Australian Museum Palaeontology Collection

Palaeontology is the study of fossils. Fossils are the remains or traces of prehistoric living things. Fossils are preserved in substances such as sediments, coal, tar, oil, amber or volcanic ash, or frozen in ice or naturally mummified.

Only a very small number of all the animals or plants that ever lived on the Earth are preserved as fossils. An even smaller number are found. Most have been destroyed by erosion or lie too deeply buried to be discovered.

However, fossils are found in quite large numbers, which indicates that an enormous number of plants and animals have lived on the Earth since life evolved more than 3500 million years ago.

The Australian Museum palaeontology collection contains some of the Museum's greatest treasures. One of the most spectacular is 'Eric' the opalised pliosaur from Coober Pedy. The collection also contains some of Australia's oldest mammal fossils, collected from the opal fields of Lightning Ridge in northern New South Wales.

About the collection

The fossil collections consist of specimens of fossil invertebrates, vertebrates and plants, most of which are Australian. There is also a wide selection of material from outside Australia.

Palaeontology collecting at the Australian Museum began in the 1800's and continues today. Occasionally, a spectacular display specimen or significant collection is acquired by the Museum through donation or purchase, but generally Museum palaeontologists gather specimens for their research out in the field.

The goal of Australian Museum palaeontologists is to increase knowledge of ancient animals and plants by collecting and studying their fossilised remains. New discoveries often cause existing specimens to be reassessed, which enhances our understanding of the evolution of life on Earth.

Robert Jones , Palaeontology
Last Updated: 21 October 2010

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13 comments

Quirkler
9.02 PM, 24 February 2011

I'm currently doing a school assignment on fossils; I need to find out the ages of certain fossils and I cannot find the said ages anywhere on the internet! Help is much appreciated :D

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openmindedpaleo
5.12 PM, 30 December 2010

I have been studying Paleontology for 2 years now because of finding over 3200 pieces myself. I have found somethnig that will change and add to the fossil record. I have found hair growing out of rocks, because of the process of diagenisis the bone has turned to a form of Igneous rock because of being buried in deep clay now eroding.I am having testing done to prove hair and could use some help. The rocks are precambrian and are from a creature alot bigger then what was previously said to have been here during these times. I asked a Museum curator to date them and he said to go collect coins. So I in deed have something here and am trying to have this area I have found, and have it protected and reseached for the future of Paleontology. If anyone is interested in sponsoring this project or can help id any of the pieces, let me know. verde33333@aol.com

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LilaRemington
8.12 PM, 13 December 2010

Elanor, While searching "palaeontology volunteer" on google, I stumbled upon this discussion. I could not help but notice that the museum is in need of volunteers to database the fossil collection. I am not currently studying science but to work as a volunteer with the Australian Museum, PARTICULARLY, in the fossil section would be a dream come true! I have always been fascinated by palaeontology and hope to eventually work in the field however at the moment I am I only working part time and have plenty of time to make myself useful in some way. Please get back to me about what is required to volunteer and how I can go about applying for a volunteer position ASAP.

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claudius06
3.09 PM, 29 September 2010

Elanor, I have an appreciation for all, but I would have to say i'm most fascinated by verts and inverts! Databasing sounds like a good place to start, I can't wait to help out regardless of the job description. Thanks for getting back to me so rapidly, I will surely email Yong Yi!

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Elanor McCaffery
9.09 AM, 29 September 2010

Hello Claudia,

I was really happy to read your comment, you sound just like me. Palaeontology really is amazing. Are you a vert, invert or plant person? Or maybe all of the above? :)

Currently the thing our department needs the most is databasing. It sounds boring, but you do get to play with fossils as you do it. Also there is a feeling of satisfaction knowing that you are helping our collection become more accessible to other researchers. So if you did volunteer that would probably be the thing you would be working on, but you never know.

I suggest that you contact Yong Yi (our collection manager) via email using the contact form under his profile. You can use the link I posted in my below message, or search for his name with the search box top right of the page.

I will tell him he should be expecting an email from you.

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claudius06
7.09 PM, 28 September 2010

Hi Elanor I am so thrilled to discover that the Australian Museum offers a volunteer program in the field of Paleontology! I’m currently a first year Earth and Environmental Science student at the University of New South Wales, looking to participate or volunteer in any way that I can to kick start what I hope to be an amazing career in the riveting world of Paleontology. . .and in no way am I exaggerating! I’ve wanted to study Paleontology for as long as I can remember, and a volunteer program at the Australian Museum sounds like an extraordinary experience. I would love the invaluable opportunity to work amongst other individuals in this field and learn from them what I can. If you could advise me about what volunteering programs are available, or where I can submit an application then that would be fantastic. Claudia

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Elanor McCaffery
10.08 AM, 03 August 2010

Hi Lovgaroug.

It's great to hear that you are interested in volunteering, and I am happy to see that you are doing your PhD in palaeontology, the world needs more palaeontologists! :)

Please use this link australianmuseum.net.au/staff/yong-yi-zhen/#staff-contact-form to email our Acting Collection Manager; Dr Zhen. If you tell him more about yourself there, then he can advise you about volunteering possibilities.

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Lovgaroug
1.08 AM, 03 August 2010

Dear Elanor McCaffery, Id like to know if the Museum will accept the candidacy of Foreing citizen to apply for the volunteering position. I' m PhD candidate from Madagascar and I'want to study the and know the museum collections of vertebrate ,especially the osteoderms.

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Elanor McCaffery
3.07 PM, 13 July 2010

@noisyoyster. Hi Noisy, I would love for that to happen too. The idea of being able to do a simple search to find specimen in the AM collection is what drove me to start volunteering at the museum last year. However, the collection is so large and old (well, all fossils are old, but you get my drift) that we are still working on getting the collection digitised.

@CW62442. Hi CW, I noticed your comment was all the way back in Janurary, so I'm not sure if this has been resolved yet. If it hasn't, you can email me through the website or reply here and I'll look into it for you.

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noisyoyster
6.06 PM, 16 June 2010

While collection descriptions or overviews are interesting, it would be more useful for researchers to be able to conduct a full search of the Paleontology collection in particular and the Australian Museum collection in general.

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CW62442
10.01 PM, 07 January 2010

I'm currently in year 12 and I do biology. I'm wondering if the Australian Museum has vertebrate forelimb bones or models available for lending for educational purposes? It would REALLY help with my HSC assessments. Thanks to anyone who may be able to help me.

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