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Paul and Irma Milstein Hall of Advanced Mammals

 Organization

Dates

  • Existence: 1994 - present

Historical Note

Abstract:

Permanent exhibition. Opened June 1994. Located on Floor 4, Section 5. The Paul and Irma Milstein Hall of Advanced Mammals at the American Museum of Natural History is one of two halls in the Lila Acheson Wallace Wing of Mammals and Their Extinct Relatives, which together tell of the great diversification and sudden extinctions of this group of animals. The roots of the mammalian line reach back almost 300 million years, but the mammals featured in this hall, including both primitive and advanced species, arose after the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs. (1) Curators who supervised the installation of the new fossil halls include Mark Norell, Lowell Dingus, Eugene S. Gaffney, and Michael J. Novacek. (2, 1995) Supervising preparators include Jeanne Kelly and Phil Fraley. Steven Warsavage supervised the installation. (3, 1995, p. 6-10)

Summary

The 1990’s saw a complete reimagining of the Museum’s fossil halls. Instead of traditional chronologically arranged fossil displays, which the Museum had previously implemented, the new halls were displayed according to evolutionary relationships. These new halls included the Halls of Saurischian and Ornithischian Dinosaurs, Lila Acheson Wallace Wing of Mammals and Their Extinct Relatives, which includes the Hall of Primitive Mammals and the Paul and Irma Milstein Hall of Advanced Mammals, the Hall of Vertebrates Origins, and the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Orientation Center. (4, 1994/96, p. 5)

The Milstein Hall of Advanced Mammals features extinct mammal relatives such as mammoths, mastodons, saber-toothed cats, camels, and giant ground sloths. This hall also includes mammals with such modern traits as the hoof, a stirrup-shaped ear bone, and eye sockets near the snout, as well as traits found in primitive mammals: the synapsid opening in the skull, three middle ear bones, and the placenta. Among the animals represented are bats, rodents, rabbits, cats, seals, bears, primates, deer, horses, whales, and elephants. The major highlights of the hall include the Warren mastodon, mammoth, saber-toothed cat, Irish elk, cetaceans, and the Evolution of Horses. (1)

REFERENCES

(1) American Museum of Natural History. “Paul and Irma Milstein Hall of Advanced Mammals.” accessed October 18, 2016, http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/fossil-halls/paul-and-irma-milstein-hall-of-advanced-mammals.

(2) Browne, Malcolm W. "New Dinosaur Exhibit Underscores Disputes within Paleontology." The New York Times, May 23, 1995.

(3) Milner, Richard. "Bringing Back the Dinosaurs." Natural History, vol. 104, May 1995.

(4) American Museum of Natural History. Annual Reports. New York: American Museum of Natural History, 1994/96.

Information for the hall appears in the following Museum publications:

American Museum of Natural History Annual Reports from years 1993 (page 81); 1994 (page 5)

American Museum of Natural History Official Guides for years 1993 (page 50); 2001 (page 20-21, 63)

Alternative Name Forms

Outline:
  • Uncontrolled name from AMNH publications (dates of use by year)
    • Paul and Irma Milstein Hall of Advanced Mammals (1993, 1994, 2001)
    • Advanced Mammals (1993)
    • Milstein Hall of Advanced Mammals (2012)

Places

Topics

Found in 5 Collections and/or Records:

Building 3 and 5: Lila Acheson Wallace Wing of Mammals and Their Extinct Relatives, 1994 May 25

 Item — Volume: 7
Identifier: DR 033
Contents

Building 5: Main Path Highlights -- Mammal Diversity Array -- LIFElines Teaching Station -- TIMElines Station -- Theater.

Building 3: Main Path Highlights -- Ice Ages -- TIMElines Station.

Dates: 1994 May 25

Building 3: Lila Acheson Wallace Wing of Mammals and Their Extinct Relatives, 1994 May 25

 Item — Volume: 4
Identifier: DR 033
Contents

Building 3: Nodes -- Carnivores -- Insectorivorans, Archontans, and Glires.

Dates: 1994 May 25

Building 3: Lila Acheson Wallace Wing of Mammals and Their Extinct Relatives, 1994 May 25

 Item — Volume: 6
Identifier: DR 033
Contents

Building 3: Nodes -- Cetaceans -- South American Ungulates -- Sirenians, Proboscideans, and Desmostylians -- Hall Entry Panel.

Dates: 1994 May 25