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New occurrences of phyllolepid placoderms from the Devonian of central Australia

Created 17/10/2025

Updated 17/10/2025

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The first well-preserved bones of phyllolepid placoderms from the Devonian of central Australia are described from the Deering Hills and Waterhouse Range in the Amadeus Basin, and are compared with fragmentary remains from the Dulcie Range in the Georgina Basin . The fossil horizon in the Deering Hills occurs in strata previously mapped as part of the Mereenie Sandstone, but which clearly belongs to the Harajica Sandstone Member of the Parke Siltstone (Pertnjara Group). At this locality in the Deering Hills the entire Harajica Sandstone and underlying Deering Siltstone Members disappear along strike against the top of the Mereenie Sandstone, indicating that the formation boundary is not a simple angular unconformity as had been previously assumed. Two phyllolepid species of uncertain generic assignment appear to be represented in the Pertnjara Group. The Waterhouse Range occurrence may be a younger fossil horizon than that in the Deering Hills. A third indeterminate genus and species occurs in the upper Dulcie Sandstone in the Georgina Basin, and is associated with remains referable to Austrophyllolepis Long, 1984 and Placolepis Ritchie, 1984. These genera are otherwise only known from Frasnian strata in southeastern Australia. A provisional zonal scheme, with a suggested age range of late Givetian to late Famennian, is proposed for phyllolepid assemblages from Australia and Antarctica. Vertebrate and micro floral horizons in the Pertnjara Group are summarised, and an illustrated spine of Wuttagoonaspis sp. from basal Pertnjara Group sediments in the western Amadeus provides further evidence of correlation with the Mulga Downs Group of western New South Wales.

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Title New occurrences of phyllolepid placoderms from the Devonian of central Australia
Language eng
Licence Not Specified
Landing Page https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/3cee894c-1e7d-41ed-b9f9-ced504bc297d
Contact Point
Geoscience Australia Data
clientservices@ga.gov.au
Reference Period 20/04/2018
Geospatial Coverage Australia
Data Portal Geoscience Australia

Data Source

This dataset was originally found on Geoscience Australia "New occurrences of phyllolepid placoderms from the Devonian of central Australia". Please visit the source to access the original metadata of the dataset:
https://ecat.ga.gov.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/csw/dataset/new-occurrences-of-phyllolepid-placoderms-from-the-devonian-of-central-australia