Late Triassic Fossils from the Kuta Formation, Papua New Guinea

Late Triassic fossil data from the Kuta Formation, a limestone deposit in Papua New Guinea's Central Highlands. The dataset includes identified conodont, ammonite, bivalve, and brachiopod specimens, which were used to definitively date the formation as late Norian or Rhaetian age. It is provided by the Australian Ocean Data Network and was last updated in April 2026.

Use Cases

• Refining Late Triassic stratigraphic timelines based on the described conodont and brachiopod assemblages.
• Studying Tethyan provincial biogeography based on the fossil assemblage's described characteristics.
• Analyzing marine sedimentation continuity in Papua New Guinea during the Triassic period.
• Comparative paleontology research focusing on the distribution of genera like Clavigera between New Zealand, New Caledonia, and Papua New Guinea.

Strengths

• Provides a definitive late Norian or Rhaetian age for the Kuta Formation, resolving previous dating uncertainties.
• Includes specific fossil identifications, such as the conodont Misikella posthernsteini and the ammonite Arcestes cf. sundaicus.
• Describes fossils with Tethyan Provincial aspect, offering biogeographic context.

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 manual extraction for analysis.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Likely contains fossil identifications and descriptions from geological fieldwork.

Time Range

Late Triassic (late Norian to Rhaetian)

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-28 12:27:47.270472; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Kuta Formation, Kubor Anticline, Central Highlands of Papua New Guinea