Bringing fossils into the digital age, one shell at a time

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    Jann Vendetti holding the shell of a snail known as

    Jann Vendetti holding the shell of a snail known as "Kelletia kelletii." It's from Southern California during the Pleistocene era. (Sanden Totten of KPCC)

    L.A. County’s Natural History Museum is probably best known for its dinosaur bones and dioramas, but the institution is also home to a vast collection of fossils used by researchers around the world.

    It has millions of specimens that help tell the tale of life on Earth and give clues about our planet’s future.

    The problem is, for decades the only way to know for sure what was in the collection was to visit in person and search the cabinets. Now, NHM is hoping to change that by bringing its fossils online.

    You can read the full story on KPCC’s website, and listen to the audio above.

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