New Mexico's Seacoast

Here's a look at some of the fossils that are in the expanded New Mexico Seacoast exhibit hall:

Fossil Specimens

• Partial skull of a Tyrannosauroid, The “Bisti Beast” – (in Dinosaurs as Living Animals) This skull of an adult tyrannosaur represents a new genus and species (not yet published). The skull is more than one meter in length (more than 40 inches long). It is associated with a complete stapes (a bone of the ear that conducts sound from the ear drum to the inner ear) and a broken and subsequently healed rib. It is the most complete skull of a Cretaceous meat-eating dinosaur to be collected from the southwest (a partial skeleton of the same animal remains unprepared). It was collected in 1998 from the BLM’s Bisti/De-na-zin Wilderness Area near Farmington, New Mexico by the NMMNH staff and a crew of volunteers. This was collected under the first Paleontological Excavation ever awarded for collecting on a Federal Wilderness Area. The Air Wing of the New Mexico Army National Guard picked up the specimen with a Blackhawk helicopter. The Bureau of Indian Affairs donated the use of an 18-wheeler to truck the specimen to Albuquerque.

•Daspletosaurus partial skull and skeleton (on second floor balcony near entrance to the Cretaceous Hall) – A juvenile of a meat-eating tyrannosaur collected from lands of the Navajo Nation near Farmington, New Mexico. This specimen represents a new species (not yet named) known only from New Mexico.

• Skull of Nodocephalosaurus kirtlandensis– (in Dinosaur Menagerie) cast of a partial skull of an ankylosaur (armored dinosaur). This is the only ankylosaur skull to be collected from New Mexico. This genus and species is known only from New Mexico.

• Partial skull of Kritosaurus navajovius– (in Dinosaurs as living animals)(holotype of Naashoibitosaurus ostromi), a hadrosaur (duck-billed dinosaur). This is one of only four flat-headed, duck-billed dinosaur skulls to be collected from New Mexico.

• Partial skull of Pentaceratops sternbergi– (in Dinosaur Menagerie) cast (panel mount from UALP)

• Skull of Pentaceratops sternbergi– (in Dinosaurs as Living Animals) cast (MNA specimen). Pentaceratops, the five-horned dinosaur, is known only from New Mexico.

• Partial skull of Parasaurolophus tubicen– (in Dinosaurs as Living Animals). This is the partial skull that was CT-scanned at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Albuquerque. The skull is associated with the sound interactive. (see also Parasarolophus Sound in the Science section of this website). The jaws of the specimen are also display and help demonstrate how some dinosaurs chewed. Parasaurolophus is very rare. About six partial skulls are known. Three of these are from New Mexico. This specimen is one of the most complete in the world. The specimen is accompanied by movies of the CT scans.

• Tyrannosaurus rex–A partial jaw of a Tyrannosaurus rex is from the shore of Elephant Butte Reservoir in south-central New Mexico.

• A partial skull of Sphaerotholus goodwini–(in Dinosaurs as Living Animals) A partial skull of a pachycephalosaur is the first of only five pachycephalosaur skulls to be collected from New Mexico. This is one of the most complete pachycephalosaur skulls to be collected from North America and it represents a genus and species found only in New Mexico.

• A juvenile pachycephalosaur skull – (in Cretaceous Menagerie) A skull of a juvenile pachycephalosaur is from the Bisti/De-na-zin Wilderness Area. It is the only juvenile pachycephalosaur specimen known from New Mexico.
• Dromaeosaurs– (in Dinosaurs as Living Animals) A “killer claw” of a dromaeosaur (popularly known as “Raptors”) is from near Farmington, New Mexico.
• Tyrannosaurus footprint from Philmont Boy Scout Ranch (cast) – (in Cretaceous Coal Mine) This is a cast of the only known footprint of a Tyrannosaurus rex and it is from New Mexico.
• Partial hadrosaur skeleton – “Dead dinosaur” (in Extinction room).
• Tyrannosaurus rex skull (cast) – “Dead dinosaur” (in Extinction room).

Additional fossil specimens include:

• Numerous ammonites, clams, and shark teeth from animals that lived in New Mexico shallow seas.
• Teeth of Cretaceous mammals from New Mexico.
• Fossil plants from the Bisti/De-na-zin Wilderness Area near Farmington, New Mexico.
• Palm stump touch specimen
• Dinosaur coprolite
• Boundary Clay layer from near Raton, New Mexico
• A portion of drill core sample through the impact fill from Yucatan, Mexico.

