This document is a professional opinion, presenting an assessment of the macrofossils present in well CKAD0001, located in the Northern Territory in the Georgina Basin.

This entails publishing a formal analysis which, under the International Codes of Zoological and Botanical Nomenclature, must be accompanied by illustrations of specimens. These illustrated specimens can then become the 'ype specimens'. The type specimen acts as a reference upon which the understanding of each species relies. So, if any subsequent research worker wants to compare their material with, or to assign their material to a known species, the concept of that species is dependent on the type specimens and the research worker must refer to those type specimens.

Early Middle Cambrian faunas from the Jigaimara Formation from Elcho, Howard and Banyan Islands in the Arafura Basin, Northern Territory are analysed. They include the species: Pagetia hainesi sp. nov., P. aff. edura Jell, P. sp. indet., Xystridura templetonensis (Chapman), X. remorata Opik, X. ?filifera Opik, X. sp. indet., ptychoparioid sp. 1, ptychoparioid sp. 2, Oryctocephalites ?reynoldsi (Reed), Arthricocephalus sp. nov. and ?Itagnostus sp.. All indicate an age of early Templetonian (i.e. predating T. gibbus), and indicate a close similarity with the fauna of the Beetle Creek Formation of western Queensland

The warm greenhouse world of the Late Cretaceous created an ocean that was poorly stratified latitudinally and vertically. Periodically these oceans experienced globally significant events where oxygen minimum zones enveloped the continental margins. Evidence of the effect of one of these Ocean Anoxic Events (OAE?s) is preserved in the southern high latitude strata of the Otway Basin in southeast Australia. During the Late Cretaceous, thick sequences of mudstone-dominated deltaic sediments (the Otway Delta) were deposited in an elongate inlet (ca. 500km wide) between Antarctica and Australia located at least 70?S. The initial Turonian strata of this delta (the Waarre Formation) were deposited in marginal marine delta plain to delta front conditions. The overlying Flaxman Formation and basal Belfast Mudstone preserve evidence of transgressive inner to middle shelf upper delta to prodelta conditions. These Turonian units were subject to periodic dysoxia. The conditions that created this dysoxia in the region were similar to those of the high northern latitude Cretaceous Interior Seaway of North America where intermittent freshwater input and deepening seas caused periods of thermohaline stratification and reduced bottom waters. The overlying Coniacian to Santonian Belfast Mudstone was deposited in outer shelf to upper slope prodelta conditions subject to periodic fluctuations in dysoxia with normal marine salinities. After a period when the oxygen minimum zone contracted, upward-increasing dysoxia in the Belfast Mudstone herald the onset of the Coniacian to Santonian OAE 3. This was the last OAE of the Late Cretaceous, prior to the onset of more ?modern? oceanic conditions. The fluctuations in TOC and hydrogen index in these strata reflect variable dysoxic conditions similar to that reported for OAE 3 in the tropical eastern Atlantic by Hofmann et al. (2003). This periodicity implies a very active and dynamic Late Cretaceous hydrosphere. Eventually, hyposaline conditions or higher sedimentation rates due to upper delta progradation and shallowing in the Santonian caused the local extinction and dissolution of many of the calcareous benthic taxa of the Belfast Mudstone.

This black and white resource is an 18 page booklet including geological time, rock clocks, the age of famous Australian places, Australia on the move, Australian volcanoes, Ice Ages, Ancient Australian life, how fossils form and some common Australian fossils. Includes student activities suitable for primary Years K-6.

Learn about studying fossils (palaeontology) in this behind-the-scenes visit to the Commonwealth Palaeontological Collection. The formation of fossils is explained and different types of fossils are shown. The collection contains thousands of specimens including microscopic organisms called Foraminifera. Viewers learn that there are many scientific uses of fossils and this collection is a resource that scientists continue to study today.

The marine and terrestrial palynology of the Middle Jurassic Wanaea verrucosa Zone from the Perseus-3A, Sunrise-2 and Sunset West-1 wells of the North West Shelf of Australia was studied in detail. These three wells represent brackish and shallow marine successions from the Northern Carnarvon and Bonaparte basins respectively. The palynological data derived from these three wells constitute the basis for the formal definition of this important dinoflagellate cyst biozone and its three constituent subzones. The base of the Lower Wanaea verrucosa Subzone is defined by the inception of the index species and is a relatively sparse, low diversity microphytoplankton assemblage; species richness increases up-section. The base of the succeeding Middle Wanaea verrucosa Subzone is defined by the range base of Valvaeodinium spinosum, and the Upper Wanaea verrucosa Subzone is defined by the incoming of the large and distinctive species Endoscrinium kempiae. Other stratigraphically-important datums include the inceptions of ?Bradleyella adela in the lower subzone, Leptodinium spp. and Wanaea lacuna in the middle subzone, and Endoscrinium spp. and Ternia balmei within the upper subzone. Important range tops include Mancodinium semitabulatum and Phallocysta granosa in the middle subzone, and Nannoceratopsis deflandrei in the upper subzone. These and other datums are compared with European ranges to assign a Late Bajocian to Early Bathonian age to the Wanaea verrucosa Zone.

This publication was developed as a guide to be used in conjunction with the Geoscience Australia TimeWalk but can also be used as a standalone guide on geological time. Each section in this publication discusses a single geological time interval, and outlines the major geological, climatic and biological events which occurred in that interval. Geological events include continental drift, the break-up and amalgamation of continental landmasses, mountain-building and major volcanic eruptions. Climatic events include changes in the content of the atmosphere and the occurrence of ice ages. Biological events include the evolution of major groups of organisms, the invasion of the land and major extinctions. Other events include changes in sea levels as well as major meteorite impacts. Each section also shows where rocks of a specific age are found in Australia and lists some of the continent's major mineral and energy resources formed during a particular time interval.

<p><b> Please note: This record has been made available internally for reference only</b> <p>PIMS is a search tool for discovery of survey and well data assets and physical samples held by the Geoscience Australia Repository. Data can be ordered and viewing of samples can be arranged via an online form. Although this is public data, fees are charged to cover the cost of transcription and delivery.

This Fossils booklet will take you through concepts of geological time and fossilisation. It also provides fact sheets on important animals and plants in the fossil record. Each fact sheet contains a description of the organism to aid in identification, information on when, where and how the organism lived as well as interesting facts to grab your students' attention. Students activities are also included.