The exposition
tells about the development of life on Earth from ancient times to the present.
In the showcases you can see fossils of ancient animals and plants as well as precise
replicas of ancient terrestrial and sea dinosaurs. The exhibition includes
moving models of dinosaurs, a sculptural reconstruction of ancient mammals, and
beautiful paintings. A short video will take you back to the days of
prehistoric Earth and unfold the exciting history of life on our planet.
The unity of organic life. The main
regularities of microevolution.
Even
seemingly unlike organisms, in fact, have many similarities. The showcase
demonstrates some evidence of the unity of the organic world. You can carefully
examine the skeletons of vertebrate animals and notice their great similarity.
Despite many differences caused by different lifestyles and systematic affiliation
of the animals, all skeletons have the same principle of structure.
Paleontology
studies ancient inhabitants of Earth. Usually paleontologists carefully examine
fossil bones, teeth, shells of prehistoric animals, imprints of leaves and
barks of plants. Every paleontological discovery is unique, because usually the
remains of organisms get destroyed quickly; they need very rare and specific
conditions to remain relatively untouched.
Turned
into fossils
Many
aquatic organisms build their skeletons by taking various chemical compounds from
sea water. After their death these mineral skeletons often accumulate into huge
clusters and become a basis of biogenic sedimentary rocks. In showcases you can
see biogenic rocks and traces of ancient living organisms.
The Precambrian
The first
living organisms appeared in the Precambrian, over 3.5 billion years ago.
There is
not much information about living beings on Earth at such a distant time. First
creatures lived in water. In the Precambrian showcase, you will find the
earliest evidence of stromatolites. The most ancient stromatolites have an age
of about 3.5 billion years.
The
imprints of amazing soft-bodied organisms can be found next to the
stromatolites. These organisms have a very unusual structure. They were found
in rocks dating 600 million years ago.
The largest
amount of prints of the Vendian animals was found in the White Sea in
Russia. Similar fossils were found on various continents.
The Cambrian, the Ordovician,
the Silurian
In the
beginning of the ancient life era, the Paleozoic era, there was a revolution in
a skeleton structure. Many animals acquired shells and other mobile shelters.
Seas and oceans were full of life. Fossil remains of the early Paleozoic marine
animals are displayed in the showcases № 7, 8 and 9. Many creatures of ancient
seas had a very bizarre appearance. In shallow waters there were colonies of
ancient corals, sea lilies and cystoids. Prehistoric trilobites had hard shells
for protection and looked like giant wood lice (sometimes up to 80 cm in
length). In the showcase № 9 there is a plate with sea scorpions. These
formidable predators could be two meters long and were armed with not only
claws, but also a poisonous thorn at the end of the tail. Life starts to
develop on land in the Silurian.
Phylogeny of jawless species
Ancient
jawless agnathans were ancestors of modern fish. These vertebrates lived in the
Paleozoic seas and were relatives of modern lampreys and hagfish. Sculptural
reconstructions give an idea of the appearance of these ancient vertebrates.
Phylogeny of fish
Fish
appeared about 400 million years ago, their ancestors were the ancient agnathans.
The showcase includes a family tree where you can see both ancient and modern
fish to trace kinship relationships of different groups.
The Devonian
The
Devonian is often called the "age of fish". The picture and the back
of the showcase depict a huge predator Dunkleosteus. The size of this
prehistoric armored fish reached 9 meters. In the showcase you can see the
fossil remains of placoderms and lobe-finned fish as well as the fossils of
invertebrates typical for this period. Life is actively developing on land.
Insects, ancient amphibians and by the end of the period first forests
appeared.
The Carboniferous
The
Carboniferous or coal-bearing period was marked by large forests of giant
ferns, horsetails and lycopods. In the showcase you can see fossil remains of
plants typical for this period. Amphibians actively evolved during the
Carboniferous period. Reptiles appeared by the end of this time. Insects
actively started to develop and thrive. The wingspan of huge ancient dragonflies
reached up to 80 centimeters. There was a sea in the Moscow oblast at that
time. The showcase displays fossil remains of some marine creatures typical for
our region.
