Southern Minnesota Museum of Natural History
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smmnh.bsky.social
Southern Minnesota Museum of Natural History
@smmnh.bsky.social
2.6K followers 1 following 350 posts
Official account of the SMMNH located in Blue Earth, Minnesota. www.smmnh.com
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smmnh.bsky.social
Southern Minnesota Museum of Natural History @smmnh.bsky.social · 10d
Ammonites were abundant in the seas during the Jurassic Period. Ammonites are shelled cephalopods, a class of marine animals that include octopuses, squid, cuttlefishes and nautiluses. Ammonites have retractable tentacles for catching small prey, although some species filter-fed for small plankton.
Ammonites were abundant in the seas during the Jurassic Period. Ammonites are shelled cephalopods, a class of marine animals that include octopuses, squid, cuttlefishes and nautiluses. Ammonites have retractable tentacles for catching small prey, although some species filter-fed for small plankton.
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smmnh.bsky.social
Southern Minnesota Museum of Natural History @smmnh.bsky.social · 11d
Abundant Eocene fossils of plants and animals are found in the Green River Formation of Wyoming, Colorado and Utah. This fossil Pseudosalix Hanleyi, with stems, leaves and flowers preserved, is harder to find than a T-rex tooth!
Abundant Eocene fossils of plants and animals are found in the Green River Formation of Wyoming, Colorado and Utah. This fossil Pseudosalix Hanleyi, with stems, leaves and flowers preserved, is harder to find than a T-rex tooth!
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smmnh.bsky.social
Southern Minnesota Museum of Natural History @smmnh.bsky.social · 12d
7,000 year old bison teeth found at the Cherney Bison Site. For a donation of $300 or more you can get your very own bison tooth as a thanks for helping fund the excavation of this incredibly unique fossil site in Coon Rapids, Minnesota.
7,000 year old bison teeth found at the Cherney Bison Site. For a donation of $300 or more you can get your very own bison tooth as a thanks for helping fund the excavation of this incredibly unique fossil site in Coon Rapids, Minnesota.
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smmnh.bsky.social
Southern Minnesota Museum of Natural History @smmnh.bsky.social · 13d
A flower beetle in baltic amber. We hope to raise money for a museum microscope so kids can examine insect specimens like this one!
A flower beetle in baltic amber. We hope to raise money for a museum microscope so kids can examine insect specimens like this one!
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smmnh.bsky.social
Southern Minnesota Museum of Natural History @smmnh.bsky.social · 14d
Pegmatite is a type of igneus rock that frequently contains large crystals of quartz, feldspar, or mica. When looked at with a longwave UV flashlight, these minerals seem to glow! Kids at our museum can see this for themselves up close and personal.
Pegmatite is a type of igneus rock that frequently contains large crystals of quartz, feldspar, or mica. When looked at with a longwave UV flashlight, these minerals seem to glow! Kids at our museum can see this for themselves up close and personal.
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smmnh.bsky.social
Southern Minnesota Museum of Natural History @smmnh.bsky.social · 15d
Searching for fossils in the Badlands is an unforgettable adventure. There is not a house, telephone pole, or any sign of modern civilization, conditions are hot, and without amenities. Most of the fossils from this region are from the Eocene, like this hoplophoneus (a saber cat) skull fragment.
Searching for fossils in the Badlands is an unforgettable adventure. There is not a house, telephone pole, or any sign of modern civilization, conditions are hot, and without amenities. Most of the fossils from this region are from the Eocene, like this hoplophoneus (a saber cat) skull fragment.
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smmnh.bsky.social
Southern Minnesota Museum of Natural History @smmnh.bsky.social · 16d
During the Silurian Period, 430 million years ago, equatorial reef systems developed in the seas. The reefs were home to all kinds of invertebrates and among the most plentiful were brachiopods, bryozoans, and gastropods, seen in this specimen in our collection.
During the Silurian Period, 430 million years ago, equatorial reef systems developed in the seas. The reefs were home to all kinds of invertebrates and among the most plentiful were brachiopods, bryozoans, and gastropods, seen in this specimen in our collection.
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smmnh.bsky.social
Southern Minnesota Museum of Natural History @smmnh.bsky.social · 17d
Woolly mammoths have two sets of tusks that grow continuously throughout life, about 6 inches per year. They have growth rings that are similar in appearance to growth rings of a tree. The rings can also be used to reveal which month the animal died.
