Here, "see" the ancient world
"Hezheng sheep is actually a kind of cow?" Before the skeleton specimen of Hezheng sheep was restored, a tourist asked.
"Yes, Hezheng sheep is actually a kind of musk ox." the commentator said.
Three-toed horses, shovel-tooth elephants, giant hyenas, woolly rhinoceros... Entering the Hezheng Ancient Animal Fossil Museum in Gansu, it is like opening a window to ancient times-Hezheng County, Gansu and the surrounding areas are buried in ancient times Paleozoan fossils dating from 30 million years to 2.5 million years cover more than 150 genera and species in 3 classes and 8 orders.
The Hezheng Paleozoan Fossil Museum is the only Late Cenozoic Paleospine and Paleo-Mammal Fossil Museum in my country. “There are more than 30,000 fossil specimens in the collection, mainly for collections and display of the Late Cenozoic ancient mammal fossils.” Hezheng Paleo-zoology He Wen, the director of the Fossil Museum, said that especially the three-toed horse fossil reserves and the number of skull fossil specimens collected are extremely large.
In the corner of the exhibition hall, an "animal" crouched and raised its head attracted many visitors.
"This animal is called the woolly rhinoceros. It is one of the extinct ice age animals." According to the instructor, the complete skull fossil of the woolly rhinoceros found in the Hezheng area comes from a woolly rhinoceros 2.5 million years ago. The largest adult individual is It is 4.4 meters long, 2 meters high, and weighs more than 3 tons.
"This is a shovel-tooth fossil." In front of a group of 24 shovel-tooth fossils, the instructor introduced that these fossils are currently the best preserved series of skull specimens of the shovel-tooth ontogeny.
The Hezheng fossil is known as the "Oriental Treasure" in paleozoology. Its unearth and discovery have revealed the mystery of the uplift and change of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
"They are all fossils of extinct animals, with extremely high scientific research value, and they are also vivid teaching materials for understanding prehistoric organisms and the environment." He Wen said.
According to reports, the museum holds more than 40 popular science education activities such as fossils entering campuses and mobile museums entering campuses every year. These activities are loved by children.
In recent years, the museum has also planned a number of interactive series of theme popular science education, filmed and produced popular science documentaries, published national geopark albums, children's popular science books, etc., and opened an online digital virtual museum to allow more people to learn about ancient times through multiple channels. Animal fossils.
Behind the popular science activities is the support of scientific research.
According to He Wen, the museum has established the Hezheng Paleozoan Fossil Research Institute and Paleozoan Fossil Research Center in conjunction with the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other scientific research units.
“Paleontological fossils are non-renewable resources. We must protect fossils and let more people understand the stories behind fossils, and open a window for people to understand and feel nature.” He Wen said.
Wang Jintao Tang Yu