Approximately 540 million years ago, the region currently known as South Australia's outback was a component of the continent's active shoreline. Along its periphery was a shallow ocean floor abundant with peculiar, extraterrestrial organisms - the first living species on Earth. 

With the receding of seas and the subsequent rise dordle of land, successive generations of organisms got ensnared and buried in the silt, forming a paleontological lasagna eagerly awaiting discovery. Geoscientist Reg Sprigg discovered these ancient fossils, which are among the earliest ever documented, in the Ediacara Hills in 1946. 

"The Ediacara fossil site at Nilpena Ediacara National Park is arguably the finest in the world," said Kym Geue, the ranger responsible for its management. Only roughly 60 locations worldwide possess Ediacara fossils, however our species has the most varied assemblages of creatures. Whereas at other locations you may be examining a small number of individual specimens, in this case, we are extracting whole portions of the sea bottom and reassembling them like a large jigsaw puzzle.

Following the first discovery over 75 years ago, several fossil beds have been uncovered within the current Nilpena Ediacara National Park, uncovering whole ecosystems that house tens of thousands of well-preserved species. The continuous discoveries have prompted the national park to assume a significant role in the Australian government's present endeavour to secure recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for the surrounding Flinders Ranges region.