Pronunciation: foss-TOR-ee-uh
Meaning: for Robert Foster
Author/s: Bell et al. (2019)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: New South Wales, Australia
Discovery Chart Position: #1005
Fostoria dhimbangunmal
Etymology
Fostoria honours Robert (Bob) Foster, the miner who discovered the specimen and
shared valuable information on its history, from excavation to display, with the authors. The species epithet, dhimbangunmal (dim-baan goon-mal), is derived from "dhimba" (sheep) and "ngunmal" (yard) in the language of the Yuwaalaraay
and Gamilaraay peoples, and refers to the Sheepyard opal field
where the bone bed is located.
Discovery
The remains of Fostoria were discovered in the upper part of the Wallangulla
Sandstone Member of the Griman Creek Formation (Surat Basin), 10 meters below ground level in a mine at the "Sheepyard" opal field, approximately 40 km southwest of
Lightning Ridge, central northern New South Wales, Australia, by Robert Foster in 1984.
The holotype (LRF 3050.A) is a partial skull roof and braincase. Additional specimens from the same bone bed bearing the same specimen number (LRF 3050) but not necessarily from the same individual, include a skull bone, four shoulder blades, a partial left arm, a hip bone, a right thigh, a partial left leg, some foot bones and toes, several incomplete back vertebrae, and six tail vertebrae. A footbone (AM F128217) and an unidentified bone fragment (AM F128218) are currently housed at the Australian Museum (Sydney).
All specimens are preserved entirely in opal.
