File:The American Museum journal (c1900-(1918)) (17539016193).jpg

Title: The American Museum journal
Identifier: americanmuseumjo03amer (find matches)
Year: c1900-(1918) (c190s)
Authors: American Museum of Natural History
Subjects: Natural history
Publisher: New York : American Museum of Natural History
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL black or dark brown in color, whereas many of the non-com- mercial sponges have brilliant hues and other attractive features. Sponges as a class have existed in nearly all ages of the earth's geological history, and in many periods were extremely abun- dant and varied in form. The Museum recently has come into possession of a remark- able series of fossil sponges from the collection of Dr. Schrammen of Hildesheim, Germany, all of which are from the Cretaceous or Chalk formation of northern Germany and are mostly from, in or near the little towns of Misburg, Oberg and Nettlingen. These sponges all belong to the great subdivision of the class in which the skeleton is composed of siliceous, or glassy, spines (called "spicules") and rods. The specimens from Misburg are in a light-colored clay, in which the form and even the surface feat- ures are pi-eserved. Those from Oberg have been skeletonized; and although they are extremely fragile, they show the structure of the sponge almost as well as do the living organisms. The specimens from Nettlingen are preserved as iron oxide (yellow ocher), and show only the external form, without the microscopi- cal structure. Some of the most striking forms in the Schram- men collection have been placed on exhibition in one of the desk cases in the Geological hall.
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DEPARTMENT OF VERTEBRATE PAL.-EONTOLOGY. ^^HE halls of vertebrate palaeontology have been com- 01);) I pletely rearranged in connection with the removal of the Dinosaurs and other reptiles to the new hall in the southeast wing. The fossil mammals are now arranged on the " alcove system," replacing the " aisle system " which has been found to be confusing to the public. In the new system, each alcove at the side of the hall is devoted eitlier to a single family or to closely related groups of mammals, so tliat the \-isitt>r can readily get his bearings and, especially, appreciate the remarkable force of the evolutionary succession. The alcoves as at present arranged are as follows: 58

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