Ben Miller
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extinctmonsters.bsky.social
Ben Miller
@extinctmonsters.bsky.social
Mostly posts about the art history of paleontology in museums. Exhibit developer at the Field Museum, opinions my own. Proudly from DC. he/him

Website: extinctmonsters.net
I imagine we can all relate to Andalgalornis here
November 24, 2025 at 9:11 PM
The look I get when I tell him he's spent enough time guarding his plastic girlfriend
November 24, 2025 at 4:41 AM
Opening day photo roundup continues. These are by Tom Kapitany. That's...a lot of Triceratops!
November 22, 2025 at 5:03 PM
And some intriguing non-dinosaurs. From www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARIK...
November 22, 2025 at 3:51 PM
A few more screenshots of this place from coverage of the royal family's visit
November 22, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Pretend it says afrothere
November 21, 2025 at 11:04 PM
The Ward Scientific Company sold these Rhomaleosaurus casts to various museums starting in 1866 (for $150). The original at the National Museum of Ireland was broken up with sledgehammers during a move in the 1920s. #FossilFriday
November 21, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Some images here from the new Natural History Museum of Abu Dhabi. This is where Stan and several other recent high-profile dinosaur sales went.
November 20, 2025 at 11:08 PM
The whale mostly speaks for itself, but I was surprised by the lack of interpretation. Most visitors won't recognize that this skeleton is in a lunge-feeding pose, or even what that is. Surely there could have been a photo, if not a video or AR overlay?
November 18, 2025 at 9:56 PM
Having finally seen the finished display of "Hope" the blue whale, though, I understand the vision. This is a truly spectacular display that is perfectly suited to this space.
November 18, 2025 at 9:45 PM
To be clear, the manufactured controversy was a stroke of genius. It got people engaged with the institution, and made them think about their personal connection with this public space. And the museum got a decade of press out of it, especially when they started touring the Dippy cast around the UK.
November 18, 2025 at 9:35 PM
10 years ago, the London NHM cleverly manufactured a controversy when they announced they'd be replacing Dippy the Diplodocus in their main hall with a blue whale skeleton.

Long story short, the whale rules, in spite of its notable handicap of not being a dinosaur. 🧵
November 18, 2025 at 9:35 PM
I tried to take a picture of every label like I usually do and within a couple minutes I was like screw it, let's just say they're all Stenopterygius
November 17, 2025 at 3:49 PM
A couple years ago I happened upon this abandoned mastodon while wandering in the woods. I’m happy to discover that he’s since been relocated to brand new playground area, and that his name is Bimbo.
November 15, 2025 at 11:43 PM
Have a chunk of Megatherium skull with curiously sliced-off teeth collected by Chucky D himself #FossilFriday
November 14, 2025 at 2:27 PM
On our end, we wanted to rapidly communicate how the extinction event played out in a way that was spectacular but not traumatic, so we landed on the immersive theater space with paper cutout-style animation. Really, really curious about AMNH's version!
November 13, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Left: After the Age of Dinosaurs, Field Museum
Right: Impact: The End of the Age of Dinosaurs, AMNH

Given the project timelines I'd be shocked if there was any sort of plagiarism afoot, but it's uncanny how two teams can land on such similar solutions to the same storytelling problem.
November 13, 2025 at 3:20 PM
POV you are a very small Morrison fern
November 12, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Owen had the skeleton remounted with proper mastodon proportions, and it's been on near-continuous display ever since.
November 11, 2025 at 4:58 PM
This handsome mastodon on display in London is one and the same as Missourium, a chimeric super-mastodon created by showman Albert Koch in 1840. Multiple skeletons were combined to extend its length to 40 feet, and the tusks were mounted sideways so they looked like aggressive tusks.
November 11, 2025 at 4:56 PM
This label at the NHM is nice but it’s striking how tiny it is. However, holding and prominently advertising a gender and sex diversity tour is pretty cool!
November 10, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Genuinely impressed by how the small Hunterian and Horniman museums have managed to position themselves as agents for positive social change while owning up to their monstrous origins.
November 10, 2025 at 1:40 PM
This thing reallly ought to be the centerpiece of NHM’s new dinosaur hall when it opens in 5-10 years. Sophie seems kind of lonely out by the secondary entrance!
November 8, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Sophie is pretty extraordinary: both as a fossil (I believe still one of only 3 substantially complete Stegosaurus ever found) and as a display. The mount by Brock Sisson really captures the vibe an angry, cornered, not-especially-bright reptile.
November 8, 2025 at 5:32 PM
One of these is a picture of the very first scientifically recognized dinosaur fossils (Iguanodon teeth), collected by the Mantells in 1820. I’m not sure which because they appear in two different galleries and neither is labeled as a cast. #FossilFriday
November 7, 2025 at 6:59 PM