Raymond M. Alf Museum Of Paleontology

Camarasaurus

Hindlimb (cast) Jurassic, 150 MYA Quadrupedal plant-eater with long limbs USA: Utah Length: up to 50 ft Weight: up to 25 tons

Captorhinus

Skull cast and skeleton, Permian, 280 MYA

Rhamphorhynchus

Articulated skeleton cast Jurassic, 155 MYA

Grallator (dinosaur footprint)

Pronunciation: GRAL-uh-tore Moenave Formation Kanab, Utah 200 million years old

Pachycephalosaurus (cast)

Late Cretaceous, 65 MYA

Reptile trackway

Ichnogenus: Laoporus Coconino Formation Seligman, Arizona 250 million years old

Oviraptor

Egg Late Cretaceous, 75 MYA Mongolia

Hyracodon

Skull Eocene, 35 MYA

Gryposaurus monumentensis

Actinocrinites

Mississippian, 330 MYA

Aspiderectes

Turtle shell Late Cretaceous, 66 MYA

Mesohippus

Skull and back foot (three toes) Oligocene, 30 MYA

Terrestrial Life of the Paleozoic

Vertebrates were not the first multicellular life on land–plants and insect-like animals take the honors. The earliest cockroaches scurried through forests of giant ferns and horsetails.Toward the end of the Paleozoic, terrestrial vertebrates, such as those seen here, evolved into a great diversity of forms. Some were large–such as the sheep-sized Limnoscelis and Dimetrodon–and others, such as Captorhinus, were relatively small. The cynodonts, forerunners of mammals, became common toward the end of the Permian. Amphibian-like animals, such as Diplocaulus and dissorophids, continued their aquatic existence.

Ichthyosaurus

Skeleton Jurassic, 180 MYA

Centrosaurus

Skeleton cast Late Cretaceous, 75 MYA Plant-eater with single long horn and large "frill" over head Canada: Alberta Length: about 20 ft Weight: 2 tons

Human

Arm (cast) recent

Chicken

Egg Recent

Tortoise

Shell Miocene, 15 MYA

Coelophysis

Cast Late Triassic, 225 MYA Bipedal flesh-eater with a small head and hollow bones. USA: New Mexico Length: 6ft Weight: 40 lbs

Stegosaurus plate (cast)

Jurassic, 150 MYA

Rhamphorynchus

Articulated skeleton cast Jurassic, 155 MYA

A New Look for Velociraptor

What differences do you notice between this painting and the Velociraptor model next to it?Fossils show that the real-life Velociraptor was under 6 feet (2 meters) long and feathered. It couldn't fly, but Velociraptor might have used its wings in visual displays or to help capture prey. The color is speculative, although it was inspired by animals such as coyotes, which are of a similar size to Velociraptor and live in similar environments.Unlike the model, the real-life hands of Velociraptor faced inwards (towards the body) rather than downwards (towards the ground). They could also fold their hands back, thanks to a special wrist bone configuration. The same anatomy and hand position are seen in today's birds, which contribute to flight stroke that helps them go airborne. This hand anatomy might have originated to assist in prey capture and later been repurposed for flight as dinosaurs to the air.Art work by Rob Soto, 2019

Exhibit Dedication

This exhibit is dedicated to Richard "Dick" Lynas '55. Sponsored by The Webb Schools of California class of 1955. These skulls were found by Lynas in 1953 and named for his parents. Left to right: Richard and Prudence

Reptile footprints

240 MYA USA: Arizona

Oreodonts

Skulls Eocene, 35 MYA

Mastodon

Tusk Pleistocene, 1.5 MYA

Gomphothere

Skull and tusk Miocene, 15 MYA

Hadrosaur skin impression

Late Cretaceous, 75 MYA

Protolabis barstowensis

Camel Miocene, 15 MYA Even-toed ungulate (hoofed animal) whose weight is borne equally by the third and fourth toes. USA: Barstow, California Length 7th Height: 5th at the shoulder Weight: 300 pounds

