TAG 166 - Geological Society of Australia

Special Report 1Outback Outreach —Australia’s dinosaur trailEducators tell us that children respond positively to dinosaursand volcanoes and Hollywood has long exploited emotivereactions to both. Consider the films Dante’s Peak, Volcanoand Jurassic Park or stories and mythology surrounding the TyrantLizard King (Tyrannosaurus rex). Tyrannosaurus rex elicits fear in theminds of children, as Hollywood made humans an enticing snack forthe ‘flesh-eating’ dinosaur (even though we existed in different timeperiods). The first partial skeleton was found by Barnum Brown in1902 — at the time T. rex was considered the biggest known meateatingdinosaur. Has Hollywood just had more time to develop storylines that pervade most western media or is it a northernhemisphere-centric influence?My own search for dinosaurs introduced me to other largereptiles from the Mesozoic and led me to ask why has T. rex becomethe most famous of these. What about a marine plesiosaur such asKronosaurus or a local theropod dinosaur, possibly the frighteningAustralovenator wintonensis, affectionately named ‘Banjo’?As most paleontologists know, Australia has a diversity offossils from the Age of Dinosaurs. Can we instil a familiarity withAustralian dinosaurs that equals T. rex or do we need scarier namesand stories that chill?Recently, while visiting the Dinosaur Trail in Northern Queensland,I was reminded of the rich dinosaur history in our own backyardand was excited by the story-telling the curators there havedeveloped. I wonder how we can use our local environments for outreachor educational opportunities. Dinosaurs are a way in, and theDinosaur Trail in Northern Queensland is an impressive example wecan learn from. The trail encompasses Richmond, Hughendon andWinton.Roads paved in geological historyMy exploration started at Richmond, not with a dinosaur but with aplesiosaur. Richmond and the immediate area were once part of aninland sea. One hundred million years later, the region has lowhorizons with big blue skies, an abundance of marine fossils and‘Kronosaurus Korner’, a world-class museum that is home to morethan 500 of these fossils.The museum’s name is no accident, as it is home to the pliosaurKronosaurus queenslandicus, colloquially known as ‘Kronos’. Kronoslived 125–100 million years ago and was a skilled, vicious predatorof the inland seas. It was the biggest predator to live in the ancientEromanga Sea. The museum holds a complete skeleton of Kronos.The neck was 5 m long — this marine reptile is huge and itis awesome to imagine it swimming and hunting. Scans of Kronoshave shown turtle bones in the abdomen. The museum presentsinformation on what these creatures from the past ate and how theylived, creating stories that the public can engage with. It ischallenging for non-geoscientists to comprehend the time periodsgeologists are familiar with, but the museum also makes the timeframesmore accessible to all. Kronos is twice the size of T. rex —imagine what Spielberg could do with that story!Madonna Rogerson and Paul Stumkat put the finishing touches to theKronosaurus Korner (fossil capital of Australia) signage on the way toRichmond, Queensland.Dorree, a complete teleost fish from the Cretaceous of Richmond.Reconstruction of Cooyoo australis, Wandah the big fish. Above imagescourtesy Paul Stumkat.TAG March 2013| 29