Instagram story viewer> @palaeonils> Posts

Nils Knötschke

@palaeonils

26.9K

followers

2942

following

⚒️ with Dinosaurs since 1999!
🦖Scientific Advisor & Consulting
🦕Project Manager / DinoExhibitions
⚒️ for museums around the 🌍!

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Good things take time… and I’ve waited over 25 years for this.

I’ve prepared skull bones from many dinosaurs, but my greatest dream? An articulated skull.

Now the secret is out. Not the cat is „out of the bag“ —this time, it’s the skull out of the rock!

After millions of years buried… now in the DinoLab @sauriermuseumaathal! On display for visitors starting Friday, April 3, 2026!

This is a very rare juvenile Camarasaurus skull. The first famous one of this size—CM11338—was found at Dinosaur National Monument over a century ago. Now, at Sauriermuseum Aathal, a new one emerges!

The best part? The right maxilla and nasal were shifted about 30 cm from the skull in the same block. This rare displacement allowed me to reveal inner skull structures normally forever hidden.

The skull is a work in progress—I hope to continue work on “Lucy” this September! 🫶🏼🦕🦴

#25yearsinthemaking #sauriermuseumaathal taken in Sauriermuseum Aathal by @palaeonils

1k

21

7 months ago

LOVE, UH… FINDS A WAY. ❤️🦕

TO THE JURASSIC & BACK! 🦖

With you, through every eon, every age & beyond. ❤️

And thank you for sharing me with all those ancient beasts and terrible lizards. 🦴🦖❤️

#loveofmylife🐾

#preparatorsofinstagram #workingwithdinosaurs #dinosaurhunters by @palaeonils

107

9

a month ago

Working with Dinosaur Legends!

Before traveling to our exhibition project @hkscm we had to dismantle some of the most complete Jurassic Dinosaurs ever discovered!

After dismantling the most complete Allosaurus jimmadseni ever found - „BigAl 2” - we have to clean & prepare the original dinosaur bones for the remounting in Hong Kong.

BigAl2 was mounted since 2003 and we are honored to work with this amazing specimen.

Here I’m cleaning & preparing the beautiful left foot of this Jurassic predator.

After the special exhibition in Hong Kong, BigAl2 will be on permanent public display at the university of Zurich. In a beautiful new museum hall which is now in the planning phase.

Thanks to @sauriermuseumaathal for making this happen!

Please follow for updates:

@big8dinosaurs
@fif.hk
@hkscm
@sauriermuseumaathal

#specialexhibition #bigal2 for #fossilfriday #hongkong #paleontology #dinolab #fossil #workingwithdinosaurs #walkingwithdinosaurs #allosaurus #jurassicdino #dinosaursofthejurassic #dinosaursofinstagram #potd #wildlifephotography #sauriermuseumaathal #preparatorsofinstagram #naturalhistorymuseum #dinosaur #dinosaurs #dinolove #extinctanimals #prehistoricanimals #dinosaursinthewild #skeletoncrew #hongkong
#hongkongsciencemuseum taken in Sauriermuseum Aathal by @palaeonils

2k

32

5 years ago

For all you 🦖skull lovers - a predator that feels like home! To me 🫶🏻🦖🦴!

The incredible reconstructed skull of one of Germany’s most impressive theropod discoveries, Wiehenvenator albati - discovered just a bone’s throw from my home, in Germany’s Wiehen Hills. @lwlnaturkundemuseum

Unearthed in 1998 and scientifically described in 2016, this mighty Middle Jurassic predator was a close cousin of Torvosaurus. A spectacular member of the Jurassic family!

I’m absolutely blown away by this skull reconstruction by my colleagues at @r.i.p.statue in the Netherlands. Incredible craftsmanship bringing a local 🇩🇪 prehistoric legend back into view. 🔥

Visit the complete Wiehenvenator & Friends @lwlnaturkundemuseum !!!

