Museums Victoria is calling on Victorians to select an official fossil emblem for the State, with voting open on eight locally discovered fossils.
In a statement, Museums Victoria said the eight fossil specimens had been shortlisted by its palaeontologists and would be on display in 600 Million Years in Melbourne Museum’s Science & Life Gallery when it reopened.
“There are currently six official State emblems of Victoria: Leadbeater’s Possum, the Helmeted Honeyeater, the Common Seadragon, Common Heath, our State mineral, gold and our State tartan, but no fossil emblem,” Museums Victoria said.
“Stemming from the Latin word fossus, which means ‘dug up’, a fossil is the remains of a past organism – such as a plant or a land or sea animal – preserved in rock, soil or amber,” it said.
“The shortlisted fossil candidates have been found, or would have lived, in a wide range of regions across the State and encompass a rich spread of organism types from plants, sea animals and land animals.”
Museums Victoria said the eight fossil candidates included a small 470-million-year-old marine invertebrate; a 400-million-year-old plant; a tiny shrew-like mammal; a car-sized Cretaceous amphibian resembling a mix between a newt and a crocodile; a small but fierce whale; a toothed ocean-going bird; an unusual marsupial heavier than a buffalo; and a small herbivorous polar dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous period.
The Agency said the State would join a growing list of Australian jurisdictions to adopt a fossil emblem, including NSW, Devonian fish Mandageria fairfaxi; South Australia, Spriggina floundersi; Western Australia, Gogo fish Mcnamaraspis kaprios; and the ACT, which recently announced intent to officially instate the trilobite Batocara mitchelli as its fossil emblem.
It said voting was open until 4 October.
Further information on the fossil emblem candidates, including how to vote, can be accessed at this PS News link.
