Fossil collection in the University of California Museum of Paleontology
Fossil collection in the University of California Museum of Paleontology
A discussion of California fossils—notably those of sabre-toothed tigers and the Smilodon—in the University of California Museum of Paleontology's collection on the Berkeley campus.
Displayed by permission of The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
Transcript
[Music in]
MARK GOODWIN: This is a femur; this is the upper leg bone, a right one, of Smilodon. Smilodon is the state fossil of California, otherwise known as the saber-toothed cat. So, it gives you an idea, when you have these long bones, of the size of the skeleton, the size of this animal. And it was one of the major carnivores in the Rancho La Brea Fauna.
I'm Mark Goodwin. I'm the assistant director for research and collections in the UC Museum of Paleontology. When I first came to Berkeley, one of the first things I did was come to see their tower, because I wanted to get a view. And I took the elevator up to the observation deck. Honestly, I didn't know there are fossils in bones, and I was speechless when I walked into these floors on my first visit.
LISA WHITE: My name's Lisa White. I'm the assistant director for education and public programs here at the Museum of Paleontology. The fossils are here mostly because it was overflow. It was a convenient place to store fossils; there was a lot of space. And when I reflect on what the Campanile means to different units on campus, for the Museum of Paleontology there's the connection with the fossils here. And so, while the campus is celebrating the centennial, we delight in taking part as well.
MARK GOODWIN: This room is kind of special because it really hasn't changed very much since the fossils were put in here in 1913. You have horses and camels and saber-tooth cats, Felis atrox, which is the scientific name for the American lion, giant ground sloths, birds, including condors and vultures, tusks from giant elephants that roamed California up to about 10,000 years ago and up to about 6 or 7,000 years ago on the Channel Islands.
LISA WHITE: They're from right here in California, and even if you're from northern California, you can understand that downtown Los Angeles now looks quite urban, but when you show pictures of what downtown L.A. looked like 40,000 years ago--that there were these natural tar seeps and these large animals roaming around--it gives an entirely different perspective on life in California.
MARK GOODWIN: Horses and camels and elephants would--mammoths would get trapped in the tar; you'd have these carnivores coming over, and then they would get trapped. Yeah, we have a lot of fossils in here. This is like "Wolves are Us." And you can see these skulls here. This is the dire wolf; it's one of the big carnivores in the fauna, very abundant. Horses and camels evolved in North America. This is a big camel skull found in the Rancho La Brea Tar Pits. This is the big saber-toothed cat, or tiger, if you will. Just the canine is broken off here, but it would extend about like this, so in order to open its jaw, you'd had to have a lot of movement.
This isn't just a dusty old room, even though it has that look; it's actually used. There's ongoing research on global climate change, for example. You have to look at the past; that's why fossils are important--to get an idea of the amount of change that has occurred. There's no better place where you can get the best picture, the best window. You can open up that window with these fossils.
[Music out]
MARK GOODWIN: This is a femur; this is the upper leg bone, a right one, of Smilodon. Smilodon is the state fossil of California, otherwise known as the saber-toothed cat. So, it gives you an idea, when you have these long bones, of the size of the skeleton, the size of this animal. And it was one of the major carnivores in the Rancho La Brea Fauna.
I'm Mark Goodwin. I'm the assistant director for research and collections in the UC Museum of Paleontology. When I first came to Berkeley, one of the first things I did was come to see their tower, because I wanted to get a view. And I took the elevator up to the observation deck. Honestly, I didn't know there are fossils in bones, and I was speechless when I walked into these floors on my first visit.
LISA WHITE: My name's Lisa White. I'm the assistant director for education and public programs here at the Museum of Paleontology. The fossils are here mostly because it was overflow. It was a convenient place to store fossils; there was a lot of space. And when I reflect on what the Campanile means to different units on campus, for the Museum of Paleontology there's the connection with the fossils here. And so, while the campus is celebrating the centennial, we delight in taking part as well.
MARK GOODWIN: This room is kind of special because it really hasn't changed very much since the fossils were put in here in 1913. You have horses and camels and saber-tooth cats, Felis atrox, which is the scientific name for the American lion, giant ground sloths, birds, including condors and vultures, tusks from giant elephants that roamed California up to about 10,000 years ago and up to about 6 or 7,000 years ago on the Channel Islands.
LISA WHITE: They're from right here in California, and even if you're from northern California, you can understand that downtown Los Angeles now looks quite urban, but when you show pictures of what downtown L.A. looked like 40,000 years ago--that there were these natural tar seeps and these large animals roaming around--it gives an entirely different perspective on life in California.
MARK GOODWIN: Horses and camels and elephants would--mammoths would get trapped in the tar; you'd have these carnivores coming over, and then they would get trapped. Yeah, we have a lot of fossils in here. This is like "Wolves are Us." And you can see these skulls here. This is the dire wolf; it's one of the big carnivores in the fauna, very abundant. Horses and camels evolved in North America. This is a big camel skull found in the Rancho La Brea Tar Pits. This is the big saber-toothed cat, or tiger, if you will. Just the canine is broken off here, but it would extend about like this, so in order to open its jaw, you'd had to have a lot of movement.
This isn't just a dusty old room, even though it has that look; it's actually used. There's ongoing research on global climate change, for example. You have to look at the past; that's why fossils are important--to get an idea of the amount of change that has occurred. There's no better place where you can get the best picture, the best window. You can open up that window with these fossils.
[Music out]