Slow Italian, Fast Learning Episode 118: Rare Prehistoric Fossil Found in Northern Territory

Slow Italian, Fast Learning Episode 118: Rare prehistoric fossil found in Northern Territory

Italian English

Nel cuore del Northern Territory si trova il Deep in the heart of the Northern Territory bacino dell'Amadeus. lies the Amadeus Basin.

Si estende per 170.000 chilometri quadrati Stretching 170,000 square kilometres attraverso il deserto centrale e sconfina across the central desert and extending nel Western Australia. I locali lo into Western Australia, locals know it as a conoscono come una miniera d'oro per gold mine for ancient treasures - including antichi tesori, tra cui alcune delle scoperte some of the world’s rarest fossil di fossili più rari al mondo. discoveries.

“To a geologist or a palaeontologist …it’s “To a geologist or a palaeontologist …it’s a bit like a lolly shop so it’s a case of you a bit like a lolly shop so it’s a case of you know what colour jelly bean do I want know what colour jelly bean do I want today alright I’ll go look for an arthropod today alright I’ll go look for an arthropod in this area and see how it pans out.” in this area and see how it pans out.”

È qui che il cacciatore di fossili amatoriale It was here, amateur fossil hunter Patrick Patrick Nelson ha fatto quella che Nelson made what could be a major potrebbe essere una grande scoperta scientific discovery. scientifica.

“I went out one weekend for a day trip “I went out one weekend for a day trip with a bit of an idea that there might be with a bit of an idea that there might be some sort of evidence of ancient life in some sort of evidence of ancient life in the area so I ventured out there and the area so I ventured out there and walked around in the broad of day for a walked around in the broad of day for a couple of hours and I was just about to couple of hours and I was just about to head back to my car when I noticed at head back to my car when I noticed at my foot lev el was an odd arrangement my foot lev el was an odd arrangement in a rock that sort of arrested me and so in a rock that sort of arrested me and so in the back of my mind it was different in the back of my mind it was different from the trilobites and molluscs and from the trilobites and molluscs and other things that I’d found in the other things that I’d found in the Amadeus Basin while walking around in Amadeus Basin while walking around in the past two years this was different a the past two years this was different a different form I didn’t know what it was different form I didn’t know what it was so I thought it merits scientific inquiry so so I thought it merits scientific inquiry so

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I’ve collected it and brought it home.” I’ve collected it and brought it home.”

L'esatta posizione in cui è stato trovato il The exact location in which the fossil was fossile è stata tenuta segreta per garantire found has been kept a secret to ensure l'integrità scientifica del sito. the scientific integrity of the site.

“We wouldn’t want that field disturbed “We wouldn’t want that field disturbed unnecessarily by souvenir hunters or unnecessarily by souvenir hunters or people with commercial interests that people with commercial interests that could sort of mess it up a bit you know could sort of mess it up a bit you know humans have this natural tendency to be humans have this natural tendency to be curious and to collect things and uh to curious and to collect things and uh to my thinking that would jeopardise the my thinking that would jeopardise the scientific inquiry.” scientific inquiry.”

Milioni di anni fa il bacino fu sommerso dal Millions of years ago, the basin was mare. submerged in sea water.

Si ritiene che il fossile possa essere It’s believed the fossil could be the l'anello mancante in una specie di missing link in a species of arthropod, or artropodo, un organismo simile ad un insect like creature, that lived in the basin insetto, che viveva nel bacino quando era when it was underwater. coperto dall’acqua.

Da allora, da dove è stato rinvenuto è It’s since been taken from where it was stato portato al Megafauna Central found to the Megafauna Central Museum Museum di Alice Springs, dove verrà in Alice Springs, where it will be analysed. analizzato.

Il dottor Adam Yates, curatore anziano del The museum’s Senior Earth and Science reparto Terra e Scienza del museo, Curator Doctor Adam Yates says it’s the afferma che è la prima volta che viene first time they’ve found a fossil from this trovato un fossile di questa era. period in time.

“It’s a first for the Northern Territory it “It’s a first for the Northern Territory it would actually fill a gap in the fossil would actually fill a gap in the fossil record because we have older ones and record because we have older ones and we have newer ones but we have we have newer ones but we have nothing from this particular time period nothing from this particular time period that is represented by the rocks it was that is represented by the rocks it was discovered in so it would actually fill in discovered in so it would actually fill in this big gap and it’s a significant gap this big gap and it’s a significant gap

because it charts the change from a because it charts the change from a particular group of arthropods that were particular group of arthropods that were living in the sea to them moving into living in the sea to them moving into fresh water and then onto land and so it fresh water and then onto land and so it was during that transition period that we was during that transition period that we have no fossils and our fossil would fall have no fossils and our fossil would fall into that gap.” into that gap.”

Il dottor Yates afferma che il museo ha Dr Yates says that the museum has had avuto un calo nel numero di turisti a causa dwindling tourists’ numbers because of del coronavirus. coronavirus.

“The numbers are definitely down, down “The numbers are definitely down, down pre coronavirus and that makes sense pre coronavirus and that makes sense because we don’t have the international because we don’t have the international visitors or the interstate visitors it’s as visitors or the interstate visitors it’s as simple as that.” simple as that.”

Si augura che il fossile sia un’attrazione He hopes the fossil will be a drawcard for per i turisti mentre il Northern Territory si visitors as the Northern Territory prepares prepara ad aprire i suoi confini ai visitatori to open its borders to more interstate di altri stati nelle prossime due settimane. visitors in the next couple of weeks.

“Going into the future we could be “Going into the future we could be putting together a temporary display putting together a temporary display that will display this and other important that will display this and other important new fossils that have been donated to new fossils that have been donated to the museum in the last year or so.” the museum in the last year or so.”

Il dottor Yates si augura che questa Dr Yates hopes this discovery won’t be his scoperta non sia l’ultima nella regione. last in the region.

“I sincerely hope there is more than just “I sincerely hope there is more than just this one single individual and that we this one single individual and that we may actually be able to get to may actually be able to get to understand the whole ecosystem that understand the whole ecosystem that this animal lived in with some of the this animal lived in with some of the other species that lived alongside it and other species that lived alongside it and just some more examples of the same just some more examples of the same kind of animal.” kind of animal.”

Report by Aneeta Bhole

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