The Cretaceous collection

This collection comprises c. 105,000 fossils from the late Cretaceous chalk deposits, representing the time interval also referred to as 'Maastrichtian' (71.3 to 65.4 million years ago). Top pieces are the remains of large Mosasaurs and turtles and fragmentary remains of terrestrial dinosaurs. But also the stratigraphic collection of ammonites and echinoderms are of prime importance since these fossils may serve as guide or index fossils on the basis of which various chalk deposits may be correlated.

The Cretaceous collection consists of a large number of smaller collections, amongst which are the so-called Standaardcollectie, and the W.M. Felder, Max Meijer (predominately echinoderms), Pergens (a large collection of bryozoans) and Senden (mainly brachiopods). The collection currently includes c. 50 holotypes and paratypes. The systematic studies of especially echinoderms which are under way, will result in a considerable increase of this number in future years.

Almost daily the collection grows as new finds are incorporated. During recent studies of mosasaurs, echinoderms and ammonites in particular, regularly new species have been discovered: the collections appeared to include species still undescribed, and thus new to science.

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