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25.01.2022 I made an INCREDIBLE discovery during today's dive in #baysidemelbourne ... As I held my breath and dove to the bottom of the sea-floor, i found something... It... could be the most important fossil specimen I've ever discovered. For now, it's a secret. In the meantime, have this "Isurus retroflexus" (ChOnK mako-shark) tooth I found nearby. It's over 5 million years of age. Want more Ben? Check out our most recent video on the "A-Z of Whales" here: https://youtu.be/AJ8XMY0o7pU #science #palaeontology #fossils #paleontology #scicomm #afoolsexperiment #dinosaur #science #museumathome #prehistoric #dinosaur #megalodon #climatechange #jurassicpark #jurassicworld #wild #marinelife #ocean #naturelovers #shark
25.01.2022 IMMORTALISED IN PLASTIC The final phase of creating replicas of Kimberley dinosaur tracks involves casting and painting. With the silicon moulds cleaned and se...t up (see previous post), two-part polyurethane resin is used to create the actual replica. Several layers are added, building up to a thickness of around 10 mm. The resin is strong and rigid, but still captures all the detail in the original moulds. The moulds are then peeled off to reveal a perfect replica of the real track as a negative relief. The edges of the resin cast are then cleaned up with a rotary drill. Colour tints can be added to the resin, but even a dark brown or grey cast still ends up looking very plasticky. So that the replicas look like the real thing, they are painted with several layers of different coloured pigments. To get the classic Pindan red that stains many of the rock platforms the tracks are preserved in we use, well Pindan. Ground up and with water added, the rich rusty red creates the perfect base colour for the Broome Sandstone. Several layers of browns, yellows, reds, greys, brownish yellows, yellowish reds, reddish browns and every colour in between are then added. We use sponges (collected from Dampier Peninsula beaches, no less) to get the desired effect. The final part of the paint job involves adding little details like limpets and chitons. The painting phase can take several days to get everything just right. All the hard work is then sealed in with a layer of clear varnish. The replicas are now ready to be revealed!
25.01.2022 https://phys.org/news/2020-06-fossil-discovery-million-year-old-canada-australia.html
25.01.2022 What existed in the Townsville and Charters Towers area 400 million years ago? Our Queensland Museum and JCU: James Cook University, Australia palaeontologist... Dr Espen Knutsen is here tell us - and the answer may surprise you! When the museum reopens in early 2021 come and check out the display for yourself! #museumoftropicalqld #museumathome #townsvilleshines #charterstowers Visit Townsville, Australia Charters Towers Regional Council
24.01.2022 An interesting Jimbacrinus mortality plate with 2 small undescribed ophiuroids and a pectin. Permian Cundlego formation Western Australia. With Ralf Walter.
24.01.2022 DINOSAUR FEATHERS IN AUSTRALIA! . . . Koonwarra (South Gippsland, Victoria) of southern Australia is known for its 115 million year old exquisitely preserved (...and complete) insects, fish, flowers and FEATHERS from an ancient lake. . . . 11 feathers have been found from this site. 1 of them appears to be from a non-avian dinosaur. These animals lived at a time when Australia was still joined to Antarctica . . . Similar low energy environments in China (of comparable time periods) have yielded incredible missing link fossils to bird and dinosaur evolution. . . . #science #palaeontology #fossils #paleontology #scicomm #afoolsexperiment #dinosaur #science #museumathome #prehistoric #dinosaur #megalodon #climatechange #jurassicpark #jurassicworld #wild #marinelife #ocean #naturelovers #feather See more
24.01.2022 I didnt find any evidence of Livyatan today, but I did manage to retrieve this GIGANTIC (and immaculately preserved) caudal vertebrae from a monster whale from... @lostworldofbayside . . . The water was FREEZING cold, but this 5 million year old fossil (amongst others) was worth the dive. . . . #science #palaeontology #fossils #paleontology #scicomm #afoolsexperiment #dinosaur #science #museumathome #prehistoric #dinosaur #megalodon #climatechange #jurassicpark #jurassicworld #wild #marinelife #ocean #naturelovers See more
23.01.2022 The rendering has begun for the March of Titanosaurs exhibition building. The biggest part of this project is the rendering because its so time consuming. The ...end result will be absolutely amazing and the walls look like The Jump-Up. Weve even roped in one of our palaeontologists, Dr Matt. Certainly something a little different for him, compared with researching. This is how you make the walls look like The Jump-Up surface: 1. Make multiple colours of cement. 2. Pat the base-coloured cement on to the walls. 3. Slap on some other colours and pat vigorously to mix the colours. 4. Pat a latex stamp on the wet cement to give it texture. 5. Carefully peal off the latex without lifting the cement. 6. AND REPEAT until finished. 7. Watch it dry. Watch this space for updates! #DestQ #rendering #marchofthetitanosaurs #dynamicdestination
23.01.2022 Happy #FossilFriday! Ever thought why study palaeontology? #CouchCurator Dr Espen Knutsen tells us about the thrill of uncovering the past as part of his j...ob here in Townsville with Queensland Museum and JCU: Geoscience Watch and learn about Espens work here https://bit.ly/2znLpu5 #qldcultureathome #qldmuseum #museumoftropicalqld #jamescookuniversity
22.01.2022 I commissioned the production of a life size Australovenator Wintonensis model. This is the clay model sculpture we will make fibreglass replicas from for the Crystal World Exhibition Centre and the National Dinosaur Museum in Canberra. Australias most famous dinosaur called Banjo discovered, with its bones housed in the Australian Age of Dinosaurs museum in Winton.
