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Chris Widga

@widga.bsky.social
3K followers 1.2K following 478 posts

Director of the Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum & Art Gallery at Penn State. Here for museums, fossils, not-fossils, and geo-nerdom. Sucker for good jazz. Personal account. #museums #paleontology #geology #scicomm #naturalhistory

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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Many of these fossils are classics...and detailed in this great report from Academy scientists in the 1990s. This was THE place to think about N.A. paleontology in the 1800s and it set the stage for full development of the science in the 20th century.
Cover of a book, titled "A study of fossil vertebrate types in the academy of natural sciences of philadelphia"
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Oh. And the type of Euceratherium collinum, SHRUBOX! From Burnet Cave, NM. The ANSP has the trifecta of North American muskox holotypes. (there may be more that I'm missing in my photos).
Fossil shrubox skull with long slender, swooping horns.
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Not from a cave, but still in the ANSP collections...this massive snoot of an Atlantic walrus dredged from coastal New Jersey. Now present no further south than the the Canadian Arctic.
Round donut-shaped muzzle of an atlantic walrus fossil.
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
...and Smilodon gracilis--yes, also the type for this iconic Irvintonian species is also Port Kennedy Cave.
A pair of Smilodon gracilis mandibles...
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Port Kennedy at ANSP also has...hands down, the best sample of the Irvintonian ground sloth Megalonyx wheatleyi anywhere in the world.
Drawer o'sloth jaws.
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Port Kennedy Cave is filled with fossils from the mid-Pleistocene (ca. 1.5 ma to 250ka). There aren't many of these sites, especially in the eastern US. So it is an important record, even for animals that are common during other time periods. Like mastodons!
mastodon molar on a notebook...
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Tapir from Pennsylvania? Yes, this is the type of Cope's Tapir from Port Kennedy Cave, now in Valley Forge National Historical Park.
Fossil tapir jaw
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Yes. Another holotype of an Ice Age muskoxen, Symbos cavifrons. Until the 1980s, this was seen as a second american muskox running around during the Ice Age. Now synonymized with Bootherium (above). Without these collections we wouldn't have sorted that out...
Fossl skull with long slender horns.
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The proof is in the...label. William Clark AND Thomas Jefferson involved in this one. The American mastodon may soon become our national fossil mammal (passed the house, still in the senate). This is a storied history for a national fossil mammal! houchin.house.gov/media/press-...
Museum label...showing collector as "William Clark for Thomas Jefferson"
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Near and dear to me (and a few of you)...are American mastodons. Although the type of M. americanum is in Paris, the Jefferson Collection of mastodon material provided key ammunition against Buffon's "theory of American degeneracy"
mastodon jaw from the Thomas Jefferson Collection at the ANSP
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Mammoths abound. As they often do. Mammoths from this same locality contributed DNA to our modern understanding of mammoth evolution. www.frontiersin.org/journals/eco...
mammoth teeth in a museum drawer.
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
...but you may ask...what was the OTHER head. It was our extinct stag-moose, Cervalces scotti. Yes, also a holotype in the Jefferson Collection.
Fossil with broken antlers...because they are always broken.
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
And Muskoxen. This is the type specimen of the helmeted muskox (Bootherium) also from the Ohio valley. I love the original description of this specimen which was title "An Account of Two Heads Found in the Morass".
fossil skull with large horns...
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
And #dogs, of course. Yes, they have the type specimen of Canis (=Aenocyon) dirus. Long before Game of Thrones and de-extinction (1850s), this chunky upper jaw of a dire wolf was found on the banks of the Ohio River near present day Evansville, IN.
Holotype of Canis dirus. Shiny brown fossil with canine dentition.
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Not to be forgotten, there are some really cool carnivores in the Pleistocene of N.A. too. Here is the holotype of the American Lion described by Joseph Leidy in 1853 (across the aisle from the bison). Bigger than saber-toothed cats, it was THE apex predator in N.A. This from Louisiana. #cats
Fossil lion jaw...pointy teeth in a brown jaw.
