Antipodean plesiosaurs

Australia was once home to ancient reptiles that swam in huge icy lakes, fossil evidence suggests.

The large, carnivorous reptiles lived 115 million years ago, during the age of the dinosaurs, when much of the continent was covered in water.

Fossils of two new species of plesiosaur were discovered near Coober Pedy in South Australia.

From the BBC. The fossils are notable for something else, as well:

Some 30 fossils were discovered at an opal mine near the outback mining town of Coober Pedy.

They are made up of the mineral opal, which filled the spaces left by bones when the original fossil-bearing rock was dissolved away by acidic ground water.

I've seen a few other fossils in opal, and they can be spectacular. In this instance, however, I suspect the beauty of the opal will not be readily visible, since the fossils are unlikely to end up polished.

Posted by David on July 28, 2006 2:14 PM