Jurassic Museum of Asturias
Encyclopedia
The Jurassic Museum of Asturias (Spanish
: Museo del Jurásico de Asturias; MUJA) is located in the area of Rasa de San Telmo near the parish (administrative division) of Lastres
in the municipality of Colunga
, Asturias
, Spain
. Though the municipality of Ribadesella
was initially proposed, Colunga was chosen for the building site in the late 1990s. Several landmarks are visible from the museum including the Bay of Biscay
, the Sierra del Sueve
, and the Picos de Europa
. Strategically located over a mount on the Rasa de San Temo, the museum is in the midst the Jurassic Kingdom of Asturias
.
The museum displays and collections cover 3,500 million years, and although they emphasize the three stages of the Mesozoic (Triassic
, Jurassic
and Cretaceous
), information is also presented on the preceding and subsequent periods. Different stages of the Jurassic
geologic period and system are on display. Corridors contain over 20 dinosaur replicas; measuring over 12 metres (39.4 ft) in height, their weight would exceed ten tons if the replicas were real. A rich collection of footprints and fossils found in the Asturian Jurassic coastline from ten archaeological sites are exhibited in the exposition halls and are said to be "the most complete informative and representative collection of dinosaur remains in the world."
Founded March 31, 2004 and representing an investment of 12 million euros, MUJA belongs to the Asturian network of public museums. The museum's goal is to illustrate the factors involved in the composition of life on Earth. The palaeontologist José Carlos García-Ramos from the University of Oviedo
leads the museum's scientific team.
, a fishing port. It is bounded by the Sierra del Sueve on the south and the Picos de Europa towards the east. MUJA is on the branch road AS-257 towards Lastres, about 1.5 km away.
During a visit to the cliffs of the coastline between Gijón
and Ribadesella
in the councils of Villaviciosa
, Colunga
and Ribadesella
of Asturias, which is called the “Coast of Dinosaurs”, dinosaur ichnite
deposits were found to be in abundance. Jurassic reptile footprints and bone were unearthed during excavations that started in 2005. Fossils found during these excavations are on display in the museum.
, feature of the dinosaurs". The building itself is shaped in the form of a giant tridactyl
dinosaur footprint. Three ellipsoidal vaults intersect to form the deck space which is a large, open area of 2500 square metres (2,990 sq yd). The roof structure is made entirely of laminated wood, a plywood
. The entire roof is covered with a copper
skin plate, which has been described by the European Association for the Development of Architectural Copper as that "it gradually oxidises to dark brown colour, and then, after several years, the typical green patina of aged copper protects the building and its contents for decades, even in the aggressive marine environment."
The first floor, ground floor and basement of the building are 5000 square metres (5,980 sq yd). Three wide vaults or rooms extend to the ceiling and are divided by the Mesozoic
divisions of Cretaceous
, Jurassic, and Triassic
. The basement houses over 400 tons of fossils that have yet to be classified. The first floor has a temporary exhibition room, a reception room, administration room, and workshops, as well as a library and a laboratory. The ground floor contains a display hall, an audio-visual room and the permanent exposition room, along with an auditorium. The service areas include a store, gardens, cafeteria, and playgrounds.
A module explains the geological history of Asturias, focusing on the Jurassic Coast and the marine levels that formed the city of Gijón
. Some of the replicas include a couple of copulating Tyrannosaurus rex, as well as an Argentine
Giganotosaurus
, the largest of the known carnivorous dinosaurs. A large-clawed Deinonychus
is also featured. Quintueles
, Oles, and Tazones
specimens are housed at the MUJA.
The largest of the finds from the Coast of Dinosaurs are: the footprint of a theropod dinosaur of 82 centimetres (32.3 in) length, the smallest ichnites of sauropod dinosaurs of about 12 centimetres (4.7 in) length. Collections in the museum from the coastal finds also include 255 specimens of dinosaur ichnites. Martin Lockley
, Palaeontologist
of the University of Colorado Denver
states that “the collection of ichnites of the MUJA represents one of the most complete worldwide”.
The collection of vertebrates of the Jurassic period is unique. Some of the specimens on display in the museum are an incomplete skeleton of a marine crocodile, a piece of the jaw of a small ichthyosaur
, a 1.25 metres (4.1 ft) long specimen of ulna
(equivalent to the cubitus bone) of a brachiosaurid, the partial skeleton of a stegosaur, several bones of plesiosaurs, bone remnants of sea turtle
s (including several shells), and also specimens of several partial fish. Also on display are Jurassic period fossil plants.
