WHEN MAMMOTHS WALKED THE EARTH: Meeting Wooly Mammoths in the Natural Science Museum, Bergamo, Italy

Wooly Mammoth models at the Natural Science Museum, Bergamo, Italy.

In 2002, my book WHEN MAMMOTHS WALKED THE EARTH was published by Clarion Books. It covered the worldwide occurrence of mammoths, from the wooly mammoths that wandered much of the northern hemisphere during the last Ice Age to the huge Columbian Mammoths, like those whose skeletons are displayed at the George C. Page Museum in Los Angeles, where I live. On my recent trip to Italy, I visited the Natural Science Museum in Bergamo, where I encountered models of a wooly mammoth mother and her calf. It was like meeting old friends. As I looked out into the foothills of the Alps behind Bergamo, I could image herds of mammoths just like these models that wandered Italian valleys as prehistoric people began to make their homes here.

The hardback edition of WHEN MAMMOTHS WALKED THE EARTH is out of print, but you can find it as an ebook on Amazon. Or you can look for the print book in your library!

Growing to weights of 10 tons and distinguished by enormous curling tusks, mammoths were the largest land animals of the Ice Age. In this meticulously researched, clear, and accessible book, award-winning nonfiction author Caroline Arnold describes the natural history of mammoths, highlighting their physical features and adaptation to the environment. Laurie Caple’s stunning, scientifically accurate watercolors complement the text and provide an intriguing look at these huge creatures.(Amazon)

 

PTEROSAURS, Winged Reptiles of the Dinosaur Age: A Visit with Eudimorphodon in Bergamo, Italy

Caroline at the Eudimorphodon exhibit at the Natural History Museum, Bergamo, Italy.

In 2003, when I was researching my book PTEROSAURS: Rulers of the Skies in the Dinosaur Age, I visited the Natural History Museum in Bergamo, Italy, to learn more about Eudimorphodon, the pterosaur whose fossil skeleton had been found in the mountains nearby. (See my post of Feb 24, 2014 about that visit.) 

In early June this year I returned to Bergamo and the museum to get another look at Eudimorphodon and the rest of the exhibits.

The fossil skeleton of Eudomorphodon is remarkably complete.

What I especially like about the exhibit is the diorama depicting a model of Eudimorphodon in flight, demonstrating how it likely caught fish that were its main food. (Fossil scales and fish bones within the skeleton reveal Eudimorphodon’s diet.)

Going back to the museum was like meeting an old friend. PTEROSAURS: Rulers of the Skies in the Dinosaur Age was published in 2004 by Clarion Books. It is still available on Amazon as an e-book and as an audio book. Or, you can look for it in your library.