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Eric Segovia

Natural History Museum

November 3, 2018
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This is a fish compression of a Priscacara Serrata, the Serrata dates back to the Eocene-

era. The exceptional preservation of the Priscacara can be credited to two factors, there was a

period in the Eocene-era where temperatures dropped drastically leading to many of the

Priscacara Serrata fish to perish because they couldn’t survive in a cold environment, the dead

fish would then sink to the bottom of the lakes. Because the lakes they lived in were so vast it

prevented scavengers from destructing their carcasses leading to a better preservation. I found

this fossil on the second floor of the Natural History Museum inside a cabinet along with other

insects that were well preserved. I decided to include this fossil in my photo essay because it’s

outstanding how this carcass can be so well preserved for hundreds of years.
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On the second floor I found a recreation of a Utahceratops Gettyi, these herbivores lived

approximately 75 million years ago during the late Cretaceous period and what is now Utah.

They weighed an estimated 8,000 pounds and this Utahceratops in particular was about 7 feet

tall. When I first examined the Utahceratops I could assume by the structure that it was not a

carnivore, the horns on its head, size, and structure would be mainly for self-defense. I noticed

that the teeth are flat which means the Utahceratops Gettyi must have been a herbivore, but

unlike a triceratops the Utahceratops Gettyi has two large wholes in the its skulls to counteract

the weight from its horns and skull weight which the triceratops does not have. These spaces

would rather be hollow and covered in skin than be filled with more bone mass which would

lead for its head to be much to heavy for its body.

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Passing the larger dinosaurs was an amazing Deinosuchus Hatcheri, this is a massive

prehistoric alligator. This Deinosuchus Hatcheri is much larger than any of the alligators than we

have today with the largest growing to be 35 ft long, this particular Deinosuchus was not the

maximum length although still very impressive with its enormous jaws. The Deinosuchus was

able to pray on large dinosaurs but also aquatic animals, a full grown adult Deinosuchus weighed

up to 11 thousand pounds and lived 145 million years ago during the Cretaceous period. Each

maxilla contained about 22 teeth, along with these sharp teeth their jaw force was about 102,000

Newtons. This immense strength surpasses the infamous Tyrannosaur Rex, for the Deinosuchus

Hatcheri its jaws were its fiercest quality. My thought was if a Deinosuchus had the opportunity

to go against a present day alligator, the present day alligator would not stand a chance.
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These prehistoric stone tools were incredible to look at! In this exhibit a variety of stone

tools were displayed. These tools were made for hunting, carving or whatever was necessary. To

make the points the people of the time period developed the right design for the required task.

There is a clear evolution through which these weapons came to be, the formation of a sharp

point did not occur naturally rather had to be molded and that’s what I found most fascinating,

how people were able to figure out which material made the best weapons through time and trial

and error. On the wall were samples of many designs, sizes and textures of stone and along the

bottom of the display are the uses for the most common tools and the benefits of each.
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These igneous rocks are what I was most familiar with, since we have discussed the rock

cycle many times in class. Although this is a picture of the rock cycle as a whole I would like to

specifically focus on igneous rocks, which are the type of rocks shown above. Igneous rocks also

known as plutonic rocks form when magma cools and solidifies. This museum did such an

amazing job at explaining the rock cycle in such a visual way that anyone who sees this display

can understand what the rock cycle is and how different rocks look in each cycle. This display

was on a massive wall but the igneous rocks were still low enough to touch them and feel the

different textures and to see the different formations. Igneous rocks form many layers and from

the picture above they can also be different shades.

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One of the best-known human relatives, this species had apelike face and braincase

proportions, primitive canine teeth, and strong arms with curved fingers for tree climbing. It also

had a body that walked upright on arched feet as evidenced in ancient footprints. Remains of

more than 300 individuals of this species have been uncovered. Similar to chimpanzees, Au.

Afarensis children grew rapidly after birth and reached adulthood earlier than modern humans.

This meant they had a shorter period of growing up than modern humans have today, leaving

them less time for parental guidance and socialization during childhood. They survived by

mainly a plant-based diet, including leaves, fruits, seeds, nuts, insects... and probably the

occasional small vertebrates, like lizards. Paleoanthropologists can determine what they’ve eaten

by looking at the remains of their teeth, called dental microwear.

