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Shelf Life Episode 3: Six Ways to Prepare a Coelacanth

6 minutes 45 seconds

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The story of the coelacanth shows how natural history collections can yield answers and inspire questions for hundreds of years. Ichthyology Curator Melanie L. J. Stiassny presents the ultimate fish tale and offers a primer on specimen prep. Part of the "Shelf Life" series.

Media Details

Runtime: 6 minutes 45 seconds

Topic: History, Science
Subtopic: Ancient History, Marine Life, Science Methods
Grade/Interest Level: 10 - 12
Standards:

Release Year: 2015
Producer/Distributor: American Museum of Natural History
Series: Shelf Life
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Person holding the fossilized skull of an animal. Caption: but there's still a liveliness and a connection

Three turtles, one with a tag around its neck. Caption: The turtles are all here together.

Irregular pinkish-brown shapes on a white background. Caption: you can actually really see that very fine cellular detail.

Four observatory telescopes pointed towards a starry sky. Caption: We have one record of the universe streaming by us.

Illustration of a person standing on the shoreline next to a squid with a body larger than the person is tall. Caption: had just found a giant squid, and would I be interested?

Fossilized dinosaur skeleton still partially encased in rock displayed next to a model of the same dinosaur. Caption: Out of those, only a few are really prepared well.

Two toads, one light brown, the other darker brown with light spots. Caption: Maybe temperatures got too warm for these toads.

Congo expedition of the American Museum of Natural History May 1909 to November 1915. Black and white photos of explorers with crocodile skulls and a map in the background. Caption: Those explorers had collected crocodile specimens