Middle–Upper Ordovician conodonts from the Gunningbland area in central New South Wales with implications for regional correlations

Abstract This study documents Middle to Late Ordovician conodont faunas primarily from the Billabong Creek Formation exposed in the Gunningbland area located west of Parkes and northwest of Forbes in central New South Wales. Forty-four identifiable conodont species recovered from 105 limestone samples in this area form the basis of the most complete biostratigraphic succession in shallow-water facies known through this interval from Australia. Four conodont biozones are recognised, extending from the middle Darriwilian Histiodella holodentata–Eoplacognathus pseudoplanus and Eoplacognathus suecicus biozones, through the upper Darriwilian Pygodus serra Biozone, to the Pygodus anserinus Biozone spanning the uppermost Darriwilian to basal Sandbian interval. A lower to middle Sandbian carbonate gap coincides with an unzoned interval, followed by the successively younger Belodina compressa, Phragmodus undatus and Taoqupognathus blandus conodont biozones in the upper Sandbian to lower Katian. The T. blandus Biozone directly correlates with the detailed conodont biozonation established in Katian limestones of the Molong Volcanic Belt further east. These age determinations provide much improved precision for correlation within Phases 2 and 3 in the mineral-rich Macquarie Volcanic Province. Analysis of conodont biofacies data supports an enhanced understanding of the geological evolution of the Macquarie Volcanic Province by interpreting the interplay between volcanic activity and carbonate deposition. KEY POINTS Conodont studies in the Billabong Creek Formation of the Gunningbland area reveal the only known biostratigraphic succession in Australia that extends continuously from the middle Darriwilian to basal Sandbian. Three Late Ordovician (late Sandbian to early Katian) conodont biozones in the upper Billabong Creek Formation correlate precisely with carbonates of the Molong Volcanic Belt to the east. Revised stratigraphic definitions of the Billabong Creek and Gunningbland formations are provided.