Thomas Henry Huxley Paleozoological Gardens

A modern triumph of paleozoology, three billion years in the making!

[huxley-paleozoo]

will this blog ever be picked up again ?

sadly i have to say it is unlikely as the members of this project havelong since moved on

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Hello I have earned the Rohan rank I am here to dethrone you

Only one will stay alive

- the real Rohan

[huxley-paleozoo]

The native birds of Huxley Paleozoo

We don’t just have extinct animals on the premises. Some modern dinosaurs also call the grounds home! Here are a few of them:

Common myna (Acridotheres tristis)

This invasive species might be the most common extant bird on the grounds. They may be cute, but please, whatever you do, don’t feed them. We’re trying to get rid of them.

Pacific koel (Eudynamys orientalis)

We hear these more than we see them. They tend to frequent the less developed areas on the east side of the grounds, and the area around the entrance.

Australian pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus)

The beaches around the aquarium are frequented by pelicans. We often see them around Pterosaur Tides. They probably know there’s fish there and want in. In spite of their ecological similarity to the pterosaurs on display, we won’t let them in.

Fairy penguin (Eudyptula minor)

A small colony of fairy penguins has moved onto the northeastern shore, near the South America region. The beach they live on isn’t used much, so the penguins - and numerous other seabirds that frequent the beach - can live in peace.

[huxley-paleozoo]

Things have been quiet, are there any hidden updates we haven't heard of O:

Due to staff changes, things have indeed gotten quiet. I can’t say much right now but it’s always worth checking back in!

- Joy Miller

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Do you have a Carnotaurus at the zoo?

Yes! You can learn more about our ‘meat-eating bull’ here.

- Joy Miller

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Are their any prehistoric pinnipeds in your collection?

Not currently!

You can explore our current roster of prehistoric wildlife here.

- Joy Miller

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Do you have a visual map of the park? Ooh, and, any ceratopsians??

Yes! An overhead of the zoo can be found here.

As for ceratopsians, we currently have 5 species on display!

Aquilops

Nasutoceratops

Protoceratops

Styracosaurus

Triceratops

- Joy Miller

[huxley-paleozoo]

The link to your paleo quiz is broken!

This one should work!

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Have you ever wondered which of our animals you are most like? Well, we made a thing for that. Try it out and let us know what you get!

[huxley-paleozoo]

This blog makes me so happy. Thank you so much for running it. This is beautiful and always makes my day.

Thank you for such a lovely ask! Asks like these make us so happy!

- Joy Miller

[huxley-paleozoo]

#UnscienceAnAnimal

[overheardatthezoo]

“Where are the dinosaurs”

“all around the zoo!”

“Yes I know! We saw the robot ones! We heard you had REAL dinosaurs!”

“Uh, they’re extinct” “WELL THATS JUST FALSE ADVERTISEMENT IM GONNA SUE!”

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Hey

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If you’re wondering: yes, we’ve been feeling the effects of Australia’s massive heatwave. Since we’re on the coast we haven’t been hit as hard, but it’s still been a particularly hot summer. Many of our less heat-adapted animals have increased access to temperature-controlled indoor areas for the time being, and we’ve brought in more temporary shade structures and water trucks for our larger animals. The rest of the continent has been pretty badly hit, though. If you know anyone in inland Australia right now, make sure they’re alright.

[huxley-paleozoo]

What do you plan on doing if your Megalodon reproduces through parthenogenesis like some modern sharks in aquariums do?

The geneticists have assured us the megatoothsare sterile. If this isn’t the case… well, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. She isn’t anywhere near sexual maturity yet, though.

- Rohan

[huxley-paleozoo]

What do you think about pleistocene rewilding?

For any of our followers who don’t know, Pleistocene rewilding is introducing animals to environments to fill gaps left by Pleistocene and Holocene extinctions. We are supporters of Pleistocene rewilding (having done a bit of it ourselves), although in our opinion it is best to reintroduce animals that lived in the site in question at some point - including de-extinct animals - instead of introducing ecological proxies that may well become invasive. Of course, one can test the impact of rewilding in smaller, controlled settings first, like is being done in Siberia and the Americas.

[huxley-paleozoo]

How do you guys pay for so much food a day for the animals? It must be incredibly expensive!

It is - it takes up a sizable part of our annual budget! We do have a few ways to keep costs from getting too high, though. We grow some rarer food plants directly on the property where importing would be more expensive. Several of our herbivores, especially the larger dinosaurs, have edible plants growing in their exhibits. We source a bit of our food from surplus from local grocery stores, butchers, and farmers, and we have further connections out west for carnivore food.

- Rohan

[huxley-paleozoo]

What is your biggest and smallest (1) bird? (2) non-avian dinosaur? (3) mammal? (4) non-mammalian synapsid? (5) amphibian? (6) fish? (7) non-dinosaur reptile? (8) invertebrate?

Largest bird: TitanisSmallest bird: Carolina parakeetLargest non-avian dinosaur: BrachiosaurusSmallest non-avian dinosaur: AnchiornisLargest mammal: MegacamelusSmallest mammal: PalaeochiropteryxLargest non-mammalian synapsid: CotylorhynchusSmallest non-mammalian synapsid: HerpetoskylaxLargest amphibian: DiplocaulusSmallest amphibian: Southern gastric-brooding frogLargest fish: MegalodonSmallest fish: ArandaspisLargest non-dinosaur reptile: MosasaurusSmallest non-dinosaur reptile: LongisquamaLargest invertebrate: AnomalocarisSmallest invertebrate: Hallucigenia

- Rohan