Extreme Mammals at the AMNH

A major issue in the philosophy of biology is the "species problem," the question of what exactly constitutes the boundary between one so-called species and another. Extreme Mammals, an exhibit that just opened this weekend at the American Museum of Natural History, pushes the species problem up the taxonomic ladder by highlighting the incredible variety of animals that fall into the class of things called mammals. Some are huge, some tiny; some have horns, some have fangs bursting from their heads, some have bills; some lay eggs, some carry their helpless offspring in pouches, some give birth to young that can run around just fine on their own in less than an hour. The exhibit celebrates this delirious diversity by putting on display models, skeletons, videos, live representatives, teeth, and --- why not? --- preserved mammoth hair.