Dinosaur Footprints, Elliot, Syntarsus, Platypterygius, and Ice Age trees

["Colin McHenry" <cmchenry@westserv.net.au>]

Hi all,

I went to the ABC (that's Australian Broadcasting Corporation) web site to
follow up something I heard on the news, and while trawling through their
archives found this stuff.  Might be of interest...


Lark Quarry tracks get a home
http://www.abc.net.au/news/australia/qld/mtisa/regmi-19aug2002-4.htm


Congratulations to all involved for getting this great new building done.
Persuading government to put a few million into a beautiful building in the
middle of nowhere to protect a few footprints isn't easy.  In particular
well done to Alex, Scott and team at the Qld Museum, and to the Winton Shire
Council.


Elliot urges farmers to report finds
http://www.abc.net.au/news/australia/qld/metqld-20aug2002-6.htm

More from Winton, where the QM's effort to reassure farmers that finding a
fossil is
(a) not going to lead to them having their property taken away (an
incredibly common fear), and
(b) also good for their community
are starting to pay off.


An interview on the Syntarsus affair
http://www.abc.net.au/perth/stories/s546692.htm

I know it caused a storm on the list earlier in the year, but this is an
account of the affair from one of the authors of 'big dead lizard' , who is
now working in Australia.


CAT scanning Platypterygius
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2001/10/12/video/20011012pm-dinosaur.ram

The South Australians are in the news again with their Cretaceous creche,
but this is a good tv piece showing just how good the Australian Lower
Cretaceous is - the ichthyosaur skull iin question produced some beautiful
images.


Young Australian of the Year
http://www.abc.net.au/perth/stories/s559041.htm

I don't know if this got discussed on the list when the original
announcement was made in January, but Scott Hucknell (Asst Curator at the
Queensland Museum) is 2002 Young Australian of the Year.  This is at least
the second time in recent years that a scientist has been Young Aussie.
This is an interview with Scott during his visit to Perth to inspire young
people to keep doing what they love....
Big congrats to Scotty.


And finally, the story that provoked the trawl through the ABC archives (in
case anyone's interested).
(Okay, it's on plants, but it mentions ice age in the title, so it's
relevant to this list.?!)

Eucalypts use hybridisation to get through ice age
http://www.abc.net.au/news/australia/tas/mettas-20aug2002-9.htm


My ears pricked when I heard this headline on the radio because eucalypts
are of particluar interest to me in relation to thinking about species
boundaries and concepts.  Yes, we all know that the concepts that tend to
work for vertebrates don't always work for plants, but gum trees seem to
break every rule you can think of.  I reckon that if you could get a
taxonomic theory that worked for euclaypts, you'd be onto something.

We've just had a great ABC show on the nanobes that where found in deep rock
samples a couple of years back.  Worth a look if it gets onto your network.
It's called Alien Underworld.

Cheers
Colin

"If the vertebrate fossil record of Australia tells us anything, it is this;
dinosaurs, bad; plesiosaurs, good."

Colin McHenry
56 Gaskill St
CANOWINDRA,  NSW 2804,  Australia
Ph: +61 2 6344 1009
Mobile phone: 0428 131 858
email: cmchenry@westserv.net.au