Gogo Formation

Gogo Formation
Stratigraphic range: Middle-Late Devonian (Givetian to Frasnian), 384–382 Ma
TypeGeological formation
Unit ofFairfield Group
UnderliesNapier Formation, Virgin Hills Formation
OverliesPillara Limestone, Sadler Limestone
ThicknessUp to 700 m (2,300 ft)
Lithology
PrimaryShale, Siltstone
OtherLimestone
Location
LocationKimberley, Western Australia
Coordinates18°18′S 126°30′E / 18.3°S 126.5°E / -18.3; 126.5
Approximate paleocoordinates16°42′S 136°42′E / 16.7°S 136.7°E / -16.7; 136.7
RegionWestern Australia
CountryAustralia
ExtentCanning Basin
Type section
Named forGogo Station
Thickness at type section~425 m (1,394 ft)
Gogo Formation is located in Australia
Gogo Formation
Gogo Formation (Australia)
Gogo Formation is located in Western Australia
Gogo Formation
Gogo Formation (Western Australia)
View of Gogo Station, 1951

The Gogo Formation in the Kimberley region of Western Australia is a Lagerstätte that exhibits exceptional preservation of a Devonian reef community. The formation is named after Gogo Station, a cattle station where outcrops appear and fossils are often collected from, as is nearby Fossil Downs Station.

History

The reef, which now stands up abruptly in the western Australian desert (as the Windjana Limestone), was first identified in 1940 by paleontologist Curt Teichert, who discovered the first fossil fish from the region.

Geology and deposition

The type section of the Gogo Formation is an approximately 430-meter-thick sequence of organic-rich, grey to black fine-grained shales and siltstones, interbedded with calcarenite and lenses of limestone. Horizons of resistant, silty calcareous concretions range from 3 to 50 centimeters in dimension (most commonly 5 to 20 cm). As the surrounding softer matrix eroded away, these weather-resistant concretions produce extensive nodule fields across the ground.

Deposition occurred between the middle Givetian (based on miospores) and early Frasnian (based on conodonts), dating the formation to approximately 384 to 382 million years ago.

The Gogo sediments represent deep, hypoxic seafloor deposits in the vicinity of a large tropical reef composed primarily of algae and stromatoporoids during the Frasnian faunal stage of the Late Devonian. Associated stratigraphic units which comprise this ancient reef system are the Windjana Formation (the actual reef structures), Pillara Limestone (reef platform) and the Sadler Formation (fore-reef deposits).

Fossil preservation

The fossils of the Gogo Formation display three-dimensional soft-tissue preservation of tissues as fragile as nerves and embryos with umbilical cords. Over fifty species of fish have been described from the formation, and arthropods, including phyllocarids and eurypterids are similarly well-preserved. Nautiloids, goniatites and tentaculids are also known from the formation, but their soft tissue is not preserved. However, the most diverse group by far are the radiolarians, known from over 100 species split between 17 genera. The excellent preservation of a sheer number of species has allowed for the identification of a wide range of morphotypes, and clarified the structure of different skeletal elements, permitting better taxonomic resolution.

The calcareous concretions formed around objects from the shallow reef areas which sank into the deep anoxic basins. The concretions sometimes contain the remains of fish, whose bodies are often preserved complete in three-dimensions due to rapid encasement and the slow rate of decay in the oxygen-poor surroundings. By repeated baths in a dilute acid solution, the matrix is dissolved away via a process of acid etching to reveal delicate fish fossils, some retaining impressions of soft tissues.

The discovery of Materpiscis, a placoderm preserved with an embryonic juvenile still attached by its umbilical cord, has revealed that at least some placoderms gave birth to live young.

Fossil content

Actinopterygians of the Gogo Formation
GenusSpecies CladeImages
GogosardinaG. coatesi Actinopterygii incertae sedis
MimipiscisM. toombsi Actinopterygii incertae sedis
M. bartrami
MoythomasiaM. durgaringa Actinopterygii,

Moythomasiidae
Pickeringius P. acanthophorus Actinopterygii incertae sedis
Ammonoids of the Gogo Formation
GenusSpecies Clade Images
Hoeninghausia H. pons Goniatitida,

Gephuroceratidae
Ponticeras P. discoidale Goniatitida,

Gephuroceratidae
Probeloceras P. lutheri holzapfeli Agoniatitida,

Acanthoclymeniidae
TimanitesT. angustus Agoniatitida,

Koenentidae
TornocerasT. (T.) simplex Goniatitida,

Tornoceratidae
Arthropods of the Gogo Formation
GenusSpecies CladeImages
MontecarisM. gogoensis Archaeostraca,

Echinocarididae
M. sp. indet.
SchugurocarisS. wami Archaeostraca,

Ceratiocarididae
S. sp. indet.
DithyrocarisD. sp. indet. Archaeostraca,

Rhinocarididae
ConcavicarisC. campi Thylacocephala

(Concavicarida incertae sedis)
C. glenisteri
C. milesi
C. playfordi
C. sp.
HarrycarisH. whittingtoni Thylacocephala