21.01.2022 Using Fish to look for a Devonian connection between Australia and Asia. https://sciencythoughts.blogspot.com//using-fish-to-look-f The Devonian Period is wid...ely known as the Age of Fish, because for the first time in the fossil record there were abundant and diverse remains of early Vertebrates. In fact, it was an isolated scale of the Upper Devonian Lobe-finned Fish Holoptychius, identified by Louis Agassiz in 1840 from supposedly Silurian strata in Belgium, that proved decisive evidence for correlating between marine strata in Devon, England, and the well-known Old Red Sandstone of Scotland. This and other evidence led to Adam Sedgwick and Roderick Murchison erecting the Devonian System, to fill a gap in the stratigraphic succession above the Silurian System, previously described by Murchison, and beneath the Carboniferous of William Conybeare and William Phillips, for the British Coal Measures, which then also included the Devonian Old Red Sandstone. In the subsequent 180 years, Devonian Fish fossils have been found in sedimentary rocks throughout the world, in a wide range of lithologies representing all habitable aquatic environments, from marine to estuarine, fluviatile and lacustrine. The first Devonian Fish discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere included bones (probably belonging to the Antiarch Placoderm Remigolepis) from Twofold Bay on the coast of southeastern Australia, a skull from Burrinjuck, New South Wales, and fish scales and bones from Antarctica collected on Robert Falcon Scotts 19101913 South Pole Expedition. Today these sites are among numerous Devonian fossil Fish localities representing the East Gondwanan region (AustralasiaAntarctica). In Asia, Henri Mansuy first recorded Devonian Fish remains from China and northern Vietnam respectively, now extensively documented in the Siluro-Devonian of the South China Block as one of the three greatest endemic biological radiation episodes in the entire evolutionary history of the Vertebrates. See more
20.01.2022 Snap! Check out this 5-6 metre long Quinkana that lived in Australia between 4 million and 40,000 years ago. Can you image sharing your backyard with this huge ...land dwelling crocodile? Learn more about ancient mega predators: https://bit.ly/3dJnAMe Supported by BHP Queensland and New South Wales #ProjectDIGQM #fossilfriday
20.01.2022 "Diprotodon" (the largest marsupial of all time) was a strange animal for a number of reasons, but its feet are hella weird. . . . These feet were unusually sm...all for its size; they were similar to modern wombats in that they were in-turned. . . . Its enormously fused anklebones were used to hold up the weight of this animal, but intensify the wacky looking nature of its feet. Were they using these heavily compressed feet/hands to dig up vegetation as they thundered across the parched plains? Their wrists were hugely inflexible, so probably not. . . . When viewed against the rest of the body, (especially their huge, pillar like limbs) their feet look ridiculous. Its most likely a vestige of their vombatiform (wombat-like) ancestry... . . . Image via John R. Hutchinson. . . . #science #palaeontology #fossils #paleontology #scicomm #afoolsexperiment #dinosaur #science #museumathome #prehistoric #dinosaur #megalodon #climatechange #jurassicpark #jurassicworld #wild #marinelife #ocean #naturelovers #wombat See more
20.01.2022 Not everything found at South Walker Creek is big. Can you guess what tiny fossils were lurking amongst the bones of giant megafauna? Tune in with Dr Scott Hock...null to find out. Learn more about QLD fossils from 40,000 years ago: https://bit.ly/3gf35bz Supported by BHP Queensland and New South Wales #ProjectDIGQM #FossilFriday
18.01.2022 Special Release: The Dinosaur Coast Management Group is excited to release its Dinosaur Coast Track Guide App. Download here: https://www.dinosaurcoasttrackgu...ide.com.au/ This free, user-friendly app can help you identify 130 million-year-old dinosaur tracks along the Dinosaur Coast. Learn about the tracks and the dinosaurs that made them. Similar to a bird identification guide but much more interactive, the app has 360 deg 3D images of the Broome coastline 130 million years ago and the most scientifically accurate rendered images of the dinosaurs local to our area. There are activity guides for the kids, tide charts and a menu to learn so much more. For budding paleontologists of any age. To download the App to your phone just hit this link: https://www.dinosaurcoasttrackguide.com.au/ [For Android and iPhone] Or visit story here: https://www.abc.net.au//digital-dinosaurs-rebuild/12406344
