Palaeontology, the biogeohistory of Victoria

The broad-scale distribution of fossils within Victoria is controlled by general global patterns in the biological evolution of life on Earth, the local development and environmental evolution of habitats, and the occurrence of geological processes conducive to the preservation of fossil floras and faunas. Early Palaeozoic fossils are mostly marine in origin because of the predominance of marine sedimentary rocks in Victoria and because life on land was not significant during most of this time interval. Middle Palaeozoic sequences have both terrestrial and marine fossil records. Within Victoria, marine rocks are only very minor components of strata deposited during the late Palaeozoic, so that few marine fossils are known from this time period. A similar situation existed during most of the Mesozoic except towards the end of this era when marine conditions began to prevail in the Bass Strait region. During long intervals in the Cainozoic, large areas of Victoria were flooded by shallow-marine seas, particularly in the southern basins of Bass Strait, as well as in the northwest of the State (Murray Basin). Cainozoic sediments contain an extraordinary range of animal and plant fossils. During the Quaternary, the landscape of Victoria became, and continues to be, dominated by continental environments including, at times, extensive freshwater lake systems. Fossil floras and faunas from sediments deposited in these lake systems and from other continental sediments, as well as from Quaternary sediments deposited in marginal marine environments, collectively record a history of rapid fluctuations in climate and sea level.<br /

Exceptional fossils and biotas of Gondwana: the fortieth anniversary issue of Alcheringa

Alcheringa is now a truly international palaeontological journal. Although the early issues had a strong focus on Australasian fossil material, recent issues have published papers on material from all parts of the globe. As part of Alcheringa’s continuing editorial initiatives, and in light of the prominent role the journal has played in promoting the palaeontology of the Southern Hemisphere, we devote the final issue of volume 40 to the theme of ‘Exceptional fossils and biotas of Gondwana’. This issue includes a selection of invited papers dealing with a broad geographic and stratigraphic array of Southern Hemisphere fossils that have special historical, biostratigraphical, palaeoecogical or biogeographical significance. This theme extends to the documentation of exceptionally preserved ‘whole biotas’ from Gondwana.Extended editorial.Also funded by National Science Foundation (project #1636625).</p