STL Science Center

STL Science Center

28 June 2012

Popularity Is Not A Problem

Outside the biology community animals like Ichthyornis are largely forgotten over time. When Marsh and Darwin were talking about evolution and the evidence present in Ichthyornis most people in the collegiate or in the know circles of the world most undoubtedly knew or had heard references to Ichthyornis. After the sensationalism of the idea of a bird with teeth had died away a little that knowledge by the educated masses and those in the know slowly faded away and Ichthyornis became a novelty for museum goers and known mainly by those that researched, prepared, and cataloged its bones for display or permanent storage. Some people remember it from museum trips or blurbs in books and some remember it from being amateur paleontologists or just being interested in paleontology as well. That is where we get most of our "tribute" videos and Spore creations. Ichthyornis, however, has become so unknown, relatively speaking, that even these things do not exist for it. It's simply amazing really. It's fairly sad that such an important animal has faded into such obscurity as well. Perhaps, however, it will become an important image in the eye of the public again someday.

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