naracoorte caves national park

• Visiting the Park
• Natural Attractions
• Park Management
• Friends of Parks
• The Caves
• Wonambi Fossil Centre
• The Animals
• Reasons for Extinction
• The Fossils in the Naracoorte Caves
• Reconstructing Animals from Fossils
• Glossary
• Further Reading
• Flinders University Gallery
• Education
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Home : Naracoorte Caves National Park : Wonambi Fossil Centre

Wonambi Fossil Centre

Take a step back in time...

 

Wonambi Fossil Centre Virtual Tour

1. Thylacoleo carnifex

2. Thylacinus cynocephalus

3. Red-necked wallaby

4. Megalibgwilia ramsayi

5. Zygomaturus trilobus

6. Red-bellied Black Snake

7. Diprotodon australis

8. Procoptodon goliah

9. Megalania prisca

10. Phascolarctos stirtoni

11. Koala

12. Simosthenurus occidentalis

13. Palorchestes azeal

14. Barn Owl

15. Wonambi naracoortensis

16. Tasmanian Devil

17. Lace Monitor or Common Goanna

Flinders University Gallery

The Wonambi Fossil Centre

The Wonambi Fossil Centre offers visitors the opportunity to 'step back in time' and discover what Naracoorte was like over 200,000 years ago.

Scientists have been studying the fossils of the Naracoorte Caves for over 30 years.

Their research has allowed the ancient animals and their habitats to be reconstructed.

The Centre contains fossil displays and a walk-through diorama with life-sized models of extinct animals in their ancient habitats. The interpretive centre also illustrates how the caves have acted as pitfall traps, dens and roosts for more than 500,000 years, leading to the vast accumulation of skeletal remains of reptiles, birds and mammals.

Entrance foyer of the Wonambi Fossil Centre, with Procoptodon goliah on right		Visitors examine a model of Zygomaturus trilobus in the walk-through reconstruction of long-ago Naracoorte

The story of how scientists use the fossils to unravel the past is presented in the Flinders University Gallery in the Centre.

The centre was named after Wonambi naracoortensis, in turn named for the Aboriginal giant rainbow serpents		The Flinders University Gallery outlines the development of the caves, and the excavation of the fossils		After you leave the centre, follow the interpretive walking trail to Wet Cave, one of several trails at the park

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