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Stage One - Formation of the cave and sink hole, and the first fossils are created.
Stage Two - Many more fossils are created. Eventually the sink hole fills with accumulated sediments, and a water filled depression covers the former pit trap.
Stage Three - The Pit Trap Reopens.
Stage Four - The Present Day
1 The Great Rainbow Serpent
Wonambi naracoortensis
Wonambi naracoortensis was a large boid like snake that grew to a length of 5 metres. This snake killed by wrapping its body around the prey and slowly tightening the coils until the animal suffocated. The dead prey could then be swallowed whole.
The Boidae are a family of non-venomous snakes found in America, Africa, Europe, Asia and some Pacific Islands. Relatively primitive snakes, adults are medium to large in size, with females usually larger than the males. The name is derived from the Latin term bos, meaning "cow", and is based on an old myth that boas pursue cows and suckle them until they are drained to death. Two subfamilies comprising eight genera and 43 species are currently recognized.
2 The Lace Monitor
Varanus varius
Varanus varius is also known as the Lace Monitor or Common Goanna. It is a large, mostly arboreal lizard that can grow up to two metres in length. Its diet consists of insects, reptiles, small mammals, nesting birds and sometimes carrion.
| Insectivore/Carnivore (on display) | |
|---|---|
| Tasmanian Tiger | terrestrial |
| Marsupial Lion | terrestrial |
| Giant Echidna | terrestrial |
| Large Pythonoid Snake | terrestrial |
| Lace Monitor (Common Goanna) | terrestrial |
| Western Barred Bandicoot | terrestrial |
| Red Bellied Black Snake | terrestrial |
| Barn Owl | arboreal |
| Bent Winged Bat | arboreal |
| Herbivore/Omnivore (on display) | |
|---|---|
| Browsing Kangaroo | terrestrial |
| Hippopotamus-like Marsupial | terrestrial |
| Tapir-like Marsupial | terrestrial |
| Elephant-like Marsupial | terrestrial |
| Giant Leaf Eating Kangaroo | terrestrial |
| Red Necked Wallaby | terrestrial |
| Giant Koala | arboreal |
A recreation of the Marsupial Lion, Thylacoleo carnifex, at the Naracoorte Caves display.
Display: Naracoorte Caves, South Australia
Photo: Don Hitchcock 2009
This poster shows the processes involved from discovery of a fossil to its presentation as a model in a diorama.
After gently brushing away the sediment the position of each fossil bone is carefully recorded before removal.
The fossils are removed to a laboratory for further treatment and analysis.
Once the bones have been identified and associations determined, scientists can begin to reconstruct the skeletons.
The muscles are reconstructed on the assembled skeleton.
Once the musculature is complete, skin, fur, eyes and ears can be added.
A recreation of an exploratory dig at Victoria Fossil Caves.
Display: Naracoorte Caves, South Australia
Photo: Don Hitchcock 2009
Goannas are good climbers, and were able to enter and leave the cave at will. They were scavengers, cleaning up animals which had fallen in to the pit trap and died. The caves would have been a good source of food for them, rather like a fast food restaurant.
Display: Naracoorte Caves, South Australia
Photo: Don Hitchcock 2009
Skull and jaw of the extinct Short Faced Kangaroo, Simosthenurus occidentalis. After surviving the fall into the cave, it has crawled off and perished.
Simosthenurus occidentalis weighed over 118 kilograms (Helgen, 2006).
Display: Naracoorte Caves, South Australia
Source: Probably a facsimile
Photo: Don Hitchcock 2009
Short Faced Kangaroo
Display: Naracoorte Caves, South Australia
Photo: Don Hitchcock 2009
Palorchestes azael was almost as large as a horse, being around 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) in length. It was a herbivorous animal, with four powerful legs. The appearance of the animal's nasal bones suggests that it possessed a short proboscis, leading to the nickname of the "marsupial tapir". Since it is unrelated to tapirs, this similarity in nose shape is an example of convergent evolution. Palorchestes front legs bore large claws, similar to those of a koala, which it probably used to pull down leaves and strip the bark from trees. (Palmer, 2006)
The tongue of Palorchestes azael was long and ribbon-like.
(Note that the model in the display was very much smaller than that described above. I find the fur on the model to be more like that of a feline than what would be normal for an animal the size of a horse. - Don)
Display: Naracoorte Caves, South Australia
Text:Adapted from Wikipedia and Palmer (2006)
Photo: Don Hitchcock 2009
Common Barn Owl - Tyto alba
Owls swallow their food whole, and regurgitate what is not nutritious in the form of "owl pellets". Bones in these pellets contribute to the fossils found in the cave.
Display: Naracoorte Caves, South Australia
Photo: Don Hitchcock 2009
Wonambi naracoortensis - a five to six metre long snake.
