Walloon Coal Measures

Last updated
Walloon Coal Measures
Stratigraphic range: Oxfordian-early Tithonian
~166–149  Ma
TypeSubgroup
Unit of Injune Creek Group
Sub-units Juandah Coal Measures, Maclean Sandstone Member, Tangalooma Sandstone, Taroom Coal Measures, Mutdapilly fossil locality
Underlies Springbok Sandstone
Overlies Hutton Sandstone, Eurombah Formation
Thickness420–700 m (1,380–2,300 ft)
Lithology
Primary Shale, sandstone, siltstone
Other Coal, limestone
Location
Coordinates 27°00′S152°36′E / 27.0°S 152.6°E / -27.0; 152.6 Coordinates: 27°00′S152°36′E / 27.0°S 152.6°E / -27.0; 152.6
Approximate paleocoordinates 67°12′S93°18′E / 67.2°S 93.3°E / -67.2; 93.3
RegionFlag of Queensland.svg  Queensland
CountryFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Extent Surat & Clarence-Moreton Basins
Type section
Named for Walloon
Named byDudgeon
Year defined1982
Australia relief map.jpg
Blue pog.svg
Walloon Coal Measures (Australia)

The Walloon Coal Measures are a Late Jurassic geologic subgroup in Queensland, Australia. Deposited within the Surat Basin, it is considered Oxfordian to early Tithonian in age based on lead-uranium dating of tuffites within the unit. [1]

Contents

Description

The 420 to 700 metres (1,380 to 2,300 ft) thick formation comprises thin-bedded, claystones, shales, siltstones, lithic and sublithic to feldspathic arenites, coal seams and partings and minor limestone. The formation is laterally equivalent to the Mulgildie Coal Measures and Birkhead Formation. [2]

Fossil content

The formation, in the Jurassic in the South Polar region, has provided fossil flora and trace fossils of theropods, ornithopods and Changpeipus bartholomaii and Garbina roeorum . [3] [4] The dinosaur Rhoetosaurus is known from the unit. [1] 11 tracks are known from the formation, mostly those of large (prints 30-75 centimetres in length) theropods. [5]

Related Research Articles

South Polar region of the Cretaceous Animals that lived below the Antarctic circle in the Cretaceous

The South Polar region of the Cretaceous comprised the continent of East Gondwana–modern day Australia and Antarctica–a product of the break-up of Gondwana. The southern region, during this time, was much warmer than it is today, ranging from perhaps 4–8 °C (39–46 °F) in the latest Cretaceous Maastrichtian in what is now southeastern Australia. This prevented permanent ice sheets from developing and fostered polar forests, which were largely dominated by conifers, cycads, and ferns, and relied on a temperate climate and heavy rainfall. Major fossil-bearing geological formations that record this area are: the Santa Marta and Sobral Formations of Seymour Island off the Antarctic Peninsula; the Snow Hill Island, Lopez de Bertodano, and the Hidden Lake Formations on James Ross Island also off the Antarctic Peninsula; and the Eumeralla and Wonthaggi Formations in Australia.

Rhoetosaurus, named after Rhoetus, a titan in Greek Mythology, is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Jurassic (Oxfordian) Walloon Coal Measures of what is now eastern Australia. Rhoetosaurus is estimated to have been about 15 metres (49 ft) long, weighing about 9 tonnes. Subsequent authors have sometimes misspelled the name: Rhaetosaurus ; Rheteosaurus.

Plottier Formation

The Plottier Formation is a geologic formation that outcrops in the Argentine Patagonian provinces of Río Negro and Neuquén. It is the younger of two formations belonging to the Río Neuquén Subgroup within the Neuquén Group of the Neuquén Basin, with the oldest rocks dating from the late Coniacian and its youngest maybe from the very start of the Santonian. Formerly, that subgroup was treated as a formation, and the Plottier Formation was known as the Plottier Member.

Fossil track

A fossil track or ichnite is a fossilized footprint. This is a type of trace fossil. A fossil trackway is a sequence of fossil tracks left by a single organism. Over the years, many ichnites have been found, around the world, giving important clues about the behaviour of the animals that made them. For instance, multiple ichnites of a single species, close together, suggest 'herd' or 'pack' behaviour of that species.

Lourinhã Formation

The Lourinhã Formation is a fossil rich geological formation in western Portugal, named for the municipality of Lourinhã. The formation is mostly Late Jurassic in age (Kimmeridgian/Tithonian), with the top of the formation extending into the earliest Cretaceous (Berriasian). It is notable for containing a fauna especially similar to that of the Morrison Formation in the United States and a lesser extent to the Tendaguru Formation in Tanzania. There are also similarities to the nearby Villar del Arzobispo Formation. The stratigraphy of the formation and the basin in general is complex and controversial, with the constituent member beds belonging to the formation varying between different authors.

Ebbw Vale, Queensland Suburb of Ipswich, Queensland, Australia

Ebbw Vale is a suburb of Ipswich in the City of Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Ebbw Vale had a population of 508 people.

New Chum, Queensland Suburb of Ipswich, Queensland, Australia

New Chum is a suburb in the City of Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, New Chum had a population of 0 people.

