Nelly Creek: Middle Eocene, Australia

List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
unclassified
Parataxa informal 1 unknown leaf, cuticle
172 specimens
Monocot indet. leaf
3 specimens
Parataxa informal 10 unknown leaf
1 specimen
Parataxa informal 11 unknown leaf
1 specimen
Parataxa informal 13 unknown leaf
1 specimen
Angiospermae - Arecaceae
Arecipites sp. microspore Nichols et al. 1973
Alley 1998
Angiospermae - Laurales - Lauraceae
Lauraceae indet. leaf Jussieu 1789
1 specimen
Angiospermae - Proteales - Proteaceae
Proteaceae informal parataxa 2 leaf, cuticle
16 specimens
Proteaceae informal parataxa 7 leaf
2 specimens
Proteaceae informal parataxa 9 leaf
3 specimens
Proteaceae informal parataxa 12 leaf
1 specimen
Beaupreaidites verrucosus microspore
Alley 1998
Proteacidites annularis microspore
Alley 1998
Xylomelum type
Proteacidites crassus microspore
Alley 1998
?Adenanthos
Proteacidites confragosus microspore
Alley 1998
aff. unknown
Banksieaeidites arcuatus microspore Stover and Partridge 1973
Alley 1998
Angiospermae - Fagales - Casuarinaceae
Gymnostoma informal sp. A sterile axis, cuticle Johnson 1980
14 specimens
Gymnostoma informal sp. B sterile axis, cuticle Johnson 1980
10 specimens
Angiospermae - Malvales - Sterculiaceae
Brachychiton indet. leaf Schott and Endlicher 1832
1 specimen
Angiospermae - Myrtales
Myrtaceidites eucalyptoides microspore
Alley 1998
Angiospermae - Myrtales - Myrtaceae
Myrtaciphyllum eremeaensis n. sp. leaf, cuticle Christophel et al. 1992
15 specimens
Coniferales - Podocarpaceae
Podocarpaceae indet. sterile axis, cuticle Endlicher 1847
25 specimens
Dacrydium mucronatus n. sp. sterile axis, cuticle Hill and Christophel 2001
Hill and Christophel 2001
Dacrydium fimbriatus n. sp. sterile axis, cuticle Hill and Christophel 2001
Hill and Christophel 2001
Equisetopsida - Araucariaceae
Agathis indet. leaf, cuticle Salisbury 1807
3 specimens
see common names

Geography
Country:Australia State/province:South Australia
Coordinates: 29.3° South, 137.3° East (view map)
Paleocoordinates:52.0° South, 131.2° East
Basis of coordinate:stated in text
Time
Period:Paleogene Epoch:Eocene
10 m.y. bin:Cenozoic 2-3
Key time interval:Middle Eocene Pollen zone: Lower Nothofagidites asperus
Age range of interval:47.80000 - 37.71000 m.y. ago
Stratigraphy
Formation:Eyre
Stratigraphy comments: Based on palynological dating the Formation ranges in age from latest Paleocene to Middle Eocene (Alley, 1998).
Nelly Creek palynoflora correlates with the Lower Nothofagidites asperus Zone of Stover & Partridge (1973) and with the Proteacidites pachypolus Zone of Harris (1971), and the Nelly Creek flora is correlative with the floras at Maslin Bay and Golden Grove (Hiil & Christophel, 2001).
Lithology and environment
Primary lithology:pyritic carbonaceous sandstone
Secondary lithology:gray carbonaceous claystone
Lithology description: The deposit consists of sands, silts and grey, carbonaceous clays forming a portion of the bed of Nelly Creek. The deposit is restricted to the stream bed and is only accessible when little or no water is found in Nelly Creek (Hiil & Christophel, 2001). The Eyre Formation consists largely of mature, pyritic, carbonaceous sand, that is often leached in outcrop, silt and gravel. Lignite and clay, sometimes with root horizons and leaf beds, are common. A diagnostic feature of the base of the unit is a polished gravel composed of resistant lithologies such as milky quartz, chert, jasper, agate, fossil wood and silcrete, with pebbles of basement rock in some localities (Alley, 1998).
Environment:"floodplain"
Geology comments: Locally, the formation was deposited in a meandering channel to floodplain environment and the carbonaceous (leaf-bearing) clay in backwater swamps and shallow lakes on the floodplain (Alley et al. 1996). The leaf-bearing sediments are only accessible when little or no water is present.
Taphonomy
Modes of preservation:adpression
Size of fossils:macrofossils
Collection methods and comments
Collection methods:chemical
Reason for describing collection:paleoecologic analysis
Collection method comments: 16 parataxa recognised.
Metadata
Also known as:Lake Eyre Basin
Database number:167541
Authorizer:C. Jaramillo Enterer:C. Jaramillo
Modifier:C. Jaramillo
Created:2015-03-21 17:40:15 Last modified:2015-04-04 13:25:05
Access level:the public Released:2015-03-21 17:40:15
Creative Commons license:CC BY
Reference information

Primary reference:
54685. D. C. Christophel, L. J. Scriven, and D. R. Greenwood. 1992. An Eocene Megafossil Flora from Nelly Creek, South Australia. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 116(2):65-76 [C. Jaramillo/C. Jaramillo]

Secondary references:

54864 N. F. Alley. 1998. Cainozoic stratigraphy, palaeoenvironments and geological evolution of the Lake Eyre Basin. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 144(3 - 4):239-263 [C. Jaramillo/C. Jaramillo]
54802 D. C. Christophel. 1994. The early Tertiary macrofloras of continental Australia. History of the Australian Vegetation. Cretaceous to Recent [C. Jaramillo/C. Jaramillo]
54699 R. S. Hill and D. C. Christophel. 2001. Two New Species of Dacrydium (Podocarpaceae) Based on Vegetative Fossils from Middle Eocene Sediments at Nelly Creek, South Australia. Australian Systematic Botany 14(2):193-205 [C. Jaramillo/C. Jaramillo]