The Natural History Museum in Euromanga has announced that it will be naming a recently-unearthed dinosaur after two local mothers in honour of their dedication to the museum and wider community.
The sauropod dinosaur, unearthed last year in a major dig, has been named JoJo in honour of Jo Pegler and Joanne Wilkinson, who play an integral role in the ongoing success of the museum.
Joanne is a founding supporter and educator, white Jo is Laboratory Manager and a founding staff member of the museum. Both women have been working at the site since its establishment 20 years ago.
The dig site for JoJo the Euromanga dinosaur © Steve Young
Celebrating Aussie mothers
Museum co-founder and director Robyn Mackenzie OAM says “Sauropods typically abandoned their young.”
“So while our JoJo may have been a neglectful mother millions of years ago, we’re using her to celebrate two women who are not only fabulous mums, but are also key to the work we do at the museum.”
The announcement of JoJo’s name came in May, just in time for Mother’s Day. And while the team is usually out digging for fossils in the Queensland outback this time of year, the May dig was delayed due to flooding.
Sadly, these devastating floods have wiped out 85 percent of visitor bookings to the museum, a big blow for a not-for-profit institution that relies on tourism for funding.
But despite this setback, the team is still in high spirits.
“We’ve weathered a lot out here,” said Robyn Mackenzie. “And it’s the community – especially the women, the mothers – who help us hold everything together. JoJo the dinosaur is our way of honouring that resilience and love.”
Jo Pegler with JoJo’s bones © Steve Young
The fossil fields
The Euromanga dinosaur fossil fields, where JoJo was discovered, were first identified in 2004. That same year, the Euromanga Natural History Museum was established to house the large collection of dinosaur and megafauna fossils collected in the region.
The museum’s collection now includes Australotitan cooperensis (“Cooper”), Australia’s largest dinosaur and the second largest dinosaur globally by mass and length.
Over the past 20 years, the team have uncovered a number of other impressive finds. In 2021, dozens of bones from a new Eromanga dinosaur were discovered, with the process of preparation and research still underway to determine if this is a new species.
A call to action
As part of the exciting announcement of JoJo’s name, the Euromanga Natural History Museum is calling on Australians to plan a trip to the region to support its vital recovery.
“The landscape is looking beautiful, we’re dry and all roads to Quilpie Shire and Eromanga are now open. There’s so much to see and do out here that I hope tourists will support us by planning trips out to us,” said Robyn.
“We have a strong collection of prehistoric marine fossils from our south west Queensland region, due to our history as an inland sea. I’m hopeful the recent rains and floods may have helped unearth a treasure trove of fossils awaiting discovery when we can get back out and dig later this month.”
Loving this story on JoJo the Eromanga dinosaur? Check out the new species of pterosaur discovered in Australia by clicking here.