The Tingamarra Fauna is associated with the early Eocene Murgon fossil site, and contains the earliest known non-flying eutherian, passerine, trionychidae turtles, mekosuchine crocodiles along with frogs, lungfish and teleost fish in Australia.Scanlon, J. D. 2005. Australia's oldest known snakes: Patagoniophis, Alamitophis, and cf. Madtsoia (Squamata: Madtsoiidae) from the Eocene of Queensland. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum (Proceedings of the Conference of Australasian Vertebrate Evolution, Palaeontology and Systematics) v. 51, p. 215–223. The Murgon fossil site is located near Kingaroy in south-east Queensland (26° 14' S, 151° 57' E).
Geology Material that represents the fossil component is the MP1 horizon in a sequence of lacustrine clays from Boat Mountain. The geological formation of the site is not known for certain, but may be associated with the Oakdale Sandstone formation. The area was a swamp or shallow lake at the time of deposition, though the habitat has not been determined. Potassium-argon dating of illites has given a date of about 54.6 million years, which is before Australia's separation from Antarctica and South AmericaGodthelp, H.; Archer, M.; Cifelli, R.; Hand, S. J.; Gilkeson, C. F. 1992. "Earliest known Australian Tertiary mammal fauna". Nature 359:514-516
Paleobiota Fish Fish of Tingamarra Genus Species Abundance Notes Images
Amphibians Amphibians of Tingamarra Genus Species Abundance Notes Images
Reptiles Reptiles of Tingamarra Genus Species Abundance Notes ImagesPatagoniophisP. australiensis (Scanlon, 2004)Many disarticulated vertebrae and fragmented ribsAlamitophisA. tingamarraFragmented dentary and rib along with disarticulated vertebrae.KambaraK. implexidens and K. murgonensis?MadtsoiaM.spRib head and proximal shaftCostal tubercle is broken so not able to determine if it was robust as in madtsoiids or slender in proximal view as with the extent serpentes. Some other characteristics indicate a Patagoniophis affinity excluding the large size (3.9 by 2.6 mm), but is still smaller than Madtsoia, to which it is most similar.Scanlon (2005)MurgonemysM. braithwaiteiAlmost complete semi-articulated carapace with vertebrae
Mammals Mammals of Tingamarra Taxon Species Material Notes ImagesArchaeonothosA. henkgodthelpiQM F53825, an isolated upper molar.A carnivorous metatherian of uncertain affinities.AustralonycterisA. clarkaeQM F19147, an isolated lower molar; QM F19149, dentary fragment; QM F19148, an isolated upper premolar; QM F19150, a fragment of a periotic.Oldest bat from the Southern Hemisphere and one of the oldest bats in the world."Chulpasia""C". jimthorselliQM F50411, an isolated upper molar.A fossil traditionally referred to the paucituberculate Chulpasia, now thought to represent an unrelated marsupial.A Brief History of South American Metatherians: Evolutionary Contexts and Intercontinental DispersalsDjarthiaD. murgonensisQM F31458, dentary and maxillary fragments and isolated teeth; QM F31459 and QM F31460, dentary fragments; QM F52747, QM F52748 and QM F52749, isolated calcanea; QM F36397, QM F36393 and QM F32322, isolated petrosals.Originally thought to be a marsupial of uncertain affinities, now known to be a keeunamorphian.MarsupialiaIndeterminateQM F30060, an isolated calcaneus.A marsupial of uncertain affinities. May be attributable to 'Ameridelphia'.Peramelemorphia? IndeterminateAn isolated upper molar.Currently underscribed, but possibly represents the oldest peramelemorphian.TingamarraT. porterorumQM F20564, an isolated lower molar.Originally classified as a condylarth, now regarded as a mammal of uncertain affinities.ThylacotingaT. bartholomaiiQM F16835, QM F20804, QM F20803, QM F24120, QM F24194, QM F50407, QM F50408 and QM F24485, isolated upper molars; QM F16836, QM F50405, QM F50406, QM F23551, QM F50409 and QM F24333, isolated lower molars.Possibly a stem-diprotodontian.
Birds Birds of Tingamarra Genus Species Abundance Notes ImagesQM specimens F20688 (carpometacarpus) and F24685 (tibiotarsus) from Murgon, Queensland, are fossil bone fragments clearly recognizable as passeriform; they represent two species of approximately some 10 and some 20 cm in overall length.Boles, Walter E. (1997): "Fossil Songbirds (Passeriformes) from the Early Eocene of Australia". Emu 97(1): 43-50. Presbyornithid material similar to Presbyornis.Vanesa L. De Pietri, R. Paul Scofield, Nikita Zelenkov, Walter E. Boles and Trevor H. Worthy (2016). "The unexpected survival of an ancient lineage of anseriform birds into the Neogene of Australia: the youngest record of Presbyornithidae". Royal Society Open Science. 3 (2): 150635. doi:10.1098/rsos.150635.
References
Further reading