Fossils, Bones and Thrombollites

Australia contains loads of impressive fossils from ancient dinosaurs to Ice-Age marsupials. My trip to South-western Australia revealed some interesting finds.
Check these out:


1. The omnipresent limestone ridges and hills from Nambung to Perth and from Cape Naturaliste to Cape Augusta as well as in walpole and Albany are remains of marine sediments eroded over millions of years.





2.Ancient tree roots from the pinnacles, nambung national Park. These are remains of bushland flora that once grew over the limestone slabs before the rocks erode into present day monoliths.




3.Fossils of extinct marsupials exhibited in Mammoth Cave, south of Margaret River. The Mammoth Cave system is part of the 80km long limetone ridge stretching from Cape Naturaliste to Cape Augusta.





4.Known only from a handful of locations in the world, Thrombolite reefs (similar to Stromatolites) can be found on the Eastern Shore of Lake Cliffton south-west of Mandurah. These structures are covered with a slimy layer of microorganisms which deposit calcium carbonate particles and form the rounded structures. Soon, they will joint together to form a flat limestone platform. Thrombolites is one of the earliest organisms to appear on the surface of Earth. Some even said it contributes oxygen gas to the atmosphere and pave way from other organisms to develop.



5.Fossils of Bothriembryon sp. snails from rocks of the pinnacles in Nambung Dessert.

Living Fossils Down Under

A trip down South-Western Australia's coast reveals some amazing flora, fauna that belonged to a bygone era.








This corner of Australia has a hugely varied landscape ranging from the cool and wet Albany coast in the South (left) to the dry, sun-baked bushlands of Nambung in the North (far left).




Separated from the rest of the world some 60 million years ago, the Australian native wildlife have links to fossils dating back to ancient times.
Look around for these interesting flora:

Banksias Banksia petiolaris is a typical Western Australian bush tree with easily recognisable flower cones.







Red kangaroo paws Anigozanthos rufus is one of the many varieties of kangaroo paw plants found only in Western Australia.







Rock Sheoaks Allocasuarina huegeliana are tough plants that lives in semi-arid habitat around Wave Rock, Hyden.






Boab trees Adansonia gregori is a kind of tree from the dry Kimberly region of North-Western Australia. Another similar species can be found in the same habitat in Madagascar, evidence of an ancient link between both lands across the Indian Ocean.









Another iconic tree, the Red Tingle Eucalyptus jacksoni from Walpole is the second tallest tree in the world after the Californian Redwoods.






The fauna here is equally special:

Red Kangaroo Macropus rufus is a well-recognised mascot of Australia.







Smaller than their kangaroo relatives, Bennet's Wallaby Macropus rufogriseus are equally charismatic mammals.







Smaller still, Quokkas Setonix brachyurus,which once covers a wide range across South-Western Australia before the introduction of foriegn predators , is now restricted to Rottness Island off Perth.





A wild encounter with an echidna Tachyglossus aculeatus, a lesser known egg-laying mammal which is also the platypus' relative.







(Next post: Fossils, Bones and Thrombolites!)