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!)

Zhangjiajie - A Molluscan Wonderland

Baofeng Lake with limestone hills at the backdrop (left).

Lesser known than Guilin karsts in Guangxi, China's geological wonder of Zhangjiajie is equally beautiful and amazing. This karstic area located at the northwest corner of Hunan Province has breathtaking views of natural sandstone pillars and towering limestone hills.








The quartz sandstone towers of Tianzhi Mountain (Tianzhishan) are remains of a thick ancient seabed eroded by the elements over millions of years (left)

The presence of limestone means there are plenty of molluscs here. However, after some attempts to find them, I can only identify two species.







Bradybaena ravida ravidella (Mollendorff 1899)
from a vegetable farm in a village on Tianzhishan (the two above) and Aegista subchinensis (Mollendorff 1884)? from a limestone hill near Baofeng Lake (below two)

Perhaps what's the most surprising is that there are fossils on the limestone tiles used to build the pavement across all tourist attractions in the area!
Ammonite!











Intact belemnites! These are very common here. I found dozens of them along the pathways.









A polished trilocinoceras without any broken parts! Another common find here.









Fossils are very common here indeed. Most tourists also do not notice these treasures under their feet.

Zhangjiajie truly is an undiscovered molluscan treasure chest. It's worth exploring around. It is only more appropriate that it is a 5 star World Heritage Area and UNESCO Geopark. 

SELAMAT DATANG

Welcome to my weblog on explorations into the awe-inspiring biodiversity of molluscs (snails and clams in particular) and many other creatures inhabiting the tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia and Malaysia in particular as well as the varied environments around this biodiverse region. Paleontology, geology and many other fields of my interests are also shared with equal dash of enthusiasm. Happy viewing!

Last updated: 14 January 2012