Rare fossil unearthed in SA mine studied and labelled by expert in Alice Springs

A MINER has thrilled an expert in the NT with his lucky discovery of a large fossil believed to be more than 23 million years old

A rare perotrochus fossil has been found at a quarry just outside Mount Gambier. Picture: Tait Schmaal.

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A PALAEONTOLOGIST in Alice Springs has studied and labelled a “rare” large sea snail fossil believed to be more than 23 million years old after it was unearthed in a Mount Gambier dolomite mine.

A miner, who asked to remain anonymous, said he found the fossil during works on the site he leases in the southeast town.

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Now he hopes to sell it to make some extra cash.

Adam Yates, senior curator of earth sciences at the Museum of Central Australia in Alice Springs, has studied a latex rubber peel of a mould from the specimen.

He has labelled it a perotrochus, from a time period stretching 33.9-23 million years ago.

“The whole southeast of SA, in the Oligocene Epoch was under the sea,” Mr Yates said.

Mt Gambier trip. A rare perotrochus fossil has been found at a quarry just outside Mount Gambier. 13th October 2020. Picture: Tait Schmaal.

“It’s a rare thing and it’s a nice and special specimen.

“It would be wonderful if it ends up in a museum somewhere.

“It probably is the best of perotrochus fossil from Australia.”

The palaeontologist said perotrochus was still alive today but restricted to very deep water – mostly below 150m – whereas during the Oligocene, it lived in a shallow sea covering the southeast.

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He said it might be the same species of perotrochus that lived in Victoria, of which there are six specimens, or a new related species only known from the Mount Gambier region.

There is only one other specimen from the Mount Gambier region.