Our world-class Geology collections
One of the highlights of the Museum's collections are the
fossil remains of locally found marine reptiles from the Jurassic period (150 million years
ago).
The Marine reptile fossils were collected locally from
Jurassic Oxford Clay beds. These collections are of international
importance and include the world's most complete specimen of a
plesiosaur, and two original specimens (of ichthyosaur and
pliosaur) from which the species are named. We also have a specimen
of the largest fish that ever lived - Leedsichthys.
The museum holds many other fossils that lived in the
Jurassic seas including now extinct ammonites and belemnites.In addition to the Jurassic collection, the museum has a large
and diverse geology collection containing fossils, rocks and
minerals both from the local area and nationwide. We also have Ice
Age collections of creatures that lived during the last age,
including the remains of mammoths, giant reindeer and even a
locally found hippopotamus!