Cambrian Mollusks of Australia: Taxonomy, Biostratigraphy, and Paleobiogeography

Abstract

The Cambrian malacofauna of Australia is taxonomically among the most diverse of synchronous faunas. In the number of described mollusk species, it rivals the Siberian and Chinese faunas. To date, 80 valid species and 12 species in open nomenclature, apparently representing new undescribed taxa, have been recorded from the Lower–Middle Cambrian successions of Australia. In addition, six species names can be considered as junior synonyms. The ranges of distribution of mollusk species plotted over the modern stratigraphic scheme reveal four major molluskan evolutionary assemblages in the Tommotian–Undillan interval. In a paleogeographical context, the Cambrian malacofauna of Australia has 29 species in common with the Siberian Platform, Kazakhstan, Altai-Sayan, Transbaikalia, Mongolia, North and South China, Morocco, Antarctica, Europe (Denmark, Germany), Greenland, North America, and New Zealand, providing important correlation links between these regional stratigraphic schemes.