Proterozoic Microfossils from the Roper Group, Northern Territory, Australia

Northern Territory, Australia hosts the Roper Group, a shallow water sedimentary sequence approximately 1.3 billion years old. The Australian Ocean Data Network provides data on microfossils, including algal cells, filaments, and acritarchs, extracted from shales in the McMinn Formation. The organic matter is noted for its good state of preservation and potential for oil generation.

Use Cases

• Classifying early eukaryotic microfossils based on described morphologies like algal cells and giant filaments
• Studying taphonomy and preservation quality in low-thermal-metamorphism sediments
• Correlating microfossil assemblages with specific depositional environments (fluvial, deltaic, marine)
• Analyzing the organic maturation level of Precambrian shale for hydrocarbon potential studies
• Comparing advanced Precambrian microbiotas from shale environments with simpler forms from carbonate stromatolitic settings

Strengths

• Microfossils are described as being in a 'particularly good state of preservation' due to low thermal metamorphism
• The dataset provides geochemical and petrographic context for the organic matter's composition and maturation level
• The geological age of the Roper Group is specified as approximately 1.3 billion years old

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 in PDF and HTML formats, which may require extraction for analysis

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Geochemical and petrographic studies of organic matter from shale samples.

Time Range

Proterozoic era, specifically from the Roper Group (minimum age ~1.3 billion years).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-04 07:34:58.597168; freshness should be verified

Geography

Roper Group, Northern Territory, Australia.