Warsaw
Completed

Past Exhibition: The World's Oldest Fossilized Turtles from Poland at Warsaw's Museum of Evolution

This unique display detailed 215-million-year-old Triassic turtle remains and their fascinating evolutionary journey.

The Museum of Evolution of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw once featured the temporary exhibition 'Najstarsze na świecie żółwie z Polski!'. This exhibit showcased exceptionally preserved fossilized turtle remains discovered in Poręba, Poland, dating back approximately 215 million years to the Triassic period. Visitors could examine ancient carapaces and skeletal fragments, alongside modern comparative specimens, to understand turtle anatomy and evolutionary history. The exhibition provided a rare look into prehistoric life and significant paleontological discoveries.

About Najstarsze na świecie żółwie z Polski! at Museum of Evolution of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw

Read curatorial context and practical visitor information for Najstarsze na świecie żółwie z Polski! at Museum of Evolution of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw

Exhibition summary

This temporary exhibition showcases the world's oldest fossilized turtle remains, discovered in Poręba, Poland. Visitors can see exceptionally preserved carapaces and other skeletal fragments of Triassic turtles dating back approximately 215 million years, alongside comparative specimens and explanations of turtle anatomy and evolution.

Curatorial context

Opened in February 2020, this temporary exhibition at the Museum of Evolution of the Polish Academy of Sciences presents the oldest known fossilized turtle remains discovered in Poręba near Zawiercie, Poland. The display features exceptionally well-preserved carapaces and plastrons of several individuals of _Proterochersis porebensis_, a species dating back to the Middle Norian stage, approximately 215 million years ago. This places the turtles from Poręba among the earliest known representatives of this group. In addition to the turtle fossils, the exhibition includes skeletal fragments of other vertebrates found at the same site, as well as fossilized feces (coprolites). For comparative purposes, modern turtle skeletons and preserved specimens are also on display. Informative panels explain the unique body structure of turtles and their evolutionary history, illustrating the development of their protective shell. The fossils are found in deposits indicating cyclic changes in river flow during the Late Triassic, and the Poręba site has yielded nearly half a thousand fossils since its discovery in 2008 by Dr. hab. Tomasz Sulej.

Admission and ticket notes

This information pertains to a temporary exhibition. Specific ticketing details would typically be found on the museum's main visitor information pages, as this announcement does not detail separate admission requirements for this specific exhibit.

Najstarsze na świecie żółwie z Polski! key exhibition facts

Review exhibition status, schedule, venue context, and attribution details for Najstarsze na świecie żółwie z Polski! at Museum of Evolution of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw

Venue
Museum of Evolution of the Polish Academy of Sciences
Current status
Completed
Exhibition schedule
Aug 26, 2020 – Sep 16, 2020
Artist line / attribution
Exhibition content and research based on discoveries by Dr. hab. Tomasz Sulej and Tomasz Szczygielski. Reconstruction of the Poręba turtle is by Marta Szubert.
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