San Diego Paleo Attractions

[ZoPteryx]

If your in the southern California area, be sure to visit the greater San Diego area.  While most famous for its beaches, spectacular zoo, and Sea World, this area also has a few prehistory related attractions.  First and foremost, is the the San Diego Natural History Museum (the oldest museum in southern CA and the third oldest east of the Mississippi), located within beautiful Balboa Park.  There are two enterances, I'm not sure which is the main enterance, we'll follow the route I took.

An Albertosaurus charges a Lambeosaurus (recently changed to Magnapaulia) in the main enterance to the ancient life section (the largest section in the museum as far as can tell) .  Southern California -- or at least San Diego -- history basically starts in the late Cretaceous, with little record before that time.




They were skeletons on the reverse side.



I really loved the big wall paintings in each section.


Aletopelta: an ankylosaur found right in San Diego!  Based on the barnacles and other marine inverts that covered it, the body was likely washed out to sea.  I was impressed that the info on the exhibit explained the difference between an ankylosaur and a nodosaur.



Pteranodon with its prey.


Mesozoic marine life was abundant in this area.  Does anyone know what those giant eels are supposed to be?


Mosasaur tail vertebrae from Plotosaurus I think.


A Tylosaurus about to take a bite out of an ammonite.


Apparently, he has quite the feast lined up!


Sadly, all good things must eventually come to an end.


Next up: the jungles of the Eocene!


A small, unnamed brontothere.


A worried looking family of Hesperolemur.


Perhaps they're worried because a hungery Hyaenodon has spotted them!


"Meeting a Meaty Challenge"


A primitive tapir, Hesperaletes, goes for a swim.


Modern tapir skull on the left, prehistoric one on the right.


Pimitive hoofed mammal mayhem!  A Harpagolestes sneeks up on a small herd of Protoreodon.


They all better watch their backs though, because a Pristichampsus was on the prowl.


Skeleton of Protoreodon.


There are plenty of little hidden creatures too.  Like a boa...


...a Pseudotomus...


...an Omomys...


...an armoured Glyptosaurus munching scarabs...


...and a big Tapocyon.


The following section talks about mammal evolution (especially ungulates), the American Faunal Exchange, and more.


And you can learn all of this while a giant C. megalodon reads over your shoulder!


Up next the: the late Miocene and the Ice Ages.

[Balaur]

I live only a half hour drive from there, and go there regularly, so it's nothing really new to me.  Lol! I love that museum, it's a freaking awesome place! Nice to see feathered deinonychosaurs that the general public see's. By far, my favourite part is the entrance with the Allosaurus skeleton. Just an awesome beast! I feel like it's going to rip your head off! How did you enjoy it? BTW, I actually never noticed that lizard in the Cenozoic diorama.

[Jetoar]

Ohh this museum is amzing. I knew this museum because I watched a documentarie of Megalodon and appeared this reply. I would like to travel for America to visit the museums  .

[Gwangi]

Beautiful displays they have set up. Shame there isn't something similar more locally (for me that is).

[ZoPteryx]

Thanks for the comments everyone!

How did you enjoy it? BTW, I actually never noticed that lizard in the Cenozoic diorama.

Despite living only a few hours away, this is the first time I'd been there in probably over 12 years.  In short, I loved it!   BTW, the lizard in the diorama is on the ground behind the standing brontothere.

Okay, on to more recent times.

The primitive pinniped Allodesmus narrowly escapes the giant shark.


A prehistoric Walrus.


Remains of early baleen whales.


A selection of Pliocene cetaceans, from right to left: Half-beaked Porpoise, Long-beaked River Dolphin, & Broad-headed Porpoise.


A model of the much more recent Stellar's Sea Cow.



Mammuthus


Warning: All unattended children will be eaten by the Cave Lion.


Comparison between Dire Wolf and Smilodon.


Ice Age California scenery.


Sloths, lots of sloths.


And here's some views of the floor below where all the previous photos were taken, sort of a main lobby.

The magnificent Allosaurus.


Xiphactinus


A mosasaur (Platecarpus?).


And when your feeling a little worn out, grab a refreshment at the Dinosaur Cafe!


That concludes the San Diego Natural History Museum, but there are more paleo attractions still in store!

[Balaur]

Thanks for the comments everyone!

How did you enjoy it? BTW, I actually never noticed that lizard in the Cenozoic diorama.

Despite living only a few hours away, this is the first time I'd been there in probably over 12 years.  In short, I loved it!   BTW, the lizard in the diorama is on the ground behind the standing brontothere.

Okay, on to more recent times.

The primitive pinniped Allodesmus narrowly escapes the giant shark.


