Ancient termite poo reveals 120 million-year-old secrets of Australia’s polar forests

By Alistair Evans, Professor, School of Biological Sciences, Monash University
Anthony J. Martin, Professor of Practice, Department of Environmental Sciences, Emory University

Imagine a lush forest with tree-ferns, their trunks capped by ribbon-like fronds. Conifers tower overhead, bearing triangular leaves almost sharp enough to pierce skin. Flowering plants are both small and rare.

You’re standing in what is now Victoria, Australia, about 127 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous Period. Slightly to your south, a massive river – more than a kilometre wide – separates you…

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