Koonwarra

Koonwarra
Town
Koonwarra is located in South Gippsland Shire
Koonwarra
Koonwarra
Location in South Gippsland Shire
Coordinates: 38°32′50″S 145°56′49″E / 38.54722°S 145.94694°E / -38.54722; 145.94694
CountryAustralia
StateVictoria
LGA
Government
 • State electorate
 • Federal division
Population
 • Total366 (2021 census)[2]
Postcode
3954

Koonwarra is a town in the South Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Koonwarra had a population of 366.[2] The town straddles the South Gippsland Highway.[3] Located around 128 km southeast of Melbourne, the town was served by rail from the 1890s until 1991 with the closing of the rail line to Barry Beach.[4]

Koonwarra fossil bed

The Koonwarra fossil bed was found by accident in 1961 during roadworks to realign a segment of the South Gippsland Highway. Dating from the Early Cretaceous 115 million years ago, it is composed of mudstone sediment thought to have been laid down in a freshwater (possibly cool-climate subalpine) lake. The site is an important element of Australia's fossil record, with plants, insects (including mayflies, dragonflies, cockroaches, beetles, fleas, flies and wasps), spiders, crustaceans and fish recovered.[5] Among them is the unusual finding of a fossil horseshoe crab, Victalimulus mcqueeni.[6] Small segments of a leafy twig have been recovered that were thought to be one of the oldest angiosperms (flowering plants) discovered; more recent examination reports anatomy more typical of a gnetophyte, a group of plants for which there is a scant fossil record.[7] A fossil member of the Ginkgo family, Ginkgoites australis, has also been recovered.[8]

Six well-preserved feathers have been recovered, indicating more complete remains of feathered dinosaurs might be found, however the site has been little-excavated; extensive removal of overlying rock has to take place before further excavation.[9]

References

  1. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Koonwarra (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ a b Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Koonwarra". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 1 January 2026. Edit this at Wikidata
  3. ^ Wheeler, Donna (2008). Discover Melbourne & Victoria. Lonely Planet. p. 278. ISBN 9781741048629.
  4. ^ Prom Country Regional Tourism Inc. (2012). "Koonwarra". Visit Prom Country. South Gippsland Shire Council. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  5. ^ "Koonwarra fossil bed". Treasures: Museum Victoria Celebrates 150 Years. Museum Victoria. 2004. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  6. ^ Riek, E.F.; Gill, E.D. (1971). "A new xiphosuran genus from Lower Cretaceous freshwater sediments at Koonwarra, Victoria, Australia" (PDF). Palaeontology. 14 (2): 206–10. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  7. ^ V.A. Krassilov; D.L. Dilcher; J.G. Douglas (1998). "New ephedroid plant from the Lower Cretaceous Koonwarra Fossil Bed, Victoria, Australia" (PDF). Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. 22 (2): 123–33. doi:10.1080/03115519808619195.
  8. ^ Jones, Robert (16 July 2009). "Fossil: Ginkgo Tree: Ginkgoites australis". Nature Culture Discover. Australian Museum. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  9. ^ Piper, Kylie (11 November 2010). "Discovering the dinosaurs Down Under". Australian Geographic. ninemsn. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koonwarra