WARSAW, Poland — A team of more than 2,000 volunteers is assisting Polish scientists in the meticulous restoration of a massive prehistoric amphibian skeleton at Warsaw’s Copernicus Science Center. The project centers on the mastodonsaurus, an aquatic predator that lived approximately 240 million years ago during the Middle Triassic period, predating the rise of dinosaurs.

The restoration work takes place in a specially designed glass-walled laboratory on the center’s ground floor, allowing visitors to observe volunteers as they carefully remove rock from the fossilized bones. Using pneumatic chisels and ultraviolet light to distinguish bone from surrounding stone, the volunteers—who come from various professional backgrounds such as management, cleaning, and tattoo artistry—receive training and protective equipment before participating in two-hour chiseling sessions under expert supervision.

Tomasz Sulej, a paleontologist at the Institute of Paleobiology at the Polish Academy of Sciences, said the skeleton weighs nearly 2,865 pounds and measures close to 20 feet, making it the largest mastodonsaurus skeleton to be displayed anywhere worldwide. The specimen was discovered in southern Poland in 2023 by Sulej and Wojciech Pawlak of the University of Warsaw’s Faculty of Geology. The scientists noted that the size and structure of this skeleton differ significantly from previously found mastodonsaurus fossils, providing new insights into the species.

While other mastodonsaurus fossils have been discovered in Germany and Russia, those specimens typically measure between 6.5 and 10 feet. Sulej emphasized that the unique features of the newly uncovered skeleton could expand the scientific understanding of this ancient amphibian, which was a formidable underwater ambush predator with a broad, flat head, elongated jaws, and sharp conical teeth, superficially resembling a crocodile.

Volunteers described the project as both a scientific venture and a reflective experience. Dorota Serafin, a 51-year-old Warsaw manager involved in the restoration, called working with the ancient remains “relaxing and philosophical” and expressed intentions to continue volunteering and eventually bring her family to see the completed exhibit, expected to open in October or November.

The mastodonsaurus lived shortly after the largest mass extinction event in Earth’s history and before dinosaurs became dominant. Sulej pointed to this timing as a symbol of resilience and renewal in nature. “It shows that nature always manages,” he said. “It’s not true that humans can destroy life on this planet. Nature and life always find ways to survive.”

The restoration project not only advances scientific knowledge but also fosters public engagement with paleontology and invites broader reflection on life, extinction, and recovery.