Dendroid Graptolites from the Cotton Formation Near Forbes, New South Wales
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University of Wollongong Research Online Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive) Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health 1-1-2009 Late Llandovery (early Silurian) dendroid graptolites from the cotton formation near Forbes, New South Wales R B. Rickards University of Cambridge Anthony J. Wright University of Wollongong, [email protected] G Thomas Southland Centre, Victoria Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.uow.edu.au/scipapers Part of the Life Sciences Commons, Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons, and the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Rickards, R B.; Wright, Anthony J.; and Thomas, G: Late Llandovery (early Silurian) dendroid graptolites from the cotton formation near Forbes, New South Wales 2009, 63-76. https://ro.uow.edu.au/scipapers/3430 Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] Late Llandovery (early Silurian) dendroid graptolites from the cotton formation near Forbes, New South Wales Abstract A well-preserved dendroid graptolite fauna of Early Silurian (late Llandovery: probable turriculatus graptolite zone) age is described from the Cotton Formation near Forbes, New South Wales. A possible rhabdopleuran hemichordate is described from Australia for the fi rst time. The fauna consists of 13 taxa as follows: Dendrograptus sp. aff. D. avonleaensis, Dictyonema zalasiewiczi sp. nov., Dictyonema sp. aff. D. paululum australis, Dictyonema paululum australis, Dictyonema sp. aff. D. sp. cf. D. venustus of Bulman (?ssp. nov.), Dictyonema venustum, Dictyonema sp. cf. D. falciferum, Callograptus bridgecreekensis, Callograptus rigbyae, Callograptus sp. aff. C. ulahensis, Stelechocladia sp. cf. S. praeattenuata, Acanthograptus praedeckeri and ?Rhabdopleura sp. (? with zooids). The fauna is close in composition (although less diverse) and age to a dendroid fauna recently described from Bridge Creek near Orange, NSW, which was assigned to the slightly younger griestoniensis zone. Keywords Cotton Formation, dendroids, Early Silurian, Forbes, graptolites, New South Wales, GeoQUEST Disciplines Life Sciences | Physical Sciences and Mathematics | Social and Behavioral Sciences Publication Details Rickards, R. B., Wright, A. J. & Thomas, G. (2009). Late Llandovery (early Silurian) dendroid graptolites from the cotton formation near Forbes, New South Wales. Linnean Society of New South Wales, 130 63-76. This journal article is available at Research Online: https://ro.uow.edu.au/scipapers/3430 Late Llandovery (Early Silurian) Dendroid Graptolites from the Cotton Formation near Forbes, New South Wales R. B. RICKARDS1, A. J. WRIGHT2 AND G. THOMAS3 1Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EQ, U.K. ([email protected]); 2School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong NSW 2522 (tony_ [email protected]) and Linnean Macleay Fellow; 3P.O. Box 130, Southland Centre, Victoria 3192. Rickards, R.B., Wright, A.J. and Thomas, G. (2009). Late Llandovery (Early Silurian) dendroid graptolites from the Cotton Formation near Forbes, New South Wales. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 130, 63-76. A well-preserved dendroid graptolite fauna of Early Silurian (late Llandovery: probable turriculatus graptolite zone) age is described from the Cotton Formation near Forbes, New South Wales. A possible rhabdopleuran hemichordate is described from Australia for the fi rst time. The fauna consists of 13 taxa as follows: Dendrograptus sp. aff. D. avonleaensis, Dictyonema zalasiewiczi sp. nov., Dictyonema sp. aff. D. paululum australis, Dictyonema paululum australis, Dictyonema sp. aff. D. sp. cf. D. venustus of Bulman (?ssp. nov.), Dictyonema venustum, Dictyonema sp. cf. D. falciferum, Callograptus bridgecreekensis, Callograptus rigbyae, Callograptus sp. aff. C. ulahensis, Stelechocladia sp. cf. S. praeattenuata, Acanthograptus praedeckeri and ?Rhabdopleura sp. (? with zooids). The fauna is close in composition (although less diverse) and age to a dendroid fauna recently described from Bridge Creek near Orange, NSW, which was assigned to the slightly younger griestoniensis zone. Manuscript received 12 March 2008, accepted for publication 23 January 2009. KEY WORDS: Cotton Formation, dendroids, Early Silurian, Forbes, graptolites, New South Wales. INTRODUCTION AGE OF THE ASSEMBLAGE The dendroid graptolites described here have Although the Cotton Formation dendroid fauna been collected over many years by one of us (GT) (13 species and subspecies) is less diverse that from a quarry in the Cotton Formation at Cotton Hill described from the Bridge Creek localities in the Four near Forbes in western