underground for the next 17 years. The adults of this brood will not be seen for 17 years, emerging again in 2036.

Photo from Wikimedia Commons.

Currently there are 12 broods of 17-year cicadas, each with a different aggregate distribution. This means that in a 17-year period, adults will be emerging somewhere in 12 different years. Some of these have a very small distribution; some have huge distributions. For example, Brood X is nicknamed the Great Eastern Brood because it ranges from New York to Georgia, and west to Michigan. Brood X occurs over much of Pennsylvania, though not here in the southwest corner. Its adults will emerge again in 2021 (and then 2038, etc.), but they are not related to or derived from the ones we will see this year. In a way, you can think of them as different clans or tribes that can’t interbreed or interact with one another because the adults are not in the same areas at the same time.

Of the 12 broods, 8 of them occur in Pennsylvania as a whole, though mostly to the east. Here in the southwest, we get only 3 broods. This means here in southwestern Pennsylvania, we will normally see adults emerging during 3 years out of 17. Brood VIII, already mentioned, will be out this year and again in 2036. Brood VII we saw here last year (2018), and it will be out again in 2035. Both of these have been found in Allegheny County. Brood V, last seen in 2016 and due again in 2033, has not officially been recorded from Allegheny County, but since it is known from nearby Greene, Washington, Westmoreland, and Fayette Counties, it is most likely here.

And, to be clear: there are other kinds of cicadas that come out every year. These are usually called Annual Cicadas. They don’t aggregate in big swarms, so there is just one here, one there. Nymphs are underground only a year or two, so there are adults every year. And they are active later in the season, mostly July-September rather than May-June. These are the solitary ones you hear singing in a tree in late summer.

Bob Davidson is Collection Manager of Invertebrate Zoology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

March 6, 2019 by wpengine

The Origins of El Niño and the rise of Peruvian Civilization: The Mollusk that made Jim Richardson’s Career

In 1965 I went to the far north coast of Peru to the petroleum town of Talara to conduct dissertation research. In my survey of archaeological sites, I discovered the stratified site of Siches (10,000-4,000 BP), which had an assemblage of mangrove mollusks. This was startling to shell experts since the southern distribution of mangrove environments is now 120 miles north in southern Ecuador. So, how to explain this thermally-anomalous Mollusca assemblage (TAMA) existing in a stark desert landscape? With further research I published articles in 1981 and 1983 in the Annals of Carnegie Museum, proposing that there must have been a change in the ocean current system off this desert coast relating to El Niño (ENSO). By the early 1980’s our research team, devoted to explaining the distribution of other TAMAS at sites as far south as Lima, included Research Associate Dan Sandwiess of the University of Maine and Jack Donahue and Bud Rollins of Pitt’s Geology Department. In 1986, in the Journal of Geoarchaeology we published the article The Birth of El Niño: Geoarchaeological Evidence and Implications, which outraged oceanographers and geologists. They said, “How can you change the ocean current system of the eastern Pacific to explain the presence of your weird shells?” We kept plugging away at this line of research and in 1996 we published in Science, Geoarchaeological Evidence from Peru for a 5000 Years BP. Onset of El Niño. In 2006 Sandweiss and I published Climate Change, El Niño, and the Rise of Complex Society on the Peruvian Coast during the Middle Holocene in a Dumbarton Oaks volume devoted to archaeological research on El Niño. Further documentation of the dramatic changes in the ocean current off the coast of Peru comes from the analysis of fish fauna from Siches by Research Associates Betsy Reitz and Dan Sandwiess in the Bulletin of the Florida State Museum 2019.

In a nutshell, the results of over 50 years of research at coastal sites from Ecuador to Chile provides the following scenario: El Niño was present but of unknown frequency from 13,000 to 8,800, absent or rare between 8,800 to 5,800, infrequent from 5,800 to 3,200, obtaining its modern recurrence intervals about 3,200 years ago. This research on El Niño, the weather catastrophe that impacts not only the Central Andes but is felt around the world as floods and droughts, has revolutionized our thinking on the development of the first civilization in South America, centered on the Peruvian north coast. Circa 5,800 years the warm current washing the Peruvian coast north of Lima was replaced with the cold Peru (Humboldt) current, which brought with it the huge resource of schooling fish, making Peru one of the richest fishing grounds in the world. These fish resources became the foundation for the rise of temple centers on the north coast, on which Research Associate Michael Moseley based his theory of the maritime foundations of Peruvian civilization. All other civilizations are agriculturally based.

Changes in Peruvian Ocean Current System

Caral, Supe Valley, North Coast. Temple Complex 5000 BCE

It is amazing that the discovery of insignificant mangrove shells at Siches became the basis for not only proving that El Niño is only 5,800 years old, but provided the causal factors for the origin of Peru’s first civilization. This research just shows that if you live long enough, decades of research will finally pay off with incredible results.

James B. Richardson III is the Emeritus Chief Curator of the Section of Anthropology and Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

March 4, 2019 by wpengine

Make Your Own Pinecone Bird Feeder!

Homemade bird feeders are a great way to attract many birds to your yard this winter…even when it seems like all the animals have disappeared!

What You’ll Need:

· Large pinecones

· String, wire, or pipe cleaners

· Peanut butter or vegetable shortening

· 2 plates

· Scissors

· Butter knife

· Store-bought or homemade* birdseed

*We recommend visiting https://feederwatch.org/learn/feeding-birds/#food-types for pointers on what seeds to use or avoid.

Directions:

1. Gather large pinecones with open scales. Explore your backyard or find a nearby hiking trail. This is a great opportunity to go on an adventure with your friends or family!

2. Attach string, wire, or pipe cleaner to the top of the pinecone. Make sure your string or wire is long enough to tie and hang from a high point. You can use one attachment around the tip of the cone or you can tie two attachments to two different scales below the tip of the pinecone. Do this first! Your cone will get very messy and it will be hard to attach anything after you’ve rolled your pinecones in seed.

3. Pour your bird seed onto a plate. If you’re using a homemade mix, try mixing the different nuts and seeds together in a bowl before you pour them onto a plate.

4. Get ready to get messy! Spread peanut butter or shortening all over a pinecone using a butter knife. Make sure you get your “glue” in all the creases and crannies.

spreading peanut butter on pinecone with a knife

5. Next, roll your sticky pinecone on your plate of seeds. Press down and roll back and forth until the pinecone is mostly covered in your seed mixture. Sprinkle more seeds in any areas that have been missed and roll one more time.

rolling peanut butter covered pinecone in bird seed

6. When you’re happy with how the pinecone looks, place it on a plate to rest while you finish the rest of your pinecones. Repeat steps 4 and 5 with all the pinecones you want to make.

7. Finally, go outside and look for places to hang your new birdfeeders! Good places to hang your cones are on tree branches, the edges of buildings, or poles. It might be impossible to keep squirrels away from your pinecone, but hang your feeder high enough so that cats, dogs, and other animals can’t reach it. You may need to tie extra string, wire, or pipe cleaners to your feeder to reach high enough. Pick places that are easy for you to observe but are far enough away from a window that birds don’t hurt themselves by flying into windows!

After you’ve made and hung your homemade bird feeders, take time every day to watch and see what kinds of birds come to snack! Make observations and sketches in your handy nature notebook. Are different birds visiting at different times of the day? What birds are attracted to the type of seed you used? What birds do you see more often than others? When you see a bird you don’t recognize, use a bird guide like the Merlin ID mobile app and, if you can, take a picture!

Visit https://feederwatch.org/ to see how sharing your observations can help scientists learn more about birds visiting feeders.

Now You See(d) It: The type of seeds you use in your birdfeeder can determine how many birds come to visit and what kinds. Over 20 different types of seeds are often sold as birdseed! To attract a diverse population of birds, try using a wide assortment of seeds.

Explore nature together. Visit Nature 360 for activities and information.

Blog post by Melissa Cagan and Rachel Carlberg.

March 1, 2019 by wpengine

The Enduring Appeal of Snakes

by Jennifer A. Sheridan

As a herpetologist, I’m often asked whether I see a lot of snakes. To be clear, seeing snakes is always an exciting treat for me. But I’ve come to learn that when people ask this question, they’re usually not asking because they want to hear about all the gorgeous ones I’ve seen, but because they want to gauge how “dangerous” it is to be out and about in the forests where I work. I always explain that snakes are fairly skittish and most will quickly move away from humans, but that yes, I do have the good fortune of seeing some excellent individuals. I especially love Danum Valley, one of my field sites in Borneo, for this reason. Depending on the year, I may be lucky enough to see several species within a short time, and last October I had some great sightings.

Because I focus on amphibians, most of my work is at night, and mostly along streams. Often, we see snakes on branches as we come into the stream, like this lovely triangle keelback (Xenochrophis triangularis):

Or in the middle of our search for frogs along the stream transect, like this blunt-headed snail-eating snake (Aplopeltura boa):

This species is one of my favorites because it has a big fat head that it uses to hunt for snails. It unhinges its jaw and inserts the lower jaw into the shell to pull out the meat. Sorry, Tim Pearce! 😉

Other times we see snakes swimming in the water as we’re walking upstream, like this baby Python reticulatus:

This was one of the highlights of the trip because a) baby pythons are so cute and b) it had clearly just eaten, so it had a large belly bulge (I feel you, python). When it tried to dive under water, its belly kept floating at the surface and it didn’t really have much luck in hiding away from us. Adorable. (It eventually made its way over to the bank and up into the forest.)

One of the most striking sights, however, had to be this mangrove snake (Boiga dendrophila) swimming downstream towards us, head held up above the water, jet black body lithely undulating behind it. Because of its bright yellow chin and underside, it is extremely striking at night.

One time, years ago, I was in the middle of a transect and the batteries in my headlamp had started to die. I stopped, turned off my light, and changed them out while my teammates continued the survey upstream. When I got my headlamp back on my head and switched it on, a Boigadendrophilawas between my feet. While I am fairly calm in the field, I have to admit that this gave me quite a start! But he went on his way and I went on mine, neither of us all that bothered by the other. So while many people fear snakes, for the vast majority of species if you don’t bother them, they really won’t bother you.

Jennifer A. Sheridan is the Assistant Curator in the Section of Herpetology at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

The Manticore

manticore specimen next to a dime for scale — Figure 1. Adult male *Manticora imperator*, dorsal view (photo credit: V. Verdecia).

The Manticore. In ancient Persia, a scary, man-eating monster with the head of a man, the body of a lion, and the tail and sting of a scorpion. In nature, one of the most spectacular of God’s favorite creatures, beetles (there are more beetle species than anything else living today). The genus Manticora (“the one who devours men”) consists of 15 known species confined to the southern portions of Africa, mostly to the oldest geologic portions of that region, and mostly to open desert and dry savannah habitats. They are relatively primitive, flightless, predatory black tiger beetles of enormous size. The males of some species are particularly spectacular, with huge asymmetrical mandibles, reaching the extreme in Manticora imperator, with a toothed left mandible and a larger right mandible bent like a sickle (Figures 1-2). Mandibles in both sexes are used to attack prey, and, in males, also to combat other males and to clasp the female during copulation.

Figure 2. Close-up of mandibles and maw of male *M. imperator* (photo credit: V. Verdecia).

A recent donation gives Carnegie Museum of Natural History one of the best collections of these beetles in the world, nearly a thousand specimens, including all the species and subspecies. This includes many of the types (specimens designated to represent the species when an author names a new animal or plant). Long series of many of them (Figure 3) allows analysis of variation and distribution, addressing conservation issues, and has great potential for exhibit purposes. Some of the species are now threatened, not by collecting, but by construction and development over their very limited habitats and ranges.

Figure 3. Typical drawer from CMNH collection with several *Manticora* species (photo credit: V. Verdecia).

The larvae (Figure 4) look and behave more like tiger beetle larvae from other parts of the world, except that they are enormous. They dig a vertical burrow up to a meter in depth, depending on substrate, which they can drop down into when disturbed. The larval head is like a big armored plug with jaws attached. In attack mode, they block the burrow entrance with the head (making the hole difficult to see) and wait. There is also a large hook toward the rear on the larva’s back which makes it difficult for anything to dislodge it from the burrow. If something edible gets within striking distance, the larva throws its forebody out, grabs with its large jaws, and drags the prey into the burrow.

Figure 4. Larva of M. mygaloides, antero-lateral view (photo credit: V. Verdecia).

Adults hibernate underground in a large chamber at the end of a tunnel that can be as much as a meter and a half in length. Most are active from October to March after the summer rains, but they can wait a long time if necessary, until the unpredictable, erratic summer rains come. Activity is in the daytime, and they do not hesitate to attack other large armored beetles, or invertebrates that are larger than the attacker. You have perhaps seen giant millipedes the size of a bratwurst in various insect zoos? There is a filmed instance of a Manticora finishing off and eating a 10-12 inch millipede, though the beginning of the event was missed, and it is possible the millipede was already injured. These are probably not the normal preferred prey of these aggressive beetles (the millipedes, that is, not the bratwursts, which are not known to occur in the wild). But it still seems like quite a feat for an animal only about 20% the size of its dinner.

February 25, 2019 by wpengine

Bugs on Bugs on Bugs…on Birds

Big fleas have little fleas

Upon their backs to bite ‘em;

And little fleas have lesser fleas

And so, ad infinitum.

-Ogden Nash

Flat flies, louse flies, keds. The distinctive members of the fly family Hippoboscidae go by many names. All are obligate blood feeders found on mammals or birds and have a flattened body shape suitable for sliding in between the feathers and fur of their hosts. Their life history is as strange as their appearance, I assure you. While the vast majority of flies and other insects lay numerous eggs to reproduce, female hippoboscids prefer a more mammalian strategy. A single fertilized egg hatches within the female, and the developing larva is nourished within the mother through specialized “milk” glands until it is fully grown. The hugely swollen female then gives birth to a mature larva which immediately pupates, and later emerges as a winged adult hungry for a blood meal.

Hippoboscids are frequently encountered at the banding station at Powdermill Nature Reserve. Last year, most of the birds that were processed here were checked for these parasites, which were collected. Not much is known about these flies on songbirds as most of the research conducted deals with raptors. While identifying the flies under a microscope, we discovered these flies were often carrying some smaller bugs with them on their abdomens. These hitchhikers were bird lice and avian skin mites (see photos).

fly with white circle drawn around bird lice on abdomen — Dorsal view of a hippoboscid fly with several bird lice hitching a ride on its abdomen.

fly with white circle drawn around mites — Ventral view of a hippoboscid fly carrying several female avian skin mites (Epidermoptidae), each surrounded by a cluster of white eggs.

Both of these small parasites are wingless and poor dispersers, but can conveniently get from bird to bird by riding on the hippoboscid flies, a strategy called phoresy. In the case of the skin mites, the females actually require a hippoboscid to reproduce. They attach themselves to the body of the fly and lay their eggs all around them in a clump. To add to the craziness, sometimes the mites attach to the lice which attach to the fly, which you find on birds. So there you have it. Bugs on bugs on bugs… on birds!

February 20, 2019 by wpengine

Doubly Dead: Taxidermy Challenges in Museum Dioramas

A visit to the wildlife dioramas at Carnegie Museum of Natural History is an opportunity to repeatedly admire the illusions created by teams of skilled taxidermists. None of the featured creatures are alive, but many of them appear to have just paused. Some, such as the pronghorn antelope, pictured above, even seem to be frozen in motion.

In several three-dimensional scenes, where the animal subjects are predators or scavengers, the taxidermists involved in creating the exhibit faced another challenge – presenting the preserved remains of a dead animal as a dead animal. The task, as the somewhat gory details in the pictures below attest, is undoubtedly more difficult than it sounds.

brown bear eating salmon taxidermy diorama

A dead salmon is front and center in the Alaskan Brown Bear diorama, and the pink flesh the cubs are consuming doesn’t look much different than what’s available at supermarket fish counters.

In the Hall of African Wildlife there’s no blood visible on the Lesser Egyptian Jerboa under fennec’s paw. The curled position of the prey’s feet and back legs indicate the struggle with the big-eared fox is over.

seal taxidermy under paw of polar bear taxidermy

In creating life-like mounts, taxidermists use glass eyes of the proper shape, size, and color. The glass eyes appear to have lost their luster for the seal that serves as a prey detail in a Polar Bear diorama.

In one of the oldest dioramas within the Hall of North American Wildlife, the centerpiece presence of a dead bull elk indicates the role of both California Condors and Turkey Vultures as scavengers.

Taxidermy details that indicate the elk’s browsing days are over include dull eyes and a lolling tongue. The tricks of taxidermists are important when they help to explain the role of predators and scavengers, the bedrock biological principle of life from death.

February 19, 2019 by wpengine

Octopus mystery: how do they see color?

eye of a cuttlefish — Eye of a cuttlefish. Note the W shaped pupil. (Image from Wikimedia Commons)

The eyes of cephalopods like octopus, squid, and cuttlefish possess only one kind of photoreceptor, implying that they are colorblind, being able to see only in greyscale. But wait! They are famous masters of camouflage, being able to blend with their surroundings, and they signal each other in intricate color patterns. These feats suggest that they are not colorblind.

Two main hypotheses to explain this mystery are (1) they also see with their skin (Wardill et al. 2015) or (2) they make use of chromatic aberration (Stubbs & Stubbs 2016).

Cephalopods certainly do possess photosensitive molecules called opsins in their skin, so potential exists for cephalopods to detect light with their skin. However, the photosensitive molecules in the skin are like those in the eyes, so it’s not clear how that would help them see color any better than the eyes do.

Chromatic aberration is the differential bending of light of different wavelengths (colors). That’s how a prism splits white light, and why when your eyes get dilated by the eye doctor, besides things becoming blurry, you also see rainbows around things. Light of different wavelengths passing through a lens has different focal points. For most organisms and for human-made optical devices, chromatic aberration is a problem to be minimized.

The chromatic aberration hypothesis proposes that instead of avoiding chromatic aberration, cephalopods enhance it using their peculiar off-axis pupil shapes. This enhancement allows them to detect color by monitoring image blurring as focus changes. Computer models show that this method of image detection is possible.

Such use of chromatic aberration could explain why cephalopods have such bizarre pupil shapes. The pupil in some octopuses is an elongate slit, and in cuttlefish, it is the shape of a W.

These two hypotheses yield different predictions under certain circumstances, such as colors on a flat field (for which focus would not change). Now we await results of experiments testing between these two possibilities. Then we will have an answer for how cephalopods can see color, despite having the appearance of being color blind. We might need to re-evaluate other creatures that have been labeled colorblind.

Literature cited

Kingston, A.C.N., Wardill, T.J., Hanlon, R.T. & Cronin, T.W. 2015. An unexpected diversity of photoreceptor classes in the longfin squid, Doryteuthis pealeii. PLoS ONE 10(9): e0135381. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0135381

Stubbs, A.L. & Stubbs, C.W. 2016. Spectral discrimination in color blind animals via chromatic aberration and pupil shape. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science U.S.A.113: 8206–8211. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1524578113

February 14, 2019 by wpengine

Looking at Love in Ancient Egypt

With Valentine’s Day here, it’s hard to ignore all of the chocolate displays in stores and the sappy movies on TV – some might say that love had been commercialized for companies to make a quick buck. While they may be right about America in 2019, the same cannot be said about the ancient Egyptians. The Egyptians are credited with a lot. They built the pyramids, they mummified bodies and had giant elaborate tombs. One thing that people might not think about as often is how the Egyptians experienced love, marriage, and even infidelity and divorce.

Our first stop on the love train is the story of Isis and Osiris – two of the most famous gods of ancient Egypt.

As seen in this image from the Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt here at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Osiris is depicted as green-skinned, and he looks like a mummy! These are attributes unique to Osiris and they come from the story of himself and Isis. Osiris was reigning as king, and his brother Set was not too happy about it. So, he killed Osiris, tore his body into a bunch of pieces and strew them all over Egypt. In her mourning, Osiris’ wife Isis traveled far and wide to gather all of the pieces of her husband to eventually put them all back together and had a child with him. That child was Horus, who would then go on to avenge his father and kill his uncle. If that’s not love, then I don’t know what is.

Our second stop is on the topic of marriage in ancient Egypt. In American culture today, weddings are huge expensive parties that include entire families, huge cakes, and poufy dresses. This is not anything like marriages in ancient Egypt. Early marriages consisted of a woman entering a man’s house with whatever goods that they had agreed upon and the husband signing some paperwork. Often marriages were arranged, but there is evidence that importance was placed on a loving couple, like love poems and songs found at the workers village of Deir el-Medina. The people living in this area were usually tomb builders or painters, like Sennedjem, the owner of the tomb in Egypt on which our reconstruction is based.

text on pottery shard from ancient Egypt

Love poems from Deir el-Medina could be found on similar surfaces as those on display in Walton Hall, like these shards of stone and ostraca (shards of pottery). Sometimes shards like these were used like “scratch paper” and discarded, leaving them for archaeologists to find. According to Cameron Walker at National Geographic, these poems turned simple daily tasks such as catching fish into metaphors for their love.

Marriage was supposed to be everlasting for a good pair. If you were faithful to your spouse and a good spouse overall, you could find them waiting for you in the afterlife. If you were not good to them, you might not see them, or you might not even get to the afterlife at all. But, Egyptian society was quite sophisticated, if things didn’t work out in life, there were options for divorce. If either the husband or wife was dissatisfied, they could initiate a divorce, and the settlement was seemingly as simple as the marriage. Some paperwork was signed, and assets were divided upon agreements during the marriage. One important pillar of marriage was fidelity. If a spouse was found to be unfaithful to their partner it would be seen as grounds for a divorce.

Overall, the Egyptians placed emphasis on being faithful and being a loving spouse. But at least in the realm of the gods, there were cases of love that transcend our comprehension. Let’s be honest, who would really go all over and find pieces of their dead spouse…anyone? So, all in all the ancient Egyptians might seem to be a mysterious people but in the aspects of love and marriage they are really just like everyone else. We are all just people looking for love and, in the case where we can’t find it, cheap sweets to tide us over.

Anthony Kamler is a volunteer in the Section of Anthropology. Museum employees and volunteers are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences working at the museum!

February 14, 2019 by wpengine

Getting Ready for the Great Backyard Bird Count

So you want to take part in the Great Backyard Bird Count? You’ve got your nature notebook ready and you’ve found the perfect spot to birdwatch. What do you do next? The Great Backyard Bird Count website has a lot of resources to help you organize your bird counts and submit your information, so you should check those out before the bird count starts. This post will give you a basic picture of how to document the birds you see and submit your observations properly.

Make a List, Check it Twice

two people taking notes outside in winter — Photo credit: Jim Judkis

Creating a checklist before you start birdwatching will be really helpful in organizing your research. You can print out this template, enter your location on the count’s website to create a checklist, or create your own guide using a list of birds found in your area. When you enter your observations online, you will submit a “checklist” for each different session of birdwatching. These lists will document where and when you observed, what species you noticed, and how many individual birds you estimated per species. A bird guide like the Merlin Bird ID app can help you identify birds you see.

You will want to make a new checklist for each new day, new location, or new time that you look for birds. For example, you’ll need two checklists if you observe in the same location on two different days, in two different locations on the same day, or in the same location but at two separate times. When you go to submit your observations, you will be asked to enter the location, date, time, and duration of your expedition. You will also be asked whether you were walking, standing, sitting, or even riding in a car while you were counting. Now go forth and count those birds!

Data Ready

Once you have collected your data, all you need to do is go online and enter in the number of birds you saw next to the name of the birds you noticed! You can also add details about each bird species and if you were able to take pictures of any birds, you can include them as well.

Keep in Mind

The submission form will have a question at the end, “Are you submitting a complete checklist of the birds you were able to identify?” which can be confusing to some. You should only click “no” if you are deliberately excluding a species from your list (for example you counted everything except crows).

Explore nature together. Visit Nature 360 for more activities and information.

Blog post by Melissa Cagan.

February 11, 2019 by wpengine

Benedum Hall of Geology – A Teaching Laboratory for the Carnegie Interpreters

The new class of Education Interpreters of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History are training for their new positions through classroom instruction and practicing their presentations on the exhibit floors. The new name of Interpreters supersedes the language of Docents that previously described educators leading museum tours. The Interpreters are enthusiastic, eager to learn, and rely on their diverse backgrounds and experiences to find their comfort zone about natural history sciences. Their training is being coordinated by Patty Dineen and Joann L. Wilson of CMNH Education.

As the museum’s geologist and invertebrate paleontologist, I’ve been asked to help train the Interpreters on geologic time, and to expound upon some of the new science recently published on the fossils and exhibits on display in Benedum Hall of Geology. Most Interpreters have little or no working knowledge about geology and paleontology. This is not unusual in the least, as many of our patrons are not schooled in the geologic sciences. That’s unfortunate, because the scientific principles of geologic time, evolution, extinction, climate change, and biodiversity, are featured throughout the dioramas as noted in Benedum Hall of Geology, Dinosaurs in Their Time, Age of Mammals: The Cenozoic Era and Ice Age – The Pleistocene.

group of interpreters in from of dinosaur display

Andrew Carnegie’s interest in geology, paleontology and minerals is well documented. He instructed the Carnegie architects Alden & Harlow to design museum galleries to showcase the museum’s growing collections in invertebrate fossils, Vertebrate Paleontology (dinosaurs), and Minerals for his museum that opened in 1907. Some eighty years later, Alden & Harlow’s gallery opened as Benedum Hall of Geology and was recognized as the premier public exhibition to celebrate the geologic history of the state of Pennsylvania (Dawson 1988 and Harper & Dawson 1992). Even though the hall’s dioramas are more than 30 years old, most of the science concepts are relatively unchanged.

Over the last several years, publications and geology guides by section staff, research associates, and volunteers present new science on some of the hall’s content. For example, Brezinski & Kollar 2011 determined from years of field work in the central Appalachian Basin, the relationship of Pennsylvanian Age climate change events and congruent biotic responses, i.e., the evolution and extinction of the short lived Fedexiaamphibian. The fossil climate events as cited in the publication can be inferred through the content in the Pennsylvanian Coal Forest, Pennsylvanian Marine Life, and local stratigraphy dioramas – and as an extension to the modern anthropogenic climate events.

Two famous fossils discovered from western Pennsylvania, the giant eurypterid trackway from Elk County, PA (Brezinski & Kollar 2016 & Harper, Kollar & Hughes in press) and Fedexia striegeli, an amphibian skull from Moon Twp. (Berman, Henrici, Brezinski, Kollar 2010) are exciting new fossils to look at. There are several unpublished education manuscripts that address other content in the hall: What Do Fossils Tell Us– brachiopod evolution and extinction (Kollar, Carter (deceased) & Hughes), Strata Wall (Kollar), and What’s A Fossil Fuel (Kollar).

In their instruction with me, the Interpreters receive printed handouts summarizing the published citations and section geology guides relevant to the hall’s dioramas. The PAlS guides are, Geology of the Marcellus Shale 2011 (Strata Wall), History and Geology of Pennsylvania Petroleum 2012 (Stratavator), Geology of Pennsylvania’s Coal 2014 (Fossil Fuel), and The Geological Evolution of Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers (Where has the Water Gone). The Interpreters are the museum’s ambassadors to the public, our advocates of Carnegie science, collections, and exhibitions. Welcome.

February 7, 2019 by wpengine

Bird is the Word

February’s here and you know what that means… it’s time for the Great Backyard Bird Count! Since 1998, people all over the world have participated annually in the Great Backyard Bird Count to collect information on wild birds by observing areas in their own neighborhoods. Last year people from over 100 countries participated! The Great Backyard Bird Count gathers data to help scientists figure out what is happening to bird populations around the globe. That means YOU can contribute to science just by taking time to look outside your windows. Scientists can’t be everywhere, and that’s where you come in!

Birds, Birds, Everywhere

The best part about the bird count is… it’s really easy (and free) to join in! All you need is a way to note your observations (a task perfect for your handy nature notebook), access to the internet, and your enthusiasm! You can look at a local park, your yard, or anywhere you want to go — data from everywhere is useful!

Ready, Set, Count!

Before you start looking for birds, you’ll want to set up an online account through the Great Backyard Bird Count’s website. Once that is ready, all you have to do is spend at least 15 minutes looking outside at any time between February 15^thand February 18^th. Count the number of birds and different species you see, and then submit your observations through your online account. Scientists will use the data, and you can use the information to explore what kinds of birds other people have seen nearby.

Some questions you might help scientists answer are:

-“How does weather and climate change affect bird populations?

-“How are diseases that birds can catch, like the West Nile virus, affecting birds in different areas?”

-“Are there bird species that only live in certain locations such as cities or rural areas?”

Lord of the Wings

The Christmas Bird Count, which happens at the end of December, found over 24,000 birds in Pittsburgh in 2018. There were 71 different species represented in the total count. Let’s see if we can find even more birds this February! Follow this link to get ready!

Explore nature together. Visit Nature 360 for more activities and information.

Blog post written by Melissa Cagan and Rachel Carlberg.

February 6, 2019 by wpengine

Red Bird

By Patrick McShea

A detail in a Hall of Botany diorama can add much to our understanding of a popular songbird. Pictured above is a male Northern Cardinal, a species widely portrayed on cards and calendars amid snowy scenery.

Cardinals are certainly noticeable under winter conditions. The bright red of the male’s feathers and the reddish-brown plumage of the female stand out in snow covered landscapes. The range for this non-migratory species is enormous, however, and includes tropical regions.

The Hall of Botany bird, for example, adds color to a three-dimensional recreation of a tiny patch of Florida Everglades. Northern Cardinals have also long occupied suitable habitat much further south in Mexico and Guatemala.

The species, which has been deemed the official avian representative for seven U.S. states, was rarely seen anywhere in Pennsylvania until the 1890s. In Birds of Western Pennsylvania, the encyclopedic volume published in 1940 by the museum’s then Curator of Ornithology, W.E. Clyde Todd, growth of the local cardinal population is noted:

In recent years it has invaded the parks and residential sections of Pittsburgh in gradually increasing numbers, and it is seemingly as much at home there as it is in the wooded ravines in the vicinity of the city.”

One measure of the Northern Cardinal’s continued popularity is requests by elementary teachers to borrow taxidermy mounts of the species from the museum’s Educator Loan Collection. Pictured above are a taxidermy mount and the “toolbox” it travels in. The illustration on the box is a recreation of John James Audubon’s cardinal portrait by Museum Educator Assistant John Franc.

February 4, 2019 by wpengine

Happy Groundhog Day!

By Mason Heberling

Do you think Punxsutawney Phil was ever overcome by the beauty of this very violet 71 years ago? Or perhaps he nibbled off a leaf or two? After all, legend has it that Phil is over 100 years old! This specimen of Labrador violet (Viola labradorica) was collected near Phil’s home in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania on June 2, 1948 by Carnegie Museum botany curator Leroy Henry.

In case you wondered, on Groundhog Day 1948, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow and predicted six more weeks of winter.

This specimen was imaged recently (along with many others in the violet family) and is publicly available online.

February 1, 2019 by wpengine

Arctic Message

By Patrick McShea

Polar World exhibition with animals and man in boat — Polar World at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Photo credit: Josh Franzos

What happens in the Arctic effects all of us. The frozen seas of the northern hemisphere’s remotest territory influence the circulation patterns of ocean currents and air masses that support temperate climate conditions for land masses far to the south.

The urgent need for broader understanding of this sea ice-dependent system recently drew four dozen researchers and educators to the University of Rhode Island for a National Science Foundation -sponsored workshop titled ARISE, for Arctic Researchers and Informal Science Education.

The three-day program was designed to address two explicit goals – broadening the impact of Arctic research findings and increasing the informal science community’s engagement with Arctic scientists.

Paired sessions assured that big ideas were anchored to specific ongoing research. A formal review of proposed Polar Literacy Principles, for example, was followed by small discussion groups in which researchers explained their own observations of diminished sea ice or disrupted food webs. As an educator representing CMNH’s exhibit hall about Arctic life and extensive scientific collections from the region, I was an eager participant in every session.

Ship in icy waters — Research ship Sikuliaq. Photo credit: Mark Teckenbrock

Existing National Science Foundation resources were the focus of several presentations. Profiled assets ranged from the digital archive known as the Arctic Data Center to a floating mobile research platform, the 261-foot blue-hulled ice capable research vessel Sikuliaq, which is operated by the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

I did more listening than talking, learning directly from scientists about research projects that included the study of thousand- year-old clay-lined food storage pits along hard-to-reach stretches of Alaskan coast, and a “citizen science” berry survey by middle school students in remote villages that will document climate driven vegetation changes on the tundra.

When discussion opportunities arose, I shared two items I carried with me each day, the preserved hollow egg of an Arctic Loon, and a copy of Barry Lopez’s now 32-year-old masterpiece, Arctic Dreams. The three-inch long egg, a dark mustard brown with chocolate-colored flecks, bore in tiny handwritten script a collection date of 6/19/24. This 94-year-old specimen, part of the museum’s teaching collection, and sturdy enough to be carefully passed hand-to-hand, served to represent and draw attention to the museum’s own Arctic archive, the portion of preserved plants, animals, minerals, artifacts, and fossils in the museum’s scientific collections that have Arctic origins.

Arctic Dreams, which bears the subtitle, Imagination and Desire in a Northern Landscape, is a poetic 372-page chronical of Lopez’s immersion in historical Arctic exploration accounts and his own travels in the region with Arctic indigenous people, biologists, oceanographers, geologists, and oil drilling crews. The work contains repeated alarm calls about threats to the region’s delicately balanced ecosystems, but on the occasions when I passed the paperback to a workshop colleague it was to note particularly eloquent passages about narwhals, snowy owls, or muskox.

The book also provided appropriate reading material to pass flight delays on my way home from the workshop. In the crowded confines of a Reagan National Airport terminal, I re-read a section that helped me better understand my conversations with Arctic researchers.

At the close of a Chapter titled “The Country of The Mind,” Lopez recounts conversations with paleontologists Mary Dawson and Robert West during a shared plane ride between remote Canadian Arctic islands. When Dawson, then Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History and now curator emeritus, leaves Lopez with letters to mail at one of the plane’s later stops, the packet spurs thoughts about how we share information. Lopez wrote:

I rode for hours with the letters on the seat beside me. I thought about the great desire among friends and colleagues and travelers who meet on the road, to share what they know, what they have seen and imagined. Not to have a shared understanding, but to share what one has come to understand. In such an atmosphere of mutual regard, in which each can roll out his or her maps with no fear of contradiction, of suspicion, or theft, it is possible to imagine the long, graceful strides of human history.

The ARISE Workshop, I realized, fostered such map unrolling by creating a forum where scientists shared what they had come to understand about the state of our planet’s northern reaches. The way their messages are received and acted upon will undoubtedly influence future strides of human history.

January 30, 2019 by wpengine

The Search for the Near Threatened Green Salamander, Aneides aeneus

By Kaylin Martin

Fueled by caffeine and the promise of a sighting of the elusive and threatened green salamander, I made my way to the assigned meeting point in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. I was told we would be meeting a contact that could lead us to his secret location wherein there was prime habitat for green salamanders. Slowly, a muddy truck approached us and motioned for us to follow him. Thirty minutes of unpaved, unmarked, pothole riddled roads later I was standing in front of a hillside with rough terrain.

I knew I was in for an intense hike. Green salamanders are found in rock crevices in outcroppings or on the sides of cliffs. Unlike most salamanders that can be found abundantly under damp logs or rocks, green salamanders are extreme habitat specialists. Because of their habitat requirements, these salamanders are considered Near Threatened by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The green salamander is listed as Endangered in Indiana, Ohio, Maryland, and Mississippi, as Threatened in Pennsylvania, and as Protected in Georgia. Some herpetologists argue that they should be nationally classified as Endangered, given that population sizes are decreasing due to habitat loss, drought and road development.

Armed with flashlights, our group of enthusiastic herpetologists made our way toward outcrops of rock along the hillside. We pointed our flashlights into every small crevice big enough to fit a salamander, hoping to see two large round eyes staring back at us. Within the first hour, we found a handful of common slimy salamanders, Plethodon glutinosus. Distinguished by their black color with silver or gold spots running along their backs, slimy salamanders are most known for the sticky substance they exude when threatened. Mostly found under logs or stones, the slimy salamander is also known to utilize its climbing abilities to crawl into crevices of shale banks, the same habitat that green salamanders favor.

As I was photographing an eastern red-backed salamander, Plethodon cinereus, I heard a yelp of excitement, “A green! A GREEN!” A few agonizing minutes of scrambling through brambles and rocky terrain to get to my colleague ensued. As I approached, I was filled with excitement. Being the Curatorial Assistant of Amphibians and Reptiles allows me to catalogue specimens from all over the world, collected by renowned scientists in my field. This position gives me a platform to tell the public about why amphibians and reptiles are so important to our ecosystem. The thrill of seeing a Near Threatened salamander in its natural habitat reaffirmed my love for my career and the honor I feel in being an ambassador for amphibians and reptiles. Nothing beats the opportunity to photograph the species camouflaged into the moss around it, or the few minutes where you promise yourself and the species in front of you that your life’s goal is to promote environmental awareness of Pennsylvania herpetofauna (reptiles and amphibians), and the hope that maybe the green salamander will thrive in Pennsylvania in the age of the Anthropocene.

What can you do? Check out the Pennsylvania Amphibians and Reptiles Survey at https://paherpsurvey.org/.If you find an amphibian or reptile, take a photo and send it to the PA Herp Survey to help document the biodiversity and status of Pennsylvania herpetofauna.

Kaylin Martin, M.Sc, is the curatorial assistant in the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

January 28, 2019 by wpengine

Snail Extinction – Bad Situation Getting Worse

By Timothy Pearce

Move Aside Rosy Wolf Snail, the New Guinea Flatworm Wreaks Greater Devastation

Another species of land snail went extinct on January 1, 2019. George, the last member of his species, Achatinella apexfulva, died in a captive breeding facility at the University of Hawaii. The loss of this snail, and this species, is sad from many perspectives, I’ll mention two: first, George’s species is the first land snail ever described from Hawaii; second, this loss contributes to the largely overlooked extinction crisis of land snails around the world.

Achatinella apexfulva shell — Achatinella apexfulva from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History collection.

George was named after Lonesome George, the last Galapagos tortoise of the subspecies Geochelone nigra abingdoni, who died in 2012. Like most land snails, George the snail was hermaphroditic (having both male and female parts), so either male, female, or androgynous names would have been appropriate.

News outlets including New York Times, National Geographic, and National Public Radio, as well as various blogs (e.g., https://www.shellmuseum.org/curators-corner) have well-covered the story of George’s passing, so look there for more details that I won’t repeat. Those outlets mentioned threats leading to the demise of tree snails, including the introduced rosy wolf snail, a snail-eating snail credited with causing snail extinctions on some Pacific Islands. However, none of those news outlets mentioned the New Guinea flatworm, which is already showing itself to be a much greater threat to snail-kind than the rosy wolf snail.

The New Guinea flatworm (Platydemus manokwari), which eats mostly snails, has been categorized as one of the 100 worst invasive species. Originally found in New Guinea, human activity has introduced it to many tropical and temperate regions of the world where it has had significant negative impacts on the rare endemic land snail fauna of some Pacific islands. Evidence indicates that predation by the New Guinea flatworm is the greatest cause of the extinction or drastically reduced numbers of several native snails. Up to 65 mm (2.5 inches) long, it can follow snail mucus trails to catch prey, sometimes even into trees, so its presence in Hawaii seriously threatens the remaining Hawaiian tree snails.

In 2015, the New Guinea flatworm was found in Florida, from which it poses a threat to land snails on the mainland of the USA. A colleague told me that in some of the Everglade hammocks where the flatworm has reached, all you can find now are dead, empty shells of the colorful tree snails that were gobbled by the flatworm. The flatworm does not survive in colder climates, so for the time being, the northern United States might be spared from this scourge. The flatworm survives best at 18 to 28 C (64-82F) and nearly ¼ of them survived in an experiment down to 10°C (50F) for 2 weeks.

January 28, 2019 by wpengine

F is for Fox

For inhabitants of Western Pennsylvania, the word ‘fox’ as applied to an animal is usually reserved for the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) because if you have seen a fox in an urban area, that is the most likely one you would have seen. Although chiefly nocturnal in its habits, red foxes do venture out during daylight hours. But the red fox is only one of 23 different species of foxes. In fact, 61% of all species in the canid or dog family are foxes; the remainder are dogs, wolves, and jackals.

You might be wondering, what exactly is a fox? A fox is a canid that is distinguished by its pointy snout and bushy tail. In fact, fox comes from an old Germanic word for tail. The collective noun for a group of foxes is a skulk, a leash, or an earth. Males foxes can be referred to as dogs, reynards, or tods, females as vixens, and young as kits, pups, or cubs.

Not all foxes are closely related to each other. There are three main groups. One group is found exclusively in South America and includes eight species; a second group of two species is found in the Americas; and the third and largest group, which includes the red fox, is found all over the world except in South America and Antarctica.

All foxes look like foxes, but they display a remarkable array of behaviors and lifestyles depending on where they live. The two species found in Western Pennsylvania are the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargentatus). These two are distinguished by their coats, as well as a useful feature on their skulls. Mammals that have strong chewing muscles have prominent ridges on their skulls for muscle attachment. These are called temporal lines. As seen in the photo below, the gray fox has U-shaped temporal lines (i.e., U for Urocyon) and the red fox has V-shaped temporal lines (i.e., V for Vulpes). A convenient coincidence for biologists!

two fox skulls on a black background — Skulls of a gray fox (*Urocyon*) and red fox (*Vulpes*) from the Section of Mammals collection, Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

One of our favorite foxes is the Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda). This is the smallest living fox weighing in at less than two kilograms but despite its diminutive size it has the greatest ear size to body size ratio of any fox (see picture below). This little fox is a true survivor, living in one of the harshest environments on the planet: the shifting sand dunes of the Sahara Desert. Their huge ears act as amplifiers providing them with acute hearing for hunting and capturing prey at night. Their ears have an additional purpose – temperature regulation (quite important when you live in one of the hottest environments on Earth). Fennec foxes use the large surface area of their ears to cool their blood. Like dogs, Fennec foxes also have another adaptation for regulating their temperature – they pant. They only start to pant when temperatures reach 95°F, and their breathing rate can increase from 23 breaths per minute to 690 breaths per minute! Get a closer look at a Fennec fox in the Hall of African Wildlife on the second floor of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Photograph of a Fennec fox and a jerboa from the Hall of African Wildlife, Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Sarah Shelley is a postdoctoral research fellow and John Wible is Curator in the Section of Mammals at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences working at the museum.

January 24, 2019 by wpengine

“Amazing, just like a dinosaur!”

Exclamations like this are common among bird biologists, especially when face-to-face with a Pileated Woodpecker or a ferocious Chickadee. Decades of Jurassic Park films have caught us in a tautological trap where birds remind us of dinosaurs—because Hollywood models dinosaurs on birds. From the coordinated flock movements of chickens foraging to the reptilian eyes of a Heron, I often catch myself wanting to say, “Amazing, just like a dinosaur!” But, I restrain myself because my source is mostly Stephen Spielberg.

At the Carnegie Museum of Natural History something that makes the Section of Birds special is its proximity to a world-class collection of dinosaur fossils and the paleontologists they attract. PhD students, like Sam Gutherz from Ohio University, use our collections to study the pulmonary tissue and skeleton of birds to address questions regarding the evolution of the respiratory system in a range of archosaurs.

three people working at desks — Sam Gutherz and colleagues from Ohio University measure bird skeletons at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History to better understand the biology of dinosaurs.

Sam visits natural history museums for both the birds and the dinosaurs—systematically measuring bones and testing questions that ultimately support or refute the connection between birds and dinosaurs. Decades of work by scientists like Sam and his colleagues have built a case using multiple lines of evidence that birds evolved from dinosaurs. In fact, paleontologists have been so successful that bird biologists and Hollywood producers stand on their shoulders.

January 24, 2019 by wpengine

Anthropocene Living Room

Welcome to the Anthropocene Living Room, a new space in the museum inspired by how humans have and will continue to shape natural history and nature. Hear Dr. Nicole Heller, Curator of the Anthropocene, share her vision for the space and introduce its various elements including items from our collections, books, and other tools for reflection and learning.

January 22, 2019 by wpengine

Woodlands in White

By John Wenzel

As we enter 2019, I start my ninth year here, and Powdermill Nature Reserve grows cold and quiet. The summer woodland is easy to appreciate, full of sounds of birds in the day, and frogs and insects at night, but for me the forest is most elegant in winter.

I moved to Powdermill in January, and at first I lived alone at the reserve. My first season was one of snow and solitude, of beauty and discovery. The woods are never as striking as when every dark twig is lined in white, creating a world of infinite fragile lace. The naked branches let the explorer see much farther than when the woods are heavy with leaves. We see deep into the forest, and through it entirely across a hilltop or when we are above the wooded valley. Animal tracks in the snow allow us to feel the presence of the unseen wildlife more than we do in summer. Wet seeps from mountain springs melt away spots of snow and provide the occasional soothing view of bright green moss, which is very welcome and more readily admired in the starkness of winter.

coyote tracks in snow — Coyote tracks at Powdermill Nature Reserve.

Noise of the outside world is nearly absent when a blanket of snow covers the landscape. This makes the bubbling flow of Powdermill Run all more distinct, and more focal in the outdoor experience. In daylight, we see the million crystal reflections beneath a bright blue sky. At night, far from town, we marvel at the inestimable number of brilliant stars in the onyx above. Perhaps because visitors to the Nature Center are few in winter, I feel that the reserve is more “mine” than at other times. My Powdermill is the quiet, winter Powdermill, dressed in white and hushed by the cold.

January 22, 2019 by wpengine

Fruit and Nut Trees Need Chill Time in the Winter

By Bonnie Isaac

It’s cold outside! There is snow on the ground. How could this possibly be good for plants?

dwarf apple tree in the snow — A dwarf apple tree gettin’ its chill on! Photo credit: Joe Isaac

Many of our fruit and nut trees require a cold period to produce fruit. Without cold this winter, we won’t have fruit this fall. If our fruit trees don’t get enough cold, then the flower buds may not open in the spring. If the flower buds don’t open, they can’t get pollinated. If pollination doesn’t occur, then fruit doesn’t set. It’s an important cycle that is necessary for our food supply, especially if you like fruits and nuts. Apples, pears, plums, peaches, cherries, almonds, and walnuts all require varying amounts of chill time to set fruit.

Chill hours are the minimum amount of cold a tree needs before it will break dormancy. These trees then need a warm period to follow the chill. If it gets warm too soon or the chill requirement is met early, plants may break dormancy too soon, adding risk of a freeze or frost damage. The amount of fruit a tree sets will be affected if there is a late frost or an early warm spell. There is a delicate balance in nature which determines whether we get fruit or not. So, let’s not grumble about the cold outside. Enjoy it! I, for one, really like fruits and nuts. I’ll be nestling all snug in my bed with visions of plums dancing in my head because I know the cold is necessary if I want to enjoy fruit this summer and fall.

Bonnie Isaac is the Collection Manager in the Section of Botany. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

January 17, 2019 by wpengine

Art, Science and the Intersection of Knowledge

By Eric Dorfman

Detail of Vertumnus, by Mannerist painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo produced in Milan c. 1590. Arcimboldo’s most famous work, it depicts the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II as Vertumnus, the Roman god of the seasons, transformation and abundance.

I’ve always loved this painting. Vertumnus looks serenely at the viewer, a slight smile making you think he knows something you’d like to. It’s a clever work of Mannerism, seamlessly weaving a complex array of perfectly rendered fruits and other plants into the portrait of a human face full of character. The portrait is of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, a contemporary of Elizabeth I, William Shakespeare and the flowering of one of the important periods in Western culture.

By linking Rudolf to Vertumnus, Giuseppe Arcimboldo makes a supremely flattering gesture. The Holy Roman Emperor is, by this reference, a godlike figure, responsible for eliciting positive change in his empire. While the painters of the 16th century were no strangers to allegory, this work has always struck me as particularly effective. Perhaps I’m just drawn to the sense of fun. Equally, however, it wouldn’t be as effective to me if the plants weren’t so engaging.

By marrying art and science (in this case, plant anatomy), Arcimboldo attempts to describe the world and, in some way, help us understand his version of it through the oblique mechanism of allegory.

One of our most primal needs is to understand the world around us, and then share that understanding. We are motivated to understand because we – humans in general – are (justifiably) afraid of the unknown. In fact, the craving for order and predictability is a trait that may have had its origins in our most ancient roots as a survival skill in our earliest ancestors. The early Hominids, like any other animal, would have been vulnerable to the dangers of changing environmental conditions. Being able to recognize and react appropriately kept them alive and that impetus is today equally resonant to business people as to hikers.

Bringing them down to their common denominators, art and science have much in common in this regard. The fields cause us to reflect, explore and communicate aspects of the world around us.

“The greatest scientists are artists as well.” – Albert Einstein, 1923

Many scientists I know (myself included) are either arts practitioners or have deep appreciation for the arts. Perhaps Isaac Asimov is the greatest 20th century example of this. Aside from being a professor of biochemistry at Boston University, he was a prolific writer who wrote or edited more than 500 books on just about every subject imaginable from science fiction, to Shakespeare to off-color limericks.

Even disregarding the ways art and science might be superficially similar, it’s also worth thinking about how they can also be integrated. Considerable creativity is needed to make scientific breakthroughs and art is just as often an expression (or the product) of scientific knowledge. The science behind singing opera, mixing paint colors, baking, fashion design or creating perspective in a drawing, all have strong scientific underpinnings. In fact, getting the science down to the point where it is second nature is the mark of a true master.

Detail of Relativity by Maurits Cornelius Escher, 1953

Using mathematics creatively was the hallmark of the Dutch artist Maurits Cornelius Escher who, although not having mathematical training made art that had a strong mathematical component. Many of the drawings for which he is best known were built around impossible landscapes. In his seminal 1979 book Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid, Douglas Hofstadter explores common themes in the lives and works of logician Kurt Gödel, M. C. Escher, and composer Johann Sebastian Bach, wrapping up concepts fundamental to mathematics, symmetry, and intelligence within the lives of these three people.

When both artists and scientists are successful, it because they change our perceptions of the world, causing us to see it – and ourselves – differently. Where they fail is when they present nothing new. “Derivative” is a condemnation in either field.

The Legacy of da Vinci

In his book How to Think Like da Vinci (MJF Books, 2015), Daniel Smith says of Leonardo:

We wonder how one man could be so skilled across the arts and sciences. The answer is that he recognized no intellectual separation between his work as an artist and as a scientist. Instead the art and the scientist were conjoined, their ideas flowing effortlessly together informing his practice in whatever discipline he happened to be focusing upon on any given day… the Mona Lisa could not have been painted had he not devoted countless hours to the study of anatomy (page 75).

The Vebjørn Sand Da Vinci Project bridge, based on a design by Leonardo Da Vinci. Photo: Åsmund Ødegård, 2005

The talents of da Vinci as a bridge engineer were demonstrated in 2001, when artist Vebjorn Sand built the da Vinci-Broen bridge in Norway using da Vinci’s never-realized plans for a bridge originally meant to stretch across the Golden Horn in Istanbul. The Ottoman Sultan Bajazet II, who commissioned it rejected the design as an architectural impossibility. So – almost 500 years after its design – da Vinci and his design were vindicated.

And yet, the world at large forgets most overlooks his scientific and engineering achievements, focusing on him as an artist, the creator of two of the most famous paintings in history.

It was bad luck that da Vinci’s work was lost to civilization for almost 200 years, through a combination of poor planning, carelessness and profiteering. Michael White, in this 2000 biography Leonardo: The First Scientist speculates on modern society, had this not been the case:

…Leonardo had made startling discoveries in his studies of optics, mechanics, anatomy and geology. He had created a form of plastic, developed a sophisticated predecessor of the camera (the camera obscura), written of contact lenses and steam power, explained why the sky was blue and developed visual techniques for representation of the body that would only be seen again with the invention of the CAT scan.

We can only wonder what would have happened to the history of science, and from that the development of technology, if Leonardo’s work had been known about and read widely soon after his death. Where would we be today? What technological wonders now enjoy? (page 4)

STEAM: The Arts in Science Education

Recognizing this great potential for integration, how can we move into a realm of true interdisciplinarity, which represents a nexus between the arts and sciences? One avenue I find promising is STEAM education, which explores these concepts as an integrated whole, rather than as silos to be conquered separately.

woman and girl looking at laptop together

Many people are aware of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math). It has been in use sufficiently long for educators to see outcomes and practices unfold in schools across the nation. More recently, however, some educators have proposed adding an “A” (for arts) to the STEM curriculum. In doing so, they have sparked a national debate about whether the arts have a place in STEM education.

Today’s innovators are rewarded for creativity, both from employers and by the marketplace. Working collaboratively in open work spaces, sharing ideas globally with other thinkers, and combining their STEM powers with more artistic talents. From the open-air Brooklyn offices of Kickstarter that inhabit an old pencil factory, to the dog-friendly work spaces of Seattle-based Rover, these celebrate humanity and creativity as being fundamental to the design process. (See the full story at Artsy)

If the marketplace is ready for this sort of thinking, it presents the field of Education with an opportunity. Integrating knowledge can be highly beneficial to students because in the real world, these challenges blend together. Teaching children how to challenge assumed knowledge and come up with unique combinations is fundamental to true innovation. From the perspective of da Vinci (and the many other thinkers who followed, from Francis Bacon to John Ruskin), this integration was so fundamental as to go without question.

Practitioners who use science and math to create innovations also use design-thinking to help conceptualize their work. Their communication incites enthusiasm in the the funding community in order to secure support for their initiatives. They also work collaboratively with colleagues and investors to improve and expand ideas, and then speak eloquently about progress and discoveries to an engaged public.

Similarly, artists often must understand accounting if they are running their own business, as well as the materials with which their artworks are composed, and the regimes of humidity and temperature within which the pieces must be stored.

Creating factions out of the areas of study and focusing solely on testing and rigor contributes to the continually low levels of student engagement in STEM. The “A” of arts in STEAM provides the essential ingredients of relevance, immediacy and passion to unlock what there is to love about science and its sibling subjects.

A Final Thought: We Need Art and Science to Save the Planet

The Earth is in trouble. The litany of environmental catastrophes is too long to recount and, for which, the concept of the Anthropocene (the shortly-to-be-named Age of Humanity) in some way serves as a convenient focal point. Even if you choose not to buy into the fact that our climate is changing due to human activity, it’s impossible to deny the estimated 87,000 tons of garbage in the World Ocean, vanishing coral reefs, global declines of amphibians, bees and many other groups. Although you can’t deny it, do you have to care?

In this book Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, the great biologist E. O. Wilson introduces his concept with the following words:

The greatest enterprise of the mind has always been and always will be the attempted linkage of the sciences and humanities. The ongoing fragmentation of knowledge and resulting chaos in philosophy are not reflections of the real world but artifacts of scholarship (page 8).

These words resonate to me because it is in the unity of knowledge that I find the greatest hope for our future. Especially in the United States, for true environmental protection to take place, people have to care. When I was young, environmental protection meant setting aside breeding habitat for threatened species or banning the whale hunt. Now, single-species issues (which today are even more severe) have been eclipsed by issues that everybody has to care about. Air, water, arable land and other environmental goods and services.

Who is it that helps people care? This ad from Greenpeace (c2008) presents a wonderfully simple question: “Do you know what’s in your food?” It provides the most basic call to action, urging you to ask questions about hidden GMOs in the food you eat. For me, it works because Greenpeace found humor in a very serious subject. It’s engaging, without preaching and, rest assured, there’s science behind the message.

In some ways, Greenpeace is doing what Giuseppe Arcimboldo did 450 years earlier. Using plants as a sort of visual synecdoche, both artists tell a bigger story with their visualization, one that’s based on the psychical properties of those plants and what they represent. This is the kind of clever thinking that gives me hope and confirms the place of interdisciplinarity across the arts and sciences.

If we want to own our future, we must take control of our present, using every tool at our disposal. Tomorrow’s world is bright for those willing to make bold experiments. The next generation needs polymaths.

Eric Dorfman is the Daniel G. and Carole L. Kamin Director of Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Eric oversees strategic initiatives, operations, and research at the museum. He is an active advocate for natural and cultural heritage and has published books on natural history and climate change, as well as children’s fiction and scholarly articles on museology and ecology. Read more of Eric’s work on his blog.

January 17, 2019 by wpengine

Dial M for a Murder (of crows)

By Melissa Cagan

In the city of Pittsburgh, there are many different places you might find a rowdy roost of crows. Crows gather to spend the night in areas with big trees and some source of light. Most people wouldn’t want to sleep with the lights on, but for crows, lights let them keep an eye out for possible predators like the fearsome great horned owl.

Fun Fact: They’re not really that vicious, but a group of crows is often referred to as a “murder.” Spooky, right? One reason for the term “murder” could be that, as scavengers, crows are often associated with cemeteries or battlefields.

Duck, duck… crow?

Throughout winter, roosts of crows will shift around the city of Pittsburgh. This means that you could spot a group of crows in one place and then three months later observe the same exact “murder” in another area of the city!

Where can I find crows?

Here are some of the places in Pittsburgh where you might have seen a crow (or a thousand!) in past years:

• Flagstaff Hill

• Homewood Cemetery (in October)

• Allegheny Cemetery (in October)

• By Bigelow Boulevard in the Hill District

• Next to the Cathedral of Learning

In fact, the University of Pittsburgh has started blasting predatory bird calls from the Cathedral to try and scare the crows away. Do you think this is working? If you’re riding through Oakland keep both your eyes and ears open!

I Spy with My Little Eye…

Next time the sun starts to set, go outside and see what sorts of things you notice. Do you observe anything unusual happening with the birds in your area? You can even take along a camera or notepad to write down your observations. Make a note of anything fun or interesting that stands out to you!

Explore nature together. Visit Nature 360 for activities and information.

January 17, 2019 by wpengine

Preserving Fossil Treasures: Eocene Fishes from Monte Bolca, Italy

by Linsly Church

In 1903, Carnegie Museum of Natural History purchased an enormous private fossil collection from the Baron Ernest de Bayet of Brussels, Belgium. Over a 40-year period the Baron had amassed a collection comprising tens of thousands of individual fossils. At age 65 he married a much younger woman and sold the collection to fulfill her dream of having a house on the shore of Italy’s Lake Como. Within the collection are fossils from all over Europe. Fossils from Italy include the Monte Bolca fish collection, which contains about 290 beautifully-preserved specimens that date to about 50 to 49 million years ago, early in the Eocene Epoch.

map of Italy highlighting the province of Verona — The province of Verona (in red) in Italy, where the Monte Bolca site is located.

One quarry at Monte Bolca has been owned by the same family for almost 400 years. It is known as the Pesciara, meaning the fishbowl, because many of the marine fossils found there are those of fishes. Because the preservation is so good in some layers of limestone, the site is considered a Lagerstätte. A Lagerstätte is a site that contains exquisitely-preserved fossils, typically representing a diversity of organisms. At Monte Bolca, some fishes and other creatures have preserved internal organs and even skin pigmentation, the result of an anoxic (oxygen-poor) environment that hindered decay and scavenging. The fossil site also differs from most others in that it is an underground mine with tunnels instead of a typical open quarry.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s collection of fishes from Monte Bolca is currently undergoing conservation. In the past, the museum’s Vertebrate Paleontology collection was housed on open shelves in rooms with poor air filtration systems, resulting in soot from the local steel industry building up on the fossils. In recent years, the museum has installed an HVAC system in the Vertebrate Paleontology collection rooms, which has greatly reduced the particulates that make it into these rooms and onto the specimens. In the years since these measures were taken, we in Vertebrate Paleontology have commenced a general cleaning of our specimens, starting with our fishes from Monte Bolca.

To clean the specimens, we use a soot sponge (or chemical sponge), which is also used by restoration companies to clean after fires. “Chemical sponge” is a slightly misleading name because there are no chemicals added to the sponge. It is made of vulcanized rubber and has tiny pores on its surface that collect fine soot particles without depositing chemicals on the fossil. Therefore, there is no need for water or additional solvents when using these sponges. Wet cleaning of soot can cause staining on the surface that is being cleaned so it is very important to use dry cleaning methods such as chemical sponges. In some cases, the soot on the specimens is so dense that it is obvious where cleaning has taken place.

Before and after: clean soot sponges, prior to use (top); dirty soot sponges, after use (bottom) (with the source of the soot—a newly cleaned fossil fish from Monte Bolca—in the background).

Once the specimens have been cleaned, repairs are made as needed and labels are reattached if they are delaminating from (or falling off of) the specimen. Then, storage mounts are created for specimens as needed using archival materials. These materials are made specifically to be as neutral or inert as possible so as not to give off gases that could react harmfully with the specimens. Storage mounts are important because they reduce the amount of times someone needs to touch the specimen—which, in turn, reduces breakage—and protect the specimen from vibration when the compactors in which it is housed are opened and closed. These measures will help to protect the integrity of the specimens for years to come.

A drawer full of recently-cleaned Monte Bolca fishes in their new storage mounts.

Linsly Church is the curatorial assistant for the Section of Vertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Fish Story

by Patrick McShea

Museum educators who helped interpret We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene during the ground-breaking exhibition’s ten-month run now pay close attention to explanations of Anthropocene-related themes. When exceptional examples are encountered, we feel compelled to share them.

Recently, in a New York Times article about how a decades-long decline in insect populations is now causing alarm, author Brooke Jarvis addresses the apparent invisibility of environmental degradation that occurs over generations.

She presents the term “shifting baseline syndrome” for the phenomenon, and by way of memorable example summarizes the results of an unusual research study from 2008.

Marine biologist Loren McClenachan, of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, quantified the decline of fish associated with Florida Keys coral reefs by examining historic photos, 1956 – 2007, of the sportfishing customers and catches of three long established charter boat companies.

Although smiles remained consistent across the decades, prize fish got considerably smaller. As Jarvis notes in her summary, “The world never feels fallen, because we grow accustomed to the fall.”

For more details, check out Brooke Jarvis’ full article, The Insect Apocalypse Is Here.

The Crows are Back in Town

By Melissa Cagan and Rachael Carlberg

If you looked out your window at sunset in the recent months, you would probably notice a strange phenomenon – hundreds, even thousands, of crows flying from all directions towards the same place.

Where are the crows going?

Well, when the weather starts getting cold, crows will fly into Pittsburgh from surrounding areas to join in one communal roost, a large group of birds that flock together to sleep through cold nights. You may wonder why these crows have chosen a city as their roost site, but there are actually many advantages to choosing an urban roost. For one thing, cities are usually warmer than rural areas, are well-lit by night lights, and contain fewer predators. In addition, Pittsburgh has an abundance of large trees that make safe spots for a big crow slumber party!

Heads up…

Now – imagine that a hundred (or even a thousand!) birds moved into your neighbor’s place… what sorts of strange things might you start to notice? Crows are not known for being quiet, so don’t be surprised if it gets super noisy when you’re trying to sleep. Also, as you might imagine, a roost of crows poses some… sanitary issues as well. If you live in the city near a roost look out for some lovely crow presents on your streets, sidewalks, or car.

Birds can be trash collectors?

Corvids, the family of birds that crows are a part of, are really smart birds.

In fact, a theme park in France has made use of corvids’ talents by hiring six rooks (a cousin of the crow) to act as garbage collectors throughout the park!

Warm Those Heart Cockles

By Timothy A. Pearce

The phrase “cockles of your heart” refers to the cockle-like ventricles of the heart. But the cockles that Mary quite contrary had in her garden, and the cockles being sold by Molly Malone, are bivalve mollusks that have heart-shaped shells. Of the cockles, one of the most heart-shaped is Corculum cardissa, also known as the heart cockle.

heart cockle specimens — Corculum cardissa (heart cockles) have tiny windows in their shells that let in light for their internal algae to photosynthesize. Photo by Tim Pearce.

Corculum cardissa and the related giant clams (genus Tridacna) have microscopic dinoflagellate algae living inside their bodies (in the mantle, gills, and the liver).

Remarkably, the shells of Corculum cardissa have tiny translucent windows that allow light to penetrate so the algae can photosynthesize. The cockle gets food from the algae, and the algae get a safe place to live. They live together in symbiosis (as happy as an alga).

The windows appear to direct and focus light onto the parts of the clam body containing algae, rather than simply dispersing light (Carter & Schneider 1997).

Both Corculum cardissa and the giant clams live in the Indo-Pacific region. They inhabit shallow water because there is not enough light below about 20 m depth for their algae.

The giant clams and heart cockles (Corculum) are perhaps the only bivalves having a symbiotic relationship with dinoflagellates (Farmer et al., 2001).

Second to the corals, these clams are the best-studied systems of photosynthetic symbionts in animals.

Now there is a story to warm the cockles of your heart on these cold winter days!

Literature

Carter, J.G. & Schneider, J.A. 1997. Condensing lenses and shell microstructure in Corculum, (Mollusca: Bivalvia). Journal of Paleontology, 71(1): 56-61.

Farmer, M.A., Fitt, W.K. & Trench, R.K. 2001. Morphology of the symbiosys between Corculum cardissa (Mollusca: Bivalvia) and Symbiodinium corculorum (Dinophyceae). Biological Bulletin, 200: 336-343.

January 7, 2019 by wpengine

Dinohyus: “Terrible Pig” in More Ways Than One

by Joe Sawchak

In the depths of Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s basement, in the Vertebrate Paleontology (VP) collection area known as the Big Bone Room, there is a small model of a prehistoric pig-like mammal known as Dinohyus. The name Dinohyus translates to “terrible pig,” and in life, this buffalo-sized beast must indeed have been a terrifying sight. Even so, to several members of the VP staff, including myself, the model—lovingly known as The Hyus—is perhaps even more horrifying than the actual creature itself. See for yourself:

The Hyus: the rarely-seen scale model of Dinohyus in the Big Bone Room at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Does anything about it seem odd to you?

Notice anything weird?

Like, maybe, the eyes?!

If so, then you’re not alone. To those other VP staff and I—plus most of the few other people to whom we’ve shown this model—the eyes seem so ‘emotive’ or ‘human’ that it’s disturbing. It almost seems as though they’re staring right into your soul…

side view of dinohyus model — A side view of The Hyus taken in 1910, shortly after the model was made.

So, how did such a bizarre model come to be in our museum’s collection? Well, none of us really knew, so I did some digging into our archives. As it turns out, the model was sculpted by one Theodore Augustus Mills, born April 24, 1839 in Charleston, South Carolina. Beginning in 1860, Mills studied at the Munich Royal Academy of Fine Arts for five years. Afterward, he was employed by the Smithsonian and a few other institutions. Then, in 1898, he began work at Carnegie Institute, the parent organization of what is now known as Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Soon thereafter, he was permanently hired in the Section of Vertebrate Paleontology to make models of prehistoric animals. His Dinohyus model was completed in 1909 and catalogued as specimen CM (Carnegie Museum) 2503. A mold was made of the sculpture, and as such, the museum actually possesses multiple copies of the model. Mills worked at the Carnegie until his death from pneumonia on December 11, 1916.

An interesting side note regarding Theodore Mills is that, early in his career, he assisted his father Clark Mills in making a cast of US President Abraham Lincoln’s face. This cast was made only 60 days prior to Lincoln’s assassination in 1865.

Life mask of President Abraham Lincoln, made by Clark and Theodore Mills in early 1865, shortly before Lincoln’s assassination. Theodore Mills also sculpted The Hyus.

But back to the question at hand: why does Carnegie Museum of Natural History house The Hyus? The answer is that the museum is also home to what is probably the most complete, best-preserved fossil skeleton of its namesake species that has ever been discovered. In 1905, Carnegie Museum field collector T. F. Olcott unearthed this skeleton (now catalogued as specimen CM 1594) from the Agate Springs Fossil Quarry in the northwestern corner of Nebraska. Later that year, another Carnegie paleontologist, O. A. Peterson, designated that fossil as the type, or name-bearing, specimen of a new species that he called Dinohyus hollandi. As explained above, Dinohyus translates to “terrible pig,” whereas hollandi refers to William Jacob Holland, the Director of Carnegie Institute at the time. Dinohyus is an entelodont, an extinct group of pig-like (but not closely related to modern pigs) mammals that probably ate both meat and plants. Standing about six feet tall at the shoulder, it was among the largest of its kind. Dinohyus inhabited North America between roughly 29 and 19 million years ago during the late Oligocene and early Miocene epochs.

Shortly after its discovery, the type specimen of Dinohyus hollandi was mounted and put on display here at the Carnegie Museum. We presume that Theodore Mills made his model to accompany this display, intending to give museum visitors a glimpse of what this frightening brute may have looked like in the flesh.

Decades later, beginning in the 1990s, many paleontologists have argued that the entelodont species Dinohyus hollandi and Daeodon shoshonensis are actually the same kind of animal. If so, Daeodon would be the correct name because it was coined first.

Today, though the model is relegated to storage in the Big Bone Room (due, perhaps, to its unsettling appearance?), CM 1594 is still on display in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s exhibition Age of Mammals: The Cenozoic Era. Furthermore, the source of this remarkable specimen, Agate Springs Fossil Quarry, is now the centerpiece of Agate Fossil Beds National Monument.

And though Dinohyus itself is now widely known as Daeodon, Mills’ model will always be The Hyus to us.

CM 1594, the type specimen of Dinohyus hollandi (now widely regarded as Daeodon shoshonensis) on display in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Age of Mammals exhibition.

Joe Sawchak is a collection assistant for the Section of Vertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Sounds of Science

By Patrick McShea

In early October, when a pre-school teacher requested frog and toad materials from the museum’s Educator Loan Collection, she mentioned plans to share the items with a fifth-grade teacher.

Jean Nipaver, an early childhood teacher at Pittsburgh’s Beechwood PreK-5, has long borrowed museum materials to create stimulating learning environments for children 3 – 5 years old. In her email request, she credited a former student for the plan to share resources:

“Yesterday, a fifth-grade teacher stopped me in the hall. Her class is reading Night of the Spadefoot Toads, and a girl in the class told her about all the science she remembered from pre-k, especially about the frogs & toads we’d borrowed from you and the very cool frog song player that you lent us.”

Night of the Spadefoot Toads, which all fifth grade students in Pittsburgh Public Schools read as part a core literacy program, is an award-winning book from 2012 by long-established children’s book author Bill Harley.

It tells the story of a fifth grade boy’s adjustment to a move from Arizona to Massachusetts, and his eventual attachment to new varieties of wildlife and the habitat that supports them. As the author summarizes on his website, the book is “about nature and wildlife, friends, school, bullies, and finding a home in the world. The story reminds us that the place around the corner has its own secrets and treasures.”

At Beechview PreK-5, borrowed museum materials let pre-school students and fifth graders in on the same secret – the deep groan-like croak of the spadefoot toad. For the older students the spooky noise added a bit of a soundtrack to the engaging, relevant, age-appropriate story they were reading. For the younger students in Jean Nipaver’s class, the toad call was part of a school-year-long soundtrack, one focused on learning about science.

Learn more about spadefoot toads and play their call courtesy of the University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Laboratory.

For information about the popular book, visit Bill Harley’s website.

Learn more about the CMNH Educator Loan Program.

January 2, 2019 by wpengine

Earth History in Your Hand

By Gil Oliveira

In my previous blog, I wrote about the last Jurassic World movie, which ends with the rise of a new fictional Jurassic Age, where humans and dinosaurs must learn to coexist. The Jurassic is one of the most famous geological time-periods. But when exactly was the Jurassic? The Jurassic Period ran from 200 to 145 million years ago. A long time ago… To put it into perspective, the origin of our species, Homo sapiens, dates back approximately 300 thousand years ago, which also seems a long time ago, but represents only 0.007% of the entire history of the planet (4.5 billion years)! What happened on Earth the 99.993% of the time when we did not yet even exist?

To understand earth history, natural history museums travel back through time. To do this they use a communication tool called the Geological Time Scale. In the same way we measure time with segments (such as years, months, weeks, and days), geologists subdivide deep time into useable, agreed upon units (eons, eras, periods, epochs, and ages).

chronostratigraphic chart — © ICS: http://www.stratigraphy.org, CC BY-NC-ND

But the Geological Time Scale is not exactly a calendar, because these time intervals are not equal in length like the hours in a day. Instead, divisions are based on significant events in the history of the Earth, that are detectable in rock, fossil and ice records, such as the extinction of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago, which defines the beginning of the Cenozoic era.

Museums don’t seek to teach the official chart of geologic time. But they seek to teach about deep time and the planet’s history, helping to put current times into a longer historical context. Museums use different techniques to make the geological time scale comprehensible. One approach is linear and usually consists of a strip of paint that represents the geological time scale rolled out on a surface. It was used for instance in the Objective Earth: Living in the Anthropocene exhibition at the Valais Nature Museum (Switzerland), which rolled out a linear poster around 30 feet long on the ground (and the wall). A second approach I have seen is more focused on aesthetics and takes the form of a spiral of time. Another technique is to take the age of the Earth and compress it into one year or one day. The American Museum of Natural History in New York used this approach with a 24-hour clock. The label indicates that life began at 5 am and the first vertebrates evolved at 8 am. As for the humans, they appeared just a fraction of a second before midnight.

Objective Earth. Living the Anthropocene © Robert Hofer

illustration of deep time — © USGS https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/2008/58/

clock illustrating deep time — © Gil Oliveira

Each approach has benefits and disadvantages. The Geologic Time Spiral for instance can be visually striking, but the perspective of the spiral’s depth runs the risk to lose any perception of the proportion of geological time, which is the main information. It may also give a false impression of accelerating events (geological, biological, climatic, human) as we move closer to the present.

In 2007, the Cuvier Museum in Montbeliard (France) came up with a new way to represent the geological time scale. Thierry Malvesy, now curator of Geology Collections at the museum of natural history of Neuchatel (Switzerland), did it using cubes of different volumes. The advantage is to respect the proportions of time while allowing the public to see everything at a glance. It was used to explain the principle of biological evolution, emphasizing the importance of time in the evolution of life.

What is the best way to make the geological time scale understandable? There’s no easy answer. Each approach is a compromise in a way. The dinosaurs exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History uses both the spiral and the linear approach. This choice may only be temporary, as the new hall called The David H. Koch Hall of Fossils—Deep Time will open in less than a year. I wonder which approach they will use to help visitors connect to Earth’s distant past?

how long did dinosaurs live compared to us? — © Gil Oliveira

As the Carnegie Museum of Natural History is embracing the Anthropocene as a major theme for the future, it is important to place this newly proposed epoch in deep time. It is equally important for museums to find the best way to do it.

Gil Oliveira is postgraduate student working as an intern in the Section of the Anthropocene at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences working at the museum.

December 31, 2018 by wpengine

Expanding the value of herbarium specimens with citizen science app, iNaturalist

By Mason Heberling

Biological collections are at the heart of the natural history museum. Biological collections are large and diverse, with specimens of shells, bugs, birds, fossils, bones, plants, and more. They were collected anywhere from the sidewalk in front of the museum this past spring to a remote jungle on the other side of the world a century ago.

Each of the roughly 22 million objects at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History have valuable scientific stories to tell. Knowledge derived from museum specimens motivate or inform nearly every aspect of museum practice. Specimens are used directly in museum exhibitions and programming. Specimens are sources of scientific data, used by researchers both at the museum and across the world to understand the past, present, and future of life. And these specimens continue to be used in new and innovative ways to inform us about the world and the impact of humans in the Anthropocene.

Collecting from nature for admiration and study is an ancient practice, with plant collecting among the oldest. The oldest known collection of plants, known as an herbarium (plural: herbaria), dates to 16^thcentury Italy!

But specimen collecting is not a dated practice; it is not just something botanists used to do. Plant collecting remains to this day an active and necessary part of botanical science. With over half a million plant specimens, the Carnegie Museum herbarium is not stagnant. Our collection continues to grow. New specimens are collected and added to the herbarium each year, expanding the scope of the collection and therefore its scientific and societal relevance. In fact, in the recent era of rapid environmental change, new collections are all the more important.

Despite the continued importance of this practice, the standard process for collecting new specimens has change remarkably little through time. Major changes in collection practices include the use of GPS coordinates and to a lesser extent, specific sampling methods for genetic analyses.

In the Section of Botany, Bonnie Isaac (Collections Manager) and I are developing innovative ways to maximize the future use of our collections. One way we are doing this is by linking our collections to the popular citizen science platform, iNaturalist (inaturalist.org). iNaturalist is a free resource available online or as a mobile app that allows users to record biodiversity observations. We are using iNaturalist in the field and in the herbarium to facilitate new collections and expand the research value of specimens.

Herbarium specimen of large flowered trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) with QR code on label that directs researchers to the associated iNaturalist observation, including images of the plant in the wild.

Before collecting a specimen, we take images in the field of the specimen in real life. These images are uploaded to iNaturalist, including other data such as date, time, location, and species identification. Other iNaturalist users can also contribute directly through verifying the identity of the specimen or making other comments.

Back in the herbarium, we export this information from iNaturalist to create unique herbarium labels for each specimen. We are using QR codes to link the specimens to the online iNaturalist observation. These QR codes can be read by most mobile devices. Among other information, the iNaturalist observation account online permanently links images from the field to the physical specimens in the herbarium.

What color were the flower petals? What was the size of the plant? Did it have a unique pattern on the bark? What was the branching pattern? These questions and more can be asked to place herbarium specimens in a more complete context.

We envision a future where researchers can go through the herbarium with a mobile device such as a tablet or smart phone, scan QR codes on specimens, and be immediately directed to images of the specimen in the field.

Our article outlining this approach is available for free online:

Heberling, J. M., and B. L. Isaac. 2018. iNaturalist as a tool to expand the research value of museum specimens. Applications in Plant Sciences 6(11): e1193. https://bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/aps3.1193

Mason Heberling is Assistant Curator of Botany at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Check back for more! Botanists at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History have embarked on a three-year project to digitize nearly 190,000 plant specimens collected in the region, making images and other data publicly available online. This effort is part of the Mid-Atlantic Megalopolis Project (mamdigitization.org), a network of thirteen herbaria spanning the densely populated urban corridor from Washington, D.C. to New York City to achieve a greater understanding of our urban areas, including the unique industrial and environmental history of the greater Pittsburgh region. This project is made possible by the National Science Foundation under grant no. 1801022. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

December 31, 2018 by wpengine

From Metes and Bounds to GPS: Part 2

By James Whitacre

In my last post I talked about how surveyors and cartographers used chains and compasses to survey the land. They also used the system of metes and bounds to describe the data they collected, typically for land ownership purposes. At the GIS Lab at Powdermill Nature Reserve, we no longer use these techniques of old when mapping research data in the field. But with today’s advances in technology, we use much different methods and tools to collect research data.

The primary tool used today for collecting data in the field is a GPS receiver, as you might have guessed. At Powdermill, we use these devices to quickly and efficiently record latitude, longitude, and altitude. We can also couple GPS receivers with mobile apps to help us collect other non-spatial data.

To learn more about projects that use mobile apps and GPS, I recommend checking out the BirdSafe Pittsburgh program and our effort to map plastic waste.

However, you may be wondering, what exactly is GPS…and what does it actually stand for? The Global Positioning System (GPS) is operated by the US Air Force and has been around since 1978. It is a world-wide constellation of over 30 satellites that are constantly in orbit around the earth. With just four satellites in view, the location of the GPS device can be determined by using a process called trilateration, which measures the distances between multiple satellites and the device on the ground (I’m not going to get into the technical math…). GPS is also just one of a few other global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), as Russia, China, and the European Union all have operational systems as well. Many GPS devices utilize all GNSS systems.

There are many different types of GPS devices and they are generally categorized into three accuracy levels: recreational grade (accurate from 3 to within 10 meters), mapping grade (0.5 to 3 meters), or survey grade (1 millimeter to 0.5 meters). If your smartphone has GPS on it, as most do, that is considered a recreational grade GPS device. Other recreational GPS devices, such as Garmin devices, are fairly affordable and can be found at sporting goods stores. More sophisticated GPS devices for mapping and surveying are not typically found in stores and must be ordered from specialty vendors.

The above image shows the different devices the GIS Lab has used over the years. At Powdermill, we use mapping grade GPS devices most often, as represented by the four devices on the right in the image above, but we also use recreational GPS devices and GPS-enabled mobile devices, which are the four devices on the left. We no longer use the top row of devices as the devices on the bottom row are newer technology that vastly outperform the older devices. The need for survey grade GPS devices is not typically needed for research at Powdermill, as one to three meters of accuracy is usually good enough for most ecological and field biology research.

By collecting research data with geographic information collected from GPS, we can analyze ecological phenomena in space, which allows us to discover much more about plant and animal communities. For example, we have used GPS to collect where trees are in addition to the species and size of the trunk. When we analyzed the distribution of our trees, we learned that red maples tend to grow on south facing slopes, while sugar maples tend to grow on north facing slopes. This information could impact future decisions for our forest management. Therefore, it is essential that we think spatially about our research!

James Whitacre is the GIS Research Scientist for Carnegie Museum of Natural History, where he primarily manages the GIS Lab at Powdermill Nature Reserve, the Museum’s environmental research center. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

December 27, 2018 by wpengine

Eorubeta: A Mysterious Ancient Frog Revealed

By Amy Henrici

I recently completed a project on fossil frogs from east central Nevada that my collaborators and I identified as the enigmatic Eorubeta nevadensis Hecht, a species that was originally based on a single, poorly preserved specimen that had been discovered in a well core.

The new collection of Eorubeta came from the Sheep Pass Canyon area about 12.5 miles northeast of the well core site. Peter Druschke discovered fossil frogs here in 2005 while working on his PhD dissertation on a rock unit known as the Sheep Pass Formation. Peter and fellow University of Nevada Las Vegas graduate students Josh Bonde and Aubrey Shirk and colleagues Dick Hilton and Tina Campbell (of Sierra College in Rocklin, California) collected additional fossil frogs in subsequent years. I was very fortunate to be invited to join the team, and we collected over 60 specimens for Carnegie Museum of Natural History in 2012, 2013, and 2016.

ancient frog fossils — Part (A) and counterpart (B) of the first-known specimen of the fossil frog Eorubeta nevadensis. This specimen resides in the Vertebrate Paleontology collection of the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

The field site lies in the South Egan Range Wilderness Area of east central Nevada. Being a wilderness area, we could only drive on existing roads, and had to hike nearly a mile to the fossil-producing slopes. The climate in Nevada is challenging to work and camp in, with temperatures reaching over 100 degrees Fahrenheit during the July 2013 field season and nighttime temperatures dipping into the high 20s during the November 2016 season.

Road into the South Egan Range Wilderness area, White Pine County, Nevada. The area burned three months prior to the 2012 field season. The fire cleared vegetation from the fossil-producing slopes, making it easier to find fossils, though burnt tree branches left us streaked with charcoal.

When Eorubeta was originally named, the rock unit from which this frog came (Member B of the Sheep Pass Formation) was thought to date to a time interval known as the Early Eocene (56–47.8 million years ago). More recently, however, Peter has determined that this unit was probably latest Cretaceous–Paleocene (72.1–56 million years ago) in age instead. It is thus possible that Eorubeta spanned the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary (66 million years ago) and survived the infamous asteroid impact that caused the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs and many other animal and plant species.

Peter determined that the beds in which the fossil frogs were preserved were part of a very high-elevation lake system (1.4–2.2 miles in elevation), similar in this way to today’s Lake Titicaca located in the Andes Mountains on the border of Bolivia and Peru. To date, Eorubeta is the only fossil frog known to have inhabited such a high-elevation environment. Most fossil frogs from this time come from prehistoric river and lake systems situated on coastal plains. The discovery of Eorubeta suggests that ancient frogs probably inhabited a greater variety of environments than the current fossil frog record indicates.

The first specimen discovered by Peter in 2005 indicates that Eorubeta may have reached a considerable size, though the fossil’s extremely weathered condition makes its identification uncertain. An analysis of the relationships of Eorubeta to other frogs reveals that it is more archaic than spadefoot toads, Neobatrachia (a group known as modern frogs), and their relatives.

ancient frog specimen — The largest known specimen of Eorubeta.

Peter Druschke, the team geologist who discovered the specimen.

To learn more about Eorubeta, please follow this link to our paper recently published online in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2018.1510413.

Amy Henrici is the collection manager for the Section of Vertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

December 27, 2018 by wpengine

Deck the Trees with Moth Cocoons

By Vanessa Verdecia

Many people wonder: “what happens to bugs during the winter months?” In the case of Callosamia promethea, known as the Promethea Moth, the caterpillars will have spun a cocoon in a leaf and will spend the winter as a pupa in a cocoon that is well attached by silk and hanging from a tree. This is the third stage of metamorphosis before the adult moth ecloses (=emerges) the following summer and is seen flying during June-July in Pennsylvania. You may look for these cocoons in the winter as they are usually found on low-hanging branches of many types of forest trees.

This year in Invertebrate Zoology we reared Promethea caterpillars and we are now ready to mimic winter conditions in the lab. The live cocoons have been carefully stored in a sealed plastic bag with a damp paper towel to maintain humidity. This bag has been stored in the refrigerator to mimic the cold temperature that the cocoons would have experienced outside. Insects are sensitive to temperature cues that will dictate when the moth is ready to eclose. Experiencing diapause—a period of suspended development—will trigger the moths to eclose the following year. The cocoons will remain in the refrigerator until next spring, and hopefully they will survive and we’ll have some beautiful moths eclose. Insects are also dependent on light cues and are sensitive to day length, which is more difficult to mimic in a lab setting. I am hopeful these will survive, as this technique has worked in the past.

This process will conclude the full cycle of an isofemale rearing in which all of the stages of metamorphosis were observed and documented. We have the wild-caught male and female adult parents. At each stage of development, specimens were chosen to be preserved in order to document the egg, larval, and pupal stages. These specimens serve as a reference for associating the developmental stages of a single species, as documented in a reared culture from a single parent.

Go ahead and look around because this is the perfect time of the year to see Promethea moth cocoons decking the trees of the forest this holiday season!

December 27, 2018 by wpengine

Extinct Ornaments

By Patrick McShea

Carolina parakeet specimen on display with label

Some exhibits in Carnegie Museum of Natural History can be better appreciated through a visit to Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. This thought occurred recently when the taxidermy mount of a Carolina Parakeet in Bird Hall triggered a memory of trees full of ornaments.

Four years ago, as preparation for discussions about the centenary anniversary of the Passenger Pigeon’s extinction, I borrowed and read a thought-provoking book by Christopher Cokinos titled with a line of Emily Dickinson’s poetry, Hope Is The Thing With Feathers.

The book, which was published in 2000, includes well-researched accounts of five extinct North American bird species. In describing what we have lost in the Carolina Parakeet’s disappearance from our landscape and “erasure from our memory,” Cokinos quotes an 1877 autobiography of Gert Goebel, a German settler in eastern Missouri recounting the birds’ appearance in earlier winters.

These flocks of paroquets were a real ornament to the trees stripped of their foliage in the winter. The sight was particularly attractive, when such a flock of several hundred had settled on a big sycamore, when the bright green color of the birds was in such marked contrast with the white bark of the trees, and when the sun shone brightly these inhabited tree tops, the many yellow heads looked like so many candles.

trees in the winter without snow or leaves

The next time you pass a sycamore, try to imagine the high white bare branches alive with green parrots.

December 20, 2018 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1990: Poinsettia

by Mason Heberling

This poinsettia specimen was collected on December 20, 1990 by Sue Thompson from a potted plant in Pittsburgh. Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) are native to Mexico, but now widely cultivated.

Look closely at the colorful “flowers” of poinsettia. Upon close inspection, you’ll notice that those bright red or white (or otherwise colorful) structures are not flower petals, but specialized leaves called “bracts.” The actual flowers are yellow and quite tiny. The brightly colored bracts function to attract pollinators to the flowers.

Poinsettias are an excellent example of a “short-day” plant. (Or, more accurately, a “long-night” plant.) That means that as the length of darkness at night increases, a complex process begins that signals flowering and the production of pigments in the bracts.

Poinsettias are woody perennials – meaning you don’t need to throw them away after the holidays! However, to flower again for next season, it takes some effort. They must experience days with less than 12 hours of daylight for 8-10 weeks straight. That means you must provide the plant with 13-16 hours of complete darkness (uninterrupted!) in order for it to flower for December. This may take some commitment to remember to put it in a dark closet each day, but well worth the effort. Or just enjoy the green foliage year after year as it grows larger.

This specimen image is now publicly available online.

Are Santa’s Reindeer Real Mammals?

by Suzanne B. McLaren

Yes! Reindeer are real mammals. In fact, reindeer are the same species as caribou (Rangifer tarandus). The species is widespread throughout northern parts of the Northern Hemisphere. In North America, the wild subspecies are called “caribou.” In Eurasia, both wild and domesticated animals are called reindeer.

The First Nations People of Canada have depended upon caribou in the same way that tribes of the North American plains depended upon the bison – for meat, and as a source of clothing and various household goods cleverly derived from the animal’s bones, tendons, horns, and fur. However, there was never an attempt to domesticate the animals in North America. In parts of Eurasia, people began to domesticate reindeer about 2,000 years ago. The domesticated animals have evolved to be shorter and stockier than the wild animals. North American subspecies of caribou by contrast, are about as large an elk. There are several subspecies found in Canada, such as the barren-ground caribou living in the tundra, which is known to migrate as much as 800 miles from one seasonal feeding ground to another. At Carnegie Museum of Natural History, visitors can observe the barren-ground caribou and the mountain caribou in dioramas that show their natural habitats in the Hall of North American Wildlife. There is additional information about caribou in Polar World: Wykoff Hall of Arctic Life.

Barren-ground caribou in snow diorama — Barren-ground caribou in snow, Hall of North American Wildlife

Mountain caribou diorama — Mountain caribou, Hall of North American Wildlife

The domesticated reindeer of Eurasia are herded by people living in Arctic regions. These reindeer provide food, clothing, and even shelter for the people with whom their lives are intertwined. Clement Moore’s famous story, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’ was written in 1837 at a time when the people of Lapland, in northern Finland, would have been using reindeer to draw large sleighs or sledges, just as other people might use horses.

Unlike other members of the deer family, both male and female caribou and/or reindeer have antlers during part of the year. Large bucks begin developing antlers in March. The antlers of adult males may reach lengths of three to four feet and will be dropped by early November. Young males develop much smaller racks, which are occasionally retained as long as the following February. The antlers of adult females are of similar size to those of young males. A doe will begin to develop her antlers in June and carry them until the following April or May. Timing of antler loss in females usually coincides with the birth of their young. Based on this timing, it is clear that Santa’s reindeer must either be young males or adult females rather than adult males, because the larger males do not have antlers by Christmas time!

Reindeer can move at different speeds from the most common slow trot to a rapid gallop that can reach speeds of up to forty-nine miles per hour over short bursts. A unique characteristic of this animal is a clicking sound that is made by tendons moving over bones in the feet. They are excellent swimmers but have never been known to fly.

Suzanne B. McLaren is the Collection Manager in the Section of Mammals at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. She lives on the Northside with her husband Andy. Museum employees are encouraged to share their unique experiences from working at the museum.

A Unique Collection of Fossil Lagerstätten from the Devonian of Germany

By Will Vincett

As a research volunteer in the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology, I am interested in learning about the evolution of life and the diversity of the fossil record. Invertebrate Paleontology collections are very thorough and document a wide range of taxa over the last 600 million years of geologic time. My assignment is to investigate the famous Hunsrück Slate fossil collection from Bundenbach, a village in the Rhine valley of southwestern Germany.

The Hunsrück Slate of Germany is a 390 million-year-old metamorphosed black shale from the early Devonian Period known for its exceptional fossil preservation called Lagerstätten. A Lagerstätten is a fossil unit where fossils are preserved remarkably well. The Hunsrück Slate is the same age as the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania. Roman structures used slate as a roof material, but it is unknown if Romans used the Hunsrück Slate specifically. The earliest evidence of Hunsrück Slate mining is from the year 1300 CE, but during the 18^th-20^thcenturies the mining of the Hunsrück Slate became a successful business. The slate was used for domestic roofing and for export to other European countries. Most German quarries are now closed due to economic reasons, as cheaper slate mines from Portugal and Spain, as well as alternative synthetic roofing products, are available.

starfish fossil — Starfish fossil from the Hunsrück Slate of Germany. Photo credit: Dwergenpaartje [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

Geologically, the Hunsrück Slate sediments were sourced from an eroding Devonian age landmass called the Old Red Sandstone Continent centered in Great Britain and northwestern Europe. These sediments were carried by rivers into a relatively shallow ocean called the Lizard-Giessen-Harz/Rheno-Hercynian Ocean. Not all fossil found in the Hunsrück Slate are complete specimens-in fact most are broken fossil pieces. One theory for the great preservation of certain Hunsrück Slate fossils is that underwater landslides caused great sediment plumes that quickly buried the organisms. Only some of the animals that lived in the ocean were buried, likely the ones that were stationary or couldn’t free themselves before they died.

The Hunsrück fossils are especially significant because they preserve some of the soft parts of the organisms as well as the hard parts giving paleontologists a window into the animal’s body architecture. The micro-bacteria that lived within the seawater would digest the calcium carbonate in the absence of oxygen, converting the shell into pyrite, or FeS₂. This left a golden color of bright yellow like ‘fool’s gold’ that stands out against the black color of the slate.

There are thirty-six Hunsrück invertebrates in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History collection that are assigned to eleven echinoderm genera, Furcaster, Eospondylus, Ophiurina, Loriolaster, Euzonosoma, Taeniaster, Meduaster, Urasterella, Helianthaster, Palaeosolaster, and Encrinaster, and five crinoid genera, Poteriocrinites, Imitatocrinus, Calycanthocrinus, Codiacrinus, and Parisangulocrinus. In addition, there are two corals specimens assigned to the genus ‘Zaphrentis.’

Will Vincett is a Research Volunteer in the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

December 17, 2018 by wpengine

Collected in 1840: Holly

By Mason Heberling

Are you decking your halls with boughs of holly? Probably not holly from 178 years ago! This holly specimen (Ilex aquifolia) was collected in 1840 in England. I think the label says it was collected by “Prof. Sager,” but it is hard to read!

How did it end up at the Carnegie Museum herbarium? This specimen was part of the private herbarium of Jacob Wolle, who was the grandfather of William J. Holland, one of the first directors of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History (from 1901-1922). The CM herbarium has 2,514 specimens from Wolle’s collection, dating as far back as 1819!

Find this specimen online.

Also, find nearly 400 other holly specimens collected in Pennsylvania, just digitized and now online!

December 14, 2018 by wpengine

How Do Geodes Get Their Colors?

Geodes are stones with a secret–at first glance, they seem like nothing more than the grey rocks you might see on walk around your neighborhood. Then–crack!–once they’re broken open, they reveal their inner beauty: a tiny cave filled with some of the world’s most spectacular, colorful crystals.

Born out of lava

Geodes are formed when there are pockets of air within rocks. This often happens after volcanic eruptions when lava cools around air bubbles. These pockets leave space for groundwater to seep in. But the water itself doesn’t produce geodes–it brings along minerals which stay in the rock even after the water evaporates. The minerals then start to build on each other to form crystals. It can take thousands or even millions of years for these crystals to form. The larger the crystals are, the older the geode is.

So what gives them their color?

The same minerals that form crystals can give them their glorious colors. Additional elements can also make their way into the mix and provide their own unique shades. Iron will give crystals a red or purple color, titanium will create blue, nickel or chromium leads to green, and manganese produces pink crystals.

While geodes can be naturally colorful some are artificially dyed. These dyed stones often have a brighter, more intense color than what appears naturally. Why do people dye geodes? Colorful geodes tend to sell well and can be a cheap way to imitate rare stones.

Come to the museum and check out the geodes of various colors on display in Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems.

Explore nature together. Visit Nature 360 for more activities and information.

December 13, 2018 by wpengine

A Perfect Mineral for the Christmas Season

by Debra Wilson

How can you decorate a mineral for Christmas? If it’s the right mineral, all you need to do is shine a SWUV (short wave ultraviolet) light on it. Such is the case with a mineral that is known as “Christmas Ore.” Under normal light it looks like kind of a drab rock as the one in this photo does.

This specimen of calcite (tan color), willemite (brown color) and franklinite (black color) is on display in Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems in the Fluorescence & Phosphorescence exhibit and was donated by the Sterling Hill Mining Museum for this exhibit. It originated from the Sterling Hill mine in Ogdensburg, in the Franklin Mining District of New Jersey. When you shine the SWUV light on it you will see why it is called “Christmas Ore” because it glows with the colors of Christmas. The calcite glows a bright red and the willemite glows a bright green, as you can see in this photo.

This glowing is known as fluorescence and the Franklin Mining District is known as the fluorescent capital of the world. The Franklin and Sterling Hill ore bodies are the source of at least 350 mineral species.At present, over 80 fluorescent mineral species are known from the area. Willemite and calcite are the most common fluorescents in these ore bodies and are known as “Christmas Ore” when they occur together in the same specimen.

So, what causes the fluorescence? Fluorescence usually occurs when specific impurities known as “activators” are present within the mineral. These activators are typically cat ions of metals such as: tungsten, molybdenum, lead, boron, titanium, manganese, uranium and chromium. Rare earth elements such as europium, terbium, dysprosium, and yttrium are also known to contribute to the fluorescence phenomenon. Fluorescence can also be caused by crystal structural defects or organic impurities. Calcite (CaCO3) and willemite (Zn2SiO4) are examples of minerals that in their pure state do not fluoresce but add a little divalent manganese (Mn2+) and they will fluoresce red and green, respectively.

There are two other specimens of calcite and willemite, also from the Franklin District, in the Fluorescence & Phosphorescence exhibit, shown here under normal light and under SWUV light.

Come to Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems to hear a more detailed explanation of the phenomenon of fluorescence and see all 21 specimens in the exhibit from world-wide localities that glow under the ultraviolet lights.

Fraser Fir

by Mason Heberling

Collected on some day, probably between 101-122 years ago.

Around 25-30 million cut trees are sold each year in the United States for the holidays. The popularity of certain species for this use has changed through time. Many different evergreen conifer species are cultivated in the US for decorative use during the holidays. Needle length, softness, retention, color, and even scent vary by species or variety. Similarly, branching characteristics and branch strength differs by species. Plus, some species grow faster and easier than others, which means some species are cheaper.

This specimen of Fraser fir (Abies fraseri) was collected in Philadelphia at the Thomas Meehan & Sons Nursery. The person who collected this specimen and the date of collection are unknown. Thomas Meehan immigrated to the United States from England in 1848 and started a landscaping business. With his three sons, he started the Thomas Meehan & Sons Nursuries in 1896. The nursery was unique in that it specialized in native trees and shrubs, unlike most nurseries that focused on European and Asian varieties (still very common today). The nursery closed in 1916.

Fraser fir is currently one of the most popular Christmas trees. It is known for its dark green color, soft needles, stiff branches (great for hanging heavy ornaments), and has good needle retention. Unfortunately, native to the Southern Appalachians, Fraser fir isn’t the easiest to grow in Pennsylvania.

Before farms began cultivating trees for that purpose in the early 20th century, people just went to the woods to cut down their tree for the holidays.   Some of the earliest Christmas tree farms in the US started in Indiana County, PA as early as 1918.  Many farms in the region turned their fields into Christmas tree farms as it became profitable. By 1960, more than 1 million trees were harvested per year in Indiana County alone.  The harvest in Pennsylvania has declined for several reasons, including increased popularity of artificial trees and consumer interest in Frasier fir trees (grows slower in PA than farms in North Carolina).  However, Pennsylvania is still among the top five states in terms of both number of working Christmas tree farms and trees harvested. According to the National Christmas Tree Association, 31,577 acres in Pennsylvania are used as Christmas tree plantations. Many of the Christmas tree lots in southwestern PA get their trees from farms in Indiana county.

This specimen image is now online and publicly available here.

Lazarus Bird

by Chase Mendenhall

The search for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis) continues. For decades this conspicuous woodpecker has generated pandemonium through eye-witness accounts, inconclusive recordings of their calls, blurry videos, and suspicious markings on trees. In the 1940s, the last known group of these woodpeckers disappeared after a battle to create a reserve was lost and their forest was logged. In the last 80 years, glimpses of these giant woodpeckers have been reported in their former range that spans from Texas to North Carolina and Illinois to Florida and Cuba—but no conclusive evidence has yet been confirmed and the stakes for rediscovery are high.

The so-called “Grail Bird” has haunted outdoor enthusiasts and ornithologists who have claimed to have seen one. To the estimated 60 million US citizens who watch birds as a profession or hobby, news of an Ivory-billed Woodpecker is a serious claim. In June 2005 a popular scientific magazine published a claim by 17 scientists that the Ivory-billed Woodpecker had been rediscovered. Pandemonium ensued, with small towns on the edges of southern swamps swelling with binoculars, spotting scopes, and people determined to find the holy grail of birds. While excitement spread of the possibility of being the first to see this bird, skeptical scientists emerged and deemed the video evidence inconclusive.

Despite the insidious disappointment surrounding sightings of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, new reports continue to trickle in. In fact, the seven specimens at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History frequently receive visitors. Many are birders intrigued by the drama and, occasionally, some are confidentially gathering evidence to support their own claims of the bird’s existence.

Regardless of its status, the lore of the so-called “King of the Woodpeckers” has led to the creation of reserves, economically revitalized small swamp towns, and impassioned countless people to learn the field markings of the Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)—a common relative often confused by amateurs as an Ivory-billed Woodpecker.

December 10, 2018 by wpengine

Peppermint: A Hybrid Herb for the Holidays

by Mason Heberling

When in candy cane form, it is easy to forget where the flavor came from. Peppermint (Mentha x piperita) is actually a hybrid between two other mint species, water mint (Mentha aquatica) and spearmint (Mentha spicata). It is commonly grown for food as well as for use as a medicinal herb. It is also well known to escape garden settings and spread aggressively. Like other mints, this species is in the plant family Lamiaceae, which includes many strongly scented kitchen herbs. Members of the mint family are well recognized by their unique flowers and characteristically square stems.

This peppermint specimen was collected on August 29, 1965 by Norman R. Farnsworth in an open field at Ranalli’s Drive-In, eight miles north of Etna off Route 8, outside of Pittsburgh, PA.

Farnsworth (1930-2011) received his PhD from the University of Pittsburgh, where he researched medicinal plants. He was an influential professor and researcher in the field of pharmacognosy (study of medicinal drugs derived from plants). He was a founding member of the American Society of Pharmacognosy.

The Carnegie Museum herbarium includes 1,108 specimens collected by Farnsworth. Each specimen is recognizable, with an envelope attached to each sheet that includes a typed description of the results of chemical screenings he did on the specimen.

This specimen image is publicly available.

Snow White Bird Search

by Patrick McShea

Visitors who read the descriptive label at the snowiest diorama in the Hall of North American Wildlife are presented with a visual challenge. Under the title, Arctic animals don their winter whites, the interpretive text lists four species within the exhibit displaying protective coloration: Caribou, Arctic Fox, Collared Lemming, and Willow Ptarmigan.

The first two species are impossible to miss. If you center yourself in front of the three-dimensional scene, an Arctic fox crouches a few feet from your right knee, and a caribou pair so dominate the view that the concealment value of their pale coats is not fully apparent until you notice faint images of a larger herd painted into the backdrop horizon.

A quick search of the foreground perimeter is all that’s necessary to locate a collared lemming (above) but finding the willow ptarmigan requires determined effort. This member of the bird family that also includes pheasants, grouse and turkeys, undergoes a near complete annual color change. Willow ptarmigan trade their largely brown summer plumage for snow white winter feathers.

The birds also utilize the insulating properties of snow, sometimes roosting as much as a foot below the surface. The resting place for the willow ptarmigan in the diorama isn’t that deep, but even with the aid of the above picture it can take some searching to locate.

December 3, 2018 by wpengine

Gift from Underground

By Patrick McShea

Hairy-tailed Mole in the Hall of North American Wildlife

Do wild creatures ever participate in gift giving? Their very presence can be thought of as a gift, of course. Think only of what the chorus of bird song adds to a spring dawn, or how a trotting red fox transforms a frost white meadow.

One spring morning more than a decade ago, however, I found something in the freshly churned soil of a mole hill that I’ve come to regard as a kind of peace offering gift. As I used my right foot to spread the damp earth flat, a sliver of pale gray flashed briefly in the otherwise peanut butter colored pile. Bending down to investigate, I found an irregularly-shaped, quarter-sized piece of chert that a quick spit wash and pants wipe revealed to be the lower portion of an arrowhead.

Stone point fragment next to an intact point

The broken artifact was certainly an unintentional gift, mere tunnel debris to be pushed skyward by the shovel-like front paws and sharply pointed nose of the creature who last encountered it. For me, however, the tool fragment has become a magical kind of time capsule, holding without revealing information about its ancient creator, its use, and eventual breakage.

Since that morning I’ve looked patiently but without success for the arrowhead’s other half in every mole hill I’ve smoothed out. I’ve also spent a lot of time wondering about what the arrowhead maker called the unusual mammal whose tunnel making is the basis for our acquaintance.

December 3, 2018 by wpengine

Tribute to Otto Epping

By Suzanne McLaren and Stephen Rogers

We recently received word about the passing of former Carnegie Museum of Natural History Taxidermist Otto Epping at the age of 90 in Winchester, Virginia. In 1964, Otto Epping came to work in the Museum’s Exhibit department as a preparator and within a year his title had become ‘taxidermist.’

Over the next 17 years, he completed many projects and with his passing, Otto leaves behind a legacy of well-crafted taxidermy that has now been enjoyed by several generations of visitors to Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Not long after he arrived at the museum, a series of small dioramas were created, featuring some of Epping’s taxidermy, his wife Christine’s work on the plants in the foreground, and background paintings by Ottmar von Fuehrer or C. E. Smith. Among these dioramas is a snow leopard currently on view in the Museum Store. Individual mounts by Epping were used in the taxidermy areas of the “M is for Museum” exhibit as well as other displays that augment traveling, temporary shows that come to the Museum.