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Although these are not fossils, I found these artifacts to be very impressive. These objects

were on the top floor of the museum which is dedicated to a collection of Native American

history. The ambient there was like nothing I’ve experienced before, while I was exploring this

section of the museum it really felt like everything came to life. On the walls were videos of

Native American people recalling their experiences living from the land. Though out the

hallways there was tables with artifacts incased in glass, I saw woven baskets and a woven cradle

for a baby. This picture that I inserted above is a little bit of everything wrapped into one display.

Through this “Across the Continent” display I can see how important the Native American

history is here in Utah.

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Cambrian 542 – 488 million years ago, Trilobite, Hemirhodon amplipyge

Marjum formation. Ordovician 488 – 444 million years ago, brachiopod, Herbetella sp,

brachiopod, Plasystorphis ponderosa. Silurian 444 – 416 million years ago, brachiopod, Atrypa

aspera, Sulcatina sulcate. Devonian 416 – 359 million years ago, brachiopod, Spirifer verneuli,

Spirifer cyrospirifer. Carboniferous 359 – 299 million years ago, brachiopod, Spirifer grimesi.

Permian 299 – 252.5 million years ago, brachiopod, Antiquatonia sp. Triassic 252.5 – 201.5

million years ago, nautiloid, Germanonautilus sp. Jurrasic 201.5 – 145.5 million years ago,

mollusc, Gryphaea arcuate. Cretaceous 145.5 – 65.5 mollusc, Inaceranus. Palegene 65.5 – 23

mya, Sea Urchin, Echinoidea Indet. Neogene 23 million years ago – present, Chesapecten

madisonius
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Growth there are different ways to grow. All living beings grow, but growth can take

different forms. Some organisms reach a certain size, then stop growing. Others grow all their

lives. Different parts of an organism often grow at different rates, producing changes in he body

form. Less often, all parts grow at the same rate. Sometimes, as when tadpoles turn into frogs,

organisms change for m entirely as they grow. For many organisms, growth leads to changes in

shape and proportion as well as size. That’s because not all parts of there bodies grow and the

same rate. You can see that in these wall skulls. Young wolves have proportionately shorter

snouts than older wolves. People grow this way too. Compared to adults, babies have

proportionately larger heads and shorter legs

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Dromaeosaurid is a family of feathered theropod dinosaurs. They were generally small –

to medium sized feathered carnivores that flourished in the Cretaceous Period. The name

Dromaeosaurid means “Swift lizards”. These dinosaurs were intelligent, small, large-eyed, fast,

bipedal, efficient killers that were closely related to birds. These killer dinosaurs had large sickle-

shaped claws on the middle toe of each foot, capable of slashing prey. They may have hunted in

packs, killing even large sauropods. They were the most intelligent group of dinosaurs.

Dromaeosaurid fossils have been found in North America, South America, and Asia.

Dromaeosaurid lived from the Cretaceous Period, Adasaurus, Dromaeosaurs, Deinonychus,

Utahraptor, Elopteryx, Saurornitholestes, and Velociraptor are examples of dromaeosaurids.

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Rock layers show time and climate, the Eocene lake have rock layers called varves, Dark

layers form in summer, light in winter. Changing climates can be seen in the rocks and the fossils

they hold. Different fish lived different waters, some in brackish water, others in fresh. The Salt-

dwellers lived in the lakes when the climate was a warmer, and fresh water evaporated. 1st

Laminated micrite limestone discovered and prepared by Mark L. in Lincoln County, Wyoming,

1996. 2nd Magadi-type chert with salt crystal casts, Lake Magadi, Kenya 2001. 3rd Magadi-type

with salt crystal casts, Lincoln County, Wyoming, 1996. 4th Jar of oil, NHMU exhibit specimen.

5th Oil shale from Mahogany Zone, Utah 2010. 6th Angiosperm pollen, Lincoln County,

Wyoming 1996.
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With its long, earlike tufts, intimidating yellow-eyed stare, and deep hooting voice, the

Great Horned Owl is the quintessential owl of storybook. This powerful predator can take down

birds and mammals even larger than itself, but it also dines on daintier fare such as tiny

scorpions, mice, and frogs. It’s one of the most common owls in North America, equally at home

in desserts, wetlands, forests, grasslands, backyards, cities, and almost any other semi-open

habitat between the Artic and the tropics. They are large, thick-bodied owls with two prominent

feathered tufts on the head. The wings are broad and rounded. In flight, the rounded head and

short bill combine to create a blunt-headed silouette. Horned owls are nocturnal. You may see

them at dusk sitting on fence posts or tree limbs at the edges of open areas, or flying across roads

or fields with stiff, deep beats of their rounded wing. Their calls is a deep series of 4-5 hoots.