Paleontological Subcollection
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Pavel Dvořák, curator of the paleontological collection
dvorak.pomgm.cz
+420 414 120 253
The paleontological subcollection, consisting of 1076 items (as of May 1, 2017), is also being expanded mainly with fossils found in connection with the extraction of lignite. The collection of fossils from the Brandov locality comes from a pre-war museum. The vast majority of fossils for the museum were acquired or donated by RNDr. Stanislav Hurník, CSc. Currently, the paleontological subcollection is particularly incorporating samples of Tertiary plants from the Bílina Quarry. Among the most valuable specimens in the subcollection is a fossilized shell of a Tertiary turtle, which was found in a coal mine in the Most region at the end of the 19th century. Research on this fossil confirmed that it is a new fossil species of turtle. It was named after the Latin name of the town Most - Pons as Trionyx pontanus. Another significant fossil in the subcollection is a part of a fin from a Mesozoic lizard from the locality of Lahošť near Duchcov. It is one of the few fossils from the dinosaur period found in the territory of the Czech Republic.
In the museum's permanent exhibition, the paleontological subcollection is the largest part of the geological exhibition.