The expanded “New Mexico’s Seacoast” Exhibit has several themes:

New Mexico as a seacoast– This portion of the exhibit reconstructs the New Mexico of the Late Cretaceous when the state straddled the western shoreline of a shallow sea. The renovation includes examples of fossil animals and plants of this area (Cretaceous Menagerie), an improved New Mexico shoreline interactive exhibit, and a marine mural, diorama, and new Cretaceous marine fossils from New Mexico.

The rise of flowering plants– Flowering plants (angiosperms) appeared and quickly diversified and spread across the globe during the Cretaceous. With the rise of flowering plants, many types of animals, especially insects, also flourished. The new exhibit explains what a flowering plant is, and how the rise of flowering plants changed the world. This exhibit includes an interactive exhibit that demonstrates flower pollination, displays of exotic insects from Southeast Asia, and Late Cretaceous fossil plants from northwestern New Mexico.

Dinosaurs as living animals– The Late Cretaceous of New Mexico saw many types of dinosaurs from near the end of The Age of Reptiles. More than 10 dinosaur specimens, most of them consisting of real fossils, are on exhibit for the first time. These specimens include several skulls and one partial skeleton of dinosaurs from New Mexico. This exhibit shows how paleontologists sleuth fossils to determine how dinosaurs lived and behaved. Several interactives include “The Sounds of Parasaurolophus.” This interactive created with the assistance of Dr. Carl Diegert of Sandia National Labs and St. Joseph’s Hospital. “Dinosaur Detectives” is an interactive exploring how paleontologists examine such behaviors as feeding, competition, and herding among dinosaurs.

The mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous and the K/T Boundary– The end of the Cretaceous saw the demise of more than 75% of all species on earth. This extinction coincided with the impact of a large asteroid or comet. This exhibit creates, through an immersive environmental experience, what New Mexico was like following the impact. Visitors explore why and what animals became extinct. An interactive game called “K Lotto” introduces visitors to Cretaceous animals and plants that lived near the end of the Cretaceous and explores why and how some of these were affected at the end. Visitors also learn what happens during impacts and the evidence for the impact. An interactive exhibit, “The Shooting Gallery,” demonstrates how the size, speed, and composition of an object affect the earth during an impact. This portion of the exhibit includes two murals. The first is a mural (above the descending ramp) depicting a 10 km diameter asteroid about to impact the earth. The second mural depicts a scene in New Mexico shortly after the impact. The K/T Boundary Room includes an animation depicting the impact and the room reverberates with light, sound and other affects that punctuates the visitor experience. Important specimens in this section include a sample of the Boundary Clay layer (containing “Iridium Anomaly”) from near Raton, New Mexico, Microtectites, and Shocked quartz from Haiti, and a portion of an actual core through the impact fill from Yucatan, Mexico.

Cretaceous Geology– The “Underground” hall leading from the K/T Boundary room, to the New Mexico sea area (downstairs Cretaceous Hall) features New Mexico Cretaceous Geology.

• The laser dinosaur has been re-installed (after many years) and combined with a narrated video explaining how dinosaurs and other animals are incorporated into the fossil record (taphonomy) and how dinosaur bones are collected. The video features the spectacular recovery of the “Bisti Beast” from the Bisti/De-na-zin Wilderness Area by helicopter.
• The coalmine has been expanded to surround the visitor as he/she walks through the hall. Overhead are several dinosaur tracks, including the track of a Tyrannosaurus rex (cast from a print from the Philmont Boy Scout Ranch).
• Cretaceous mammal teeth from New Mexico.
• Dating Game interactive explores how scientists determine the age of dinosaurs and other fossils.

Beneath the shallow seas of New Mexico–is a Marine animals diorama with a new mural forming the backdrop. In front is a computer, interactive housed in a "Ammonite" that allows the visitor to point at an object and learn additional information.

Exhibit Interactives:

• New Mexico Shoreline
• Flower Pollination
• Dinosaur Detective
• Dinosaur skin
• Parasaurolophus sound (redone with the help of Dr. Carl Diegert of Sandia National Labs)
• Dino Detective
• Cretaceous Lotto
• Shooting Gallery
• Dating Game
• Ammonite

Other Exhibit Components of special note:

• Laser Theater and Video
• Coalmine with footprints
• Immersive Environment recreating the post impact environment of New Mexico. This is recreated in the K/T Impact Room
• Impact video