Woolly mammoths have two sets of tusks that grow continuously throughout life, about 6 inches per year. They have growth rings that are similar in appearance to growth rings of a tree. The rings can also be used to reveal which month the animal died.
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smmnh.bsky.social
Southern Minnesota Museum of Natural History @smmnh.bsky.social · 18d
7,000 year old bison teeth found at the Cherney Bison Site. For a donation of $200 or more you can get your very own bison tooth as a thanks for helping fund the excavation of this incredibly unique fossil site in Coon Rapids, Minnesota.
7,000 year old bison teeth found at the Cherney Bison Site. For a donation of $200 or more you can get your very own bison tooth as a thanks for helping fund the excavation of this incredibly unique fossil site in Coon Rapids, Minnesota.
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smmnh.bsky.social
Southern Minnesota Museum of Natural History @smmnh.bsky.social · 19d
Pegmatite is a type of igneus rock that frequently contains large crystals of quartz, feldspar, or mica. When looked at with a longwave UV flashlight, these minerals seem to glow! Kids at our museum can see this for themselves up close and personal.
Pegmatite is a type of igneus rock that frequently contains large crystals of quartz, feldspar, or mica. When looked at with a longwave UV flashlight, these minerals seem to glow! Kids at our museum can see this for themselves up close and personal.
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smmnh.bsky.social
Southern Minnesota Museum of Natural History @smmnh.bsky.social · 20d
This fossil is of a lobed-finned fish named Osteolepsis macrolepidotus and was found in Scotland. The Devonian Period (named after fossils first found in Devon, England), is known as "The age of fishes" and was fish transformed into three major groups: lobe-finned, ray-finned, and sharks.
This fossil is of a lobed-finned fish named Osteolepsis macrolepidotus and was found in Scotland. The Devonian Period (named after fossils first found in Devon, England), is known as "The age of fishes" and was fish transformed into three major groups: lobe-finned, ray-finned, and sharks.
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smmnh.bsky.social
Southern Minnesota Museum of Natural History @smmnh.bsky.social · 21d
Ammonites were abundant in the seas during the Jurassic Period. Ammonites are shelled cephalopods, a class of marine animals that include octopuses, squid, cuttlefishes and nautiluses. Ammonites have retractable tentacles for catching small prey, although some species filter-fed for small plankton.
Ammonites were abundant in the seas during the Jurassic Period. Ammonites are shelled cephalopods, a class of marine animals that include octopuses, squid, cuttlefishes and nautiluses. Ammonites have retractable tentacles for catching small prey, although some species filter-fed for small plankton.
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smmnh.bsky.social
Southern Minnesota Museum of Natural History @smmnh.bsky.social · 22d
A flower beetle in baltic amber. We hope to raise money for a museum microscope so kids can examine insect specimens like this one!
A flower beetle in baltic amber. We hope to raise money for a museum microscope so kids can examine insect specimens like this one!
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smmnh.bsky.social
Southern Minnesota Museum of Natural History @smmnh.bsky.social · 23d
Adult Mammoths had one natural enemy–Neanderthals. This Neanderthal scraper in our collection was used for preparing large mammoth hides. The Mousterian style of manufacture reveals it to be 120,000-200,000 years old.
Adult Mammoths had one natural enemy–Neanderthals. This Neanderthal scraper in our collection was used for preparing large mammoth hides. The Mousterian style of manufacture reveals it to be 120,000-200,000 years old.
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smmnh.bsky.social
Southern Minnesota Museum of Natural History @smmnh.bsky.social · 24d
7,000 year old bison teeth found at the Cherney Bison Site. For a donation of $300 or more you can get your very own bison tooth as a thanks for helping fund the excavation of this incredibly unique fossil site in Coon Rapids, Minnesota.
7,000 year old bison teeth found at the Cherney Bison Site. For a donation of $300 or more you can get your very own bison tooth as a thanks for helping fund the excavation of this incredibly unique fossil site in Coon Rapids, Minnesota.
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smmnh.bsky.social
Southern Minnesota Museum of Natural History @smmnh.bsky.social · 25d
This Dimetrodon footprint was found in a fossilized swamp in New Mexico and dates from the late Carboniferous to early Permian Period, and is 300 million years old. Dimetrodons lived during the Permian period and went extinct 40 million years before dinosaurs evolved.
This Dimetrodon footprint was found in a fossilized swamp in New Mexico and dates from the late Carboniferous to early Permian Period, and is 300 million years old. Dimetrodons lived during the Permian period and went extinct 40 million years before dinosaurs evolved.
