Twelve treasures of our gardens

Can you spot the earliest fish to walk on land?

Look for a fish called a Tiktaalik, which was one of the earliest known fish to venture onto land. Living 375 million years ago, it was part of the evolutionary journey to four-legged land animals, and eventually us.

Strong front fins helped it to move in the water while elbow-like joints allowed it to crawl between shallow pools as it searched for prey.

Find the biggest flying insect to ever live on Earth

Here’s a clue – it looks like a dragonfly! Insects were the first animals that could fly. These dragonfly-like insects lived 300 million years ago. They had an enormous, 71-centimetre wingspan – that’s as big as a wood pigeon’s wingspan.

Why not wander over to our ponds and see whether you can spot one of its smaller, modern-day relatives flitting around? They’re around from late spring to early autumn and are particularly active on sunny summer days.

Look for a dramatic band of volcanic rock

In our Evolution Garden, volcanic rock marks the Permian-Triassic extinction event that saw as much as 90% of life on Earth disappear.

Volcanic activity on a scale never seen before blasted carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere. Global temperatures rose and the ocean acidified, killing off most plants and animals.

Can you find the striking scoria rock marking this extinction event?

Meet a tiny relative

The small, shrew-like animal Megazostrodon rudnerae is one of the earliest known mammals. It lived 200 million years ago. The ability to generate body heat meant it could live in cooler regions where most reptiles weren’t able to survive.

Our tiny sculpture is frozen in time scurrying across a rock – why not give it a stroke!

Hunt up high for a flying reptile

Perched on a ledge on our building, a pterosaur sits with wings folded. These flying reptiles ruled the skies while dinosaurs dominated on land. Their wings were more like those of bats than birds. They consisted of a skin membrane stretched between their body, arm and extra-long finger.

The terracotta pterosaur sits among other extinct animals chosen by architect Alfred Waterhouse to decorate the building. We’ve learned much more about what pterosaurs looked like since the designing of this stylised sculpture in 1875.

Encounter an unlikely survivor from prehistoric forests

Dating back to the time of the dinosaurs, Wollemi pine trees were thought to be extinct, until a chance finding in the Australian Blue Mountains in 1994.

Critically endangered in the wild, the surviving population needed rescuing from a forest wildfire in 2020. Experts think the oldest trees may be 500–1,000 years old.

Discover the dog-sized dinosaur

Fern the Diplodocus may loom large in our gardens, but not all dinosaurs grew to be giants. Can you spot our bronze Hypsilophodon – it’s about the size of a large dog? It’s based on 125-million-year-old fossilised remains found on the Isle of Wight that are now housed in the collections we look after.

The cast in our gardens is the most accurate skeleton of this dinosaur ever made. Research by our scientists allowed us to reconstruct the skull to a new level of detail.

We can tell from the skeleton that this dinosaur walked on two legs and was suited to running. A small turtle-like beak helped it to nip at low-growing plants.

Do you dare to walk with a lion?

Somewhere in our gardens a lion is stalking a horse… look out for their tracks.

After the mass extinction that wiped out all dinosaurs except birds, mammals became a lot more varied to suit different habitats and lifestyles. When Earth’s climate cooled, open, grassy landscapes replaced forests. Large herbivores, including elephants and horses, evolved to exploit this new food source.

In modern horses, multiple toes have been replaced by a single hoof, helping them to quickly flee predators such as lions. Do you think you could outrun one?

Can you find the odd one out?

Whereas the east side of our building is decorated with extinct creatures, sculptures of living animals adorn its west side. But there’s a strange exception!

Over the years, damage occurred to part of the terracotta façade. When it was restored in the 1990s, a wolf on the west side was replaced with a mythical alternative based on Alfred Waterhouse’s sketches. What animals would you decorate our building with?

Listen to a stag beetle larva eating lunch

Put your ear near to the funnel. Can you hear munching?

Many beetles depend on decaying wood. One of the most impressive is the stag beetle, Lucanus cervus. Luckily London is a hotspot for these rare beetles.

Adult males can reach up to 7.5 centimetres long, including their jaws, making the species not only the UK’s but Europe’s largest beetle. Did you know the adult’s size is influenced by what it ate as a grub? The larvae spend several years underground feeding on decomposing wood, helping to break it down and return nutrients to the soil.

Look out for other listening and viewing funnels around our gardens that reveal a usually hidden part of nature. 

Discover science in action

Do you notice some large, tent-like structures? These are called malaise traps, and they’re used to catch flying insects. They allow our scientists to monitor and study what species are living in our gardens.

In fact, our whole Nature Discovery Garden, supported by The Cadogan Charity, is a living laboratory where our scientists will study how urban nature is responding to change.

Enjoy the greatest treasure of all

As you wander around, don’t forget to enjoy the greatest treasure of all – time to unwind and appreciate nature. Come along and discover a variety of wonderful habitats and wildlife.