Dandaragan Shire, Western Australia, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Dandaragan Shire	Shire
Western Australia	State
Australia	Country

The Shire of Dandaragan is 200 kilometres north of Perth and covers 6716 square kilometres. It covers the coastline from just north of Leeman to just north of Lancelin, the western boundary is about 20 kilometres east of the Dandaragan town, and the southern boundary is at Regans Ford on the Moore River.

It has a population of 3185 (2011). The largest town in the shire is Jurien Bay. It also contains the small settlements of Leeman, Badgingarra and Dandaragan itself. Jurien Bay and Leeman, like all the small settlements along this coast, were once tin shanty towns inhabited by fishermen squatters. The hamlet of Wedge Island is the only one that remains.

The economy is based on fishing (mainly rock lobster or what we call crayfish), cereal growing/sheep, mineral sands mining and tourism.

Driving along the Brand Highway is unlikely to impress, however scooting through the region is a mistake, as it holds many interesting attractions for those who take the time to investigate. The Pinnacle Desert in the Nambung National Park is a 'forest' of up to 3 metre high limestone pillars set in windswept sand with views to the coast. There are a number of national parks in the shire protecting the northern heathlands, a flora diverse region, that comes alive with wildflowers in spring. The oldest living organisms in the world, stromatolites, can be found at Lake Thetis near Cervantes (as well as several other locations in Western Australia). The coastline is scenic with white beaches, small islands, and many reefs.

Mineral sands mining is a major industry in the region. There are also significant coal deposits but have never been mined, due to the rare flora above it. The Dandaragan Trough has the potential for potash mining. The coastal area is limestone with a number of shallow caves, the central area glauconitic greensand, with the remnants of the Darling Scarp further east marking the border with the Yilgarn Craton.

The shire has two specimen sites sometimes seen in collections. Bland powdery bat guano species from Moorba Cave, and minyulite from its name-sake type locality.

Fossils

There are 97 fossil localities from the PaleoBioDB database within this region.

These data are provided on an experimental basis and are taken from external databases. Mindat.org has no control currently over the accuracy of these data.

