Gogo Formation Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Gogo Formation Stratigraphic range: Frasnian PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Type	Geological formation
Underlies	Virgin Hills Formation
Overlies	Unconformity with Prices Creek Group
Thickness	Up to 700 m (2,300 ft)
Lithology
Primary	Shale, Siltstone
Other	Limestone
Location
Location	Kimberley, Western Australia
Coordinates	18°18′S 126°30′E / 18.3°S 126.5°E / -18.3; 126.5
Approximate paleocoordinates	16°42′S 136°42′E / 16.7°S 136.7°E / -16.7; 136.7
Region	Western Australia
Country	Australia
Type section
Named for	Gogo Station
Thickness at type section	~425 m (1,394 ft)

View of Gogo Station, 1951

The Gogo Formation is a special rock layer in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. It's famous for having incredibly well-preserved fossils from an ancient Devonian reef. This place is called a Lagerstätte, which means it's a fossil site with amazing preservation.

The formation gets its name from Gogo Station. This is a large cattle ranch where these rocks and fossils are often found. Another nearby place where fossils are collected is Fossil Downs Station.

Discovering the Gogo Formation
What the Gogo Rocks Are Made Of
When the Gogo Formation Formed
Amazing Fossil Preservation
What Kinds of Fossils Are Found?
Images for kids
See also

Discovering the Gogo Formation

The ancient reef, which now looks like rocky hills in the Australian desert, was first found in 1940. A scientist named Curt Teichert identified it. He was the first to discover fossil fish in this area.

What the Gogo Rocks Are Made Of

The Gogo Formation is mostly made of siltstone and shale. These are types of fine-grained rocks. It also has some limestone, which is a rock made from the shells and skeletons of sea creatures.

You can find many round, hard concretions here. These are like natural rock "balls" that formed around objects. They are tougher than the surrounding rock. When the softer rock wears away, these concretions are left behind.

The Gogo sediments formed in deep ocean waters. These waters had very little oxygen, which helped preserve the fossils. This area was once a large tropical reef. It was made mostly of algae and stromatoporoids (sponge-like creatures). This was during the Frasnian time, a period in the Late Devonian.

When the Gogo Formation Formed

The Gogo Formation rocks were laid down during the Frasnian period. This was a part of the Late Devonian era, a very long time ago.

Amazing Fossil Preservation

The fossils found in the Gogo Formation are truly special. They show incredible three-dimensional preservation. Even delicate parts like nerves and tiny embryos with umbilical cords have been found. This is very rare in the fossil record.

Scientists have found over fifty different kinds of fish fossils here. Other creatures like phyllocarids (ancient shrimp-like animals) and eurypterids (sea scorpions) are also well-preserved. While other fossils like nautiloids are found, their soft parts are not preserved.

The hard concretions formed around dead animals that sank from the shallow reef into the deep, oxygen-poor waters. Because there was little oxygen, the bodies decayed very slowly. This allowed the concretions to form quickly around them, keeping their shapes.

Scientists use a special method to get the fossils out. They put the concretions in a weak acid solution. The acid slowly dissolves the rock matrix, revealing the delicate fish fossils inside. Some fossils even show impressions of soft tissues!

One of the most exciting discoveries was Materpiscis. This was a type of armored fish called a placoderm. It was found with a baby fish still attached by its umbilical cord. This showed that some placoderms gave birth to live young, just like some animals today.