Australia: The Land Where Time Began

A biography of the Australian continent 

Nanutarra Formation

A lateral equivalent of the Birdrong Sandstone, outcrops along the northeastern margin of the Carnarvon Basin. It is mainly comprised of silty sandstones that grades up to fine claystone strata in the uppermost part of the sequence. Glauconitic beds are common in this unit, and also in the Birdrong Sandstone, both units displaying evidence of high levels of bioturbation. The authors¹ suggest the palaeoenvironment under which this unit was deposited was probably shallow coastal marine with an irregular seafloor of basement rocks from the Palaeozoic on which it was deposited. Based on fossil spores and pollen, as well as macrofossils and marine microplankton it has been estimated that deposition first occurred in the northwestern part of the Carnarvon Basin in the Hauterivian, then through the Barremian proceeded to the southeast.

Sources & Further reading

1. Kear, B.P. & Hamilton-Bruce, R.J., 2011, Dinosaurs in Australia, Mesozoic life from the southern continent, CSIRO Publishing.