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Paleontological Collections

Faculty

Departament                         

Responsible

Telephone

E-mail

Geological Sciences

Paleontology

Mª de la Concepción Herrero Matesanz

+34 91394 4854

cherrero@geo.ucm.es

Description of Funds

The Complutense Paleontological Collections constitute a consistent set of specimens produced as a result of teaching and research in the Faculty of Geological Science. The collections are well preserved because use of the material is restricted to researchers. However, a set of pieces is exhibited to the public in the gallery of the Paleontology Department.

The cabinets containing original fossils and some notable reproductions are located along the corridor. This exhibition features the variability of the organic world in the past: invertebrates, vertebrates and plants. The Human evolution is illustrated with reproductions of skulls, jaws and other skeletal remains, among which is worth highlighting the human fossil.

On the other hand, there is a didactic exposition about the main groups of living beings in different geological epochs displayed on the walls. Besides, the Department of Paleontology organizes activities such as "Open Days" related to the excavation campaigns carried out on the Campus of Somosaguas of the Complutense University.

The History of the Collection

The background to the Department of Paleontology is the practice lessons on Paleontology taught by The Central University in the Musseum of Natural Science from 1857 until 1949. Later, the chair of paleontology was created and obtained by Professor Bermudo Melendez Melendez (1912-1999). Proffesor Melendez promoted the building of a collection of fossils to be used for an educational purpose first, in study programs in Science and, eventually in Geology.

Since the beginning, the members of the Department of Paleontology have provided the collection with pieces obtained by their own fieldworks and dissertations. Along with this material the acquisitions of cast fossils, private donations and the exchanges with other universities and institutions make up the current collection.

Useful Information

Visiting hours: from Monday to Friday 9,00 am – 2,00 pm

The permanent exhibition in the Gallery of the Paleontology Department Gallery consists of fossils and replicas of invertebrates, vertebrates, plants and hominids.

Profile of people who visit the collection: Researchers of Paleontology