| Bitter Springs Group | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: Tonian ~896–767 Ma Pha. Proterozoic Archean Had. | |
| Type | Geological group |
| Sub-units | Gillen, Loves Creek & Johnnys Creek Formations |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Chert |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 23°32′34″S 134°27′26″E / 23.5427°S 134.4572°E / -23.5427; 134.4572 |
| Region | Northern Territory, Western Australia |
| Country | Australia |
| Extent | Amadeus Basin |
  Bitter Springs Group (Australia) | |
_(Neoproterozoic,_800_Ma;_Bitter_Springs,_Australia)_2_(28499466997).jpg)
The Bitter Springs Group, also known as the Bitter Springs Formation is a Precambrian fossil locality in Australia, which preserves stromatolites and microorganisms in silica. Its preservational mode ceased in the late Neoproterozoic with the advent of silicifying organisms.
Fossils include exceptionally well-preserved cyanobacteria microfossils, as well as multiple stromatolite species, including Linella avis and Inzeria intia. This locality also has been claimed to contain eukaryotic green algae preservation, though this interpretation is debated.
References
- Haines, P.W.; Allen, H.J. (2017). "Geological reconnaissance of the southern Murraba Basin, Western Australia: revised stratigraphic position within the Centralian Superbasin and hydrocarbon potential Geological Survey of Western Australia". Geological Survey of Western Australia.
- Haines, P.W.; Allen, H.J. (12 April 2019). "Bitter Springs Group". Geological Survey of Western Australia. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
- Schopf, J.W. (1 May 1968). "Microflora of the Bitter Springs Formation, Late Precambrian, Central Australia". Journal of Paleontology. 42 (3): 651–688. Retrieved 1 July 2008.
- Butterfield, Nicholas J. (2003). "Exceptional Fossil Preservation and the Cambrian Explosion". Integrative and Comparative Biology. 43 (1): 166–177. doi:10.1093/icb/43.1.166. PMID 21680421.
- M. R, Walter (1972). "Stromatolites and the biostratigraphy of the Australian Precambrian and Cambrian" (PDF). Special Papers in Palaentology. 11. The Palaeontological Association.
- Schopf, J. William (2012). Ecology of cyanobacteria II. "The fossil record of cyanobacteria.". Netherlands: Springer. pp. 15–36.
- Barghoorn, Elso S.; Schopf, J. William (15 October 1965). "Microorganisms from the Late Precambrian of Central Australia Science". Science. 150 (3694): 337–339. doi:10.1126/science.150.3694.337. PMID 17742361. S2CID 22110392.