Triassic hall
In the Triassic
hall, there are exhibits of dinosaurs as they first appeared in the Triassic period, 251 to 200 million years ago. The recreated and easily identifiable dinosaurs on display here have bones and footprints or ichnites. Also shown are the gastroliths (stones gulped down by some dinosaurs to crush food in their stomachs), coprolites (fossilized dung), eggs and nests. The Plateosaurus
dinosaur is the largest on display here.
Jurassic hall
The Jurassic period, representing the intermediate period of the Mesozoic
from 200 and 145 million years ago, considered the grandeur period of the dinosaurs, is represented in the Jurassic hall, which has large sauropods. The display has a unique representation through a cladogram
which defines the features of the major groups of the period. Information on display relates to the anatomical features such as weight, neck bonding, arm musculature, circulatory system and the relative size of the skull.
Theropods and others
The theropod’s aggressive aspects are shown in the form of their teeth and claws. Ornithopod
s, which are vegetarian by habit are shown with snouts, tooth batteries, mobile skull bones jowls and with hoped feet. Thyreophorans exhibits depict their defensive anatomical features against predators in the form of bone shields, spikes, tail clubs and so forth. Camarasaurus
, a large-sized sauropod dinosaur, found in central and western United States are exhibited in their original curved form. The exposition part dedicated to ornithopod
s is centred on the morphological characteristics most related to their vegetarian diet namely toothless snout, tooth batteries, mobile skull bones, and development of jowls and presence of hoofs on their feet. The space dedicated to thyreophorans shows the main defensive elements of this group of dinosaurs against predators such as bone shields, spikes, tail clubs and so forth. Marine Jurassic vertebrates are exhibited in the central hall alongside large reptiles such as ichthyosaur
s and plesiosaur
s, crocodiles and fish. The skeletons of an ichthyosaur, a fish-shaped reptile akin to a dolphin
, and of a sea lily or crinoid
are also on display in separate cabinets.
Pre-Mesozoic
In the Pre-Mesozoic hall, the exhibits relate to the time from the creation of the Earth 4500 million years ago to the Palaeozoic age, 251 million years ago with displays of first organisms on the Earth, evolution process of fossils and their dating, classification of the vertebrates and their inherited relations, deterioration and extinction of nearly 95% of these systems by end of the Palaeozoic period.
Cretaceous period
In the hall representing the Cretaceous
period, which is the last period of the Mesozoic
era from 142 to 65 million years ago, the displays relate to the biological and social habits of dinosaurs, reasons for their extinction by the end of the Cretaceous period, that are attributed to meteorite, volcanic eruptions and intense geographic and climatic changes. Evolution of birds inferred as theropods evolving from the non-avian dinosaurs are represented by the Archaeopteryx
(a prehistoric bird) and dinosaurs such as the Deinonychus
or the Dromaeosaurus
.
Post-Mesozoic period
Post-Mesozoic, representing the last 65 million years, starting with the extinction of a major part of the dinosaurs, is the Tertiary period when reptile, mammals and modern faunas evolved in that order. The Cantabrotherium truyolsi represents the deposit of Llamaquique, in Oviedo
. A touch screen display provides a complete history of the last 65 million years of the evolution of the landscape and the ecosystems. The replica of a skull, No. 5, dated to 300,000 years, is an exhibit in the hall of the Quaternary period. Displays in this hall also cover the decline of the brown bear habitat in the north of the Iberian Peninsula
over 500 years and the skull of a cave bear
.
Temporary exhibitions
In the basement of the museum, there is a 300 square metres (358.8 sq yd) hall where temporary exhibitions are held on different themes. Past shows were on the themes of Asturias
, Natural Paradise, the Great Adventure of Dinosaurs, Europe
an Rupestrian art, the Coast of Dinosaurs, Trapped in Ice, Jurassic Colossus and 2010 Biodiversity
.
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
: Museo del Jurásico de Asturias; MUJA) is located in the area of Rasa de San Telmo near the parish (administrative division) of Lastres
Lastres
Llastres is one of 13 parishes in the Colunga municipality, within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in northern Spain.The population is 1,159 .-External links:*...
in the municipality of Colunga
Colunga
Colunga is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It lies on the Cantabrian Sea, and is bordered to the west by Villaviciosa, to the south by Parres and Piloña, and to the east by Caravia.- Politic :-Parishes:...
