Paleozoological Museum of China

Front entrance to the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology building.

Close-up of the public entrance to the Paleozoological Museum of China

The Paleozoological Museum of China (PMC; Chinese: 中国古动物馆) is a museum in Beijing, China. The same building also houses the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences). The museum containing exhibition halls with specimens aimed at the public, while the rest of the building is used for research purposes.^[1]

Building

The main building consists of three floors, with the first floor devoted primarily to fishes and amphibians, with reptiles and birds represented on the second floor, and mammals (including examples of megafauna like Stegodon) on the third floor.^[2] Many of the fossil specimens on display are of extinct animals examples of which have only been found within the boundaries of modern-day China, such as Sinokannemeyeria. It also has several examples of the evolutionary precursors to birds, including specimens of Confuciusornis and Microraptor, found on field expeditions to Liaoning.^[3] An adjoining gallery to the main floor looks at the origins of man, including information on Peking Man (an example of Homo erectus), discovered in nearby Zhoukoudian (Choukoutien) during excavations in 1923-27. It also contains a number of stone tools used by paleolithic peoples, and examples of other, later fossil skulls from early homonids who once inhabited the area.

Collection

The collection is significant as it contains many holotypes that were used in scientific journals to describe a number of ancient extinct lines of creatures unique to China. It has an active research facility, and its personnel include the famed Chinese paleontologist Xu Xing, who has named and described many dinosaurs and other fossil animals, some examples of which are on display at the museum.

Gallery

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  A specimen of Confuciusornis sanctus on display at the museum.
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  Close-up of the skull of a specimen of Probactrosaurus gobiensis on display at the museum.
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  A specimen of Paralycoptera wui on display at the museum.
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  Skull of Shansisuchus shansisuchus on display at the museum.
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  A specimen of Parakannemeyeria youngi on display at the museum.
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  Fossil specimen of Yixianornis Grabaui on display at the museum.
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  A mounted specimen of Juxia Sharamurenense on display at the museum.
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  A specimen of Dalinghosaurus longidigitus, on display at the museum.
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  Tsintaosaurus skeleton.
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  Platybelodon skull.
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  Rhinotitan skull.
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  Huayangosaurus skull.
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  Homotherium skull.
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  Peking Man skull (replica).

See also

• List of museums in China

References

1. http://english.cas.ac.cn/eng2003/dmk01a/pdf/11/Institute%20of%20Vertebrate%20Paleontology%20and%20Paleoanthropology.pdf Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, last visited July 10, 2008
2. http://www.china.org.cn/english/travel/164852.htm Paleozoological Museum of China, last visited July 9, 2008
3. http://english.cas.ac.cn/Eng2003/page/SRA/D_1.htm A Comprehensive Study on the Vertebrates of the Jehol Biota in Western Liaoning Province, last visited July 10, 2008

External links

• The Paleozoological Museum of China (official site, in Chinese)
• The Paleozoological Museum of China (brief introduction in English)
• Paleozoological Museum of China
• USA Today "Forget Indiana Jones: Dinosaur hunter Xu digs it"

Coordinates: 39°56′11″N 116°19′40″E / 39.93639°N 116.32778°E