Page 571 - Atlas of Creation Volume 1

Harun Yahya

FOSSIL SPECIMENS DISCOVERED IN AUSTRALIA

In Australia there are a large number of

fossil fields, some of which the United Nations
regards as historic preservation sites.
Australia and Antarctica are estimated to
have separated from the giant continent of

Gondwanaland some 40 to 30 million years ago.
The climatic changes that subsequently took
place over long periods of time are among the
events that led to such large numbers and

varieties of fossils in Australia. The many fossils
obtained from the island country's fossil fields
are important in our understanding of species
diversity. Riversleigh, Bluff Downs, Murgon,

Lightning Ridge and Naracoorte are some of the
best known of these fossil fields.
A wide range and large number of well-
preserved animals of the Cenozoic Era (65

million years to the present), from small frogs to
kangaroos, have been obtained from these fields. In addition to these, which provide important
information about the history of
vertebrates, fossils of marine life forms

dating back to the Paleozoic Era (543 to 251
million years ago) have also been
discovered.

The biology of Australia is distinctive. Big
reptiles and marsupials are common, whereas its
vegetation is characterized with plants with
thick and sticky leaves resistant to drought.

Windjana Gorge, with a geologic structure 350 million
years old, is located in North Australia. This structure that
once remained under an ocean contains many fossils from
the Devonian Period.

Adnan Oktar 569