Travel millions of years into the past, when sea dragons - sleek and swimming diapsids reptiles - filled the lakes, rivers and oceans of the Mesozoic Era.

Sea Dragon Models

Sea Dragon introduces visitors to the amazing world of these weird and wonderful animals. Your journey begins with "Deep Time and Deep Space", which try to develop a better understanding of evolutionary change in its proper historical context. Soon you are at the Water's Edge and told the story of convergence in evolution. Still confused? Here is a gigantic cladogram of Diapsids Reptiles Families (reptiles with two temporal openings) to show the relative relationships among dinosaurs, pterosaurs, ichthyosaurs, and plesiosaurs. After getting a general idea about aquatic reptiles, then you will go deep into their Evolution and Variation through some 200 pieces of fossils of crocodiles, ichthyosaurs, sauropterygians, thalattosaurians and mosasaurs, more than 70% of which come from the Museum's collection, the others from local collectors. Last but not least, the miniature of Dr. Bone's Laboratory and Research Room illuminates that a paleontologist’s endless research forms most beautiful.

Dr. Cheng yen-nien

"Aquatic reptiles are especially difficult for paleontologists to classify, because, in the course of evolution, creatures living in marine environments tend to take on limited variety of body forms, " Dr. Cheng yen-nien, organizer of Sea Dragon, explained. "Unlike most fossil exhibits, which are arranged in chronological order, the Sea Dragon exhibition displays the specimens according to evolutionary relationships," added he.  "For two decades, our team in the Division of Paleontology has systematically studied and collected fossil remains of aquatic reptiles. Succeed to Dance with Dragons in 1999 and Flying Dinosaurs in 2003, we spent two and a half years preparing for this enchanting exhibition. Through our exquisite exhibition, we try to present true science and elegant art as well to the public."

Don't miss your chance to visit this once-in-a-lifetime exhibition!

• Sea Dragon is a paid exhibition. See Admission Fees.
• Guided tours: 10 am, 11 am, 13 pm, 14pm

Additional generous support for Sea Dragon has been provided by Dept. of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei; Shih-shan Museum, Ban-chiao; Darwin Museum, Keelung; Farglory Ocean Park, Hualien; Kai-chi Trade Company, Chang-hwa; Dr. Dai Yu-shiang; Professor Cheng Kuao-wei; and Mr. Cheng How-wen.