Youngest Permian Marine Fossils from Eastern Australia's Bowen and Sydney Basins

Eastern Australia's Bowen and Sydney Basins provide a marine invertebrate macrofauna from the upper Permian period. The dataset describes a fauna assigned to 12 genera and 13 species, including one newly recognized genus and one new species, and proposes three biostratigraphic zones. It was published by the Australian Ocean Data Network and last updated in April 2026.

Use Cases

• Correlating geological formations based on described fossil zones like the Martiniopsis havilensis zone.
• Studying Permian marine biodiversity decline based on the described low diversity relative to older faunas.
• Analyzing paleogeographic marine conditions based on conclusions about restricted seas at the end of the open sea period.
• Identifying taxonomic novelties based on the newly recognized genus Pseudonucula and one new species.

Strengths

• Fauna is assigned to 12 genera and 13 species, providing a taxonomic baseline.
• Proposes three distinct biostratigraphic zones for correlation.
• Includes analysis correlating formations across different parts of the Bowen Basin.

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Scientific description and analysis of collected fossil specimens.

Time Range

Permian period, likely Kungurian to Kazanian stages.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-10 17:56:34.906384; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Bowen Basin and Sydney Basin, eastern Australia.