Nanjing Paleontological Specimen Exhibition Hall

Nanjing Paleontological Specimen Exhibition Hall

The Nanjing Paleontological Specimen Exhibition Hall is a specialized institution in China dedicated to paleontological research and is hailed by international paleontologists as one of the world's three major paleontological research centers. The Paleontological Specimen Exhibition Hall serves as a public-facing window of the institute, currently housing nearly 200,000 exquisite fossil specimens. The exhibition hall is located by the scenic Xuanwu Lake.

The exhibition hall is divided into two exhibition areas, displaying over 10,000 fossil specimens from more than fifty biological phyla across the animal and plant kingdoms. Among them, invertebrate fossils mainly include trilobites, graptolites, cephalopods, corals, brachiopods, gastropods, bivalves, phyllocarids, larval forms, stromatoporoids, foraminifera, radiolarians, ostracods, and conodonts; vertebrate fossils mainly include dinosaurs, dinosaur eggs, birds, fish, wild boars, rhinoceroses, etc.; plant fossils include not only primitive algae but also large tree trunks and other plant fossils. These fossils range in age from over 800 million years to just several hundred thousand years old.

The specimens in the first exhibition hall are arranged by different regions, biological phyla, and research fields, showcasing over thirty biological fossil phyla. Highlights include corals, brachiopods, bivalves, gastropods, and cephalopods from the "Roof of the World," specimens from the Chengjiang Biota fossil group known as "one of the most astonishing discoveries of the twentieth century," as well as fossils and rock samples from Antarctica. Observing these fossil specimens greatly aids in understanding the evolution of the Tibetan Plateau from ocean to “Roof of the World,” deepening knowledge of the Cambrian Explosion and plate tectonics.

The specimens in the second exhibition hall are arranged in chronological order of biological appearance, displaying approximately 5,000 fossil specimens from major biological phyla across various geological periods from the Sinian (over 800 million years ago) to the Quaternary. These fossils are diverse in type and form. The collection includes primitive single-celled organisms as well as higher life forms, massive dinosaurs as well as microscopic ostracods and foraminifera measured in micrometers and millimeters. This exhibition hall has strong educational value, vividly illustrating the evolutionary process of early life on Earth from lower to higher forms.

The exhibition hall also preserves extremely rare and world-famous fossil treasures such as the Sinosauropteryx (a feathered dinosaur), pterosaurs, and Confuciusornis. In addition to their significant scientific importance, these fossil specimens also possess strong aesthetic appeal.