, Asturias
Asturias
The Principality of Asturias is an autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain, coextensive with the former Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. Though the municipality of Ribadesella
Ribadesella
Ribadesella Ribadesella is a small municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. Known for its location on the Cantabrian Sea, as well as for the outlet of the River Sella, Ribadesella is a town that forms part of the Picos de Europa...
was initially proposed, Colunga was chosen for the building site in the late 1990s. Several landmarks are visible from the museum including the Bay of Biscay
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...
, the Sierra del Sueve
Sierra del Sueve
The Sierra del Sueve is a limestone massif in the east-central coast of Asturias, Spain. It is located across the municipalities of northeast Caravia, Colunga in the northwest, Piloña, Parres and Ribadesella to the east and south. The Regional Hunting Reserve Sueve also delimits the Sueve...
, and the Picos de Europa
Picos de Europa
The Picos de Europa is a range of mountains 20 km inland from the northern coast of Spain, located in the Autonomous Communities of Asturias, Cantabria and Castile and León, forming part of the Cantabrian Mountains...
. Strategically located over a mount on the Rasa de San Temo, the museum is in the midst the Jurassic Kingdom of Asturias
Kingdom of Asturias
The Kingdom of Asturias was a Kingdom in the Iberian peninsula founded in 718 by Visigothic nobles under the leadership of Pelagius of Asturias. It was the first Christian political entity established following the collapse of the Visigothic kingdom after Islamic conquest of Hispania...
.
The museum displays and collections cover 3,500 million years, and although they emphasize the three stages of the Mesozoic (Triassic
Triassic
The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
, Jurassic
Jurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...
and Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
), information is also presented on the preceding and subsequent periods. Different stages of the Jurassic
Jurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...
geologic period and system are on display. Corridors contain over 20 dinosaur replicas; measuring over 12 metres (39.4 ft) in height, their weight would exceed ten tons if the replicas were real. A rich collection of footprints and fossils found in the Asturian Jurassic coastline from ten archaeological sites are exhibited in the exposition halls and are said to be "the most complete informative and representative collection of dinosaur remains in the world."
Founded March 31, 2004 and representing an investment of 12 million euros, MUJA belongs to the Asturian network of public museums. The museum's goal is to illustrate the factors involved in the composition of life on Earth. The palaeontologist José Carlos García-Ramos from the University of Oviedo
University of Oviedo
The University of Oviedo is a public university in Asturias . It's the only university in the region. It has three campus and research centres, located in Oviedo, Gijón and Mieres.-History:...
leads the museum's scientific team.
Geography
The museum is located close to the coastline of the Cantabrian Sea and LastresLastres
Llastres is one of 13 parishes in the Colunga municipality, within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in northern Spain.The population is 1,159 .-External links:*...
, a fishing port. It is bounded by the Sierra del Sueve on the south and the Picos de Europa towards the east. MUJA is on the branch road AS-257 towards Lastres, about 1.5 km away.
During a visit to the cliffs of the coastline between Gijón
Gijón
Gijón , officially Gijón / Xixón, is a coastal industrial city and a municipality in the autonomous community of Asturias in Spain. Early mediaeval texts mention it as "Gigia". It was an important regional Roman city, although the area has been settled since earliest history...
and Ribadesella
Ribadesella
Ribadesella Ribadesella is a small municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. Known for its location on the Cantabrian Sea, as well as for the outlet of the River Sella, Ribadesella is a town that forms part of the Picos de Europa...
in the councils of Villaviciosa
Villaviciosa, Asturias
Villaviciosa is a town and in the autonomous community of Asturias, Spain. It is situated on the central eastern coastline, and borders the Asturian municipalities of Gijón and Siero to the west, Sariego, Nava, Cabranes and Piloña to the south and to Colunga to the east. The total area is 271 km²...
, Colunga
Colunga
Colunga is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It lies on the Cantabrian Sea, and is bordered to the west by Villaviciosa, to the south by Parres and Piloña, and to the east by Caravia.- Politic :-Parishes:...
and Ribadesella
Ribadesella
Ribadesella Ribadesella is a small municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. Known for its location on the Cantabrian Sea, as well as for the outlet of the River Sella, Ribadesella is a town that forms part of the Picos de Europa...
of Asturias, which is called the “Coast of Dinosaurs”, dinosaur ichnite
Ichnite
An ichnite is a fossilised footprint. This is a type of trace fossil. Over the years, many ichnites have been found, around the world, giving important clues about the behaviour of the animals that made them...
deposits were found to be in abundance. Jurassic reptile footprints and bone were unearthed during excavations that started in 2005. Fossils found during these excavations are on display in the museum.