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smmnh.bsky.social
Southern Minnesota Museum of Natural History @smmnh.bsky.social · 25d
7,000 year old bison teeth found at the Cherney Bison Site. For a donation of $200 or more you can get your very own bison tooth as a thanks for helping fund the excavation of this incredibly unique fossil site in Coon Rapids, Minnesota.
7,000 year old bison teeth found at the Cherney Bison Site. For a donation of $200 or more you can get your very own bison tooth as a thanks for helping fund the excavation of this incredibly unique fossil site in Coon Rapids, Minnesota.
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smmnh.bsky.social
Southern Minnesota Museum of Natural History @smmnh.bsky.social · 25d
7,000 year old bison teeth found at the Cherney Bison Site. For a donation of $200 or more you can get your very own bison tooth as a thanks for helping fund the excavation of this incredibly unique fossil site in Coon Rapids, Minnesota.
7,000 year old bison teeth found at the Cherney Bison Site. For a donation of $200 or more you can get your very own bison tooth as a thanks for helping fund the excavation of this incredibly unique fossil site in Coon Rapids, Minnesota.
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smmnh.bsky.social
Southern Minnesota Museum of Natural History @smmnh.bsky.social · 26d
Titanus giganteus is the world's largest beetle! They can grow up to 7 inches long and are native to tropical forests in South America.
Titanus giganteus is the world's largest beetle! They can grow up to 7 inches long and are native to tropical forests in South America.
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smmnh.bsky.social
Southern Minnesota Museum of Natural History @smmnh.bsky.social · 26d
Check out our write-up in @popsci.com! www.popsci.com/science/amat...
Amateur paleontologist opens fossil museum in rural Minnesota
Jim Pollard is bringing bison bones, fossilized mammoth poop, and more to Blue Earth's 3,000 residents.
www.popsci.com
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smmnh.bsky.social
Southern Minnesota Museum of Natural History @smmnh.bsky.social · 27d
During the Silurian Period, 430 million years ago, equatorial reef systems developed in the seas. The reefs were home to all kinds of invertebrates and among the most plentiful were brachiopods, bryozoans, and gastropods, seen in this specimen in our collection.
During the Silurian Period, 430 million years ago, equatorial reef systems developed in the seas. The reefs were home to all kinds of invertebrates and among the most plentiful were brachiopods, bryozoans, and gastropods, seen in this specimen in our collection.
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smmnh.bsky.social
Southern Minnesota Museum of Natural History @smmnh.bsky.social · 28d
Glossopteris were the dominant trees across the supercontinent Gondwana during the Permian Period. Come see this and many other fossils and minerals in our collection that tell the story of Antarctica when it was a rainforest 270 million years ago.
Glossopteris were the dominant trees across the supercontinent Gondwana during the Permian Period. Come see this and many other fossils and minerals in our collection that tell the story of Antarctica when it was a rainforest 270 million years ago.
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smmnh.bsky.social
Southern Minnesota Museum of Natural History @smmnh.bsky.social · 29d
Titanus giganteus is the world's largest beetle! They can grow up to 7 inches long and are native to tropical forests in South America.
Titanus giganteus is the world's largest beetle! They can grow up to 7 inches long and are native to tropical forests in South America.
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smmnh.bsky.social
Southern Minnesota Museum of Natural History @smmnh.bsky.social · Sep 23
Acrocanthosaurus was the top predator of the early Cretaceous. This theropod dinosaur weighed 15,000 pounds, measured 38 feet tall, had a 51 inch long skull, and a running speed of 20 mph. Prickly spines ran along the top of its back forming a ridge that gave an armored appearance.
Acrocanthosaurus was the top predator of the early Cretaceous. This theropod dinosaur weighed 15,000 pounds, measured 38 feet tall, had a 51 inch long skull, and a running speed of 20 mph. Prickly spines ran along the top of its back forming a ridge that gave an armored appearance.
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smmnh.bsky.social
Southern Minnesota Museum of Natural History @smmnh.bsky.social · Sep 22
Abundant Eocene fossils of plants and animals are found in the Green River Formation of Wyoming, Colorado and Utah. This fossil Pseudosalix Hanleyi, with stems, leaves and flowers preserved, is harder to find than a T-rex tooth!
Abundant Eocene fossils of plants and animals are found in the Green River Formation of Wyoming, Colorado and Utah. This fossil Pseudosalix Hanleyi, with stems, leaves and flowers preserved, is harder to find than a T-rex tooth!
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