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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

You may also be interested in...

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King crab

Crustacea interactive keys

Crustacea Intkey is an information retrieval system for Crustaceans of the world.

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

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

Chalcedony blue and white

Gemstones

Gemstones are prized for their beautiful colours and patterns and are used in a range of applications including jewellery, decorative items and as important features of mineral collections.

Read more

Amethyst geode D.47883

What are minerals?

Minerals are the building blocks of our planet. Discover what they reveal about the history of Earth and our solar system and what makes them so essential to our existence.

Read 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

Ear bar

Body art

The Body Art exhibition explored the many different ways, both temporary and permanent, in which people modify, change, decorate and adorn their bodies. It revealed the what, why, how and where of 'body art'.

Tattooing
Shaping
Scarring
Painting
Read more

Diprotodon optatum

Dating dinosaurs and other fossils

Fossils themselves, and the sedimentary rocks they are found in, are very difficult to date directly.

Discover 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

Woodland habitat

Habitats

Explore seven different animal and plant habitats: coasts, freshwater, Antarctica, forests, woodlands, arid zone and urban.

Coastal
Arid zone
Woodland
Learn more

Spider

Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) micrographs

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

Read more

Homo erectus skull

Human evolution

Extending back for five to seven million years to the time when our ancestors took their first two-legged steps on the path toward becoming human.

Discover our past

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The Australian Museum respects and acknowledges the Gadigal people as the First Peoples and Traditional Custodians of the land and waterways on which the Museum stands.
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We pay our respect to Aboriginal Elders and recognise their continuous connection to Country.
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 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