Walloon Coal Measures Explained

Walloon Coal Measures
Type:	Subgroup
Age:	Oxfordian-early Tithonian ~
Period:	Late Jurassic
Prilithology:	Shale, sandstone, siltstone
Otherlithology:	Coal, limestone
Namedfor:	Walloon
Namedby:	Dudgeon
Year Ts:	1982
Coordinates:	-27°N 152.6°W
Paleocoordinates:	-67.2°N 93.3°W
Unitof:	Injune Creek Group
Subunits:	Juandah Coal Measures, Maclean Sandstone Member, Tangalooma Sandstone, Taroom Coal Measures, Mutdapilly fossil locality
Underlies:	Springbok Sandstone
Overlies:	Hutton Sandstone, Eurombah Formation
Thickness:	420-
Extent:	Surat & Clarence-Moreton Basins

The Walloon Coal Measures are a Late Jurassic geologic subgroup in Queensland, Australia. Deposited within the Surat Basin, it is considered Oxfordian to early Tithonian in age based on lead-uranium dating of tuffites within the unit.^[1]

Description

The 420mto700mm (1,380feetto2,300feetm) thick formation comprises thin-bedded, claystones, shales, siltstones, lithic and sublithic to feldspathic arenites, coal seams and partings and minor limestone. The formation is laterally equivalent to the Mulgildie Coal Measures and Birkhead Formation.^[2]

Fossil content

The formation, in the Jurassic in the South Polar region, has provided fossil flora and trace fossils of theropods, ornithopods and Changpeipus bartholomaii and Garbina roeorum.^{[3] [4]} The dinosaur Rhoetosaurus is known from the unit. 11 tracks are known from the formation, mostly those of large (prints 30-75 centimetres in length) theropods.^[5]

Further reading

• L. C. Ball. 1933. Fossil footprints. Queensland Government Mining Journal 34(403):384
• A. Bartholomai. 1966. Fossil footprints in Queensland. Australian Natural History 15:147-150
• J. B. Cameron. 1970. The Rosewood-Walloon coalfield. Geological Survey of Queensland Publication 344:1-42
• Dudgeon, M.J., 1982, Stratigraphy and palaeobotany of east and west Haldon, Main Range, southeast Queensland., University of Queensland Department of Geology. Papers, 10(2), p83-110
• Green, P.M., Carmichael, D.C., Brain, T.J., Murray, C.G., McKellar, J.L., Beeston, J.W., Gray, A.R.G., 1997, Lithostratigraphic units in the Bowen and Surat Basins, Queensland IN: Green, P.M. (ed.) "The Surat and Bowen Basins, south-east Queensland", Queensland Minerals and Energy Review Series, Queensland Geological Survey, 1v, p41-108
• T. H. Rich and P. Vickers-Rich. 2003. A Century of Australian Dinosaurs. Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery and Monash Science Centre, Monash University 1-124
• J. F. Rigby. 1978. Jurassic plant fossils from the Walloon Coal Measures at Rosewood Consolidated Colliery. Queensland Government Mining Journal 526-529
• Wells, A.T., O'Brien, P.E., 1994, Lithostratigraphic framework of the Clarence-Moreton Basin IN Wells, A.T. and O'Brien, P.E. (eds.) "Geology and Petroleum Potential of the Clarence-Moreton Basin, New South Wales and Queensland", Australian Geological Survey Organisation. Bulletin, 241, p4-47

Notes and References

1. Todd. Christopher N.. Roberts. Eric M.. Knutsen. Espen M.. Rozefelds. Andrew C.. Huang. Hui-Qing. Spandler. Carl. December 2019. Refined age and geological context of two of Australia's most important Jurassic vertebrate taxa (Rhoetosaurus brownei and Siderops kehli), Queensland. Gondwana Research. 76. 19–25. 10.1016/j.gr.2019.05.008. 2019GondR..76...19T . 199105458 .
2. https://asud.ga.gov.au/search-stratigraphic-units/results/19303 Walloon Coal Measures
3. http://www.fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?a=collectionSearch&collection_no=142853 Westvale No. 5 Colliery
4. http://www.fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?a=collectionSearch&collection_no=60755 Balgowan Colliery, Darling Downs
5. Romilio. Anthony. Salisbury. Steven W.. Jannel. Andréas. 2020-06-12. Footprints of large theropod dinosaurs in the Middle–UpperJurassic (lower Callovian–lower Tithonian) Walloon Coal Measures of southern Queensland, Australia.. Historical Biology. 33 . 10 . en. 2135–2146. 10.1080/08912963.2020.1772252. 225692077 . 0891-2963.