Unknown wonders: Riversleigh
Australia is famous for its natural beauty: the Great Barrier Reef, Uluru, Kakadu, the Kimberley. But what about the places almost no one goes? We asked ecologists, biologists and wildlife researchers…
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Fossils
Analysis and Comment (8)
Fossils reveal Australia’s tree-top heavyweight herbivore
In Australia today, the biggest tree-dwelling mammals are our iconic and much loved koala and the enigmatic Bennett’s tree-kangaroo. The largest males of both species weigh a mere 14 kg. But a study of…
New fossils confirm diversity was the rule for human evolution
New fossils described in the journal Nature this week seem to close the door on a controversy that has raged for 40 years. They also confirm that the beginnings of the human genus more than 2m years ago…
Shift to shore: new model shows off extinct tetrapod’s land moves
Palaeontology has gone high-tech: no more wax and plaster-cast models. Instead, 3D data from computed tomography (CT) scans is overturning long-held views of how the earliest land animals moved.
Research…
Dinosaurs of a feather: meet T-Rex’s fluffy cousin
It’s taken a century of debate, but in the past two decades we’re finally understanding where birds came from. Now, with a new study published in the journal Nature, Chinese and Canadian researchers have…
Putting meat on the bones of Au. sediba, our oldest ancestor
Since its discovery in August 2008, the site of Malapa in Johannesburg has yielded more than 220 bones of early hominins representing at least six individuals, including the remains of babies, juveniles…
New woolly rhino in Tibet causes itch for Ice Age theorists
Fossils from a new species of woolly rhinoceros found in Tibet have the potential to rock several cherished theories.
According to the authors of a new paper published today in Science, the rhino showed…
No, Australia’s new fossils are NOT the oldest, but their value is set in stone
A study published in Nature Geoscience yesterday reports the discovery of 3.4 billion-year-old microbial cells in ancient sandstones in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.
Some headlines have suggested…
Research Briefs (17)
Tectonic movement may have played role in human evolution
Scientists have discovered the 25 million year-old remains of monkeys and apes in the East African Rift Valley.
Whilst primate…
Clam fossils hold ecological stability secrets
Cornell University’s Paleontological Research Institution in conjunction with University of Cincinnati researchers have discovered…
Fossilised snails reveal climate secrets
Fossilised snail shells have revealed new clues about an abrupt climate shift that occurred nearly 34 million years ago…
Jurassic marine life wiped out by warming seas
Jurassic era global warming may provide a warning for marine life over the next century.
Findings along the north Yorkshire…
Fossils predict oceans to rise more than expected
Fossil corals have been used to examine how temperature changes in the past have promoted melting of polar ice sheets, showing…
Fossils hold the key to conservation
Paleontological records and records of past endangered species have been linked to learning about modern ecology and conservation…
Ancient Australia’s treetops full of large marsupials
The treetops of prehistoric Australia were populated by herds of Nimbadon, sheep-sized marsupials distantly related to the…
Ancient teeth sharpest to date
Fossilised teeth from a 200-million-year-old fish have been found to be the sharpest ever recorded.
The conodont fish appeared…
Ancient super-predator had excellent vision
A pair of fossilised eyes belonging to a 500 million-year-old marine predator have been discovered on Kangaroo Island off…
Antarctica: from paradise to polar ice
Antarctica has gone from paradise to polar ice in just a few million years – the blink of an eye in the life of the earth…
Key to big bite in fossils found 25 years ago
An examination of fossils found 25 years ago on Victoria’s coastline are providing paleontologists with new clues into the…
Key to big whale bite found in fossils
An examination of fossils found 25 years ago on Victoria’s coastline are providing paleontologists with new clues into the…
Fossilised bird found in cave
The fossilised remains of a 780,000 year old prehistoric bird have been found in a cave on the Nullabor Plain.
The bird…
Largest find of dinosaur footprints in Victoria
Palaeontologists have discovered dinosaur footprints in Victoria. The discovery, now the largest of its kind in Victoria…
Ancient ‘croc dog’ discovered
A newly identified crocodile species thought to have lived 70 million years ago has been discovered in a small town in Brazil…
Ancient turtle survived meteorite
The remains of a turtle that survived the 65 million-year-old meteorite impact that wiped out the dinosaurs have been found…
Dinosaur fossil takes meteor theory by the horns
The theory that a meteor wiped out the dinosaurs has gained greater plausibility after Yale University researchers discovered…
Participants (13)
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Malcolm Walter
Professor of Astrobiology
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David Flannery
Doctoral Student in Astrobiology
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Guang Shi
Professor of palaeontology
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Paul Dirks
Head of School, Earth and Environmental Sciences
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Mike Lee
Senior Research Scientist, Evolutionary Biology
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Kate Trinajstic
Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry
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Darren Curnoe
Human evolution specialist
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David Paxton
Veterinarian
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Ron Chinchen
Retired (ex Probation and Parole Officer)
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Karen Black
ARC Postdoctoral Fellow, Evolution of Earth & Life Systems Research Group
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Christopher Johnson
Professor of Wildlife Conservation and ARC Australian Professorial Fellow
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Kylie Williams
PhD Candidate
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christopher gow
medical practitioner