Fossil Tomb in Australia
2007/01/30 Roa Zubia, Guillermo - Elhuyar Zientzia
The Nullabor plain, south of Australia, hides buried limestone caves. In ancient cycles, the entrances to these caves open and close, and when they are open they are usually a trap for the animals of the area. Many animals have fallen, stacked and fossilized
inside. Paleontologists discovered four years ago a treasure of these characteristics: in a cave were found dozens of fossils, including mammals, birds and reptiles. Many fossils belong to previously unknown species. The excavation began and the first results have now been published. Among other things, fossils of twenty-three species of kangaroos, eight totally unknown, and the entire skeleton of a marsupial lion have been extracted, which from the evolutionary point of view have brought new data, but instead of giving answers, they have generated new questions such as the disappearance of large animals: most of the large animals living in the plain disappeared 11,500 years ago, including the magic
lion. According to one theory, the disappearance is due to climate dryness, but the fossils of the caves of Nularde belong to animals well adapted to the dry climate. Therefore, paleontologists have questioned the theory. Perhaps the only explanation left is human influence.
Clay Bryce, Western Australian Museum
