Koonwarra is a town in the South Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. At the 2016 census, Koonwarra had a population of 404.[1] The town straddles the South Gippsland Highway.[2] Located around 128 km southeast of Melbourne, the town was served by rail from the 1890s until 1991 with the closing of the rail line to Barry Beach.[3]
| Koonwarra Victoria | |
|---|---|
  Koonwarra Location in South Gippsland Shire | |
| Coordinates | 38°32′50″S 145°56′49″E / 38.54722°S 145.94694°E / -38.54722; 145.94694 |
| Population | 404 (2016 census)[1] |
| Postcode(s) | 3954 |
| LGA(s) | South Gippsland Shire |
| State electorate(s) | Gippsland South |
| Federal division(s) | Monash |
The Koonwarra fossil bed was found by accident in 1961 during roadworks to realign a segment of the South Gippsland Highway. Dating from the early Cretaceous 115 million years ago, it is composed of mudstone sediment thought to have been laid down in a freshwater (possibly cool-climate subalpine) lake. The site is an important element of Australia's fossil record, with plants, insects (including mayflies, dragonflies, cockroaches, beetles, fleas, flies and wasps), spiders, crustaceans and fish recovered.[4] Among them is the unusual finding of a fossil horseshoe crab described as Victalimulus mcqueeni.[5] Small segments of a leafy twig have been recovered that were thought to be one of the oldest angiosperms (flowering plants) discovered; more recent examination reports anatomy more typical of a gnetophyte, a group of plants for which there is a scant fossil record.[6] A fossil member of the Ginkgo family, Ginkgoites australis, has also been recovered.[7]
Six well-preserved feathers have been recovered, indicating more complete remains of feathered dinosaurs might be found, however the site has been little-excavated, extensive removal of overlying rock has to take place before further excavation.[8]