Silurian and Devonian Coral Fossils from New South Wales and Western Australia

A paleontological monograph describes and illustrates coral faunas from the Silurian of New South Wales and the Devonian of Western Australia. The work details over 30 species from the West Kimberley region, including a new genus, and compares faunas across different geological basins and ages. The dataset is provided by Geoscience Australia Data and was last updated in May 2026.

Use Cases

• Comparative analysis of coral species diversity between the Silurian and Devonian periods based on described faunas.
• Biostratigraphic dating of geological formations using the characteristic genera mentioned, such as Disphyllum and Hexagonaria.
• Studying provincialism in ancient marine ecosystems by comparing the absence of eastern Australian genera in Western Australian deposits.
• Taxonomic research on Rugosa corals, including the newly described genus Catactotoechus.

Strengths

• Describes and illustrates over 30 coral species from specific geological formations.
• Provides detailed stratigraphic context, linking faunas to specific ages like Givetian and Frasnian.
• Includes taxonomic descriptions of a new genus, Catactotoechus irregularis.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is presented in PDF/HTML formats, which may require extraction for computational analysis.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Scientific monograph based on paleontological study.

Time Range

Silurian (likely Wenlockian to Ludlovian) and Devonian (Givetian to Famennian) periods.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-14 09:44:37.135070; freshness should be verified.

Geography

New South Wales (Kiandra) and Western Australia (Kimberley region, Carnarvon Basin).