Architecture
The museum, which opened in 2004, was designed by the architect, Rufino Uribelarrea. The building has many special features, particularly the roof, which is in the form of a "fingerprint counter mould kittiwakeKittiwake
The kittiwakes are two closely related seabird species in the gull family Laridae, the Black-legged Kittiwake and the Red-legged Kittiwake . The epithets "Black-legged" and "Red-legged" are used to distinguish the two species in North America, but in Europe, where R...
, feature of the dinosaurs". The building itself is shaped in the form of a giant tridactyl
Dactyly
In biology, dactyly is the arrangement of digits on the hands, feet, or sometimes wings of a tetrapod animal. It comes from the Greek word δακτυλος = "finger".Sometimes the ending "-dactylia" is used...
dinosaur footprint. Three ellipsoidal vaults intersect to form the deck space which is a large, open area of 2500 square metres (2,990 sq yd). The roof structure is made entirely of laminated wood, a plywood
Plywood
Plywood is a type of manufactured timber made from thin sheets of wood veneer. It is one of the most widely used wood products. It is flexible, inexpensive, workable, re-usable, and can usually be locally manufactured...
. The entire roof is covered with a copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
skin plate, which has been described by the European Association for the Development of Architectural Copper as that "it gradually oxidises to dark brown colour, and then, after several years, the typical green patina of aged copper protects the building and its contents for decades, even in the aggressive marine environment."
The first floor, ground floor and basement of the building are 5000 square metres (5,980 sq yd). Three wide vaults or rooms extend to the ceiling and are divided by the Mesozoic
Mesozoic
The Mesozoic era is an interval of geological time from about 250 million years ago to about 65 million years ago. It is often referred to as the age of reptiles because reptiles, namely dinosaurs, were the dominant terrestrial and marine vertebrates of the time...
divisions of Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
, Jurassic, and Triassic
Triassic
The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
. The basement houses over 400 tons of fossils that have yet to be classified. The first floor has a temporary exhibition room, a reception room, administration room, and workshops, as well as a library and a laboratory. The ground floor contains a display hall, an audio-visual room and the permanent exposition room, along with an auditorium. The service areas include a store, gardens, cafeteria, and playgrounds.
Collection
MUJA's main collection centres around 8,000 fossils from Asturias' Jurassic period. Divided into four sections, one contains 150 traces from the coast; another has 200 fossils of dinosaurs, crocodiles, fish, and tortoises; the third has 103 vegetable fossils and eleven tree trunk fragments; and the last has approximately 6,000 invertebrate fossils.A module explains the geological history of Asturias, focusing on the Jurassic Coast and the marine levels that formed the city of Gijón
Gijón
Gijón , officially Gijón / Xixón, is a coastal industrial city and a municipality in the autonomous community of Asturias in Spain. Early mediaeval texts mention it as "Gigia". It was an important regional Roman city, although the area has been settled since earliest history...
. Some of the replicas include a couple of copulating Tyrannosaurus rex, as well as an Argentine
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...
Giganotosaurus
Giganotosaurus
Giganotosaurus 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...
, the largest of the known carnivorous dinosaurs. A large-clawed Deinonychus
Deinonychus
Deinonychus was a genus of carnivorous dromaeosaurid dinosaur. There is one described species, Deinonychus antirrhopus. This 3.4 meter long dinosaur lived during the early Cretaceous Period, about 115–108 million years ago . Fossils have been recovered from the U.S...
is also featured. Quintueles
Quintueles
Quintueles is one of 41 parishes in Villaviciosa, a municipality within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in northern Spain...
, Oles, and Tazones
Tazones
Tazones is one of 41 parishes in Villaviciosa, a municipality within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in northern Spain....
specimens are housed at the MUJA.
