Aust. still joined to Antarct. cool wet climate semi darkness for weeks in
winter, shallow sea
Fossils of club mosses, narrabeen shales
45 mya
Aust. became separate
Fossils of aquatic organisms (crocodiles found in dry inland
20 mya
Aust. isolated from other continents and drifting northward. Climate was warmer
and wet.
Tree rings are circular patterns made up of light and dark bands of woody tissues. There are more
bands in summer, rapid growth but no bands in winder. Fossilised trees show this pattern of growth.
8 mya Continued northward drift,
becoming drier.
100 thousand years (megafauna)
Drifted very close to present day position and decrease sea levels made it temporarily connected to
tasmania and NG by land bridges.
10 thousand years
Cycles of high and low seas due to freezing and melting of the ice caps, land
bridges forming
5 thousand years
Present plants show adaptations to harsh dry conditions have leathery leaves.
Open forests, heathlands. No fossil remains have yet been discovered