South Australian Museum - North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000

The Origin Energy Fossil Gallery

The Addyman Plesiosaur

Ancient opalised sea floor bed

Opal Fossils of South Australia opened to the public in 2001. It shows the mighty marine reptiles that swam in the icy inland seas of Australia during the polar night in the age of dinosaurs.

Many of the new exhibits in the gallery come from Coober Pedy and Andamooka and reveal the wealth of opalised fossils found in the far north of South Australia.

Highlights include:

• The partial skeleton of a six metre long plesiosaur found in an opal mine in Andamooka in 1983. It is Australia's first cryptoclidid, a type of plesiosaur previously known only from the Jurassic of Europe and the very latest Cretaceous of South America, New Zealand and Antarctica.
• A piece of ancient sea bed with several hundred opalised shells, one species of which is inew to science.
• Fossils from the Moon Plain just north of Coober Pedy, a rich hunting ground for fossils from the ancient inland sea.

South Australia's Fossil Discovery Trail Guide

The Addyman Plesiosaur project is supported by The Advertiser, Coober Pedy Retail Business & Tourism Association and the Waterhouse Club.

Fossils of Coober Pedy

Thanks to the community of Coober Pedy and individuals who have contributed in the development of this area together with the loan of this display items.