Museo Carmen Funes
Encyclopedia
Museo Municipal Carmen Funes, or, the Carmen Funes Municipal Museum, is a museum
of paleontology
in Plaza Huincul
, Neuquén Province
, Argentina
. It is best known for its collection of dinosaur
fossil
s, including the only specimen of the largest recorded dinosaur remains, Argentinosaurus huinculensis, and the only known sauropod embryos, which were discovered at a huge nesting site in Auca Mahuida, Patagonia
. Its standard abbreviation is MCF-PVPH, or just PVPH to denote the paleontological collection.
. The museum has an exhibition area, workshops for preparing fossils, and stores. Field work, often in cooperation with American
museums, continues in fossil-rich Patagonia. The museum's collections include 11 holotype
specimens.
Significant past exhibits include:
The museum was established in 1984 with municipal funding, and has become a significant tourist
attraction in the province of Neuquén Province
. The museum is located at 55 Córdoba Avenue, Plaza Huincul, Neuquén Province (postal code
8318), east of the intersection of National Route 22
and Provincial Route 17.
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
of paleontology
Paleontology
Paleontology "old, ancient", ὄν, ὀντ- "being, creature", and λόγος "speech, thought") is the study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments...
in Plaza Huincul
Plaza Huincul
Plaza Huincul is a village and municipality in Neuquén Province in southwestern Argentina.-References:...
, Neuquén Province
Neuquén Province
Neuquén is a province of Argentina, located in the west of the country, at the northern end of Patagonia. It borders Mendoza Province to the north, Rio Negro Province to the southeast, and Chile to the west...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. It is best known for its collection of dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s, including the only specimen of the largest recorded dinosaur remains, Argentinosaurus huinculensis, and the only known sauropod embryos, which were discovered at a huge nesting site in Auca Mahuida, Patagonia
Patagonia
Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...
. Its standard abbreviation is MCF-PVPH, or just PVPH to denote the paleontological collection.
Overview
The founder and director of the museum is the Argentine paleontologist Rodolfo CoriaRodolfo Coria
Dr. Rodolfo Coria is an Argentine paleontologist.He is best known for having directed the field study and co-naming of the Argentinosaurus in 1993, and the Giganotosaurus , in 1996 among other landmark South American dinosaurs...
. The museum has an exhibition area, workshops for preparing fossils, and stores. Field work, often in cooperation with American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
museums, continues in fossil-rich Patagonia. The museum's collections include 11 holotype
Holotype
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
specimens.
Significant past exhibits include:
- "Tiniest Giants: Discovering Dinosaur Eggs"http://www.nhm.org/tiniestgiants/: Features the sauropod eggs and embryoes from Patagonia, in cooperation with the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyNatural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyThe Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County opened in Exposition Park, Los Angeles, California, USA in 1913 as the Museum of History, Science, and Art. The moving force behind it was a museum association founded in 1910. Its distinctive main building, with fitted marble walls and domed and...
. - "Giants of the Mesozoic"http://www.fernbank.edu/museum/giants.html: Features a mock battle between the largest terrestrial predator known, the GiganotosaurusGiganotosaurusGiganotosaurus is a genus of carcharodontosaurid dinosaur that lived around 97 million years ago during the early Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period. It included some of the largest known terrestrial carnivores, slightly larger than the largest Tyrannosaurus, but smaller than the...
, and the largest terrestrial animal known, the plant-eating Argentinosaurus. With the Fernbank Museum of Natural HistoryFernbank Museum of Natural HistoryFernbank Museum of Natural History, in Atlanta, is a museum in that presents exhibitions and programming about natural history that are meant to entertain as well as educate the public. Its mission is to encourage a greater appreciation of the planet and its people...
in Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
.
The museum was established in 1984 with municipal funding, and has become a significant tourist
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
attraction in the province of Neuquén Province
Neuquén Province
Neuquén is a province of Argentina, located in the west of the country, at the northern end of Patagonia. It borders Mendoza Province to the north, Rio Negro Province to the southeast, and Chile to the west...
. The museum is located at 55 Córdoba Avenue, Plaza Huincul, Neuquén Province (postal code
Argentine postal code
Postal codes in Argentina are called códigos postales. Until 1998 Argentina employed a four-digit postal code for each municipality, with the first digit representing a region in the country, except in the case of the city of Buenos Aires...
8318), east of the intersection of National Route 22
National Route 22 (Argentina)
National Route 22 is a highway located in Argentina, that connects the provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Río Negro and Neuquén in . The route starts at the connection with...
and Provincial Route 17.
External links
- "Carmen Funes Museum". Inter Patagonia. (Spanish version)