Australia has been undergoing numerous changes over millions of years, but none so spectacular as those it experienced during the long reign of the dinosaurs. The country was not always known for being a major dinosaur hotspot, but recent findings have unearthed a vast number from all corners of the country. From gargantuan long-necked behemoths to small, fluffy forest-dwellers and some speedy predators in between, the dinosaur fauna of the continent has always been surprising, turning preexisting paleontological theories on their head many times over. Despite this though, many of the dinosaurs still remain nameless.
One particular surprise was the so-called Lightning Claw, widely popularized as Australia’s biggest dinosaur predator. The fossils were acquired in 2005 from the small town of Lightning Ridge. The bones were found in an opal mine, a rather common occurrence, and the remains had also been turned into opal. While the animal’s remains are incomplete, they correspond to a creature possibly 7 meters long. This is hardly a giant in comparison to some of the real heavyweight carnivores of the dinosaur world but is still big enough to make it famous. The Lightning Claw was probably slender and graceful, using both the claws on its hands, plus its slicing teeth, to render its prey helpless. Another surprise was the discovery of a few vertebrae from a fish-eating spinosaur. It was an animal related to the famous Baryonyx from England. Both of these were large predators, although the lack of a name makes for a frustrating turn of affairs.
Among the earliest dinosaur fossils to be found were discovered in a location in the Cape Otway area in Victoria, in the nation’s southern frontier. In 1903, a geologist named William Hamilton Ferguson discovered the country’s first dinosaur bone, a toe claw, at a location known as Eagle’s Nest, somewhat west of Inverloch. This of course created a sudden surge in interest, as many more museums and volunteers set out to the same location to unearth more remains. By 1978, Rob Glenie and a small team of fellow volunteers explored the area and subsequent expeditions uncovered even more complete, and much better fossil remains. Very soon this site was known as Dinosaur Cove and it was titled one of the richest Australian bonebeds.
There is a number of separate formations here, including Dinosaur Cove East, Dinosaur Cove West and Slippery Rocks. These rocks are around 106 million years old and correspond to the Early Cretaceous. Around nine to thirteen million years older are the rocks at Strzelecki, a markedly similar dinosaur site, and from roughly the same area. Both of these sites have revealed a very unique and seasonal environment in which we do not typically picture dinosaurs. Here, we had both temperate floodplains and so-called polar forests. It is at Strzelecki that we see the best plant fossils, including ferns, cycads, araucaria and ginkgos. Even insects, mammals and fish have been found here, thus providing a nearly complete look at the contemporary ecosystem.
