Still pretty enormous, but smaller than you think
This post on the wonderfully nichey Sauropod Vertebra of the Week Blog has an interesting story about size in Brachiosaurs.
What it underlines is the influence the mounted skeleton of Brachiosaurus brancai in the Museum für Naturkunde (also known as the Humboldt Museum) in Berlin has had on subsequent reconstructions. I visited that institution twice this year, after having stayed away from it for over a year. An lo and behold: it has transformed from a rather downtrodden affair in probably the nicest natural history museum I know at present. Most importantly, it succeeds in being understandable to just about anybody without ‘dumbing things down’ too much (which, I fear, is what the London HHM can sometimes do). Their new dinosaur hall (see picture) instantly reminded me of the ‘Parade’ inside Paris’ Musée d’Histoire Naturelle (the new building), but it works very well, also as a gateway to the rest of the museum. Additionally, Archaeopteryx finally has received a proper place of honour.
