Lower Cretaceous Palynological Studies from the Surat Basin, Australia

Surat Basin in southeastern Queensland and northeastern New South Wales provides the geographic scope for this palynological study. The dataset describes microfossil counts from Aptian to mid-Albian sediments, including 38 genera and 72 species of spores, 18 genera and 21 species of pollen grains, and 35 genera and 60 species of dinoflagellates. It was published by Geoscience Australia and last updated in May 2026.

Use Cases

• Reconstructing past environments based on fluctuations in spore, pollen, and dinoflagellate abundances.
• Stratigraphic correlation based on defined palynological zones like the Osmundacidites dubius Zone.
• Studying early angiosperm evolution based on the first appearance of pollen grains like Clavatipollenites hughesii.
• Analyzing dinoflagellate cyst classification systems based on paratabulation and archaeopyle formation.

Strengths

• Systematic description includes 38 genera and 72 species of spores, 18 genera and 21 species of pollen grains, and 35 genera and 60 species of dinoflagellates.
• Defines multiple biostratigraphic zones for the Aptian and Albian stages, providing a temporal framework.
• Proposes new species, including four new spore species and eight new fossil dinoflagellate species.

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 and HTML files, which may require significant preprocessing for quantitative analysis.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Palynological analysis of sediment samples.

Time Range

Aptian to mid-Albian (Lower Cretaceous).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-14 03:48:58.566158; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Surat Basin, southeastern Queensland and northeastern New South Wales, Australia.