Highly detailed paintings of a terrifying crocodile-like monster, Koolasuchus, and five dinosaurs, developed with the help of advanced scientific imaging techniques, will be released 24 September as Australia Post’s new stamp series ‘Australia’s Age of Dinosaurs’ appears in your Post Office.
The science behind the stamp artwork, will be presented at the Australian Synchrotron, an event that will include real fossil specimens, impressive 3D animations of how the synchrotron revealed its’ secrets, and even evidence of a dino’s last meal!
The artwork, crafted by Dinotopia artist James Gurney, is based on the discoveries from well-known dinosaur experts Thomas H. Rich (Museum Victoria) and Patricia Vickers-Rich (Monash University), palaeobotanist Barbara Wagstaff (University of Melbourne) and their team, sourced to provide a serious look into the past - at the flora, fauna, climate and environment – times as long ago as 120 million years.
‘While we had information about the larger structures of these dinos, our research group turned to experts Karen Siu (Monash University) and Anton Maksimenko (Australian Synchrotron) to fill in the details’, explained Dr Tom Rich.
‘The synchrotron images of recovered fossil bones and teeth provided us with important pieces of a puzzle - that is constructing images of animals that lived millions of years ago, and help us in our preparation techniques as well as internal anatomy - information not otherwise available - to guide Gurney’s illustrations’ noted Dr Rich.
Australia Post has made major contributions in the past, as with this series, in using art to educate the public, both youth and adult, about the ancient treasures of our unique continent.
A great supporter of using art to convey abstract concepts and age-old science, the Australian Synchrotron is hosting this scientific launch.
On display will be an animation depicting the preparation of a yet undescribed fossil – likely a partial skeleton of Qantassaurus. This gives a rare look at how this tiny specimen, recovered from the rugged coast of Victoria, was prepared for display, taking over a year. The skeleton was removed from a hard rock, and as technician David Pickering of Museum Victoria delicately drilled into the surrounding materials, he found evidence of the little dino’s last dinner (some fossilized seeds) as well as a likely imprint of its skin!
Paleontological specimens are often unique and fragile. Synchrotron x-ray CT has been used in studies of such rare specimens leading to reconstruction of these ancient animals preserved as fossils. It allows exploring the interior structures of such fossils and is non-destructive, providing much more detail than clinical or laboratory x-ray scanners. This allows resolution of details with half the width of a human hair. Synchrotron x-rays are also much faster and can penetrate specimens more than 5 centimetres thick. Researchers examined sections of tiny mammal jaws (represented in the stamps by a relative of the living Echidna), no more than 16 mm long, dinosaur jaws and leg bones up to 30 centimetres long, and a fossiliferous rock 10 centimetres across to determine what was inside before preparation began.
The Imaging and Medical Beamline (IMBL) at the Synchrotron is ideal for such dinosaur studies because it has a large, high-energy x-ray beam (up to 40cm wide) that provides astonishing detail. The success of this work is opening doors to a large number of Australian studies by providing local access to techniques not previously available in this country. The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France and SPring-8 in Japan have both been used by the researchers behind these new stamps and offer new avenues of research for understanding the Australian dinosaurs and their tiny companions.
The new stamp set features:
- A formidable water-dwelling monster that filled the ecological niche now occupied by crocodiles (Koolasuchus cleelandi, from Victoria)
- A dinosaur named after science fiction author Arthur C Clarke, who was inspired by dinosaurs to go into science (Serendipaceratops arthurcclarkei, from Victoria)
- A near-relative of T. rex, originally thought to be a harmless bird-mimic (Timimus hermani, from Victoria)
- One of the few dinosaurs known to have thrived in polar areas, along with Timimus and Serendipaceratops (Qantassaurus intrepidus, from Victoria)
- A dinosaur so big that it must have spent most of the day eating, just to maintain its figure (Diamantinasaurus matildae, from Queensland)
- A formidable carnivore that lived at a time when southern Australia lay close to the south pole, but because of its northern abode, enjoyed warmer climes (Australovenator wintonensis, from Queensland)
Contact:
Tom Rich - Museum Victoria, Melbourne, 9270 5054 (trich@museum.vic.gov.au)
Patricia Vickers-Rich – PrimeSCI!, 9905-1370 (pat.rich@monash.edu) ( http://sciencecentre.monash.edu)
Andrew Peele - Australian Synchrotron, 0408 388 467
Media liaison (Australian Synchrotron): Sarah Bartlett, 0403 225 872