American Museum of Natural History

There’s a new dinosaur at the Museum! Meet Apex, one of the largest and most complete Stegosaurus specimens ever uncovered. Named for its large size, Apex is nearly 80 percent complete and measures 11.5 ft (3.5 m) tall and 27 ft (8.2 m) long! It’s mounted in a defensive pose, with its spiked tail raised in the air. Discovered in the famed Morrison Formation, just outside of Dinosaur, Colorado in May of 2022, this well-preserved specimen includes 254 of approximately 320 bone elements. Apex lived during the Jurassic some 150 million years ago, alongside dinosaurs like Allosaurus and Diplodocus. “As exciting as is it is to have this dinosaur on display, it is even more exciting to have the opportunity to study it and make important scientific data available for research,” said Roger Benson, the Museum’s Macaulay Curator of Paleontology and curator-in-charge of fossil amphibians, reptiles, and birds and fossil plants. “Stegosaurus is one of the top dinosaurs known by the general public, but scientifically, we have much more to learn.” Photo: Alvaro Keding & Daniel Kim/ © AMNH

🕷️New species alert! Scientists have discovered a new species of whip spider in Arizona and California that they’ve named Paraphrynus tokdod after the Tohono O’odham word for spider. Previously, these arachnids were grouped with a species called Paraphrynus carolynae, which was thought to range from Arizona to central Mexico.   While collecting specimens of Paraphrynus carolynae, Nicolas Cazzaniga, a student in the Museum’s Richard Gilder Graduate School and the The Graduate Center, City University of New York and Lorenzo Prendini, curator in the Museum’s Division of Invertebrate Zoology, noticed that some individuals had different physical features, including unique coloration—suggesting that the northernmost population of Paraphrynus carolynae might actually be a distinct species.   By taking a closer look at the new specimens’ morphology and genome, researchers found that the northern whip spiders are different enough to be considered a separate species. This discovery raises the known number of species in the genus Paraphrynus to 22 and reveals that undiscovered biodiversity can be found in our very own backyard! Learn more: https://amnh.link/3VjFInJ

How can astrophysicists make predictions about parts of the universe they’ve never observed? Join Museum Curator Mordecai-Mark Mac Low to learn how weather-modeling techniques can predict star formation and how computer gamers have helped along the way! Watch the full video on our YouTube channel: https://lnkd.in/eK87Gv7E #astronomy #astrophysics #spaceexploration #stem #universe

It’s Trilobite Tuesday, which makes it the perfect day to announce a new species of trilobite! In January 2022, Museum Curator Melanie Hopkins was looking through boxes of historic trilobite specimens slated to be included in the Museum’s yet-to-open Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Collections Core when she noticed something strange. The labels indicated that the specimens were all the same species, Flexicalymene senaria, a common and often well-preserved trilobite. But to Hopkins’ trained eyes, some of those fossils were different from the others. “I quickly realized that not all the specimens in the boxes were the same species,” said Hopkins, who is the chair of the Museum’s Division of Paleontology. “So I started reading some of the history of this species, and it turns out that I wasn't the first to notice this.” The resulting study, published today in the journal American Museum Novitates, examined existing literature, new and historical fossil collections at the Museum, the New York State Museum, the Paleontological Research Institution, the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, and field work to identify a new species: Flexicalymene trentonensis. Read more: https://bit.ly/4i0hCrT #newresearch #paleontology #fossils #trilobites #museums

The Museum’s Origami Tree opens to visitors today—come leap into the holiday spirit! With a nod to turning the calendar page on the 2024 leap year, the theme of this year’s tree is Jumping for Joy. It celebrates the many animals with a particular prowess that sets them apart: hopping, pouncing, and leaping. An annual New York City tradition, the 13-ft (4-m) tree is adorned with more than 1,000 origami models, including rabbits, kangaroos, grasshoppers, frogs, squirrels, and cicadas. Also on display will be models depicting iconic Museum exhibits like the Blue Whale and Tyrannosaurus rex. Produced in partnership with OrigamiUSA, the Origami Holiday Tree is delightfully decorated with hand-folded paper models created by local, national, and international origami artists. Plan your visit: https://bit.ly/3V9gB77 Photo: A. Keding / © AMNH #thingstodoinnyc #museums #origami

It’s time for Fossil Friday! If you’ve been inside the Museum’s Hall of Vertebrate Origins, you may have noticed this marine reptile hanging overhead. Meet Thalassomedon haringtoni, a long-necked plesiosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous some 85 million years ago. This behemoth had a relatively small head and many sharp teeth. Its long, flexible neck probably helped in grasping rapidly moving prey. Plesiosaurs, a group related to lizards, lived in the sea. Although they weren’t dinosaurs, they became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous around 65 million years ago, at the same time as the non-avian dinosaurs. Photo: © AMNH #museums #naturalhistory #fossils #paleontology #plesiosaur

¿Se ha preguntado qué aspecto tiene el universo fuera del sistema solar o incluso a millones de años luz de la Tierra? Únase a Genaro Suarez, investigador posdoctoral del Departamento de Astrofísica, en un viaje por el universo observable y más allá del cielo estrellado hacia distancias inconmensurables. Boletos: https://bit.ly/3ZjitwA #astronomía #museos

Have you wondered what the universe looks like outside the solar system—or even millions of light years from Earth? Find out at the next Astronomy Live on Wednesday, December 17! Join Assistant Director of the Hayden Planetarium Brian Abbott on a journey through the observable universe. He’ll guide you beyond our familiar, starry night sky to explore unfathomable distances. For more details and to RSVP, visit: https://bit.ly/4eN4mUM #astronomy #space #spaceexoloration #thingstodoinnyc #museums

Don’t mess with this fish! For Fossil Friday, meet Dunkleosteus terrelli. It lived some 360 million years ago during the Devonian. Scientists think it was one of the first large jawed vertebrates in the ocean and an aggressive predator. The razor-sharp edges of bones in its jaws served as cutters, and as they rubbed against each other, the opposing jaw blades acted like self-sharpening shears. These bones continued to grow as they were worn down by use. See this specimen up close in the Museum’s Hall of Vertebrate Origins! Plan your visit: https://bit.ly/4brkWaP Photo: Image no. ptc-5861 © AMNH Library #fossils #paleontology #fish #museums

Join us on Wednesday, December 4, for the next SciCafe at the Museum! Homa Hosseinmardi, assistant professor in the UCLA College of Social Sciences, and John Jost, professor and co-director of the Center for Social and Political Behavior at New York University, will explore the “how” and “why” of the ways in which society interacts with digital tools, including social media, and how they play a role in rising social and political divisions. SciCafe is 21+ and free with RSVP. For more details and to RSVP, visit: https://bit.ly/4hNTZTl