Paris travels 140 million years back to show dinosaurs that inhabited the country

Paris is taking visitors on a journey back 140 million years with a new exhibition at the National Museum of Natural History. Titled 'On the Trail of Dinosaurs,' the temporary display unveils fossils of creatures and plants that once inhabited the region now known as France during the early Cretaceous period.

The exhibition draws particular attention to the Charente and Charente-Maritime departments in western France, which have yielded numerous fossil finds. These discoveries provide crucial insights into the ancient habitat of the area, revealing a landscape of swamps, lagoons, and rivers teeming with crocodiles, fish, turtles, and small mammals alongside various dinosaur species.

Scientists have unearthed an astonishing collection in this region: 10,000 dinosaur bones, 70,000 bone fragments, and 80,000 smaller remains. The museum describes this as "the largest paleontological collection from the early Cretaceous period in the world." The exhibition is structured around five thematic axes, covering the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.

Visitors will learn about the transition between the Mesozoic era's second and third periods, observing how the sea receded and continents emerged, becoming populated by dinosaurs. The display also includes videos of paleontological research sites in Charentes and a simulation of a laboratory, offering a glimpse into scientific research methods. The exhibition concludes by explaining that recent discoveries suggest a gradual environmental transition, rather than an abrupt extinction, marked the end of the second and beginning of the third Mesozoic eras, paving the way for new flora and fauna.