Richmond - Monday 04/10/2010

We had a fascinating day today - after our rest day yesterday! We decided to get ourselves out of bed early for a change - early for us anyway!
We arose 6:30 to go fossil fossicking. The fossicking field is only a few kilometres out of town - in an area especially prepared for fossickers by the Richmond Council. Just a couple of interesting things we found out ....
Several millions years ago, Australia (then part of Gondwanaland) was flooded several times. An inland sea stretched from what is now the Gulf of Carpentaria through the centre of Qld to and through South Australia. In the Richmond area the sea was 60 metres deep. When the last flooding receded it left behind  the sea life that could not escape. These fossils are encased in sediment that in places is only a few centimetres deep.
We did not realise how fascinating this fossil jazz could be - take that funny look off your face, you lot. Don't knock it if you haven't tried it. While we were fossicking we also found some timber for me to use for woodturning at a later date - stay tuned for that.

The area in Richmond where the fossils are is called "Todebuc formation - Richmond Qld.,late Albion stage - Cretaceous Period - age of fossils 80 - 110 million years old". So there ya go.....a heap of old bones.
And now for some photos........

This is part of the fossicking site - most of the area has been pre-fossicked (?) and the council is now using it for road base. There is still a lot of fossils in the mounds - but it is mainly small shells - interesting but not important to palaeontologists. And now for some of our finds-----

This is 'disarticularted bone, scales and some vertebrae' - to you non-scientific types (and us) are bits of fossilised fish!

and so is this....

This is part of a bi-valve shell....

and this is an Inoceramus Shell....

and the dark bit is a piece of fish scale.....as well as moccella shell...

this a piece of fish jaw...

and this is our best bit - a piece of fossilised tree.

those dinosaurs will eat anything!

Val, Val, VAL, where are you........

yep you are correct this is a 'iamstuckhereasorus'

and these are some old bones.......

this is what it looked like with its skin on.

and the yanks stole this from Oz - found at Richmond.

This thing had a neck 8 metres long. little head, lots of little sharp teeth

fish tooth.....

Fore runner to our crocs - about the same size.

Squids millions of years ago were HUGE

"Stone" fish - ha ha ha . Not really - just a fossilised fish.

Almost complete......if you didn't know and you saw it in pieces it just looks like rocks.

Moon rocks

sort of like a nautilus shell.

The fossil museum is regarded as the best of its type in Australia and among the best in the world.

and to finish for today......we made another friend....Murphy......

part Wolfhound part Mastiff. Has huge feet - he is knee high and is only 16 weeks old!