Our aim is to increase knowledge of ancient animals and plants by collecting and studying their fossilised remains.
Matthew McCurry
Palaeontology is the study of fossils. Fossils are the remains or traces of prehistoric living things. Fossils are preserved in substances such as sediments, coal, tar, oil, amber or volcanic ash, or frozen in ice or naturally mummified.
Only a very small number of all the animals or plants that ever lived on the Earth are preserved as fossils. An even smaller number are found. Most have been destroyed by erosion or lie too deeply buried to be discovered.
However, fossils are found in quite large numbers, which indicates that an enormous number of plants and animals have lived on the Earth since life evolved more than 3500 million years ago.
The Australian Museum Palaeontology collection consists of specimens of fossil invertebrates, vertebrates and plants, most of which are Australian. There is also a wide selection of material from outside Australia. Particular strengths of the collection include Australian fossil mammals and fossil fish.
The collection is the largest of its kind in Australia and is estimated at 164,315 specimens, including over 26,000 types and figured material, it is stored between the Australian Museum's Sydney CBD site, the Castle Hill Discovery Centre, and the Bathurst Fossil and Mineral Museum and Age of Fishes Museum at Canowindra in central west NSW. Only about 34% of the collection is digitised.
The collection broadly covers the history of life including invertebrates, vertebrates and fossil plants, and contains some of the museum's greatest treasures. One of the most spectacular is 'Eric' the opalised pliosaur from Coober Pedy. The collection also contains some of Australia's oldest mammal fossils, collected from the opal fields of Lightning Ridge in northern New South Wales.
Palaeontology collecting at the Australian Museum began in the 1800's and continues today. Occasionally, a spectacular display specimen or significant collection is acquired by the Museum through donation or purchase, but generally Australian Museum palaeontologists gather specimens for their research out in the field.
The goal of Australian Museum palaeontologists is to increase knowledge of ancient animals and plants by collecting and studying their fossilised remains. New discoveries often cause existing specimens to be reassessed, which enhances our understanding of the evolution of life on Earth.
Learn about our evolving landscape, Australian megafauna and other extinct animals and how we use fossils to relate the animals of the past with those of today.
Fossil sites in Australia
Geological time scale
The word 'palaeontology' refers to the study of ancient life. It is derived from the Greek words palaios (ancient) and logos (study). Fossils form the basis of this science.
Learn more about dinosaurs discovered here in Australia and across the globe.
Tyrannosaurs species
Chinese dinosaurs
Dinsoaurs and their relatives
Dinosaurs include extinct animals we know from fossils and the birds we see today.
Australian Museum Magazine 1921-1961
The Australian Museum Magazine was launched in 1921 to satisfy the public's 'lively curiosity' about the natural world and cultures.
Ghost net art
Fishing nets post a threat to marine life and birds. Learn how First Nation communities and artists are using ghost net sculptures as a way to tell traditional stories.
Pormpuraaw Art & Culture Centre
Darnley Island Arts Centre
The Marine Invertebrates section is active in research on a variety of taxa, such as annelids, cnidarians and crustaceans, and holds extensive collections of most marine phyla
Polychaetes
Herpetology is the study of amphibians, including frogs, toads, salamanders and caecilians, and reptiles, including lizards, snakes, turtles and crocodiles.
Blaschka glass models
The 19th century was a time of great scientific endeavour. In 1879 the Australian Museum actively sought to share these wonderful discoveries with the public by ordering specimens and models from Europe so that it could display all the common European vertebrates and invertebrates.
Glass models of sea anemones
Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka