Discovery of fossiliferous Upper Cambrian in Central Australia

In October, 1951, geologists G.F. Joklik and S.A. Tomich from the Harts range party of the Commonwealth Bureau of Mineral Resources inspected the section along the Ross River in the Fergusson Ranges fifty miles east of Alice Springs. They collected fossils from several localities discovered by C.T. Madigan, who had regarded the high fossiliferous horizon as basal Larapintine. He describes the rocks as 'worm-eaten quartzite, with moulds suggesting Isoarca' and remarks that 'no good fossils were found'. It is this bed that has yielded the Upper Cambrian fossils. Fossils collected in the deeper horizon generally confirm Madigan's observations. The results of this investigation are recorded and discussed in this report.

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Published (Metadata Record) 03/03/2026
Last updated 03/03/2026
Organisation Australian Federal Government
License License Not Specified
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