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Alcoota
__NOTOC__ The Alcoota Fossil Beds are an important paleontological Lagerstätte in the Northern Territory of Australia located on Alcoota Station in the locality of Anmatjere about north-east of Alice Springs in the Central Australia region. It is notable for the occurrence of well-preserved, rare, Miocene vertebrate fossils, which provide evidence of the evolution of the Northern Territory’s fauna and climate. The Alcoota Fossil Beds are also significant as a research and teaching site for palaeontology students. The Alcoota deposit is a series of intermittently interconnected lakes within a large basin. Evidence suggests that the concentration of fossils is due to a phenomenon called ‘waterhole-tethering’: During dry periods, animals concentrated in the immediate area of the continually shrinking, spring-fed lake, resulting in the death of many animals. The Alcoota and Bullock Creek fossil faunas provide evidence that aridification was in progress in northern Aust ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dromornis Stirtoni
''Dromornis'' is a genus of large to enormous Fossil birds, prehistoric birds native to Australia during the Oligocene to Pliocene epochs. The species were flightless, possessing greatly reduced wing structures but with large legs, similar to the modern ostrich or emu. They were likely to have been predominantly, if not exclusively, herbivorous browsers. The male of the largest species, ''Dromornis stirtoni'', is a contender for the tallest and heaviest bird, and possibly exhibited aggressive territorial behaviour. They belong to the family Dromornithidae, extinct flightless birds known as mihirungs. Taxonomy The genus was erected to separate a new species, ''Dromornis australis'', from the previously described ''Dinornis'' (giant moas), another lineage of ancient large and flightless birds found in New Zealand that was earlier described by Richard Owen in 1843. A femur that was forwarded to England, probably a dromornithid and since lost, suggested an Australian genus, but Owen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thylacinus Potens
''Thylacinus potens'' ("powerful pouched animal") was the largest species of the family Thylacinidae, originally known from a single poorly preserved fossil discovered by Michael O. Woodburne in 1967 in a Late Miocene locality near Alice Springs, Northern Territory. It preceded the most recent species of thylacine by 4–6 million years, and was 5% bigger, was more robust and had a shorter, broader skull. Its size is estimated to be similar to that of a grey wolf; the head and body together were around 5 feet long, and its teeth were less adapted for shearing compared to those of the now-extinct thylacine. Taxonomy The description of the species was published in 1967, the author Michael O. Woodburne distinguishing the new thylacine with the epithet ''potens'' for what he interpreted as a "powerful" predator. The evidence for the species emerged from geological and palaeontological research into the fossil fauna of the Alcoota site. Description A larger species of ''Thylacinus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wakaleo
''Wakaleo'' (Diyari ''waka'', "little", "small"; and Latin ''leo'', "lion") is an extinct genus of medium-sized thylacoleonids that lived in Australia in the Late Oligocene and Miocene Epochs. Taxonomy ''Wakaleo'' was erected in 1974 by W. A. Clemens and M. Plane. Five species are known: *''Wakaleo alcootaensis'' was found in the Miocene Waite Formation in the Northern Territory in 1974. It was slightly larger than the other two species. *''Wakaleo oldfieldi'' was found by a group of scientists working in the Miocene Wipijiri Formation in southern Australia in 1971. They found a nearly complete left dentary which included a few well-preserved teeth. *''Wakaleo pitikantensis'' described by Rauscher as the type species of the genus ''Priscileo'' in 1987B. Rauscher. 1987. Priscileo pitikantensis, a new genus and species of thylacoleonid marsupial (Marsupialia: Thylacoleonidae) from the Miocene Etaduma formation, South Australia. ''Possums and Opossums: Studies in Evolution'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anmatjere, Northern Territory
__NOTOC__ Anmatjere is a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Northern Territory of Australia located about south of the territory capital of Darwin City, Northern Territory, Darwin. History The locality was named after the former Anmatjere Community Government Council, whose seat was located in the town of Ti-Tree, Northern Territory, Ti Tree. Its boundaries and name were gazetted on 4 April 2007. Governance and demographics Anmatjere is located within the federal division of Division of Lingiari, Lingiari, the territory electoral division of Electoral division of Stuart, Stuart and the local government areas of the Barkly Shire and the Central Desert Region. The 2016 Australian census reports that Anmatjere had 477 people living within its boundaries, of whom 47.3% were male, 52.7% were female and 87.9% identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people. Sites and attractions The following sites located within Anmatjere are listed on the Northern ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lagerstätte
A Fossil-Lagerstätte (, from ''Lager'' 'storage, lair' '' Stätte'' 'place'; plural ''Lagerstätten'') is a sedimentary deposit that preserves an exceptionally high amount of palaeontological information. ''Konzentrat-Lagerstätten'' preserve a high concentration of fossils, while ''Konservat-Lagerstätten'' offer exceptional fossil preservation, sometimes including preserved soft tissues. ''Konservat-Lagerstätten'' may have resulted from carcass burial in an anoxic environment with minimal bacteria, thus delaying the decomposition of both gross and fine biological features until long after a durable impression was created in the surrounding matrix. ''Fossil-Lagerstätten'' spans geological time from the Neoproterozoic era to the present. Worldwide, some of the best examples of near-perfect fossilization are the Cambrian Maotianshan shales and Burgess Shale, the Ordovician Soom Shale, the Silurian Waukesha Biota, the Devonian Hunsrück Slates and Gogo Formation, the Ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bullock Creek (Northern Territory)