Some of Otto Epping’s craftsmanship can also be found in permanent displays on the second floor. His first large project was the elk diorama, which occupies the entire east end of the Hall of North American Wildlife.

This exhibit draws the visitor in with two male elk sparring for mates in the foreground and the Hayden Valley of Yellowstone National Park behind them. If you have ever been to Yellowstone, you might recognize this exact location as a place where you can stop for an expansive view of the Valley.

Epping collaborated with fellow taxidermist Ed McGuire on a display that depicts a male and female white-tailed deer on an October morning at the Museum’s Powdermill Nature Reserve.

In this diorama, the male is alert to the presence of another male somewhere just out of view. Well-done taxidermy captures an aspect of behavior that a viewer would expect to see in nature. Take a close look the next time you are in the Hall of North American Wildlife. Does this exhibit capture a vision that you have seen in Penn’s Woods?

Perhaps the most well-known of Epping’s taxidermy mounts is the adult male Lowland Gorilla found in the tropical forest section of the Hall of African Wildlife.

This silver-back had been a popular attraction at the Pittsburgh Zoo for nearly 15 years. When he died in 1981, “George” was offered to the Museum and we quickly agreed to make him part of our planned changes in African Hall. Epping collaborated with Danny Oplinger, using a method developed by renowned Field Museum taxidermist Leon Walters, to realistically portray the bare flesh and sparsely dispersed hairs on the face and feet of this primate. The final result is a world class rendering of a species that has always been a challenge for taxidermists.

Suzanne McLaren is the collection manager for the Section of Mammals and Stephen Rogers is the collection manager for the Section of Amphibians & Reptiles Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

November 28, 2018 by wpengine

Field Time in Borneo

By Jennifer Sheridan

Jennifer Sheridan and students in Borneo

As some of you know, my main field research takes place in Malaysian Borneo, in the state of Sabah. I travel there frequently for work (ecological fieldwork), and I was lucky enough to be asked to serve as an instructor for a graduate field course held at one of my main field sites in October of this year. This particular site, Danum Valley Conservation Area, is one of the largest expanses of lowland primary forest remaining in Borneo, and because I have been going there regularly since 2010, it holds special meaning for me. Thus, I was very eager to share my enthusiasm for and knowledge of this place and its herpetological inhabitants with students.

AudioMoth on a tree and students in the background

This particular field course is run by the Tropical Biology Association, based out of Cambridge (UK). TBA courses are wonderful for many reasons, but one of my favorite features is that they are an even mix of students from Europe and, in the case of the Danum course, Southeast Asia. Because students in SE Asia don’t always have the same opportunities for continued graduate education as do students in Europe and the US, this course provides much-needed capacity building in a region that suffers from the highest rate of deforestation (and thus biodiversity loss) in the world. This year’s course featured students from 12 countries, and was nearly 2/3 female—another important capacity-building measure, given that women remain underrepresented in the sciences.

The structure of the course is also one that I think works well: two weeks of detailed field instruction and exercises, introducing students to methods of surveying and studying multiple taxonomic groups, followed by two weeks of students working in small groups to design, execute, and present original research projects. For me, as a scientist working at the site long-term, this structure also allows me to test new methods or gather pilot data for potential future projects. This year I supervised two groups who chose to work on frogs: one group who radiotracked a species of frog that had never been tracked before, and one group who measured the biomass of frogs on three different streams. The former project was intended to serve as pilot data for future radiotracking studies in primary and disturbed forest areas, to determine whether movement patterns and dispersal of amphibians are impacted by fragmentation. The latter project was partly because I had never measured this before and was curious what the biomass of frogs on these streams was, and partly because knowing biomass, in addition to abundance and diversity, can help ecologists like me better understand how loss of species or communities (multiple species of frogs, for example) impacts ecosystem function. Both of these projects, though small, will be written up by myself and the students who conducted them, and submitted to regional peer-reviewed journals for publication. In science, publications such as this are important both for me as curator, as well as for students just beginning their careers.

In addition to the wonderful educational and research opportunities this course afforded all of us, I happen to just love being in the field. I wake up to the sound of gibbons or birds calling. I get to hike through the jungle to get to my pristine streams (most frogs in Borneo are stream-breeders), which are so beautiful. I can talk shop with other researchers, like the fellow instructor I met who studies carbon stocks of Sabah forests, and who will now collaborate with me on my long-term research project. I look for frogs along streams at night, and in doing so I get to see loads of other wildlife, like snakes, sleeping lizards and birds, fluorescent caterpillars, glow-in-the-dark fungi, mouse deer, civets, slow loris, tarsier, and clouded leopard, just to name a few. The dual nature of my job—sitting at my desk analyzing data, managing the section of amphibians & reptiles, and writing papers, then going out and living and working in the jungle—is one of the greatest things about being a scientist, and one of the reasons I love being a curator. This was one of the greatest field months of my life thanks to the amazing students, my fellow instructors, and the luck of seeing so much great wildlife, and now I get the pleasure of sharing the results of that trip with the public as well as the scientific community, while exploring other projects with our expansive museum collections. I really can’t imagine doing anything else.

November 26, 2018 by wpengine

It’s my flower, and I’ll fruit when I want to

by Andrea Kautz

Witch hazel branch with fruits and flowers together

At this point in the year, there aren’t many blooms to be seen on a crisp hike through the woods. However, now is the perfect time to find Common witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) both flowering and fruiting!

Hamamelis, from the Greek words meaning “together” and “fruit,” refers to the presence of fruits and flowers at the same time. The velvety fruits you see on witch hazel at this time of year are actually from the flowers that bloomed a year ago. Once ripe, the fruit pops open and the shiny black seeds are forcibly ejected up to 30 feet away! This method of seed dispersal gives the witch hazel another common name, snapping hazelnut. The plant is medically useful for problems of the digestive tract, insect bites, minor burns, skin irritation, or colds and fevers.

witch hazel flowers — Witch hazel flowers

While this species of witch hazel is one of the last woodland plants to bloom, the Chinese species of witch hazel is one of the first of the year to bloom in late winter, making this delightful group of plants a real rule-breaker! Be sure to keep an eye out for the curly yellow petals of the witch hazel flower on your next fall or winter hike!

November 26, 2018 by wpengine

Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, and Yams: What’s the Difference?

by Mason Heberling

specimens of potatoes, sweet potatoes, and yams

What you know as yams are most likely not actually yams. In fact, your “classic” potatoes, sweet potatoes, and yams are all in different plant families. However, they all are widely cultivated for their nutritious starchy belowground plant structures called “tubers.” Tubers function as storage organs for the plants, providing energy for regrowth (the “eyes” or sprouting buds of your potatoes when they sit in your kitchen for too long). Potatoes and yams technically have modified belowground stems (“stem tubers”) while sweet potatoes have “root tubers.”

Yam is a common name for several vine species in the genus Dioscorea (plant family: Dioscoreaceae). They are monocots (related to grasses and lilies). Yams are widely cultivated worldwide, especially in West Africa, where 95% of the crop is harvested. Yams can be stored for very long periods of time, making them an important crop for seasons when food is in short supply. Yam tubers can be as large as five feet long!

Sweet potatoes refer to a vine species (Ipomoea batatas) in the morning glory family (Convolvulaceae). This species is likely what is on your Thanksgiving dinner table. In the United States and Canada, sweet potatoes are often (confusingly) referred to as “yams.” But sweet potatoes are not even closely related to yams. As such, the USDA requires any label with “yam” to also include “sweet potato.” So why are sweet potatoes sometimes confusingly called yams?! Well, this naming probably dates back to colonial times when slaves from Africa noted the similarities between some varieties of sweet potatoes to yams in Africa.

And last – the “classic” potato, Solanum tuberosum. Potatoes belong to the nightshade family (Solanaceace), which also includes many other important crops like peppers, tomatoes, tomatillos, eggplant, tobacco, and more. Critical to the world’s food supply, potatoes are the fourth most farmed crop. Potatoes are only distantly related to sweet potatoes. They are also called “spuds,” which probably originated centuries ago from a term for a spade used to dig holes to plant potatoes. Having been cultivated for centuries, there are thousands of potato varieties worldwide. The cultivated species was domesticated from wild relative potato species in South America (Peru) 7,000 – 10,000 years ago. Interesting note: discoveries on the origin of potatoes was based on DNA from 200-year-old herbarium specimens! Similarly, the origin of the Irish Potato Famine (caused by potato late blight from a fungal pathogen) was also discovered using fungal DNA extracted from 160+ year old herbarium specimens!

For more on Irish potato famine research.

For more on origins of European potato.

Botanists at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History share digital specimens from the herbarium on dates they were collected. They have embarked on a three-year project to digitize nearly 190,000 plant specimens collected in the region, making images and other data publicly available online. This effort is part of the Mid-Atlantic Megalopolis Project (mamdigitization.org), a network of thirteen herbaria spanning the densely populated urban corridor from Washington, D.C. to New York City to achieve a greater understanding of our urban areas, including the unique industrial and environmental history of the greater Pittsburgh region. This project is made possible by the National Science Foundation under grant no. 1801022.

Ants in our Pants and Bugs in our Drawers: A Field Guide to Dry Specimen Storage in the Section of Invertebrate Zoology

By Catherine Giles

Welcome to the Field Guide to Dry Specimen Storage for the Section of Invertebrate Zoology (IZ)! Contained in this guide is a detailed listing of all storage containers used by IZ to store insects dry (i.e., those not placed into alcohol) for future study. This easy-to-use guide will specifically cover insect drawer storage, drawer identification, and their location within IZ. Using this guide will allow the reader to identify seven different storage containers we have utilized historically in IZ from the time the museum was founded. These drawers can be identified using their dimensions, coloration, and knob style.

Don’t Drop Your Drawers: A History of Drawer Usage In Invertebrate Zoology

There are many factors that limit where and how we store our insect drawers, but they are primarily dictated by physical space allocations, mainly because we have roughly 30,000 drawers to contend with. Our specimen storage containers range in size from a few square inches to roughly three square feet, and they all require specialized cabinetry for long-term protective storage. This cabinetry is currently divided among four large rooms. The IZ staff have done our best to incorporate technological advances to help with our ever-increasing collection, all while simultaneously maintaining the historical integrity of our museum workspace. We have worked hard to provide our nearly 14.5 million specimens with safe, secure storage.

In the early 1980s, IZ received an NSF grant to construct a compactor in the Ulke Room. In the early 1990s, we received yet another NSF grant to install another compactor in the Avinoff Room. This enormous, movable, compact housing for storing our drawers freed up large volumes of space for us to acquire more drawers (and thus more bugs!). One range contains eight columns of 25 drawers, and can be rolled backwards or forwards to access either side of each range. A stationary range sits single-sided in the middle of each compactor, dividing it roughly in half, so that someone in the back of the compactor can work simultaneously with someone in the front. These compactors were built to store USNM drawers and Schmitt boxes.

In the mid-2000s, IZ was awarded a grant to retrofit some antique wooden cabinetry in the Holland room. We retrofitted each wooden cabinet with steel inserts, making the entire room available for USNM and similarly-styled drawers. Previously, the Holland Room had quirky cabinets, fitted with slats of wood that only permitted Old Holland drawers to fit in at the mercy of humidity and warping. Now, with the new metal inserts, we can fit any combination of Old and New Holland Drawers, USNM, and Schmitt Boxes in the Holland Room.

At one point in IZ’s history, mollusks (snails, slugs, and kin) were included in our section before it split off as the Section of Malacology. In the room formerly occupied by the Section of Mollusks, which now partly houses the Section of Education, you can find antique wooden cabinetry similar to that found in the Holland Room. These cabinets have not been retrofitted with steel inserts and thus can only hold Old Holland and Ortmann drawers. This space is colloquially known as the Sweadner Deck (pictured in part below), after a former Entomology staff member.

Detailed below are each individual storage method and their known habitats around the section. Measurements are given in approximate inches, and photographs are used when applicable. Rarity is used to indicate frequency of specimen storage and frequency of sightings around the section.

Text on a box that says: Please return this shipping box to Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Section of Entomology, 4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15213, (412) 622-3259

USNM (United States National Museum) Drawer

Rarity: Most Common

Length: 18in, Width: 18in, Depth: 3in

Coloration: Dark Brown to almost Black

Locality and Habitat: Avinoff, Ulke, and sometimes the Holland Room

Top photo: An empty USNM Drawer awaits usage; Middle photo: USNM drawers in their Avinoff Compactor Habitat; Bottom photo: USNM Drawers in their Ulke Compactor Habitat; Not Pictured: Holland Room Locality.

New Holland Drawers

Rarity: Common

Length: 23.75in, Width: 18in, Depth: 3in

Coloration: Dark Brown to almost Black

Locality: Holland Room

Top photo: New Holland Drawers await final curation in their cabinetry in the Holland Room; Top photo: At about six inches longer than a USNM drawer, the New Holland Drawer’s lengthier frame allows it to be seated only in the cabinetry of the Holland Room.

Old Holland Drawers

Rarity: Common

Length: 23in, Width: 18.15in, Depth: 2.25in

Coloration: Variable light tan, with 3 different style knobs and a pinning bottom

Locality: Holland Room, Sweadner Deck

Pictured from top to bottom: An empty Old Holland Drawer, characterized by the wooden side slats and either a cork or foam pinning bottom, sits in the Sweadner Deck, one of only two places it can be housed. Ornate knobs like the one pictured in the middle were used up until World War II, when there was a strict recall on metal to be used in the war efforts. Knobs were then switched to the porcelain style, pictured at the far right. Sometime after the conclusion of World War II, knobs could once again be constructed of metal, this time smooth, as depicted at right.

Ortmann Drawers[FJ1]

Rarity: Extirpated

Length: 24.5in, Width: 18+in, Depth: 2.25in or 4in

Coloration: Variable Tan, with no pinning bottom

Locality: Stragglers may be found on the Sweadner Deck, but this style of drawer is no longer used

[FJ1]Note that the Ortmann drawers were not used by IZ, but were the drawers used by Malacology. We have used them more recently for wasp nests and papered materials.

A shallow Ortmann Drawer, characterized by a distinct lack of a pinning bottom and an additional half an inch or more in length, when compared to the nearly identical Old Holland Drawers.

Originally used exclusively in Malacology, Ortmann drawers have been repurposed to house some of our larger items, such as wasps nests and papered materials. A Deep Ortmann Drawer is pictured at right.

Cornell Drawers

Rarity: Uncommon

Length: 16.5in, Width: 19in, Depth: 3in

Coloration: Tan/yellow

Locality: Migratory (basement)

Cornell Drawers like the one pictured above are too long to fit into our standard cabinetry, but they are frequently used elsewhere in the entomological world. They are uncommonly used throughout our section but can be seen from time to time, especially in our basement storage unit. We often receive many Cornell drawers via donation and interaction with collections and collectors. They are generally too wide, much like the Mineral drawers, to fit into our storage units.

Schmitt Boxes

Rarity: Uncommon

Length: 9in, Width: 13in, Depth: 2.5in

Coloration: Variable light tan

Locality: Holland Room

Schmitt Boxes were created by Jerome Schmitt. They are incredibly useful when conducting field work. In our section, they hold mostly loan returns and papered materials, and are located in the Holland Room, in intricate cabinets under the stairs. The Schmitt box pictured at the right has a foam pinning bottom, but many also contain cork.

Shippers

Rarity: Rare

Length: 9in, Width: 13in, Depth: 2.5in

Coloration: White or Brown

Locality: Preparatory Lab

Our final storage method is our shipping containers. We typically do not store specimens here in the long-term, but while we are preparing to send a loan or have received one, specimens may be found here. Pictured above: Shippers, of similar dimensions to Schmitt Boxes. Pictured below: Shippers of a variety of sizes and shapes, in their home in the Preparatory Lab.

November 20, 2018 by wpengine

Risk Assessment, or how to keep your collection intact

By Gretchen Anderson, Conservator, and Suzanne B. McLaren, Chair of Collections

What are the risks to a museum’s collection?

specimen in a box with partially eaten label

Figure 1: The risks of damage are varied. This photograph illustrates the potential risk of loss of data. The label has been partially eaten by silverfish, damaging not only the paper but ingesting the all-important data about this specific specimen.

The museum is currently engaged in a two-year Risk Assessment process funded by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). We are reviewing a spectrum of potential risks to our collections. This includes everything from fire and water damage to earthquake and pest damage that could affect the Museum’s more than twenty million specimens and objects, both behind the scenes and on exhibit.

Forty staff members from across the museum attended a weeklong workshop led by our consultant, Rob Waller of Protect Heritage, who has been refining a model of how to quantify risks for more than twenty-five years. This was meant to get us all on the same page when we begin to focus on our individual collections. The workshop offered everyone a chance to see and talk about their individual collections. For most of us, we call this fun. This gave each of us an appreciation for risks to distinct types of collection material. The risk for stone and metal will be quite different than the risk for organic material like birds and plants.

Figure 2: Curators, collection managers, curatorial assistants, educators, exhibits staff, engineers, maintenance and security staff attended the workshop.

Figure 3: The workshop had several days of small group interaction. Here Vertebrate Paleontology Collection Technician Linsly Church, Anthropology Collection Manager Deborah Harding, Collection Associate Marion Burgwin and Minerals Collection Manager Debra Wilson discuss definitions of risk.

We hired Collection Associate Marion Burgwin to work with various staff members on gathering quantitative information on risk from each collection. Collections are divided into twenty-nine units, based on scientific discipline, preservation type and primary use. For example, the Bird collection has four units: study skins & skeletons, nests & eggs, taxidermy, and fluid collections. It is detailed and tedious work – but Marion also gets to see all the cool collections.

Figure 4: Birds Collection Manager Steve Rogers and Collection Associate Marion Burgwin viewing a collection of bird wings. Burgwin is entering the data directly into the Preservation Heritage Data Base.

Nearly one year into the project, Conservator Gretchen Anderson and Chair of Collections Suzanne McLaren had the good fortune to present the project and network with colleagues at the annual conference of the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections in New Zealand. Sharing information like this is an important aspect of the support we receive from agencies like IMLS.

Figure 5: McLaren and Anderson with the Risk Assessment poster at the 2018 SPNHC annual conference, Dunedin New Zealand.

Figure 6: A New Zealand native – a highly endangered yellow-eyed penguin.

Gretchen Anderson is a conservator and the head of the Section of Conservation and Suzanne McLaren is the collection manager for the Section of Mammals at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

November 19, 2018 by wpengine

Make Your Own Nature Notebook!

A key tool that naturalists use is a notebook to record their observations. This can be anything from what birds they saw on a walk, to drawing an insect they aren’t familiar with, to noting topics that they want to investigate online later. There aren’t any rules for what a good nature notebook should be, so why not make one yourself, with materials you already have in your house!

What You’ll Need

10 sheets of 8.5 in. x 11 in. lined notebook paper
Construction paper
Needle
Strong thread
Duct Tape
Scissors

Directions

Fold your papers in half so the top edge meets the bottom edge (“hamburger” style), and cut them in half along this line. Fold and cut the construction paper in the same way. You should have two sets of lined paper and two pieces of construction paper.
Cut off the left edge of the paper, including the binder holes.
Fold the set of lined paper in half so that the lines go from left to right. Fold the construction paper the same direction. Trim construction paper so that it is the same size as the lined paper.
Place the set of lined paper inside the construction paper cover. Use the needle to poke holes along the fold from the inside through to the outside cover (4-6 holes an inch apart will do).
Cut about 4 ft. of thread and thread the needle. Push the threaded needle through one of the holes you already made, starting at the bottom.
Sew back and forth through the rest of the holes you poked. When you reach the top, sew back down through the existing holes. When you reach the bottom, knot off your thread and cut off the excess string. Your knot doesn’t have to be perfect, it’ll be covered up next.
Cut a piece of duct tape the height of the notebook and adhere it to the construction paper along the spine.
Now for the fun part- decorate it! You can use markers stickers, stamps, or anything else you have. Make it your own!

Upcycle and Share!

Do you have old half-filled notebooks from school? Tear out the remaining paper and turn it into a nature notebook. These instructions make two small notebooks, so you can give one to your friend, sibling, or keep a backup when your first one fills up.

Submit the observations from your Nature Notebook to the museum!

Explore nature together. Visit Nature 360 for more activities and information.

November 16, 2018 by wpengine

Collected on This Day in 1884: Beech Drops

by Mason Heberling

Not all plants have leaves. Beech drops (Epifagus virginiana) is one such example.

This specimen was collected on November 16, 1884 growing on the root of a beech tree (Fagus grandifolia) at the back of a cemetery in Allegheny county. The specimen was collected by John Shafer, who a decade later became the first curator of botany at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Beech drops is a parasitic plant – rather than having leaves to photosynthesize, the species produces root-like structures (called haustorium) that parasitizes roots of beech trees.

The genus “Epifagus” refers to this parasitism on beech (“epi”= upon; “fagus” = beech).

Beech drops are in the  broomrape family (Orobanchaceae), which is comprised mostly of parisitic plants.

Check out the beautiful, distinctive purple and white flowers in late summer to autumn.

beech drop flowers — *Beech drop flowers. Photo taken on September 12, 2018 at Riddle Run, Springdale, Pennsylvania*.

Mason Heberling is Associate Curator of Botany at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

November 14, 2018 by wpengine

Snowflakes and Snow Fleas

by John Wenzel

When Shakespeare wrote “Now is the winter of our discontent,” he certainly was not referring to entomologists. Botanists, mammalogists, ornithologists, and herpetologists spend most of the winter in the office waiting for spring. But many entomologists remain busy because insects that live under water go into high gear and treat the winter as their growing season. Hatching from eggs in spring or summer, these aquatic “macroinvertebrates” get their Thanksgiving dinner as the leaves fall into the stream. The insects are grazing and hunting underwater, growing to adulthood, preparing to fly away next spring when the air is warm again.

I was lucky to grow up with a 10 acre woodlot on one side of our house and a 12 acre pond on the other. As a kid, I loved to be out in my row boat or exploring the woods, hunting wildlife, catch and release. My parents encouraged my interests in nature, providing books and equipment that allowed me to increase my knowledge and experience as I grew.

I raised caterpillars through metamorphosis, marked turtles that I would find again years later, and nursed orphaned baby animals. Initially, I had no special preferences other than those that seem to come naturally to all humans. Mammals capture our affection, we all wish we could fly like birds, predators are particularly interesting, as is anything colorful or rare. By the time I was in college, I decided to study insects as a career for many reasons, and chief among them was a very pragmatic element for a striving academic: if you know about insects, you can find fascinating species in your backyard, wherever you live, anywhere in the world.

Since college, I have learned a great deal about many other groups, but when winter is approaching, I enjoy very much being an entomologist. Even on the coldest day in January, I can go out to a stream and find abundant insects doing their thing, below the ice in the cold water. Some specifically emerge in winter when there are no predators around. At Powdermill Nature Reserve, we have plenty of wonderful winter insects, and it is great fun to hunt for these gems.

Here you see a female Boreus scorpionfly who came up from a patch of moss to walk across the snow looking for a male in late December. Also called a snow flea, Boreus is so rare that few entomologists ever see them alive. There is a deep reward in learning to appreciate small things, and I have never regretted becoming an entomologist, especially as winter approaches.

Want to know more about winter bugs? Read about the first Powdermill Christmas Bug Count.

November 12, 2018 by wpengine

From Metes and Bounds to GPS: Part 1

By James Whitacre

Did you know that George Washington was a cartographer? Well, technically his training was in surveying, but back in his time, surveyors would typically create beautiful maps to show off their surveys. Other famous Americans, such as Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and both Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, were also surveyors.

The map below is of one of Washington’s many farms near Mount Vernon, VA, which shows off his stellar map-making skills. Around the time when Washington was surveying land, the profession was gaining more ground as the industrial revolution was taking shape and the US was expanding.

A plan of my farm on Little Huntg. Creek & Potomk. R., George Washington, 1766; Source: Library of Congress

As I look in awe at Washington’s map, I can’t help but wonder how surveyors and cartographers collected and visualized their geospatial data before computers and GPS were around. It truly is a great mix of science and art. However, Washington and his fellow surveyors of antiquity used much different techniques than we use today.

Surveyors would use chains, rods (which were literally poles of a fixed length), and a surveyor’s compass or a Theodolite to quickly measure distances and angles. The Gunter’s Chain measured 66 feet long and contained 100 links. This chain could be used to measure many other lengths, for instance a rod (aka a pole or perch) equaled 25 chain links (16.5 feet), 10 chains equaled a furlong (660 feet or 1/8 mile), and 80 chains equaled one mile (5,280 feet). Further, an acre is defined as a one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is 43,560 square feet (Are you able to follow all that math?).

The Theodolite contains an optical telescope with cross-hairs that is used to sight direction and then the angle or bearing can be read off a scale. Surveyors would also use sophisticated instruments such as zenith telescopes, sextants, or octants to determine the positions of the sun or stars which could also help with determining latitude and longitude.

By recording the measurements and angles or bearings from these instruments, surveyors would describe the land using a system called metes and bounds. This system also incorporates physical features, such as trees, stones, and streams, to describe the boundaries. Metes and bounds were originally used in England, and it is still used today, even in Pennsylvania. The image below is an example from one of Powdermill’s metes and bounds descriptions. Surveyors and cartographers can decipher these descriptions and use geometry (which comes from the Greek “earth measurement”) to find property boundaries in the field, or draw and chart the measurements on to paper, thus creating maps.

Example of Metes and Bounds description from Powdermill Nature Reserve; Source: Westmoreland County, PA, Recorder of Deeds

At the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Lab at Powdermill Nature Reserve, we spend a lot of our time collecting scientific data for research in the field so that it can be mapped and analyzed. Today, however, we use sophisticated GPS units, mobile devices, and high-end GIS software to help us efficiently collect, analyze, and visualize our field data. Stay tuned for my next blog post where I will discuss how GPS works and how we use it in our everyday research at Powdermill Nature Reserve.

November 12, 2018 by wpengine

Pennsylvania Botany 2018

by Bonnie Isaac

Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH) was well represented at PA Botany 2018. The 4^th Biennial Pennsylvania Botany Symposium took place on November 2nd and 3^rd at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center. CMNH staff were there in full force. PNR Director John Wenzel, Post-Doctoral Fellow Mason Heberling, Botany Collection Manager Bonnie Isaac, and Botany Curatorial Assistant Sarah Williams attended in addition to over 200 other people. This event features a day of workshops followed by a day of presentations. CMNH Botany folks were involved in both the workshops and the symposium talks. Williams & Isaac assisted workshop leaders, Heberling was a student in one of the workshops, and Wenzel was a symposium speaker. CMNH Botany volunteer Joe Isaac was the instructor for the workshop for Botanical Consultants.

Curatorial Assistant Sarah Williams, Post-Doctoral Fellow Mason Heberling, PNR Director John Wenzel and Botany Collection Manager Bonnie Isaac at CMNH Table in the Exhibitor hall at PA Botany 2018.

John Wenzel’s presentation highlighted some of the exciting things going on at Powdermill Nature Reserve and CMNH integrating botany and technology. John showed the crowd some of the cool techniques developed at PNR for forest study using drones and computer simulation of trees as well as introducing them to the new AR Perpetual Garden App available for free in app stores. This app helps people learn about the effects of the deer population on an environment. It shows how the forest should look compared to how the forest looks when deer are over abundant. The app features Woodland In Balance vs. Woodland Out of Balance Scenarios along with dialogue to explain the differences and why they differ.

CMNH Botany has been active in this event since its inception in 2012. We hope to see more people attend this conference on plants and how important they are. You can find more information for this conference and other plant related items at PABotany.org.

Bonnie Isaac is the Collection Manager in the Section of Botany. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

November 9, 2018 by wpengine

Keeping Birds Safe with GIS and Citizen Science

By Jon Rice and James Whitacre

Almost 600 million birds die every year in North America after colliding with buildings. BirdSafe Pittsburgh, which has been a museum program for over four years, has collected over 1,500 birds that collided with windows. These birds have been collected in Downtown and surrounding areas, and through our efforts, we have learned what increases the likelihood of birds colliding with windows.

windows modified with a pattern birds can see

Locating and Researching Bird Strikes

Using the power of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), we have been tracking and collecting where birds have collided with windows. This will help us to find collision hotspots and assess the types of buildings that cause the most problems for birds. Our efforts so far have concentrated on downtown Pittsburgh with a crew of dedicated volunteers.

However, we are now inviting you – the public – to help us find bird strikes in your neighborhood. We have developed a form on our website for you to add bird strikes to our database. If you find a bird dead or stunned, you can help us add to our database of bird strikes using the form. It will guide you through how to add pictures of the bird, add the location to the map, and fill out the required data. Any bird added will help us expand our research.

We already know that skyscrapers, low-rise buildings, and residential houses alike threaten birds, albeit unequally. According to a study published in 2014, low-rises account for the majority of building related mortalities at 56%, with residential houses accounting for nearly all the rest at 44%, and high-rises only accounting for less than 1%. But, how do the buildings in downtown Pittsburgh and the surrounding neighborhoods fit into this picture?

By analyzing the precise locations of bird strikes in Pittsburgh using GIS, we hope to assess the types of buildings impacting bird deaths. By collecting fine scale data where birds strike windows, we could identify specific problem windows that birds strike more often than others. This would allow us to focus mitigation efforts to specific areas of concern rather than along an entire building façade. For instance, treating 10 windows on a building side instead of all 100 windows would result in considerable cost-savings while maintaining the same effect on decreasing bird strikes.

How You Can Help Save Birds

Birds hit windows because of the reflections caused by sunlight hitting the glass and looking like open sky, trees or habitat. By breaking up the reflections with anything following a “2-inch-by-4-inch rule,” birds are less likely to strike the window. The 2-by-4 rule refers to the space between horizontal elements at no more than 2 inches apart, and the space between vertical elements at no more than 4 inches apart. These simple and cost-effective measures will reduce window collisions while maintaining the aesthetic qualities.

By helping us collect bird strike data and modifying the windows of your home or business, we can decrease the number of bird-window collisions and maintain stronger bird populations.

More information about BirdSafe Pittsburgh can be found at birdsafepgh.org.

Jon Rice is Citizen Science Assistant and James Whitacre is a GIS Research Scientist at Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Powdermill Nature Reserve. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

November 8, 2018 by wpengine

Ask a Scientist – How Are Birds Like Dinosaurs?

How are birds like dinosaurs? Assistant Curator of Birds, Chase Mendenhall, and Urban Bird Conservation Coordinator, Jonathan Rice, introduce the bird collection in the latest Ask a Scientist. Learn how the Section of Birds works with paleontologists to understand dinosaur behavior.

November 7, 2018 by wpengine

Why One Bug Just Won’t Do…

by Bob Androw

When visitors tour the insect collections in the Section of Invertebrate Zoology, the conversation often turns to numbers. How many rooms house the collection? Three, all quite full. How many total drawers are in those rooms? Well, roughly 30,000, at last count. How many specimens are in those drawers? We like to quote a figure of 13 million, give or take a few (but no one has counted recently). How many staff members are there to take care of all those bugs? Well – seven on a good day – that’s just 1,857,143 specimens per staff member…

And then the big questions always hit – why do you have so many specimens? Why do you have so many of the same species?

While there are many rarities represented by one to just a few specimens, the truth is that the majority of species are represented by several to many hundreds of individuals, referred to as a ‘series.’ So how do these series end up in the collection, and what is the purpose for multiple examples of individual species?

A simple answer, but not one that explains much, is that the age of the collection alone contributes to long series, especially of common species. Since its founding in 1896, if just a single red-spotted purple butterfly (Limenitis arthemis (Drury)), were deposited each year, 122 specimens would now be present. But the series of that common species probably numbers ten times that by now. So how, and why?

Over the years, museum staff have been active in traveling and collecting and were, and are, continually adding new materials to the collection. But an even greater number of specimens have come in the form of donations – entire collections, representing lifetimes of work, often come to us after their owner’s passing. These are sometimes from professional entomologists, but more often they are the legacy of non-professional, avocational collectors. These donated collections all vary drastically in their holdings, but common species are generally present, increasing the length of series of these taxa in the museum’s collection.

Back to all those red-spotted purples! Collected by a variety of people in a variety of places and times, they provide examples of the individual variation within the species, as well as critical locality and temporal documentation – or data – that help researchers understand the life history and distribution of the species. In these times of increasing global temperatures, the old data can be used as a baseline to compare against current information – does the butterfly still occur where it had in the past? Does it occur further north, now that the climes are more temperate in areas that used to be too cold? Or has it been pushed into higher elevations to evade hotter conditions in its historical habitat? By having large series, there is more data to help fill out the story of this butterfly species’ life history – past and present.

When those red-spotted purples were caught, the collectors were probably aware of what species they were – but what about species that cannot be easily identified in the field? The vast majority of insects are small to minute and cannot be identified until they are prepared and examined under a microscope. In the insect world, small size is coupled with enormous diversity. Entomologists regularly collect long series in the field to increase the odds of documenting more diversity – more specimens likely mean more species.

Not only is there a great diversity of species, but many insects exhibit variation within a species – in size, in color, and in differences between females and males. Populational differences are often evident within a species – sometimes to the extent that subspecies are described, discrete in their distribution and readily separated by physical characteristics. In the longhorned beetle Gaurotes cyanipennis (Say), individuals vary in color from blue to green to coppery to purple and all color forms can usually be found together in any given locality. But if you examine a long series of museum specimens you will notice the majority of specimens collected in the central third of Pennsylvania are all purple – rarely any other colors. The reason for this has not yet been determined, but by having long series of this common beetle, the trend can be seen, and questions can be asked.

Insects can be collected by hand, one specimen at a time, but to more fully sample the biodiversity of a habitat, various types of traps can be deployed: pitfall traps; light traps; intercept and malaise traps; baited traps; with many specially designed to capture specific taxa. Traps allow for passive collecting over time, greatly increasing the volume, and diversity, of specimens compared to what a person could capture by hand. These trap samples can provide long series of specimens, insight into the biodiversity of a habitat and good data on population sizes. Select specimens are prepared, labeled and deposited in the collection and the remainder of the trap sample is archived to be available for future research. The specimens are not unlike the scores of books on a library’s shelves, their data labels all containing a little piece of the story about a living creature’s existence, documenting its occurrence in some place, at some time, on our planet.

So, when asked “why so many?”, the answer is multi-faceted: accumulation of specimens over time, from staff activity and donations of materials; the sheer biodiversity of insects composed of thousands of species; and long series documenting variation, distribution and seasonal occurrence. And chances are, as you read this, dozens more specimens are being added to the amazing insect collection at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Bob Androw is a Scientific Preparator in Invertebrate Zoology. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

November 5, 2018 by wpengine

Archaeology Merit Badge: Who Had More Fun, Me or the Boy Scouts?

by Amy L. Covell-Murthy

The Archaeology merit badge for the Boy Scouts of America was established in 1997. It has a list of eleven different requirements that must be fulfilled before receiving the recognition and patch. The first seven requirements ask the Scout to research archaeology and then answer a long list of questions. These questions include everything from what archaeology is to the difference between absolute and relative dating of sites. They are required to research five separate sites, learn about laws that protect archaeological sites, and make a list of household trash that could be interpreted by archaeologists in the future. Needless to say, this badge is no joke! I have supervised nearly forty college students in my time here at the museum and I think that every one of them would be challenged by the requirements of this badge.

Requirement numbers eight and nine are where we came in to the process:

“8. With your counselor’s approval, take part in a simulated archaeological project designed by a qualified archaeologist. The project must include the use of a simulated archaeological site including artifacts and features for the site. Using the steps of archaeological inquiry, analyze the “artifacts and features” and document the spatial relationships of the “artifacts and features” at the simulated site. Explain how the environment and time can affect the interpretation of an artifact and the overall archaeological site. Tell how you would share the results of your analysis with other researchers and the public

Note: To find out how to make a simulated archaeological site, talk with a professional archaeologist, trained avocational archaeologist, museum school instructor, junior high or high school science teacher, advisor from a local archaeology society, or other qualified instructor.

9. Help prepare an archaeological exhibit for display in a museum, visitor center, school, or other public area.”

Phillip Mendenhall is a member of our Natural History Interpreter staff, a volunteer in the Section of Anthropology, a graduate student at the University of Pittsburgh, and a professional archaeologist who has excavated all over the world. To achieve requirement eight, he created a simulated archaeological project in one of the basement classrooms, using dig boxes and artifacts. The Scouts could dig and screen the dirt and map out the features that they discovered. He made a fun learning environment and really taught the Scouts the intricacies of the archaeological process.

I had the pleasure of helping them achieve requirement nine. With the help of Tamara Alchoufete, my work study student from Pitt, and Shari Bechtel, a delightful CMNH Interpreter, we made two large piles of man-made objects. The objects were donated to the museum many years ago, but lack any proper provenance. These unaccessioned teaching tools were sorted by the Scouts into mini exhibits on a large cart and wheeled from the Resource Room outside of Polar World into the public space. The Scouts were organized into four groups of ten. We repeated the same exercise twice before lunchtime and twice after. Each group was accompanied by several Scout leaders and parents. They seemed just as interested as the participants.

They organized the objects by typology, which in archaeology simply means they are classified by their physical characteristics. They made label copies on index cards, describing the objects and their classifications. Once the mini exhibits were wheeled into the museum’s public space, the Scouts entertained questions from patrons. They had grouped the artifacts into categories by color, size, shape, and material. Each Scout was proud of their own mini exhibit and was very excited to tell people about why they had chosen those objects. Some Scouts talked about different stem shapes, while some had discovered all the obsidian tools. Some Scouts went so far as to measure each object and work together as a four-person group to make a cohesive exhibit that flowed nicely from one Scout to the next.

It was a whirlwind of a day and we received excellent feedback from the participants. Seeing the transition from fun to science, as soon as I asked them to put on their rubber gloves, was incredible. Each and every Scout asked relevant questions and made calculated decisions about how to curate their exhibit. It was so fascinating to see their choices and reasoning. I appreciated every unique decision and every kid who asked additional questions about manufacturing techniques and possible cultural groups or time frame. I would like to think that they had the most fun, but I honestly can’t wait to do it again next year!

November 5, 2018 by wpengine

Born to the Purple

by Debra Wilson

What comes to mind when you hear the phrase “born to the purple”? Most people will probably think of royalty.

The color purple has been associated with royalty since ancient times, in large part because the murex shellfish-based Tyrian purple dye (aka Royal purple or Imperial purple), produced by the Phoenician city of Tyre during the Bronze Age, was very expensive to make and thus only the wealthiest classes, including the nobility, could afford it. Its striking color and resistance to fading made clothing dyed with Tyrian purple highly desirable and the ancient Romans adopted purple as a symbol of imperial authority and status. The togas of the Senators were trimmed in purple and a completely purple toga was worn by the person occupying the powerful office of Censor. It was the Censor’s job to determine which Senators were still worthy of office and who should and should not be on the roster of Rome’s leading citizens.

The color purple was not only reserved as a status symbol for clothing but was also used in Roman monuments and buildings. “Imperial Porphyry” is an igneous rock that contains hematite and the manganese-bearing mineral piemontite that makes it similar in color to the Tyrian purple dye. Porphyry (from the Greek meaning purple) has a hardness of 7 out of 10 on the Mohs hardness scale, comparable to steel or quartz, which made it very suitable for carving. It took very strong, well-tempered steel to cut it, and was very challenging to achieve any great degree of precision in the cutting. The Romans developed steel good enough for the task, but the process was lost in the Middle Ages, making Roman porphyry artifacts not only symbols of the Caesars but also of Rome’s great technological achievements.

The Imperial Porphyry was also rare and expensive because it came from only one quarry discovered in 18AD by the Roman Legionnaire Caius Cominius in the far away Eastern Desert of Egypt, located near the Red Sea at a place that became known as Mons Porphyrites. Can you imagine extracting huge blocks of heavy porphyry and then transporting it by ship from Egypt to Rome in ancient times? The rock was imported in large quantities, most actively during the times of Nero, Trajan and Hadrian, to both Rome and Constantinople and was used in their statues, monuments, columns, and sarcophagi. One free-standing pavilion in the Great Palace of Constantinople was completely clad in the purple Imperial Porphyry and this chamber was where the empress would give birth. By now you might have guessed that the phrase “Born to the Purple” was referring to the purple clad porphyry chamber where the princes and princesses were born.

A wonderful example of an Imperial Porphyry carving is that of the Four Tetrarchs (circa 305 AD) pictured in the above photo. Originally it was thought to reside in a public square in Constantinople but was moved to a corner of the facade of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, Italy sometime in the Middle Ages, perhaps around 1204 AD. This sort of thing happened quite often because the Imperial Porphyry was so highly prized, and the locality of the Egyptian quarry had been lost around the 4^thcentury AD and was not rediscovered until 1823. So the only source of this treasured porphyry in the interim came from things the Romans had built. It seems that every prince or republic or sculptor of the time who wanted this status symbol of Roman power would scavenge it from some old Roman temple, column, or sarcophagus. Much of the Imperial Porphyry seen around Europe today has been “repurposed” and can be found from Britain to Kiev.

Pictured above is a fragment of polished Imperial Porphyry (CM17465) from the ruins of Rome in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Mineral collection, measuring 24.6 x 17.5 x 2.6 cm. It was acquired from Wards National Science Establishment in 1897. The white speckles you see embedded in the rock are plagioclase feldspar known as phenocrysts, which can range in color from white to pink.

November 2, 2018 by wpengine

Doves of Peace

by Chase Mendenhall

In the wake of a tragedy that took the lives of 11 people in Pittsburgh, we reflect on the the collections housed at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and find comfort among the doves — symbols of the people of Israel (Song of Songs Rabbah 2:14). Doves are of immense importance symbolizing human souls, sacrifice, and peace.

From the collection we share the European Turtledove (Streptopelia turtur) because it is listed as a species vulnerable to extinction and frequently written about in cultural texts. In fact, it was the stamina and swiftness of the Turtledove that aided Noah in his search for the holy land after the floods (Genesis 8:11). It is also the Turtledove’s loyalty as a mate that mused William Shakespeare to write poetry of an ideal love between a Turtledove and a Phoenix. But, perhaps the most fitting description and scientific namesake of the Turtledove is its cooing call, or the biblical Hebrew word “turtur,” which is a sound of mourning and a call for universal peace.

Together, we mourn the loss of so many innocent lives in Squirrel Hill and hope for peace alongside loved ones and family.

October 31, 2018 by wpengine

The Tell-Snail Heart

by Timothy A. Pearce

Edgar Allen Poe is well-known as an American writer of poems and short stories, including some spooky works that are often repeated around Halloween. Many people are surprised to learn that Poe once edited a book on shells, “The Conchologist’s First Book”, published in 1839. Poe’s shell book is a condensed version of a book by Thomas Wyatt. Poe wrote the preface and introduction initially; then he made more substantial changes.

Poe’s short story, “The Tell-Tale Heart,” is about someone who kills a man, then hides the body under the floorboards. The murderer, while talking with the police, is initially calm, but goes mad from the perceived sound of a heartbeat, and thinking the sound is the dead man’s beating heart, confesses to the crime.

In honor of Halloween and in recognition of Poe’s contributions to the study of mollusks, I made this gif movie of a snail’s heart beating, visible through the shell. The snail is Neohelix dentifera (the big-tooth whitelip snail), a land snail commonly found in Pennsylvania and elsewhere in northeastern North America. First you see the face with the four tentacles (the upper two tentacles have eyes on the tips; the lower tentacles are for smelling and tasting). Then as I turn the snail you get a quick peek at the breathing pore above the head, then you can look through the translucent shell to see the heart beat 3 times. It is the Tell-Snail Heart!

A Rainbow of Honeys

If you like to eat honey with breakfast, dessert, or tea, you can probably picture its bright color. You may think that all honey is the same but there are actually over 300 types of honey available in the United States with a wide range of colors. To learn more about what makes up the color, we talked to Annabella (age 14), Joseph (age 13), Luca (age 11), and Nico (age 9) Zgurzynski, who help with their family’s honey business, Country Barn Farm, in Glenshaw, PA.

It’s all about the flowers.

The biggest influence on honey color is the type of flower the bee visits to collect nectar. Each plant’s nectar has different minerals and molecules that change the color of the honey it produces. For the Zygurzynski bees, flower trees including black locust, tulip poplar, and basswood make summer honey with a light golden color. In the fall, dark brown honey comes from knotweed and goldenrod nectar. Big companies often blend different batches of honey together to get the amber color that people are used to. At Country Barn Farm, the beekeepers are proud of the subtle color variations from each hive, and label their bottles to show it.

Your taste buds will notice, too.

With the difference in color also comes a difference in taste. Lighter honeys are most common in grocery stores, but if you only eat from the light end of the spectrum, you’re missing out. Darker honeys have a strong flavor, like molasses. Nico, Joseph, and Annabella prefer the floral taste of clover honey. Luca says fall honey is the best.

Where is your honey from?

If you have honey at home, check the label to see where it was made. If the beekeepers can prove that 85% of the nectar came from a single flower source, that flower might be on the label too. Can you find more than one kind of honey to sample? Close your eyes and see if you can taste the difference!

Did you know?

In 2012, a group of bees in France started producing honey in strange colors like blue and green. It turned out that instead of nectar, they were eating the waste from a Mars candy factory, the producer of M&M candies!

Explore nature together. Visit Nature 360 for more activities and information.

October 29, 2018 by wpengine

What is a caterpillar database?

What is a caterpillar database? Curatorial Assistant in Invertebrate Zoology Catherine Giles introduces the larval collection and how it is organized. Learn how the section of Invertebrate Zoology collects and pickles specimens, then how they are stored and matched to a digital database of images and written notes.

October 24, 2018 by wpengine

A Striking Success in Protecting Birds

by John Wenzel

A particular point of pride of our bird research is the BirdSafe Pittsburgh program. A consortium of environmental groups and concerned citizens is working to create a more bird-friendly city, from restoring urban habitat to advising builders and architects on designing structures that will be less dangerous to birds. One of our prime collaborators has been Ashley Cecil, who was Artist in Residence at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Ashley’s art is bird-themed, including one work that was reproduced on adhesive film that reflects UV light and is highly visible to birds. This film can be applied to windows so that birds will see Ashley’s pattern and avoid collision rather than see a reflection of a distant tree they would approach, striking the window. The film is available in color, making the window look like a stained glass, and in transparent form, resembling lace.

But does the film work? If you put the film on the window, does it reduce bird strikes? As the Director of Powdermill Nature Reserve, I thought I should lead by example and test the film on my own house. I have been monitoring bird strikes at my home since August of 2015. From about 6:00 am to 8:00 am, three or four days a week (at total of six to eight hours a week), I listened for strikes and recorded them. They are not random, nor evenly distributed. Certain windows seem to be a repeated problem, while others never seem to get hit. My house has 15 windows of various dimensions, plus a cathedral window that is 11 feet high and 21 feet wide. No bird has ever hit that window as far as I know. Most strikes occur when migrating birds are coming through, usually April and May, or September and October. When there is a flush of migration, it shows: I had seven strikes from August 27 to 31 in 2015, in only 10 hours of observation. Ignoring seasonal variation, and averaging across the entire data set, a rough estimate is that I observed about one strike for every 20 hours of observation. On June 14, 2018, our Urban Bird Conservation Coordinator, Jon Rice, installed the transparent film on the five most dangerous windows, leaving the others bare.

We have had zero bird strikes since the film was installed. To assess the effect of the film, consider that in the same period in 2017 we had seven strikes, in 2016 we had four, and in 2015 we had nine. Years have some random variation, but clearly, there is a reduction from these earlier three years’ average of 6.7 down to 0. More than that, my wife Donna and I became more vigilant since the installation of the film, and we logged about 10 or 12 hours of observation per week rather than six or eight we did for the baseline. If we use the baseline expected frequency of one bird per 20 hours of observation, then with the more thorough observations we would have expected a little more than one bird every two weeks, or about 10 birds in the 18 elapsed weeks, rather than 6.7. Using a simple “chi-square” statistic to estimate the difference between an expectation of 10 birds and an observation of zero, the probability is one in a thousand that we would get zero birds by random variation from an expectation of 10 birds. In other words, if our recent sample differs from our baseline probability purely by chance, we would have to measure 1,000 years to get one year as far from expectation as we got in 2018 following application of Ashley’s film. According to our scientific standards, we reject proposals that have a probability of less than one in 20. Our analysis is less than one in 1,000. We conclude that the film works very well to prevent birds from hitting windows.

You can contact Urban Bird Conservation Coordinator Jon Rice at RiceJ@CarnegieMNH.org.

October 23, 2018 by wpengine

E is for Echidna

by John Wible

The Naming

En route to Tahiti in 1792, a ship put into Adventure Bay at Bruny Island off the coast of Tasmania, where the captain’s log made the first written account of an animal that was covered in thick, sharp quills with a pointy bill and small mouth. The ship was the H.M.S. Bounty and the captain was none other than William Bligh. In the same year, a specimen from New Holland (Australia) arrived in the natural history department of the British Museum in London where it was formally described by assistant keeper George Shaw. Shaw conceived of this animal as a cross between an Old World porcupine and a South American giant anteater. He named it Myrmecophaga aculeata, a new species in the same genus as the giant anteater, Myrmecophaga tridactyla, and called it by the common name porcupine anteater; its formal name translates to spiny anteater. The animal, about a foot in length, had been found amid an ant hill. Shaw’s account included the first image of the porcupine anteater.

A bewildering number of generic and specific names were applied to the porcupine anteater over the next two decades, reflecting changing views about its taxonomy. The common thread was a realization that this animal had little to do with the South American anteater and, therefore, could not remain as a species of that animal’s genus. Moreover, a second bizarre mammal from New Holland was described by George Shaw in 1799, the duck-billed platypus, Ornithorhynchus anatinus. Most authors recognized a kinship between these two odd forms. Today, we know them to be two types of monotremes or egg-laying mammals.

One of the generic names given to the porcupine anteater was Echidna, proposed by the famous French comparative anatomist Georges Cuvier in 1797. In Greek mythology, Echidna was a hideous, flesh-eating monster with the top half of a beautiful woman and the body of a fearsome snake; Echidna was mother of many other infamous monsters, including Cerberus and Sphinx. For the porcupine anteater, this name was meant to reflect the animal’s mixture of reptilian and mammalian characteristics. However, the generic name Echidna was already occupied, having been given to a moray eel in 1788. So, by the rule of priority, it could not be used for the porcupine anteater. The name Tachyglossus, meaning rapid tongue for the speed with which it ingests ants, was proposed by Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger of the zoological museum in Berlin in 1811. Thus, was born the formal moniker of Tachyglossus aculeatus for the porcupine anteater. Cuvier’s echidna stuck as the generally recognized common name. A refinement to the common name came later with the description in 1876 of a second kind of echidna from New Guinea. This larger form with an even longer snout was ultimately called Zaglossus, meaning great tongue. These two types have become known as the short-beaked and long-beaked echidnas, which perhaps is unfortunate as we usually think of birds having a beak and there is nothing beaky about the flesh-covered echidna snout.

A final word on the spiny anteater as an alternative common name. This should only be applied to the single species of short-beaked echidna, Tachyglossus aculeatus, found today throughout Australia, Tasmania, and southeastern New Guinea, as it is a true eater of ants and termites, projecting its tongue 7 inches into nests to feed. The three species of the long-beaked echidnas, two of which are critically endangered, are primarily earthworm eaters. They use their long, pointy snouts to probe through soil and extend their tongue only about an inch to get their prey. They do have an amazing adaptation to catching worms: the anterior third of the tongue has a deep groove with three rows of backwardly directed, sharp, keratinous spines. When the mouth is opened, the groove opens; the worm is maneuvered into this groove; and when the tongue is retracted, the groove is tightly closed around the worm. Instead of spiny anteaters, let’s just call them fearsome spiny wormeaters!

John Wible is Curator in the Section of Mammals at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences working at the museum.

October 22, 2018 by wpengine

Mapping Wildlife Habitats Beyond the Borders of Protected Areas

by Chase D. Mendenhall

The best way to prevent extinctions is to protect wildlife habitats. In a world where only 13% of the land surface is dedicated to nature reserves, croplands and pastures are playing an increasingly important role in the conversation of biodiversity by providing habitat to some wildlife. Historically, agricultural activities have been pitted against nature reserves—playing the role of the “inhospitable matrix” surrounding nature reserves, which act as “islands” that safeguard biodiversity into the future. In fact, the metaphor of “islands” and “matrix” comes from decades of research studying plants and animals on oceanic islands surrounded by water.

On the mainland, we continue the tradition of largely ignoring the matrix of human-made habitats and the wildlife that use them. A major reason for overlooking human-made habitats is that we develop and use mapping techniques that only value large tracts of wildlife habitat, that are incapable of mapping fine-scale habitats, and that incorrectly classify land use types by confusing forests with croplands and pastures.

map and diagram of trees in part of Costa Rica

A new study published by the Carnegie Museum of Natural History has attempted to test the classification precision and accuracy of automated tree mapping techniques for identifying wildlife habitat in Costa Rica. In the end, we were surprised to find that two prominent mapping techniques gave distorted estimates of tree cover in deforested areas and that these distortions are potentially leading to poor decision making beyond the borders of nature reserves. We recommend conservation scientists interested in quantifying wildlife habitats embedded in croplands and pastures to consider modest techniques of digitizing habitats by hand using Google Earth. We also identify lots of room for developing new technologies using satellites, citizen science, and drones to solve the problem of counting up wildlife habitats, big and small.

The full study is available as a PDF: Improving tree cover estimates for fine-scale landscape ecology.

October 22, 2018 by wpengine

Trilobites in the Collection of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History

by Albert Kollar

Trilobites are members of an extinct group of marine animals that lived in the ancient seas of the Paleozoic Era (542 Ma to 251 Ma) a time span of 291 million years. In comparison, dinosaurs as a group lived no more than 186 million years. Trilobites belong to the phylum Arthropoda, animals whose body plan are segmented with jointed appendages. Arthropods include many living and fossil groups that may be familiar: horseshoe crabs, eurypterids, sea spiders, scorpions, spiders, ticks, mites, barnacles, ostracods, centipedes, and millipedes. The good eating arthropods are lobsters, crabs, and even insects are a delicacy in certain societies.

The Section of Invertebrate Paleontology has a fantastic collection of trilobites. The trilobite collections are organized among the Paleozoic rocks of western Europe (i.e., Czech Republic and France), Ontario, Canada, and the United States. The collection from the United States is a reflection in part of the history of the section’s trilobite research and field collecting over 115 years. Trilobite paleontologists who helped grow the collection are Brezinski, Raymond, Taylor, Loch, and Shaw (all last names). These scientists spent years collecting from across the United States: Missouri, Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, Oklahoma, Arkansas, New Mexico, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, Texas, Minnesota, Montana, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia as well as collecting n Canada. Based on the discoveries, they published 35 papers citing 67 new species and 7 new genera. All specimens are housed in the section’s type trilobite collection. Among the new trilobites published, one specimen stands out Ameropiltonia lauradanae (Brezinski), 2000. Collected by Dr. David K. Brezinski, Associate Curator adjunct in the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology from the Chouteau rocks of north central Missouri. In 2004, Ameropiltonia lauradanae was selected as the section’s logo fossil.

Another logo fossil is the state fossil of Pennsylvania. Probably to most Pennsylvanians, it is surprising that somehow the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania would set aside state business and politics to vote and designate a trilobite (pronounced TRI-lobe-ite), Phacops rana (Green), the official state fossil in 1988. We thank the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for their vote assisting Pennsylvania’s school children’s endeavors to learn about fossils.

Phacops rana is an index fossil for the Middle Devonian (382 million years ago to 393 million years ago) age rocks of the Devonian Period. An index fossil is a designation confirmed by geologists and paleontologists that indicate rocks to be of a certain geologic age. Phacops rana is found in the Devonian rocks of Pennsylvania, New York, Ontario, Ohio, and Michigan. The section has many individual specimens of Phacops rana fossils including a few enrolled specimens and one rock slab with seven specimens.

Albert D. Kollar is collection manager in the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

October 22, 2018 by wpengine

Are slugs and snails the same thing?

Are slugs and snails the same thing? Head of Mollusks Dr. Timothy Pearce takes us behind the scenes in the mollusks collection to see the differences between snails and slugs. Plus, find out all about semislugs – a very special type of mollusk.

October 22, 2018 by wpengine

This is not about the Anthropocene, or is it?

by Gil Oliveira

“How many times do you need to see the evidence? How many times must the point be made? We’re causing our own extinction. Too many red lines have been crossed. […] We’re going to have to adjust to new threats we can’t even imagine. We’ve entered a new era.”

This is not about climate change, mass extinction, or ocean acidification. Rather, this quote comes from the closing scene of the recent movie Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. It’s about the beginning of a new fictional Jurassic-Age, where humans and dinosaurs must learn to coexist.

The final scene is visually spectacular. But what really caught my attention was the idea connecting dinosaurs and a new era. Similarly, the Anthropocene is a newly proposed time period when geological and human timescales are colliding. It entails Earth’s distant past, and also invites us to consider our actions and decisions in light of their effects long into the future. In order to link past, present and future, and make sense of it, humans construct narratives.

In a time of uncertainty, when we are indeed crossing red lines at the planetary scale in real life, one can’t help but wonder what will the future look like? What narratives do we need to live better in this new world? At their most fundamental level, narratives speak about the human condition (and its limits), so how can we better understand the role of humans as actors capable of affecting the entire Earth System?

Yuval Noah Harari, the author of Sapiens. A Brief History of Humankind, posits that humans rule the world because they are the only animal that can cooperate flexibly in large numbers (see Harari’s website). But, he asks, what is the mysterious glue that enables millions of us to cooperate seemingly more effectively than other animal societies. The glue, he argues, is the stories we tell ourselves. It is our ability to create and believe in fiction. As Jonathan Gottschall puts it: sapiens are “the great ape with the storytelling mind.”

Humans use stories to understand the world. You and I think in them. Today, dominant cultural narratives gravitate around unlimited technology, endless progress and growth, and ferocious competition. Museums have not been spared. They too have been telling stories, focused on the law of the jungle and the survival of the fittest, on nature as a realm distinct from human life, on the progress of evolution and humans as its most highly evolved product. These imaginaries have contributed to shape our representations of the world. They shape our attitudes, our beliefs, our behaviors.

Coming back to Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, the last scene shows a scientist appearing before a congressional committee and declaring that “Humans and Dinosaurs are now going to be forced to co-exist. These creatures were here before us and if we’re not careful they’re going to be here after.” This new pretend era seems to be characterized by a dependence between dinosaurs and humans, and humility regarding the human place in the world.

This moral may have relevance to the Anthropocene. The stories we tell and consume shape us profoundly. Stories can help us connect with the non-human world. Like science fiction, museums too are powerful spaces for storytelling. They hold great potential for generating new stories and sensibilities that may help adapt our understanding and connection to nature to better serve us in confronting the challenges of the Anthropocene.

Gil Oliveira is a postgraduate student working as an intern in the section of the Anthropocene at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences working at the museum.

October 18, 2018 by wpengine

Why Do Leaves Change Color in the Fall?

One of the most anticipated events of fall is the changing colors of tree leaves. As the evenings get cooler, the trees display spectacular warm red, orange and yellow hues. The East Coast’s fall colors are SO spectacular, in fact, that many people take special trips here just to see them. But what is it about fall that makes the leaves change, and why do their colors become warmer as the days grow cold?

Are these colors really just a fall thing?

You might think that the orange and yellow colors, or pigments, are only present in leaves in fall but they’re actually there all year long–we just can’t see them because they are covered up by the strong green pigment that is also in the leaves. This green pigment comes from chlorophyll, a substance that makes energy for trees using sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water. When the amount of sunlight starts to decrease in fall, trees respond by making less chlorophyll. When this happens the green starts to disappear and the yellow and orange pigment, called carotenoid, shows through.

Red is a seasonal special

While yellow and orange are present in leaves all year round, there is another pigment that is only produced in the fall. Anthocyanin is a pigment responsible for giving leaves dark red and purple colors. This pigment is created during times in the fall when the days are warm or cool, but don’t dip below freezing. Because fall temperatures can vary from year to year, some years will have more deep red leaves than others.

Did you know?

Evergreen trees like pines, spruces, and firs stay green year-round because they have needles instead of leaves. These needles have a waxy coating that protects them from losing moisture and don’t require as much sunlight to produce the chlorophyll.

Get Outside and Find Fall Color!

Peak color for fall foliage hits Southwestern Pennsylvania in mid-October. Track historic trends of color change to plan your outdoor excursion!

stream and trees at powdermill nature reserve

Powdermill Nature Reserve is a great place to look for fall color!

Explore nature together. Visit Nature 360 for more activities and information.

October 17, 2018 by wpengine

The Haunted Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt and the Mystery of the Blob

by Erin Peters

If you visited our Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt in the last few weeks, you may have seen the windows and doors blocked so you couldn’t see inside. With this dramatic drapery, perhaps we were preparing a haunted Walton Hall for our October 26 After Dark? Alas, this is not the year of the mummy, but something mysterious was happening inside!

Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt with door blocked to light

We are on the search for something missing from our Dynasty 12 funerary boat buried at the pyramid complex of Senwosret III. Even from this very spooky photo taken when we had the gallery blocked from light, you can see the boat is made of wood – cedar of Lebanon – a luxury good in the ancient world.

funerary boat in Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt

We know the boat was also painted because scholars that studied it in the 1980s noted small fragments of paint remaining on the wood surface. From these notes, they theorized it could have looked something like this model on display in the gallery.

We have new technology in the field of conservation that can reveal trace amounts of pigments that are not visible to the naked eye. To capitalize on this new technology, I invited my conservator colleague, Dawn Kriss, to work with CMNH’s conservator, Gretchen Anderson, to carry out Multi-Band Imaging on the boat.

Gretchen Anderson and Dawn Kriss in Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt

With other sources of light blocked out, Multi-Band Imaging can reveal a number of elements on a surface including pigments, binders, and treatments, even if they aren’t easy to see. I am most excited about the pigment Egyptian blue, which can luminesce through Visible Induced Luminescence Imaging (VIL).

When Dawn found this mysterious blob – we thought we definitely had Egyptian blue!

In her analysis of the boat, Dawn first looked at the blob (with help from Chase Mendenhall, CMNH’s Assistant Curator of Birds, Ecology, and Conservation – moonlighting as an Egyptologist). Dawn carried out the whole range of Multi-Band Imaging on the blob, including VIL. Surprisingly, it did not luminesce like we all thought it would.

Michael Belman testing the blob with X-ray fluorescence

We invited our colleague, Michael Belman, CMOA’s Object Conservator, to join our hunt for information about pigments, binders, and treatments on the boat. My ultimate priority was the blob! When Michael tested it with XRF (X-Ray Fluorescence) technology, he found what seemed to be trace amounts of copper, which is what we would expect with Egyptian blue. Yet, there didn’t seem to be enough to suggest it was the primary element in the pigment…

This initial analysis has prompted us to continue our study of it, and search for other pigments, binding material, and treatments. Keep tuned for updates on the Carnegie Boat and the mystery of the blob!

Erin Peters is an assistant curator of science and research at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

October 15, 2018 by wpengine

Is this butterfly blue or green?

by Vanessa Verdecia

An image of a beautiful “blue” butterfly. What kind is it, they asked me? That’s not always an easy question to answer. The first thing I knew was that this butterfly was in the family Papilionidae. That determination was made based on the tails seen on the hindwings, giving the family its common name of Swallowtail butterflies. It’s a good thing the Carnegie has a wonderful reference collection of butterfly specimens that is also complemented with an extensive library of scientific literature that should give me a good shot at figuring out what this beautiful specimen might be.

I started with some of the amazing picture books in the library because all I had was a single image of a specimen to identify with no visible clues from the image that might show what region of the world the specimen was collected from. After searching through the historical collection for curated and identified specimens to compare to the image, and perusing through dozens of drawers of mixed swallowtail butterflies that might contain similar specimens, I was almost certain the specimen in the picture was a Papilio blumei, also known as the Green Swallowtail. Hmmm, the Green Swallowtail? The wing shape and pattern of the markings on the wings were a match, but the picture I had was of a butterfly with blue markings, not green! All the specimens of this species in the collection looked green.

Then I thought: I bet this unusual color has something to do with the structural coloring in the scales of the wings. The reason the butterfly looked blue in the image was because the picture was taken in the dark and the photo was shot at an angle. This caused the butterfly to appear blue because the microscopic scales of the wings are structured in such a way that they interfere with visible light. When I held my hand over the specimen and cast a shadow on it, the green bands then appeared blue, just like in the picture. Structural coloring like this is seen in many insects and other animals, and can often be iridescent.

blue butterfly and green butterfly that are actually the same butterfly from different angles

The next step was to confirm the identification with Dr. Rawlins, our expert on Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies). This is where it got tricky. According to the literature, Papilio blumei consists of four distinct subspecies that represent geographical variants of that species. When looking at specimens in the collection, there are subtle differences in the width of the blue bands on the wings. The photograph I had matched specimens that were identified in the collection as Papilio blumei. This species is only known from the island of Sulawesi (Indonesia). Differences found among specimens from different regions of the island appear to correspond with the different subspecies. A careful detailed study would have to be done in order to revise this species complex.

Sorting out all this tricky stuff is the science of taxonomy, which is the branch of science that deals with the classification and naming of organisms. Species are classified according to the various characteristics they have in common, which helps scientists to understand how organisms are related to one another. A deeper understanding of these different characters and how they evolved over time and in concert with a species life history, is what constitutes the study of systematics, which is the field of study that deals with evolutionary relationships among organisms.

There are over 1 million described insect species on earth, and many more sitting in collections all over the world, still waiting to be “discovered”. Some of these specimens hidden away in the collections are known to be new species and are in the process of “getting a name”—a common phrase heard around museum insect collections that refers to the process of describing in detail the defining characteristics of the species, assigning a Latin name to the specimen(s), and formally publishing the name in the scientific literature. Getting to put a name on a new species is one of the best things about working in a museum. Knowing how many specimens there are to work on, or the possibility of stumbling across a lost or forgotten species someday while working in the collection is truly exciting. In a collection containing an estimated 30,000 drawers and roughly 14.5 million specimens, you never know what you might find!

October 15, 2018 by wpengine

Meet The Newest Addition To The Fossil Vertebrate Collection

by Amy Henrici

mammoth tooth from the side — The new mammoth tooth as viewed from the side. The crown, or exposed part, of the tooth is at the top, and the root is at the bottom.

The Section of Vertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History acquires fossils in a variety of ways, most commonly through field work by Section staff, exchanges with other museums, donations, or (very rarely) purchases. The most recent addition to the collection came by way of a donation.

Gary Kirsch discovered the tooth shown above in a sand-gravel bar of a central Ohio stream in 1988 while collecting sediment samples. He had set his sampling equipment on the sand-gravel bar and was moving between the bar and the stream collecting samples. During one of his many forays, Gary noticed an edge of the tooth sticking out of the bar and pulled it out. It was covered in mud, which he quickly cleaned off in the stream to reveal the beautifully preserved tooth, which he identified as that of a mammoth.

Gary recently emailed photographs of the tooth to Assistant Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology Matt Lamanna because he wanted to donate it to the museum. Acceptance of his generous offer required some research: mammoth and Asian elephant teeth are very similar, and because none of the Section staff are experts in fossils of Pleistocene (Ice Age) mammals, we reached out to Pleistocene expert Blaine Schubert at East Tennessee State University, who often uses our collection, to verify Gary’s identification. Blaine was certain that it was a mammoth tooth because an Asian elephant tooth could only have come from a zoo or circus animal, which was highly unlikely. Blaine was curious about how teeth of the two species are distinguished, so he forwarded the photographs to an elephant expert at his university, Chris Widga.

mammoth tooth from the top — The grinding (i.e., lower, occlusal) surface of the tooth, showing the fairly crenulated tooth enamel.

Chris determined that the tooth is the first (forward-most) molar from the left upper jaw, and because it has fairly crenulated enamel, that it is from a woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius). Through comparison with tooth eruption and wear schedules (sequences) of modern elephants, Chris concluded that the animal was in its late teens to early 20s when it died. In the wild, modern elephants generally live to about their mid-50s, so this single specimen offers a window into mammoth mid-life.

The Section is grateful to Gary for his thoughtful donation. The specimen will be put on temporary display soon in the PaleoLab window on the first floor of the museum for public viewing.

October 12, 2018 by wpengine

New England Aster – Aren’t you glad you Aster?

by Bonnie Isaac

Fall is typically the time of year when we think plants are getting ready for winter. Think of trees changing colors and losing their leaves. Actually, some plants are just beginning to come into their own at this time of year. The New England Aster is at its prime bloom now. The purple, or sometimes pink, ray flowers are a spectacular sight along our open roadsides and fields.

New England Aster is common across Pennsylvania and is known from almost all counties in the commonwealth. This beautiful plant is a member of the Aster family which is commonly called the Composite family. This family is called the composite family because the flower heads are made up of many small flowers (florets) close together composing what looks like one larger flower.

Next time you look at a dandelion, daisy, or sunflower, look closely. You can see many florets. Flowers, like the New England Aster, that bloom late in the year, are very important sources of nectar for bees and butterflies.

Bonnie Isaac is the Collection Manager in the Section of Botany. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

October 10, 2018 by wpengine

Fred the Crystal Skull

by Debra Wilson

Just about every year since the Carnegie Museum of Natural History acquired it, Fred the Crystal Skull has made an appearance in Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems right around Halloween. So how did we acquire a crystal skull and how did it get the name Fred you ask? Just to set the record straight right off the bat, Fred is not one of the dozen or so mysterious skulls that some think were carved by an ancient Mesoamerican civilization thousands of years ago. Our skull was carved and polished from a single quartz crystal with modern tools in Brazil and was donated to the museum in 2004 by South American Gems, Ltd located in Guarapari, Espirito Santo, Brazil.Germany, China and Brazil currently produce thousands of carved crystal skulls every year in numerous sizes. Fred measures 7.8 inches high by 5 inches wide, which is slightly smaller than the average human skull (8 to 9 inches high and 6 to 7 inches wide) so he was named after a man of small stature, namely the step father of the former Head of the Section of Minerals Marc Wilson. Marc was Section Head from August 1992 to August 2017.

As you can see in the photograph of Fred, he has some internal flaws and fractures which is very common in the mineral quartz. Chemical impurities, physical flaws and twinning in natural quartz are issues that caused industry to develop a commercial process of manufacturing pure, electronics-grade quartz that can be used in circuits for consumer products such as televisions, radios, computers, cell phones and electronic games, just to name a few, and for crystal-controlled clocks and watches. As it so happens, the Section of Minerals also has a few lab-grown quartz crystals in the collection, including a large crystal nicknamed The Football that is nearly a foot across.

You will notice it is so clear that you can see the growth patterns of the bottom surface through the crystal. The Football was part of a donation of 57 lab created specimens given to the Section of Minerals in 2017 by Lynn Boatner just before he retired from Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.

D is for Dugong

The dugong is a marine mammal related to the manatee. Dugongs and manatees are members of the order Sirenia, which in turn is included in a larger group called Afrotheria. Also included in Afrotheria are elephants, hyraxes, aardvarks, elephant shrews, golden moles, and tenrecs. The dugong feeds on seagrasses and other shallow vegetation found within 1-5 meters of water in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific. It is a docile animal, like land-based grazing mammals such as cows and sheep.

A single baby is born underwater and surfaces immediately to get its first breath. A baby will ride on its mother’s back as she submerges to feed and rises to the surface to breathe when she does. Observation shows that dugongs come to the surface about every three minutes. A female may produce milk for her young for up to 18 months, but babies begin to eat vegetation by three months of age.

dugong swimming — Photo credit: Julien Willem/Wikimedia Commons

Dugongs have numerous adaptions to marine life, including the modification of its front limbs as flippers and the complete loss of hind limbs. Unlike the manatee’s paddle-like tail, a dugong’s tail looks like that of a dolphin. The lungs are elongated as are the kidneys, which are important to helping the animal cope with living in seawater. Observation of wild populations indicates that dugongs may live up to 70 years. However, a female only gives birth every 3–7 years, so premature deaths can have a significant impact on the stability of the population.

Sharks are the dugong’s main natural enemy although large groups of dugongs occasionally have been observed driving a shark away after an attempted attack. However, dugongs are more often found alone, in pairs or in small groups. Killer whales have also been observed feeding on dugong. For many years, the dugong was hunted as a source of leather, meat, and oil. Now, humans pose the largest threat due to loss of seagrass habitat and the impact of fishing where dugong become caught in nets and cannot surface to breathe.

Coastal populations from the Red Sea south to Madagascar, and east to India and Southeast Asia have fallen dramatically in recent decades. Now, the largest populations, by far, are in the waters surrounding Australia where most research on this species takes place. Many countries have passed laws protecting the dugong, but various body parts are used in traditional medicine, making poaching problematic and protection especially difficult because of the ocean environment. Many different cultures assign a variety of special powers to the dugong. Fascination with dugongs can be found throughout time, from a 5,000-year old cave drawing found in Malaysia to inclusion in Cabinets of Curiosity beginning in the Renaissance. The dugong is thought to be the inspiration of the mythological mermaid, hence the name Sirenia for its order. In fact, the name dugong is from the Malay word for “lady of the sea.”

Sue McLaren is the Collection Manager in the Section of Mammals and Chair of Collections for Carnegie Museum of Natural History. She lives on the Northside with her husband Andy. Museum employees are encouraged to share their unique experiences from working at the museum.

Collected on This Day in 1995

by Mason Heberling

Fall allergies causing you grief?

Ragweed is a plant many people are (all too) familiar with. Or at least their bodies are. Common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) is actually native to North America, but has been introduced across the world. In many cases, this plant (or other ragweed species) are to blame for seasonal pollen allergies known as “hay fever.” In summer and early fall, ragweed plants produce copious numbers of pollen grains, which are dispersed in the wind. Don’t blame those insect-pollinated plants with showy flowers for your allergy troubles. Wind pollinated plants like ragweed are your culprit.

This ragweed specimen was collected by Bonnie and Joe Isaac in Lawrence county, Pennsylvania on October 8, 1995. Bonnie is the collection manager in the Section of Botany at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, an active plant collector and field botanist, and an expert on the plants of Pennsylvania.

Although ragweed is native to the US, historical records (pollen deposited in sediment cores) suggest that this species was far less common in North America before European colonization. This is perhaps not too surprising considering the species thrives in disturbed habitats that came with European colonization and urbanization. A study published in 2014 by Martin and colleagues in the journal Molecular Ecology extracted DNA from nearly 500 historic herbarium specimens dating back to the 1800s to measure the genetic makeup prior to widespread changes to the landscape in the late 19th century. Combined with data from recent collections, they found shifts in the genetic makeup of ragweed populations as the species was expanding in the United States.

This specimen is now online: Ambrosia artemisiifolia.

October 8, 2018 by wpengine

Botany Near Home

by Mason Heberling

dandelion outside Carnegie Museum of Natural History

Human activities are changing our very notion of what is “natural.” We are surrounded by nature, no matter whether we are in an asphalt parking lot in Pittsburgh or deep in the Allegheny National Forest. This conclusion was a central theme (and namesake) of the recent exhibition at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History titled We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene. The Anthropocene is an interdisciplinary, far-reaching conceptual framework for understanding, managing, protecting, and celebrating our natural heritage in a new era of global human influence on the Earth’s systems.

Is there value to nature in the city? How about the mowed lawn in your backyard? Or the weeds in sidewalk cracks? It’s easy to overlook nature in human dominated environments, but it is something special.

While the Anthropocene as a formal term is quite new, many of the basic concepts behind it are far from it.

I recently stumbled across an inspiring, forward thinking essay by Otto Jennings entitled “Botany Near Home.” I do not know the date or where it was published.

Affiliated with the Carnegie Museum from 1904 until his death in 1964, Jennings made many contributions throughout his career, serving as the Curator of Botany, Director of Education, and eventually Director of the museum. He also was Professor and Head of the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh, having advised many students. His legacy remains to this day for his influence on the museum, botany, conservation, and environmental education.

Specimen of Taraxacum offiniale (dandelion) collected by Otto Jennings on Sept. 9, 1919 in the lawn outside of the museum.

In his short essay, Jennings asserts that you do not need to go far to teach and learn botany hands-on. He writes, “…the teacher need not have to break up regular class schedules or to go to the trouble of organizing a field-trip to some more or less distant place.”

He continues, “Various plants grow in backyards and vacant lots which were not planted there by anyone. How did it get there? Our back in a semi-business part of Oakland, in Pittsburgh, has had ailanthus trees, wild cherries, elderberries, southern fireweed, plantains, smartweeds, asters, a goldenrod, a thistle, and many dandelions. How did they get there? Such a question might well be put to the school children as a quiz contest – and let them work out the answers.” Jennings then focuses the rest of the essay on the fascinating biology of the common dandelion and advocates the use of this often overlooked, common plant to teach botany.

While this basic essay may not seem like much, there is an important point. We often think of “nature” as something far away, something you visit. But indeed, you can find botany near home. And once you look for it, it is a fascinating world. Even the common species aren’t as boring as you might think, once you take the time to look closely.

In the city blocks around the Carnegie Museum of Natural History alone, there are currently 104 species of plants recorded by citizen scientists in iNaturalist. That’s right, 104! And I would presume this is far from a complete inventory.

Peruvian daisy in a sidewalk crack — You can see a surprising amount of diversity in sidewalk cracks. Pictured here thriving in a sidewalk crack outside the museum is Galinsoga quadriradiata, commonly known as Peruvian daisy. This species is common to urban environments. So common to Pittsburgh, it is even known as “Pittsburgh Weed.”

What about urban diversity captured in the museum herbarium? Of the 170,000+ plant specimens collected in Pennsylvania alone, over 15,000 (!) were explicitly described by the collector as growing in a human-made habitat (defined broadly, including words such as urban, sidewalk crack, vacant lot, roadside, railway, waste area, industrial, etc).

Despite the importance of appreciating life in human-dominated environments, it is also important to recognize the inherent and functional value of “pristine” nature. Managing for the “natural” is one of many difficult topics to tackle in the Anthropocene. What exactly is nature? What should nature be? Is there inherent value in all species? What species are priorities to conserve? How do we balance the perceived needs of human society with that of biodiversity?

These are just some of the many questions without easy answers. But as we define our collective future in the Anthropocene, let’s always appreciate “botany near home.”

–

For more on the urban plants of Pittsburgh, be sure to check out the book Wild Urban Plants of the Northeast published in 2010 by Peter Del Tredici. https://librarycatalog.einetwork.net/Record/.b29413795

Also, be sure to check out the recent activity book published by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. It was designed for use by parents and teachers to engage young people with nature, even in the city.

Mason Heberling is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Section of Botany at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences working at the museum.

Botanists at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History have embarked on a three-year project to digitize nearly 190,000 plant specimens collected in the region, making images and other data publicly available online. This effort is part of the Mid-Atlantic Megalopolis Project (mamdigitization.org), a network of thirteen herbaria spanning the densely populated urban corridor from Washington, D.C. to New York City to achieve a greater understanding of our urban areas, including the unique industrial and environmental history of the greater Pittsburgh region. This project is made possible by the National Science Foundation under grant no. 1801022. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

October 4, 2018 by wpengine

Happy Ctenophore Day!

by Tim Pearce

Most people have heard of 6 to 10 of the 30 modern animal phyla. (A phylum is a major group of animals). In fact, most of us have (intentionally) eaten at least 3 phyla: Chordata (including vertebrates), Arthropoda (including shrimp), and Mollusca (including clams and snails). The adventurous among us might have (intentionally) eaten three additional phyla: Annelida (including earthworms), Cnidaria (including jellyfish), and Echinodermata (including sea urchin [as roe] and sea cucumbers). Beyond those 6 phyla, some of us might have heard of parasitic or pest organisms such as Nematoda (round worms) and Platyhelminthes (flat worms), or other interesting phyla such as Porifera (sponges) and Tardigrada (water bears), but most phyla are unknown to most people.

Behold the phylum Ctenophora or comb jellies, which live in ocean water around the world. Their jelly bodies somewhat resemble jellyfish but ctenophores lack stinging cells. They have 8 rows of cilia that look like combs, hence the name (ctene means comb and phora means bearing). Their two longer, retractable tentacles are fringed with smaller tentacles covered with sticky cells that capture prey. Ctenophores range in size from as small as a millimeter (1/25 inch), through the 1-3 cm (0.6-1.25 inch) typical ovoid forms, to the 1.5 meter (5 foot) long belt-like forms known as the Venus girdle.

The “C” in ctenophore is silent, so when pronounced, the name sounds like 10 oh 4, which in the United States date system corresponds to October 4th. Consequently, October 4th is Ctenophore Day!

How to celebrate? Tasty fare could include gooseberries and walnuts, given that common names for ctenophores include sea gooseberry and sea walnut. Kiwi fruits are known as Chinese gooseberries (even though they are neither from China nor are they gooseberries), and they are in season in North America in October, so you could enjoy some kiwi fruit this Ctenophore Day!

October 2, 2018 by wpengine

Collected on This Day in 1982

by Mason Heberling

Corn is a staple crop known well by many across the world. Corn is used in a variety of ways including human food (from corn on the cob to corn syrup), animal feed, ethanol production, and especially this time of year, fall decoration and corn mazes. Corn is an economically important crop worldwide, with over 81 acres expected to have been harvested in the US alone this year. But where did this plant come from?

Corn, better known to many as maize (Zea mays), is a domesticated plant. Yes, plants can be domesticated, just as your pets. Corn was domesticated from a wild grass species known as teosinte in Mexico approximately 8,700 years ago. Like many other food crops, corn was domesticated by humans through artificial selection – that is, through selective breeding for traits of interest over many generations, causing the evolution of a species. In the case of corn, teosinte evolved through human intervention by selecting seed from plants with desirable traits (such as large cobs), planting those seeds, again selecting the “best” plants, and repeating over decades. Eventually, teosinte evolved from a many branching grass with small seed cobs to what we recognize as corn today – tall, unbranched plants with large, tasty cobs.

This specimen is of a species of teosinte (Zea mays subspecies parviglumis) that is thought to be the close relative of the domesticated crop we know today (Zea mays subspecies mays). This specimen was collected near the site of domestication in Mexico on October 2, 1982 by Hugh Iltis, a botanist and geneticist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who studied teosinte species, and an influential conservationist. Note the species name on the label “Zea mays L. subsp. parviglumis var. parviglumis Iltis and Doebley” – his name at the end denotes Iltis was one of the scientists who named the taxonomic variety new to science in 1980. It was also collected in the “type locality,” meaning from the same spot where the specimen used to describe the species was collected.

October 1, 2018 by wpengine

A Day at the Beach: The Anthropocene on Vacation

by Bob Jones

While on vacation, my wife and I took a morning walk on the beach to enjoy the sights and sounds of the surf while getting some exercise. The beach was mostly empty this morning and the sky was grey with the storm warnings of Hurricane Florence approaching to the south of our location in Delaware. It didn’t take long to notice a disturbing sight as we made our way on the sand. Plastic trash and lots of it. Bottles, bottle caps, beach toys, cups, straws, food containers, shoes, insoles, cigar tips and lots more. From a distance things look fine. Some clumps of seaweed on the sand. Just another day at the beach. Upon closer inspection, there are a wide variety of multi-colored bits of debris mixed throughout the tangles.

Since participating in the recent exhibition We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History my awareness of our impact on the world that we inhabit has been raised to a new level. Of course, I’ve noticed trash on the beach in years past but the gradual increase over time is insidious in its’ nature. It creeps up on you slowly, so you hardly notice. It’s a bit like the metaphor of boiling a frog. The premise is that if a frog is put suddenly into boiling water, it will jump out, but if the frog is put in tepid water which is then brought to a boil slowly, it will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death. I used to be more aware of avoiding stepping on jagged seashells, but now I find myself avoiding treading on the trash left on and washed up on the beach.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not yet at an epidemic proportion at this location, but why wait until it reaches that point to act? To be honest, I couldn’t tell you if it was this bad last year or if I’m more conscious of it now. Either way, I want to share my experience and hopefully encourage others to make improvements wherever we can. After taking pictures to document the situation I felt the need to grab a trash bag and start collecting the debris for disposal. I realize that this is a big problem and it is easy to become overwhelmed. My first response is disgust and anger at the lack of care and respect that people give to the environment. My next response is, “What’s the use? Even If I bag this up it’s just sending the problem to another location.” My best response is to act with a purpose. I know that I’m just one person, but if one person can influence one other, ten others, a hundred others, to make a positive change then we have the potential to create a movement. With enough momentum, we can hold back the tide of trash and plastic that is choking our oceans and rivers.

I am old enough to remember when the air in Pittsburgh was so bad that it was impossible to see 100 feet ahead in the morning because of all the pollution released from the mills during the night. As a boy, I used to think that the buildings in downtown and Oakland were constructed with black stone because of the amount of soot built up on their surface. I was amazed when they were sandblasted in the 1980s and 90’s to reveal the brightness of the granite that lay beneath the layer of grime. The Monongahela River was thick with sludge and garbage being dumped into the water rendering it unsafe to swim in. My brother and I used to fish from the shore in the SouthSide snagging way more old tires and junk than fish. The only fish in the rivers were carp and catfish. Today, they hold tournaments to catch bass in the three rivers. That is a phenomenal improvement. In the last forty years, we have made tremendous improvements by addressing what the problem is and taking corrective action.

It is up to each one of us to not only recognize the problems that we face, but to seek and apply solutions to put things right. I was taught that when spending any time in nature I should leave things in better condition than I found them. The simple act of picking up trash and erasing any signs that I had been there is a step in the right direction. The importance of leaving the environment in good shape so the next person can enjoy the wonders of nature, as it is intended. Working together we can make a difference.

Bob Jones is the Print Shop Manager at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

October 1, 2018 by wpengine

Tiger beetle lost, tiger beetle found

by John Wible

The newest issue of Annals of Carnegie Museum, our quarterly scientific journal highlighting museum research and collections, is hot off the presses. The cover is graced by photographs of a beautiful moth from Montana that was hand reared and studied by Curator James W. Fetzner Jr. and his nine-year-old son Jason. They report on this animal’s life history, previously unknown to science. Check out more about Jim and Jason’s study.

Another article by Research Associate Robert Acciavatti from the Section of Invertebrate Zoology and co-authors documents an amazing tale of scientific rediscovery regarding an extremely rare tiger beetle species from Durango, Mexico, named Cylindera nudata. The first and only known specimen of the species ended up in Germany where it was described in 1879. This beetle was one of the countless tragedies of World War II when it was lost from the Natural History Museum in Hamburg during the Allied bombing of that city. As the only known specimen, this one was designated as the holotype of the species, the specimen upon which the description and name of the species was based.

Holotypes are critically important because scientists compare other specimens to the holotype to discover if they belong to the same species or not. You can imagine that when the holotype is lost and no other specimens are known, making comparisons can only be done with whatever descriptions exist in the literature. And for this particular tiger beetle, there was only the original description in German and a line drawing that did not match the description!

Over the years, collecting expeditions to the locality of the holotype (or type locality) went searching for this beetle but came up empty or worse, being unable to reach the remote mountainous area of Mexico of the type locality. In a shipment of beetles collected from Mexico to Acciavatti, amazingly enough there was one specimen that matched the original description of Cylindera nudata. In this new article in the current Annals, that specimen is described, illustrated, and designated as the neotype of the species, which means it is the new type of the species as the old type no longer exists. Acciavatti has donated this specimen to Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and we will preserve it for future generations who will hopefully find more examples of this beautiful beetle and will need a neotype to compare to.

John Wible, PhD, is the curator of the Section of Mammals at Carnegie Museum of Natural History and editor of Annals of Carnegie Museum. John’s research is focused on the tree of life of mammals, understanding the evolutionary relationships between living and extinct taxa, and how the mammalian fauna on Earth got to be the way it is today. He uses his expertise on the anatomy of living mammals to reconstruct the lifeways of extinct mammals. John lives with his wife and two sons in a house full of cats and rabbits in Ross Township.

September 27, 2018 by wpengine

Badwater 20: Not So Bad After All

by Lauren Raysich

Although many people are familiar with fossilized bones of dinosaurs and other large extinct creatures, some fossils can be so small that a microscope is needed to see them. In Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s PaleoLab, volunteers like me use microscope stations to search for tiny fossils in different sediments collected from sites all over the world. Sediment from the Badwater 20 locality in Wyoming interests me more than any other. Sediment from this site dates to a time known as the Eocene Epoch. The middle of three epochs in the Paleogene Period, the Eocene lasted from 56 to 33.9 million years ago. Many fossils found from the Eocene belong to some of the oldest known members of modern mammal groups. Studying these fossils helps scientists trace the evolutionary histories of mammals we know today.

After searching through the Badwater 20 sediment for nearly two weeks, I had found only fragments of bones and teeth. Then, surprisingly, I came across a small, complete bone. It is not common to find complete fossil bones that are this tiny because they can be broken easily, whether by erosion or by being crushed by scavenging animals or water currents. Fossils are not immune to human-induced hazards either. After I found the bone, I was so excited that I accidentally dropped it on the floor of the lab and had to use a magnifying glass to relocate it! (Thankfully, it didn’t break.)

This bone interested me more than any other because it was the first bone I’d found from the Badwater 20 site that wasn’t fractured in some way. Since the bone is so small, I figured it had to have come from a tiny mammal. Through research and the help of other museum volunteers and staff, I have concluded that this bone is a phalanx (finger or toe bone) of an Eocene rodent. The mouse-like animal to which it belonged most likely lived in a tree, a burrow, or the undergrowth more than 37 million years ago! Although, to some people, this little bone may not be as exciting as those of, say, Tyrannosaurus rex, it thus has an important story to tell in the history of life on our planet.

Lauren Raysich is an undergraduate student at the University of Pittsburgh who volunteers in the Section of Vertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences working at the museum.

September 26, 2018 by wpengine

Boogie Woogie Aphids

by John Wenzel

Aphids are usually small wingless insects that suck sap from plants, usually specializing on one kind of plant. Many species can reproduce rapidly by parthenogenesis, where females give live birth to daughters without mating. They can build up great numbers quickly, which is why aphids are often pests of crop plants. In late summer or early autumn, populations are about as large as they are going to get, and soon a generation of both male and females that has wings is produced. These will disperse and mate before winter comes. The winged females will lay eggs that last over winter to start the cycle again in the spring. In our area, one amusing species is the beech blight aphid (Grylloprociphilus imbricator) that feeds on beech trees. The aphid produces from its abdomen profuse wax fibers that give it a woolly appearance. In the photo shown here, the aphid itself is just a small brown dot at one end of the white fluffy wax mass. The wax is essentially a shield, and a predator that bites into the woolly floss will come away with nothing but wax. These aphids have a defensive behavior of waving their abdomens and the wax shield when they are disturbed, as you can see in this video of dancing aphids.

Because sap has far more sugar than nutrients, aphids need to get rid of the sugar by excreting it in the form of honeydew. Under a mass of aphids like that shown here, the honeydew will accumulate on the branches or the ground below the aphid colony and will attract flies, bees, wasps, and other insects seeking the sweet liquid. There is a black sooty mold (Scorius spongiosa) that grows only on the honeydew of beech aphids, and can build up a large mass. Neither the aphids nor the mold are detrimental to beech trees, so there is no need to try to exterminate either of them. If they are considered a nuisance by a homeowner, it is easy to wash the aphids off the branches with a hose.

John Wenzel is the Director at Powdermill Nature Reserve, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s environmental research center. He has published research on the evolution of web building behavior. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

September 26, 2018 by wpengine

Kids and Caterpillars: Fostering a Child’s Interest in Nature by Rearing Lepidoptera (Moth and Butterfly) Larvae

by James W. Fetzner Jr.

We hear a soft THUMP! as another large bug hits the sheet after being drawn in to the bright mercury vapor light on this moonless night in the mountains of Montana. Upon hearing that sound, our usual questions arise … “What was that?” or “Humm…Who are you?” My 9-year-old son and I try to determine if the new arrival to the sheet is a species that is new, or one that we have already seen this evening. In this case, we note that it appears to be a new brownish moth with slivery patches on its wings, a species that is new to us and a good choice for one of our attempted rearings. We scramble to capture it in one of our empty “live jars” before it flies away, in the hopes of eventually getting some eggs.

specimen of Female of Autographa pseudogamma (Grote, 1875) from Montana. — Female of *Autographa pseudogamma (Grote, 1875)* from Montana.

One of the easiest ways to encounter and collect insects from the wild is to erect a “bug sheet” at night and attract them en masse to your location, rather than expending a lot of effort trying to catch them individually by hand. As a scientist working in the vast insect collection at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH), I often find myself bringing a bug sheet with me when I travel, especially when visiting family in other parts of the country. Not only does this help add specimens to our ever-expanding insect research collection, but it also serves as a fun way to experience the diversity of insects from different regions of our country. It is also an activity that kids really enjoy and engage with, and they always seem to have a great time catching interesting and colorful bugs. Even those that say they don’t like bugs seem to get caught up in the excitement when a large beetle or moth lands on the sheet.

side-by-side photos of collecting insects outside on bedsheets — Insect collecting sheet. A, the “bug sheet” setup. B, Collecting moths at the bug sheet.

After a few hours of collecting cool bugs at the sheet the night before, my son and I wake up in the morning and check our assortment of live jars with an air of anticipation. Nothing in that one, or in that one. But wait, look at the bottom of that jar. See those little pale-yellow dots all over? Those are what we were hoping for…eggs!! Our female moth laid a bunch of eggs! So, now the fun begins.

pale yellow eggs in the bottom of a jar — An example of pale-yellow eggs laid in the bottom of a “live jar.” Source was a female *Pyrrharctia Isabella (J.E. Smith, 1797)*, also known as the Isabella tiger moth or banded woolly bear.

A little research in our trusty moth field guide and we determined that our bug was a species known as Autographa pseudogamma (Grote, 1875), the Delicate Silver Y moth. We also discovered that the caterpillar and host plant for this moth were unknown, (i.e., have never been described or characterized in the scientific literature). We realize that this is a great opportunity, not only to have fun rearing some caterpillars of a new species of moth that we have not encountered before, but we could also contribute to the scientific knowledge about this species by publishing a scientific paper describing the caterpillar and other aspects of its life history. A big win-win all around.

After finding out more information about this species and its close relatives, we started preparing for the eggs to hatch, which only took about seven days from the time they were laid. Once that happened, we transferred the very tiny, newly hatched caterpillars out of the live jar and into a larger plastic container with dandelion leaves from our front yard as food. They started eating and growing and my son watched them closely as they progressed through their various growth stages (instars). He had great fun watching and laughing as the 50 or so caterpillars tried to escape in all directions from the container onto our kitchen table (boy, they moved fast!) as we cleaned it out and added new food for them each day.

a typical caterpillar iso-female culture in a plastic rearing chamber with greens in it — Image showing a typical caterpillar iso-female culture in a plastic “rearing chamber” (note: the lid has been removed so the contents can be seen). The photo shows an unrelated culture of *Automeris randa Druce*, 1894 from Arizona.

Rearing caterpillars is a lot like raising frog tadpoles. The caterpillars can be quite active, and they are constantly changing, with some species changing colors after they molt, others become hairier, and they all increase in size every time they molt to a new instar (the developmental stage in arthropods that occurs between molts). Just watching them eat or observing some of their other odd behaviors can be quite fascinating. The caterpillars we reared were voracious eaters, eventually going through several pounds of dandelion leaves in a single day!

caterpillar (larva) of Autographa pseudogamma — The previously unknown last instar caterpillar (larva) of *Autographa pseudogamma*.

Many children show a keen interest in caterpillars when they are encountered outdoors. Caterpillars are often seen as cute and fuzzy, which often leads to children touching them and/or picking them up. However, you should be cautious of this because some caterpillars, like the conspicuous and commonly encountered Hickory Tussock Moth (Lophocampa caryae Harris, 1841) caterpillar, can sometimes cause severe skin rashes, or even blindness if you get their hairs into your eyes. Several field guides to caterpillars are available, but they are not all-inclusive. This is because there are many moth species where the caterpillars are not known (as in our case), or where caterpillars have been found, but it is not known which adults they came from.

After reaching the final instar, the caterpillars move on to the next stage of their life cycle before they become adults, the pupa. During this stage, they metamorphose from a worm-like larva into a winged adult, and for A. pseudogamma, this process only took 11 days.

We were able to witness the entire life cycle of A. pseudogamma, from an adult to an egg to a larva to a pupa and then back to an adult again, all within the span of a single month. This was a great learning experience for my son. He was able to intimately witness first-hand the process by which insects grow and develop, which is something that few people get to see. He was also able to participate directly in the various stages of scientific discovery and, perhaps more importantly, he was able to see how a scientist would record observations and how those data are converted directly into a scientific publication. If you are interested, our study on A. pseudogamma was recently published in the Annals of Carnegie Museum. While not every caterpillar rearing will result in a published study, they are great learning experiences for young children that have an interest in nature. Studies of caterpillars like this would also make great school science fair projects. For information on getting started, see this article on how to rear caterpillars.

The huge diversity of insects, with all their different colors, sizes, and shapes, still evokes a child-like awe in me for the natural world and this is something that I hope to pass down to my son, as well as other children that might visit the insect collection here at the natural history museum (all those budding entomologists). Remember, even something that may seem silly and inconsequential, like raising a few caterpillars at home with your child(ren), can turn into something that fosters a deeper interest in the natural world, and if you’re lucky, may even end up contributing significantly to science.

James W. Fetzner Jr., Ph.D., is assistant curator in the Section of Invertebrate Zoology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Stalking the Freshwater Sponges of Western Pennsylvania

by Marc L. Yergin and Timothy A. Pearce

Yes, some sponges live in freshwater. Before our recent finds, only one species of sponge had been reported from western Pennsylvania.

freshwater sponge — Figure 1. Ephydatia mulleri found in a run in Somerset County, in the handsof Duquesne University student Emily Simon. In living sponges, water flows in through the small holes called pores and out through the large holes called oscula, visible in the photo.

As you walk along a western Pennsylvania stream, you may notice a tan or brown encrustation on rocks or sticks in the water. The encrustation might superficially look like algae, but if you notice regular holes, you might have found a sponge. Scientists first categorized sponges as plants until it was noticed the organisms were pumping water in and out, which plants don’t do.

Sponges (phylum Porifera) are the simplest multi-cellular animals. They are considered the sister group to all other multi-cellular animals. They don’t have organs or tissues like we do. Nevertheless, we share 70% of our DNA with sponges.

Freshwater sponges account for less than 3 percent of the total 10,000 species of modern sponges on earth, most of which are marine. Only 31 species of freshwater sponges are found in North America.

Our study, so far, found two additional species of freshwater sponges in western Pennsylvania, Ephydatia muelleri (Fig. 1) and Ephydatia fluviatilis. Because our species look alike, we tell them apart by examining their microscopic skeletal elements, called spicules. Spicules are made of silica, the same material found in sand and glass. The shape and form of the spicules are used to identify these sponges.

a micrograph of spicules — Figure 2. A microphotograph of spicules from Ephydatia mulleri. The needle-like megascleres are 200 – 350 microns long (0.008 – 0.012 inches) and the smaller dumbbell-shaped gemmuloscleres are 10 microns (0.0004 inches) long. The average width of a human hair is about 100 microns (0.004 inches).

Spicules come in many different sizes and shapes. The larger spicules for the two species we found are called megascleres and look like double-pointed needles. The smaller spicules, called gemmuloscleres, look like dumbbells and provide protection in sponge reproductive structures (Fig. 2).

Sponges eat microorganisms by capturing and ingesting them from the water. Water is circulated through canals lined by cells with flagella (hair-like projections) that trap food particles. The water flows by every cell so oxygen can enter and carbon dioxide can be expelled.

The presence of sponges indicates good water quality with little or no contamination from acid mine drainage or sediment from agricultural field runoff.

September 21, 2018 by wpengine

Happy International Peace Day!

by Nicole Heller

At Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and with the upcoming Carnegie International, we are thinking a lot these days about the Earth and humanity, both the amazing cultural diversity and forms of human expression and knowledge, and also the sustainability challenges that have emerged with more than seven billion people and growing.

One story you might enjoy is about a group of adventurers who planted a newly designed flag of the Earth at the Arctic today after a three-month sailing journey. They planted this flag in hopes of inspiring others to join together locally and globally to re-think how we can better care for each other, and our collective home. A mission we share as we explore the Anthropocene at the museum. Check out the video about it here.

Nicole Heller is Curator of the Anthropocene for Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences working at the museum.

September 21, 2018 by wpengine

Scientists Live – Jennifer Sheridan

Assistant Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles, Jennifer Sheridan, discussed her upcoming research and teaching trip to Borneo on Facebook Live! If you missed it live, check out the recording to learn all about her trip. While in Borneo, she will search for frogs to study how they are affected by climate change and the actions of humans. Learn about why the trip is important and how you can follow along while she is traveling.

September 21, 2018 by wpengine

Collected on this day in 1944

by Mason Heberling

Herbarium specimens are both an art and a science. This fact is no more apparent than in the collaborations between Andrey Avinoff and Otto Jennings, which culminated in the 1953 book Wildflowers of Western Pennsylvania and the Upper Ohio Basin.

Jennings was a longtime curator of botany, professor at University of Pittsburgh, and served many roles at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History (including director from 1945-1949).

Avinoff was a lepidopterist (studied butterflies) and artist, who was Director of the Carnegie Museum if Natural History from 1926-1945.

“Probably never again will there be two scholars, each a master in his own field, who can work together as did these two.” – Agnes L. Starrett

The book features a detailed, scientific manual describing plant species found in the region written by Jennings, along with 200 watercolor paintings of a subset of these species by Avinoff. Jennings would travel across Western PA in search of the perfect specimen to return to the museum for Avinoff to paint while still fresh and unwithered. Avinoff is said to have dropped everything he was doing upon Jennings’ return, and stay through the night to paint the flowers from still life. Avinoff estimated that it took him about 1,600 hours to paint them all.

illustration of a wildflower next to a wildflower specimen

A. Avinoff, referring to his wildflower paintings: “These were my guiding principles: (1) accuracy in form and color; (2) portrayal of the individuality of the plant as to the character, position, arrangement, and venation of the leaves and the texture of their surfaces; (3) decorative arrangement, composition, and spacing; (4) strictly water color technique—only transparent pigment and no opaque colors, no whit paint anywhere, not a single stroke used in the high lights. The whit is the paper and all light parts are lighter washes of the pigment—thoroughbred aquarelle has been observed throughout.”

Some of these specimens were then pressed and remain in the Carnegie Museum’s herbarium today. We know of 50 specimens that were used by Avinoff for his paintings.

This specimen of squarrose goldenrod (Solidago squarrosa) is one of those specimens. It was collected by Otto Jennings on September 21, 1944 on a ledge along the river bluffs near Bell’s Landing, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania.

Both of scientific and cultural value, this specimen has a rich history, much more than “just” dried plants on paper. While we know the history behind this particular one, each specimen has an important scientific and cultural story to tell.

September 20, 2018 by wpengine

What Do Boyce Knob, Smithhammer, and Pies Have in Common?

by Amy L. Covell-Murthy

While they would probably make pretty decent boat or band names, Boyce Knob, Smithhammer, and Pies are all common names for archaeological sites near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Currently, there are nearly 750 registered archaeological sites in Allegheny County. Besides these silly-sounding common names, all registered archaeological sites must be assigned an official site number from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

The system that they use is known as the Smithsonian Trinomial System. It was established in the 1930s and 40s when there were only 48 states in the union. Each state was assigned a number in alphabetical order with Alabama being 1 and Wyoming being 48. Alaska was assigned 49 when it was admitted, and Hawaii followed becoming 50. Pennsylvania is 36. This means that every archaeological site in Pennsylvania starts out with the number 36.

The second part of the trinomial system is a two-letter code to designate the county in which the site exists. The Allegheny County code is, “AL.” Therefore, every site in Allegheny County starts out with, “36AL.”

The final trinomial component is a sequential number assigned by the order in which the site is reported to the state and verified as an official site. The first official site in Allegheny County was recorded by Carnegie Museum of Natural History archaeologist William J. Mayer-Oakes, in 1951. It was assigned number 36AL1 and he simply named it, “Large.” It is located near Peter’s Creek. The site contained many ceramic sherds and stone flakes. These artifacts are safely housed in the anthropology collection here at CMNH along with the material Mayer-Oakes also recovered from sites 36AL2 and 36AL3. The photo below shows the stone flakes that Mayer-Oakes recovered.

This photo shows the ceramic material from 36AL1 that is housed in the CMNH anthropology collection.

Many of the sites in Western Pennsylvania are nicknamed for the private landowners who allowed the archaeologists to dig there. Examples include Foley Farm, Miller Farm, and McJunkin Farm. Other sites are known by specific place names such as Brunot’s Island or Penn Glenn. “Pies” is a phonetic spelling of the closest road, which was correctly spelled Pysz. If you were to discover an archaeological site in your backyard, what creative name would you come up with to distinguish your site from all the rest? Should this ever happen to you, please visit http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/portal/communities/archaeology/resources/recording-sites.html to learn the correct process for reporting new Pennsylvania archaeological sites.

September 20, 2018 by wpengine

Urban Bird Conservation Coordinator Featured Photographer in Wildlife Newsletter

by Chase Mendenhall

While outside collecting data for BirdSafe Pittsburgh or installing Motus antennas that locate migrating birds—Jonathan Rice, Urban Bird Conservation Coordinator at CMNH, is taking award-winning photos of wildlife. Jon was the featured photographer for the Northeastern Section of the Wildlife Society for summer 2018.

Check out some of his inspiring photographs, and his work at CMNH that prevents birds from colliding with glass and tracks migration using cutting-edge technology.

