OFR 151.pdf - CRC LEME

1. TIME SLICE T-1
Age Range: Paleocene [65-54.8 Ma]
Zones: Lower to Upper Lygistepollenites balmei Zones
Trithyrodinium evittii to Lower Apectodinium hyperacanthum Zones
1.1 Macrofloras
Lack of outcrop limits information on Paleocene macrofossils to scattered sub-basaltic
localities in the Southeastern Highlands and Northern Tablelands of New South Wales.
1.1.1 North-West Australia
No known record.
1.1.2 North-East Australia
1. Northern Tablelands of New South Wales
Braided stream deposits, which preserve numerous leaf impressions and charcoal fragments,
are associated with Late Paleocene (~54 Ma) basalts on the Mount Royal Range near
Barrington Tops in the Upper Hunter River district (Martin et al. 1987).
Inferred climate
The macrofossils have not been studied but charcoal may be the result of local wildfires
ignited by volcanic eruptions.
1.1.3 Central Australia
No known record.
1.1.4 South-West Australia
No known record.
1.1.5 Central southern Australia
No known record.
1.1.6 South-East Australia
1. Southeastern Highlands
Early Paleocene (est. 58-60 Ma) fossil wood and leaves are preserved at Cambalong Creek
(Vadala and Drinnan 1998) and in a 150 m thick lacustrine sequence on the Monaro Plains,
Southeastern Highlands (Taylor et al. 1990). The latter (Palaeolake Bungarby) predates Late
Paleocene-Early Eocene basalts with K/Ar dates of 45-53 Ma. Gymnosperms include
Acmopyle (Podocarpaceae), whose NLRs are confined to New Caledonia and Fiji, and
Libocedrus (Cupressaceae), whose NLRs are endemic to New Zealand and New Caledonia
(Hill and Brodribb 1999, Whang and Hill 1999). Angiosperms able to be identified to extant
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