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https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/feb/11/drawings-of-kangaroo-island-fossils-provide-inspiration-for-stamp-series>
"Prehistoric fossils from Kangaroo Island have been transformed into vibrant
creatures of the deep for a series of artworks, which in turn have been made
into a series of stamps.
Dr Peter Trusler has used the latest research on the 512m-year-old fossils to
make detailed, colourful illustrations, which Australia Post has released as a
series called
Creatures of the Palaeozoic.
The Palaeozoic era was part of the Cambrian “explosion”, a burst of evolution
during which most major animal groups – including those with primitive
backbones – first appeared in the fossil record.
The shale deposit at Emu Bay housed the ancestors of today’s snails and
sea-urchins, and crustaceans like crabs and prawns.
It is the only place in the southern hemisphere where delicate, non-mineralised
external skeletons and some internal soft tissues are found.
Trusler used the latest research by the museum’s senior researcher and Adelaide
University associate professor Diego Garcia-Bellido and the museum’s research
team, and Prof John Paterson from the University of New England-Armidale.
“Obviously, we don’t know the colours so there’s a fair bit of artistic
licence, but the images produced by Peter Trusler are as accurate as we can
make them in 2026,” Diego Garcia-Bellido said.
“I sent him all our research papers and he started coming back to me with these
incredible recreations. He’s so good.”"
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
