Diplodocus in Paris, 1908-2009

From a visit to the Paris Museum of Palaeontology, a few weeks back. In this ‘museum of a museum’, Diplodocus is featured in all its turn-of-the-(previous)-century glory. In fact this is the only one (as far as I know, but I haven’t seen the Bologna copy yet) still in its original position, as William Holland and Arthur Coggeshall put it up. The animal is a copy of the Diplodocus in Pittsburgh, donated by Andrew Carnegie to the French people and unveiled in 1908 amidst much aplomb. The original wooden blocks used to separate the caudal vertebrae are still in place, and even the original platform is intact. I wouldn’t be surprised it the beast hasn’t been moved for over a century.

The head is mounted rather strangely compared to modern reconstructions; because of the position of the atlas (first vertebra) and the head, it was impossible to mount it straight on the neck. After some consideration, Holland thought this position ‘more elegant’ compared to the rather more straightforward position on the London copy.