Yellow-billed Cuckoo (*Coccyzus americanus*)

Black-throated Blue Warbler (*Setophaga caerulescens*)

Jonathan Rice is Urban Bird Conservation Coordinator and Chase Mendenhall is Assistant Curator of Birds, Ecology, and Conservation at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

September 18, 2018 by wpengine

Hidden Treasure of Pittsburgh Found

by Bonnie Isaac

Recently I received a call from a woman who had bought an estate and discovered a hidden treasure in the basement. The basement contained 28 boxes of herbarium specimens. These boxes contained the private herbarium of Charles Boardman. Boardman was a research associate of Botany here at the museum from 1951 until his death on January 5, 1983. He had built his own herbarium space in his basement. These specimens are already mounted and in remarkably good shape for having been stored in a basement unattended for over 30 years.

Herbarium space built in the basement of Charles Boardman’s house with boxes of specimens.

Amazingly enough, there was also a letter with the collection with some details about his life. Charles Boardman was born in Buffalo, New York in 1903. Mr. Boardman attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and became a professional engineer. Charles was especially interested in mosses which led to his affiliation with Carnegie’s own Otto Jennings. Boardman accompanied Jennings on many field trips and collected specimens for the Manual of Mosses of Western Pennsylvania written and illustrated by Jennings. Boardman’s moss collection was donated to Duke University at his request shortly after his death. His vascular plant collection remained hidden in his basement until just a few weeks ago.

Water lily specimen found in Boardman’s personal herbarium.

Most of the specimens are from the 1930’s and 1940’s collected from Pennsylvania and beyond. In the coming weeks and months, we will process this amazing gift to see how many specimens are in this hidden treasure and put them into the main herbarium here at the museum for researchers to use in the future. You never know where a historic treasure may be lurking.

Bonnie Isaac is the Collection Manager in the Section of Botany. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

September 17, 2018 by wpengine

C is for Cats

by Sarah Shelley and John Wible

We don’t want to start a big fight about cats versus dogs, but here in the Section of Mammals at Carnegie Museum of Natural History we are officially cat people! There are pros and cons to both as pets, but for us the pros for cats outweigh the litterbox scooping and hairballs. When we see dog owners with those bags inverted on their hands to pick up … we are happy we are cat people.

Meet Our Cats

This is Roux, Sarah’s cat. Her favorite toy is a clothespin, despite all the expensive ones that Sarah buys for her. Roux thinks it is a hat. She is nine years-old and all black apart from her face full of white whiskers.

Whiskers or vibrissae, to use their technical term, are very thick hairs that are highly sensitive. Although cats have great eyesight for distance, movement, and night vision, they are short-sighted, which means they don’t see well what is right in front of them. The whiskers counteract their short-sightedness.

Cats don’t just have whiskers on their faces. They also have them on the inside of their front legs. The function of these is less obvious, but they likely aid in climbing and hunting.

Another fun fact? A group of cats is called a clowder. This is John’s cat clowder: Boots, Bela, and Phoenix. All three are rescues. Boots is the oldest, but we really don’t know how old she is. Bela and Phoenix are two, although not sisters.

Boots rules the kitchen and really likes to rub against bags or boxes on the kitchen counter. She is using scent glands on the side of her face to mark what is hers. Cats often do this to their owners when they return home to make them smell familiar again. They don’t just have scent glands on their faces. Amongst the other places are the pads on their paws, which helps explain their kneading behavior.

Why is Boots sitting on the computer? She is keeping an eye on the mouse.

Bela is a bit of a weirdo, perched on a box of peaches. It does not look very comfortable. She is a tabby, actually a mackerel tabby, which is not a specific cat breed, but a distinctive coat pattern. The word tabby comes from Attabiyah, a neighborhood in Baghdad, Iraq, which is famous for a type of silk. Tabbies got their name because their striped coats resemble the wavy patterns in the Attabiyah silk.

Did you know that domestic cats are not the only cats that like boxes? Check out this video of big cats playing in boxes.

If you think Bela is weird, check out where Phoenix likes to chill. Is this what they mean by curiosity killing the cat or a cool cat? (Don’t worry, she didn’t stay in the fridge too long.)

She parked herself with the lettuce and not the ice cream and it’s no wonder why: cats don’t taste sweetness. But they do have an extra sensory organ that humans don’t have, called the vomeronasal organ. This paired organ sits in the floor of the nasal cavity and is connected to the oral cavity by ducts located behind the incisor teeth. To get a particular odor into the vomeronasal organ, cats make a funny face called the Flehmen response where they open their mouth, wrinkle their lips, and stop breathing, as demonstrated by Roux. The vomeronasal organ is for pheromone perception.

So, here’s a mammalogy joke: what do you call a cat that just ate a mallard? A duck-filled fatty puss!

September 17, 2018 by wpengine

Combating Climate Change with Plants

by Steve Tonsor

It is easy for everyone to overlook plants as being at the heart of Earth’s carbon and oxygen cycles; they are simply background and decoration as the default for many. Yet they make the planet livable by producing atmospheric Oxygen and the ozone layer that reduces ultraviolet light to livable levels. They scrub carbon dioxide and use the carbon to store the sun’s energy in molecules that are the basis of food, fuel, and fiber, nearly everything we use in one way or another. They are also the most cost-effective way of sequestering carbon and reducing global change.

To understand the issue we are having with greenhouse gasses is to understand the carbon cycle. To understand the carbon cycle is to understand what plants do.

Growing more plants, by tending them ourselves and supporting organizations that do, is a low-cost way to make a positive contribution to the carbon cycle. It’s a method of combating climate change implementable on any scale you choose from backyard to continental.

Learn more about why low-cost, easy to implement ways to reduce climate change are critical in “A low-tech method for comabting climate change” from The Washington Post.

Steve Tonsor is Director of Science and Research at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

September 14, 2018 by wpengine

Collected on this day in 1989

by Mason Heberling

You can get see plants from all over the world without ever leaving the herbarium. Herbaria are powerful resources that enable research that would otherwise not be possible, comparing plant species collected from across the world, at different times of year.

This specimen of Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica, formerly known as Polygonum cuspidatum) was collected in China on Sept 14, 1989 by Q.X. Wang and J.L. Sun.

Even if you’ve never been to East Asia, this species might be familiar to you. Although native to China, Japan, and Korea, Japanese knotweed is now common across much of the temperate world, including the United States and Europe. In Pittsburgh, Japanese knotweed (and related introduced knotweed species) form dense stands along rivers, streams, and roadsides.

Specimens collected from both the native and introduced ranges can be compared to better understand plant invasions. For example, do invasive species look the same in their home range?

Although Collected On This Day posts tend to be biased towards specimens collected in Pennsylvania, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History herbarium includes specimens from many countries around the world. In fact, about one-third of the 530,000+ specimens are from outside the United States.

folders filled with Japanese knotweed specimens — 47 of the 96 specimens of Japanese knotweed in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s herbarium were collected outside of the United States.

How do these species from far away regions end up at the Carnegie Museum? Many are from expeditions from botanists affiliated with the museum – much in the same way locally collected specimens become part of the collection. But many others are obtained through exchange with other herbaria. Many plant collectors often collect duplicate specimens to send to several herbaria. Most herbaria have exchange programs, where specimens (usually duplicates) are exchanged between institutions. This practice functions to build the collection to include new species and specimens. But it also has an important function to safeguard the future of the data. In the case of damage (such as pest outbreaks or even fire, in the recent devastating case at the Museu Nacional in Brazil), having specimens spread across several institutions helps ensure the future of specimens.

Note the label on this specimen shows this specimen was at one time associated with the herbarium of the Shanghai Museum of Natural History.

September 13, 2018 by wpengine

A Herp Collection Mystery

by Jennifer Sheridan

Part of the fun of being a new curator is getting to know the collections. In preparing for an upcoming talk (Scientists Live on Facebook on September 19^th), I was sorting through our collections database to see what specimens we have from Southeast Asia, where I do most of my research. I came across a record that intrigued me: a fairly common snake (Rhabdophis subminiatus) from a potentially uncommon locality. The jar label says “Indonesia, Java”—Java being one of the islands in the Indonesian archipelago, which also happens to be the world’s most populous island. But the exact location detail is what caught my eye: Ternate.

If you happen to be from Southeast Asia or you’re a biogeography buff, you may know that Ternate is not in fact on Java, but is itself a tiny island in eastern Indonesia, off the coast of Halmahera, which is part of the Maluku group. Biogeographically this area is interesting because it lies just east of Wallace’s Line, an imaginary dividing line that separates the flora and fauna of Sundaland (mainland Southeast Asia) from that of Austronesia (Australia, New Guinea, and associated islands). This area played a key role in our understanding of biogeography because it was while he was traveling across Indonesia that Alfred Russel Wallace noticed that there was a very distinct change in the species of plants and animals found in Borneo and Bali (west of the line), compared to those on Sulawesi and Lombok (east of the line), despite the fact that those islands are not separated by a large distance. He noted this in his journals and scientists later named this dividing line after him, once they learned that the plants and animals west of the line originated in mainland SE Asia, while those east of the line originated in Australia.

But Ternate is interesting not simply because of its geographic location, but because of Wallace’s relationship to it. Ternate is where Wallace was when he wrote his famous letter to Charles Darwin in 1858, while laid up in bed with fever, explaining to Darwin his idea of evolution by natural selection. Amazingly these two people had arrived at the same idea totally independently of one another, half a world apart. They had shared correspondence prior to 1858, and it was this letter from Wallace that prompted Darwin to jointly publish his own work alongside Wallace’s, thus introducing to the world for the first time the idea of evolution by natural selection, which has allowed us to understand the natural world.

notes about the snake specimen from Indonesia

Coming back to the specimen, I had been hoping that perhaps it was collected by Wallace or one of his team, but the record is from 1872, ten years after Wallace had returned to England. The listed collector, Vermersch, is not a collector known to me or other herpetologists I’ve checked with who work in SE Asia, and we have no additional details on the specimen. Given that I cannot find a record of a city called Ternate on the island of Java, and the fact that all of Indonesia may have been known as the Java Sultanate at the time, my guess is that this specimen is actually from Ternate, and not Java proper. This specimen also has the distinction of being one of our oldest, so for me, and anyone else studying biogeography of SE Asia, this specimen becomes doubly interesting and valuable, and will definitely be one of the highlights of any upcoming tours of the Alcohol House! I’m looking forward to finding more secret treasures as I get to know our collection.

September 13, 2018 by wpengine

Wet Weekend!

by Joylette Portlock

I had the chance to visit Powdermill Nature Reserve over the weekend. Yes, this past weekend, the one where it rained for three days almost continuously across a multi-state area. I took my kids with me, and we had a blast; after all, “rain is a grown-up problem.”* I have to say, the woods always feel so alive to me during/right after a hard rain. The world feels full of promise and power. As we watched Powdermill Run, swollen and wild, churning, cutting a new path through the woods after floods this summer, I thought of the power of water, to nourish, to sweep clean, and to cause damage.

And, because being a grownup requires other grownup thoughts, I thought of the water in my basement, and considered, again, the costly prospect of installing a French drain around the house.

If you’re feeling like there seems to be more water than ever before, you’re not wrong. Climate change, one of the most significant challenges of the Anthropocene, is shifting the way water moves around the planet. It is resulting in more precipitation in places and at times where we don’t need it; a global phenomenon that is felt locally.

KDKA reported that this past Sunday in Pittsburgh was the second wettest day ever recorded in the area and we’ve already passed the yearly average rainfall. In other words, every drop from this point out in 2018 puts us closer to an annual “wettest ever” status, too.

Our downpour this weekend is part of a trend. Since the 1950s, the amount of water falling during heavy downpours in this part of the U.S. has increased by 71%, per the 2014 National Climate Assessment, and that’s an increase that is definitely more than the natural variation:

The map shows percent increases in the amount of precipitation falling in very heavy events (defined as the heaviest 1% of all daily events) from 1958 to 2012 for each region of the continental United States; Adapted from: Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States.

This may come as a surprise – we usually talk about global warming in terms of heat waves and hurricanes – but climate scientists have known about these precipitation effects, which have a big impact even in non-coastal areas, for some time. It’s a big deal for flooding risk (and in areas like Pittsburgh, with a combined sewer-stormwater system, for water quality).

In other words, it’s not just my basement at risk.

However, the forecast doesn’t have to be gloomy. Also from the National Climate Assessment: our actions right now make a difference, globally and locally. These maps show the projected difference in annual springtime precipitation, by 2090, if we take steps to dramatically reduce our impact on our climate now vs. if we don’t:

Springtime in 2090, Business as usual
Kenneth E. Kunkel, Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites – NC

Springtime in 2090, with changes
Kenneth E. Kunkel, Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites – NC

Grown-up problems, indeed. Playing in the rain can be very fun. And the world is full of promise and power. But perhaps Powdermill Run isn’t the only thing that requires a new path forward.

*Said to me by a summer camp counselor at the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium in 2017 when I dropped my son off for camp on a rainy day.

Joylette Portlock, Ph.D., is associate director of science and research at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. She is also executive director of Communitopia, a nonprofit focused on climate change communication, and holds many other roles in the community. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

From the National Climate Assessment website:

The National Climate Assessment summarizes the impacts of climate change on the United States, now and in the future.

A team of more than 300 experts guided by a 60-member Federal Advisory Committee produced the report, which was extensively reviewed by the public and experts, including federal agencies and a panel of the National Academy of Sciences.

September 11, 2018 by wpengine

Ask A Scientist – What Kind of Dinosaur is a Megaraptorid?

Are megaraptors really raptors? Assistant Curator and Head of Vertebrate Paleontology Dr. Matt Lamanna discusses what paleontologists know about the dinosaur family Megaraptoridae in our latest Ask a Scientist! See a life-sized replica of a megaraptorid thumb claw from Patagonia up close and find out how a claw like that led researchers to give megaraptorids their name.

September 10, 2018 by wpengine

Collections Connections

by Erin Peters

As Assistant Curator who works with the ancient Egyptian collections at CMNH, I care for and research our own collections, and also strive to be aware of connecting threads with other museums, their collections, and staff. In the wake of the devastating fire at Brazil’s National Museum that destroyed an incalculable amount of irreplaceable natural and cultural heritage (which included what is reported to be the entire Egyptian collection consisting of approximately 700 objects), it is especially important to celebrate these connections, and continue to build them.

In researching how we might update the display in our Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt, Jaron Keener (CMNH Exhibit Designer and Production Manager) and I recently went to the St Louis Art Museum. Jaron and I were excited to see the museum’s newly reinstalled permanent Egyptian collection, and to view the blockbuster travelling show, Sunken Cities: Egypt’s Lost Worlds.

We looked at amazing objects (some of them rarely on view outside of Egypt), like this monumental statue of a queen in the guise of Isis.

And we were interested in how objects were displayed, like this group of processional vessels and equipment installed in front of a life-size image of a boat that would have been used in processions. The boat is similar in size to our 30-foot funerary boat from Dashur.

We were also delighted to find other objects that are similar to ours in the Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt.

Our small wooden statuette of the god Serapis was found at Kasr el Harit, a small town near the Fayum in Egypt. The Fayum is a region located west of the Nile River and south of modern-day Cairo. Kasr el Harit was known as Theadelphia by the early Roman period in Egypt, and is the same site that an exquisite over-life-size wooden statue of Serapis on display in Sunken Cities was found.

While images of Serapis are common from many areas of the ancient Mediterranean, these two wooden statues are relatively rare, and show how Egypt’s desert climate has preserved an exceptional amount of material. In connecting that material across museums, cities, and countries, we can expand our knowledge and continue to discover new things about Egypt and the rest of the ancient world.

Erin Peters is assistant curator of science and research at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences working at the museum.

September 10, 2018 by wpengine

Chasing Snails in the Great Smoky Mountains

by Tim Pearce

Looking for snails in Tennessee is rewarding because that state is third in number of species of land snails in the USA (after Hawaii and California). That large number of snail species likely results from (a) lack of glaciers for a long time, (b) lots of limestone, in which snails thrive, and (c) numerous isolated valleys that provide opportunities for speciation.

We were on the trail of the tiger snails, genus Anguispira, so that we could study their DNA in order to unravel the tangled branches of their family tree. During more than two hundred years, a couple dozen species have been named. Many of the species have distinct shells, but some species look so much alike that we suspect they are actually the same species.

Tim Pearce looking for snails — Finding *Anguispira* snails near Norris Dam, Tennessee. Photo by Tim Pearce [selfie].

As we checked into our motel at the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, we navigated around two bears (rummaging in the dumpster) to get to our rooms. Our team included Reham Fathey Ali from Cairo University in Egypt, John Slapcinsky from Florida Museum, and yours truly from Carnegie Museum of Natural History. You might call us a multi-institutional collaboration.

The next day, two people from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park joined our expedition: retired ranger Keith Langdon and intern Miranda Zwingelberg. They led us to the snail research collection in a back room of the office building and we helped them out by identifying some of their snail specimens.

Researchers working on snail identification — Identifying snails in the research collection at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Photo by Miranda Zwingelberg.

Keith had previously found empty shells of Anguispira knoxensis, one of the species we needed. He took us to the very tree where he had found them. That day, we five searched for 18-person-hours and found snails of many species, but only 3 empty shells of that target species. However, we did find living snails of another form of Anguispira, which has been called Anguispira lawae.(Intriguingly, that form was named for Annie Law, a shell collector and Civil War spy in the 1800s.) We also need that form for our study, so we considered the day to be a success.

Living specimens of Anguispira rugoderma - tiger snails — Living specimens of *Anguispira rugoderma*. Photo by Reham Fathey Ali.

Several days later our team found living specimens of both Anguispira knoxensis and Anguispira rugoderma.We suspect they might actually be the same species. An examination of the DNA will help us decide whether those two are separate or the same species. DNA evidence plus scrutiny of existing specimens in our museums will also provide evidence for us to use in revising the Anguispira family tree.

September 10, 2018 by wpengine

This Land is Your Land, This Land is Mine Land

by Max Winn and Andrea Kautz

Since the passing of Act 54 in 1994, Pennsylvania requires a review of all subsidence impacts related to underground coal mining every five years. Subsidence occurs when land at the surface collapses down into a cavity created by removing a layer of coal. This can affect structures, roads, water wells/springs, streams, ponds, and wetlands. It can also induce landslides.

Powdermill scientists are currently part of the oversight team for the 2013-2018 review, and are using GIS technology to calculate and assess the impacts that mines have specifically on streams and wetlands. Most subsidence impacts occur over “long wall” mines, where enormous panels of coal are removed. “Room and pillar” mines leave pillars of coal to support the roof of the mine, which generally prevents subsidence, but impacts may still occur.

Take a look at this aerial imagery of a portion of a longwall mine, that shows just how much area the panels cover and the streams that are undermined. The larger panel is over a mile long! Using GIS, we can calculate how much of the undermined streams are impacted by either flow loss or pooling. Flow loss is experienced when the earth fractures and the water is lost below the surface. Pooling occurs when water collects in a depression caused by subsidence and can no longer flow downstream.

When stream impacts occur in Pennsylvania, the coal companies are required to mitigate the damage to return the stream to its previous state. Because you can generally predict where subsidence impacts are going to occur before mining, pre-mining surveys are done to determine the health of the streams initially. The survey determines normal flow rates throughout the year, and also describes the community of aquatic macroinvertebrates that live in the stream. Based on what types of insects and other invertebrates are found during the survey, the stream is given a score based on how healthy it is. These data are used to compare to post-mining surveys that occur after attempts to mitigate have been completed. If the scores are comparable, the stream is considered repaired, but if not, the company is required to take further mitigative action.

Experts from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and Powdermill Nature Reserve are working with regulatory agencies and mining companies to ensure that our natural environment is passed on to the next generation in a healthy condition.

Max Winn is a GIS Technician and Andrea Kautz is a Research Entomologist at Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Powdermill Nature Reserve. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

September 7, 2018 by wpengine

Collected on This Day in 2016: Japanese Stiltgrass

by Mason Heberling

It is now a common plant in forests across Pennsylvania, but it wasn’t always. This specimen of Japanese stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum) was collected on September 7, 2016 by Mason Heberling (me!) at Trillium Trail, Fox Chapel, PA. Native to East Asia, Japanese stiltgrass is an annual grass that is said to have first been introduced accidentally to Knoxville, Tennessee around 1919, used as packing material for porcelain dishes from China. It has since become a major invasive species, spreading across forests of Eastern North America. It is commonly found along trails, forest roads, and floodplains. It has been shown to be facilitated by deer overabundance. A recent study of unconventional gas well pads (such as “fracking”) in Pennsylvania by Penn State researchers found that recent hydraulic fracturing activities facilitates stiltgrass invasion (Barlow et al., 2017 Journal of Environmental Management). Japanese stiltgrass is especially common in disturbed moist forests, where available light in the understory is higher. Therefore, it often carpets the forest floor in disturbed forests. High densities of deer have also been shown to facilitate stiltgrass invasions. In fact, much of this research was done at Trillium Trail by Susan Kalisz (then at University of Pittsburgh, now at University of Tennessee Knoxville). They used fences to exclude deer and found that stiltgrass was not present in fenced plots, but abundant when deer were allowed access. The Kalisz lab actively remains at Trillium Trail.

Although collected only two years ago, I was surprised to find that this specimen was the oldest Japanese stiltgrass specimen collected in Allegheny county! There is a chance it had been collected earlier and exists in another herbarium. It was said to be uncommon (possibly absent) at Trillium Trail until 2002.

What will our forests look like in another 10 years? Herbarium specimens are important, verifiable sources to document our changing flora. And ultimately, help conserve our flora.

Mason Heberling is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Section of Botany at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences working at the museum.

September 6, 2018 by wpengine

Collected on This Day: September 6

by Mason Heberling

September 6, 1952: 66 years ago

…and recollected September 6, 2018

These specimens (and more) were collected on September 6, 1952 near Compton’s Mills (near Salisbury, PA, Somerset County) by Leroy Henry and Werner Buker. Henry was a long time Curator of Botany at the museum (1937-1973), and Buker was a math teacher at Perry High School, who was also a very active botanist at the museum. Collectively, they collected nearly 50,000 specimens in the Carnegie Museum herbarium!

These specimens are part of a larger project ongoing in the Section of Botany at the Carnegie Museum. Starting last year, we are revisiting historic sites across Western Pennsylvania, where former botanists have collected. We are revisiting these sites in order to record and monitor biological change in the Anthropocene. Are the same species present? (local extinction or persistence) Are new species present? (newly introduced invasive species)

We are also recollecting specimens from these historic sites to compare specimens collected decades to a century ago, to those collected today. For example, how are species affected by climate change? Are species flowering earlier? How are plant communities affected by invasive species and introduced pests? These are just a few of the many questions that can be answered.

With generous permission of the current landowner, we are able to recollect specimens at Compton’s Mills. Compton’s Mills is a site of a family-run historic grist/flour mill built in 1872 on the foundation of an even earlier mill. We have done some recollections at this site last spring, including specimens of the endemic Appalachian violet (Viola appalachiensis). Compton’s Mills is also of special importance, as specimens collected from this site were used by Leroy Henry to formally describe species new to science (known as “type” specimens). Read about our recollection in Spring 2017.

This year we are revisiting in the late summer/early fall.

With data from Compton’s Mills, in addition to repeatedly revisiting other sites across Western Pennsylvania, we will be able to document and understand a century of past, present, and future impacts of humans on the landscape– a hallmark of the Anthropocene. Some of our first recollections were featured in the We Are Nature exhibition. Although this exhibition recently ended, specimens from this project will remain on display in the Hall of Botany.

The wildflower specimens pictured here are welcomed signs of late summer and fall (left to right): common boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum), tall ironweed (Vernonia altissima), wreath goldenrod (Solidago caesia).

September 6, 2018 by wpengine

Illustrating the Head of an Inchworm (caterpillar of Lepidoptera: Geometridae)

by Jane Hyland

Teamwork between scientists studying insects (entomologists) and illustrators is an important part of museum-based scientific research. This important collaborative aspect between the scientist and the illustrator is instrumental in identifying and clarifying important characteristics of the specimen for identification purposes. Scientific illustration allows observers to see and study certain tiny features that are barely visible under the microscope, but which the scientist is familiar.

By studying and illustrating distinctive morphological features of specimens, the illustrator can choose to emphasize or ignore entirely different characters, increasing the visibility of important structures for accurate identification. For example, the placement of tiny sensory hairs (setae) on the head of this common moth caterpillar (inchworm) may be emphasized by the illustrator as important for identifying this species.

Jane Hyland is a Scientific Preparator at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

September 4, 2018 by wpengine

Fire Destroys Brazilian Museum Once Called House of the Birds

by Chase D. Mendenhall

One of Latin America’s most important museums burned Sunday night —destroying up to 20 million scientific and historical artifacts. It is unclear how many of the irreplaceable treasures housed at the National Museum in Rio de Janeiro were lost. The museum was established in 1818 by the King of Portugal and in its early days was known as the “Casa dos Pássaros,” or House of the Birds, for its impressive bird collections.

Today, the museum was best known for its exhibits of the Americas consisting of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects, minerals, aboriginal collections of utensils, Egyptian mummies, South American archaeological artifacts, meteorites, fossils and many other findings. Sadly, many of these invaluable objects are permanently lost.

Novelist Paulo Coelho described the reaction to the fire by saying, “the country is in tears.” Others have demonstrated their pain by carrying signs that say “200 years of history, 20 million items, reduced to ashes.”

We find comfort knowing that some pieces of Brazilian history are safely stored in other museums around the world. The Carnegie Museum of Natural History represents Brazil strongly in its collections, especially in the Section of Birds. We house one of the most comprehensive collections of Brazilian birds outside of Rio de Janeiro. We have 885 species of birds from Brazil, represented by 20,292 specimens—4,357 of which are on loan around the world.

Museums generate millions of data points and inform published scientific debates that are shared through networks. Today, these networks of knowledge and sharing define museum collections and exist precisely to safeguard against disasters.

Birds from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History collected from Rio de Janero include Blue Manakins (Chiroxiphia caudata), a species with one of the best examples of a cooperative breeding behavior. Males (red, black, and blue birds in background) meet in groups to dance in a coordinated, circular loop to breed with the solitary females (green bird in foreground) who raise the young on their own.

Other birds representing Brazil from the collections at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History include a pair of White-shouldered Fire-eye (Pyriglena leucoptera), a Red-necked Tanager (Tangara cyanocephala), a Saw-billed Hermit (Ramphodon naevius), and a Brazilian Ruby (Clytolaema rubricauda). Specimens are listed in the image from top to bottom.

September 4, 2018 by wpengine

Beauty from the Ashes

by Debra Wilson

When Mount St. Helens erupted in the State of Washington on May 18, 1980, it became the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic eruption in the history of the contiguous United States. The devastating results were not only measured by the fatalities and massive destruction but it also left behind about 540,000,000 tons of ash over an area of more than 22,000 square miles. The enormous task of cleanup was daunting. This is where serendipity stepped in to create great beauty from the ashes.

During the salvage effort, workers from a regional timber company were using acetylene torches to cut through twisted metal debris and they accidentally discovered that the torch melted the volcanic ash into a green glassy substance. This led to laboratory experiments that determined green glass could be produced by heating the ash to 2700° Fahrenheit and then rapidly cooling it. The glass quickly began being commercially produced and faceted into gemstones. It is marketed under the names Obsidianite, Helenite, Emerald Obsidianite or Mount St. Helens Obsidian. Its stunning green color has made it an attractive alternative to the more expensive emerald gemstone, though not as durable (a hardness of 5 to 5 ½ as compared to 7 ½ to 8 for emerald). Blue and red varieties are also produced by adding coloring agents to the melt.

The Section of Minerals obtained a faceted stone of Obsidianite as part of a donation of gemstones in 2009. It is a green oval cut stone, as you can see from the photo, and weighs 42.1 carats. This stone is now on display in the Treated & Synthetic Stones case in Wertz Gallery.

September 4, 2018 by wpengine

Pebble or Jaw?

by Jay Margolis

partial jawbone and bone fragment fossils

It can be difficult to find fossils when working on a microscopic scale. The partial jawbone and bone fragment above are each less than a centimeter (0.4 inches) in maximum diameter, but their small size makes them no less important to paleontologists and other researchers. Even diminutive fossils such as these can be used to help scientists determine the diet or behavior of extinct animals, as well as to piece together what kind of environment they lived in.

Even with the help of microscopes, it can be hard to tell such fossils apart from the tiny rocks and sediment that they are often mixed in with. After spending a long amount of time practicing and studying, telling fossil apart from rock can become easier. However, for those who have not had as much practice, there are a few easy ways to help distinguish the two.

One of these ways is to look for striations, or organized and consistent lines. These lines are all oriented in the same direction and can be seen on the surface of some fossils as an indicator of past bone growth. Another way is to look for pores, circular holes that would be visible in a cross-section of a fossil bone. These holes indicate where blood vessels once carried nutrients throughout the bone.

Both of these textures can potentially be seen in a disorganized fashion on rocks and minerals. However, seeing these two textures together, and arranged in an orderly way, is among the best indicators that the rock you thought you were looking at is actually a fossil.

Jay Margolis is an intern from Chatham University working in the Section of Vertebrate Paleontology at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

September 4, 2018 by wpengine

Smoke Scenery

by Pat McShea

Detail from The Apotheosis of Pittsburgh mural by John White Alexander

A museum educator from Norway offered a novel way to interpret We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene. “This should be part of the story.” explained Bergsveinn Thorssonas he gestured at century-old steel industry scenes depicted in second-floor portions of the multi-level grand staircase mural painted by John White Alexander.

Thorsson, a PhD student who is studying how museums present current environmental issues, was fascinated by the smoky scenes and their marble pillar frames. “Owning our industrial history is important to understanding our current situation.” he added before conceding that he didn’t have advice for accomplishing such a task.

A copy of When Smoke Ran Like Waterpositioned at the 1948 mark on the population and atmospheric carbon level graph in We Are Nature — A copy of *When Smoke Ran Like Water* positioned at the 1948 mark on the population and atmospheric carbon level graph in *We Are Nature*

Since 2002, an excellent book-form model of industrial acknowledgement has existed in When Smoke Ran Like Water, by Donora, Pennsylvania native Devra Davis. The book, which Davis summarizes as an argument for “a fundamentally new way of thinking about health and the environment,” begins with a recounting of the most significant air pollution disaster in the United States – the build-up in Donora, some 25 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, during a five-day period in late October 1948, of a toxic fog of steel and zinc industry emissions that resulted in 20 deaths and 600 hospitalizations.

In Davis’s account, family histories, with all their hopes, accomplishments, and compromises, are central to the tragedy. A quote from her mother captures a common attitude toward the smoky scenery: “Look, today they might call it pollution. Back then it was just a living.”

August 29, 2018 by wpengine

Oh MAN(tis)!

by Catherine Giles

Picture it: A crisp, early evening in late spring. The virtually cloudless sky cascades in a brilliant azure backdrop against your humble abode.

You’ve just arrived home from a long, exhausting day of work, yet your mind is still racing:

I need to remember that meeting on Tuesday, answer those important emails, what even is Windows 10?, did I put gas in the car?, what was that notification from my mother in law?

You are definitely ready to unwind and relax for the day!

You sling your bags over a shoulder and balance your keys in one hand. You sigh wearily as you slide the key into the lock and, glancing over at the front window, notice a tiny, greenish-brown praying mantis staring back at you inquisitively, like the one pictured below.

Huh. That’s funny.

You, entomologist that you are, had found an ootheca, the foamy pouch in which mantises lay their eggs, last week, and decided to try and rear them on your own, giving them a better chance of survival for eventual release into the wild. Early this morning, you’d taken the ootheca out of a humid jar, and arranged it carefully into a brand new aerated container, mimicking seasonal outdoor changes.

How weird that you should see a singular mantis on your window, let alone one this tiny. It probably got in through an open screen or something. You make a mental note to send your landlord a work order.

You unlock and open the door to find another tiny praying mantis on your end table. Whoa! Definitely need to check the screens.

But there’s another mantis on your ceiling. And another on the couch. Two by the sink. Three all over the Taco Bell wrappers in the trash.

Slowly, with growing horror (and excitement!) you realize the mesh on your brand new aerated container is too large to contain minute mantises, and they’ve escaped to the refuge of your apartment.

You spend the next hour and 45 minutes frantically running around, grabbing handfuls of jumping mantises, throwing them into a (sealed) container, using a broom to pick the ones off the ceiling and praying to the old gods and the new, you can catch them all.

It’s a full-on Pokehunt, and you’re all out of potions and revives.

Nearly 200 thumb-nail sized, jumping, running, scuttling, adorable baby mantises play havoc on your heart strings (and your apartment) and you just have to take care of them. Knowing that mantises like to eat live food, and knowing they’ve gone a full day without it, you decide it’s time to get them some grub.

With all rambunctious insects fully secured, you race to Petco to grab their last container of crickets before closing, pulling Indie 500 stunts (you didn’t get gas earlier, by the way) along Route 8 to make sure your precious mantises have enough food for the day.

two praying mantises — Two praying mantises practice The Titanic for their peers.

You bought about 30 Acheta domesticus, a common house cricket, in a small container. They’re nearly three times the size of your mantises! What a hearty snack these will be. Trying to be a good mantis Momma, you empty the crickets into the enclosure.

But you’re new at this. Caterpillars you can rear easily, with the right host plant. You’ve had a dog before for goodness sake, this should be easy.

A. domesticus, though, will eat meat. Meat the approximate size and shape of a baby praying mantis.

Oh no.

You wrangle the crickets away from their mantis midnight snack and call it a day. The next day, you’ll get some flightless fruit flies and rear the mantises with less tragic incidents for several more weeks.

A praying mantis enjoying a refreshing flightless fruitfly.

Eventually, the spring chill warms to light summer breezes, and you’re able to release the mantises into the wilds of your home garden. All in all, you’ve learned a tremendous lesson, and earned a great campfire story, when it comes to rearing and caring for praying mantises.

August 27, 2018 by wpengine

Sweet ‘n sassy, Sassafras

by John Wenzel

The flavoring of our popular root beer comes from the roots of sassafras, a common tree in open areas or at forest edges. Trees are either male or female, with the females producing interesting and attractive fruits in late August at our location.

sassafras fruit — Photo credit: Andrea Kautz

As is typical of members of the Laurel family, the leaves and twigs have a pleasant odor when crushed. The spice we call bay laurel is a relative of sassafras, and other relatives include our local spicebush and in the tropics avocados and cinnamon.

The leaves may be used in some Louisiana Creole cooking such as gumbo. The leaves are unusual in that the same tree may have simple leaves, or leaves with two lobes that resemble a mitten, or leaves with three lobes.

Sassafras is a traditional medicinal plant, and its oils were used in dentistry as both an anesthetic and disinfectant, although they are now banned in the USA due to carcinogenic properties. The tree is one of the main hosts of the attractive spicebush swallowtail butterfly, which was one of the first insects described from the New World by Linnaeus in 1758.

August 27, 2018 by wpengine

The Volunteers: Can’t Live Without Them

By Albert Kollar

What makes an ideal volunteer at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History? Maybe the question should be how does one find a volunteer? For the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology, it was with luck and timing. In 2002, I met Sam in Benedum Hall of Geology, who recently retired and was looking to learn about Pittsburgh geology and fossils. Sam with a Ph.D. in metallurgy had minored in geology in college in London. To train a volunteer without a background in fossils requires time and patience. With Sam it was easy, as he already was familiar with the scientific method. More luck and timing followed when two retired engineers Earl and Rich joined us. Our quartet was complete when Vicky arrived soon after. By then, we recognized what type of volunteer will work for us going forward.

When the section formed the PAlS Program in 2004 we gained many more volunteers over the years. PAlS (Patrons and lauradanae Supporters) is a section geology program that offered lectures on western Pennsylvania geology, fossil field trips, and in lab fossil workshops to the membership. We soon discovered that many PAlS members wanted to help in ways outside the museum. We refer to these volunteers as the section’s ambassadors because they invest their time into promoting what the section and museum can offer to the region. Some volunteers helped with financial support and collaborative projects with the Pittsburgh Geological Society, the Montour Trail Council, and the Allegheny County Parks – North Park.

From 2002 to 2018 the thirty-three volunteers contributed much to the section and museum. First and foremost is their dedication to assisting with the curation of the section’s fossil groups. These include fossil corals, bryozoans, brachiopods, mollusks, ammonites, echinoderms, and gastropods. Some volunteers published peer reviewed papers based on the section’s fossils. Other worked with the section staff to publish 21 PAlS Geology Guides. The former section curator John L. Carter and his wife Ruth provided financial support for field work and to publish the PAlS Guide No. 8, Geology and Fossils of the Tri-State Region Coloring Book Guide for school groups.

The professional backgrounds of the volunteers create knowledge that the section can use in its mission. For instance, the twenty-seven adults’ working careers varied from paleontologists and geologists, to medical doctors and a dentist, earth science teachers, teachers, museum docents, architecture historian, an author, an accountant, and a pharmacist assistant. Several of our volunteers were former graduate students with me (Dave, John, Henry and Roman) in the Department of Geology of the University of Pittsburgh. We are often referred to as Bud’s Men, in honor of the late Professor of Paleontology H.B. Rollins who was a volunteer as well.

We have had four college age volunteers who majored in geology. I am happy to report they found employment in the sciences or their chosen fields. Two high school volunteers who received their early start in fossils are doing very well. One is employed as a consultant in the health industry. The other is attending undergraduate college in Massachusetts. During the summer, she is a part-time research assistant in the section helping with our research projects.

As a final tribute here is the list of names: Bob, Bud (deceased), Chrissy, Dakota, Dan, Dave and Lauradanae, Earl, Ed, John, John and Ruth (both deceased), Harlan, Henry, Irina, J.J., Karen, Kay, Kendall, Laurie, Matt, Pam, Peter, Ray, Rich, Roman, Sam (deceased), Tamara, Tara, Thad, Valerie, Vicky, and Will. Thank you volunteers. Albert D. Kollar Section of Invertebrate Paleontology.

August 27, 2018 by wpengine

B is for Beaver (sticks)

by Sarah Shelley

The Section of Mammals at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History houses nearly 130,000 specimens. As a fairly recent hire in the section, I have spent the last six months familiarizing myself with the contents of the boxes, drawers and jars and the many delights they contain. Just recently, Curator of Mammals, John Wible, and I were rummaging through one of the older cabinets in the section. In these cabinets are boxes containing old exhibit specimens including skulls sliced in half, some pelts and even some jars of owl pellets containing rodent bones.

In one of the drawers my eyes fell upon a small bundle of sticks. I picked them up, somewhat bemused.

‘What are these?’ I asked.

‘Those are beaver sticks.’ Replied John.

small beaver sticks — A bundle of (small) beaver sticks

And sure enough, upon closer inspection, it was possible to see small gnaw marks on the sticks. We continued our rummaging and in the next drawer found another bundle of larger sticks.

‘And those are big beaver sticks.’

Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents. There are two living species, the North American beaver (Castor canadensis) and the slightly larger Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber). During the Ice Age there was even a giant beaver (Castoroides) that was about two meters long and thought to weigh approximately 100 kg (four times more than the average living beaver).

Beavers use sticks and logs to dam rivers and build their dens, known as ‘lodges.’ They use their enlarged front incisors to break down plants and trees. Their front teeth grow continuously and are stained red by an iron pigment that serves to strengthen the tooth enamel against wear.

North American beaver skull — A North American beaver (*Castor canadensis*) skull showing its enlarged front incisor teeth

Sarah Shelley is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Section of Mammals at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences working at the museum.

August 24, 2018 by wpengine

Celebrating the weed that engulfed western Pennsylvania?

by Mason Heberling

A few weekends ago, I went to the 7^thannual Knotweed Festival in Blairsville, about 40 miles east of Pittsburgh in Indiana County. Aside from reading a brief advertisement, I knew little about the festival before going. But, given I study non-native plant invasions, I had to go to a celebration named after a local weed that is a focus of my research! And this invader is one of the most aggressive and widespread ones in western Pennsylvania – Japanese knotweed.

Native to East Asia, Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) is a large herbaceous perennial that was first introduced to the U.S. in the late 1800s as an ornamental. As its name suggests, it eventually spread well outside of gardens to become a major nuisance. More troubling, the spread of the species displaces native vegetation and disrupts the natural function of the ecosystem. The plant has thick hollow stems that somewhat resemble bamboo, although they are not related (knotweed is in the buckwheat family, Polygonaceae; bamboo in the grass family, Poaceae). Knotweed spreads through persistent below-ground structures called rhizomes (below-ground stems), as well as by seed. Small fragments of rhizomes can be washed downstream and easily establish, often forming dense stands along Pittsburgh’s many streams and rivers. Knotweed is among the most economically and ecologically problematic invasive plants in Pennsylvania.

So, why name a community festival after this invasive plant?! Despite the dislike for the plant, the community of Blairsville named the festival partly as a tongue-in-cheek sentiment for the plant that has taken over the landscape and partly to recognize the weed as embedded into the local culture. The nearby Conemaugh River that runs throughs Blairsville has been transformed by this non-native species, completely covering the banks with stands so dense they completely block the view of the river along the community recreational trail.

My family and I had a great time at the festival, visiting local craft and food vendors, listening to musicians and other entertainment, seeing a monarch butterfly display, and even a parade. I even bought soap made from the rhizomes and stems of knotweed collected by the river.

knotweed soap — Soap for sale at the Knotweed Festival made from young knotweed stems and rhizomes.

At first, I had mixed feelings about naming a festival after an aggressive invasive plant known to cause ecological harm. On one hand, it embraces the nature around us – whether we like it or not, non-native plants are part of the landscape around us. The global movement of plants is one of the defining features of the Anthropocene, the current era of pervasive human influence on the environment and Earth’s systems. But, on the other hand, naming a festival after an invasive species normalizes plant invasions and perhaps even embraces the change to the landscape as a good thing. Despite my initial mixed feelings, I think the festival is a great community gathering that has the potential to raise awareness about the presence of the invasive plant in our community, its ecological effects, and in turn, nature around us (native and non-native).

It turns out there is more than one species of invasive knotweed in western PA: Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica), Giant knotweed (Fallopia sachalinensis), and a hybrid between the two species, Bohemian knotweed (Fallopia xbohemica). The hybrid was only recognized in the past several decades and likely originated when these two species “met” after they were introduced in Europe. The three species are visually similar. Giant knotweed can be distinguished by its large (usually much larger than your hand), heart-shaped leaves. Japanese knotweed and the hybrid Bohemian knotweed are much more difficult to distinguish, with much variation in leaf shape. Japanese knotweed tends to be rounder in shape, while the Bohemian knotweed is intermediate between the other two species in leaf shape and size. The leaf hairs are sometimes the only definitive identifying feature.

While I was at the Knotweed Festival, I collected some knotweed specimens for the Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s herbarium. Along the Conemaugh River in Blairsville, I collected both the Giant knotweed and Bohemian knotweed (the hybrid). But, I did not find any Japanese knotweed. (I suspect my knotweed soap is actually made from Giant knotweed, after all.)

Bohemian knotweed specimen collected at the Knotweed Festival.

fresh knotweed specimens — Last year, I found all three knotweed species growing together at the same site near the Allegheny River and Barking Slopes Conservation Area, near New Kensington/Plum, PA. Left to right: Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica), Bohemian knotweed (Fallopia xbohemica), Giant knotweed (Fallopia sachalinensis).

The earliest herbarium specimens from Indiana County were collected in 1952 along the Conemaugh River in Saltsburg (not far from Blairsville). Interestingly, these specimens were of Giant knotweed and Bohemian knotweed – the same species I collected.

Keep an eye out for knotweed. If you live in western PA, chances are that you see it every day!

August 22, 2018 by wpengine

Extremely Rapid Evolution of Cone Snail Toxins

By Tim Pearce

Cone snails live in the sea and inject venom to paralyze their prey. Most cone snails eat worms, some eat other snails, and some catch and eat fish. They use a hypodermic dart (a modified radular tooth) to inject venom. The venom contains about 100 different peptides (short proteins) that act as neurotoxins. Each of the 600 or so species of cone snail has its own unique cocktail of peptides, with very little overlap of peptides among species, yielding >50,000 peptides among the cone snails of the world.

Cone snail venom peptides are among the most rapidly evolving protein-coding genes in animals. They evolve twice as fast as most other known proteins. The rapid evolution appears to result from extensive gene duplications that provide abundant opportunities for natural selection during predator-prey interactions [1,2].

Furthermore, cone venom peptides are one of the most highly post-translationally modified classes of gene products known. That means the peptides undergo extensive modifications after being translated from DNA, including bromination, glycosylation, and amino acid epimerization (changing from L to D, like becoming their own mirror image) [3].

The venom cocktail targets particular kinds of prey; worm-eaters have a different suite of peptides than fish eaters. At different stages of development, they can express different genes. When very young, the fish eaters are too small to eat fish, so they eat worms, then switch to fish later. Their venom cocktail changes from worm toxins to fish toxins when they switch prey.

textile cone snails — Textile cone (Conus textile), a sea snail with venom powerful enough to kill humans. Specimen CM 127704, photo by Tim Pearce.

Conus magus is one of the species whose diet shifts from worms to fish as it grows. In these diet-shifting species, the shape of the radular dart changes as well – those eating worms have unbarbed darts, while those eating fish have backward pointing barbs to help keep hold of the fish [2,4,5].

Animal nerve cells contain many kinds of ion channels, whose function aids in transmitting signals along the nerve. Each cone snail peptide can target a particular kind of ion channel. The complex mixture of peptides in cone snail venom blocks many ion channels and neuron receptors in prey species. Surprisingly, many cone snail peptides act on pain targets, but it is not clear what advantage the snail would derive from numbing the prey’s pain. However, pain-killing properties are one of the reasons that cone snail venoms are of great interest to pharmaceutical companies and at least one cone snail peptide is currently used as a pain-killer in humans.

Researchers can prospect for venom peptides in the DNA of cone snail tissue snips or from museum specimens. By prospecting in DNA, they can find genes for venom peptides that are not being expressed at that particular life stage [6]. Once a useful peptide is discovered and characterized, it can be manufactured (so it doesn’t need to be milked from the snail).

Cone snails can switch rapidly between toxins for predation or toxins for defense. The toxins used by the geography cone, Conus geographus for catching prey are mostly inactive on humans, but the toxins it uses for defense are paralytic peptides that block neuromuscular receptors. Conus geographus and Conus textile are the two cone snail species known to kill humans [7].

To see videos of cone snails catching and swallowing fish, type into your internet browser: “cone snail eating.”

In addition to their beauty and amazing prey capture abilities, cone snails are remarkable for the extremely rapid evolution of their toxins, some of which show promise as useful medicines.

Notes:

[1] Duda, T.F. & Palumbi, S.R. 1999. Molecular genetics of ecological diversification: Duplication and rapid evolution of toxin genes of the venomous gastropod Conus. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A., 96(12): 6820–6823.

[2] Chang, D.& Duda, T.F., Jr. 2016. Age-related association of venom gene expression and diet of predatory gastropods. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 16: 27.

[3] Buczek, O., Yoshikami, D., Bulaj, G., Jimenez, E.C. & Olivera, B.M. 2005. Posttranslational amino acid isomerization: a functionally important D-amino acid in an excitatory peptide. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 280: 4247-4253.

[4] Nybakken, J. & Perron, F. 1988. Ontogenetic change in the radula of Conus magus(Gastropoda). Marine Biology, 98(2): 239–242

[5] Nybakken, J. 1990. Ontogenetic change in the Conusradula, its form, distribution among the radula types, and significance in systematics and ecology. Malacologia, 32(1): 35-54.

[6] I suspect that post-translational effects (including introns and exons) would obscure the understanding of the final product of a peptide discovered by DNA prospecting.

[7]Dutertre, S., Jin, A.-H., Vetter, I., Hamilton, B., Sunagar, K., Lavergne, V., Dutertre, V., Fry, B.G., Antunes, A., Venter, D.J., Alewood, P.F. & Lewis, R.J. 2014. Evolution of separate predation- and defence-evoked venoms in carnivorous cone snails. Nature Communications, 5(3521): 1-9.

August 21, 2018 by wpengine

Saddle Cleaning

by Ruth Fauman-Fichman

In the Section of Collection Care and Conservation at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History there are thousands of artifacts that silently scream for treatment. They wait patiently for their turn to be noticed. Some have been waiting for close to a hundred years, having gathered dirt and soot from their years ago acquisition by the museum. If it weren’t for Conservator Gretchen Anderson’s dogged dedication, many would still be waiting. They all harbor secrets, some easier to figure out than others. Many came to the museum long ago with limited information about themselves, tucked into dark corners.

At the “Annex” (the informal name for the O’Neill Research Center) one afternoon I found myself sitting in front of a sawhorse covered over with degrading plastic. I had seen and moved around four of these sawhorses over the last year, always hearing from Ms. Anderson: “we can’t deal with these yet, but soon!” Now, as a result of a successful grant proposal to the National Endowment for the Humanities to upgrade the storage capabilities of the Anthropology holdings, I would finally be able to inspect and conduct a light cleaning of the contents underneath.

With its non-archival plastic cover now discarded, the sawhorse hid a soot-black North American Indian woman’s saddle. What an ugly disappointment, I initially thought. What was it made of? Animal, vegetable, mineral? The only way to know was to carefully begin, using soft brushes. Almost immediately a surprise surfaced. This saddle was not just some indistinct blob! It was made of a combination of wood, antler, leather, brass ornaments and COLOR!

Brushing the top of the front tasseled pommel suddenly revealed intentional red ochre staining around the decoratively placed brass studs embedded in a cross pattern. Further careful cleaning changed the grey suede tassels to a luminous mustard-color. The same was revealed on the back pommel. Suddenly this non-descript saddle had personality and power! No longer disappointing, the rest of the six hours I spent cleaning this piece made me feel connected to the person who might have used it.

I carefully cleaned the rest of the piece over several sessions with soot sponges. The seat and pommels were made of wood and antler, covered in leather sewn together with sinew. I noticed the tanned leather thongs used to tie each piece of the saddle together and attach to leather cinches placed around the belly of the small pony or horse. The thongs were degrading practically to a powder with even limited handling from what Anderson and Collections Manager Deborah Harding called “red rot.” The woman who sat on this pony or horse shielded her thighs from being rubbed raw by rectangular pieces of leather attached to the saddle body with leather thongs. The “leathered” side of the rectangular piece rested against the pony and the suede side against the rider. Careful cleaning on the suede side revealed red stains. Red ochre? Horse blood? Something else?

Half-cleaned saddle — Half of the saddle has been cleaned. Note the color difference between the dirty side and cleaned side. The majority of this is soot from years of exposure to Pittsburgh air pollution.

Close-up of the saddle horn after cleaning. The red ochre color was completely obliterated by soot.

While there is little information in the accession record to tell us anything about the original owner of this saddle, from cleaning it carefully I was able to determine that this saddle was well used. It was a privilege to handle it and let it speak to me for a little while. In its cleaner state, it now rests on a horse-like bed of archival materials that will not further degrade its fragile materials and I will be making a cover for it and its three other saddle companions in the near future.

saddle in storage — The saddle on its new storage mount.

Ruth Fauman-Fichman is a volunteer at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

August 20, 2018 by wpengine

Pennsylvania Archaeology, Fluted Points, and One Snazzy Bolo Tie

By Amy L. Covell-Murthy

The Section of Anthropology houses a collection boasting 1.5 million artifacts. What you may not know is that most of those artifacts come from right here in Western Pennsylvania. It would be impossible to talk about Pennsylvania archaeology without mentioning Dr. Stanley W. Lantz. Dr. Lantz worked as a field and staff archaeologist at Carnegie Museum of Natural History from 1965-1990 and has continued as a research associate ever since his retirement. Before making archaeology his life’s work, Dr. Lantz was an Army Air Force, Staff Sargent, B-17 waist-gunner and photographer, and he owned his own supermarket and building business. His 10-year archaeological survey of 23 counties of Western Pennsylvania encompassed the drainage of the Upper Ohio Valley, and allowed him to record 365 Paleo-Indian artifact finds from 210 sites. In The Pennsylvania Fluted Point Survey, Dr. Lantz and Gary Fogelman display over 1600 photographs and over 100 illustrations of fluted points of the Eastern Woodlands. Below are some of the points that Dr. Lantz donated to CMNH that he used in the book.

In May 2018, Dr. Lantz kindly assisted three CMNH anthropology interns with a poster that they presented at the 89^thAnnual Meeting of the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology, regarding the process of locating Clovis points in a site-specific museum collection. Clovis points, dating to the Early Paleoindian Period, 10,000-16,000 BP, are the earliest fluted styles found in North America. Rebecca Stewart, Brittany Creely, and Liana Thies were awarded second place. Liana is pictured in this photo with Dr. Lantz who is sporting his signature bolo tie.

Dr. Lantz can be found on exhibit outside of the Anthropology Halls on the third floor. Look for his likeness in the Iroqouis longhouse diorama. He is missing his tie, but keep an eye out for his plaid pants! Fun Fact: Someone stole Dr. Lantz’s plaid polyester pants and buried them in a secret location so that he wouldn’t be able to wear them anymore.

August 20, 2018 by wpengine

The Company We Keep

By Steve Tonsor

2500 years ago, Aesop wrote “We are known by the company we keep.” We experience the truth of this aphorism every day in our communities. Have you ever considered that our communities include more than our human company? (If not, take a spin through our exhibit We Are Nature before it closes September 3.)

In recent times, we’ve talked as though we are walled off from the natural world, talking of “man vs. nature,” the “built urban landscape” vs. the “natural world.” Yet, urban centers teem with life, not the same life to be found in a wilderness, but a rich and fascinating web of life nonetheless. In fact, we aren’t even so numerically dominant in the urban ecosystem as we might think. For example, common starlings, purposefully introduced birds, are ubiquitous in urban settings and according to biologist Menno Schilthuisen¹are now about equal in number with humans in North America.

In a less purposeful way, we’ve invited in all the creatures in our urban communities, by providing what is necessary for their survival. The pigeons in our parks and urban squares were originally birds of Mediterranean and North African cliffs. After humans began to dwell in those cliffs, and then constructed cliff-like buildings, the pigeons moved with us into the nouveaux cliffs of the urban ecosystem. So it is with so many creatures, finding urban analogs to their wilder environments².

We have invited in weeds by providing niches, literally in the urban concrete, and so they decorate the urban wastelands with the reminder that life will find a way. Are not the untended spots of the city more beautiful when adorned with weeds than they would be if old doorknobs and cigarette butts were the only decorations?

Over time, more and more creatures find a way into the emerging urban ecosystem. Whose cities are these? Our attitudes toward the new entrants has varied from laissez faire to downright hostile, yet these creatures are a reflection of our nature. We are known by the company we keep. We could be more accepting of our guests, and more deliberate and intentional about how we live and what creatures we as a consequence invite into our community³. Let’s talk about that.

^21,Schilthuizen, Menno. 2018. Darwin Comes to Town: How the Urban Jungle Drives Evolution. MacMillan 304 pp. ISBN: 9781250127822

³Cooper, C. B., J. Dickinson, T. Phillips, and R. Bonney. 2007. Citizen science as a tool for conservation in residential ecosystems. Ecology and Society 12(2): 11. [online] URL: http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol12/iss2/art11/

Steve Tonsor is Director of Science at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

August 20, 2018 by wpengine

Millions, Billions, and Trillions

By Chase D. Mendenhall

President Trump has 53,800,000 followers on Twitter. The popular song Despacito has 5,400,000,000 views on YouTube. And, the computer giant, Apple, is worth nearly $1,000,000,000,000.

Millions, billions, and trillions are numbers we hear and see regularly nowadays, but the value of these giant numbers can get lost in all the zeros.

Comprehending these values is key to understanding natural history, but there are a couple tricks to put things into perspective.

For example, the earliest undisputed evidence of life, fossilized bits of Archean bacteria, are about 3.5-billion years old. To wrap your brain around this giant number, it is helpful to convert these large numbers into a human experience, say, an average human lifespan in the USA. Today, people can expect to live to be about 78-years old, or about 2.5 billion seconds. In other words, if you wanted to live for 3.5 billion seconds, you would be 110 years.

When biologists like me throw around numbers, like, “for 150 million years birds have been flying,” it is helpful to think of 150 million seconds as almost 5 years.

August 17, 2018 by wpengine

Memoirs of the Carnegie Museum Volume 1, Number 1

By John Wible

William J. Holland, Director of the Carnegie Museum, announced a new publication series, the Memoirs of the Carnegie Museum, by stating … “To the fame of Pittsburgh as the seat of some of the most Cyclopean industries of the age is being added reputation as a seat of learning. Under the cloud of smoke, which attests the industry of her inhabitants, and is the sign of her material prosperity, live men who find their pleasure in exploring the wonders of the material universe, and the record of their discoveries and researches will be from year to year be found.”

The very first number of this new series was published in July 1901. It announced the discovery of a new species of dinosaur, Diplodocus carnegii, which staff paleontologist John Bell Hatcher named for the museum’s founder, Andrew Carnegie. Hatcher’s 63-page text included a bone-by-bone description of two skeletons collected in 1899 and 1900 from the same quarry in Sheep Creek, Wyoming. Given the number of vertebrae (backbones), most of the text is about them!

Hatcher restored the skeleton in a pose “the animal must have frequently assumed when feeding upon the soft and succulent plants that grew in abundance along the shores of the shallow waters about and in which these Dinosaurs lived” (p. 57).

This is the pose for Dippy that most Pittsburghers will remember in the old dinosaur hall.

diplodocus carnegii fossil in Dinosaur Hall

In fact, many museum goers around the world know the same pose because Andrew Carnegie donated casts of Diplodocus carnegii to the major museums in Europe, Mexico, and Argentina. The Pittsburgh mount changed in 2007 to bring it up-to-date with current scientific knowledge. To see the updated pose, you will have to come visit the museum.

August 16, 2018 by wpengine

Mapping Pittsburgh’s Plastic Waste

By James Whitacre

If you have visited the museum recently, you have probably seen the We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene exhibition (if not, you have less than a month to check it out!!). When I walked through the exhibition the first time, I was struck by the image of the surfer gliding across a wave with plastic and other debris floating all around him. It is a bleak image of how the beauty and ecology of our oceans, rivers, and lakes is being tarnished and even destroyed by the accumulation of so much plastic waste.

Recently, I also came across an interesting 2017 article, ‘River plastic emissions to the world’s oceans,‘ in which the authors have developed a global model using spatial and temporal data on waste management, population density, and hydrology to measure the amount of plastic in rivers that makes its way into oceans. They found that the top 20 polluting rivers account for 67% of the global total of plastic waste, which is between 1.15 and 2.41 million tonnes of plastic a year. While most of the top 20 rivers are in Asia, and none are in the U.S., their findings have great implications for how plastic waste should be managed and mitigated at global and local scales.

Diagram of mass of river plastic flowing into oceans in tonnes per year. — Mass of river plastic flowing into oceans in tonnes per year. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms15611/figures/1

This article got me thinking…How can we, as humans living in the Anthropocene, do something to decrease and even eliminate the accumulation of plastic in our waterways? Many people are thinking about this, but what about our beloved three rivers of Pittsburgh? How much do we as a community contribute to the global plastic waste epidemic? Well, to start answering these questions, we need data to know where the plastic waste is…

How often have you walked through your neighborhood, a local or state park, or even been driving around, and noticed plastic waste (and likely other trash)? With this in mind, we’d like to invite you into an experiment…to help us map Pittsburgh’s plastic waste. The GIS Lab, located at Powdermill Nature Reserve, has developed a simple mapping survey to help track plastic waste in our area. To participate, all you have to do is fill out the form using your GPS-enabled smartphone or mobile device when you encounter plastic waste:

Plastic Waste Survey

What will we do with this data?

Well, right now this is just an experiment…But we are thinking of some cool ways to map and analyze this data. We will definitely share a map that shows the data, so stay tuned. We would also like to help our community understand what happens to the plastic if left in the environment. So, here are some example research questions we hope to shed some light on in the near future:

If you find some plastic near your house, what stream will it end up in, and what is the shortest path to the ocean from there?
How much rain or wind would it take to move that plastic to a stream or river?
Where is the nearest recycling center that I can take a few bags or a large heap of plastic (and other) waste?

Data can be very powerful, and sometimes more powerful than we can imagine on our own. So if you have any other ideas for how we could use this data, please email the GIS Lab!

What is Survey123?

The GIS Lab used Survey123 to build this survey, which is part of the ArcGIS platform. Survey123 for ArcGIS is a simple and intuitive form-centric data gathering solution that makes creating, sharing, and analyzing surveys easy using GIS software. Download the free Survey123 app to use the form we created.

James Whitacre is the GIS Research Scientist for Carnegie Museum of Natural History, where he primarily manages the GIS Lab at Powdermill Nature Reserve, the museum’s environmental research center. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

August 14, 2018 by wpengine

Annoying, amazing, silk

By John Wenzel

spider spinning silk — Photo credit: Andrea Kautz

The woods are full of spiders in late summer, as any hiker knows. Spider silk strands and webs are annoying, and one of the main offenders in our area is Micrathena gracilis, a small spider that likes to build webs across open spaces a couple of yards wide, like footpaths. These diligent weavers have striking spiky abdomens, and other species in the genus are quite spectacular for looking like thorns.

Spiders make several kinds of silk that are used for different purposes. The sticky silk of the spiral capture web is different from the frame lines that support the web and connect it to the vegetation nearby. Frame lines have greater tensile strength than steel.

One of the largest web spinners, the golden orb weaver (Nephila), makes frame lines commonly more than 15 feet long to support a web that can be more than three feet wide. These spiders are abundant in Florida and warm forests world-wide. Their silk is a lustrous gold color naturally.

silk lamba — Photo credit: Simon Peers and Nicholas Godley

Recently, Simon Peers and Nicholas Godley led a team in Madagascar that worked for years to harvest silk from more than a million of these spiders to make stunning gold cloth, both in their traditional native style (a lamba) and also a European-style cape. These have been displayed in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and currently at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.

spider silk cape — Photo credit: Simon Peers and Nicholas Godley

More on this unusual project and how they created these museum pieces from golden spider silk is available at godleypeers.com.

August 14, 2018 by wpengine

Whale Bone Bench

By Pat McShea

An unusual bench within the Hall of North American Wildlife inspires grand scale thinking.

If you sit upon a level-topped portion of the nearly 20-foot-long great blue whale lower jaw, it’s easy to imagine your seat’s travel history as part of a living ocean-dwelling giant.

Jaw bone sitters now have much more to consider because of Information shared by the curator of fossil marine mammals at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History.

In a recent essay in The New York Times titled, Wrap Your Mind Around a Whale, paleobiologist Nick Pyenson discusses evolutionary forces that limit whale size.

For great blue whales, Pyenson explains, jaw size reflects a delicate balance. These enormous mammals, whose total body length has been known to reach 109 feet, must be able to close their jaws rapidly enough to capture moving prey. They also must gain enough calories from each gulp to make-up for energy spent powering the required muscle movements.

For any museum visitors who require visual and tactile assistance to imagine how the bone bench was once part of a swimming creature, a stop in Discovery Basecamp is recommended.

Although there’s not a great blue whale replica in the Whales Toolbox, examining the plastic models of eight featured species is a good way to begin learning about whale diversity.

August 13, 2018 by wpengine

Plant Specimen Images Now Online

By Bonnie Isaac

Anne Barber training Botany staff Mason Heberling and Bonnie Isaac to use the new imaging station — Anne Barber training Mason Heberling and Bonnie Isaac to use the new imaging station for our NSF grant.

Anne Barber, the Research Project Coordinator for the Mid-Atlantic Megalopolis TCN recently came to Pittsburgh to train the Botany staff (Bonnie Isaac, Mason Heberling, and Sarah Williams) to use our new imaging equipment. We spent a day and a half learning how to image our specimens and get them up on the Mid-Atlantic Herbaria portal. We are now up and running and images of our specimens are making it to the internet.

We will be photographing the specimens from Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, and D.C. for this project. These images will be added to the portal for the mid-Atlantic region over the next three years. You can search our specimen database to find out what specimens we have or watch for the images of these specimens to start appearing.

What was the lucky specimen to be first imaged and added to the portal? Just by chance, it was a specimen that I collected in Huntingdon County back in 1995.

Amorpha fruticosa specimen from Pennsylvania collected by Bonnie Isaac, first specimen imaged with the new imaging station.

Bonnie Isaac is the Collection Manager in the Section of Botany. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

August 13, 2018 by wpengine

A is for Aardvark

By John Wible

Upon encountering this unusual digging mammal, South African colonists dubbed it aardvark, which is Afrikaans for earth pig or groundhog. With an adult weight of 90 to 150 pounds they dwarf our Western Pennsylvanian groundhog and additionally look nothing like it! Aardvarks (Orycteropus afer) are solitary, nocturnal mammals, which means they live alone and are active almost exclusively at night. They have powerful forelimbs and very sharp, robust front claws perfect for digging large burrows and into the nests of their food prey: ants and termites. Their nostrils, which are vertical slits, can be closed completely and have a fringe of thick hairs that helps to keep soil out while they are rooting for food. They have poor eyesight but a phenomenally keen sense of smell. In fact, aardvarks have the highest number of olfactory turbinal bones of any mammal; these are the fine, scroll-like bones in the nasal cavity that are covered by olfactory epithelium for sense of smell. And given those long rabbit-like ears, they also have a keen sense of hearing. Yet, aardvarks are for the most part silent, using hearing to find prey and avoid predators and not to find each other.

Aardvarks were thought to be related to other myrmecophagous (ant-eating) mammals, namely the South American anteaters and Old World pangolins. However, analysis of their DNA groups aardvarks with other very different looking African mammals in a clade of unlikely bedfellows called Afrotheria, which includes elephants, hyraxes, sengis or elephant shrews, golden moles, and tenrecs, along with manatees and dugongs. Consequently, the dietary and digging adaptations of aardvarks have evolved independently of those in the South American anteaters and pangolins. The earliest aardvark fossils are from African and are roughly 20 million years old. They did expand into southern Europe and into Asia as far east as Pakistan, but today are confined to sub-Saharan Africa in habitats that provide ants, termites, and water. Thankfully, their conservation status is currently of a non-threatened status.

August 13, 2018 by wpengine

Killer Sea Snails: Cure for the Opioid Crisis?

By Tim Pearce

Carnivorous and predatory, killer cone snails (genus Conus) stun their prey by injecting peptide neurotoxins called conotoxins. These peptides are short proteins, mostly 12-30 amino acids long.

Of the approximately 600 species of cone snails, two species have killed humans: the geography cone (Conus geographus) and the textile cone (Conus textile). Those species occur in the South Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Each cone snail species produces more than 100 conotoxins, with an estimated 5% overlap in conotoxins among species [1]. Although only about 0.1% of these >50,000 peptides have been characterized, many have already been recognized to have pharmaceutical uses: six for pain, three for cardiovascular issues, one for epilepsy, and one for mood.

A potentially useful medicine from the venom of fish-eating cone snails is insulin, which acts faster than human insulin [2]. The cone snail insulin is a single molecule that acts within 5 minutes. In contrast, human insulin is stored as a cluster of six insulin molecules that must separate to become active, and separation can take 60 minutes (or 15-30 minutes for modified human insulin). The cone snail uses its insulin to immobilize fish by hypoglycemic shock (caused by extremely low blood sugar), making prey easier to catch. Researchers are studying cone snail insulin for ideas to make better insulin for use in humans.

Another medicine currently used in humans is the pain killer ziconotide (Prialt). It is more powerful than morphine, not addictive, and people don’t build up a tolerance. However, it doesn’t cross the blood-brain barrier so must be injected directly into spinal fluid. The FDA approved it in 2004 for end-of-life cases (pain management). Scattered reports suggest an odd side effect: people who take Prialt hear music in their heads. Researchers continue studying ways to get the peptide across the blood-brain barrier. Success could mean an alternative to opioid drugs, and potentially a powerful tool for solving the opioid crisis.

“Better living through snails!”

Fun Fact: Sunken ships provide habitat for many undersea creatures including cone snails.

Riddle: What lies at the bottom of the ocean and twitches?

Answer: A nervous wreck!

Notes:

[1] Davis, J., Jones, A. & Lewis, R.J. 2009. Remarkable inter- and intra-species complexity of conotoxins revealed by LC/MS. Peptides, 30(7): 1222-1227.

[2] Safavi-Hemamia, H., Gajewiak, J., Karanth, S., Robinson, S.D., Ueberheide, B., Douglass, A.D., Schlegel, A., Imperial, J.S., Watkins, M., Bandyopadhyay, P.K., Yandell, M., Li, Q., Purcell, A.W., Norton, R.S., Ellgaard, L. & Olivera, B.M. 2015. Specialized insulin is used for chemical warfare by fish-hunting cone snails. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(6): 1743-1748.

August 10, 2018 by wpengine

Mastodon Restoration

What does a Scientific Preparator do? Part of Dan Pickering’s really cool job is carefully restoring museum specimens. In this photo he’s working on our mastodon specimen, one of Andrew Carnegie’s first acquisitions for the museum.

After having 120 years of “stuff” put on it to “preserve” it while it was on display, it needed significant restoration work.

All of this “stuff” was applied to the mastodon specimen over time:

· Shellac

· Varnish

· Paint

Plus, cracks, cavities, and broken and missing areas were kept up with:

· Plaster

· Putty

· Bondo

· Glue

· Epoxy

· Wood

· Chicken wire

· Metal pins

On top of all that, soot built up on the mastodon when the museum was free and the doors were kept wide open.

Everything from shellac to soot must be removed or corrected to modern standards to restore this historically valuable specimen.

However, not all of these materials can be removed because most fossils are found as partial skeletons. When work is complete, you shouldn’t be able to see which parts are real bones and which parts were added – the skeleton should look cohesive. But if you look closely (from within five feet or so), different tones, colors, and textures will reveal real bones vs. elements added during restoration.

You can watch Dan and other Scientific Preparators at work on the mastodon in PaleoLab.

August 9, 2018 by wpengine

New Rattlesnake Specimen

By Jennifer A. Sheridan

Last week the amphibian and reptile unit acquired a valuable specimen—a timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus). This species is federally protected, and females can take up to 10 years to reach sexual maturity. This long time to maturity means that they are particularly vulnerable to population declines, so for this and other reasons we would never harvest a live one. Fresh roadkills, however, while sad, are valuable to our collection and the collective database on rattlesnakes. This was found dead in the road at Powdermill Nature Reserve, so I brought it back to the museum to fix in formalin.

The formalin helps to harden the tissues so that they maintain a shape in long-term storage that is conducive to future morphological study. After about two weeks, the curatorial assistant, Kaylin Martin, will soak the specimen in water to remove as much formalin as possible (leaving it in formalin too long can make the specimen difficult to handle for future studies), and then transfer it to gradually stronger ethanol for long-term storage. Amphibian and reptile specimens are stored in ethanol (hence the name of our home, the Alcohol House) to prevent them from decaying over time.

This particular specimen brings our total number of C. horridus at Carnegie Museum of Natural History to 597. Our earliest specimen dates back to 1872 (nearly 150 years ago!), and we have specimens representing every decade from 1890–1990, collected from 18 different states.

Prior to this roadkill, our last specimen was collected in 1991—so this is a good specimen to have considering the long time gap in our collection.

Researchers interested in studying long-term trends of rattlesnakes can search online databases such as VertNet to find which museums have specimens, and then examine specimens from several different museums to understand long-term changes in distribution, size, or breeding phenology, and how those may be associated with changes in land use due to increased human population sizes, or changes in climate. We’re sad to have found this beautiful specimen killed on the road, but I’m pleased to know that as part of our collection, it may provide a key element of understanding broader ecological patterns.

August 8, 2018 by wpengine

Hei-tiki Figurines

By Deborah Harding

Hei-tiki figurines made by the Maori people of New Zealand have had several origins and meanings attributed to them over the years. It may refer to the First Man, Tiki; some have speculated that the curious proportions are those of an unborn child.

Tikis are carved in stone and wood, in various sizes. The hei-tikis are designed to be worn around the neck. Originally carved very laboriously from hard greenstone, modern versions are also made in plastic and other materials for the tourist trade. The eye rings were often filled with red sealing wax.

Our hei-tiki came to us from the collection of Charles Spang, a manufacturer from Etna. He collected it probably in the mid-19^thcentury, and his collection was later donated by his children in 1906. Unfortunately, the arms and legs are broken off.

About ten years ago, a Maori visitor to the collections remarked with surprise on the presence of the braided neck cord. Evidently it is rare to find the cord still intact. He couldn’t tell us what the fiber was, but it’s done in a 16-strand round braid.

August 7, 2018 by wpengine

Unscrambling the Science of the Egg

By Chase D. Mendenhall

What came first, the chicken or the egg? The answer to this riddle is the egg. Eggs are universal among all vertebrates, including humans, but reptiles are responsible for the development of the eggshells typical of terrestrial birds and early mammals. Eggs are virtually self-contained life support systems that freed the first reptiles to wander away from water for reproduction, separating them from amphibians. Eggs are packed with most of the ingredients needed to grow the animal inside. All they require for the embryo to develop properly are warmth and gas exchange.

Bird eggs vary tremendously. Shape, size, coloration, and contents have often been associated with life histories of the species that lay them. For example, asymmetrical eggs with one pointed end were thought to be the result of nesting on a cliff—these eggs roll in tight circles instead of straight off the edge. Similar stories have been written about extensively to explain the jelly bean shape of the hummingbird eggs, elongated ellipses of swifts, and the spherical nature of owl eggs—but new work done in museum collections may have answered the riddle of egg shape definitively. Specifically, scientists now have evidence to suggest that selection for flight adaptations is most likely to be responsible for most of the variation.

Measurements of nearly 50,000 eggs in museum collection from 1,400 bird species by Dr. Mary Stoddard and colleagues revealed stunning evidence that egg shape is related to flight. Dr. Stoddard’s star variables for testing her hypothesis were egg asymmetry and ellipticity. Symmetric eggs have similar shapes at each end, like the hummingbird’s jellybean shaped eggs, and asymmetric eggs are pointed at one end, like a sandpiper egg. Ellipticity is related to length and volume of the egg—for example, owls lay spherical eggs, while Orioles and Swifts lay long zeppelin-shaped eggs. The two variables of asymmetry and ellipticity interact with one another, allowing scientists to categorize egg shape across two axes that provide information about the way the egg was shaped in the shell gland after passing through the uterus.

Stoddard discovered that mother birds shape their eggs mechanically, apply pressure to the egg membranes as layers of calcium carbonate crystals form the eggshell. The shape of the egg determines the space in which the young bird completes the process of building its body for flight. Like all multi-cellular vertebrates, one cell divides into many—differentiating into trillions of cells with specialized architecture and function. According to Stoddard’s analysis of egg shape in relationship to phylogenetic history, she was able to demonstrate that egg shape explained wing shape. Spherical eggs, like those of the owl, are symmetric and score low on the ellipiticity scale and tend to belong to birds who spend little time flying. Elongated, asymmetric eggs—like those belonging to sandpipers, are associated with champion flyers who might spend many days airborne.

August 6, 2018 by wpengine

The Story of a Beetle, a Dolphin, and Some Remarkable Genitalia…

By Bob Androw

In 2014, while processing a light trap sample from the Dominican Republic, I came across a series of Phyllophaga that I could not identify. At first, this wasn’t too unusual – this one genus of scarab beetles contains over 500 named species. Upon closer examination, I was thrilled to determine that I was looking at a species new to science. I specialize in Cerambycidae, the long-horned beetles, and dabble with scarab beetles on the side – so I like to refer to Phyllophaga as one of my “mistress groups.” While I already had one species named after me, Phyllophaga androw, this would become the first new Phyllophaga I had personally discovered and would have the opportunity to describe.

When describing a new species, one of the challenges, and the joys, is choosing a name. With millions of insect species known, more than a few names are already taken. There are lots of options – naming it after one of its traits – color, size, shape; after the place it was found; after some factor of its biology; after a notable person in one’s life or after a renowned colleague; or, just maybe, after the shape of its genitalia. Hmmm… let’s clarify that…

Many species of Phyllophaga are nearly inseparable by their outward appearance, but the genitalia can vary drastically between species. The male genitalia in beetles are usually strongly sclerotized, meaning that they are hard, rigid structures – hence the shape is fixed in any given species.

Phyllophaga delphinicauda, male holotype CMNH-IZ #325,315.

The new species was no exception – externally it closely resembled a number of other species but the genitalia were remarkable – having a delicate fluke-like structure arising from the upper surface. It so resembled a dolphin’s tail that the name was inevitable – Phyllophaga delphinicauda – the Phyllophaga with “the tail of a dolphin.” In 2016, I published the description in the Annals of Carnegie Museum, and, in doing so, reduced by one more the naming options available for species discovered in the future.

Phyllophaga delphinicauda, A-D, male genitalia (dorsal, lateral, ventral and posterior views, respectively). E, female genital plates.

Access the original publication for Phyllophaga delphinicauda Androw here.

Bob Androw is a Scientific Preparator in Invertebrate Zoology. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

August 6, 2018 by wpengine

BBQ Chips

How about some BBQ chips with your burger?

Just kidding! BBQ chips is the nickname for this wulfenite with mimetite specimen on display in the Masterpiece Gallery.

August 6, 2018 by wpengine

2018 Breastfeeding Friendly Place Award

We are proud to be a winner of the 2018 Breastfeeding Friendly Place Award! Cozy chairs and pillows in a private area near Discovery Basecamp provide a welcoming, convenient place for mothers to breastfeed. The space has been recently updated with wallpaper designed by Pittsburgh artist Ashley Cecile.

August 1, 2018 by wpengine

Manhattan Project Glass

By Debra Wilson

The Section of Minerals collection contains many specimens with interesting stories of historical significance. One such story is about an unusual faceted stone.

As part of the Manhattan Project, the mission of the Hanford Site in Benton County, Washington was to produce plutonium for the atomic bomb. This included the first bomb tested at Trinity Site in New Mexico and the Fatman bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki to end World War II in 1945. The viewing windows that the scientists looked through in the chemical processing buildings (AKA plutonium recovery buildings, where the plutonium was being extracted from the fuel rods) were made of 70% lead to protect them from the highly radioactive material they were working with.

When the buildings began being salvaged in 1990, five of these radiation windows were sent to a salvage yard in Walla Walla, Washington, where they were stored in a warehouse. Sometime during the two decades of storage one of the panes shattered. When the broken pieces were sold, Patrick Kelley of PAK Designs in North Carolina was able to acquire two pieces. He faceted the Rectangular Baguette Cut, 51.4 carat gemstone in 2013 that now resides in the Section of Minerals collection. Note the yellow color of the glass due to the high lead content.

This stone is now on display in the Treated & Synthetic Stones case in Wertz Gallery.

Black Bears at Powdermill

By Andrea Kautz

Recently, the PA Game Commission brought a black bear to Powdermill to release in the nearby state forest. It was a healthy, 300-pound male that was relocated because it was becoming a nuisance on a farm more than 30 miles away. Powdermill staff were grateful to have the opportunity to watch as the game wardens sedated and tagged the animal before release. The bear received two ear tags and a lip tattoo for identification. A small milk tooth was extracted which will be used later to determine his age. An infected claw was treated, but otherwise he appeared to be in good health.

Game Wardens arrive at Powdermill — Game Wardens Barron (left) and Harvey (right) arrive at Powdermill with the trap, which is on wheels for easy transport.

The Game Commission estimates the Pennsylvania bear population to be thriving at around 20,000 individuals. Compared to neighboring states, Pennsylvania black bears breed earlier and have more cubs. Bear populations are managed through seasonal harvesting, although only about 2% of those receiving permits are successful hunting a bear. In 2017, the largest bear taken was a 707-pound male from Monroe County!

black bear in Pennsylvania — American black bear. Photo credit: George Pankewytch

Hopefully, this male will find another place to call home, but relocating these animals can be tricky as they have a very good sense of direction and can cover long distances. At this time last year, one radio-collared male walked from Johnstown to Grove City to Pittsburgh, then east along the turnpike and up through the Laurel Highlands and back to Johnstown in about a month. We give special thanks to the game commission for putting so much effort into maintaining a healthy population of bears that can live in harmony with humans and ensuring that Pennsylvania can continue to be a supportive environment for these spectacular beasts.

July 30, 2018 by wpengine

We are one with the force; the force is with science!

By Breann Thompson

In a galaxy far, far away…is life really all that different? Campers at Carnegie Museum of Natural History have the opportunity to answer that very question this summer!

One recent class of padawans was tasked with selecting a new home planet for the Rebel Alliance—and you can’t choose the best location for a rebel base without a deep understanding of biomes and the types of life that thrive in each! With that in mind, we travelled the galaxy, and the museum, to devise a plan. Exploration of Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt helped uncover the landscape of Tatooine. We imagine that Dagobah wildlife would have much in common with the ancient Pennsylvanian Coal Forests on display in Benedum Hall of Geology. We even tried our hand at building ice houses, inspired by Inuit culture in Polar World, to test our survival skills on the frigid planet of Hoth.

For now, we’ve been tasked with guarding the base’s location, but I have faith our budding Jedi are responsibly wielding the light side of the force.

The quest for knowledge continues—and you can join in! The 2018 camp season runs through August 24, and there are chances to join in us in nature exploration throughout the year.

Breann Thompson works in the Education department of Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

July 30, 2018 by wpengine

None Like It Hot

By Joylette Portlock

July. Long known across the U.S. for fireworks, barbecues, and a desire to stay cool any way we can. Whether it’s air conditioning, swimming pools, beaches or popsicles, the dog days of summer are often reminders that as humans, our comfort depends on an experienced ambient temperature roughly somewhere between 59 and 77 degrees (Fahrenheit).

But what if, instead of 77, it’s a full 40 degrees more: 117 degrees, like it was in California on July 6? Or 105, like it was in Japan last week? Then, it’s more than an issue of comfort; our lives depend on finding a way to stay cool, and in fact more than a hundred people have perished in heat-related deaths globally already this year.

Life in this new age, the Anthropocene, is marked by many things, including a human-caused increase in global heat, commonly referred to as global warming, or climate change. Risk from heat (or wildfires, or floods) is no longer something we have to rely on the overwhelmingly strong scientific consensus about global warming to tell us; every year, climate change impacts are becoming more and more obvious to everyone, whether you have a degree in climate science or not.

Weather and climate are different. Weather is what happens on a day-to-day basis. Climate is the range of weather that we expect and consider normal (i.e., summer is hot) – but normal is changing.

Photo: Graph showing the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere and human population from We Are Nature, on display until September 2018.

We’re now up to over 400 consecutive warmer-than-average months and counting. Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s collections, which span more than 140 years, can help show these shifts in many ways. One of the most important things we can do is to make connections and show the relevance between the basic scientific principles underlying natural phenomena and the evidence all around us; between what’s happening globally and what’s happening locally.

side by side comparison of plant specimens collected 100 years apart — Photo: The growth of plants collected today versus 100 years ago in the same locations, shown in We Are Nature, corroborates the observation of increasingly earlier springtime by documenting earlier maturation of these species.

The globe’s increasing heat is a result of fossil fuel use, food production, and our land use practices. We need energy and food, of course; but it’s critical that we recognize that the systems we impact also impact us. It’s not just our actions, but our interactions with the world around us that are the story. To understand what’s happening and improve our interactions with nature, we have to look at the big picture, and work to meet our needs in ways that minimize disruption to the overall system.

As summer heat waves get longer, more numerous, and more intense (and it seems the whole world is on fire, with deadly fires everywhere from California to Greece to inside the Arctic Circle) one connection is obvious: our need to be cool.

July 27, 2018 by wpengine

The Very Hungry Promethea Caterpillars

by Vanessa Verdecia

These Promethea Moth (Callosamia promethea) eggs were laid in clusters by a single female parent. When the caterpillars first hatched they measured approximately 3mm in length and as the caterpillars grew, they shed their skin and molted through a series of stages referred to as instars. Each one of these instars varies in appearance. Early instars are gregarious and remain together on the underside of the leaves.

In the earlier instars the Promethea Moth caterpillars have a black and yellow banded appearance. In contrast to these earlier stages, the body of the last instar caterpillars are pale green and they are recognized by the protruding, bright red knobs that are located on the thoracic region as well as the yellow knob found on the eighth abdominal segment. The final instar caterpillars in this culture measured up to 4.5cm in length in a resting position, but they can measure up to 6cm when active and stretched out.

The Promethea Moth is a member of the family Saturniidae, a group known as the Giant Silkworm moths. In this group of moths, the mouth parts are reduced and the digestive tract is absent, which means they do not feed as adults. Most caterpillar species are big eaters, but in families like Saturniidae, the adult moths rely heavily on all the energy stored while eating in the larval stages.

Raising caterpillars in the lab is a labor of love. Caterpillars depend on having fresh food and a clean environment that is created by housing the live caterpillars in plastic chambers that help preserve the moisture in the leaves. This culture was reared on sweet gum, but Promethea Moth caterpillars will feed on many different trees. The caterpillars hatched on 8-June-2018 and some of the specimens in the final instars were seen spinning their cocoons on 17-July-2018.

The caterpillars produce silk on a leaf and the petiole and spin a cocoon with the leaf wrapped around it. After the caterpillars spin their cocoons, they will enter the pupal stage and overwinter until the late spring or early summer of 2019, however, a partial second generation in the summer is known to occur in Pennsylvania. Cocoons attached to the hostplant by the silk can be seen in the winter when all the other leaves have fallen.

July 27, 2018 by wpengine

My Guildey Pleasure

By Andrew McAfee

As the Scientific Illustrator for the Section of Vertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History, I spend most of my time in the museum interpreting and representing the paleontologists’ work in visual form. Most of this work takes place at a desk with a computer. But as a member of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators (GNSI), I spend one week per year away from the desk, learning new techniques in the field and sharing a few of my own.

The GNSI is an organization of scientists and science illustrators founded in 1968 by illustrators at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. The purpose of the GNSI is to advance science illustration by facilitating the exchange of ideas, knowledge, and techniques among its members.

Every year around July, the GNSI has a conference that brings members from all around the world together for a week of plenary speakers, technique expositions, lectures, and workshops. It’s a wonderful opportunity to commune with colleagues in the field of scientific illustration and acquire new perspectives and technical abilities.

Andrew McAfee with his digital painting of Mansourasaurus (upper left) on display in GNSI’s 50th anniversary exhibition, Visualize: Art Revealing Science, at AAAS headquarters. Photo: Reid Psaltis.

I joined the GNSI in 2013 and have not missed a conference since. This year’s event marked the 50^thanniversary of the Guild’s formation and represented a homecoming, returning to Washington, DC. As a part of our anniversary celebration, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)—known for, among other things, publishing one of the world’s foremost scientific journals, Science—hosted our annual members’ juried exhibition.

This year I was honored to have two pieces selected for exhibition in the show: my reconstructions of the recently-named dinosaurs Mansourasaurus shahinae and Tratayenia rosalesi, both completed at Carnegie Museum of Natural History under the guidance of paleontologist Matt Lamanna. I was proud to represent the museum and it was gratifying to see my work sharing walls with the stellar work of my colleagues in the AAAS gallery.

Visualize: Art Revealing Science, the 50^thanniversary GNSI exhibit, will be on display at AAAS headquarters until October 15, 2018.

Andrew McAfee is Scientific Illustrator for the Section of Vertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

July 26, 2018 by wpengine

New Member of the Section of Herpetology

By Jennifer Sheridan

The Section of Herpetology has welcomed a new curator—me! I’m happy to be writing this blog post as a way of introducing myself and to be joining the Carnegie Museums family.

I moved here from Singapore, where I was Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies for the past four years at Yale-NUS College, a small liberal-arts college entering its sixth year of operation. It was fantastic, but I’m very much looking forward to my new role as curator. People often ask me what exactly a curator does, and in my case, it won’t be too different from my job as a professor: my time will be divided between research & curation, outreach & education, and service to the museum (providing input for exhibits, for example). At Yale-NUS, about two-thirds of my time was teaching (education) and service, and about one-third was research, so I’m looking forward to being able to devote a larger portion of my time (closer to 50%) to research now that I’m here.

Additionally, it’s exciting to have such a great collection on hand with which to answer questions about ecological responses to climate change, one of the main foci of my research. In fact, a recent paper of mine relied heavily on specimens from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. My co-authors and I used more than 350 specimens from this museum, plus more than 900 specimens from 15 other museums, collected between 1901–2000, to examine how wood frog body size and breeding have shifted in response to climate change.

maps showing body size changes — Image credit: Nick Caruso

We found that breeding and size shifted as predicted at broad spatial scales, but when we examined the data at finer spatial scales, local changes in climate did not accurately predict local body size changes. This suggests that climate itself is not the driving factor of observed body size changes, but rather that there is another mechanism driving such changes, that also correlates with climate. Moving forward, I’ll be combining examinations of the collections with field work to uncover other ways that amphibians have responded to climate change, whether through shifts in body size, breeding date, or geographic range, and what impacts that might have on ecosystem function. I’m excited to be here with such great resources for answering these interesting questions!

Jennifer Sheridan is the Assistant Curator in the Section of Herpetology at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

July 26, 2018 by wpengine

Before Powdermill Nature Reserve

By Bonnie Isaac

black and white photo of a dirt road and trees

While looking through some images in the archives in the section of Botany I came across this image from July 23, 1923 taken by Gus Link Jr. about 3 miles south of Rector, PA. There is a good chance that this property later became part of our Powdermill Nature Reserve.

The museum began acquiring properties in 1956 to form Powdermill Nature Reserve. I wonder if the museum folks were out there surveying the area with a nature reserve in mind? What foresight the museum had to acquire properties that have over the past 60 plus years become a beautiful place for research.

In 1923 Gustav Link Jr. was an assistant preparator in Zoology for the natural history museum. Gus Link Jr. worked for the museum from 1912 to 1960.

Bonnie Isaac is the Collection Manager in the Section of Botany. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

July 24, 2018 by wpengine

Speculation: Glowing Snails and Jumping Genes

By Tim Pearce

Only one species of land snail is known to glow in the dark: Quantula striata, albeit very faintly. A glow organ under its chin produces yellow-green light, and the rest of the body glows very faintly. The snail occurs in some areas of Southeast Asia including Malaysia and Singapore. The snail uses the same system to glow as fireflies, two chemicals: luciferase reacts with luciferin to produce light.

Scientific papers, including those by Yata Haneda, have characterized the wavelength of the light, the interval of the flashes, which part of the body glows, and differences in glowing between juvenile and adult snails. However, none of the papers has addressed why the snails glow. Given that light production is energetically costly, there must be some evolutionary advantage to glowing. How does glowing help the snail in its daily life?

There are five known reasons that organisms glow: (1) attract mates (as in fireflies [originally for larval defense, see Branham and Wenzel 2003, Cladistics, 19:1-22]), (2) attract prey (as lures in deep sea fish), (3) attract dispersers (insects attracted to light disperse spores from glowing mushrooms), (4) escape predators (deep sea octopus create glowing clouds and slink away unnoticed), (5) burglar alarm (some ocean microorganisms glow when copepods try to eat them; the glow attracts fish that then eat the copepods).

I speculate that Quantula striata glows to escape predators.

Quantula striata, land snail that glows in the dark — Quantula striata, the only species of land snail known to glow in the dark.

Larval fireflies eat land snails and larval fireflies occur in Southeast Asia where this glow snail lives. Perhaps a glowing snail could fool a hungry firefly larva by falsely conveying that the snail is already occupied, so glowing might ward off an attack by a firefly larva. Thus, the evolutionary advantage is that glowing snails might experience less predation.

One way to test this hypothesis would be to expose glowing and non-glowing snails to larval fireflies to determine which kind of snail gets eaten more. I haven’t tried this experiment yet, because I don’t have glow snails available in my lab.

More speculation: could the genes for the light-producing system have moved from a firefly to this snail? It is a remarkable coincidence that the snail and the fireflies both produce light using the luciferin and luciferase system. What are the chances of that! One possibility is that the genes to produce luciferin and luciferase were somehow transferred from a firefly to an ancestor of the snail, then spread over time throughout the species. While such horizontal gene transfer is thought to be relatively rare, the transfer of genes from one species to another is known in single celled organisms (e.g., the spread of antibiotic resistance among bacteria species), and evidence exists that it has occurred in some multi-cellular organisms.

One way to test whether horizontal gene transfer could explain the luciferin and luciferase lighting system in Quantula striata would be to sequence the DNA of the snail and the DNA of fireflies living in Southeast Asia. If both genes for luciferin and luciferase were transferred from the firefly to the snail, there is a good chance that additional DNA on either side of those two genes was transferred as well. If additional firefly DNA exists near the luciferin and luciferase genes in the snail, that would be strong evidence that the snail’s ability to glow came from a firefly.

It could have happened!

Relevant Snail Joke:

Q: What happened to the glow-snail that lost its glowing organ?

A: It was de-lighted.

July 23, 2018 by wpengine

Giant Sable Antelope

By Lisa Miriello

In 1930, New York publisher Ralph Pulitzer recruited Rudyerd Boulton, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s ornithologist, to accompany him to the Portuguese colony of Angola in search of the Giant Sable Antelope. Few American zoologists had explored this region of Africa but Boulton had traveled there in 1925 with the American Museum of Natural History and his knowledge of the territory was invaluable to the Pulitzer party.

Hippotragus niger variani was named as a new subspecies less than fifteen years before the Pulitzer expedition and interest in the scientific community, as well as with big game hunters, grew rapidly. Portuguese authorities soon created new game laws to help protect this rare and impressive animal. Never numerous, today the Giant Sable is critically endangered, threatened by habitat loss, civil war, and poachers. Active conservation efforts continue, but population estimates indicate there are less than a hundred mature individuals, found only in Angola’s Cangandala National Park and the Luando Nature Reserve.

The Carnegie Museum of Natural History is one of only a handful of museums in the country where specimens of the Giant Sable have been preserved. The male collected by Pulitzer was expertly prepared by renowned taxidermy artist R. H. Santens and is exhibited on the museum’s second floor.

Lisa Miriello is the scientific preparator in the Section of Mammals at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

July 23, 2018 by wpengine

The Hidden Fossil Treasures of the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History

By Albert D. Kollar

When people hear the name Invertebrate Paleontology often times they are confused what it means. Invertebrates are animals without backbones such as trilobites, lobsters, clams, snails, corals, sea urchins, and brachiopods to name a few. The term paleontology refers to fossilized animals that once lived in the geologic past. The evidence of this event is preserved in earth’s sedimentary rocks. Invertebrate fossils are found in limestones, sandstones, and shales that formed in ancient oceans, lakes and rivers during times of environmental and climate change.

Close to a million invertebrate fossil specimens are housed in the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology cabinets stored in the museum’s basement. To build a collection of 800,000 plus fossils, it takes more than a century of field collecting by section staff, exchanges with other museums from around the world, donations from our research associates and regional universities. Under special circumstances, donations are received from the general public if the fossils and the localities can be verified scientifically.

Eurypterid trackway. — Eurypterid trackway

The section’s collection strengths are based on the paleontologically, stratigraphic, and geologic interest of the section’s scientists and colleagues who work on the various invertebrate groups. The section historical strengths are in the fossil groups of trilobites, brachiopods, crustaceans’ snails, cephalopods, and the eurypterid trackway. Sometimes special fossils from the collections are placed on the museum’s exhibit floor in Benedum Hall of Geology and Dinosaurs in Their Time. For instance, one of the great regional fossils is the giant eurypterid trackway on display in Benedum Hall of Geology. The fossil track was discovered by museum scientists in 1948 in Elk County, Pennsylvania. The fossil was later named Palmichnium kosinskiorum in honor of the discoverer, James Kosinski. An in-depth geology review of the fossil site was published in the Carnegie Annals in 2016 by section staff Albert Kollar and David Brezinski. Other Pittsburgh area fossils from the collection can be found in the Pennsylvanian Marine Diorama in Benedum Hall of Geology.

In future blogs, the section will be talking about the history of research, collection expeditions, fossils on display, the importance of volunteers in the sections and many more topics. Stay tuned.

July 23, 2018 by wpengine

Powdermill Flood Changes the Landscape

By James Whitacre

Here at Powdermill Nature Reserve, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s environmental research center, we were reminded of the ever-present forces of nature when a flood recently inundated the Ligonier Valley. Homes and buildings were damaged and numerous people had to be rescued by swift water rescue crews. At Powdermill, a few of our buildings also experienced damage (see the video at the bottom of this post).

On June 20, 2018, over 5.5 inches of rain fell on Powdermill and the surrounding area in about 6 hours. At the nearest USGS stream gauge at Linn Run State Park, the water level rose about four feet in five hours. The force of the flood waters was able to move large boulders, take down trees, and change the course of many streams, including Powdermill Run. The flood levels were so high that we have reason to believe that this was a very significant flood event. But was it a ‘100-year flood’?

The concept of the ‘100-year flood’ is quite familiar, but this concept is a bit misleading. It does not mean that a flood event rated as a ‘100-year flood’ occurs every 100 years. Rather, it means that every year, there is a 1% chance that a flood will reach the annual exceedance probability (AEP) (i.e. the height of the flood waters in a particular area). On average, the AEP will reach that level every 100 years. This definition was established for the National Flood Insurance Program. For more information, see the USGS page The 100-Year Flood—It’s All About Chance.

So the question still stands, was the flood at Powdermill a ‘100-year flood’? Using the power of maps an GPS, the GIS lab at Powdermill decided to compare the FEMA flood zones map to the flood levels observed in the field. As the map shows, it appears that is is very close, though more assessment is needed to be certain.

See the map here.

While the damage was extensive, this event will provide researchers at Powdermill the opportunity to study yet another instance of how natural disasters affect the ecology and landscape of the nature reserve. A similar event six years ago, in June 2012, was when a tornado touched down in the Ligonier Valley and blew down nearly 50 acres of forest in the nature reserve. Powdermill continues to utilize these areas in numerous on-going research projects to track succession and plant-animal interactions after a disturbance. While the flood event may not produce an obvious research project at the moment, Powdermill researchers will be keeping their eyes open to see how we may need to respond.

July 20, 2018 by wpengine

Campers Learn New Skills in Survival Challenge

By Breann Thompson

It’s July, and summer camps are in full swing here at the museum.

With this summer’s intense storms fresh in our minds, we’ve been thinking about the impacts of extreme weather events. If we’re out exploring the woods when an unexpected storm hits, how can we stay safe?

Campers recently put their ideas to the test with a shelter-building challenge. Using only items that had already fallen in the forest and a time-limit of 15 minutes, campers were challenged to construct a lean-to that could provide shelter for at least one camper in the event of an emergency. Given the constraints, we were quite impressed—if quite tired!

But what is shelter without food?! For that, we took to the creek in search of our favorite potential food source—crayfish!

The hunt continues—and you can join in! The 2018 camp season runs through August 24, and there are chances to join us in nature exploration throughout the year.

Learn more about summer camps at camps.artandnaturalhistory.org.

July 20, 2018 by wpengine

Powerlifting Poultry and Mallards that Marathon

By Chase D. Mendenhall

Fried, roasted or barbequed—most of us have a preference for cuts of light or dark meat when chicken is for dinner. But why the striking differences between dark and light meat?

Chickens are gallinaceous birds, meaning they belong to a group of heavy-bodied, ground-feeding birds that generally prefer not to fly. Their leg muscles are used for standing, walking, and running throughout the day. Like a marathon runner, chickens build muscles in their legs that are highly resistant to fatigue and require lots of oxygen for the aerobic exercise being on foot all day. In fact, drumsticks and thighs get their color from the iron held in a special muscle fiber, myoglobin. The myoglobin in the dark muscles breaks down during cooking, giving the cooked meat a brownish color.

Chickens build muscles in their wings and breasts for explosive bursts of flight from a resting position, similar to a bodybuilder maxing out their bench press. The flight of a chicken is mostly an anaerobic exercise, meaning that muscles are reacting quickly and doing extremely hard work in the absence of oxygen. Lighter muscle fibers take up sugars to fuel the explosive movement of flight from a standstill, but these muscles fatigue very quickly. When muscles with very little myoglobin muscle fibers are cooked, the proteins in the muscle fibers denature and coagulate, resulting in the white, opaque appearance we associate with a chicken breast.

But what about duck breast, isn’t it dark meat? Duck à l’orange and Pan Roasted Duck only have darker cuts of meat for us to choose from—including the breasts. Because ducks use their flight muscles to sustain long-distance flights, they stock their flight muscles with myoglobin to sustain aerobic flight. The aerobic demands of flight for a duck means that their meat is a darker color when served for supper.

July 17, 2018 by wpengine

Cactuses, and the Spine of Appalachia

By John Wenzel

No one thinks of deserts in Pennsylvania, but we have one habitat that includes many plants typical of the western deserts. The “shale barrens” have formed over millions of years as the eroding crests of the Appalachian ridges open up areas where rock slides or exposed shale deposits create an area of very little soil that gets hot in the sun and that holds no water.

Plants such as the red cedar, barrens stonecrop, hen-and-chicks, or even prickly pear cactus thrive in these microdeserts, mostly on south-facing hillsides. These resemble more closely communities in west Texas than the eastern deciduous forest around them. Yet, unlike the West, there may be ferns alongside the cactuses, taking advantage of the rain.

How do cactuses survive our winter? Because they can tolerate being dried out, they dump their water when it gets cold and collapse like deflated balloons. With little water in them, they do not develop ice crystals internally, and so do not freeze! At Powdermill Nature Reserve, we maintain a small dry garden to show these unusual species to visitors.

July 17, 2018 by wpengine

Annals of Carnegie Museum

By John Wible

The Carnegie Museum of Natural History produces a scientific journal entitled Annals of Carnegie Museum that first appeared in print in March 1901. Its purpose is to promote the research and collections of the museum. This issue from October 2017 has the skull of a newborn rock hyrax, Procavia capensis, from the collection of the Section of Mammals on the cover. The image is from an article in the issue on aspects of the skull morphology of hyraxes by myself and Rea Postdoctoral Fellow Abagael West. For more information about the Annals, click here.

July 16, 2018 by wpengine

Does it sound strange to walk like an Egyptian on painted floors?

By Dr. Erin Peters

We often see paintings hung on walls today, so it may be hard to believe ancient Egyptians could walk on them! Many surfaces were painted in ancient Egyptian temples and tombs, even floors. We have a fragment of a painted floor from the Meru-Aten palace/temple at Akhetaten (modern Tell el-Amarna) in the Section of Anthropology’s storage. Amarna was the capital city of the pharaoh Akhenaten and his wife, Nefertiti, who famously changed Egyptian religion from polytheistic – worshiping many gods – to monotheistic – worshiping a single god. Akhenaten and Nefertiti’s single god was the Aten, the sun itself.

1. Fragment of a painted floor pavement from the Meru-Aten, Akhetaten (el-Amarna), Dynasty 18, acc. # 7106.

Nature was essential to all eras of Egyptian society, but the change to worshiping one natural element heightened this relationship in the Amarna Period. We see this in the art and architecture that survives, like our painted floor pavement. As you can see in the detail, the painting depicts red poppies, a common flower in ancient Egypt. The exquisite interlacing leaves and flowers, along with the visible brush-strokes of the ancient artisan, give the poppies a sense of naturalism characteristic of Akhenaten’s reign.

2. Detail of fragment of a painted floor pavement from the Meru-Aten, Akhetaten (el-Amarna), Dynasty 18, acc. # 7106.

This naturalism contrasts with art and architecture produced before and after the Amarna Period, like the painting in the Dynasty 19 tomb of Sennedjem at Deir el-Medina. Half of Sennedjem’s tomb is recreated in our Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt. You may be familiar with the scene of Sennedjem and his wife adoring several gods in two rows within a shrine. The other half of the tomb shows Sennedjem and his wife in the Field of Reeds (what we think of as the Afterlife). The fields are surrounded by water and abundant trees and plants, including the mandrake, cornflower, and red poppy in the row at the bottom.

3. The tympanum of the East Wall of the tomb of Sennedjem, Deir el-Medina, Dynasty 19.

This detail shows rows of mandrakes, cornflowers, and poppies – all are painted in a more stylistic, or abstract way, than the poppies on our Amarna Period floor pavement.

4. Detail showing mandrake, cornflowers, and red poppies in the tympanum of the East Wall of the tomb of Sennedjem, Deir el-Medina, Dynasty 19.

While we see more naturalistic representations in the Amarna Period, floors were painted in all periods – so walking like an Egyptian could often mean walking on paintings!

Erin Peters is joint assistant curator of science and research at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences working at the museum.

July 13, 2018 by wpengine

Migrate or Die

By Dr. Nicole Heller

Becoming Migrant was this year’s theme for the Carnegie Nexus. The series explored the science and art of passage through creative programming. Migration is a very important issue for wildlife conservation in the Anthropocene. Roads and building developments heavily fragment landscapes, leading more animals to be hit by cars or run into trouble with people. Movement is especially hard for animals that don’t fly and need large home ranges to gather sufficient food, such as American Black Bears and bobcats, two large mammal species that live here in Allegheny County.

baby black bear taxidermy — Baby black bear, Ursus americanus, on display at Powdermill Nature Reserve.

Conservation has long recognized the need to create connectivity between protected areas to support the movement of large mammals in the landscape, but with climate change, connectivity has become paramount to the long-term success of protected areas and species in general. As the climate changes, plants and animals must migrate to track suitable climate conditions. This means that more species are becoming migrant, and their long-term survival depends on it.

Prioritizing connectivity planning and making sure we do it in ways that are climate-smart is a leading edge of conservation science. There are many different types of corridor projects, from building crossings over particularly dangerous roads, such as the Liberty Canyon Wildlife Crossing in Los Angeles, CA. Or large-landscape connectivity projects to create continental migration pathways such as Y2Y project.

