3 days ago
Aussie renter's 250 million-year-old discovery in inner-city backyard
An Aussie woman has made an astonishing ancient discovery in the backyard of her inner-city rental home. During one particularly rainy day earlier this month, the Sydney renter noticed an 'unusual' pattern emerge on a large, heavy rock propped up in her garden.
'It was quite dirty so it wasn't until it washed off a bit that I went 'oh, it's got something on it',' the woman, who wished to remain anonymous, told Yahoo News. Intrigued by the intricate detail 'all over' the chunk of sandstone, she decided to take a photo.
'Then I realised it was a fossil,' she said, adding she believes the owner of the property must have placed it there after 'digging out' an old cellar on the property. Although she has never ventured inside the 'scary' underground room, the woman said her partner had spotted an 'original stove' inside.
Seeking answers about what could have created the pattern on the huge stone, the curious resident sought help from Aussie fossickers online.
'I thought it was plants, but apparently it is a sea creature,' she said after being inundated with responses.
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After reviewing images of the rock, palaeontologist Sally Hurst and members of the Fossil Club of Australia confirmed to Yahoo the 'great find' is at least 250 million years old.
The clusters of fine lines seen on the stone were created by 'a group of animals known as Bryozoa, which are simple aquatic invertebrates that we still have today', she explained.
'This one in particular is called Fenestella. It's from the mid-Permian, so before the dinosaurs, at around 272 to 259 million years old!'
Hurst, from Macquarie University, told Yahoo the fossil is likely from the Fenestella Shale Member exposed at Mulbring Quarry in the Hunter Valley. 'So not originally from Sydney or the cellar of the property, but slightly further afield,' she said. 'It's a beautiful specimen, and quite a common find from that area.'
While they are found around the world, in Australia fossilised Fenestella is primarily seen in the Sydney Basin and the NSW's South Coast. They are not as commercially valuable as some other fossils, but can be precious to scientists and collectors.
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