The Geological and Paleontological section
The museum’s paleontology and geology section is dedicated to fossils from the Dolomites and the geological history of the region, with a rich displayed collection that explains 252 million years of evolution. The geological section illustrates through panels the formation of the Dolomites and the processes that shaped this region, that is unique in the world. Visitors can learn how the mountains we see today were formed from ancient tropical seabeds through complex processes of sedimentation, uplift and erosion.
The highlight of the room is the cast of the Pelmetto stone with dinosaur footprints, where Vittorino Cazzetta discovered fossilized dinosaur footprints for the first time in Italy. This discovery, made in 1980, and others marked the beginning of research on Italian dinosaurs. In addition to the cast, the museum displays original fossilized footprints in its display cases.
This section guides visitors through the entire geological history of the valley in chronological order, from the Anisian (247–242 million years ago) to the Ladinian (242–237 million years ago), when the Dolomites were still beaches and coral reefs in a tropical sea. The displayed fossils witness the extraordinary evolution of the Triassic period (252–201 million years ago), the period most widely represented in the Dolomites.
An important section is dedicated to fossils from the Late Triassic (237–201 million years ago), when the first dinosaurs appeared and marine life was really diversified. Among the finds of particular interest there are pelagic bivalves, ammonites, and coral reef-building organisms, which witness the tropical marine environment of that era.
Of exceptional scientific value are the fossil amber drops from the Tofane, that are 230 million years old and represent the oldest fossil amber in the world. Inside these microscopic drops of resin there are mites and midges perfectly preserved, providing unique insights into the evolution of arthropods and pushing the geological record of animal organisms in fossil amber back of 100 million years.
Significant space is also dedicated to the discovery of an ichthyosaur rib in Selva di Cadore. This is a marine reptile that lived approximately 238 million years ago, whose identification witnesses the presence of these animals also in this area of the Dolomites.
