Re: Trip to Dallas Museum of Nat History (2nd try)

[MariusRomanus@aol.com]

Ok.... I was just informed that my posts aren't getting through. Thanks James. 
Last night I wrote that I was going to the Dallas Natural History Museum today 
and if any of you worked there, etc, to keep an eye out for me. But anyway..... 
here, again, is what I posted a few minutes ago. Hopefully this works.....

Well, the museum wasn't bad. There wasn't that much there, but the 
Acrocanthosaurus was fantastic....... And weird........ Very very very weird. I 
still can't get over how odd it looks. 

The mounts were set up with this mood lighting that made them look spooky but 
really made taking pictures a real challenge..... It was dark...... and the 
Acro's bones were almost black. Those of you who work on museum designs and 
such...... please..... I beg of you..... make them have more lights :-) So, I'm 
really curious as to how the photos will turn out. If they are good.... I'm 
tossing them on the web like my other ones.

The Acro was posed in a run-like posture, and it really looked wicked. From 
what I can tell... when contorting myself in every which way possible in order 
to look at the spines from multiple angles..... personally..... I don't see any 
indications what so ever of the sometimes argued about hump that the animal 
might have possessed. Instead.... because of the mount and how it captures the 
animal in a snap of eerie movement, you get the feeling that it was light on 
the foot and had a thin, high back that simply made it look 
bigger than it really was. Why?..... Who knows. Have any of you ever thought 
that maybe when it comes to Acrocanthosaurus, what we are looking at with the 
limited material we have thus far acquired are simply examples of males?.... I 
mean, if you think, it's not that hard to vision having females with 
smaller spines. I don't know if this is pushing the dimorphism envelope a bit 
too far for some folks, but, it's really the only way I can rationalize those 
spines and the need for a male to make himself look bigger...... The age old, 
simplistic, easy to understand explanation that boils down to nothing but weird 
shapes and structures just for the intimidation of rivals. By the way.... I'm 
having enough difficulty trying to figure out how the animal pulled it's head 
backwards without rubbing spines together without the added complication of 
saying that the spines were encased in muscles or fat or something. Oh, and 
this reminds me...... The family resemblance with Giganotosaurus is extremely 
obvious.

One more thing..... In the room next to the Acro was a Wankle Rex.....I just 
have to say something.... It is absolutely shocking..... seriously 
shocking....... to see how much more of a monster the rex was.  I couldn't get 
over it. There is no comparing the two.

And if he didn't already..... For the sake of others... I hope that Mr. Paul 
never sees how the rex is mounted..... The knees were basically put straight. 
:-)

Kris