I first wrote about climate adaptation 10 years ago. In this research, I identified that the most impactful thing we could do to help species survive climate change is to create habitat connectivity in the landscape. Recently, I published two scientific articles, with a group of colleagues, further exploring the issue of climate change and connectivity. In one paper, published in Environmental Research Letters, we explore the best models and methods for incorporating climate change into connectivity conservation planning. And in the other paper, published in Conservation Biology, we consider best practices to take corridors from idea to implementation on the ground.

We hope this information will be helpful to conservation groups around the world who are working to make sure the landscape supports wildlife today and into the future.

Dr. Nicole Heller is Curator of the Anthropocene for Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences working at the museum.

July 12, 2018 by wpengine

The Significance of Raising Caterpillars

By Vanessa Verdecia

The Imperial moth (Eacles imperialis) is a member of the Saturniid family, a group also known as the Giant Silkworm Moths. This specimen is one of several that was reared from eggs laid last year. The corresponding larva (caterpillar) can be seen in this 2017 blog post.

Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) develop through a process known as complete metamorphosis. They go through four distinct stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Entomologists use isofemale culture rearings to document these stages in a wide variety of different species. In isofemale cultures, wild-caught females are kept in isolation until they have laid their eggs. The resulting larvae then represent one known species derived from a single individual. This method eliminates the possibility of accidentally rearing two or more different species together.

Recording the growth and development of caterpillars is important to understanding the natural history of a species. Detailed notes tell the story of the species being reared. For example, we can document the time of year that adults are found and when eggs are laid, food preferences of the larvae, and whether adults eclose from the pupae in the Fall or overwinter until the Spring before starting the cycle all over again. Even though laboratory conditions may affect the timing of these changes, the specimens preserved still serve as vouchers to represent stages associated with each species.

The Section of Invertebrate Zoology’s Lepidoptera larval collection serves as an incredible library of associated eggs, larvae, pupae, and adult stages for many species documented through extensive isofemale culture rearings. The corresponding notes serve as a valuable resource for life history information, such as host plant preferences. Host records are important since a given species will survive on only certain types of host plants. The caterpillars of the Imperial moth will eat a variety of deciduous trees and this specimen was reared on oak. However, some species may be host specific and only survive when given the correct plant to eat.

The larvae of Imperial moth caterpillars reared last year overwintered in the pupal stage. Winter conditions were provided by storing the pupae in containers kept in the refrigerator through the winter. The containers were removed and placed at room temperature and we are now enjoying the adult Imperial moths that have been eclosing since May and June. Many images have been taken, and multiple voucher specimens were preserved to fully document this species in the museum’s reared larval collection.

July 11, 2018 by wpengine

The Two-Headed Dinosaur

Apatosaurus is a sauropod, or long-necked plant-eating dinosaur, that lived in western North America during the late Jurassic Period roughly 150 million years ago. In the early 20^thcentury, scientists couldn’t agree on what kind of head Apatosaurus had. No skull had ever been found attached to a neck of this dinosaur. So, when Carnegie Museum of Natural History mounted its most complete Apatosaurus skeleton in 1915, it did so without including a skull.

Apatosaurus louisae (right) as it was originally mounted in 1915, without a skull. At left is the skeleton of its relative Diplodocus carnegii. — Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s skeleton of *Apatosaurus louisae* (right) as it was originally mounted in 1915, without a skull. At left is the skeleton of its relative *Diplodocus carnegii*, better known as ‘Dippy.’ Credit: Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

The mount stood headless until 1932, when the museum followed prevailing scientific opinion of the day and placed a blunt-snouted, broad-toothed skull on the Apatosaurus. It remained there for another 47 years.

Apatosaurus and Diplodocus skeletons — *Apatosaurus* (right) and *Diplodocus*, ca. 1932, after a skull of the blunt-snouted sauropod *Camarasaurus lentus* had been mounted on the *Apatosaurus* skeleton. Credit: Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

In 1978, however, Carnegie Museum of Natural History paleontologist Dave Berman and museum research associate Jack McIntosh reasoned that a very different, more Diplodocus-like skull found with the Apatosaurus skeleton back in 1910 was most probably the correct one. A subsequent discovery of a still-connected Apatosaurus skull and neck proved them correct. In 1979, the museum’s Apatosaurus louisae was finally fitted with its proper skull – more than seven decades after its discovery! It remains that way today, on public exhibit in the museum’s dinosaur gallery, Dinosaurs in Their Time.

Apatosaurus Louise — *Apatosaurus* as it looks today, displayed with its correct skull, which closely resembles that of its relative, *Diplodocus*. Credit: Melinda McNaugher, Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Matt Lamanna is a paleontologist and the principal dinosaur researcher at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Adult Flycatcher

This adult Flycatcher undergoes the pre-basic molt of the wintering grounds. These adults can be readily identified by their white bars and wear on the feather tips.

Powdermill Nature Reserve’s avian research center is part of Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s biological research station in Rector, Pennsylvania. The research center operates a bird banding station, conducts bioacoustical research, and performs flight tunnel analysis with the goal of reducing window collisions.

July 10, 2018 by wpengine

Acadian Flycatcher

This Flycatcher has a pale yellow mouth lining.

July 10, 2018 by wpengine

Collected on This Day: Apocynum cannabinum

Hemp dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum) specimen

Collected on July 7, 1935, this specimen was found by John Robinson near New Castle, PA. Hemp dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum) are important food plants for moth and butterfly larvae, and like other plants in the milkweed family, this plant is poisonous. Its milk-like, sticky, latex sap contains cardiac glycosides that causes heart problems, rapid pulse, vomiting, and possible death. This is especially of concern to pets and livestock, although dogbane is generally avoided. Hemp dogbane has a rich ethnobotanical history by Native Americans – its bark having been used for fiber (hence the “hemp” part of name), and roots, seeds, or leaves used for medicines to treat a wide variety of ailments. Hemp dogbane can be found in sparely wooded areas, ditches, and field edges across United States.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

Mason Heberling is Associate Curator of Botany at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History Blog Citation Information

Blog author: Heberling, Mason
Publication date: July 6, 2017

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July 10, 2018 by wpengine

How Birds Breathe with their Butts

by Chase D. Mendenhall

The avian respiratory system is the most efficient in the animal kingdom, which explains how birds get enough oxygen to power flight, even at high altitudes where oxygen is scarce. A key feature that makes avian respiration special is the fact that they have static lungs and breath unidirectionally by breathing with air sacs throughout their body instead of diaphragms common in other land animals.

When a bird draws in a breath of air, it travels through the nares (or nostrils) down the trachea into a series of posterior air sacs located in the thorax and rump—in their butts. When a bird exhales that same breath, it does not leave the body as it does with mammals but rather moves into the lung where oxygen is absorbed and carbon dioxide expelled. When a bird inhales for the second time, that same breath of air moves from the lungs into the anterior air sacs. The second and last exhalation is when the stale air leaves the bird’s body through the nares.

Every breath a bird takes requires two breathing cycles to complete a single breath, making the air passing through the lung unidirectional and always fresh and full of oxygen. Bird lungs are small and rigid, with the gas exchange region of their anatomy organized into a series of parallel tubes that bring deoxygenated blood into the lung at the opposite direction the air is flowing. This “counter-current” gas exchange is efficient and unique to bird lungs and partly enables species, such as the Bar-headed Goose (Anser indicus), to fly over the summit of Mt. Everest without issue. Human explorers, on the other hand, struggle for fresh air at 29,029 feet above sea level because mammalian lungs never expel all the stale air during exhalation, making mammalian explorers long for the ability to use their butts to breath continuous fresh air like the birds.

July 9, 2018 by wpengine

Revisiting a former expedition: Antarctica Peninsula Paleontology Project (AP3)

The following was taken from a blog series posted by Carnegie Museum of Natural History which documented a paleontology expedition in 2016.

“February 29–March 6, 2016

Project G-182-N (PI Matt Lamanna)

The team completed several of its research objectives and continued to make progress towards others during week three. At the Sandwich Bluff locality on Vega Island, scientists discovered four new fossil plant sites, found additional Cretaceous fish and bird material, and prepared a plesiosaur (long-necked marine reptile) shoulder girdle for extraction.

All of these specimens were recovered from the Upper Cretaceous Sandwich Bluff Member of the López de Bertodano Formation. At approximately 70 million years in age, this rock unit dates to only a few million years prior to the infamous mass extinction that ended the Mesozoic era, or Age of Dinosaurs.

Geologists Eric Roberts and Zubair Jinnah completed their stratigraphic and sedimentological study of the sections of the Snow Hill Island and López de Bertodano formations exposed on the southwestern flank of Sandwich Bluff, an area that, due to its steepness, elevation, and snow cover, has been nicknamed ‘K2’ after that well-known Himalayan peak. They sampled the middle and upper levels of the Sandwich Bluff Member for aragonitic fossil invertebrate shells to be used in strontium isotope geochronological analyses.

Scientists also continued to conduct helicopter-supported reconnaissance visits to other areas of the James Ross Basin, identifying two previously undocumented Cretaceous exposures that were targeted for future investigation.

Inclement weather forced many members of the team to return to their ship, the RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer, for two days during week three. They spent the time refining strategies for the remainder of the field season, updating the project’s blog and social media pages, and studying fossils that had already been collected.

1) G-182-N paleontologists Abby West (left) and Steve Salisbury (center) collect a plesiosaur shoulder girdle co-discovered by Salisbury with ASC Marine Technician Julia Carlton (right). Photo by Matt Lamanna.

2) G-182-N geologists Zubair Jinnah (foreground) and Eric Roberts study the stratigraphy and sedimentology of the ‘K2’ section on Vega Island. Photo by Pat O’Connor.

3.) G-182-N paleontologist Kerin Claeson searches for fossils in the ‘Fish Horizon’ near the K–Pg boundary on Seymour Island. Claeson and other G-182-N personnel have collected dozens of partial to nearly complete fish skeletons from the ‘Fish Horizon’ to date, the analysis of which promises to inform understanding of the K–Pg mass extinction in the southern high latitudes. Photo by Meng Jin.”

Matt Lamanna is a paleontologist and the principal dinosaur researcher at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh. Matt and his team of researchers blogged frequently from Antarctica while on expedition at antarticdinos.org. Detailing his trip in a family-friendly, interactive documentary, Expedition Antarctica, paleontologist Matt Lamanna shares his unique experience. Members are required to preregister for the event. Sign up now.

July 9, 2018 by wpengine

Revisiting a former expedition: Antarctica Peninsula Paleontology Project (AP3)

The following blog was taken from a series posted by Carnegie Museum of Natural History which documented a paleontology expedition in February 2016.

Sunset over camp on Vega Island. The eastern shore of James Ross Island and the RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer are visible in the background. Photo by Pat O’Connor.

“February 21–28, 2016

Project G-182-N (PI Matt Lamanna)

Work at the main basecamp on the western shore of Vega Island continued in week two and resulted in the discovery of a wealth of fossils.

Senior project geologist Eric Roberts located a partial plesiosaur. The specimen, which preserves numerous vertebrae, ribs, paddle bones, and gastroliths (stomach stones), appears to be the most complete marine reptile discovered by the project to date. Many of its bones remain articulated (preserved in life position) and are beautifully preserved within sandstone concretions. With time and effort in the laboratory, much of the postcranial skeleton will likely be reassembled and will likely be significant both for scientific study and possible display.

The project made significant progress towards its geological aims as well. Roberts and fellow geologist Zubair Jinnah continued their efforts to decipher the age and depositional environments of the sediments exposed on the uppermost levels of Sandwich Bluff. They collected rock and fossil samples from the uppermost Sandwich Bluff Member and basal Sobral Formation for geochemical and palynological analyses and strontium isotopic dating. They also began to subdivide the Sobral Formation into discrete units, as Roberts and colleagues did for the Sandwich Bluff Member in a 2014 paper.

Helicopter reconnaissance efforts continued with additional trips to Seymour and eastern Vega Island. Considerable effort was expended during week two towards installing a field camp near the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary horizon in the central area of Seymour Island. Those at the camp are having success in recovering fossils of fishes, putative turtles, and other Cretaceous vertebrates.

Lastly, filmmaker Matt Koshmrl continues to skillfully document all aspects of the project through video and still photography.

geologist Zubair Jinnah doing field work

G-182-N geologist Zubair Jinnah studies an exposure of the Upper Cretaceous upper Cape Lamb Member of the Snow Hill Island Formation on Vega Island. Photo by Pat O’Connor.

Also discovered during week two

– A second plesiosaur partial skeleton. Several partial-to-complete fossil leaves and a conifer branch. Partial skeletons of Cretaceous fishes that may be the most completely-preserved fishes yet found from Cretaceous sediments on Vega Island.

– A partial dorsal rib of a very large-bodied tetrapod, possibly a sauropod (long-necked plant-eating dinosaur)

– Multiple isolated Cretaceous bird bones were also collected, as was a possible avian skull

– An abundance of exceptionally-preserved Eocene penguin bones, including a partial skull of a giant species (possibly Anthropornisnordenskjoeldi or Palaeeudyptes antarcticus). This is exciting as only a handful of cranial elements of fossil penguins have ever been described from Seymour Island.”

July 9, 2018 by wpengine

Can you spot the red, white, and blue specimens on display?

The red butterfly (11) is a male specimen from tropical Africa in the genus Cymothoe.

The white butterfly (15) is a male specimen from high montane elevations in the northern hemisphere in the genus Parnassius.

The blue butterfly (20) is a specimen of undetermined sex from Indonesian rainforests in the genus Papilio.

July 9, 2018 by wpengine

Illustrations of Flora in Western Pennsylvania

In 1941, Carnegie Museum of Natural History Director Andrey Avinoff began an ambitious project with friend and Curator of Botany Otto E. Jennings.

They wanted to describe and illustrate the flora of western Pennsylvania, based on Jennings’s lifelong study of the region. Jennings and his colleagues brought in the living plants, fresh and unwithered. Avinoff worked quickly to capture accurately the color and manner of growth. Many of these specimens were then dried, pressed, and placed as vouchers in the herbarium.

Selected Avinoff reprints are available in the Museum Store for purchase for $25.

July 2, 2018 by wpengine

The Green Heron

David Liebmann, an educator who has birded throughout the nation, recalls a day in which he arrived at Powdermill Nature Reserve’s Avian Research Center in Rector, Pennsylvania.

He remembers, “the Green Heron lay cradled in the crook of Bob Mulvihill’s arm like a baby.” The Green Heron is one of the many unique birds scientists have been capturing, banding, and studying since the early 1960s.

The Green Heron is most known for it’s ornate plumage, with a deep green back and crown as well as a chestnut neck and breast. The crow-sized, often sneaky hunter lives around wooded ponds and marshy areas often times standing motionless at the water’s edge luring it’s prey of sunfish or minnows.

Liebman describes the Heron as, “wonderfully elusive. Until you see one. Then it’s like a true revelation: quiet, unhurried, unto itself.”

For more information on how you can attend the

Powdermill Avian Research Center (PARC), visit https://powdermillarc.org/about/visiting-parc/.

July 2, 2018 by wpengine

Collected in Pennsylvania

As a part of the only Pennsylvania museum with a mammal collection that has remained active since before 1900, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Section of Mammals is a major repository for mammals collected in Pennsylvania.

For more than 100 years, section staff have been involved in the study of mammals of the commonwealth and have actively participated in joint projects with the Pennsylvania Game Commission as well as universities and colleges around the state.

Perhaps the largest single effort was the Survey of Pennsylvania Mammals, Pittman Robertson Project 20-R. It was conducted under the Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937 and supervised jointly by the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. From 1947 to 1951, the staff of the Section of Mammals obtained practical management information about the mammals of Pennsylvania for this project.

Areas of emphasis included life history, ecology, species range, abundance, habitat preference, effects of land use on populations, and economic importance of the mammals occurring here. The information and specimens obtained during that project have been the basis of many studies and increase understanding of changes that have taken place during the past 50 years.

Visit Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Hall of North American Wildlife to learn more.

July 2, 2018 by wpengine

Wolfsbane

By Mason Heberling

[Professor Snape]: “What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?“

“I don’t know,” said Harry quietly. “I think Hermione does, though, why don’t you try asking her?”

[Professor Snape]: “For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren’t you all copying that down?”

As every Harry Potter fan should know (or Snape would want you to know!), monkshood and wolfsbane are the same plant. But what is it, exactly?

Wolf’s bane (also known as monkshood or aconite) can refer to many different species, but in particular those in the genus Aconitum. These perennial plants in the Buttercup family (Ranunculaceae) are native to the mountains across the Northern Hemisphere. Most are very poisonous and deadly. Poison darts have been made with the high concentrations of poisonous alkaloids in their roots. Despite that, these chemicals have also been used in traditional Chinese medicine, as well as in ancient times in Rome and Greece. This group of plants have a rich cultural history, from traditions and religions to myths and works of fiction. It was mentioned in the 1931 horror movie Dracula, with wolf’s bane being used to protect from vampires. Folklore has long associated this plant as keeping vampires away.

In the Harry Potter wizarding world, wolf’s bane potion was used to treat lycanthropy – that is, turning into a werewolf. Professor Lupin took wolf’s bane potion during a full moon.

This specimen of wolf’s bane (Aconitum callibutryon) was collected in 1979 – in Romania no less, where werewolves are a well-known part of regional folklore. Maybe Ron Weasley’s brother, Charlie, encountered this species during his time in Romania?

Learn more about Potions, Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, and more at our upcoming 21+ Potterfest After Dark and brand new all ages Potterfest Theme Night.

July 2, 2018 by wpengine

Wire Silver

You might not recognize these at first glance, but these new specimens in Hillman Hall are a common metal: silver. Wire silver from China to be exact. It is hard to imagine pieces like these are the same material as delicate jewelry, isn’t it? Get a close look at these specimens in the Native Elements case in the Systematic Collection.

Photo by Debra Wilson, Collection Manager, Section of Minerals

July 2, 2018 by wpengine

Without Volunteers, Carnegie Museum Mollusk Collection Could Not Exist

By Charles F. Sturm and Timothy A. Pearce

Volunteer Dan Cornell helps to sort and distribute specimens to their proper places in the research collection.

Scientists from around the world converged at the joint meeting of the American Malacological Society and the Western Society of Malacologists in Honolulu for a symposium on Museums and Modern Society on 21st of June 2018. One topic covered the importance of volunteers in Museums. Our paper in the symposium, entitled, “Without volunteers, collections as we know them could not exist,” highlighted some of the myriad ways volunteers play vital roles in the section of mollusks.

Volunteers provide essential efforts in the process of acquiring, sorting specimens from matrix, identifying and updating identifications, rehousing, labeling, cataloging and databasing, distributing
(shelving), and organizing.

One example of the crucial role of volunteers is the incorporation of the extensive Aldrich collection (collected pre-1953) into our research collection. The Aldrich collection, sent to us from California,
included material from around the world and most of it was housed in non-archival boxes. Volunteers recorded locality information for each lot, re-housed the specimens in archival vials and trays, updated the nomenclature, and then distributed the specimens into the collection. In total some 17,000 lots were processed, by dedicated volunteers, over a six-year period. The specimens are now housed in their proper places in the research collection, and the information is available on the internet.

In another example, Carnegie Museum received, in 1931, a large donation from the research
of Herman Wright. This material sat unprocessed for 9 decades and over the past few years, is being curated to be more accessible to scientists. While most of the lots have locality numbers, the original data cards were lost, so the meaning of most of the locality numbers was unknown. Volunteers have recovered approximately 80% of the locality information from some lots that did have locality data with the locality numbers, from reviewing published literature, and from other sources of information such as archival records. These efforts are allowing us to incorporate this material into the collection.

Another example of the necessity of volunteers is the Pennsylvania Land Snail Atlas Project. Volunteers have helped by collecting samples from around Pennsylvania and assisting with other field collecting. Volunteers accomplished a major part of picking minute snails (mostly less than 3 mm or 1/8 inch) from leaf litter samples. Following identification and cataloging of the specimens, volunteers distributed them to their proper places in the research collection and helped upload the information to the internet. This material is readily available for study by amateur and professional naturalists. These efforts have facilitated the production of updated distribution maps of Pennsylvania land snails, as well as imperilment ranks (how rare or secure they are).

These are some of the many projects that could not have been accomplished without the vital assistance of many men and women volunteers over the years.

Teens, college students, and adults of all ages may become volunteers to support almost every department at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Learn more about volunteering at carnegiemuseums.org.

July 2, 2018 by wpengine

Counting Your Chickens: The World’s Most Numerous Bird

By Eric Dorfman

View this article on Eric’s blog

If you Google “the world’s most numerous bird,” you will likely be given articles about the Red-Billed Quelea (Quelea quelea), also known as the Red-Billed Weaver Bird or Red-Billed Dioch that lives across most of sub-Saharan Africa. It’s considered the most numerous wild bird on earth, the population sometimes peaking at 1½ billion individuals.

Individually, it’s a pretty little bird. Breeding males have a black facial mask, surrounded by a purple, pink, rust, or yellow wash on their head and breast. It wouldn’t be hard to imagine keeping them as pets. In fact, some people do.

Collectively, however, it’s something of a phenomenon. It feeds in huge flocks of millions of individuals, with birds that run out of food at the rear flying over the entire group to a fresh feeding zone at the front, creating an image of a rolling cloud. They avoid forests, preferring open scrubby habitat – exactly the kind of environment that results in land clearing for agriculture, where their massive numbers have made them a severe pest to farmers. It’s a positive feedback loop that speaks directly to the Anthropocene and the scourges humanity creates for itself when emptying the landscape of it’s natural diversity.

I could go on about the Quelea and sub-Saharan Africa, but I won’t. That’s because I want to talk about the world’s most numerous bird, and it’s not the Quelea, but the Domestic Chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus). In preparing for this post, I wanted to find out how many chickens actually exist worldwide. It’s not as easy as you might think. Estimates vary widely in the media, so I went to the source: the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). They have a very handy calculator (FAOSTAT) that allows you to tally up the number of chickens – or just about anything – produced for food in any country, between 1961 and 2016. I had a look at chickens out of curiosity, but aside from telling a story about food security, it also points to social equality and intangible natural heritage.

In 2016, worldwide, almost 66 billion chickens were produced. That’s a lot. The most numerous wild bird ever known, the Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) probably only ever reached a total population of 5 billion. China leads the pack with 9.6 billion chickens produced, followed by the USA, with 8.9 billion. Brazil is next, with about 6 billion and then Indonesia and India, each with about 2.5 billion. It tails off relatively quickly after that.

What’s more sobering however, is that the global tally is up from only 7.5 billion chickens 55 years earlier. Comparing it to the human population, however, is where it gets really interesting. In 1961 (December figures), there were just over 3 billion people worldwide (data from World Bank). In 2016, the human population was almost 7. 5 billion. This means that in 1961, there were 0.0024 chickens per person, or one chicken for about 400 people globally, whereas in 2016 there were 8.82 chickens for every person.

People are starting to think a lot about the the way the the Earth’s crust will look in the future, especially through the lens of the Anthropocene. In 2016, Damian Carrington of The Guardian, wrote a compelling article demonstrating how the domestic chicken will define much of the present-day global landscape as it’s represented in the fossil record of the next millennia. It seems undeniable.

I’m left wondering what it says about our changing relationship with nature as a context, and a commodity. We are more distant from nature and perhaps this makes us more rapacious. Is this just a Western phenomenon? Are we so distracted by our First World Problems that we aren’t noticing what we’re doing to the rest of the planet? Perhaps. Out of curiosity, I wanted to see the difference in ratio between 1961 and 2016 between the United States and the Developing World. I picked Kenya, in lieu of doing a robust analysis.

So. Both countries increased their production by about 360% between 1961 and 2016. However, over that time, whereas America’s human population increased by 176% (2.6B to 9.6B), Kenya’s population increased by a whopping 580% (8.36M to 48.46M). This means that the chickens that were produced had to be spread across a lot more people.

American chicken consumers were clear winners in this comparison. Here, the population of chickens went up from 14 birds for every person in the country to 30 birds per person. By stark contrast, the ratio of chickens to people in Kenya went down from roughly on bird for every person to about one bird for every two people. This semi-natural biological resource has become twice as scarce in Kenya over three generations. As human populations continue to increase over the next decades, questions about how biological entities interface with human survival (and, of course, their own) will become ever more pressing.

Does each American need 30 chickens? Perhaps not. In 2013–2014, the National Center for Health conducted a survey of obesity in the United States. Almost 3 in 4 men (73.7%) were considered to be overweight or have obesity, and about 2 in 3 women (66.9%) were considered to be overweight or have obesity. The same surveydemonstrated that a quarter of all people in the US to die between ages 24 and 65 were related to obesity. Our evolutionary drive that makes us strive always for ‘more’ can cloud our judgement, which is detrimental to our health and that of the planet.

The Anthropocene is concerned with the trace we leave behind in the geological record of the distant future. So on some level, the Anthropocene conversation intertwines ideas about how we commodify nature; create, distribute and transport resources; how societies treat one another; and – perhaps most fundamentally – how we view ourselves as part of the global ecosystem.

July 2, 2018 by wpengine

We Are Nature: Future Thinking

By: Pat McShea

Although activities in the Future Thinking Lab section of We Are Nature seldom focus on the past, historic examples of the process are important. Some 50 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, travelers on the Pennsylvania Turnpike pass steel and concrete proof of regional future thinking dating back to at least the 1960s.

Photo credit: Gibson-Thomas Engineering

At mile mark 100.5, where the busy east/west route crosses over the crest of the mountain fold known variously as Laurel Hill, Laurel Mountain, and Laurel Ridge, the highway passes under the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail.

Photo: Gibson-Thomas Engineering

This 70-mile long footpath winds along the ridge crest between water gaps carved by the Conemaugh River on the north, and the Youghiogheny River on the south. The turnpike crossing is located between mile posts 36 and 37, as measured from the trail’s southern terminus in Ohiopyle.

Credit for this recreational resource, which was officially dedicated in 1976, rests largely with the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and Pennsylvania’s Bureau of State Parks. The WPC, an 86-year-old Pittsburgh-based conservation organization, began acquiring key tracts on the ridge in the 1960’s for state parks, game lands, and forests. The Bureau of State Parks, which constructed the trail across the resulting patchwork of public and private land, has maintained the path under the auspices of Laurel Ridge State Park.

The trail is but one “product” from decades of future thinking, future planning, and future actions by many organizations and individuals. Far-sighted land conservation efforts on Laurel Hill, which include the establishment and operation of the Museum’s Powdermill Nature Reserve, also protect water supplies and biodiversity, and create recreational opportunities ranging from bicycling to downhill skiing.

July 2, 2018 by wpengine

Eastern Wood Pewee

The buffy tips to many of the coverts and body feathers identifies this as a HY bird. For banders, this bird can be identified by their short tarsus and long wings.

June 25, 2018 by wpengine

Could Polyjuice Potion Be Real?

By Mason Heberling

“This is the most complicated potion I’ve ever seen. Lacewing flies, leeches, fluxweed, and knotgrass. Well, they’re easy enough.” –Hermione Granger

Polyjuice potion was one of the most critical potions in the Harry Potter series. Polyjuice potion was difficult to concoct, but well worth the effort (and horrible taste). When brewed correctly, it allows the drinker to take the form of another person (or in the case of Hermione’s accidental brew…a cat).

As explained in the books, polyjuice potion is a complex mixture, that takes about a month to concoct. For obvious reasons, the recipe is found in the Restricted Section of Hogwart’s Library.

Two of the ingredients are, in fact, real plants!

Shown here is “flixweed” (Descurainia Sophia), a plant in the mustard family (Brassicaceae), native to Europe and temperate Asia. This specimen was collected in 1890 in Germany.

Another plant, crucial to Polyjuice potion, is “knotgrass.” Knotgrass (or more commonly known in the US, “knotweed”) refers to species in the genus Polygonum in the buckwheat family (Polygonaceae). Shown here is a specimen of common knotgrass (Polygonum aviculare), collected in England in 1832. This was 49 years before Dumbledore was even born!

We don’t know who collected this specimen, but perhaps it was Nicolas Flamel, said to have made the sorcerer’s stone, who was 505 years old in 1832.

Learn more about Potions, Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, and more at our upcoming 21+ Potterfest After Dark and brand new all ages Potterfest Theme Night.

June 25, 2018 by wpengine

Pyromorphite from Zambia

Scanning electron microscope analysis has revealed that one of the specimens in our Phosphates case isn’t exactly what we thought it was at first.

Mimetite from Zambia is actually Pyromorphite from Zambia.

Many mimetite and pyromorphite specimens are nearly indistinguishable. Both are six-sided crystals that come in colors like yellow, orange, brown, and green. They are brittle with similar levels of hardness and transparency. Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) was performed on this specimen using a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) which found levels of O (oxygen), Pb (lead), Cl (chlorine), and P (phosphorus) consistent with pyromorphitePb₅(PO₄)₃Cl. Mimetite is Pb₅(AsO₄)₃Cl.

See Pyromorphite Zambia on display in Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems in the Systematic Collection.

Photo by Debra Wilson, Collection Manager, Section of Minerals

June 21, 2018 by wpengine

Why Were Cats Mummified in Ancient Egypt?

In ancient Egypt, cats were sacred animals. People dedicated mummified cats at the sanctuary of the cat goddess Bastet as offerings. The sanctuary was located in the city of Bubastis where the remains of numerous cat mummies and small cat sculptures have been found.

Cats were also pets, just like they are today, and were sometimes mummified and placed in tombs with their owners. The belief was that by placing cats and their owners in the same tomb the pair could remain together in the Afterlife.

Pictured above are mummified cats and x-rays of them on display in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt.

Trail’s Flycatcher

This bird has an indistinct eye ring, dark gray legs, lack emargination on primary 6, and has a yellow-orange mouth lining.

June 20, 2018 by wpengine

Snakes, snails, and puppy dog tails

By: Kaylin Martin, M.Sc. and Timothy A. Pearce, PhD

Asymmetries in nature are noteworthy because they usually mean something interesting is going on. Most snail-eating snakes in the family Pareidae are remarkable for having more teeth on the right lower jaw than on the left. The vast majority of snails worldwide coil clockwise (dextral) while, in contrast, the counter-clockwise coiling (sinistral) snails tend to be scarce, usually on the order of 1/10,000 to 1/100,000.

Sinistral (left) versus dextral (right) of shells Amphidromus inversus. CM 104046. Photo by Kaylin Martin, M.Sc., 2018.

Recent experiments demonstrate that pareid snakes are more successful at eating dextrally coiling snails, evidently because having more teeth in the right jaw helps the snake to extract the snail’s body from the shell. Upon striking a dextral snail, with the aperture on the right, the snake advances and retracts its mandibles along the snail’s forebody. The sequential movements of this mandibular walk extract the snail’s soft body from its shell. Conversely, when a pareid snake strikes a sinistrally coiled snail, it finds the snail’s aperture on the left, and consequently the snake’s stereotypical right-handed behavior is less successful at grasping the snail’s body. The asymmetry in the snake’s mandibles means that sinistrally coiled snails escape predation by these snakes more often than do dextrally coiled snails.

Could the pareid snakes be an evolutionary force that favors sinistrally coiled snails? The ranges of Pareidae and Amphidromus almost entirely overlap, both groups occurring in Southeast Asia from China to Indonesia. Quite a few other land snail species in that part of the world are known to coil sinistrally, although in most of these other genera, the whole species is sinistral, rather than showing polymorphism (showing both forms) for coiling direction. The two facts, that sinistrally coiled snails escape predation more often, and that the ranges of the predator and the prey largely overlap, both support the idea that the asymmetry in the snake’s jaw provides an evolutionary force resulting in a greater proportion of sinistral snails in Southeast Asia. This conclusion was also reached in a study by Hoso et al. (2010).

The snake Pareas carinatus and the snail Amphidromus inversus are both tree-dwelling. In controlled lab experiments, the snake is known to eat Amphidromus, as well as other genera of snails. However, we are not sure whether the snake actually eats Amphidromus inthe wild because data are scarce on Pareas diets in their natural environment. So, whether the snake could have influenced the unusual predominance of left handedness in Amphidromus species makes logical sense, but remains unresolved.

Pareas carinatus from Cat Tien, Vietnam. Photo by Paul S. Freed, 2011.

Dozens of other snail eating snakes exist, for example many species in the genus Sibon throughout the tropical Americas, but their jaws do not show asymmetry, so they would not influence snail coiling direction.

We know of no other predator that is known to specialize in prey that have a particular “handedness.” Further studies on diets of pareid snakes would advance scientific understanding of specialized predator-prey interactions, ecological adaptation, and coevolution between the arboreal snakes and snails of southeast Asia.

And given that we are talking about snakes and snails, we must also mention puppy dog tails. The tails of many dogs do coil, and of those that coil, many of them coil off to the side. As judged by a survey of coiling dog tails in a Google Image search, dog tails that coil to the left or to the right appear to be about equally represented. So, puppy dog tail coiling direction also appears to be polymorphic…

Timothy A. Pearce, PhD, is the head and curator of collections of the Section of Mollusks at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Kaylin Martin, M.Sc, is the curatorial assistant in the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Literature Cited

Hoso, M., Kameda, Y., Wu, S.P., Asami, T., Kato, M. & Hori, M. 2010. A speciation gene for left–right reversal in snails results in anti-predator adaptation. Nature Communications, 1:133; DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1133.

June 19, 2018 by wpengine

Collected on this Day: Alopecurus myosuroides

By Mason Heberling

Herbarium specimens provide key insights into the Anthropocene. In many cases, natural history collections are the only baseline we have to understand the widespread, complex effects of human activities on the earth systems over the past century.

This grass species shown here is of particular interest. This specimen was collected in Cambridge, England on June 18, 1829. This grass species (Alopecurus myosuroides), commonly known as “slender meadow foxtail” or “black-grass,” is a major weed in farm fields (especially wheat and barley), and can significantly reduce crop yields.

Unwanted plants (“weeds”) have been an ongoing fight for humans since the dawn of agriculture. The “Green Revolution” (1930s-1960s) was a point in human history when agricultural production increased at an enormous rate and at unprecedented scales, aided by technological developments in crop breeding, pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. It has been one time point suggested to mark the “official” start of the Anthropocene, a proposed geological era defined by human activities.

Herbicides are commonly used to control weeds to increase crop yields. With the increase of herbicides, some plant species have evolved resistance to these herbicides. In a cool study in PLoS ONE in 2013, Délye et al. did a DNA analysis of herbarium specimens collected from 1788 to 1975 to show that some individuals of this grass species already possessed the gene mutations associated with herbicide resistance well before herbicides were widely used! They show that the use of herbicides selected for these individuals, such that those individuals with herbicide resistance are now more abundant.

Who would have thought these specimens would be used this way. There are so many known and yet to be known uses of herbaria.

The collector of this specimen back in 1829 certainly didn’t think it could be used to understand the evolution and effects of herbicide use over 175 years later!

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

June 19, 2018 by wpengine

Fast Cat and Invisible Insects

by Patrick McShea

An argument can be made that one of the more interesting features within this diorama are the reddish earthen mounds framing the scene.

These irregular soil towers are termite mounds, the product of coordinated efforts by thousands of tiny social insects to create safe and stable living conditions. Mound-building termites are the master architects of the animal world. If they and their shelters were magically changed to our size and scale, their mounds would stretch upward as high as a 180 story building!

Within the thick walls of a termite mound air circulates through a network of channels to both cool the structure on hot days and warm it on cool days.

From hidden positions below ground and within their distinctive towers, termites exert tremendous influence over the landscape. By physically mixing various soils and their own wastes during the mound’s construction and as part of structure’s maintenance, the colony’s thousands of tiny insects improve the fertility of the savannah.

Herbivores such as the Grant’s gazelles featured in this diorama are attracted to the richer plant growth on the resulting islands of fertility. Cheetahs and other carnivores follow the plant eaters.

June 15, 2018 by wpengine

Dunkleosteus terrelli plush

Pennsylvania and Ohio were once covered by the sea and dunkleosteus terrelli was one of the fiercest predators swimming in it. Dunkleosteus terrelli was a massive armored fish that could grow up to 33 feet long with a five-foot tall skull. It was a carnivore that crushed its prey between its jaws with force similar to that of a T. rex.

But the dunkleosteus terrelli plush is much smaller and sweeter. It is a replica of the head and trunk of the fish, a soft toy ready for cuddling or playing make believe.

This plush retails for $21 in our museum store.

June 15, 2018 by wpengine

New Mammal Fossil Discovered

We are thrilled to share that Dr. John Wible, Curator of Mammals, was part of the team that discovered a new mammal fossil, Ambolestes zhoui, which sheds new light on how placental mammals evolved. The 126-million-year-old fossil was found in Inner Mongolia by splitting rocks. The specimen was cleaved in two halves, but nearly every bone was preserved in the fossil.

The skeleton is about ten inches long, making it slightly larger than a chipmunk and slightly smaller than a gray squirrel. Its fingers are long, suggesting it could climb easily. And its teeth are ideal for eating insects.

This illustration by Paul Bowden shows what Ambolestes zhoui may have looked like based on the recently discovered fossil skeleton. Ambolestes zhoui is pictured in a gingko tree about to eat a cicada, both the gingko tree and cicada were found in the same fossil formation as Ambolestes zhoui.

Learn more in our press release and in a recent article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The full paper is available in Nature.

June 14, 2018 by wpengine

Why Are Blue Jays Blue?

Did you know that the pigment of Blue Jays is actually brown but they appear blue because the barbules which feathers are composed of scatter blue wavelengths; much like a prism hung in a window.

June 13, 2018 by wpengine

Coffee Specimens from Jamaica

This should wake you up! This specimen of coffee (Coffea arabica) was collected in June 1847 in Jamaica by Jacob Wolle. Coffea arabica, the source of Arabica beans, is the main species of coffee consumed by humans, and is cultivated worldwide. The coffee “bean” is the seed – the hard pit inside the coffee fruit.

Why does the Carnegie Museum have coffee specimens from Jamaica from the 1840s, you might ask? Surprisingly, some of the oldest specimens in the Carnegie Museum herbarium were collected in Jamaica! Jacob Wolle was the grandfather of William Holland, one of the first directors of the Carnegie Museum (from 1901-1922). Holland himself was born in Jamaica, where his father was a Moravian missionary. The CM herbarium has 2,514 specimens from Wolle’s collection, dating as far back as 1819!

The coffee specimen below, also from Jamaica, was collected by former Carnegie Museum director William Holland’s father, Francis R. Holland in 1844.

This post was inspired by a group of artists from Vietnam whose art is inspired by coffee and coffee plantations. They stopped by the herbarium earlier this year for inspiration.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

June 12, 2018 by wpengine

Bard Birds

By Pat McShea

Statue of William Shakespeare along Forbes Avenue entrance to Carnegie Music Hall

Visitors to We Are Nature are challenged to make connections between short-sighted human actions and a range of persistent wide-ranging negative impacts.

If the displays profiling the unintended consequences of such practices create interest in an example with literary connections, the William Shakespeare statue outside the museum building and a Common Starling taxidermy mount within the exhibit provide requisite props.

The Common Starling, also known as the European Starling, is number 22 in a wall-mounted array of 33 creatures whose assemblage celebrates the diversity of wildlife found in Pittsburgh.

Unlike most of its display neighbors, however, the starling is not native to North America. The species was deliberately introduced to the continent, beginning in New York City’s Central Park, during the 1890s through the efforts of the American Acclimatization Society. Members of this group attempted to introduce every bird mentioned, more than two centuries earlier, in the works of William Shakespeare. The starling was their only “success.”

The species’ population in territory ranging from Alaska to Mexico is now measured in hundreds of millions, and starlings, which frequently congregate in enormous flocks, are considered agricultural pests and airport navigation hazards.

Ironically, although Shakespeare’s works frequently mention nightingales and several other bird species, starlings are only mentioned once, in the play Henry IV Part I.

June 11, 2018 by wpengine

Pargasite on Marble

Pargasite on marble from Vietnam is now on display in Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems. Pargasite is a mineral found all over the world including the United States, Finland, and Sri Lanka. Here, pargasite is bright green, but it can also be a darker shade of green, brown, and even black.

Look for this specimen in the Silicates 2 case in the Systematic Collection in Hillman Hall.

Photo by Debra Wilson, Collection Manager,Section of Minerals

June 11, 2018 by wpengine

Land snails in Mt Lebanon: BioBlitz confirms rare species and finds two additional gastropod species in urban parks

Tim Pearce (Curator of Collections, Mollusks) surveyed land snails in a BioBlitz organized this past weekend by the Mt. Lebanon Nature Conservancy at Robb Hollow Park in Mt. Lebanon. Other members of Carnegie Museum of Natural History who participated in the BioBlitz were Bonnie and Joe Isaac (Collection Manager and volunteer, respectively, Botany).

Pearce targeted five locations in Robb Hollow Park and found 10 species of gastropods, including a rare species, and two species that had not been found in Mt. Lebanon during previous BioBlitzes in 2003 and 2005 at Bird Park and Twin Hills Park. The two new records were the introduced slug Arion intermedius (common name: Hedgehog Arion) and a minute native snail, Columella simplex (High-spire Column).

BioBlitz participants picking minute snails from a leaf litter sample. — Duquesne University students Josie (left) and Dannielle (right) picking minute snails from a leaf litter sample during the BioBlitz.

The most exciting snail find is the rare snail, Glyphyalinia raderi (Maryland Glyph), living in Robb Hollow Park. This native species has been found in Pennsylvania only 18 times previously, in six counties in the southwestern part of the state. Most of the localities are associated with limestone in undisturbed natural areas, so the finding of this snail in Robb Hollow Park this year and in Twin Hills Park in 2005 are big surprises. Why is a rare snail living in these non-pristine urban parks? Furthermore, it is almost never found alive, but the two individuals seen in Robb Hollow park were both alive.

Ten species is a bit on the low side for a snail survey, but is better than Pearce expected. When he collected the samples, he noticed that (non-native) earthworms had consumed most of the duff layer of dead leaves, leaving very little food and living space for snails, so he initially didn’t have high hopes for finding many species. But he found ten, and happily, most of the snail species are native. “In urban settings, I often find a large proportion of introduced species, usually from Europe,” said Pearce. “But in Robb Hollow Park, seven of the ten species are native, which is a pretty good proportion.”

Timothy A. Pearce, PhD, is the head of the mollusks section at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

June 11, 2018 by wpengine

The Ba in Ancient Egyptian Culture

The Ba depicted as a bird with a human head.

The image on this coffin canopy in Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt represents the ba, which was a spirit-like quality Egyptians believed all people possessed.

The ba is most often depicted as a human-headed bird. A person’s ba was considered important in the afterlife, where it could visit the world of the living during the day and return to the world of the deceased at night.

June 7, 2018 by wpengine

Great-crested Flycatcher

This bird can be identified as a HY by the molt limits among the greater coverts (or the limit among the median coverts). Only one of these was banded at Powdermill in 2011.

June 6, 2018 by wpengine

Plush Animals Wearing Hoodies

Is there anything cuter than animals wearing clothes? We think these wild animals wearing hoodies in our museum store are the cutest furry friends in town.

They are also just the right size for kids to hug and to keep them company at bedtime, all while encouraging their love of wild animals.

Pick out a sloth, elephant, giraffe, or red panda for a gift or just for you. Each one is $13.

June 5, 2018 by wpengine

Oh Say Can You Dippy: Andrew Carnegie and His Dinosaurs

By Anna Weber

Did you know that the ever-popular Dippy the Dinosaur and the American state may or may not share a birthday of sorts? That’s right: though Diplodocus carnegii lived hundreds of millions of years ago, Dippy the fossil was unearthed in Sheep Creek, Wyoming on one of the first days of July 1899. But how did Dippy end up in Pittsburgh, and why was this species named after Andrew Carnegie?

One hundred years ago, if you were a steel magnate, you were also a collector and an investor. You collected or invested in art, real estate and houses, cars, or perhaps even dinosaurs. The expedition that unearthed Dippy was funded by Carnegie, and paleontologist John Bell Hatcher named the new species in honor of the investor himself. When King Edward VII of England expressed an interest to Carnegie in acquiring a replica for what was then called the British Museum of Natural History in London, so launched a business of replicating Dippy the more-than-80-foot dinosaur for museums worldwide.

Why had Carnegie been so interested in getting his hands on his very own dinosaur? Forever interested in evolution and Darwin, Carnegie wanted to continue learning about the natural world and provide this education to the greater Pittsburgh community in order to help all of us better understand our own evolution as humans. In addition, sharing the knowledge derived from the digs, as well as sharing the literal skeletons and fossils, helped foster better diplomacy between the US and other nations.

Carnegie’s dino fervor fueled a facet of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History for which it is still known. Today, Pittsburgh has one of the largest dinosaur collections in the United States, including the holotype of the T. Rex, meaning the first fossil of the world’s most famous dinosaur. As a nod to the museum’s renown, in the movie Silence of the Lambs, Clarice Starling (played by Jodie Foster) walks past a T. Rex skeleton when she visits an etymologist in order to identify the moth.

As you may have noticed, lawns, squares, courtyards, and foyers around the city are graced with statues of T. Rexes, Triceratopses, and Stegosauruses in homage to the Carnegie Museum’s collection. Walk the Burgh and Bike the Burgh’s downtown tours introduce walkers to several of these statues: a T. Rex wearing paintings of excavations, a Stegosaurus made of glass, and a Triceratops in the shape of a Heinz Ketchup bottle. Bike the Burgh also has a tour called “From Oakland to East Liberty: Land of Barons and Bankers,” which explores the “city beautiful” architecture of Oakland, including that of the Carnegie Museum itself. And on Walk the Burgh’s “Discover Oakland” tour, we’ll teach you more about Carnegie, the museums, and Diplodocus carnegii. If you come along, we can wave hello to the Dippy statue near Schenley Plaza as we bike or walk by.

Check out more facts about Dippy and our other dinosaurs on the Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s website, and check out more details about Walk the Burgh and Bike the Burgh’s tours at their sites, too.

Anna Weber is the Marketing and Outreach Coordinator for Bike the Burgh and Walk the Burgh Tours. She is working towards an MFA in creative nonfiction at Pitt.

June 4, 2018 by wpengine

Agate and Wooden Boxes

Looking for a host or hostess gift that lasts longer than a bottle of wine?

Natural agate and wooden boxes made in Brazil are unique and useful.

Each lid is made of agate, a mineral that has as many different looks as you can imagine. Stripes, swirling clouds, and even moss-like patterns appear in agate. No two pieces are the same, every agate box is one of a kind.

Several pieces of agate from Brazil and around the world are on display in Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems.

May 31, 2018 by wpengine

Raptor Watch

By Pat McShea

Raptor nests become more visually familiar territory every year. Whether you favor Bald Eagles or Peregrine Falcons, strategically-placed cameras in the immediate Pittsburgh area can bring the real-time life and death drama of nesting season to the screen of any internet connected device.

The website of the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania is the gateway to cameras monitoring two local Bald Eagle nests, and the website of the National Aviary provides access to the video feed of a Peregrine Falcon nest high on the University of Pittsburgh’s Cathedral of Learning. Internet searches under terms such as “bird of prey nest cams” will dramatically widen options for both geographic territory and the variety of raptor species under camera surveillance.

Local nest cam action declines at this time of year as the young birds’ early flying attempts increasingly place them far out of camera range. No such development occurs within a recently restored historic diorama now located at the base of the museum’s Grand Staircase. Here, in a scene taxidermist Joseph Santens constructed from the Red-shouldered Hawks and nest he collected in McKean County in 1911, it’s always feeding time.

What’s the value of this traditional museum diorama compared to the seasonal live action that web cameras so easily provide?

In our digital age the exhibit’s highest value might involve its assemblage of associated materials. Every museum specimen with accurate data about where it came from and when it was collected can be regarded as a three-dimensional voucher of time and place conditions that can be repeatedly re-examined – whole, or in any of its minute chemical components.

The hundred-and-seven-year-old nest scene from northwestern Pennsylvania is a time capsule from a period when the technology of nest cams could not even be imagined.

Lincoln’s Sparrow

Known to conceal itself, this sparrow sneaks around the ground in wet meadows, rarely making an appearance to humans. John James Audubon coined the species, Lincoln’s Sparrow, after his travel companion Thomas Lincoln, was the only one to capture the bird for study.

May 24, 2018 by wpengine

American Eel

For an image rendered in glass beads and porcupine quills, an American eel featured in Alcoa Foundation Hall of American Indians conveys a surprising amount of movement.

The snake-like fish, one of nine Clan Animal images created by Onondaga artist Lisa Thomas Boots, is positioned in a full-body
“S” curve, and seems capable of swimming out of its circular confinement with the next undulation.

Real-life movements of this widely -distributed species occur in both saltwater and freshwater, from spawning grounds in Sargasso Sea of the North Atlantic to historic feeding areas far up the river systems of the eastern North America.

The presence of small numbers of American eels in Pittsburgh’s rivers is described in a recent Pittsburgh Post-Gazette essay about fish migration.

To read the essay please visit: http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/Op-Ed/2018/05/13/The-Next-Page-Pittsburgh-below-the-waterline-Patrick-McShea/stories/201805130010

May 23, 2018 by wpengine

Pittsburgh Environmentalist Group Meetup Makes Eco-Friendly Activities Fun

Rethinking your impact on the environment, or carbon footprint, could be as simple as eating less barbecue or not choosing a green cleanser over your favorite fragrant household cleaner. Bonnie Siefers of the Pittsburgh Environmentalist Group Meetup started a group to help make the process of becoming more environmentally friendly fun and social.

“I feel like a lot of people are anxious to find groups of people that are like-minded in this space,” Siefers said. “I used to live in the suburbs of Pittsburgh and when I moved into the city, I found more like-minded people here because they are younger and more mindful. They are growing up and talking about climate change.”

Pittsburgh Environmentalist Group Meetup was founded in July 2013 and quickly gained 30 members in a few days. Today, it has 738 members and a number of meetups under its belt on topics such as eco-stewardship training, the future of recycling, and veganism.

“People are glad to have community and that was the number one thing I found. You don’t join a Meetup like this if you are not a stakeholder in this process, and people feel isolated,” Siefers said.

Members of the Meetup are encouraged to go back to their communities as “The Green Team” and lead conversations and corrective actions to lessen their neighborhood’s carbon footprint. Siefers said this is the type of outreach that can build personal fulfillment for those wanting to do their part for the environment.

“One of our members was very vocal to get people to change their energy option to renewable energy and encouraged their neighbors to go to Penn Power and select 100% renewable energy. It’s a personal choice,” she said.

She added: “I want to be a change activist. I want to inspire those that I meet to think about things deeply and differently. Lots of people are interested in sustainability in Pittsburgh and it has been the most livable city many, many years in a row, I think there is a trend to build in a sustainable manner and keep the green space alive that we have.”

Siefers is encouraged by the increasing number of universities offering degree programs in sustainability and the impact the next generation of students can have on the environment.

“It’s certainly a growing field. Almost every business or organization you can think of has a sustainability department and its main focus is to save the organization money,” she said. Her own sustainability work has afforded her opportunities to help large organizations rethink their footprint.

“I did a sustainability action plan for the Pittsburgh YMCA that included an audit of their larger buildings. It was already sustainable, and I gave them ways to save even more money,” Siefers said. “They wanted an ROI in three years and I made that possible. Just changing your light bulbs can save you a lot of money.”

So, what are five practical ways people can reduce their footprint? Here is what Siefers recommended:

● Carpool to destinations with co-workers or with friends.

● Offset carbon use when traveling by purchasing carbon offsets on plane tickets.

● Purchase organic food and fabric to help minimize the amount of pollutants entering aquifers.

● Be mindful about your energy and chemicals at home by turning off lights when leaving a room, using surge protectors on appliances, placing electronics in sleep mode when not in use, and selecting non-toxic cleaning products.

● Tell somebody. Create a community to discuss and exchange information on how to personally change your home and neighborhood for the sake of the environment.

Siefers’ work is an excellent example of how you can apply the concepts and ideas about the human impact on the environment to your daily life. At the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, we hope that our exhibition We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene inspires more people to take action and join groups like Pittsburgh Environmentalist Group Meetup.

Learn more about beneficial sustainability practices and ideas at Bonnie Siefers website eco Couture.

________________________________________________________________

In the spirit of recognizing all we are already doing in Pittsburgh, we have started a new blog series to compliment We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene, the exhibition about the complex relationship between humans and nature currently on display at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. We are featuring Pittsburghers who are committed to improving the environment in which we live. Each blog features a new individual and shares some of the ways in which they are helping issues of sustainability, conservation, restoration, climate change, or helping Pittsburgh to be an even more beautiful place to live.

Melonee Gaines is a freelance journalist and writer based in Memphis, TN and has written for MLK50.com and The Crisis Magazine. She is the lead maven and founder of the digital media and public relations firm MPact Media Group. She enjoys foodie adventures, beach excursions, and herb gardening.

May 23, 2018 by wpengine

Poison Ivy Potency?

By Rachael Carlberg

When prompted with the phrase “climate change,” people often think of increasing temperatures, melting ice, and flooding shores. While global temperatures are on the rise, the story of humanity’s impact on the environment is much more complex. As carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere rise, and temperatures increase, we face unanticipated changes to the world around us.

Poison ivy, for example, grows larger in our changing climate. Higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere cause increases in photosynthesis, allowing plants like poison ivy to grow more and produce larger leaves. In carbon-rich conditions the vine also creates more toxic forms of urushiol, the oil that causes an allergic reaction in people.

Preserved poison ivy displayed in We Are Nature.

You might be thinking, if higher levels of carbon dioxide mean higher levels of photosynthesis, won’t all plants benefit? The problem is that increased levels of carbon dioxide don’t impact all plants in the same way. Vines like poison ivy can reap the rewards of increased photosynthesis with more leaf area because, unlike upright plants, they don’t need to devote as many resources to structural support like trunks and thick branches.

As an intern in the Education department of Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Rachael Carlberg wrote blog posts related to ideas presented in We Are Nature. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences of working at the museum.

May 22, 2018 by wpengine

Clay-colored Sparrow

A rarity to Powdermill, this sparrow usually breeds in shrublands, field edges, and thickets across the northern prairies.

May 21, 2018 by wpengine

Artisan Glass Vases in the Museum Store

You might not expect a museum gift shop to carry one-of-a-kind decorations, but we value fun and distinctive items in our museum and that spirit extends to the museum store.

Look closely at this glass vase and you might think you’re about to take a stroll down a woodland path. But don’t let your imagination get too far ahead of you. It’s oil paint and enamel on glass, not dirt, trees, and sky.

This vase and the others like it in our museum store are carefully handcrafted. Each vase is unique, just like every walk in the woods.

May 21, 2018 by wpengine

What is a Noolbenger?

By John Wible

Noolbenger is the Aboriginal name for the honey possum. So, what is a honey possum? A honey possum, Tarsipes rostratus, is a mouse sized marsupial found in the coastal plains of southwestern Australia. It can only survive in environments where flowers bloom 12 months of the year, because it lives entirely on nectar! They are particularly fond of Banksiaor Australian honeysuckle and are important pollinators. Some bats are also exclusively nectivorous, but their mode of locomotion (i.e., flight) allows them to have large home ranges for feeding. The honey possum accomplishes this entirely on foot at night, scampering from plant to plant. Not surprisingly, it is an adept climber with a prehensile tail acting as a fifth limb. A protrusible tongue with a keratinized brush tip is the main nectar collecting organ. Bucking the usual trend in mammals where males are larger than females, the male honey possum is roughly two-thirds the size of the female.

From John Gould’s The Mammals of Australia (1863).

The Section of Mammals of Carnegie Museum of Natural History has eight specimens of this unusual mammal, which has a very un-mammal-like skull. The bones of the skull are paper thin, reminiscent of a hummingbird skull. It has a long and pointy snout, the better to sniff flowers with. The lower jaw is essentially a thin rod. The upper and lower teeth are reduced in number and size and resemble simple translucent pegs, because you don’t need big complex teeth to grind nectar for digestion. And there is essentially no place on the skull for chewing muscle attachment, again because chewing is not mandatory for feeding.

Tarsipes rostratus, CM 111901.

Honey possums are not considered to be endangered or even threatened. So far, the major concern to their continued existence is wildfires.

May 18, 2018 by wpengine

Myrtle, a Royal Favorite for Wedding Bouquets

Which plants are worthy of inclusion in a Royal Wedding? We’ll see tomorrow, but we know one plant that’s nearly guaranteed to appear in the festivities: myrtus communis, simply called myrtle.

Meghan Markle’s bouquet will likely include myrtle from Queen Victoria’s own garden, which has been tended for over 170 years. Every Royal bride since Queen Victoria has carried myrtle.

Myrtle symbolizes love and hope, perfect sentiments for any bridal bouquet.

We have numerous dried myrtle specimens in the museum collection. The most appropriate one for a Royal Wedding bouquet is this one from Earthworks Greenhouse, Arlington, VA in 1980. It even cascades down the page.

May 16, 2018 by wpengine

Environmental Issues: Every Museum’s Responsibility

By Eric Dorfman

View this article on Eric’s blog

Last May 7, I had the pleasure of co-presenting a round-table discussion (called “Hot Topics”) as part of the International Council of Museum’s contribution to the American Alliance of Museums’ 2018 conference.

Our hour-long round-table discussion was hosted by ICOM-US (International Council of Museums USA). Our group of ten was highly diverse, including designers, architects, content providers, land conservationists, representing the arts, natural history and the zoo industry and from both inside and outside the United States. I led the discussion in collaboration with Dr. Cristián Samper, President and CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

Dr. Samper began with a brief recap of his keynote speech from earlier that day, where he spoke about sustainable cities as being fundamental to global sustainability. The from our sector’s perspective, this means:

build and operate sustainable museums,
exhibits need to tell their stories through the lens of sustainability,
we must use collections to ask intelligent question about sustainability and biodiversity.

With these thoughts as our backdrop, we had a freely-flowing conversation about sustainability across the museum landscape; in other words, not solely as the province of natural history museums, recapped and synthesized as follows:

Why would it not be every museum’s responsibility? Museums tell the stories of humanity and public history, whatever their essential purview. For instance, a museum focusing on musical instruments might show indigenous people’s pieces, made from whatever materials were locally available. These materials form the basis for intangible heritage for their culture, which is in some cases imperiled by changing climate zones or biodiversity loss.

As museum professionals, we know that different audiences respond to stories in different ways and bring their own personal and cultural preconceptions with them as they engage with us. We innovate to create these stories nimbly, and the landscape of engagement is always changing. This means that staying relevant is always a challenge to be addressed and complacency isn’t an option. In the case of the environment and sustainability, environmental conditions are intermingled with an increasingly complex world of social and digital media. When we seek to win hearts and minds, we have to be mindful of our own opportunities – like being a credible voice, as well as our vulnerabilities – like not always walking the walk in terms of sustainable operations.

People at every level of operations need to buy into the ideas of leadership in sustainability. As Ghandi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” However, economic realities are that institutions must make choices to continue to operate and may sometimes be at odds with the philosophy, and the reality, of sustainability. How do we convince the leaders in our own institutions? What tools do we have to engage our board members in this conversation? One obvious answer is that tangible cost savings can be made to operate sustainably, for instance in the realm of energy use. Another way to approach it is through their children and grandchildren, who are often very engaged with the institutions with which their parents and grandparents are involved.

Certainly, not every approach will work. For instance, LEED certification, becoming more widely required in institutional buildings, does not always resonate with the public. However, focusing on other simpler stories can get the same message across, and goes hand in hand with other issues like diversity and inclusion for people with special needs.

Another important tool for engagement is providing mechanisms for public participation in museum practice (such as citizen science). The most inspiring and effective of these projects allow participants to make real change, which can catalyze a paradigm shift, moving from “so what” to a deep-seated passion for the subject.

Even more than being about objects, museums are about ideas. These ideas make the difference or our being relevant leaders in our industry and communities. What we need is a start: to identify the first actions in which all institutions can engage, to form partnerships with knowledge holders and to tell stories that resonate to our particular audiences and milieus.

Where to from here?

The value of any discussion is its ability to catalyze action. Ours suggests the need for a tool that any public institution can use to get started moving toward sustainable operations and framing stories that engage the public in a positive way.

Our intention is to create a support document that can be easily disseminated through the ICOM network. Stay tuned for more details on when and where to access it.

A final note: The original title of this workshop was “Environmental Issues: Every Museum’s Responsibility?” i.e. with a question mark at the end. In the title to this blog post, I’ve taken it off, because I feel these issues are cross-cutting and so important that our institutions’ joint responsibility is beyond question. This moment in time presents a critical challenge, and an opportunity, for us (the museum sector) to retain relevance in a rapidly changing world.

May 15, 2018 by wpengine

Special Programming for ICOM International Museum Day

Join us for ICOM International Museum Day on Friday, May 18th!

We’re celebrating the day with researchers in the galleries and two exciting livestream events.

Live Animal Encounter: Debuting Antonio the Anteater

Visit the museum in the afternoon for the public debut of the newest member of our Living Collection! Antonio, a lesser tamandua (also known as an anteater), is a fascinating animal that wins the hearts of those who meet him. Living Collection Manager, Mallory Vopal, will introduce Antonio in Earth Theater at 1:30 p.m. Cost is $2 per person. Or join them live online on our Facebook page.

Architecture and Geology in the Grand Staircase

Researchers from both Carnegie Museum of Natural History and Carnegie Museum of Art will have a lively discussion on the architecture of our museum in Oakland. Join geologist Albert Kollar and manager of architecture Alyssum Skjeie at 12:30 p.m. in the Grand Staircase area or online on the Carnegie Museum of Art Facebook page.

Meet the Researchers

Visit the museum during regular hours (10 a.m.-5 p.m.) to chat with museum researchers. This is your chance to ask questions and learn the stories behind the exhibitions. They’ll be in the galleries throughout the day. Here’s where to find the experts:

12:15-12:45 p.m.

Albert Kollar, Collection Manager for Invertebrate Paleontology, in the Grand Staircase

1:00-2:00 p.m.

Andrew McAfee, Scientific Illustrator, in Dinosaurs in Their Time

Bonnie Isaac, Collection Manager of Botany, in Hall of Botany

1:00-3:00 p.m.

Catherine Giles, Curatorial Assistant, in Third Floor Exhibition Foyer

Debra Wilson, Collection Manager of Minerals and Gems, in Wertz Gallery: Gems & Jewelry in Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems

1:30-2:30 p.m.

Robert Androw, Scientific Preparator, in Grand Staircase

1:30-3:00 p.m.

John Rawlins, Curator of Invertebrate Zoology, in Third Floor Exhibition Foyer

Jim Fetzner, Assistant Curator of Invertebrate Zoology, in Third Floor Exhibition Foyer

2:00-3:00 p.m.

Nicole Heller, Curator of the Anthropocene, in We Are Nature

Matt Lamanna, Assistant Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology, in Dinosaurs in Their Time

John Wible, Curator of Mammals, in Hall of African Wildlife and Hall of North American Wildlife

Steve Rogers, Collection Manager of Amphibians and Reptiles/Birds, in Bird Hall

Timothy Pearce, Assistant Curator of Mollusks, outside Earth Theater

3:00-4:00 p.m.

Amy Covell, Curatorial Assistant, Alcoa Foundation Hall of American Indians

Mason Heberling, Research Fellow in Botany, in We Are Nature

Gretchen Anderson, Conservator, Collection Care and Conservation, in Hall of North American Wildlife Temporary Visible Conservation Lab

3:30-4:30 p.m.

Robert Androw, Scientific Preparator, in Grand Staircase

3:00-5:00 p.m.

Robert Davidson, Collection Manager of Invertebrate Zoology, in Third Floor Exhibition Foyer

4:00-5:00 p.m.

Suzanne McLaren, Chair of Collections, Mammals, in Hall of African Wildlife and Hall of North American Wildlife

Erin Peters, Assistant Curator of Science and Research, in Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt

For more information about our researchers, visit our ICOM International Museum Day page.

May 14, 2018 by wpengine

Carnegie Museum of Natural History Wins Best Museum in Readers’ Poll

We are honored that Carnegie Museum of Natural History won the Best Museum in Pittsburgh Magazine’s Best of the Burgh Readers Poll this year!

We’re proud to be one of the top natural history museums in the country, and grateful that our local community recognizes everything we are doing to keep our museum vibrant and relevant.

We often reach out to our visitors for feedback including when they helped us develop our new Dippy-inspired branding. Being voted Best Museum in Pittsburgh for 2018 is the kind of feedback we feel honored to receive.

Thank you, Pittsburgh Magazine readers!

May 14, 2018 by wpengine

Texas Solar

By Patrick McShea

Within We Are Nature an interactive kiosk known as EarthTime documents alarming change over recent decades in glacial melting, the clearing of rainforests, and coral bleaching. The imagery, which was generated by NASA satellites and compiled by students at Carnegie Mellon University, is simultaneously displayed on a table-mounted touchscreen and a towering adjacent display screen.

Literal glimmers of hope appear on both screens when visitors select the digital loop that documents the increase in the installation of solar energy panels across the US between 1984 and 2016. A textbox message directs viewers to, “Notice how installations start on the coasts and make their way inland.”

A recent visitor who replayed the seven-second simulation a few times voiced her state-focused perspective to a companion: “Watch this. Solar energy blooms in Austin before it does in Houston or Dallas.”

May 14, 2018 by wpengine

Pittsburgh Participates in International City Nature Challenge

We are thrilled to share that Pittsburgh has come in 26th of nearly 70 cities that participated in the City Nature Challenge! It’s a friendly competition between cities around the world. Anyone can join by logging their outdoor observations on iNaturalist.org or with the iNaturalist app.

Matt Webb, Urban Bird Conservation Coordinator at Powdermill Nature Reserve, led Pittsburgh’s involvement in the challenge. It lasted four days, from April 27-30, and 165 Pittsburghers contributed observations.

Pittsburgh participants logged 4,393 observations of 847 species with iNaturalist.

The winning city, San Francisco, had 1,532 participants who logged 41,737 observations of 3,211 species.

Even though the competition is over, anyone may still log observations using iNaturalist. Download the free app to your phone, create an account, and photograph what you see outside. The GPS on your phone automatically logs in the date, time, and location of your photo. You may add information you already know about the plant, animal, or insect you photographed, then community members may contribute more information and confirm species identification. It’s all about having fun learning in nature.

To read more about Pittsburgh’s participation in the City Nature Challenge and Matt Webb, check out this feature in Allegheny Front.

May 14, 2018 by wpengine

From Nebraska or Bust, a Truck load of Mollusks

By Tim Pearce, Curator of Collections, Section of Mollusks

A rare opportunity for Carnegie Museum of Natural History occurred in early May when we adopted an extensive mollusk collection. Although the mollusk specimens had been well cared for, their existence at the Nebraska State Museum, University of Nebraska, was little known to mollusk researchers over the past 100 years, so they were seldom used. The curator recognized that for the foreseeable future, the museum will have priorities other than mollusks, so would not have resources to properly work up the collection. I was very excited when he contacted me about the possibility of transferring the collection to Carnegie Museum. At Carnegie Museum, we have the expertise to identify, update names, catalog, and make the information available on the internet, so it will be available to researchers around the world.

The collection has an excellent collection of freshwater mussels. Carnegie Museum had four lots of freshwater mussels from Nebraska, now we have more than 158 lots. Also included are many marine and terrestrial mollusks from pre-Castro Cuba, and most of the collection is pre-1929.

Carefully packing the collection into 60 boxes took two of us seven days. We are very grateful to the kindness and generosity of the museum director and curator for lodging us and providing access to the collection, even over the weekend.

We drove the collection to Pittsburgh in a rental truck. Given that I consider each shell to be as valuable as a Picasso, every time we hit a bump, I thought, “Oh, my poor Picassos.”

As we drove, we recalled the odd black leather case about 2 by 3.5 inches in size that we came across tucked away at the back of a drawer in the mollusk collection. Inside the case, we found a shell, a cone shell to be exact, and a small carefully folded paper wedged beside the shell. The unfolded paper was a letter dated July 23, 1938, which read, “Sirs, 30 years ago I stole this shell. Have had pecks of bad luck. Am returning the shell and hope the bad luck will end.” The letter was signed with the man’s first and last name, and his address.

What was going on in his life in 1908 that prompted him to steal the shell? When did he make the connection between the theft of the shell and bad luck (that comes in pecks)? Did his luck improve after the return of the shell? We can only wonder.

The shell and the intriguing letter in their case continue to reside with the museum in Nebraska as part of the historical record; I consider it to be a priceless artifact.

May 10, 2018 by wpengine

Plant Blindness

By Patrick McShea

Plant Blindness refers to the inability to see or notice the plants in one’s own environment. The term was coined twenty years ago by two botanists, Elizabeth Schussler, of the Ruth Patrick Science Educator Center in Aiken, South Carolina, and James Wandersee, of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. The common condition, according to the pair, results in a chronic inability to recognize the importance of plants in the biosphere and in human affairs.

Fortunately, not all of us are afflicted. As evidence, CMNH Conservator Gretchen Anderson recounts a touching interaction she observed while conducting exhibit restoration work within the museum’s second floor Hall of North American Wildlife. From a just-opened elevator door a five-year old made a headlong dash to the diorama featuring a pair of mature jaguars and their three cubs. “LOOK Dad!” he called back to his father while pointing into the display, “CACTUS!”

For additional information about Plant Blindness, visit: https://plantsocieties.cnps.org/index.php/about-main/plant-blindness

May 9, 2018 by wpengine

Powdermill Spring

By John Wenzel

Winter was long and hard this year, and we were all eager to see Spring come at last. At Powdermill Nature Reserve, we write on a little calendar when we see the first spring blooms, the emergence of certain insects, or the chorus of frogs. People know that global warming means warmer temperatures, but seasons represent a pendulum (summer-winter-summer-winter,) and adding energy to a pendulum (warming) increases the swing, with more violent variation.

I see from our calendar that in 2016 our spring beauties (one of the earliest of the beautiful spring “ephemeral” flowers) appeared on March 17. They were a little later in 2017. This year, with such a late spring, they showed up on April 6, three weeks behind 2016. All the early flowers were much delayed. Bloodroot appeared on March 29 in 2016, but not until April 20 in 2018.

But the late arrival of Spring only affects the early species, and the later spring flowers arrive close to when we expect them. The beautiful nodding trout lilies bloomed on April 14 in 2016 and April 15 in 2017. This means that the composition of the forest in 2018 was rather different from 2016, combining species that rarely appear together.

Rather than gradual change, we have new compositions. What does that mean? I would like to be optimistic, but the fact is that we just don’t know what it means. For now, seeing the early spring flowers along with the ones that usually follow makes for a beautiful, and very welcome spring woodland. And we write what we see on our little calendar.

May 7, 2018 by wpengine

Luke DeGroote in AFO Afield

We’re thrilled to share that Avian Research Coordinator Luke DeGroote’s bird banding workshop has been featured in AFO Afield!

Luke was one of five instructors teaching 15 participants advanced bird banding skills and ethics, and molt interpretation in Iguazú National Park in Argentina last year.

Instructors and students in Iguazú National Park

But what is bird banding and why does it matter?

It’s the practice of catching and releasing birds after marking them with a small band around the leg to identify them. The bands let researchers study all kinds of things about birds including migration patterns, social structure and behavior of different species, population changes, and diseases.

The group was thrilled to catch and band a band-tailed manakin—a small bird that looks a bit like it was tie-dyed because of the way the bright red, orange, and yellow feathers cover its head and chest.

Read more about Luke DeGroote’s participation in this collaboration between the North American Banding Council (NABC) and AFO in AFO Afield.

May 7, 2018 by wpengine

Dippy’s Looking Good in Our Museum Store

Thanks to our visitors for helping us to rebrand last year! You asked, and we listened: we are featuring Dippy on everything from coffee mugs to socks…

We adore the socks and hope you will, too. The multi-colored Dippy’s bring a burst of fun to your wardrobe. The black and white ones are classy enough to pair with your wedding tux!

The Dippy silhouette is truly a community-created design that reflects our most famous (and first!) dino in Dinosaur Hall. Thank you for your role in bringing Diplodocus carnegii to life in a fresh, new way.

Did you get some Dippy swag? Take a selfie and tag us in it on Instagram @carnegiemnh! We’d love to see you loving Dippy.

May 7, 2018 by wpengine

Is Plastic Natural?

By Rachael Carlberg

Items made with plastic: water bottle, shoe, scissors, umbrella, pens, chapstick, grocery bag, tape dispenser.

Nothing seems more man-made than plastic. It surrounds us everywhere, indoors and out. How many of the things around you right now have plastic in them? Do your clothes, electronic devices, furniture, and other everyday objects have plastic parts? All of us can answer “yes” to that. At first thought, the only connection plastic has with nature is that it often mistakenly ends up in nature. So does plastic have any connection to the earth besides the one that humans so frequently create by creating waste?

What many of us don’t realize is that the production of plastic has beginnings in nature. To begin making plastic, companies harvest crude oil, a naturally occurring fossil fuel from the earth. That oil (or sometimes natural gas) is converted through different processes into chemicals that are used to make products we recognize and rely upon.

It may seem unlikely that plastic, which looks and feels like it should have no connection to nature, has its beginnings in natural substances. But, like many other aspects of our lives, it is intertwined with and dependent on nature for its existence.

May 1, 2018 by wpengine

Deadliest Catch

By Patrick McShea

Diorama in the Hall of North American Wildlife with an Alaskan King Crab and bears.

Some guided tours of We Are Nature begin outside the actual exhibit. A diorama in the Hall of North American Wildlife, for example, recently provided a challenging starting point for a handful of Carnegie Mellon University students. While facing a meticulously detailed scene from a remote section of Alaskan coast, they were invited to begin collective consideration of human impacts on the Earth.

“There’s no sign of people anywhere in this three-dimensional scene,” began their guide, “but imagine if you were in the scene, a safe distance away from the bears, the eagle, and the Alaskan King Crab. Imagine if you were facing out to sea. “

At the mention of the crab one of the students spoke-up. “Deadliest Catch,” she said,“the cable TV show about crab fishing. If we were in the scene and facing the ocean we might see a fishing boat, or the lights of a fishing boat!”

The connection shifted conversation to the scale and reach of commercial fishing, leading to recognition that the tasty long-legged crabs, which provoke the diorama’s bird versus bears confrontation, have long been available in Pittsburgh stores and restaurants. The resulting conversation about wild creatures as commercial commodities continued during the short walk from the diorama to the entry way of We Are Nature.

April 27, 2018 by wpengine

Now, more than ever, we must stand against racism…

Now, more than ever, we must stand against racism or sit in silence against freedom.

Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History have signed the pledge to join YWCA’s Stand Against Racism campaign. Launched in 2007, the YWCA calls for companies, organizations, and average citizens “to build community among those who work for racial justice and to raise awareness about the negative impact of institutional and structural racism in our communities,” according to their website. The 2018 theme is “Our Power, Our Mission, Our Future.”

The YWCA has advocated for policy changes in support of legislation like the Racial Profiling Act and equitable measures to increase justice and economic empowerment within communities of color. It is because of everyday citizens coming together to improve the quality of life and rights for people and communities impacted by racism that lead the way for this annual re-commitment for change.

Chaz Kellem, Senior Director of Advocacy for Race and Gender Equity for the YWCA of Pittsburgh, said the non-profit initiates the work of ending racism through the support of volunteers and community partners, but that is only one step in bringing awareness to the impact racism has on the city.

“It’s important for diverse individuals and groups like Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History to take a part in Stand Against Racism – because racism harms everyone when it inhibits a just and equitable society,” Kellem said. “We need community allies and supporters to assist in helping community members, staff members, and everyone be empowered members of our community.”

The national campaign focuses on three key tenets: serve, elect, and organize. National partners and civic groups can serve by volunteering and choosing careers in public service in order to improve the quality of life for the communities they serve. They are encouraged to organize voting initiatives, fund candidates, and host community forums. Also, neighbors and civic groups can organize and share needs and ideas to build a better community while holding elected and appointed stakeholders accountable.

The Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History continue to commit to the eradication of racism and provide civic opportunities for local residents and tourists to engage with our diverse and inclusive exhibitions and outreach programs.

Want to be artfully inspired to stand against racism?

The Carnegie Museum of Art currently houses the archives of Charles Teenie Harris, an African American photographer who captured black servicemen during World War I and the black urban experience in Pittsburgh.
The Carnegie Museum of Natural History can walk you through the Alcoa Foundation Hall of American Indians, an exploration of four distinct indigenous tribes and their relationship with the natural world.

On Friday April 27, the YWCA of Pittsburgh invites the community to join their staff in a silent vigil and hold signs stating “I’m with YWCA. I STAND AGAINST RACISM.” To participate or host your own event for Stand Against Racism, contact advocacy@ywcapgh.org or go to http://standagainstracism.org/ and sign the pledge.

April 25, 2018 by wpengine

City Nature Challenge Arrives in Pittsburgh

Take the City Nature Challenge 2018 April 27 - 30

City Nature Challenge has arrived in Pittsburgh! Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Urban Bird Conservation Coordinator Matt Webb has been coordinating Pittsburgh’s participation in an international biodiversity challenge using the iNaturalist app. Kicking off April 27, the challenge runs to the end of the day April 30. For both budding and veteran citizen scientists, participation is easy.

Find wildlife in the Pittsburgh region, take a photo noting the location of where exactly you found the specimen and share your observations by uploading your findings through the iNaturalist application on your phone.

Identification of the photographed species will be crowd-sourced through the online community May 1-3 and results will be announced May 4. For more details, visit citynaturechallenge.com.

April 23, 2018 by wpengine

The Importance of Connections

By Joylette Portlock

Earth Day this year, April 22nd, was the nation’s forty-ninth (though many were calling it the “48^th Anniversary”), and my first as Associate Director of Science and Research at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Even in the short time I’ve been in my role here, this place has afforded me fascinating new ways to think about this very special, extremely wet, rocky ball in space that we, and many millions of other species of mainly surface-and-ocean-dwelling living things call home.

You can’t talk about Earth as a whole without talking about connections. Especially when it comes to the Anthropocene, upon which our museum is newly focused, “connection” is a critically important concept. We often think of our actions and how they affect Earth as though the planet and nature were somehow separable from us, or we from it. Our option, urgent and essential, is to see ourselves as we are: an integrated part of the world around us. Only then can we imagine and build a responsible future. And, to get to that future, one that fulfills the promise of the first Earth Day, we must connect to each other, ask and answer tough questions, spark conversation, learn and work together.

computer screen showing a map of green spaces — Screenshot taken from an interactive in the museum’s temporary exhibit, We Are Nature; Credit Joshua Franzos

Here, we live in a place with a very strong sense of identity and pride; Steeler Country is also a beautiful region of rivers, trees, and hills. And, it is a place inextricably marked, and in some ways defined, by human manipulation of our resources. It’s possible to see the cultural achievements, the sheer natural beauty, and the presence of expansive industry all at once, see the connections between them, and understand how these things exist, in the same place and at the same time, here and around the world.

It’s true that fossil fuel extraction and use has historically led to economic success in the region. (Fun fact, with apologies to Dippy: coal and natural gas, fossil fuels, generally existed long before the dinosaurs.) However, many of our local wild places still bear the scars from our use of these resources in the form of degraded streams, partitioned forests, poor air quality, changing climate, and shifting, sunken land.

“Connection” also means, of course, understanding connections between Earth systems – connecting our actions to global impact. As but one of many examples shown eloquently in the We Are Nature exhibition, rising temperatures and increasing carbon dioxide in the air from burning fossil fuels (atmosphere) are both absorbed by water, leading to warmer, more acidic oceans (hydrosphere), which in turn leads to marine ecosystem damage and danger to coral reefs (biosphere) – a long way away from Pennsylvania.

Memorial to the great barrier reef — Photo taken from We Are Nature; Credit Joshua Franzos

There is much to remain hopeful about, however. These are all stories that are still being written. This Earth Day, I’m remembering that this is a beautiful planet… and it’s the only one we’ve got. The systems that govern it are interconnected, complicated, and in some ways, surprisingly delicate. I’m also remembering that the solutions to many of today’s environmental challenges lie in our thoughtful reevaluation and improvement of all the kinds of connections, starting with the first one I mentioned: exploring, learning, and working together.

Take action area in We Are Nature — Photo taken from We Are Nature; Credit Joshua Franzos

I invite you to both check out We Are Nature before it leaves this fall and stay tuned for what’s next as more work on the Anthropocene at the museum ramps up.

Or, should I say, stay connected.

–Joylette Portlock, Ph.D., is associate director of science and research at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. She is also executive director of Communitopia, a nonprofit focused on climate change communication, and holds many other roles in the community.

April 20, 2018 by wpengine

Riverbank Beavers

By Patrick McShea

The mid-April news of cut redbud saplings along a Pittsburgh riverfront trail served as a public announcement that beavers reside in the city. The very same message is conveyed in We Are Nature, where a beaver taxidermy
mount holds position #25 in a wall display of thirty-three diverse species of
Pittsburgh wildlife.

Pennsylvania mammals on display in We Are Nature

The display and an accompanying interactive panel invites visitors to consider how Nature is always around us, even in urban areas. In the case of Pittsburgh’s beavers, the species’ reputation as a dam builder is not reinforced along the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio. The city’s rivers are deep enough year-round to allow beavers to construct bankside lodges with underwater entrances.

Although the nocturnal habits of beavers keep them out public view, the big rodents leave evidence of their presence. The next time you’re on one of Pittsburgh’s riverside trails, look at the water edge for bark-stripped sticks that bear sets of parallel gnaw-marks made by beaver incisors.

April 16, 2018 by wpengine

Swan Symbol

By Pat McShea

A Tundra Swan taxidermy mount recently left its perch above the touchable attractions of Discovery Basecamp to add a natural history strand to a literary discussion.

The big white bird played a supporting role in an event whose main attraction was Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen. The site was Alphabet City, the City of Asylum’s literary center on Pittsburgh’s North Side that is bookstore, performance space, and restaurant. The topics under consideration by four panelists in front of an audience of some 170 guests included migration, immigration, and status of refugees.

Becoming Migrant

is the title of a current series of events sponsored by Carnegie Nexus, an initiative of Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh that seeks to utilize the resources of the four component museums and outside expertise to present insightful programming across the arts and sciences. As the discussion panelist representing the Museum of Natural History, I brought the taxidermy mount and
justified its presence as an important symbol in the wide- ranging discussion.

discussion pannel — (Above, from the left, Tundra Swan, Patrick McShea, Divya Heffley, Viet Thanh Nguyen, and Edith Doron)

My remarks were set-up by co panelist Edith Doron, the senior program manager of Carnegie Nexus Projects. She quoted a former professor who once said: “All of literature tells one of two stories: ‘I left my home.” or ‘A stranger came to town.’”

I explained how some forty years ago, the “stranger” arriving in this town was more than 2,000 migrating Tundra Swans forced by a November storm to spend half a day resting on the Allegheny River just eight miles upstream from Pittsburgh’s Point. The event, I argued, positively changed all who witnessed it.

The Tundra Swan is back on its perch, but events in Carnegie Nexus series will continue through April 27. For a schedule and further information, please visit: https://nexus.carnegiemuseums.org/

April 16, 2018 by wpengine

Male Blue-winged Warbler

This species is relatively uncommon at Powdermill. The lack of a molt limit in the alula feathers (A1,A2,A3) indicates this is an adult bird. Its closest relative, the Golden-winged Warbler, is much less common. The rapidly declining Golden-winged Warbler is currently being petitioned to be granted Federal protection under the Endangered Species Act.

April 16, 2018 by wpengine

Reinstallation of Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt

entrace way to Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt

Building on our National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Digital Projects for the Public Discovery Grant, Carnegie Museum of Natural History is excited to announce that NEH also awarded us an Exhibitions Planning Grant for a reinstallation of our current Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt. This will be a groundbreaking and highly interactive exhibition, exploring the natural and human history of Ancient Egypt and featuring anthropological artifacts and natural sciences specimens. @NEHgov #NEHGrant

April 16, 2018 by wpengine

Male Hooded Warbler

The age of this bird is usually identifiable with a quick examination of the throat feathers. If the black throat has extensive yellow tipping it is a hatching-year and if it lacks this tipping (or has very little) it is an after-hatching-year.

April 15, 2018 by wpengine

Although appearing in all the Jurassic Park films, this T. rex isn’t…

t. rex skelleton — (photo by Josh Franzos)

Although appearing in all the Jurassic Park films, this T. rex isn’t a copy. In fact, this specimen is significant because it is the exact opposite—a holotype of the species. A holotype is a specimen upon which a given species is based. In other words, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s T. rex is the “gold standard” to which all potential fossils of this notorious meat-eater must forever be compared. Contrary to the movie titles, T. rex roamed the western United States and southwestern Canada during the late Cretaceous Period.

For more insights like these, attend our Jurassic Park After Dark event and watch Jurassic Park with our dinosaur expert. You will even be able to pick his brain about the likelihood of Jurassic Park becoming a reality.

April 14, 2018 by wpengine

Ovenbird

Although the young and adult birds have essentially the same general plumage, there are some slight differences. The rusty tipping on this bird’s tertials identify it as a hatching-year bird (adults lack the rusty tipping). By spring this tipping frequently is worn off, and age is best determined by using the presence or absence of a molt limit. As in many birds, the shape of the tail also can be useful in ageing warblers.

April 6, 2018 by wpengine

Bay-breasted and Blackpoll Warblers

The first warbler benefits from spruce budworm outbreaks when the caterpillars provide abundant food. The second type of warbler has a high-pitched, almost inaudible song that drifts through boreal forests of Canada.

April 6, 2018 by wpengine

Dippy via Project Have Hope

Handmade by Ugandan artisans, these Dippy plushes are a product through the organization Project Have Hope. Project Have Hope aims to empower Ugandan artists through the sale of their crafts. Each purchase supports the mission of educating women and children, providing business opportunities to empower women and give them the courage to dream. You can purchase your own at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History gift store. Visit www.projecthavehope.org for more information and how you can help.

April 6, 2018 by wpengine

Do Animals Use Plastic?

A colorful wall with 3D letters spelling We Are Nature — *An array of plastic items adds color to the entrance gallery of We Are Nature.*

In this age of the Anthropocene, people are beginning to recognize our lasting impacts on the natural world. Plastic litter is infamous for its negative effects on the environment, but a sometimes-forgotten consequence is the changes to animal behavior that plastic elicits.

Now that plastic exists as a readily available substance in the environment, birds and nest-building mammals such as squirrels and opossums, frequently incorporate plastic materials into their nests. In terms of size, weight, and flexibility, items like straws, string, rope, and plastic bags resemble the varieties of moss, twigs, leaves, and even snakeskin pieces that many nest-building species have long used.

nest made mostly from twigs but mised with plastic — *American Robin nest featuring plastic bag pieces (lower left-hand corner) woven into natural materials.*

Hal H. Harrison, author of the Peterson Field Guide to Bird’s Nests, mentions the presence of a Baltimore Oriole nest made entirely of fishing line in Allegheny County’s North Park, and the “nest of a Wood Thrush made entirely of paper napkins, Kleenex, toilet paper gathered from a nearby picnic area” in Clarion County’s Cook Forest. These observations, and possibly your own, reveal how local birds sometimes substitute human-made materials for natural ones.

It’s still unclear if the incorporation of plastic into nests has long-term consequences for nest-builders and their offspring. The widespread availability of plastic pieces as nesting material, however, does serve as an indicator of the extreme prevalence of plastic litter in the environment.

Rachael Carlberg is an intern in the Education Department of Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences of working at the museum.

April 4, 2018 by wpengine

Architecture of Oakland–from a PITT student’s perspective

When I first came to the University of Pittsburgh, I couldn’t wait to spend time in The Cathedral of Learning. Not only was the gothic style reminiscent of Harry Potter’s days at Hogwarts, but the sheer height of the building intrigued me. Walking through, from class to class, allowed me the time to gaze up at the famous high ceilings, ornate with detail. It wasn’t until I was enrolled in a course that stood 23 floors up, where I would truly get the exhilarating and sometimes terrifying experience of seeing Oakland from a bird’s eye view.

The building itself was designed by Philadelphia architect Charles Zeller Klauder and was the tallest educational building at the time it was built in 1926 standing at 535 feet. It was designated a National Landmark by the National Park Service on November 3, 1975 as well as Historic Structure by the Pittsburgh City Council on February 22, 1977. To this day, the Cathedral continues to stand as a central landmark dedicated to learning.

Hayley Pontia is a student at The University of Pittsburgh who works as a part-time freelancer for Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Through this blog series, she will share her unique perspective on our historic building and the surrounding architecture of nearby buildings in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

April 4, 2018 by wpengine

Connecticut and Mourning Warblers

The Warbler on the left is uncommon and breeds in the boreal forest during winters in northern South America. The Warbler on the right is a small songbird of eastern and central North America.

April 2, 2018 by wpengine

Hellbenders aren’t so scary!

Hellbenders aren’t so scary! Cryptobrachus alleganiensis are in the running to become the Pennsylvanian State Amphibian. Due to their permeable skin, hellbenders are extremely susceptible to pollution, making them great bioindicators. A bioindicator is an organism who is representative of the status of an ecosystem’s health. Hellbenders are the largest North American salamander.

This post was originally posted on our curatorial assistant’s Instagram, which features specimens in the museum’s historic Alcohol House.

April 2, 2018 by wpengine

Slender-snouted crocodile skull

This slender-snouted crocodile skull in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Alcohol House was used to determine that each African region had a unique crocodile species. You can see this skull and its story on display at the new We Are Nature. Look for the Alcohol House media interactive in the gallery!

This post was originally posted on our curatorial assistant’s Instagram, which features specimens in the museum’s historic Alcohol House.

April 2, 2018 by wpengine

Clues

By Amy Henrici

Collection Managers often solve fossil mysteries, and sometimes we have only a few clues to assist us. A recent mystery involved some rib fragments prepared by PaleoLab volunteers. Individual packages containing rib fragments found in an old cardboard box stashed in a Vertebrate Paleontology storage room proved to be perfect for PaleoLab volunteers to hone their preparation skills.

My task as Collection Manager is to catalog and integrate these ribs into the fossil mammal collection. Fortunately, most of the rib packages contained field labels, which are used to record information when the specimen is collected. My first clue came from the Description category of a field label with one of the rib packages, and it indicated that the rib connected with a block (which consists of fossil and rock). Because there are no blocks of unprepared fossil mammals in storage, I had to assume that this block had been prepared and the specimen was cataloged. The field label lacked a catalog number (Department No. on the label) and any locality information, which would normally assist in locating the rest of the specimen.

This field label must have been printed for an expedition to Brazil, and the left overs were used by all museum expeditions until they ran out.

The only clue that I had to link the rib to a cataloged specimen in the Section’s computerized database was the block number (Blk. 11/1931), which are entered in the field number category of the database. A search of the database retrieved two specimens with this field number, CM 6425 and CM 36355. Both were brontotheres, formerly known as titanotheres, which are large, extinct rhinoceros-like herbivores. I located the specimens in the collections, and both included incomplete ribs. The field label shown here mentioned that the rib made contact with a “…portion in block indicated by letter D”. Amazingly, I found the letter D written on the broken end of a rib cataloged as CM 6425, and the rib fragment associated with the field label connects to it. I was able to fit all of the rib pieces prepared in PaleoLab onto other ribs cataloged as CM 6425.

two parts of a rib bone being held together — *The rib piece held in the left hand fits onto a piece stored in this drawer. Both have the letter D written on them at the point where they join. (Photograph taken by Norm Wuerthele)*

black and white image of a large mamal skelleton — *Archive image showing the skeleton of the brontothere, Brontops dispar, CM 767, which can be seen on exhibit in Cenozoic Hall.*

Amy Henrici is the Collection Manager for Vertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences of working at the museum.

March 30, 2018 by wpengine

Most people know “Dippy” …

Most people know “Dippy” by the statue of him outside the museum, which sports seasonal scarves throughout the year. But did you know he recently inspired a new flavor of ice cream at Klavon’s Ice Cream Parlor? Social media users chose a mint based ice cream with chocolate chip cookie dough, chocolate chips, and fudge ripple to honor Diplodocus carnegii.

March 29, 2018 by wpengine

Time Travel… No Flux Capacitor Required

drawing of the dinosaur crossing a stream in its natural habitat — **The newly discovered meat-eating dinosaur *Tratayenia rosalesi* crosses a stream in what is now northern Patagonia, Argentina some 85 million years ago.**
Credit: Andrew McAfee, Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

By Matt Lamanna

I’m a child of the 1980s. When I was a kid, one of my favorite movies was Back to the Future, where Doc Brown turns a car into a time machine that sends Marty McFly into the past. I’d watch that movie and think, “How cool would it be if time travel were real?” We could go back in time and, say, hear Abraham Lincoln deliver the Gettysburg Address, or watch Michelangelo paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. We could gaze in wonder at the Great Pyramid under construction, marvel at a herd of passing mammoths, or witness a ‘Lucy’-like creature take humanity’s first steps. We could even go all the way back to the Mesozoic Era – the Age of Dinosaurs.

Sadly—spoiler alert!—time travel is still not possible, at least not in the literal way that the creators of Back to the Future imagined. But there is another way to see dinosaurs in the flesh. One only needs a talented artist.

Over the years, I’ve had the good fortune to have worked with many artists to (virtually) bring dinosaurs and other extinct creatures back to life. From my old buddy the ‘Wookiee’ Jason Poole, to dynamic husband-and-wife duo Bob Walters and Tess Kissinger, to dino-sculptors extraordinaire Dan Pickering, Gary Staab, and Bruce Mohn, to rising stars Taylor Maggiacomo and Lindsay Wright, and others, each of these gifted natural history artists has graciously shared their time and talent to help my scientific collaborators and I breathe life into ancient bones.

Two artists deserve special mention here. For more than a decade, from 2004 to 2015, I was blessed to be able to work with Mark Klingler, the long-time Scientific Illustrator here in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Section of Vertebrate Paleontology. Mark and I worked together to give the world its first look at many new fossil discoveries, such as the semi-truck-sized dinosaur Sarmientosaurus, the bizarre ‘Chicken from Hell’ Anzu, and the ~120 million-year-old bird Gansus.

Mark gave the museum and I one final gift prior to his departure in 2015: he hosted an intern, Andrew McAfee, then a newly minted graduate of the Science Illustration program at Cal State University Monterey Bay. Andrew continued to volunteer at the museum after Mark left, and did such a fantastic job that, in 2016, we hired him as Vertebrate Paleontology’s new Scientific Illustrator.

Like Mark before him, Andrew is meticulous when it comes to reconstructing a prehistoric species and its habitat. Case in point: our hot-off-the-presses predatory dinosaur from Patagonia, Tratayenia, which was formally announced by my Argentine collaborators and I yesterday morning. Tratayenia is a fascinating dinosaur, and was undoubtedly a terrifying beast in life, but unfortunately, we paleontologists don’t have very much of it – its fossils are pretty incomplete. So how, you ask, was Andrew able to produce the image above?

Well, he and I first had to build a picture of the dinosaur itself. Tratayenia is a megaraptorid, a group of mysterious hunters that roamed South America, Australia, and probably other Southern Hemisphere continents during the Cretaceous, the third and final time period of the Mesozoic Era. Using the bones of other megaraptorids, we made educated guesses as to what the missing pieces of the Tratayenia skeleton may have looked like. From there, we used our knowledge of the closest living relatives of dinosaurs—birds—to put meat, skin, and feathers back on the bones; in other words, to reconstruct the parts of the body that are rarely found as fossils. Finally, since we have almost no idea what color Tratayenia may have been, I encouraged Andrew to get creative here. The pattern he came up with seems suited to an animal that probably relied on stealth and camouflage to ambush its prey.

After we had Tratayenia to the point where it looked ready to jump off the screen and bite us, it was then time to put the animal back into its 85-million-year-old world. To do so, I scoured the scientific literature on the rock formation that yielded the bones of the new dinosaur, looking for clues as to what its ancient environment was like and what other species called it home. Andrew painted several of these plants and animals into his reconstruction. Look for a thigh bone of the giant herbivorous dinosaur Traukutitan and plants such as ferns, horsetails, flowering herbs, and a conifer belonging to the group Cheirolepidiaceae.

We can’t go back in time to the Age of Dinosaurs, not really at least. But through the skill and vision of natural history artists, working in tandem with paleontologists, we can catch glimpses of what these extraordinary animals and their long-vanished worlds may have been like. Andrew and I are already revving up the DeLorean for our next trip to the Mesozoic.

Matt Lamanna is a paleontologist and the principal dinosaur researcher at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Read more about Tratayenia on Reuters.

March 28, 2018 by wpengine

Architecture of Oakland–from a PITT student’s perspective

At least once every semester, I enroll in a course that happens to be held at the Frick Fine Arts Building. It is truly an intricate building that is sometimes forgotten about in the shadow of the Cathedral.

This building houses The University of Pittsburgh’s History of Art and Architecture Department and has an exterior mimicking the Italian Renaissance architecture. It also features an unexpected cloister-style inner courtyard filled with greenspace for students to sit in between classes.

It was designed by Burton Kenneth Johnstone Associates and modeled after Pope Julius III’s Villa Giulia in Rome, Italy.

Hayley Pontia is a student at The University of Pittsburgh who works as a free-lancer for Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Through this blog series, she will share her unique perspective on our historic building and the surrounding architecture of nearby buildings in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

March 28, 2018 by wpengine

Magnolia Warbler

The name of the species was established by Alexander Wilson in 1810, who collected a specimen from a magnolia tree in Mississippi.

March 26, 2018 by wpengine

Crotalus cerastes laterorepens; Sidewinder

This is a venomous pit viper species. Pit vipers are distinguished by the heat sensing pit organ located on each side of their head. This specimen was collected from California in 1958.

This post was originally posted on our curatorial assistant’s Instagram, which features specimens in the museum’s historic Alcohol House.

March 26, 2018 by wpengine

Least Flycatcher

This bird is the smallest of the empids and can be identified by its relatively distinct (and oval) eyering, small bill, white throat, dark gray/black legs, and emargination of primary 6.

March 26, 2018 by wpengine

Science Bowl Comes to the Museum

Students looking at a diorama and writing on clipboards

In a new collaboration with the Allegheny Intermediate Unit 3, Carnegie Museum of Natural History welcomed over 500 students from 29 schools during the last week of January for the AIU3’s annual Science Bowl event.

Students exploring a table with mammal skulls

Students in grades 4-8 participated in friendly challenges that took place throughout the museum. Teams earned points as they honed their observation skills – discovering plants and animals in wildlife dioramas and getting their hands on real skulls in the museum’s Lab Classroom.

The Allegheny Intermediate Unit is part of Pennsylvania’s public education system and is one of 29 Intermediate Units across the state. The organization provides specialized educational services to Allegheny County’s 42 suburban school districts and five career technical centers.

March 23, 2018 by wpengine

White-throated Sparrow

This forest sparrow breeds in Canada, but can be found in eastern and southern America during the winter months.

March 21, 2018 by wpengine

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

This hatching-year bird can be identified by it overall yellow appearance (through the throat), small bill, steeply sloped forehead, and slight emargination on primary 6 (usually).

March 20, 2018 by wpengine

Frick Environmental Center Encourages People to visit Neighborhood Parks

a guide giving a tour in the woods in thesnow

Mike Cornell and the staff at Frick Environmental Center want to get more people to utilize the parks in their Pittsburgh neighborhoods. Pittsburgh has over 640 acres of park land and includes 104 neighborhood parks. He says that a park is a “right and privilege” that should not be taken advantage of and all it takes is to walk out the front door.

Frick Environmental Center offers families, students, and learners of all ages a state-of-the-art space for hands-on, environmental education. There is also a STEM focus for its younger patrons. Mike Cornell, the Naturalist Educator, coordinates the volunteer naturalists and building docents.

Volunteer naturalists are the field educators of the center and offer their time and expertise to work the information desk, assist with school programs, and program development for community education for Frick Environmental Center. Volunteer naturalists are driven by their passion for nature and the environment, and Cornell wants to continue to support this program.

“If they are passionate about it, we can schedule and promote it so they can teach it. The parks and libraries are the two places where you can always go for free and the parks don’t have doors that lock,” he says

To be a Volunteer Naturalist, Pittsburghers must go through a seven week training where they will learn about park conservancy, effective presentation skills, and proper planning strategies for good educational programming. Previous classes have included nature photography, nature education for kids, and hiking skills. Cornell says classes like this can prepare an average citizen to appreciate and embrace parks into their everyday lives and schedules.

“You can get to the park and always enjoy the parks and you don’t have to have a membership. It can be your gym. It can be your classroom. It can be the place you unwind. It can be the place to read a book,” he says.

Frick Environmental Center was opened in 2016 and is housed in Frick Park, Pittsburgh’s largest and youngest urban park.

“Wherever you go in Pennsylvania is a forest because the land is always in a state of going back to forest,” Cornell says. “One thing I like to do is encourage people to believe that what’s right outside their window or while on a bus is nature. You see vacant lots where there are woodpeckers. You see beauty in nature in the crack of a sidewalk and see ants crawling out of it.”

Mike Cornell was intrigued by parks growing up and when he realized a person could make a career out of them, he knew what he wanted to do as an adult.

“I grew up on the edge of Frick Park and I grew up in that park,” Cornell says. “One thing we have to appreciate is that everywhere we go is nature and everywhere we are is the environment.”

He began working with Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy in 2005 as a summer camp counselor, and after graduating from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in 2008, he worked seasonally and part time until becoming full time in 2014. Cornell takes pride in connecting volunteer community experts with their neighbors for programming and outreach at the center because it is like returning home.

children huddled around a tree stump in the woods

“I studied natural history and interpretation which is what I’m doing now which is connecting people to nature and teaching people about the environment in their communities, and getting people comfortable and curious.”

How can locals get involved with Frick Environmental Center? Go to the Pittsburgh Parks website at https://www.pittsburghparks.org/volunteer and fill out the application to be a volunteer naturalist or docent. Apply soon as spring trainings are coming up. Building docent training is March 23 at 1pm and volunteer naturalist training is April 9, 2018 9-12 noon. Contact Mike Cornell at MCornell@pittsburghparks.org for more information.

In the spirit of recognizing all we are already doing in Pittsburgh, we have started a new blog series to compliment We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene, the exhibition about the complex relationship between humans and nature currently on display at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. We are featuring Pittsburghers who are committed to improving the environment in which we live. Each blog features a new individual and shares some of the ways in which they are helping issues of sustainability, conservation, restoration, climate change, or helping Pittsburgh to be an even more beautiful place to live.

March 16, 2018 by wpengine

Geographic coverage of mammalian species is worldwide but…

Geographic coverage of mammalian species is worldwide but Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s collection’s strength is in North American material.

The collections from Pennsylvania and West Virginia are among the best in the world, and there are mammals from all 50 states. Holdings from the eastern Arctic are the best of any United States museum and include the holotype (specimen used to describe a new species) of a freshwater seal.

Recent acquisitions from Belize, Bonaire, Curaçao, Costa Rica, Dominica, El Salvador, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Trinidad and Tobago augment historical specimens from Central America.

March 16, 2018 by wpengine

Ask a Scientist: What is the fastest snail?

Assistant Curator and Malacologist Dr. Timothy Pearce weighs in on which snail or slug is the fastest of them all. The answer may surprise you!

Ask a Scientist is a new short video series where we ask our research staff questions about the millions of amazing objects and specimens stored in our collection. Tune in on YouTube, and submit your own questions via Twitter @CarnegieMNH.

March 15, 2018 by wpengine

Flycatcher

Check out the yellow-orange mouth lining of this Flycatcher.

March 13, 2018 by wpengine

Think a 400 year old oak tree can be a superhero?

Think a 400 year old oak tree can be a superhero? When you’re not looking they are cleaning the air, re-routing storm water,…and breaking wind so you won’t be blown away! And if a patient can view trees outside their window, they can recover faster and require less painkillers during their stay in the hospital, according to Scientific American. That’s right – trees are the gentle giants protecting our spaces and quality of life.

No wonder Tree Vitalize has become so popular in Pittsburgh’s ground-level revitalization. As a tree-planting partnership through Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) with Allegheny County, the City of Pittsburgh, Tree Pittsburgh, and Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, it is a local sustainability effort to increase the number of trees in and around Pittsburgh.

two men holding a sign for Tree Vitalize — TreeVitalize Volunteer left; Jeffrey Bergman right

Lead by Jeffrey Bergman, Director of Community Forestry, and Lauren Fike, Community Forestry Project Coordinator, the organization is responsible for nearly 30,000 trees being planted since 2006, and this is only the beginning.

Bergman said that the quality of life in any urban environment can be improved through mindful conservation practices in and around a city.

“The trees in urban settings serve a specific purpose. A street tree that is shading a street and shading businesses provide benefits that are different than trees in parks and wooded settings.”

For urban landscapes, the benefits of trees are numerous. They can reduce storm runoff and land erosion, decrease energy bills, increase property values, and improve air quality. In the city’s Tree Management Plan, Pittsburgh’s trees were appraised at over $51 million and contributed to nearly $100,000 in energy savings. Despite the advantages, man-made challenges have impeded tree canopies from flourishing.

Rapid construction of roads, housing, and natural gas pipelines contributed to the decline of tree canopies in the county. In a recent study done by Tree Pittsburgh, a little over 10,000 acres was destroyed between 2010 and 2015.

Bergman and Fike’s primary concern is to engage residents and citizens in the work of planting more trees. TreeVitalize provides targeted outreach projects for areas with low tree canopy and in low income communities. The program consistently draws in those who appreciate trees, said Bergman, but planting the tree is only the start. There’s also the long-term maintenance.

“It’s essential there is strong maintenance because we are putting living things in a harsh environment,” Bergman said. “Remember that while trees are infrastructure they are living and they are something that need to be taken care of and respected.”

These projects are critical in not only increasing the number of trees in Pittsburgh, but also connecting people to their community in more significant ways. Fike said that much of her work in managing the field projects and logistics helps prepare volunteers to value the tree-planting experience in meaningful ways.

