Opals glisten on the jaw fossils of Weewarrasaurus pobeni. (Image credit: Robert A. Smith, courtesy of the Australian Opal Centre) The finding is remarkable, and not just because Poben happened ...

Opalized ammonite fossils are some of the most unique and spectacular paleontological specimens. They were formed through a ...

Brian Berger, a Philadelphia-area gemologist, purchased a piece of opal with a fossilized insect trapped inside. Now, he is reaching out for help in identifying the mystery bug.

Opal dealer Mike Poben nearly got rid of the 100-million-year-old fossils found in a bag of rough dirt — but his decision to keep them changed his life, and our view of Australia's deep past.

Imprints of ancient bones or footprints are often found in rock, but that’s not the only way they form – in much rarer cases they can also be encased in opal. Now palaeontologists in Australia ...

Imagine walking through a forest where the trees are not made of wood but stone—ancient, fossilized remnants of a world that ...

Eric the plesiosaur was found in an opal mine in the south of Australia in 1987. Abram Powell The Australian National University Millions of years ago, Eric the plesiosaur swam through the waters ...

The cicada-stuffed opal marks the first time a specimen has been preserved in this way. B. Rondeau/Chauviré et al 2020, Scientific Reports DOWNLOAD PDF VERSION ...

Eric the plesiosaur was found in an opal mine in the south of Australia in 1987. Abram Powell The Australian National University Millions of years ago, Eric the plesiosaur swam through the waters ...