Alabama’s Harrell Station, roughly 75 kilometers west of Montgomery and 250 kilometers inland from the Gulf of Mexico, seems like the last place someone would go to explore the ocean. But crumbling out of the dusty ground, which has been wrinkled into gullies of white chalk, are the remnants of an ancient sea.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) awarded a $39,944 grant to the paleontology collections of the Alabama Museum of Natural History. The goal of this project is the rehousing, digitizing, and imaging of the cataloged part of the historic invertebrate paleontology and type collections over the next two years starting in September.
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While most are completely harmless, there are a handful of venomous caterpillars native to Alabama that can really pack a punch. We went straight to the expert, and caught up with Dr. John Abbott at The University of Alabama to get the scoop on these guys.
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Dr. John Abbott (Chief Curator & Director, Department of Museum Research & Collections) joined WBRC to discuss venomous caterpillars, how to identify them, and what you need to do if you do encounter one of these insects! Visit FOX 6 News’ website to watch the interview!
This summer, an article using a well-preserved mosasaur jaw from the Alabama Museum of Natural History paleontology collection, was published in the July issue of Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology.
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A rare fossil that resembles the skin peeled from an extinct creature has been donated to the Alabama Museum of Natural History, and experts say its scaly appearance is deceiving. The fossil, which is about a foot long, is actually the extremely well preserved “skin” of a Sigillaria — an extinct plant that counts as monstrous by modern standards. Sigillaria lived in the Paleozoic Era — ~380 to 255 million years ago — and grew to around 90 feet, according to the museum’s Curator […]
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John Abbott gave a presentation for the Dragonfly Society of the Americas to share the history of Odonata Central, one of the longest running citizen science platforms! He also introduces the new Odonata Central app!
Dr. John Abbott, the chief curator and director of research and collections for The University of Alabama Museums’, started collecting insects at age five. Now, he’s part of an international team that will spend four years creating the most complete database of dragonflies and damselflies ever assembled.
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Watch an ALL-NEW episode of Discovering Alabama tonight at 9 PM on Alabama Public Television to learn about the fossil record in Alabama, which goes back millions of years and includes dinosaurs, giant whales, and the evolution of the shark.
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Dr. Adiel Klompmaker (The University of Alabama Museums‘ Curator of Paleontology) was a guest on Linnean Podcast to discuss octopuses drilling through time! Octopoda appear to be from another planet with their entirely unrelatable anatomy and way of being, yet, we are uncontrollably drawn to them.
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