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BVP Fieldtrip to Solnhofen Limestone (Jurassic of Germany) + Museum visit
ziggycardon posted a topic in Fossil Hunting Trips
Hi Everyone! A couple of days ago I returned from a fieldtrip to the Solnhofen region in Germany. The trip was organized by my fossilclub the BVP as well as my friend and professional paleontologist Jonathan Wallaard who led the trip. During our 4 day stay we visited 3 different quarries and the Burgermeister-Müller-Museum in Solnhofen. The Solnhofen Limestone is probably one of the most famous Konservat-Lagerstätte in the World. Dating back to the late Jurassic, Tithonian around 152 - 150 million years ago. During this time this area was a tropical archipelago in the Tethys Sea with many small islands and shallow lagoons. Due to its exceptional preservation we have an extensive record of the marine fauna as well a some knowledge of terrestrial species which inhabited the islands (which should have been located around 30 km from the mainland if I heard correctly from one of the quarry owners.) These seas were home to multiple species of ammonites, belemnites and squids; crinoïds like the free-floating Saccocoma; Echinoïds and Starfish; Horseshoe crabs, lobsters, crabs and schrimps; as well as sponges, corals, jellyfish, bivalves, gastropods and brachiopods (which are relatively rare finds.) But also a large diversity of bony fish (some of which could reach multiple meters in length), Hybodont sharks, Chimaera's as well as marine reptiles like the Ichthyosaur "Aegirosaurus", marine crocodiles, turtles and Pleurosaurus. The islands were home to Cycads and Araucariaceae trees, but also by many insects like dragonflies and beetles, reptiles like Sphenodonts and Squamates. Though the most famous of its inhabitants must have been the pterosaurs like Pterodactylus and Rhamphorhynchus as well as some dinosaurs like Compsognathus, Juravenator, Sciurumimus, Archaeopteryx and Alcmonavis. Our first day of digging was on friday (may 19th) at the BGM hobbysteinbruch in Solnhofen which is part of the Mörnsheim Formation (150,8 - 150 mya). https://www.solnhofen-fossilienatlas.de/siteinfo.php?section=sites&siteid=75&sitename=Solnhofen Hobbybruch The main fossils that could be found in this quarry were ammonites, aptychi, coprolites as well as fish. Our group of around 30 people assembled at the quarry at 10 o'clock and after a few words from the quarry owner and Jonathan we set of to dig. An overview of the quarry before we started digging. A couple of minutes later... Jonathan pointed me and my good friend Tom to a good place to dig and so we started cleaning debri so we could start digging. Since the Plattenkalk is layered it is always a good stategy to find some plateaus where so can hack away chunks which you can later split (which I suppose most of you already know). Pic of my hole in which I was working Unfortunately it turns out that the spot I picked must have been a public toilet as pretty much everything I found the first half of the day where coprolites, which turned into a running joke that day I was lucky enough to find a fish early one, though still entirely entombed in the rock but Jonathan warned us to look for bones into the cracked stones and that's how I managed to find it. Will require quite some prep work though. Later that day I started finding multiple Aptychi, Ammonites as well as a rare Bivalve. A plate with 3 ammonites (probably Neochetoceras steraspis) An ammonite with the Aptychus still in place which was found by one of the other members. Our club founder Luc, found this large piece of decorative slab which almost looked like it is petrified wooden dining table. Not a fossil but still cool as heck. And Tinneke managed to find a lovely fish jaw which was excavated by the help of Jonathan. While I didn't take pictures of the following, quite some members found fossil fish (some around 40 cm in lenght) and crustaceans like schrimp.- 30 replies