#FossilFriday #Wiehenvenator #DinosaurSkull #Palaeontology #RIPStatue taken in LWL-Museum für Naturkunde mit Planetarium by @palaeonils

604

6

a day ago

Hiii friends!!!
•
Last Saturday was the ROARsome opening of the Rock Fossils on Tour exhibition at the Sauriermuseum Aathal 🦖🤘🏻
•
Since 2013, this exhibition has been bringing together two worlds: paleontology and rock music! 🎸
It features newly discovered fossils named after rock legends, combining science, dinosaurs and rock ’n’ roll in such a unique way.
•
What a night and what a fantastic atmosphere! 😮‍💨🙌🏼 It was an absolute blast, and if you get the chance to visit, DO IT! It’s so worth it 🔥
•
Thank you to @sauriermuseumaathal for having me ♥️ it was so much fun!!
•
#rockfossilsontour #sauriermuseumaathal #paleontology #dinosaurmuseum #rockfossils by @palaeonils

3

23

5 days ago

WALKING WITH DINOSAURS 🦖

You often see me working with dinosaur bones 🦴 but I’ve also spent a great deal of my career excavating their footprints. In my opinion, the tracks of these prehistoric animals deserve far more attention than they usually get in reports and posts.

So yes, I’ve been walking with dinosaurs. The dinosaurs were long gone, of course 🦕 but their footprints were still there.

At Münchehagen, around 140 million years ago, sauropods, theropods and ornithopods crossed a landscape now preserved in stone. Our excavations revealed exceptionally long iguanodontid trackways, beautifully preserved theropod footprints with claw and toe-pad impressions — and a giant sauropod making a remarkable 90° left turn. Beautiful fossil wave ripples preserve the texture of the ancient surface beneath their feet.

These tracks record movement and changes of direction, offer clues to interactions between animals, and allow us to estimate their walking speeds.

At the Late Jurassic Langenberg quarry near Oker in the Harz Mountains, Holger Lüdtke and I rescued five natural footprint casts in 2003 before quarrying destroyed the tracksite. Years later, archival photographs allowed its reconstruction in 3D. 📸 No. 10

Those large theropod tracks hint at a dramatic chapter in the story of the dwarf sauropod Europasaurus: falling sea levels may have opened routes for large predators to reach its island habitat, potentially threatening the resident dwarf fauna.

“Theropod Blitzkrieg Bop” was our prehistoric nod to the Ramones. 🤘

Some of my career memories are measured in footprints.

If you need more info about these beautiful tracks ask & follow: @frilu0415
He is the track manager 🐾🤘🏼!

#WalkingWithDinosaurs #DinosaurTracks #Münchehagen #Europasaurus #Palaeontology taken in Münchehagen, Niedersachsen, Germany by @palaeonils

2k

15

6 days ago

🤘 Rock Fossils Hall of Fame 🤘

Get ready to meet the original metalheads of the fossil record in our new exhibition, Rock Fossils on Tour @sauriermuseumaathal !

🪱 Kalloprion kilmisteri
named for Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister.
🪱 Kingnites diamondi
named for metal icon King Diamond.
🪱 Websteroprion armstrongi
its genus honours Alex Webster of Cannibal Corpse, while its species name honours fossil collector Derek Armstrong.

These marine bristle worms prowled the seas more than 400 million years ago. Their soft bodies almost never fossilised, but their tiny, tough jaws did-giving scientists the clues needed to create these spectacular, massively enlarged reconstructions.

Come face to face with prehistoric legends and discover even more fossil icons with a Rock’n’Roll connection! 🎸🔥

#RockFossilsonTour #SauriermuseumAathal #Paleontology #PrehistoricMonsters #RockMeetsRock taken in Sauriermuseum Aathal by @palaeonils

304

5

7 days ago

🎸 Rock trifft auf Fossilien! 🤘

Ab Sonntag, 11. Oktober 2026, rockt die Wanderausstellung «Rock Fossils on Tour» das Sauriermuseum Aathal!

