Lower Cretaceous Palynological Study of the Surat Basin, Australia

Surat Basin in southeastern Queensland and northeastern New South Wales is the focus of this palynological study of Aptian to mid-Albian sediments. The work systematically describes 38 genera and 72 species of spores, 18 genera and 21 species of pollen grains, and 35 genera and 60 species of dinoflagellates, proposing several new species. It was published by the Australian Ocean Data Network and last updated on 2026-04-28.

Use Cases

• Reconstructing past environments and paleogeography based on proportional abundance analysis of spore, pollen, and dinoflagellate groups.
• Studying the first appearance of angiosperm pollen grains (e.g., Clavatipollenites hughesii) in the Albian sequence.
• Analyzing stratigraphic zonation based on defined spore-pollen and dinoflagellate zones (e.g., Osmundacidites dubius Zone).
• Investigating dinoflagellate classification systems based on paratabulation, archaeopyle formation, and ornamental structure.

Strengths

• Provides detailed systematic documentation of 38 genera and 72 species of spores, 18 genera and 21 species of pollen, and 35 genera and 60 species of dinoflagellates.
• Defines clear stratigraphic zones for spore-pollen and dinoflagellate sequences, aiding temporal correlation.
• Proposes multiple 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 presented in PDF/HTML formats, which may require extraction for computational analysis.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Palynological study of sediment samples.

Time Range

Aptian to middle Albian stages of the Lower Cretaceous.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-28 12:37:06.310510; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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