Massive marine monsters move into Museum of the Rockies

Massive marine creatures is the focal point of the recent changing exhibit “Savage Ancient Seas” at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman.

The exhibit runs until May 2 and features more than 30 prehistoric casts and real fossils from specimens that lived in North America as far back as 70 million years ago.

The exhibit is staged as an ancient aquarium, with some fossils and casts suspended from the ceiling. Many of the specimens are on display in Montana for the first time.

Highlights include:

A 45-foot long Bunker Tylosaurus

An Archelon, one of the largest sea turtles to have lived, sporting a 17-foot flipper span

A Pteranodon, with a wingspan more than 20 feet.

A Xiphactinus, also called the X-fish, one of the largest bony fish from the Western Interior Sea. The specimen on display exceeds 20 feet.

An Elasmosaurus, the largest species of the long-necked plesiosaurs. The specimen on display is over 40 feet long.

At educational kiosks, visitors can learn how these creatures lived, how they became extinct and how they sank to the bottom of the sea and turned into fossils.

“Savage Ancient Seas” is open daily 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The exhibit is included in admission and children under the age of 4 are free. The museum has limited daily admission capacity due to COVID-19 restrictions and face masks are required. More information on visitation policies can be found at https://museumoftherockies.org/visit. For more information on the exhibit, visit museumoftherockies.org.