(Concavicarida incertae sedis)
AdelophthalmusA. waterstoni Eurypterida,

Adelophthalmidae
Undescribed eurypteridsp. indet. Eurypterida incertae sedis
'Mushia'sp. indet. Crustacea? incertae sedis
Chondrichthyans of the Gogo Formation
GenusSpecies CladeImages
GogoselachusG. lynbeazleyae Chondrichthyes incertae sedis
Halimacanthodes H. ahlbergi Acanthodiformes,

Howittacanthidae
Conodonts of the Gogo Formation
GenusSpecies Clade Images
PolygnathusP. varca Ozarkodinida,

Polygnathidae
P. normalis
P. asymmetrica asymmetrica
P. asymmetrica ovalis
PlayfordiaP. primitiva Prioniodontida,

Playfordiidae
GnamptognathusG.? lipperti Uncertain
G.? cf. G.? lipperti
AncyrodellaA. rotundiloba alata Ozarkodinida,

Polygnathidae
A. rotundiloba rotundiloba
IcirodusI. symmetricus Uncertain
RoundyaA. aurita Uncertain
Placoderms of the Gogo Formation
GenusSpecies CladeImages
AustroptyctodusA. gardinieri Ptyctodontida,

Ptyctodontidae
BothriolepisIndeterminate Antiarchi,

Bothriolepididae
BruntonichthysB. multidens Arthrodira

(Aspinothoracidi incertae sedis)
BullerichthysB. fascidens Arthrodira

(Aspinothoracidi incertae sedis)

CampbellodusC. decipiens Ptyctodontida,

Ptyctodontidae
CamuropiscisC. concinnus Arthrodira,

Camuropiscidae
C. laidlawi
CompagopiscisC. croucheri Arthrodira

(Incisoscutoidea incertae sedis)
EastmanosteusE. calliaspis Arthrodira,

Dunkleosteidae
FallacosteusF. turneri Arthrodira,

Camuropiscidae
HarrytoombsiaH. elegans Arthrodira

(Incisoscutoidea incertae sedis)
HolonemaH. westolli Arthrodira,

Holonematidae
IncisoscutumI. ritchei Arthrodira,

Incisoscutidae
I. sarahae
KendrickichthysK. cavernosus Arthrodira

(Aspinothoracidi incertae sedis)
KimberleyichthysK. bispicatus Arthrodira

(Eubrachythoraci incertae sedis)
K. whybrowi
MaterpiscisM. attenboroughi Ptyctodontida,

Ptyctodontidae
LatocamurusL. coulthardi Arthrodira,

Camuropiscidae
McnamaraspisM. kaprios Arthrodira

(Incisoscutoidea incertae sedis)
PinguosteusP. thulborni Arthrodira

(Coccosteina incertae sedis)
RolfosteusR. canningensis Arthrodira,

Camuropiscidae
SimosteusS. tuberculatus Arthrodira,

Camuropiscidae
TorosteusT. tuberculatus Arthrodira

(Incisoscutoidea incertae sedis)
T. pulchellus
TubonasusT. lennardensis Arthrodira,

Camuropiscidae
Sarcopterygians of the Gogo Formation
GenusSpecies CladeImages
AdololopasA. moyasmithae Speonesidrionina incertae sedis
Asthenorhynchus A. meemanae Dipnoi,

Holodontidae
Cainocara C. enigma Dipnoi incertae sedis
ChirodipterusC. australis Dipnoi,

Chirodipteridae
NgamugawiN. wirngarri Coelacanthiformes incertae sedis
GogodipterusG. paddyensis Dipnoi,

Chirodipteridae
GogonasusG. andrewsae Osteolepiformes,

Osteolepididae
GriphognathusG. whitei Dipnoi,

Holodontidae
Holodipterus"H" (Holodipteroides) elderae Dipnoi,

Holodontidae
H. gogoensis
OnychodusO. jandemarrai Onychodontiformes,

Onychodontidae
PillararhynchusP. longi Dipnoi,

Chirodipteridae
RhinodipterusR. kimberleyensis Dipnoi incertae sedis
RobinsondipterusR. longi Dipnoi,

