Walt Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 Founded in 1818 and housing over 20 million items, the National Museum of Brazil caught fire today and may be a total loss. Does anyone know specifics about their paleontology collections? I imagine the mineral collections included priceless specimens... http://news.trust.org//item/20180903001032-p13t9/ Everything is generated through your own will power ~ Ray Bradbury Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-45392668 Very sad. Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt Posted September 3, 2018 Author Share Posted September 3, 2018 2 minutes ago, Tidgy's Dad said: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-45392668 Very sad. Devastating. Everything is generated through your own will power ~ Ray Bradbury Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SULLY Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 Horrible news! Very upsetting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilsAnonymous Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 That's a horrible waste of fossils and minerals. On The Hunt For The Trophy Otodus! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 The spinosaur Oxalaia was in there, some of the oldest human remains and countless other things. Irreplaceable objects. They have been cutting science funding for years in Brazil, my guess is the building was sub-par. “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kane Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 Sadly ironic that they were in the midst of seeking funding for a fire prevention system. ...How to Philosophize with a Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricardo Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 That is a tragedy... the “Werner collection”, acquired in Freiberg, was there and now probably lost. That is/was a Portuguese Royal mineral collection transported to Brazil when Royal Family escape from Napoleon wars in 1808-1809 and was the “nucleus” of the first Museum collection. Since a lot of TFF members are Dino fans I suppose they had a superb “Chapada do Araripe” collection... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt Posted September 3, 2018 Author Share Posted September 3, 2018 2 hours ago, Kane said: Sadly ironic that they were in the midst of seeking funding for a fire prevention system. Yes, employees were reported as saying the building had been very neglected due to budget cuts. I wonder how much funding was diverted to the olympics... Everything is generated through your own will power ~ Ray Bradbury Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 UPDATE https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-45398084 What a catastrophe. And of course Brazil hoards things in this museum as export is banned and private collection discouraged as only the 'professionals' can look after the national heritage. Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 BILLION$ spent on the Olympics. Grotesque priorities... a gut-wrenching tragedy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 I feel like spinosaurs have some curse, multiple spinosaur holotypes possibly destroyed in the fire. Eerily similar to the fiery destruction of Stromers Spino. “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 2 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said: UPDATE https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-45398084 What a catastrophe. And of course Brazil hoards things in this museum as export is banned and private collection discouraged as only the 'professionals' can look after the national heritage. 2 hours ago, piranha said: BILLION$ spent on the Olympics. Grotesque priorities... a gut-wrenching tragedy! You guys said it (ditto others above). What an obscene mismanagement of funds/priorities. Saw this on the news, and had me wondering about our own museum. "All eggs in one basket" comes to mind... I don't think ours have been neglected to the same degree, but they're always complaining about the cost of things (a common complaint everywhere, I guess, as is corruption to varying degrees). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt Posted September 3, 2018 Author Share Posted September 3, 2018 4 minutes ago, Wrangellian said: You guys said it (ditto others above). What an obscene mismanagement of funds/priorities. Saw this on the news, and had me wondering about our own museum. "All eggs in one basket" comes to mind... I don't think ours have been neglected to the same degree, but they're always complaining about the cost of things (a common complaint everywhere, I guess, as is corruption to varying degrees). We have a lot of checks and balances that aren't really open to corruption or mismanagement, especially where public safety is concerned. Namely fire codes, building codes, etc. Not to say corruption or mismanagement was the underlying cause in Brazil. It was a 200 year old building in a tropical climate. Everything is generated through your own will power ~ Ray Bradbury Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 Maybe so, but in a case where billions are spent on things like the Olympics, and nothing for this place (or else too little too late), it's a shame that the people in government can choose to use public money to fund their own particular interests/projects and not the other things that other people in the country are concerned about. Call it what you want, it's a problem, but evidently one that is not particular to Brazil... I hope you're right about the checks/balances/building codes/etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt Posted September 4, 2018 Author Share Posted September 4, 2018 31 minutes ago, Wrangellian said: Maybe so, but in a case where billions are spent on things like the Olympics, and nothing for this place (or else too little too late), it's a shame that the people in government can choose to use public money to fund their own particular interests/projects and not the other things that other people in the country are concerned about. Call it what you want, it's a problem, but evidently one that is not particular to Brazil... I hope you're right about the checks/balances/building codes/etc. Agreed Everything is generated through your own will power ~ Ray Bradbury Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted September 4, 2018 Share Posted September 4, 2018 I have corresponded with a few people directly impacted. Some of the most important collections of South American arachnids, insects, myriapods are a complete loss. Sadly, my friend has described new species of Brazilian myriapods that were lost. The other accounts of research careers and type specimens consumed in the flames is a heartbreaking loss for our colleagues and science, not just for Brazil, but global repercussions that will surely produce aftershocks for generations to come. A listserv group member from Museu Nacional is reporting the following modern collections were spared from the fire: Bryozoa, Cnidaria, Crustacea, Diptera, Echinodermata, Mollusca, Polychaeta, Porifera. As can be expected in the ensuing chaos, some of the initial information is conflicting. Another report from Museu Nacional claims the Crustacea and Mollusca were destroyed. Severe losses are also reported across the archaeology, anthropology and paleontology collections. Another colleague confirmed that the Clarke collection from the Devonian of the Paraná Basin (1913 monograph) is lost. Fortunately, some of the trilobite type material is dispersed, AMNH and NYSM seem to have a lot of specimens. We will not know the full scope of the loss for a while, only the collections managers will be able to determine that, and that might take months or even years to comprehend. Overall, a challenging and seemingly impossible task for Brazilian colleagues to undertake. Ghilardi, R.P. & Simões, M.G. 2007 History and development of trilobite research in Brazil. pp.97-104 In: Mikulic, D.G., Landing, E., & Kluessendorf, J. (eds.) Fabulous Fossils: 300 Years of Worldwide Research on Trilobites. New York State Museum Bulletin, 507:1-248 PDF LINK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerson Posted October 21, 2018 Share Posted October 21, 2018 Luzia's skull was found! https://www.efe.com/efe/english/technology/south-america-s-most-ancient-skull-found-in-rio-museum-destroyed-by-fire/50000267-3787024 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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