Pyenson Lab

Exhibition: "Whales: From Bone to Book"

Well, things are rolling now. The installation for the exhibition "Whales: From Bone to Book" is nearly complete, and if you're in the area, you can see it in person. (Speaking as its lead curator, it's a lot of fun to see it up finally).

The exhibit's website is now open as well, hosted by Smithsonian Libraries. On this site you will be able to search Smithsonian's online collections for original literature relating to the exhibit, see examples of pen-and-ink illustrations featured on the exhibit, and read some fun articles. Also, there is a short link to the June 6th symposium. In the future, we will swap out modules to keep things lively, so check back for updates.

The Smithsonian Libraries, which is leading the exhibition, has more details on their blog about the literature displayed in the exhibit, including over 400 year old books, and key publications in the history of cetology. Check it out! Smithsonian Science is also covering the exhibition too.

From Magnus Olaus' 1557 work Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus. Read it online or see the original book in person at the exhibition!

From Pierre-Joseph van Beneden and Paul Gervais’s Ostéographie des cétacés, a classic 19th century work that is still used by modern researchers.

A Panamanian story: Part 3

Picking up where we left off (Part 1 and Part 2), I wanted to finish the set of posts about the fossil dolphin skull from Piña, on the Caribbean side of Panama.

Recently at NMNH, we've been inspired by the hard work of the laser cowboys (check out this month's Smithsonian magazine), and have started a nascent 3D digitization program in the department of Paleobiology. The goal is to generate high-resolution 3D digital datasets of museum specimens by combining laser surface scanning, photogrammetry and CT imaging -- as close as we can get to a full digital avatar of the real thing. 3D printing is just a small end result of what we hope is a much more accessible final set of products that connect everyone to what we do at the Smithsonian. The video below, featuring the laser cowboys (Adam Metallo and Vince Rossi from the Smithsonian Digitization Program Office's 3D Lab), explains this approach a bit better:

 

Back to the skull: as USNM 546125, the Panamanian dolphin skull. As a future holotype, it will become part of the type series of fossil marine mammals here at NMNH, and it is an excellent candidate to receive the full digital treatment. Holly Little, a recent hire and long-standing co-conspirator with the laser cowboys, has been hard at work on digitizing this specimen, and we plan to share more down the road. But for now, here's a preview:

A 3D point cloud of USNM 546125, made from many hundreds of "laser brushes" using the high-resolution laser arm scanner. The more trippy the better the quality of the dataset -- seriously! (h/t Holly Little).

Free public symposium associated with "Whales: From Bone to Book"

Yes, there's more than just an exhibit. Following the heels of the last post, I also wanted to share news about an exciting event associated with the forthcoming Smithsonian Libraries's exhibit "Whales: From Bone to Book." In the early planning stages of the exhibit, we agreed that there were simply too many important stories, and that a symposium with guest speakers would be an ideal venue to share some of the more interesting narratives that link up different aspects of the exhibit. So make sure to circle Thursday, June 6th, 2013:

We're fortunate to have a great line-up of speakers, including Stephen Godfrey from Calvert Marine Museum and keynotes addresses by two scholars with unique perspectives on the history of cetacean research at the Smithsonian. These talks are free and open to the public inside the gorgeous Baird Auditorium; but, please, RSVP if you think you might attend. In addition to the talks, there will be a demonstration of 3D laser scanning, and a Q&A with the speakers. Heck, you might even be able to get your cetacean literature signed by the authors!

Sneak peek of Smithsonian Libraries "Whales: From Bone to Book" exhibit

I have a few more posts to build up the big reveal on this topic, but I've mentioned it a few times before (here, here and here). Now that we're in the month of May, I'm excited to share more about the forthcoming Smithsonian Libraries exhibit, to be featured in NMNH's Evans Gallery (between the museum gift shops), all about the Smithsonian's legacy of studying whales. It opens 25 May 2013, and it will be free and open to the public during regular museum hours.

Here's the scoop: this exhibit traces the journey of how Smithsonian scientists study the largest and most enigmatic mammals on the planet: whales. It shows how cetacean bones and fossils make their way from discovery on a beach or in sea cliff, through the museum’s doors and into its vast collections, and finally to sharing new knowledge about the natural history of whales, past, present and future.

One of the most exciting parts of the exhibit will be the objects. We're showcasing field equipment, photos, illustrations, museum specimens, rare books and even 3D prints, all of which describe the long arc of whale natural history, and the Smithsonian's role in it, over the past 150 years.

