Collectively, the evidence studied by ichnologists helps to paint a picture of long-gone landscapes and the creatures and plants that populated those spaces.
Branching gerbil burrows leading to a debris mound preserved on an ancient dune surface.
Charles Helm
There is something near-miraculous in the concept of tiny creatures, weighing just grams, making tracks and traces so long ago, that are now evident in rock.
A photogrammetry image of the tracks. The horizontal and vertical scales are in metres.
CHARLES HELM
There are no body fossils of elephants from this time period, so the available information of how these gigantic animals moved through the ancient landscapes depends entirely on the track record.
Vlad Konstantinov, Scott Hocknull, Eromanga Natural History Museum
These surfaces are of profound scientific, cultural, heritage, environmental, and aesthetic importance. Unfortunately, they are threatened - by graffiti.
These fossil trackways resemble the tracks left by flamingos today, but are bigger. Just above the scale bar one can see (more faintly) the ‘tramline traces’ made by the ancient birds’ stomping action.
Charles Helm
One avian track, probably made by a large gull or a small goose, was found in sediments that have been dated to about 400,000 years. That makes it the oldest avian track reported from southern Africa.