Thursday 12 September 2024

Sunday 25 August 2024

Qantassaurus Impressions!

 Yesterday, whilst doing a little backlog box processing, we came across the impressions of the Qantassaurus intrepidus holotype! Of course, it was not labelled that way since it hadn’t been named yet… instead it was referred to as a “Hypsi” jaw found by Nicole Evered!

Impressions with a Qantassaurus cast!


Saturday 29 June 2024

Koonwarra Rock on the move

The rock from the Koonwarra road cutting has migrated from Fish Creek to Phillip Island.

It is full of plants and fish and insects and maybe if we are really lucky maybe even a feather!

It is still happily waiting to reveal its secrets for next time we arrange for a crew to break it up.

Photo: Mike Cleeland
Photo: Mike Cleeland


Wednesday 19 June 2024

New Dinosaur Dreaming website

I am delighted to announce the launch of our new website featuring the wonderful cover art of Andrew Plant.

Find it at: www.dinosaurdreaming.net

Big thanks to all my beta-testers especially the amazing Rob Huntley who clicked everything on four different devices, and had single-handedly designed, built and hosted our old site for more than a decade.


Tuesday 14 May 2024

Tentative dates for 2024/2025

We are thinking that we might have a three week dig next February.
There are a lot of logistics yet to work out, but the tides look good for Saturday 1st February 2025 to Saturday 22nd February 2025.

We have also been looking at dates for a weekend warriors one-day exploration dig, and have pencilled in Saturday 23rd November 2024 (low tide 11:38 am 0.61 m) and Sunday 24th November 2024 (low tide 12:23 0.62 m). They are not superlow low tides, but they seem to be the best spring tides on a weekend this year. I'm not sure where we will dig yet - it depends on what promising areas Mike and Melissa find.

Diggers please make sure that Lesley or I know that you are interested in coming - then we can make sure that you get updates as dates firm up.

Saturday 11 May 2024

Working on the new website

Work is well underway to replatform the Dinosaur Dreaming website. Here is my set of ace recruits learning the ropes at Wonthaggi.

Sunday 7 April 2024

Rock breaking day in Lesley’s driveway

 

Sharyn and Mary test different chair heights

The crew working hard

Mary finds a fossil

Sharyn breaks rock

Monday 26 February 2024

2024 dig - it's a wrap!

 Once again we are at the end of another successful dig! We:

  • determined that the Eagles Nest site is not a deep rich vein and is better suited to prospecting than quarrying;
  • discovered that Twin Reefs is a great new site with enough good rock to dig for a few more years (a special call-out to Melissa for finding it!);
  • catalogued 114 bones/teeth, 1 set of fish scales and 5 plants;
  • uncovered several vertebra in association, something that did not happen at Flat Rocks.

Some visualisations of our bone counts:
Total number of bones found by day



Bones from our two dig sites by day


We have a lot of people to thank this season.
Firstly, we acknowledge the Bunurong Land Council, the Traditional Owners of the Country on which we lived and worked, for their generosity in allowing us to uncover prehistory of the lands they have watched over for millennia. Always was, always will be.
We also acknowledge Parks Victoria and ranger Brian Martin for trusting us to protect the beautiful Bass Coast beaches upon which we collect.
But mostly we want to thank our team of volunteers, for doing all of the jobs that needed doing, through storms, wind, power outages and crazy hot days. A special thanks for their cheerfulness through all the jobs that didn't seem like fun:
  • enthusiastically volunteering to carry rock and equipment up a lot of stairs;
  • leaping up to do the washing up after dinner;
  • breaking up that terrible rock that John found in Lesley's shed; and
  • scrubbing our dig house clean on the last day.

New rocksaw queens

With the purchase of our new battery-powered circular saw (fitted with a specialist diamond-tipped blade), we thought it was time to train up some new rocksaw wielders. Here are Fotini and Amber showing off their new mad skills at site.

Fotini

Amber

Sunday 25 February 2024

Photos from Jack

 

Sunset from the back yard

Cute little toe that Jack found

Crew at site

What an office!

Ruairidh, Jake and Jack

Ruairidh and Jake removing the turtle that Melissa found

Plant fossils on a rock

Corrie heading out to the hole



In the back yard

Corrie and Alan working hard

… still working hard

… working hard as Adam strides past

Alan inspecting a rock

Some evening talks - photos by Jack and Jade.

 

Mammal hair by Fotini. Photo by Jack.

Theropods by Jake. Photo by Jack.

Mystery bone by Ruairidh. Photo by Jack.

Animating Siderops in 3D by Jack. Photo by Jade.

Trilobite Segments by Alyssa. Photo by Jack.

Photos from Fotini

 

Twin Reefs

Sunrise over Flat Rocks

John W working


Mary tapping away

Stunning place to work

The crew working



Back yard rock breaking 

Back yard rock breaking

Crew at site

The crew

Alan and Jack

 

Wearing matching outfits to reenact last years “Inverloch Gothic” pose…

Twin Reefs video from Fotini

 


Bass Coast Post

Check out the great article from the Bass Coast Post about Melissa, Mike’s prospecting crew and the dig.

Thursday 22 February 2024

Happy fossil finders (on a windy day)

 

Jack worries about the fossil not his hair.

Ash having fun despite the heaviness of the rock.

Lesley puzzling a turtle together

 

Photo by Joerg

Photo by Joerg

Photos from Jade

 

Coffee during the power outage

Adam’s turtle impersonation

Working the site

Sweeping rock

Melissa

John S

Wendy on the wrapping station

The crew gets busy

Alan looking at the layers