Fossils of Queensland's past

Fossil Icons from Queensland Museum Collection

Queensland Museum Network’s collection was established over 160 years ago and is managed, curated, researched and conserved on behalf of the people of Queensland. The fossil collection is one of the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, and contains everything from microscopic fossil pollen to enormous dinosaurs. Fossils in the collection tell stories about the deep history of Queensland, and also the larger saga of life on Earth. Here are twelve highlights from the collection.

Isisfordia duncani
The fossil remains of Isisfordia duncani are beautifully preserved, with almost every bone present and in their original position. Isisfordia duncani is one of the oldest crocodiles known from Australia, but some features of the anatomy are surprisingly modern-looking, suggesting Isisfordia duncani may be a close relative of all living crocodiles. It was found near the town of Isisford in western Queensland.

Richmond polycotylid
Some of our most important specimens are still waiting to be formally named. The Richmond polycotylid is a medium-sized plesiosaur with a relatively large head and long, slender jaws. It is the most complete fossil of a plesiosaur found in Australia, only missing a few bones from one paddle. Polycotylid fossils have been found around the world in marine rocks from the Cretaceous period, and the Richmond polycotylid is one of the oldest members of this group. It was found near the town of Richmond in north Queensland, in rocks that date to 100-113 million years ago (Lower Cretaceous period).

Kronosaurus queenslandicus
Kronosaurus queenslandicus was a fierce predator—an enormous pliosaur with a massive head and a short-neck. It was a marine reptile distantly related to the long-necked plesiosaurs. The jaws contain rows of large conical teeth, the biggest of which were nearly 30 centimetres in length. Fossil remains of other animals have been found as stomach contents in Kronosaurus, which indicate that it fed on turtles, other smaller marine reptiles, fishes and sharks.

Eromangasaurus australis
Eromangasaurus australis is an elasmosaur, a type of plesiosaur with an extremely long, slender neck. Some elasmosaurs had more than 70 vertebrae in their necks, more than any other type of animal. This plesiosaur is known from a single skull and a small number of associated neck vertebrae. This skull is crushed but is complete, with the lower jaw still in place. It is currently the only complete elasmosaur skull from Australia. Teeth marks on the skull are thought to be evidence of an attack by a large predator, possibly a Kronosaurus. Eromangasaurus was found near Maxwelton in north Queensland.

Muttaburrasaurus langdoni
Muttaburrasaurus langdoni is an ornithopod dinosaur. This group also includes famous dinosaurs such as the Iguanodon and Parasaurolophus. Muttaburrasaurus differed from other ornithopods by having an inflated, bulbous snout and a powerful bite with specialised shearing teeth. This was the first Australian dinosaur whose fossil remains were complete enough to allow the mounting of its skeleton in a museum display. Casts of the skeleton of Muttaburrasaurus can be seen in museums around Australia. The first fossils of Muttaburrasaurus were found near the town of Muttaburra in central Queensland, in rocks that formed on the bottom of an inland sea about 100 million years ago (Lower Cretaceous period).

Rhoetosaurus brownei
Rhoetosaurus brownei is a medium-sized sauropod dinosaur and is the only dinosaur skeleton known from the Jurassic period in Australia. Like other sauropods, Rhoetosaurus had a long neck that allowed it to browse vegetation that was beyond the reach of most other herbivores. It has some features that are shared with some of the earliest sauropods known elsewhere in the world. For example, the skeleton shows that it had four claws on the hind foot, while later sauropods had only three. The partial skeleton of Rhoetosaurus was found near Roma in southern Queensland, and is about 163 million years old (Upper Jurassic period).

Siderops kehli
Siderops kehli was more than three metres long with a massive head and huge jaws bristling with teeth. It was an ambush predator that looked like a snub-nosed crocodile, but was actually a type of amphibian. The skeleton is nearly complete and is one of the few vertebrates known from the Jurassic period in Australia. At the time of its discovery, it was the youngest member of its lineage, the temnospondyls, which were previously thought to have died out much earlier. More recent discoveries from Victoria show that temnospondyls survived much longer in Australia than in other parts of the world. Siderops kehli was found near Wandoan in south eastern Queensland, and is about 177 million years old (Lower Jurassic period).

Ridersia watsonae
Ridersia watsonae is a stalked echinoderm (relative of starfish and sea cucumbers) that lived in shallow seas that covered north western Queensland during the latter part of the Cambrian period (about 489-497 million years ago). It is amongst the earliest known sea lily-like animals. The body of this animal consists of a complex multi-plated skeleton, like a modern sea star. Ridersia provides a unique insight into the early evolution of the echinoderms, at a time when many groups of animals were evolving rapidly and experimenting with new body types.