Lower Carboniferous Spores from Bonaparte Gulf Basin Boreholes

Well-preserved assemblages of 55 plant microfossil species, distributed among 32 genera, have been recovered from Lower Carboniferous (Visean) marine sediments in four boreholes from the Bonaparte Gulf Basin. The palynological flora is dominated by the pan-Australian species Granulatisporites frustulentus, which accounts for 44-83 percent of spore populations. This dataset includes the description of a new genus, Exallospora, and provides biostratigraphic confirmation of the Visean age for the region.

Use Cases

• Biostratigraphic age dating of Lower Carboniferous sediments based on identified spore assemblages.
• Paleoenvironmental reconstruction of marine basins using plant microfossil distributions.
• Taxonomic study of trilete sporae dispersae, including analysis of the new genus Exallospora.
• Correlation of lithostratigraphic units (e.g., Bonaparte Beds, Tanmurra Formation) across borehole locations.
• Comparative analysis of southern and northern hemisphere Carboniferous spore floras for paleobiogeographic studies.

Strengths

• Contains taxonomic data on 55 identified species and 32 genera, including one newly instituted genus.
• Provides quantitative data on species dominance, with Granulatisporites frustulentus representing 44-83% of populations.
• Samples are well-preserved and sourced from four specific boreholes with documented lithostratigraphic context.

Limitations

• Column names and data structure are unknown, limiting direct computational analysis.
• Metadata for size, row count, license, and author is missing from all source entries.
• The dataset appears to be a published bulletin (PDF/HTML), suggesting it may be a document rather than a structured data table.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network, likely associated with a GA (Geoscience Australia) Publication or Bulletin.

Collection Method

Recovered from Lower Carboniferous sediments in four boreholes (Bonaparte Nos 1 & 2, Spirit Hill No. 1, Milligans No. 1).

Time Range

Lower Carboniferous, specifically Visean age (approx. 346.7 to 330.9 million years ago).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-05 according to the most recent platform entry.

Geography

Landward Bonaparte Gulf Basin, spanning Western Australia and Northern Territory, Australia.