Upper Triassic spongiomorph and coral association dredged off the northwestern Australian shelf

Upper Triassic corals and spongiomorphs dredged during BMR Cruise 95 from the Rowley Terrace, offshore Canning Basin of northwestern Australia, indicate possible new occurrences of reef facies. These are comparable to counterparts known from the Northern Limestone Alps of central Europe. A branching spongiomorph, represented by the genus Spongiomorpha sp. and two coral taxa, Pamiroseris rectilamellosa (Winkler) and Retiophyllia tellae (Stoppani), are reported herein. Collectively, these fossils indicate a Late Triassic (Norian- Rhaetian) age. Although different in taxonomic composition, the fauna compares with one previously reported from a Late Triassic ODP reef site (sitc 764) on the Wombat Plateau, some 350 km to the west. The Rowley Terrace occurrences may represent an eastward extension of the Wombat reefs, developed along the rifted margin of Gondwana.

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