The Bullock Creek Fossil site is one of three known vertebrate fossil sites in the Northern Territory of Australia, along with the Alcoota Fossil Beds and the Kangaroo Well site on Deep Well Station. It is located about south-southeast of Darwin, on Camfield Station in the locality of Victoria River. The Bullock Creek Fossil Site is part of the Camfield Fossil Beds which outcrop in a narrow belt about 50 km long. The Bullock Creek local fauna are approximately dated to the mid Miocene (about 12 million years ago). The Camfield Fossil Beds which contain the Bullock Creek local fauna consist of light coloured calcareous sandstone, siltstone and limestone. Ferruginous mottling is found at the base and chalcedonic silification at the top. The presentation of fossils at the site ranges from poorly sorted fragmentary lags to associations with partial skeletons which includes complete crania (skulls) with intact delicate structures. The Bullock Creek Fossil Site is of n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palorchestes
''Palorchestes'' ("ancient leaper") is an extinct genus of large terrestrial, herbivorous Australian marsupial of the family Palorchestidae, living from the Miocene through to the Late Pleistocene. Like other palorchestids, it had highly retracted nasal region suggesting that it had a prehensile lip, as well as highly unusual clawed forelimbs that were used to grasp vegetation. Taxonomy The generic name was coined in 1873 by anatomist Richard Owen, who first found what he thought was the fragmentary jaw of a prehistoric kangaroo and derived the name from ancient Greek terms for "ancient" and "leaper". Despite Owen explicitly stating the etymology of the name in his description, palaeontologist Harold Fletcher published a translation as "the ancient dancer" in 1945. When more postcranial elements were found, ''Palorchestes'' was realized as not a macropod, but a diprotodontid. Owen's description as a giant kangaroo was revised in 1958 by Jack T. Woods of the Queensland Museum ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Fossil Sites
This list of fossil sites is a worldwide list of localities known well for the presence of fossils. Some entries in this list are notable for a single, unique find, while others are notable for the large number of fossils found there. Many of the entries in this list are considered Lagerstätten (sedimentary deposits that exhibits extraordinary fossils with exceptional preservation—sometimes including preserved soft tissues). Lagerstätten are indicated by a note () in the noteworthiness column. Fossils may be found either associated with a geological formation or at a single geographic site. Geological formations consist of rock that was deposited during a specific period of time. They usually extend for large areas, and sometimes there are different important sites in which the same formation is exposed. Such sites may have separate entries if they are considered to be more notable than the formation as a whole. In contrast, extensive formations associated with large areas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ilbandornis Woodburnei
''Ilbandornis'' was a genus of ostrich-sized dromornithid, a clade known casually as "demon ducks" because they are most closely related to the water fowl clade anseriformes. It was far more lightly built than other members of the family, indicating a more cursorial lifestyle; it was a fast runner. The majority of researchers consider Dromornithids to be herbivorous; this is borne out by molecular analysis of the gastroliths and eggshells of both ''Ilbandornis'' and the related ''Genyornis''. While ''Ilbandornis'' and ''Genyornis'' have skulls of similar size to emus, other Dromornithids such as ''Dromornis'' have far more robust skulls with large beaks; these were previously considered an adaptation for carnivory, but their blunt edges and lack of hooked tip indicate that the species were herbivorous. It is therefore likely that the differences in skull shape are due to differences in diet. Ilbandornis went extinct sometime in the Miocene epoch. Taxonomy Two species named by Patri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northern Territory Heritage Register
The Northern Territory Heritage Register is a heritage register, being a statutory list of places in the Northern Territory of Australia that are protected by the Northern Territory statute, the '' Heritage Act 2011''. The register is maintained by the Northern Territory Heritage Council. Other registers Sites within the Northern Territory are listed on national and international heritage registers such as the following, are not duplicated in the Northern Territory Heritage Register: * UNESCO World Heritage list * Australian National Heritage list * Commonwealth Heritage list The Commonwealth Heritage List is a heritage register established in 2003, which lists places under the control of the Australian government, on land or in waters directly owned by the Crown (in Australia, the Crown in right of the Commonwealt ... * Australian National Shipwreck database See also * National Trust of Australia (Northern Territory) * Historical Society of the Northern Territory Ref ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
