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Riversleigh Fauna
Riversleigh fauna is the collective term for any species of animal identified in fossil sites located in the Riversleigh World Heritage Area. Faunal zones The presence of the Riversleigh in the Oligo-Miocene has been exceptionally well preserved throughout a number of time periods. These has been classified by four "faunal zones", and may be summarised as, * Faunal Zone A (FZA): late Oligocene, a period 23.03–28.4 million years before present * Faunal Zone B (FZB): early Miocene, 15.97-23.03 myr * Faunal Zone C (FZC): middle Miocene, 11.608-15.97 myr * Faunal Zone D (FZD): late Miocene, 5.332-11.608 myr More recent fossil specimens has also been coded to the period of deposition, * Pliocene (PLIO), a period 2.588-5.332 myr * Pleistocene (PLEIS), 0.0117-2.588 myr * Holocene, noted as (HOLO) to indicate the period dated as following the Pleistocene, from the present day to 11,700 years ago. Faunal lists The following are incomplete lists of mammals, birds, fish, and inverte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Riversleigh World Heritage Area
Riversleigh World Heritage Area is Australia's most famous fossil location, recognised for the series of well preserved fossils deposited from the Late Oligocene to more recent geological periods. The fossiliferous limestone system is located near the Gregory River in the north-west of Queensland, an environment that was once a very wet rainforest that became more arid as the Gondwanan land masses separated and the Australian continent moved north. The approximately area has fossil remains of ancient mammals, birds, and reptiles of the Oligocene and Miocene ages, many of which were discovered and are only known from the Riversleigh area; the species that have occurred there are known as the Riversleigh fauna. The fossils at Riversleigh are unusual because they are found in soft freshwater limestone which has not been compacted. This means the animal remains retain their three-dimensional structure, rather than being partially crushed like in most fossil sites. The area is loc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |