Upper Triassic Coral and Sponge Fossils from the Northwestern Australian Shelf

Upper Triassic corals and spongiomorphs were dredged during BMR Cruise 95 from the Rowley Terrace, offshore Canning Basin. The fossils, including Spongiomorpha sp., Pamiroseris rectilamellosa, and Retiophyllia tellae, indicate a Late Triassic (Norian-Rhaetian) age. The dataset is provided by the Australian Ocean Data Network and was last updated on 2026-04-10.

Use Cases

• Correlating fossil assemblages based on reported taxa Spongiomorpha sp., Pamiroseris rectilamellosa, and Retiophyllia tellae.
• Mapping the extent of Late Triassic reef facies based on the described occurrences on the Rowley Terrace and Wombat Plateau.
• Analyzing paleobiogeographic connections between Australian and European (Northern Limestone Alps) Triassic reefs.
• Dating geological formations using the reported Norian-Rhaetian age indicators.

Strengths

• Fossil occurrences are compared to a known reef site (ODP site 764) approximately 350 km to the west.
• Specific genera and species (e.g., Pamiroseris rectilamellosa) are identified, providing taxonomic detail.
• The dataset was last updated on 2026-04-10 21:48:51.622185.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The primary data format is PDF/HTML, which may require extraction for computational analysis.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Dredged during BMR Cruise 95

Time Range

Late Triassic (Norian-Rhaetian)

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-10 21:48:51.622185; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Rowley Terrace, offshore Canning Basin, northwestern Australia