Wonambi seems to have been an ambush predator. Rather than using venom, the animal would kill its prey by constriction. The head of the animal was small, restricting the size of its prey.
(Note: Try as I might, I could not get a photo of the snake's head! - Don)
Display: Naracoorte Caves, South Australia
Text: Wikipedia
Photo: Don Hitchcock 2009
Reconstruction of the skull of Wonambi naracoortensis Smith, 1976.
a, Dorsal, b, palatal and c, lateral views. Small outline drawings indicate parts known in W. naracoortensis (stipple) and in W. barriei (cross-hatching). Scale bar, 30 mm (based on the largest known individual at type locality, FU1762). bo, basioccipitial; ec, ectopterygoid; cor, coronoid; de, dentary; fr, frontal; ju, jugal; max, maxilla; na, nasal; op, opisthotic; pal, palatine; pa, parietal; pm, premaxilla; prf, prefrontal; pob, postorbital; pof, postfrontal; pro, prootic; pt, pterygoid; qa, quadrate; sm, septomaxilla; so, supraoccipital; sph, sphenoid; sur, surangular; sut, supratemporal; vo, vomer.
Despite its recent age, which could have overlapped
with human history in Australia, Wonambi is one of the most
primitive snakes known - as basal as the Cretaceous forms
Pachyrhachis and Dinilysia. None of these three primitive
snake lineages shows features associated with burrowing, nor do
any of the nearest lizard relatives of snakes (varanoids). These
phylogenetic conclusions contradict the widely held 'subterranean'
theory of snake origins, and instead imply that burrowing
snakes (scolecophidians and anilioids) acquired their fossorial
adaptations after the evolution of the snake body form and
jaw apparatus in a large aquatic or (surface-active) terrestrial
ancestor. (Scanlon, 2000)
Scavengers such as the Tasmanian Devil shown here seize their chance for an easy meal on a short-faced kangaroo, a pitfall victim.
The Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is a carnivorous marsupial now found in the wild only in the Australian island state of Tasmania. The Tasmanian Devil is the only extant member of the genus Sarcophilus. The size of a small dog, but stocky and muscular, the Tasmanian Devil is now the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world after the extinction of the Thylacine in 1936. It is characterised by its black fur, offensive odor when stressed, extremely loud and disturbing screech, and ferocity when feeding. It is known to both hunt prey and scavenge carrion and although it is usually solitary, it sometimes eats with other devils.
The Tasmanian Devil became locally extinct (extirpated) on the Australian mainland about 400 years before European settlement in 1788. Because they were seen as a threat to livestock in Tasmania, devils were hunted until 1941, when they became officially protected. Since the late 1990s devil facial tumour disease has reduced the devil population significantly and now threatens the survival of the species, which in May 2009 was declared to be endangered. Programs are currently being undertaken by the Tasmanian government to reduce the impact of the disease.
Display: Naracoorte Caves, South Australia
Text: Wikipedia
Photo: Don Hitchcock 2009
This horizontal gap, apparently narrower than the human body, was the original entry point for the cavers who first found and explored the cave system. You would have to be immune to claustrophobia to be a caver, I think!
Photo: Don Hitchcock 2009
When it was realised what potential the caves had for tourists, a new opening to the cave system was dug. The original entry for the public was down this very steep wooden staircase.
Photo: Don Hitchcock 2009
Calcite layers in the Victoria Fossil Caves
Photo: Don Hitchcock 2009
Looking like a large jewel, this slice of a stalagmite is both beautiful and instructive. Stalagmites grow from the floor of the cave, stalactites from the roof, so the youngest part of the stalagmite is at the top. This part of the slice took more than 200 000 years to form.
The text that goes with the display reads:
Longitudinal slice through the centre of Stalagmite SCC-2.
This specimen is part of a group of three stalagmites found broken on the floor in Starburst Chamber, Victoria Fossil Cave. They were collected for dating and palaeoclimatic work.
SCC-2 is a 1.5m tall uniform diameter stalagmite broken in 3 separate sections. The slice presented here comes from the middle section of the specimen.
Stalagmites grow by the successive accumulation of discrete layers of calcium carbonate deposited on top of each other. In the specimen, the growth layers are visible as inverted cup shaped light and dark bands. The orange colouration of the specimen comes from the inclusion of soil organic matter in the calcium carbonate. The organic matter is present in the drip water feeding the stalagmite, and is trapped in the clacite as it is precipitated. Darker layers contain more organic matter.
Age of the Specimen
There are two distinct growth phases in the specimen. The break in deposition is visible in the bottom section of the slice as a distinct lateral shift in growth layers. The fractured surface at the base of the specimen (5 mm thick slice) was found to be beyond the range of the Uranium/Thorium dating method, indicating that the base of the specimen is older than 500 000 years. The layer immediately above the break in deposition (hiatus) was dated at 282 477 ± 8 962 years.