16.01.2022 Who am I? I am the worlds largest marsupial weighing up to 2.5 tonnes, I am related to koalas and wombats, I am a plant eater with two large tusks in my bottom... jaw. Watch the video below to find the answer. Learn more about the giant marsupials that roamed ancient Queensland: https://bit.ly/2XBVTzo Supported by BHP Queensland and New South Wales #ProjectDIGQM #FossilFriday
16.01.2022 DINOSAUR CONTACT: You can almost feel the dinosaur that left these tracks on an Australian beach 130 million years ago. One of the worlds best dinosaur trackwa...ys has been kept secret to protect it. But now the Broome community including traditional owners think showing visitors could be the best way to preserve them. Theyve created a digital experience to show the extraoridinary animals that left their mark.
15.01.2022 The Dinosaur Stampede National Monument at Lark Quarry Conservation Park showcases a moment in time from around 95 million years ago. What you actually get ...to see is a huge trace fossil. So, what is a trace fossil? They are fossils that show indirect evidence of life. In this instance we see dinosaur footprints. If you want to see this amazing trace fossil, here is some important information to plan your visit : https://www.dinosaurtrackways.com.au/visit/home #dinosaurstampedenationalmonument #experiencewinton #outbackqld
15.01.2022 For those interesting in biostratigraphy, heres a talk on the use of trilobites (& isotopes) in refining the Middle Cambrian successions of the Amadeus Basin i...n near Alice Springs. This was given earlier in the year to the Geological Society of Australia. The entire talk goes for 30 minutes, with 10 minutes for question time. See more
14.01.2022 A few new specimens from our paleo lab at Crystal World Exhibition Centre. Jimbacrinus bostocki,Permian Western Australia. With Ralf Walter.
13.01.2022 Its time to start dreaming about and planning your 2021 holidays! Why not come to Outback Queensland and prepare some dinosaur fossils? We have a range of pac...kages available or you can contact us directly to create your own experience! Bookings for 2021 are now open Choose from ready-to-book packages: 1-day Prep-A-Dino Experience plus Ultimate Dinosaur tour (from $124) 3-day Prep-A-Dino Experience plus Ultimate Dinosaur tour (from $254) 5-day Prep-A-Dino Experience plus Ultimate Dinosaur tour (from $384) 11-day Honorary Technician package plus Ultimate Dinosaur tour (from $709) Or create your own Prep-A-Dino experience by contacting us directly. We can put together a package for you depending on your specific requirements. https://www.australianageofdinosaurs.com//australian-age-o #australianageofdinosaurs #prepadino #outbackqueensland
12.01.2022 Were delighted to announce our new Museum Revealed podcast is here just in time for #ScienceWeek! Grab your headphones and join us over the next 13 weeks as we... reveal some of the hidden gems and stories from the Queensland Museum Network Collection. Tag a friend who loves podcasts Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3kCkWvv Listen on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3kHyZji #qldmuseum #MuseumRevealed #QMNetwork
10.01.2022 It's time for another ZOOM talk Link HERE: https://linktr.ee/a_fools_experiment Compare the pair. Same 5 million year old age. Same trophic level. Did each of ...these predators eat whales as part of a balanced diet? I'll be giving an online zoom-zoom talk with @baysidecitycouncil about these terrifying toothed terrors on Wednesday 29th September, 2:00pm (AEST). We'll be discussing the rise and fall of the largest macro-predators of all time, and how you can help us find these incredible fossil relics, lying on the bottom of the seafloor. Bring along any fossils you've found from Bayside or the surrounding regions! Want something that needs an ID? Ask at the Q and A at the end of the session! I'll see you there! #science #palaeontology #fossils #paleontology #scicomm #afoolsexperiment #dinosaur #science #museumathome #prehistoric #dinosaurs #megalodon #climatechange #jurassicpark #jurassicworld #wild #marinelife #ocean #naturelovers
10.01.2022 Make no mistake... Killer Sperm Whales were truly gigantic. My hands for scale. Check out our most recent video on these CRAZY creatures here: https://youtu.be.../4gWFzNpK8JE Both of these 5 million year old specimens were found in #baysidemelbourne and represent some of the biggest teeth ever found in Australia. #science #palaeontology #fossils #paleontology #scicomm #afoolsexperiment #dinosaur #science #museumathome #prehistoric #dinosaur #megalodon #climatechange #jurassicpark #jurassicworld #wild #marinelife #ocean #naturelovers
