Historical information

This specimen was found in Cape Patterson, Vic. Cape Paterson is a cape and seaside village located near the town of Wonthaggi, 132 kilometres southeast of Melbourne, in the Bass Coast Shire of Gippsland, Victoria, Australia.

These dark, fossiliferous Mudstones were deposited in slow-moving water associated with sedimentary basins & continental shelves. They are rich in carbon which makes them almost black. This is typical of an anoxic, reducing environment such as deep water or stagnant conditions where carbon-rich material would remain unoxidised during subsequent deposition & diagenesis.


it has an imprint of a leaf in the rock itself, displaying the fossil of the plant.

Significance

This specimen is unique due to the leaf impression within the stone itself. Imprint fossils are formed from an organism moving in some way, leaving behind a trace or track. These tracks are preserved when the clay/silt dries slowly and is covered by other sediment. Plants can also leave imprint fossils when they are covered by sediment. The leaf tissue degrades, leaving an imprint of where the leaf once was.

This specimen is part of a larger collection of geological and mineral specimens collected from around Australia (and some parts of the world) and donated to the Burke Museum between 1868-1880. A large percentage of these specimens were collected in Victoria as part of the Geological Survey of Victoria that begun in 1852 (in response to the Gold Rush) to study and map the geology of Victoria. Collecting geological specimens was an important part of mapping and understanding the scientific makeup of the earth. Many of these specimens were sent to research and collecting organisations across Australia, including the Burke Museum, to educate and encourage further study.

Physical description

These dark, fossiliferous Mudstones were deposited in slow moving water associated with sedimentary basins & continental shelves. They are rich in carbon which makes them almost black. This is typical of an anoxic, reducing environment such as deep water or stagnant conditions where carbon rich material would remain unoxidised during subsequent deposition & diagenesis.

Inscriptions & markings

FOSSILIFEROUS MUDSTONE / Locality: Cape Patterson, Victoria | Descriptive catalogue / Pg 27 No 95 / "Grey Clay, / Cape Paterson with leaf impressions' / 15/4/21 C. William /