“It’s really rewarding because if they take the time to plant the tree in 30 degree weather and it’s raining, they are dedicated to that tree. They can say, ‘Oh I planted that tree. I wonder how my tree is doing,’” she said.

Bergman credits the great volunteer ethic in the city of Pittsburgh for TreeVitalize’s success. Residents are able to see physical changes to their community with just a few hours of service. Volunteers hand trees averaging between 10 and 15 feet tall, and the service project stands as a rewarding experience for those who plant these woody giants.

“People seem to derive a sense of satisfaction from tree planting,” he said. “We also work with colleges and universities but we get feedback that compared to picking up litter on the roadside, people feel like they’ve done something more to help the environment when they do a tree planting.”

Trees are pruned and planted in the early spring and fall while trees are dormant and bear no leaves because they are not able to photosynthesize. TreeVitalize, in partnership with Tree Pittsburgh, offers training for those interested in becoming a “tree tender.”

“You see trees in a different way when you learn about them,” Bergman said. “It’s not just a stop sign or a fire hydrant. People lose sense that these are living things in our environment and you can learn why this work is important.”

Pittsburghers can join the cause to plant more trees and make the city greener by going through TreeVitalize’s intensive training process and coordinating a tree planting project for their neighborhood. Fall 2018 applications are now available and due by March 16. Those interested are also encouraged to contact Bergman directly at 412-586-2396 or jbergman@paconserve.org.

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March 13, 2018 by wpengine

Swamp Sparrow

During migration, these sparrows seem to stick around a long time, with many individuals being recaptured on numerous occasions.

March 12, 2018 by wpengine

Song Sparrow

One of the most common sparrows at Powdermill, this bird can be found perched on low, dense vegetation singing its song.

March 9, 2018 by wpengine

Architecture of Oakland–from a PITT Student’s perspectiv

When I was a sophomore living on Craig Street, I would often pass St. Paul’s Cathedral and its perfectly landscaped surroundings. Every Sunday I would watch as crowds of people left the prominent, wooden doors and exited on to Fifth Avenue while I would walk to the library.

The cathedral was created in decorated Gothic style of the 14^th Century, designed by Egan and Prindeville of Chicago and built by Thomas Reily. The building stands at 247 feet tall with a statue of St. Paul mounted on a center pediment. Other exterior statues depict apostles and evangelists.

March 8, 2018 by wpengine

Ask a Scientist: What is inside the Alcohol House?

Curatorial Assistant Kaylin Martin gives us a brief tour of one of the museum’s fascinating hidden collections, the Alcohol House— home to more than 200,000 reptile and amphibian specimens that are jarred and preserved in alcohol.

March 5, 2018 by wpengine

Necklace Made of Sardonyx

This necklace made of sardonyx, a type of cryptocrystalline quartz, is on display in Wertz Gallery of Gems and Jewelry.

Quartz has unlimited variations in color and form, making it valuable to human culture since ancient times in everything from jewelry, to arrowheads, to metalworking.

(photo by Debra Wilson)

March 2, 2018 by wpengine

American Redstart

This adult female has nearly all white, rather than the usual yellow, wing and tail patches.

March 2, 2018 by wpengine

People are part of Nature

Pat McShea, an educator at Carnegie Museum of Natural History, recently gave an excellent TEDx talk in the Strip District of Pittsburgh. Listen to his story, titled “People are part of Nature,” below.

March 1, 2018 by wpengine

We Are Nature: Thoughts and Feelings of Visitors

visitors looking at a wall of sticky notes

In Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s We Are Nature exhibit, we are asking visitors to share their immediate thoughts after walking through the installation. As pictured above, many have been left with mixed emotions. The exhibit itself serves as a starting point in the discussion of sustainability, conservation, restoration, and climate change. The museum recognizes the diversity that comes along with this issue in discussing environmental understanding and is curious to see what visitors have to say.

The option of leaving comments behind has created a visual representation of where our visitor’s opinions lie. Post-it notes are being used and placed into one or more categories by attendees based on feelings ranging from empowerment to disbelief. We’ve received numerous responses in almost all categories, but have selected those that foster a productive dialogue. Here are just a few of our favorites thus far.

This blog series highlights anonymous responses from the We Are Nature exhibit on display at Carnegie Museum of Natural History that explains and explores the topic of the Anthropocene. Each blog features Post-it notes left by museum visitors. Readers may find thought-provoking insights, inspirational words, or easy conversation starters for their next discussion. All Post-it notes will be recycled at the close of the exhibit.

March 1, 2018 by wpengine

Section of Minerals Collection Manager, Deb Wilson, attends…

Section of Minerals Collection Manager, Deb Wilson, attends the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show every year. This year Deb Wilson acquired a beautiful piece of copper that was mined out of Bisbee, Arizona in 1910, which is now on display in Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems.

March 1, 2018 by wpengine

Allie Frownfelter, Bottle Thread

In May 2017, Allie Frownfelter launched Bottle Thread, a sustainability company in Pittsburgh that designs and sells clothing made from recycled plastic. She loves Pittsburgh and wants to give back to a city that is solving its own environmental problems. Inspired by her own mother’s kitchen and bath remodeling company while leaving
in Reading, Penn., she saw first-hand what it meant to provide a high quality service to customers.

“When I was ten my mom renovated a house and sold it for a profit,” says Frownfelter. “My brothers and I would be alongside her helping lay tile, replace cabinets, and update the electric. Learning all that at such a young age let me know that creating a business wasn’t as scary as it needed to be.”

Frownfelter would eventually go to college and settled into Chatham University as a sustainability major. In her last year, she created a business plan for Bottle Thread and researched ways to raise capital. She graduated in 2017 and set out to make a difference in a world overrun with plastic waste.

“I found a problem, I wanted a solution for it, and the company came from there,” says Frownfelter. “I’m just one of the first to make an essential point of using sustainable materials.”

According to a recent National Geographic report, the world amassed 6.3 million metric tons of plastic waste and only 9% was recycled. This leaves an environmental question of what to do with the remaining waste that is left in landfills or finding their way into the oceans.

Bottle Thread has three basic clothing designs: a tailored button down shirt for women and men and a dress. The pieces are wrinkle free and moisture wicking. The shirts are made from up to 50 plastic bottles and does not require ironing.

“I just wanted to make the best possible button up top for women. With 10 cents more per unit, I was able to move into different types of fabric. It was everything I was looking into for a fabric but it’s a lot more sustainable.”

Frownfelter is proud to have her clothing line made in America. The fabric and shirts are produced by California-based companies that offer ethical wages to their employees. That is key to Bottle Thread’s business ethos which requires all levels of business to be ethical, equitable, and sustainable.

She says, “The three pillars of sustainability are economics, environment, and ethics. So we have to ask ourselves, ‘Is it affordable? How does it affect the planet? And, who’s making it and how do we treat them?’”

So, how does plastic become a textile? Once plastic bottles find their way to a recycling facility, they get melted down into small pellets and stretched into fibers. According to Frownfelter, it is a form of polyester and the fibers get pulled into threads and used to make materials like canvas and athletic performance attire.

The fashion industry is taking note of sustainable fashion and making efforts to use data to support business decisions such as product design and supply chain. Using a Life Cycle Assessment, designers like Frownfelter can lessen the impact of the production of their product on the environment. With these unique challenges and advantages, consumers must be educated about their clothing options and how it’s related to the environment. For now, she sees her business model as more than just a recycling effort but a lifestyle change.

“I’m just about making the best quality product for the environment,” she says. “Sustainability is about scalability.”

Bottle Thread is currently in the production phase and expect their first shipment of products for sale the beginning of March. Frownfelter is primarily focused on fulfilling orders, reordering, and promoting the idea of sustainable fashions. Over the next month, Bottle Thread will be in several photo shoots and building their social media strategy.

Bottle Thread will be a part of a sustainable fashion show at Chatham University on March 22 in the Mellon Boardroom. For more information, contact Allie Frownfelter at A.Frownfelter@chatham.edu.

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February 28, 2018 by wpengine

Pittsburghers Inspire a New Museum Blog Series

We recently launched a new exhibition at the museum entitled We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene. And just in case you haven’t heard of the term Anthropocene yet, it can be defined as the current geological era in which humans are making a profound impact on the geological strata. The term is actually being debated by geologists, but we have decided to embrace it as both a social and cultural tool for exploring the effect humans are having on the planet.

We are Nature was created completely in-house by our exhibitions team. Research conducted by our museum scientists and specimens from our own hidden collections are featured in this highly interactive exhibition.

Our new exhibition takes an unflinching look at the interconnectedness between humans and nature–the bad, the ugly and the good. As visitors walk through it, they learn, feel moved, get stirred up, and in the end, by and large, feel motivated. It ends by connecting visitors to great things that are already happening locally and helps to plug them into a bigger network of people who are collectively making an impact.

In the spirit of recognizing all we are already doing in Pittsburgh, we have started a new blog series to compliment the exhibition. We are featuring Pittsburghers who are committed to improving the environment in which we live. Each blog features a new individual and shares some of the ways in which they are helping issues of sustainability, conservation, restoration, climate change, or helping Pittsburgh to be an even more beautiful place to live.

February 28, 2018 by wpengine

Sharp shinned hawk

This sharp shinned hawk banded in August at Powdermill Nature Reserve, the museum’s environmental research center, was born just this summer. When it matures into an adult its chest will become red and its back grey.

(Photo courtesy Powdermill’s Instagram)

February 27, 2018 by wpengine

Celebrating Carnegie History: Dr. Andrey Avinoff

Since Carnegie Museum of Natural History was founded in the late 1800s, it has been the home of an impressive group of alumni scientists who made great progress in their fields. One in this group who stands out is Dr. Andrey Avinoff, the director of the museum from 1926-1946.

Dr. Avinoff’s career began in Russia, where he studied geographical variation in moths and butterflies across different mountain ranges in Asia. He studied how smaller sub-ranges of the Himalayas led to the prevention of interbreeding in some species, but allowed it in others, depending on the geography and geology of the specific area. As he put it, “the study of variation divorced from geographical distribution is futile.”

Throughout his studies, he amassed a huge collection of specimens, but his collection was appropriated and held by the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

When he began his tenure at Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Dr. Avinoff virtually replicated his moth and butterfly collection through financed expeditions and trades with other collectors.

Dr. Avinoff was also an avid artist; “I bow to scientific fact until 5 o’clock,” he said. In 1941, he brought his two passions together and began the ambitious project to collect, describe, and illustrate the flora of western Pennsylvania. Partnering with the curator of Botany at the time, Otto E. Jennings, living plants were found growing wild, then brought to the museum for Dr. Avinoff to capture in paint. When the specimens were no longer needed for painting, they were dried and pressed to be saved in the herbarium.

Dr. Avinoff’s paintings were published in the book Wildflowers of Western Pennsylvania and the Upper Ohio Basin, which was printed in 1953.

Throughout the month of September, Carnegie Museum of Natural History is celebrating Pittsburghers living longer and better through enriching cultural engagement. We will be reflecting on cool pieces of museum history on our blog and social media and offering a series of programming at the museum that will range from dancing to specialized tours, geared towards visitors who are 45 and older. Visit our website for more information and programming details.

February 26, 2018 by wpengine

Ask a Scientist

Ask a Scientist: Can you tell us the story of Harvey the big rabbit?

Our museum has a huge rabbit stored in the Section of Mammals. Collections Manager Suzanne McClaren compares it to other local rabbits and tells the story of how it came into our collection.

February 26, 2018 by wpengine

Did you know that birds smaller than a robin can fly 214 miles…

Did you know that birds smaller than a robin can fly 214 miles in a single night? Or that a tiny warbler weighing less than a 50 cent piece can travel 750 miles in just 11 days?

Carnegie Museum of Natural History staff are making groundbreaking discoveries about bird migration by attaching state of the art transmitters to birds stopping over Powdermill Nature Reserve and using MOTUS towers (pictured above) to follow them along their spring migration.

February 26, 2018 by wpengine

Renovating Age of Mammals: The Cenozoic Era

Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s exhibition team has been working on renovating parts of Age of Mammals: The Cenozoic Era which features fascinating fossils of some animal relatives you may be familiar with–like the 55-million-year old ancestors of horses and giant ground sloths!

The renovated parts of this exhibition should be back on display by March 10th. To learn more about it in the meantime, check out our relevant blogs.

February 26, 2018 by wpengine

Did you know?

Did you know that Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Cenozoic Era: Age of Mammals exhibition contains more than 30 mounted real fossil skeletons that range in age from roughly 50 million to a few thousand years old? Most of these were collected by museum staff.

February 26, 2018 by wpengine

Hatching-year female and Cape May Warbler male

At first glance, these two birds may seem unrelated, but they are actually male and female of the same type. Females can be tricky to identify when birding, but look for the heavily streaked breast on a drably plumaged warbler.

February 22, 2018 by wpengine

Bird Banding

Did you know that over the last 55 years, Carnegie Museum of Natural History staff have banded nearly three quarters of a million birds at Powdermill Nature Reserve, the museum’s environmental research center in Rector, Pennsylvania?

Powdermill’s banding program began in 1961 and is the longest continually running banding program in the United States. Data from the program has been used to show that birds are adapting to climate change by breeding a month earlier than they did in 1961.

February 20, 2018 by wpengine

Architecture of Oakland–from a PITT student’s perspective

Apart from Heinz Memorial Chapel’s vibrant and famous red doors, there is another reason this building may be recognizable—The University of Pittsburgh’s Lantern Night. It is one of the oldest traditions in which Pitt alumnae pass on the “Light of Learning” to Pitt’s newest students during a ceremony before the start of fall semester. Keeping in line with the values of the buildings founder, this symbolic act solidifies the importance of inclusivity in education.

Since Heinz Memorial Chapel was completed in 1934, various services have been held, but the chapel does not belong to any denomination. From its beginning the chapel was intended to be interdenominational adhering to the diverse makeup of students, staff, and the public.

Hayley Pontia is a student at The University of Pittsburgh who works as a freelancer for Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Through this blog series, she will share her unique perspective on our historic building and the surrounding architecture of nearby buildings in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

February 19, 2018 by wpengine

In an age of humans, can the arts save the planet?

abstract painting of a moving train — William Turner, Rain Steam and Speed – the Great Western Railway (1856)

Article by Eric Dorfman, Director of Carnegie Museum of Natural History

The rapid decline of the global environment is an inescapable fact. The Earth’s major oxygen sources, coral reefs and rain forests, are disappearing along with the species that live in them. Atmospheric carbon is rising precipitously and one in a hundred year storms are becoming the norm. As the planet warms and forests are removed for bio-fuels and tropical oils,, semi-arid regions are becoming deserts. A floating island of plastic trash the size of Europe (and growing) is floating on the Pacific, the breakdown products of which are contaminating the fish on which many societies depend. Species are being sent extinct through wildlife trafficking to fuel the burgeoning demand for exotic pets and traditional medicines. And the list goes on.

While the sum total of these activities isn’t known, the decline is progressing. We’ve now arguably passed the point at which we can change our behavior and make things right again. So, despite some recent wins like the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, it may be too late to bring the world back to a state that will sustain our great-grandchildren as it does us. And they’ll be hopping mad (although most of us probably won’t be around to hear them complain).

baren landscape where deforestation has occured — Mass destruction of rainforests in Indonesia mirrors activities across the globe. Photo: Rainforest Action Network (2011)

The summation of human impact on the Earth has been neatly packaged in the concept of the Anthropocene, or “The Age of Humans”. It is a proposed new epoch in which human activity is so pervasive and profound that our effects will be detectable in the geological strata millions of years ago (assuming, of course, anybody is there to look). A year ago, I presented a talk in Japan at a conference on the topic hosted by the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo. I’ve just come back from their follow-up symposium on this, at which I gave a public lecture introducing the topic as it applies to natural history museums.

While preparing the material I began thinking of a talk I gave a couple of years ago about the power of the arts (broadly speaking) having a role to play in changing people’s attitudes and behavior around stewarding the global environment. It’s a big job. At the height of the Industrial Revolution, writer John Ruskin and painter William Turner tried and failed to make lasting inroads into changing public attitudes around declining landscape values in northern England, although writer Rachel Carson brought about the end of use of DDT in the United States with her book Silent Spring and the influence on public awareness of filmmakers like Jacques Cousteau and David Attenborough is undeniable.

people cleaning up trash on a beach — DIEGO GARCIA (Sept. 14, 2012) One-hundred and thirty service members and residents of Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory, clean up trash at Barton Point, 2012. (Photo: Eric Pastor, U.S. Navy 120914-N-XY761-109)

Campaigns such as Earth Week, Earth Day and even Earth Hour sit beside a host of other initiatives the missions of which are to encourage people to clean up the coasts, save the dolphins or the koalas, recycle or plant trees. Whatever the content, the common thread is to use their time or their personal choices to buck a growing trend of global environmental degradation. Societies like Greenpeace and WWF are asking for the same thing, but hope you will give them money so that they can take action on your behalf to save the planet. The messaging they all use connects you personally with the state of the world.

There are also many very fine artists who care deeply about environmental causes. Artists like scholar and activist Max Liboiron. She is an Assistant Professor in Sociology and Environmental Sciences at Memorial University of Newfoundland and her academic work focuses on “how invisible, harmful, emerging phenomena such as “slow” disasters and toxicants from plastics become apparent in science and activism, and how these methods of representation relate to action”. Arguably, the works artists create combine a reflection of their own connection with nature, at the same time engaging with the viewer to send a message encouraging them to see things the same way.

Without this outpouring of creativity society would undoubtedly be the poorer. But is it effective? Certainly for the multinational nonprofits it works for them, as they keep growing. Artists keep doing what they believe and, if they’re successful, they sell their work sufficiently to keep doing it. However, it’s difficult to see the trends in environmental health and think that art, or in fact, any messaging focused on personal choices is going to make much difference.

"snow globe" depicting the ocean — Sea Globe by Max Liboiron (2014). This series of sea globes are genuine New York City souvenirs. The plastics came from the Hudson River in south Brooklyn, and the rocks are made of bituminous coal from in a landfill that closed in the 1930s at Deadhorse Bay, which now resides underwater at high tide, also in south Brooklyn.

Individual choices, as important as they may be for democratic freedom, are insignificant in the face of industrial pollution. In fact, individual love of luxury and its promotion are two of the most important reasons we are in the state we are. Switching to eco-friendly light bulbs in your living room (even everybody’s living room) isn’t going to arrest the carbon footprint of a planet. And, sadly, we’re careering past the point of “every little bit helps”. While it’s true that our collective conscience stopped the use of hydrocarbons in aerosol, the multiplicity of environmental issues, and their interaction, means a holistic treatment of this “wicked problem” is necessary. There are now simply too many issues to be solved with recycling plastic bottles into more plastic bottles.

So where does this leave us? Try as I might I can’t see how things aren’t going to change for the personal lives of our descendants. We can no longer think in terms of a fix, quick or otherwise. I am not the first to suggest that the lives of human beings in the not-so-distant future will be about adapting to an environment that is utterly changed from what we know today. I can’t say if that adaptation will be about survival on a war-torn planet stripped of clean water and arable land, or if they will be learning to live with some rapidly developing new technology that allows our continuance in relative affluence. Either way, the lessons that we have to impart today may be next to useless in tomorrow’s world.

And it is here that I think the arts will make a huge difference. Even today, we are moved by da Vinci or Bach in a world that they themselves would not understand. Art connects us to our history and the collective experience of being human. In a future that is today unrecognizable the artistic outpouring of the past, as well as the art that is yet to be created, will tie us together and make the world a little less unknown.

And that has to be a good thing.

February 19, 2018 by wpengine

Designer Cell Phone Cover? Not quite.

Check out the intricate and beautiful patterns in this moss agate found in India.

It may look like it would make a great case for your iPhone in this picture, but it’s much smaller, only about two inches, in real life! Come see it for yourself at Carnegie Museum of Natural History!

(photo by Debra Wilson)

February 16, 2018 by wpengine

Did you know?

Did you know that there are currently five extant species of monotremes, two of which we have in our collection. We have the duck-billed platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) and the short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus).

February 16, 2018 by wpengine

Cape May Warbler

The common name of the species comes from Cape May, New Jersey, where Alexander Wilson first described it. After the initial recording, these birds were not recorded in the area for more than 100 years.

February 15, 2018 by wpengine

Collected on Valentine’s Day, 1996

heartleaf philodendron (Philodendron hederaceum) collected on Valentine’s Day in Peru

Does this heart-shaped leaf look familiar? 22 years ago, this specimen of heartleaf philodendron (Philodendron hederaceum) was collected on Valentine’s Day in Peru. Almost certainly you have seen this species, but probably not in the wild. Heart leaf philodendron is a very popular houseplant. This huge leaf on this specimen may look a bit different than those in your home, as the species rarely reaches maturity as a
houseplant. Philodendrons have both juvenile and adult forms of their leaves, changing their form and size as they climb up a tree.

There are also many different species and varieties of philodendrons.

healthy green philodendron growing on a kitchen counter

Philodendron growing on a bookshelf — Philodendron in its newly found habitat in the Anthropocene. Philodendrons are incredibly popular as indoor plants, being easy to take care of and incredibly tolerant of low light conditions in your house. Philodendrons are toxic to pets. However, the NASA Clean Air Study has found philodendrons to filter out harmful chemicals and improve indoor air quality.

The name Philodendron comes from the Greek philo meaning “love” and dendron meaning “tree.” The name doesn’t refer to the heart shaped leaves, but rather to its growth habit as a vine that climbs trees. It is native to tropical Mexico, the Caribbean, and regions in South America.

Happy Valentine’s Day from this loving plant!

February 13, 2018 by wpengine

Did you know that the Section of Vertebrate Paleontology’s…

Did you know that the Section of Vertebrate Paleontology’s collection contains more than 460 type, or original, specimens? Type specimens are the specimens upon which individual species are (and always will be) based.

Among these Carnegie type specimens are those of several well-known dinosaurs—Diplodocus carnegii, Apatosaurus louisae (aka ‘Brontosaurus’), and the ‘Chicken from Hell’ Anzu wyliei.

We also have the type specimen of most famous dinosaur of all, Tyrannosaurus rex!

February 12, 2018 by wpengine

Collected February 11 in 1903

In honor of the cool, new Tropical Forest Cuba opening up this past weekend at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, here’s a specimen collected in Cuba 115 years ago today. This pine specimen of Pinus elliottii, known as slash pine or Cuban pine, was collected by George Russell Shaw in the Isles of Pines, Cuba
(now known as Isla de la Juventud). Shaw was an influential botanist working at the Arnold Arboretum (Harvard) who specialized in pines.

The Carnegie Museum of Natural History has many specimens from Cuba. Curator of Botany Otto Jennings and others went on expeditions to Cuba in the early 1900s, and many specimens are now preserved at the Carnegie Museum.

page of an open book — *One publication resulting from expeditions to the Isles of Pines, written by one the first curators of botany Otto Jennings, who researched the plants of Cuba.*

The herbarium includes 4,068 specimens from Cuba, of which 54 are type specimens (meaning they are associated with the description of a species new to science).

Learn more about the plants and culture of Cuba at Tropical Forest Cuba at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens!

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

February 12, 2018 by wpengine

Ocean Jasper

Various specimens of ocean jasper are displayed in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s galleries including this necklace and sphere from Madagascar.

The orbs and spheres seen on these two pieces are typical of ocean jasper.

Would you wear an ocean jasper necklace? Display that orb on your shelf?

(photos by Debra Wilson)

February 12, 2018 by wpengine

Mollusks (snails, clams,octopus, etc.)

Mollusks (snails, clams, octopus, etc.) are the second largest phylum. It is second only to the arthropods, which includes the insects. There are more kinds of mollusks than there are vertebrates (animals with backbones).

The Mollusks collection at Carnegie Museum of Natural History contains specimens that are valuable to researchers both locally and worldwide. Our molluscan collection is one of the 15 largest in the United States and boasts more terrestrial and freshwater mollusks from western Pennsylvania and adjacent states than any other museum.

February 7, 2018 by wpengine

All of the African mammals gathered around the watering hole…

All of the African mammals gathered around the watering hole in the Hall of African Wildlife were collected on an early research expedition let by Childs Frick to British East Africa and Abyssinia (now Kenya and Ethiopia).

The official dates of that expedition were 1911–1912, and we can track almost all these specimens to that trip. However, in 1909–1910, Frick took an exploratory trip to part of the area covered in 1911–1912 to scope it out and probably collected the giraffe on that trip at the train stop in Voi.

February 7, 2018 by wpengine

Black-and-white Warbler

This is probably one of the easiest warblers to identify with it’s name being quite literal.

February 6, 2018 by wpengine

Why Do Some Shrews Have Dark Red Teeth?

skull and jawbone of a shrew with red teeth

By John Wible

Some shrews have white teeth, while others, including our local northern short-tailed shrew, Blarina brevicauda, have a mixture of dark red and white patches on all their teeth. The dark red marks the presence of iron in the tooth enamel, in contrast to the white without.

Why? It turns out that the concentration of iron is not uniform across all teeth, but is highest on those parts of the teeth that do the most crushing and grinding during chewing. Because of that, the iron in the pigmented enamel is thought to reinforce those high stress surfaces, helping to prolong the life of the tooth. That is important for an animal that is born with its adult (permanent) teeth, having shed its baby (deciduous) teeth in utero. And for an animal with a voracious appetite, where finding the next meal in a hurry is necessary to maintain its high metabolic rate. Interestingly, the shrews that don’t have dark red teeth have a lower metabolic rate than those with. The juxtaposition of dark red and white enamel also helps to keep cutting edges sharp as the softer white enamel wears faster than the dark red. There is only one other group of living mammals that has pigmented enamel, rodents, but unlike the shrews, it is only on their incisors and not all teeth.

No matter what it is for, the shrew’s dark red enamel makes for a mouthful of beautiful, non-pearly white teeth!

February 5, 2018 by wpengine

In its early years, Carnegie Museum often purchased…

In its early years, Carnegie Museum often purchased birds from different areas of the world. One excellent collection came from Sir Walter Buller who built a collection from New Zealand for his groundbreaking books on birds of that country. We have more bird specimens from that country (645) than any other museum in the United States like this mounted little blue penguin on display in Bird Hall.

February 5, 2018 by wpengine

Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Section of Anthropology

Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Section of Anthropology has the finest collection of archaeological material from Costa Rica outside of that country.

It is also the first collection that was scientifically excavated by curator Carl V. Hartman, between 1903 and 1908.

It includes carved stone benches and statuary, small jade pendants and beads, and a great variety of ceramics, including effigy whistles.

One pendant, a jade bat, is considered the finest piece of jade ever found in Costa Rica. It is due to be loaned to the Getty Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art later this year.

February 5, 2018 by wpengine

The Woodchuck…or Groundhog?

By: Suzanne McLaren

Woodchuck, groundhog, whistle pig- these picturesque and sometimes misleading names describe one of the state’s most common and familiar mammals. The exposure of “Punxsutawney Phil” has helped to acquaint many people with some of the groundhog’s habits and has made the animal appear to be a comical character.

The importance of incisors in the woodchuck’s obtaining of food is obvious when the remaining teeth are examined. Between the incisors and the cheek teeth is a large gap which would be filled by canine teeth in omnivorous and carnivorous mammals. Behind this gap, called the diastema, are five molar-type teeth on each side of the upper jay and four on each side of the lower jaw. These cheek teeth grind and pulverize the material obtained for them by the incisors.

The image above details the importance of perfect dental alignment in a woodchuck. Misaligned teeth lead to unchecked growth and death by starvation.

Suzanne McLaren is the Curatorial Assistant of the Section of Mammals in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

February 1, 2018 by wpengine

Elephants and Ivory

Elephants and Ivory: Coordinating Natural History Museum Action to Address Wildlife Crime

Exquisite wildlife species like elephants, hunted and killed for ivory are endangered – and institutions like Carnegie Museum of Natural History are stepping up.

Eric J. Dorfman, the Daniel G. and Carole L. Kamin Director of Carnegie Museum of Natural History, wrote an article entitled: “Elephants and Ivory: Coordinating Natural History Museum Action to Address Wildlife Crime” for a special elephant-conservation-themed issue of Curator The Museum Journal.

The article discusses wildlife crime, estimated to be worth as much as $23 billion annually on the black market. Elephants are frequent victims of poaching for their ivory tusks, and thieves desperate to obtain the material
try to steal elephant ivory from natural-history museums.

“Illicit trafficking of wildlife is arguably one of the most serious ethical and operational issues currently facing natural-history museums,” Dorfman writes. “As species like elephants become increasingly rare and efforts to protect them are stepped up, the black market is turning with increasing regularity to museum collections. Ongoing thefts from museums of elephant ivory and rhinoceros horn are being added to more traditional targets of crime such as gemstones, gold and cultural artifacts.”

More than 25 scholars and museum professionals contributed articles examining the ivory issue to the journal. John Fraser, Curator editor, says the issue shows the many ways museums can join a productive dialogue that can ensure the survival of elephants. “Essentially, this issue on ivory is a call to action for the entire museum sector,” Fraser says.

February 1, 2018 by wpengine

Antarctic Peninsula Paleontology Project featured by NSF

two explorers in the distance on a flat, baren part of antartica — Photo courtesy of AP3 team member Dr. Meng Jin, Curator-in-Charge of the Division of Paleontology at American Museum of Natural History

Dr. Matt Lamanna, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Assistant Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology, served as the lead Principal Investigator and Project Director of the Antarctic Peninsula Paleontology Project (AP3). Photos of their expedition were recently featured through The National Science Foundation’s showcase on Discover magazine’s website entitled When Dinosaurs Roamed Antarctica. Check out the link for some of the stunning photos from their trip!

http://discovermagazine.com/galleries/2018/frozen-fossils

February 1, 2018 by wpengine

Carnegie Museum of Natural History has an extremely…

Carnegie Museum of Natural History has an extremely valuable collection of birds from northern South America because W.E. Clyde Todd, curator of ornithology, had an interest in the area and the ability to purchase specimens during the early years of the museum. We hold almost 59,000 specimens from the continent. Todd was curator from 1919–1944, but began at the museum in 1899 and continued to visit the museum as an emeritus until 1969—a full 70 years!

Picture above in 1966, Todd is shown with a drawer of bird eggs.

February 1, 2018 by wpengine

Did you know?

Did you know that some specimens in the Section of Mollusks were collected more than 180 years ago? Our collection represents every continent and every ocean on Earth—marine, freshwater, and land.

January 29, 2018 by wpengine

The Dinosaur of a Lifetime

color drawing of a dinosaur on a beach — (Image credit: Carnegie Museum of Natural History / Andrew McAfee)

By Matt Lamanna

January 29, 2018

It might sound a little strange to say, but African dinosaurs have been an important part of my life for a long time. Almost two decades ago, when I was in graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania, and a few years before I took a job here at Carnegie Museum of Natural History, I participated in fossil-hunting expeditions to the Sahara Desert of Egypt. Along with our advisor, my beloved “Boss” Peter Dodson, my fellow students and I had a lot of success, discovering among other fossils the only known skeleton of a new, ~95 million-year-old species that we named Paralititan stromeri in 2001. With a humerus, or upper arm bone, that’s almost as tall as I am, Paralititan is still one of the biggest dinosaurs known to science.

But as fun as those discoveries were to be a part of, some of our team’s most sought-after finds never materialized. In going to Egypt, part of our aim was to find dinosaurs from roughly 80 to 66 million years ago – dinosaurs from the very end of the Cretaceous Period, the third and final time period of the Age of Dinosaurs. Dinosaur fossils of this age are exceedingly rare on all of continental Africa (i.e., Africa excluding the island of Madagascar), not just in Egypt. Surprisingly, however, this has not stopped paleontologists from speculating as to what kinds of dinosaurs might have inhabited Africa at the end of the Cretaceous. Some have proposed that African latest Cretaceous dinosaurs were close relatives of, and therefore similar to, those living on neighboring landmasses at the same time. Other scientists have argued that Africa was an island continent at the end of the Cretaceous, and, because it was cut off from other land areas, it was home to unique dinosaurs that had evolved for millions of years along their own distinctive evolutionary pathways.

Until recently, no one had ever found a reasonably complete dinosaur skeleton from the end of the Cretaceous anywhere on continental Africa. A few isolated bones and minor parts of skeletons had been discovered, but these didn’t tell us much about the dinosaurs to which they belonged – as you can imagine, the more pieces one has of a fossil skeleton, the more one can typically learn about the animal it represents. This, in turn, prevented paleontologists from figuring out whether African latest Cretaceous dinosaurs were truly unique or whether they had close kin on other landmasses. But all of that changed in late 2013, when my friend and colleague Dr. Hesham Sallam of Mansoura University in Egypt—along with his talented students Iman El-Dawoudi, Sanaa El-Sayed, and Sara Saber—discovered the skeleton of a sauropod (long-necked plant-eating dinosaur) at an ~80 million-year-old site in the Dakhla Oasis of the Egyptian Sahara. The dinosaur I’d dreamed about for virtually all of my professional life had finally been found! Even better, Hesham and the team—which also included my close friends Pat O’Connor and Eric Gorscak, plus several other Egyptian and American scientists—invited me to be a part of the study. We soon realized that the creature had a lot to say about the nature of Africa’s last dinosaurs, as its bones suggested close relationships to species living in Europe and Asia at about the same time. These hypotheses were borne out by more rigorous analyses, showing that African latest Cretaceous dinosaurs weren’t island-dwelling weirdos after all – rather, they had close cousins in Eurasia. Today, our team gave the dinosaur its formal scientific name, Mansourasaurus shahinae, and for me, it’s the culmination of a search that’s occupied almost half my life.

Matt Lamanna is a paleontologist and the principal dinosaur researcher at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh.

Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Architecture of Oakland–from a PITT student’s perspective

One of my favorite details of the library is the inscription above the main entrance: “Free to the People.” It is such a simple statement, but boldly stands above you as you enter creating a call for attention. Carnegie himself created this permanent advertisement that would appeal to any readers ears.

The structure itself was built in and is connected to Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Carnegie Museum of Art, and the Carnegie Music Hall. It was created in modified Italian Renaissance style and is constructed of gray sandstone. The building has a frieze below the roofline that is inscribed with names of distinguished musicians, artists, authors, and scientists. Elmer E. Garnsey, who also decorated the Boston Public Library and the Library of Congress, decorated this library in Oakland.

January 29, 2018 by wpengine

About 130,000 unique and rare fossils

About 130,000 unique and rare fossils from western Europe were purchased by Andrew Carnegie in 1903 from Baron de Bayet, executive secretary to King Leopold II (at turn of last century) Belgium.

Examples of fossils on exhibit in our core exhibition Dinosaurs in Their Time are from Lyme Regis (England), Holzmaden (Germany), and Solnhofen (Germany).

The fossils were collected from famous paleontology sites in Europe and United States more than a century ago.

January 29, 2018 by wpengine

Dinosaurs in Their Time

Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s core exhibition, Dinosaurs in Their Time, features over 230 specimens, of which approximately 75% are original fossils.

January 27, 2018 by wpengine

Delegates at the 2017 ICOM NATHIST

Delegates at the 2017 ICOM NATHIST Conference dined together in the beautiful Carnegie Music Hall Foyer. After a full day of intellectually stimulating panel discussions and workshops, the dinner was a wonderful opportunity to continue to socialize with peers in a more relaxed setting.

January 24, 2018 by wpengine

After-hatching-year Mourning Warbler

warbler bird wtih a grey head and bright yellow breast

Both of these male and female bird types pretend to have broken wings to distract predators close to their nest.

January 24, 2018 by wpengine

Spot the Pika?

Can you spot the pika hiding in the Hall of North American Wildlife? This small rodent is hard to find, but hiding amongst the beautifully painted scenery!

January 22, 2018 by wpengine

What’s a Nurdle?

by Rachael Carlberg

small plastic balls about the size of a pencil eraser — Example of nurdles

Nurdle is a silly word for a product with not-so-silly effects. Nurdles are small pellets that are the first step in the process of making any plastic thing. Your plastic containers, bags, and bottles were all once nurdles.

Every nurdle is created to be melted down and turned into a product used by humans. But, that often isn’t the case. Through leaks, spills, and other storage or transportation errors, nurdles end up in the environment, eventually making their way to the ocean.

So, what’s the big deal? Little plastic pellets can’t really cause any harm, right?

Wrong. Once in the ocean, nurdles can cause a myriad of issues. For one, many pollutants are attracted to the surface of nurdles, causing higher rates of toxicity in the water around them. Nurdles also are eaten by many organisms mistaking them for plankton or other food. Once in the ocean, nurdles don’t go away. Over time, they will break up into smaller and smaller particles, but will always be out in the environment unless removed by humans.

man surfing in a wave full of trash — (Plastic pieces are among the debris depicted in this photo mural in *We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene.*)

The good news is people can do something about the problem. Reusing plastic containers or switching to alternatives (for example, using a refillable water bottle instead of disposable ones) reduces the need for new plastic products to be made. If you live near a body of water where nurdles or any plastic waste are present, you can join in on cleanup efforts or start your own cleanup of the area.

Rachael Carlberg is an intern in the Education department of Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences of working at the museum.

January 22, 2018 by wpengine

Nice Gift!

Wertz Gallery displays an amber necklace that was a state gift from Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrei Gromyko to former secretary of state Henry Kissinger.

(Photo by Hayley Pontia)

January 22, 2018 by wpengine

Endemic Birds of Cuba

Susan standing in front of three wooden bird carvings — Susan Kraft with specimens at Carnegie Museum of Natural History

We will be highlighting a series of endemic birds from Cuba in correspondence to a new exhibit appearing at Phipps Conservatory, Tropical Forest Cuba set to open Saturday, February, 10. Carvings were created by Susan Kraft (above), for the exhibit, using specimens from Carnegie Museum of Natural History as reference.

An endemic bird can be defined as one that only occurs in a given area, in this case, Cuba and the small islands surrounding this large island. Endemics only live in a specific area unless they are in captivity or became invasive in some way.

wooden carving of a blue and red bird shown next to the real study skin of the same bird — Cuban Trogon reference specimen

The first highlighted piece is an exquisite carving of a Cuban Trogon. The reference specimen used to create this carving was a specimen in the Carnegie Museum collection collected on March 1941 by W.H. Corning. Artists, sculptors, and carvers benefit by having real specimens to use as reference.

Tropical Forest Cuba is an exhibit opening February 10 at Phipps Conservatory. The exhibit showcases the vibrant ecology and culture of one of the most bio-diverse nations on Earth. Cuba houses more endemic animal and plant species than any other Caribbean island, boasting some of the most fascinating and unique bird species.

January 22, 2018 by wpengine

(Not So) Boring Clams

by Tim Pearce

Some clams, in the families Teredinidae and Pholadidae, bore holes in wood or rock that is immersed in seawater. We humans often think of wood and stone structures as relatively permanent, but these clams force us to challenge that idea. In fact, the wood-boring clams, known as ship worms, are a centuries-old scourge to shipping activities because they weaken wooden ships and pilings.

peice of wood covered in long thin holes — Wood bored by shipworm, Lyrodus pedicellatus

The wood-boring clams are highly modified from the clams that normally come to mind. Their shells are reduced to a pair of abrasive cutting tools at the end of a long, worm-like body. The clam twists the shells back and forth, breaking off chunks of wood as it burrows through the wood. The clam eats the wood, aided by symbiotic bacteria that digest the wood. As the clams burrow, they somehow seem to know when they are near another clam’s tunnel and they avoid breaking into it, but how they know is a puzzle.

grey rock with holes, clam shells can be seen filling some of the holes — Rock bored by clam, Penitella penita, from Washington State

Human efforts to prevent shipworms from destroying wooden ships and pilings included coatings containing tributyl tin (TBT). While paints containing TBT did protect against shipworm damage, the chemical was toxic and caused reproductive problems in aquatic organisms. In particular, TBT causes masculinization of female fish, snails, and other aquatic species. So, other methods to protect wood are now used instead.

Rock-boring clams also have shells adapted for abrasion at one end, but they differ from the ship worms because the shells of the rock-boring clams are not as reduced as in the ship worms, and the rock boring clams do not derive nutrition from the rock particles. As the clams bore into the rock, they grow, so the burrow tapers wider inward, so the clam shell cannot get out. However, the clam gains great protection from predators. The clam siphons protrude through the rock opening to bring in water and food and to expel wastes.

white clam shell — Rock-boring clam, Zirfaea crispata, from England

Other clams specialize in boring in calcium carbonate. These clams are important in the destruction of limestone, reefs made of coral skeletons, and even shells of other mollusks.

Timothy Pearce is the Head of the Section of Mollusks at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

January 19, 2018 by wpengine

Notice any differences?

Notice any differences between these two sets of botany sheets?

These specimens of spicebush and redbud from the museum’s herbarium were collected on the same day, exactly 100 years apart.

Changing seasonal patterns, thought to be caused by climate change, are causing plants to bloom and flower increasingly earlier in the year. Historical museum collections are helping researchers who are documenting environmental changes caused by humans in the Anthropocene.

The Anthropocene is the current geological era in which humans are making a profound impact on the geological strata. While the term itself is still being debated by geologists, the museum is embracing it as a social and cultural tool for exploring the broad sum effect humans are having on the planet in the exhibition We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene—open now through summer 2018.

January 19, 2018 by wpengine

Section of Vertebrate Paleontology

Did you know that the Section of Vertebrate Paleontology’s collection dates almost to the very founding of the museum in 1895?

The first specimen in the collection, a skeleton of the ~50 million-year-old fish Priscacara, was collected on June 1, 1896. More famous fossils such as the museum’s American mastodon skeleton CM 67 and Diplodocus carnegii holotype CM 84 (pictured above) were collected in 1898 and 1899, respectively. CM 67 was purchased by Andrew Carnegie himself, who donated the specimen to the museum on November 3, 1898, whereas Diplodocus carnegii was named after Carnegie in recognition of his support for the expedition that discovered this dinosaur.

Today, the collection contains approximately 120,000 specimens.

January 19, 2018 by wpengine

Changing Portrayals of Landscape

oil painting of a bridge over a river and several barges — (The Great Bridge, Rouen (Le Grand Pont, Rouen), 1896, Camille Pissarro. Oil on canvas. Credit: Carnegie Museum of Art )

Albert Kollar attended the American Geophysical Union Meetings program in Seattle, where he gave a presentation on changing portrayals of landscape on the transition to the Anthropocene. Albert collaborated with staff at both CMOA and CMNH to complete the work. You can read the featured article on their site.

January 18, 2018 by wpengine

Black and White Phantom Quartz

The Section of Minerals has specimens of both white and black phantom quartz crystals from Arkansas.

January 16, 2018 by wpengine

Tiger Beetle

An illustration of a tiger beetle from Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s collection.

January 16, 2018 by wpengine

Carboniferous Brachiopod Collections

John L. Carter, the retired curator of Invertebrate Paleontology, is world renown for his research on 350-million-year-old fossil brachiopods.

Carter named more than 130 new species and 40 new genera in his 27 years as curator, and his magnum opus was published in 2006 as part of the update to the Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology H (Brachiopod revised).

Several brachiopods from his collection are on display in Benedum Hall of Geology. Included in the section’s outstanding brachiopod collection is the De Koninck brachiopods from Tournai and Vise’ Belgium.

Of all the living skeletonized metazoans, brachiopods have the longest and most complete geologic record.

January 16, 2018 by wpengine

Gold Rush

Did you know that the Section of Minerals has a vial of panned stream concentrate containing specks of gold that is purported to be the “first gold sent east” from the Pike’s Peak gold rush in 1859?

January 12, 2018 by wpengine

Andrey Avinoff Paintings

Did you know that we have specimens that were used by Andrey Avinoff for his paintings in the publication Wild Flowers of Western Pennsylvania and the Upper Ohio Basin?

January 12, 2018 by wpengine

Section of Mollusks Tours

Did you know that the Section of Mollusks Assistant Curator Tim Pearce has been conducting monthly behind-the-scenes tours for the public since 2007?

On these tours, participants often learn for the first time that the museum has huge collections and scientists who conduct
research, and they see crowd pleasers such as the killer sea snail, the giant clam, and they look through the shell to see the beating heart of a live land snail.

Check our Section of Mollusks for tour times!

January 11, 2018 by wpengine

Did you know that in addition to needing a larger museum…

Did you know that in addition to needing a larger museum building to house our Diplodocus, Dippy, the 1907 expansion was required because Andrew Carnegie purchased our 32-foot long wooden Egyptian funerary boat?

Carnegie apparently purchased the boat without the knowledge of then Director, W.J. Holland, who upon its
arrival, told The Pittsburgh Times that he “had not been in correspondence with anyone regarding such a relic.”

Still, by July 24, 1901, Holland reported to The Pittsburgh Post that “Mr. Carnegie is ever on the lookout to purchase antiquities that will tend to carry out his idea of making the Carnegie Museum the most comprehensive and complete institution of the kind in the world… Mr. Carnegie is thoughtful to the extreme in this respect and we are never at a loss to find a good place for anything that may come.”

This boat is still on display today in Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt!

January 11, 2018 by wpengine

Humans and Nature: The Pizzly

When you think of climate change, the image that might come to mind is a distressed polar bear perched on a tiny piece of ice in a warming ocean. In fact, a Google image search for “global warming” will show a handful of those exact images.

However moving the image, it doesn’t tell the full story of how climate change is affecting this particular species. As arctic ice shrinks, polar bears have been migrating inland into new territories to hunt. Warmer temperatures are also driving grizzlies north into the same territories, which has let to interbreeding and a new hybrid type of bear—the pizzly.

Pelts and skulls of both types of bears and the story of the impact climate change is having on them is on display in We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene, a new exhibition at Carnegie Museum of Natural History that explores the interconnectedness of humanity and nature in the Anthropocene.

January 9, 2018 by wpengine

Think the papers in the back of your file cabinet are old?

Carnegie Museum of Natural History has pressed and preserved plant specimens on paper that were collected way back in 1754!

The specimen above is one of the oldest specimens in the herbarium. It is pot marigold (Calendula officinalis) that was collected in France in 1754 by Michel Adanson, an influential naturalist.

January 9, 2018 by wpengine

Architecture of Oakland

Architecture of Oakland–from a PITT Student’s perspective

The University Club, like many other buildings in the area, was designed by architect Henry Hornbostel and features a classical-style limestone exterior.

Completed in 1923, the new location of the club settled in Schenley Farms National Historic District after making its move from the original location in downtown Pittsburgh. It moved to Oakland to be closer to the city’s college campuses, bringing together graduates who enjoyed literature, art, and other culture.

Hayley Pontia is a student at The University of Pittsburgh who works as a free lancer for Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Through this blog series, she will share her unique perspective on our historic architecture in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh where our museum is located.

January 8, 2018 by wpengine

We may be known for our dinosaurs but…

We may be known for our dinosaurs but Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh’s collection actually began with Egypt. Purchased by Andrew Carnegie, the first object accessioned (acc. 1-1) is a Dynasty 21 Egyptian coffin that belonged to a chantress of Amun, who was probably a temple singer.

Before the coffin was sealed, a floral wreath made of woven leaves, grass, and flowers was placed across the mummy’s chest. Such wreaths are important in the study of ancient Egyptian flora.

(Photo by Josh Franzos)

January 8, 2018 by wpengine

Frogsicles?!

Rana sylvatica (also formally known as Lithobates sylvaticus) freeze 2/3 of their bodies in the winter during hibernation! They stop breathing and their hearts stop beating.

How do they do this? Cryoprotectants. Their body produces an excess of urea and glucose in order to avoid cell shrinkage and ice formation. When spring arrives, the frog simply thaws and returns to a normal life.

Kaylin Martin is a Curatorial Assistant in the Section of Herpetology. She blogs about the collection in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s historic Alcohol House, which is home to thousands of fluid-preserved specimens.

January 8, 2018 by wpengine

This rainbow of birds shows a variety of local species

This rainbow of birds shows a variety of local species found right here in Pittsburgh!

All of the birds in the case died from hitting windows, a human-created problem that scientists at the museum are working to correct. Through BirdSafe Pittsburgh, employees and a team of citizen scientists are gathering data on bird-window collisions in an attempt to reduce the number in coming years and develop products and strategies to reduce bird fatalities and injuries.

Learn more at BirdSafe Pittsburgh, and discover more instances of humanity’s impact on the environment in the new exhibition We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene.

January 8, 2018 by wpengine

Avocad-oh-no

In the last couple years, avocados have been hailed as a “superfood” that is delicious with pretty much everything. However, as the demand increased, the seasonal home of migrating monarch butterflies has been cut down for more avocado farmland.

It’s a prime example of how the actions of humans inadvertently impacts other species, which is a core theme of Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s new exhibition We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene.

January 8, 2018 by wpengine

According to the International Union for Conservation of…

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list, the Siberian (Amur) tiger population dropped to as low as 20-30 individual tigers in Russia in the 1930s. Today, conservation efforts have helped the population rebound to about 360 in Russia (as of 2005). Despite the positive progress, all tiger subspecies are still considered endangered due to human activity.

We Are Nature, the new exhibition at Carnegie Museum of Natural History, explores how humans are positively and negatively impacting other species like Siberian tigers in The Anthropocene.

January 8, 2018 by wpengine

Ask a Scientist: What is one of the more unique…

Ask a Scientist: What is one of the more unique mammals of western Pennsylvania?

Collections Manager Suzanne McClaren weighs in on what is so unique about one of the more familiar mammals of western Pennsylvania.

January 8, 2018 by wpengine

Ask a Scientist: Why are slugs so slimy?

Assistant Curator and Malacologist Dr. Timothy Pearce explains why slugs are slimy and talks about the incredible and useful properties of slug slime.

January 1, 2018 by wpengine

Humans and Nature: River Otters

Usually, we hear about how human activity negatively impacts wildlife populations, but the inverse can also be true when conservationists make a concerted effort.

One local example is river otters in the state of Pennsylvania, which were in decline in the 20th century because of habitat destruction and river pollution. Conservationists recognized the problem and spent decades restoring their habitat and eventually reintroduced river otters in 1982. Their population have since thrived, and the project is heralded as one of the greatest success stories of modern conservancy.

Learn more about population rehabilitation in We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene, a new exhibition at Carnegie Museum of Natural History that explores the interconnectedness of humanity and nature in the Anthropocene.

January 1, 2018 by wpengine

Did you know that coral is expected to be the first casualty?

Did you know that coral is expected to be the first casualty of the age of humanity (also known as the Anthropocene)?

In the last 30 years alone, half of the world’s coral has died.

When ocean water warms due to higher CO2 levels, the algae that live in the coral branches can’t survive, leaving the coral without a food source. The Great Barrier Reef experiences more and more coral bleaching daily, as can be seen on this specimen in the new exhibition We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

January 1, 2018 by wpengine

You can probably guess where this “grape” agate gets its name….

You can probably guess where this “grape” agate gets its name. It is now on display at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

(Photo by Debra Wilson)

December 28, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on Christmas Eve 1883: Mistletoe

John A. Shafer bought this mistletoe at a market in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Christmas Eve 1883. Sixteen years later, Shafer became the museum’s first botany curator. This mistletoe’s scientific name is Viscum album.

Mistletoes refer to many species within the genus Viscum. Usually, mistletoes refer to a species native to Europe, Viscum album. (“Album” is Latin for white.) European mistletoe has a deep cultural history, dating back to ancient Greece. It remains a well-known holiday decoration today.

Mistletoes are Hemi-Parasitic

Did you know that mistletoes are hemi-parasitic plants? They grow on the branches of trees like oaks, with special roots (called “haustorium”). These roots penetrate host trees to obtain water and nutrients. However, mistletoes don’t get all of their nutrients from their host plants. Hemi-parasitic plants like mistletoes make some of their own nutrients. They do this like other plants, through photosynthesis.

Mistletoe Germination

How do mistletoes germinate high up on the branches of trees? They have evolved to produce berries which birds like to eat. Birds then fly around, land on another branch, and poop viable mistletoe seeds. Without the help of birds, the seeds would likely just fall to the ground.

Mistletoes are native to the United States, too. American mistletoe (Phoradendron leucarpum) is native to southeastern states. People harvest and and sell this species in the United States in Christmas traditions, just like European mistletoe. The plant below is part of the museum’s herbarium and is from South Carolina in 1968. This specific American mistletoe had more than one host plant, all oak trees.

an old label — Close up image of label that reads: “a. purchased at Pittsburg market.” It took me a while to decipher this handwriting. Note that Pittsburgh’s official spelling was “Pittsburg” until 1911. The mistletoe was for sale for the holidays. It was imported from its native range in England.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

December 28, 2017 by wpengine

Dirty Birds

two sparrows shown belly up, the one from 1906 is significantly darker in color — Comparison of two Field Sparrows (S. pusilla pusilla), one from 1906 and one from 1996. (Credit: Carl C. Fuldner & Shane G. DuBay | doi:10.1073/pnas.1710239114)

by Pat McShea

Most of the information stored in museum specimens has yet to be read. When museum curators make such claims, they often hint at labyrinths of undeciphered genetic code within the tissue of preserved plants and animals. As a recent study by two University of Chicago graduate students makes clear, “readable” information coats even the exterior of some carefully collected and prepared specimens.

Shane DuBay and Carl Fuldner charted a 135-year record of air pollution across America’s rust belt by examining soot on the breast feathers of more than 1,300 bird specimens in the collections of The Field Museum, the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, and Carnegie Museum of Natural History. A summary of their work was recently published in the Proceedings of the Natural Academy of Sciences.

closups of the bird feathers — Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) micrographs of breast feathers plucked from the specimens in the upper image. (Credit: Carl C. Fuldner & Shane G. DuBay | doi:10.1073/pnas.1710239114)

Because birds molt their feathers each year, and every study skin includes a reference to a collection date and location, the researchers treated the darkened specimens as recording instruments. Scanning electron microscope images were used to document black carbon as the soot component clinging to feather filaments, collection care and storage protocols were reviewed to discount the possibility that birds became soot-coated after becoming museum specimens, and an innovative technique was developed to measure carbon levels differences among the study skins based upon variations in reflected light.

The study’s findings, which cover the period between 1880 and 2015, fill information gaps about pollution levels before the establishment of air quality monitoring standards in the 1950’s. By improving the accuracy of past air pollution estimates, information gleaned from the preserved birds will help refine existing models for predicting future atmospheric change.

To learn more about this innovative study, please visit the Proceedings of the Natural Academy of Science.

December 28, 2017 by wpengine

Write a Letter to Santa at the Museum!

Sven the reindeer in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Discovery Basecamp has been dutifully taking letters to Santa again this holiday season. Most children have written that they have been nice this year, like Madelyn who wants a hippopotamus!

Tracey, however, has a big heart and higher hopes for next year.

You can still send your letters to Santa, and possibly put in a quick word for next year, until December 31.

December 22, 2017 by wpengine

Collected in December 1928

Are you decking your halls with boughs of holly? This specimen of American holly (Ilex opaca) was collected by M.L. Bomhard in Mandeville, Louisiana by on December 8, 1928. The holly revered for its holiday cheer usually refers to a related European species, Ilex aquifolium. But there are native holly species in North America that are equally (if not more) cheerful. Like most other hollies, American holly is dioecious, meaning it has male and female flowers on separate plants. Only the female plants have the characteristic bright red berries we all know and love. American holly stands out as one of the few broadleaved evergreen trees native to the Eastern United States (i.e., has green leaves during winter that are not needles). This species is near the northern edge of its range in Pennsylvania and is more common in southern states. It is listed in PA as a species of “special concern” due to its relative rarity.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

December 22, 2017 by wpengine

Conservation Costume

costume from We Are Nature which looks a little like a hazmat suit

by Pat McShea

A ghostly looking outfit in the exhibition We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene is a symbol of hope. The costume is an authentic conservation tool, a care-giver disguise critical to the success of captive rearing programs for North America’s most elegant endangered bird, the Whooping Crane.

The costume is on loan from the International Crane Foundation, the Baraboo, Wisconsin-based
organization devoted to the conservation of our planet’s 15 crane species and the ecosystems, watersheds, and flyways on which they depend.

white Whooping Crane — International Crane Foundation, “Whooping Crane Wading in Exhibit Pond,” Crane Media Collective.

According to author Peter Matthiessen, whose book, The Birds of Heaven (North Point Press, 2001) documents the status all 15 crane species at the dawn of the 21^st Century, Whooping Cranes were never
abundant. From an estimated population of 15,000 at the time on European contact, crane numbers plummeted due to over-hunting, egg collecting, and dramatic landscape changes associated with expanding agriculture and industry. Some 1,400 scattered birds remained in the latter half of the 19^th
Century, and by the middle of the 20^th Century the number of the big birds dipped as low as 21.

Today, thanks to far-sighted legislation and tireless work by US and Canadian wildlife agencies and organizations such as the National Audubon Society and International Crane Foundation, there are more than 600 Whooping Cranes. This figure includes a captive population of 161 birds, and four separate free-living flocks numbering between 10 and 300 birds.

The captive breeding and captive rearing efforts that helped bolster Whooping Crane numbers rely heavily upon a working understanding of the biological phenomenon called imprinting. In ground-nesting birds, the term refers to the establishment of behavior patterns that lead young to follow and direct their interests to adults of their species. Because Whooping Crane chicks bond with the first big object they see after hatching, the skilled and devoted humans who take on rearing responsibilities utilize the deception provided by the bright white costume, its hand puppet head, and a carefully-concealed Mp3 player loaded with recorded crane calls. If the disguise works, captive-reared birds will know they are Whooping Cranes when released into the wild.

wooden beak and cloth head of the puppet — Close-up of the hand puppet head

December 21, 2017 by wpengine

We Are Nature: Repurposing Old Furniture

By Jaron Keener

The design philosophy for We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene was grounded in reuse and being mindful of our environmental impact. Working this way meant we didn’t rely on new, off-the-shelf materials. We had to be more imaginative and creative with what we used to build the exhibit.

One of the ways we reduced our energy footprint was by repurposing old furniture. We partnered with Construction Junction, a local retailer that promotes conservation through the reuse of building materials, to find furniture we could refurbish for the exhibit.

By refinishing and painting old pieces we were able to use them in a different way and give them a new life.

repurposed table now being displayed in We are Nature — We transformed this old bar table into a case for the Pennsylvania River Otter. The base safely supports the large specimen while maintaining a light and open feel.

white coffee table and couch in We Are Nature — By attaching new legs to a refinished tabletop, we produced a stylish coffee table for the Human Diorama.

cleaned an painted furnature put to reuse in We Are Nature — Stacking, spackling, and painting three old drawers made a sturdy base for the Zebra Mussel display. The final product looks like a basic platform, but we didn’t have to use any new material to build it.

Jaron Keener is an Exhibition Designer and Production Manager at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences of working at the museum.

December 20, 2017 by wpengine

Exploring the Sixth Extinction through Immersive Theater

Maureen Rolla, Carnegie Museum of Pittsburgh’s Director of Strategic Initiatives, wrote the featured guest blog today on the Center for the Future of Museums blog, an initiative by the American Alliance of Museums.

Carnegie Museum’s partnership with Bricolage for the immersive theater run of DODO: The Time Has Come connected visitors to the museums in new ways.

December 19, 2017 by wpengine

Humans and Nature: Pangolins

Have you ever heard of the pangolin? If not, it may surprise you to learn that they are the most illegally trafficked animal on the planet.

Sometimes called scaly anteaters, pangolins are unique in that they are mammals that are scaly, have no teeth, and eat social insects like termites or ants. There are eight species of pangolins worldwide: four in Africa and four in Asia.

Their scales are valued in some African and Asian medical practices, and though they may not look appetizing to Americans, their tender meat is a delicacy in some cultures. Just one kilogram of pangolin scales can be sold for thousands of dollars. As a result, pangolin populations have been nearly decimated by humans.

The third Saturday of February is World Pangolin Day, which was instituted by conservationists looking to draw attention to the terrible, impending crisis facing the future of pangolins.

Here at the museum, we raised awareness by including a taxidermy mount of a pangolin in We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene, an exhibition that explored the interconnectedness of humanity and nature in the Anthropocene.

The Anthropocene is the current geological era in which humans are making a profound impact on the geological strata. While the term itself is still being debated by geologists, the museum is embracing it as a social and cultural tool for exploring the broad sum effect humans are having on the planet. We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene was the first exhibition in the nation to focus on the Anthropocene as a concept and it was built entirely within Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Ask a Scientist

Ask a Scientist: How do you store specimens that are too big to fit in jars?

Curatorial Assistant Kaylin Martin tells the story of how snake heads, giant turtles, and more are stored in the museum’s historic Alcohol House— home to more than 200,000 reptile and amphibian specimens that are jarred and preserved in alcohol.

December 18, 2017 by wpengine

Hey, which one of you just called me bald?

This bald eagle mount can be seen in the Hall of North American Wildlife. The species generally lives near water and primarily feeds on fish but can take live prey of all vertebrates and invertebrates.

(Photo by Hayley Pontia)

December 18, 2017 by wpengine

Have you tried Dippy Dino Rocks yet?

Have you tried Dippy Dino Rocks yet? It is a new flavor of ice cream inspired by our most famous dinosaur Diplodocus carnegii, and it’s only available at Klavon’s Ice Cream Parlor in the Strip District.

December 15, 2017 by wpengine

Afraid you missed our most recent Scientists Live?

Afraid you missed our most recent Scientists Live with Mason Heberling in the Herbarium? You can tune in anytime here or on Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Youtube channel. Binge watch the whole Scientists Live series in our Scientists Live playlist.

December 14, 2017 by wpengine

Shopping cart symbol

by Patrick McShea

shopping cart covered in green ocean life

The shell-encrusted shopping cart in We Are Nature would get lots of visitor attention even if it weren’t suspended from the ceiling. Hundreds of zebra mussels coat the familiar contraption, creating an eerily appropriate symbol for human-altered natural systems: An empty icon of consumer culture armored by hitchhiking organisms of global trade.

Zebra mussels, a freshwater species native to the Caspian Sea and Black Sea, were unwittingly introduced into the Great Lakes during the 1980s via ballast water dumped by ocean-crossing cargo ships. The creature’s rapid dispersal since then has been attributed to the passive drifting of tiny larvae and the ability of mature zebra mussels to attach to boats moving between the lakes and adjacent river systems.

As invaders, zebra mussels have profound effects on ecosystems. They feed by filtering tiny organisms from the water, and by sheer numbers can out-compete fish larvae and native mussel species dependent on the same food source. Zebra mussels attach to any submerged hard surface. Their profusion attracts attention when it results in clogged water in-take pipes, but not necessarily when thousands of the striped fingernail-sized creatures occupy physical positions atop existing beds of native freshwater mussels.

At Carnegie Museum of Natural History, concern for the health of our region’s diverse population of native freshwater mussels has a long history. In 1909, Arnold Ortmann, then Curator of Invertebrate Zoology, termed the disappearance of mussel species “the first sign of pollution of a dangerous character in a stream.” His observation was based upon biological surveys in rivers and streams throughout Western Pennsylvania, fieldwork performed during a time of rapid industrialization that garnered the museum an irreplaceable collection of local mussel shells.

drawer full of mussel shells — Shells of *Potamilus alatus*, or pink heelsplitter, a native freshwater mussel in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History Section of Mollusks.

December 14, 2017 by wpengine

As night fell on the hallowed halls of Carnegie Museum of…

As night fell on the hallowed halls of Carnegie Museum of Natural History, the stage was set for a night of ghosts, ghouls, and Halloween fun at Haunted Museum: Year of the Monster on October 21. There were bats in the Grand Staircase, poltergeists in Paleolab, and real dinosaurs cast in dramatic lighting as part of the museum’s annual 21+ Halloween party.

Wish you had attended? Catch our next After Dark, Strangest Things, this Friday, December 15 at 6 PM. Buy tickets now.

December 14, 2017 by wpengine

Giant Pumpkin Seed Harvest

By Bonnie Isaac

There was a giant pumpkin on display in the courtyard at the museum as part of We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene.

man cutting through a giant pumpkin with a hand saw

The farmer who grew the 2,090.5 pound pumpkin (above) recently came to the
museum on November 25^th to harvest the seeds from the pumpkin.

man looking into a hole cut in the top of a giant pumpkin

He will use the seeds from this pumpkin to try to grow an
even bigger pumpkin next year.

dismantled giant pumpkin after having the seeds removed

That was one big pumpkin!

Bonnie Isaac is the collection manager in the Section of Botany at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

December 12, 2017 by wpengine

One Step Closer to Jurassic Park?

Amber is fossilized tree resin, hardened over time into a natural plastic. Many people know of amber from the film Jurassic Park, in which scientists extract DNA from blood of dinosaurs that had been bitten by insects that were then entombed in amber. Sadly, however, DNA of non-avian dinosaurs (i.e., all dinosaurs except their descendants, birds) has never been successfully extracted from amber or any other fossil.

Nevertheless, exciting new discoveries from the Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar (formerly Burma) may bring us one small step closer to someday making Jurassic Park a reality. In a study that appeared today in the prestigious scientific journal Nature Communications, a team led by Enrique Peñalver of the Instituto Geológico y Minero de España in Madrid, Spain described ticks encased in Burmese amber from the middle Cretaceous Period, roughly 100 million years ago, including several specimens of a new tick species named Deinocroton draculi, or “Dracula’s terrible tick.” One of these ticks is engorged by blood, its volume about eight times greater than that of the non-engorged ticks. Furthermore, specialized hairs of skin beetle larvae—which commonly feed on tough organic matter such as skin, hair, or feathers in nests—are attached to the legs of two
Deinocroton ticks. This suggests that these ticks fed on feathered dinosaurs!

Whether the newly-described fossil tick specimens contain traces of dinosaur blood is something that future analyses might tackle. Some of these Deinocroton ticks, including the blood-engorged specimen, have been donated to Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH) by one of the study’s coauthors, Pittsburgh-area geologist and amber collector Scott Anderson. The fossils have been formally incorporated into CMNH’s Invertebrate Paleontology collection and will eventually be put on public display.

tick caught in amber — Top view of the ~100 million-year-old Deinocroton tick from Myanmar that may contain remnants of blood, possibly dinosaur blood.
*Photo credit: Scott Anderson.*

tick's legs and underside shown from the bottom — The same ~100 million-year-old Deinocroton tick from below.
*Photo credit: Scott Anderson.*

December 12, 2017 by wpengine

Ask a Scientist: What is still unknown…

Ask a Scientist: What is still unknown about “The Chicken from Hell?”

Paleontologist Dr. Matt Lamanna helped discover the bird-like dinosaur Anzu wyliei, but he said scientists are still working to answer questions about this unique and fascinating prehistoric animal.

December 11, 2017 by wpengine

The Naming of the Shrew

By John Wible

When most people in New England, the Mid-Atlantic states, and the Upper Midwest find this small, brown, tubular mammal in leaf litter in their yard they call it a mole. In fact, it is not a mole, but a relative of a mole called a shrew. More specifically, it is a northern short-tailed shrew, Blarina brevicauda. Like moles, the northern short-tailed shrew has degenerate eyes, spends most of its time in underground burrows, and feasts on earthworms and other invertebrates. Estimates are that it eats its weight per day to maintain its high metabolic rate; food consumption has to increase in winter to survive the cold. Life span is short by our standards, with most not living more than a year. To aid in procuring food, the northern short-tailed shrew has a salivary gland that produces venomous saliva that either kills or paralyzes its prey. Biochemically, it resembles some snake venom and starts the digestive process by breaking down protein. Vision is not this shrew’s forte, but I have seen them successfully cross a busy two-lane road in the North Hills of Pittsburgh! How? They echolocate, using high-pitched clicks, and have a heightened sense of smell.

shrew specimen collected in Pennsylvania

There are more than 350 species of shrews found on all continents except Australia and Antarctica. Not all shrews spend the majority of their time underground. Some tropical shrews in Africa and Asia forage in bushes and small trees and there are even aquatic shrews! They are all small though and with a similar tubular body plan. The largest shrew is about 6 inches long and weighs 100 grams. The smallest, the Etruscan pygmy shrew, Suncus etruscus, is less than an inch and a half in length and weighs only 1.8 grams; it is the smallest living terrestrial mammal by weight.

In Old English, shrews were superstitiously feared and were believed to have a venomous bite, which is not true as shrews in England are not venomous; in fact, our North American Blarina brevicauda is the only venomous shrew species. These small mammals became the source of another usage for the word shrew as an evil or scolding person, used in that sense since at least the 11th century and made immortal by Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. Despite the intention of the title, Blarina brevicauda cannot be domesticated!

December 11, 2017 by wpengine

How Scallop Eyes Relate to Human Uniqueness

sea scallop resting on the bottom of the ocean

by Timothy A. Pearce

We humans like to think we are special among all creatures. To support that notion, we claim unique traits such as language, tool use, consciousness, etc. Oops, all of those traits have now been shown to occur in other species. Do not fear, though, for I have found a trait that seems to be unique to humans: a fondness for 90 degree angles (aka right angles). You heard it here first! I don’t know where on the evolutionary lineage to modern humans we acquired this fondness for right angles, but evidence of this fondness is all around us in the modern built environment.

What does fondness for right angles have to do with scallop eyes? First let me tell you about the amazing eyes of scallops. They have up to 200 eyes along the mantle margin, and those eyes contain concave mirrors. Instead of being similar to cameras (as our, and most, eyes are), scallop eyes are similar to reflecting telescopes, and each eye has two retinas so they can see clearly in both narrow and peripheral views at the same time.

New research published this week in Science (and described in the New York Times ) demonstrates that the concave mirror of each scallop eye is tiled with more than 100,000 square mirror tiles. Did you get that? They are squares! Outside of the human built environment, right angles are scarce. So to find squares in the eyes of scallops is remarkable. The properties of the tiles making up the mirror has implications for the scallop’s ability to see in the particular wavelengths of light in its surroundings and can inspire improved human optical devices. Future studies will have to examine why a scallop needs to have such amazing vision. But for now, I am amazed to know that scallop eyes contain square mirrors.

December 10, 2017 by wpengine

Vertebrate Fossils from Bears Ears National Monument, Utah

dessert with giat red rocks rising the back — Valley of the Gods area of Bears Ears National Monument.

By Amy Henrici, Collection Manager of Vertebrate Paleontology

You may have noticed that Bears Ears National Monument, southeastern Utah, has been in the National news lately. This vast area of spectacular red rock canyons with Native American ruins was designated in 2016 but is proposed to be reduced by 85%. What hasn’t received much media attention are the Late Paleozoic (~315-280 million years ago) vertebrate fossils collected from this region.

Fossils from Bears Ears N.M. include a variety of freshwater sharks and fishes and amphibians and reptiles, creatures which once inhabited a coastal plain adjacent to an inland seaway. Through the Late Paleozoic the seaway filled with sediment shed from the Ancestral Rocky Mountains to the northeast, and, as the climate became more arid, dunes encroached the coastal plain. The fauna of this changing environment records a primitive stage of the terrestrial ecosystem in which carnivores greatly outnumber herbivores, a stark contrast to modern ratios in which herbivores greatly outnumber carnivores. The most common animals represented in this fossil record are the heavy-bodied, semi-aquatic, carnivore Eryops and the semi-aquatic carnivorous mammal-like reptile, Ophiacodon.

brown skull fossil on a green background — Skull of Eryops grandis, CM 47817.

ground with fossils protruding — Skull of Ophiacodon navajovicus as preserved in bone bed.

The Section of Vertebrate Paleontology has the best collection of vertebrate fossils from Bears Ears National Monument. Curator Emeritus Dave Berman collected fossils here as a student of Peter Vaughn at the University of California (UCLA). The UCLA Late Paleozoic collection was donated to CMNH in 1988. Berman renewed collecting in the Bears Ears region in 1990, resulting in the discovery of a significant bone bed. CMNH crews in collaboration with researchers from the Illinois State Geologic Survey, University of California at San Bernardino, University of Chicago, and University of Southern California have worked this site since, and a potential new bone bed was discovered last summer.

Funding for field work has been provided by the Bureau of Land Management, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and the National Geographic Society.

three researchers gathered around a bed of fossils — 1991 excavation of the bone bed discovered in 1990.

December 10, 2017 by wpengine

Ask a Scientist: What is “The Chicken from Hell?”

Paleontologist Dr. Matt Lamanna shows off fossils and discusses the amazing features of Anzu wyliei, a fierce and feathered prehistoric dinosaur. Dr. Lamanna worked on the team that discovered Anzu wyliei in 2014.

December 9, 2017 by wpengine

Indiana, Pennsylvania: Christmas Tree Capital of the World

White Pine (Pinus strobus) herbarium specimen

Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris) herbarium specimen

Did you know that Pennsylvania is one of the top states for Christmas tree farms? In fact, southwestern Pennsylvania’s very own Indiana County is known as the “Christmas Tree Capital of the World.” According to the Indiana County Christmas Tree Growers’ Association, the title arose in 1956, when an estimated 700,000 trees were cut that year in the county.

Believe it or not, there are no Carnegie Museum specimens from Indiana County collected in the month of December. This is not all that surprising, as most specimens aren’t collected in the winter.

These Pennsylvania specimens shown above were collected sometime in December (exact day unknown): White Pine (Pinus strobus) in Kittanning in 1926 and Scots Pine (or “Scotch Pine”; Pinus sylvestris) from cultivation in
Avalon in 1902. Both species are cultivated and used as decorative trees for the holidays, but less commonly than in the past. Many different evergreen conifer species are cultivated in the United States for decorative use during
the holidays. Needle length, softness, retention, color, and even scent vary by species or variety. Similarly, branching characteristics and branch strength differs by species. Plus, some species grow faster and easier than
others, which means some species are cheaper.

Before farms began cultivating trees for that purpose in the early 20th century, people just went to the woods to cut down their tree for the holidays. Some of the first Christmas tree farms in the United States started in Indiana County as early as 1918. Many farms in the region turned their fields into Christmas tree farms as it became profitable. By 1960, more than 1 million trees were harvested per year in Indiana County alone. The harvest in Pennsylvania has declined for several reasons, including increased popularity of artificial trees and consumer interest in Frasier fir trees (Abies fraseri; which are native to the southern Appalachians and grows slower in Pennsylvania than farms in North Carolina). However, Pennsylvania is still among the top five states in terms of both number of working Christmas tree farms and trees harvested. According to the National Christmas Tree Association, 31,577 acres in Pennsylvania are used as Christmas tree plantations. Many of the Christmas tree lots in southwestern Pennsylvania get their trees from farms in Indiana County.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

December 8, 2017 by wpengine

Ask a Scientist

Ask a Scientist: What does the bird on this limestone fragment symbolize?

Assistant Curator of Science and Research Dr. Erin Peters talks about “Egyptian blue” and the meaning of the falcon found on this ancient Egyptian limestone fragment.

December 8, 2017 by wpengine

Did you know?

Did you know that the Section of Minerals has the most nearly complete and comprehensive collection of Pennsylvania minerals in the world?

December 8, 2017 by wpengine

Scientists Live – Bats of Pennsylvania!

On Scientists Live, Mammals Collection Manager Suzanne McLaren discusses the bats of Pennsylvania.

Sue did a 20-minute broadcast on September 20 on Facebook Live to show off the collection and answer questions from commenters as part of the web series. This series is designed to give our followers a glimpse at hidden collections and the great science happening at the museum every day.

This episode of Scientists Live was made possible by funding and support from The Institute of Museum and Library Services.

December 8, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1928

Are you decking your halls with boughs of holly? This specimen of American holly (Ilex opaca) was collected by M.L. Bomhard in Mandeville, Louisiana on December 8, 1928. The holly revered for its holiday cheer usually refers to a related European species, Ilex aquifolium, but there are native holly species in North America that are equally, if not more, cheerful.

Like most other hollies, American holly is dioecious, meaning it has male and female flowers on separate plants. Only the female plants have the characteristic bright red berries we all know and love. American holly stands out as one of the few broadleaved evergreen trees native to the Eastern US (i.e., has green leaves during winter that are not needles). This species is near the northern edge of its range in Pennsylvania and is more common in southern states. It is listed in Pennsylvania as a species of “special concern” due to its relative rarity.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

December 8, 2017 by wpengine

Three New Crayfish Species

Newly described species Cambarus guenteri crayfish — Newly described species *Cambarus guenteri*

Using genetic testing, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Assistant Curator Jim Fetzner (Section of Invertebrate Zoology) and collaborators discovered three new species of crayfish from the Licking and Kentucky River basins in Kentucky.

Their findings, published in the peer-reviewed journal Zootaxa, attracted local press coverage by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and WESA. The next step? Determine what level of protection these species need to survive in habitats that are increasingly dominated by human activities, such as mining and logging.

Cambarus taylori crayfish from above — *Cambarus taylori*

Cambarus hazardi crayfish from above — *Cambarus hazardi*

December 8, 2017 by wpengine

Scientists Live: Suzanne McLaren – Squirrels

On the most recent Scientists Live, Mammals Collection Manager Suzanne McLaren discussed the squirrels of Pennsylvania.

Sue did a 20-minute broadcast on November 8 on Facebook Live to show off the collection and answer questions from commenters as part of the web series. This series is designed to give our followers a glimpse at hidden collections and the great science happening at the museum every day.

This episode of Scientists Live was made possible by funding and support from The Institute of Museum and Library Services.

December 8, 2017 by wpengine

Richard Pell, founder and curator of the Center for PostNatural History

Richard Pell, founder and curator of the Center for PostNatural History, brought a new perspective to the 2017 ICOM NATHIST Conference with his keynote presentation entitled “The Missing Museum: Excavating Wonder and Curiosity.”

Using unique visuals and examples of folklore, Pell explored the ways in which humans have impacted other animal species.

Pell used domesticated dogs as an everyday example of a postnatural species due to strategic breeding. So that is why a chihuahua doesn’t look like a wolf!

December 8, 2017 by wpengine

In a historic building at our museum

In a historic building at our museum, we have 1,223 species of amphibians and 2,467 species of reptiles in the collection. This building is called the Alcohol House because most of the specimens are stored in 70% ethanol alcohol.

December 8, 2017 by wpengine

The Passenger Pigeon

taxidermy of a Passenger Pigeon on a branch

Memories of an extinct species sometimes serve as a tragic reminders of ongoing human-driven damage to nature.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s exhibition We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene includes an exhibit about the passenger pigeon, which went extinct a century ago. The exhibition—which includes specimens from the museum’s hidden collection and interactive components—explores how humans are impacting the environment and animals in the Anthropocene—the proposed current geological era in which humans are making a profound impact on the geological strata

The passenger pigeons—the most abundant bird species in America in the early 19th century—were known for gathering in huge flocks. In fact, in 1810, Alexander Wilson—a Scottish-American naturalist and ornithology pioneer—described the flock of pigeons he witnessed along the Ohio River “marking a space on the face of the heavens resembling the windings of a vast and majestic river.” In 1813, renowned naturalist John James Audubon recorded a pigeon flight over the Ohio River that eclipsed the sun for three days.

In 1871, an estimated 136 million passenger pigeons covered an area of Wisconsin the size of 15 Pittsburghs geographically – their biggest nesting site. Sadly, a single gun dealer there sold more than a half million rounds of ammunition to about 100,000 hunters over the two-month nesting season, leaving some 1.2 million birds dead. The bird population was decimated. Close to three decades later, the last wild passenger pigeon in Ohio was shot. In 1914, the last of the species – a captive bird named Martha – died at the Cincinnati Zoo.

John Rawlins, head of the Carnegie Museum’s Section of Invertebrate Zoology, said in Carnegie Magazine in 2014 that natural history collections like ours play a critical role in researching the preservation of species.

“When emergencies happen in the environment, when an invasive species strikes, when there is a need to understand why a species is either reproducing too much or going extinct, it basically comes down to the need for information and context,” Rawlins said. “And often that need is relatively rapid.”

December 7, 2017 by wpengine

A Couple of Rock Stars

Deb and Marc standing in front of a mineral display case with their prize ribbons — Above: Deb (left) and Marc (right) Wilson celebrate award for best museum exhibit at the 2017 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show.

After 25 years at Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Curator of Collections for the Section of Minerals, Marc Wilson, retired in August 2017. Marc began managing the museum’s impressive mineral and gem collection in 1992 and greatly improved the collection and exhibition halls during his tenure.

In 2007 Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems was renovated and expanded with the addition of Wertz Gallery: Gems and Jewelry. He received the Friends of Mineralogy Award of Merit and was recognized as EFMLS Honoree for the 2001 AFMS Scholarship Award. He was inducted into the National Rockhound and Lapidary Hall of Fame in 2001 and served as a consulting editor for Rocks & Minerals since 1998. Collection Assistant Debra Wilson will now serve as Collection Manager for the Section of Minerals at Carnegie Museum.

Congrats to both Marc and Deb!

December 6, 2017 by wpengine

Artist’s interpretation of a new phenomenon

This is an artist’s interpretation of a new phenomenon in the rock record: a plastiglomerate. Made of a combination of plastics, shell, and rock, this mass of non-biodegradable material is a replica of what is being found in nature, which may be a future marker of the Anthropocene.

December 5, 2017 by wpengine

Did you know?

Did you know that water temperature determines the sex of a sea turtle?

Warmer waters produce female sea turtles while cooler waters produce males, meaning that rising water temperatures are producing too few males for the females to mate with. All seven species of sea turtle are being affected by warmer waters along breeding grounds. Learn more in We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene, open now at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

December 4, 2017 by wpengine

The Economics of Climate Change

cracked dry ground with grass growing out of one side

by Barbara Klein

Scientists agree that the list of species in danger of extinction due to climate change is long. Very long.

But according to a group of economists and scholars collectively known as the Climate Impact Lab, that list must also include our nation’s poor.

In their new study published in Science magazine, professors Solomon Hsiang of the University of California, Berkeley and Robert Kopp of Rutgers University crunched the numbers and found that if climate change continues unabated, the country’s most-in-need populations will experience the most devastation.

Focusing on the 3,140-plus counties in the United States, the research measured 29,000 potential outcomes based on different temperature and economic variables.

As reported in the Washington Post, here is what they concluded. “The poorest third of counties—many of them in the South and lower Midwest—could sustain economic losses by the last decades of this century that would be comparable to those suffered during the Great Recession.

“The Gulf Coast would face major risks from hurricanes and encroaching seas,” the article continued. “Higher temperatures in the South would drive up air-conditioning costs and hamper productivity. Agriculture in the Midwest could see losses on par with the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.”

But the big difference, Hsiang pointed out, is that “these changes are here to stay.”

In terms of the bottom line, The Atlantic summed it up this way: “Overall, the paper finds that climate change will cost the United States 1.2 percent of its GDP for every additional degree Celsius of warming.”

More specifically, the stats suggest that our nation’s poorest 100 counties will experience an average loss of 11 percent of their GDP due to climate change while the richest 100 counties will lose just 1 percent.

Although the study dealt primarily with the United States, its global predictions were equally ominous. It seems there is no place on Earth where climate change won’t disproportionately impact the poorest people in the poorest nations.

December 4, 2017 by wpengine

We Are Nature: Native Plants

white trillium in the woods — Trillium, a native plant, photographed at Powdermill Nature Reserve

As spring inches closer and closer, there is no better time to start thinking about your garden or even planting some indoor seedlings.

One increasingly popular trend in sustainable landscaping is the planting of native gardens, featuring plants that naturally occur in your area. Starting a native garden can begin to restore biodiversity to even the most urbanized areas.

Not only are native plants good for biodiversity, they are generally low maintenance, having already adapted to your specific climate zone. They often need less watering, and their strong roots hold soil in place to prevent flooding and soil loss during heavy rains.

In western Pennsylvania, there is no shortage of native options for your garden! Pittsburgh is a Zone 6 climate, which includes black-eyed susans, milkweed, royal ferns, columbine, and more! Learn more about zone 6 native plants.

This year, we are sharing simple tips and tricks for greener living in tandem with our exhibition We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene, which explores the interconnected relationship between humans and our environment. A first of its kind in North America, the exhibition utilizes interactive exhibits, innovative gallery design, and specimens from our hidden collection in an unflinching exploration of the Anthropocene.

December 4, 2017 by wpengine

Rethinking the Dodo

by Barbara Klein

History—not to mention humanity—has not been kind to the dodo bird. As the story goes, the demise of this flightless, clueless, graceless big galoot of a bird was no surprise (except, one imagines, to the dodos themselves).

A descendant of the pigeon, dodos were living the good life on the island of Mauritius (located east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean), but that all changed when Dutch settlers began arriving in the late 1590s.

With no natural predators to fear, the feathered creatures greeted the new arrivals as friends. The settlers, however, were not quite as amicable. They soon realized how comically easy it was to walk up to an unsuspecting bird and club it over the head. Dodos, it’s what was for dinner.

Speaking of dinner. Where ships are docked, inevitably rats and cats disembark. From the dodo’s perspective, that just meant more mouths to feed. No longer ruling the roost, the dodo’s days were numbered. In fact, it took less than 100 years for the dodo to become a no go.

Back then, the idea of wiping out an entire species forever was inconceivable in the truest sense of the word. It was a concept no one considered.

But times have changed, right? Well, yes and no. Although we humans now understand the consequences of our actions, that knowledge is not always enough to quell our baser instincts.

With that in mind, the exhibition We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene is asking visitors to vote for the creature most likely not to succeed. Contenders for this dubious distinction are the black rhino, Sumatran elephant, pangolin, leatherback turtle, and mountain gorilla.

Votes are tallied in the form of donations to the World Wildlife Fund.

Admittedly, this sounds like a joke, and not a particularly funny one. But it is no laughing matter. The goal here is to help humans understand how their actions—or inactions—can make all the difference in the world. It is truly life or death for these animals.

December 4, 2017 by wpengine

We Are Nature: Rethink Recycling

colorful recycling bins lined up on a fence

It is not easy being green, but Allegheny County is here to help.

We generally think of recyclables as plastic, glass, and paper that we put out on our curb each week, but did you know that more high-tech items like batteries and electronics can be recycled too?

Odds are, you are probably reading this from something recyclable. Almost everything you own can be recycled, but not everything can just be thrown into bins because they contain potentially harmful materials. When hard to recycle items are taken care of by a professional, the chemicals, metals, and plastics can be reused to make new products and prevent toxicity in landfills and other greenhouse gas emissions.

The Allegheny County Health Department understands the importance of recycling to the future of Pittsburgh and has compiled a handy Recycling Resource Directory of professionals that can help you recycle almost any material that you can find here.

Check out the county’s resources and rethink recycling to make your lifestyle just a little greener.

December 4, 2017 by wpengine

Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, and Yams: What’s the Difference?

Above: Yam specimen

What you know as yams are most likely not actually yams. In fact, your “classic” potatoes, sweet potatoes, and yams are all in different plant families. However, they all are widely cultivated for their nutritious starchy belowground plant structures called “tubers.” Tubers function as storage organs for the plants, providing energy for regrowth (the “eyes” or sprouting buds of your potatoes when they sit in your kitchen for too long). Potatoes and yams technically have modified belowground stems (“stem tubers”) while sweet potatoes have “root tubers.”

Yam is a common name for several vine species in the genus Dioscorea (plant family: Dioscoreaceae). They are
monocots (related to grasses and lilies). Yams are widely cultivated worldwide, especially in West Africa, where 95% of the crop is harvested. Yams can be stored for very long periods of time, making them an important crop for seasons when food is in short supply. Yam tubers can be as large as five feet long!

Above: Sweet potato specimen

Sweet potatoes refer to a vine species (Ipomoea batatas) in the morning glory family (Convolvulaceae). This species is likely what is on your Thanksgiving dinner table. In the United States and Canada, sweet potatoes are often (confusingly) referred to as “yams.” But sweet potatoes are not even closely related to yams. As such, the USDA requires any label with “yam” to also include “sweet potato.” So why are sweet potatoes sometimes confusingly called yams? The name probably dates back to colonial times when slaves from Africa noted the similarities between some varieties of sweet potatoes to yams in Africa.

herbarium specimen of a potato, Solanum tuberosum

Above: Potato specimen

And last—the “classic” potato, Solanum tuberosum. Potatoes belong to the nightshade family (Solanaceace), which also includes many other important crops like peppers, tomatoes, tomatillos, eggplant, tobacco, and more. Critical to the world’s food supply, potatoes are the fourth most farmed crop. Potatoes are only distantly related to sweet potatoes. They are also called “spuds,” which probably originated centuries ago from a term for a spade used to dig holes to plant potatoes. Having been cultivated for centuries, there are thousands of potato varieties worldwide. The cultivated species was domesticated from wild relative potato species in South America (Peru) 7,000–10,000 years ago. Interestingly, discoveries on the origin of potatoes was based on DNA from 200-year-old herbarium specimens! Similarly, the origin of the Irish Potato Famine (caused by potato late blight from a fungal pathogen) was also discovered using fungal DNA extracted from 160+ year old herbarium specimens!

For more on Irish potato famine research: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0168381

For more on origins of European potato: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21632349

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s  historical  hidden collection
on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

December 4, 2017 by wpengine

Collection Manager Wins Geological Society Award

Albert Kollar giving a geology presentation

In August, Collection Manager Albert Kollar (Section of Invertebrate Paleontology) was notified by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists–one of the world’s largest geological professional societies–that he had been selected to receive the George V. Cohee Public Service Award. The award recognizes the contributions of geologists to the public. With Albert’s service in the Pittsburgh Geological Society and his long record of public education, field trips, and outreach devoted to the geosciences, this award is an appropriate tribute for his 40+ years of public service.

December 4, 2017 by wpengine

Blessing of a Totem Pole

The ICOM NATHIST Conference opened on Wednesday, October 25 with the blessing of a totem pole carved by The House of Tears carvers of the Lummi Nation. Delegates attending the conference were present and watching the ceremony.

December 4, 2017 by wpengine

Eacles imperialis

by Vanessa Verdecia

A culture of imperial moth caterpillars (Eacles imperialis) was reared on oak leaves this summer in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Section of Invertebrate Zoology. This species is common in Pennsylvania and belongs to the giant silkworm moth family known as the Saturniidae. The caterpillars occur in various color forms including green, brown, red, and pink, but they all have long setae (“hairs” as seen in the image) and pronounced white spots along the side. All the ones in this culture were brown. The larvae occur from July through September, and there is one generation this far north. The adult moths should eclose next year—late spring or early summer.

December 4, 2017 by wpengine

We Are Nature: Basic Bike Repair

Unlike traditional cars, bicycles give off exactly zero greenhouse gasses during use. But how many people actually know how to repair one when something goes wrong? If you are a bike owner or frequent rider, there are some basic problems you should know how to fix.

Q: How do I change a tire?
A: Begin by removing the wheel from the frame. Most bikes have a lever that tightens and loosens to fasten the wheel in place. Deflate the rubber tube and remove from the wheel frame. Put the deflated new tube on the wheel frame, and inflate using a pump, easily found in bike shops and online. Reattach the wheel in the same manner you removed it, and you are set to ride!
Q: The chain came off from the gear! How can I fix it?
A: Place a link in the chain on the front gear and slowly turn the pedal to allow more links to attach to the gear while it turns. Once secure on the front, do the same on the back gear.
Q: I want to adjust my seat but it won’t move.
A: First, make sure the bolt that tightens and loosens around the seat post is in the loose position. If that doesn’t work, find some bike oil or WD-40 (an all purpose outdoor lubricant) and grease down the post. Find your strongest friend, and pull!

Even if you don’t own a bike, it’s good to have basic knowledge. If you want to start riding more often, Pittsburgh has implemented the Healthy Ride bike share system, with over thirty stations, including a station right next to Carnegie Museum of Natural History! Also check out Bike Pittsburgh for more resources.

December 4, 2017 by wpengine

Skeleton Preservation

by Stephen Rogers

For many years beginning in the early 1980s, collection managers in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Section of Birds began keeping a spread wing and sometimes a tail for many of the skeletons we produced. The rational was that there were two sets of wing bones, and sacrificing one side to produce a spread wing and sometimes also a tail (not sacrificing the pygostyle), would produce a reference item that could be used to examine molt, verify identity, and as reference for morphology and artists who use the collection.

Above is an example of a spread wing and tail and the other corresponding wing parts from the other side of the wing. This photo was sent to a person wishing to have measurements of the pollex bone and the length of the alula—in this case we could provide measurements from the same individual. The pieces of tissue on the wing can also be used to supply dried tissue for DNA.

We did not and, even now, do not preserve tissue in ethanol or liquid nitrogen. Usually dried toe-pad material is used to get DNA when tissue is not available, but if we did not save skins of the specimens collected, a piece of tissue from the wing can be used. Another use of these specimens has been the extraction of wax like material that birds apply from the uropygial gland to keep the bird feather waterproof. One researcher extracted these chemicals from spread wings which was easier than doing so from study skins—dipping the feathers into a solution to dissolve off the material and running it through a gas chromatograph.

Stephen Rogers is a collections manager at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

November 17, 2017 by wpengine

The botany sheet above is a syntype of Viola appalachiensis

The botany sheet above is a syntype of Viola appalachiensis, a Pennsylvania violet that was described by former Curator LeRoy K. Henry.

This year, Botanists returned to the site that this was collected in 1952 to recollect the same species.

November 17, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1949

herbarium specimen of Japanese stiltgrass, 1981

Collected on November 17, 1949, this specimen was found by Bayard Long in Delaware. Native to east Asia, Japanese stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum) was introduced by accident to Knoxville, Tennessee around 1919 when it was used as packing material for porcelain dishes from China. It has since become a major invasive species, spreading across forests of eastern North America. It is commonly found along trails, forest roads, and floodplains. It has been shown to be facilitated by deer overabundance. A recent study of unconventional gas well pads (hydraulic fracturing) in Pennsylvania by Penn State researchers found that recent hydraulic fracturing activities facilitates stiltgrass invasion (Barlow et al., 2017 Journal of Environmental Management).

herbarium specimen of Japanese stiltgrass, 1949

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

November 17, 2017 by wpengine

Ask a Scientist: Cat Mummy

Ask a Scientist: Why does Carnegie Museum have a cat mummy?

Assistant Curator of Science and Research Dr. Erin Peters gives us the scoop on this ancient Egyptian cat mummy and even lets us in on a little secret that was only recently discovered about this object!

November 17, 2017 by wpengine

We had a great turn out for our museum Pub Talk

We had a great turn out for our museum Pub Talk at Dave and Busters in October hosted! Paleontologists Dr. Matt Lamanna and Dr. Abby West entertained a crowd of about 60 with a talk about their recent expedition to Antarctica as part of the AP3 Project. Their presentation touched on dinosaurs, evolution, how to find fossils, and even very friendly penguins. Matt and Abby also answered questions and brought fossils so that those in attendance could examine and even touch real fossils found in Antarctica. Guests enjoyed some complimentary appetizers and watched the new documentary “Expedition Antarctica,” which will be coming soon to the Earth Theater! Thanks to Matt and Abby and all who came out for a great night of science and fun. For more events like this, follow our museum Meetup page!

Pub Talks is a public relations initiative that brings our science out of the museum and into the public. Different scientists are featured throughout the year at various pubs around the beautiful city of Pittsburgh.

November 13, 2017 by wpengine

Remember the Poppy Scene in Wizard of Oz?

Poppy jasper, a vibrant, reddish mineral — (photo by Debra Wilson)

Remember the Poppy Scene in Wizard of Oz?

These poppies are not going to put anyone to sleep.

Poppy jasper is a vibrant, reddish variation of brecciate jasper. This piece is on display in Wertz Gallery of Gems and Jewelry.

When quartz is impure and opaque, it is called jasper.

November 13, 2017 by wpengine

We Are Nature: Vertical Farming

Racks full of pots, intricate schemes of hanging baskets, or any combination of growing containers bring some greenery to urban areas where space is tight.

What do cities do when they run out of space? They grow higher.

Now, gardens are doing the same thing. Rising in urban areas is the space-efficient sibling of traditional backyard gardens—vertical gardening. Racks full of pots, intricate schemes of hanging baskets, or any combination of growing containers bring some greenery to urban areas where space is tight.

Vertical gardening can be simple if you take care to set yourself up for success. Philip Yates, founder of The Vertical Gardening Institute, encourages the planting of personal vertical gardens and shares helpful tips to get started.

Choice of garden space and its access to sun is essential.
When building the actual structure of the garden, it has to be done right. A weak structural base may lead to collapse when the plants grow big enough to show, quite literally, the fruits of your labor.
Feel free to mix and match fruits, vegetables, herbs, and non-food bearing plants. The way your garden looks and feels should be exactly what you want as long as the plants you choose can thrive in your chosen garden space and climate. Pittsburgh is a Zone 6 climate, which supports produce like beans, blueberries, chives, and rosemary.

Do-It-Yourself websites have more information and ideas on how to start to bring a little more green into your small space.

Are you planning a vertical garden this spring? Share your success photos with us, and use the hashtag #WeAreNaturePGH.

Feel free to mix and match fruits, vegetables, herbs, and non-food bearing plants.

November 13, 2017 by wpengine

Hey, Volcano, What’re You Cooking Up?

Quartz var fire agates were formed during a period of volcanism when hot water, saturated with silica and iron oxide, repeatedly filled cracks and bubbles in the surrounding rock.

(photo by Debra Wilson)

November 10, 2017 by wpengine

Woman and child: steatite

Woman and child made of steatite on display in Wyckoff Hall: Polar World

(Photo by Hayley Pontia)

November 10, 2017 by wpengine

Ask a Scientist: What was the first object in the Carnegie collection?

Assistant Curator of Science and Research Dr. Erin Peters discusses the museum’s very first item, which is currently on display in Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt.

November 10, 2017 by wpengine

We Are Nature: Beginning Your Own Compost

Composting is a great way to reduce food waste and create your own fertilizer to use on plants around your home.

Did you know that a four-person American family wastes about $1,600
worth of food annually according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency?

Want to save some money and reduce the amount of food in landfills? Composting at home can reduce your green house gas emissions by preventing contributions to methane production centers, otherwise known as landfills. Composting breaks down organic matter that comes from your home and converts itself into fertilizer that can be used to grow other plants in or around your home.

In this modern age, a machine can do the work of composting for you, but if you don’t want another appliance in your kitchen, there’s always the old-fashioned way of doing it yourself.

Nature will help your composting project along in a variety ways. To begin, pick a sunny spot in a yard or anywhere with access to bare ground. The sun will provide heat needed to encourage the chemical reactions that decay the material in the compost pile, and the bare ground will allow worms and bugs to ventilate the space for you.

This is an example of a household compost pile, a great way to reduce food waste.

Composting DOs:

DO layer dry and wet material. Dry materials are twigs, hay, dry leaves, and wood ashes. Wet materials are food scraps and tea bags.
DO cover the pile with plastic sheeting or wood to prevent water damage and trap heat to catalyze break down of the material.
DO turn the pile every couple of weeks to continue decay.

Composting DON’Ts:

DON’T add any animal products like dairy and meat products, oils, pet wastes, or chemically treated yard scraps
DON’T expect results overnight. Composting is, after all, a natural process that requires patience and attention.

To see the process for yourself, see this video of what will happen once you’ve begun your compost. After some time, the compost can be used as fertilizer for any plant you have in or around your home.

November 6, 2017 by wpengine

Dippy Across the Globe

Did you know that replicas of the skeleton of Diplodocus carnegii—most of them presented by Andrew Carnegie himself during the early 20th century—stand in major natural history museums in Berlin, Paris, Madrid, Vienna, Bologna (Italy), St. Petersburg (Russia), La Plata (Argentina), and Mexico City?

Until very recently, another replica—the first to be produced—was on display at The Natural History Museum in London.

November 6, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1933

This specimen isn’t your typical herbarium specimen of Sassafras (Sassafras albidum). On November 4, 1933, this piece of sassafras wood was collected by Otto Jennings at Linn Run/Rock Run, about five miles south of Ligonier, Pennsylvania.

It is unclear what motivated this collection, since Jennings did not normally collect wood like this. Given its bulky size, it is stored separately with the fruit collection in the herbarium.

Sassafras is a medium-sized deciduous tree, native across eastern North America. It is easily recognized by its uniquely mitten-shaped leaves. The leaves are very aromatic when crushed in your hand, like many other species in the Laurel family (Lauraceae). They also turn a beautiful red in fall. Sassafras has long been used by humans for medicine and food, both by Native Americans and later Europeans.

Ever wonder where the root in root beer comes from? Root beer was traditionally made from sassafras roots or bark. But, since 1960, sassafras is no longer used in commercially made root beers. The FDA has shown safrole (the aromatic oil in sassafras roots and bark) to cause liver damage and/or cancer in high doses to laboratory animals. Many commercial root beers nowadays use artificial flavors.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

November 3, 2017 by wpengine

Section of Birds

Our Section of Birds holds approximately the eighth largest collection of birds in North America.

November 3, 2017 by wpengine

Sasquatch Squash

On Sunday, October 15, gallery technicians installed a giant squash in the museum’s Sculpture Courtyard. Dave and Carol Stelts grew the pumpkin that is nearly 2,000 pounds. This installation is in conjunction with the new exhibit We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene which opened on October 28.

November 3, 2017 by wpengine

Remember pheasants?

by Patrick McShea

Remember pheasants? Who could forget a long-tailed, chicken-sized bird with a green head and bright copper body? It wasn’t even necessary to see the birds to know they were around. Every spring the two-syllable rooster-like crows of male ring-necks marked the passage of days in overgrown fields at the edge of many Pittsburgh neighborhoods, and those repeated territorial claims carried for hundreds of yards.

Pheasants, which are not native to North America, were introduced to the U.S. from Asia during the 1880s. In Pennsylvania, pheasant populations peaked in the early 1970s. Wildlife biologists explain the bird’s decline since then as connected to habitat loss:

“In some places fields and brushy hollows gradually became forests, while in others suitable habitat was rapidly lost to housing, retail, and industrial development. On many farms, where the conditions to appear ideal for the birds, changes in hay-mowing schedules and repeated use of herbicides and pesticides make for poor pheasant habitat.”

Hear audio of pheasants crowing.

November 3, 2017 by wpengine

Kwel’ Hoy: We Draw the Line!

Carnegie Museum of Natural History will host a traveling exhibition and a public event about a totem pole that is traveling across the country to tell the story of Indigenous leadership and their struggles to protect water, land, and our collective future.

Kwel’ Hoy: We Draw the Line! opens at the museum on October 25. The exhibition was developed by the House of Tears Carvers of the Lummi Nation in collaboration with the nonprofit The Natural History Museum. It will be on display on Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Lee B. Foster Overlook for six months.

November 3, 2017 by wpengine

Witch Hazel

Collected on a spooky Halloween night in 1931 (well, it might have been during the day, but let’s just say night), this specimen was found by Curator of Botany Otto Jennings at Dixmont Hollow near Emsworth, Pennsylvania.

Witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) is a small deciduous tree found in forests and stream banks across the eastern United
States. This awesome native plant is notable for its fall flowering, with long ribbon-shaped bright yellow petals. The plant flowers as it drops its leaves for fall, leaving branches with no leaves but plentiful flowers. Witch hazel is among the last plants in our region to flower in the fall. As its fruit dry, it ejects the seeds, making a snapping sound.

Why the name witch hazel? Several explanations have been given. One is derivation from an old English word meaning bendable. More fitting for Halloween, another unverified claim is the plant was thought to be linked to witchcraft, both for its mysterious noises—snapping sounds during seed ejection—and supposed use in magic wands.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were
discovered or collected. Check back for more!

October 30, 2017 by wpengine

17th Century Diamond Necklace

This diamond necklace on display in Wertz Hall was made in the 17th century.

October 30, 2017 by wpengine

Section of Birds

We have representatives of roughly 6,200 species of birds in our museum’s Section of Birds. Counting subspecies, we have over 13,000 different bird subspecies.

October 27, 2017 by wpengine

Dippy Inspires New Ice Cream Flavor

What would an ice cream inspired by a dinosaur taste like?

A local ice cream parlor asked that exact question this summer to develop Dippy Dino Rocks—a new flavor inspired by our museum’s most famous dinosaur!

Social media users chose a mint based ice cream with chocolate chip cookie dough, chocolate chips, and fudge ripple to honor Diplodocus carnegii, a giant sauropod discovered by Carnegie scientists. Most people know “Dippy” by the statue of him outside the museum, which sports seasonal scarves throughout the year.

One user on social media said she voted for mint, because she envisions dinosaurs being green!

Dippy Dino Rocks ice cream is now available at Klavon’s Ice Cream Parlor in the Strip District.

October 27, 2017 by wpengine

Leptophis ahaetulla

This Leptophis ahaetulla snake specimen was collected in Belize and is preserved in our Alcohol House, which is home to reptiles and amphibians from around the world.

In life, this snake would have appeared bright green, though its skin has turned to a blue color due to the 70% ethanol alcohol it is preserved in.

October 27, 2017 by wpengine

Have you noticed this diorama is looking brighter?

Have you noticed that this Benedum Hall of Geology diorama is looking a little brighter and more colorful?

That is because conservationists recently cleaned and preserved the exhibit, which shows an underwater scene in Pennsylvania between 286 and 320 million years ago.

Even they were surprised how bright the diorama’s colors were under the layer of dust!

October 23, 2017 by wpengine

Alcohol House Jars

These jars in in our historic Alcohol House contain the contents of the stomachs of snakes that were collected for scientific study.

The Alcohol House is home to more than 250,000 amphibian and reptile specimens from around the world and is named for the 70% ethanol alcohol that preserve them.

October 23, 2017 by wpengine

Dryosaurus altus

Dryosaurus altus was a Jurassic plant eater that could be found in the forests and fern prairies of North America 150 million years ago. As a small dinosaur, measuring about 10 feet long, this dinosaur’s best defense against predators was its speed.

October 23, 2017 by wpengine

Face to face with a polar bear

Come face to face with a polar bear in Polar World: Wyckoff Hall of Arctic Life at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

October 23, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1926

This red maple specimen was collected on October 23, 1926 by Otto Jennings during a field trip of the Botanical Society of Western PA to Chestnut Ridge.

