August 22, 2009

to

August 23, 2009

When: 8.30 – 5pm Saturday 22nd, 9am – 5pm Sunday 23rd August

Info: Join scientists at the frontier of discovery and help dig up fossils of fish and anything else that lived in their environment. The geological Period called the Devonian is also called the Age of Fishes because it was the time when fish ruled the Earth. Some of those fish were already able to breathe air with rudimentary nostrils and lungs as well as gills and they also had strong, well developed pectoral fins, with internal supporting bones corresponding to those in the front leg of a tetrapod, which later became our arm.  Climate change then, similar to now, created erratic weather patterns, with alternating devastating droughts and floods, putting great stresses onto existing ecosystems.  That was the time when fish had to adapt or perish, and some were able to invade dry land and gave rise to the first tetrapods (four footed land vertebrate animals).

There will be opportunities to join a dig for a full day (Saturday) or for half a day (Sunday morning).  Digs include a guided tour of the Age of Fishes Museum at Canowindra and digging at one or more fossil deposits. Dr Alex Ritchie, the palaeontologist who initiated the dig and the establishment of the Age of Fishes Museum at Canowindra, will be supervising the digs and take participants on a guided tour of the museum.

Website: www.ageoffishes.org.au

Where: Age of Fishes Museum, Cnr Gaskill & Ferguson Streets, Canowindra 2804

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