I have spoken solely about the different types of dinosaurs and megafauna that are found across the state of South Australia. Whether they may be from millions and millions of years ago or a mere 500,000 years ago we have covered the state’s prehistoric creatures but how do the animals once from Adelaide compare to those that came from elsewhere in Australia?

Something that I discovered when interviewing a cave interpreter from the Naracoorte Caves was that other than working with the universities and museum in Adelaide they are also linked to the Riversleigh fossil site in Queensland. Naracoorte is not only the only world heritage site in Adelaide but is also one of only two world heritage fossil sites in Australia, the other being Riversleigh, hence their connection.

Riversleigh, unlike Naracoorte, is home to some of the oldest fossils found in Australia dating back between 30-10 million years ago. These Paleogene periods are recognised as the Oligocene and the Miocene epochs. The difference in fossils found from specific time periods in both the Riversleigh fossil sites and the Naracoorte Caves demonstrate the differences in climate, environment and predators.

There are many other fossil sites found in Australia, other than those just in Queensland and South Australia. New South Wales has multiple fossil sites that have reputable fish fossils from the Jurassic geological period and also has a site named Talbragar that has a floral fossil site that is well recognised in both Australia and the world.

At the top of Australia in the Northern Territory, the Alcoota fossil site is best recognised for fossils from the Miocene epoch and was once home to enormous creatures. Similarly to Naracoorte, Alcoota has its own marsupial lion and Thylacine however, is the one and only home of the Dromornis stirtoni (The Giant Alcoota Thunderbird!). This bird was once the largest flightless bird in the world reaching heights of 3 metres and having an estimated weight of 800kg!

What this shows us is that across Australia we can see the impact of different geological periods, ice ages and climate changes and predators of all shapes and sizes. Australia’s wilderness would once have been a dangerous place, at least these animals have gone extinct…..

Recently I have gone to Naracoorte. Naracoorte is a town in South Australia’s South East and the surrounding area is known as the Limestone Coast. Naracoorte is famous for its caves which, because of the fossils found in them, are world heritage sites and one of two members of the Australian Fossil and Paleontology sites. The Naracoorte Caves are thousands of years old and were created when sea creatures and shells were compressed in to limestone which was then eroded by water over years. This has left chambers and pathways for people to walk through and explore today. Obviously some of the tunnels and spaces have been dug out by man otherwise to see some of the fossils we would have to get on our bellies and crawl.

I went to the Naracoorte caves to explore the different types of fossils and information they had gathered from the mega-fauna that once lived over 500,000 years ago. Some of the fossils that can be seen on display come from Marsupial Lions, Diprotodons, Short-Faced Kangaroos and some from the Wonambi Naracoortensis, the massive, deadly snake. As a part of their exhibit they not only have the fossils but have developed their understanding of what these animals and their environment may have once been. This can be seen as a part of the Wonambi Fossil Centre where you may walk among the prehistoric wildlife.

There are multiple caves to explore in Naracoorte, each of them completely different. There are the self-guided and adventure caves, the Blanche and Bat caves, the Alexandra cave and the Fossil cave. In both the Fossil cave and the Alexandra cave you are able to see fossils. The Alexandra caves houses the snout and feet of a Short-Faced Kangaroo which unfortunately was touched and therefore was unable to be studied because of contamination. The Fossil cave is where you can find an example of a pitfall trap. A pitfall trap is where a section of the cave’s roof opens up allowing animals to fall in and once they do they can’t get out and eventually die becoming a part of the fossil deposits. In the Fossil cave you can see the bottom of a pitfall trap and all of the animals that have fallen in and become fossils. This fossil deposit was worked on in the 1970’s however they stopped and preserved the 95% of the deposit for a later generation who may be able to learn more with better paleontological technology.

In South Australia we have access to an amazing museum that has all kinds of fossils. What I will be talking about in this post will be the creatures that swam instead of ran and even before those.

As a part of an exhibit the South Australian Museum has a magnificent interpretation of what a Plesiosaur may have looked like and underneath is the fossil of one found here in Australia. This aquatic dinosaur was around between 215 and 80 million years ago in the geological period known as the Late Triassic Period. To put that into perspective this animal was swimming in the world’s oceans before even the T-Rex was alive.

Other fossils that can be seen in this exhibit are those belonging to an Icthyosaur (Which translated literally means Fish Lizard!), opalised Belemnite fossils and also Ammonites.

Both Belemnites and Ammonites are classified as molluscs which means they had soft, segmented bodies covered by a shell, similarly to a squid or a snail.

What this exhibit shows us is that even millions and millions of years before the dinosaurs we know today there was still life teeming across Australia. I highly recommend visiting the South Australian Museum if you want to explore more on what used to live here in Adelaide. Some cool things you’ll see along the way are opalised fossils, a T-Rex skull and also a Hadrosaur Egg!

Hello, and welcome to the first blog post! Along the way there will be posts and pictures about dinosaurs and mega-fauna, but not just any. The dinosaurs of Adelaide.

Although I’m blogging as part of an assignment I’m going to be focusing on what interests me and hopefully by doing that I’ll be interesting you. This topic is something I know about, but what I don’t know as much about is prehistoric Adelaide. Let’s learn together.

I hope by making this blog I can reach out to others who have similar interests and would like to learn more about how the city of Adelaide has evolved through time.

Australia has become well known for it’s fossil sites, specifically in the Northern Territory and Queensland. But I want to look past icons in the world of palaeontology such as the Muttaburrasaurus. South Australia is famous for it’s opal fields and having them around has led to the discovery of magnificent aquatic fossils coated in opals.

I will be looking into prehistoric Adelaide, and also South Australia. To do this, I will use sources like the Adelaide Museum and also go on an excursion to Naracoorte.

I hope you enjoy the blog posts to come and will be looking forward to writing many more.