Aberdare State Forest

The fossil site in the Aberdare State Forest is a fairly recent discovery located near Cessnock. Therefore, unfortunately, no academic research has been completed about the site. However, Macquarie University staff have carried out some analysis of the site. 

There is less of an abundance of species at this site compared to Mulbring Quarry but gastropods, bivalves and brachiopods are the most commonly found fossils. Fragments of bryozoans and Crinoidea stems are also found but are far less common.

The lithology is different to Mulbring Quarry in that it consists of fine to course grained sandstone. The preservation of the fossils however is the same as at Mulbring (casts and moulds). There are also drop stones and large chunks of fossilised wood indicating that this site also experienced frequent glaciation events. The environment of deposition was much more turbulent than Mulbring owing to the fragmentary remains of the bryozoans and crinoid stems. The size of the wood debris and drop stones is also larger and they occur more frequently than at Mulbring. This infers that the site was located fairly close to the coast compared to the Mulbring Quarry site which was located further inland during the Middle Permian.

References

Excursion Handout. 2012. Permian Fossils and Palaeoenvironments of the Hunter Valley.