Australian Fossil Mammal Sites (Riversleigh / Naracoorte)

World Heritage site in Australia

The Australian Fossil Mammal Sites is the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Queensland and South Australia.[1]

Australian Fossil Mammal Sites (Riversleigh / Naracoorte)
UNESCO World Heritage Site
LocationAustralia
CriteriaNatural: viii, ix
Reference698
Inscription1994 (18th Session)

The UNESCO listing is for two separate areas where fossils from the Cainozoic era have been found. Riversleigh, Queensland is in the north west corner of Queensland and Narcoorte South Australia is in the south east corner of South Australia. The Riversleigh site is part of the Lawn Hill National Park.

The sites are important for their extinct marsupials. The fossils show the evolution of mammals in Australia over the last 20 million years. The Naracoorte site is part of the Naracoorte Caves National Park. Its fossils show the way marsupials adapted to the great climate changes that have affected the world over the last 170,000 years.

change

References

change

Other websites

change
  • "Australian Fossil Mammal Sites (Riversleigh / Naracoorte) - UNESCO World Heritage Centre". whc.unesco.org. 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2012.