The first Mesozoic fossiliferous amber from Southern Gondwana: an ancient portal into an Australian polar greenhouse

来自冈瓦纳南部的第一个中生代化石琥珀：通往澳大利亚极地温室的古老门户

• 批准号: DP140102515
• 负责人: A/Prof Jeffrey Stilwell
• 金额: $ 18.75万
• 依托单位: Monash University
• 依托单位国家: 澳大利亚
• 项目类别: Discovery Projects
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 澳大利亚
• 起止时间: 2014-05-01 至 2016-12-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://dataportal.arc.gov.au/RGS/Web/Grants/DP140102515
• 关键词: first; Mesozoic; fossiliferous; amber; Southern

The May 2011 discovery of the oldest fossiliferous amber deposit from Australia, and all of Southern Gondwana, provides a unique opportunity to study the only recorded terrestrial biotas of this age on the continent. Employing new imaging techniques (MicroXCT-400, X-ray ultramicroscope and Synchrotron radiation), the new fossils dated as 90 million years old will be extracted virtually in three-dimensional to capture the finest details from this major palaeontological find. The outcomes of the study will attract much national and international attention as the researchers identify the first Mesozoic organisms of this age living in habitats in and close to the resin-producing forests, thus opening an entirely new window of opportunities in this field.

2011年5月，在澳大利亚和整个冈瓦纳南部发现了最古老的含琥珀存款，这为研究该大陆上唯一有记录的这一年龄的陆地生物提供了一个独特的机会。采用新的成像技术（MicroXCT-400，X射线超显微镜和同步辐射），将以三维方式提取9000万年前的新化石，以捕捉这一重大古生物学发现的最细微细节。这项研究的结果将引起国内和国际的广泛关注，因为研究人员确定了生活在产树脂森林及其附近栖息地的第一批中生代生物，从而为这一领域打开了一扇全新的机会之窗。