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  1. Homepage
  2. Discover & Learn
  3. Australia over time

Australia over time

Learn about our evolving landscape, Australian megafauna and other extinct animals, and how we use fossils to relate the animals of the past with those of today.

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Bird specimen under glass display

Australia’s extinct animals

Learning about Australia’s extinct fauna helps us to create links through time that relate the animals of the past with those of today.

Extinction theories
Fact sheets
Read More

Diprotodon

Megafauna

Megafauna are large animals such as elephant, mammoth, rhinocerous and Australia's own diprotodon.

Extinction theory
Read more

Palaeo maps

Evolving landscape

Over thousands of millions of years, continents, oceans and mountain ranges have moved vast distances both vertically and horizontally.

Geological time scale
Continent formation
Discover more

Trilobite fossil

What are fossils?

The word ‘palaeontology’ refers to the study of ancient life. It is derived from the Greek words palaios (ancient) and logos (study). Fossils form the basis of this science.

Fossils form the basis of palaeontology
Read more

Canowindra Fish Fossils

Fossil sites of Australia

Fossils are a part of our natural heritage and while the vast majority of fossils found by amateur collectors are worth very little in monetary terms, they may be important scientifically.

Excavation sites
Palaeontology
Learn more

Mineral specimen

Earth science

The Mineralogy and Palaeontology collections include rocks, minerals, gemstones and fossils, and reveal how the earth was formed.

Shaping the Earth
Minerals
Fossils
Discover more


  • Palaeontology collection

    Ancient animals and plant fossils.
    Learn more
  • Mineralogy Collection

    Study of rocks & minerals.
    Learn more
  • Australian Museum Research Institute

    Scientific discovery & conservation of our collections.
    Find out more

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Spider

Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) micrographs

Stunning examples of photographs taken with the Museum's scanning electron microscope (SEM).

Read more

Monograph of the Paradiseidae or Birds of Paradise and Ptilonorh

Biodiversity

Biodiversity is the variety of all living things; the different plants, animals and micro organisms, the genetic information they contain and the ecosystems they form.

About biodiversity
Biodiversity is vital
Read more

J24600 Asterodiscides truncatus

Asterodiscides truncatus

Facts about Asterodiscides truncatus a seastar of the Sydney Region.

Discover more

Thonet chair

An Unusual Chair

Is Australian Museum Ornithologist, Alfred John North's Thonet chair the only surviving example of this design in Australian asks Virginia Wright?

Material Archives xxx
Read more

Citizen Science Grant Announcement

Water and catchment

Learn about the value of water and how we manage our waterways and catchments.

Water around the world
Water cycle
Managed water cycle
Read more

Sea lion bones

Creepy jigsaws

Piece together some of the more unusual photographs from the Australian Museum's image library.

Photography
Puzzles
Play now

Euprymna brenneri, Bobtail Squid

New Bobtail squid named in top ten marine species for 2019

Bobtail Squid discovered in Japan by Australian Museum scientists and international collaborators

Read more

Reed Bee,  Hymenoptera

Bugwise

Bugwise brings the world of invertebrates to your students, engaging them in real science in local environments. Find out what insects and spiders you are sharing your backyard with and why they are vitally important to a healthy planet.

Learning factsheets
Find out more

Diprotodon

Megafauna

Megafauna are large animals such as elephant, mammoth, rhinocerous and Australia's own diprotodon.

Extinction theory
Read more

Rare Book

Museum Publications

Since 1836 the Australian Museum has published catalogues, reports, guides and magazines sharing expert knowledge of Australian natural history for the public.

Australian Museum Magazine
Find out more

Sustainable living

Sustainability at home

Leading a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle and saving money in the process is easy with these helpful factsheets.

Cut down on waste
Worm farming
Read more

Balls Pyramid expedition March 2017

Australian Museum Turns ‘Inside Out’ To Share Virtual Content

Content Curated for the Curious includes education, citizen science, virtual tours and exhibitions

15 April 2020
Read More

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The Australian Museum respects and acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation as the First Peoples and Traditional Custodians of the land and waterways on which the Museum stands.
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We acknowledge Elders past, present and emerging.
This website may contain names, images and voices of deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

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Photo of two painted shields

The Australian Museum respects and acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation as the First Peoples and Traditional Custodians of the land and waterways on which the Museum stands.

Image credit: gadigal yilimung (shield) made by Uncle Charles Chicka Madden