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Blina Shale
Blina Shale is a fossil bearing geological formation located in the Kimberley region of Northwest Australia. The location is rich in deposits of vertebrate material, and the site of previously unknown Triassic species. Flora and invertebrate species have also been identified in the deposits, including microplankton and microflora. Description The site is located near Derby, Western Australia. The shale bed extends inland from King Sound at the coast, forming claypans where it is rarely exposed, with exploratory drilling indicating it is between thick. The upper parts of the bed are finer layers sediments; these are evident in some ridges of the Erskine range. As with the Kockatea Shale in the same region, the bed was formed by deposition in marine environs and at river deltas and estuaries. The palaeontological significance of the area was recognised in a geological survey of a region known a Fitzroy Trough in 1953, and examination by Brunnschweiler in 1954 determined the age t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geological Formation
A geological formation, or simply formation, is a body of rock having a consistent set of physical characteristics ( lithology) that distinguishes it from adjacent bodies of rock, and which occupies a particular position in the layers of rock exposed in a geographical region (the stratigraphic column). It is the fundamental unit of lithostratigraphy, the study of strata or rock layers. A formation must be large enough that it can be mapped at the surface or traced in the subsurface. Formations are otherwise not defined by the thickness of their rock strata, which can vary widely. They are usually, but not universally, tabular in form. They may consist of a single lithology (rock type), or of alternating beds of two or more lithologies, or even a heterogeneous mixture of lithologies, so long as this distinguishes them from adjacent bodies of rock. The concept of a geologic formation goes back to the beginnings of modern scientific geology. The term was used by Abraham Gottlob Wer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duncan Merrilees
Duncan Merrilees (1922–2009) was an Australian geologist, palaeontologist, lecturer and curator at the Western Australian Museum. His research on the fossil records of mammals also founded examination into the period after the arrival of humans and their role within the ecology of the Australian continent. His excavations and research into mammalian palaeontology also included description of unknown species of extinct marsupials. Biography Merrilees was born in Sydney and graduated from the city's university with a degree in chemistry in 1942. His qualifications saw him deployed during the Second World War to a Tasmanian wood pulping industry. His interest was drawn at this time to the study of igneous rock and then to the examination of fossilised mammals. He moved to Western Australia in 1951, after discontinuing a teaching career, and began lecturing in scientific literacy at the University of Western Australia. An overlapping role with the works of the Western Australian M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deltaic Deposits
A river delta is a landform shaped like a triangle, created by deposition of sediment that is carried by a river and enters slower-moving or stagnant water. This occurs where a river enters an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, or (more rarely) another river that cannot carry away the supplied sediment. It is so named because its triangle shape resembles the Greek letter Delta. The size and shape of a delta is controlled by the balance between watershed processes that supply sediment, and receiving basin processes that redistribute, sequester, and export that sediment. The size, geometry, and location of the receiving basin also plays an important role in delta evolution. River deltas are important in human civilization, as they are major agricultural production centers and population centers. They can provide coastline defense and can impact drinking water supply. They are also ecologically important, with different species' assemblages depending on their landscape position ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shale Formations
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite.Blatt, Harvey and Robert J. Tracy (1996) ''Petrology: Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic'', 2nd ed., Freeman, pp. 281–292 Shale is characterized by its tendency to split into thin layers ( laminae) less than one centimeter in thickness. This property is called '' fissility''. Shale is the most common sedimentary rock. The term ''shale'' is sometimes applied more broadly, as essentially a synonym for mudrock, rather than in the more narrow sense of clay-rich fissile mudrock. Texture Shale typically exhibits varying degrees of fissility. Because of the parallel orientation of clay mineral flakes in shale, it breaks into thin layers, often splintery and usually parallel to the otherwise indistinguishable bedding ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Induan Stage
The Induan is the first age of the Early Triassic epoch in the geologic timescale, or the lowest stage of the Lower Triassic series in chronostratigraphy. It spans the time between 251.902 Ma and Ma (million years ago). The Induan is sometimes divided into the Griesbachian and the Dienerian subages or substages. The Induan is preceded by the Changhsingian (latest Permian) and is followed by the Olenekian. The Induan is roughly coeval with the regional Feixianguanian Stage of China. Geology Stratigraphy The Triassic is the first period of the Mesozoic era. It is subdivided into the Lower, Middle, and Upper Triassic series, which are further subdivided into stages. The Induan is the first stage of the Lower Triassic, from 251.9 million to 251.2 million years ago, spanning the first 700,000 years after the Permian–Triassic extinction event. Stages can be defined globally or regionally. For global stratigraphic correlation, the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Triassic Australia
