Koonwarra fish-bed: Early/Lower Cretaceous, Australia
collected 1965-1966

List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
Dipnoi - Ceratodontidae
Ceratodus sp. Agassiz 1838
MUZ 3343
unclassified
? Coccolepis sp. Agassiz 1843
MUZ 314A-D
Coccolepis woodwardi n. sp. Waldman 1971
MUZ 3167AB (type)
Actinopteri - Pachycormiformes
Koonwarria manifrons n. gen., n. sp. Waldman 1971
MUZ 2797A
Wadeichthys oxyops n. gen., n. sp. Waldman 1971
MUZ 3075AB
Actinopteri - Leptolepidiformes - Leptolepididae
Leptolepis koonwarri n. sp. Waldman 1971
MUGD 3649
see common names

Geography
Country:Australia State/province:Victoria
Coordinates: 38.6° South, 146.0° East (view map)
Paleocoordinates:79.0° South, 108.1° East
Basis of coordinate:stated in text
Geographic resolution:outcrop
Time
Period:Cretaceous Epoch:Early/Lower Cretaceous
10 m.y. bin:Cretaceous 1-4
Key time interval:Early/Lower Cretaceous
Age range of interval:145.00000 - 100.50000 m.y. ago
Stratigraphy
Geological group:Korumburra
Stratigraphic resolution:bed
Stratigraphy comments: The fish-bed occurs within a 7.1 m true thickness of mudstone and represents a still-water environment in the predominantly fluviatile sediments of the Lower Cretaceous Korumburra Group.
Lithology and environment
Primary lithology:grading lithified mudstone
Secondary lithology: lithified claystone
Lithology description: The fish-bed occurs within a 7.1 m true thickness of mudstone and represents a still-water environment in the predominantly fluviatile sediments of the Lower Cretaceous Korumburra Group. It is made up of graded laminae with a composed of alternate layers of siltstone and claystone, The mudstones are contained within a succession of fluviatile arkoses.
Environment:fluvial indet.
Geology comments: The Koonwarra fish-bed represents a still-water environment within mainly fluviatile sediments.
Taphonomy
Modes of preservation:body
Size of fossils:macrofossils
Collection methods and comments
Collection methods:bulk
Reason for describing collection:taxonomic analysis
Collection dates:1965-1966
Collection method comments: When the present study commenced in 1965, a small excavation had been made on the northern side of the road, in the area from which most of the fossils had been obtained. This region is limited in extent, being bounded along the strike by the highway and a railway cutting. Permission was therefore obtained from the Country Roads Board to excavate on the western side of the road, above the road-cutting. This was carried out in early 1966 by bulldozing, overburden being removed from an area of about 600 m squared. The fish-bed horizon was then relocated and removal of rock commenced, following the strike and excavating down to a level of 5-6 feet. THe depth of the trench was governed by the dip of the bed (37 degrees) into the spur through which the road-cutting had been driven. About 14-16m cubed of fossil-bearing rock was removed from this south-western exposure. The distance between northern and southern sites is approximately 18.6 m. A trench was subsequently dug at 90 degrees to the strike to enable the beds to be mapped stratigraphically. A further, smaller trench was driven along the strike in the lower region of the fish-bed.

Specimens repositories: MUZ: Monash University, and MUGD: University of Melbourne, Department of Geology and Mineralogy
Metadata
Database number:140631
Authorizer:M. Bell Enterer:M. Bell
Modifier:M. Carrano
Created:2013-03-13 03:00:00 Last modified:2023-01-24 10:21:59
Access level:the public Released:2013-03-13 03:00:00
Creative Commons license:CC BY
Reference information

Primary reference:
45558. M. Waldman. 1971. Fish from the freshwater Lower Cretaceous of Victoria, Australia with comments of the palaeo-environment. Special Papers in Palaeontology 9:1-124 [M. Bell/M. Bell]

Secondary references:

83736 T. H. Rich and P. Vickers-Rich. 2020. Dinosaurs of Darkness (second edition) 1-310 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]