Gallery IV (Life Through Time)
Gallery IV (Life Through Time) of the National Museum of Natural History takes visitors back in time through the different fossils (naturally preserved remains and traces of an organism) discovered from around the country.
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Some of the organisms here are already extinct and are known only through their fossils while some fossils here of organisms which are still present here and other parts of the world.
Fossils from the Neogene Period
Fossils from the Miocene Epoch
Fossils from the Cretaceous Period
Upon entering the gallery, you are greeted with a replica of a megalodon’s jaw, the largest predatory shark to ever exist (23 million years ago) on earth.
Author posing with replica of Megalodon jaw
Fossilized shark teeth
Real megalodon (Otodus megalodon, previously known as Carcharocles megalodon) teeth found in Cagayan, Pangasinan and in 2018 and May 24, 2020 in Maribojoc (Bohol) are exhibited next to this.
Cretaceous Ammonite
Fossil corals
Further along you will see fossils, usually found in the oceans, of the ammonite (an extinct mollusk which lived at the same time as most dinosaurs), corals, the black marlin, and various seashells, including the Tridacna (more commonly called as giant clam).
Fossils from the Jurassic Period
Fossil Crab, Echinoderm and Brachiopod
Towards the end of the gallery, at a time when more of the islands are emerging and sea level is lower, terrestrial organisms are now present.
Apitong leaves in tuff
Chambered nautilus
Stegodon jaw with molar
They are represented here by the fossilized leaves and fossils of large prehistoric mammals like the stegodon, elephant, and rhinoceros.
Skeletons of a horse (left) and a cow (right)
Giant Tortoise, Rhinoceros and Elephant
Globe shows distribution of ammonites around the world
Also featured is a huge collection of petrified wood, in different sizes, from our own species of trees as well as from around the world.
Elephas sp.
Petrified Wood
Diatom models
Gallery IV (Life Through Time): 5/F, National Museum of Natural History, Agrifina Circle, Rizal Park, T.M. Kalaw cor. Gen. Luna Sts., Manila. Open Tuesdays – Sundays, 9 AM to 12 noon (cut off time is 11 AM) and 1 to 4 PM (cut off time is 3 PM). Tel: 82981100 local 3000 and 85277889. E-mail: cmvod@nationalmuseum.ph or inquiry@nationalmuseumph.gov.ph. Visitors shall be limited to 100 per museum per session. Visitors are required to pre-book online at https://reservation.nationalmuseum.gov at least a day before the visit. Confirmation of booking will be sent through email.Group reservations are limited to five (5) persons only. Walk-in visitors will NOT be accommodated. Coordinates: 14°34′59.9″N 120°58′55.9″E.