N.S.W. Fossils from these beds Mile Creek district (24 species and subspecies) by have been described by Sherwin (1974: graptolites) Rickards et al. (2003), there can be little doubt that the and Edgecombe and Sherwin (2001: trilobites). The two faunas are close in age. The largest assemblage described trilobite and graptolite faunas are from beds at Bridge Creek, from locality F14, was referred exposed in the quarry high in the upper part of the by Rickards et al. (2003) to a horizon low in the Cotton Formation (Sherwin 1974) and the graptolite griestoniensis graptolite Zone. The Cotton Hill fauna fauna is correlated with the late Llandovery (Early is assigned almost certainly to the stratigraphically Silurian) turriculatus graptolite zone (Edgecombe and lower turriculatus graptolite zone. Sherwin 2001). Despite the very nature of collections Of the fauna we record here from the Cotton made in an active quarry, there seems little doubt that Formation, only Dictyonema zalasiewiczi sp. nov. the bulk of the dendroid fauna and the graptoloids and ?Rhabdopleura sp. have not been recorded are from the same narrow horizon. The most similar from Bridge Creek at locality F14. Callograptus known dendroid fauna was described by Rickards et ulahensis Rickards et al., 2003 was recorded from a al. (2003) from the Four Mile Creek district, south of lower (gregarius Zone) assemblage at locality BF15 Orange, NSW, and comparisons are made below with on Bridge Creek: the Cotton Hill Quarry species that fauna. is referred to Callograptus sp. cf. C. ulahensis. EARLY SILURIAN GRAPTOLITES FROM NEAR FORBES Stelechocladia praeattenuata Rickards et al., 2003 a stratigraphically lower level than the Four Mile was not recorded from F14 but occurs below (F19) Creek (F14) locality which was mentioned in the and above (BF28, BF24 and BF18), ranging from the preceding section and which is probably low in the gregarius Zone to the uppermost griestoniensis Zone. griestoniensis Zone. Sherwin (1973, 1974) referred the strata at Cotton Graptoloids occurring on the same rocks as Hill Quarry to the turriculatus Zone, with some levels the Cotton Hill dendroids described below include: probably earlier than this but without defi nite faunas. Parapetalolithus palmeus, ?Glyptograptus tamariscus, Sherwin (1970, 1973) also recorded Dictyonema spp. Monograptus andrewsi and Spirograptus turriculatus from the highest band of a group of beds yielding a (Fig. 7b). The faunal lists given by Sherwin (1974) likely turriculatus Zone fauna. Hence the two dendroid are fuller and much more reliable than the graptoloids assemblages, from Cotton Hill (probable turriculatus at our disposal. Here we also record and illustrate Zone) and from Bridge Creek (griestoniensis Zone), (Fig. 7a) Parapetalothius palmeus (Barrande, 1850), are not dissimilar in age, the Cotton Hill fauna being a form not recorded by Sherwin (1974); its occurrence about one graptolite zone lower. accords with his age attribution of the turriculatus There is another difference between the two zone. In their revision of Spirograptus, Loydell et assemblages apart from a possible slight age al. (1993) assigned Sherwin’s (1974) Monograptus difference and a diversity range, and that is that the turriculatus (Barrande, 1850) to their new species Cotton Hill fauna is almost exclusively of slender, Spirograptus guerichi. They further (Loydell et delicate species, often broken. In contrast, most of the al. 1993, p. 924, text-fi g. 7) stated that S. guerichi species described by Rickards et al. (2003) from Four is “virtually confi ned to its biozone”, whereas S. Mile Creek are robust, and are preserved in poorly turriculatus ranges through their turriculatus biozone bedded siltstone. The only robust form common to into the crispus biozone; Sherwin (1974, p. 150) the two localities is Stelechocladia and at Cotton shows that both species occur in his fauna D. Hill it is known only from three small fragments showing distal, slender thecae. It is possible that the Cotton Hill assemblage lived in a quieter depositional SYSTEMATIC PALAEONTOLOGY environment, such as a lagoon, or further offshore. Edgecombe and Sherwin (2001) concluded that the This benthic graptolite fauna has been assembled laminated siltstones that dominate the formation were only by sustained and diligent collecting over many deposited in a ‘very calm’ environment, ‘most likely years by one of us (GT), as dendroids are rare at below storm surge wave base’. the locality. The preservation is of reddish brown Associated graptoloids. Sherwin (1970, 1973) was graptolites against a very pale, fi ne-grained siltstone the fi rst to identify graptoloid species from the Cotton or mudstone. The specimens are often large but are Beds, following the initial recognition