Marine Neogene Samples from around Tasmania: an extension to the Miocene/Pliocene marine record in Tasmania

Abstract

New Miocene and Quaterna1y foraminiferid faunas have been recovered from previously unrecorded localities onshore near Penguin and Strahan, and at nine offshore localities off northwestern, northeastern and southeastern Tasmania. Most Miocene benthic forms found in these samples are well known from other Tasmanian Tertiary sections but a few previously unreported taxa are recorded in Tasmania for the first time. Two samples from off northeastern Tasmania are Miocene. The sample from southeastern Tasmania is Early Miocene with Quaternary overlying it. Pebbles from Ocean Beach, north of Strahan, contain earliest Middle Miocene faunas. Other samples from off northeastern and northwestern Tasmania contain Quaternary faunas which probably reflect both periods oflower sea level and cool water and also periods of higher sea level and warmer water. These samples extend the range of Miocene calcareous sediments much farther south on both west and east coasts of Tasmania. They also reinforce the pattern of Tasmanian Neogene sedimentation cycles (earliest Early Miocene, latest Early-earliest Middle Miocene, mid Late Pliocene) identified previously.

Eocene and younger biostratigraphy and lithofacies of the Cascade Seamount, East Tasman Plateau, southwest Pacific Ocean

“…The Middle Miocene sediments are coeval with other sediments around southeastern Australia, including Tasmania (Quilty 1972;Quilty & Telfer 1994). Later microfossils are less diverse, suggesting significantly cooler temperatures, consistent with the general cooling documented by Shackleton and .…”

“…This study emphasises the value of samples acquired by opportunistic means (see also Quilty & Telfer 1994).…”

Late Eocene foraminifers and palaeoenvironment, Cascade Seamount, southwest Pacific Ocean: implications for seamount subsidence and Australia–Antarctica Eocene correlation

“…This paper records the fauna and a reconstruction of the palaeoenvironment, both local and regional, at the time. The study further supports the value of using samples obtained fortuitously (Quilty 1997)-particularly common for seamounts that are the focus of fishing activity (Quilty & Telfer 1994).…”

Environmental change as a driver of diversification in temporary aquatic habitats: does the genetic structure of extant fairy shrimp populations reflect historic aridification?

“…The first involved the establishment of arid conditions (AAP < 500 mm) throughout most of north-west Australia from the Palaeocene (65.5-55.8 mya) until the mid-Miocene (65.5-15.0 mya) and with seasonal and semiarid conditions expanding into central Australia and later, near the end of the Oligocene (25.0-23.0 mya), to large parts of Western and eastern Australia (Quilty & Telfer, 1994;Martin, 2006). The first involved the establishment of arid conditions (AAP < 500 mm) throughout most of north-west Australia from the Palaeocene (65.5-55.8 mya) until the mid-Miocene (65.5-15.0 mya) and with seasonal and semiarid conditions expanding into central Australia and later, near the end of the Oligocene (25.0-23.0 mya), to large parts of Western and eastern Australia (Quilty & Telfer, 1994;Martin, 2006).…”

“…The transition from tropical to arid conditions can be roughly divided into three main episodes. The first involved the establishment of arid conditions (AAP < 500 mm) throughout most of north-west Australia from the Palaeocene (65.5-55.8 mya) until the mid-Miocene (65.5-15.0 mya) and with seasonal and semiarid conditions expanding into central Australia and later, near the end of the Oligocene (25.0-23.0 mya), to large parts of Western and eastern Australia (Quilty & Telfer, 1994;Martin, 2006). In a second phase (15.0-5.3 mya), arid conditions developed in most of the areas that currently make up the arid zone (Byrne et al, 2008).…”