BIBLIOS

Document type
Journal articles

Document subtype
Full paper

Title
Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência: one hundred years of dinosaur ichnology in Portugal

Participants in the publication
V. F. Santos (Author)
MUSEU NACIONAL DE HISTÓRIA NATURAL E DA CIÊNCIA

Summary
Jacinto Pedro Gomes (1844-1916) was a naturalist at the Mineralogical and Geological Museum of the former Polytechnic School of Lisbon (nowadays National Museum of Natural History and Science - Universidade de Lisboa). His interest in dinosaurs started when he began to study dinosaur tracks from Cabo Mondego (Figueira da Foz) at the end of the 19th century. The Cabo Mondego coalmine administration generously sponsored the campaign to remove the tracks from the outcrop close to the sea and transfer them to the museum in Lisbon. Gomes was a pioneer in studying dinosaur tracks in Portugal and with him the National Museum of Natural History and Science became an important player in the study of Portuguese dinosaur tracksites and their conservation. Indeed, besides the study of the dinosaur footprints from Cabo Mondego, Gomes recognized the importance of rescuing those footprints from ongoing marine erosion. Since Gomes’ pioneer work, many additional dinosaur tracksites were discovered and studied and in the 1990’s five dinosaur tracksites were designated as natural monuments thanks to the efforts of António Marcos Galopim de Carvalho (at the time Director of this Museum). At present, several important tracksites have been protected but they still need a better valorization to further promote the public’s interest for geological and palaeontological heritage. The Avelino tracksite was subject to a museological intervention in 2012, improving its accessibility and allowing autonomous public visits. The Galinha tracksite was protected and made accessible in 1996-1998 but it requires renovation to improve its geoconservation status and to assure the in situ preservation of the dinosaur tracks. Also, it is worth keeping in mind that the Galinha tracksite was the first palaeontological site in Portugal, where a geoconservation strategy and unprecedented musealization was applied.


Where published
Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana

Publication Identifiers



Document Identifiers
URL - http://www.paleoitalia.org/media/u/archives/01_Santos_2017_BSPI_562.pdf
DOI - https://doi.org/doi:10.4435/BSPI.2017.25