The Cenozoic Era, dating from 65 million years ago to the present, began with the major extinction of the ammonites and dinosaurs. In the floor of the Cenozoic, you will see skeletons of mammoth, Naumann's elephant, saber tiger, and moa. Among them, the mounted skeleton of Brontotherium of 50 million years ago is mounted by real fossil specimen, as the only specimen of the animal in Japan. QuickTime VR(about 340KB) Ambulocetus Brontotherium Naumann's Elephant Mammoth Ambulocetus is a very primitive whale which swam by its expanded hind limbs. This skeleton is mounted by real fossil. Only male brontotheres had nasal horns. Naumann's elephant is one of the most characteristic fossil vertebrates of Japanese Island. This skeleton has been mounted from the specimen excavated from Hokkaido. Mammoth is the famous “northern elephant” which lived in Siberia. They has died out about 10 thousand years ago. African Elephant Sperm Whale Byrde's Whale Sunfish The African elephant is the largest extant land animal. Its tusks are elongated upper incisors. The sperm whale is the largest toothed whale. The whale can alter its buoyancy using the spermaceti organ located in its barrel-shaped head. Byrde's whale is a member of the filter-feeding baleen whales. It mainly feeds on fish and ranges across the globe's temperate waters. At 3.3 meters in length, this sunfish specimen is the largest among preserved specimens. It weighed 2.5 tons when it was caught off the coast of Ibaraki Prefecture in 1999.

*Quick Link [ Natural History Zone ] 1. The History of the Earth and Life -----Earth in the Paleozoic Era -----The Mesozoic Era -----The Cenozoic Era 2. Time-Travelling Room -----Cretaceous Zone -----Research Zone 3. Diversity of Life 4. Discovering Nature 5. Eco-Garden 6. Theme Exhibitions [ History Zone ] 1. Local Festival Lobby 2. Local Culture History 3. Discovering History 4. History of Kitakyushu 5. Theme Exhibitions