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New Australian fossil lizard unearthed
A remote expedition to a large salt lake in South Australia has unearthed the fossils of a tiny new species of skink, pronounced Australia’s oldest at 25 million years old.
Researchers from The University of Western Australia, Flinders University and the South Australian Museum made the discovery in 2017 at a rich fossil site, seven hours drive north of Adelaide.
The new species, an ancestor of the bluetongue lizard, was unveiled today in Royal Society’s Open Scienceand officially named Proegernia mikebulli in honour of the late Flinders University lizard researcher Professor Mike Bull.
Named Mike, or
M
ikebulli, in honour of Flinders University lizard researcher Professor Mike Bull, the tiny skink is 25-million-years-old, making it the continent s oldest skink.
Professor Bull passed away in 2016, but not before inspiring generations of reptile scientists. Our colleague Professor Bull s long-term ecological studies of sleepy lizards were a massive contribution to biology, said Professor Mike Lee from Flinders University. The fossil record is essentially data from a long-term natural ecological study, so it s fitting that this fossil lizard is named in honour of Mike.
Palaeontologists and volunteers from Flinders University and the South Australian Museum focused on parts on the lake, seven hours drive north of Adelaide, where other fossils were previously unearthed. The area was once lush and green and is considered the continent s unique fauna cradle, particularly for its reptile diversity.
Swamp skink (
Lissolepis coventryi), which is probably the living lizard most similar to the new fossil. Photograph: Dr Mark Hutchinson/SA Museum / Flinders University
A tiny fossil pulled from the edge of a scorching salt lake in the South Australian outback is the oldest known remains of a skink ever found on the continent and may provide a vital clue to the lizard’s evolution.
The team of palaeontologists and volunteers from Flinders University and the South Australian Museum found the 25m-year-old specimen during an excavation in 2017.
The researchers found the fossil while digging in Lake Pinpa, a site on the 602,000 square hectare Frome Downs station about 600km north of Adelaide that is littered with remains of animals that lived a millennia ago.
Children and families hungry for arts experiences will be treated to a feast of entertainment and excitement at DreamBIG Children s Festival, which is today revealing its full family program for 2021.
In addition to a diverse offering for South Australian schools, the festival is hosting an assortment of thrilling and inspiring events available to the general public from May 19 to 29.
More than 300 artists will present hundreds of performances across the festival, with families invited to explore 14 shows, four online experiences and more than 20 free activities.
Within the family program, five productions will make their world debut in addition to 12 Adelaide premieres and the first Australian performances of Ecoute Pour Voir: Listen to See by SA s award-winning Restless Dance Theatre in collaboration with Canadian company Danse Carpe Diem.
First Nations culture is being honoured in outer space, with astronauts carrying a special handcrafted boomerang aboard the International Space Station.
Carved out of Western Myall wood by proud Kaurna and Narungga man, Jack Buckskin, the boomerang has been received by the crew of NASA s SpaceX Crew-1 mission.
Mr Buckskin has had his work showcased in different parts of the world, but said it was beyond words to have something he designed taken into space.
“I’ve been very lucky to have Aboriginal items, such as shields, in places around the world like Austria and India which I thought was an awesome experience, but to have something up in space which is untouched territory is beyond words,” said Mr Buckskin.