Party from W.A.M. (Ride & Ken G. McKenzie [U. of W.A. taken as temporary staff for trip] and party from Museum of Palaeontology, Berkeley California Prof. Charles L. Camp & John Asgiff)
Intention to find and collect Capitosaurs from Blina Shale (Permo-Triassic) Fitzroy Basin. A few fragments previously collected : Balme & Elliott had collected a small pectoral girdle on Fagin's Plain south of the Erskine Range & Brunsweiler a cranial fragment & other plates from the Dry Cover Syncline south of the river.
> Sunday 12th June 1960: 13.30 Arrived Derby, booked into Club Hotel, found Landrovers, petrol, Wapet, Tom Carter, Neil Johanssen, sleeping accommodation for expedition headquarters ; arrange with R.M. Rowell & Co to unload goods from "Dorrigo" 15th June Derby.
List of stations & managers:
Brooking Springs, Skuthorpe
Nemina, Bownell
Jubilee, Macnamara
Mt Anderson, G.C. Rose (owner, manager)
Blina, Henwood
Calwynyardale, Henwood, snr.
Laurel Downs & Quambun , Kim Rose
Noonkanbah, Beaton
Yeeda, George Wells
Kimberley Downs, Paddy LeLievre
Luluigui, Ted McLarty
> Tuesday June 14th 1960.
Drove out to Liveringa, saw exposure of Blina 71/2 miles E of Yeeda, collected 3 geckoes ; collected River Wallaby (agilis) about 5 miles W. of Liveringa homestead [WR70], skin & skull, m., 16 kg. They say that these are hill kangaroos (agilis), nailed-tailed wallabies ("Aravel"), rock wallabies in Erskine Range only and another small wallaby (?lagorchestes).
> Wednesday June 15th.
Drove to Erskine Range, then to Paradise Stn. ; saw a good exposure of Blina (basal) on road into Paradise ; some fragments of bone and a Lepidosteoid scale ; the polycypod Isaura common apparently in coprolites.
Saw many agilis, very common in forest or grass near water ; do not appear to be common in dry areas. Collected a small Amphibolurus on road to Paradise about 5 m. north of homestead.
> Thursday June 16th.
Worked to west of Erskine well ; shot agilis doe [W.R. 71] with female joey 200 g., preserved in formalin, adult ear 75, H.F. 20.8, total 132.5, tail 71, skin and skull [skull stolen by crows], agilis has a noticeably sharp nose. Drove to Derby.
> Friday 17th June.
Collected stores and crates from wharf, prepared formalin tanks for permanent base hut, found a nice series of M. veritas in tank probably left by Mees and Douglas. Left for Erskine Well approx 14.30. Arrived about 18.70 hrs. Found that Camp and McKenzie had had a v. successful day They had worked a low hill of Blina at the SouthEast end of the Range.They had found a skull of Trematosaur, very pleased.
> 18th June 1960.
Worked all day in the exposed S.E. of the range. No further skulls but more bone, second fragment of same skull found by Camp. Shot female agilis with joey, white hipstripe very visible in this species, nose also very pointed, graceful, carries full curved upwards while running ; generally found in he vicinity of water.
> 19th June 1960.
Went back to Erskine, collected on western side of Eastern Hill with breakaway of Erskine sandstone. I collected an almost perfect skull of a Brachyopod. Spirits up again after very hard day before. Collected throughout the day more and I found a fine exposure in which John found an occiput. This appears to be ...-like reptile. Euros plentiful on the range.On way home collected 2 male agilis: WR73m, E.84, HF24, T 80.5, total 153, wt.19.75 kg ; WR74f, E83, HF23.8, tail 81, total 150, wt.15.25 kg.Went to Fraser outcamp for water, shot female agilis WR75, E83, HF22.7, tail 69.5, total 135.5, wt. 10.5 kg. Also shot an animal like agilis but moved on all fours among trees, found it to be an Onychogalea. Skin v. like a red (rufous) in texture, & similar colour to agilis but paler, hipstripe marked, tail very long and dark for a considerable distance from its tip. Too badly shot to preserve skin, collected skull and hind feet for Striten(?). WR76f: E 79, HF 18.5, skull only collected,(hindfeet....); the head inside view is flat to a point in front of the eyes, then down sharply appears roman-nosed, fully furred between the nostrils. Preserved nose skin of each species: unguifera and agilis. Sketch of each on next page.
> 20th June 1960.
Collected in same locality, v. little success. Crossed to north of road where exposure had showed in aerial photographs ; found a stratum bone bearing, v. leached out, these curious plates appear to be cronopterygian(?) skull dual elements, pair of them found in opposition. Mac shot a female with joey: WR77. Males have no red, females are reddish fawn, many ticks.
> 21st June 1960.
Drove to Derby, on way the axel to the American trailer broke, needs new axel, backing plate and pair of shoes. Left Derby after lunch (our generator fixed) to Dry Corner. Across Fitzroy at Langey Crossing then onto a Wapet road about 2 miles on left, difficult driving much sand drift. Saw "cat" with bright red eyes, brown flash with bushy tail as I fired, range too great. Saw feral cats, 1 rabbit, unusual in lower rainfall area, wild asses, 1 mile west of Geegully Creek, crossed Geegully at Clanmeyer Pool, asses braying in the early hours.
Note: Have adopted policy of putting all skins into a saturated solution of brine for 12 hours then drying them off. They seem to be excellent, fur is fine even on feet and insects do not seem to touch them. WR77 was pickled for 12 hours, then carried drained off but otherwise wet in a bowl until afternoon 22nd with no apparent harm.
> 22nd June 1960.
On to Luluigui, McLarty out. Went down to Moores Bore, then Waterfords Bore, McAlear's Bore, then east & then north along fenceline to Dry Corner Bore, then east & S.E. to Tutu Bore, camped there. Worked the Blina outcrops, not successful, very poor expanses of sandblasted fragments in surface. General scenery sparse acacia etc with grass, bushes all heavily browsed ; occasional boabs ; slightly denser acacia and some small eucalypts along creek banks, saw numerous asses near dry corner well; cattle everywhere. Collected a small & beautiful pygopodid just beginning to wriggle into a clump of grass, pupils vertical slits, grey-brown colour, looks like Lialis.
Persuaded John to go out in the evening (palaeontologists, unlike mammalogists, go to bed as soon as it is dark !!), saw very little life, the area seems to haqve been recently inundated ; saw small bird, also a small graceful wallaby - pale in the light - probably Lagorchestes conspicillatus.
> 23rd June 1960.
Spent morning looking at ? Blina exposures at the Dry Corner Syncline, after lunch packed up and drove back towards Derby on road from Luluigui that crosses Geegully near the river. No kangaroos seen, in afternoon crossed good exposures of Jurassic sandstone (Windjalla) between road and river ; much crossbedding. Traces of plant remains but no whisper of bone. Texture of rock is not hopeful of fossil bone, very soft sandstone. Drove on towards Broome-Derby road at Langey Crossing of Fitzroy but before reaching it a bustard flew into Landrover, killed instantly. Stopped, camped for the night. Good eating.
> 24th June 1960.
Drove on to Langey Crossing. A siltstone or shale on south bank, found a plant fossil. Looks like Blina but said to be Upper Jurassic and glauconistic but cannot see glauconite and it does not look marine.
Met a man fishing, visitor from Victoria, gave me 2 catfish, a perch and a (?) goby caught in bottom with mussel bait.
F. W. Mock, Mahoney's Rd., E. Burwood, Vic.