The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period of the Mesozoic Era. Both the start and end of the period are marked by major extinction events. The Triassic Period is subdivided into three epochs: Early Triassic, Middle Triassic and Late Triassic. The Triassic began in the wake of the Permian–Triassic extinction event, which left the Earth's biosphere impoverished; it was well into the middle of the Triassic before life recovered its former diversity. Three categories of organisms can be distinguished in the Triassic record: survivors from the extinction event, new groups that flourished briefly, and other new groups that went on to dominate the Mesozoic Era. Reptiles, especially archosaurs, were the chief terrestrial vertebrates during this time. A specialized subgroup of arch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geologic Formations Of Australia
Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth sciences, including hydrology, and so is treated as one major aspect of integrated Earth system science and planetary science. Geology describes the structure of the Earth on and beneath its surface, and the processes that have shaped that structure. It also provides tools to determine the relative and absolute ages of rocks found in a given location, and also to describe the histories of those rocks. By combining these tools, geologists are able to chronicle the geological history of the Earth as a whole, and also to demonstrate the age of the Earth. Geology provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and the Earth's past climates. Geologists broadly study the properties and processes of Ear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saurichthys
''Saurichthys'' (from el, σαῦρος , 'lizard' and el, ἰχθῦς 'fish') is an extinct genus of predatory ray-finned fish from the Triassic period. It type genus family Saurichthyidae (Changhsingian- Middle Jurassic), and the largest and longest lasting genus in the family. This family also includes the Permian ''Eosaurichthys'' (China) and the Jurassic ''Saurorhynchus'' (= ''Acidorhynchus'') from Europe and North America, though it may be more appropriate to treat these as subgenera of ''Saurichthys,'' due to the genus ''Saurichthys'' otherwise being paraphyletic.'''' Fossils of ''Saurichthys'' have been found on all continents except South America and Antarctica.''Saurichthys'' at |
Actinopterygian
Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or horny spines (rays), as opposed to the fleshy, lobed fins that characterize the class Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fish). These actinopterygian fin rays attach directly to the proximal or basal skeletal elements, the radials, which represent the link or connection between these fins and the internal skeleton (e.g., pelvic and pectoral girdles). By species count, actinopterygians dominate the vertebrates, and they constitute nearly 99% of the over 30,000 species of fish. They are ubiquitous throughout freshwater and marine environments from the deep sea to the highest mountain streams. Extant species can range in size from ''Paedocypris'', at , to the massive ocean sunfish, at , and the long-bodied oarfish, at . The vast majority of Actinopte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Temnospondyli
Temnospondyli (from Greek τέμνειν, ''temnein'' 'to cut' and σπόνδυλος, ''spondylos'' 'vertebra') is a diverse order of small to giant tetrapods—often considered primitive amphibians—that flourished worldwide during the Carboniferous, Permian, and Triassic periods. A few species continued into the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Fossils have been found on every continent. During about 210 million years of evolutionary history, they adapted to a wide range of habitats, including freshwater, terrestrial, and even coastal marine environments. Their life history is well understood, with fossils known from the larval stage, metamorphosis, and maturity. Most temnospondyls were semiaquatic, although some were almost fully terrestrial, returning to the water only to breed. These temnospondyls were some of the first vertebrates fully adapted to life on land. Although temnospondyls are considered amphibians, many had characteristics, such as scales and armour-like bon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erythrobatrachus Noonkanbahensis
''Erythrobatrachus'' is an extinct genus of trematosaurian temnospondyl within the family Trematosauridae. The sole species ''Erythrobatrachus noonkanbahensis'' was separated to a monotypic genus, distinguishing it from related taxa when the description was published in 1972. The type material was a matrix cast revealing the impression of several fragments of skull excavated at the Blina Shale formation in the northwest of the Australian continent. The genus name is derived from ancient Greek, combining terms for red, ''erythro'', with frog, ''batrachos'', to describe the iron staining of the fossilised amphibian specimens. The type location described by the specific epithet was Noonkanbah Station. See also * Prehistoric amphibian * List of prehistoric amphibians This list of prehistoric amphibians is an attempt to create a comprehensive listing of all genera from the fossil record that have ever been considered to be amphibians, excluding purely vernacular terms. The list inc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deltasaurus Kimberleyensis
''Deltasaurus kimberleyensis'' was a temnospondyl amphibian of the family Rhytidosteidae that existed during the Carnian stage of the Triassic. The fossilised remains were discovered in the Blina Shale formation in the Kimberley region of northwest Australia in 1965. Taxonomy The description of ''Deltasaurus kimberleyensis'' by J. W. Cosgriff was published in 1964, nominating this as the type species when establishing the genus and providing the description for a second species, '' Deltasaurus pustulatus'', in the material obtained in Blina Shale in the Kimberley region of northwest Australia. The holotype material is fossil material in shale of a partial skull, the skull roof and its impression with a remaining fragment of the palate, Paratypes included more fragmented material revealing other details including skull, clavicle, and jaw fossils that were also attributed to the new species. Description A common species of ''Deltasaurus'', smaller than the other known speci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
