The entomofauna of the Tatarian insect beds within the Newcastle Coal Measures at Belmont, north of Sydney, was described many years ago. A new collection contains some undescribed species, particularly beetles; a new exposure of the fossiliferous deposits is now documented. The Newcastle Coal Measures consist of sandstones, conglomerates, shales, coal and tuffs, which were deposited in the Hunter Trough. The depositional environment consisted of a series of very shallow, stagnant freshwater pools along a gravel river channel system within a regional coal swamp. A volcanic event produced a volcanic ash dump, causing a "snapshot" kill of insects, validating possible interpretation of percentages of insect fossils in ecological modelling. The pool community included Conchostraca, Permosyne beetles and extremely rare insect larvae. A community on swamp banks adjacent to the water courses was comprised of Glossopteris-dominated flora and Phyllotheca, with an insect-dominated, first-level consumer community of phloem-feeding Hemiptera and possibly pollenivorous Mecoptera. A leaf-litter and bark-dwelling community included Protelytroptera, Psocoptera and archostematan Coleoptera. Neuroptera, extremely rare Trichoptera, and ancestors of the Orthoptera were also present in small numbers. Adult Neuroptera fossils suggest the presence of their predatory larvae and this group, along with the Odonata, are considered to have been the predatory components within this environment. No chelicerates, tetrapods or other potential top predators have been found in this, or proximal, facies. Disruptive colour patterns in some of the insects may indicate predator-prey relationships. Of interest also is the identification of a number of Glossopteris leaves with chewed margins. If these observations are correct, they would represent one of the earliest records of this kind of ichnofossil in Australia.

To cite this paper: Beattie, R. 2007. The geological setting and palaeoenvironmental and palaeoecological reconstructions of the Upper Permian insect beds at Belmont, New South Wales, Australia. In: Brothers, D.J. & Mostovski, M.B., eds, Congress Proceedings Fossils X 3, Pretoria, South Africa, 7-11 February 2005. Pietermaritzburg: Natal Museum, pp. 41-57.
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Beattie, R. 2007. The geological setting and palaeoenvironmental and palaeoecological reconstructions of the Upper Permian insect beds at Belmont, New South Wales, Australia. African Invertebrates 48 (1): 41-57.