Monte San Giorgio Fossil Museum
.png) Ticinosuchus ferox at the fossil museum of Monte San Giorgio in Meride |
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| Data | |
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| place | via Bernardo Peyer 9, 6866 Meride, Switzerland |
| Art |
Natural sciences
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| architect | Mario Botta |
| opening | October 13, 2012 |
| operator |
Fondazione del Monte San Giorgio
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| Website | |
The fossil museum of Monte San Giorgio in Meride in the Swiss canton of Ticino shows finds and illustrations of dinosaurs , fish , invertebrates and plants from southern Ticino. It opened on October 13, 2012 in a building at Via Bernardo Peyer 9, which was converted according to plans by Mario Botta .
exhibition
Exhibits from one of the most important fossil deposits in the world are presented on three floors . On the first floor, an approx. 18-minute film introduces the history of the exploration of this deposit and shows the oldest exhibits from Monte San Giorgio with the fossils of the Besano Formation . The more recent finds of the Meride Formation follow on the second floor, and the 50 to 60 million year old Jura deposits from the Arzo quarries are on the third .
The first fossils were discovered there in the 19th century when oil shale was mined in tunnels for the production of a pharmaceutical bitumen ointment Saurolo . They have attracted the attention of Swiss and Italian paleontologists since 1850 .
Meaning of the finds
The 600-meter-thick deposits of lime and bituminous claystone on Monte San Giorgio contain five particularly rich layers of a subtropical sea basin. Their age ranges from approx. 243 million to 50 million years. There are mainly marine organisms, but also a few dinosaurs, insects and plants living on land. The finds show the development of animals and plants in an unusual continuity compared to other deposits. In 2003, the Swiss area of this area was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site . For the Italian area, the recording followed in 2010. Some of the particularly outstanding finds from Monte San Giorgio are also shown in the Paleontological Museum in Zurich .
gallery
Serpianosaurus mirigiolensis
Neusticosaurus edwardsii
Lariosaurus sp.
Macrocnemus bassani
literature
- H. Furrer, A. Vandelli: Guide to the fossil museum of Monte San Giorgio. Fondazione del Monte San Giorgio, Meride 2014, ISBN 978-88-940067-1-1 .
- H. Furrer, A. Vandelli: Guida al Museo dei fossili del Monte San Giorgio. Fondazione del Monte San Giorgio, Meride 2014, ISBN 978-88-940067-1-1 .
- H. Furrer, A. Vandelli: Guide au Musée des fossils du Monte San Giorgio. Fondazione del Monte San Giorgio, Meride 2014, ISBN 978-88-940067-1-1 .
- H. Furrer, A. Vandelli: Guide to the Museum of fossils from Monte San Giorgio. Fondazione del Monte San Giorgio, Meride 2014, ISBN 978-88-940067-1-1 .
Web links
Coordinates: 45 ° 53 '25.9 " N , 8 ° 57' 11.2" E ; CH1903: 717559 / 83235