Sunday, July 21, 2013

Australian builders unearth urban trove of 50 million year-old fossils

Australian builders doing roadworks have uncovered a rare urban trove of crocodile and other fossils thought to be around 50 million years old, officials said Tuesday. The fossils, trapped in a layer of oil shale, were found during excavation works near Brisbane’s Geebung railway station at a depth of about 15 metres (49 feet), according to city mayor Graham Quirk.

Illustration photo shows a 220-million-year-old amphibian fossil found in a quarry north of Sydney on February 14, 1997 via AFP


“The bones have been identified as from ancient crocodiles, as well as other significant material including fish, freshwater shells and plant impressions,” said Quirk. Geoscientists were called in to examine the find, which Queensland Museum chief executive Suzanne Miller described as “particularly significant”.

(Read the full story here)

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