Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2008 13:28:29 GMT 10
Tiger fossil site rewrites megafauna history
Tuesday, 28 August 2001 Danny Kingsley
www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2001/08/28/353703.htm
Dead for how long? The Diprotodon fossils found at the same site as the Tasmanian Tiger may be younger than any previously found.
The South Australian site where a fossilised Tasmanian Tiger has just been discovered has also produced other surprising finds, which question how long megafauna existed in Australia.
The Tiger skeleton was unearthed in the same place that two partial Diprotodon skeletons were found earlier this year. Preliminary dating of the Diprotodon bones puts them at 20,000 years old - questioning the theory that the megafauna died out more than 40,000 years ago.
"This will change the whole way we look at the megafauna issue," said Mr Robert Heading, an amateur palaeontologist who found the first Diprotodon in March this year.
Upon making the find, Mr Heading, who has been fossil hunting in northern South Australia for 11 years, alerted a team from Flinders University, headed by Associate Professor of Biology Rod Wells.
When the Flinders team came to help excavate the remains, they found a second Diprotodon skeleton underneath.
The researchers found the Tasmanian Tiger (or Thylacine) later, when Mr Heading was showing one of Professor Wells's research students around the site. The student noticed that some exposed bone fragments looked like a dog skull, and Professor Wells later confirmed they came from a Tasmanian Tiger.
The significance of the find lies in the relative positions of the three skeletons in relation to each other. All were uncovered with the bones still articulated, implying that they died where they now lie.
The Diprotodons were found close to the surface, with the Thylacine buried much deeper.
"The Thylacine is fifteen to twenty feet down," Mr Heading said. It is estimated to be 33,000 years old, with the Diprotodons dated at approximately 20,000 years old.
Conventional thinking is the Diprotodon lived between 60,000 and 40,000 years ago.
According to a spokesperson from National Parks and Wildlife South Australia, the state's Minister for Environment and Heritage, Iain Evans, has agreed the area will be dedicated as a conservation park. This should be in place within two months ... snip ....
Tuesday, 28 August 2001 Danny Kingsley
www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2001/08/28/353703.htm
Dead for how long? The Diprotodon fossils found at the same site as the Tasmanian Tiger may be younger than any previously found.
The South Australian site where a fossilised Tasmanian Tiger has just been discovered has also produced other surprising finds, which question how long megafauna existed in Australia.
The Tiger skeleton was unearthed in the same place that two partial Diprotodon skeletons were found earlier this year. Preliminary dating of the Diprotodon bones puts them at 20,000 years old - questioning the theory that the megafauna died out more than 40,000 years ago.
"This will change the whole way we look at the megafauna issue," said Mr Robert Heading, an amateur palaeontologist who found the first Diprotodon in March this year.
Upon making the find, Mr Heading, who has been fossil hunting in northern South Australia for 11 years, alerted a team from Flinders University, headed by Associate Professor of Biology Rod Wells.
When the Flinders team came to help excavate the remains, they found a second Diprotodon skeleton underneath.
The researchers found the Tasmanian Tiger (or Thylacine) later, when Mr Heading was showing one of Professor Wells's research students around the site. The student noticed that some exposed bone fragments looked like a dog skull, and Professor Wells later confirmed they came from a Tasmanian Tiger.
The significance of the find lies in the relative positions of the three skeletons in relation to each other. All were uncovered with the bones still articulated, implying that they died where they now lie.
The Diprotodons were found close to the surface, with the Thylacine buried much deeper.
"The Thylacine is fifteen to twenty feet down," Mr Heading said. It is estimated to be 33,000 years old, with the Diprotodons dated at approximately 20,000 years old.
Conventional thinking is the Diprotodon lived between 60,000 and 40,000 years ago.
According to a spokesperson from National Parks and Wildlife South Australia, the state's Minister for Environment and Heritage, Iain Evans, has agreed the area will be dedicated as a conservation park. This should be in place within two months ... snip ....
