December 11, 2007

The Upcoming NMMNHS Triassic Exhibit

7:33 pm

The Albuquerque Tribune ran a story today on the project that’s been keeping me busy at the day job: a new Triassic Exhibit opening this March at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science.

This is the project I’ve been looking forward to working on since I started at the museum almost a decade ago, and finally all the pieces have come together to pull it off.  Everyone involved in the exhibit is itching to show off some the fantastic Triassic fossils from the museum collections. The article only hits some of the highlights: this photo shows a beautifully preserved young Coelophysis from the Museum’s Ghost Ranch block (read the article for more Coelophysis-as-cannibal news). Another picture shows a the beginnings of a life-sized model of a New Mexican erythrosuchian, while the final position of one of the big stars remains tastefully hidden until the opening.

I’m not certain how much I’ll be able to share here until the exhibit opens, but I’ll definitely pass along any info that’s been made public before then.

—Matt Celeskey.

File under: Museumabilia, The Day Job, Triassic.

9 Responses to “The Upcoming NMMNHS Triassic Exhibit”

  1. Mark Mancini, on December 11th, 2007 at 8:02 pm Said:

    Woah! This exhibit looks great! Kudos to all involved!

    Any idea how long it will run for? (I’ll be heading out to New Mexico this summer to attend Mesalands Community College for Paleo.)

    -Mark

  2. Matt Celeskey, on December 11th, 2007 at 9:05 pm Said:

    Hi Mark -

    This will be a permanent addition to the museum’s walk through time, so you should have no problem catching it.

    Congrats on heading out to Mesalands–they’ve got quite a nifty little museum out there as well.

  3. Thomas R. Holtz, Jr., on December 12th, 2007 at 6:20 am Said:

    Wait: A New Mexico erythrosuchian?!? When did that happen??? (Okay, the Early or Middle Triassic, obviously…) But has it been published yet?

  4. Matt Celeskey, on December 12th, 2007 at 7:42 am Said:

    Hi Tom -

    The NM erythrosuchian was written up here:

    Nesbitt, S. J., Lucas, S. G., and Schoch, R. R. (2006) A new, large archosauriform from the Anton Chico Member of the upper Moenkopi Formation (Middle Triassic), east-central New Mexico, USA: Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen, v. 239, n. 2, p. 289-311.

    Mostly some big weathered centra and pieces from the hip/hindlimb. No cranial material, a few handfuls of scutes and gastralia. Enough to identify a big Mid-Triassic archosauriform, enough to suggest erythrosuchian affinities, not enough to name. The reconstruction/restoration for the exhibit (which I did some 2-D work on) is based largely on Shansisuchus and Erythrosuchus, but from what I could tell, the New Mexico animal appears to be closer in size to the latter.

  5. Thomas R. Holtz, Jr., on December 13th, 2007 at 6:40 am Said:

    Thanks: will have to hunt that up (wish we still got Neues Jahrbuch here…).

  6. Brett Booth, on December 13th, 2007 at 8:06 am Said:

    Well damn I was just up that way Monday and found out that you now have Stan, I guess I’ll have to come back up in March:)

    Best,

    Brett

  7. Zach Miller, on December 13th, 2007 at 4:10 pm Said:

    My wife wants to visit NM, Matt. If ever we do, I’m looking you up!

  8. Matt Celeskey, on December 13th, 2007 at 9:32 pm Said:

    Glad you got to see the new T .rex, Brett. If you plan to stop back for the Triassic exhibit, drop me a line. And the same goes for you, Zach!

  9. Brett Booth, on December 14th, 2007 at 7:53 am Said:

    Sure thing, the wife has given me approval;)

    Best,

    Brett

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