18 Oct 2011Fossil hunt with a WA Museum palaeontologistDuring the October 2011 school holidays, WA Museum palaeontologist Geoff Deacon took around 50 people on a fossil hunt near Tims Thicket Beach. Read more Photo Galleries Western Australian Museum
2 May 2011In the pink: The story of diamonds in Western AustraliaDr Peter Downes, Curator, Minerals and Meteorites, Earth & Planetary Sciences 6.00pm, Friday 8 April, WA Museum – Maritime Find out how WA's diamonds were formed deep within the Earth, about their explosive volcanic ride to the surface, how they were found, and the origins of their colours that range from yellows to pinks. Read more Video Danny Murphy
19 Apr 2011Western Australian Ichthyosaurs – The last of their kindDr Mikael Siversson, Curator of Palaeontology, Earth & Planetary Sciences Learn about the giant, dolphin-like, marine reptiles ‘Ichthyosaurs’ that lived during the 'age of the dinosaurs'. Global warming accompanied by a rapid sea level rise, 92 million years ago, deprived the deeper parts of the oceans of oxygen and may have caused the extinction of the deep-diving ichthyosaurs. Read more Video Danny Murphy
11 Feb 2011An introduction to fossils at the WA MuseumThis gallery features a small range of fossils from the WA Museum, including Lamniform Sharks, the famous Cundlego Formation from the early Permian period, and the Mcnamaraspis kaprios. Read more Photo Galleries Western Australian Museum
Earth and Planetary Sciences - PublicationsDepartmental resources | Updated 11 months ago2024 Sternes, P.C., Jambura, P.L., Türtscher, J., Kriwet, J., Siversson, M., Feichtinger, I., Naylor, G.J.P., Summers, A.P., Maisey, J.G., Tomita, T., Moyer, J.K., Higham, T.E., da Silva, J.Paulo.C.B., Bornatowski, H., Long, D.J., Perez, V.J., Collareta, A., Underwood, C., Ward, D.J., Vullo, R., González-Barba, G., Maisch IV, H.M., Griffiths, M.L., Becker, M.A., Wood, J.J., and Shimada, K. (2024). White shark comparison reveals a slender body for the extinct megatooth shark, Otodus megalodon (Lamniformes: Otodontidae).More information
25 May 2010The rise of super predatory sharksDelivered by Dr Mikael Siversson Curator of Palaeontology, Earth and Planetary Sciences For 140 million years, ichthyosaurs and pliosaurs ruled the oceans as supreme top predators. Their reign came to an abrupt end shortly after the rise of giant lamniform sharks, 100 million years ago.Read more Video Western Australian Museum
Rock CollectionCollections | Updated 4 months agoThe Earth and Planetary Sciences department at the Western Australian Museum maintains a small but diverse collection of rocks. The department’s rocks are mostly derived from Western Australia, but also include a range sourced from international localities. This collection includes historic rock specimens from early Western Australian geologists such as Edward T. Hardman and Henry YL Brown. More recent additions to the Rock Collection include:More information
Mineral CollectionCollections | Updated 4 months agoThe Earth and Planetary Sciences department at the Western Australian Museum maintains a comprehensive reference collection of minerals from Western Australia. The Mineral Collection comprises three components:More information
Meteorite CollectionCollections | Updated 4 months agoThe Meteorite Collection at the Western Australian Museum is recognised internationally as one of the most significant in the southern hemisphere. The collection contains around 14,000 specimens from 750 distinct and described meteorites. These specimens represent most of the 46 known groups of meteorites, plus a number of anomalous and unique meteorites.More information
Fossil CollectionCollections | Updated 4 months agoThe Fossil Collection comprises approximately 1,500,000 specimens and is divided into five main categories: vertebrate body fossils, invertebrate body fossils, plant fossils, structures built by bacteria (ie, stromatolites), and trace fossils (eg, trackways and burrows). Specimens from all continents are represented, although the main focus of the collection is on Western Australia. Within the vertebrate fossils collection, significant items include:More information