The largest of the finds from the Coast of Dinosaurs are: the footprint of a theropod dinosaur of 82 centimetres (32.3 in) length, the smallest ichnites of sauropod dinosaurs of about 12 centimetres (4.7 in) length. Collections in the museum from the coastal finds also include 255 specimens of dinosaur ichnites. Martin Lockley
Martin Lockley
Dr. Martin G. Lockley is an English paleontologist specializing in dinosaur tracks. He is a Professor of Geology at the University of Colorado at Denver, in the United States, and founder and director of the Dinosaur Trackers Research Group.-Biography:...
, Palaeontologist
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...
of the University of Colorado Denver
University of Colorado Denver
The University of Colorado Denver, shortened as CU Denver, UC Denver, or UCD, is a public university in the United States state of Colorado. It is one of three schools of the University of Colorado system. The university has two campuses — one in downtown Denver at the Auraria Campus, and the other...
states that “the collection of ichnites of the MUJA represents one of the most complete worldwide”.
Ichthyosaur
Ichthyosaurs were giant marine reptiles that resembled fish and dolphins...
, a 1.25 metres (4.1 ft) long specimen of ulna
Ulna
The ulna is one of the two long bones in the forearm, the other being the radius. It is prismatic in form and runs parallel to the radius, which is shorter and smaller. In anatomical position The ulna is one of the two long bones in the forearm, the other being the radius. It is prismatic in form...
(equivalent to the cubitus bone) of a brachiosaurid, the partial skeleton of a stegosaur, several bones of plesiosaurs, bone remnants of sea turtle
Sea turtle
Sea turtles are marine reptiles that inhabit all of the world's oceans except the Arctic.-Distribution:...
s (including several shells), and also specimens of several partial fish. Also on display are Jurassic period fossil plants.
Triassic hall
In the Triassic
Triassic
The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
hall, there are exhibits of dinosaurs as they first appeared in the Triassic period, 251 to 200 million years ago. The recreated and easily identifiable dinosaurs on display here have bones and footprints or ichnites. Also shown are the gastroliths (stones gulped down by some dinosaurs to crush food in their stomachs), coprolites (fossilized dung), eggs and nests. The Plateosaurus
Plateosaurus
Plateosaurus is a genus of plateosaurid dinosaur that lived during the Late Triassic period, around 216 to 199 million years ago, in what is now Central and Northern Europe. Plateosaurus is a basal sauropodomorph dinosaur, a so-called "prosauropod"...
dinosaur is the largest on display here.
Jurassic hall
The Jurassic period, representing the intermediate period of the Mesozoic
Mesozoic
The Mesozoic era is an interval of geological time from about 250 million years ago to about 65 million years ago. It is often referred to as the age of reptiles because reptiles, namely dinosaurs, were the dominant terrestrial and marine vertebrates of the time...
from 200 and 145 million years ago, considered the grandeur period of the dinosaurs, is represented in the Jurassic hall, which has large sauropods. The display has a unique representation through a cladogram
Cladogram
A cladogram is a diagram used in cladistics which shows ancestral relations between organisms, to represent the evolutionary tree of life. Although traditionally such cladograms were generated largely on the basis of morphological characters, DNA and RNA sequencing data and computational...
which defines the features of the major groups of the period. Information on display relates to the anatomical features such as weight, neck bonding, arm musculature, circulatory system and the relative size of the skull.
Theropods and others
The theropod’s aggressive aspects are shown in the form of their teeth and claws. Ornithopod
Ornithopod
Ornithopods or members of the clade Ornithopoda are a group of ornithischian dinosaurs that started out as small, bipedal running grazers, and grew in size and numbers until they became one of the most successful groups of herbivores in the Cretaceous world, and dominated the North American...
s, which are vegetarian by habit are shown with snouts, tooth batteries, mobile skull bones jowls and with hoped feet. Thyreophorans exhibits depict their defensive anatomical features against predators in the form of bone shields, spikes, tail clubs and so forth. Camarasaurus
Camarasaurus
Camarasaurus meaning 'chambered lizard', referring to the hollow chambers in its vertebrae was a genus of quadrupedal, herbivorous dinosaurs. It was the most common of the giant sauropods to be found in North America...
