Next of Kin

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The Halls of Invertebrate Evolution at the American Museum of Natural History house the world's premier fossil collection, attracting 1.5 million visitors annually. Dinosaurs captivate audiences of all ages, with highlights like the towering Barosaurus skeleton and the fierce Tyrannosaurus rex, allowing us to envision ancient creatures from hundreds of millions of years ago. While most fossils are mineralized replicas of hard parts, they reveal our shared evolutionary heritage, from jawless fish of 500 million years ago to Ice Age mammals like woolly mammoths and saber-toothed cats. This beautifully illustrated book offers an in-depth exploration of vertebrate evolution as showcased in the Museum's newly renovated fossil halls. Paleontologist Lowell Dingus provides a behind-the-scenes look at early specimens like fish, amphibians, and primitive reptiles, as well as popular dinosaurs such as the Apatosaurus and Triceratops. The book concludes with mammals, highlighting connections between diverse species, including bats and primates, linked by a unique skull modification. This contemporary approach, cladistics, establishes animal relationships based on shared anatomical changes. The Museum's galleries reflect this evolutionary framework, making a visit akin to traversing the vertebrate evolutionary tree. After a decade-long restoration, the halls have regained their original splendor, celebrating both the dynamic fossil display