# Blina Shale

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Australian geological formation

Blina Shale Stratigraphic range: Induan Type Geological formation Thickness 650–1,000 m (2,130–3,280 ft) Lithology Primary Shale Location Coordinates 17°54′S 124°24′E / 17.9°S 124.4°E / -17.9; 124.4 Approximate paleocoordinates 45°36′S 101°48′E / 45.6°S 101.8°E / -45.6; 101.8 Region Western Australia Country Australia Extent Kimberley region Blina Shale (Australia) Show map of Australia Blina Shale (Western Australia) Show map of Western Australia

**Blina Shale** is a fossil bearing geological formation located in the [Kimberley](/source/Kimberley_(Western_Australia)) region of [Northwest Australia](/source/Northwest_Australia). The location is rich in deposits of vertebrate material, and the site of previously unknown [Triassic](/source/Triassic) species. Flora and invertebrate species have also been identified in the deposits, including microplankton and microflora.

## Description

The site is located near [Derby, Western Australia](/source/Derby%2C_Western_Australia). The shale bed extends inland from [King Sound](/source/King_Sound) at the coast, forming claypans where it is rarely exposed, with exploratory drilling indicating it is between 650 and 1,000 metres (2,130 and 3,280 ft) thick. The upper parts of the bed are finer layers sediments; these are evident in some ridges of the Erskine range.[1] As with the [Kockatea Shale](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kockatea_Shale&action=edit&redlink=1) in the same region, the bed was formed by deposition in marine environs and at [river deltas](/source/Delta_(river)) and estuaries.[2] The palaeontological significance of the area was recognised in a geological survey of a region known a Fitzroy Trough in 1953, and examination by Brunnschweiler in 1954 determined the age to be Triassic and associated with the Erskine formation. The earliest collections were forwarded to [R. A. Stirton](/source/R._A._Stirton) in the eastern states, and then to the United States for closer analysis.[3]

The first extensive survey was undertaken by a collaboration between the [University of California](/source/University_of_California), represented by [C. L. Camp](/source/C._L._Camp) and his undergraduate [John Cosgriff](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Cosgriff&action=edit&redlink=1), and the [Western Australian Museum](/source/Western_Australian_Museum) and [University](/source/University_of_Western_Australia) team of [David Ride](/source/David_Ride), [Duncan Merrilees](/source/Duncan_Merrilees) and [K. G. McKenzie](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=K._G._McKenzie&action=edit&redlink=1).[1] The discoveries included the first [early Triassic](/source/Early_Triassic) taxa to be found on the Australian continent.[3]

## Fossil content

Discoveries at the site include the species *[Batrachosuchus henwoodi](/source/Batrachosuchus_henwoodi)* and *[Deltasaurus kimberleyensis](/source/Deltasaurus_kimberleyensis)*,[4] the larger *[Erythrobatrachus noonkanbahensis](/source/Erythrobatrachus_noonkanbahensis)*, along with previously described [Temnospondyli](/source/Temnospondyli) taxa.[5] Other new species and fossil material includes a coelacanth, lungfish species, shark teeth and an [actinopterygian](/source/Actinopterygian) species of *[Saurichthys](/source/Saurichthys)*.[1][3]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Cosgriff1965_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Cosgriff1965_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Cosgriff1965_1-2) Cosgriff, J. W. (1965). ["A new genus of Temnospondyli from the Triassic of Western Australia"](https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/50787086). *Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Western Australia*. **48**: 65–90.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Vickers-Rich1993_2-0)** Vickers-Rich, P. (1993). *Wildlife of Gondwana*. NSW: Reed. p. 111. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0730103153](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0730103153).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Vickers-Rich1991_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Vickers-Rich1991_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Vickers-Rich1991_3-2) Vickers-Rich, P. (1991). [*Vertebrate palaeontology of Australasia /*](https://archive.org/details/Vertebratepalae00PVic/page/58). Melbourne: Monash University Publications. pp. [58, 374](https://archive.org/details/Vertebratepalae00PVic/page/58). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780909674366](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780909674366).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Cosgriff1969_4-0)** [Cosgriff, J.W.](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_W._Cosgriff&action=edit&redlink=1) (1969). ["Blinasaurus, a brachyopid genus from Western Australia and New South Wales"](https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/46132673). *Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia*. **52** (3). The Society: 65–90.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Kear2011_5-0)** [Kear, B.P.](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Benjamin_P._Kear&action=edit&redlink=1); [Hamilton-Bruce, R.J.](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robert_J._Hamilton-Bruce&action=edit&redlink=1) (2011). [*Dinosaurs in Australia: Mesozoic Life from the Southern Continent*](https://books.google.com/books?id=FTMOFi5EZDUC&pg=PA48). Csiro Publishing. p. 48. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780643102316](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780643102316).

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Blina Shale](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blina_Shale) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blina_Shale?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.