izak_ Posted August 29, 2019 Share Posted August 29, 2019 Recently I went to a property in NSW with hundreds of limestone caves after a member of our fossil club invited us on a trip there. I had never even considered going caving before, caves terrify me, but for fossils? Why not. The particular cave we went down was relatively easy, 11m straight down but there was a convenient tree limb above it. Not a fan of abseiling, but again, will do it for fossils. There are better caves in the area for fossils but didn't get around to going down them as we only had half a day, so maybe next time. Once at the bottom of the hole which was the opening, we went down into the actual cave. It was an amazing place; a lot of fantastic limestone formations in a small cavern with a number of other passages and holes we could go down. One of the places we found Pleistocene fossils was under the floor of the main cavern. A wide but shallow cavern was underneath that had bones cemented to the roof. Most had eroded out however. Another passage led down a couple of metres to a different fossil deposit which is where we collected from. A tight squeeze was needed to get through to the face of the deposit so its not a place for the claustrophobic. Heres a photo of that particular face, and some bones that had eroded out of it as well as modern animals that fall in much the same way as their Pleistocene predecessors. A layer of flowstone had formed over the face. The bones here were quite busted and fragmentary as many people had been in here before us and stood on them. I only collected teeth and jaws as they are much more interesting than fragmentary bones IMO. here are some of our finds: Macropus spp. . Vombatus sp. Lizard, perhaps a Tiliqua sp.? We also found a few other things which I will post after they're identified. Also, here is a paper with some more info on the area. And note that these were collected with permission. Thanks, 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted August 29, 2019 Share Posted August 29, 2019 What a great looking site. Thanks for posting! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted August 29, 2019 Share Posted August 29, 2019 Thanks for posting. Very interesting and adventurous. Are your finds fossil or recent? 1 Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 29, 2019 Share Posted August 29, 2019 3 minutes ago, Ludwigia said: Thanks for posting. Very interesting and adventurous. Are your finds fossil or recent? They're fossilised, Pleistocene based off the presence of species like Thylacoleo carnifex which were found by the authors of the paper I linked. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted August 29, 2019 Share Posted August 29, 2019 4 minutes ago, Foozil said: They're fossilised, Pleistocene based off the presence of species like Thylacoleo carnifex which were found by the authors of the paper I linked. Cool! Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smt126 Posted August 29, 2019 Share Posted August 29, 2019 What a cool site. I could literally hear myself saying the same things... For fossils sure thing 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted August 29, 2019 Share Posted August 29, 2019 Very nice! Thanks for showing this unique fossiling site. I'd love to collect a bucket or two of the matrix and wet sift it through a stack of graduated sieves. No telling what kinds of interesting micro-fossils might be hidden in there. Cheers. -Ken 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkdoctor Posted August 29, 2019 Share Posted August 29, 2019 Wow! What a unique collecting environment! Thanks for including site photos. @digit Running that material through a classifier stack would be fascinating! I'm guessing there would be mouse, frog, reptile material.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted August 29, 2019 Share Posted August 29, 2019 Awesome site! 1 “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoNoel Posted August 29, 2019 Share Posted August 29, 2019 That 's a super cool site! Looks like there's a huge concentration of bones there. Really nice jaws you found. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JarrodB Posted August 29, 2019 Share Posted August 29, 2019 Wow, thanks for sharing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 29, 2019 Share Posted August 29, 2019 Thanks all! 7 hours ago, digit said: Very nice! Thanks for showing this unique fossiling site. I'd love to collect a bucket or two of the matrix and wet sift it through a stack of graduated sieves. No telling what kinds of interesting micro-fossils might be hidden in there. Cheers. -Ken I thought the same, but didn't get around to doing so. Will try next trip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 (edited) A few more specimens. Aepyprymnus rufescens(?), the Rufous rat-kangaroo. I recommend looking this up, its adorable! Trichosurus vulpecula (Common Brushtail Possum) Edited August 30, 2019 by Foozil 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 2 hours ago, Foozil said: Aepyprymnus rufescens(?), the Rufous rat-kangaroo. I recommend looking this up, its adorable! Cute! Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calli99 Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 What amazing finds! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Posted August 31, 2019 Share Posted August 31, 2019 Cave etiquette is take only photos.. just sayin’ "Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe" - Saint Augustine"Those who can not see past their own nose deserve our pity more than anything else." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 31, 2019 Share Posted August 31, 2019 2 hours ago, Ash said: Cave etiquette is take only photos.. just sayin’ I would agree, but we only collected specimens that were under peoples feet, most loose things there had been crushed by people not interested in them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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