Crystal Palace Dinos

black and white photo. Three Anoplotheriums being “ridden” by Navy lads

“..The spacious grounds..afford plenty of scope for amusement, and the uses to which some members of the Brigade have turned the prehistoric and other weird beasts in the shrubberies is an echo, no doubt, of the real sailor’s well known fondness for a mount of any sort when ashore.”

😬

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grainy black and white photo. Three naval reserve lads atop the Hylaeosaurus

From a letter in COUNTRY LIFE magazine, 13/02/1915:

“SIr, The saying that “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy“ appears to have been taken seriously to heart by the lads of the Naval Brigade, now in training at the Crystal Palace..

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(the Palace was closed to the public during WW1)

This is a great post - not only about the Dinosaurs, but various things related to both Crystal Palaces, and really interesting to read about the archive project itself 🏅

A good pair of update photos. Many are still under wraps, but this will hopefully be a busy month..🙏

this was a week ago, in not-South East London

black and white engraving. Workmen handle the Mosasaurus skull in dramatic poses, while one holds a torch, lighting the scene and the quarry wall behind. Two robes men in fancier clothes and hats seem to be directing the proceedings

Happy #fossilfriday from this likely over-romanticised 1799 engraving of the discovery of the Mosasaurus hoffmannii holotype in a chalk quarry near Maastricht

This is on display at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, after being looted during the French Revolutionary Wars

Terrible Lizards: S12E02 Writing with Dinosaurs  This is available to watch on youtube here: Support the podcast (keep it advert free) and get exclusive content: We have talked plenty about dinosaurs in pop culture, including in movies, but ...

New episode of #TerribleLizards is out with @richardfallon.bsky.social talking about Crichton, Conan Doyle, and #dinosaurs in literature. terriblelizards.libsyn.com/tls12e02-1

A skeleton of a giant sloth, holding onto a tall branch, in the Natural History Museum

This is Megatherium. A species that was up to 10x the size of living sloths and weighed up to four tonnes (similar to a bull elephant).

On its hind legs, Megatherium americanum would have stood 12 feet tall. 😮

Mantellisaurus in foreground, Hope the Blue whale behind.

Mammal Hall, with Blue whale model at left and proboscideans at right.

Sophie the Stegosaurus.

I had a few errands to run at London's Natural History Museum this morning. There is so much amazing stuff there I always notice and appreciate something new, so here's a thread on things I saw...

birding in the Americas is so much fun

In the UK, a small bird is probably a Wren or a Goldcrest. Over here: “McGarnagle’s Cinnamon-encrusted Beetlebasher”

On this day, 202 years ago, the first non-avian dinosaur got its scientific name: Megalosaurus

William Buckland named Megalosaurus (and his wife Mary illustrated the dinosaur) based on a few bones, including a lower jaw with a really big, sharp tooth sticking out in the middle

Finally, the famous “ring of cenotes” - along the rim of the crater.

Cenotes are water-filled sinkholes, that were vital to the Maya. Very interesting to read about what part the impact had in (some of) their creation

sites.northwestern.edu/monroyrios/s...

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An asteroid on a stick, in the centre of the main roundabout in the inland town of Chicxulub

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Big mural on the side of a building. The asteroid is stereotypically huge

Also in Progreso, nice if somewhat OTT artwork of the impact..

Progreso has one of the longest piers in the world, at 6.5km. It’s interesting to look out to sea and visualise the estimated 10km diameter of the asteroid/impactor in comparison

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The museum sign

A fibreglass Quetzalcoatlus in the outside area

Next door in Progreso, a newish museum - the Museo del Meteorito

We felt like we *needed* to go in, but the reviews were incredibly bad - a forced guided tour ending with a few animatronic dinosaurs - but the outside was pretty

(If anyone has actually visited, please leave a comment!)

