Late Llandovery (early Silurian) dendroid graptolites from the cotton formation near Forbes, New South Wales

A well-preserved dendroid graptolite fauna of Early Silurian (late Llandovery: probable turriculatus graptolite zone) age is described from the Cotton Formation near Forbes, New South Wales. A possible rhabdopleuran hemichordate is described from Australia for the fi rst time. The fauna consists of 13 taxa as follows: Dendrograptus sp. aff. D. avonleaensis, Dictyonema zalasiewiczi sp. nov., Dictyonema sp. aff. D. paululum australis, Dictyonema paululum australis, Dictyonema sp. aff. D. sp. cf. D. venustus of Bulman (?ssp. nov.), Dictyonema venustum, Dictyonema sp. cf. D. falciferum, Callograptus bridgecreekensis, Callograptus rigbyae, Callograptus sp. aff. C. ulahensis, Stelechocladia sp. cf. S. praeattenuata, Acanthograptus praedeckeri and ?Rhabdopleura sp. (? with zooids). The fauna is close in composition (although less diverse) and age to a dendroid fauna recently described from Bridge Creek near Orange, NSW, which was assigned to the slightly younger griestoniensis zone.