Location of Riversleigh World Heritage Area in Queensland
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Riversleigh World Heritage Area (Australia)
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Riversleigh World Heritage Area is Australia's most famous fossil location, recognised for the series of well preserved fossils deposited from the Late Oligocene to more recent geological periods. The fossiliferous limestone system is located near the Gregory River in the north-west of Queensland, an environment that was once a very wet rainforest that became more arid as the Gondwanan land masses separated and the Australian continent moved north. The approximately 100 square kilometres (39 sq mi) area has fossil remains of ancient mammals, birds, and reptiles of the Oligocene and Miocene ages, many of which were discovered and are only known from the Riversleigh area; the species that have occurred there are known as the Riversleigh fauna.[1]
The fossils at Riversleigh are unusual because they are found in soft freshwater limestone which has not been compacted.[2] This means the animal remains retain their three-dimensional structure, rather than being partially crushed like in most fossil sites. The area is located within the catchment of the Gregory River.[3]
Many of the fossil sites were crevices and limestone caves created by the action of large amounts of water on the karst formation, creating pitfall traps and feeding spots for predators which periodically and perhaps suddenly became covered and preserved; these conditions are responsible for the large assemblages of fossilised bats whose guano helped to conserve the remains of themselves and others.
Fossils were first noted to exist in the area in 1901.[4] An initial exploration survey was conducted in 1963. Since 1976, the area has been the subject of systemic exploration.[4] The site was co-listed with the Naracoorte Caves National Park in South Australia as a World Heritage Site in 1994, and by itself, it is an extension of the Boodjamulla National Park.[5]
^Archer M; Hand, Suzanne J. & Godthelp H. [1991] 2000. Australia's lost world: Riversleigh, World Heritage Site. Reed, Sydney.
^Anna Salleh (16 February 2006). "Huge skulls clues to snake evolution". ABC Science. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 11 November 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
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^"Australian Fossil Mammal Sites (Riversleigh / Naracoorte)". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 10 May 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
and 29 Related for: Riversleigh World Heritage Area information
RiversleighWorldHeritageArea is Australia's most famous fossil location, recognised for the series of well preserved fossils deposited from the Late...
Riversleigh fauna is the collective term for any species of animal identified in fossil sites located in the RiversleighWorldHeritageArea. The presence...
(Thylacomyid) were later discovered by Travouillon et al., 2014 from RiversleighWorldHeritageArea, from middle Miocene fossil deposits (around 15 million years...
(Marsupialia, Peramelidae and Thylacomyidae) from the Miocene of the RiversleighWorldHeritageArea, northwestern Queensland, Australia". Journal of Vertebrate...
analysis of the fossil material of Nimbadon lavarackorum from the RiversleighWorldHeritageArea , interpreted as indicative of a high proportion of fruit in...
Travouillon, K. (2014). "Revision of basal macropodids from the RiversleighWorldHeritageArea with descriptions of new material of Ganguroo bilamina Cooke...
Australia. It is known from jawbones and partial skulls from the RiversleighWorldHeritageArea in Queensland, dated to between 18 to 12 million years ago...
(Marsupialia, Peramelidae and Thylacomyidae) from the Miocene of the RiversleighWorldHeritageArea, northwestern Queensland, Australia". Journal of Vertebrate...
in the Shire of Burke, Queensland, Australia. The RiversleighWorldHeritageArea is a WorldHeritage Site within the park. The park lies on the traditional...
investigating the RiversleighWorldHeritageArea, regarded as one of the four most important sites of fossil-bearing formations in the world. Amongst the...
unresponsive. The earliest fossils of this family are teeth from the RiversleighWorldHeritageArea, assigned to both extant genera (Acrobates and Distoechurus)...
16 December 2019. "Australian Fossil Mammal Sites (Riversleigh / Naracoorte)". UNESCO WorldHeritage Centre. Archived from the original on 10 May 2015...
(Marsupialia, Peramelidae and Thylacomyidae) from the Miocene of the RiversleighWorldHeritageArea, northwestern Queensland, Australia". Journal of Vertebrate...
(Marsupialia, Peramelidae and Thylacomyidae) from the Miocene of the RiversleighWorldHeritageArea, northwestern Queensland, Australia". Journal of Vertebrate...
in the RiversleighWorldHeritagearea, revealed both male and female specimens with very well preserved soft tissue. This set the Guinness World Record...
Australia. Its fossils have been found at the Ringtail Site in the RiversleighWorldHeritageArea (north-western Queensland) and date to the Miocene epoch. Additional...
one of the many new taxa of chiropterans discovered in the RiversleighWorldHeritageArea. The species existed during the Pliocene. The description of...
of the many new taxa of microchiropterans discovered in the RiversleighWorldHeritageArea. The description of Hipposideros bernardsigei was published...
Formation; this location is one of the numerous study sites at the RiversleighWorldHeritageArea. The specimens were discovered by two of the collaborating...
Australosuchus, not featuring any of the taxa present in areas such as the RiversleighWorldHeritageArea. One explanation suggests that Australosuchus was...
multiple other mekosuchines from the White Hunter Site of the RiversleighWorldHeritageArea, namely Baru wickeni, "Baru" huberi and Mekosuchus whitehunterensis...
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