Pioneer - tin mine (Oligocene to of Australia)

Where: Tasmania, Australia (41.1° S, 147.9° E)

• Paleocoordinates: 51.4° S, 155.5° E (Wright 2013)

• coordinate stated in text

When: Lower Proteacidites tuberculatus pollen zone, Late/Upper Oligocene to Late/Upper Oligocene (28.4 - 16.0 Ma)

• The most recent treatment of the age of the sediments has been made by Macphail et al. (1994) who consider them to be Late Oligocene-Early Miocene based on palynological correlation.

•- Overall, the data strongly indicate an Oligocene age for the flora, and possibly Early Oligocene (Wells & Hill, 1989).

Environment/lithology: alluvial fan; claystone

• Pioneer sediments represent a braided fluvial fan which originated from steep slopes to the east and south-east. The fossil-bearing lenses therefore represent areas which were cut off from the main flow resulting in bodies of still water from which fine sediments and plant debris settled. The braided fluvial fan represents a high energy environment and it is likely that each fossil-bearing lens represents a short term event.
• According to Morrison (1980) the stratigraphy can be considered in terms of two sequences: 1) a lower sequence, up to 6 m thick, of cross-bedded and near horizontally stratified gravels, large scale trough cross-bedded granules with very coarse sands and minor gravels, planar cross-bedded sands, and units rich in organic matter with associated sandy clay; and 2) an upper sequence extending to the present soil, with possible modification in the top 2 to 5 m, consisting essentially of trough cross-bedded quartz granules and coarse sands, lenses and sheets of white clay, and clayey, organic-rich units.

Size class: macrofossils

Preservation: adpression

Collection methods: bulk, chemical, sieve

Primary reference: R. S. Hill and M. K. Macphail. 1983. Reconstruction of the Oligocene vegetation at Pioneer, northeast Tasmania. Alcheringa 7:281-299 [C. Jaramillo/C. Jaramillo]more details

Purpose of describing collection: paleoecologic analysis

PaleoDB collection 166703: authorized by Carlos Jaramillo, entered by Andrés Cárdenas on 22.02.2015, edited by Carlos Jaramillo

Creative Commons license: CC0 (CC0)

Taxonomic list

• 197 imbricate podocarp specimens (Wells & Hill, 1989).
unclassified
  -
Angiospermae
 Proteales - Proteaceae
unclassified
  -
Dicolpate sp.
(microreticulate)
Pancolpate sp.
(Psilate-scabrate) aff. Lymingtonia
Bryopsida
  -
Stereisporites sp. Pflug 1953
Lycopodiopsida
 Lycopodiales - Lycopodiaceae
Latrobosporites crassus Harris 1981 clubmoss
Lycopodiumsporites sp. Delcourt and Sprumont 1955 clubmoss
Polypodiopsida
  - Dicksoniaceae
Cyatheacidites annulatus, "Triletes tuberculiformis" = Trilites tuberculiformis
"Triletes tuberculiformis" = Trilites tuberculiformis Cookson 1947
  - Polypodiaceae
Laevigatosporites ovatus Wilson and Webster 1946
  -
  - Blechnaceae
Peromonolites vellosus Partridge 1973
Pteridopsida
  -
Ischyosporites sp. Balme 1957
aff. Klukisporites lachlanensis
Cyathidites paleospora Alley and Broadbridge 1992
Cyathidites minor Couper 1953
Lycopsida
  -
Equisetopsida
 Pinidae - Pinidae
Magnoliopsida
  -
Angiospermae
 Canellales - Winteraceae
 Sapindales - Sapindaceae
 Oxalidales - Cunoniaceae
Cunoniaceae indet. Brown 1814
 Oxalidales - Elaeocarpaceae
cf. Elaeocarpaceae indet. de Candolle 1816
 Fagales - Nothofagaceae
 Fagales -
 Poales - Restionaceae
 Poales - Cyperaceae
Cyperaceae indet. Jussieu 1789 sedge
 Escalloniales - Escalloniaceae
 Aquifoliales - Aquifoliaceae
 Gunnerales -
 Proteales - Proteaceae
 Buxales -
Dicotyledoneae
 Ericales - Sapotaceae
 Ericales - Ericaceae
Ericipites scabratus Harris 1965 heather
 Myrtales -
  -
 Coniferales - Podocarpaceae
Podocarpidites spp. Cookson 1947 podocarp
Dacrydium sinuosum n. sp.4 Wells and Hill 1989 podocarp
Dacrycarpus arcuatus n. sp.4 Wells and Hill 1989 podocarp
Dacrycarpus crenulatus n. sp.4 Wells and Hill 1989 podocarp
171 specimens.
Microcachryidites antarcticus Couper 1953 podocarp
Phyllocladidites mawsonii Cookson 1947 podocarp
Lygistepollenites florinii Stover and Evans 1973 podocarp
Parvisaccites catastus Stover and Partridge 1973 podocarp
 Coniferales - Cupressaceae
Cupressaceae indet. Gray 1822 cypress
"Mesibovia rhomboidea" = Athrotaxis rhomboidea4 Hill et al. 1993 cypress
Athrotaxis mesibovii3 Hill et al. 1993 cypress
Schizosporis parvus
  -
Schizosporis (cf. Schizosporis) parvus Cookson and Dettmann 1959