(Claw of Baryonyx walkeri) Baryonyx means 'heavy claw'. Unusually for a carnivorous dinosaur we know it ate fish as scientists have found fish scales and teeth with its fossil where its stomach would have been.

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North Hall

The stained glass windows in the North Hall give it a church-like feel. Beautiful paintings on the ceiling depict medicinal plants from around the British Isles.

The hall has housed the statues of two eminent Victorian scientists, Charles Darwin and Thomas Henry Huxley.

  • Charles Darwin
    The North Hall statues

    Find out more about Darwin and Huxley and their place in history and in the museum.

  • Digitalis
    Ceiling paintings

    Discover the intricately painted ceiling panels depicting national flowers and a range of other plants, many of which are poisonous.

Print version
The Natural History Museum from Cromwell Road, 1880.
History of the Museum

Trace the evolution of the Natural History Museum, from Hans Sloane's collections at the British Museum to cutting-edge research taking place today.