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.
Category
🤖
TechTranscript
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,
00:08 but scientists recently found rare evidence of the continent's wetter past
00:12 in thousands of exceptional fossils, including trapdoor spiders,
00:16 giant cicadas, tiny fish, and a feather
00:20 from an ancient bird. Mate, this is 10 kilos.
00:24 Good work. I need both
00:28 hands to hold it. Paleontologists discovered the fossil treasure trove
00:32 in New South Wales, in a region so dry that more than
00:36 100 years ago, British geologist John Walter Gregory called it
00:40 the "dead heart of Australia." The site's location on private land
00:44 was kept secret to protect it from illegal fossil collectors.
00:48 Meanwhile, scientists worked to excavate plants and soft-bodied animals
00:52 that were estimated to be between 11 million and 16 million years old.
00:56 What the researchers found was unique in the Australian fossil
01:00 record for the Miocene epoch, because fossils of small and delicate
01:04 creatures such as spiders and insects are exceedingly rare.
01:08 By examining the well-preserved fossils with scanning electron microscopy,
01:12 the study authors could image details as fine as fungal spores
01:16 and grains of pollen. Some of the fossils included animals'
01:20 last meals, like fish, larvae, and a partially
01:24 digested dragonfly wing preserved inside fish's bellies.
01:28 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
01:40 unique snapshot of ancient Australian biodiversity, and work on the
01:44 fossil site is just beginning.
01:48 [music]
01:52 [music]
01:56 [music]
02:00 [music]