Saturday, December 19, 2009

Camera Critter #89

When I was a kid, I loved going to the Field Museum in Chicago. When a person walked through the doors, the first thing seen would be a skeleton of a dinosaur...Tyrannosaurus Rex to be exact.

It was the only T-rex skeleton I had ever seen...until December 2001. I had gone to Portland, Oregon with a friend. After picking up another friend, we headed for Oregon Museum of Science and Industry where the largest known T-rex skeleton was on temporary display.

Sue

Name "Sue" after the person who discovered the bones, the skeleton stands 13 feet tall at the hips, is 42 feet long and has a skull five feet in length.

Sue's skull

"Sue" was found in South Dakota on Aug. 12 1990. Not long after the discovery, "Sue" became a legal matter and was seized by the government. The bones were later put up for auction and when the hammer fell, the Field Museum of Natural History had the highest bid.

When "Sue" was alive, her kind lived in western North America. They were meat eaters and their jaws contained 58 teeth ranging from 7 to 12 inches in length (19.05 to 30.5 centimeters).

The first T-rex discovered was found Barnum Brown in 1902 in Hell Creek, Montana. He gave the fossil the name, Tyrannosaurus Rex, or "Tyrant Lizard King."

"Sue" is now on permanent display at the entrance of Stanley Hall at the Field Museum in Chicago. It replaces the original, incomplete skeleton I remember as a child and adds a more realistic pose to the bones.

Sue's mouth

I do like taking photos of lizards, but this would have been one lizard I would use a LARGE telescope to photograph.

Sometime in the next month or two, myself and the same friend will again head to Portland to pick up the same friend who lives there. And again, we will head to OMSI and view the bones of another Tyrannosaurus Rex. Smaller than "Sue," this one is called "Sampson" and is the most complete skeleton ever found.

Misty Dawn's Camera Critter Meme is a great way to see critters of all types. Go to the Meme homepage here and check out more entries. Then join the fun and let the world see your critters!

13 comments:

Misty DawnS said...

I remember when Sue was discovered. Sue was in the news quite a bit for quite a long time.

These are really neat shots... the last one is my favorite.

eileeninmd said...

Wow , cool photos of SUE. It looks like a great exhibit.

GreensboroDailyPhoto said...

These critters are a delight to photograph. They don't move! Very informative text.

squirrel said...

Nice to learn something new. Thanks. It is still so hard for me to believe these things really existed.

Snap said...

Wonderful post. I've only been to the Field Museum in Chicago once several years ago and enjoyed every minute. Thanks for bringing back some of those memories.

Teena in Toronto said...

Look at the size of that guy!

I played too :)

Chubskulit Rose said...

My daughter said "So cool!" on your photos. she always sit beside when I am browsing CC entries, she's an animal lover and fascinated with dinosaur and other wild critters.

Meet our new baby Champ

i beati said...

and still the wonder of a child .sandy

rinelle said...

NIce Catch. Love your critter. Hope you can find time to visit mine.

ellen said...

Nice entry for camera critters. Mine is up. Hope to see you there. God Bless!

rinzo said...

Happy camera critters please view my very first entry!

Jessica - Magical Mundane said...

We took the kids to see Sue a while back. We are not too far away from Chicago so we try to go once a year to one of the museums. We didn't this year though. The year before we went to the Science and Industry museum. Anyhow, Sue is an awesome CC Saturday entry.

Rechie said...

wow..i would love to see this in person too..awesome thought for today's critter shot

mine is up too