Stay tuned -- I'll post links to the exhibit website, shortly, along with associated events.

A Panamanian story: Part 2

After a long delay, I can finally circle back to continue an on-going story.

Previously (see Part 1, and links therein), I mentioned the discovery of a strange fossil toothed whale skull on the Caribbean coast of Panama.

The story continues early last year, when the skull and Dioselina, its discoverer, arrived at NMNH. Dioselina had earned a fellowship from STRI with the specific purpose to learn preparation techniques in vertebrate paleontology in the VP Prep Lab at NMNH, and then apply those skills to assist in the preparation of the skull from Piña.

Dioselina and Jorge open field bags and organize fragmentary bones and teeth associated with the skull from Piña. Note the use of fieldnotes! (Photo NDP)

Dioselina tackled the challenges of a new city, a different language, and a learning a new set of scientific tools with aplomb. When she left last summer, she had finished freeing the final elements from the rock that encased them, and we were left with a shoulder blade, a complete jaw (with a full set of teeth), and more than 1/2 of the skull. The specimen is now USNM 546125.

Dioselina begins preparation on the plaster jacket containing the skull in Paleobiology's VP Prep Lab (Photo Dioselina Vigil)

The plaster jacket, prior to preparation, containing what we thought were jaw bones. They contained a shoulder blade. (Photo Dioselina Vigil)

The same plaster jacket from above, several days later into its preparation. We were still unaware that it contained a shoulder blade. (Photo Dioselina Vigil)

The scapula, now revealed. (Photo Dioselina Vigil)

 An interesting fact we discovered along the way: the Piña skull's not a squalodontid. (Not by a taxonomic mile). The teeth that we saw in the field, and from the original field photos, were somewhat similar, overall, to the classic squalodont teeth that have been known for hundreds of years. But many of the details of the skull revealed during preparation -- especially in the bones underlying the blowhole -- lead us to think that this individual was more closely related to Amazon River dolphins. We hope to say more, and with a stronger scientific basis, when we report on the skeletal material in more detail in the future.

The jaws and skull, now with much of the surrounding rock removed. Compare this image with the picture of Dioselina at work, above. It's quite a beautiful specimen! (Photo Dioselina Vigil)

And the skull (seen from the side from which it was originally found) and the jaws (with teeth), awaiting more delicate preparation in temporary jackets. (Photo Dioselina Vigil)

The story doesn't end there. (And Part 3 will come much sooner than Part 2!). But, while you wait, please go check out Jorge's latest adventures...in Panama! After completing and defending his dissertation last year, Dr. Velez-Juarbe is now a PCP-PIRE postdoctoral fellow for the University of Florida. The majority of his focus will be on collecting and describing fossils from Panama while training the next generation of Panamanian paleontologists. (Including a return to the Piña locality!).

Upcoming public lecture: Calvert Marine Museum, 11 May

I'm happy to share the flyer for my upcoming talk at the Calvert Marine Museum on Saturday May 11th, at 2:30 pm. CMM is a regional jewel for natural and cultural history, and the Smithsonian has had a strong relationship with it for many decades. Their fossil marine mammal collections, in particular, represent a >100 year sample from the nearby Calvert Formation, reflecting the museum's long-standing relationships with citizen scientists and local collectors of all stripes. I am thrilled to be speaking at the invitation of their Fossil Club, and only wish I could stay more than the afternoon and spend a few weeks in their collections. (You can get that signed and notarized, Stephen).

See you there. (Right, Dave?).

Updates, updates...

Springtime has officially hit DC this week, and the cherry blossoms blooms are well underway. 

In the coming days, I will circle back to some new publications in 2013 by colleagues, new and old, in the Pyenson Lab, along with an update on the long-coming Smithsonian Libraries exhibit on the art and science of Remington Kellogg's whale illustrations.

First, check out some recent guest blog posts in two different venues: one, at Smithsonian magazine's Around The Mall, where I wrote about the digital specimens and the importance of the real thing; another, for the US State Department, describing the value of museum collections, in general terms.

Also, below, a shot from my talk at the March 9 Nerd Nite DC. (Quite a bit of profanity-laced, after-hours fun). Thanks to Jenna Jadin and also Matt Carrano, for signing me up.

On stage, at DC 9. (h/t to Carrano).

Quoted in NYT last week...

Our very own Dave Bohaska, master raconteur, was his ever-quotable self in last week's print edition of The New York Times, in a long story about owls by Natalie Angier.

