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,"The Fossil Emblem of Western Australia" Accessed 16 August 2012. 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."Aussie fish fossil gives birth to history" Accessed 29 May 2008.
Fossil content
Placodermi Genus Species Clade Images Austroptyctodus A. gardinieriLong, 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.Ptyctodontida, Ptyctodontidae Bothriolepis IndeterminateAntiarchi, Bothriolepididae Bruntonichthys B. multidensDENNIS, K. and MILES, R. S. (1980), New durophagous arthrodires from Gogo, Western Australia. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 69: 43–85. Arthrodira (Aspinothoracidi incertae sedis) Bullerichthys B. fascidensArthrodira (Aspinothoracidi incertae sedis) Campbellodus C. decipiensPtyctodontida, Ptyctodontidae Camuropiscis C. concinnusArthrodira, Camuropiscidae C. laidlawiLocality No. 20, Stromatoporoid Camp Area at Fossilworks.org Compagopiscis C. croucheriArthrodira (Incisoscutoidea incertae sedis) Eastmanosteus E. calliaspisArthrodira, Dunkleosteidae Fallacosteus F. turneriLong, J. A. 1990a, "Two new arthrodires (placoderm fishes) from the Upper Devonian Gogo Formation, Western Australia", Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 28, De Vis Symposium Volume, pp. 51–64.Arthrodira, Camuropiscidae Harrytoombsia H. elegansArthrodira (Incisoscutoidea incertae sedis) Holonema H. westolliDenison, Robert (1978). Placodermi Volume 2 of Handbook of Paleoichthyology'. Stuttgart New York: Gustav Fischer Verlag. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-89574-027-4Arthrodira, Holonematidae Incisoscutum I. ritcheiArthrodira, Incisoscutidae I. sarahaeJ. A. Long. 1994. A second incisoscutid arthrodire (Pisces, Placodermi) from the Late Devonian Gogo Formation, Western Australia. Alcheringa 18(1-2):59-69 Kendrickichthys K. cavernosusArthrodira (Aspinothoracidi incertae sedis) KimberleyichthysDennis-Bryan, K.; Miles, R. S. (1983). Corrigendum: Renaming of Kimberia Dennis-Bryan & Miles, 1983. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 78:397.Dennis-Bryan, K.; Miles, R. S. (1983). Further eubrachythoracid arthrodires from Gogo, Western Australia, 77(2), 145–173. K. bispicatusArthrodira (Eubrachythoraci incertae sedis) K. whybrowi Materpiscis M. attenboroughiPtyctodontida, Ptyctodontidae Latocamurus L. coulthardiArthrodira, Camuropiscidae Mcnamaraspis M. kapriosLong, J. (1995). "A new ploudosteid arthrodire from the Upper Devonian Gogo Formation of Western Australia". Palaeontology. 38: 39–62.Arthrodira (Incisoscutoidea incertae sedis) Pinguosteus P. thulborniArthrodira (Coccosteina incertae sedis) Rolfosteus R. canningensisArthrodira, Camuropiscidae Simosteus S. tuberculatusArthrodira, Camuropiscidae Torosteus T. tuberculatusArthrodira (Incisoscutoidea incertae sedis) T. pulchellus Tubonasus T. lennardensisArthrodira,
Camuropiscidae
Actinopterygii Genus Species Clade Images Gogosardina G. coatesiBrian Choo; John A. Long; Katherine Trinajstic. (2009). A new genus and species of basal actinopterygian fish from the Upper Devonian Gogo Formation of Western Australia., 90(Supplement s1), 194–210. doi:10.1111/j.1463-6395.2008.00370.xActinopterygii incertae sedis Mimipiscis M. toombsiActinopterygii incertae sedisM. bartrami Moythomasia M. durgaringaActinopterygii, MoythomasiidaePickeringiusP. acanthophorusActinopterygii incertae sedis
Chondrichthyes Genus Species Clade Images Gogoselachus G. lynbeazleyaeChondrichthyes incertae sedisHalimacanthodesH. ahlbergiAcanthodiformes, Howittacanthidae
Sarcopterygii Genus Species Clade Images Adololopas A. moyasmithaeCampbell, 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/215097Speonesidrionina incertae sedisAsthenorhynchusA. meemanaeLong, John. (2010). New holodontid lungfishes from the Late Devonian Gogo Formation, Western Australia.Dipnoi, HolodontidaeCainocaraC. enigmaDipnoi incertae sedis Chirodipterus C. australisDipnoi, Chirodipteridae Ngamugawi N. wirngarriLONG, 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: 665-680Coelacanthiformes incertae sedis Gogodipterus G. paddyensisDipnoi, Chirodipteridae Gogonasus G. andrewsaeOsteolepiformes, Osteolepididae Griphognathus G. whiteiDipnoi, Holodontidae Holodipterus "H" (Holodipteroides) elderaeDipnoi, Holodontidae H. gogoensis Onychodus O. jandemarraiOnychodontiformes, Onychodontidae Pillararhynchus P. longiDipnoi, Chirodipteridae Rhinodipterus R. kimberleyensisDipnoi incertae sedis Robinsondipterus R. longiDipnoi, Holodontidae Xeradipterus X. hatcheriDipnoi, Holodontidae
Conodonta Genus Species CladeImages Polygnathus P. varcaOzarkodinida, Polygnathidae P. normalis P. asymmetrica asymmetrica P. asymmetrica ovalis Playfordia P. primitivaPrioniodontida, Playfordiidae Gnamptognathus G.? lippertiUncertain G.? cf. G.? lipperti Ancyrodella A. rotundiloba alataOzarkodinida, Polygnathidae A. rotundiloba rotundiloba Icirodus I. symmetricusUncertain Roundya A. auritaUncertain
Ammonoidea Genus Species CladeImagesHoeninghausiaH. ponsGlenister, B.F. 1958. Upper Devonian ammonoids from the Manticoceras zone, Fitzroy basin, western Australia. Journal of Paleontology, 32, 58–96.Goniatitida, GephuroceratidaePonticerasP. discoidaleGoniatitida, GephuroceratidaeProbelocerasP. lutheri holzapfeliAgoniatitida, Acanthoclymeniidae Timanites T. angustusAgoniatitida, Koenentidae Tornoceras T. (T.) simplexPetersen, Morris S.. (1975). Upper Devonian (Famennian) Ammonoids from the Canning Basin, Western Australia. Journal of Paleontology, 49(S8), 1–55. doi:10.1017/s002233600006176xGoniatitida, Tornoceratidae
Arthropoda Genus Species Clade Images Montecaris M. gogoensisArchaeostraca, Echinocarididae M. sp. indet. Schugurocaris S. wamiArchaeostraca, Ceratiocarididae S. sp. indet. Dithyrocaris D. sp. indet.Archaeostraca, Rhinocarididae ConcavicarisBriggs, D.E.G. and Rolfe, W.D.I. 1983. New Concavicarida (new order:? Crustacea) from the Upper Devonian of Gogo, Western Australia, and the palaeoecology and affinities of the group. Special Papers in Palaeontology, 30:249-276. C. campiThylacocephala (Concavicarida incertae sedis) C. glenisteri C. milesi C. playfordi C. sp. Harrycaris H. whittingtoniFrederick 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:10.1111/1475-4983.00097Thylacocephala (Concavicarida incertae sedis) Adelophthalmus A. waterstoniEurypterida, Adelophthalmidae Undescribed eurypterid sp. indet.Eurypterida incertae sedis 'Mushia' sp. indet.Crustacea? incertae sedis
References