Holodontidae
XeradipterusX. hatcheri Dipnoi,

Holodontidae

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Trinajstic, Kate; Briggs, Derek E. G.; Long, John A. (23 November 2021). "The Gogo Formation Lagerstätte: a view of Australia's first great barrier reef". Journal of the Geological Society. 179 (1). doi:10.1144/jgs2021-105. ISSN 0016-7649. S2CID 243284735.
  2. 1 2 3 "Australian Stratigraphic Names Database". Australian Government Geoscience Australia. 29 September 2010. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  3. ↑ Roelofs, B., Playton, T., Barham, M.; Trinajstic, K. (2015). Upper Devonian microvertebrates from the Canning Basin, Western Australia. Acta Geologica Polonica, 65, 69–101.
  4. ↑ "The Fossil Emblem of Western Australia" Archived 22 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 16 August 2012.
  5. ↑ Long, John (2007). Swimming in Stone: the Amazing Gogo Fossils of the Kimberley. Fremantle, W.A.: Fremantle Arts Centre.
  6. ↑ "Gogo Reef Formation". Archived from the original on 7 March 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2008.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Long, J. A.; Trinajstic, K. (2010). "The Late Devonian Gogo Formation Lägerstatte of Western Australia: Exceptional Early Vertebrate Preservation and Diversity". Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences. 38: 255–279. Bibcode:2010AREPS..38..255L. doi:10.1146/annurev-earth-040809-152416.
  8. ↑ Ian Rolfe, W. D. (1966). "Phyllocarid Crustacean Fauna of European Aspect from the Devonian of Western Australia". Nature. 209 (5019): 192. Bibcode:1966Natur.209..192R. doi:10.1038/209192a0. S2CID 129316791.
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  13. ↑ Choo, Brian (2015). "A new species of the Devonian actinopterygian Moythomasia from Bergisch Gladbach, Germany, and fresh observations on M. durgaringa from the Gogo Formation of Western Australia". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 35 (4): e952817.
  14. ↑ Choo, Brian; Lu, Jing; Giles, Sam; Trinajstic, Kate; Long, John A. (2019). "A new actinopterygian from the Late Devonian Gogo Formation, Western Australia". Papers in Palaeontology. 5 (2): 343–363.
  15. 1 2 Glenister, B.F. 1958. Upper Devonian ammonoids from the Manticoceras zone, Fitzroy basin, western Australia. Journal of Paleontology, 32, 58–96.
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  21. ↑ Frederick R. Schram; Cees H. J. Hof; Fedor A. Steeman. (1999). Thylacocephala (Arthropoda: Crustacea?) from the Cretaceous of Lebanon and implications for thylacocephalan systematics., 42(5), 769–797. doi:10.1111/1475-4983.00097
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  25. 1 2 Long, J.A. 1997. Ptyctodontid fishes (Vertebrata, Placodermi) from the Late Devonian Gogo Formation, Western Australia, with a revision of the European genus Ctenurella Orvig, 1960. Geodiversitas 19(3): 515–555.
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  44. ↑ Campbell, K.S.W., & Barwick, R. E. (1998). A new tooth-plated dipnoan from the Upper Devonian Gogo Formation and its relationships. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum, 42(2), 403--437. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/215097
  45. 1 2 Pridmore, P. A.; Campbell, K. S. W.; Barwick, R. E. (29 April 1994). "Morphology and phylogenetic position of the holodipteran dipnoans of the Upper Devonian Gogo Formation of northwestern Australia". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences. 344 (1308): 105–164. doi:10.1098/rstb.1994.0058. ISSN 0962-8436.
  46. 1 2 Long, John. (2010). New holodontid lungfishes from the Late Devonian Gogo Formation, Western Australia.
  47. ↑ Campbell, K.S.W.; Barwick, R.E. (2011). "A new unusual Osteichthyan fish from the Gogo Formation, Western Australia". Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia. 94 (3): 473–502.
  48. ↑ Thiele, Hannah S.; Long, John A.; Bevitt, Joseph J.; Clement, Alice M. (2026). "Deciphering Cainocara enigma from the Late Devonian Gogo Formation, Australia". Canadian Journal of Zoology. 104: 1–13.
  49. 1 2 3 Miles, R. S. (1977). "Dipnoan (lungfish) skulls and the relationships of the group: a study based on new species from the Devonian of Australia". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 61 (1–3): 1–328. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1977.tb01031.x. ISSN 0024-4082.
  50. ↑ LONG, J.A. & TRINAJSTIC, K. 2010. The Late Devonian Gogo Formation Lagerstatte –Exceptional preservation and Diversity in early Vertebrates. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 38: 665-680
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  52. ↑ Long, John A. (1992). "Gogodipterus paddyensis (Miles), gen. nov., a new chirodipterid lungfish from the late Devonian Gogo formation, Western Australia". The Beagle: Occasional Papers of the Northern Territory Museum of Arts and Sciences. 9: 11–20.
  53. ↑ Long, J. A. (1985). "A new osteolepidid fish from the Upper Devonian Gogo Formation of Western Australia". Recs. W. A. Mus. 12 (8): 361–377.
  54. ↑ Andrews, Mahala; Long, John; Ahlberg, Per; Barwick, Richard; Campbell, Ken (2006). "The structure of the sarcopterygian Onychodus jandemarrai n. sp. from Gogo, Western Australia: with a functional interpretation of the skeleton". Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 96 (3): 197–307. doi:10.1017/s0263593300001309. S2CID 84910707 – via ResearchGate.
  55. ↑ "A Late Devonian dipnoan, Pillararhynchus, from Gogo, Western Australia, and its relationships". ResearchGate. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  56. ↑ Alice M. Clement & John A. Long (2010). "Xeradipterus hatcheri, a new dipnoan from the Late Devonian (Frasnian) Gogo Formation, Western Australia, and other new holodontid material". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 30 (3): 681–695. Bibcode:2010JVPal..30..681C. doi:10.1080/02724631003763482. S2CID 83739846.