Stromatolite

Replicas Recent

Ammonite

Shell Late Cretaceous, 75 MYA

Velociraptor

Model Late Cretaceous, 75 MYA Assembled and painted by Stephen Lauria, Webb Class of 2004

Rhamphorynchus

Disarticulated skeleton Jurassic, 155 MYA

Equus

skull and back foot (one toe) Recent

Purussaurus brasiliensis (giant alligator)

Miocene, 7 MYA One of the largest crocodilians known to have existed. South America: Amazon region Length: 40 ft Weight: 10–12 tons

Hypohippus

Skull palate Miocene, 15 MYA

Palm Frond and Perch

Eocene, 50 MYA This region is dry today but was once a subtropical wet climate. USA: Green River Formation, Wyoming

Life restoration of Protolabis

Restoration by Charon Henning

Special Thanks to National Geographic Society

Thank you to the National Geographic Society COVID-19 Emergency Fund for Educators for providing funding to create the virtual Alf Museum.

Microfossils

Left to right: 1. Mammal and dinosaur teeth 2. Fish scales 3. Bird bone 4. Crocodile teethLate Cretaceous, 66 MYA

Hadrosaur (duck-billed dinosaur)

Late Cretaceous, 52 MYA Quadrupedal plant-eater with long forelimbs and numerous teeth USA: Montana Length: 40 ft Weight: up to 4 tons

Dyseohyus fricki

Skull cast Miocene, 15 MYA

Dissorophid

Skeleton, Permian, 270 MYA

Cockroach cast

Pennsylvanian, 300 MYA

Stromatolite

Precambrian, 1.2 billion years old

Plant impressions

Pennsylvanian, 300 MYA

Phenacodus

Jaw Paleocene, 60 MYA

Scaumenacia

early Lungfish, Devonian, 380 MYASarcopterygians (lobe-finned fish), such as Scaumenacia shown here, are a group that includes lungfish, coelocanths, and tetrapods. Most other fish have a thin, flat fin made of hundreds of tiny bones, but the limbs of sarcopterygians are filled with muscle and central bony core.

Dinosaur egg shells

Late Cretaceous, 75 MYA

Eucalyptocinites

Mississippian, 330 MYA

Tiktaalik (replica and model)

Devonian, 375 MYATiktaalik, a model of which you see here, provides an important transition between fish and tetrapods. A flattened head and sharp teeth must have helped Tiktaalik hunt its prey in shallow water. The forelimbs were well adapted for doing "push-ups" to allow Tiktaalik to maneuver around underwater obstacles (and perhaps those on land!).

Fossil tracks

Canada: Ontario Paleozoic, 500 MYA

Mastodon

Tooth Pleistocene, 1.5 MYA

Pacypleurosaurus

Skeleton Triassic, 240 MYA

Brontothere

Skulls Eocene, 35 MYA Left to right: Linda and Betsy

Bird

Wing Recent

Diabloceratops

Cast Late Cretaceous, 78 MYA USA, Southern Utah

Mesohippus

Early horse Skull Eocene, 35 MYA

Tharrhias arapis

Fish skeleton Early Cretaceous, 100 MYA

Trigonias (rhino)

Skull Eocene, 35 MYA

Diplocaulus

Skull cast, Permian, 270 MYA

"Reading" the Brontothere Bonebed

Taphonomy is the study of what happens to organism after it dies, including the environmental conditions affecting preservation, scavenging, burial, and fossilization. The taphonomic stories of the example of earth history exhibited here and that of the camel skeleton to the right are completely different. We know this based on the condition and arrangement of the bones and the type of sediment encasing them. What differences can you spot?We don't know how these brontotheres from Wyoming died, but we do know that their bones were scattered by scavengers or water and lefty lying on the ground a while before burial and fossilization. At least three animals are here, because parts of three different skulls are present.Brontothere bonebed Eocene, 35 MYA Hoof-toed rhino-like herbivore USA: Wyoming Height: up to 8ft at the shoulder Weight: up to two tons (4,000 lbs)