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
...and it's not just bison. The academy of was instrumental in figuring out what these odd American species were. Like the weird long-clawed critters with giant claws. Not lions (as Jefferson thought), but GROUND SLOTHS!
large fossil claws in white cavity mounts. Sloth claws...
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
But wait, there's more! This is the holotype of Bison antiquus (in the drawer above the latifrons; they were found in the same part of KY too). B. antiquus is found throughout North America. #Bison is our National Mammal, and the Academy curates the holotypes of 2 of 4 of our recognized species.
Same guy, new fossil. Still bison, but smaller horns. Still awesome.
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Museums are a social good. They preserve the collective history of our communities. In the case of the ANSP, that history happens to be a wonderful story of the dev of the natural sciences in this country. So we'll start here...this is the holotype specimen of Bison latifrons, the BIG #bison.
a person with grey hair and glasses pointing to fossil, a partial skull and base of really big horns, Bison latifrons!
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Although I can't be with those of you who are out in the rain advocating for your museum today...I thought I might be a good idea to post some Academy of Natural Sciences fossils to keep you warm and dry on the inside. @savetheacademy.bsky.social
An ammonite scultpure outside the side entrance of the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia.
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
It is always lovely to spend a Friday with a mammoth. This one is the Moon Mammoth from Lake Pleasant near Erie showing its barely erupted third molars. PA State Museum, Harrisburg.
Carmel brown fossil mammoth jaw with many-plated teeth in a white steel museum cabinet drawer.
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
4. Also... See Erin et al. 2026 that I just posted yesterday. Also critical of the "Clovis as super predator" model. 4/x
Article from journal of archaeological science reports about Clovis and hunting or scavenging
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
More of this, please. Metin Eren, @brianapobiner.bsky.social, and others. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Screenshot of journal article that says "did Clovis foragers hunt megafauna scavenge their carrion, or both -- and can we tell the difference?"
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
Spent some time on a new-to-me river today. The Little Juniata near Tyrone is a wonderland of old railroad bridges and rusty legacy infrastructure. But now a destination trout stream. So many fun bridges and one lane tunnels.
An iron bridge over flat water with lots of green veg on the banks. Wood rails on a bridge over a small river. Blue sky and lush green trees on the bank.
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
Couldn't have planned this illustration of tapir tooth replacement better if I tried. From Hollidaysburg Fissure, Bair Co., PA.
A tapir mandible with an opportune break in the side showing permanent dentition replacing deciduous teeth.
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
Southern tip of Greenland was sunny and beautiful yesterday.
Dark water and white ice from an airplane window
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
Made sure to say hello to Al Koch's Missourium today when visiting @nhm-london.bsky.social. Bones are probably from 'Koch Spring ' on the Pomme de terre river, Missouri. Perhaps with a few bits from Kimmswick, MO thrown in for good measure. Tour de force of Ozark elephant.
Mounted skeleton of a mastodon in a stone arch with a person in front of it
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
@restingdinoface.bsky.social sighting in the wild at Waterstones UK.
Books on bookshelf titled Shortest History of the Dinosaurs with a red and yellow cober. Also Last Days of the Dinosaurs on end.
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
Good, recent paper, that has a nice summary image. Fwiw, M. columbi and M. trogontherii are different names for the same species on different sides of the pond. (No one wants to have to start renaming things like Columbian mammoths) palaeo-electronica.org/content/2024...
Mammoths skull drawings, tooth pictures comparing different mammoths and a brief timeline for mammoth evolution.
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
Big critter, small voxel, solidarity ✊ (white foam block contains a baby mastodon jaw, ~20 inches on long axis, scanned last week).
Large white foam cube on steel pedestal, mounted in a micro-CT chamber.
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
Remi Bakker's reconstruction.
A mastodon with very long, straight tusks.
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
Shortly before my VP class every week someone draws these delightful critters on the chalkboard--usually just in time for me to discuss them in lecture. The students have started calling this unknown artist "EMS Banksy." Complete mystery!