09.01.2022 A recent talk on the palaeontological research going on at the Australian Museum:
09.01.2022 Dinosaur footprints found near Oakey identified as Australias largest meat-eating theropod
08.01.2022 Lost Creatures Muttaburrasaurus is iconic but did you know the original bones were found in Central Queensland? Grazier Doug Landon was mustering cattle over 50... years ago and noticed something unusual in a dry creek bed - it turned out to be the original bones of our reconstruction. #qldmuseum Supported by BHP Queensland and New South Wales
08.01.2022 The image of two metre long Deinocheirus claws were etched into the memory of Tim Ziegler when he was a young child. Only, he couldn't remember where or when he... saw them - just that he had encountered them in the past. It was only many years later, now working at Museums Victoria as a collection manager, he encountered a surprising object on a rack one day.. The racks and collections in Museum stores contain many objects and memories; this is Tim's personal story of just one!
08.01.2022 This ~4000 year old Thylacine mummy was found on mainland Australia... On the 23rd of October 1968, this Thylacine carcass was found on the floor of a deep cave... in the Nullabor (at Mundrabilla station, Western Australia). With a vertical drop of >11 metres, the cave preserved a number of intriguing fauna... But nothing quite as remarkable as this... The tongue and left eye were still intact; stripes were still visible on its pelt. The last Thylacines went extinct on mainland Australia ~3,000 years ago (but even this is debated... Was it younger??)... Fossil evidence suggests they also made it to Papua New Guinea as well, only dying out in the latest Pleistocene. This stunner is now on display at @wamuseum Image via Rob Davis. Edit: the last Tasmanian Thylacine died in 1936. I thought this was such common knowledge it was not worth referring to, but CLEARLY I was wrong. #science #palaeontology #fossils #paleontology #scicomm #afoolsexperiment #dinosaur #science #museumathome #prehistoric #dinosaur #megalodon #climatechange #jurassicpark #jurassicworld #wild #marinelife #ocean #naturelovers
07.01.2022 WANTED: Black ironstone The Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum is looking for up to 200 cubic metres of black ironstone to put around the new Gondwana Stars... Observatory, which is under construction at Dinosaur Canyon. Weathered black ironstone on ridges that can be scraped up with a front-end loader would be suitable, provided a reasonable quantity is available in one area. The Gondwana Stars Observatory is being rendered with jet-black concrete to resemble a meteorite and the ironstone is needed as a top surface to create an impact-crater effect around the building. If anyone within less than 150km of Winton has ironstone ridges that they think will suit, please contact David Elliott on 07 4657 0712. #winton #ironstone #gondwanastars #experiencewinton
07.01.2022 How cool is this recent discovery? Crocodiles have evolved since the late Triassic and early Jurassic, some 200 million years ago. Our recent discovery is cro...codile fossils from the Eocene period, ~50 million years old. Pictured here is the top of a crocodile skull featuring the upper temporal fenestrae (two round holes) and a large isolated tooth. They are very fragile, but the preservation is just gorgeous. #fossilcrocodile #eoceneperiod #fossillaboratory #australiathroughtimeexhibitionfossil
07.01.2022 It's the biggest tooth ever found in Australia! At over 30 centimetres in length, it belonged to a monstrous "Killer Sperm Whale" that thrived off Melbourne (Au...stralia) over 5 million years ago... I'm on the hunt for the biggest predators of all time. Join me, as I dive back millions of years to uncover these incredible fossils. Check out our most recent video on these "Killer Sperm Whales" here: https://youtu.be/4gWFzNpK8JE #science #palaeontology #fossils #paleontology #scicomm #afoolsexperiment #dinosaur #science #museumathome #prehistoric #dinosaur #megalodon #climatechange #jurassicpark #jurassicworld #wild #marinelife #ocean #naturelovers #whale
06.01.2022 https://www.abc.net.au//citizen-scientist-finds-/12397700
06.01.2022 BEAT THE HEAT! From 15 November the Museum will be offering guided tours from 8am. This will allow visitors to enjoy walking through Dinosaur Canyon ...before the heat of the day. The Museum has also extended its winter hours, remaining open seven days a week, 8am to 5pm until 30 November. From 1 December to 31 March the Museum will be open six days a week, Monday to Saturday, 8am to 5pm (Closed Sundays). For more details about the Museum’s opening times or to book a ticket visit https://www.australianageofdinosaurs.com//australian-age-o #experiencewinton #outbackqueensland
