Richmond Marine Fossil Museum Displays

DISPLAYS

Richmond Marine Fossil Museum is a regional museum designed to display local fossils from the cretaceous inland sea. This sea entered Australia over 120 million years ago and fluctuated in
relation to global changes of sea level and local earth movements for nearly 25 million years. It reached its maximum
extent 112 million years ago.

Non-marine conditions took over 97.5 million years ago and continue to the present day except in the Gulf of Carpenteria. The fossils are remains of

animals and plants that lived and died in the sea. There are also fossilized remains of land animals and plants that were washed into the sea from the surrounding lands.

The Richmond Marine Fossil Museum is recognised as having the premier marine fossil display in Australia. Kronosaurus Korner displays murals painted on the walls above the appropriate fossils (see pic at left).

Study of these shows that most of the large animals are marine reptiles that are large fast swimmers. They evolved to catch and eat fish and other aquatic species.

Kronosaurus queenslandicus

The largest, Kronosaurus queenslandicus, was named from a fragment found near Hughenden. It was equipped to eat any moderate to large sized animal in the sea.

Pliosaurs and Plesiosaurs

The pliosaurs and plesiosaurs are both Sauropterygia. "Finned lizards" is a literal translation. Other Sauropterygia, tolerant of less than normal marine water, occupied the south of the inland sea. The NSW opalized pliosaur AEric@ is much less complete than Queensland's Richmond Pliosaur. It has a relatively smaller head and is little more than half the size of the Richmond Pliosaur.

Richmond’s Other Marine Fossils

Fish remains are numerous but, to date , they are incomplete. The "bony fish" Cooyoo is most frequent in fossil beds, although the armour-scaled Vinctifer, which has scales made of sheets of bone up to 2 mm thick in large specimens, is also well represented. It is a link to South American fauna. (Click of images below to learn more about each display).

The Minmi

The dinosaurs and fossil wood are both land-derived. The dinosaur Minmi is one of the oldest known ankylosaurs. This specimen died and dehydrated on land from where it was washed out to sea and then buried among marine fossils.
It is Australia's most nearly complete dinosaur at 80% complete.

Fish remains are numerous but, to date , they are incomplete. The "bony fish" Cooyoo is most frequent in fossil beds, although the armour-scaled Vinctifer, which has scales made of sheets of bone up to 2 mm thick in large specimens, is also well represented. It is a link to South American fauna.

Temporary Exhibitions

Because if its location, space and facilities, the Richmond Marine Fossil Museum also is utilised as a venue for photographic and art exhibitions. We will add notifications of these to this website as and when they occur.

Forthcoming Exhibitions

There are none at the moment ... we will add notification of these to this website as and when they occur.

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