Cretaceous Benguela Current Ecosystem

An illustration depicting many sea animals living in the Cretaceous seas off Angola.
(Karen Carr Studio Inc.)

A view of life in the Benguela Current 72 million years ago. Angola’s Cretaceous seas were dominated by many species of large, carnivorous marine reptiles. The assemblage of fossils on display in the exhibit “Sea Monsters Unearthed” provides paleontologists with a snapshot of a moment in place and time, allowing them to compare this bygone ecosystem to today’s ocean. “Sea Monsters Unearthed” reveals how this ancient coastal ecosystem was both different from and similar to Angola’s coastal ecosystem today.