Creatures of the Palaeozoic Display | SA Museum | Feb – Jul 2026

Australia Post stamps bring South Australia’s ancient sea life to life at the SA Museum.

The South Australian Museum has unveiled a striking new display showcasing full-colour artistic reconstructions of extraordinary prehistoric creatures discovered in the Emu Bay Shale fossil beds on Kangaroo Island.

These detailed scientific illustrations form the centrepiece of a free display in the museum foyer, Creatures of the Palaeozoic, and also feature on a new Australia Post stamp series of the same name. Together, the exhibition and stamps highlight some of the oldest and most significant fossils ever found in Australia.

The Emu Bay Shale fossils date back around 512 million years and were first discovered in the 1950s by South Australian scientist Reg Sprigg. Since 2007, they have been the focus of extensive research led by the South Australian Museum in partnership with The University of Adelaide and the University of New England.

These ancient animals lived during the Cambrian Period, part of the Palaeozoic Era, a time which is known for the largest radiation of animals in our planet’s history – the Cambrian “explosion”. During this period, many of the major animal groups that still exist today first appeared, including the ancestors of sponges, worms, snails, crustaceans such as crabs and prawns, and echinoderms like sea urchins. Crucially, it was also when early chordates emerged – the group that humans belong to.

The new artwork is based on the latest scientific research by Museum Senior Researcher and Adelaide University Associate Professor Dr Diego Garcia-Bellido, the Museum’s Cambrian Research team, and Professor John Paterson from UNE-Armidale. The illustrations were created by renowned scientific illustrator Dr Peter Trusler.

In total, 12 ancient animals are depicted in the display. Four of these species feature on the Australia Post stamps: Nesonektris aldridgei, a spiny lobopodian often nicknamed the “Emu Bay Shale monster”; Anomalocaris daleyae; and Redlichia rex.

Kangaroo Island’s Emu Bay Shale is unique. It is the only fossil site of its kind in Australia and the only location in the Southern Hemisphere where the fossilised remains of delicate, non-mineralised external skeletons – and even some internal soft tissues – from Cambrian animals have been preserved.

The South Australian Museum also hosts a permanent exhibition on the Emu Bay Shale fossils. The Creatures of the Palaeozoic display is free to visit in the Museum’s foyer. For more information about the stamp set and associated medallion, visit Australia Post.

For more information and all enquiries please visit the South Australian Museum website.

What:  Creatures of the Palaeozoic Display

When:  February to July 2026

Where:  SA Museum – Museum Main Foyer | North Terrace, Adelaide

Who:  Everyone

At Play & Go Adelaide we make every effort to provide accurate information to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. We recommend confirming times, dates and details directly before making any plans as details may be subject to change.

Image Source: supplied

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