Was haben Fossilien mit Rock, Punk und Heavy Metal zu tun? Mehr als man denkt! Entdeckt bizarre Fossilien, die nach berühmten Rockstars benannt
wurden, und erfahrt ihre spannenden Geschichten – natürlich mit dem passenden Sound dazu! 🎶

🤘 «Rock Fossils on Tour» – ab sofort für ein Jahr im Sauriermuseum Aathal!

#rockfossils #rockfossilsontour #heavymetal #rockmeetsscience #fossilien by @palaeonils

368

7

7 days ago

🦕 Lucy ist zurück im Labor. Und jetzt wird’s ernst.

150 Millionen Jahre lag sie im Gestein von Wyoming. Dann hat unser Team etwas entdeckt, das selbst Profis die Sprache verschlagen hat: der Schädel eines jungen Camarasaurus. Er gehört zu den vollständigsten weltweit.

Ein Experte der Freien Universität Berlin nennt den Fund “extrem selten”. Schädel von Jungtieren in dieser Grösse? Davon kennt man bisher genau einen.

Ihre Ausstellungszeit ist für den Moment vorbei. Aber die Arbeit geht erst richtig los:
💬 „Ich präpariere seit über 25 Jahren Dinosaurier – Lucy ist mein erster vollständiger Schädel. So selten ist diese Mona Lisa der Urzeit.“

Das Beste: Bei uns passiert das live vor deinen Augen. Unser Labor ist öffentlich, komm vorbei uns schau unserem Nils über die Schulter.

#sauriermuseumaathal #camarasaurus #lucy #sensationsfund #dinomuseum taken in Sauriermuseum Aathal by @palaeonils

427

9

9 days ago

New week! Let’s goooo 🙌🏼
•
Some insights into my prep work with the Diplomystus at @sauriermuseumaathal, which I worked on from Saturday to Sunday 🐟🦴🪡
•
And a big THANK YOU to @palaeonils for showing me how it’s done, teaching me the basics and helping me along the way!🙏🏼 It was so cool to be able to watch, learn and prep myself 🐟🦴 Can’t wait for next time🚀
•
Starting next year, there will be preparation dates for everyone from beginners to advanced preparators again 🐟🦖🔨
Dates will be announced soon! 😊
•
I’ll also share them in my stories, so keep an eye out if you’re interested or you can check out the Sauriermuseum Aathal website for more information.
•
#preperation #diplomystus #raubhering #sauriermuseumaathal #mondaymood taken in Sauriermuseum Aathal by @palaeonils

3

33

12 days ago

Triceratops Dreams - 67 million years, still connected.

During my September visit to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, I had the privilege of seeing this remarkable Triceratops from North Dakota’s Hell Creek Formation up close.

Its scientific value lies in the extraordinary preservation: a complete skull, a right lower jaw still articulated with its predentary; the bone supporting the lower beak and a continuous vertebral series extending from the fused anterior neck vertebrae into the back.

These preserved anatomical connections offer a rare opportunity to investigate how the skull and neck developed together in this iconic horned dinosaur.

An unusually short right brow horn adds another intriguing question: an injury during life, or breakage after death? The team is examining the bone for signs of healing: a potential glimpse into this individual’s life history.

Beautifully prepared by @denver_prepsfossils.

Thank you, Dr. Tyler Lyson and @denvermuseums, for an unforgettable look behind the scenes.

#Triceratops #Paleontology #FossilPreparation #HellCreek #DenverMuseum taken in Denver Museum of Nature & Science by @palaeonils

1k

14

13 days ago

🦕 FOSSIL FRIDAY — Lucy’s next chapter!

Our prehistoric Mona Lisa, still emerging from stone.

Here’s my latest 3D surface scan of Lucy, the exceptionally preserved juvenile Camarasaurus skull at Sauriermuseum Aathal.

I’m now preparing her right maxilla—the upper jaw bone washed away from the skull before its final burial. Hopefully, I’ll soon free it from the rock and reunite it with the skull! 🔨

#FossilFriday #Camarasaurus #SauriermuseumAathal #FossilPreparation #Paleontology taken in Sauriermuseum Aathal by @palaeonils

606

4

15 days ago