Alcoota

rdf:langString Alcoota

rdf:langString Alcoota Fossil Beds

rdf:langString Alcoota Fossil Beds

rdf:langString Latz's pit, Alcoota fossil site, NT

rdf:langString  Anmatjere, Northern Territory, Australia

rdf:langString The Alcoota Fossil Beds are an important paleontological Lagerstätte in the Northern Territory of Australia located on in the locality of Anmatjere about 115 kilometres (71 mi) north-east of Alice Springs in the Central Australia region. It is notable for the occurrence of well-preserved, rare, Miocene vertebrate fossils, which provide evidence of the evolution of the Northern Territory’s fauna and climate. The Alcoota Fossil Beds are also significant as a research and teaching site for palaeontology students. The Alcoota deposit is a series of intermittently interconnected lakes within a large basin. Evidence suggests that the concentration of fossils is due to a phenomenon called ‘waterhole-tethering’: During dry periods, animals concentrated in the immediate area of the continually shrinking, spring-fed lake, resulting in the death of many animals. The Alcoota and Bullock Creek fossil faunas provide evidence that aridification was in progress in northern Australia during the mid-Miocene geological time period.