Marine Fossils from the Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous of Western Australia

Several publications detail Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous marine fossils from the Dampier Peninsula in Western Australia. The data originates from geological surveys and publications by researchers like Brunnschweiler, Guppy, and Fairbridge, primarily from work done before mid-1954. Some original fossil specimens were lost in a 1953 fire, with descriptions relying on surviving photographs.

Use Cases

• Stratigraphic correlation of Jurassic-Cretaceous sequences based on fossil assemblages mentioned in the description.
• Taxonomic study of marine invertebrate fauna from the Dampier Peninsula region.
• Historical analysis of early petroleum exploration geology in Western Australia based on cited survey work.
• Assessing the impact of data loss on palaeontological type material, as some specimens were destroyed.

Strengths

• Data is grounded in multiple published geological surveys and papers from the 1950s.
• Focuses on a specific geographic region (Dampier Peninsula) and time periods (Upper Jurassic, Lower Cretaceous).
• Documents a historical event affecting the data, noting specimen loss in a 1953 fire.

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 temporal and geographic bias inherent to the historical exploration surveys.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Compiled from geological surveys and publications, primarily by the Bureau of Mineral Resources staff before mid-1954.

Time Range

Covers fossil records from the Upper Jurassic (Kimmeridgian, Tithonian) and Lower Cretaceous (Neocomian, Aptian).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-20 01:49:45.592779; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Dampier Peninsula, between Derby and Broome in Western Australia.