Dinópolis, located in

Teruel Teruel () is a city in Aragon, located in eastern Spain, and is also the capital of Teruel Province. It has a population of 35,675 in 2014 making it the least populated provincial capital in the country. It is noted for its harsh climate, with ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, is one of the largest

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

s of

paleontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

in the world. It also includes some attractions, restaurants and shows. The museum comprises three main exhibition halls and a research laboratory.

History

In 1998, the provincial government of

Aragón Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises th ...

established a foundation with the aim of creating exhibition facilities for the growing collection of fossils found in Teruel, at the same time stimulating

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

and hereby funding future research. The first building was opened in June 2001, at Dinópolis Teruel.

Exhibition halls

Dinópolis has the following exhibition halls: *Aquatic Life Hall *Dinosaur Hall *Mammal Hall *Hall of Meteorites

Territorio Dinópolis

Dinópolis Teruel is part of a chain of eight such natural history museums and parks named Territorio Dinópolis, the seven others being Inhóspitak at

Peñarroya de Tastavins Peñarroya de Tastavins () or Pena-roja () is a municipality located in the Matarranya comarca, province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census ( INE), the municipality has a population of 527 inhabitants. It is part of the Taula d ...

, founded in 2003, Legendark at Galve (2003), Región Ambarina: at

Rubielos de Mora Rubielos de Mora is a municipality located in the province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given populat ...

(2004), Bosque Pétreo (2005) at

Castellote Castellote is a municipality located in the province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2010 census,Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain) the municipality has a population of 804 inhabitants. Situated in a picturesque setting on the ...

, Mar Nummus, at

Albarracín Albarracín () is a Spanish town, in the province of Teruel, part of the autonomous community of Aragon. According to the 2007 census (INE), the municipality had a population of 1075 inhabitants. Albarracín is the capital of the mountainous Sier ...

(2008), Titania at Riodeva (2012) and Valcaria at

Ariño Ariño () is a municipality located in the province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. Th ...

(2015).

Research activities

Dinópolis has an active research team, called Fundación Conjunto Paleontológico de Teruel-Dinópolis or just Fundación Dinópolis. One of the achievements of this team has been the description of ''

Turiasaurus riodevensis ''Turiasaurus'' (meaning " Turia lizard") is a genus of sauropod dinosaurs. It is known from a single fossil specimen representing the species ''Turiasaurus riodevensis'', found in the Kimmeridgian Villar del Arzobispo Formation of Teruel, Spain ...

'' by Royo-Torres, Cobos & Alcala, 2006.

In popular culture

* An episode of '' Historia de España'' is set in Dinópolis, and also in some outcrops in Teruel.

References

External links

Dinópolis Teruel website

Fundación Conjunto Paleontológico de Teruel-Dinópolis website
2001 establishments in Spain Museums established in 2001 Natural history museums in Spain Museums in Aragon Dinosaur museums {{spain-museum-stub