Mesozoic Bivalvia Fossils from Northwest Australian Continental Slope

Four sets of rock samples from the Clerke and Mermaid Canyons off northwest Australia contain macrofaunas of warm shallow-water origin. The samples, collected from depths of 3625-4480 meters, include a new species, Pseudopecten (Pseudopecten) dugong n.sp., indicating an Early Jurassic age and Tethyan relationship. This dataset is provided by Geoscience Australia Data and was last updated in May 2026.

Use Cases

• Classifying Early Jurassic bivalve species based on the described Pseudopecten (Pseudopecten) dugong n.sp.
• Analyzing paleobiogeographic relationships between Tethyan and southeast Asian faunas based on the Palaeocurdita aff. globiformis specimen.
• Reconstructing Norian-Rhaetian coral-Lima-oyster assemblages from the described hand-specimens.
• Studying the distribution of shallow-water macrofaunas in deep-sea canyon environments.

Strengths

• Includes a described new species, Pseudopecten (Pseudopecten) dugong n.sp., providing taxonomic novelty.
• Specifies precise geographic coordinates for two sample sites (Mermaid Canyon and Clerke Canyon).
• Provides depth ranges for the samples (3625-4480 meters).

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 and temporal bias inherent to the specific sampling locations and geological periods.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Rock samples collected from two submarine canyons on the northwest Australian continental slope.

Time Range

Mesozoic Era, specifically Early Jurassic and Norian-Rhaetian periods.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-14 03:37:17.119401; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Clerke Canyon (16° 29S, 118° 30E) and Mermaid Canyon (16° 19S, 118° 23E), northwest Australian continental slope.