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

Part I describes Devonian coral faunas from Western Australia, including 30 species from the West Kimberleys and four from the Carnarvon Basin. Part II deals with fragmentary Silurian coral material from southern New South Wales. The dataset is provided by the Australian Ocean Data Network and was last updated in April 2026.

Use Cases

• Comparative analysis of coral genera between eastern and western Australia based on the described faunal differences.
• Biostratigraphic dating of geological formations based on the described coral species and their age indicators.
• Taxonomic study of Rugosa corals based on the description of the new genus Catactotoechus.
• Paleoecological inference based on the described shifts in coral fauna composition between different limestone groups.

Strengths

• Includes detailed species counts, such as 30 species from the West Kimberleys.
• Provides specific geological context, including formations like the Pillara Limestone and Gneudna Formation.
• Contains age interpretations for the material, such as Givetian, Frasnian, and Wenlockian.

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Scientific description and illustration of fossil specimens.

Time Range

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-10 19:52:18.775470; freshness should be verified.

Geography

New South Wales (Silurian) and Western Australia (Devonian), including the Kimberleys and Carnarvon Basin.