AAOD JOURNAL
ISSUE 4

FEATURES

16  THE MUTTABURRA LIZARD
      Muttaburrasaurus langdoni — an Australian icon
      Story by Libby Cannon

32  BURIED TREASURES FROM THE AGE OF FISHES
      Imagine... a world ruled by fish!
      Story by Dr Alex Richie and Dr Zerina Johanson

46  SURVIVOR!
      The tree that survived the dinosaurs
      Story by Patricia Meagher and Dr Cathy Offard

60  DINOSAUR DICK SUTER
      The work and passion of a Boulia legend
      Story by David Elliott

66  END OF AN ERA — BIRTH OF AN AGE
      Break out the jackhammer,
      we've found another dinosaur!
      Story by Scott Hocknull and Paul Tierney

REGULARS

2    EDITORIAL

4    DIGGERS DIARY NEWS AND VIEWS

6    ON THE DINOSAUR TRAIL

8    BLACKSOIL
      A Lone Cone
      Meet Matilda
      The Andamooka Ankle-Biter!
      Never too Young to be a Palaeontologist
      The Dave Slaves!
      Opal Miners' Delight
      Animal, Plant or Mineral
      Superwoman in a Lab Apron
      Texas-Sized Elasmosaurus from Queensland

74  PALEO PROILE

76  TAIL BONES

OUR COVER
A distinguishing feature of the Australian dinosaur Muttaburrasarus is an enlarged area of the skull occupied by the chambers at the back of the nose. This increases the height of the front half of the skull but without obstructing the animal’s vision. A likely function of this feature is sound amplification and as an aid in sexual selection. The cover illustration is based on a new 3D reconstructed skull, modelled on the original found near the banks of the Thomson River in central Queensland.
Illustration by Laurie Beirne

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Front Cover: Laurie Beirne.
Blacksoil: Patricia Shannon, Anna Hetherington, David Elliott, Tom Hurley, Adam Morrell, Joanne Wilkinson, Queensland Museum, Jenni Brammell, Lightning Ridge Opal and Fossil Centre, Robert and Elizabeth Smith, Paul Tierney, Dr Alex Cook, Dr Ben Kear, Kronosaurus Korner.
Features: Libby Cannon, Dr Alex Ritchie, Dr Zerina Johanson, Patricia Meagher, Dr Cathy Offord, David Elliott, Scott Hocknull, Paul Tierney. (see articles for further acknowledgements).
Palaeo-Profile: Dr Alex Cook.
Tail Bones: David Elliott.

I remember a couple of years ago when we had just completed our first edition of Australian Age of Dinosaurs, someone asked me, “What are you going to do when you run out of stories?” I have to admit that at the time, it was a question I really couldn’t answer.

At that stage our focus was on western Queensland and our aim was to ensure local fossil discoveries were documented and displayed so that they could be around for future generations to enjoy. The journal was to be a medium that helped us achieve that goal and with Issue 1 sitting on 48 pages, it was a quite achievable target to aim for.

This idea started to fall apart when Issue 2 shot up to 60 pages and refused to come down. And we wanted it to! Australian Age of Dinosaurs Inc was working on a shoestring budget at that time (it still does) and the extra 12 pages came to an additional $5,000 our organisation had to find. After much head scratching, we decided to introduce an advertisement column and thanks to a wonderful contingent of ‘Dinosaur Trail’ supporters, we raised enough money to make up the shortfall. ”But we can’t go over 60 pages,” we thought!

Issue 3 promptly decided that 76 pages seemed like a good way to go. It was a wake-up call. There was just so much fascinating information out there and so many people willing to share it with us, that it was obvious we were going to have to broaden our horizons. We had been receiving (and declining) story offers from far and wide for ages and finally it dawned on us that western Queensland was just one chapter in a wonderful Australian story. Here was our opportunity to tell that story! That realisation was a major turning point for Australian Age of Dinosaurs and it has seen this year’s edition of our journal really start to achieve its full potential.

As well as some great stories from around Australia, this year’s book has also seen the introduction of a new column by Dr Alex Cook called Palaeo-Profile. The purpose of this column is to recognise those men and women who have made a significant and lasting contribution to our knowledge of Australian prehistory and it was initiated by the death of one of Australia’s finest palaeontologists, Dr Mary Wade.

Mary died last year on September 13 just before the Ho Hum dinosaur dig finished, and her death was a shock to the Queensland Museum staff and to my family. Her funeral was held in Charters Towers and after the burial service I sprinkled a handful of what I thought were pieces of siltstone from the dinosaur dig in her grave beside her. The small fragments of rock came from the console of the Queensland Museum car and on our way home I mentioned to Alex that I hoped they weren’t important. They weren’t, but when he told me that they were actually pieces of rock from the Lark Quarry Dinosaur Trackway I felt that, in spite of the sadness of the day, something wonderful had happened. You see, the uncovering and subsequent study of the Lark Quarry Trackway represented one of Mary’s finest achievements and knowing that a little bit of the outback work she loved so much was buried with her was very comforting.

As always, we have relied heavily on many people and organisations for their contributions towards this year’s journal and as with every year since the start of our first book, special mention needs to be made of the involvement and support from the Queensland Museum. I would also like to take this opportunity to extend an invitation to the earth scientists and museums around Australia to contribute to future issues of our journal. Australian Age of Dinosaurs is the voice of Australia’s palaeontologists and geologists, both professional and amateur and we welcome contributions from anyone who has a story to tell or wishes to share an easy reading presentation of their work with our readers.

Last but not least, thank you to all of those people who have supported the Australian Age of Dinosaurs; be it through memberships, donations, contributions or just plain old-fashioned hard work. Also a special thank you to the Australian Geographic Society for their substantial support in promotion and fundraising for the Winton Dinosaur Preparation and Development Project. The Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History is rapidly ascending from concept to reality and this is only happening through the generosity and commitment of many wonderful people.