Blackstone Formation, Australia

The Blackstone Formation is a geologic formation of the Ipswich Coal Measures Group in southeastern Queensland, Australia, dating to the Carnian to Norian stages of the Late Triassic. The shales, siltstones, coal and tuffs were deposited in a lacustrine environment. The Blackstone Formation contains the Denmark Hill Insect Bed.

Chacarilla Formation

The Chacarilla Formation is an Oxfordian to Early Cretaceous geologic formation of the Tarapacá Basin in northern Chile, close to the border with Bolivia. The marine and fluvial formation preserves several dinosaur trackways and has been declared a Natural Sanctuary in 2004.

Higuerueles Formation

The Higueruelas (Spanish) or Higuerueles Formation (Catalan) is a Tithonian geologic formation in the Teruel and Valencia provinces of Spain. Fossil sauropod tracks have been reported from the formation.

Baños del Flaco Formation

The Baños del Flaco Formation is a Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous (Tithonian to Berriasian geologic formation in central Chile. The formation comprises limestones and sandstones deposited in a shallow marine to fluvial environment. Fossil ornithopod tracks have been reported from the formation.

Geologically the Australian state of New South Wales consists of seven main regions: Lachlan Fold Belt, the Hunter-Bowen Orogeny or New England Orogen (NEO), the Delamerian Orogeny, the Clarence Moreton Basin, the Great Artesian Basin, the Sydney Basin, and the Murray Basin.

Geology of Queensland

The geology of Queensland can be subdivided into several regions with different histories. Along the east coast is a complex of Palaezoic to Cainozoic rocks while much of the rest of the state is covered by Cretaceous and Cainozoic rocks. A Precambrian basement is found in the north west and Cape York regions. The Thomson Orogen occurs in the central and southern parts of Queensland, but is mostly covered by younger basins.

Clarence Moreton Basin

The Clarence Moreton Basin is a Mesozoic sedimentary basin on the easternmost part of the Australian continent. It is located in the far north east of the state of New South Wales around Lismore and Grafton and in the south east corner of Queensland. It is the part of the Great Artesian Basin that extends to the east coast in Australia's central eastern lowlands.

Coal measures

The coal measures is a lithostratigraphical term for the coal-bearing part of the Upper Carboniferous System. In the United Kingdom, the Coal Measures Group consists of the Upper Coal Measures Formation, the Middle Coal Measures Formation and the Lower Coal Measures Formation. The group records the deposition of fluvio-deltaic sediments which consists mainly of clastic rocks interstratified with the beds of coal. In most places, the coal measures are underlain by coarser clastic sequences known as Millstone Grit, of Namurian age. The top of the coal measures may be marked by an unconformity, the overlying rocks being Permian or later in age. In some parts of Britain, however, the Coal Measures grade up into mainly coal-barren red beds of late Westphalian and possibly Stephanian age. Within the Pennine Basin these barren measures are now referred to as the Warwickshire Group, from the district where they achieve their thickest development.

Areado Group

The Areado Group is a Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous geologic group in southeastern Brazil. The group was defined by Cardoso in 1968.

The Minnes Group, originally named the Minnes Formation, is a geologic unit of latest Jurassic to earliest Cretaceous age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. It is present in the northern foothills of the Canadian Rockies and the adjacent plains in northeastern British Columbia and west-central Alberta. Its strata include natural gas reservoirs and minor coal deposits. Fossil dinosaur tracks have been described from one of its formations.

Evergreen Formation

The Evergreen Formation is a Pliensbachian to Toarcian geologic formation of the Surat Basin in New South Wales and Queensland, eastern Australia. It is Upper Pliensbachian to Toarcian in age.

The Kootenay Group, originally called the Kootenay Formation, is a geologic unit of latest Jurassic to earliest Cretaceous age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin that is present in the southern and central Canadian Rockies and foothills. It includes economically important deposits of high-rank bituminous and semi-anthracite coal, as well as plant fossils and dinosaur trackways.

Gorman Creek Formation

The Gorman Creek Formation is a geologic formation of Early Cretaceous (Valanginian) age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin that consists primarily of nonmarine sediments. It is present in the northern foothills of the Canadian Rockies and the adjacent plains in northeastern British Columbia. Plant fossils and dinosaur tracks have been described from its strata.

References

  1. 1 2 Todd, Christopher N.; Roberts, Eric M.; Knutsen, Espen M.; Rozefelds, Andrew C.; Huang, Hui-Qing; Spandler, Carl (December 2019). "Refined age and geological context of two of Australia's most important Jurassic vertebrate taxa (Rhoetosaurus brownei and Siderops kehli), Queensland". Gondwana Research. 76: 19–25. doi:10.1016/j.gr.2019.05.008.
  2. Walloon Coal Measures - Australian Stratigraphic Units Database
  3. Westvale No. 5 Colliery at Fossilworks.org
  4. Balgowan Colliery, Darling Downs at Fossilworks.org
  5. Romilio, Anthony; Salisbury, Steven W.; Jannel, Andréas (2020-06-12). "Footprints of large theropod dinosaurs in the Middle–UpperJurassic (lower Callovian–lower Tithonian) Walloon Coal Measures of southern Queensland, Australia". Historical Biology: 1–12. doi:10.1080/08912963.2020.1772252. ISSN   0891-2963.

Further reading