06.01.2022 This is your last chance to apply to become a Tour Guide (fixed-term contract) at the Museum! Make your mark at Australia's most aspirational museum of na...tural history. Do you love guiding? Are you passionate about Australian natural history? Are you looking for an Outback adventure? Do you love fossils? Do you have a car? Would you like to be a part of a dedicated team doing great things? Then we have the job for you! For more information or to APPLY, go to https://www.australianageofdinosaurs.com//australian-age-o #australianageofdinosaurs #museumjobs #museumalumni #experiencewinton
06.01.2022 As the Museum and Dinosaur Stampede reopen please understand that we are doing everything we can to adapt our current experiences to a new world of restrictions... and changes. While we are extremely happy to finally reopen we are still bound by the restrictions put in place by the Australian and Queensland authorities. If the Museum or Dinosaur Stampede are booked out on a specific date you would like to visit, please be aware that we are bound by social distancing guidelines and strict hygiene protocols that restrict how many visitors we can host at one time. It is not because we do not want to have you! We are doing our best to ensure we implement plans and procedures such as the QTIC tourism and accommodation industry safety plan, ATIC tourism business recovery plan, ATIC cleaning procedures, COVID-19 risk register, and the Queensland Governments Work Health and Safety plan and checklist for dining to not only ensure the safety of our staff and visitors, but also to adhere to the industry compliance necessary to reopen. Outback Queensland needs your support, but please be kind, compassionate and have patience. #outbackqueensland #experiencewinton #thisisqueensland #australianageofdinosaurs
05.01.2022 No, it’s not an alien life form it’s a Jimbacrinus bostocki fossil from our collection! #qldmuseum #Halloween
04.01.2022 NOW OPEN - NEW BROOME DINOSAUR DISPLAY See what Broomes beaches looked like 130million years ago. Wonder at the footprint of the largest dinosaur in the world... (yes, it walked around Broome). See casts of our theropod, ornithopod, sauropod and thyreophoran tracks. Watch some short films about the Dinosaur Coast tracks. Find the display in the Broome Historical Museum, Rae Val Annex, open 10am to 1pm every day of the week. Its been a huge effort to get everything in, and heaps of people have helped us: Geoff Thorpe and all at the Broome Mens Shed, BK Signs, Pindan Printing, Northline, Ruff (TAFE), Chris Hill, Glenn Waters, Bunnings and Mitre 10. Also the thank goodness you are here, heavy lifters James Mason, Ian Rodger and Martin Secourable. To Kylie Jennings, Angela Powell-Dep and volunteers and committee of the Broome Historical Museum, we greatly appreciate your assistance and support. Sincere thanks to our DCMG members and friends (near and far) who did the behind the scenes work which included sanding, staining, lifting things, collecting and shoveling sand, hanging display material, cleaning, creating professional-looking labels (soon to be installed) and updating the website. And, last and by no means least, we are indebted to the University of Queenslands Dr Steve Salisbury and current and former Dino Lab staff and students. Of course, we would not be here without our sponsors: Lotterywest, Shire of Broome and EDL. Photos: Wade Freeman, Michelle Teoh
02.01.2022 https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au//new-extinct-family-giant-wom
01.01.2022 https://www.abc.net.au//megafauna-past-reveal-eyr/12325354
01.01.2022 Only one day to go! It is surreal to think that almost three months ago we closed the Museum just as our peak season was to begin. But it is now time to start d...usting off your suitcase, refuelling the car and planning your next adventure. Outback Queensland has everything you could ever want... sunshine, friendly people, unique wildlife and beautiful scenery. To avoid any disappointment, check the Museums Plan A Visit page for our comprehensive reopening schedule: https://www.australianageofdinosaurs.com//australian-age-o. Note: From 15 June to 12 July visitors must prebook their tour online. #australianageofdinosaurs #reopening #outbackqueensland #thisisqueensland #ourpastyourmuseum
01.01.2022 https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=C12SdGe6mmk