, a large-sized sauropod dinosaur, found in central and western United States are exhibited in their original curved form. The exposition part dedicated to ornithopod
Ornithopod
Ornithopods or members of the clade Ornithopoda are a group of ornithischian dinosaurs that started out as small, bipedal running grazers, and grew in size and numbers until they became one of the most successful groups of herbivores in the Cretaceous world, and dominated the North American...
s is centred on the morphological characteristics most related to their vegetarian diet namely toothless snout, tooth batteries, mobile skull bones, and development of jowls and presence of hoofs on their feet. The space dedicated to thyreophorans shows the main defensive elements of this group of dinosaurs against predators such as bone shields, spikes, tail clubs and so forth. Marine Jurassic vertebrates are exhibited in the central hall alongside large reptiles such as ichthyosaur
Ichthyosaur
Ichthyosaurs were giant marine reptiles that resembled fish and dolphins...
s and plesiosaur
Plesiosaur
Plesiosauroidea is an extinct clade of carnivorous plesiosaur marine reptiles. Plesiosauroids, are known from the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods...
s, crocodiles and fish. The skeletons of an ichthyosaur, a fish-shaped reptile akin to a dolphin
Dolphin
Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...
, and of a sea lily or crinoid
Crinoid
Crinoids are marine animals that make up the class Crinoidea of the echinoderms . Crinoidea comes from the Greek word krinon, "a lily", and eidos, "form". They live both in shallow water and in depths as great as 6,000 meters. Sea lilies refer to the crinoids which, in their adult form, are...
are also on display in separate cabinets.
Pre-Mesozoic
In the Pre-Mesozoic hall, the exhibits relate to the time from the creation of the Earth 4500 million years ago to the Palaeozoic age, 251 million years ago with displays of first organisms on the Earth, evolution process of fossils and their dating, classification of the vertebrates and their inherited relations, deterioration and extinction of nearly 95% of these systems by end of the Palaeozoic period.
Cretaceous period
In the hall representing the Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
period, which is the last period of the Mesozoic
Mesozoic
The Mesozoic era is an interval of geological time from about 250 million years ago to about 65 million years ago. It is often referred to as the age of reptiles because reptiles, namely dinosaurs, were the dominant terrestrial and marine vertebrates of the time...
era from 142 to 65 million years ago, the displays relate to the biological and social habits of dinosaurs, reasons for their extinction by the end of the Cretaceous period, that are attributed to meteorite, volcanic eruptions and intense geographic and climatic changes. Evolution of birds inferred as theropods evolving from the non-avian dinosaurs are represented by the Archaeopteryx
Archaeopteryx
Archaeopteryx , sometimes referred to by its German name Urvogel , is a genus of theropod dinosaur that is closely related to birds. The name derives from the Ancient Greek meaning "ancient", and , meaning "feather" or "wing"...
(a prehistoric bird) and dinosaurs such as the Deinonychus
Deinonychus
Deinonychus was a genus of carnivorous dromaeosaurid dinosaur. There is one described species, Deinonychus antirrhopus. This 3.4 meter long dinosaur lived during the early Cretaceous Period, about 115–108 million years ago . Fossils have been recovered from the U.S...
or the Dromaeosaurus
Dromaeosaurus
Dromaeosaurus was a genus of theropod dinosaur which lived during the Late Cretaceous period , sometime between 76.5 and 74.8 million years ago, in the western United States and Alberta, Canada. The name means 'running lizard'....
.
Post-Mesozoic period
Post-Mesozoic, representing the last 65 million years, starting with the extinction of a major part of the dinosaurs, is the Tertiary period when reptile, mammals and modern faunas evolved in that order. The Cantabrotherium truyolsi represents the deposit of Llamaquique, in Oviedo
Oviedo
Oviedo is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain. It is also the name of the municipality that contains the city....
. A touch screen display provides a complete history of the last 65 million years of the evolution of the landscape and the ecosystems. The replica of a skull, No. 5, dated to 300,000 years, is an exhibit in the hall of the Quaternary period. Displays in this hall also cover the decline of the brown bear habitat in the north of the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
over 500 years and the skull of a cave bear
Cave Bear
The cave bear was a species of bear that lived in Europe during the Pleistocene and became extinct at the beginning of the Last Glacial Maximum about 27,500 years ago....
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Temporary exhibitions
In the basement of the museum, there is a 300 square metres (358.8 sq yd) hall where temporary exhibitions are held on different themes. Past shows were on the themes of Asturias
Asturias
The Principality of Asturias is an autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain, coextensive with the former Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages...
, Natural Paradise, the Great Adventure of Dinosaurs, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an Rupestrian art, the Coast of Dinosaurs, Trapped in Ice, Jurassic Colossus and 2010 Biodiversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
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