Despite being over 90 years old, this specimen still has beautiful color! This red maple specimen was collected on October 23, 1926 by Otto Jennings during a field trip of the Botanical Society of Western PA to Chestnut Ridge in the beautiful Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania. Red maple (Acer rubrum) is one of the most common trees in eastern North America. You can find it from southern Canada down to Florida and Minnesota down to eastern Texas. It is renowned for its beautiful scarlet red foliage in autumn. Happy fall!

Red maple is renowned for its bright red foliage in the autumn.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

Carnegie Museum of Natural History Blog Citation Information

Blog author: Heberling, Mason
Publication date: October 23, 2017

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October 20, 2017 by wpengine

Fruit Chafer

Meet the fruit chafer, a prime example of adaptation and speciation. These beetles have evolved from the same basic body plan into an array of different shapes, colors, sizes, patterns, textures, and body structures like horns and spines. Such diversity comes as a result of many different environmental factors.

Although this species of beetle is primarily found in Africa, you can find many different types on display at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

October 20, 2017 by wpengine

Pomo Presentation Basket

This feather presentation basket was made by the Pomo people of central California almost 100 years ago. The amount of work that went into making these baskets render them almost priceless by today’s standards.

October 20, 2017 by wpengine

Peafowl Feathers

This is a close up view of peafowl feathers. Although most people refer to this bird as a peacock, technically only males are called peacocks whereas females are called peahens.

October 20, 2017 by wpengine

Sasquatch Squash

On Sunday, October 15 staff installed a giant squash in the museum’s Sculpture Courtyard. Dave and Carol Stelts grew the pumpkin that is nearly 2,000 pounds. This installation is in conjunction with our new exhibit We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene Opening on October 28.

October 16, 2017 by wpengine

Jar from the Alcohol House

This jar in our Alcohol House dates back to the 1890s, when the museum was first founded by steel tycoon and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.

The Alcohol House is home to more than 250,000 amphibian and reptile specimens from around the world and is named for the 70% ethanol alcohol that preserve them.

October 16, 2017 by wpengine

Welcome to the Anthropocene!

3D letters spelling we are nature in a combination of plants and trash

Welcome to the Anthropocene! You’ve been here all along, but maybe you didn’t know it.

The Anthropocene is the current geological era in which humans are making a profound impact on the geological strata. Geologists are still debating the term, but here at the museum, we are embracing it as a social and cultural tool for exploring the broad sum effect humans are having on the environment.

To put it simply, people are changing the planet. We’ll be exploring the good, the bad, and the ugly truths of the Anthropocene for the next six months with the new exhibition We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene, which opens October 28 at the museum.

We hope you’ll join us to examine evidence of the Anthropocene, interact with new digital exhibits, and add your voice to an important and timely conversation that impacts us all.

October 16, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1997

Kudzu is one of the more
well-known weeds, at least by name, sometimes known as “the vine that ate the
South.”

Collected on October 13, 1997, this specimen was found by Sue Thompson and
Bonnie Isaac near the I-376 Squirrel Hill Tunnel, Pittsburgh. Kudzu (Pueraria lobata) was introduced to the
United States as an ornamental plant in 1876 at the Centennial International
Exhibition in Philadelphia. The vine was initially prized in the South to
provide shade.

The vine was later promoted
for use in erosion control. Although
listed as a noxious weed in Pennsylvania, it is more invasive in southern
states. There, it has been estimated to spread at a rate of 2,500 acres per
year (some say up to 150,000 acres per year, although this estimate has been
questioned).

Infestations of this plant undoubtedly cause ecological and
economic damage. Below is another specimen of kudzu, collected in its native
range in Japan in 2002.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share
pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were
discovered or collected. Check back for more!

October 13, 2017 by wpengine

Sasquatch Squash

Before the opening of the exhibition, which will feature specimens from the hidden collection, interactives, and more, the museum will have a giant orange delivery to kick off the conversation! Local growers Dave and Carol Stelts grew a pumpkin that’s nearly 2,000 pounds that will be on display in the museum’s Sculpture Courtyard.

Have you ever seen a pumpkin as big as a small car growing in a nearby field?

Probably not, as pumpkins are naturally pretty modest-sized squashes. However, with a little manipulation and some closed cross pollination, people have figured out how to make pumpkins grow to colossal sizes, making them a great example of how humans can impact and alter nature.

The museum is exploring how people are changing our planet in the new exhibition We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene, which opens October 28.

The Anthropocene is the concept that human activity has had such a profound and pervasive impact on the planet that effects will be present in the fossil record millions of years from now.

Before the opening of the exhibition, which will feature specimens from the hidden collection, interactives, and more, the museum will have a giant orange delivery to kick off the conversation!

Local growers Dave and Carol Stelts grew a pumpkin that’s nearly 2,000 pounds that will be on display in the museum’s Sculpture Courtyard.

It takes more than a wave of a wand and the magic words “bippity boppity boo” to get pumpkins to grow this large.

Dave said this particular pumpkin was planted in June and grew 45-50 pounds a day for three consecutive weeks to reach its colossal size! He said it came from a “super seed” created by cross breeding large pumpkins.

The pumpkin will arrive by truck October 15 and will be on display for several months until it begins to rot. Come check it out!

Humanity and the environment are connected in new and complicated ways in the Anthropocene—the proposed geological era in which we now live. Learn more in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s new exhibition We Are Nature: Living in the Anthropocene, opening October 28.

October 13, 2017 by wpengine

“Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore”

“Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”

This scene represents a moment in time 83 million years ago, in what is now the state of Kansas, which was covered by a body of water known as the Western Interior Seaway and populated by diverse, prehistoric marine life. In this diorama near Dinosaurs in Their Time, an agile marine reptile, Dolichorhynchops bonneri, dives after the penguin-like bird, Hesperornis regalis.

October 13, 2017 by wpengine

Rutile Epi Hematite

Found in Brazil, this rutile epi hematite specimen is part of the oxide mineral class.

October 13, 2017 by wpengine

Upper Jurassic Frog Fossil

This small fossil found in Dinosaurs in Their Time is the most complete frog fossil known from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation. It was named by Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s paleontologist, Amy Henrici, in 1998.

October 9, 2017 by wpengine

Solnhofen Fossils

These fossils were found in a quarry in Solnhofen, Germany, which was once a series of shallow, tropical lagoons. The environmental conditions at Solnhofen resulted in remarkably preserved fossils of Late Jurassic plants, invertebrates, fish, reptiles, and bird species like these fossils on display in Dinosaurs in Their Time.

October 9, 2017 by wpengine

The Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)

The honey bee (Apis mellifera) has been domesticated by humans since ancient times. Drone bees have composite eyes that consist of about 14,000 individual eyes, which you can see in this super-sized display in Discovery Basecamp!

October 9, 2017 by wpengine

Intercontinental Produce

Thanks to modern farming practices and intercontinental trade, most produce can be found anywhere in the world. Can you spot some of your favorites from our display in the Hall of Botany?

October 6, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1896

Collected on October 6, 1896 (the same year Carnegie Museum was founded), this specimen was found by early museum botanist John Shafer on Jack’s Island, a small island on the Allegheny River (between Harrison Township and city of Lower Burrell).

Despite the name, New England aster can be found across eastern North America. Along with many other species in the genus Aster, this species was recently reclassified in the Symphyotrichum genus. Symphyotrichum novae-angliae is a perennial (lives for several years) with beautiful deep blue-purple flowers. Like other plants in the sunflower family (Asteraceae), the flowers are actually a cluster of flowers (heads) composed of many flowers, with ray and/or disk flowers.

Photo caption: View of Jack’s Island from Braeburn (Lower Burrell), PA. New England aster might still be on the island, but note the dense stands of invasive giant knotweed that now lines the river and island. Introduced to the United States as a garden plant in 1894, Giant knotweed (Fallopia sachilinensis) was not yet in our area when this aster specimen was collected in 1896.

October 6, 2017 by wpengine

Neptunite on Natrolite from California

Neptunite on natrolite from California

October 5, 2017 by wpengine

8½-year-Old Black-capped Chickadee at Powdermill

Residents of western Pennsylvania are familiar with the small and spunky black-capped chickadees that often visit their birdfeeders. These fearless birds are also frequent visitors at our banding lab at Powdermill Nature Reserve.

Last winter, this chickadee was one of the oldest of his species banded at the lab. It was first banded as a hatch-year bird at the end of August 2007, which means its age was 8½ years!

This individual has been captured 42 times in its life (so far!), at least twice every year, most often in the winter months.
It has shown up in every month of the year except June and July. In 2011, the only year that we saw this bird in May, it had a cloacal protuberance, an enlargement of the cloaca indicating breeding condition in males. So we know it is a male and that his territory is obviously not near our nets.

We are hoping to see this individual in the future. The oldest known black-capped chickadee was 11½ years old when it was banded in Minnesota in 2002.

October 5, 2017 by wpengine

Tyrannosaurus rex

Tyrannosaurus rex was one of the largest predators to ever walk the Earth. Growing up to 46 feet in length and standing 13 feet high at the hips, this meat-eater could weigh up to seven tons.

T. rex was more than just enormous, it was ferocious. It had massive hind legs with three-toed feet, small, strong arms the size of a man’s, and a huge, heavy tail that was used as a counterbalance.

head of a T.rex skeleton — Credit: Joshua Franzos for Carnegie Museum of Natural History

Its skull grew to five feet long and housed strong jaws that created a bone-crushing bite. It had nearly 60 serrated, razor-sharp teeth that grew up to six inches in length. With a name that means “tyrant lizard king,” this dinosaur feasted on the large herbivores of its time.

view of T.rex teeth from inside the dinosaur's mouth — Credit: Joshua Franzos for Carnegie Museum of Natural History

T. rex roamed the western United States and southwestern Canada during the late Cretaceous Period, about 66 to 68 million years ago. The specimen on display at Carnegie Museum of Natural History was discovered in 1902 by Barnum Brown and sent to the American Museum of Natural History. It was bought by the Carnegie Museum in 1941.

This specimen is extremely important because it is the holotype of the species. A holotype is a specimen upon which a given species is based. So, in other words, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s T. rex is the ‘gold standard’ to which all potential fossils of this notorious meat-eater must forever be compared. Although a few specimens that are now known to belong to T. rex were found prior to the discovery of the holotype, the holotype was, by definition, the first fossil of the species to be recognized by science. Therefore, it can be considered the world’s first specimen of the world’s most famous dinosaur.

October 5, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1900

North America used to have over 150 species in the genus Aster. But now only one species remains. That isn’t because they went extinct, but instead, they were re-named. Many of these species are still referred to in general as “asters.”

Collected on September 22, 1900, this specimen was found in Fern Hollow, Frick Park, Pittsburgh by early museum botanist John Shafer.

Eurybia divaricata (formerly Aster divaricatus) is commonly known as “white wood aster.” This beautiful fall blooming plant (like many asters) is a common native in eastern United States forests.

So why the new name? Taxonomy (the science of classifying organisms) is an ever-changing science, subject to revision as more research is done, especially at the molecular (DNA) level. As we understand how organisms are related, we can better understand the history of life on Earth. Taxonomic studies of plants often lead to the splitting of one species into many or the lumping of many species into one. In some cases, a “new” rare species may have been hiding under our noses, previously grouped with another species. These studies are important for the conservation and protection of vulnerable species. We must know what these species are to actually protect them!

Like most herbaria (plural for herbarium), the Carnegie Museum herbarium is organized by genus within families. Earlier this year, collections manager Bonnie Isaac and a team of interns and volunteers reorganized the sunflower family (Asteraceae), one of the largest families of flowering plants. After a month of reorganizing and renaming folders, the work is still ongoing. No surprise, as this family is represented by over 51,000 specimens (or about 10% of the entire collection)! Ongoing taxonomic rearrangements like these are just one reason why the work of herbarium staff is never done.

blooming white wood aster, white petals with yellow and red centers — White wood aster blooming on August 31, 2017 at Fern Hollow, Frick Park (same location as specimen pictured).

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

October 5, 2017 by wpengine

Camarasaurus

museum visitors looking at a dinosaur skelleton — Photo Credit: Joshua Franzos for Carnegie Museum of Natural History

A large, herbivorous quadruped, Camarasaurus was among the most common of the giant sauropod dinosaurs found in the Jurassic Period in North America. With a name that means “chambered lizard,” this dinosaur was named for its partly hollow vertebrae, and reached up to a massive 60 feet in length.

Camarasaurus lived during the Late Jurassic, some 145 to 150 million years ago, and featured a long, thick neck which made its head appear small in comparison. It had sturdy, spoon-shaped teeth, indicating its diet probably differed from other large herbivores that lived in the same ancient environment, with Camarasaurus most likely feeding on coarser plant materials.

Real fossils of both an adult and a juvenile Camarasaurus discovered at Dinosaur National Monument in Utah are on view in the Dinosaurs in Their Time exhibition at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. The juvenile is represented by a nearly complete skeleton that includes a full skull and even ear bones. The skeleton is displayed with its right side still mostly enveloped in sandstone belonging to a rock unit called the Morrison Formation.

October 5, 2017 by wpengine

Camptosaurus aphanoecetes

Camptosaurus aphanoecetes, which means “flexible lizard hiding in plain sight,” was a medium-sized plant-eating dinosaur that lived about 145–150 million years ago during the late Jurassic Period. Remains of Camptosaurus have been found in North America and, according to some paleontologists, in England as well. Although the Camptosaurus skeleton on display at Carnegie Museum of Natural History was discovered in 1922, it wasn’t studied in detail until relatively recently.

On exhibit in Pittsburgh for more than six decades, still half buried in Jurassic sandstone, the skeleton was fully removed from the rock in 2005–2006 to transform it into a three-dimensional mount. After the specimen was completely unearthed, it was discovered to show differences with fossils of the dinosaur species it was long thought to represent, Camptosaurus dispar. So, in 2008, the skeleton was established as the type, or name-bearing, specimen of the new species Camptosaurus aphanoecetes by scientists Kenneth Carpenter and
Yvonne Wilson.

This Camptosaurus skeleton was excavated by Earl Douglass and his field crew from rocks belonging to the Morrison Formation in the Carnegie Quarry at Dinosaur National Monument in Utah. Today it is on display at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

October 5, 2017 by wpengine

Anzu wyliei

Perhaps better known by its colorful nickname, the “Chicken from Hell,” Anzu wyliei is a bird-like oviraptorosaurian dinosaur. More specifically, it is a member of the Caenagnathidae, a poorly understood group of oviraptorosaurs that lived mainly in North America during the Cretaceous Period. Anzu has distinctive characteristics that are not found in any other dinosaur, plus other typically oviraptorosaurian features such as a crested skull and a toothless beak. It grew to a length of at least nine feet and had a relatively short tail and long, spindly legs with three-toed feet. Its long arms featured sharp, hooked claws that may been used to catch prey or for protection.

With a name that translates to “Wylie’s feathered demon,” this dinosaur presents numerous riddles to scientists. Due to the shape of its toothless jaws, it is unknown if Anzu was a carnivore, like most other theropod dinosaurs, or if it was a plant eater. Anzu may even have been an omnivore, eating both plants and small animals.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s two skeletons of Anzu are the most complete oviraptorosaur specimens yet found in the Western Hemisphere. Museum scientists and their collaborators are continuing to study the dinosaur’s bones to gain a better understanding of the species. Because the real fossils are extremely fragile, more so than those of most other dinosaurs on display, the skeleton on exhibit is a cast. It is a combination of replicas of the museum’s two real specimens,
which were discovered in the late 1990s in ~66 million-year-old rocks belonging to the Hell Creek Formation in Harding County, South Dakota. Anzu wyliei was named in 2014 by Carnegie Museum paleontologist Matt Lamanna and three of his colleagues.

October 5, 2017 by wpengine

Hummingbird Bands

At Powdermilll Nature Reserve, researchers use different sized bands for different sized birds, which helps them track the movement and lifespan of populations.

The band pictured above is a hummingbird band. It is so small that the customary nine-digit band number is reduced to five digits with a letter prefix.

October 5, 2017 by wpengine

1,400 Miles in Three Weeks

We received word this spring from the National Banding Lab that a young male ruby-throated hummingbird banded at Powdermill Nature Reserve on September 18, 2014 was recaptured three weeks later (October 10) in Lake Jackson, Texas.

A journey of 1,425 miles in three weeks is pretty astounding when one considers that this male weighed in at just 3.5 grams, not much more than a penny. His wings measured 42 mm (a little over 1.5″).

The hummingbird’s wing beat has been measured at 50 times per second. Now we’re not sure exactly when he left our banding area or if he was caught the day he arrived in Texas, but if he used every day in the interval to fly south, he would have averaged 65 miles per day. Pretty impressive!

Once the data was collected in Texas, the bird was released and probably spent a few days fattening up for the next leg of its migration—a nonstop crossing of the Gulf of Mexico!

October 5, 2017 by wpengine

Manufactured in ancient Egypt

Although manufactured in ancient Egypt, these “pilgrim flasks” had a shape imitating known Mycenaean and Syro-Palestinian forms. The small size and high polish indicate that they held precious oils or perfumes.

(photo by Hayley Pontia)

October 5, 2017 by wpengine

Eastern Bluebird

This pretty little eastern bluebird was banded this year at Powdermill Nature Reserve’s bird banding lab in Rector, Pa.

Although they are common winter residents in a field just over the hill from the banding lab, eastern bluebirds only occasionally stray into the banding area, so it was a pleasant surprise to find this individual in one of our nets.

October 5, 2017 by wpengine

Stegosaurus armatus

Stegosaurus armatus is one of the most recognizable dinosaurs of all. With a name that means “plated reptile,” Stegosaurus is a favorite among dinosaur enthusiasts. An herbivore, this dinosaur roamed western North America during the late Jurassic Period, between 145 and 150 million years ago.

Stegosaurus had small, simple teeth and weak jaw muscles. Scientists believe these reptiles were not effective chewers and ate vegetation that grew low to the ground, most likely ripping and swallowing most of it whole.

Growing up to 25 feet long, Stegosaurus had tall, bony plates that lined its back. While these plates probably offered protection, they were also crisscrossed by blood vessels and may have been used to regulate the animal’s body temperature or to signal to other Stegosaurus individuals. Stegosaurus also featured paired spikes on its tail, which it used for protection against large carnivorous dinosaurs such as Allosaurus. A few Allosaurus fossils have even been found with what are believed to be wounds inflicted by the tail of Stegosaurus.

October 5, 2017 by wpengine

Carnegie History: T. Rex Mural

painted mural of a T. Rex dinosaur in blues and greens

Do you remember when this mural towered over Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Dinosaur Hall?

It brought one of our fiercest specimens to life when the museum’s chief artist Ottmar von Fuehrer painted it on the south
end of the hall in 1950. Von Fuehrer recognized the value that art brought to science and paid enormous attention to detail in order to give a face and an environment to the ferocious fossilized skeleton that stood nearby. As he painted, visitors returned to the museum month after month to watch, sometimes offering feedback and asking questions.

Though the mural is no longer in the hall, you can take home new merchandise inspired by a vintage piece of Carnegie history.

October 5, 2017 by wpengine

Dryosaurus altus

Unlike many herbivores of its time, Dryosaurus altus was not very large. Standing four feet high at the hips and growing up to 11 feet in length, Dryosaurus may have weighed only 200 pounds. But this bipedal dinosaur was fast. It had long, powerful hind legs that carried it through the Late Jurassic wilderness, providing its primary defense against predators.

With a name that means “tall oak tree lizard,” Dryosaurus had short front limbs and a long tail that may have been used as a counterbalance. It had a beak for cropping vegetation and was most likely an efficient chewer, with strong teeth and a hinged jaw. This hinge allowed the herbivore to slide its upper and lower jaws past one another as it chewed, an unusually advanced feeding adaptation for this time period.

One of the oldest known members of the dinosaur group Ornithopoda, Dryosaurus fossils have been found in the western United States and possibly eastern Africa (though some paleontologists think the African fossils belong instead to a close relative called Dysalotosaurus). The specimen on display at Carnegie Museum of Natural History was discovered in 1910 by Earl Douglass and his field crew in the Morrison Formation at what is now Dinosaur National Monument in Utah.

October 5, 2017 by wpengine

The elf owl

The elf owl, found from the southwestern United States to central Mexico, is the world’s smallest owl. Examine this taxidermy specimen up close, and see just how tiny these little birds are in Bird Hall!

(photo by Hayley Pontia)

October 5, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 2007

Not all plants in our area photosynthesize! Collected on September 29, 2007, this specimen was collected by Loree Speedy in dry woods in Burrell Township, Indiana County, PA (near Blairsville). Often mistaken for a fungus, Monotropa uniflora, commonly known as the ghost plant, is indeed a flowering plant in the blueberry family.

When alive, the plant is white (hence the name ghost plant), but turns black when dried. It lacks the green chlorophyll pigments of most plants, and therefore does not make its own sugars through photosynthesis. Instead, Monotropa uniflora is a heterotroph.

Like humans, heterotrophs ingest or absorb carbon necessary for life from organic sources, rather than fixing carbon from atmospheric carbon dioxide through photosynthesis). More specifically, this plant is a myco-heterotroph.

The way this plant gets its food is incredible. It parasitizes mycorrhizal fungi in the soil. And where does the mycorrhizal fungi get its food? These fungi form a close relationship (symbiosis) with many forest trees, shrubs and herbs, where the fungi aid the host plant in water and nutrient uptake and the fungi receive sugars from the plant in return. This complex relationship was shown using radioactive carbon dioxide, tracking tagged carbon molecules from a host tree to Monotropa uniflora.

So…ultimately, the food for this non-photosynthetic plant comes from other plants in the forest!

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

October 5, 2017 by wpengine

Protoceratops andrewsi

Protoceratops andrewsi is a fairly small and primitive ceratopsian, or horned dinosaur. Although it lacked the horns of later species, Protoceratops had a distinct bump above its nostrils and thickened bone over its eye sockets. Like its larger and geologically younger relative Triceratops, this herbivore also had a bony neck frill that may have been used for species identification and display. With a name that means “Andrews’ early horned face,” this dinosaur reached two and one-half feet tall at the hips and grew up to six feet long. It weighed around 200 pounds and had a horn-covered beak that it used to crop plants and to defend itself.

Protoceratops was first discovered in Mongolia, and a great many specimens have since been found in that nation and in northern China. They range in size from hatchlings to full-grown adults, including one that is preserved locked in combat with an individual of Velociraptor, the predatory ‘raptor’ made famous by the Jurassic Park films.

Protoceratops thrived in Central Asia during the late Cretaceous Period, roughly 80-75 million years ago. Roughly 20 million years beforehand, a ceratopsian species that closely resembled Protoceratops is thought to have migrated from Asia to North America via a land bridge that spanned the region between what are now Siberia and Alaska. The descendants of this dinosaur eventually evolved into the huge horned ceratopsians such as Triceratops.

The Protoceratops on display at Carnegie Museum was collected by the American Museum of Natural History during an expedition to Mongolia in 1925 and obtained via an exchange in 1945.

October 5, 2017 by wpengine

Who is Dr. Matt Lamanna?

Matt Lamanna on expedition in Antarctica

Did you know that Section of Vertebrate Paleontology curator Matt Lamanna has discovered dinosaur fossils on all seven
continents, including Antarctica?

Dr. Lamanna leads the Antarctic Peninsula Paleontology Project, an international team of scientists investigating the end
of the Mesozoic Era (”Age of Dinosaurs”) in Antarctica, and also leads or co-leads research projects studying dinosaurs in Patagonia (Argentina), the Sahara (Egypt), and the Australian Outback.

Lamanna has named or co-named 15 new species of dinosaurs and fossil birds, including Anzu wyliei and three of the largest land animals known to science—the titanosaurian sauropods Dreadnoughtus schrani, Notocolossus gonzalezparejasi, and Paralititan stromeri. Each of these massive sauropods is estimated to have weighed more
than 40 tons, roughly equivalent to eight adult elephants.

Lamanna has co-authored two papers in the preeminent journal Science and appeared on television programs for PBS (NOVA), the Discovery Channel, the History Channel, A&E, the Science Channel, and more. Recently, he assisted the US Department of Homeland Security in their investigation of a dinosaur fossil that had been illegally smuggled out of China.

October 5, 2017 by wpengine

Celebrated fossil quarry

The celebrated fossil quarry at what is now recognized as Dinosaur National Monument in Utah was discovered in 1909 by Carnegie Museum field collector Earl Douglass.

From 1909–1923, Douglass and his crews collected more than 350 tons (700,000 pounds) of fossils from that site alone. Several dinosaur skeletons discovered by Douglass at this quarry are featured in our core exhibition hall, Dinosaurs in Their Time.

Others grace the exhibit halls of other prominent North American museums, such as the American Museum of Natural History in New York, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, and the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.

October 5, 2017 by wpengine

Lawrence’s Warbler

This bright yellow bird is a rare hybrid that was banded at Powdermill Nature Reserve, the museum’s environmental research center, in spring 2017.

This hybridization occurs when a golden-winged warbler mates with a blue-winged warbler. This individual was just the 12th Lawrence’s warbler banded at Powdermill in our 55 years of banding.

October 5, 2017 by wpengine

What’s This?

What’s This: a spoon, a tongue depressor or a sled shoe?

Sled shoes were made of bone or ivory and pegged to the bottom of wooden sled runners in order to protect them on rough ice or gravel. This reconstruction can be found in Polar World: Wycoff Hall of Arctic Life.

(Photo by Hayley Pontia)

October 5, 2017 by wpengine

Arctic animals

Arctic animals, such as the caribou, exhibit dramatic seasonal color changes in fur that help them blend with their natural surroundings. In this diorama, the caribou adapts to a white, winter environment.

(photo by Hayley Pontia)

September 25, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1946

Canada goldenrod (Solidago canadensis) sheet 2

It is that time of year when old fields across western Pennsylvania are painted yellow.

Collected on September 15, 1946, this specimen was found in New Baltimore, Somerset County by an influential curator of botany at the museum, Otto Jennings. There are many species of goldenrod (in the genus Solidago) in our region. They are often associated with runny noses and sneezing from fall allergies (hay fever), but don’t blame the goldenrods!

Their relatively heavy pollen rarely becomes air-borne, but rather these plants are insect-pollinated. Wind-pollinated species, like ragweed, are more likely your culprit. This specimen pictured here (split between two herbarium sheets) is Canada goldenrod (Solidago canadensis).

Canada goldenrod is a fall-blooming, native species common throughout western Pennsylvania. However, it was introduced to Europe and Asia for use in floral arrangements and gardens and has since become an invasive weed in other parts of the world.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden
collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

September 15, 2017 by wpengine

Lean into It

Plum-headed parrots, native to India, have heavy bills powered by strong muscles which allows the birds to shell and crush hard fruits and seeds.

This taxidermy mount is on display in Bird Hall.

(photo by Hayley Pontia)

September 11, 2017 by wpengine

Super Science Saturday: Whiskers and Woofs!

What happened at this fun Saturday event? Scavenger hunts, learning cool facts about prehistoric cats and colossal canines, crafting toys and treats for animals at home and learning about dogs with jobs. Local veterinary hospitals and adoption agencies were also on site to answer questions about visitors’ furry friends.

Super Science Saturday is an ongoing program in our Lifelong Learning Series that provides activities throughout the museum and is free with the price of admission.

September 11, 2017 by wpengine

Age of Mammals: The Cenozoic Era Opens

Friends of Carnegie Museum of Natural History celebrated the reopening of a popular exhibition hall this weekend and honored Joe and Kathy Guyaux, whose generous gift made it possible.

On August 27, guests and VIPs celebrated the reopening of the exhibition hall Age of Mammals: The Cenozoic Era. The gallery now features additional scientific information about the amazing mammals that lived during the Cenozoic Era, a fresh coat of paint, and new signage. Highlights include a fossil skeleton of a Columbian mammoth and fossils of a saber-toothed cat, dire wolf, and giant ground sloth.

Adults mingled and enjoyed coffee and pastries, while kids had fun digging for fossils like real paleontologists in the reopened Bonehunters’ Quarry.

September 11, 2017 by wpengine

Thanks to western Pennsylvania’s wet summer

Thanks to western Pennsylvania’s wet summer, you can easily find all sorts of beautiful mushrooms during a quick walk through the woods.

Staff at Powdermill Nature Reserve recently snapped these photos on a walk through the environmental center’s property in the Laurel Highlands.

September 11, 2017 by wpengine

Did you know?

Did you know that most of the insects on Earth have yet to be discovered?

Carnegie Museum of Natural History curator John Rawlins is particularly interested in Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), and one of his favorite elements of working at the museum is taking part in watching the life history of moths develop as he and his staff rear them from egg cultures.

Recording each step of their metamorphosis is a way to associate an adult moth with its very different-looking caterpillar. There are many life histories unknown in the Lepidoptera, and learning the practice of rearing is important in terms of associating larval and pupal stages with corresponding adults and knowing which plants the caterpillars feed on.

September 11, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1991

Collected on September 8, 1991, this specimen was found near Tarentum, Pennsylvania by Walt Zanol.

If you had to pick the most aggressive, invasive plant in the Pittsburgh area, knotweed would be among the top choices. This particular specimen is Bohemian knotweed (Fallopia xbohemica), a hybrid between giant knotweed (Fallopia sachalinensis) and Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica). Japanese knotweed was introduced from East Asia, and giant knotweed came from Sakhalin (Russia). The hybrid likely originated when these two species met after they were introduced in Europe.

Both species and their hybrid can be found around Pittsburgh, often in enormous dense clusters along highways and waterways. Take note on your drive to work or walk in the neighborhood—knotweeds
are all around!

Giant knotweed is distinguished by its large (usually much larger than your hand), heart-shaped
leaves. Japanese knotweed and the hybrid Bohemian knotweed are much more difficult to distinguish, with much variation in leaf shape. In fact, the hybrid was only recognized in the early 1980s and
was largely overlooked in the United States until even more recently. Some suggest it invades more aggressively than its parents.

Most specimens in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s herbarium were originally identified as Japanese knotweed. Last year, Allison Cusick, a research associate at the museum, went through all 212 knotweed specimens and re-identified many as the hybrid. In fact, only three of the specimens from
Allegheny County were identified as Japanese knotweed!

three varieties of knotweed — Left to right: Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica), Bohemian knotweed (Fallopia xbohemica), giant knotweed (Fallopia sachalinensis).

All three knotweeds collected at the same site near the Allegheny River and Barking Slopes Conservation Area, New Kensington/Plum, Pennsylvania.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

September 11, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 2005

herbarium specimen of tall ironweed, Vernonia gigantea

Collected on September 1, 2005, this specimen was found in a floodplain forest near the Monongahela River in New Eagle, PA (Washington County). Ironweed (which includes many species in the genus Vernonia) is a great plant for native pollinators. Consider adding it to your garden! This species of ironweed, known as “tall ironweed” (Vernonia gigantea), can be 2–7 feet tall (or sometimes more than 10 feet) with beautiful purple flower heads from mid-late summer. Learn more about ironweed (and see it all year long) in Botany Hall at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

ironweed blooming with bright pink-purple flowers

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

September 11, 2017 by wpengine

Herons and Henry David Thoreau

by Patrick McShea

Two hundred years after the birth of naturalist Henry David Thoreau, his writing continues to challenge us to be better observers of animals, plants, weather patterns, sounds, and landscapes.

Although the Concord, Massachusetts native would insist that such emulation occur outdoors, selected quotes from his works can add much to our appreciation of details preserved in museum exhibits.

Consider, for example, Thoreau’s precise word-rendering of a subtle shade of color. He described the plumage of a great blue heron’s wing as “a tempered blue as of the sky and dark water commingled.” In Population Impact, museum visitors can verify the accuracy of the poetic description while viewing the great blue heron taxidermy mount displayed in the third-floor exhibition.

A more challenging exercise involves viewing the recently restored, century-old diorama of nesting green herons now displayed at the first-floor level of the Grand Staircase.

In an 1840 journal entry about observing a green heron along a New England river, Thoreau expressed envy for the wading bird’s experience of the world:

“It has looked out from its dull eye for so long, standing on one leg, on moon and stars sparkling through silence and dark, and now what a rich experience is its! What says it of stagnant pools, and reeds, and damp night fogs? It would be worth while to look in the eye which has been open and seeing at such hours and in such solitudes. When I behold that dull yellowish green, I wonder if my own soul is not a bright invisible green. I would fain lay my eye side by side with its and learn of it.”

September 11, 2017 by wpengine

Giant leopard moths

Giant leopard moths can secrete a yellow liquid from their thorax that works as a chemical defense against predators. This one, spotted at Powdermill Nature Reserve, unfortunately must be close to death as they are nocturnal, thus avoiding daytime activity.

Powdermill Nature Reserve in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s environmental research center located in the Laurel Highlands of western Pennsylvania. Follow them on Instagram for more photos like this.

September 8, 2017 by wpengine

Can you dig it?

Can you dig it? The exhibition hall, Age of Mammals: The Cenozoic Era, has a new look that includes this fun logo for Bonehunters’ Quarry. The popular exhibit that invites kids to dig for fossils in a recreation of Dinosaur National Monument in Utah is now reopened after several months of updates.

August 31, 2017 by wpengine

Mammals that existed millions of years ago

Learn all about the mammals that existed millions of years ago in the newly renovated exhibition hall, Age of Mammals: The Cenozoic Era.

August 29, 2017 by wpengine

Blue-tongued skink!

It is easy to guess where the blue-tongued skink gets its name! This skink is part of Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s living collection and is well cared for by our trained staff.

Meet our skink or other animals, like birds and small mammals, at daily Live Animal Encounters at the museum, or even invite them out to your school or library with our outreach programs!

August 29, 2017 by wpengine

Summer of science and discovery

It has been a great summer of science and discovery at Carnegie Museum of Natural History Summer Camps.

In camps from Weird Science to Apocalypse Wow!, campers have used real scientific tools, done cool experiments, and learned about the natural world!

Check back next year for more great programs!

August 29, 2017 by wpengine

Black rhinoceros

Scattered in small populations throughout the African thornbush, the once-plentiful browsers, the black rhinoceros, may be on the brink of extinction. See a life-sized reproduction of one in the Hall of African Wildlife.

(photo by Hayley Pontia)

August 29, 2017 by wpengine

Section of Amphibians and Reptiles

The Section of Amphibians and Reptiles at Carnegie Museum of Natural History holds approximately the 10^th largest collection of amphibians and reptiles in North America in the historic Alcohol House.

August 21, 2017 by wpengine

European Roller

The bright blue European Roller (Coracias garrulus) breeds in southern and eastern Europe through to Siberia and winters in Africa.

These specimens from Carnegie Museum of Natural History are preserved as both study skins and a taxidermy mount. The Section of Birds is home to several drawers of eight species of rollers in the genus Coracias, which are part of the museum’s large holding of birds from Africa and Europe and were collected between 1891 and 1982.

August 21, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1998

Collected on August 26, 1998, this specimen was found along a gravel road not far from Settlers Cabin County Park. Ragweed is a plant that is (all too) familiar to many people.

Common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) is native to North America, but it has been introduced across the world. In many cases, this plant (or other ragweed species) are to blame for seasonal pollen allergies known as hay fever. In summer and early fall, ragweed plants produce copious numbers of pollen grains, which are dispersed in the wind. Although ragweed is native in the United States, historical records (pollen deposited in sediment cores) suggest that this species was far less common in North America before European colonization. This is perhaps not too surprising considering the species thrives in disturbed habitats that came with European colonization and urbanization.

A study published in 2014 in the journal Molecular Ecology extracted DNA from nearly 500 historic herbarium specimens dating back to the 1800s to measure the genetic makeup prior to widespread changes to the landscape in the late 19th century. Combined with data from recent collections, they found shifts in the genetic makeup of ragweed populations as the species was expanding in the United States.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

August 21, 2017 by wpengine

Specimen Preservation

taxidermy mount of a tropical bird with a long beak — Taxidermy mount

Study skins of three balck, red, and yellow birds — Study skins

When you stroll down Bird Hall at Carnegie Museum of Natural History, most of the birds you will see in the cases are sitting on branches or faux ground surfaces, seemingly alive but frozen in time.

But the roughly 190,000 birds in the museum’s collection are preserved and stored in a variety of ways for different purposes that include display and scientific study.

As seen in the photo above, stored specimens can be taxidermy mounts (preserved as they would have been seen in life), specimen skins (which are seen lying on their backs), skeletons, dried spread wings, and eggs. A select few birds, like this Collared Aracari (Pteroglossus torquatus), are even stored in 70% ethanol alcohol.

Each type of preparation has a purpose. Taxidermy mounts are for education and display. Skeleton preparations allow study of bones, which is helpful in understanding evolution, especially since often that is what is left in fossils found by vertebrate paleontologists.

Eggs document breeding localities and can even show changes in size and number through time as a method of climate change. Fluid specimens can be used for dissection in study of anatomy (muscles, brains, stomach contents, etc.) and recently have been used in CT scanning methods that even outline muscles and organ systems without dissection. Spread wings can show molt patterns and color patterns, which are often important in mating.

Finally, the study skin is the most common preparation type as it, as well as other preps, document the exact location, time, and condition of the bird when collected or salvaged. The feathers often indicate the age class of the bird, and it can serve in other more modern ways. DNA can be obtained from tissue and stable isotope data can be obtained from feathers allowing study of shifts in breeding ranges through time.

August 18, 2017 by wpengine

Some Breeding Birds Adjust to Local Climate Warming

Birding magazine recently featured the research of Luke DeGroote, the avian research coordinator at Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s environmental research center Powdermill Nature Reserve. Check out the June 2017 issue for the full article.

August 18, 2017 by wpengine

Snakes large and small!

Cornsnake, a yellow and orange snake — Cornsnake

small black and yelow snake — Kenyan sand boa

Carnegie Museum of Natural History is home to snakes large and small. Our living collection is home to a Kenyan sand boa, a corn snake, and even a 6-foot-long python! The snakes are well cared for by our experts here at the museum. You can sometimes meet them as part of the rotating cast of our daily Live Animal Encounters.

August 18, 2017 by wpengine

The Atlantic walrus

The Atlantic walrus is ideally adapted to feed on shellfish that abound in frigid northern seas with the help of its 400 coarse whiskers, used to probe mud in search of prey.

(photo by Hayley Pontia)

August 18, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1901

Collected on August 8, 1901, this American chestnut (Castanea dentata) specimen was found near Blairsville, Pennsylvania by John Shafer.

The American chestnut was once a major player in eastern United States forests, especially Pennsylvania and the Appalachian Mountains. American chestnut provided many ecological functions, including an important food source for wildlife, and was prized by humans for its wood. Some estimated that one in four trees in some forests were American chestnut. Due to chestnut blight, a disease caused by a pathogenic fungus (Cryphonectria parasitica) introduced in the early 1900s from Japan, this is no longer true. The species went from an important component of many forests to being functionally extinct.

The species can still be found in some places as resprouted shoots from existing stumps, but they do not reach reproductive maturity. Breeding efforts are underway to restore the American chestnut through creating blight-resistant chestnuts by crossbreeding with Chinese chestnuts, which are resistant to blight.

There are 264 American chestnut specimens in Carnegie Museum’s herbarium, which document the distribution and biology of this important species before and after the blight. This specimen picture here was collected before chestnut blight was known in the United States.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

August 18, 2017 by wpengine

The Uraeus, a cobra, was a symbol

The Uraeus, a cobra, was a symbol intended to protect royalty in ancient Egypt. This painted limestone was from the Early Dynasty XVIII, reign of Amenhotep I.

(photo by Hayley Pontia)

August 18, 2017 by wpengine

Burning Ivory

Dr. Eric Dorfman, the Daniel G. and Carole L. Kamin Director of Carnegie Museum of Natural History, recently wrote about the complicated practice of burning ivory on his blog. Check out an excerpt from his blog below:

“I just read an interesting blog post from National Geographic—“Does Destroying Ivory Save Elephants? Experts Weigh In.” Of course, a big public display of destroying artworks made from illegally hunted elephants makes an impact. National Geographic garnered the opinions of thinkers from all over the world, and their perspectives are equally varied.

For me, those people who are predisposed to thinking poorly of the ivory trade won’t be any more swayed by its destruction. They will continue to do what they can to protect elephants which, in most cases, is very little.

On the other hand, those people who value ivory artworks for their rarity (noting that China is the biggest market for this) might, in many ways, appreciate the burning of confiscated stashes, in that there is now less ivory in which other people can invest.”

Continue reading the full post.

August 18, 2017 by wpengine

Rocky mountain elk

Two rocky mountain elk battle for dominance of a herd of cows depicted in this scene set on the edge of Hayden Valley in Yellowstone National Park in the Hall of North American Wildlife.

(photo by Hayley Pontia)

August 18, 2017 by wpengine

Screech Owl Collection

Taxidermy mount of a screech owl — Taxidermy mount

These Eastern Screech Owls (Megascops asio) are preserved in a variety of different ways in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s collection—from eggs to fluid preserved specimens in alcohol. Each type of preparation allows different types of study.

Screech owls are small owls that can be found throughout Pennsylvania and are occasionally banded at Powdermill Nature Reserve—the museum’s environmental research center in Rector, Pennsylvania—and many live within the Pittsburgh city limits.

live screech owl with eye closed — A live screech owl banded at Powdermill Nature Reserve in 2015.

August 18, 2017 by wpengine

Surprisingly Poisonous

bird in a tree — Hooded pitohui (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Blogger Kate St. John from Outside My Window recently visited our summer blockbuster exhibition The Power of Poison, and blogged about her experience! Check it out.

Did you know that your fingers will go numb or burn if you handle this bird? You’ll be lucky that’s all that happens. This bird is poisonous!

Though it superficially resembles our orchard oriole the hooded pitohui (Pitohui dichrous) is an Old World oriole that lives on the islands of New Guinea. Its skin and feathers are poisonous to touch though not as deadly as the golden poison frog of South America shown below. Both animals exude batrachotoxin, a deadly neurotoxin that kills by paralysis and cardiac arrest. The frog is 50 times more poisonous than the bird. He contains enough poison to kill 10 men!

Read the full blogpost on Kate’s blog!

August 18, 2017 by wpengine

83rd Meeting of the American Malacological Society

Researchers gathered in a hotel meeting room — Participants of Mollusks in Peril 2017 session at the 83rd Meeting of the American Malacological Society. Top row, from left: Rüdiger Bieler (Field Museum of Natural History), Jay Cordeiro (AMS Conservation Committee), Amanda Haponski (Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan), Ken Hayes (Howard University), Chris Hobbs (Canterbury Christ Church University, UK), Tim Collins (Florida International University); bottom: Megan Paustian (Howard University), Tim Pearce (Carnegie Museum of Natural History), Norine Yeung (Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum), José H. Leal (Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum, organizer). Not in photo: Dan Hua (Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency).

Dr. Tim Pearce, assistant curator and Head of Section of Mollusks, was recently featured in the Curator’s Corner—a newsletter from Dr. José H. Leal, science director and curator at the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum—after he participated in the 83rd Meeting of the American Malacological Society at the University of Delaware.

“Some of the highlights of the meeting included a special workshop sponsored by iDigBio (Integrated Digitized Biocollections) on mollusks collections online, Digitizing the 2nd Largest Invertebrate Phylum: Mollusks; the President Symposium, Mollusk research in a digital world: creating, integrating and mining large datasets; and Mollusks in Peril 2017 (MIP 2017, organized by yours truly), a follow-up to the successful Mollusks in Peril 2016 Forum, held in May 2016 at the Shell Museum and sponsored by Smoky and Stephanie Payson.”

-Dr. Leal

August 18, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1941

Collected on August 18, 1941, this specimen was found just outside of Philipsburg, Pennsylvania by Leroy Henry. Bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare) is a European plant introduced in Pennsylvania, commonly found in disturbed sites, roadsides, and fields. As the species is unpalatable to most grazing livestock, bull thistle is often in abundance in grazed fields. It is not uncommon to find an American goldfinch pecking at thistle flower heads and eating the seeds. Recognizable by their spiny stems and flowers (usually purple), thistles are in the sunflower family (Asteraceae), many of which are native to the United States.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

August 18, 2017 by wpengine

On the Importance of Outreach

Abagael West, the Rea Postdoctoral Fellow at Carnegie Museum of Natural History, spent a Saturday afternoon interacting with museum visitors last month as part of our Super Science Saturday Series. She blogged about the experience and the importance of outreach for scientists. Check it out!

As a researcher in a natural history museum, I have a couple main ways of sharing my work with others. The first is, naturally, by writing and publishing papers in peer-reviewed journals. The second is through formal or informal events at the museum. And, as rewarding as it is to see your hard work in print, interactions like one I had yesterday at Carnegie Museum of Natural History are truly special.

Read her full blog online!

August 3, 2017 by wpengine

Researchers and scientists at work

Did you know researchers and scientists are at work in the museum every day?

Visitors got an inside look at the behind-the-scenes science of our museum by interacting with Carnegie scientists at a special Super Science Saturday—Scientist Takeover!

Entomologists, paleontologists, anthropologists, and other scientists spent Saturday, July 22 in the galleries showing off their cool collections, answering questions, and discussing their work with curious museum-goers. Visitors also enjoyed tours and hands-on activities like sifting through soil to find Pennsylvania land snails.

Super Science Saturdays is a program at Carnegie Museum of Natural History that invites visitors of all ages to explore a special theme through hands-on activities, experiments, demonstrations, discussions with museum experts, and more. Events are free with museum admission.

Don’t miss our next event, Whiskers and Woofs, on August 19.

August 3, 2017 by wpengine

Witches and wizards from all over Pittsburgh

Witches and wizards from all over Pittsburgh descended on Carnegie Museum of Natural History on July 21 for a 21+ evening of Harry Potter-themed fun at After Dark-Potterfest. More than 2,000 guests made up a diverse crowd that drank butterbeer, met live owls, danced in the Hall of North American Wildlife, and enjoyed live music performances, quidditch demonstrations, lectures, live animals, and more. Guests got into the spirit of the night and came dressed as Moaning Myrtle, Harry Potter, Voldemort, and other characters from the books.

The museum was decked out in Hogwarts house colors and floating candles to recreate the grandeur of the castle, and specimens thought to have magical properties were on display. There was a costume contest, a scavenger hunt, a Potter-themed beard contest, and even double decker bus rides around Oakland at a night of magical museum fun inspired by the most beloved books of our time.

The museum’s next 21+ event will be Haunted Museum: Year of the Monster. Due to popular demand, there will be two dates for our annual Halloween party this year on October 21 and 27. Tickets are on sale at afterdark.carnegiemnh.org.

winner of the costume contest, Moaning Myrtle

August 3, 2017 by wpengine

Behind the scenes

Kaylin working with reptile specimens — Behind the scenes in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Alcohol House with Curatorial Assistant Kaylin Martin
(Courtesy Kathy Hair)

August 3, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1952

Collected on July 28, 1952, this specimen was found near Nicktown, Cambria County by Hiliary Kline. Chicory (Cichorium intybus) was introduced from Eurasia and is a common roadside plant in Pennsylvania. Its bright blue flowers open in the morning and close by the afternoon. Chicory has a long history as a food source for humans, and there are several domesticated varieties. One such example is radicchio, which you can find in many grocery store salad mixes. Chicory roots have also been used as a coffee substitute or an additive to coffee grounds, and they are sold at some grocery stores. Chicory was famously used as a coffee substitute by Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

July 27, 2017 by wpengine

Our spinosaurus puppet, Spiny

Our spinosaurus puppet, Spiny, has been out and about this summer at different events and festivals. Want to meet Spiny? Check out these upcoming public appearances.

Findlay Township’s Fair in the Woodlands
August 19 at 1 p.m.
Clinton Community Park
1271 U.S. 30, Clinton, PA 15026

Drake Well Museum and Park
August 26 at 2 p.m.
202 Museum Lane, Titusville, PA 16354

For more information on how you can bring Spiny and museum activities to your event, visit our website!

July 27, 2017 by wpengine

University of Pittsburgh’s Consuming Nature

Last month, the staff at Carnegie Museum of Natural History hosted students and faculty from the University of Pittsburgh’s Consuming Nature group. We gave them an exclusive, behind the scenes look at the research collection. Dr. Eric Dorfman, the Daniel G. and Carole L. Kamin Director of Carnegie Museum of Natural History, hosted the group, who visited the museum to develop ideas and gather information for future teaching and research projects.

July 26, 2017 by wpengine

Mr. Yuk

On May 31, Carnegie Museum of Natural History held a special VIP event to honor the achievements of museum board member Dr. Richard Moriarty, creator of the “Mr. Yuk” symbol and founder of the Pittsburgh Poison Center and National Poison Center Network.

July 26, 2017 by wpengine

Summer Camps are underway

Summer Camps are underway this summer at Carnegie Museum of Natural History! Campers ages 4–13 spent the past few weeks exploring the historic halls of the museum at camps about biology, ancient civilizations, prehistoric beasts, and more!

There are still a few camps open! Visit our summer camps site for more information.

July 26, 2017 by wpengine

Exploring Intergalactic Natural History

Researcher Tim Pearce sitting on the floor talking to a group of campers

What can the science of natural history teach us about the Star Wars universe? In a new week-long summer day camp at Carnegie Museum of Natural History, kids ages 6 and 7 had a chance to find out first hand. By comparing Mesozoic ferns to plants in the forest of Endor and conducting condensation experiments to prepare for survival in the desert of Tatooine, campers activated their imaginations and honed their observation skills.

Museum scientists also joined in on the fun. Dr. Tim Pearce, assistant curator and head of the Section of Mollusks, helped campers investigate a critical question—is Jabba the Hut a slug? After learning about slug features with Dr. Pearce, one camper gave a scientific rationale for the answer— “No. Jabba does not have eye stalks, but slugs do!”

Due to popular demand, a second session of Star Warriors has been added July 31–August 4. Register online by July 27 to join in on the fun.

On Hoth Day, Star Warriors experimented with water and ice, making ice cream with solid carbon dioxide (dry ice) and building model igloos. “The ice cream was bubbling like crazy,” campers observed.

campers making excited faces at their bubbling ice cream

Campers wrapped up the week by making their own costumes and solving a Star Wars quest in the museum galleries. Visit camps.artandnaturalhistory.org to sign up for the next session!

three campers dressed up in costumes that they made

July 26, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1904

Herbarium specimen Common mullein (Verbascum thapsus)

Collected on July 21, 1904, this specimen was found by Otto Jennings (a former curator of botany at Carnegie Museum of Natural History) in Cameron County, Pennsylvania. Common mullein (Verbascum thapsus) is a weedy species from Eurasia and is now common in roadsides and disturbed fields across the United States.

When you know to look for it, it is hard to miss at up to 6 feet tall with bright yellow flowers and velvety leaves. It was introduced at least 230 years ago, cultivated by early European colonists for use as a fish poison (the seeds contain several compounds deadly to fish).

Throughout history, the plant has had many medicinal uses—one Greek botanist recommended it for pulmonary diseases over 2,000 years ago. It can be found in herbal products for this purpose, but many of these products have not yet been tested for safety or effectiveness.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

July 21, 2017 by wpengine

Alligators at the Museum

Did you know there are two alligators at Carnegie Museum of Natural History?

No. Not those ones. (They are actually crocodiles native to Africa and some of the largest ever collected!)

These two babies are part of Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s living collection! The museum is fostering them for about a year until they grow to be too big to keep at the museum.

They are sometimes featured in our daily Live Animal Encounters or as part of our outreach programs!

July 21, 2017 by wpengine

Check out our new selfie station featuring Dippy

Check out our new selfie station featuring Dippy and all of his scarves!

The set-up is located in Discovery Basecamp at Carnegie Museum of Natural History and is sponsored by MedExpress Urgent Care.

Tweet or post your photo with Dippy on Facebook using #MEandDippy for the chance to win a family pack of tickets to the museum. MedExpress will select a winner once a month.

July 19, 2017 by wpengine

Pittsburgh’s “Mr. Yuk”

Mr Yuk sticker with a green frownie face and the phone number for the poison help hotline

You know that bright green frown. It may have been on household cleaning products under the sink or on stickers passed out at school—the infamous “Mr. Yuk.”

Did you know that this universal symbol for household poisons was created in Pittsburgh?

“Mr. Yuk,” the famous green face with his tongue sticking out, was developed in 1971 by Pittsburgh pediatrician and Carnegie Museum of Natural History board member Dr. Richard Moriarty, who also developed the Pittsburgh Poison Center and the Poison Center Network.

In this summer’s blockbuster exhibition, The Power of Poison, Carnegie Museum of Natural History added a special section of the exhibition to celebrate the creation “Mr. Yuk” and Dr. Moriarty.

The section tells the story of the development of “Mr. Yuk,” shows how it is used to mark poisonous things, and features one-of-a kind “Mr. Yuk” pieces of memorabilia from Dr. Moriarty’s personal collection.

Want to take home your own “Mr. Yuk” swag? Our gift shop has you covered with “Yuk” T-shirts, keychains, totes, and more!

gift store merchandise featuring Mr. Yuk

For more info, visit The Power of Poison, open through September 4, 2017.

July 18, 2017 by wpengine

Poisons of the Carnegie: Poison Dart Frogs

by Kaylin Martin

Rather than blending in to their environment to hide from predators, poison dart frogs exhibit bright colorations to alert others of their toxicity. This is called aposematic coloration. It is used as a warning signal to predators in an attempt to say “eat me, and you will thoroughly regret it!”

Get up close and personal with our three live golden dart frogs, Phyllobates terribilis, on display in The Power of Poison exhibition, open through September 4, 2017 at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

This summer is all about poison at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Staff will be sharing fascinating pieces of our collection that are toxic, poisonous, or venomous to celebrate our summer blockbuster exhibition The Power of Poison. For more information about this highly interactive, family-friendly exhibition, visit pop.carnegiemnh.org.

July 18, 2017 by wpengine

Handwritten notes and sketches

Handwritten notes and sketches penned by a former curator are kept in the museum’s hidden Invertebrate Zoology collection.

July 17, 2017 by wpengine

Scorpion Bombs

a bunch of scorpians crowling out of broken pot

Can you imagine having a jar full of scorpions dropped on you?

Scholars suspect that a small desert kingdom used ceramic bombs filled with venomous insects or scorpions to ward off the Roman Empire roughly 1,800 years ago in present day Iraq.

Learn more about poisons in history or the venom of scorpions in The Power of Poison, open through September 4 at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

July 17, 2017 by wpengine

Sun Conures

This brightly colored bird is one of two sun conures in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s living collection.

Known for their vivid colors, these small parrots can live up to 30 years!

Our birds at the museum were rescued from an unsafe animal hoarding situation in the Pittsburgh area, and they are now happily at home here.

July 14, 2017 by wpengine

Dippy Dino Rocks

Dippy, our museum’s most famous dinosaur, has inspired young paleontologists for years, and his statue on Forbes Avenue inspires selfies outside of the museum every day! Most recently, Pittsburgh’s favorite dinosaur was the inspiration for a new flavor of ice cream —Dippy Dino Rocks!

You can sample Dippy Dino Rocks, on July 22 at Super Science Saturday courtesy of Klavon’s Ice Cream Parlor, where the new ice cream will be sold!

July 14, 2017 by wpengine

Turtle Bottoms

Spotted turtles in a display case, one is on its back and the other is on its belly — Spotted turtles

Upside down is an unnatural state. Yet within the museum’s display of Pennsylvania turtles, four of 14 taxidermy mounts are bottom side up. With strained necks and legs positioned in frozen flail, the four reptiles, each representing a different
turtle species, appear in perpetual effort to right themselves.

taxidermy Stinkpot turtles — Stinkpot turtles

Beneath the simulated surface of a clear shallow pool, a trio of eastern spiny softshell turtles shows the contrast between the species’ carapace and plastron.

At Carnegie Museum of Natural History, displays of Pennsylvania’s amphibians and reptiles can be found on the Daniel G. and Carole L. Kamin T. rex Overlook.

For addition species information visit: http://www.fishandboat.com/Resource/AmphibiansandReptiles/Pages/default.aspx

New Mineral Specimens

Collection managers Marc and Deb Wilson from the Section of Minerals recently attended the Geofair
Show in Cincinnati, where they displayed an exhibit on the quirks of quartz.

They also acquired new mineral specimens for the collection, two of which are planned for future
exhibit—wulfenite from China and pargasite on marble from Vietnam.

A white peice of marble with green pargasite — Pargasite on marble from Vietnam

A redish brown mineral with square corners — Wulfenite from China

July 14, 2017 by wpengine

What is in a Tail?

skeleton of an animal with a long tail on a black background — Macropus rufus

By John Wible

Those with pet dogs or cats at home are familiar with what a mammal’s tail can do. It acts as a counterbalance for your cat in executing amazing leaps and bounds. It is used for communication, more so by your dog, expressing a broad range of emotions by its action or lack thereof. Cows and horses use their tails to swat flies. Some mammals have a prehensile tail, which acts like a fifth appendage and is used in grasping, supporting, or in the case of a spider monkey even swinging from a tree branch. For marine mammals (whales, seals, and walruses), the tail is the major propulsive organ for swimming.

But what is in a tail? Your back is made of a series of small bones stacked together called vertebra (plural is vertebrae). This is the reason why animals with vertebrae, such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, are called vertebrates. A typical mammalian back shows five regional variants or types of vertebrae. These are neck (cervical) vertebrae supporting the head, thoracic vertebrae anchoring the ribcage, lumbar vertebrae with the abdomen, sacral vertebrae with the pelvis, and caudal vertebrae with the tail. These five types are readily distinguished from each other, with their structure reflective of their function and position within the spine or vertebral column. A back walks a delicate balance between two seemingly incongruent functions—strength to provide support and flexibility to allow movement. It is the battle between these that in bipeds like us often ends in back pain.

Regarding the numbers of vertebrae in different regions, the most stable is the neck, with the vast majority of mammals having seven cervical vertebrae. Even the giraffe with its incredibly long neck has the same number of cervical vertebrae as you and me. However, the numbers in the other regions differ considerably across mammalian species, with the thorax between 11 and 23, lumbar between two and eight, and the sacrum between one and nine. But it is the tail that wins the prize with a range between two and 49! The red kangaroo, Macropus rufus, pictured above has a vertebral count from head to tail of seven cervical, 13 thoracic, six lumbar, two sacral, and 21 caudal.

But wait a minute. Some mammals, including us, do not have tails. Why isn’t the range for caudal vertebra between zero and 49. The fact is that even tailless mammals have some very reduced caudal vertebrae. In the case of humans, our “tail” is composed of three to five greatly reduced caudal vertebrae that are collectively referred to as the coccyx (Greek for cuckoo, from the resemblance of these bones to this bird’s beak).

How should I end my tale? Given our penchant for world records, I would be remiss if I did not announce the winner of the living mammal with the highest number of caudal vertebrae at a whopping 49. It is the aptly named long-tailed pangolin, Phataginus tetradactyla, from West Africa (the tags in the photo above are attached to the hind foot, giving you some idea of tail length). It is one of the eight species of pangolins or scaly anteaters found in parts of Africa and Asia. It is the most arboreal of the pangolins, the reason why its tail is prehensile, and a good swimmer to boot. Pangolin scales are made of keratin, like your fingernails, and provide protection from predators and prey (they feed on biting social insects). Sadly, the scales are also a reason why pangolins are critically endangered as they are used in traditional medicine practices.

July 11, 2017 by wpengine

keel-billed toucan

The keel-billed toucan is the national bird of Belize. This taxidermy mount is on display in Bird Hall.

(photo by Hayley Pontia)

July 10, 2017 by wpengine

Powdermill Antennae Helps Track Migration

by Scott Pruden

Ever wonder where birds and butterflies go on those long, seasonal migratory journeys? So do scientists, and the installation of several new antennae at Powdermill Nature Reserve will help them find out.

The three arrays are part of the Motus Wildlife Tracking System. Motus (which is Latin for “movement”) is an international collaborative research network that tracks small flying organisms, like birds, butterflies, and bats, that have been fitted with digitally encoded radio transmitters.

These “nano-tags” broadcast intermittent radio signals, which the antennae scan for and detect. Scientists use the data collected to track the migration patterns of tagged animals. The network includes more than 350 receiving stations throughout Canada, the United States, Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.

Data from 2016 shows that about 40 percent of nano-tagged tagged birds are tracked using Motus, compared with about one in a thousand birds tagged with leg bands.

Powdermill Avian Research Center is located near Rector, Pennsylvania, at Powdermill Nature Reserve, the environmental research center of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and is one of the longest continuously operating bird banding stations in the United States.

Powdermill Reserve, which encompasses 2,200 acres of ponds, streams, woodlands, open fields, and thickets, allows scientists to monitor and study changes in the local ecology and wildlife populations. The reserve is home to a wide variety of plants and animals facing habitat destruction in the region.

Installation of the Motus antennae is supported by a grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation, which helps support conservation efforts in southwestern Pennsylvania and throughout the United States.

July 10, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 2001

herbarium sheet 6 of 6 showing the leaf and stock of a giant hogweed

herbarium sheet 2 of 6 showing the flower after turning to seed

herbarium sheet 3 of 6 showing the leaf and stem of a giant hogweed

herbarium sheet 1 of 6 showing the flower of a giant hogweed

herbarium sheet 4 of 6 showing the leaf of a giant hogweed

Collected on this Day in 2001

Giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum) is considered a significant public human health concern. This non-woody plant can be 8–20 feet tall with leaves up to 5 feet wide!

In fact, it took six separate herbarium sheets to capture the characteristics of this species. This specimen was collected from a garden, where it was intentionally grown for the purposes of educating the public about this plant. Native to central and southwest Asia, this plant can now be found in parts of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and North America. It is thought to be eradicated in Pennsylvania.

This plant is highly poisonous and designated as a federal noxious weed. The sap of giant hogweed causes “phytophotodermatitis,” meaning serious skin inflammation occurs when contacted skin is exposed to sunlight. Skin rashes can be very severe. The sap is also said to cause blindness.

Giant hogweed, like poison hemlock and Queen Anne’s lace, is in the carrot family (Apiaceae). It might be confused with the related native plant, cow parsnip (Heracleum lanatum), but giant hogweed is noticeably larger in height and flower size.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

July 10, 2017 by wpengine

A New Giant Discovered in Peru

Peruvian Viridigigas ciseskii, a green and brown moth

by Molly Carter

It is big, green, and was recently seen by people for the first time ever. The newly discovered Peruvian Viridigigas ciseskii is a neotropical ghost moth found in the Andes Mountains and is the first of its kind to be officially categorized.

John Rawlins, curator of the Section of Invertebrate Zoology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and John Grehan, a research associate, helped describe the new species and published their findings in the Annals of the Carnegie.

This green giant is so distinct, its wider evolutionary position has not been determined and a new genus, Viridigigas, has been created as it is unlike anything entomologists have observed before. Two unique individuals, a male and female, have been described and are the only ones to be collected thus far.

A monster among ghost moths, the Viridigigas ciseskii has a 12 cm wingspan and a combination of features that are not seen in any other ghost moths of the Amazon or the world. Perhaps most striking, the moth’s wings are olive green and overlaid with swirls of irregular dark circular spots, enclosed in a series of fine lines. Other tropical ghost moths have predominantly brown wings, and not one has been documented with any type of circular pattern.

Beyond its coloring, this new species also has unusual characteristics not typically found in ghost moths. The male features a large oval scent gland at the base of his forewing and the moth’s hind legs have long scent scales. While other moths do have similar traits, they are uncommon and shared only with an obscure, small gray moth found in central Chile and a large moth whose habitat is on the islands of Fiji.

While it seems hard to believe that a moth this big remained hidden from human eyes for so long, many ghost moths go unnoticed. The caterpillars burrow in the ground or inside stems, and the non-feeding moths do not often come to light. Because these moths are often ghost-like and hard to come across, it is not yet known if the new species is rare or simply elusive.

July 10, 2017 by wpengine

Ivory cup found in Norton Sound, Alaska

Ivory cup found in Norton Sound, Alaska on display in Polar World: Wyckoff Hall of Arctic Life

(photo by Hayley Pontia)

July 7, 2017 by wpengine

The great green macaw

The great green macaw, an inhabitant of tropical rainforests, is dependent upon certain species of old-growth trees for food and nest sites. Unfortunately, neotropical rainforests are being destroyed at an alarming rate. This taxidermy mount is on display in Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

(photo by Hayley Pontia)

July 7, 2017 by wpengine

woodland kingfisher

The woodland kingfisher perches and swoops like its aquatic relatives, but it mostly targets insects and other terrestrial prey instead of fish. This taxidermy mount is on display in Bird Hall at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

(photo by Hayley Pontia)

July 7, 2017 by wpengine

Adult male rusty blackbird

This adult male rusty blackbird was banded March 29, 2017 at Powdermill Nature Reserve, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s environmental research center.

July 7, 2017 by wpengine

Poisons of the Carnegie: Timber Rattlesnake

by Patrick McShea

Where timber rattlesnakes are concerned, the scientific collections at Carnegie Museum of Natural History have more specimens than any other museum in the world. Of the more than 207,000 preserved amphibian and reptile specimens in the Section of Herpetology, 595 are Crotalus horridus, the scientific name for the timber rattlesnake. (In second place, with 507 specimens, is the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. The Smithsonian and all other museums have far fewer specimens.)

For anyone wondering about the importance such unusual sets, collection manager Steve Rogers cites visiting researcher John Allsteadt, lead author of a 2006 scientific paper titled, Geographic variation in the morphology of Crotalus horridus.

“He examined and measured every one of our timber rattlesnakes. It was a whole lot of work,” Rogers said.

On the exhibit front, a newly restored historic diorama features three timber rattlesnakes collected more than a century ago near Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania. Alive, the venomous reptiles must have sometimes basked on sandstone ledges above the roar of Youghiogheny River rapids. In their current location, on the first floor near the Grand Staircase, polished marble is the predominant rock. Ambient sounds here range from the full-voiced chatter of visiting school groups to the electronic “ding” of adjacent elevator doors.

The contrast in backgrounds mirrors a longstanding gap between timber rattlesnake myth and reality. For the European immigrants who settled eastern North America, fear of timber rattlesnakes trumped any possible understanding of the species’ predictable behaviors, ecological role, and generally non-aggressive nature.

In the 1782 publication, Letters from an American Farmer, a work widely recognized as a foundation of American literature, author J. Hector St. John Crevecoeur summarizes the reptile’s predicament in the growing new nation:

“In the thick settlements, they are now become very scarce; for wherever they are met with, open war is declared against them; so that in a few years there will be none left but on our mountains.”

Readers interested in how this prediction played out over the intervening 23 decades should seek out America’s Snake: The Rise and Fall of the Timber Rattlesnake, a book by naturalist Ted Levin published in 2016 by The University of Chicago Press. The “open war” mentioned by Crevecoeur is an on-going theme in the work’s 481 pages, as is a threat unimaginable in colonial times, illegal international trade in venomous snakes. Levin also offers profiles of people working to safeguard the species and clearly relates what is currently known about timber rattlesnake evolution and anatomy, with attention paid to the physical adaptations that enable the creatures to make, store, and deliver a powerful venom composed of multiple toxins.

The bibliography of America’s Snake includes a reference to the publication of the researcher who measured all 595 Carnegie timber rattlesnakes. The note is an important if indirect link between this museum and a masterful modern work of natural history literature.

red book cover for a book title "America's Snake" by Ted Levin

July 7, 2017 by wpengine

Art depicting a man/bear

This piece of art, which depicts a man/bear, is made from a whale vertebra. It is on display in Polar World: Wyckoff Hall of Arctic Life.

(photo by Hayley Pontia)

June 27, 2017 by wpengine

Scientists Live: Botanist Bonnie Isaac

Carnegie Museum of Natural History botanist Bonnie Isaac showed off pieces of the museum’s hidden collection and answered questions on Facebook Live on February 15.

Watch the video above, and follow the museum on Facebook for more information on the next live scientist video!

June 27, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1959

Herbarium specimen of Mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia)

Collected on June 9, 1959, this specimen was found in the woods in Somerset County by Leroy Henry, a past curator of botany at the museum. Mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) is the state flower of Pennsylvania. It is a broadleaved evergreen shrub native across the eastern United States, especially in forests of mountainous areas. This specimen was collected not too far from the highest point in Pennsylvania and the Maryland border. It is often mistaken for rhododendron because rhododendron
and mountain laurel are found in similar habitats and belong to the heath family (Ericaceae). Despite its beauty, mountain laurel has a dark side—all parts contain toxins that are poisonous to humans, pets, horses, and cattle.

Ingesting this plant can cause vomiting, diarrhea, impaired vision, convulsion, cardiovascular distress, and death. Honey made by bees from mountain laurel can also cause medical problems to humans. Benjamin Smith Barton (an American botanist in the late 1700s) wrote that in the autumn and winter of the year 1790, many people died in Pennsylvania from the effects of wild
honey, collected from Kalmia plants.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

June 27, 2017 by wpengine

Sinodelphys szalayi

Sinodelphys szalayi is the earliest known relative of modern marsupials like kangaroos, wallabies, and opossums. Sinodelphys shows that although most modern marsupials live in Australia or South America, they actually originated in Asia during the Cretaceous Period.

June 26, 2017 by wpengine

Poisons of the Carnegie: White Snakeroot

by Mason Heberling

Nancy Hanks Lincoln (mother of Abraham Lincoln) died on October 5, 1818 from “milk sickness.” Milk sickness is caused by drinking milk from cows that have eaten the poisonous plant white snakeroot (Ageratina altissima). Also known as “puking fever” or simply “the trembles,” early European-American settlers in the Midwest initially thought
milk sickness was an infectious disease.

It was soon realized that the unidentified illnesses were caused by drinking milk from cows that ate white snakeroot, which contains the chemical tremetol, a toxin which causes weakness, pain, vomiting, abdominal pain, and can lead to coma and death. The cattle of these early settlers often wandered into the forest to graze, seeking additional forage outside limited pastures. However, milk sickness is very uncommon today due to modern farming practices, and cows rarely have access to eat this plant.

White snakeroot is a fall-blooming, shade-tolerant species found in forests across the eastern United States and commonly found throughout southwestern Pennsylvania. This specimen pictured was collected in 1998 in southwestern Indiana, about 90 miles north of the Little Pigeon Creek community where Abraham Lincoln’s family lived.

June 26, 2017 by wpengine

Poisons of the Carnegie: Io Moth

by Vanessa Verdecia

The Io moth (Automeris io) is in the subfamily Hemileucinae, which belongs in the family called Saturniidae—the Giant Silkworm Moths. Caterpillars in the hemileucine subfamily have urticating spines that are filled with poison. There are many
different species in this group, some more toxic than others.

The Io moth occurs here in Pennsylvania as well as other parts of the eastern United States. The last instar of the caterpillar is green and has a red and white stripe down the side as seen in the image below.

The caterpillar is covered in spines that can break off and embed themselves in one’s skin if it is handled. The broken spines cause an irritation on the skin that can last for some time after the sting. Seen above are pictures of the adult male and female moths from the Carnegie collection. The female moth has a wingspan of about 8 centimeters and is reddish-brown in appearance, while the male has yellow wings and is a little smaller. They both have eyespots on the hindwings which serve as a
defense mechanism against predators, such as birds, that might confuse them for an animal looking back at them.

June 26, 2017 by wpengine

three species of milkweed

Specimens from these three species of milkweed can be found in the museum’s historic herbarium. Milkweed produces poisonous compounds that some insects like monarch butterflies use to their advantage.

June 26, 2017 by wpengine

Graptemysgibbonsi

Graptemys gibbonsi, a holotype specimen in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s fluid-preserved collection known as the Alcohol House

(Photo by Paul S. Freed)

June 26, 2017 by wpengine

Tucson Gem and Mineral Show

curator looking through boxes of colorful minerals — Carnegie Museum of Natural History Curator of Collections Marc Wilson looking for specimens

Curator of Collections Marc Wilson and Collections Assistant Deb Wilson were at the Tuscon Gem and Mineral Show this month on their hunt for more beautiful specimens for Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Section of Minerals.

three men standing in front of a case of minerals — Kulin and K.C. Pandey from Superb Minerals India Pvt. Ltd with Carnegie Museum of Natural History Curator of Collections Marc Wilson

two men looking at a mineral together — Herman Merchant from Mineral Decor with Carnegie Museum of Natural History Curator of Collections Marc Wilson

red and orange sunset over a dark landscape — Sunset in Tucson, Arizona, during the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show

June 26, 2017 by wpengine

Bet you have never found a seashell quite this big!

This giant clam is part of the Section of Mollusks’ hidden collection. You can get a special behind-the-scenes tour of the section most second Saturdays of the month at Carnegie Museum of Natural History!

June 26, 2017 by wpengine

Poisons of the Carnegie: Wheel Bug

by Vanessa Verdecia

The wheel bug (Arilus cristatus) is common in the United States and can be found here in Pennsylvania during the summer. It is recognized by the crested “wheel” as seen in the lateral image of this Carnegie specimen, and the beak can be seen coming out of the front of the elongated head and angled back towards the body in the close-up image. Wheel bugs can be found during the day, and one should be careful not to handle them, as a bite from this species is very painful. It is reported as causing intense pain followed by numbness, but their toxins do not cause serious health problems.

Wheel bugs, however, are very important predators and should be left undisturbed. They play a valuable role as forest predators, feeding on other insects that would otherwise defoliate trees or cause other destruction.

The wheel bug is classified in the family Reduviidae, which is one of the predatory families in the order Hemiptera (the True Bugs).

June 26, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1993

herbarium specimen of the milkweed plant

Collected on June 23, 1993, this specimen was found by Fred Utech near the Loyalhanna Creek in Salem Township, Pennsylvania.

Do not let the common name affect your opinion of this plant! Butterfly weed (Aclepias tuberosa) is a beautiful plant, and the pollinators love the bright orange flowers. Native to eastern North America, it can be found in dry, full sun conditions. It is a great plant to add to your garden!

Like other milkweeds (butterfly weed is in the milkweed genus), butterfly weed flower clusters mature into seed pods, which eventual dry up to release airborne seeds in the late summer. The long, silk-like hairs (called pappi) have been used by Native Americans to make textiles.

Despite its looks, butterfly weed is poisonous to ingest. Like other milkweeds, this plant contains defensive chemicals called cardiac glycosides, which are poisonous to humans, livestock, and pets. Milkweeds vary in their toxicity depending on species and age of plant. Symptoms can include weakness, difficulty breathing, kidney damage, cardiac distress, pupil dilation, loss of muscle control, and respiratory paralysis.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

June 26, 2017 by wpengine

Mammals from the museum’s hidden collection

What do all of these scaly mammals from the museum’s hidden collection have in common? They don’t have teeth!

(Well… all except that tiger skull in the back. It has some big chompers!)

June 26, 2017 by wpengine

Poisons of the Carnegie: Hemlock

by Mason Heberling

Poison hemlock (Conium maculatum) was used to kill the Greek philosopher Socrates in 399 BC. All parts of the plant are
highly toxic, containing an alkaloid poison, coniine, which disrupts the central nervous system and can cause paralysis of respiratory muscles and death.

Although native to Europe, poison hemlock has been introduced to the United States and can be found in the Pittsburgh region.
Despite the name, it is not related to hemlock trees, but instead a member of the carrot family (Apiaceae). Carrot family members are often recognizable by their flowers, which are on stalks that spread from a common point to form umbrella-like
clusters (botanically called an “umbel”).

Keep an eye out for this species. It is blooming now in our region along roadsides and ditches. Towering at heights of over 9 feet, this plant is hard to miss if you look for it. Aside from its height, it can also be distinguished from similar species by the purple blotches on the stems. It is best to avoid contact with this species. It can be fatal if ingested and can
also cause skin irritations if touched.

purple and green stems and leaves of a hemlock plant

June 16, 2017 by wpengine

Poisons of the Carnegie: Milkweed and Monarchs

This summer’s exciting blockbuster exhibition, The Power of Poison, has inspired museum staff to share fascinating pieces of our collection that are toxic, poisonous, or venomous.

Today, our Director of Science Stephen Tonsor explores the amazing relationship between the toxic milkweed plant and insects that use its poison for their own benefit.

June 16, 2017 by wpengine

Flying squirrel specimens (Idiurus macrotis)

These flying squirrel specimens (Idiurus macrotis) are preserved in the Section of Mammals at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

June 16, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1925

Collected on June 16, 1925, this specimen was found near Potter County, Pennsylvania by H.W. Graham.

Poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) is a species with which you might be very familiar! Poison ivy is a native woody vine found in wooded areas across the eastern United States. The species can take various forms and habits, growing as a vine along the ground, up a tree, or as a small shrub.

Poison ivy is famous for a chemical it produces, urushiol, which upon contact can cause a severe skin rash in humans. The rash, which can last up to several weeks, can also lead to an infection due to intense scratching that breaks the skin. Serious health effects can stem from ingesting urushiol or can cause other allergic reactions in eyes and throat when inhaling smoke from burned plants. If you come into contact with poison ivy, the best way to prevent an allergic reaction is washing with water and soap (or other detergent to wash off oils) as soon as possible. Some people are more sensitive to poison ivy than others or become more sensitive after repeated exposure.

Poison ivy is in the cashew plant family (Anacardiaceae), which includes several other species that produce skin irritants. In addition to poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac, the family also includes mangos and cashews. Interestingly, the shell of the cashew nut contains chemicals that can cause similar allergic skin reactions as poison ivy.

You might have heard “Leaves of three, let it be,” but what does that mean exactly? How do you know if it is poison ivy, poison oak, or poison sumac? Many plants might at first glance resemble poison ivy, but they can be easily distinguished. Poison ivy is common in woods, forest edges, roadsides, and weedy areas throughout Pennsylvania and has aerial, hairy-looking rootlets on stems of vines. Poison sumac (Toxicodendron vernix) is also native to Pennsylvania, but it is less common and only found in swamps and other persistently wet habitats. Poison sumac (Toxicodendron vernix) has leaves made up of many more leaflets than poison ivy. Lastly, poison oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum) is sometimes confused with poison ivy, but it is unlikely you encountered this species in Pennsylvania—it is only native to the western United States.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

May 31, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1923

Collected in late May, 1923, this specimen was found by E.H. McClelland at Idlewild Park, near Ligonier, Pennsylvania. This herbarium sheet actually contains two different phlox species—Phlox stolonifera (creeping phlox) and Phlox divaricata (wild blue phlox). There are at least seven species of phlox native to Pennsylvania. Phlox is a popular choice among wildflower gardeners.

Phlox can be easily confused with Dame’s rocket (Hesperis matronalis), a non-native plant
in the mustard family that is common along many wooded streams and roadsides. An easy way to tell the difference is by the flowers—wild phlox has five petals while Dame’s rocket has four petals. Dame’s rocket is in the mustard family, whose flower petals characteristically form a cross (hence its former family name Cruciferae).

Botanists at Carnegie
Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden
collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

May 31, 2017 by wpengine

Alaskan black bears

Although these Alaskan black bears are the same species as the black bears found in Pennsylvania, their fur can show a lot more variation—from coal black to blue-gray and even icy blond. This diorama is in the Hall of North American Wildlife.

May 30, 2017 by wpengine

Mammals found in Pennsylvania

This display shows mammals found in Pennsylvania. How many have you seen in your backyard?

May 30, 2017 by wpengine

Collected today in 1952 & 2002

Herbarium specimen branch of a maple tree

Both of these specimens were collected on May 17 in Pittsburgh’s Highland Park—but 50 years apart. John Bright collected the specimen on top in 1952. Fifty years later to the day, collection manager Bonnie Isaac unknowingly recollected the same species in the same location! If you look closely, you will notice the 1952 specimen did not yet produce seed by mid-May, while the 2002 specimen has already started developing the characteristic maple-like seeds. Due to increasing spring temperatures in recent decades, many plants tend to flower earlier, as shown through herbarium specimens.

Botanists at the museum are studying the impacts of human-caused environmental changes over the past century by following in the footsteps of past collectors. They are revisiting field sites on the same day to compare modern day plants to specimens collected over 100 years ago.

Sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus) has been intentionally introduced across temperate regions, including the United States and New Zealand. It has since become invasive, meaning it actively spreads across the landscape and can cause ecological damage. It is less common than other invasive maples (such as Norway maple) in this region, but it is invasive in several sites in the Pittsburgh area.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

May 30, 2017 by wpengine

Ostriches

Ostriches, like this one on display in the Hall of African Wildlife, are the largest living birds.

May 30, 2017 by wpengine

Mollusks on display

A common violet sea snail, a limpet, and a royal murex in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Section of Mollusks.

May 24, 2017 by wpengine

Collected at Kennywood Park

This Trillium erectum specimen was collected at Kennywood in May 1903. Found in forest understories in our region, Trillium erectum has several common names—red trillium (one form has deep maroon flower), wake robin (it is a sign of spring), and stinking benjamin/wet dog trillium (its flower smells of wet dog).

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

May 23, 2017 by wpengine

The jackal or jackal-headed deity, Anubis

The jackal or jackal-headed deity, Anubis, was Lord of the Necropolis and supervisor of embalming. In a tomb, his statuette served the deceased as a guardian. This statue is on display in Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

May 22, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 2006

Herbarium specimen of jack-in-the-pulpit

Collected on May 19, 2006, this specimen was found by Loree Speedy in a stream valley near the Mill Run Reservoir in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. This charismatic species (Arisaema triphyllum) is known as jack-in-the-pulpit and is native to forests of the eastern United States.

Its common name comes from its flowering structure—a distinctive hooded structure (spathe) that looks like a pulpit and the flowers (spadix) that resemble “Jack,” the minister standing within. This flower structure is shared among members of the arum family (Araceae; members often called aroids), which includes the popular houseplants known as peace lilies.

The natural history of jack-in-the-pulpits is fascinating. For starters, individual plants can be male or female, and the gender can switch from year to year! This species has intrigued botanists for decades and has been used as a study system to understand the ecology and evolution of plant sex expression. Larger plants tend to have female flowers, but the exact size is dependent on environmental conditions and genetics of a given population. Jack-in-the-pulpit has calcium oxalate in its leaves that can irritate skin and is poisonous to ingest.

It is generally avoided by deer. However, recent research from the lab of Susan Kalisz—a research associate at the museum—has shown that deer overabundance negatively affects the growth of this species. While it is rarely eaten by deer, they affect other environmental conditions, such as light levels and soil conditions.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

May 22, 2017 by wpengine

Armadillos: Identical Quadruplets Every Time

Armadillos are placental mammals that first appeared in the fossil record in South America 60 million years ago. Today, there are 21 species, only one of which is found in North America—the nine-banded armadillo, Dasypus novemcinctus.

All armadillos have a protective shell, or carapace, made of bony plates in the skin. These osteoderms not only cover the trunk, but the head, limbs, and, except for the naked-tail armadillo, even the tail. Armadillo in Spanish means “little armored one,” but the Aztec name is more descriptive, translating to “turtle-rabbit.” The carapace of the nine-banded armadillo has two major shields, one at the shoulders and the other at the pelvis, connected by a series of overlapping bands, which provide some degree
of flexibility. As you can guess from its name, there are usually nine such bands in Dasypus novemcinctus (as in the mother pictured here), but this varies from seven to 10. The underbelly is not similarly protected with osteoderms, but the skin is tough and leathery.

Dasypus novemcinctus, Nine-banded Armadillo

The evolution and biology of the nine-banded armadillo, the state small mammal of Texas, have fascinated me for years. However, because we just celebrated Mother’s Day, I want to comment on the amazing armadillo mother. Dasypus novemcinctus is the only vertebrate that gives birth to identical quadruplets every time! A female produces a single egg that, once fertilized, splits into four genetically identical embryos that share one placenta. How and why this unique pattern evolved and continues to be maintained is a mystery. We usually consider genetic diversity a plus for organisms with multiple births as
it increases the chances that some offspring will survive in an ever-changing environment, but the nine-banded armadillo bucks this by producing clones.

Other than making milk for her young, the nine-banded armadillo mother is not particularly attentive, and the father is even less so. Yet, perhaps her major role is providing sufficient nutrition for her young to grow and prosper. Building a bony carapace requires extra nutrients, primarily calcium, and phosphate. Although ossification of the osteoderms begins in utero, you can imagine that birth (of four babies no less!) is facilitated by them having a thin and flexible carapace, that is, one that
is not fully formed. Indeed, thankfully, most of the carapace’s development occurs after birth.

The armadillo mother makes this all happen largely on an insectivorous diet, a generally poor source of calcium. Add to that, armadillos have a lower metabolic rate than most mammals. Somehow, despite these perceived handicaps, the young born at 100 grams (less than a quarter pound) grow rapidly and are able to forage for themselves at two months. How the armadillo mother is able to do all this for her four identical babies is as mysterious as how she had four identical babies in the first place.

John Wible, PhD, is curator of mammals at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. He studies the evolutionary history of mammals and lives in a house full of them, some human (wife and two sons) and some non-human (cats, rabbits, and guinea pigs).

Carnegie Museum of Natural History Blog Citation Information

Blog author: John Wible
Publication date: May 22, 2017

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May 22, 2017 by wpengine

Arrow points made in eastern Sweden and Finland

Arrow points made in eastern Sweden and Finland around 2000 B.C.

May 22, 2017 by wpengine

Moss agate found in Colorado

Moss agate found in Colorado on display in Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems

May 15, 2017 by wpengine

Happy Mother’s Day

a carnation specimen (Dianthus caryophyllus)

Collected in 1908 (the first year Mother’s Day was celebrated!), this specimen was grown in cultivation at the former western headquarters for the Ferry-Morse Seed Company in Mountain View, California. The white carnation was chosen as a Mother’s Day symbol by Anna Jarvis, the holiday’s founder, because they were her mother’s favorite. Carnations remain closely associated with Mother’s Day in the United States. White carnations traditionally symbolize the memory of mothers who have died, and colored carnations honor living mothers. The carnation, or Dianthus caryophyllus, is probably native to the Mediterranean, but its native range is obscured by at least 2,000 years of cultivation. There are over 27,000 named cultivars of Dianthus species.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

May 15, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 2001

Herbarium specimen of Prenanthes crepidinea (nodding rattlesnake root)

Collected on May 12, 2001, this specimen was found in Indiana County by Bonnie Isaac, along with her family Joe and Hannah Isaac. Bonnie is the collection manager in the Section of Botany at the museum and an expert on the plants of Pennsylvania. Research for her master’s degree focused on the ecology and distribution of this species, Prenanthes crepidinea (nodding rattlesnake root).

Of conservation concern and endangered in some states, this species is native to rich woods and wet areas in north-central United States, including western Pennsylvania. Bonnie discovered that young plants emerge early in the spring, often before the canopy fully leafs out, and die back by the end of June. Few larger, older individuals persist and send up a flowering stalk August through November. The species is monocarpic, meaning that once a plant gets enough energy to flower (which may take several years), it blooms once and then dies. Her research informs conservation efforts to locate new populations of this uncommon species, finding that the best time to spot it is in early spring, before young plants disappear for the season. This specimen of a young, nonflowering plant serves as a voucher specimen that provides verifiable documentation of this population and for use in future research.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden
collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

May 11, 2017 by wpengine

Funerary boat

This boat, which was discovered outside of Cairo in the Dashur pyramid complex, is currently on display in Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt. Egyptologists believe that the boat, one of four discovered at Dashur, was used in funerary rituals to transport the pharaoh’s body across the Nile where it was mummified and buried.

May 11, 2017 by wpengine

Polyphemus Moths Emerge

Polyphemus moth, a fuzzy insect with wings

by Vanessa Verdecia

After months of overwintering, an adult Polyphemus moth from one of the cultures reared in the Section of Invertebrate Zoology emerged from its cocoon at the end of April. Check out the pictures of the adult moths as well as pictures of the first and last instars of the caterpillars and one of the cocoons from last year!

Vanessa Verdecia is a collection assistant in the museum’s Section of Invertebrate Zoology. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

May 11, 2017 by wpengine

Poisonous, Venomous, Toxin

a diorama depicting American black bears

by Patrick McShea

With the opening for The Power of Poison just weeks away, museum educators have been re-examining familiar displays for connections to our summer blockbuster exhibition’s major themes. This self-study process produced some surprising results. For example, a diorama depicting American black bears in a rocky corner of the Allegheny National
Forest is a good place to review meanings for the terms poisonous, venomous, and toxin. The bears in this scenario become mere directional reference points for locating a relevant supporting cast.

A blooming mountain laurel shrub is rooted in a rock crevice just beyond the rump of the smaller adult bear. The plant, Pennsylvania’s official state flower, is poisonous, meaning that it contains substances that create undesirable interference with another organism’s physiological processes. All parts of mountain laurel are poisonous if ingested. The chemical culprits are two toxins, or specific molecular compounds, known as andromedotoxin and arbutin.

A bear’s width beneath the mountain laurel, an eastern timber rattlesnake lies coiled on a level rock. This ambush predator is one of three venomous snake species native to Pennsylvania. The modifier indicates amazing adaptations for capturing prey—the ability to produce, store, and inject venom, or poisonous fluids, in a lightning fast strike.

In the diorama’s far left foreground a ruffed grouse, Pennsylvania’s official state bird, perches warily on a worn stump. In discussions of poisons, the species merits an historical footnote. Accounts of people being poisoned after eating ruffed grouse from the 19^th century linked symptoms to the bird’s diet of mountain laurel buds during periods of heavy snow cover. When regulations ended winter grouse hunts, poisoning reports sharply declined.

When The Power of Poison is on display (May 27–September 4, 2017), exhibits throughout the museum with poison connections will be marked with distinctive tags. The summer blockbuster exhibition itself is an immersive
experience that lets you venture down a jungle path or step into fairytale on a journey through science, history, and literature to explore poison’s power in the natural world.

May 11, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1950

Dutchman’s breeches specimen pressed and dried

Collected on May 6, 1950, this specimen was found in by Werner E. Buker. Buker was a math teacher at Perry High School in Pittsburgh and a long-time affiliate with the museum and the Botanical Society of Western Pennsylvania. This spring ephemeral has a great name—Dutchman’s breeches (Dicentra cucullaria). The white flowers look like little pants hung out on a line to dry. Bumblebees get nectar from this plant with the help of a long proboscis (tongue-like appendage). Native Americans are said to have used the dry bulbs of this species as a blood purifier, spring tonic, and to treat syphilis. However, it contains alkaloids that are poisonous if eaten in large quantities and can cause skin irritation. It has been found to induce trembling, vomiting, and convulsions in cows that wandered into the forest in early spring looking for food.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

May 9, 2017 by wpengine

Scientists Live – Egypt

Carnegie Museum of Natural History has amazing artifacts from ancient Egypt on display, but did you know there are even more objects in our hidden collection? Get a peek behind the scenes, and learn all about Egypt from assistant curator Erin Peters.

Erin showed off the collection and answered questions from commenters on Facebook Live as part of the new web series, Scientists Live. This new series is designed to give our followers a glimpse at hidden collections and the great science happening at the museum every day.

Want to bring more museum science to your classroom? Check out Carnegie Museum of Natural History field trips, Act 48 workshops, and more!

Tune in at facebook.com/carnegiemnh for new broadcasts.

May 3, 2017 by wpengine

Costa Rican Pottery Bird Adorno

by Deb Harding

The people of ancient Costa Rica put a lot of bird and animal imagery in their pottery, both painted and in the form of three-dimensional figures. This little bird dates from about 300-800 AD and sat on the shoulder of a large jar from the Guanacaste Peninsula in northwestern Costa Rica.

Deb Harding is a collection manager in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Section of Anthropology. She frequently blogs and shares pieces of the museum’s hidden anthropology collection, which is home to over 100,000 ethnological and historical specimens and 1.5 million archaeological artifacts.

May 2, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1845

mouse-ear cress, a weed in the mustard family

Collected on April 28, 1845, this specimen was found in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania (Franklin County) by Thomas Conrad Porter. Porter (1822-1901) was a botanist associated with the herbarium at what is now the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University in Philadelphia.

This plant might not seem like anything to write home about, but it is well known by most scientists. Arabidopsis thaliana (mouse-ear cress) has played, and continues to play, a huge role in plant biology research. This weed in the mustard family (Brassicaceae) is native to Europe and Asia and has been widely introduced to the United States.

Because of its small genome (fully sequenced 16 years ago), rapid life cycle (Germination to reproducing adult takes only six weeks!), mutant genotypes, and a long history of genetic research, this species has become an important model organism for cellular, molecular, evolutionary, agricultural, and even ecological studies. It is the international “lab rat” for plant science.

It was discovered in Germany in the 1500s, but did not really become famous as a model organism for research until 1943—nearly 100 years after this specimen was collected!

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

May 2, 2017 by wpengine

Costa Rican Archaeological Bowl

by Deb Harding

In the process of photographing all the archaeological pottery in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s collection, this bowl caught my eye. It was purchased as part of a huge collection from an estate owner in the Central Valley of Costa Rica around 1903 while Carnegie Museum curator Carl V. Hartman was doing the first scientific archaeological excavations in Costa Rica. Unfortunately, we do not have any information about the particular site or time period. This is the best example from a whole series of bowls that look like the pigs from Angry Birds™.

May 2, 2017 by wpengine

Black and White Warblers

Boldly striped Black and White Warblers (Mniotilta varia) are easily identified by their unique plumage. They often build their cup-shaped nests on the ground in eastern forests.Their song is sometimes described as sounding like a squeaking wheel. Unlike other warblers, they feed by creeping up and down trees searching for insects behind bark.

May 2, 2017 by wpengine

Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker

Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers are small woodpeckers with red foreheads and small crests. The neat rows of holes they peck while searching for tree sap can be seen in eastern hardwood and coniferous forests. Their sapwells sometimes attract hummingbirds, bats, and even porcupines.

May 2, 2017 by wpengine

More Mammals with Venom

head, bill, and front feet of a platypus taxidermy

by John Wible

The duck-billed platypus, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, is no doubt one of the world’s oddest mammals, with a suite of adaptations to its life in streams in eastern Australia and Tasmania. Its suede-like bill is packed with electro- and mechanoreceptors, which help the platypus find small invertebrates and fish in murky waters. It has webbed forefeet and hind feet and a hairy, beaver-shaped tail, all great for swimming and diving, and a lush, thick coat for insulation on cold mornings.

As with other mammals, the female platypus produces milk to nurture its young. However, its young are hatched from leathery eggs! Along with the echidna or spiny anteater from Australia and New Guinea, the platypus is one of the two types of living monotremes or egg-laying mammals. This is in contrast to the other groups of extant mammals, marsupials, and placentals, which have live births.

Along with egg-laying, the skeleton of the platypus is a throwback to its mammal-like reptile origin. The bones in its arms and legs, the humerus and femur, are set perpendicular to the trunk, giving the platypus a sprawling posture and a waddling gait on land. Marsupials and placentals have more upright postures with less waddling.

But where is the venom? If you look closely at the ankle of the male platypus, you will see a deadly looking weapon made of keratin, just like your fingernails. This tarsal spur sticks out from the body and sits on a small, flat bone—the os calcaris. The spur is hollow and connected to a gland below the knee that produces venom during the platypus breeding season. Because
of this seasonal activity, the venom is thought to be used in male-male competition for females.

For humans that make the mistake of picking up male platypuses at the wrong time of year, the venom is not deadly, but it is excruciatingly painful. One unfortunate soldier said it is worse than shrapnel! A small remnant of the spur is retained in juvenile female platypuses for only a few months after hatching, and the supporting bone, the os calcaris, without a spur occurs in the echidna. In recent years, tarsal spurs and support bones have been found in the fossil record for numerous groups of extinct primitive mammals that lived during the Age of Dinosaurs. Rather than being unique to the male platypus, venom manufactured in the leg may have been a widespread component of early mammalian weaponry for survival in the hostile Mesozoic landscape. Why this apparatus was lost in early marsupials and placentals is a mystery. One group, the bats, have reinvented a tarsal spur, where it is used in support of the wing membrane.

April 27, 2017 by wpengine

Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata)

Known for their bright color and intelligence, Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata) are found near the edges of forests across the eastern United States. These birds are very social and are often found in small, noisy groups. Blue Jays often imitate other animals like hawks, cats, and even humans. Like any other blue bird, their bright color is caused by reflective structure of its feathers, not pigments.

April 27, 2017 by wpengine

Gallery of Paleontology, 1907

Gallery of Paleontology, 1907 vs. a recent picture of Dinosaurs in Their Time. It is amazing how much one museum can change in a century!

April 25, 2017 by wpengine

Tail support

April 25, 2017 by wpengine

“Pyrite Sun”

This “Pyrite Sun” may look like a sand dollar, but it is actually a concretion that was found in Illinois.

April 25, 2017 by wpengine

Decorative collar of beads

This decorative collar of beads was laid across the chest of an ancient Egyptian mummy. Archaeologists have found larger beaded shrouds with a similar pattern that were big enough to cover the entire embalmed body.

April 25, 2017 by wpengine

Did you know?

Did you know that Carnegie Museum of Natural History has about 13 million specimens in the Section of Invertebrate Zoology? Get a peek at the hidden collection, and learn all about insects from curator John Rawlins with our new series Scientists Live.

Tune into our Facebook on May 3 for the next episode, featuring Erin Peters, an assistant curator recently back from an expedition to Egypt.

April 25, 2017 by wpengine

Discoveries at Antinoupolis

by Erin Peters

When I last posted about Egypt at the Carnegie, I was on an archaeological excavation at Antinoupolis, the emperor Hadrian’s famous ancient city founded as the cult center for his drowned and deified companion, Antinous. I am reporting on some exciting news from one of the open excavation areas of the season –Area B, which is under the supervision of MSA archaeologist Hamada Kellawy. Of all going on at the site, I was most excited about this area because it is one of the reasons I was asked to join The Antinoupolis Foundation (TAF) mission (see their blog post). The area features what the mission believes is a temple, possibly dedicated to Antinoupolis’s primary deity, the new god Osir-Antinous. For details about the previous excavations in this area, see TAF’s Summer Newsletter (pages 3-5).

Area B is located adjacent to the dig house, and it is easily visible going to and fro every day.

Area B at the beginning of the day, directly next to the dig house

The temple complex is fascinating. There are remains of papyrus column capitals like those found in many Ptolemaic and Roman period temples in Egypt (such as Philae).

Four-lobed papyrus capitals and column shaft fragments

The column shafts and bases have decorative details used in pharaonic temple building, like leaf decoration you see at a number of temples in Egypt like the famous temple at Luxor.

Painted column base with leaf decoration at the temple of Luxor

In addition to these elements we think of as “Egyptian,” some of the complex was paved with thin layers of limestone, which is typical of Roman architecture. These features are just the first that demonstrate that there is a similar kind of combination of styles like the temples built or added to under Augustus. Like most Roman emperors, Hadrian is known to have emulated Augustus, and this could be evident in construction and decoration of sacred space one hundred years after Augustus in the 2nd century CE.

View of the court looking northeast with remains of Roman pavement at the bottom of the photo

Two of the most exciting parts of the complex were excavated this season—a water feature that may be a well (the semi-circle in the photo indicates the half that was already excavated as of February) and a small temple-like structure located next to it (and visible above it in the photo). Water features were common in temple complexes, either to measure water levels from the annual inundation of the Nile River or to hold water to serve ritual purposes.

View of the well and temple looking north, a column capital has fallen in the well

Just after I returned to Pittsburgh to continue teaching my University of Pittsburgh Museum Studies class, the mission found some really exciting things! See TAF’s blog post about uncovering the “well” and an underground passage that leads towards the small temple structure! Even more, a well-preserved block featuring a cavetto cornice (an essential decorative element in Egyptian temple architecture) with the cartouches of Hadrian and his wife, Sabina, was discovered as described in this blog post! This is an extremely exciting discovery, as it is exceptionally rare for a Roman empress to appear in temple relief carving or have cartouches carved into monuments. I cannot wait to return next year to continue archaeological work at Antinoupolis to see what we uncover about this temple.

In the meantime, we are continuing exciting work with Egypt here at the Carnegie. One of our advisors for our NEH Digital Projects for the Public Discovery grant (which is funding us to carry out research for a reinterpretation of our Dynasty 12 royal Egyptian funerary boat) will be here to share his scientific research on these boats. Please attend Dr. Pearce Paul Creasman’s free public lecture on Monday April 24 from noon–1 p.m. in the Earth Theater, “Radar for the Lost Barque: Applying Scientific Techniques to Search for and Understand Ancient Egyptian Boats.”

Erin Peters is an assistant curator of science and research at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. She recently traveled to Egypt for an archaeological research study. This is a series of blog posts she wrote while in the field.

April 21, 2017 by wpengine

Florescence Discovered in Frogs

Polka dotted tree frog, four brown frogs with white spots — Polka dotted tree frog – Hypsiboas punctatus – Bolivia – 1919

By Kaylin Martin

In March of 2017, a team of researchers discovered that the South American tree frog Hypsiboas punctatus turns a blue-green color under ultraviolet light. Florescence has never before been reported in amphibians.

Even though these Hypsiboas punctatus specimens in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s collection are almost 100 years old, they still fluoresce under ultraviolet light!

It is very probable that other amphibians possess the same molecules, hyloin-L1, hyloin-L2, and hyloin-G1, which are found in the lymph and skin glands and allow them to glow.

Kaylin Martin is a curatorial assistant in the Section of Herpetology. She blogs about the collection in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s historic Alcohol House, which is home to thousands of fluid-preserved specimens.

April 17, 2017 by wpengine

Lakota Moccasins

In the Lakota culture, women sometimes express affection for men and children by beading every surface of their moccasins. These beaded moccasins are on display in Alcoa Hall of American Indians at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

April 17, 2017 by wpengine

Egg-cellent Egg Hunt

Museum Staff filling eggs for the big egg hunt

Museum staff members were feeling festive as they stuffed thousands of plastic eggs for the Egg-cellent Egg Hunt on Saturday. The first 500 children to participate will be able to follow clues around the museum that will lead to the treats! This event will be from noon-4 p.m. and is designed for children 3–10 years old.

Museum staff members gathered around a table full of colorful plastic eggs getting ready for the annual egg hunt

April 13, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1919

Collected on April 12, 1919, this specimen was found by Otto Jennings “North of Saunders” in Allegheny County. Jennings was an extremely influential botanist, focusing on nearly all aspects of plants in our region. He made many contributions throughout his career, serving as the curator of botany, director of education, and eventually director of Carnegie Museum of
Natural History. He was also a professor and head of the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh and advised many students. His legacy is his influence on the museum, botany, conservation, and environmental education.

Skunk cabbage grows in wet, forested areas across the eastern United States. Although easily overlooked, it is one of the
earliest plants to flower in our region. Its flowers produce heat that melts the snow around it. The flowers smell like rotting meat, which attracts the flies that pollinate it. As the name suggests, the leaves smell like skunk when they are crushed.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

April 12, 2017 by wpengine

Tufted Titmouse

A Tufted Titmouse photographed this winter at Powermill Nature Reserve

April 12, 2017 by wpengine

Scientists Live: Conservator Gretchen Anderson

Did you ever wonder who takes care of all the amazing specimens and objects at Carnegie Museum of Natural History?

Learn about museum conservation with conservator Gretchen Anderson on Scientists Live.

April 10, 2017 by wpengine

Who is that bird knocking at your window?

Male Northern Cardinal, a bright re d bird with black markings around its face

by Jonathan Rice

Many of us are excited that spring is just around the corner, and that includes the birds. As springtime comes into view, male birds, both residential and migratory, begin setting up and fighting over territories for the breeding season. This means males are more likely to call at and scold (an aggressive-natured call) other males of any species until they leave the territory.

This poses interesting problems for song birds, such as northern cardinals whose breeding plumage is bright red and can
often be reflected in windows (on cars or homes) and even side view mirrors. There have been reports of northern cardinal males flying into windows or side view mirrors over and over and over again, multiple times a day.

This may seem confusing and counterproductive to us, but to an enraged male, seeing another male in his territory can mean the end to his breeding season. So he fights the intruder—who is actually his reflection—but as he fights, his reflection fights back. This often causes a loop to form where the male fights his reflection, getting angrier as the reflected intruder never leaves.

While this sort of behavior does not normally end in fatality, it is a good representation of how windows can be deadly to birds. If a reflection is real enough to confuse a cardinal into attacking itself, other birds are likely to fly into windows thinking that vegetation or sky reflected in them are real.

Jon Rice is a seasonal tech at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences of working at the museum.

April 10, 2017 by wpengine

The American Pika

by Patrick McShea

Just when our interest in a previously overlooked creature has been effectively sparked, we are abruptly informed of dire threats to the species’ continued existence. As a museum educator, it is sometimes hard to avoid such set-ups, particularly when the looming threat to the featured wildlife is global climate change.

Consider the situation of the American Pika. These Guinea pig-sized creatures occur across the more mountainous areas of western North America in a range that progressively increases in elevation as it stretches southward from British Columbia to New Mexico. Pikas rank high on any scale of visual appeal. In several national parks, the sight of a pika barking its “squeaky toy” alarm call from a boulder top lookout is one of the hard-earned rewards for hiking above the timberline.

Habitat requirements for these rabbit-relatives include piles of sheltering rocks and boulders, flowers and other nourishing vegetation as a food source, and consistently cool temperatures. Within the Hall of North American Wildlife, these habitat elements are depicted in a diorama featuring three Stone Sheep.

Two partially concealed pikas share the three-dimensional alpine scene with the trio of larger and far more mobile hoofed mammals. First-time viewers must survey the landscape to spot the pikas, an action that visually inventories the critical habitat threatened by a changing climate.

The fresh plant stem in the mouth of one pika and the winter food supply of dried plants guarded by another grew in limited zones of adjacent soil. These micro-meadows, which could be traversed by the sheep in a dozen strides, are critical home range for the pikas.

A changing climate threatens to disrupt such delicately balanced pika living arrangements in a least two ways. If warmer daytime temperatures force pikas to forage more at night, predation rates will likely rise, and as snow packs are reduced, the creatures lose a critical winter insulation blanket. For pika populations on mountaintop “sky islands,” there are no good relocation options.