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Big t-Rex on a rock

the entrance to the pier

A fibreglass T-Rex guards the entrance to the pier. Pelicans and pterosaur-esque frigatebirds sail overhead

(This coastline was hit by hurricane Milton back in 2024, but the damage was not as bad as feared)

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Colour photo a bakery shelf below an artwork depicting the size of the impact crater

Colour photo. A shelf with kitchen rolls on below a vibrant artwork depicting dinosaurs watching an approaching sky of fire

..but Chicxulub is just an ordinary Mexican town - poor in some areas, vibrant in others. Everyone is busy trying to make what living they can, and commemorating off the impact is not a priority

We did enjoy the impact art in the main bakery

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YouTube video by Rob P Werner Herzog's thoughts on Chicxulub and dogs

In his 2020 documentary "Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds", Werner Herzog decries that Chicxulub (Puerto) is “so godforsaken you want to cry", as well as insulting the local dogs for not being aware of the asteroid impact 🤷‍♂️

youtu.be/6RTtBIHoOcg?...

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photo of the monument from another angle

APOLOGIES: the monument first appeared in about 2009. The fibreglass raptor was stuck on top in 2022, which we think cheapens it somewhat.

The tablet is now very cracked

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“Chicxulub Asteroid Impact 65 million years ago a huge asteroid 10 km in diameter impacted here in this place, causing a worldwide cataclysm, destroying 60% of the living beings on the planet. This event most famously eliminated the dinosaurs and prepared the way for the emergence of mammals. This was the beginning of the history of humanity."

The text of the stone tablet

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old street sign depicting a parrot

old street sign depicting a lady in large dress and shade umbrella

old street sign depicting a bird, possibly a dove

Old street signs showing street details and pictures of houses

(The design may look very basic, but it is likely in tribute to the old terra cotta street signs found in Merida, a large city to the South)

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Colour photo. The monument minus fibreglass raptor

Around 2022, this monument and inscribed tablet appeared in the town square, which was being developed at the time

This stretch of coast saw increased tourist activity several years ago, as more American cruise ships began to dock in neighbouring Progreso

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Colour photo. The word “CHIXCULUB” in colourful blocky letters, on a pier. Most touristy Mexican towns seem to now have these

Chicxulub Puerto is a small Yucatán costal town, very close to the offshore geographic center of the Chicxulub impact crater, which caused somewhat of a global issue 66 million years ago

(not to be confused with a smaller inland town called Chicxulub Pueblo)

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Colour photo. A fibreglass raptor concreted on top of a triangular prism-esque monument depicting dinosaur fossils

A small thread about this Mexican monument that commemorates the most significant single event in the history of the planet

(plus, the surrounding area - and criticism of Werner Herzog (sorry))

🧵
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“24,090,000,000 DAYS SINCE LAST ACCIDENT”

(a thread to follow, probably tomorrow x)

Colour photo. a stereotypical fibreglass raptor concreted on the top of a triangular prism-esque stone monument, depicting dinosaur fossils. the simple terra cotta design looks crude, but is a homage to old colonial street signs in Merida, a city to the south

Buenas tardes from the monument in the market square at Chicxulub!

These are important historical stories of connections that need to be passed on through generations

(for example, one of the previous occupants of our first student house was the brother of the lead singer of Reef, who came back to collect his Scalextric that he’d left in the loft)

black and white newspaper illustration. six cats, in various poses, some with bow ties or ribbons around their necks

#DarwinDay

“Prize Cats at the Crystal Palace Show”, 1875

Sadly, we have no record of Charles Darwin ever seeing the Dinos, BUT he was a patron of the annual cat show 🤷

and attended a poultry show on 11/08/1857, and “returned rather soured in temper”
(www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docI...)

Why this new 'spiny dragon' dinosaur found in China is such a huge deal | Discover Wildlife The Iguanodon-like dinosaur had a covering of hollow spikes, according to new research.

Why this new 'spiny dragon' dinosaur found in China is such a huge deal ... a new article at Discover Wildlife www.discoverwildlife.com/dinosaurs/ha... #dinosaurs