Snowy Plains Formation
| Snowy Plains Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: Mississippian (Tournaisian), | |
| Type | Geological formation |
| Unit of | Mansfield Group |
| Overlies | Devonian rocks |
| Thickness | Between 250 m (820 ft) to 500 m (1,600 ft) (Home Station Sandstone Member) |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Siltstone, mudstone, sandstone |
| Location | |
| Location | Mansfield, Victoria |
| Coordinates | 37°S 146°E / 37°S 146°E |
| Region | Victoria |
| Country | Australia |
  Snowy Plains Formation (Australia)  Snowy Plains Formation (Victoria) | |
The Snowy Plains Formation is a fossiliferous formation of the Mansfield Group, which had yielded most of the historically described Carboniferous fish taxa in Australia,[1] located near Mansfield, Victoria. Specifically, it is of early Tournaisian age, the oldest subdivision of the Mississippian.[2][3]
Although tSnowy Plains Formation is most notable for its fossils of various fish, it has also been the discovery site of several ichnotaxa.[4]
The formation consists of the following members, in descending order (youngest to oldest): Devil's Plain Siltstone, Hearns Mudstone, Lanky Creek Sandstone, Buttercup Sandstone, Home Station Sandstone, Ashwin Siltstone, and Dungeon Gully Sandstone.[5]
History
[edit]The age of the Mansfield fish fauna of the formation was once determined to be of Late Devonian age by George Sweet in 1889 and Frederick McCoy in 1890, on the basis that the lithology of the rock strata was similar to the Old Red Sandstone of the Late Devonian in Scotland, and that the fossil taxa were similar. However, it was later determined by Arthur S. Woodward in 1906 that the fauna were actually of Carboniferous age, due to similarities with other Carboniferous fish faunas of Europe and America, and concluded that McCoy's account was mostly erroneous.[6] In more recent decades, it appeared that Eupleurogmus creswelli could no longer be substantiated due to insufficient material, and Acanthodes australis could not be identified at the species level.[2] However, later works continue to include E. creswelli and A. australis.[5]
Fossil Content
[edit]Color key
|
Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; |
Gnathostomata
[edit]| Genus | Species | Clade | Images |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acanthodes | A. australis[6][5] | Acanthodiformes, Acanthodidae |
 |
| A. sp.[7] | |||
| Ageleodus | A. altus[7] | Elasmobranchii incertae sedis |
 |
| Barameda | B. decipiens[6][8] | Rhizodontida, Rhizodontidae |
 |
| B. mitchelli[9] | |||
| Ctenacanthus | C. sp.[7] | Euselachii, Ctenacanthidae |
 |
| Delatitia | D. breviceps | Dipnoi incertae sedis | |
| Eupleurogmus | E. creswelli[6][5] | Acanthodiformes, Acanthodidae |
|
| Gyracanthides | G. murrayi[6][2] | Climatiiformes, Gyracanthidae |
 |
| Mansfieldiscus | M. sweeti (Formerly Elonichthys sweeti)[6][10] |
Palaeonisciformes, Palaeoniscoidea |
|
| ?M. sp.[7] | |||
| Novogonatodus | N. gibbus (Formerly Elonichthys gibbus)[6][8] |
Palaeonisciformes, Palaeoniscoidea |
|
| N. kasantsevae[11] | |||
| ?Tristychius | ?T. sp.[7] | Euselachii (Hybodontoidea incertae sedis) |
|
| Acanthodii indet. | sp. indet.[7] | Acanthodii incertae sedis |
|
| Hybodontoidea gen. et sp. indet. | sp. indet.[7] | Euselachii (Hybodontoidea incertae sedis) |
| Genus | Species | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|
|
C. problematica |
Varies in size and surficial morphology due to animal behaviour. Possibly a result of an arthropod ploughing into the sandy sediment to feef. |
||
|
Fuersichnus |
F. commerfordi |
Possibly made by insect larvae. |
|
|
Margaritichnus |
M. mansfieldi |
Likely to have been made by a bivalve. |
|
|
Palaeophycus |
P. tubularis |
Branching tubular burrows, possibly by an arthropod. |
|
|
Platicytes |
P. lioparadus |
Unbranched tubular burrows, possibly by an arthropod. |
|
| Rusophycus | R. biloba | Likely to have been produced by a non-trilobite arthropod. | |
| R. eutendorfensis | |||
| R. jenningsi | |||
| R. sp. | |||
|
Sagittichnus |
S. lincki |
Possibly made by an ostrocod. |
References
[edit]- 1 2 J. A. Long & K. S. W. Campbell. (1985). A new lungfish from the Lower Carboniferous of Victoria, Australia. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria. 97. 87-93.
- 1 2 3 Warren, Anne; Currie, Bryan P.; Burrow, Carole; Turner, Susan. (2000). A redescription and reinterpretation of Gyracanthides murrayi Woodward 1906 (Acanthodii, Gyracanthidae) from the Lower Carboniferous of the Mansfield Basin, Victoria, Australia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 20(2), 225–242. https://doi.org/10.1671/0272-4634(2000)020[0225:ARAROG]2.0.CO;2
- ↑ Long, J.A., Niedźwiedzki, G., Garvey, J. et al. Earliest amniote tracks recalibrate the timeline of tetrapod evolution. Nature 641, 1193–1200 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08884-5
- 1 2 Jillian M. Garvey; Stephen T. Hasiotis. (2008). An ichnofossil assemblage from the Lower Carboniferous Snowy Plains Formation, Mansfield Basin, Australia. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 258(4), 0–276. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2007.11.002
- 1 2 3 4 Garvey, Jillian & Hasiotis, Stephen. (2008). An ichnofossil assemblage from the Lower Carboniferous Snowy Plains Formation, Mansfield Basin, Australia. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 258. 257-276. 10.1016/j.palaeo.2007.11.002.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Woodward, Arthur Smith. (1906). On a Carboniferous fish fauna from the Mansfield district, Victoria. Memoirs of the National Museum, Melbourne, 1, 1--32. https://doi.org/10.24199/j.mmv.1906.1.01
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Garvey, Jillian & Turner, Susan. (2006). Vertebrate microremains from the presumed earliest Carboniferous of the Mansfield Basin, Victoria. Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. 30. 43-62. 10.1080/03115510608619344.
- 1 2 Johanson, Z., Barrett, P. M., Richter, M. & Smith, M. (eds) Arthur Smith Woodward: His Life and Influence on Modern Vertebrate Palaeontology. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 430, http://doi.org/10.1144/SP430.15
- ↑ Holland, T., Warren, A., Johanson, Z., Long, J., Parker, K., & Garvey, J. (2007). A new species of Barameda (Rhizodontida) and heterochrony in the rhizodontid pectoral fin. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 27(2), 295–315. https://doi.org/10.1671/0272-4634(2007)27[295:ANSOBR]2.0.CO;2
- ↑ Basden, Alison & Young, Gavin. (2001). A primitive actinopterygian neurocranium from the Early Devonian of Southeastern Australia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology - J VERTEBRATE PALEONTOL. 21: 754–766 (p. 757). 10.1671/0272-4634(2001)021[0754:APANFT]2.0.CO;2.
- ↑ Long, John. (1988). New Palaeoniscoid fishes from the Late Devonian - Early Carboniferous of Victoria, Australia.. Memoirs of the Australasian Association of Palaeontologists. 7. 1-64.