Since 2009 a team of National Park Service staff and academic researchers have collaborated on a research project to both assess climate change threats to pikas and develop strategies to address those threats. More information about this initiative can be found at: https://science.nature.nps.gov/im/units/ucbn/monitor/pikas_in_peril.cfm

April 7, 2017 by wpengine

Mammals with Venom

Did you know that some mammals are venomous?

The Section of Mammals has one specimen in its collection of the solenodon, which at 21 inches long is the largest member of the group of mammals that includes shrews and moles.

Our specimen, Solenodon paradoxus, comes from the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (which includes Haiti and the Dominican Republic), but there is second solenodon species in Cuba, Solenodon cubanus. Solenodons have a mobile proboscis, obviously much shorter than an elephant’s trunk, and a powerful sense of smell, which makes up for their tiny eyes. They occupy a shrew-like niche, rooting in leaf litter for insects and earthworms—their primary prey.

Both solenodon species are highly endangered and at various times have been thought to be extinct. Problems for the solenodons started in the 1800s when small Asian mongooses were introduced by humans to control the snake and rat populations; feral dogs and cats aggravated the issue, as the solenodons did not fare well against any of these three carnivores. Habitat destruction has nearly been the final blow.

Prior to the introduction of the carnivores, solenodons were the top mammalian predator on their islands. Part of what helped them was their ability to produce venom in one of their salivary glands, making the solenodon one of the very few venomous mammals. They have a snake-like delivery system for their venom. The tallest tooth in the lower jaw (the second incisor) has a deep groove on its inner surface, which accommodates the duct of the venomous salivary gland. In fact, the name solenodon in Greek means “grooved tooth.” When the solenodon bites, the venom is injected from that tooth and slows down its prey. Unfortunately for the solenodons, their venom and fighting prowess has not been sufficient to protect them from the introduced carnivores.

Iguana

This iguana is part of Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s living collection. We feature live animal shows every day at our museum.

April 6, 2017 by wpengine

Cone Snail Shells

Cone snail shells in the Section of Mollusks’ hidden collection

April 4, 2017 by wpengine

Beautiful purple Janthina specimens

Beautiful purple Janthina specimens in the Section of Mollusks in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s hidden collection.

April 4, 2017 by wpengine

Learn all about mammals!

Learn all about mammals with a museum scientist!

John Wible, curator of the Section of Mammals, did a 20-minute broadcast on March 22 on Facebook Live. John showed off pieces of the hidden collection and answered questions from commenters as part of the new web series, Scientists Live. This new pubic relations initiative features a different scientist from the museum discussing specimens from the hidden collections.

Our next Scientists Live is at 10:30 a.m. on April 5 with conservator Gretchen Anderson!

Tune in at facebook.com/carnegiemnh.

a taxidermy pangolin and some example skulls from mammals

April 4, 2017 by wpengine

Bottle from early 1900s

This bottle from early 1900s Tlinglit culture is made from glass and is covered in Sitka spruce root, grass, metal, and dyes. It is on display in Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

April 4, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1983

Collected on March 31, 1983, this specimen was found by Fred Utech and Masashi Ohara in Cullman County, Alabama. Fred was a curator of botany at the museum and studied the biology and evolutionary relationships among understory species of eastern
United States and east Asia. Native to forest understories across the eastern United States, Virginia bluebells (Mertensia
virginica) are aptly named for their bell-shaped, blue flowers, although it is not just found in Virginia. It is a spring ephemeral species, meaning it emerges with beautiful blooms early in the spring during the short window before trees leaf out, and it disappears underground before summer. Fortunately, you can see this and other spring ephemerals any time of year at the museum in the Hall of Botany!

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

April 4, 2017 by wpengine

Carved Wooden Gope Board

Carved wooden board from Morigio Island depicting a human-like figure

Gope boards are carved wooden tablets made by groups in the Gulf of Papua. They represent ancestral spirits who protect members of the clan from bad luck, sickness, and death. This particular board from the museum’s hidden collection is from Morigio Island. The photographic scale in the image is about 8 inches long. It was photographed in the diagonal in order to best show the board’s details.

March 30, 2017 by wpengine

Wooden Sokar Falcon

This carved falcon from ancient Egypt is associated with two gods, Ptah (the creator god) and Osiris (the god of the dead), and is often written as Ptah-Sokar or Ptah-Sokar-Osiris.

This particular carving is from the Late Period (664-332 BCE), right before the Greeks’ conquest of Egypt. The museum also has falcon mummies, which were given at temples as votive offerings by pilgrims.

March 27, 2017 by wpengine

Topaz, elbaite, quartz, and albite

Topaz, elbaite, quartz, and albite from California on display in Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems

March 27, 2017 by wpengine

Snail Foils Trump’s Plan for Wall on an Irish Golf Course

Vertigo angustior, CM62.27772 from Switzerland. (Photo by Charles F. Sturm). Golden snail shells. — Vertigo angustior, CM62.27772 from Switzerland. (Photo by Charles F. Sturm)

by Timothy A. Pearce

What can stop a wall that the president of the United States wants to build? Snails of course!

At least that was the case on a golf course in Ireland owned by President Donald Trump’s company, Trump International Golf Links.

According to The Washington Post, the company’s plans to build a huge, two-mile sea wall on its Irish golf course were recently withdrawn and replaced with a proposal for two smaller walls.

A tiny, 2 millimeter snail, Vertigo angustior, living in the adjacent Carrowmore Dunes, a special area of conservation, could be harmed if the wall were to change the hydrology of the area. The Carrowmore Dunes site is specially designated for conservation due to its three different dune types and the presence of Vertigo angustior.

Trump’s company submitted an initial wall proposal that cited rising sea levels as a result of climate change as the reason it needed the wall, according to BBC News.

Concerns over the snail and the special dunes delayed a decision about the proposed wall, so Trump International Golf Links resubmitted a proposal for smaller walls just before Christmas 2016, according to the Washington Post. The Clare County Council will carefully consider the revised proposal for its conservation objectives and the impact on the protected snail. A decision is expected in March 2017.

The European snail Vertigo angustior is unusual for coiling the opposite direction of most land snails and occurs in wetlands and low areas among coastal dunes. It is legally protected under the European Union’s Habitats and Species Directive due to declining populations and because wetlands are difficult to protect. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the main threat to this species is the modification of site hydrology, which could occur with the building of sea walls.

Some people feel that business endeavors are more important than species extinctions, while others argue that it is unfair for one species, humans, to cause the complete extinction of another species. Endangered species laws recognize the importance of allowing species to persist.

March 27, 2017 by wpengine

Digitizing Museum Collections

Digital photo of the head of a spiny lizard, a tan and dark brown spotted reptile

Digitizing collections is an important initiative at Carnegie Museum of Natural History as well as many other museums across the country.

The image above is of a Tropidurus spinulosus specimen that was taken by Kaylin Martin, a curatorial assistant in the Section of Herpetology, and uploaded to iDigBio.org, an online research database.

Kaylin uses brand new photography equipment purchased with funds from a recent National Science Foundation grant. The grant will help the museum maintain and improve its historic Alcohol House, which is home to about 250,000 amphibian and reptile specimens that are preserved in jars.

Kaylin Martin working with new photography equipment

March 24, 2017 by wpengine

Ancient Egyptians

Ancient Egyptians linked baboons to the sun god, Re, because baboons rise early in the morning. This statuette was donated to the sun god at an early temple.

March 24, 2017 by wpengine

Citizen Scientists Wanted

Small brown bird with bright yellow stripes coming up from its forhead looking at the camera

by Matthew Webb

Did you know that millions of birds die after colliding with windows each year in the United States? You can help reduce that number by participating in a new citizen science study with BirdSafe Pittsburgh.

BirdSafe Pittsburgh is a volunteer-run citizen science partnership that studies the issue of birds colliding with windows. We focus our monitoring efforts on commercial areas within the city, primarily downtown. According to recent research, commercial buildings account for ~56% of the window collisions that occur each year, and residences account for the other 44%.

In 2016, BirdSafe Pittsburgh began to enlist the help of local homeowners to study the window collision
issue on their homes. To participate, a homeowner will monitor the windows on their house for a year using our scientific protocol to collect data about where and when strikes occur. After a year, we will use the data to identify which windows appear to pose the greatest threat to birds. A BirdSafe Pittsburgh technician will visit and work with the homeowners to install one of several different types of treatment to these problem windows. The homeowner would then monitor the windows for another year, helping us to learn how effective the window treatment was at decreasing window collisions.

There is no cost to participate, and all window treatments would be installed free of charge. If you
would like to be a part of this exciting citizen science study, please email us at birdsafepgh@gmail.com to let us know. Even if you have never seen a bird hit one of your windows, your participation is still useful! Remember, a zero is still a number, and it could help us better understand why birds may or may not collide with a particular window!

Matthew Webb is the urban bird conservation conservator at Carnegie Museum of Natural History and a project coordinator with BirdSafe Pittsburgh.

March 20, 2017 by wpengine

Discover the science of snails!

Discover the science of snails with Scientists Live!

Tim Pearce, assistant curator of the Section of Mollusks, showed off pieces of Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s hidden collection and answered questions in a live broadcast this month on Facebook!

This broadcast is part of the new web series Scientists Live. Check the museum’s Facebook page for more broadcasts featuring different scientists and topics.

March 20, 2017 by wpengine

Butterflies

Discover more about beautiful butterflies at Amazing Butterflies through April 23.

March 17, 2017 by wpengine

What is a Shamrock?

*Trifolium repens* (collected 1974 in Louisiana), aka white clover.

by Mason Heberling

What is a shamrock? There is no overwhelming scientific consensus on which species is the well-known Irish national emblem. There was survey of Irish botanists in the early 1890s asking which species was the true shamrock. A similar survey was repeated in 1988. The results suggest the shamrock is either Trifolium dubium (aka lesser trefoil) or Trifolium repens (aka white clover).

The plants commonly sold around St. Patrick’s Day as shamrocks or four-leaf clovers are in the plant genus Oxalis (wood sorrel), which belong to a different plant family than true clovers.

*Trifolium dubium* (collected 1961 in Pennsylvania), aka lesser trefoil.

*Oxalis tetraphylla* (collected 1981 in India), aka lucky clover, although not a true clover.

*Oxalis debilis* (collected 1989 in cultivation), aka pink woodsorrel.

Mason Heberling is a postdoctoral research associate at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences working with museum collections.

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March 17, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1945

Collected on March 24, 1945, this specimen was found by Leroy K. Henry in North Park, just outside of Pittsburgh. Leroy Henry was an influential curator of botany at the museum from 1937-1973 and specialized in taxonomy and ecology of fungi in the region. Big-tooth aspen (Populus grandidentata) is a tree native to northeastern North America. Aspen produces small flowers on hanging clusters known as catkins.

Why collect and preserve a specimen that has no leaves? Since this species flowers in the early spring before it
leafs out, one reason is to be able to collect flowers for further scientific study. Flowers for this specimen are stored in the rectangular envelope in the lower right of the sheet. Along with hundreds of other specimens, this information can be used to understand how flowering dates change through time as a result of climate change. Scientists are using these specimens in ways the original collector never imagined.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

March 17, 2017 by wpengine

A Messenger’s Risk

female lion from the lion attacking a dromedary exhibit

messenger's bag from the lion attacking a dromedary exhibit

by Patrick McShea

“What would happen if the frozen action depicted in the Lion Attacking a Dromedary diorama continued?”

Before posing that question to school groups, I always ask for evidence-based observations about what has already happened within the 150-year-old display, which was recently restored and moved to the first floor of the museum.

Replies come so quickly that they must be sorted into sequence. The dead female lion attacked first, but she was killed when the man on the camel used a long-barreled gun to fire a bullet behind her left ear. The man dropped the single-shot weapon and unsheathed a long curved knife. Just then, the male lion leapt, clawing its right legs on both the camel and the man in an attempt to gain enough leverage to snap its powerful jaws on the man’s right arm.

Student opinions differ about what happens next, with projections frequently couched by the word “if.” Human and dromedary survival scenarios require the camel to remain both upright and moving forward, the man to have enough arm strength to push the knife deep into the lion’s chest, and the knife blade to be long and flexible enough to reach the heart of the attacking beast.

Most students seem willing to accept an unresolved outcome. Because their imaginations have been stimulated by this point in the discussion, I offer one more exercise—“Look at the leather pouch on the sand below the camel.”

We have been observing a diorama that depicts an attack on a camel-mounted messenger. What message might the pouch contain that would be worth the risk of lion attack? A declaration of war? A proposal for a treaty or alliance? Maps of newly explored territory? Today we can instantly send messages across the world at the click of button. This exhibit is a reminder of how far we have come.

March 17, 2017 by wpengine

Happy St.Patrick’s Day

by Mason Heberling
Collected in Ireland in 1891, this specimen was found by Susan and Edward Harper, who were plant collectors from the Field Museum in Chicago. This specimen is a clover species (Trifolium campestre), known as hop trefoil or field clover. Clovers usually refer to a group of species that belong to the genus Trifolium, meaning three-leafed.

Next year, we will look for that mystical four-leaf clover among the 1,877 clover specimens in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Herbarium.

Mason Heberling is a postdoctoral research associate at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences working with museum collections.

March 15, 2017 by wpengine

Tunic Decoration from Egypt

by Deb Harding

This woven decoration depicting a picture of a leopard is from an Egyptian tunic, possibly from 3–4^th
century C.E.

It is part of the museum’s “Coptic textile” collection. “Coptic” is the Greek word for Egyptian, and “Coptic textiles” are not only associated with Coptic Christians, they were made and worn by Egyptians of all faiths in the post-pharaonic period.

Basic tunic-style shirts were decorated with geometric and figurative patches woven into the otherwise plain linen cloth. There might be a border around the neck with a medallion at the end or bands over the shoulders. Medallions might also appear on the shoulders and near the hems of the shirt. Placement and decoration type changed with fashion, as did the length of hem and sleeves, just like today’s fashions.

The museum purchased this collection in 1934 from the Goebelen-Munchener Manufaktur company. The company said they purchased it in 1929 from the impoverished widow of a Swedish archaeologist.

The illustration of tunic styles below is from Textiles from Medieval Egypt, A.D. 300-1300 by Thelma K. Thomas, published by Carnegie Museum of Natural History in 1990. The leopard medallion is used as
the cover art for the booklet.

Deb Harding is a collection manager in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Section of Anthropology. She frequently blogs and shares pieces of the museum’s hidden anthropology collection, which is home
to over 100,000 ethnological and historical specimens and 1.5 million archaeological artifacts.

March 15, 2017 by wpengine

Squirrels at CMNH

by John Wible

Like many people in western Pennsylvania, I share my yard with gray squirrels (Sciurus caroliensis). Other than the mammalian pets in our houses, gray squirrels are the mammals we are most likely to see on a daily basis. They amuse us with their acrobatic antics at our bird feeders, their chattering vocalizations, and their skirmishes with their squirrel neighbors.

Gray squirrels are rodents with large, ever-growing incisors that help them open nuts and seeds. They belong to the squirrel family (Sciuridae), which also includes chipmunks, woodchucks, and flying squirrels. In fact, there are more than 200 species of squirrels that inhabit all continents except Antarctica, although humans brought them along to Australia.

brown squirrel specimen in the Section of Mammals — Gray squirrel and African pygmy squirrel specimens.

A typical adult gray squirrel in western Pennsylvania is about two feet from head to tail tip. That is not a baby gray squirrel below it in the picture above. That is an adult of the world’s smallest squirrel, the African pygmy squirrel (Myosciurus pumilio)! It measures about 5 inches and weighs 16 grams, less than half an ounce. They are found in lowland tropical forests in west central Africa (Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, and Equatorial Guinea). They are omnivores, foraging constantly, eating bark, fruits, and insects. Their conservation status is generally okay, but deforestation is a threat.

The African pygmy squirrel is the only squirrel that travels frequently both upside down and right side up along branches. What a treat it would be to see how one of these would get to my bird feeder!

John Wible, PhD, is the curator of the Section of Mammals at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Specimens from South America

These specimens from South America are part of a huge collection inside of Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Alcohol House.

March 13, 2017 by wpengine

Egyptian Potters

Egyptian potters borrowed the Roman technique of applying small dots of clay, here in a different color, to a vessel’s body. We call vessels decorated this way Barbotine Ware.

This artifact is on display at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

March 13, 2017 by wpengine

Blue Whale

This mandible of a blue whale is more than 17 feet long! It is on display in Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

March 13, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1830

Collected on March 10, 1830, this specimen was found by Nathaniel Wallich, probably in India. Polygonum chinense is also known as Chinese knotweed, although there are several species with that common name. This species is in the same family as many familiar plants, including Japanese knotweed, which is a widespread invasive plant in our area. Nathaniel Wallich (1786-1854) was an influential botanist from Denmark who worked much of his
life in India. Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Herbarium includes 36 specimens from his collections, each over 180 years old. If you thought your handwriting was hard to read, check out the label in the lower right!

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

March 13, 2017 by wpengine

Hunter and Walrus Statue

Hunter and walrus statue made of steatite, ivory, and leather found in Wyckoff Hall of Arctic Life at Carnegie Museum of Natural History

March 13, 2017 by wpengine

Black Opal Ring

Black Opal ring on display in Wertz Gallery: Gems and Jewelry at Carnegie Museum of Natural History

March 7, 2017 by wpengine

Scientists Live

Carnegie Museum of Natural History botanist Bonnie Isaac was live from the hidden collections last month!

March 6, 2017 by wpengine

American Tree Sparrow

This American Tree Sparrow was banded at Powdermill Nature Reserve.

March 6, 2017 by wpengine

Preserving museum specimens

plant and animal specimens preserved in glass jars — Pictured above from left to right: Maianthemum racamosum flowers, Cipangopaludina chinensis, Platycercus eximius, Chameleo gracilis gracilis, Elliptio jayensis, Monstera of Costa Rica, Maianthemum racamosum fruits, and Polygonatum biflorum

by Kaylin Martin

Reptile and amphibian specimens are not the only things stored in 70% ethanol in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Alcohol House!

Departments such as Ornithology, Botany, and Mollusks preserve select specimens in fluid for further scientific use. This method preserves soft tissues that would otherwise need to be removed, maintains the natural three-dimensional shape, and slows down DNA degradation.

Fluid collections are more difficult to maintain, however, as they take up more space and have to be regularly monitored to prevent the specimens from drying out.

Keep an eye out for our future Alcohol House public tours to see these specimens up close and to meet collection managers.

March 3, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1992

Collected on March 3, 1992, this specimen was found in Franklin Township, Ohio (Adams County) by Allison Cusick. Allison is an active research associate at the museum and has collected more than 4,600 specimens (and counting) for Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s herbarium.

A rare species of conservation concern, Trillium nivale (snow trillium) grows less than 4 inches tall and is found in rich forest understories. It is one of the earliest spring flowers to bloom in our region, sometimes even while snow is still on the ground. When you see these flowers, know that spring will arrive soon!

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected.
Check back for more!

March 2, 2017 by wpengine

Two-headed Turtle Specimen

Small brown turtle with two fully developed heads.

by Kaylin Martin

Red-eared sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans) are the most popular pet turtles in the United States. This one in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Alcohol House has two heads. Due to extensive trading and people releasing their pets into the wild, red-eared sliders are listed as one of the world’s 100 most invasive species.

Kaylin Martin is a curatorial assistant in the Section of Herpetology. She blogs about the collection in Carnegie Museum
of Natural History’s historic Alcohol House, which is home to thousands of fluid-preserved specimens.

March 2, 2017 by wpengine

The Unseen Museum

The Unseen Museum: “Magician’s Mask”

This mask is part of a collection purchased in 1902 from Walther Karl, who lived in Matadi, Congo. There is very little information with the Karl collection, usually nothing more than the tribal name. There is no data about why he called this a “magician’s mask.” Dealers in that period often “enhanced” the name of an object to increase its salability. Much of the museum’s African collection came from retired missionaries and from artifact dealers.

March 2, 2017 by wpengine

Ancient Egyptian Column Shafts

by Erin Peters

Here at Antinoupolis, the Italian mission has been excavating since the 1930s and has a long and productive residence at
the site. There are a number of publications resulting from the mission’s work and two recent volumes that include scientific publications of the team’s work since 2000–for these resources and more, see The Antinoupolis Foundation’s bibliography. For this 2017 season, the mission has three active excavation areas open, and today I write about one that is in the east of the ancient city near what was once a monumental gate facing the Via Hadriana. Hadrian built this impressive road through the desert as a new trade route, which ran through Antinoupolis to the Nile for river transport.

The east gate was monumentalized by huge red granite columns, of which fragments are extant. Two column bases (one upright and one overturned) and three column shaft fragments were known before this season and are an impressive sight to see.

Ancient Egyptian column shafts partially uncovered in an archeology dig — Monumental fragments of red granite column bases and shafts at the east edge of the city

Under supervision of the mission’s architect, Peter Grossman, another section of a column shaft was unearthed this season. This shaft indicates there could be more fragments nearby, possibly under the 4-5^thcentury CE church that Peter’s team is currently excavating, the remains of which you can see above.

Ancient columns being excavated in an archeology dig — View of column shaft fragment excavated this season

Hopefully some of these shafts will be more visible in the near future and draw visitors to the site as recorded in The Antinoupolis Foundation’s February 10 blog post. The mission’s director, Rosario Pintaudi, has put in an application to the Ministry of Antiquities to re-erect the column. If approved, perhaps the column shaft will be soaring at the east edge of the city by the time I return next year!

Partially burried columns in a row — Fallen column shaft fragments that may be re-erected in the near future

February 27, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1976

shrub species (Myrsine australis) specimen

Collected on February 24, 1976, this specimen was found by John Grehan near Whangarei, North Island, New Zealand. This shrub species (Myrsine australis) is endemic to New Zealand, meaning it is found only in New Zealand. New Zealand represents one of the most isolated regions of the world, with roughly 80% of its flowering plant species being endemic.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

February 27, 2017 by wpengine

Spotted Flower Beetle

This species of scarab, Stephanorrhina guttata, is commonly referred to as the spotted flower beetle. These specimens are on display at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

February 27, 2017 by wpengine

Narwhal statue

This ivory and steatite narwhal statue was created by Iguptark Tongelik and can be found in Polar World: Wyckoff Hall of Arctic Life.

February 27, 2017 by wpengine

1920s Exhibit on Conservation

Sepia-toned photo of a 1920's diorama including trash littering the ground

by Bonnie Isaac

In looking through museum archives, I found a photograph that intrigued me. The image (above) looked very similar to the spring wildflower diorama in Botany Hall, but different in that there was litter on the ground. After some digging around, it turns out that our curators and exhibit designers here at the museum were way ahead of the curve on conservation awareness.

The 32nd annual report of Carnegie Museum from 1929 states:

“One of the ideas underlying the preparation of this group was that of stressing the importance of preserving our wildflowers. In order to present this idea without marring the natural appearance of the main exhibit, there were prepared two miniature exhibits, exact duplicates of the larger one, but showing on the one hand the desecration of such a beautiful spot by thoughtless and destructive picnickers, and, on the other hand, the bleak devastation wrought by fire. These miniature exhibits, one placed on each side of the main exhibit, have attracted much attention and undoubtedly help to serve the desired educational purpose.”

Smokey Bear was created in 1944, and the first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970. Carnegie Museum of Natural History was raising these concerns in 1928!

February 22, 2017 by wpengine

Antinoupolis

sunrise — Rising sun at dawn at Antinoupolis

By Erin Peters

I arrived at Sheikh Abada for Egypt’s Ministry of State for Antiquities (MSA) and the Istituto Papirologico “G. Vitelli” of the University of Florence’s (Istituto) Italian Mission at Antinoupolis under direction of Rosario Pintaudi, PhD. I am thrilled to join the team here at this famous ancient city, which has been important since pharaonic times (there is a temple built by Ramses II that I will return to in a future post) and especially after its founding under the Roman emperor Hadrian as a Greek poleis in Egypt (administrative center of a nome, or district) for his companion, Antinous. Antinous is said to have drowned in the Nile River in 130 BCE. According to Egyptian tradition, he was affiliated with the god Osiris and thus deified after his death; Hadrian founded the city as the cult center of the new god—Osir-Antinous. The Istituto’s mission, along with The Antinoupolis Foundation (TAF) under President James Heidel, is to build a complete archaeological picture of the city, cult center, and its inhabitants.

You can read all the latest news, history of the city, and its archaeological campaigns at The Antinoupolis Foundation’s website and blog.

In my last blog post, I mentioned the vast archaeological site that is home to the ancient city’s remains on the Nile River. The site, along with its street grid, was documented by Edmé Francois Jomard, one of the scholars who accompanied Napoleon’s army to Egypt in 1798–1801, and published in the massive Description de l’Egypte. The engraving shows the city plan with a large hippodrome to the east of the Nile, a “wadi” that runs from the east to the Nile, and three major streets: the “cardo” that runs north-south and is parallel to the Nile and two “decumani” that run east-west and are perpendicular to the Nile. In ancient Roman cities, the “cardo” refers to the primary north-south street, and a “decumanus” is a primary street that runs east-west.

black and white topographic map — Jomard’s topographic city plan of Antinoupolis (1818)

Because the official founding of the city occurred under the Roman emperor Hadrian, the Roman period city included urban elements similar to the rest of the empire. These features are still visible today and can be seen from Google satellite images. I have included small red dots near the “wadi,” the “cardo,” and the “decumani.”

image showing the Nile river and a city — Google satellite image of the remains of ancient Antinoupolis

Now on site, I cannot wait to see the town plan in person and begin the first full day at Antinoupolis with the rising sun at dawn.

For me to get a sense of the site, TAF’s President Jay Heidel (who invited me to join the mission) and the mission’s Director Rosario Pintaudi kindly showed one of the main attractions in person: the “cardo” complete with some of the granite column shafts in situ. The “cardo” was paved with large limestone blocks that gleam in the Egyptian sun, and it is possible to see the stones along the “cardo” far across the site.

stone path and the remains of three pillars — Remains of limestone paving and granite Doric column shafts on the “cardo”

When Jomard visited the site at the turn of the 19^thcentury, there were many more columns and shafts along the main streets—he even recorded some large pilasters and complete columns with Corinthian capitals.

black and white drawing of Antinoupolis — Jomard’s view of main streets with columns at Antinoupolis (1818)

But today it is quite rare to see shafts of any size still in situ, and it is more common to see them fallen at the side of the limestone pavement, if at all.

TAF’s President Jay Heidel standing on the “cardo” with fallen column shafts

stone walkway — Walking on the “cardo” at Antinoupolis

It was an amazing experience to walk along the street that Hadrian built for Antinous and sets the tone for my stay at Antinoupolis.

Erin Peters is an assistant curator of science and research at Carnegie Museum of Natural History and is currently in Egypt for an archaeological research study. This is a series of blog posts she has written while in the field. Check back for more!

February 22, 2017 by wpengine

Alcohol House Improvements

by Kaylin Martin

Tucked away under the public galleries of Carnegie Museum of Natural History are thousands of glass jars containing decades of collecting efforts. This collection space, known as the Alcohol House, is the ninth largest herpetology collection in the United States and the most complete collection of Pennsylvanian amphibians and reptiles in existence. The Alcohol House is named for the 70% ethanol alcohol that collection managers use to preserve specimens and prevent
degradation and the formation of bacteria.

The importance of this collection prompted the museum to find funding to improve collection preservation and facilitate public interaction. The Alcohol House secured a three-year grant from the National Science Foundation to hire a full time curatorial assistant, Kaylin Martin, to coordinate efforts to revamp the storage facilities.

The grant will enable Collection Manager Stephen Rogers and Kaylin to purchase new equipment, such as jars, gaskets, tanks, photography equipment, shelving inserts, and specialized cabinets, to update the storage facilities.

During this revamp, they will streamline the database that contains specimen records, reorganize the facility based on updated taxonomy, and tackle the project of digitizing holotype and paratype specimens. The public web interface iDigBio hosts 170,000+ specimen records for public use and research.

The goal is to link the most important specimen records with images. Digitizing the collection makes it accessible to researchers around the world in a few short clicks without the need to travel to Pittsburgh.

Renovations are also under way to make the Alcohol House accessible to the public for guided tours. An accompanying exhibit is being planned for the museum’s public galleries, as well as an introductory exhibit to herpetology at the start of
the planned guided tours. Keep an eye out for the grand opening of these in the near future!

How can you contribute? Carnegie Museum of Natural History is always in need of volunteers to help maintain the wet specimen collection and catalog and update the database. Volunteers are invaluable assets to any museum collection in order to prevent degradation and mobilize data for researchers on a public interface.

If you are interested in helping to maintain this collection for future generations, please contact Kaylin Martin at martink@carnegiemnh.org

February 22, 2017 by wpengine

Ask a Paleontologist

In January, Carnegie Museum of Natural History paleontologist Dr. Matt Lamanna talked from the Big Bone Room of Carnegie Museum of Natural History on Facebook Live and answered questions from viewers and schools across the country. Matt received more than 75 questions! Here’s one he wasn’t able to answer live. New episodes featuring different scientists are live streamed every month. Follow us on Facebook!

How old is the Diplodocus in our museum?

“Our Diplodocus carnegii fossils are about 150 million years old. If you’re asking how old the animals were when they died, unfortunately we don’t know that (at least for the moment).”

February 22, 2017 by wpengine

The Unseen Museum

The Unseen Museum: Ka’apor Necklace

This necklace (tukaniwar) was worn by women of the Ka’apor tribe of eastern Brazil for the Ta’i Rupi Taha
name-giving ceremony. The museum’s collections include beautiful feather work from the Amazon Basin of South America. The Ka’apor are particularly adept at working with small feathers.

The yellow feathers on the cord are from the breast of the channel-billed toucan (Ramphastos vitellinus ariel); they are twined to a tiny thread, which is lashed to the larger cord. The pendants are made of turquoise blue breast feathers and purple throat feathers from the spangled cotinga (Cotinga cayana) and black feathers from the white-tailed cotinga (Xipholena lamellipennis). The cotinga feathers are stuck to cut scarlet macaw (Ara macao) tail feathers with sap from the macarandua tree (Manilkara huberi).

February 22, 2017 by wpengine

Carolina Wren

Researchers banded this Carolina Wren in February at Powdermill Nature Reserve.

February 22, 2017 by wpengine

Pyromorphite

This pyromorphite from Chester County in Pennsylvania is on display in Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems.

February 22, 2017 by wpengine

Arriving in Egypt

By Erin Peters

Today I travel for the first time to the famous city established by the emperor Hadrian in Middle Egypt, now next to the small modern village of Sheikh Abada. After meeting the car to drive to the site, we pull into familiar and infamous grid-lock Cairo traffic—it is a quick jolt to returning to Egypt after a period of three years away. The cars and mini-buses with all their decorations look the same, and the horns and shouts in Arabic sound the same and remind me of past visits to the lively city where I spent time in 2011 and 2013. During this trip, however, the aim is to get directly to the site, so after making it through the road block, we emerge on the comparatively quiet desert road for the four-and-a-half-hour drive south.

On the desert road from Cairo to Sheikh Abada

Sheikh Abada is located on the east bank of the Nile River and forms the modern Nile edge of a huge archaeological site you can see sprawling to the east (right) of the strip of buildings at the Nile.

google satellite image of Sheikh Abada — Google satellite image of modern Sheikh Abada and the remains of ancient Antinoupolis

The village is home to approximately seven major families who are primarily farmers. The other main industry of the village is unfortunately the illegal selling of antiquities land for domestic and agricultural reclamation and modern tomb plots. The illegal encroachment of the village makes the mission’s excavation and documentation of the ancient lives of this once resplendent city all the more important.

desert road at eastern edge of village — View of the eastern edge of the village from antiquities land

Much about this site is new to me because my past field work was very different. In addition to consulting museum collections in Cairo and Alexandria, I completed three rounds of independent spatial analysis at temple complexes in upper Egypt from 2011–2014, many of which are major tourist sites. Additionally, a number of these complexes have been removed from their original context because of the 1960s UNESCO Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia due to the building of the Aswan High Dam, like the temple complex on the island of Philae.

Main temple of Isis at Philae — South side of the main temple of Isis at Philae, relocated to Agilkia Island

The temple complex originally at Philae (and now relocated to a nearby island) is one of the primary sites I research because it was added to after Egypt was annexed as a Roman province in 30 BCE by the first Roman
emperor Augustus. The main “Egyptian” temple of Isis (with its soaring pylons) was carved with relief decoration depicting Augustus as pharaoh and is one of many temples that ushered in a long tradition in which the Roman emperors took on the role of Egyptian pharaoh.

Imperial cult temple of Augustus at Philae, relocated to Agilkia Island

Fascinatingly, at the same complex, a temple to the imperial cult that looks like a “Roman” podium temple was also built under Augustus. My research uses the archaeological method of spatial analysis to demonstrate that
the two seemingly different monuments communicate spatially, combining what we want to separate into different cultures into one functioning sacred landscape.

I was invited to Antinoupolis in part because we have the same thing at Hadrian’s famous city in Egypt. I’m thrilled to get a sense of the site and current work in the ancient city and modern village by joining a large
international team this season.

Erin Peters is an assistant curator of science and research at Carnegie Museum of Natural History and is currently in Egypt for an archaeological research study. This blog is part of a series of blog posts she has written while in the field. Check back for more!

February 22, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1918

Collected on February 17, 1918, this specimen was found in Palm Beach, Florida. Helianthus debilis (also known as beach sunflower) is native to the coastal United States. Most Helianthus species are native to North
America, including the well-known common sunflower (Helianthus annuus), which was domesticated in the southeastern United States by Native Americans over 4,000 years ago.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

February 17, 2017 by wpengine

Best Museum Exhibit

Carnegie Museum of Natural History received an award for best museum exhibit at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. Congratulations to Curator of Collections Marc Wilson (right) and Collection Assistant Deb Wilson (left).

February 16, 2017 by wpengine

Hidden Collection

Specimens from Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s hidden collection

February 16, 2017 by wpengine

Cosmetic storage

Cosmetic storage has come a long way! This cosmetic box was made from wood and paste and is missing its lid. It is on display in Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt.

February 13, 2017 by wpengine

Golden-Crowned Kinglet

This Golden-Crowned Kinglet was banded at Powdermill Nature Reserve, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s environmental research center.

February 13, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1991

Collected on February 10, 1991, this specimen was found in Somerset County at Mount Davis (the highest point in Pennsylvania) by former Assistant Curator of Botany Sue Thompson and the current Curator of Invertebrate Zoology John Rawlins. Witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) is a shrub native to eastern North America, which flowers in late autumn after leaves have fallen. It is also known for its medicinal uses as an astringent.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

February 13, 2017 by wpengine

GUESS THE CONTENTS IN THE JARS

Reptile and amphibian specimens are not the only things stored in 70% ethanol! Departments such as Ornithology, Botany, and Mollusks preserve select specimens in fluid for further scientific use. This method preserves soft tissues that would otherwise need to be removed, maintains the natural three dimensional shape, and slows down DNA degradation. Fluid collections are more difficult to maintain as they take up more space and have to be regularly monitored to prevent the specimens from drying out. Keep an eye out for our future Alcohol House public tours to see these specimens up close and to meet our collection managers!

Here’s the list of specimens from left to right:

Maianthemum racemosum flowers
Cipangopaludina chinensis
Platycercus eximius
Chameleo gracilis gracilis
Elliptio jayensis
Monstera of Costa Rica
Maianthemum racamosum fruits
Polygonatum biflorum

How did you do at guessing the contents?

February 7, 2017 by wpengine

Learn all about archaeology

Learn all about archaeology at a special Super Science Saturday on February 18!

Spend a day at Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and learn about ancient cultures with free, hands-on activities throughout the museum.

Super Science Saturdays is a free program at Carnegie Museum of Natural History that allows visitors of all ages to explore a special theme through hands-on activities, experiments, demonstrations, discussions with museum experts, and more!

(Free with museum admission)

Purifying Water with Plants

water-purifying plants growing around a pond

Inside the Marsh Machine.

As the days get darker and colder in western Pennsylvania, there’s still a lot of green at Powdermill Nature Center.

The Marsh Machine at Powdermill uses soil and living plants in an on-site greenhouse to purify waste water from the center’s drains and toilets all year round without the use of chemicals.

Water purified by the beneficial bacteria in the plants and soil of the greenhouse is put to use in a living stream exhibit, where the water is pure enough that organisms can thrive in it just as they would in Powerdermill Run, a nearby stream.

Re-using property treated waste water (for purposes other than drinking) can greatly conserve supplies of fresh water, which are often limited.

Take a break from the winter by stepping into the living forest of the Marsh Machine, and learn all about freshwater conservation at Powermill Nature Reserve in Rector, PA.

February 6, 2017 by wpengine

Identifying Macroinvertebrates

detailed hi-resolution image of a mayfly

Did you know that macroinvertebrates are great indicators of stream quality?

Identify and learn about these tiny creatures using our online Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Collection resource, which was funded by the National Science Foundation and done in collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh.

Zoom in, and explore amazingly detailed pictures of macroinvertebrates like the mayfly above to discover more about invertebrates living in your backyard!

Learn more at http://www.macroinvertebrates.org

different categories of macroinvertebrates including stoneflies and mayflies

February 3, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1917

Collected on February 3, 1917, this specimen was found by W. Millward in Butler County near the former Nixon Station on the Butler Trolley Short Line. This species, known as ground pine, belongs to an important group of plants that consists of the oldest living group of vascular plants called fern allies. This plant does not produce flowers or seeds.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

February 3, 2017 by wpengine

Preventing Window Collisions

Birds cannot see clear glass, and as a result it is estimated that up to 1 billion birds are killed by window collisions each year.

To help curb the problem, researchers at Powdermill are using this bird flight tunnel to safely test bird responses to different types of glass designed to be visible to birds.

Researchers test glass visibility by gently placing birds in one end of the tunnel. At the other end are two different types of glass panes. The bird chooses its “exit,” revealing to researchers what glass they can see and what glass they cannot see.

Before the birds hit the glass, a net gently stops them, and they are released.

If you see a dead or injured bird near a building or glass façade, contact BirdSafe Pittsburgh, who is gathering data on window collisions. For more information about found birds, visit BirdSafe Pittsburgh’s website.

January 31, 2017 by wpengine

Fossilized Elatides

Conifers like this fossilized Elatides specimen were common during the Late Cretaceous period. This tree may have resembled the modern Norfolk Island Pine, which exists today and is pictured below.

January 30, 2017 by wpengine

Gecko

January 30, 2017 by wpengine

W.E. Clyde Todd

January 30, 2017 by wpengine

Coffin fragment

January 26, 2017 by wpengine

Allegheny River Ridge Wildlife

miniature reproduction of Cornplanter’s Grant

by Patrick McShea

Designers of museum exhibits, when they are successful, create interesting displays that convey important information and sustain multiple levels of interpretation. Occasionally, effective designs include the placement of some elements in locations certain to garner the attention of young museum visitors.

Within Alcoa Foundation Hall of American Indians, a highlight of the exhibition’s East quadrant is a detailed, miniature reproduction of Cornplanter’s Grant, a tract of Iroquois-owned land along the Allegheny River in northwestern Pennsylvania. The model landscape, which stretches from river edge to ridge crest, depicts activity on the tract in four distinct seasons of 1800.

The seasonal contrasts serve as an unwritten invitation to circle the historic domain. During such movements, visitors whose eye level approaches the ridge crest encounter depictions of fingernail-sized wildlife beneath the blaze of autumn foliage.

January 25, 2017 by wpengine

Clams

Is having a few hundred clams under your lake dock a good thing or a bad thing?

A reader recently asked that question of Cottage Life magazine. To get an answer, reporters got in touch with Timothy Pearce, the assistant curator and head of the Section of Mollusks at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

“The sudden appearance of large numbers of organisms can sometimes result from the introduction of a non-native species,” Timothy said. “They’re often free from the predators and diseases that kept their numbers in check elsewhere, so they can proliferate into large populations.”

According to the article, seeing fresh water clams in a fresh water lake is not unusual.

“It’s like having dandelions,” Timothy said. “It always appears as though they’re aggregating. But that’s just because they’re in your yard.”

January 25, 2017 by wpengine

Monarchs

Monarchs migrate farther than any other butterflies in the world– up to 3,000 miles and back. Milkweed is an important food source, especially for monarch caterpillars. Many other native wildflowers also provide nectar for adults along their migration route. In this Botany Hall diorama of Presque Isle, a monarch visits the flowers of the hairy puccoon (Lithospermum caroliniense). Presque Isle is the only known existing site in Pennsylvania with this plant species.

(photo by Hayley Pontia)

January 25, 2017 by wpengine

Tools that scientists use

Butterfly specimens and tools on a desk — (Photo by Hayley Pontia)

See the tools that scientists use at Powdermill Nature Reserve, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s environmental research center, on display at the museum!

January 24, 2017 by wpengine

Paleontologist Matt Lamanna

Paleontologist Matt Lamanna was live from the Big Bone Room at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in January! Matt discusses the famous Diplodocus carnegii, becoming a paleontologist, and more!

January 24, 2017 by wpengine

Neil Richmond at work

This photo shows Neil Richmond at work in his lab at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Richmond was the curator of Herpetology from 1955-1971 and the curator of Environmental Studies from 1971-1979.

January 24, 2017 by wpengine

Hieroglyphs

January 20, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this day in 1907

On January 20, this specimen was found in Montserrat, in the Caribbean, by John A. Shafer, who became the museum’s first curator of the herbarium in 1897. Known as “devil weed,” Chromolaena odorata is in the sunflower family (Asteraceae). It is native to the Caribbean, Mexico, and subtropical United States, and it has become a problematic invader in tropical regions of Asia, Africa, and the Pacific.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

January 18, 2017 by wpengine

Baltimore Orioles in Pittsburgh

These taxidermy mounts of Baltimore Orioles (Icterus galbula) in Bird Hall show the differences in coloring between males and females, or sexual dimorphism.

These birds are known for their brightly colored plumage and their sock-shaped nests that hang from branches, which are on display just below.

Baltimore Orioles’ whistling songs are one of the first heard in spring in eastern North American forests.

They prefer dark-colored, ripe fruit. They eat by piercing fruit with their beaks, which reflexively open to allow them to easily access what is inside.

January 17, 2017 by wpengine

H Is for Hawk

It’s not an untouched wilderness like a mountaintop, but a ramshackle wildness in which people and the land have conspired to strangeness.”
― Helen Macdonald, “H Is for Hawk”

“H is for Hawk” author and naturalist Helen Macdonald will speak at Carnegie Music Hall on January 30. This Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures talk is sponsored by Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

January 17, 2017 by wpengine

Profile of Dippy on BBC

Pittsburgh isn’t the only city that loves Diplodocus carnegii. A cast of our museum’s most famous dinosaur in London also has an enthusiastic following!

Listen to a recent BBC profile, which features interviews with Carnegie Museum staff, about the tour of the United Kingdom that London’s Diplodocus, also known as Dippy, will take this year.

Profile: Dippy the Diplodocus

Gifted to King Edward VII in 1905, a 70-foot-long cast of a fossilised dinosaur skeleton discovered in America has been on display at London’s Natural History Museum for more than a century.

It’s become the country’s most recognisable museum exhibit — seen by an estimated 90 million people.

Now it’s being replaced by the real skeleton of a giant blue whale…Dippy’s 292 plaster cast bones are setting off instead on a nationwide tour.

On Profile this week, Mark Coles examines how Dippy the replica Diplodocus has become a national treasure.

January 17, 2017 by wpengine

Strange Times on WESA

Curious about the Strange Times performance series happening across all four Carnegie Museums this year?

Read about the series and the concept of the Anthropocene in a recent WESA piece—“‘Anthropocene’ Performance Series Interrogates Humankind’s Impact On Earth.”

For more information on Strange Times: Earth in the Age of the Human, visit nexus.carnegiemuseums.org, and see a full list of events.

January 17, 2017 by wpengine

Finding Insects in Fresh Snow

Female snow scorpionfly in the genus Boreus

by Andrea Kautz

Last month’s fresh snow and around-freezing temperatures provided a great opportunity for a couple of entomologists at Powdermill to go out in search of a unique group of insects that prefer colder weather.

You may not be aware of these snow-loving creatures because we do not usually think of insects as being very active in the winter; many enter diapause (similar to hibernation) or migrate. However, if you look very closely on the surface of the snow for small specks, you may find a variety of different insects and other arthropods.

Our search was quite successful. We found winter stoneflies, midges, gall wasps, a few different kinds of spiders, and our favorite, a pair of snow scorpionflies!

‘What’ you say? Scorpionflies are a group of insects named for the scorpion-like tail found on the males of warm-season species. The snow scorpionflies lack the tail, but still possess a long snout, which is a characteristic for the group. Females are wingless and have a protruding ovipositor, while males have wings that are reduced to forceps used for grasping the female during mating. Their diet consists of mosses and liverworts.

This was considered a “lifer” for both entomologists. What a cool find!

Andrea collecting insects crawling on the fresh snow

Andrea Kautz is a research entomologist at Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Powdermill Nature Reserve. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working for the museum.

January 12, 2017 by wpengine

Collected on this Day in 1935

This eastern wahoo (Euonymus atropurpureus) specimen was collected near Connellsville, Pennsylvania on January 12, 1935 by John Franklin Lewis.

Eastern wahoo is native to midwestern states and parts of Pennsylvania. This specimen is part of Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s hidden botany collection.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

January 12, 2017 by wpengine

Butternut

Butternut, a part of the walnut family, displayed in the Hall of Botany at Carnegie Museum of Natural History

January 10, 2017 by wpengine

Soapstone and Ivory Walrus

Soapstone and ivory carved walrus from Pangnirtung, Canada on display in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Polar World.

(photo by Hayley Pontia)

January 9, 2017 by wpengine

Coloring Wall

Ashley Cecil, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s artist in residence, created a pattern that museum visitors can color and
decorate in the back of Discovery Basecamp, the museum’s permanent, interactive gallery.

Her pattern features drawings of birds that are often killed from colliding with windows. Carnegie Museum of Natural History is one of several local organizations that came together to form BirdSafe Pittsburgh, which works to reduce window collisions. Cecil’s coloring wall was designed to raise awareness about the problem.

Visitors can share what they’ve colored and tag it #artofcmnh!

January 9, 2017 by wpengine

Saving the Bonteboks

Bontebok on display in the Hall of African Wildlife

Bonteboks, like this one on display in the Hall of African Wildlife, are the rarest antelopes in the world. In Afrikaans, the word bontebok means “colorful antelope,” which is a reference to their white face patches.

Bonteboks were aggressively hunted in the early 1800s to the point of near extinction. By the 1930s, there were only 17 bonteboks in the entire world that all lived on a family farm. Thanks to the work of conservationists and the South African government, there are now about 3,000 bontebocks in zoos, farms, and preserves around the world.

The United States Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS) confiscated this bontebok taxidermy mount in 2011 in Los Angeles from a shipment that came from South Africa because they suspected it was collected illegally.

Due to our museum’s well-known collection of African mammals, USFWS contacted curators and asked if they would accept the donation and tell the story of bontebok. With the help of members of the Carnegie Discoverers, the museum happily accepted.

January 9, 2017 by wpengine

Dippy Casts Abroad

a cast of Dippy in the Natural History Museum in London — A cast of Dippy installed in the Natural History Museum in London

cast of Dippy installment in Paris — A cast of dippy being installed in Paris

While Dippy (Diplodocus carnegii) was making his grand debut in Pittsburgh, he caught the attention of a king across the ocean. King Edward VII asked Andrew Carnegie for a dinosaur for England. Dr. William Holland, the director of Carnegie Museum of Natural History, suggested that the museum could give the king a cast—a copy made from plaster.

Under the supervision of Carnegie scientists, the Diplodocus carnegii model was erected in the Natural History Museum in London.

But Dippy’s popularity overseas did not stop there. Governments of many nations asked Carnegie if they could have their own copies. One cast famously premiered in the National Museum of Natural History in Paris to cries of “Vive la Dippy!”

Today, replicas of Dippy stand in the national museums of Germany, Italy, France, Austria, Russia, Spain, Argentina, and Mexico. Even Carnegie Museum of Natural History made a life-size statue of Dippy that stands on Forbes Avenue outside of the museum in 1999. You might know him from the fun scarves he wears!

Of course, the original Dippy still calls Carnegie Museum of Natural History home and remains the most famous piece of our massive collection.

Dippy on display in Carnegie Museum of Natural History

January 8, 2017 by wpengine

The House That Dippy Built

Carnegie Museum of Natural History under construction.

Once back in Pittsburgh, scientists worked to free the fossils from the rock and reconstruct Dippy’s skeleton.

In 1901, paleontologists realized they had discovered a new species of dinosaur and named it Diplodocus carnegii to recognize Carnegie’s support.

At the time of Dippy’s discovery, there was simply no room for an 85-foot-long dinosaur at Carnegie’s institution. Carnegie was not deterred. A new wing that featured Dippy as its centerpiece was added.

Dippy settled into his permanent home in 1907 as the first dinosaur in the new Dinosaur Hall. By the time the museum’s expansion was finished, the people of Pittsburgh called the museum “The House That Dippy Built.”

scientists prep Dippy's bones — Scientists preparing Dippy’s bones.

This is the second in a three-part blog series about Diplodocus carnegii, aka Dippy. We are celebrating all things Dippy as we launch our new logo featuring his silhouette. Share your own Dippy photos and stories using #newdippylogo.

January 5, 2017 by wpengine

Timber Wolf Diorama Restored

Have you seen the new wolf diorama in our redesigned gift shop?

Like many of the other fixtures in the shop, the diorama was pulled out of storage and reused. But the journey from storage to store wasn’t as simple as just dusting off the case. Museum conservators spent hours
cleaning, repairing, and researching this piece before it was put on display last month.

Conservator Gretchen Anderson spent several days examining, photographing, and researching the diorama. The Carnegie archives revealed that the timber wolf was collected near Denali National Park in Alaska. The taxidermy mount was created in 1928 by well-known taxidermist Remi Santens. The background paintings in the diorama weren’t created until the late 1950s or early 1960s.

To prepare the diorama, Gretchen had to carefully clean the background paintings, and groom the wolf’s fur. The wolf’s paws were damaged when they were moved and disconnected from the mount. Gretchen slowly repaired the paw by re-adhering the wolf’s hide to the plaster with a papier-mâché technique that used special, non-acidic paper.

Next time you’re at the museum, check out the new gift shop and take a closer look at the timber wolf and his beautifully restored paws!

January 5, 2017 by wpengine

Green Russula

Green Russula found in the Hall of Botany

January 5, 2017 by wpengine

Moths, butterflies, and skippers

Moths, butterflies, and their close relatives, the skippers, are members of the order Lepidoptera—the most diverse group of plant-feeding animals on Earth.

Learn more about them at Amazing Butterflies, opening January 21, 2017 at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

(photo by Hayley Pontia)

January 5, 2017 by wpengine

Discovering Dippy

black and white photo of men at Sheep Creek, Wyoming — Men at work in Sheep Creek, Wyoming, where Dippy was discovered.

Dippy’s story began with his namesake — Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie was a philanthropist who made his fortune in Pittsburgh’s steel industry and founded Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Inspired by his ardent belief in evolution, Carnegie financed an expedition to find a dinosaur for Pittsburgh.

Museum director William J. Holland organized the expedition to the American west in 1899. After three months of searching, a team member discovered a huge toe bone at Sheep Creek, Wyoming. Further digging led to the discovery of a massive, long neck dinosaur later identified as a sauropod.

The news broke, and before he was even excavated, Dippy was a celebrity. Visitors thronged to the site in Wyoming, which was dubbed “Camp Carnegie.” After the sufficient collection of Dippy’s bones, boxes were constructed, and the bones were sent back to Pittsburgh in 130 crates. Dippy took up a whole boxcar on his trip back to Pittsburgh!

Dining at Sheep’s Creek, where Dippy was discovered.

This is the first in a three-part blog series about Diplodocus carnegii, aka Dippy. We are celebrating all things Dippy as we launch our new logo featuring his silhouette. Share your own Dippy photos and stories using #newdippylogo.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History Blog Citation Information

Blog author: Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Publication date: January 5, 2017

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January 4, 2017 by wpengine

A specimen of Crocodylus niloticus

A specimen of Crocodylus niloticus, one of the largest ever collected from Africa, is on display in the Hall of African Wildlife.

This Nile crocodile was more than 17 feet long and weighed nearly a ton when it was collected from Tanzania.

(Photo by Hayley Pontia)

January 4, 2017 by wpengine

Goethite found in Pennsylvania

Goethite found in Pennsylvania, displayed in Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems

January 4, 2017 by wpengine

Celebrating Dippy!

You know the scarves. You know the statue. You know the dinosaur — Diplodocus carnegii or Dippy as we like to call him.

But did you ever wonder how Dippy came to be Pittsburgh’s most beloved dinosaur?

This month, we are celebrating all things Dippy as we launch our new logo featuring his silhouette. The logo was developed with the help of our loyal visitors and members who attended multiple focus groups spanning the better part of 2016. Amazingly, 99% summed up what they wanted our logo to feature in just one word —“Dippy!”

Join us for a three-part blog series about Dippy’s history — from discovery to the well-loved, scarf bearing dinosaur outside the museum. Share your own Dippy photos, art, and stories using #newdippylogo.

January 4, 2017 by wpengine

Andrew Carnegie

In 1898, Andrew Carnegie sent this newspaper clipping to Carnegie Museum of Natural History Director Dr. William J. Holland with a $10,000 check and a note that read, “buy this for Pittsburgh.”

January 3, 2017 by wpengine

Last month, we asked the public for help

Last month, we asked the public for help identifying a piece of our collection.

The identity of a plaster cast of a gold nugget in the Section of Minerals had been lost to time. It was believed to be one of six casts of famous gold nuggets acquired by the museum from Ward’s Natural Science Establishment in 1897.

Collections managers Marc and Deb Wilson were digging through some more old records recently and discovered that our unknown gold nugget is a replica of a nugget found at Anvil Creek near Nome, Alaska in September, 1899.

Mystery solved!

January 3, 2017 by wpengine

Spirits called katsinas

Katsina dolls — Katsinas found in Alcoa Foundation Hall of American Indians at Carnegie Museum of Natural History

For about six months each year, spirits called katsinas come to live with the Hopi on their mesa tops. Each figure is identified by its own individual character, costume, song, or dance.

(Photo by Hayley Pontia)

January 3, 2017 by wpengine

Giant Scorpions in Pennsylvania

Can you imagine a giant scorpion living western Pennsylvania?

It seems pretty crazy, but there is evidence that about 350 million years ago colossal invertebrates lived near Pittsburgh!

At Carnegie Museum of Natural History, we have fossilized tracks of a eurypterid, or sea scorpion, that were found along the Clarion River in Elk County, Pennsylvania.

The fossilized trackway is the largest known in the world. It was discovered by former museum employee James Kosinski in 1948. In 1983, English paleontologists described and named the creature who created the large footprint Palmichnium kosinskiorum.

Paleontologists estimate that Palmichnium kosinskiorum was more than seven and a half feet long and may have been amphibious—a far cry from the insects and crayfish you find in our creek beds today!

January 3, 2017 by wpengine

Dippy isn’t the only one sporting cool winter wear this year.

Dippy isn’t the only one sporting cool winter wear this year. A staff member knitted Bob the corn snake, part of Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s living collection, a holiday sweater!

Meet Bob and other friendly creatures at daily live animal shows at the museum.

January 3, 2017 by wpengine

Snow goggles

Snow goggles made of caribou bone and sinew found on Holman Island, in the northwest territory of Canada, on display at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

(Photo by Hayley Pontia)

December 22, 2016 by wpengine

Ruth Trimble

Pictured above holding a bird study skin is Ruth Trimble, a scientist who served as an assistant curator of Ornithology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History from 1934-1940. Trimble wrote the following in her book “The Bird Collection of the Carnegie Museum,” published in 1936.

Although the bird collection of the Carnegie Museum is not among the oldest of American collections, it has the distinction of being among the largest. Listing American collections according to their size we find Carnegie in fourth place, with approximately one hundred and ten thousand specimens, representing about one-fourth of the known species of birds in the world.”

“No munificent gifts of large private collections have increased our store, and no spectacular million-dollar expeditions, such as have contributed to the history of our sister institutions, have come our way. It would seem that the bird department of Carnegie Museum, much after the fashion of its founder, whose name it bears, has lifted itself by its own boot-straps.”

December 21, 2016 by wpengine

Art in Bird Hall

Ashley Cecil writing poetry on glass in front of bird taxidermy

poetry written on glass in front of stork

If you walk through Bird Hall this month, you might notice that there are more than just specimens on display.

Artist in Residence Ashley Cecil has been drawing birds and writing poems, song lyrics, and quotes about birds, conservation, and nature on the glass displays cases that hold hundreds of specimens. Ashley worked with museum scientists who shared quotes and works of art that inspired them to enter their fields and study birds.

There are poems by Emily Dickinson and Wendell Berry, lyrics by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and quotes from famous ornithologists. One case features a line from a Dickinson poem…

“I hope you love birds too. It is economical. It saves going to heaven.”

Ashley Cecil is the artist in residence at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Through her residence at the museum, Ashley is creating art inspired by nature and exploring the nexus of art and science.

poem written on glass in front of dodo replica

December 21, 2016 by wpengine

Skull of a kasagea

This skull of a kasagea, a type of freshwater seal, was collected on a Carnegie expedition to the Arctic in the 1930s.

When this skull was collected by Arthur Twomey, assistant curator of Ornithology, and J. K. Doutt, curator of Mammalogy, in 1938, kasagea seals were rumored to be a new species. Doutt however discovered that the kasagea was actually a subspecies of another kind of seal.

More than 50 years later, information that Doutt gathered on kasagea was used to discourage potentially harmful hydroelectric developments in northern Quebec in the 1990s, proving that even many years after discovery natural history collections can be of great value in conservation efforts.

(photo by Hayley Pontia)

December 21, 2016 by wpengine

Chinese Paper Cutting

This month, Carnegie Museum of Natural History volunteer Stephanie Sun taught visitors at our “Super Science Series: Holidays Around the World” event how to do Chinese paper cutting.

Often done on festive red paper, Chinese paper cutting creates beautiful, intricate patterns with scissors.

Thanks Stephanie!

Carnegie Museum of Natural History volunteer Stephanie Sun

December 19, 2016 by wpengine

Paleo Field Tools

By Patrick McShea

Although work gloves, rock hammers, chisels, and protective goggles remain standard field equipment for fossil field work, electronic devices have become critical search tools. In both the Elko Hills and South Egan Wilderness, Vertebrate Paleontology Collections Manager Amy Henrici regularly referred to her iPad’s topographic map app which utilized a GPS function to provide accurate on-screen tracking of our movement across the landscape.

Other sometimes overlooked field tools are described below.

Reliable Transportation

A rented Jeep Wrangler proved to be an indispensable field tool. Unlike the high speed off-road travel depicted on television commercials, during a steep ascent from sage brush flats to the zone of pinyon and juniper we climbed in a low gear crawl. (Above) In places where the track crossed dry stream washes, it was sometimes necessary to scout routes into and out of the deeply eroded channels.

Fields Notes

Field notes add a layer of documentation to scientific fossil collecting. Details about localities, the field crew, the vegetative cover, and even the weather might prove to be important information for a future paleontologist re-examining a particular set of fossils.

As an educator, the field work journal I kept doesn’t have direct association with particular fossils. Instead the duct tape-bound notebook, which bears the label of a Nevada-brewed IPA, serves as portable file, holding hand-written notes, related maps, brochures, and reports.

Place-related Information

field with mountain range in the distance — Nevada’s Ruby Mountains from the hills outside Elko.

Because western scenery differs so much from that of east, a guide to the contrasts is useful tool, even for visitors focused on finding fossils. Observations by author Wallace Stegner aid in the appreciation of western landscapes.

In a dry land the brinks of hills will be clifflike, not rounded; valleys will often be canyons; hills are likely to be buttes and mesas and barerock movements; the coloration will not be the toned greens of wetter regions but the red and ochre and tan and gray and black of raw rock, the gray of sagebrush, the yellow of dry grass.

– Wallace Stegner “Why I Like the West” Marking the Sparrow’s Fall Henry Holt and Company, New York, 1998

Patrick McShea is a museum educator who is traveling through Nevada with Vertebrate Paleontology Collections Manager Amy Henrici to search for frog fossils. He frequently blogs about his experiences.

December 15, 2016 by wpengine

Scientists have discovered

Scientists have discovered more than 180,000 species of Lepidoptera (moths, butterflies, and skippers), of this amount only 20,000 are butterflies.

December 13, 2016 by wpengine

Snails

December 13, 2016 by wpengine

Measuring Up at Kidsport

Wall art with eagle, wolf, and bear silhouettes

How do you size up to a bald eagle, a lion, or even a velociraptor?

You can find out next time you fly through Pittsburgh International Airport at the new Kidsport!

Carnegie Museum of Natural History, as well as several other cultural institutions in Pittsburgh, teamed up with the airport to help create the newly renovated Kidsport – a colorful, 2,100 square foot play and learning space with interactive exhibits for families to visit when they’re traveling.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s contribution was a series of wall art that lets kids compare themselves to different animals as short as a seal and as huge as a T-Rex!

The installations were made possible by funding from the Richard King Mellon Foundation.

(Photos courtesy of Pittsburgh International Airport)

December 13, 2016 by wpengine

Botany Hall Dioramas in Context

yellow flowers in grass — Details of a diorama found in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Botany Hall.

botany diorama close up — Details of a diorama found in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Botany Hall.

by Aisling Quigley and Colleen O’Reilly, University of Pittsburgh

What is the role of crafted objects in the exchange of scientific knowledge? How might we describe the authority of scientific displays without obscuring their culturally-specific artistic origins? How can natural history museums make the histories of objects in their collection visible to viewers? Can digital infrastructures offer new solutions?

As part of our graduate work at the University of Pittsburgh, we are creating an online exhibition that explores these issues in relation to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Botany Hall, bringing it into contact with objects from other institutions, and positioning it as a focal point for interdisciplinary expert knowledge.

Botany Hall is situated in a corner of the second floor of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, accessible through the Hall of North American Wildlife. Inside, seven window dioramas dating from the 1930s through the 1970s depict seven different biomes of the United States.

In each, a richly painted curved wall supports a highly detailed three-dimensional scene, in which every individual leaf, stem, insect wing, and bit of moss is hand-crafted and botanically accurate. This form of art and scientific display has a long history, and involves specific visual strategies that create an immersive experience for viewers. The backgrounds extend beyond the window frames, allowing the viewer the impression they are looking into another fully articulated world.

The artists paid special attention to the places where the two-dimensional meets the three-dimensional, and employed certain visual devices to make a seamless transition and enhance illusion, such as carefully placed plants or rocks, play with light and shadow, and the repetition of specimens. The exhibition team designed these dioramas based on a complex network of intersecting criteria.

They prioritized fidelity to what would be found in nature, the creation of a complete and representative picture of a particular biome, and the presentation of a harmonious aesthetic. The achieved effect speaks to a yearning for a version of nature that can be harnessed and dominated by human eyes and hands. Each
diorama was conceived as a unified whole, in which all parts work together, both aesthetically and as a natural environment.

Our exhibition will be a research project on Botany Hall itself and will also represent a new way for audiences to learn about natural history museum display. Over the coming months we will be digging in archives, examining objects, conducting workshops, and seeking out collaborations.

Ultimately, visitors to our online space will be able to get various perspectives on Botany Hall, compare the dioramas with objects in other collections, and find out about their history. We will combine our backgrounds in art history and information science to explore how formal concerns intertwine with scientific ones and to look at creative ways of contextualizing the information contained within these objects.

We will explore the interdisciplinary goals that drive the creation of educational objects for natural history museums, and the implications of the material presence of these objects in museum collections over time.

architectural drawing of Botany Hall — A diagram of Botany Hall

drawing of a diorama in botany hall — A Botany Hall exhibit diagram

December 9, 2016 by wpengine

Visitors Develop New Logo

by Kathleen Bodenlos

In 2016 we asked our visitors to help us develop a new logo
for the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Our loyal visitors and members
attended multiple focus groups spanning the better part of a year. In the end,
they came to a decision— 99% of them in fact! They summed it up in just one
word—“Dippy!”

It certainly makes sense. Diplodocus carnegii has a long history with Carnegie Museum of
Natural History spanning back to 1907. He was the first dinosaur in Dinosaur
Hall. Our life-sized Dippy statue outside proudly sports an impressive wardrobe of scarves. He
won our friendly Clash of the Carnegies competition as the most beloved museum object and
always gets lots of “likes” on Facebook. From a marketing standpoint, we love
it because dinosaurs are our big differentiator from the other great cultural
institutions in our city.

Capturing the right look and feel took a little work.
Several talented designers and artists worked on multiple iterations of the
logo and even our paleontologist, Dr. Matt Lamanna, made changes to make our
final design more accurate. In the end, we were all very pleased with new logo
and hope you like it as well.

We invite you to help us celebrate Dippy. Please take a pic
with Dippy, inside or outside the museum, and upload it with the #newdippylogo.

As they said in France when this dinosaur premiered in the
National Museum of Natural History of Paris, “Vive le Dippy!”

Kathleen Bodenlos is the Director of Marketing at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are invited to blog about their unique museum experiences.

December 5, 2016 by wpengine

Smithsonite and gypsum

Smithsonite and gypsum in Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems.
(photo by Hayley Pontia)

December 5, 2016 by wpengine

Snails in the Staircase

Snail Fossil embedded in grand staircase — A Fossil of a small invertebrate visible in the walls of Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Grand Staircase.

invertebrate fossil in the grand staircase — A small invertebrate visible in the walls of the Grand Staircase.

Everyone in Pittsburgh knows that Carnegie Museum of Natural History is the place to see some amazing fossils. But did you know they’re not just in our famous paleontology and geology halls? If you look carefully at the walls of our Grand Staircase, there are fossils of small invertebrates visible in the walls!

In the photo below, Carnegie Geologist Albert Kollar pointed out a small snail fossil embedded in the stone.

Keep an eye out for them on your next visit!

snail fossil embedded in stone — Carnegie Geologist Albert Kollar points out a small snail fossil embedded in the stone.

December 5, 2016 by wpengine

Specimens from invertebrate zoology

Specimens from the invertebrate zoology collection at Carnegie Museum of Natural History

November 29, 2016 by wpengine

Fossil Search: Expert Assistance

paleontologists using GPS — During a search for the contact point of two different Sheep Pass Formation rock units, Amy Henrici uses GPS-linked topographic maps in her iPad to locate the zone referenced in a stratigraphic map held by Richard Hilton.

by Patrick McShea

The frog fossil expedition workforce doubled briefly with the arrival of a two-person team affiliated with Sierra College in Rocklin, California. Earth Science professor Richard Hilton and field assistant Tina Campbell drove east from the Sacramento area, crossing the Sierra Nevada and a large portion of the Great Basin to meet us for two days of field work. They then proceeded to another fossil locality in the region to retrieve material discovered during earlier summer field work.

The Sheep Pass Formation within the South Egan Wilderness was familiar territory for both. In 2012 and 2013 they participated in larger expeditions to the area that involved not just Carnegie Museum of Natural History and Sierra College, but also the University of Nevada at Las Vegas.

Because Hilton is chairmen of Sierra College’s natural history museum, our fireside conversations included the potential for using blog posts to broaden the audience for information about paleontological field work. Through the combination of his generosity, two-burner stove, and culinary skills, camp meals also improved.

paleontologists eating at campsite — Dinner at dusk, including Caesar salad, baked beans, and hamburgers.

November 29, 2016 by wpengine

Carnegie geologist in France

Last month, Carnegie Museum of Natural History Geologist Albert Kollar was traveling in France on a research trip, where a local newspaper wrote about his work. Read the translation below.

In the picture, Kollar is photographed with representatives of the SPIA associations of Saint-Quentin, the Friends of the old Tullins, the Archaeological Association of Veurey and Corepha de Vorepp. Kollar is in the middle, crouching.

An American geologist visits the Echaillon
Saint-Quentin-sur-Isère
On Monday, the association SPIA (protection of the past
industrial patrimony) welcomed for two days Albert Kollar, an American
geologist from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
He is the person responsible of the impressive fossil collection (more than
800.000 registered) and the stones. It is in this regard that he came in Isère,
because the columns of the Carnegie Museum are made of “yellow Echaillon”.
His objective was to know better the story of this stone
stemming from the region and chosen by the architects of Boston in charge of
the construction of the Museum in 1907.
Supported by the associations “Corepha de Voreppe” and “The
Friends of the old Tullins”, and by the Archaeological Association of Veurey,
SPIA reconstituted the story of this “stone of Echaillon”. Then, the American
geologist visited the stone quarries of the Echaillon and the Lignet.
Albert Kollar was amazed by the production sites and by the
ingenuity of the techniques used by the past.
Despite the multitude of constructions made with this stone,
he was surprised that it was never recorded in the “Global heritage stone resource”,
the Gotha of stones and proposed to provide assistance to remedy it.

November 28, 2016 by wpengine

Strange Times

JUST ANNOUNCED! Carnegie Nexus, a new interdisciplinary event series, kicks off this January with “Strange Times: Earth in the Age of the Human”

Who better than Carnegie Museums to launch an art-science event series on ideas that matter?

The new Carnegie Nexus event series launches January 2017 with 12 eclectic events—four live performances, five conversations, three films—over four months.

Writers, performers, visual artists, and scientists will lead us in exploring what it means for humans to be the single greatest force shaping the planet’s future. Will we survive ourselves?

Learn more about the Strange Times series, register for free events, and purchase tickets!

November 28, 2016 by wpengine

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from Carnegie Museum of Natural History! This cute little turkey poult was photographed at our environmental research center Powdermill Nature Reserve.

November 28, 2016 by wpengine

Songbirds and Climate Change

How are songbirds in western Pennsylvania adapting to climate change?

Fairly well according to Carnegie Museum of Natural History researchers Molly McDermott and Luke DeGroote, who observed adaptations in a recent paper titled “Global Change Biology.” Their work was covered in Anthropocene Magazine and referenced on NPR’s Science Friday this month.

Using 53 years’ worth of data collected at Powdermill Nature Reserve, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s environmental research center in Rector Pa., DeGroote and McDermott observed that several species of songbirds have adapted their breeding cycles to warmer weather and earlier springs.

“I think of it as a very hopeful note. We can think of it as mother nature’s resilience, giving us a chance to be doing everything else we could be doing to help birds,” freelance writer Brandon Keim said on Science Friday about his Anthropocene Magazine article on McDermott and DeGroote’s paper.

However, DeGroote says that despite the note of optimism, there’s also an underlying word of caution.

“Because there is a disconnect between plant phenology and migratory timing, there may come a time when birds are no longer able to continue to ‘catch up’ after arrival by breeding earlier,” DeGroote said.

You can read the Anthropocene article or listen to Science Friday, where the segment featuring the research is about three minutes into the full episode at (89:21 to -86:53).

November 28, 2016 by wpengine

Shifting Formations

Nevada’s White River Valley from high ground in the South Egan Wilderness.

by Patrick McShea

From Elko, Nevada, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History frog fossil expedition shifted some 125 miles southeast to steep winding canyons within the South Egan Wilderness, a mountainous tract of more than 67,000 acres.

The move involved a change in the age of the rock outcrops we searched. Near Elko our efforts were confined to various associated rock layers, which geologists categorize as the Elko Formation, a thick and wide spread unit which formed some 46 – 39 million years ago during the Eocene Epoch. In the South Egan Wilderness, we explored the Sheep Pass Formation, a sequence of far older rocks which formed during the Late Cretaceous through middle Eocene Epochs some 70-46 million years ago.

Daily procedures were far different in the BLM-managed wilderness than on the outskirts of Nevada’s 15^th largest city.

Instead of commuting to outcrops from a motel in Elko’s center, we hiked to rock exposures more than a mile from our simple camp site, proceeding up dry stream beds and ascending eight staircase-like water falls to reach the fossil-bearing units at elevations exceeding 6,700 feet. Evenings were cold, star-filled, and absolutely quiet but for the occasional howls and yips of coyotes.

Because a 2012 wildfire burned over 10,000 acres of sage brush, juniper, and pinyon pine, our camp area was a surreal landscape of charred trees.

November 21, 2016 by wpengine

Beetle Discovery

cocoon-forming beetle (Antibothrus morimotoi) from Japan

In the Section of Invertebrate Zoology, our scientists are doing important pest monitoring work in collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) by helping identify pest specimens.

Non-native bark beetles and other wood-boring pests represent a significant threat to US forests. To rapidly identify and eradicate new pest species, the USDA traps insects around the country and sends the specimens to our museum for identification.

While digging through the extra insects accidentally caught in these traps (the “by-catch”), Bob Androw, one of the scientific preparators at Carnegie Museum of Natural history, recently discovered that a cocoon-forming beetle (Antibothrus morimotoi) from Japan has likely become established in the greater metropolitan area of Columbus, Ohio.

To date, this beetle appears innocuous but its biology remains largely unknown. Bob and his colleagues published their discovery this August in the journal Zootaxa.

November 16, 2016 by wpengine

Planning for Field Work

Backpack, book, and hammer sitting in the desert

by Patrick McShea

Planning for field work resembles vacation travel preparation in a fundamental way. Much consideration is given to gathering all necessary gear, and the mere assembly of these items triggers a kind of mental departure that precedes the physical one.

As a former English major, I’ve learned to manage this sometimes disorienting state by reading or re-reading destination-related articles, essays, and books.

For the Elko, Nevada sites where Amy Henrici and I hope to collect frog fossils this fall, John McPhee’s “Basin and Range” (Farrah Straus Giroux, New York, 1980) has particular relevance.

The book recounts the author’s travels along Nevada’s Interstate 80 corridor in the company of renowned Princeton University geologist. McPhee successfully translates into layperson language the region’s “geology in its four-dimension recapitulations of space and time.”

Fossils, as signs of ancient life, add critical evidence to such recapitulations. Near Elko, far up in the high desert hills south of Interstate 80, we’ll search for frog fossils to further our understanding of Earth’s past.

November 16, 2016 by wpengine

Where to Look for Fossils

As I travelled west from Pittsburgh to meet Carnegie Museum of Natural Hisotry Vertebrate Fossil Collection Manager Amy Henrici for a frog fossil hunting expedition in eastern Nevada, the same question was asked by each of my airplane seat mates.

“How do you know where to look for fossils?“

For the sites we planned to visit the answer was simple. Earlier written reports by geologists mapping rock formations and mineral deposits noted the occasion occurrence of fossils in certain rock layers.

Fossil searches involved locating and visiting sites where such rock layers are exposed on the surface, and then examining fragments that have eroded from these outcrops.The full process, which might stretch over decades, is an example of how published findings allow one branch of science to serve another.

As a geologist friend takes great pleasure in explaining, “Geologists let paleontologists know where fossils are in the multitude rock layers of Earth’s history, in time and in place.”

November 14, 2016 by wpengine

Moving Day for Jane the T-Rex

It was moving week for our juvenile Tyrannosaurus Rex Jane! She’s been living in the spine of our museum for quite sometime, but this week she was moved just a few hundred feet away into our brand new gift store, where she’ll be the center of attention.

Staff carefully disassembled Jane by removing her skull, tail, and ribcage before they wheeled her stand to it’s new location and reassembled her.

The gift store is currently undergoing renovations and will reopen later this month with three new exhibits.

Jane sitting pretty in her new home.

November 14, 2016 by wpengine

Secondary minerals

Secondary minerals formed in the upper portions of the ancient silver mines of Laurium in Greece on display at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh.

November 9, 2016 by wpengine

Snake ID with a 3D Field Guide

by Patrick McShea

In the wild, even the limited wild of our backyards, snakes don’t pose for identification near the numbers of convenient reference keys. Still, the small snake I encountered one cool November morning while raking leaves remained still enough for a prolonged close inspection.

The pencil-thin and ruler-length reptile was in a tight coil beneath a pile of leaves I had neglected to remove the previous afternoon. The unfamiliar creature apparently found both cover and relative warmth in the isolated pile, and I guessed it would depart on its own once the day warmed. As I gently replaced its leafy blanket I remembered where to find its identity.

Some natural museum exhibits function as three-dimensional field guides. Number 13 in the Non-Poisonous Snakes of Pennsylvania display case on the Daniel G. & Carole L. Kamin T-rex Overlook bears the simple descriptive name brown snake, and is known scientifically as Storeria dekayi.

With that information I found out more about the harmless creature I had unknowingly been sharing space with by visiting the website PAHERPS, which specializes in images and data related to Pennsylvania’s amphibians and reptiles and is a great tool for educators and curious gardeners alike.

November 8, 2016 by wpengine

Smuggled Fossil from China

How does a fossil that was illegally smuggled out of China end up on display in Pittsburgh?

This feathered dinosaur fossil of an Anchiornis huxleyi from the late Jurassic Period is currently at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh on loan from a museum in China.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security confiscated this fossil from a dealer who tried to illegally smuggle it out of China.

Carnegie paleontologist Matt Lamanna helped Homeland Security Investigations identify the fossil as a feathered predatory dinosaur from northeastern China. It was returned in 2015, but the Chinese government loaned the fossil to the museum where it will be on display until it is returned to the Geological Museum of China in Bejiing.

November 7, 2016 by wpengine

Foxy sparrow

A foxy sparrow banded at Powdermill Nature Reserve, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s environmental research center.

November 7, 2016 by wpengine

Owl study skins

Owl study skins from Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s hidden collection.

Our Section of Birds cares for nearly 195,000 specimens of birds, including 555 holotypes and syntypes.

November 4, 2016 by wpengine

Unidentified Gold Nugget

by Debra Wilson

The identity of this gold nugget has been lost to time. This is a plaster cast of a gold nugget which is housed in the Mineral Section of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. It is believed to be one of six casts of famous gold nuggets acquired by the museum from Ward’s Natural Science Establishment in 1897. This specimen (CM33100) measures 12.8 x 3.9 x 2.9 cm (Photos by Deb Wilson).

The only identification for this nugget is the number “1328” affixed to the back of the specimen. Ward’s was known for producing and selling plaster casts of famous gold nuggets; they even exhibited a number of them at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893.

The original documentation from the acquisition of the six gold nugget models cannot be found in the museum’s archives, except for a reference on page 56 of the Annual Report of the Carnegie Museum for the Year Ending March 31, 1899, which states “Casts of six gold nuggets and of 12 meteorites purchased October 20, 1897, from Wards Natural Science Establishment. Accession 419, 1-18.”

What is known about the other five gilded plaster casts is:

· “Ural” or “Great Triangle” nugget. Found at Taschku-Targunk, Ural Mountains, Russia, in 1842. Weight of original 100 lbs. Wards #1214, CM16711.

· “Welcome” nugget. Found at Bakery Hill, Victoria, Australia on June 11, 1858. Weight of original 2,166 ounces. Wards #1471, CM16710.

·“Oregon Canyon” nugget, Found near El Dorado City, California, USA, prior to 1866, Weight of original unknown. Wards #1473, CM33103.

·“Spondulix” nugget. Found at Eureka Gulch, Victoria, Australia in November, 1872; Weight of original 155 oz. Wards #1458, CM33101.

·“Homebush” nugget. Found at Homebush, Victoria Australia on March 24, 1880. Weight of original 80 oz., Wards #1467, CM33102.

If you have any information that may help identify which “famous” gold nugget this is a replica of, contact Debra Wilson, Section of Minerals, wilsond@carnegiemnh.org .

(Initial research done by museum volunteer David R. Alison)

Debra Wilson is collections assistant in the Section of Minerals at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences of working at the museum.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History Blog Citation Information

Blog author: Debra Wilson
Publication date: November 4, 2016

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November 3, 2016 by wpengine

Old and new specimen drawers

Old and new specimen drawers in the Section of Vertebrate Paleontology behind the scenes at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh.

November 1, 2016 by wpengine

Frog Fossil Hunt in Nevada

Frog fossil from eastern Nevada.

by Patrick McShea

Dinosaurs get all the attention, but fossils of less glamorous creatures also contribute much to our understanding of evolution and extinction. Consider frogs for example. These widely distributed amphibians first appear in the fossil record roughly 190 million years ago. Since then they have
survived numerous events, including mass extinction, changing climate, and the rearrangement
of continents through plate tectonics.

The study of how frogs adapted to changing environments over vast stretches of time is especially important today in light of dramatic declines of many frog species due to rapid climate change, habitat fragmentation, the global spread of disease, and broad changes in land use.

Frogs are not ignored in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Dinosaurs in Their Time. A rectangular display case near the terminus of Diplodocus carnegeii’s exquisitely tapered tail, a cast featuring tiny frog bones from Dinosaur National Monument shares space with the holotype skull of a Jurassic crocodile.

The bones represent a species that must have sometimes dwelled in the literal shadows of sauropod dinosaurs. The species was named Rhadinosteus parvus in a scientific research paper by Amy Henrici, a paleontologist who is the collection manager for the Carnegie’s Section of Vertebrate Paleontology.

Amy has conducted research and published findings on other frog fossils, and regularly serves as a peer reviewer for the research papers of other scientists studying the frog fossils. This fall, at the annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) in Salt Lake City, Amy will be presenting
information about an ongoing study of frog fossils from eastern Nevada.

My interest in her research and publications is deeper than that of an admiring co-worker. Amy and I have been married for 28 years, and several times I have worked as her field assistant. This fall, I’ll fill that
role again when she conducts post-SVP Meeting field work at two sites in eastern Nevada. As a museum educator I plan to post pictures and updates about the fossil-hunting expedition, so stay tuned! More frog posts are coming.

Grass Frog skeleton in the CMNH teaching collection.

(Eastern Gray Tree Frogs in the Pennsylvania Amphibians display on the Daniel G. & Carole L. Kamin T-rex Overlook.)

October 31, 2016 by wpengine

Dinosaur eggs!

Dinosaur eggs! These fossilized eggs are part of Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s hidden collection in the Section of Vertebrate Paleontology.

October 28, 2016 by wpengine

Don’t let that pretty foliage fool you.

Don’t let that pretty foliage fool you. This case in Botany Hall is full of local plant species that are poisonous or irritating to humans.

Of the nearly 3,500 plant species in Pennsylvania, about 100 can cause rashes, skin irritation, or even death.

Plants like poison ivy, primrose, common ragweed and other nefarious plants found in and around Pittsburgh are included in the case. Take a closer look at Carnegie Museum of Natural History!

October 28, 2016 by wpengine

Tools from the Neolithic Age

Tools from the Neolithic Age are on display at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh.

October 26, 2016 by wpengine

Comparing Pictures to Mounts

ruby throated hummingbird — The Ruby-throated hummingbird, which has iridescent, fuchsia feathers on its neck, a dark green head, and a long black beak.

Each week, staff at Powdermill Nature Reserve staff posts stunning,
high-resolution photos of birds that land in their nets on their Facebook page.

The photos show detailed characteristics of local birds, like the
subtle coloring of a Common Yellowthroat or the sharp beak of a Pine
Siskin, that are hard to see as they fly above.

Powdermill is Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s environmental
research center in Rector Pa, where thousands of birds are identified, banded,
and released each year. As they band, research staffers often snap pictures
that highlight the huge variety of different birds flying through Western
Pennsylvania’s skies.

One favorite is the Ruby-throated hummingbird, which has
iridescent, fuchsia feathers on its neck that abut a dark green heads and long
black beak.

Comparing the Powdermill pictures to Bird Hall in the museum
is an interesting exercise. For example, Powdermill’s high resolution pictures let
you appreciate each and every line of the hummingbird’s bright feathers. But in
the museum, to see a taxidermy mount of a ruby throated humming bird
helps you grasp the miniscule size of these little birds that don’t often grow
larger than 3.5 inches.

Powdermill’s pictures and Bird Halls specimens work
in tandem to encourage us to pause and consider tiny players in our huge
local ecosystem, helping us all foster a little more appreciation for the
natural world.

taxidermied birds — Specimens on display in Bird Hall at Carnegie Museum of Natural History

October 25, 2016 by wpengine

Think lions and tigers are scary cats?

Think lions and tigers are scary cats? Check out the teeth on this Sabertooth cat who lived during the Cenozoic Era.

Most predatory cats today typically kill their prey by biting the neck or nose and holding on, thereby strangling their prey.

That’s a little subtle for the muscular and toothy sabertooths, which paleontologists think held down their prey using their powerful front legs and then used their slicing canine teeth to slash the underbelly and throat.

Makes today’s lions and tigers seem like big ol’ softies…. especially when their babies look like this.

October 24, 2016 by wpengine

Shells of the Coquina clams

Shells of the Coquina clams (Donax Variabilis) are found in the ocean from Virginia to Florida. See them on display at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh!

October 24, 2016 by wpengine

Fall Bird Banding at Powdermill

bird banding at Powdermill Nature Reserve

Fall is an exciting and busy time for our avian researchers at Powdermill Nature Reserve, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s environmental research center in Rector Pennsylvania.

As birds migrate south, thousands fly through Powdermill, where they are identified, banded, and studied before they continue their long journey to their winter nesting grounds.

Researchers band anything from worm-eating Warblers to brightly colored purple finches in their nets each year.

This fall alone, more than 4,000 birds representing 150+ species have been studied and banded since September. Researchers catch the birds in specially designed mist nets that are cast each morning before dawn. Caught birds are carefully transported to a banding station, where they are identified, measured, and given a small band issued through the US Geological Survey. Bands provide information for other researchers and don’t affect the birds flight, nesting, or eating habits.

Above all else, the well being of every bird is Powdermill’s top priority at all times. The entire banding process takes less than a minute, and the vast majority of birds are actually quite calm during their short visit at the banding station.

But why band birds at all?

The fundamental goal of bird banding has always been to record the age, sex, wing length, fat deposits, and body mass of captured species as a way of monitoring, year to year, how avian populations are faring in the wild.

Banding gives us insight into many things like the life cycles and longevity of birds, habitat use, and how disease and environmental toxins are affecting wild bird populations.

Want to learn more? You can see monthly and annual banding summaries online or follow Powdermill Nature Reserve on Facebook for weekly updates and stunning pictures.

October 21, 2016 by wpengine

Discovery with Museum Loan Kits

by Patrick McShea

The first grade teacher who provided this picture didn’t realize how much it revealed about her skill in conveying scientific principles. She was more concerned about finding answers for her students’ pressing questions.

The photo and an attached note accompanied a box of preserved insect materials returned to the museum’s loan program one early November day. “A little girl found the ‘creature’ in this picture! She put it in a container and in three days it spun a hard black cocoon, also about four inches long. WHAT IS IT??? And what will
come out of the cocoon???”

Answers were quickly supplied. The mysterious creature was a caterpillar known as a hickory horned devil, the larval stage of the moth bearing the scientific name Citheronia regalis, and the common names regal moth and royal walnut moth. The caterpillars are harmless to touch, but as noted in the USDA Forest Service
publication, Caterpillars of Eastern Forests, hickory horned devils are the “largest and most formidable appearing eastern forest insect.”

The teacher’s next loan of museum materials included preserved specimens of regal moths (above), and a note praising the use of a ruler as a scale bar in the caterpillar photo. First grade is not too early to learn the importance of making objective measurements when sharing first hand observations, even when the subject is a frightening looking caterpillar.

Pittsburgh teachers looking to learn more about our loan program can visit our website. Schools can have unlimited access to the museum’s loan collection for $200 a year.

October 18, 2016 by wpengine

A Wood Turtle at Powdermill

by Lauren Peele Horner

On an afternoon hike, this handsome male wood turtle (Glyptemys insculpta) made his presence known. The rings of a turtle’s scutes can be used much like the rings of a tree. If you count them, you can learn the age! This particular wood turtle is about 13 years old. We measured and marked him, then let him carry on about his business.

Wood turtles are a species of special concern, so seeing this fellow was a real treat. Because they are semi-aquatic and spend parts of the year on land and other parts in the water, wood turtles are affected by habitat destruction, farming, water pollution, traffic, and the pet trade. Keeping their natural habitat clean and letting them live their lives in nature are great ways you can help wood turtles.

Lauren Peele Horner is a naturalist and educator at Powdermill Nature Reserve, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s environmental research center. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences.

Deforestation Damages

by Patrick McShea

Museum exhibits frequently provide information to help us better understand current headlines. In the case of the devastation Hurricane Matthew recently caused in Haiti, a three dimensional map in the exhibition Population Impact (pictured above) indicates pervasive deforestation across that impoverished Caribbean nation.

The map the depicts the island of Hispaniola. The Dominican Republic encompasses the eastern portion of this mountainous island, and Haiti makes-up the western portion. Shades of deep green, which denote forest cover, crown the highest peaks on the Dominican side of the island. On the Haitian side, the pale brown shades that indicate crop land and pasture stretch from ocean edge to the crests of the highest and steepest ridges.

On the portion of Hispaniola directly in the hurricane ’s path, deforested slopes compounded the destructive power of torrential rain. According to USA Today, less than 2% of Haiti’s land is still forested, making it one of the most deforested countries in the world. The countries steep terrain, clearly seen in our exhibit, also make the country more vulnerable to landslides and mudslides.

Read more about how deforestation left Haiti especially vulnerable to Hurricane
Matthew, and about the hurricane’s devastating effects on the people who live there.

October 17, 2016 by wpengine

T-Rex teeth in Dinosaurs in their Time

T-Rex teeth in Dinosaurs in their Time at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh.

(Photo by Josh Franzos)

October 12, 2016 by wpengine

CUSP Exhibits on display at Pitt

mom and child using an educational kit — Participants engage in an activity at CUSP, coordinated locally by Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

by Laurie Giarratani

How will you use science, technology, and community to improve lives and shape the future? Join the Climate and Urban Systems Partnership (CUSP), along with innovators from across the country, to test ideas with hands-on experiments and demonstrations in the exhibit hall of the White House Frontiers conference – open to the public from 10 a.m. – 11 a.m. on Thursday, October 13 at Alumni Hall at the University of Pittsburgh.

CUSP is a national project, funded by the National Science Foundation, coordinated locally by Carnegie Museum of Natural History, that aims at changing climate conversations in urban settings. More info about CUSP at http://www.cuspproject.org.

Laurie Giarratani is the Director of Education at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

October 9, 2016 by wpengine

Craniums and mandibles

Craniums and mandibles of various mammals on display in the Hall of North American Wildlife.

October 8, 2016 by wpengine

X-rays at Discovery Basecamp

Visitors can examine all different types of x-rays at Discovery Basecamp, our new permanent, interactive gallery that invites visitors to take part in hands-on learning.

October 6, 2016 by wpengine

Specimens from the Surdick collection

Specimens from the Surdick collection on display near our Grand Staircase.

October 3, 2016 by wpengine

5 Surprising Conservation Facts

by Kathleen Bodenlos

Gretchen Anderson is a conservator at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. She is restoring a panda diorama that will be prominently placed in our newly renovated gift shop. (Stay tuned for more on the gift shop in the next few weeks).

Here are 5 surprising things about conservation of a diorama.
1. Less is more: Use as few chemicals as possible

Soot sponges, water, and vacuums are the top
choices in lieu of harsh chemicals. Water is one of the most powerful solvents!
Gretchen begins with a fan brush and a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air filter) vacuum to remove as much dust and arsenic traces as possible.
She is wearing a protective face mask and gloves to protect herself from any arsenic that might be stirred up.
Soot sponges are a rubber sponge designed to absorb soot and are used dry. Another handy tool is a makeup sponge. A make-up sponge is used when just a little tiny bit of water is needed to move the dirt.
Particulate dust (dust, dirt and soot) is extremely damaging to museum collections. It is best to remove it.

2. Some conservationists also do a little restoration on paint

When in doubt go lighter to match a color
Think impressionism and mottle with several colors if possible. A good example is the natural colors on a rock.

3. Move ‘em up and head ’em out—RAWHIDE!

For many older dioramas, the skin of the animal is literally a raw hide. They are often treated with arsenic to keep the hide from becoming infested with insects and being eaten/damaged
Mercury, and other pesticides were also used to prevent insect attack on some museum collections.
A sealed exhibit case helps to keep the diorama safe from damage. Dust and insects are kept out. If there are any pesticides inside the case these are kept in – protecting the public.
Plant material
· Not all of it is fake. Some of the actual plant materials are painted to make them look alive
· Even a non-expert can discern what is fake and what is real upon close examination
Save money—use less
· When washing clothes the soap is to keep dirt from settling back on clothes
· Agitation and water are the real cleaner
· Use 1/3 less soap and your clothes will be clean
and you will ensure that all the soap is removed which will help protect your
skin

Kathleen Bodenlos is the Director of Marketing at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to write about their unique experiences.

October 1, 2016 by wpengine

Aquamarine on display

September 28, 2016 by wpengine

Ancient Owl Drawing

by Patrick McShea

Could you finger-paint a more detailed owl than the one pictured above? In classes about owls at Carnegie Museum of Natural History students always answer with an enthusiastic “Yes.”

The question is a ruse, a simple trick to direct listeners to consider which features they would illustrate, or perhaps even exaggerate, to fashion a recognizable owl.

Any thoughts of competitive art-making subside when background information about the image is supplied. The owl portrait, which measures just over 18 inches in height, was scraped into the soft rock surface of a cave wall in southern France more than 30,000 years ago. Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc Cave, which was discovered in 1994 and named a UNESCO World Heritage site a decade later, contains more than 1,000 ancient images, most of which are animal depictions.

Before the owl lesson moves on from image to object, and the close examination of feathers, skulls, and study skins, some consideration is given to all that separates us from the anonymous artist. We easily recognize the cluster of ancient rock scrapes as an owl, but were the scraper to magically appear, that person would comprehend little of our world, particularly the electronic devices by which the cave art is increasingly shared.

September 27, 2016 by wpengine

The Ongoing Question of Trophy Hunting

Teddy Roosevelt standing with a dead elephant — Teddy Roosevelt in 1909 on a safari that helped popularize the activity. Photo: Library of Congress

by Eric Dorfman

After the infamous case of the untimely death of the beloved Cecil the lion, natural history museums have become even more careful than before about demonstrating the provenance of the specimens they use for research and display. Big game hunting can be viewed with such distaste by members of the museum-going public that its display can be somewhat controversial. For those of us in the industry, it presents a conundrum of messaging, not least because the topic of big game hunting is highly nuanced and has many benefits to both wilderness landscape and the local communities that both utilize and (potentially) protect the land.

September 26, 2016 by wpengine

Ancient Egyptian stela

The inscription on this ancient Egyptian stela, or painted limestone, says that this offering was made by
Wennefer, son of Paiwenhor, and dedicated to Osiris. It’s now on display at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh.

(Photo by Hayley Pontia)

September 24, 2016 by wpengine

Wulfenite

September 18, 2016 by wpengine

Artist in residence

Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s artist in residence Ashley Cecil brought these study skins from our collection back to life with her drawings that she’ll later paint in full color. These six species of birds are often injured or killed when they collide with glass windows in urban areas where buildings and structures invade their flight space.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History is one of eight organizations who have joined the partnership BirdSafe Pittsburgh,which works to research and reduce bird-glass collisions in urban communities.

September 15, 2016 by wpengine

A Dino in a ‘Death Pose’

This immature Camarasaurus’ uncomfortable stance isn’t caused by a crick in his long neck. It was discovered in what paleontologists call the “death pose.” Many dinosaur skeletons like this one are found with their neck arching back dramatically towards the tail. This specimen in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Dinosaurs in Their Time is displayed almost exactly as it was discovered.

The death pose may have been caused by the dinosaur’s final thrashing movements before it died. Scientists note that this pose is only seen in animals with high metabolic rates, suggesting that dinosaurs such as Camarasaurus may have been active creatures.

September 11, 2016 by wpengine

Decorated Horn

Decorated Horn (ca. 1627/1606-1539 B.C.) found in Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt

(Photo by Hayley Pontia)

September 10, 2016 by wpengine

From Antarctica to Pittsburgh

Last week, several tons of fossils arrived at Carnegie Museum of Natural History from Antarctica, where our paleontologist and principal dinosaur research Matt Lamanna led the AP3 Expedition this spring. The fossils traveled by boat from Antarctica to Chile to the United States, where they were then trucked across the country to our museum.

In the coming weeks, our staff will begin carefully unpacking these specimens and studying them.

To read more about the expedition, visit our expedition blog.

Lamanna and Dan Pickering, a scientific preparator, open one package containing the largest fossil in the shipment.

A box with fossils collected from Vega Island in Antarctica.

September 7, 2016 by wpengine

Scallop and Pecten found in Pilocene

Scallop and Pecten found in Pilocene, California on display in Benedum Hall of Geology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

(Photo by Hayley Pontia)

September 6, 2016 by wpengine

Mollusk Collection

by Hayley Pontia

Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s collection of mollusks is home to about 3 million specimens that include more land and freshwater snails from Pennsylvania and its adjacent states than all other U.S. museums combined.

What are mollusks you ask? They are one of the most diverse groups of animals on the planet. They have a soft body with a ‘head’ and ‘tail’ region. Their bodies are most commonly covered in a hard exoskeleton, but some can even have their shells on the inside.

You may know the most common mollusks without even knowing they are mollusks: snails, clams, octopuses, scallops, oysters, and even squids are all part of this phylum. Many people are around these animals, yet know very little about them.

As assistant curator and head of mollusks at Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Tim Pearce spends a lot of time researching and understanding these specimens. Every second Saturday, Pearce gives tours of the collection found in the basement of the museum for those interested in learning more about these unique species.

Pearce collecting snails at Carrington Point on Santa Rosa Island, California. San Miguel Island is visible in the distance. (Photo by Charles Drost.)

Hayley Pontia is the marketing assistant at Carnegie Museum of Natural History and a student at the University of Pittsburgh. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences of working at the museum.

September 5, 2016 by wpengine

Even on our warmest and muggiest days

crocodile on display in the coal forest diorama at Carnegie Museum of Natural History — A Pennsylvania coal forest diorama on display in Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Even on our warmest and muggiest days, it’s hard to imagine Pennsylvania ever looked like this coal forest diorama.

Giant cockroaches, dragonflies, and centipedes shared the area we now call home with huge amphibians like the Eryops, which is pictured above.

Oddly, there were no birds in those ancient forests. They wouldn’t evolve for another 100 million years!

September 2, 2016 by wpengine

Selected for Speed

by Patrick McShea

At first it seems absurd to discuss speed in front of adiorama in which nothing moves. With appropriate prompts, however, this threedimensional snapshot of galloping pronghorn antelopes can generate an astonishing level of mind’s eye animation.

When viewed from dusty Wyoming roadsides, distant pronghorns appear to gallop without sound, even when their pace suddenly changes and their speed doubles for 100-yard stretches.

At the close vantage point offered by the diorama, such antelope maneuvers would undoubtedly produce a sensory mix of blurred furred forms, the staccato clatter of hooves against rock, and the powerful scent of crushed sage.

The species’ blazing speed invites speculation about its evolutionary history. Could pronghorn antelopes be adapted to elude a predator no longer found on western landscapes? A large extinct cat termed an American cheetah is sometimes cited as the missing participant in this natural selection process.

Fossil evidence examined during the past 25 years complicates this narrative. Paleontologists point to expansive ranges for these big cats that include mountainous areas and sea coasts, and the absence, to date, of sites containing both cat and antelope fossils.

With the identity of the pronghorn’s prehistoric predator unsettled, a viewing position in front of the diorama is a place to ponder possibilities.

September 2, 2016 by wpengine

Stegosaurus was as big as a bull elephant

Stegosaurus was as big as a bull elephant and the largest known plated dinosaur.

(Photo by Josh Franzos)

September 1, 2016 by wpengine

Unaltered remains of Peccary

Unaltered remains of Peccary, a mid-sized hoofed pig-like mammal, found in Kentucky.

(Photo by Hayley Pontia)

August 31, 2016 by wpengine

Greater Black-letter Dart Moth

by Vanessa Verdecia

Our Section of Invertebrate Zoology had another species of moths eclose this month. These images show the last instar caterpillar, the pupa, and two images of the adult. We reared these caterpillars that hatched from eggs laid by a female moth caught in Ohio, but this species also occurs here in Pennsylvania.

Common name: Greater Black-letter Dart Moth
Scientific name: Xestia dolosa, in the family Noctuidae

August 30, 2016 by wpengine

Beaded necklaces from ancient Egypt

Beaded necklaces from ancient Egypt made of shells, faience, and gessoed wood.

August 29, 2016 by wpengine

Bones in the Basement

by Hayley Pontia
If you thought there were a lot of bones on display in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, think again. Many of the 22 million objects and scientific specimens in the museum’s collection are kept in storage and used for scientific research.

Amy Henrici, Collection Manager for Vertebrate Paleontology, manages the Vertebrate Paleontology collection, which houses fossils that span through 465 million years of prehistoric history. It is the fourth largest collection in the country and includes 79,464 catalogued specimens: 80 percent are mammals, 11 percent fish, 5 percent reptiles (including 690 dinosaur fossils), 3 percent amphibians, and .5 percent birds.

Most of the dinosaur specimens are archived in the Big Bone Room and the Little Bone Room. Contrary to popular belief, the description of these rooms is in relation to the space available, not the size of the bones.

Hayley Pontia is the marketing assistant at Carnegie Museum of Natural History and a student at the University of Pittsburgh. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences of working at the museum.

August 27, 2016 by wpengine

Caterpillars in the genus Datana

bright yellow caterpillars agitated — These caterpillars of Drexel’s Datana (Datana drexelii) were found on the Black Birch Trail at Powdermill Nature Reserve after being disturbed.

bright yellow caterpillars before being agitated — These caterpillars of Drexel’s Datana (Datana drexelii) were found on the Black Birch Trail at Powdermill Nature Reserve before being disturbed.

by Andrea Kautz

In addition to being attractively colored, caterpillars have some interesting behaviors to observe as well. For example, caterpillars in the genus Datana have a defensive behavior of rearing up both the front and back ends of their body instantly upon being disturbed.

Since they are often found in aggregations, this simultaneous movement can be quite startling to a potential predator looking for a snack. These caterpillars of Drexel’s Datana (Datana drexelii) were found on the Black Birch Trail at Powdermill Nature Reserve (the environmental research center of Carnegie Museum of Natural History), feeding on witch hazel. They were photographed before and after being disturbed. Fascinating!

August 26, 2016 by wpengine

Pholidophorus macrocephalus

Pholidophorus macrocephalus is a bony fish that lived about 150 million years ago in the late Jurassic Period of the Mesozoic Era.

August 25, 2016 by wpengine

Salamander Forests in Pa.

by Patrick McShea

Within a Hall of Botany diorama depicting old growth Pennsylvania forest, a ferocious predator lurks amid dried oak, maple, and beech leaves. No snail, worm, or ground-dwelling insect is safe in the damp realm where this bright amphibian prowls.

The three-inch-long salamander is a red eft, the name given the land-dwelling middle life stage of the otherwise aquatic red-spotted newt. The creature’s solitary presence in the exhibit accurately reflects what you might hope
to see during a visit to a real old growth glen. At such a place, however, plenty of the eft’s near and distant salamander kin would almost certainly be lurking just out of sight.

Pennsylvania supports 22 species of salamanders, the majority of which spend at least part of their lives foraging in habitat where trees, deep shade, damp leaf litter, loose soil, rotting logs, and mossy rocks occur. If the results of a 2014 University of Missouri study of salamander abundance in Ozark forests can be extrapolated to our region, the total biomass of salamanders inhabiting many wooded tracts rivals that of white-tailed deer.

Because these salamanders eat invertebrates that eat leaf litter, the abundance of the tiny predators helps forests to be places where a portion of the carbon pulled from the atmosphere by trees is stored in leaf litter.

August 24, 2016 by wpengine

Reclaiming Nature

Human sized bird's nest — Human sized bird’s nest

three chickens in a cage — Chickens protect the plants

by Kathleen Bodenlos

Pittsburgh has a reputation for transforming itself. Once a grimy industrialized city, we have become a network of neighborhoods with green spaces, bike trails, culturally rich attractions, and a thriving economy. The Pittsburgh Botanic Garden mirrors our transformation story.

Reclaiming land from Pittsburgh’s industrial past, they transformed land and ponds into an artistic nature experience. Acres that were once farmed, logged and mined have been reinvented and now offer hiking trails, flowers, and surprising works of art. A Monet worthy pond that was once filled with acid is now alive with lotus. Barred Rock Chickens protect the plants through their natural diet of insects and also help to fertilize the crops.

The gardens offer plenty of surprises for kids from a giant bird nest that could fit a large human family to an enchanted area for reading time complete with toadstools on which to perch.

With 460 acres left to steward, it seems this impressive example of reclamation has only just begun.

Kathleen Bodenlos is the Director of Marketing at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Passionate about nature, art, and travel she enjoys visiting other organizations with a similar focus on conservation and education.

August 22, 2016 by wpengine

These specimens on display at Carnegie Museum of Natural History

These specimens on display at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh were not collected by museum scientists.

Local insect entusiasts Robert and Tressa Surdick who lived in Bethel Park, a suburb of Pittsburgh, spent their lives collecting insects from all over Western Pennsylvania. Bob visited the museum as a teen to examine the entomology collections.

When Bob passed away in 2012, he donated his collection of more than 100,000 beautifully prepared insects, including the bumblebees shown above.

A portion of his collection is now displayed near the landing of the Grand Staircase, where it catches the attention of young bug lovers each day.

August 20, 2016 by wpengine

Young Green Heron

A young green heron banded at Powdermill Nature Reserve, the environmental research center of Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

August 19, 2016 by wpengine

One-Spotted Variant Instars

caterpillar — The one-spotted variant (Hypagyrtis unipunctata), a very common moth in the Geometridae subfamily Ennominae in its early stages of life.

by Vanessa Verdecia

Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Section of Invertebrate Zoology had a moth eclose earlier this month. The little caterpillar came in on the oak leaves that staff were feeding to other caterpillar cultures. It was identified as a one-spotted variant (Hypagyrtis unipunctata), a very common moth in the Geometridae subfamily Ennominae.

