Coral Fossils from Silurian New South Wales and Devonian Western Australia

Western Australian Devonian coral faunas from the West Kimberleys, East Kimberleys, and Carnarvon Basin, with 30 species described from the West Kimberleys. Fragmentary Silurian coral material is also included from limestone near Kiandra in southern New South Wales. The dataset is provided by Geoscience Australia Data and was last updated in 2026.

Use Cases

• Comparative analysis of coral genera between eastern and western Australian basins based on described faunal differences.
• Biostratigraphic dating of geological formations based on the presence of specific coral species like Disphyllum and Hexagonaria.
• Taxonomic study of newly described species, such as the genus Catactotoechus and its type species C. irregularis.
• Investigating provincial differences in coral fauna during the Givetian and Frasnian stages mentioned in the description.

Strengths

• Describes 30 coral species from the West Kimberley region.
• Includes taxonomic descriptions and illustrations of species, including a new genus (Catactotoechus).
• Provides age interpretations (e.g., Givetian, Frasnian, Wenlockian) for the fossil assemblages.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic/temporal bias inherent to data_gov_au.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Scientific collection and taxonomic description of fossil specimens.

Time Range

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-30 13:01:33.500537; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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