Proterozoic Microfossils from the Roper Group, Northern Territory, Australia

An assemblage of well-preserved microfossils from the approximately 1.3-billion-year-old McMinn Formation shales in Australia's Northern Territory. The microbiota includes algal cells, filaments, and large acritarchs, with evidence suggesting some organisms are eukaryotic. This flora is considered advanced for its Precambrian age and is preserved due to low thermal metamorphism, with geochemical studies indicating organic matter suitable for oil generation.

Use Cases

• Study early eukaryotic evolution based on described microfossil assemblages including probable life cycles and endospory.
• Analyze preservation quality and organic maturation for hydrocarbon potential based on geochemical and petrographic studies mentioned.
• Compare microbiota from siliciclastic environments to carbonate stromatolitic environments as discussed in the description.
• Model depositional environments ranging from fluvial to marine based on the described Roper Group sequence.

Strengths

• Microfossils are in a particularly good state of preservation due to low thermal metamorphism.
• The flora is described as very advanced for its geological age of approximately 1.3 billion years.
• Geochemical and petrographic studies of the organic matter are referenced, indicating appropriate composition for oil generation.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The primary file formats are PDF and HTML, which may require extraction for structured analysis.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network via data_gov_au.

Collection Method

Likely contains research findings from geological and paleontological studies.

Time Range

Proterozoic era, specifically from rocks with a minimum age of approximately 1.3 billion years.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-10 17:25:29.667693; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Roper Group, Northern Territory, Australia.