Early Devonian Thelodont Scales from Australian Basins with Stratigraphic Context

Thelodont scales from the basal Cravens Peak Beds in the Georgina Basin are identified as Turinia australiensis, T. cf. pagei, and Gampsolepis ? sp. undet. The dataset, hosted by the Australian Ocean Data Network, includes a review of other Australian discoveries, correlating finds from the Mulga Downs Group and Tandalgoo Red Beds. The youngest known scales come from the Gneudna Formation in the Carnarvon Basin, dated to the latest Givetian-earliest Frasnian.

Use Cases

• Correlating stratigraphic units across Australian basins based on thelodont fossil occurrences.
• Reconstructing paleoenvironments of marginal marine Devonian settings based on associated fauna descriptions.
• Studying the adaptive radiation and temporal range of the Turinia fauna in the Australian region.
• Dating sedimentary rock formations using thelodont biostratigraphy as described.

Strengths

• Identifies specific fossil species (Turinia australiensis, T. cf. pagei, Gampsolepis ? sp.) from named geological units.
• Provides temporal correlations between formations (Cravens Peak Beds, Mulga Downs Group, Tandalgoo Red Beds) based on fossil evidence.
• Includes a review of other Australian discoveries, offering a broader regional context.

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

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Fossil recovery and taxonomic identification from geological formations.

Time Range

Early Devonian (Emsian) to latest Givetian-earliest Frasnian.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-22 23:54:29.437740; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Australian basins including Georgina Basin (Queensland), Cobar/Wilcannia area (New South Wales), Canning Basin, and Carnarvon Basin (Western Australia).