Lower Cretaceous Palynological Study of the Surat Basin, Australia

The Surat Basin in southeastern Queensland and northeastern New South Wales is the focus of this palynological study of Aptian to mid-Albian sediments. It documents 38 genera and 72 species of spores, 18 genera and 21 species of pollen grains, and 35 genera and 60 species of dinoflagellates, including 13 newly proposed species. The work was published by Geoscience Australia and last updated in April 2026.

Use Cases

• Refining biostratigraphic zonation based on the described spore, pollen, and dinoflagellate sequences.
• Studying the early appearance of angiosperm pollen (e.g., Clavatipollenites hughesii) in the Albian sequence.
• Reconstructing past environments and palaeogeography based on proportional abundance analysis of microfossil groups.
• Investigating dinoflagellate classification systems using paratabulation, archaeopyle formation, and ornamental structure.

Strengths

• Documents a systematic study of 38 genera and 72 species of spores, 18 genera and 21 species of pollen, and 35 genera and 60 species of dinoflagellates.
• Proposes 13 new species and one new variety of microfossils.
• Defines clear biostratigraphic zones for spores/pollen and dinoflagellates across Aptian to mid-Albian ages.

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/HTML documents, which may require extraction for computational analysis.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Palynological analysis of sediment samples.

Time Range

Aptian to mid-Albian age (Lower Cretaceous)

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-30 14:24:28.012757; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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