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2| Page For more information or bookings: artslearning@bayside.vic.gov.au Prehistoric Bayside 29 June to 25 August 2024 Guest curated by Ben Francischelli Published by Bayside City Council on the occasion of the exhibition Prehistoric Bayside 29 June to 25 August 2024 at Bayside Gallery Photography: Mark Ashkanasy, except for pages 7, 9courtesyBen Francischelli All other images supplied by Ben Francischelli Bayside Gallery Brighton Town Hall Corner Wilson and Carpenter Streets Brighton VIC 3186 T: 03 9261 7111 E: gallery@bayside.vic.gov.au bayside.vic.gov.au/gallery @baysidegallery3| Page For more information or bookings: artslearning@bayside.vic.gov.au Table of Contents 4. Introduction 5. About Ricketts Point 7. About the curator 8. Glossary of terms 9. What is a fossil? 10. Responding and makingactivities 15. Critical thinking extension questions 16. Further readingand Video resources 17.Curriculum links4| Page For more information or bookings: artslearning@bayside.vic.gov.au Introduction Bayside is home to one of the most important fossil localities in Australia. Two sitesdateback roughly 5-6 million years and have yielded thousands of critically important datapoints for understanding the evolution of entire groups of animals. From giant Killer Sperm Whalesto monstrous sharks half as long as a basketball court, Prehistoric Baysidegives a unique snapshot into these creatures tumultuous lives, showcasing this ground-breakingfossil material for the first time. This material was found with the help of numerous citizen scientists, whose contributions are helping scientiststo piece together prehistoric Bayside one bone at a time. Working with palaeo-artists, educators, curators from Bayside Gallery, citizen scientists and numerous palaeontologistsacross Victoria, Prehistoric Bayside integrates the most informative up to date science of what these extinct creatures once looked like and attempts to reconstruct the marine ecosystem of Bayside from more than 5 million years ago. This Education Resourceis suitable for Grades 3 –10. Guest curated by Ben Francischelli.5| Page For more information or bookings: artslearning@bayside.vic.gov.au Ricketts Point Located just off the coastof Beaumaris in Melbourne’s southeast, Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuaryis well known for its sandstone cliff platforms, sea caves and offshorereefs. Home to an extensive array of marine life including various species of fish, crustaceans and invertebrates, the sanctuary provides children and adults a place to learn about animportant marine ecosystem. As well its marine life, Ricketts Point Sanctuaryis also significant for its rich fossil heritage that is preserved within the coastal sandstone of Beaumaris and Black Rock. According to Dr. Vicki Karalis, a passionate advocate for the fossil sites, ‘the Sandstone of the Bay’s cliffs was more than 5.5 million years old. Every time they crumble,they release fossils’ (cited in The Herald Sun, 2018). Ricketts Point is arguably the ‘jewel in the crown of Bayside’, Professor John Long (Flinders University) and Environmentalist Tim Flannery, discovered a number of fossils at Rickets Point including Lovenia (heart urchin) as well as 6| Page For more information or bookings: artslearning@bayside.vic.gov.au fossilised shark teeth and remains of extinct sea creatures. More recently in 2014, sea turtle fossils were discovered in Beaumaris, filling a ’66-million-year gap in the historical timeline of Australian reptiles’ (The Herald Sun, 2018). In 2018, there was support for councillors at BaysideCityCouncil to put in an application to the National Heritage Department to make the fossil site of Beaumarisa National Heritage site. Among groups who have signed up for the push for heritage listing are local indigenous groups; theSandringham Foreshore Association;Bayside Earth Sciences Society;Beaumaris Conservation Society Inc; theGould League;The Society of Vertebrate Palaeontology; The Royal Society of Victoria;The Royal Society of South Australia;RMIT University;Australasian Palaeontologistsand theVictorian Artists Society (cited in The Herald Sun, 2018). Artistshave long been fascinated by the beauty of Beaumaris Bay/Ricketts Point.Artists including Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton and Charles Conder all producedworks depicting the Bay. Recently, illustrator Peter Trusler created a work based on extinct animals from the site. 7| Page For more information or bookings: artslearning@bayside.vic.gov.au About the curator Ben Francischelli is the Guest Curator for Prehistoric Bayside. He is a Bayside-based palaeontologist and science communicator who lives