Lightning+Ridge+(NSW)

Lightning Ridge
__Where is Lightning Ridge?__ Lightning Ridge is a town in north-western New South Wales, Australia, near the southern border of Queensland. It's longitude and latitude is:
 * ** Longitude - 147 degrees, 58' 60E. **
 * ** Latitude - 29 degrees, 25' 60S. **

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Lightning Ridge Fossils__ Lightning Ridge fossils are considered unique in the “fossil world” due to their stunning qualities of opals emerged in the fossil remains. It is extremely rare for fossils to contain opals, and due to this exclusive characteristic many people travel to this region to experience this wonder fossil.

At Lightning Ridge numerous dinosaur fossil remains can be observed, including the herbivore dinosaurs: sauropods and ornithopods, as well as a carnivore dinosaur called the theropods. Some of these features now fossilised are opalised teeth, bones, claws and dinosaur toe bones. There have been reports of dinosaur tracks in this area, and they are commonly found by opal miners in sandstone layers. Lightning Ridge is considered one of the most significant places for finding opalised fossils.
 * __Fossil 1: Dinosaur fossils:__**

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Fossil 2: Plants:__** Large amounts of opalised plant fossils are found in Lightning Ridge in the mines each year. From these particular types of fossils scientists may extract information from these sources to demonstrate the rich vegetation of the area millions of years ago. Some of these opalised fossils show pine cones, dupes and seeds and stems. From these fossils, scientists have interpreted that 110 million years ago, Lightning Ridge contained forested plants of conifers, Araucarian, Kauri pines, ferns, podocarp, ground pines, fungi, lichens, mosses, liverworts and horsetails. Another plant fossil found in this region is silicified wood.

**__How opalised fossils formed__** For opalised fossils to form it is extremely rare. Usually when fossils are formed the hard parts of these once living organisms: teeth, bones and shells only fossilize. Opalised fossils form when animal and plant parts and features are in their stone form, and it is replaced by silica. Scientists are still debating about how the silica moves into the plant and animal parts before being turned to form an opalised fossil. Some scientists believe that opalised fossils took thousands of years to form when they were succumbed to high temperatures and pressure. Whilst others believe that the silica transferred into the stone is a gel, which slowly hardened to form opals in the fossils.

__**Fossil 3: Steeropodon galmani**__ This fossil lived 110 million years ago during the early cretaceous period. The average length of this fossil was 35cm, from head to tail. This fossil was a platypus-like mammal that spent most of its time emerged in freshwater creeks and billabongs eating yabbies and small aquatic animals. This particular species lays eggs, similar to that of the platypus and echidna in our society today. The jaw of this mammal was found at lightning ridge, it has three molar teeth and other partial jaws have also been found. This particularly discovery can be considered one of Australia’s most important fossil discovery.