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Palaeontology collection

Marine fossils uncovered by excavation work at Tocal College, near Maitland, Hunter Valley.

The Geological Survey of NSW is custodian of the state's Palaeontological Reference Collections, the major component of which is the macrofossil collection comprising approximately 45 000 specimens. Important accessory fossil collections from New South Wales localities held at the W B Clarke Geoscience Centre, Londonderry are devoted to palynology (plant spores and pollen, some 8600 catalogued samples) and microfossils (mainly conodonts and foraminifera, about 4200 catalogued specimens). The Palaeontology Reference Collections are one of the largest public-owned fossil collections in the state, second only to those curated by the Australian Museum.

The value of these reference collections derives from their significance as key biostratigraphic tools providing the basis of the stratigraphy of New South Wales. Particular emphasis is placed on conodont extraction from limestones and cherts collected during the regional mapping program of the state, in order to provide precise biostratigraphic constraints to correlation of Palaeozoic strata. Rather than being a museum-type display resource (although some prime examples are on show at the Minerals Head Office in Maitland), the Palaeontology Reference Collections concentrate on extensive, diverse samples from particular stratigraphic horizons and localities, many of which are no longer accessible. Examples include Silurian brachiopods from Molong, Pleistocene marsupials from Bingara, and type specimens of many Triassic fish from Sydney region sites since destroyed. The famous Talbragar fish and plant beds, of Jurassic age, are represented by a bulk sample probably larger than the remaining outcrop. Another important scientific asset is the greatest number of Glossopteris holotypes in the world. Many other type specimens reside in the macrofossil collection, having been described in hundreds of scientific research papers and monographs.

Agathis Jurassica plant fossil from Talbragar near Mudgee. It is related to the modern Wollemi Pine.

Access to the Reference Collections

Specimens from the Palaeontological Reference Collections are available for loan under stringent conditions, to recognised educational institutions, public museums, industry associations, and mining companies, for the purposes of research or display. Details of loan criteria may be obtained from the Specialist Geological Services section of the Geological Survey of NSW.

Contact: Dr Ian Percival, Principal Research Scientist, W B Clarke Geoscience Centre, Londonderry.

Phone (02) 4777-0315 or fax (02) 4777-4397).

Under special circumstances (and subject to rigorous security provisions), specimens may also be hired for promotional purposes.

History of the Mineral and Fossil Collections

The state's Economic Mineral Collection and the Palaeontological Reference Collections date from 1883, after all the natural history collections of New South Wales were destroyed in the Garden Palace fire the preceding year.

Paracordylodus gracilis, an Early Ordovician conodont element from the Girilambone Group cherts northwest of Cobar.

The best specimens from both collections were previously displayed for many years at the Geological and Mining Museum in George Street North (under the southern approaches to the Sydney Harbour Bridge). When that institution became the Earth Exchange in the late 1980s, the most spectacular minerals formed the centrepiece of the Hall of Treasures, occupying the 4th floor of the building. Both collections were moved from the Earth Exchange upon its closure in late 1995, firstly to the Mineral Resources Laboratories at Lidcombe, and more recently to the W B Clarke Geoscience Centre, Londonderry in western Sydney. The separate Albert Chapman Collection of Minerals, formerly exhibited at the Earth Exchange, was transferred to the Australian Museum where it is now again on public display.

Publications

Go to palaeontological publications for a comprehensive list of publications by officers of Industry & Investment NSW, Minerals.