The very thin surface between the older core and younger growth therefore represents a break in deposition of over 220 000 years. The top fractured surface of the slice was dated at 290 567 ± 7884 years. Although this age appears older than the base, the ages are well within the error of each other, indicating that the growth of the specimen over this interval was much faster than can be resolved by dating methods. The very top section of SCC-2 (not presented here, 50 cm above the top of the slice) was dated at 277 263 ± 10 542 years.
Display: Naracoorte Caves, South Australia
Photo: Don Hitchcock 2009
The steady accumulation of dunes, the changing climate and local conditions, and the advance and retreat of the sea during glacials and interglacials to the present day.
Display: Naracoorte Caves, South Australia
Photo: Don Hitchcock 2009
A map of the dunes in the Naracoorte area.
Display: Naracoorte Caves, South Australia
Photo: Don Hitchcock 2009
Temperatures have varied greatly over millions of years, as the glaciers advanced and retreated in the Northern Hemisphere, and in parts of South America and Australia.
Display: Naracoorte Caves, South Australia
Photo: Don Hitchcock 2009
Floor showing fossils in the Victoria Fossil Caves
Source: Originals
Photo: Don Hitchcock 2009
Marsupial Lion.
Display: Naracoorte Caves, South Australia
Source: Facsimile
Photo: Don Hitchcock 2009
This photo (right) gives a good idea of the relationship between the jaw of a marsupial lion as compared to the size of a human hand. It would not have been a good idea to be as up close and personal as this, trying to do a "Tarzan" impression, holding open the lion's jaw with your bare hands, as I remember from the logo (left) for the Australian glue, Tarzan's Grip!
It is close up photos like this that bring home how much facsimiles have improved over the years. The wealth of fine detail, and the superb colouring of modern museum quality facsimiles are a credit to the artisans responsible.
Display: Naracoorte Caves, South Australia
Source: Facsimile
Photo: Jaw: Don Hitchcock 2009, Tarzan's Grip button: http://scoop.diamondgalleries.com
This hole was drilled in the roof to allow concrete to be pumped in in order to seal the floor in the Victoria Fossil Caves.
Photo: Don Hitchcock 2009
Exit from the Victoria Fossil Caves
Photo: Don Hitchcock 2009
Diprotodon sculpture in the gardens of the Naracoorte Caves.
Perhaps the sculptor had a good reason for showing the diprotodon with a wooly coat, but I can't help feeling that a hairy coat like a horse or a cow or a kangaroo would be more likely.
Display: Naracoorte Caves, South Australia
Photo: Don Hitchcock 2009
An astonishing collection of fossil animals from southern Australia is reported by scientists.
The creatures were found in limestone caves under Nullarbor Plain and date from about 400 000-800 000 years ago.
The palaeontological "treasure trove" includes 23 kangaroo species, eight of which are entirely new to science.
Researchers tell Nature magazine that the caves also yielded a complete specimen of Thylacoleo carnifex, an extinct marsupial lion.
It appears the unsuspecting creatures fell to their deaths through pipes in the dusty plain surface that periodically opened and closed over millennia.
Most of the animals were killed instantly but others initially survived the 20m drop only to crawl off into rock piles to die from their injuries or from thirst and starvation.
The preservation of many of the specimens was remarkable, said the Nature paper's lead author, Dr Gavin Prideaux.
"To drop down into these caves and see the Thylacoleo lying there just as it had died really took my breath away," the Western Australian Museum researcher told the BBC's Science In Action Programme.
"Sitting in the darkness next to this skeleton, you really got the sense of the animal collapsing in a heap and taking its last breath. It was quite poignant.
"Everywhere we looked around the boulder piles, we found more and more skeletons of a very wide array of creatures."
In total, 69 vertebrate species have been identified in three chambers the scientists now call the Thylacoleo Caves.
These include mammals, birds and reptiles. The kangaroos range from rat-sized animals to 3m (nearly 10ft) giants.
Photo and text adapted from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6296029.stm
The Marsupial Lion (Thylacoleo carnifex, the "murderous (or 'meat-cutting') marsupial lion" from thylakos - pouch, leo - lion, carnifex - murderer, tormentor, 'butcher') is an extinct species of carnivorous marsupial mammal that lived in Australia from the early to the late Pleistocene (1 600 000 – 46 000 years ago). Despite its name it is not closely related to the Lion, but is a member of the order Diprotodontia.
Text: Wikipedia
Display: Flinders Chase National Park, Kangaroo Island
Source: Facsimile.
Photo: Don Hitchcock 2009