(Treaty One Territory – Winnipeg, Manitoba: December 9, 2025) – The Manitoba Museum’s Curator of Palaeontology & Geology has been busy bringing the past into the present. Dr. Joseph Moysiuk has had an action-packed year, considering that his area of expertise took place over 450 million years ago. Moysiuk is excited to share some key areas of his work with two brand-new exhibits opening this December at the Manitoba Museum.

Earlier this year, Dr. Moysiuk and Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) colleague Dr. Jean-Bernard Caron made headlines with the release of a paper announcing their discovery of a remarkable new 506-million-year-old predator, found in British Columbia’s Yoho and Kootenay National Parks. Mosura fentoni caused quite a stir in the palaeontological field due to its unique body segmentation, which differentiates it from other members of its group, knows as the radiodonts.

“Radiodonts were Earth’s first large predators, with some species reaching up to a meter or more in length. They’re arguably some of the strangest-looking fossil creatures ever found, but it turns out they’re also crucial for understanding how modern insects and spiders evolved” says Moysiuk. “We’re excited to be able to share these globally significant fossils with the public, for the first time in Manitoba.”

Visitors to the Manitoba Museum can see fossils and 2D & 3D representations of Mosura fentoni and related species in a brand-new temporary exhibit. These specimens, on loan from Parks Canada and the ROM, come from the Burgess Shale, which is part of the UNESCO Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site in British Columbia.

“We are really excited to launch Dr. Moysiuk’s first exhibit at the Manitoba Museum, which is based on his doctoral research and strong partnerships with the ROM. I think our visitors will really enjoy a view into current paleontological research and some interesting and unique specimens that we would not typically learn about from Manitoba’s fossil record” says Dr. Amelia Fay, Director of Research, Collections, and Exhibitions.

Weird Wonders from the Dawn of Complex Life will be on display in the Museum’s Foyer starting December 9.

The Manitoba Museum’s Earth History Gallery will be home to a brand-new mural, depicting a verdant scene from a warmer phase of the ice age, when muskoxen, woolly mammoths, and giant beavers roamed the land. Fossil evidence for these ice age inhabitants has been found throughout southern Manitoba and adjacent regions, notably near Grunthal, Manitoba.

“This wonderful artwork brings some of Manitoba’s most charismatic prehistoric creatures ‘back to life’ and showcases how much this landscape has changed over time. I think people will be surprised and amazed to learn about some of the fossil finds that have been made, practically, in our own backyards.” adds Moysiuk.

The mural, created by Canadian paleoartist and natural history illustrator Julius Csotonyi, is based on fossils finds in Manitoba and adjacent areas, particularly around Grunthal. This area has proven to be a trove of fossils, dating back at least 40,000 years, and is still the site of ongoing exploration and scientific work. The Manitoba Museum collection includes fossils found and donated by quarry workers, although at this time they will not be available for display.

The mural can be explored in the Manitoba Museum’s Earth History Gallery.

These exciting projects were funded by the Manitoba Museum Foundation Legacy Fund. Donations to this endowment fund help us continue to update our galleries, bringing Manitoban stories forward and ensuring that future generations can learn and grow at the Manitoba Museum.

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To arrange interviews, please contact:

Brandi Hayberg
Manager of Marketing & Communications
BHayberg@ManitobaMuseum.ca
204-988-0614

Image Captions: 

1. Life reconstruction of Mosura fentoni. Art by Danielle Dufault © ROM
2. Small section of the new Ice Age Mural, Earth History Gallery, Manitoba Museum, showing a woolly mammoth reconstructed in the Grunthal area. Art by Julius Csotonyi. © Manitoba Museum