Reconsidering the 'phyllocarid' from the Wade Creek Formation

Russell D. C. Bicknell*, Patrick M. Smith, Natalie Schroeder, Julien Kimmig

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    2 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The fossil record of phyllocarids in Australia is decidedly limited, with only a few specimens known from Ordovician to Devonian deposits. Therefore, the identification of examples from older deposits would uncover more facets of Gondwanan crustacean evolution. Here, a supposed phyllocarid reported by Chapman (1925) from the Mount John Shale Member of the Wade Creek Formation is reconsidered. We conclude that the 'phyllocarid'-like structure is somewhat morphologically comparable to traces ascribed to the activity of bivalved arthropods. However, as the Mount John Shale Member is likely Mesoproterozoic in age, the most parsimonious explanation is that the structure is a cast created by abiotic activity. Re-examination of such specimens represents a useful approach to clarifying previous misidentifications in the literature and is an important application of historically valuable specimens and collections.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)481-483
    Number of pages3
    JournalAlcheringa
    Volume44
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2020

    Keywords

    • Australia
    • Mount John Shale Member
    • abiotic traces
    • historical collections

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