A Visit to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences

The third floor features some of the most exciting exhibits of the museum, at least for a paleontologist! "Prehistoric North Carolina" takes the visitor traveling back in time to the beginning of the universe and through the development of life on Earth. Skeletons of prehistoric animals can be seen: be sure to look for the tiny early mammal in the Rauisuchus (a distant cousin of our modern crocodiles) diorama. An Edmontosaurus (a hadrosaur) protects her eggs and hatchlings from a hungry Albertosaurus (a theropod), while a Pachycephalosaurus (a pachycephalosaur) hides in the bushes.

One of the most exciting dioramas is the actual 65-million-year-old fossil of a Thescelosaurus (a hypsilophodontid) shown still partly embedded in the late Cretaceous Period (140 to 65 million years ago) rock in which it was discovered. Discovered in 1891, the first specimen of Thescalosaurus was finally named in 1911 by Charles Gilmore when he recognized it was a new species. The name Thescalosaurus neglectus means "marvelous neglected lizard," very appropriate for this little-known animal. The specimen on display at the Museum is especially interesting because it has soft tissues preserved, including some skin, and it has the only complete Thescalosaurus skull ever found.

After you pass through a prehistoric aquarium showing life during the Eocene Epoch (55 to 36 million years ago) and Pliocene Epoch (5 to 1.8 million years ago), you see the actual one-million-year-old bones of a giant ground sloth found near Wilmington, North Carolina, in 1991. Next is "Terror of the South," containing the actual 110-million-year-old bones of Acrocanthosaurus, shown attacking a Pleurocoelus (a sauropod) in a re-creation of the famous Glen Rose Dinosaur Trackway in Texas that includes a replica of the tracks. Overhead, three Anhanguera circle. These pterosaurs lived in Brazil and may have ranged as far north as the southeastern United States.

Be sure to visit the fourth floor of the museum to see the Living Conservatory, featuring live plants, butterflies, hummingbirds, snakes and a two-toed sloth in a re-created tropical dry forest. In the Arthropod Zoo you will see venomous spiders, mantises and giant cockroaches, and you can explore nature in the Naturalist Center using specimens of animals, plants, fossils and minerals.

If you live in North Carolina, consider joining the Friends of the Museum. Friends enjoy special events and field trips just for members

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