Turtle

Shell Paleoene, 60 MYA

Leaf impression

Late Cretaceous, 75 MYA

Fish

Smaller fish in its mouth Eocene, 50 MYA

Quetzalcoatlus

Wing cast Late Cretaceous, 69 MYA

Dimetrodon

Skull cast, Permian, 275 MYA

Tyrannosaurus

Cast Late Cretaceous, 68 MYA Bipedal flesh-eater with a massive skull USA: Montana Size: 36 feet long Weight: 6.5 tons

Scaphohippus

Jaw Miocene, 15 MYA

Sauropod

Eggs Late Cretaceous, 80–70 MYA France and China

Allosaurus fragilis

Skeleton cast Jurassic, 155 MYA Large, bipedal predator with huge jaws, bladelike teeth, bulky body, muscular limbs, and sharp claws. USA: Utah Length 36 ft Weight: 1.2–2 tons

Actinocrinites

With sea star fossil. Mississippian, 330 MYA

Hyracotherium (Eohippus)

Skull and front foot (four toes, replica) Eocene, 55 MYA

Cynodont

Skull cast, Permian, 255 MYA

Poebrotherium

Early camel Skull Eocene, 35 MYA

Zygolophodon

Jaw Miocene, 15 MYA

Scorpion trackways

Ichnogenus: Paleohelcura Coconino Formation Seligman, Arizona 250 million years old

Nanotyrannus

Cast Late Cretaceous, 68 MYA Size: 20 feet long Weight: 0.5 tons

Tyrannosaurus

Cast Late Cretaceous, 68 MYA Brain endocast USA: Montana

Dolichorynchops

Cast skeleton of infant Plesiosaur Late Cretaceous, 75 MYA

Platycrinites

Mississippian, 330 MYA

Limnoscelis (cast)

Paleozoic, 285 MYA Reptile-like tetrapod ("four-footed") with a gland that functioned like a third eye. USA: Texas Length: about 5 feet Weight: 150 pounds

Toxochelys (sea turtle)

Skeleton cast Late Cretaceous, 75 MYA

Spider trackway

Ichnogenus: Octopodichnus Coconino Formation Seligman, Arizona 250 million years old

Dragonfly

Eocene, 50 MYA

Smilodon (saber-tooth cat)

Skull cast Pleistocene, 1.5 MYA

Petrified Wood Fragment

Paleocene, 60 MYA

Trilobites

Ordovician-Devonian, 450–400 MYA

Merychippus

Skull (cast) and back foot (three toes, two highly reduced; replica) Miocene, 15 MYA

Turtle

Shell Late Cretaceous, 75 MYA USA: Utah

Waterbug

Eocene, 50 MYA

Isotelus rex

Giant trilobite cast, Ordovician, 450 MYA

Eusthenopteron (lob-finned fish)

Devonian, 385 MYAEusthenopteron was a lobe-finned fish with well-developed limbs. Unlike lungfish, the fish you see here had the same bones of the forelimb (humerus, radius, and ulna) and hind limbs (femur, tibia, and fibula) as later tetrapods–including humans! These limb bones were probably used for swimming, rather than walking. Eusthenopteron was a fierce predator.

Mammoth

Tooth Pleistocene, 1.5 MYA

Dinictis

Eocene, 35 MYA Meat-eating "false saber-toothed cat" with retractable claws, powerful jaws, and a long tail. USA: Great Plains Length: 3.6 ft Height: 2 ft Weight: 65 pounds

Archaeopteryx

Cast Jurassic, 155 MYA

Vinctifer comptoni

Fish skeleton Early Cretaceous, 100 MYA

Tyrannosaur

Toe bone Late Cretaceous, 75 MYA

Pteradactylus

Skeleton cast Jurassic, 155 MYA

Eurypterids (sea scorpions)

Silurian, 425 MYA

Museum Crew Discoveries

Each time a brontothere skull was found, the discoverer got to name it. Left to right: Marge, Harold, Dumbo

Brontothere

Skulls Eocene, 35 MYABrontotheres lived 53 to 43 million years ago and were among the first large, plains-living animals to evolve when the Great Plains forests started to open up around 40 million years ago.

Archaeotherium (entelodont)

Skull Eocene, 35 MYA

Bat

Wing Recent