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The genus previously known as Ophiopsis Agassiz, 1834 (except Ophiopsis muensteri Agassiz, 1834), was reassigned by Lane & Ebert 2015 to Ophiopsiella. Taxonomy from Lane & Ebert 2015. Lane & Ebert 2015, p. e883238-4 :”Diagnosis—The genus Ophiopsiella is characterized by the following unique combination of features: medium-sized halecomorph fishes with body depth increased anteriorly to form a low hump and tapering posteriorly; parietals equal in length to dermopterotics; antorbitals do not reach the orbit; lacrimal large and deep; *low number of suborbitals with ventral-most suborbital represented by a single large bone (rather than numerous small bones); rostral with lateral horns; posterior infraorbital inclined posterodorsally; preopercle reaches dorsal border of opercle; subopercular with anterior dorsal extension; dermopterotic deep posteriorly and tapering anteriorly; single, undivided dorsal fin; vertebrae lacking posterior fossae; scales have posterior serrations; dorsal fin elongate, occupying over one-third of the dorsal body length, tapering posteriorly; caudal fin forked; *17–19 caudal fin rays; main lateral line continuing into a row of small ossicles between the seventh and eighth caudal fin rays; scales thick, rhomboidal, not deeper than broad; pelvic fins opposite the midpoint of the dorsal fin; *high number (14C) of caudal peduncle scales; posterior border of dorsal fin opposite anal fin; robust maxilla with a shallow posterior notch; lateral line pores located within scale borders (not forming a posterior notch); and basal and fringing fulcra present on both dorsal and ventral lobes of caudal fin.” Lane & Ebert 2015, p. e883238-4: “Emended Species Diagnosis—Ophiopsiella with *44 vertical scale rows from postcleithra to hinge line; 24–25 dorsal fin rays; 18–19 principal caudal fin rays; *anteriormost four dorsal fin rays extremely elongated compared with subsequent rays, forming a crescent-shaped concave curve posteriorly; *caudal fin deeply forked posteriorly; posttemporal, extrascapular, and postcleithra serrated posteriorly; anterodorsal body scales serrated along their entire posterior border; prominent predorsal hump with maximum body depth at dorsal fin origin. Pterygial formula: " References: Agassiz, L. 1834. Abgerissene Bemerkungen über fossile Fische. pp. 379–390 in: von Leonhard, K. C. & Bronn, H. G. (eds.): Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie, Geognosie, Geologie und Petrefaktenkunde, 1834 (4). E. Schweitzbarts Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart. Lane, J. A. & Ebert, M., 2015: A taxonomic reassessment of Ophiopsis (Halecomorphi, Ionoscopiformes), with a revision of Upper Jurassic species from the Solnhofen Archipelago, and a new genus of Ophiopsidae. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 35 (1): e883238. doi: 10.1080/02724634.2014.883238
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- ophiopsiella
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Taxonomy from Fossilworks.org. The state of preservation of Magila is mostly poor, which becomes understandable when you consider that Magila was a burrowing crustacean living in the ground. Therefore, a more calcified carapace was not necessary. Only the exceptionally wide claws are mostly well preserved. These probably also served for digging. Diagnosis from Garassino & Schweigert 2006, p. 22: “Carapace cylindrical laterally flattened; deep cervical groove strongly directed forward; one or two carinae weak in antennal region; rostrum short and edentate; antennal spine well developed; pereiopods I-III chelate; pereiopod I larger and stronger than pereiopods II-III; pereiopods IV-V achelate; uropodal exopod with diaeresis.” Line drawing: References: Garassino, Alessandro & Schweigert, Günter (2006). The Upper Jurassic Solnhofen decapod crustacean fauna review of the types from old descriptions Part I. Infraorders Astacidea, Thalassinidea, and Palinura. Memorie della Societa Italiana di Scienze Naturali e del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano, Volume XXXIV - Fascicolo I. Schweitzer, C. E., Feldmann, R. M., Garassino, A., Karasawa, H. and Schweigert, G. (2010). Systematic list of fossil decapod crustacean species. Crustaceana Monographs 10:1-222.
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- magila
- tff-oilshale-ar2281
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Taxonomy from Fossilworks. From Ebert 2014, p. 39: "Belonostomus sphyraenoides Agassiz, 1844 is known only from the Eichstätt basin. Belonostomus is very rare in the Plattenkalk basin of Eichstätt and as far as I know, all specimens belong to B. sphyraenoides. The Plattenkalk of Eichstätt is dated as eigeltingense β horizon of the Tithonian (Schweigert et al. 2013). Belonostomus sphyraenoides has about 71 vertebrae and 71 lateral line scales." References: Agassiz, L. (1833-1844): Recherches sur les Poissons Fossiles.- 5 vols., 1420 pp. 396pls., with supplements. Petitpierre, Neuchâtel et Soleure. Ebert, Martin (2014) The genus Belonostomus Agassiz, 1834 (Neopterygii, Aspidorhynchiformes) in the late Jurassic of the Solnhofen Archipelago, with a focus on Belonostomus kochii Münster, 1836 from Ettling (Germany). Archaeopteryx 32: 15-43.