and works on the lands of the Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation. With a background in Environmental science and conservation he previously worked as a vertebrate palaeontologist with Museums Victoria and currently works as the media advisor for conservation and science at Parks Victoria. Ben has been exploring the fossil deposits across Victoria for the last decade and works with an incredible group of citizen scientists to retrieve fossils for the state repository. Their discoveries represent some of the most ground-breaking fossils ever discovered in Victoria. Hundreds of scientifically valuable fossils are now lodged within the state repository of Museums Victoria due to their generous contributions. Ben explores the relationship between animals that live in the past and how this relates to the modern ecosystem. His discoveries have uncovered new species of ancient whales, megafauna, giant penguins,and sharks in Victoria. He has a fortnightly science slot on ABC 774 AM discussing these discoveries in detail with the general public. 8| Page For more information or bookings: artslearning@bayside.vic.gov.au Glossary of terms • Fossil deposits: Fossil deposits refer to accumulations of preserved remains or traces of organisms from past geologic ages, typically found in sedimentary rocks. • State repository: refers to the area where scientifically important fossil specimens are held in Victoria, so that scientists can study and look after them. • Megafauna: any creature that weighs more than 40 kilograms in weight is technically megafauna. This term is usually denoted for the prehistoric megafauna (such as Diprotodon) that lived in Australia from 40,000 years ago. • Evolution: describes how populations of living organisms undergo genetic changes over time, leading to the development of new species and the diversity of life on Earth. • Citizen scientists: individuals who voluntarily participate in scientific research activities, often in collaboration with professional scientists or scientific institutions. • Radiometric dating: a method used to determine the age of rocks, fossils, and other geological materials by measuring the abundance of certain radioactive isotopes and their decay products. • Brachiopods: Brachiopods are characterized by a two-part, hinged shell, which superficially resembles abivalve mollusc(such as clams and mussels). While they are not as common or well-known as some other marine invertebrates, they play a significant role in palaeontologyas valuable index fossils, helping scientists date and correlate rock layers in geological formations. • High energy depositional environment:refers to a setting where sedimentation is influenced by strong and dynamic physical forces, resulting in the deposition of coarser-grained sediments. In these environments, energetic processes such as strong currents, waves, or turbulent flows play a significant role in transporting and depositing sediment. 9| Page For more information or bookings: artslearning@bayside.vic.gov.au What is a fossil? Fossils represent the remains of animals and other organisms that are tens of thousands, to millions of years old. The fossils in Bayside are geologically altered and retain the mineral composition of the sediments they were buried in, rather than the original structure of bone. These fossils in Bayside are universally acknowledged to be between 5-6 million years of age, based on the radiometric dating of smaller organisms (such as brachiopods) in the strataand surrounding rocks. As an animal (like a whale) dies, its carcass eventually descends to the bottom of the sea floor. In most cases, these skeletons are scavenged immediately and very little remains of any individual whale. In rare cases, the carcass can be covered by sediment immediately after death, for example in a storm and this covering can protect some of the strongest elements (i.e. bones) within the carcass. Over millions of years and with subsequent layers of sediment accumulating on top of them, these bones can be preserved and eventually become fossils. Fossil shark teeth from Bayside retrieved by Ben Francischelli after a dive in Beaumaris. These teeth belong to Cosmopolitodus plicatilus, one of the largest sharks ever found in the fossil record. More than 99% of all fossils found in Bayside are of a single bone, rather than a skeleton. Skeletons of entire individuals are extremely rare in the Victorian fossil record, but they do occur on occasion. Most of the Bayside fossil deposits are thought to represent a ‘high energy depositional environment’. This would have broken up many individual animal carcasses on the bottom of the seafloor prior to fossilisation.Next >