>>VIC MICOLUCCI: THE FLORIDA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY’S NEWEST, A SPECIAL EXHIBIT
TAKES VISITORS ON A TRIP
THROUGH TIME. NO, THERE’S NOT
A TIME MACHINE. INSTEAD,
THERE’S A WHOLE LOT OF GRAVEL.
SO INSTEAD OF TRAVEL, IT IS
TIME TO GRAVEL. JONATHAN BLOCH
IS A PROFESSOR AND CURATOR
WITH THE FLORIDA MUSEUM OF
NATURAL HISTORY GAINESVILLE.
BY THE WAY, GOOD MORNING TO
YOU. THANK YOU FOR COMING IN
AS WELL AS BRINGING THE
SPECIAL GUESTS RIGHT HERE, WHO
ARE AMONG THE OLDEST GUESTS
WE’VE EVER HAD ON THE SHOW, 8.
YEAH. WHAT THESE ARE ABOUT
5 MILLION. THESE THESE FOSSILS
ARE ABOUT 5 MILLION OLD. YEAH.
THAT’S OLDER THAN BRUCE AND
RICH. HAHA. SO KUZ HERE, BY
THE SO THIS IS THIS IS TRULY
INCREDIBLE. AND I LIKE TO GET
OUT ON THE STUFF. I WANTED TO
BE A PALEONTOLOGIST WHEN I WAS
A KID SOMEHOW ENDED UP HERE.
>>VIC MICOLUCCI: SO JUST JUST
KIND OF HUMOR ME FOR A LITTLE
BIT HERE. SO SO LET’S START
WITH THIS. I MEAN, IT I SEE
THE WHAT WOULD YOU CALL THAT A
SABER TOOTH? YEAH. THIS IS A
SABER-TOOTHED CAT CALLED
SMILING ON. THIS IS THE SAME
ANIMAL TO THE STATE FOSSIL OF
OF CALIFORNIA. COUPLE. BUT
THIS ONE WAS JUST SOUTH OF
TAMPA, A IN IN LOCALITY THERE.
AND IT’S ABSOLUTE BEAUTIFUL
SPECIMEN. ABOUT ONE AND A HALF
MILLION YEARS OLD. YOU CAN SEE
THESE VERY LARGE SABRES
ASSOCIATE WITH THE WITH THE
TYPE OF PREDATION, YOU KNOW,
EATING ANIMALS, US THAT THIS
ANIMAL THAT YOU DON’T WANT TO
COME IN CONTACT WITH THAT.
THESE ARE LONG EXTINCT. BUT
ONE OF THE BIG MYSTERIES IN
THE EVOLUTION OF THIS GROUP
HAS BEEN, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE
THE STEPS THAT LED TO THE
EVOLUTION OF THIS INCREDIBLY
SPECIALIZED, YOU KNOW, MEETING
YOU KNOW, TEETH. YOU CAN SEE
THAT RIGHT. AND SO THAT’S
WHERE THE SPECIMEN COMES IN
REALLY IS FALLING. WE JUST
FOUND THIS A FEW YEARS AGO.
THIS WAS FOUND BY ONE OF OUR
VOLUNTEERS. WE’VE HAD ABOUT
800 VOLUNTEERS WORKING WITH US
IN THE FALL. SO THEY JUST
OUTSIDE OF WILLISTON.
>> AND THIS IS THE OLDEST
SKULL EVER FOUND FOR THE GROUP
THAT INCLUDES THE SABER TOOTH
CATS HERE, WHICH IS VERY
FAMOUS FROM LIKE THE ICE AGE
MOVIES. SURE. YEAH.
ABSOLUTELY.
>>VIC MICOLUCCI: THIS A TEAM.
THE SABRES AS WELL. I WANT TO
POINT OUT YOU SAID WE’LL LIST.
AND SO THAT’S NOT FAR FROM US.
IT’S ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, IN
LEVY COUNTY JUST JUST WEST OF
GAINESVILLE, CORRECT? ONLY
ABOUT AN HOUR FROM GAINESVILLE
SO WE CAN INVITE.
>> WE HAVE STUDENTS AS WELL AS
MEMBERS OF OF THE OF THE
PUBLIC COMING AND JOINING US
WITH THOSE WITH THOSE FOSSIL
DATES AND WHAT’S REALLY
EXCITING NOW THIS LOCALITY,
THE PRODUCE OF THESE
INCREDIBLY SPECIAL, VERY
IMPORTANT SCIENTIFIC
DISCOVERIES. WE’RE BRINGING
PEOPLE INTO THAT SPACE WHERE
THEY CAN HELP US MAKE THOSE
DISCOVERIES. AND THEN WE’RE
TAKING THOSE EXPERIENCES OUT
IN THE FIELD AND BROADCASTING
LIVE INTO OUR EXHIBITS BASED
OUR PEOPLE CAN TALK TO THE
SCIENTISTS AND THE VOLUNTEERS
ARE DIGGING UP THOSE FAUCI.
GOOD TO SEE THE WHOLE PROCESS
INSTEAD OF JUST SEEING THEM ON
DISPLAY IN THE FANCY CASE.
