Secrets of the Skull: From Titanoboa to Tuatara

June 30 - December 31, 2018

Over more than 400 million years, nature has shaped a structure to protect the brain and sensory organs in vertebrates. That structure is the skull. Every part of it supports a specific function, including food ingestion, sensory perception, and impact absorption. It is a protective container for the brain, and may also bear defensive structures like horns. The skull, shaped and modified by millions of years of adaptation, is a thing of complexity and beauty. Although skulls vary in size and structure, there is similarity among this diversity. Discover the features that skulls have in common and how they allow us to trace their evolutionary history and life stories and explore the many interlocking parts and their functions.