A prehistoric Walrus.


Remains of early baleen whales.


A selection of Pliocene cetaceans, from right to left: Half-beaked Porpoise, Long-beaked River Dolphin, & Broad-headed Porpoise.


A model of the much more recent Stellar's Sea Cow.



Mammuthus


Warning: All unattended children will be eaten by the Cave Lion.


Comparison between Dire Wolf and Smilodon.


Ice Age California scenery.


Sloths, lots of sloths.


And here's some views of the floor below where all the previous photos were taken, sort of a main lobby.

The magnificent Allosaurus.


Xiphactinus


A mosasaur (Platecarpus?).


And when your feeling a little worn out, grab a refreshment at the Dinosaur Cafe!


That concludes the San Diego Natural History Museum, but there are more paleo attractions still in store!

Damn! That Allosaurus looks bad ass! 

Then again, so does Megalodon and Albertosaurus. Do you know what that cylinder shaped thing on the ceiling is? It's been there for months. Could it be an orthocone?

[Jetoar]

Decided ! I will visit the museum someday  .

[ZoPteryx]

Do you know what that cylinder shaped thing on the ceiling is? It's been there for months. Could it be an orthocone?

I believe it's a plankton net!

[ZoPteryx]

We're on to the final leg of our expedition.  It takes us to what is probably San Diego's most famous attraction, the San Diego Zoo.  While this place has a superb and massive collection of modern animals (including many avian dinos ), they also have a new region dedicated to educating the public about the fauna that once inhabited California during the Ice Age.  This area is known as "Elephant Odyssey", after its star attractions, the elephant, and their ancient relatives, the mammoth.  There are many life sized statues of prehistoric animals next to exhibits that contained their modern analogs.  There were also some pretty interesting combos of creatures, like Proghorn Antelopes with Dromedary Camels, and a Secretary Bird with Magpies.  Somehow I neglected to take photos of most of the statues , but that just means you'll have to visit to see the rest!

The giant Merriam's Teratorn.


The peculiar Daggett's Eagle.


They couldn't find any of those previous birds to devour their mammoths, so they settled for California Condors!


Feeding time was quite a sight, a gory, awesome, sight.  Any rabbits watching probably didn't think the same.


At the end, there's a model of the La Brea Tar Pits.  The "tar" would flow up and down to reveal the bones.


And that pretty much concludes San Diego's paleo attractions!  Actually, not really.  In spring and early summer, the zoo's other half, the San Diego Safari Park (formerly Wild Animal Park) hosts many large animatronic dinosaurs!  I haven't gone to it years though, so unfortunately, I don't have any photos to share.  I hear they've gotten better in accuarcy though.

Thanks for viewing!

[Gryphoceratops]

Condors are so cool.  At the zoo I work at we have a breeding Andean pair.  They are each as tall as a young child when standing up. 

[alexeratops]

( you have no idea how much I want to go to that mueseum's gift shop! )

[Takama]

Theropods in action 

[Balaur]

Theropods in action 

On a field trip in 8th grade we went to the San Diegos Wild Animal Park, we saw two of those vultures freaking grabbing fish and swinging them around to rip off chunks of flesh, and they got in a tug-of-war.

Imagine two Balaurs fighting over a carcass like that. That would be badass. 

[DinoLord]

Those places look awesome. I'll definitely have to visit them at some point. How's the museum's gift shop?

[Balaur]

Those places look awesome. I'll definitely have to visit them at some point. How's the museum's gift shop?

Okay. I get about 15% of my dinos from there. A good but kinda limited choice of Carnegies and Safaris. And toobs. 

[ZoPteryx]

Those places look awesome. I'll definitely have to visit them at some point. How's the museum's gift shop?

Okay. I get about 15% of my dinos from there. A good but kinda limited choice of Carnegies and Safaris. And toobs. 

Wow, I must have gone a bad day then.  All they had on my visit was a few Carnegie Mammoths, some K&M dinos, and buckets full of dino skulls from Safari's toob!  Lots of good books though.

Oh, I remember they also had those new Lego dino sets.

[Balaur]

Those places look awesome. I'll definitely have to visit them at some point. How's the museum's gift shop?

Okay. I get about 15% of my dinos from there. A good but kinda limited choice of Carnegies and Safaris. And toobs. 

Wow, I must have gone a bad day then.  All they had on my visit was a few Carnegie Mammoths, some K&M dinos, and buckets full of dino skulls from Safari's toob!  Lots of good books though.

Oh, I remember they also had those new Lego dino sets.

Legos? Intresting... I havn't gone in there in more than 5 months, so I am surprised at the limited choices they had there!