WHILE THE OTHER THING IS THAT
AFTER YOU COLLECT FOSSILS LIKE
THAT, THERE’S A WHOLE PROCESS
YOU KNOW, GETTING THEM CLEANED
UP AND WE CALL THAT
PREPARATION. AND WE PUT THAT
ENTIRE PROCESS ON DISPLAY IN
THE EXHIBIT AS WELL. SO WE
HAVE THE WHOLE PREPARATION LAB
HAS MOVED INTO THE EXHIBIT SO
PEOPLE CAN SEE BEHIND THE
SCENES IN TERMS OF HOW WE
ACTUALLY DO THAT. PART OF THE
AND WE NEED IT THE WAY IT’S
SET UP, WE CAN ANSWER
QUESTIONS AND ESSENTIALLY
INVITE PEOPLE TO BE PART OF
THAT PROCESS. I LOVE THE
FLORIDA MUSEUM. I MEAN, I WENT
THERE, I THINK IN MIDDLE
SCHOOL. THAT WAS MY FIRST
CHANCE TO SEE IT AS LONG, LONG
TIME AGO, PREHISTORIC AGE. AND
THEN I WENT AS RECENTLY AS
THIS SUMMER. I TOOK MY GODSON
AND MY NEPHEW THERE AND IT IS
IS REALLY INCREDIBLE. AND, YOU
KNOW, I LOVE JUST THE APPROACH
THERE. OBVIOUSLY IT’S COUPLED
WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF
FLORIDA. I’M A LITTLE BIAS
THERE BECAUSE I’M A GATOR
GRABBED, RIGHT. LET’S GET OVER
HERE BECAUSE I THINK THIS.
THIS ELEPHANT NEEDED A
DENTIST. IN THE DAY, RICE IS A
BIG ISSUE FOR US. YEAH. ALMOST
LOOKS LIKE IT WAS A IT WAS
CHEWING ON ROCKS. YOU CAN SEE
THE WEAR ON THE ON THOSE
TEETH. THIS IS A REALLY NEAT
ELEPHANT RELATIVE THAT’S
CALLED THE CONFLICT BUT IT’S
DIFFERENT THAN MODERN
ELEPHANTS IN THAT MODERN
ELEPHANTS HAVE 2 TASKS PUNTERS
HAVE TO TOSS TO UPPER TESTS AS
WELL AS TO LOWER TASKS. SO
IT’S A MIXED IN COMPLETELY
EXTINCT GROUP OF OF ELEPHANT
LIKE ANIMALS THAT LIVED HERE
IN FLORIDA. YOU KNOW, 5 YEARS
AGO. AND WE HAVE ONE OF THE
NEAT THINGS ABOUT THIS MONTH.
ROUGH ALSO SAY OVERLY THE
COUNTY IS THAT WE HAVE MANY,
MANY SPECIMENS OF THIS ANIMAL
AND FROM LITTLE TINY BABY
ONES. THIS IS A BABY. YOU CAN
TELL THAT’S A BABY BECAUSE THE
TOOTH IS ERUPTING. YOU KNOW,
OUT OF THE OUT OF THE SOCKET
THERE, BUT ALL THE WAY TO
ADULTS. SO IT’S A UNIQUE
OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT, YOU
KNOW, ENTIRE POPULATION OF
THIS EXTINCT ANIMAL THAT USED
TO LIVE HERE IN FLORIDA. THE
OTHER NEAT THING THIS ANIMAL
IS HAS THE TESTS THEMSELVES
ARE QUITE DIFFERENT. MODERN
ELEPHANT TUSKS, MODERN
ELEPHANTS HAVE IVORY, YOU
KNOW, WHICH IS SUCH A THIS IS
THE DENTON RIGHT HERE. AND YOU
CAN SEE THAT’S THAT’S THE IDEA
RIGHT THERE. WHAT’S
INTERESTING ABOUT THESE
ANIMALS TO SAVE THE STRIPPING
ANIMAL, JUST LIKE AN ANIMAL
THAT COVERS OUR OWN TEETH.
VERY HARD ENAMEL. AND SO
THAT’S DIFFERENT THAN MODERN
ELEPHANTS. AND THEN ALSO THAT
AN IMPULSE ESSENTIALLY FORMS A
SPIRAL AROUND THE LENGTH OF
THE VERY CHARACTERISTIC OF
INCREDIBLE AND YOU KNOW, I
ALWAYS THINK OF
>>VIC MICOLUCCI: THESE ALL,
YOU KNOW, ANIMALS, THESE
PREHISTORIC ANIMALS AS BEING
LIKE LANDS, LANDS AWAY SO FAR
AWAY. BUT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT
STUFF THAT’S WITHIN A COUPLE
HOURS OF OF JACKSONVILLE,
WHICH IS REALLY, REALLY
INCREDIBLE. AND, YOU KNOW, I
KNOW THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF
VIEWERS THAT LIVE IN THE
GAINESVILLE AREA. SO YOU CAN
GO TO THE MUSEUM. YOU CAN SEE
THIS. IT STARTED RIGHT NOW.
THAT’S FANTASTIC. FOSSILS.
IT’S THERE ON THE UNIVERSITY
OF FLORIDA CAMPUS. ANYTHING
ELSE PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW?
WELL, WE’RE WE’RE OPEN EVERY
DAY OF THE AND WE WILL BE
THROUGH THE SUMMER SO PEOPLE
CAN COME AND EXPERIENCE
>>VIC MICOLUCCI: PROBABLY THE
BEST TIMES TO COME TO THE
EXHIBIT WOULD BE IN THE
MORNINGS ON THE WEEKDAYS
BECAUSE THAT’S THE LOWEST
TRAFFICKER CAN REALLY TAKE
YOUR TIME GOING THROUGH THERE.
BUT I INVITE EVERYONE TO COME
AND BE PART OF OUR PART OF THE
SCIENCE OF PALEONTOLOGY AND
ONLY 7 BUCKS, 7 BUCKS FOR
ADULTS FOR 50 FOR KIDS. IT IS
A DEAL. THEN YOU’VE GOT THE
BUTTERFLY GARDEN, YOU KNOW,
JUST MAKE A IT’S A GREAT FIELD
TRIP. THANK YOU FOR COMING ON.
WE APPRECIATE IT. WE’RE GOING
TO POST THIS SEGMENT ON
NEWSFOURJAX DOT COMS. YOU CAN
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