The Permian
The Permian
is the last period of the Paleozoic Era.
The period was named after the city in Russia near which first typical
fossils were found.
Reptiles
came up to the stage at the end of the Paleozoic Era. The showcase displays
exact replicas of skeletons and plastic reconstructions of a large herbivorous
lizard, pareiasaurs, and an impressive predator inostrancevia as well as
various fossils of flora and fauna typical for this period.
The second
half of the Permian period was marked by mass extinction of marine
invertebrates.
Phylogeny of reptiles
Reptiles
appeared in the Carboniferous, about 300 million years ago. They became quite
numerous and diverse towards the end of the Paleozoic, and reached their peak
in the Mesozoic. Currently, the class of reptiles includes over 8,000 species
of crocodiles, snakes, lizards, turtles and the Rhynchocephalia.
The most
successful classes of modern vertebrates including birds and mammals are
descendants of ancient reptiles. The ancestors of birds are usually considered
to be small predatory dinosaurs, and the ancestors of mammals were mammal-like
reptiles. The chart shows kinship relationships between different groups of
ancient and modern reptiles.
Marine reptiles of the Mesozoic
The
Mesozoic is the period when reptiles prospered on land and in water. You can
see well-preserved skeletons of marine reptiles such as ichthyosaurs and
plesiosaurs in the showcase.
Ichthyosaurs
were excellent swimmers and looked like dolphins. They were air-breathing
animals, but never left water. Ichthyosaurs gave viviparous birth, and their
babies were fully prepared for life in the water. They fed on fish and
cephalopods, developing a great speed in pursuit of prey. Plesiosaurs were
giant reptiles with long necks and small heads. They fed on small fish and cephalopods.
Showcase № 17. The Mesozoic Era
The Mesozoic
Era is the time when reptiles reigned on land, in air and water. The Mesozoic
Era is divided into 3 periods: the Triassic, the Jurassic, and
the Cretaceous. The showcase displays fossil remains of typical plants and
animals. Dinosaurs are the most well-known creatures, the word means “terrible
reptiles” in Greek. There were some very important developments during the Mesozoic.
It was the time when currently dominant groups of animals and plants appeared:
mammals in the Triassic, birds in the Jurassic, and first flowering
plants in the Cretaceous.
Reptiles of the Cretaceous
Young
visitors especially enjoy the moving models of dinosaurs. In the showcase “Reptiles
of the Cretaceous” you can see the reconstructions of fossil remains which were
found in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. They lived on this territory at the end
of the Cretaceous, about 70-80 million years ago.
The Paleogene
The
Paleogene is the first period of the new Cenozoic era. The showcase includes
fossils of plants and vertebrate animals typical for this time, for example,
you can see a skull of a huge bird Phorusrhacos. The back panel of the showcase
shows an image of this formidable predator that lived in South America. Many
mammals such as Uintatherium were typical for the Paleogene and had a very
unusual appearance. Here you can also find a valuable collection of fossil
flora of the Paleogene.
The Neogene. The Pleistocene
The
showcase gives information about animals typical for two periods of the Cenozoic Era: the Neogene and the Quaternary period. The landscapes of steppe
type appeared at the beginning of the Neogene and it’s when Ungulates started to
actively evolve. The showcase represents skulls and various fragments of
Ungulates as well as predatory animals of the Neogene period. This time is
characterized by peculiar “mammoth” fauna. It included mammoths, woolly
rhinoceros, cave bears, cave hyenas, muskoxen, reindeers, wolves, Arctic foxes
and other animals. Some of these species went extinct, many survived to the
present day. In the showcase you can see the lower jaw and tusks of a mammoth,
the skull of a woolly rhinoceros, the skull of a cave bear and cave hyena.
Humans appeared in the Quaternary period, and their activities in many respects
determined the development of evolution on Earth.
Interactive
exhibits
In the hall
dedicated to the development of organic life on Earth you can touch original
fossils dating back millions of years and find some other interactive exhibits
which will help you to understand the science of evolution and the past of our
wonderful planet.