Wallumbilla Formation

The Wallumbilla Formation is an Aptian geologic formation found in Australia. Plesiosaur and theropod remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from its strata.

Wallumbilla Formation
Stratigraphic range: Aptian-Albian,
~
TypeGeological formation
Unit ofRolling Downs Group
Sub-unitsTrimble Member, Ranmoor Member, Jones Valley Member, Doncaster Member, Coreena Member
UnderliesToolebuc & Griman Creek Formations
OverliesCadna-Owie & Bungil Formations
Thickness600 m (2,000 ft)
Lithology
PrimaryMudstone, siltstone
OtherSandstone, limestone
Location
Coordinates20.8°S 143.7°E / -20.8; 143.7
Approximate paleocoordinates60.2°S 124.4°E / -60.2; 124.4
Region New South Wales
 Northern Territory
 Queensland
 South Australia
Country Australia
ExtentEromanga Basin
Wallumbilla Formation is located in Australia
Wallumbilla Formation
Wallumbilla Formation (Australia)

Description

The formation is present in the Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, and New South Wales. It is a sedimentary unit, principally made up of mudstone and siltstone, with calcareous concretions. Its maximum thickness is 600 metres. Its age is somewhere from Aptian to Albian, that is between 125 and 101 Mya. The formation is part of the Wilgunya Subgroup, which in turn is part of the Rolling Downs Group of the Eromanga and Surat Basins. The named beds are the Coreena, Doncaster, Jones Valley, Ranmoor, and Trimble Members.[1]

Fossil content

Paleofauna of the Wallumbilla Formation
GenusSpeciesLocationStratigraphic positionAbundanceNotesImages
Notopala Cotton, 1935 Notopala albascopularis (Etheridge, 1902) White Cliffs, New South Wales The oldest freshwater snail in Australia.[2]
Kronosaurus Indeterminate White Cliffs A pliosaur, also found in Queensland's Toolebuc Formation and Colombia's Paja Formation
Theropoda Indeterminate
Platypterygius Indeterminate An ichthyosaur

See also

References

  1. Geoscience Australia: Stratigraphic Units Database
  2. Kear B. P., Hamilton-Bruce R. J., Smith B. J. & Gowlett-Holmes K. L. (2003). "Reassessment of Australia's oldest freshwater snail, Viviparus (?) albascopularis Etheridge, 1902 (Mollusca : Gastropoda : Viviparidae), from the Lower Cretaceous (Aptian, Wallumbilla Formation) of White Cliffs, New South Wales". Molluscan Research 23(2): 149-158. doi:10.1071/MR03003, PDF.

Further reading

  • E. F. Riek. 1954. A second specimen of the dragon-fly Aeschnidiopsis flindersiensis (Woodward) from the Queensland Cretaceous. The Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 79:61-62
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