So, what explains Dave's prelidiction for ancient owls? Look no further than our own Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology -- specifically, the Wetmore festschrift edited by Storrs Olson in 1976. In it, Dave co-authored an article with Pat Vickers Rich describing (what is still) the oldest fossil owl, Ogygoptynx wetmorei, a strigiform from the mid-Paleocene of Colorado. Check it out!

 

Beachcombin' ancient seafloor

Hidden histories abound around here. 

Kirk Johnson, then at DMNS, holding a 1961 issue of National Geographic magazine describing Oregonian fossil collector extraordinaire Douglas Emlong. (Dave Bohaska had a copy in his office). On the left page, Emlong chips away at a fossil pecten; opposite is USNM 215068, now a referred skull of the extinct pinniped Proneotherium and USNM 186887, teeth belonging to a desmostylid. 

Earlier this spring, NMNH hosted a conference with a buzzwordy title:  21st Century Learning in Natural History Settings. The title didn't immediately grab me, but when I heard more about the conference, I was intrigued: one goal, in building its participant list, was for representative institutions to send both an educator and a scientist. The idea was to spur dialogue about the future of natural history by involving two groups who need to understand one another better. And, pretty soon, I began to hear from like-minded colleagues who were also attending. (Unsurprisingly, there were a lot of paleontologists). 

At the meeting, I had time to catch up with Kirk Johnson, then Chief Curator and VP of Research and Collections at Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Kirk headlined the plenary list for the event; he was also spending some time in the Smithsonian Archives, reading up on Douglas Emlong, one of the great fossil collectors, but largely forgotten outside of marine mammal circles. Why Emlong and why the archives?

At the time, Kirk was working on a book with his longtime collaborator Ray Troll on the coastal fossils of North America -- a seaside follow-up to Cruisin' the Fossil Freeway. Kirk's interest in Emlong actually goes back to a National Geographic magazine article, in 1961, that featured a young Emlong and his growing collection of fossils from Oregon's coast in Lincoln County. Many years later, the majority of Emlong's collection, which included fossils of ancient marine mammals found nowhere else in the world, were sent to NMNH. (For a detailed summary, see Clayton Ray's 1977 account in Systematic Zoology). Emlong's trove is unparalleled, and to this day, we're still uncovering treasures, which reveal evolutionary and ecological glimpses into a time period that is poorly understood by marine mammalogists. Also, as part of NMNH's holdings, the definitive collection of Emlongiana -- his notes, photos, letters, and even album recordings -- are curated by Smithsonian Archives. As we paged through Emlong's hidden history, we realized how much more there is to say about the complex relationship between Emlong and my predecessors at the museum.

I'm excited to see what Ray Troll dreams up for Emlong. And the most interesting twist to this story? Kirk's now Sant Director of NMNH. The braided connections captured by the photo at the start of this post said more than we all realized at the time.

Preview SVP 2012: Why fieldnotes matter

I'd like to share a quick preview of a poster that will be presented at this year's annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology in Raleigh, North Carolina. 

A glimpse of F.C. Whitmore, Jr.,'s fieldnotes from his trip to the Galapagos Islands, describing cricetid rodent bones that he collected. These specimens were published by Steadman and Ray, 1982. (Smithsonian Institution Archives RU01-245, SIA 2012-12140 through 12150).

Here at the museum, we have an initiative called The Field Book Project. The basic idea behind centers one of the most important, yet under-appreciated aspects of doing natural history: taking notes of what you see, do, and collect while out in the field. Fieldnotes form the underlying legacy that tell researchers the "where, when and how" behind specimens sitting in a museum drawer. But they're rarely archived, indexed and curated. The Field Book Project, which is partnered with Smithsonian Archives, aims to remedy this problem in a big way by revealing the unknown histories, datasets and stories written in generations of field books. Check out the Flickr stream for more.

Sonoe Nakasone, the cataloging coordinator for the project, will be presenting a poster at SVP describing more about how this works. As a case study, we decided to look at the fieldnotes of Frank C. Whitmore, Jr., a founding member of SVP who passed away earlier this year. If you're coming to SVP, stop by the poster to find out more about Frank's work in South America!

Frank in Peru, studying the skull and mandibles of a fossil baleen whale, likely from the Pisco Formation. Specimen and location unknown. (Smithsonian Institution Archives RU01-245, SIA 2012-12140 through 12150).