From the 55 million-year-old clays there, palaeontologists have unearthed a range of precious fossils over several decades. These include the world’s oldest fossil songbirds, the only known fossils of salamanders in Australia and the oldest fossil marsupial remains in Australia
An artistic reconstruction of the period when mekosuchines existed. PIC COURTESY/University of New South Wales
In southeast Queensland, roughly 250 km from Brisbane, lies the tiny town of Murgon. Located on Wakka Wakka Country, it is home to about 2000 people, and one of the most important fossil sites in the world.
From the 55 million-year-old clays there, palaeontologists have unearthed a range of precious fossils over several decades. These include the world’s oldest fossil songbirds, the only known fossils of salamanders in Australia and the oldest fossil marsupial remains in Australia.
And the site continues to serve up ancient treasures. A new study reported the discovery of the oldest crocodilian eggshells ever found in Australia.
These eggshells now serve as the basis for a new eggshell type, Wakkaoolithus godthelpi. They belong to the oldest known member of a now extinct group of crocodiles known as mekosuchines; and they offer a new look into not just their evolution, but also the forest-lined wetlands they lived in.
Mekosuchines were Australia’s own unique, local branch of the crocodile family. They dominated inland waters of the continent 55 million years ago. They were part of the group of species that includes alligators, true crocodiles, gharials and caiman. But they represent a much older branch than the saltwater and freshwater crocs found in Australia today.
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