Chalk drawing of TiktaalikChalk drawing of Eusthenopteron.
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 20/09/2025
Purple fossil coprolite. I have questions. @floridamuseum.bsky.social
Lumpy bumpy piece of shit with purple spots.
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 23/08/2025
I'm excited by all of the west coast mammoths and mastodons that I was introduced to last week. I'm REALLY excited about the >100 high-quality scans of teeth and limb bones that I collected...even though processing will probably take every spare waking hour for a month.
Screenshot of a 3D model of a carmel brown mastodon humerus bone.
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
San Jacinto mastodon wants treats. So does his buddy Navahoceras #sosmiley @nhm.org
Mastodon and extinct deer in a museum exhibit
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
Alton told me to use my scale bar.... #paleocon2025
Hand holds a scale bar with a small mastodon on it, in front of a long table of paleontologists
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
My family tells me that queso, chips, and beer are not "dinner." I disagree. Rules change in Texas (where I am, for the next few hours).
Photo of queso chips and a beer
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 19/07/2025
Location: basement of my building. I think this is self explanatory. My only question is why I wasn't informed. Seems like a safety issue. @psugeo.bsky.social
Blue sign with white text that reads "dinosaur cloning lab"
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
Geez this looks like a walrus jaw. But from Central PA. @coastalpaleo.bsky.social
Carmel brown bone with a scale bar on a desktop.
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
Here's a Diplodocus femur from Como Bluff, WY to brighten your Friday. Sadly, we had to take it off exhibit when it began to crack to avoid endangering visitors. Summer project: #3Dprint a replacement so a falling femur won't hurt so much. #museumsafety
A very large dark grey bone broken in three places, on a white tabletop.
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
That's great! We've got a ways to go, but plenty of time to think about it. A few dozen of these old cases brimming with economic geology samples.
A wall of brown cases with drawers.
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
An absolute unit of a gomphothere. Actually, I like that, the gomphothere unit. As in, I'll take 1 "gomphothere" of your finest lager please. #fossilfriday #dmns
Skeleton in the shape of an elephant..with a couple of extra tusks
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
One of the perks of living where we do, I get to stare at this mountain at the end of a long week, who is indifferent to the current state of human affairs. #mtnittany
Green mountain viewed from a front porch with white railings
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
Here's a photo of a baby (chin) tusk in a mastodon from Colorado.
Baby chin tusk of a mastodon in a brown jaw bone.
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 26/04/2025
Saw some of the tiniest elephants today in the Denver Museum collections. A bitty mastodon chin tusk from Snowmass (complete w/enamel cap), and a cutie baby mammoth jaw.
Brown mastodon fossil with narrow cylindrical chin tuskSmall mammoth jaw against a white museum tray
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
Clearly I need more monumental wildlife sculpture in my workplace. #saadenver2025
Large Bronze sculpture of big horned sheep in front of a large builidng
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
All part of a good day looking at historic mystery mammoth bones (and maybe mastodon, and dinosaur?) at Bethany College WV.
Brown bones and old plaster jackets laid out on a white table, surrounded by busy people doing things
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
Yes. This is an elephant skull perched atop a very small pedestal. #thingsyoucantunsee
An elephant skull with tusk sockets and teeth facing you, on top of a skinny dark brown wooden pillar
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
Pile o' tiny #3Dprinted #mastodon teeth. We're shooting for about 120 for an event next weekend.
A white box of small white teeth 3d printed Small white 3d printed teeth on a black print stage
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 20/03/2025
We've got a few from your neck of the woods too. Looking forward to seeing what you're cooking up!
Map of Nova Scotia showing blue circles where mineral specimens in the PSU Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum collection were found.
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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 16/03/2025
Looking at some old files today I ran across this pygmy mammoth molar from Santa Rosa, (Channel Islands, CA). In the collection of the Santa Barbara #Museum of #NaturalHistory.
Very small mammoth tooth with human hand for scale against a white background.
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