The pictures show its progress from an early instar caterpillar to an adult moth.

Vanessa Verdecia is a collection assistant in the museum’s Invertebrate Zoology Section. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

August 19, 2016 by wpengine

Spiders catch all sorts of insects

Spiders catch all sorts of insects to eat using their sticky, clear woven webs. But how do they
keep their eight little legs from getting stuck?

Spiders are able to spin sticky silk and non-sticky silk to build their webs. Scientists believe
that spiders leave a path of non-sticky silk that isn’t dotted with glue so they can get around their beautiful webs.

This activity helps kids learn about how spiders are able to get to the prey they catch by creating our own paths on spider webs we make ourselves!

What you’ll need…

-Small foam squares
-Pencil
-Marker
-Small paintbrush
-Glue
-Glitter

Using a pencil draw a spider web on your piece of foam.
Draw a spider next to your web, and an insect caught inside the web. Then use the marker to draw a path between the spider and the insect, to represent non-sticky silk.
Make the rest of your spider web sticky by tracing it with glue.

Cover your web in glitter.
Shake it off and see the path your spider left itself!

handcrafted web using glue and glitter on paper

At Carnegie Museum of Natural History, our campers and homeschool students learn about spider webs with this activity, a spider web game, and meet with real entomologists!

August 18, 2016 by wpengine

A stratigraphic model showing different layers of rock strata

A stratigraphic model showing different layers of rock strata in Benedum Hall of Geology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

(photo by Hayley Pontia)

August 17, 2016 by wpengine

Peridot, the beautiful yellow-green gem

Until recently, peridot, the beautiful yellow-green gem featured in pendant above,
was the only birth stone for the month of August. Now spinel accompanies it.

August 15, 2016 by wpengine

An Immersive Alaskan Scene

by Patrick McShea

Well planned dioramas support multiple levels of interpretation. At the Alaskan Brown Bear diorama, however, it’s initially difficult to consider any narrative not focused upon these powerful creatures.

The Kodiak Island scene features nine brown bears – four distant bears are painted into the backdrop landscape and taxidermy mounts of an adult female and three cubs fill the diorama’s left foreground. Facing them from a four-foot high rock ledge outside the exhibit glass, a large male bear adds tension to the display.

The noses of the two adult two adult bears are less than 13 feet apart, a narrow zone that is routinely occupied by museum visitors when they read an adjacent label that highlights the potential for a violent encounter. “Male bears routinely prey on cubs. Fiercely protective, mother bears are known to attack and may even kill larger males that come too close.”

This immersive aspect was created during a 1995 renovation that extensively upgraded an exhibit originally dedicated in 1918.

The upgrade also involved the replacement of king salmon with red or sockeye salmon to accurately represent the species whose summer spawning runs draw bears to the stream. The diorama’s immersive zone is the perfect place to consider how the pair of cubs eating a single fish can represent an enormous transfer of nutrients between ocean and forest ecosystems.

When spawning red salmon return to the stream in which they were born, they do so after spending as long as four years at sea. If they manage to avoid bears and other predators, they still die, often far inland, within a few weeks of spawning. Research studies into the ecological impact of salmon runs have charted the movement of stable nitrogen isotopes from salmon tissue to the stems and leaves of streamside vegetation. The bears, in such cycles, are just intermediary processors.

August 14, 2016 by wpengine

The great pegmatites of Minas Gerais in Brazil

The great pegmatites of Minas Gerais in Brazil are famous for producing the widest variety of colors in tourmaline gemstones. Carnegie Museum of Natural History has a wide variety of them on display in Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems.

(photo by Hayley Pontia)

August 12, 2016 by wpengine

Read This and Live Forever

by Eric Dorfman

When Juan Ponce de León traveled from Spain to the New World in 1513, he was looking for immortality. Legend has it that he was looking for the fabled fountain of youth. During his journey he named the state of Florida and his quest catalyzed the name of the Florida town of Ponce de León, a host of statues and even a 140 year old tourist attraction called the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park. It seems that in searching for eternal youth Ponce de León found a sort of immortality.

Read more on Carnegie Museum of Natural History Director Eric Dorfman’s blog.

August 12, 2016 by wpengine

An Appalachian Research Hub

Powdermill Nature Reserve Visitor's Center

Researchers at Powdermill Nature Reserve, the environmental research center of Carnegie Museum of Natural History, are documenting the health of Western Pennsylvania’s flora and fauna with bird banding, long-term studies, and other key environmental research out of Rector Pa.

Those efforts will be bolstered thanks to a recent $700,000 grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation, which will further position Powdermill as an ecological research powerhouse of the Appalachian region. The grant will fund new technology like drone imagining and radio frequency “nanotags” to study and protect birds. The focal species groups that will be studied are birds, pollinators, salamanders, and forest trees.

Powdermill scientists are eager to use nanotag radio telemetry to improve their tracking of migratory birds, attaching tiny radio beacons to birds that will track their migration as they fly by special towers equipped with sensors.

The sensors will log the tagged birds in a central database, allowing scientists to track birds from South America to Canada without recapturing them. Since only about one in 1,000 birds banded at Powdermill are ever recaptured, the new technology is sure to improve the reserve’s data collection efforts.

“As this grant strengthens our scientific activities, Powdermill will accordingly improve its educational outreach regarding pressing environmental issues of interest to concerned citizens,” said Powdermill Director John Wenzel.

Check out Powdermill Nature Reserve’s Facebook page for beautiful images and snapshots of some of the important working happening there that will benefit the entire Western Pennsylvania region.

August 11, 2016 by wpengine

Fedexia striegeli

Fedexia striegeli was a member of an extinct amphibian group called trematopids, which lived in the tropical Pittsburgh climate almost 305 million years ago.

The only known specimen of Fedexia is a skull discovered by University of Pittsburgh student Adam Striegel during a geology class field trip in 2004. In 2010, collections manager Amy Henrici, now-retired Vertebrate Paleontology curator Dave Berman, and other museum scientists described the new species.

This fossil provided scientists with important clues that helped them understand more about prehistoric climate change and amphibian evolution. It showed that amphibians began spending more time on land about 305 million years ago — 20 million years earlier than scientists had previously thought!

(photo by Hayley Pontia)

August 10, 2016 by wpengine

Breastfeeding Spaces in Public

Breastfeeding area with couches and chairs

This winter, Carnegie Museum of Natural History installed a private, quiet, and comfortable space for mothers to breastfeed their babies in the museum. With cozy chairs and colorful animal pillows, the space was quickly a well-utilized space for families that was warmly received.

Mothers are welcome to feed, nurse, and care for their children anywhere in the museum, but we felt a private space makes families comfortable and the museum feel more inclusive.

This month, Allegheny County Health Department announced that the museum was among two public places in the Pittsburgh Region that was recognized with a 2016 Breastfeeding Friendly Place Award.

The county’s Breastfeeding Friendly Place Awards recognize workplaces, public places and other sites away from the home that make an extra effort to accommodate breastfeeding mothers.

“It’s important for us to connect to the community,” Museum Director Eric Dorfman said. “Having this sort of space here means that we’re connecting with the community of our visitors and staff by offering them a safe and inviting environment.”

Exhibitions Director Becca Shreckengast said all our guests should feel welcome and comfortable.

“In our signage we invite parents to take care of their children all throughout the museum,” Shreckengast said. “We want to be as welcoming as inviting to parents with young children as possible.”

Signage showing baby-friendly privacy area

Streckengast and Dorfman receive award from Allegheny County Health Department.

August 9, 2016 by wpengine

Snapshot from Brazil: black capuchin (Sapajus nigritus)

A Black capuchin photographed at Brazil’s first national park – Parque Nacional do Itatiaia with Observatório de Aves – Instituto Butantan.

by Luke DeGroote

Photographed at Brazil’s first national park – Parque Nacional do Itatiaia with Observatório de Aves – Instituto Butantan

Black capuchins are near threatened and declining due to habitat loss, hunting, and pet trade.

Luke DeGroote is an Avian Ecologist and the Bird Banding Program Manager at Powdermill Nature Reserve, the environmental research center of Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Luke is traveling in Brazil this summer to train Brazilian avian researchers band birds and explore new collaborations for the museum.

August 6, 2016 by wpengine

Dioptase on Calcite

Dioptase on Calcite found in Namibia on display at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

(photo by Hayley Pontia)

August 5, 2016 by wpengine

Other Milkweed-Loving Insects

Milkweed Leaf Beetle (Labidomera clivicollis)

by Andrea Kautz

Milkweed is in bloom and it’s not only the monarchs that love it!

We are all familiar with the striped caterpillars that rely on milkweed as a food source and the beautiful orange butterflies they become, but lots of other insects utilize milkweed in a similar way.

A quick inspection of the Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) blooming near Powdermill Nature Reserve’s nature center parking lot reveals three different milkweed specialists pictured: the Milkweed Leaf Beetle (Labidomera clivicollis), the Large Milkweed Bug (Oncopeltus fasciatus), and the Milkweed Longhorn Beetle (Tetraopes tetrophthalmus).

The next time you come across a milkweed plant, see if you can find any of these guys hanging out; they are all quite attractive!

bug — The Large Milkweed Bug (Oncopeltus fasciatus)

August 4, 2016 by wpengine

Photo Traps in Conservation

by Patrick McShea

In the Hall of North American Wildlife at Carnegie Museum of Natural History, there’s a display of field
research tools that includes a 14-inch screen that continually shows still images of bobcats, black bears, and
other seldom seen residents of Powdermill Nature Reserve, the museum’s environmental research center. The images were collected in photo traps, sturdy programmable cameras with shutters triggered by motion or heat sensors.

A photo trap unit rests adjacent to the screen with its lights, lens, and sensors facing outward. The compactness
of the camouflage-patterned device contrasts with enormous contributions such cameras are currently making in wildlife conservation studies. Single cameras can collect photographic evidence of rarely seen species at a low financial cost and with minimal disturbance of the targeted creatures. Arrays of strategically placed cameras can be used to calculate population densities and chart individual territories.

Around the corner from the display a clipboard-mounted activity sheet invites visitors to try their skill at interpreting photo trap evidence at the nearby Jaguar diorama.

clipboards hanging on the wall with activity sheets

For anyone interested in how photo traps are documenting the
continued presence jaguars and ocelots in the American southwest, the US Fish
and Wildlife Service maintains a site of spotted cat images.

August 3, 2016 by wpengine

Fossilized shells on display

Fossilized shells on display in Benedum Hall of Geology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh.

(photo by Hayley Pontia)

August 2, 2016 by wpengine

Polyphemus Moth Rearing

larval (caterpillar) stage of the Polyphemus moth

by Vanessa Verdecia

Recently, a member of the public dropped off some tiny caterpillars at Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Section of Invertebrate Zoology for identification. Our staff identified them as Polyphemus moth caterpillars (Antheraea polyphemus) and have been rearing the caterpillars and taking pictures as they grow in order to document the different stages.

These are images of the larval (caterpillar) and pupal (pupa and cocoon) stages of the Polyphemus moth, which is in the family Saturniidae. These Polyphemus caterpillars go through five instars after they hatch from the egg. Instars are the stages between each molting of the caterpillar as it grows. Included in this set of images is a picture of the first instar, which is about 3mm long and a picture of the last instar which is significantly bigger—about 6 or 7cm, depending on how far it is stretched while eating.

The third picture is of one of the cocoons made by these caterpillars. Inside of each cocoon is a dark brown pupa which the adult moth will come out of. Some species like the Polyphemus moth spin a cocoon, but there are species that don’t. Their pupae are usually formed underground for protection during the winter.

The adult Polyphemus moths should eclose next year, around May or June—so they will spend the winter in the pupal stage. This is a species that occurs here in Pittsburgh, and people could be seeing fully grown caterpillars around this time of the year.

This culture was reared on oak leaves, but they like many other kinds of host plants, including: apple, ash, birch, dogwood, elm, hazel, hickory, maple, rose, and willow. It is visible in the image how the caterpillar spun its cocoon in the oak leaf. In its natural habitat, this cocoon would drop off the tree in the fall and over-winter in the leaf litter on the ground.

Vanessa Verdecia is a collection assistant in the museum’s Invertebrate Zoology Section.

Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

July 30, 2016 by wpengine

Variations in a Single Family

The order Coleoptera (beetles) is by far the most diverse of all living organisms. More than 350,000 species of beetles are grouped into more than 150 families.

In the above photo, you can see the many variations within one single family of beetles.

July 29, 2016 by wpengine

A Blast of Pittsburgh’s History

Hillside explosion above a Pittsburgh river boat — Photo by Darrell Sapp/Post-Gazette

by Albert Kollar

The recent blasting (not the 4^th fireworks) of rocks onto the railroad tracks along West Carson Street is one of the great geology stories of Pittsburgh. The large boulder pictured in the July 6, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story is sedimentary rock formed more than 300 million
years ago when Pittsburgh was situated near the equator during a time of warm, dry, and wet climate.

The landscape was a broad coastal area similar to today’s southern United States at New Orleans. The rivers back then flowed northwest draining out from the rising Appalachian Mountains forming off the east coast of ancestral North America. The salt water sea or coast line at the time was situated west near Columbus, Ohio.

After the Appalachians formed erosion of the massive mountain of rocks eroded down over millions of years to approximately what we see today as the flat top of Mt. Washington or Grandview Avenue.

Then the Ice Age came and helped form the River Valleys of the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River, forming the new Ohio River at the Pittsburgh point. We know from geology that the steep slope sides along the river valleys are unstable and have been for thousands of years.

Once Pittsburgh was established in 1758 with the fall of French Fort Duquesne, civilization, industrialization, and building of the railroads in 1850 and 1900 into the hillside above W. Carson Street, created more destabilization of the hillside. Now more rocks fall.

Albert D Kollar is a geologist at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

July 26, 2016 by wpengine

A New Birthstone for August

Spinel in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s collection. (photo by Debra Wilson)

by Hayley Pontia

If you were born in August and not in love with the stark yellow green birthstone Peridot, you’re in luck!

The American Gem Trade Association and Jewelers of America announced that spinel, which comes in a variety of colors, is now the second birthstone for August.

It is popular belief that birthstones have special properties relating directly to a person’s birth month. August, along with the months of March, June, October, November, and December, all are represented by multiple birthstones.

Spinel is more than just colorful. It also comes with an interesting history.

According to Doug Hucker, the CEO or the American Gem Trade Association, ancient gemstone merchants revered spinel, and it was widely sought after by royalty. It was known as ‘balas ruby,’ and it wasn’t until the late 18th century that we had the technology to distinguish spinel as a separate mineral from ruby according to Hucker.

Above is a spinel specimen from Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s collection in Pittsburgh.

Hayley Pontia is the marketing assistant at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Photo by Deb Wilson.

July 24, 2016 by wpengine

Carnegie Museum of Natural History taxidermists

Carnegie Museum of Natural History taxidermists creating the giraffe in the Hall of African Wildlife.

July 23, 2016 by wpengine

Have you ever wondered what makes butterflies so colorful?

Colorful butterflies on display at Carnegie Museum of Natural History — Butterflies on display at Carnegie Museum of Natural History

Have you ever wondered what makes butterflies so colorful?

Butterflies are covered in tiny scales that appear colored in two ways. Some contain pigments that reflect certain colors. Other scales are microscopically structured to reflect only certain wavelengths of light, which makes them appear colored.

Some butterflies have both types of scales. Check out a wide variety of butterflies, moths, and beetles at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh!

July 21, 2016 by wpengine

Dig Site in Sheep Creek

This picture shows a man at work at a dig site in Sheep Creek, the site in Wyoming where Diplodocus Carnegii was discovered.

July 18, 2016 by wpengine

Calcite, sometimes referred to as “heart twin”

Calcite, sometimes referred to as “heart twin” on display in Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems. Contact twins occur
when two or more crystals grow in contact with each other.

(Photo by Hayley Pontia)

July 17, 2016 by wpengine

Life Lab at Discovery Basecamp

Life Lab at Discovery Basecamp, our new interactive permanent gallery, teaches the importance of scientific research and introduces a way of thinking to many young aspiring scientists.

July 16, 2016 by wpengine

Ancient Egyptian Cat Mummies

mummified cat and x-ray image on display — Mummified cat and x-ray image on display.

July 14, 2016 by wpengine

Crafting Lost Dinosaur Bones

The most amazing thing about the skeletons in our Dinosaurs in Their Time exhibit is that the majority of their bones are the real deal.

The second most amazing thing about those skeletons is that whenever a bone was missing, someone had to create a cast of that bone from scratch.

Dan Pickering is one of those craftsman. Dan, whose been part of the museum’s PaleoLab team since 2005, is an artist, a sculptor by training.

He first used his skills in the exhibit department, but when the overhaul of Dinosaur Hall and its inhabitants became a reality, as Dan puts it, “I wanted a piece of the dinosaur action.”

Pictured above: Dan preparing a giant neck vertebrae of Dreadnoughtus, a super-massive dinosaur from Patagonia excavated and studied by museum dinosaur hunter Matt Lamanna and colleagues.

July 12, 2016 by wpengine

Quartz Crystal

This quartz crystal was found in Russia and has its bright color due to small concentrations of chemical impurities or inclusions of other minerals.

(Photo by Hayley Pontia)

July 11, 2016 by wpengine

Front Door Owls

by Patrick McShea

You have to know where to look to spot the owls on the front door of Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Carriage Drive entrance.

Amid the bronze relief art work on each of two massive doors, a tiny owl perches atop a flaming oil lamp, symbolically marking the building as a place of wisdom and illumination.

The association of owls with wisdom dates at least to ancient Greece, where Athena, goddess of wisdom, favored the owl among all feathered creatures. Physical features might well have influenced Athena’s judgment, for an owl’s large round head and huge forward-facing eyes endow the creature with a human-like face.

These physical features, which are adaptations for nocturnal hunting, are available for close inspection at Discovery Basecamp, where an array of owl taxidermy mounts greets visitors.

Although the eyes of the taxidermy mounts are made of glass, their size, color, and placement accurately mimics the remarkable light-gathering structures of the living birds. The feathers of each mount are real, and those creating the flat facial disc of each owl are visually different than the surrounding plumage. The shape, stiffness, and placement of these feathers makes each owls face a satellite dish for gathering sound and transmitting it to the creature’s ears.

Display of taxidermy owls in Discovery Basecamp

July 10, 2016 by wpengine

What kind of habitat would you like to live in?

What kind of habitat would you like to live in? A warm beach or a peacful forest? What kind of plants and animals would be there?

An interactive exhibit at Carnegie Museum of Natural History lets visitors create their own habitat replicas after looking at some of the museum’s historic dioramas! Choose a setting and various creatures to
star in a totally unique environmental display.

What would you build?

(Photo by Hayley Pontia)

July 9, 2016 by wpengine

Vernonia altissima

Vernonia altissima’s bright flowers provide an important food source for native pollinators found in Pennsylvania and many other surrounding states.

(Photo by Hayley Pontia)

July 8, 2016 by wpengine

Paramylodon harlani (Harlan’s Ground Sloth)

Paramylodon harlani (Harlan’s Ground Sloth) are pretty different from their relatives, the modern Central and South American tree sloths.

These large herbivores roamed North America during the Pleistocene. They had bone-studded hides and sharp claws to protect them from predators.

(Photo by Hayley Pontia)

July 7, 2016 by wpengine

Researchers chase snails on Santa Rosa Island, California

Pearce collecting snails at Carrington Point on Santa Rosa Island, California. San Miguel Island is visible in the distance. (Photo by Charles Drost.)

by Tim Pearce

Islands often contain peculiar species, including some that are endemic (found only there). Tim Pearce, Assistant Curator of the Section of Mollusks at Carnegie Museum of Natural History, spent five days with two other researchers surveying the land snails of Santa Rosa Island, one of the California Channel Islands. This survey is part of a larger project, funded by the National Park Service, to understand the land snails of the California Borderlands.

The researchers braved spiny vegetation and strong winds (sometimes pebbles became airborne) to find at least three new land snail records for the island among the dozen or so species they found. Several species found are endemic to the California Channel Islands. Further scrutiny of the finds will reveal whether any species are endemic to just Santa Rosa Island or possibly new to science.

Snails were often surprisingly difficult to find, which might reflect recent disturbance history of the island. The last of the large non-native mammals (goats, sheep, pigs, cattle, deer, and elk) were removed from the island in 2013. These animals can impact snail populations through trampling and more importantly by eating vegetation, changing it from forest to grassland. This study provides a baseline to inform future investigation of how snail faunas recover after disturbance.

July 6, 2016 by wpengine

Historic Reference in Taxidermy?

by Patrick McShea

Taxidermists working to position animal remains in life-like postures rely on photographs to supplement firsthand observations. In the case of the common gallinule pictured above, reference materials might well have included John James Audubon’s 1835 portrait of the chicken-sized marsh bird. There’s only so many ways for the species to be posed, of course, and current records for the 14-inch-long mount do not list the taxidermist who prepared it.

In the absence of certainty you may decide for yourself. The right-foot-leading taxidermy mount is available for close inspection in Discovery Basecamp, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s new permanent gallery. Audubon’s left-foot-leading bird (image below), along with many of his other works, can be studied in great detail at a University of Pittsburgh digital library website featuring a complete set of images from the artist’s monumental work, The Birds of America.

right-foot-leading bird drawing — Photo courtesy: The Birds of America, Vols. I – IV, Special Collections, University Library System, University of Pittsburgh.

July 4, 2016 by wpengine

Rhodochrosite and quartz

Rhodochrosite and quartz on display in Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems (photo by Hayley Pontia)

July 3, 2016 by wpengine

Prickly Pear Katsina

This Katsina was made by members of the Hopi tribe. Katsina dolls are representations of benevolent spirits.

This doll is wearing the fruit and leaves of the prickly pear cactus, an edible wild plant, on its head.

July 2, 2016 by wpengine

Dinosaurs in Their Time

Dinosaurs in Their Time and the rest of Carnegie Museum of Natural History will be open July 4th!

(Photo by Josh Franzos)

July 1, 2016 by wpengine

Dire Wolves Off the Screen

Despite being extinct, dire wolves are having a comeback thanks to the HBO series “Game of Thrones,” where they protect members of the Stark family.

Unlike dragons and black magic, dire wolves actually did exist. They lived in North America 250,000 to 13,000 years ago during the Ice Age. They had massive jaws and teeth, traveled in packs, and were the heaviest of all known wolves. They are only distantly related to the wolves that Ice Age humans began to domesticate and breed for hunting and defense between 40,000 and 20,000 years ago.

Paleontologists can’t say how dire wolves would have fared against White Walkers, but can at least confirm that they were a predator to be reckoned with in their day!

June 30, 2016 by wpengine

Shabtis in Walton Hall of Egypt

June 29, 2016 by wpengine

Fluorescent Hyalite in Hillman Hall

By Marc Wilson

Pictured above, the mineral hyalite is a type of non-precious opal that is usually formed in hot springs environments, like
Yellowstone National Park.

Hyalite often contains traces of uranium as impurities. When there is just the right amount of uranium in the hyalite, it causes it to fluoresce brilliant yellow-green under ultraviolet radiation, more commonly called “black light.”

Most fluorescent hyalite reacts best to the shorter wavelengths of ultraviolet but this specimen has an intense reaction to long wave ultraviolet. This is good for us because short wave ultraviolet is completely filtered out by glass or plastic, but long wave can penetrate through both allowing us to cause it to fluoresce with a UV laser pointer.

This remarkably fluorescent hyalite opal was discovered in Zacatecas, Mexico in 2013. It came from a very small deposit that is now completely worked out. We are very fortunate to have such stunning examples
from this unusual occurrence.

Marc Wilson is the head of the Minerals Section at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

June 28, 2016 by wpengine

Tlingit Totem Pole

These totem pole carvings show two hunters in a dugout canoe. One hunter holds a
spear, while the other grips a seal, which represents the importance of living
off the land and the respect hunters have for their catch.

June 27, 2016 by wpengine

Remembering Restoration

Have you ever noticed two dark squares in the mural on Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s grand staircase?

When you’re taking in the grandeur of three stories of paintings that make up The Crowning of Labor mural the squares are easy to miss.

In the small squares, the paintings colors are darker and less vibrant because they’re covered in a thick layer of soot – a relic from Pittsburgh’s smoggy past.

Pittsburgh was famous for its bad air quality, a result of steel mills that made the city prosperous for decades. Their effects were known to blacken school children’s white uniforms, the façade of buildings, and even art. The entire mural was dark and obscured by soot until it was restored in 1995, by a team of Carnegie art conservators.

The conservators left a small piece of unrestored painting on the second and third floors, as a reminder of Pittsburgh’s past and of the work it took to preserve this amazing piece of art.

June 26, 2016 by wpengine

You can pet the mane of this lion

You can pet the mane of this lion at Discovery Basecamp, our new permanent gallery where visitors can explore, touch, and examine specimens from nature up close.

June 25, 2016 by wpengine

Hopi Katsina doll

This Hopi Katsina doll was collected in 1900 and is called Whipper. Katsina dolls are representations of benevolent spirits.

June 24, 2016 by wpengine

The Taxidermists’ Table

taxidermist's table with bird specimens and old publications

By Steve Rogers

The National Taxidermists Association met at Seven Springs in early June 2016 and Carnegie Museum of Natural History Collection Manager Stephen Rogers was invited to give a seminar on the early history of taxidermy in the United States.

On a whim he decided to create a piece for the competition held at this meeting. Since he is an historical taxidermy buff and collects old publications, tools, as well as antique furniture, he created a taxidermists’ work table as it may have been circa 1898.

The table held a skinned out flicker made to look fresh (coated with glycerin), a faux carcass and bits of flesh made of wax, a hand-wrapped artificial body which would have been put inside the skin, a book on the Birds of Pennsylvania opened to a hand-colored plate on flickers, and then eyes and tools that might be used in the process.

recreated taxidermists’ work table as it may have looked in 1898

Behind the table was a re-created room with antique looking wallpaper with various decorations on the wall, deer antlers, an 1898 poster of a Winchester calendar, and a framed 1873 newspaper with a woodcut depicting a taxidermist and an ornithologist.

Assorted other birds, a tool chest with period tools, and supplies to mount birds (excelsior, tow, cotton, glass eyes of different sorts, etc.) were also present. A library of 15 taxidermist and naturalist books published between 1874 and 1898 were in a lawyer’s glass-front bookshelf alongside a Stereoviewer with a handful of stereophotographs depicting taxidermy.

Glass jars containing what appeared to various noxious chemicals were set on top of the bookshelf. A number of people asked about the green chemical in one jar. Was it arsenic? – No, just some powdered lime Jell-O.

The public as well as the taxidermists who attended the convention were able to vote for pieces in the competition. The exhibit won ‘People Choice – Original Art’. But more importantly, it gave people and appreciation for history and reference for those that came before.

Steve Rogers is a collections manager at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History Blog Citation Information

Blog author: Steve Rogers
Publication date: June 24, 2016

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June 23, 2016 by wpengine

The Ba in Ancient Egyptian Culture

The image on this coffin canopy in Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt represents the ba, which was the spirit-like quality Egyptians believed all people possessed.

June 22, 2016 by wpengine

What’s up with the dead birds?

A study skin displayed below a taxidermy mount in Bird Hall.

by Patrick McShea

Museum visitors sometimes offer spontaneous testimony to the deceptive power of taxidermy.

“There’s a dead bird!” is a comment frequently voiced by people encountering a bird specimen lying on its back in Bird Hall, such as the Wilson’s phalarope pictured below. These specimens, so often called “dead birds”, are actually called study skins.

Study skins are a traditional form of specimen preparation for birds in scientific collections. Unlike taxidermy mounts, which attain a pretense of life through concealed body forms, strategically positioned wires,
and glass eyes of the appropriate size and color, the cotton-stuffed study skins appear lifeless.

The more than 154,000 bird study skins in the museum’s research collection have all undergone similar preparation. For each specimen the full skin of the bird was carefully removed from the underlying muscle,
skeleton core, and internal organs, preserving every feather of the creature. Such Uniform preparation creates a standard for comparisons of features between both similar and strikingly different specimens. In addition, the low profile of study skins allows for their storage in shallow cabinet drawers in the manner of the passenger pigeon study skins pictured below.

Although taxidermy mounts far outnumber study skins in Bird Hall display cases, the “skins” play an important role by representing the most numerous form of preserved specimens in the museum’s vast bird collection. Whether or not adjacent taxidermy mounts seem more alive because they share display space with the skins is something you may judge for yourself during your next museum visit.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History Blog Citation Information

Blog author: Patrick McShea
Publication date: June 22, 2016

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June 21, 2016 by wpengine

Lakota moccasins

These Lakota moccasins are more than 100 years old. It’s thought that the horseshoes beaded onto the moccasins reflect the wearer’s prowess in acquiring horses.

June 19, 2016 by wpengine

Decorated ware jar in Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt

This decorated ware jar in Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt is dated between 3650 and 3300 B.C. The pierced lugs on each side of the jar were used to suspend it, possibly from a tripod.

June 18, 2016 by wpengine

Schenley Park’s Snail Population

Volunteer Katie Zawrotniak showing snail finds to visitors. (Photo by Tim Pearce).

by Timothy A. Pearce

What lives in our city parks? A BioBlitz is a good way to find out. At a BioBlitz, biologists search in a defined area (such as a park) for a given amount of time (5 a.m. to 5 p.m. in this case) to find as many species as they can in their area of specialty. These biologists share their methods and finds with curious members of the public.

Phipps Conservatory organized a BioBlitz of Schenley Park, which neighbors Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Oakland, on June 5. Museum Curator Dr. Tim Pearce and museum volunteer Katie Zawrotniak headed the snail team and looked in leaf litter samples to find minute snails. They showed snail finds to about 50 visitors. Of the 13 species of land snails they discovered in the park, only one was non-native.

Land snails can be used as an indicator of park’s health (T.A. Pearce. 2009. Land snails as indicator species: examples from seven bioblitzes in the eastern United States. Tentacle, Mollusk Conservation Newsletter, number 17: 12-14). Surprisingly,
compared to other city parks, this was a very low proportion of non-native species. Although the number of species was relatively low, these results suggest that Schenley Park is moderately healthy from the perspective of the land snail community.

June 14, 2016 by wpengine

Art of the Diorama

Red-footed booby specimens on display in Art of the Diorama, an exhibition at Carnegie Museum of Natural History that explores the evolution of natural dioramas.

June 14, 2016 by wpengine

The Garden Necklace

This piece on display in Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems is called “The Garden Necklace.” It features several diamonds and 35 blue zircons. The large aquamarine gemstone is 83.5 carats and the smaller one is 29.23 carats. The necklace was donated to Carnegie Museum of Natural History in 1979 by Betty Llewellyn.

(Photo by Deb Wilson)

June 12, 2016 by wpengine

Lariosaurus

This Lariosaurus was a Middle Triassic nothosaur that could grow up to 10 feet long!

June 11, 2016 by wpengine

Dippy Celebrates LGBT Pride Month

Dippy is rocking rainbow to celebrate President Obama issuing the 2016 LGBT Pride Month
Proclamation!

June 8, 2016 by wpengine

A Holotype with a History

by José Padial

This jar contains the holotype of Macroprotodon cucullatus iberius, a subspecies of false smooth snake, in the herpetology collection of Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

The holotype is the name-bearer of a species and every species recognized by scientists is associated to an holotype.

The specimen was collected in Cadiz Province, Spain by American herpetologist Stephen Busack. Because of his knowledge of
Spanish, Stephen Busack was deployed in Rota Naval Base during the Vietnam War, and he used his spare time to research the area’s poorly known local fauna of amphibians and reptiles.

His research revealed new species, and the precise locality data he collected is now key to demonstrate the radical transformation that the environment of the area has experienced during the last 40 years.

Many of the populations studied by Busack are now gone. Populations from Cadiz Province are now considered to belong to the species Macroprotodon brevis and it is the smaller and rarest snake of the Iberian Peninsula. It feeds on lizards, baby snakes, blind snakes, and even individuals of its own species!

José Padial is the William and Ingrid Rea Assistant Curator of Herpetology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. He most recently traveled to the remote Vilcabamba mountains of Peru in the pursuit of biodiversity research. Read more at www.tumblr.com/blog/expeditions-carnegiemnh .

June 7, 2016 by wpengine

Cicadas at Powdermill

The cicadas are here! Staff at Powdermill Nature Reserve, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s environmental research center, posted these up-close photos of this 17-year cicada and some more information about it last week.

“This specimen in particular is Magicicada septendecim, indicated by the broad orange stripes on the underside of the abdomen. It is also a male, because of the tymbals located near the base of the wings on each side. These organs are what the males use to make a loud buzzing sound to attract females. When many males sing together, it can be quite deafening!

This cicada has spent seventeen long years underground as a wingless nymph, feeding off of the juices from plant roots. In the year of its emergence, it waits until the soil temperature in its underground tunnel reaches 64 degrees, and then climbs up out of the ground (often onto a tree trunk or other surface) for its final molt into adulthood.”

Have the cicadas come to your neighborhood? Report your sightings at Magicicada.org, where you can also find much more additional information about periodical cicadas!

June 5, 2016 by wpengine

Boulder Selfies!

Take a selfie with our life-sized replica of the Indiana Jones boulder NEXT WEEKEND at Indiana Jones…After Dark on June 10. Tickets on sale now! afterdark.carnegiemnh.org

(Photo by Stephanie Sun)

June 4, 2016 by wpengine

Painted Gessoed Wood

This piece of painted, gessoed wood is on display in Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt. Archaeologists dated it from between 1070 and 653 B.C. and believe it may have come from a coffin. The hieroglyphs on it represent the creator god Re and the afterlife, which symbolically represents creation or rebirth.

June 3, 2016 by wpengine

Play in the Savannah

Hall of African Wildlife at Carnegie Museum of Natural History

by Patrick McShea

Amid the life sized, realistic diorama’s in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Hall of African Wildlife, there is a low table with adjacent seating that is reserved for play on a smaller scale.

Sturdy scale models of Africa’s emblematic species provide all that’s necessary for visitors to make associations, create scenes, simulate and imagine action, and engage in conversation.

The plastic menagerie is housed in a zebra-striped toolbox, which also contains brief information sheets about featured creatures. Based upon the arrangements I’ve found while checking the table’s animal inventory, a popular pastime involves matching models with respective information sheets.

Novel uses include using the toolbox as a prop. Below the box stands-in for Noah’s Ark with the paired animal models in an orderly boarding line.

The creator of another scene appeared to imagine toolbox as a mesa with a line of grazers and browsers looking out to scout for predators or perhaps greener feeding grounds.

If the replicas’ proximity to dioramas containing life-sized taxidermy mounts invites discussion of scale, the plastic menagerie’s mix of carnivores and herbivores certainly leads to talk of predator and prey relationships. Below a dramatic visitor-constructed scene features a circle of full grown plant-eaters protecting their young from approaching meat-eaters.

June 2, 2016 by wpengine

Dinosaurs in their Time Spotlight: Ceratopsians

These fossilized skulls are all from Ceratopsians, a group of dinosaurs best known for their horns. This dinosaur group crossed a land bridge between East Asia and Alaska during the Cretaceous Period and lived in North America, where they flourished. A wealth of well-preserved fossils found across North America show that Ceratopsians split off into species with different types of horns, spikes, lumps, knobs, and other means of protecting themselves from predators.

June 1, 2016 by wpengine

Behind the Glass in Hillman Hall

Carnegie Museum of Natural History has far more mineral and
gem specimens that we could ever display, but than doesn’t mean they stay hidden.

Collections managers routinely swap out specimens in Hillman
Hall of Minerals and Gems. This week, we’re excited to share some behind the
scenes footage of two new specimens being put on display!

To display a new specimen, a collection managers removes the glass
from the cases and carefully swaps out the specimens, making sure to artfully position
the minerals for visitors to enjoy.

The first newly-displayed specimen features three different
mineral species. The base mineral is fluorapophyllite, with traces of vanadium
that give it a stunning green color. The white offshoots are scolecite, and the
peach colored mineral is stilbite.

Marc Wilson, head of the minerals section, said the specimen was
found in India,

when villagers in Jalgaon district of
Maharashtra State dug a well. Though
many specimens were collected from the site, Wilson said the specimen now at
Carnegie Museum of Natural History was the best.

The second specimen
is pyrite, sometimes called “fool’s gold.” The cubical shape of the pyrite
occurs naturally, but the rock surrounding the mineral is mechanically removed.

This pyrite is from Navajun Spain, which is known for its
pyrite.

Both specimens are on display now in Hillman Hall

Photos by Debra Wilson

May 31, 2016 by wpengine

High Arctic Butterflies

When you think of a butterfly, do you imagine it fluttering through your garden? Maybe landing on a flower in a tropical forest?

Whatever you’re thinking… it’s probably doesn’t involve the Arctic. But butterflies live surprisingly far north!

Less than 20 species of butterflies are known to live in the Arctic. Carnegie Museum of Natural History scientists collected these High Arctic Butterfly specimens on expeditions in the 1930s and 1940s. Five species are currently on display in Polar World: Wyckoff Hall of Arctic Life.

Shown above next to specimens of Icelandic Scallops, are five types of High Arctic butterflies.

May 30, 2016 by wpengine

Men at work in Sheep Creek

Men at work in Sheep Creek, the site in Wyoming where Diplodocus carnegii was discovered.

May 29, 2016 by wpengine

Discovery Basecamp

Pots from our archaeology collection on display in Discovery Basecamp, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s new permanent interactive gallery.

May 27, 2016 by wpengine

100-year-old Postcard: The Original Social Media

How did word get around about Carnegie Museum of Natural History before Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat?
Postcards of course!

Steve Rogers, our collection manager of Section of Birds and Section of Amphibians and Reptiles, purchased a classic Carnegie Museum postcard that’s more than 100 years old on eBay years ago, and recently scanned and shared it in preparation for a talk he’ll give at the National Taxidermists Association meeting in Seven Springs next month.

The front of the postcard shows dioramas that include an old Count Noble exhibit that was sent to Kentucky about 15 years ago, the condor case with the elk, and the pelican case which was dismantled around 2000.

The back of the card reads…

This is a fine Museum – beats the one at Harvard or the one in Boston I think, Brian”

It is postmarked 1909, not long after we expanded the museum from the original Carnegie Institute.

Maybe our Tumblr and Facebook posts will be rediscovered 100 years from now. Either way, we’re always excited to share cool pieces of Carnegie history!

May 22, 2016 by wpengine

C is for Carnegie

The Carnegie “C” on the front doors of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

May 21, 2016 by wpengine

Garfield Going Green

map of plans for Garfield — Proposed plans for Garfield Green Zone 2.0

When city neighborhoods undergo change, the words revitalization, innovation, and gentrification are often parts of important conversation about how development affects neighborhood residents.

Less discussed but equally important for the quality of all life is conservation. A project that was highlighted in an article from NEXTPittsburgh this month shows an exciting marriage of community development and conservation in one of our neighboring communities – Garfield.

Community leaders in Garfield, a neighborhood in Pittsburgh’s rapidly growing east end, are discussing plans to connect vacant lots and transform them into a contiguous, community-owned greenspace.

The project, organized by the Bloomfield Garfield Corporation, would protect urban land from future development.

At Carnegie Museum of Natural History, we view local conservation as paramount to the success of Pittsburgh.

“People hear me quite frequently wax lyrical about the importance of having an experience of nature in our day-to-day lives. It’s nice to see the wealth of local initiatives that allow that to happen,” Carnegie Museum of Natural History Director Eric Dorfman wrote on his blog.

Our museum’s efforts include Birdsafe Pittsburgh, a program established by the museum and seven other local conservation organizations that researches and reduces the incidents of bird injury and death caused by birds colliding with glass windows and facades. Birdsafe’s mission is to educate the community to “make Pittsburgh and beyond a better, safer world for bids.”

May 18, 2016 by wpengine

Flow to Pittsburgh

by Patrick McShea

The scene in a new mural on the second floor of Carnegie Museum of Natural History is a fall morning at Powdermill Nature Reserve, the museum’s field research station which is located some 55 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

The view is upstream along Powdermill Run, just below the place where the stream absorbs the flow of a tributary known as White Oak Run. These waters, gathered from a portion the western slope of Laurel Ridge, eventually flow through Pittsburgh. Their path to the city, a vertical descent of some 650 feet via the meanders of Loyalhanna Creek, the Kiskiminitas, and Allegheny River, is nearly twice the length of the highway route.

As a vital element of the forested landscape, the stream provides a focal point for considering the diverse life forms supported on Powdermill Nature Reserve’s 2,200 acres.

The artists who created the mural paid careful attention to vegetation, depicting specific trees, shrubs, and grasses. They also populated the scene with a variety of creatures. The closer you study the mural the more living details you’ll notice.

See how many plants and animals you can locate and identify, then make plans to visit Powdermill Nature Reserve at any season of the year.

Curious about Powdermill? Visit on June 4 for the annual public day!

May 16, 2016 by wpengine

Dinohyus hollandi

Dinohyus hollandi translated from Latin means “terrible pig.” The fossils of this frightening, 6-foot-tall omnivore were found in Nebraska and are on display at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh.

(Photo by Hayley Pontia)

May 14, 2016 by wpengine

Zebra Duiker Dioramas

The Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Zebra Duikers are shown in their natural habitat, the coastal rain forests of Africa in the Hall of African Wildlife.

May 13, 2016 by wpengine

Hard Head Fred the Crystal Skull

Meet Fred – the devilishly handsome life-sized crystal skull who has taken up residence in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s mineral collection.

Fred’s spooky style has earned him somewhat of a local “cult following” said Marc Wilson, head of the minerals section, who named the 13.5-pound quartz carving.

If you’re wondering how we acquired a crystal skull, the answer probably isn’t as exciting as you might expect. Unlike Indiana Jones, our curators did not have to swing from vines, raid a tomb, or crack a whip to get Fred into our museum’s halls.

Wilson said that there are legends of crystal skulls that were carved by ancient civilizations, like in “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” but no such skulls have ever been discovered.

Fred was donated to the museum in 2004 by a Brazilian carving company. Wilson said carving marks indicate that he was made using modern carving tools and techniques.

While Fred may not be the most valuable item in the gems and mineral collection, he’s certainly one of the most novel.

“He makes for a great joke on Halloween when we stick him out in the hall,” Wilson said.

May 11, 2016 by wpengine

Front Line Birds

hawk in a display case — Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s taxidermied Goshawk

By Patrick McShea

Best-selling books aren’t usually discussed during our daily 15-minute customer service personnel briefings.

During a recent briefing focused on the museum’s extensive loan program, an old taxidermy mount in a new portable display case steered discussion to H Is for Hawk, the award winning 2014 non-fiction work by Helen Macdonald.

“That’s a Goshawk?” exclaimed one staff member, pointing to the life-like preserved remains of a big gray and white raptor perched in a 28 inch high plexi-glass sided box. “The bird is huge!” She went on to explain that as part of a book club, she had been reading, if not always enjoying, H is for Hawk, which features a young Goshawk as pivotal character.

As someone then halfway through the book I was able to affirm the narrative’s difficult passages and take advantage of the fleeting teachable moment. H Is for Hawk can be a tough read because it addresses grief and depression and the historically frequent misinterpretation of the lessons people should take from highly adapted predators. I pointed out that the stuffed bird that was in front of us presented several physical adaptations for the efficient capture and killing of prey.

Whether you’ve read the book or not, you can gain a fuller appreciation for the physical attributes of birds of prey by closely examining the taxidermy mounts of hawks and owls currently on display at Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s interactive exhibition Discovery Basecamp, which is on the first floor of the museum.

Additional information about the CMNH loan program can be found at: http://www.carnegiemnh.org/programs/loan/

As part of the Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures series, Helen Macdonald will speak at Carnegie Music Hall on January 30, 2017: http://pittsburghlectures.org/2015-16-literary-evenings/

May 9, 2016 by wpengine

Orca Whale Headdress

This carving of an orca whale is actually a headdress made by the Tlingit, the indigenous people of the Pacific North West.

Made of wood, tanned hide, sea lion whiskers, shells, iron, and mineral paint, the headdress’ eyes and lower jaw can move during a theatrical performance where a dancer would have worn it.

The headress was collected in 1904 and is currently in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Alcoa Foundation Hall of American India

May 8, 2016 by wpengine

Happy Mother’s Day

May 7, 2016 by wpengine

Jane

Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex “Jane”

(Photo by Hayley Pontia)

May 5, 2016 by wpengine

Critters in the Litter, Earth Day walks at Frick Park

Children with Dr. Pearce digging in the leaves — Dr. Pearce with walk participants finding
critters in the leaf litter (Photo by Alice W. Doolittle.)

by Timothy A. Pearce

Since trees drop leaves every fall, why aren’t we up to our necks in dead leaves?

Thirty-seven people joined me on a series of four walks in Frick Park on April 24 to discover the answer: leaves are consumed by a myriad tiny creatures that turn them back into nutrients so plants can grow again.

Among the tiny creatures we found that consume leaves (and some that consume the leaf-eating creatures) were earthworms, sow bugs, spiders, daddy long legs, millipedes, centipedes, beetles, spring tails, and several species of snails, which are my favorite creatures. After the walks, we scrutinized our finds with magnifying glasses. The weather was sunny and the perfect temperature for walking outside. The children especially enjoyed digging in the soil.

May 5, 2016 by wpengine

Race for the Cure

Dippy, our 22-foot tall dinosaur sculpture, is sporting pink this week for Sunday’s Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Pittsburgh!

May 4, 2016 by wpengine

Fire Destroys Museum Collection in Delhi

Specimens in Carnegie Museum of Natural History's Alcohol House — Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s collection includes 2855 specimens from India, mostly collected by Carl Gans and collaborators from the National Museum of Natural History in Delhi.

by Jose M. Padial

On April 26, a massive fire devoured the National Museum of Natural History in Delhi,
India.

The museum was home to invaluable collections and played a crucial role in environmental education in a country suffering of rampant habitat destruction.

This is a great loss for nature lovers and for the museum world but also a particular tragedy for the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. The Carnegie has an important historical connection with the museum in Delhi, for during the early stages of its development, curatorial staff from the Carnegie helped to train museum personnel and build their collections.

We have selected some items from the herpetology collection and archives to pay homage to the National Museum in Delhi and express our support and condolences to our colleagues in India.

Letter dated April 11, 1983, written by Dr. Nair, director of the National Museum of Natural History in Delhi, and addressed to Dr. Robert M. West, Curator of Geology at the Milwaukee Public Museum, who was about to become director of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. The letter mentions ongoing collaborations between the two museums, especially in the area of herpetology under the supervision of Dr. Jack McCoy and Dr. Carl Gans.

Museum tags for the National Museum of Natural History in Delhi ordered by Carnegie
Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles Jack McCoy and fabricated in the US by the
National Tag Company.

April 30, 2016 by wpengine

Dippy Makes an Impression

By Laurie Giarratani

Recently I had dinner with friends, one of whom recently visited Carnegie Museum of Natural History on a school field trip. After dinner Mira Conti, age 5, showed me a project that she completed as homework after her visit. The task: to create a three dimensional dinosaur based on what she learned at the museum.

Mira chose Dippy as her model, shown above. Three things delight me about this creation:

1) It features a plant! In Mira’s mini diorama, Dippy gracefully grazes on a leafy tree top, showing that dinosaurs were part of a complex ecosystem and evolved alongside diverse plant life.

2) Dippy’s tail extends in a powerful arc, held high off the ground. Form and function are key evolutionary concepts that we strive to make accessible to every age level through the museum’s education programs. It’s nice to see how one such detail sticks in a young mind.

3) We welcome over 25,000 school children annually on field trips, and every day we are astounded by their joy, curiosity, and the unpredictable ways that they connect their existing knowledge to new discoveries at the museum. Very rarely do we get a window into what aspects of their museum experience resonate with them later at home, at school, and in their communities.

I’d like to thank Mira for showing me her project, and thank her teachers at Sacred Heart Elementary School for taking the time and effort to plan their field trip along with such a creative homework assignment. I hope to see you all again at the museum soon!

Laurie Giarratani works in the Education department at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

April 29, 2016 by wpengine

Do you think

Do you think this lion’s jaws ever gets tired of keeping the Grand Staircase lit at Carnegie Museum of Natural History?

April 28, 2016 by wpengine

The Camel’s Petite North American Ancestor

Did you know that camels originated in North America?

Though camels today are most commonly seen padding across sand dunes in the expansive Sahara, their ancestors were small and gazelle-like forest dwellers called Stenomylus hitchcocki. They traveled in herds and grazed in the high plains during the Miocene Epoch, which was 5 to 23 million years ago.

Seen above are Stenomylus hitchcocki on display at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

April 27, 2016 by wpengine

Feeding Albert the Alligator

Albert the American alligator is one of the reptiles housed in our Living Collection here at the museum. These animals are frequently used as ambassadors in our educational programming for visitors, but many people don’t get to see the day-to-day care put into maintaining our friendly crew of critters.

The alligators eat a diet consisting of specially formulated crunchy sticks and also “pinky” (baby) mice. To feed Albert, we first take the gators out of their tank and separate them into containers to ensure they are receiving the same amount of food at feeding time. We thaw out a frozen pinky mouse, and then dust it with powdered reptile vitamins. The last step is clearly Albert’s favorite – down the hatch it goes!

Mallory Vopal is Gallery Experience Manager at Carnegie Museum of Natural History and also manages the Living Collection. Her animal husbandry background includes reptiles, birds, amphibians, mammals, and invertebrates.

April 27, 2016 by wpengine

New Discovery Lets Researchers Get Inside a Dinosaur’s Head

Sarmientosaurus musacchioi fossil — The skull of Sarmientosaurus musacchioi at the discovery site in Argentina. (photo by Rubén Martínez)

In some areas of the world, the fossils of sauropod dinosaurs are so common that paleontologists literally trip over the bones of these huge, long-necked, long-tailed plant-eaters that many people think of when they hear the word “dinosaur.”

While some kinds of sauropod bones are common, others such as skulls are more elusive – which makes a new discovery that was coauthored by a Carnegie Museum of Natural History paleontologist very exciting.

A skull discovered in a rural area of southern Chubut Province, Argentina, will give a face and name to a ten-ton sauropod that plodded around the southern hemisphere about 95 million years ago – Sarmientosaurus musacchioi.

Assistant Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology Matt Lamanna worked on a team that named the new species of dinosaur, which he said will yield a wealth of insights into the biology and behavior of titanosaurs, a group of sauropods that includes the most massive land animals that have ever existed. The fossil was originally discovered by the team leader Rubén Martínez of the Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia San Juan Bosco in Chubut.

The skull Martínez and his team discovered is arguably the most complete and well-preserved titanosaur skull ever found. It provides scientists with their first good look at the head of an
anatomically primitive titanosaur.

Scientists from Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine were able to reconstruct a model of what the dinosaur’s brain would have looked like. Despite the colossal size of the animal, its brain was probably only the size of an orange!

Lamanna said that Sarmientosaurus is one of the most exciting discoveries he’s worked on in his career and will provide researchers with information on the origins and evolutionary relationships of titanosaurs.

Matt and paleontologist with sarmientosaurus skull

Above: Research team members Dr. Rubén Martínez (Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia San Juan Bosco, Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina, right), and Dr. Matt Lamanna (Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, USA, left) with the skull and neck skeleton of the new titanosaurian dinosaur species Sarmientosaurus musacchioi.

Further information and resources:

http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0151661
Still images, animations, and interactive 3D digital model for download (with captions and credits): https://www.dropbox.com/sh/in3tupno91h0haw/AACJmvc05hB7fk5tkeNcwgCBa?dl=0
YouTube animation of the Sarmientosaurus skull and brain endocast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zb8e5ffEC74
Interactive Sketchfab animation of the Sarmientosaurus skull: https://skfb.ly/MKOP
Interactive Sketchfab animation of the transparent Sarmientosaurus skull showing the brain endocast inside: https://skfb.ly/MKLO
Interactive Sketchfab animation of the Sarmientosaurus brain endocast: https://skfb.ly/MKKH

April 26, 2016 by wpengine

Superb Lyrebird

If you thought you were having a great hair day, check out the in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Bird Hall.

Males Superb Lyrebird attract females with their ornate tails, which can take up to seven years to fully develop.

April 25, 2016 by wpengine

Cone Snails – Another Thing to Fear

In case sharks, rip tides, and tidal waves weren’t enough to keep you running away from the shoreline, lurking in shallow tropical waters and hidden in beautiful shells are one of the most venomous predators in the ocean –cone snails.

Here at Carnegie Museum of Natural History, our curator has several thousand cone snail shells in the behind-the-scenes collections. There are about 700 types of cone snails, members of the Conidae family, that range from the size of smaller than a penny to the size of 8 inches (20 cm.). Despite their wide variety, there is one thing all cone snails have in common – venom.

Cone snails are a fearsome example of carnivorous snails that hunt fish and worms use a tooth that is harpoon-like in shape that injects a
venom, so complex that some species can kill a human with one small prick. The venom varies from species to species, and most contain as many 50 different peptides which are short chains of amino acids.

The complexity of the venom makes creating an antidote difficult, but it also has piqued the interest of researchers who have been able to harness its potency for good.

“It’s better living through snails,” said Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Assistant Curator of Mollusks Tim Pearce.

The venom of Conus magnus was used to develop a drug that may be 100 to 1,000 times more effective than morphine, without the risk of addiction and users do not build up a tolerance. Pearce said nearly all patients who have used this drug have had one strange side effect – they hear music.

The good news is only two species (Conus textile and Conus geographus) are known to have actually killed humans, and the number of known cone snail fatalities is less than 100.

So swim along safely, but maybe think twice before pulling a beautiful shell from tropical waters especially if it is alive.

Click here to watch a cone snail hunt.

April 24, 2016 by wpengine

Scarlet Cup fungus

Scarlet Cup fungus in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Hall of Botany.

April 23, 2016 by wpengine

Protoceratops andrewsi

Protoceratops andrewsi lived about 80 million years ago in what is now Mongolia and China. These horned dinosaurs stood only about two and a half feet tall and were an earlier relative of the famous Triceratops.

Seen above is a immature male Protoceratops andrewsi on display at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh.

April 21, 2016 by wpengine

Carnegie Museum Scientist Discovers New Species of Frog

Discovering a new species is no easy undertaking in 2016.

Dr. José Padial and a team of scientists had to venture deep into the Amazonian rainforest where they trod through dense bamboo and the dark of night to discover a new species of frog that was unknown to science until now.

Padial, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History assistant curator of amphibians and reptiles, led the team of scientists into the Peruvian back country in 2014, where they identified a new species of frog – Pristimantis iiap. The frog was named and described in the February 2016 Annals of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

The team found and identified a species of frog in the lowland forests of the Peruvian Amazon calling after dark along the bamboo dominated forests of the Sepahua River, a small tributary of the Urubamba River.

Pristimantis iiap, was named after the Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonia Peruana (Peruvian Amazon Research Institute or IIAP) for its role in biodiversity research and conservation.

Pristimantis iiap belongs to the Pristimantis conspicillatus species group, a group that has a broad distribution in northern South America across a diversity of habitats that include the Amazonian forests, Andean hills, the dry forests of the Cerrado, and the Mata Atlantica of eastern Brazil. Analyses of its mating call and anatomical traits provided evidence of the distinctiveness of this new species.

The 2014 trip was part of a series of expeditions in the Fitzcarrald Arch in southeastern Peru, one of the least explored areas of the Amazon basin. Little is known about the herpetofauna there, but this expedition and other recent explorations have discovered that there are more reptiles and lizards in that area than was previously thought. Several other new species are still being described, so stay tuned for more fascinating discoveries!

April 19, 2016 by wpengine

In Defense of Dandelions

by Andrea Kautz

Dandelions are surely one of the most detested weeds out there, but if you go out on a sunny spring day, you will notice a variety of insects visiting the bright yellow flowers for nectar and pollen.

This is an important early-season food source for many pollinators including bees and flower-visiting flies like the ones pictured here, visiting dandelions in front of Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s environmental research center– Powdermill Nature Reserve–one afternoon last week.

Without flowering weeds like dandelions, our lawns turn into large pollinator food deserts, so maybe we can learn to put up with them.

After all, they are beautiful!

Andrea Kautz is a research entomologist at Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Powdermill Nature Reserve. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working for the museum.

April 18, 2016 by wpengine

A Visit from the Vet

by Mallory Vopal

The alligators in the Living Collection at Carnegie Museum of Natural History are always the stars of the show when they come out for a public visit with museum guests. We closely monitor the gators by keeping records on them daily to make sure they are always healthy and ready to go for educational programming.

A vital component to our animal care team at the museum is having an experienced exotic veterinarian who is willing to make a “house call” to the museum to give our gator friends a checkup. Pictured is Dr. Robert Wagner, a well-known local exotic veterinarian who has more than 30 years of experience. He gave our little hatchling friend Albert a clean bill of health, but only after Albert said “ahh” of course!

Mallory Vopal is Gallery Experience Manager at Carnegie Museum of Natural History and also
manages the Living Collection. Her animal husbandry background includes reptiles, birds, amphibians, mammals, and invertebrates.

April 16, 2016 by wpengine

Plants of the Northwest territories

From our botany collection: “Plants of the Northwest territories” that were collected on an expedition in the 1880s

April 15, 2016 by wpengine

Scientists on Specimen ID

Scientists with child helping to identify shells — Above: Timothy Pearce, Assistant Curator of Mollusks, helps identify a specimen.

Can you stump the scientist?

Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s scientists will be available on Saturday, April 16 to identify objects that visitors have found in nature for Super Science: Specimen ID Day.

These events are a unique experience for visitors, but also an interesting way for our scientists to interact with the public and test their knowledge!

Albert Kollar, Section of Invertebrate Paleontology, said that the number of places that people bring in specimens from is the part of Specimen ID Day that he finds most intriguing.

Kollar said he helped identify specimens collected from Pennsylvania, Ohio, western New York, Virginia, Maryland along the Chesapeake Bay, South Carolina and North Carolina’s underwater shoreline, Indiana, Missouri, and Colorado.

“That was fun and a challenge to review my knowledge,” he said. “Some of it was easy as it worked to my experiences of conducting research in many of those states excluding North and South Carolina.”

He said a little girl who collected fossils from the Falls of the Ohio rocks of Indiana was one of the best specimens brought to him at a Specimen ID Day.

Timothy Pearce, Assistant Curator of Mollusks, said someone brought in a fist-sized shell that looked like a cowry (appealingly shaped, attractive, shiny sea shells), but not like any cowry he had ever seen at a similar event.

“We finally determined that it is actually the earbone of a whale, which is, interestingly, shaped very much like a cowry!” Pearce said. “This was way before we had Google Images, so it took a bit of sleuthing to track it down.”

April 15, 2016 by wpengine

Pyrite Concretion

(Photo by Debra Wilson)

Multi-colored pyrite concretion from Russia

April 12, 2016 by wpengine

Local teens collaborate with scientists

Local teens collaborate with scientists on new exhibit at Carnegie
Museum of Natural History

by Scott Nobbs and Lindsey Scherloum

After a year of learning about local air quality and pollution, the ENERGY-NET teen interns are hard at work completing their exhibit “How’s The Air Up There?,“ which will open April 9 2016 in Discovery Basecamp.

ENERGY-NET is a team of scientists and learning researchers from the University of Pittsburgh, educators at Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and teenagers from nearby high-schools. The scientists and educators guide learning about environmental research and collaborate with teens who use their unique perspective to design and build an interactive exhibit for museum visitors.

ENERGY-NET is one of several research-practice partnerships in the museum’s education department that explores how convening diverse perspectives can facilitate innovative learning experiences. To learn more about the yearlong learning that went into this exhibit, and see our exhibit design process, visit energynetcmnh.blogspot.com

April 11, 2016 by wpengine

Pterodactyl or Pterosaur?

Photo ©AMNH
When you think of giant flying reptiles soaring over prehistoric landscapes, do you call them pterodactyls or pterosaurs?

In pop culture, pterodactyl is sometimes used as a catch-all for prehistoric flying reptiles that are known as pterosaurs. The 2005 movie “Pterodactyl” tells the story
of a giant flying pterodactyl that emerges from a volcano. The popular children’s book “Can I Bring My Pterodactyl to School, Ms. Johnson?” features a pterodactyl who can ward off bullies and loves to read. Stroll our gift shop to pick up a toy
pterodactyl. Even buy an adult size pterodactyl costume and soar into our next Halloween-themed After Dark 21+ event in style.

Pterodactyl, or Pterodactylus antiquus, is actually a specific type of pterosaur in the group Pterosauria,
which encompasses the entire group of prehistoric flying reptiles.

Pterodactylus antiquus lived 150 million years ago, ate insects or fish, and had wingspans of up to five feet.

Pterodactyls were the first known pterosaurs when their fossils were discovered in Germany in the late 1700s.

Since the discovery of the pterodactyl, more than 150 species of flying reptiles have been identified as pterosaurs. The variety seems endless. Some were small enough to fit in the palm of your hand while others had 30-foot wingspans. Some had long necks and prominent beaks while others had robust heads and long tails.

Pterosaurs are varied enough that the American Museum of Natural History created an entire exhibition about them, Pterosaurs: Flight in the Age of the Dinosaurs. The exhibition is on display in our museum in Pittsburgh until May 22.

April 7, 2016 by wpengine

Evolution of the Diorama

African Wildlife watering hole diorama at CMNH

An Indoor Zoo

Did you ever walk through the zoo and have the frustrating experience of not seeing the animals? Perhaps they were sleeping or hiding out under a rock on a hot summer’s day, for whatever reason–they were not visible.

Our halls of North American and African wildlife allow visitors to see the exotic animals in their natural habitats through expert taxidermy and beautiful background scenes created by artists. Visit anytime of year, anytime of day to see a replica of a Baobab tree towering over a rhinoceros, a zeal of zebras cautiously gathered by a watering hole, and a group of mountain goats precariously perched in their native steep, rocky terrain –all on the second floor of Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

The dioramas have been a staple of our museum for decades, but in the 1920′s they became an example of how museums must evolve with changing cultural attitudes. Our museum changed the display of its wildlife almost 100 years ago as Americans embraced the importance of conservation.

A current exhibition at the museum, “Art of the Diorama,” gives some cultural and historical context to our second floor dioramas.

Many American natural history museums opened and grew alongside the public’s blooming interest in nature in the mid to late 1800′s. Exotic animals were a natural fit to fill the halls of these new institutions. At the time, however, most museums
displayed animals in rectangular glass cases or on shelves with little to no foliage or background.

taxidermy giraffe being assembled — A giraffe being prepared for display at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

As a new conservation movement gained traction, it inspired curators to reevaluate the display of their collections. In the 1920′s, the art of the diorama emerged. In an effort to give context to their animal specimens, museums began to depict them in their natural environment. Through painted background, native plants, and the inclusion of other animals, these new dioramas told a “biological story.” One that curators hoped would help the public understand that animals were not singular objects for display, but living creatures whose needs are worth protecting.

For more information on the evolution of our dioramas, visit “Art of the Diorama” on the first floor of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

April 5, 2016 by wpengine

Pterosaurs installed

Three new pterosaur casts were installed in late March and are now flying high over our museum’s prehistoric landscape.

A flock of Cycnorhamphus pterosaurs were carefully installed about 30 feet above the Dinosaurs in Their
Time exhibition, but can be viewed up close from the Lee B. Foster Jurassic Overlook.

These pterosaurs are distinct because of their peg-like teeth, which may have allowed them to probe in mud for food or crush hard-shelled animals.

They have a six-foot wingspan and were found in Germany and France.

April 1, 2016 by wpengine

Blending Dark and Light

by Pat McShea
A cast of a large leatherback sea turtle now swims overhead near the microscope station in
Discovery Basecamp. In its suspended position, this reptile model provides a clear example of the principle known as counter shading.

The term refers to a common animal color pattern in which the top (dorsal side) is dark while
the underside (ventral side) is light.

While swimming or resting in the ocean the turtle’s counter shading helps to camouflage it
from both the prey it seeks and the predators it must avoid.

Viewed from below during the day, the creature’s light colored underside blends with light
saturated water. Viewed from above, its dark back offers little contrast with murky waters beneath it.

March 30, 2016 by wpengine

This stunning mineral

Photo by Debra Wilson

This stunning mineral is the most recent specimen to be exhibited in Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. It is a 4.6 cm color-zoned bowtie spray of fluorapophyllite perched on top of a stilbite coated quartz stalactite from the Ahmadnagar district in India.

March 28, 2016 by wpengine

Stream Sentences

Pennsylvania Stream — Photo courtesy of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy

By Patrick McShea

Among the joys of working as a museum educator are times when the traditional learning flow reverses. A memorable example occurred a few years ago during a writing exercise for high school students participating in the Allegheny College Creek Connections program.

Each student had been studying a stream near their school. My task was to motivate them to share their findings and impressions through writing.

I asked participants to write the name of their stream in the sentence: “________ ________ is far older than the road that shares its valley.” Then they had three minutes to compose the next narrative line.

A Butler County student had less work time than her peers, owing to the fifteen-letter Indian name “Connoquenessing” for the creek waters bordering her school’s campus.

Still, when she later recited a sentence that beautifully referenced horse-drawn wagons and steam locomotives
to note differences in travel time between creek valley towns during the previous two centuries, I involuntarily said aloud, “I wish I wrote that sentence.”

March 28, 2016 by wpengine

Unseen at Carnegie Museum of Natural History: The Alcohol House

Away from the public eye, scientists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History have access to more than 200,000 jarred, labeled, and perfectly preserved specimens stored in The Alcohol House.

The three-story storage room has been a part of the museum for more than 100 years and is a herpetologist’s dream. It boasts about 65,000 salamanders, 54,000 frogs, 29,500 snakes, 29,500
turtles, and 30,500 lizards, all preserved in ethyl alcohol.

A past curator of the Alcohol House, C. J. McCoy, said the room is like “a three-way hybrid between a pickle warehouse, a reference library, and a mail-order establishment.”

Scientists use the specimens for their research, and can compare the size, shape, and extremities of reptiles and amphibians from 100 years ago with those found today and identify new species.

March 26, 2016 by wpengine

AP3: Antarctica Peninsula Paleontology Project

AP3: Antarctica Peninsula Paleontology Project

February 29–March 6, 2016

Project G-182-N (PI Matt Lamanna)

The team completed several of its research objectives and continued to make progress towards others during week three. At the Sandwich Bluff locality on Vega Island, scientists discovered four new fossil plant sites, found additional Cretaceous fish and bird material, and prepared a plesiosaur (long-necked marine reptile) shoulder girdle for extraction.

All of these specimens were recovered from the Upper Cretaceous Sandwich Bluff Member of the López de Bertodano Formation. At approximately 70 million years in age, this rock unit dates to only a few million years prior to the infamous mass extinction that ended the Mesozoic era, or Age of Dinosaurs.

Geologists Eric Roberts and Zubair Jinnah completed their stratigraphic and sedimentological study of the sections of the Snow Hill Island and López de Bertodano formations exposed on the southwestern flank of Sandwich Bluff, an area that, due to its steepness, elevation, and snow cover, has been nicknamed ‘K2’ after that well-known Himalayan peak. They sampled the middle and upper levels of the Sandwich Bluff Member for aragonitic fossil invertebrate shells to be used in strontium isotope geochronological analyses.

Scientists also continued to conduct helicopter-supported reconnaissance visits to other areas of the James Ross Basin, identifying two previously undocumented Cretaceous exposures that were targeted for future investigation.

Inclement weather forced many members of the team to return to their ship, the RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer, for two days during week three. They spent the time refining strategies for the remainder of the field season, updating the project’s blog and social media pages, and studying fossils that had already been collected.

1) G-182-N paleontologists Abby West (left) and Steve Salisbury (center) collect a plesiosaur shoulder girdle co-discovered by Salisbury with ASC Marine Technician Julia Carlton (right). Photo by Matt Lamanna.

2) G-182-N geologists Zubair Jinnah (foreground) and Eric Roberts study the stratigraphy and sedimentology of the ‘K2’ section on Vega Island. Photo by Pat O’Connor.

3.) G-182-N paleontologist Kerin Claeson searches for fossils in the ‘Fish Horizon’ near the K–Pg boundary on Seymour Island. Claeson and other G-182-N personnel have collected dozens of partial to nearly complete fish skeletons from the ‘Fish Horizon’ to date, the analysis of which promises to inform understanding of the K–Pg mass extinction in the southern high latitudes. Photo by Meng Jin.

Matt Lamanna is a paleontologist and the principal dinosaur researcher at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh. Matt and his team of researchers blog frequently from Antarctica while on expedition at antarticdinos.org.

March 24, 2016 by wpengine

Egg-cellently Prepared

Museum staff was hard at work last week stuffing more than 4,000 eggs for the annual Egg-cellent Egg Hunt on March 26. The first 600 children to participate will be able to follow clues around the museum that will lead to the treats! This event will be from noon-4 p.m. and is designed for children 3–10 years old.

March 23, 2016 by wpengine

North American Wildlife Mural

Visitors to our Hall of North American Wildlife are currently able to watch artists transform a previously blank wall into an intricate and scientifically accurate mural that depicts a tranquil stream running through a forest that’s transitioning from summer to fall.

After several weeks of work our artists have gone from outlines to details, and are currently adding finishing elements such as native wildlife to the scene.

Artists say the project is nearing completion. To see earlier photos of the project, click here.

March 22, 2016 by wpengine

Prehistoric Egg Hunt

For many years, Paleontologists were on an egg hunt that extended way beyond Easter.

Until 1997, scientists did not know much about the way sauropods (herbivore dinosaurs with long necks and tails) reproduced and grew. A fossilized sauropod nesting ground with thousands of dinosaur eggs found in Argentina gave paleontologists answers about how sauropods nested and what baby sauropods looked like and how they grew.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Dinosaurs in Their Time features a sauropod egg and the reconstructed skeleton of a baby Apatosaurus, originally believed to be a different type of dinosaur entirely.

March 20, 2016 by wpengine

Shabtis

Shabtis, small statues found in ancient Egyptian tombs, are on display in the Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt.

March 18, 2016 by wpengine

Bee-balm

Bee-balm (Monarda didyma Linnaeus) specimen in the Botany collection. Image credit: Josh Franzos/Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

March 17, 2016 by wpengine

AP3: Antarctica Peninsula Paleontology Project

Sunset over camp on Vega Island. The eastern shore of James Ross Island and the RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer are visible in the background. Photo by Pat O’Connor.

G-182-N geologist Zubair Jinnah studies an exposure of the Upper Cretaceous upper Cape Lamb Member of the Snow Hill Island Formation on Vega Island. Photo by Pat O’Connor.

AP3: Antarctica Peninsula Paleontology Project

February 21–28, 2016

Project G-182-N (PI Matt Lamanna)

Work at the main basecamp on the western shore of Vega Island continued in week two and resulted in the discovery of a wealth of fossils.

Senior project geologist Eric Roberts located a partial plesiosaur. The specimen, which preserves numerous vertebrae, ribs, paddle bones, and gastroliths (stomach stones), appears to be the most complete marine reptile discovered by the project to date. Many of its bones remain articulated (preserved in life position) and are beautifully preserved within sandstone concretions. With time and effort in the laboratory, much of the postcranial skeleton will likely be reassembled and will likely be significant both for scientific study and possible display.

The project made significant progress towards its geological aims as well. Roberts and fellow geologist Zubair Jinnah continued their efforts to decipher the age and depositional environments of the sediments exposed on the uppermost levels of Sandwich Bluff. They collected rock and fossil samples from the uppermost Sandwich Bluff Member and basal Sobral Formation for geochemical and palynological analyses and strontium isotopic dating. They also began to subdivide the Sobral Formation into discrete units, as Roberts and colleagues did for the Sandwich Bluff Member in a 2014 paper.

Helicopter reconnaissance efforts continued with additional trips to Seymour and eastern Vega Island. Considerable effort was expended during week two towards installing a field camp near the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary horizon in the central area of Seymour Island. Those at the camp are having success in recovering fossils of fishes, putative turtles, and other Cretaceous vertebrates.

Lastly, filmmaker Matt Koshmrl continues to skillfully document all aspects of the project through video and still photography.

Also discovered during week two

– A second plesiosaur partial skeleton. Several partial-to-complete fossil leaves and a conifer branch. Partial skeletons of Cretaceous fishes that may be the most completely-preserved fishes yet found from Cretaceous sediments on Vega Island.

– A partial dorsal rib of a very large-bodied tetrapod, possibly a sauropod (long-necked plant-eating dinosaur)

– Multiple isolated Cretaceous bird bones were also collected, as was a possible avian skull

– An abundance of exceptionally-preserved Eocene penguin bones, including a partial skull of a giant species (possibly Anthropornis nordenskjoeldi or Palaeeudyptes antarcticus). This is exciting as only a handful of cranial elements of fossil penguins have ever been described from Seymour Island.

Matt Lamanna is a paleontologist and the principal dinosaur researcher at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh. Matt and his team of researchers blog frequently from Antarctica while on expedition at antarticdinos.org.

March 17, 2016 by wpengine

Ireland in the Ice Age

Long before St. Patrick chased the snakes out of Ireland, the Megaloceros giganteus strutted across the Emerald Isle during the Ice Age sporting antlers that weighed as much as 100 pounds and spanned up to 12 feet. Also known as Irish elk, Megaloceros giganteus were about 7-feet tall at the shoulder and the largest known deer that ever lived.

The species is thought to have lived throughout Eurasia, but the best documented remains are found in Irish peat bogs.

Our specimen was found in peat bog near Dublin, Ireland and is on display in Cenozoic Hall.

March 16, 2016 by wpengine

A Look Back at Carnegie Quarry

Scientists at work in Carnegie Quarry National Dinosaur Monument, discovered in Utah by Carnegie Museum paleontologist Earl Douglass in 1909. The quarry yielded thousands of fossils still on display in Pittsburgh and museums across the country.

March 15, 2016 by wpengine

A New Way to Study Climate Change

Students from Shady Side Academy Middle School studied our extensive fossil collection last week to learn about theories of climate, extinction, and evolution.

Albert Kollar, Section of Invertebrate Paleontology, used fossils from different periods of the Paleozoic era to show how trilobites changed and evolved over millions of years.

“Trilobites are popular with kids of any age and belong to a group of animals called arthropods
that include horseshoe crabs and insects,” said Mr. Kollar

The trilobites that the students touched and held come from the ancient rocks found today in the Czech Republic, France, Sweden, British Columbia, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, Utah, and Pennsylvania- the home of the 390 million year old state fossil of Pennsylvania.

Arriving at the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology lab, the students received a fossil coloring book to teach them about rocks and fossils in the Pittsburgh area. The class then split into smaller groups, each getting their own try at identifying rocks and fossils from Pennsylvania or making molds of different fossils from the collection with Plaster of Paris.

March 13, 2016 by wpengine

Take a Tortoise for a Walk

By Mallory Vopal

On sunny days when the temperature breaks above 65 degrees, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s animal caretakers can frequently be found behind the museum in a small swath of grass that leads to the nearby Schenley Park. Why? To walk our tortoises, of course!

It may seem like it’s just for fun (which it definitely is), but it’s also an activity that serves an important purpose to the tortoises: to provide enrichment. We offer them the opportunity to give their little legs a stretch and catch some fresh air. Even though they are important animal ambassadors for our educational programming, they are first and foremost tortoises. We are committed to giving them as many opportunities as possible to bring out their natural behaviors.

In addition to giving them important mental stimulation, getting some sun is critically important for a tortoise because it helps them produce the vitamin D3, which is instrumental in allowing them to absorb calcium from their diets. Even though we claim we do this all for the tortoises, I must admit that I don’t mind a walk, the fresh air, and sun sometimes, too!

March 13, 2016 by wpengine

X-ray of a Cat Mummy

March 12, 2016 by wpengine

Color Returns

By Patrick McShea

Within the Hall of Botany, a male wood duck’s beautiful plumage shares splendor with the fall foliage of a quaking bog in northwestern Pennsylvania.

At this time of year, as wood ducks begin to appear in wooded creek mouths along Pittsburgh’s rivers, bare branch canopies of sycamore and cottonwood trees offer little color competition.

The places where neighborhood streams surrender their flow to southwestern Pennsylvania’s big water are among the least accessible stretches of riverfront, so this early spring spectacle passes unnoticed by all but the most ardent river watchers.

Binoculars and a stealthy approach are both necessary to get a good look at these beautiful but wary birds. Because the banks of the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio consistently document the variety of floatable
debris generated by our throwaway culture, river edge views of wood ducks are often aesthetically marred by the inclusion of tires, mud-stained blocks of Styrofoam, empty beer cans, and all kinds of plastic containers.

March 11, 2016 by wpengine

Live from Antarctica!

Eric Dorfman and one of the many young aspiring paleontologists who attended

The crowd at Forbes Digital Plaza for Live from Antartica!

Dr. Matt Lamanna shows the audience a fossil of a clam from Antarctica

Carnegie Museum of Natural History Director Dr. Eric Dorfman

Dino treats provided by Dunkin' Donuts — Dino treats provided by Dunkin’ Donuts

Members of Taylor Allderdice High School's band performed — Members of Taylor Allderdice High School’s band performed

Undeterred by rain, about 65 people attended Live from Antarctica! to ask a paleontologist on the southernmost continent questions about his search for fossils.

Using Skype and a large, high-definition digital screen, Dr. Matt Lamanna, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s principal dinosaur researcher, answered questions from museum director, Dr. Eric Dorfman, and members of the audience on March 10 during the free community event at Forbes Digital Square in Oakland.

Along with a team of experts, Dr. LaManna is searching for fossils on the Antarctica Peninsula. He Skyped in from aboard the research vessel Nathaniel B. Palmer to talk about his work to answer questions about Antarctic weather, live animals he’s seen, fossils his team has found, and what he will bring back to our museum here in Pittsburgh.

Its summer in Antarctica, but Dr. Lamanna said weather has still been challenging with occasional snow, rain and fog. Interestingly, some of the fossils his expeditions have found have been of leaves, which he said indicate that the coldest continent was once covered in forests, much like Western Pennsylvania.

“It’s a great example of how environments can change over time,” Dr. Lamanna said. Because days and nights that far south are extended and shortened the changing seasons, he said there’s no contemporary equivalent of the ancient environment that existed there as the age of the dinosaurs ended.

“We’re unearthing an ancient ecosystem and bringing that ecosystem back to Pittsburgh,” he said.

Other fossils found include clams, fish, and even dinosaur bones. Dr. Lamanna said they’ll carefully pack and ship an estimated three to four tons of fossils back to Pittsburgh.

Visitors will be able to view many of the new specimens in the museum’s PaleoLab this summer.

Many thanks to Oakland Business Improvement District for helping put on the event, the Taylor Allderdice High School jazz band for a great performance, and Dunkin’ Donuts for passing out dino donuts.

Dr. Lamanna’s expedition ends next week, but you can see photos of his work, wildlife he’s seen and the stunning landscape of Antarctica by following the Carnegie Museum of Natural History on Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter and Facebook .

March 9, 2016 by wpengine

AP3 Antarctica Peninsula Paleontology Project 2016

Q: What is the biggest anticipated challenge facing the expedition?

A: The thing that concerns us the most are the weather and climate conditions in our
study area. If it is very windy or foggy, our helicopters cannot fly. If
there is fast ice stuck to the islands we want to visit, our small boats (i.e.,
landing craft) cannot reach them. If it snows, the rocks are covered, and so we
can’t find the fossils in them. Lots of different environmental factors could
pose problems for us. Other potential hazards include injuries, exhaustion,
frostbite, inability to find fossils in some places, and problems with
helicopters.

If you live in Pittsburgh, stop by tomorrow evening on 3/10/16 at 6 p.m. for Live from Antarctica at the corner of Forbes and South Bouquet in Oakland. You will be able to ask Dr. Matt Lamanna questions about his expedition from the field via a live video conference. Learn more at http://www.carnegiemnh.org/live_from_antarctica/

March 8, 2016 by wpengine

AP3: Expedition 2016

“It’s not just dino bones we’re seeking. Here’s some fossilized wood found on Cape Lamb.”

Matt Lamanna is a paleontologist and the principal dinosaur researcher at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh. Matt and his team of researchers blog frequently from Antarctica while on expedition at antarticdinos.org.

March 8, 2016 by wpengine

Discoverers Expedition Vilcabamba 2016: Lima

The bizarre, and beautiful, “naked” peruvian dog (perro calato de sechura in Spanish), a common companion of local peoples.

The bay of Pucusana with the arid slopes of the Atacama desert in the background.

The pelican (Pelecanus tagus), lord of the bay.

A group of the common and beautiful zarcillo (Larosterna inca).

A colony of boobies (Sula variegata), one of the most abundant species along the coast of Lima.

Sleepy sea lions (Otaria byronia) enjoying the burning sun and the refreshing splashes of salty water.

A huge male sea lion (Otaria byronia) dries its hairy skin under a strong afternoon sun and guards its privileged position amongst a group of females.

February 28, 2016

We arrived to Lima on a sunny, hot day and decided to make a trip to the beach to see some wildlife. We left the outskirts of the gigantic city of Lima on a bus that headed South through the arid regions of the Atacama desert. After about an hour we reached the small and beautiful fishermen village of Pucusana.

Dozens of boats were docked along an ample and peaceful bay where a crowd of people, pelicans, gulls, and sea lions where all busy doing what they do. We rented an small boat and went off to enjoy the wonders of the Pacific coast of the Atacama desert, one of the most productive and best preserved coastal areas of the world—millions of sea birds populate the many islands, islets, and cliffs of the coast. The sea birds produce the guano, a rich manure that has been exploited ever since Alexander von Humboldt described its wonders after studying it at the port of Callao. Here is a glimpse, in pictures, of the few hours we spent in this extraordinary ecosystem.

José Padial and his team of researchers have traveled to the remote Vilcabamba mountains of Peru in the pursuit of biodiversity research. He blogs and sends photos as often as possible capturing his expedition along the way and his return home to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, PA.

March 8, 2016 by wpengine

Signature Specimen

This signature specimen is a hemimorphite after calcite with greenockite inclusions from near Joplin, Missouri. It was donated to the museum in 1897 and was the first major specimen in the collection. Image © Harold & Erica Van Pelt.

March 7, 2016 by wpengine

Fast Cat and Invisible Insects

by Patrick McShea

An argument can be made that one of the more interesting features within this diorama are the reddish earthen mounds framing the scene.

Within the thick walls of a termite mound air circulates through a network of channels to both cool the structure on hot days and warm it on cool days.

March 6, 2016 by wpengine

Discoverers Expedition Vilcabamba 2016: Lima

A large crowd meets at night a park of Lima to watch marine biology and and conservation documentaries during an open event of the 36th Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation (Photo: Juan C. Chaparro).

Dr. Corine Vriesendorp, Director of the Andes-Amazon program of the The Field Museum of Natural History, presents preliminary results of the Rapid Biological and Social Inventory #28: Middle Putumayo and Algodon River, Loreto – Perú.

Dr. Santiago Castroviejo takes the opportunity to walk through the exhibits of the Natural History Museum of San Marcos University.

The exhibits at the museum in Lima made me think of my friend and colleague Dr. Matt Lamanna, who is now looking for dinosaurs in Antarctica. Greetings from Lima Matt!

A diorama of the pacific coast around Lima at the Natural History Museum of San Marcos University.

Mammalogists, herpetologists, and ornithologists at the main entrance of the Natural History Museum of San Marcos University.

March 3, 2016

Our last week in Lima was a busy one. We are working from an apartment in the beautiful bohemian neighborhood of Barranco. We have built a lab in the living room where we examine our specimens and refine preliminary identifications performed in the field. Our certainty about what we thought were potential new species grows after checking pertinent literature and pictures of museums specimens. We also work on the paperwork necessary to export part of the samples to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History (half or more will stay in Peru).

In addition, we have been attending two important scientific events that are taking place in Lima this week: the 36th Annual Symposium On Sea Turtle Biology And Conservation, and the Day of Wildlife, celebrated today at the Natural History Museum of San Marcos University.

March 6, 2016 by wpengine

AP3 Expedition 2016

Q: Will you be digging under deep layers of ice?

A: We will not be digging through ice for our expedition. Our expedition is timed for the end of the Austral summer, when most rock along the northernmost tip of the peninsula is readily available. There will be glaciers where we will be working but they will not be covering all of the islands where we will be working. Unfortunately, the possibility of a snow storm can still limit the amount of exposed rock with fossils.

Matt Lamanna, is a paleontologist and the principal dinosaur researcher at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh. Matt and his team of researchers blog frequently from the field at antarticdinos.org.

March 4, 2016 by wpengine

Discoverers Expedition Vilcabamba 2016: Ayacucho

Dr. Santiago Castroviejo talking about the wonders of glassfrogs (Centrolenidae)

A poster of the non-profit Pro Fauna Silvestre Ayacucho, signaling the event.

Members of the expedition are introduced by the dean of science of the University of San Cristobal de Huamanga.

Students of the University of San Cristobal de Huamanga listening to our presentations.

February 26, 2016

After leaving Vilcabamba, we stopped in Ayacucho where we were invited to give talks at the Cultural Center of the University of San Cristobal de Huamanga. The event was organized by Pro Fauna Silvestre Ayacucho, a non-profit organization dedicated to the study and conservation of nature. I gave a talk about the role that natural history museums are playing in conservation through Biodiversity Inventories, and provided a brief overview of the results of our expedition. Dr. Santiago Castroviejo, from the Potificia Universidade Catolica do Rio Grande do Sul, presented new results on the evolutionary history of glass frogs (Centrolenidae).

José Padial and his team of researchers traveled to the remote Vilcabamba mountains of Peru in the pursuit of biodiversity research. He blogs and sends photos as often as possible capturing his expedition and his journey home.

March 3, 2016 by wpengine

AP3 Expedition 2016

AP3 Expedition 2016: Sunset at Vega Camp (photo: Pat O’Connor)

March 3, 2016 by wpengine

Black and Gold Advantage

by Patrick McShea

Recently, when a middle school science teacher borrowed a set of taxidermy mounts to stimulate class discussions about natural selection, I included a tiny bird clad in Steelers’ colors.

An account written by a museum curator more than 75 years ago provided a clear explanation for the advantage black and gold feathers provide to Hooded Warblers.

Once I was amazed to find myself eye to eye, as it were, with an adult male of this species. The bird was sitting quietly on a low branch of a leafy maple and must have flown in while my attention was directed elsewhere. Brilliant sun shining through the young leaves made some of them appear as yellow as the bird’s breast, while the green tones of its back were matched by other leaves in the shadow. The black markings of the head and throat were, in this instance at least, true “ruptive markings,” since it was some moments before I could clearly see the outline of the bird, although it was in plain view and in good light.

When examining specimens in the laboratory, it is difficult to think of the Hooded Warbler as protectively colored. I suspect the truth is that at some time and under some circumstances every bird or animal is seen with difficulty, both by man and by its natural predators. It is the nature of things that if the sum total of these occasions gives a species even an infintesimal advantage, the combinations of color that contribute to that survival-value will become genetically fixed.

W.E. Clyde Todd – Birds of Western Pennsylvania – University of Pittsburgh Press 1940

March 2, 2016 by wpengine

AP3 Expedition 2016

Q: How do you find fossils in Antarctica?

A: In brief, there are basically two ways by which one can determine where to look for fossils. The first has to do with the fact that most of the Earth’s surface has been mapped from a geological standpoint. Geologic maps show what rocks are exposed at the surface. Fossils are found almost exclusively in sedimentary rocks (e.g., shale, mudstone, sandstone) as opposed to igneous and metamorphic rocks. So the first step would be to examine the map for those. Next, for those interested in dinosaurs, scour the map for sedimentary rocks that were deposited during the Mesozoic Era or Age of Dinosaurs ( we know that dinos evolved more-or-less 235 million years ago and died out (except for their descendants, birds) 66 million years ago). So search the map for sedimentary rocks that were deposited during that time. Lastly, dinos were almost exclusively land-dwelling animals, so look for Mesozoic sedimentary rocks that were deposited in bodies of water that were near land (i.e., rivers, ponds, lakes, ocean coastlines). If all three criteria are met, and you can get to the place, you might have a fighting chance of finding dino fossils there.

The second way is simpler — you just go where people have found fossils before.

March 1, 2016 by wpengine

Discoverers Expedition Vilcabamba 2016: Herps

An individual of diminutive frog (ca. 1.5 cm) in the genus Noblella, which includes some of the smallest known vertebrates. (Photo Giussepe Gagliardi).

Imantodes cenchoa, an specimen found at ca. 2,000 m, an unusual elevation for this species. (Photo Giussepe Gagliardi).

A female of a new species of Pristimantis with her eggs. Species of Pristimantis, as other terraranas, are direct developers, which means that they undergo development without a a free larval (tadpole) stage. (Photo Giussepe Gagliardi).

A male of another new species of Pristimantis inhabiting cloud forests above ca. 2,500 m. (Photo Santiago Castroviejo).

José Padial and his team of researchers are traveling in the remote Vilcabamba mountains of Peru in the pursuit of biodiversity research. He blogs and sends photos as often as possible capturing his expedition along the way

March 1, 2016 by wpengine

AP3: Antarctica Peninsula Paleontology Project

February 15–18

We continued work on Sandwich Bluff and two helicopter-supported day trips to Seymour Island. Both of these areas produced an abundance of well-preserved Late Cretaceous and Eocene-aged fossils, including those of birds, plesiosaurs (long-necked marine reptiles; numerous isolated bones and at least one partial skeleton), bony fishes (including several skulls and partial skeletons), sharks, whales, unidentified vertebrates, and a variety of beautifully-preserved invertebrates (e.g., ammonites, nautiloids, gastropods, bivalves, crustaceans).

February 29, 2016 by wpengine

Discoverers Expedition Vilcabamba: The First Helicopter Flight

The town of Pichari at the shore of the Apurimac River. (Photo Maira Duarte).

Right before our flight, the team poses with the General in command of the Special Commando of VRAEM. (Photo Maira Duarte).

Unloading the helicopter after a failed attempt to land into the heart of Vilcabamba. (Photo Maira Duarte).

The whole team and two accompanying officers of the special forces inside the helicopter in our way to Vilcabamba. (Photo Maira Duarte).

A view of the Pichari river valley and the clouds beyond which lies the area where we want to land. (Photo Maira Duarte).

Waterfalls drain the wet cloud forests of Vilcabamba (Photo Maira Duarte).

Vilcabamba forests from above. (Photo Maira Duarte).

The Apurimac valley meandering between the Andes and Vilcabamba. (Photo Juan C. Chaparro).

On Monday February 22, the expedition team flew from Pichari to the highest area of Vilcabamba on a military helicopter provided by the Special Commando of VRAEM. Although the weather conditions prevented us from landing, we enjoyed a majestic landscape of untouched forests, sharp ridges, waterfalls, and the huge Amazon rivers.

February 28, 2016 by wpengine

Discoverers Expedition Vilcabamba 2016: Herps

A new species of Pristimantis from the cloud forests of Vilcabamba. (Photo Giussepe Gagliardi).

A new species of Oreobates that inhabits the forest of Vilcabamba at above ca. 2,500 m (ca. 8,200 ft.). (Photo Giussepe Gagliardi). — A new species of *Oreobates* that inhabits the forest of Vilcabamba at above ca. 2,500 m (ca. 8,200 ft.). (Photo Giussepe Gagliardi).

A male of Potamites montanus, a beautiful aquatic lizard that was recently discovered from an area near Vilcabamba at low elevations. (Photo Giussepe Gagliardi). — A male of *Potamites montanus*, a beautiful aquatic lizard that was recently discovered from an area near Vilcabamba at low elevations. (Photo Giussepe Gagliardi).

Oreobates lehri, a species discovered and named by Padial, Chaparro and others and so far only known for Vilcabamba. (Photo Giussepe Gagliardi).

We may have found at least 10 new species of amphibians and reptiles; however, pertinent comparisons with museums specimens and detailed analyses of the anatomy, mating call, and or DNA, will be required to analyze species diversity using collected samples. In no other expedition have we found so many new species.

February 27, 2016 by wpengine

Discoverers Expedition Vilcabamba 2016

A view of the neighborhood from our hotel room in Pichari. (Photo Maira Duarte).

Herpetologists Roberto Gutiérrez and Victor Vargas organizing food and lighting the camp fire at Camp 4 (2760 m, 9,055 ft). (Photo Santiago Castroviejo).

The hyper-humid conditions at Camp 4 (2760 m, 9,055 ft) make lightning a fire a difficult task. Here, Giussepe Gagliardi tries a traditional technique consisting in blowing through a bamboo cane. (Photo Santiago Castroviejo).

A luxury, our water source at Camp 4, just a few meters away from our tents and kitchen. (Photo Maira Duarte).

Journalist Andy Isaacson and herpetologists Dr. Santiago Castroviejo taking pictures from the ridge during one rare moment when the sky was clear. (Photo José Padial).

José Padial and Maira Duarte filming and taking pictures on the ridge at 2,850 m (ca. 9,300 ft). (Photo Santiago Castroviejo).

Journalist Andy Isaacson and José Padial on their descent from Camp 4 to Camp 1 on Friday Feb. 19th. (Photo Maira Duarte).

Good mood at Camp 1, after hiking down for nine hours. (Photo Giussepe Gagliardi).

The Ashaninka community of Marontuari, the last outpost before reaching Pichari, with the ridge we descended, covered in clouds, on the background (the one on the left). (Photo Maira Duarte).

At Marontuari, Roberto Gutierrez plays with a baby coati. (Photo Santiago Castroviejo).

February 24, 2016 by wpengine

Discoverers Expedition Vilcabamba: Pichari

February 23, 2016

We are back in the town of Pichari. During the last week we opened a track along a zigzagging ridge and reached 2850 m. We moved from Camp 2 to Camp 4, stopping for a couple of nights at the small and muddy Camp 3. We spent our last days surveying a hyper-humid forest above 2500 m, before starting our descent on the morning of Feb 19th. We reached Pichari last Saturday, February 20th, at night. We were exhausted, but very happy for what we had accomplished.

During three weeks we have surveyed in detail all forested environments of the area: humid montane forests, cloud and elfin forests, and the bushy vegetation that grows on the upper part of upper ridges–known as “ceja de montaña” (mountain eyebrow). We have found many new and known species of amphibians and reptiles unique to each of these environments and made observations on their natural history. We also photographed and recorded them–for most species this is the first time they have been observed, photographed, or recorded in video or audio.

But the expedition is not over yet. Today we got into a ‘Mil M-17’ helicopter and flew from Pichari toward a point at 3800 m on the central and highest part of Vilcabamba, within Otishi National Park. Unfortunately, dense clouds prevented us from landing at our destination. Strong winds, heavy clouds, and electric storms are almost a constant on the upper part of Vilcabamba–During the three weeks we’ve been living on a ridge that leads to the upper part of Vilcabamba, only one evening was the sky open enough for us to have a clear view of the highest part of Vilcabamba.

In a few hours, at dawn, we will be at the headquarters of VRAEM’s Special Commando, waiting for our friendly military crew and for the right climatic conditions for us to fly again. A clear or even a partly clear sky is all we hope for as we are ready to go to bed after preparing our equipment.

I would like to take the opportunity to express our most sincere thanks to the authorities of the Peruvian organizations CODEVRAEM and SERNANP for supporting the Discoverers Expedition to Vilcabamba, and to the personnel of CEVRAEM military base for providing a crew, flying time, and an helicopter.

The Ridge

For three weeks, the team has been opening a track along a ridge from 1,200 (4,000 ft.) m elevation to 2,850 m (9,300 ft.), and surveying all the forested environments found along this altitudinal gradient.

Our first view of the highest peaks of Vilcabamba at dusk from the ridge at 2,850 m near Camp 4. The highest peaks, still unnamed, project themselves beyond 4,100 m in elevation (ca. 13,400 ft). (Photo Jose Padial).

The cloudy, zigzagging ridge followed by our trail near Camp 4 at 2,850 m (ca. 9,300 ft). (Photo Jose Padial).

Lichens, mosses, and bromeliads, and orchids, cover every tiny bit of tree branches of the elfin forest along the ridge. (Photo Jose Padial). — Lichens, mosses, and bromeliads, and orchids, cover every tiny bit of
tree branches of the elfin forest along the ridge. (Photo Jose Padial).

José Padial amongst the rich and bushy vegetation of the “ceja de montaña” (mountain eyebrow). (Photo Maira Duarte).

Transparent orchids, jewels in the forest. (Photo Maira Duarte).

February 24, 2016 by wpengine

Snail eating snails: two species become one

by Timothy Pearce

The land snail family Haplotrematidae is widespread in North America. They are omnivorous, eating other snails as well as plants. Western North America hosts most (16 of 18) species of this family that occur in the
United States and Canada. Some species are found under sword ferns where they might gain protection by mimicking fern fiddleheads (see figure of Haplotrema vancouverense beside a fiddlehead).

Two related species, Ancotrema hybridum and Ancotrema sportella, are sometimes difficult to separate. Their beautiful shell sculpture includes ridges radiating outward like bicycle spokes, and finer spiral grooves cutting across the tops of the ridges, looking like beads (see figure of Ancotrema with beaded sculpture). The beaded sculpture extends to the end of growth in A. sportella, but the sculpture becomes smooth on the last, largest whorl in A. hybridum. They are easy to tell apart until you find one that is smooth on only half, or a quarter, of the last whorl.

Two things made us suspect that they might really be one species. First, some shells were difficult to classify. Second, the ranges of both species coincide from northern California to Alaska.

To address whether they are two species or one, we examined 311 museum specimens. If they are two species, we expected to see a two-humped curve (bimodality) in amount of smooth sculpture on the last whorl. We expected
many specimens without smooth sculpture at the end, many specimens with smooth sculpture on the entire last whorl, and very few specimens having smooth sculpture on just half the last whorl.

Instead, we saw continuous variation, with no hint of bimodality. That result is consistent with their really being one species. Furthermore, we discovered on every shell the sculpture became smooth around whorl number 5. If shell growth stopped before whorl 5, then it resembled A. sportella. If it grew beyond whorl 5 before becoming adult, then it gained the smoother sculpture of A. hybridum.

Next, we looked for reproductive differences. When new species arise, reproductive structures are sometimes the first to change. These changes might help individuals to recognize the correct mate. We found no consistent differences in the reproductive parts.

These (and most land snails) are hermaphrodites (one individual is both male and female), so we know we were not looking at male – female differences. Also, we knew we had adults only because the upper lip dips
downward at the end of growth, so we were not comparing adult – juvenile features.

Finding continuous variation in the feature traditionally used for separating the two species, no differences in the reproductive parts, coincidental geographical ranges, and discovering that the sculpture always
diminished about whorl 5, all led us to conclude that they are one species. A. sportella was named first, so by the law of priority, that is the name we will use.

Scientists get more glory for naming new species, not sinking a name as we did here, but this taxonomic cleanup work is important, too.

For more details, please review Pearce, T.A. & Fields, M.C. 2015. Shell and genital morphology fails to separate Ancotrema hybridum (Ancey, 1888) and A. sportella (Gould, 1846) (Gastropoda: Haplotrematidae). Malacologia, 59(1): 21-32.

Tim Pearce is assistant curator of mollusks at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. He studies ecology and systematics of land snails.

February 20, 2016 by wpengine

What’s in a name?

by John Wible

Once discovered, every organism on Earth ends up with a formal scientific name in addition to an informal common name. Sometimes those informal common names are used for more than one organism, such as squirrel or fox. That is why scientists give different squirrels and foxes formal scientific names so that the animals can be distinguished.

The scientific name, usually Latin or Greek derived, may tell us something. For example, Tyrannosaurus
rex is Greek for ‘terrible lizard’ and Latin for ‘king.’ Common names are embedded in cultural traditions, have long histories, and may be downright confusing. Bat is one of my favorite examples. How did a flying mammal get to be called a bat? Isn’t a bat a piece of sports equipment in baseball and cricket? The Germans have a much better common name, Fliedermaus, which translates to ‘flying mouse.’

The cat-sized mammals pictured here are colorfully distinct male (left) and female (right) of the same species, with a scientific name of Galeopterus variegatus and with a very misleading common name … flying lemur. First, it does not fly! Instead, it glides, using its wing membrane to parachute between trees. Second, it is not a lemur! Lemurs are primates from Madagascar. Galeopterus variegatus is from Southeast Asia and is one of two species in the smallest mammalian order, Dermoptera, itself a very cool name that means ‘skin-wing’ in Greek. Luckily, the flying lemur has another common name, colugo, which doesn’t mean anything to me, although it may be a piece of sports equipment somewhere else.

John Wible, Ph.D. is Curator of Mammals. He studies the evolutionary history of mammals and lives in a house full of them, some human (wife and two sons) and some non-human (cats, rabbits, and guinea pigs).

February 19, 2016 by wpengine

Students + Staff: Co-Creating a Dynamic Museum Profession at Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh

by Erin Peters

Today’s museums strive to be increasingly relevant, ethical, and responsible public-facing institutions by engaging with issues like accessibility, diversity, collaboration, and inclusion. Yet in many ways, these are still buzzwords of best practice, and not yet actual pillars of museum work. This begs the question: can museum work of the future solidly marry the theory of ideas and the practicality of making the best intentions happen on the ground? I have hope that we may find answers in a collaborative initiative underway here in Pittsburgh.

A partnership stemming from a $1 million Andrew W. Mellon Foundation grant awarded to the Department of History of Art and Architecture (HAA) at Pitt to establish a consortium of cultural institutions in the region brought about my pioneering joint position as Lecturer in Curatorial Studies at Pitt and Assistant Curator at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. My position charges me to bring together the theories of museum studies and the practicalities of working in museums to develop courses that will best prepare students in HAA’s Museum Studies Minor – the museum professionals of tomorrow. This next generation of museum professionals will find an ideal training ground within Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, as four distinctive museums with different staff, collections, and modes of operating. At CMP, students will gain immersive involvement with the myriad ways a natural history museum, art museum, single-artist museum, and science center work on a day-to-day basis.

The broad range of training available here at the CMP will both add empirical dimension to the education of museum studies students and invigorate the current museum profession by merging pedagogical and instructional experiences for students and museum staff. I believe this mash-up of students as future museum professionals (with new, exciting, and un-entrenched ideas) with staff as current museum professionals (with concrete on-the-ground expertise) will develop robust museum work for the future here at CMP and ideally in the field at large.

The first course developed from this initiative with Pitt and CMP is underway this spring, entitled Introduction to Museum Studies in the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. HAA faculty and CMP administration came up with the idea of using CMP as a living laboratory, establishing from the get-go that the course is rooted in experiential pedagogy. The content is completely new and developed through my process of getting to know the Museums since my arrival in September 2015. Over the course of the fall, I immersed myself in our richest resources for teaching about museums: the sites themselves, the collections they contain, the programming that engages visitors with the collections, and the staff making it all happen.

So far, my twenty students and I have spent little time in our assigned classroom in Pitt’s Frick Fine Arts building, and instead have studied museums who work with non-tangible collections (like the ideas of science) with Jason Brown, the Carnegie Science Center’s Director of Science and Education. The Project Cataloguer for the Archives at the Andy Warhol Museum, Matt Gray, helped us examine the methods and strategies of collecting at the Warhol, focusing on the tensions of art and artifact/material culture with the time capsules. This week I led an exploratory field trip around the CMP complex in Oakland and we thought about the ways the architecture itself makes us perform “civilizing rituals,” and communicates messages about how visitors are intended to act while in museum space. For instance, making our way up the long Scaife staircase to the second floor galleries of CMOA could be compared to a laborious religious procession up to Propylaeum of the Athenian Acropolis.

We will continue our survey of museum studies in CMOA and CMNH and end the semester envisioning the future of museums and how CMP can lead the charge into that future. Key to our endeavors will be the primary assignment the students will complete: they will develop a series of three fora (open discussions) for which all CMP and HAA staff, faculty, and students will be invited to attend. The first forum will take place in February and students will design a program that will form questions and discussion around the ways that the concepts of curation and education are changing in the museum world to be less opposed and more related and inter-dependent. The second forum will take place in March and will tackle how museums are dealing with the changing landscapes of education and engagement, especially in a field that seeks to be more public-facing. In the last and third forum, to take place in April, students will present and defend projects they have designed to further CMP’s goal to be integral to the future of museums.

By bringing students and staff together, we will capitalize on the unique resources of Pitt and CMP to pose questions that have yet been raised and bridge disciplines to find new answers. This open process of co-creation will allow a multitude of perspectives to emerge, ultimately building an informed, dynamic, and diverse museum profession spearheaded with the resources of the four Carnegie Museums and the University of Pittsburgh.

To chart the progress of our experiment and the ways our thoughts are developing, I will write field reports in a series here with the Innovation Studio. Until field report no. 2…

This post is co-published in partnership with The Constellations at the University of Pittsburgh.

Erin Peters is passionate about museums and believes in their power in contributing to social change. She is training the next generation of socially-minded museum professionals as Joint Lecturer in Curatorial Studies at Pitt and Assistant Curator in CMNH. Erin has a Ph.D. in art history and specializes in ancient Egypt.

February 18, 2016 by wpengine

Blue Fleece Jacket

by Patrick McShea

Call it simple digital entertainment.

While checking the Tumblr blog of Carnegie Museum of Natural History for pictures and progress reports from the remote mountains of Peru, (Discoverers Expedition Vilcabamba 2016), I’ve been paying close attention to the garments worn by the field crew.

Weeks ago, when José Padial let fellow museum employees know about his team’s need for clothing that could provide insulation under ponchos, Amy Henrici and I assembled a bag of various fleece and wool items.

Today, in one of Maira Duarte’s beautiful photos, I spotted an old friend. The aqua blue fleece jacket that had once kept me warm on many miles of cross-country skiing in the Laurel Highlands was providing a similar benefit to an expedition member in very different terrain on another continent.

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Or, Crepidula fornicata say, “Trans Rights!”

…if they don’t get eaten by their siblings first.