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- belonostomus
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From the album: Vertebrates
Propterus elongatus Wagner, 1863 Upper Jurassic Tithonian (Malm zeta) Eichstätt Germany Length 21 cm / 8 inch -
Three species of Thylacocephala have been described from the Solnhofen Formation (“Solnhofen lithographic limestones”) so far: Clausocaris lithographica, Dollocaris michelorum, and Mayrocaris bucculata. A fourth new genus and species was newly described in 2019: Falcatacaris bastelbergeri. References: Braig, Florian, Haug, Joachim T., Schädel, Mario, and Haug, Carolin (2019): A new thylacocephalan crustacean from the Upper Jurassic lithographic limestones of southern Germany and the diversity of Thylacocephala. Palaeodiversity, 12(1) : 69-87
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- falcatacaris
- thylacocephala
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From the album: Invertebrates
Elcana longicornis HANDLIRSCH, 1906 Late Jurassic Tithonian Eichstätt Bavaria Germany Length without antennae 4cm -
From the album: Vertebrates
Macromesodon gibbosus (WAGNER, 1851) Solnhofen Formation Tithonian Late Jurassic Birkhof District of Eichstätt Germany Length 5cm / 2" The former name Eomesodon is not valid anymore-
- macromesodon
- eomesodon
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Several Late Jurassic macrosemiids are known from the Solnhofen limestones, including at least Notagogus, Histionotus, Voelklichthys and two species of Propterus. References: Gloria Arratia and Hans-Peter Schultze (2012): The macrosemiiform fish companion of the Late Jurassic theropod Juravenator from Schamhaupten, Bavaria, Germany. Fossil Record 15 (1) 2012, 5–25 / DOI 10.1002/mmng.201200001
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Taxonomy from Fossilworks.com. Diagnosis from Poyato-Ariza & Wenz 2004, p. 370: "Turbomesodon presenting the following unique combination of primitive and derived characters: dorsal apex at the point of insertion of the dorsal fin; ventral apex absent; coronoid process high, with straight dorsal border; about 32 vertebrae (epichordal elements excluding those of the caudal endoskeleton); first one or two dorsal axonosts not supporting fin rays (one or two free dorsal axonosts present); about 39 dorsal and 30 anal axonosts; caudal fin double emarginated; dorsal and anal fins sigmoid in contour, placed at 60-69 % of standard length; pelvic fins at 45-55 % of standard length; some anterior dorsal ridge scales eventually separated from each other; 17-20 ventral keel scales; 6 postcloacal ventral keel scales; up to 5 spines on contour scales; spines on each ventral keel scale in contact with each other; supracloacal scale ventrally in contact with cloacal scales only" References: Poyato-Ariza, F. & Wenz, S.(2004): The new pycnodontid fish genus Turbomesodon, and a revision of Macromesodon based on new material from the Lower Cretaceous of Las Hoyas, Cuenca, Spain. Mesozoic Fishes 3 - Systematics, Paleoenvironments and Biodiversity, G. Arratia & A. Tintori (eds.): pp. 341-378,15 figs., 1 tab., 3 apps. Ebert M, Kölbl-Ebert M, Lane JA (2015) Fauna and Predator-Prey Relationships of Ettling, an Actinopterygian Fish-Dominated Konservat-Lagerstätte from the Late Jurassic of Southern Germany. PLoS ONE 10(1): e0116140. doi:10.1371/ journal.pone.0116140
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- solnhofen formation
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Several Late Jurassic macrosemiids are known from the Solnhofen limestones, including at least Notagogus, Histionotus, Voelklichthys and two species of Propterus.: P. elongatus and P. microstomus. Diagnosis from Bartram 1977, p.168: "Propterus reaching standard length of 130 mm; mean proportions as percentages of standard length: head length 34 %, trunk depth 36 %, predorsa] length 42 %, prepelvic length 58 %, preanal length 79 %; fin—ray counts: D(ant.) 14-16, D(post.) 14-16, P 17, V 6, A 5, C 14-15; about 37 lateral line scales; scales thin with large serrations; two lobes of dorsal fin very close together; outline of anterior dorsal convex; fulcra absent from posterior dorsal; caudal fin-rays bifurcating a maximum of twice. Line drawing from Bartram 1977, p. 169: Identified by oilshale using Bartram, 1977. References: Bartram, A.W.H. (1977) The Macrosemiidae, a Mesozoic family of Holostean fishes. Bulletin of the British Museum of Natural History (Geology), 29, 137-234. Gloria Arratia and Hans-Peter Schultze (2012): The macrosemiiform fish companion of the Late Jurassic theropod Juravenator from Schamhaupten, Bavaria, Germany. Fossil Record 15 (1) 2012, 5–25 / DOI 10.1002/mmng.201200001.