HE may not be 92 million years old but Longreach Regional Council mayor Joe Owens has just had the honour of having a new species of fossilised wood named after him.
The relic from the forests that dominated Queensland’s central west in prehistoric times has been named Protophyllocladoxylon owensii by University of Queensland palaeontologists.
They discovered it in the Winton region and say it will provide insight into dinosaur landscapes in the area.
“This fossilised wood is really solid stuff; sledge-hammers bounce straight off it,” said UQ School of Biological Science researcher Dr Steve Salisbury.
“It’s tough, reliable and easy to find if you know where look—those qualities reminded us of Joe, who has been a strong supporter of our team’s research in the area for over a decade.”
Cr Owens said that from the day that Isis Downs manager and fellow Isisford Shire councillor Ian Duncan walked into a council meeting in 1990 with what he thought was a fossilised Moreton Bay bug, only to discover it was part of a prehistoric crocodile, the region’s fossil history had been a big thrill for him.
“I really enjoy seeing what comes out of the rocks, and finding out the big picture of what life was like millions of years ago,” he said.
UQ PhD candidate Tamara Fletcher said wood fossils provided new information about outback Queensland during the early part of the Late Cretaceous Period, 92 to 94 million years ago.
“The grassy plains of central western Queensland today are quite different from the forests that once existed there,” she said.
“These forests were dominated by a previously unknown species from an ancient group of evergreen trees and shrubs that includes the modern plum pine.
“Much like trees today, the growth rings in fossil wood can provide a record of the climatic conditions that a tree experienced while it was alive.”
The fossil record suggests the forest was likely an area subject to flooding.
Sally Cripps
Journalist
Journalist
