Encouraging the study and protection of the natural environment

Western Australian vertebrate palaeontology has had a slow and bumpy ride from the first staggered descriptions in the early 1900s, to the world famous Nullarbor cave megafauna discoveries at the turn of the century. All these discoveries would not have been possible without members of the public pointing out ‘large bones’ or ‘giant footprints’ to museum or university scientists. The Swan Coastal Plain has several fossil deposits detailing the past faunal diversity of Perth and surrounds, stretching from Jurien Bay to Rottnest Island.
This talk will cover how the public can collect fossils responsibly (permits, safety etc.), where locals may find ‘subfossils’ in the Perth hills, some of the basics for identifying native animal bones, and where to send the ‘weird’ ones.