Middle and Late Cambrian Trilobite Fossils from Northern Victoria Land, Antarctica

54 trilobite taxa from 15 new localities in the Bowers Terrane of Northern Victoria Land, Antarctica, collected during expeditions in 1974-75 and 1981-82. The fossils constrain the age of the Bowers Supergroup to between the middle and late Cambrian, revising previous geological models. This data links the Antarctic and Australian segments of Gondwanaland during the Cambrian period.

Use Cases

• Refining the age and correlation of the Cambrian-Ordovician Bowers Supergroup based on trilobite assemblages.
• Analyzing lateral facies contrasts and fault displacement in the Spurs Formation based on fossil evidence.
• Modeling the timing of Cambrian rifting, subsidence, and volcanism between Antarctica and Tasmania.
• Proposing revised reassemblies of the Australo-Antarctic portion of Gondwanaland based on stratigraphical and palaeontological data.

Strengths

• Data from 15 new fossil localities, including the first fossils from the Molar Formation.
• Collection area is precisely bounded by latitudes 71 to 73 degrees S and 162 to 166 degrees E.
• Material collected over two dedicated summer field seasons.

Limitations

• Last updated 1982-03-31 23:59:59.999000; freshness should be verified.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

AU_AADC

Collection Method

Field collection during the 1974-75 NZARP expedition and the 1981 82 International North Victoria Land Expedition supported by ANARE.

Time Range

Middle to Late Cambrian (geological age); data collected in 1974-75 and 1981-82.

Freshness

Last updated 1982-03-31 23:59:59.999000

Geography

Northern Victoria Land, Antarctica, bounded by 71-73°S and 162-166°E, at altitudes between 1500 and 2500 metres.