A Trove Of Exceptional Fossils In NSW Australia
Buried in Australia's so-called dead heart, a trove of exceptional fossils, including those of trapdoor spiders, giant cicadas, tiny fish and a feather from an ancient bird, reveal a unique snapshot of a time when rainforests carpeted the now mostly-arid continent.
Scientists found thousands of preserved plants, spiders and insects dating to the Miocene Epoch.
Scientists found thousands of preserved plants, spiders and insects dating to the Miocene Epoch.
Transcript
00:00 It's definitely a new species of plant. I don't think we've found this one before.
00:04 Australia's lush rainforests vanished millions of years ago, but scientists recently found
00:09 rare evidence of the continent's wetter past in thousands of exceptional fossils, including
00:15 trapdoor spiders, giant cicadas, tiny fish, and a feather from an ancient bird.
00:21 Mate, this is 10 kilos.
00:23 Good work.
00:25 I need both hands to hold it.
00:29 Paleontologists discovered the fossil treasure trove in New South Wales, in a region so dry
00:35 that more than 100 years ago, British geologist John Walter Gregory called it the "dead
00:40 heart" of Australia.
00:42 The site's location on private land was kept secret to protect it from illegal fossil
00:46 collectors.
00:47 Meanwhile, scientists worked to excavate plants and soft-bodied animals that were estimated
00:52 to be between 11 million and 16 million years old.
00:57 What the researchers found was unique in the Australian fossil record for the Miocene
01:00 epoch, because fossils of small and delicate creatures such as spiders and insects are
01:06 exceedingly rare.
01:08 By examining the well-preserved fossils with scanning electron microscopy, the study authors
01:12 could image details as fine as fungal spores and grains of pollen.
01:18 Some of the fossils included animals' last meals, like fish, larvae, and a partially
01:23 digested dragonfly wing preserved inside fish's bellies.
01:27 There was even a feather from a bird that was about the size of a modern sparrow.
01:32 This is the missing part of the vertebra, and that's the missing part of the stem.
01:36 This rich collection of fossils in one spot offers a unique snapshot of ancient Australian
01:41 biodiversity, and work on the fossil site is just beginning.
01:45 [music]