Waanyi-yanyini kalana barri narri jungku.
‘You are now on Waanyi country.’
Kunyba nurri narriyangi, kala-mungkuji.
‘We, the land owners, are happy about you coming.’
‘D-Site’ was one of the first major fossil deposits discovered at Riversleigh and its fossils date back 25 million years to the late Oligocene period. This is the only publicly accessible part of the World Heritage Area. The Waanyi People feel a deep connection and responsibility for the safekeeping of this place.
| Classification | Fossil names | Translation (Waanyi word) |
|---|---|---|
| Order Dasyuromorphia (dasyures, thylacines) |
Badjcinus turnbulli | Badj/baji = good/expert hunter or cheeky/aggressive; cinus = Greek for dog |
| Ganbulanyi djadjinguli | Ganbulanyi/kanbulanyi = Native Cat or Northern Quoll; Djadji/jaji = ‘to eat’; Nguli = bone | |
| Mayigriphus orbus | Mayi = tooth/teeth; griphus = Latin for puzzle | |
| Order Peramelimorphia (bandicoots) |
Bulungu palara | Bulungu = sister’s child, child, baby |
| Galadi speciosus | Galadi/kaladi/kaladiya = bandicoot, possum, Rock Ringtail Possum | |
| Liyamayi dayi | Liya = round; Mayi = tooth; dayi = ‘chop’ | |
| Madju variae | Madju/maju = sister, elder sister | |
| Yarala burchfieldi | Yarala/yarrala = root or butt of tree | |
| Order Notoryctemorphia (marsupial moles) |
Naraboryctes philcreaseri | Naraba/ngaraba = to drink; ryctes = Greek for ‘digger’ |
| Order Diprotodontia Suborder: Macropodiformes (kangaroos) |
Bulungamaya delicata | Bulungulla/balangarra = moon; Mayi = tooth/teeth |
| Cookeroo bulwidarri | Bulwidarri = white, white of egg | |
| Ganawamaya gillespieae | Ganawa/kanawa = long; Mayi = tooth/teeth | |
| Ganguroo bilamina | Gangu/kangku = grandfather, father’s father | |
| Nowidgee matrix | Nowidgee, ngawiji = grandmother, father’s mother | |
| Wabularoo naughtoni | Wabula = forgotten, long time before; Naughtoni = after former owner of Riversleigh Station, Ted Naughton | |
| Order Diprotodontia Family: Pseudocheiridae |
Gawinga aranaea | Gawinga/kawinka = possum, Northern Brushtail Possum |
| Order Diprotodontia Family: Miralinidae |
Durudawiri inusitatus | Duru = sun; Dawiri/dawirri = little sister, younger sibling |
| Order Diprotodontia Family: Maradidae |
Marada arcanum | Marada = flat, flat ground, claypan |
| Order Diprotodontia Family: Vombatidae |
Rhizophascolonus ngangaba | Ngangaba = light (in weight) |
| Order Chiroptera (bats) |
Brachipposideros nooraleebus | Nooraleeba/ngurralyijbi = stuck in the mud |
| Macroderma malugara | Malugara/malukarra = good hunter or killer | |
| Subclass Therians Subgroup: Incertae sedis |
Yingabalanara richardsoni | Yinga/yingka = other, another; Balanara/balangarra = moon |