“Roaming Reptiles of the Eocene”

Dr Michael Stein
Palaeoscientist
Archer Palaeontology Laboratory
UNSW Sydney

Date: Thursday, 18 June 2026, 6.30–7.30 pm AEST
Venue: RSL Mittagong, Carrington Room
Entry: Members, $5; Non-members, $10 (please note: cashless payments only)
All are welcome

Summary: What does it take to leave behind a lucrative position and chance new possibilities—Time? Opportunity? Desperation? Consider crocodiles, cited often as classic ‘living fossils’ in popular science media. But Australian–New Zealand palaeontology is beginning to reveal the labyrinthine extent of crocodile evolution in the Southern hemisphere post K–Pg, along with our region’s role in key global interchanges. In the middle of this, Australia’s unique branch began to make a seemingly un-crocodilian push back onto the land. Curious investigators must contend, however, with our continent’s notorious bias against complete body fossils, encouraging a multi-disciplinary approach.

Dr Michael Stein is a palaeoscientist with the Archer Palaeontology Laboratory at the University of New South Wales. Both his PhD (2019) and current research with UNSW focus on the remarkable crocodile fauna preserved at the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, along with crocodile paleo-communities across northern to central Australia. This research incorporates studies of locomotory evolution, biomechanics, geometric morphometrics and histology in pursuit of a better understanding of ecomorphological plasticity, particularly niche diversification among predatory hunting ecologies and the capacity of lineages to reposition in trophic webs.

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