Occurrences	97
Youngest Fossil Listed	1.81 Ma (Pleistocene)
Oldest Fossil Listed	183 Ma (Early Jurassic)
Stratigraphic Units	Unit No. Occurrences Age Ascot 1 1.806 - 0.781 Ma (Pleistocene) Gingin 35 86.3 - 83.6 Ma (Late/Upper Cretaceous) Molecap Greensand 3 86.3 - 83.6 Ma (Late/Upper Cretaceous) Hosking's Chalk 2 86.3 - 83.6 Ma (Late/Upper Cretaceous) Cattamarra Coal Measures 54 182.7 - 174.1 Ma (Jurassic)
Fossils from Region	Click here to show the list.
Accepted Name Hierarchy Age Plesiosauria unranked clade Animalia : Chordata : Reptilia : Sauropterygia : Plesiosauria 100.5 - 89.8 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous Elasmosauridae family Animalia : Chordata : Reptilia : Elasmosauridae 100.5 - 89.8 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous Mesoblattinidae family Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Blattodea : Mesoblattinidae 182.7 - 174.1 Ma Jurassic Coleoptera order Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Coleoptera 182.7 - 174.1 Ma Jurassic Cupedidae family Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Coleoptera : Cupedidae 182.7 - 174.1 Ma Jurassic Elateridae family Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Coleoptera : Elateridae 182.7 - 174.1 Ma Jurassic Terebratulidae family Animalia : Brachiopoda : Rhynchonellata : Terebratulida : Terebratulidae 86.3 - 83.6 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous Plioplatecarpinae subfamily Animalia : Chordata : Reptilia : Squamata : Mosasauridae : Plioplatecarpinae 100.5 - 89.8 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous Tetraphalerus genus Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Coleoptera : Ommatidae : Tetraphalerus 182.7 - 174.1 Ma Jurassic Ademosynoides genus Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Coleoptera : Trachypachidae : Ademosynoides 182.7 - 174.1 Ma Jurassic Platycrossos genus Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Protocoleoptera : Permosynidae : Platycrossos 182.7 - 174.1 Ma Jurassic Blattodea order Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Blattodea 182.7 - 174.1 Ma Jurassic Caloblattinidae family Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Blattodea : Caloblattinidae 182.7 - 174.1 Ma Jurassic Ulomites genus Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Coleoptera : Tenebrionidae : Ulomites 182.7 - 174.1 Ma Jurassic Austrorhyphus moryi species Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Diptera : Protorhyphidae : Austrorhyphus : Austrorhyphus moryi 182.7 - 174.1 Ma Jurassic Mesothoris westraliensis species Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Coleoptera : Cupedidae : Mesothoris : Mesothoris westraliensis 182.7 - 174.1 Ma Jurassic Reeveana genus Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Coleoptera : Dermestidae : Reeveana 182.7 - 174.1 Ma Jurassic Lithomerus wunda species Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Coleoptera : Elateridae : Lithomerus : Lithomerus wunda 182.7 - 174.1 Ma Jurassic Tillyardiopsis genus Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Coleoptera : Tillyardiopsis 182.7 - 174.1 Ma Jurassic Mesolobites genus Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Coleoptera : Schizocoleidae : Mesolobites 182.7 - 174.1 Ma Jurassic Rhipidoblattina boya species Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Blattodea : Raphidiomimidae : Rhipidoblattina : Rhipidoblattina boya 182.7 - 174.1 Ma Jurassic Elisamoides cantabillingensis species Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Blattodea : Liberiblattinidae : Elisamoides : Elisamoides cantabillingensis 182.7 - 174.1 Ma Jurassic Kurablattina mintajaensis species Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Blattodea : Liberiblattinidae : Kurablattina : Kurablattina mintajaensis 182.7 - 174.1 Ma Jurassic Blattula willmotti species Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Blattodea : Blattulidae : Blattula : Blattula willmotti 182.7 - 174.1 Ma Jurassic Eohemithyris wildei species Animalia : Brachiopoda : Rhynchonellata : Rhynchonellida : Basiliolidae : Eohemithiris : Eohemithyris wildei 86.3 - 83.6 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous Protegulorhynchia meridionalis species Animalia : Brachiopoda : Rhynchonellata : Rhynchonellida : Notosariidae : Protegulorhynchia : Protegulorhynchia meridionalis 86.3 - 83.6 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous Tegulorhynchia hrodelberti species Animalia : Brachiopoda : Rhynchonellata : Rhynchonellida : Notosariidae : Tegulorhynchia : Tegulorhynchia hrodelberti 86.3 - 83.6 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous Liothyrella brimmellae species Animalia : Brachiopoda : Rhynchonellata : Terebratulida : Terebratulidae : Liothyrella : Liothyrella brimmellae 86.3 - 83.6 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous Liothyrella archboldi species Animalia : Brachiopoda : Rhynchonellata : Terebratulida : Terebratulidae : Liothyrella : Liothyrella archboldi 86.3 - 83.6 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous Zenobiathyris mutabilis species Animalia : Brachiopoda : Rhynchonellata : Terebratulida : Zenobiathyris : Zenobiathyris mutabilis 86.3 - 83.6 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous Zenobiathyris plicatilis species Animalia : Brachiopoda : Rhynchonellata : Terebratulida : Zenobiathyris : Zenobiathyris plicatilis 86.3 - 83.6 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous Gisilina ovata species Animalia : Brachiopoda : Rhynchonellata : Terebratulida : Chlidonophoridae : Gisilina : Gisilina ovata 86.3 - 83.6 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous Inopinatarcula acanthodes species Animalia : Brachiopoda : Rhynchonellata : Terebratulida : Inopinatarculidae : Inopinatarcula : Inopinatarcula acanthodes 86.3 - 83.6 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous Gemmarcula doddsae species Animalia : Brachiopoda : Rhynchonellata : Terebratulida : Terebrataliidae : Gemmarcula : Gemmarcula doddsae 86.3 - 83.6 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous Bouchardiella cretacea species Animalia : Brachiopoda : Rhynchonellata : Terebratulida : Bouchardiidae : Bouchardiella : Bouchardiella cretacea 86.3 - 83.6 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous Kingena mesembrina species Animalia : Brachiopoda : Rhynchonellata : Terebratulida : Kingenidae : Kingena : Kingena mesembrina 86.3 - 83.6 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous Calantica (Scillaelepas) ginginensis species Animalia : Arthropoda : Maxillopoda : Scalpelliformes : Calanticidae : Scillaelepas : Calantica (Scillaelepas) ginginensis 86.3 - 83.6 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous Neoscalpellum glauerti species Animalia : Arthropoda : Maxillopoda : Scalpelliformes : Scalpellidae : Neoscalpellum : Neoscalpellum glauerti 86.3 - 83.6 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous Zygadenia martinae species Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Coleoptera : Cupedidae : Zygadenia : Zygadenia martinae 182.7 - 174.1 Ma Jurassic Pseudotoites semiornatus species Animalia : Mollusca : Cephalopoda : Ammonitida : Otoitidae : Pseudotoites : Pseudotoites semiornatus 171.6 - 168.4 Ma Middle Jurassic Pseudotoites emilioides species Animalia : Mollusca : Cephalopoda : Ammonoidea : Otoitidae : Pseudotoites : Pseudotoites emilioides 171.6 - 168.4 Ma Middle Jurassic Anakinetica recta species Animalia : Brachiopoda : Rhynchonellata : Terebratulida : Terebratellidae : Anakinetica : Anakinetica recta 2.588 - 1.806 Ma Pleistocene
Fossil Localities	Click to show 6 fossil localities

Localities in this Region

Other Regions, Features and Areas that Intersect

References