Riversleigh

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Australian Fossil Mammal Sites (Riversleigh/Naracoorte)*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
State Party Flag of Australia Australia
Type Natural
Criteria viii, ix
Reference 698
Region Asia-Pacific
Inscription history
Inscription 1994  (18th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List.
Region as classified by UNESCO.

Riversleigh, in North West Queensland, is one of Australia's most renowned fossil sites. The 100 km² area contains fossil remains of ancient mammals, birds and reptiles of Oligocene and Miocene age. The site was inscribed as a World Heritage site in 1994 and is an extension of the Lawn Hill National Park.

Fossils at Riversleigh are encased in limestone deposited by lime-rich freshwater pools, and in caves, at a time when the ecosystem was evolving from a rich rainforest to semi-arid grassland community. Thirty-five fossil bat species have been identified at the site, which is the richest in the world. The skull and nearly complete dentition of a fifteen million-year-old monotreme, Obdurodon dicksoni, provide a window into the evolution of this characteristically Australian group. Fossil ancestors of the recently extinct Thylacinus cynocephalus, the marsupial "Tasmanian Tiger", have also been identified among Riversleigh's fauna.

Contents

[edit] Creatures of Riversleigh

Mammals
Birds
Reptiles

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  • Archer, M. et al 1991. Riversleigh: the Story of Australia's Inland Rainforests, (Sydney: Reed Books).