Pakistan Museum of Natural History, established in 1976, is a public museum of natural history situated in Islamabad, the federal capital of Pakistan. It has exhibits and galleries which display and provide information about the ecology, geology and palaeontology of the country. Currently, the museum houses a collection of over 300,000 objects. The museum also acts as research center and works closely with the Lok Virsa Museum. The museum is open to public everyday, except for Friday, from 10 am to 5 pm. The museum is managed by the Pakistan Science Foundation, Ministry of Science and Technology.
Exhibits
Biological gallery displays and discusses wild flora and fauna portrayed in their respective habitats.
Ecological gallery is an educational section where ecological cycles, habitats and environmental problems are discussed through visuals and audios.
Gemstones gallery shows a variety of gems in raw as well as cut and polished forms.
Palaeontology gallery displays fossils along with their studies. Anthropology is also discussed through paintings and writings - including a skull of Australopithecus. Wall paintings depict the pre-historic era.
Tethys gallery provides information about oceanology, petrology, pedology and mineralogy of Pakistan. It displays three-dimensional diorama of seascapes as well as a skeleton of a whale. Different aspects of Salt Range are also studied in detail.
Notable staff
Dr. Muhammad Khan Leghari- Director General
Dr. Muhammad Rafique - Deputy Director General
Botanical Sciences Division
Dr. Muhammad Khan Leghari - Director
Dr. Saleem Ahmed - Curator
Dr. Muhammad Ismail Bhatti - Associate curator
Dr. Syed Anil Gilani - Associate Curator
Earth Sciences Division
Dr. Ghazala Roohi - Director
Zoological Sciences Division
Dr. Muhammad Rafique - Director
Dr.Khalid Mahmood - Curator
Muhammad Asif Khan - Associate Curator
Muhammad Abbas - Research Associate
S. Jaffar Hussain Naqvi - Librarian
Events
PMNH Acquired a Huge Whale Shark landed at Karachi fish Harbor(2012). accourding to PMNH The Whale Shark was belong to Rhincodon typus and this family of fish is the one of the biggest in the world. It is a rare species and declared vulnerable by IUCN as its population is decreasing at an alarming rate. It is being commercially exploited as the fish has high value in international trade. It is called whale shark because it attains huge size like whales and also because its feeding habit resemble to whales. This distinctively marked fish is the only member of its genus and its family. This Whale Shark has a length of 42 feet and weighs 16 tonnes. Its liver weighed about 800 kg. Weight of stomach was about 600 kg, the ovary had a weight of 120 kg and had about 1500 eggs. The Whale Shark was seen on February 6, 2012 in the Gora Bari area in Pakistani territory of Arabian Sea by the local fishermen. According to them, it was alive at that time but motionless. It, however, died before they started hauling it towards sea shore. the Fish was brought toKarachi Fish Harbour on February 7, 2012 and auctioned for Rs. 200,000 The auctioneer who purchased the fish managed an exhibition of this specimen and levied a ticket of Rs. 20. The largest verified specimen of this huge shark was caught on 11 November 1947, near Baba Island, in Karachi, Pakistan. It was 41.50 ft long & that was more than 21.5 tonnes and had a girth (belt) of 23.0 ft.
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