Science – Penny Higgins – Storyteller • Artist • Scientist

Lost with the National Museum of Brazil – Kamehameha’s Cloak – Luto #MuseuNacional

On September 2, 2018, the National Museum of Brazil (Museu Nacional) was gutted by fire. 2018 was the Museu Nacional’s 200th year.

This post is one of series in which I discuss an important specimens that may have been lost to science in the blaze.

In 1824, King Kamehameha II Liholiho of Hawaii gave Brazil’s emperor Dom Pedro, a feathered cloak (‘ahu ‘ula). Such cloaks were status symbols for the highest ranks of the ruling class of Hawaii.

Feathered cloaks are made from a woven netting that is decorated with brightly colored feathers. Though there remains over 100 examples of these cloaks worldwide, this particular cloak was lost to the fire at the Museu Nacional.

Lost with the National Museum of Brazil – Santanaraptor – Luto #MuseuNacional

On September 2, 2018, the National Museum of Brazil (Museu Nacional) was gutted by fire. 2018 was the Museu Nacional’s 200th year.

This post is one of series in which I discuss an important specimens that may have been lost to science in the blaze.

In 1999, Alexander Kellner, a researcher at the Museu Nacional, published a paper describing the holotype for the genus Santanaraptor (“Santana Formation thief”). This holotype (MN 4802-V) consists of several bones of a juvenile individual and fragments of mineralized soft tissues (including epidermis, muscle, and possibly blood vessels).

A reconstruction of *Santanaraptor* at the Museu Nacional.
CREDIT: Dornike CC BY-SA 4.0

Continue reading “Lost with the National Museum of Brazil – Santanaraptor – Luto #MuseuNacional”

Lost with the National Museum of Brazil – Luzia – Luto #MuseuNacional

On September 2, 2018, the National Museum of Brazil (Museu Nacional) was gutted by fire. The loss has hit the paleontology community (and the larger museum community) hard. I will highlight over the next few days some of the many priceless specimens that have been lost.

This year, the Museu Nacional celebrated its 200th year. I am hopeful all is not lost.

Lapa Vermelha IV Hominid 1, informally referred to as Luzia, was discovered in 1975 in a rock shelter locality near Belo Horizonte, Brazil, by a French and Brazilian team led by Annette Laming-Emperaire. At the time, Laming-Emperaire felt that this was among the oldest human remains found in South America.

Facial reconstruction at the National Museum of Brazil. CREDIT: Dornike CC BY-SA 4.0

Continue reading “Lost with the National Museum of Brazil – Luzia – Luto #MuseuNacional”

When Two Species Merge into One – #365papers – 2018 – 60

Kearns, Restani, Szabo, Schoder-Nielsen, Kim, Richardson, Marzluff, Fleisher, Johnsen, and Omland, 2018, Genomic evidence of speciation reversals in ravens: Nature Communications, v. 9, 906

What’s it about?

The authors describe how what were once two distinct lineages of ravens (the Californian and the holarctic) have merged into what we now refer to as the common raven in the western United States. Using evidence from mitochondrial DNA, the authors show that not only is the common raven the result of the fusion of two lineages, but that the Chihuahuan raven, that lives alongside the common raven, is a descendant of the Californian raven.Continue reading “When Two Species Merge into One – #365papers – 2018 – 60”

Clay Keeps Records of Ancient Water – #365papers – 2018 – 56

Mix and Chamberlain, 2014, Stable isotope records of hydrologic change and paleotemperature from smectite in Cenozoic western North America: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, v. 141, p. 532-546

What’s it about?

Smectite is a specific kind of clay mineral, common in volcanic ash. This kind of clay incorporates water during its formation, which, as the authors show, can provide a record of what surface water was like when the clay formed. Continue reading “Clay Keeps Records of Ancient Water – #365papers – 2018 – 56”

Where, Oh Where Do the Ganglia Go (in Lampreys) – #365papers – 2018 – 50

Modrell, Hockman, Uy, Buckley, Sauka-Spengler, Bronner, and Baker, 2014, A fate-map for cranial sensory ganglia in the sea lamprey: Developmental Biology, v. 385, p. 405-416

What’s it about?

Fate-maps show where tissues in an embryo wind up in the adult. It is truly remarkable how cells move around in embryos. I mean, seriously.

In this case, the authors are tracing sensory ganglia, in particular, to branches of the trigeminal nerve: the ophthalmic (or profundal) and the maxillomandibular, which provide sensory functions to parts of the lips and mouth.Continue reading “Where, Oh Where Do the Ganglia Go (in Lampreys) – #365papers – 2018 – 50”

Squids, and Octopodes, and Nautiluses, Oh My! – #365papers – 2018 – 49

Sanchez, Setiamarga, Tuanapaya, Tongtherm, Winkelmann, Schmidbaur, Umino, Albertin, Allcock, Perales-Raya, Gleadall, Strugnell, Smiakov, and Nabhitabhata, 2018, Genus-level phylogeny of cephalopods using molecular markers: current status and problematic areas: PeerJ v. 6, e4331

What’s it about?

Using DNA sequences, the authors sort out the evolutionary relationships among squids, octopuses, nautiluses, and cuttlefish.Continue reading “Squids, and Octopodes, and Nautiluses, Oh My! – #365papers – 2018 – 49”

We Know Sea Level Rise is Getting Faster – #365papers – 2018 – 48

Nerem, Beckley, Fasullo, Hamlington, Masters, and Mitchum, 2018, Climate-change-driven accelerated sea-level rise detected in the altimeter era: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

What’s it about?

Sea level is rising. In fact, it’s rising faster and faster. Using satellite data, the authors show that this is the case, even when variations from volcanic events and ‘ordinary’ ocean shifts (like El Nino) are taken into account.Continue reading “We Know Sea Level Rise is Getting Faster – #365papers – 2018 – 48”

Waves of Extinction Add Up – #365papers – 2018 – 47

Wang and Zhong, 2018, Estimating the number of pulses in a mass extinction: Paleobiology, 1-20

What’s it about?

The problem with the rock record is that it is incomplete. This means that what was really a gradual extinction could look abrupt, or that a large-scale mass extinction can look like it was spread out. The authors of this paper present a method by which it is possible to determine how many pulses or waves of extinction added up to what we consider a mass extinction.Continue reading “Waves of Extinction Add Up – #365papers – 2018 – 47”

Did the Chixulub Impact Make the Oceans Erupt More? – #365papers – 2018 – 43

Byrnes and Karlstrom, 2018, Anomalous K-Pg-aged seafloor attributed to impact-induced mid-ocean ridge magmatism: Science Advances, v. 4: eaao2994

What’s it about?

The Chixulub Impact is the event linked to the extinction of the dinosaurs. The authors here show that at the same time as the impact, ocean floor spreading increased for just a little while. They hypothesize that the seismic waves caused by the impact resulted in the mobilization of molten rock, leading to this increase in volcanic activity.Continue reading “Did the Chixulub Impact Make the Oceans Erupt More? – #365papers – 2018 – 43”