Jump to content

Recommended Posts

400 Million years in 4 hours

 

The small-scale geology of Austria makes it possible to observe and collect invertebrate marine fossils from a time span of nearly 400 Million years (Ma) within a few hours and at a distance of only about 10 km:

- 395 Ma old Devonian (Eifelian) corals - Ölberg

- 80 Ma old Cretaceous (Campanian) rudists – St. Bartholomä

- 12 Ma old Miocene (Serravallian/Sarmatian) gastropods - Waldhof

 

I did this special hunting trip west of Graz at October 22, 2019 as a "feasibility study". The youngest and oldest fossils can simply be picked from the ground (or photographed); the “middle-agers” require some searching; I succeeded to find a few good specimens within one hour. Weather was perfect with nearly 25°C (!).

 

400MillionenJahre.thumb.jpg.3bb7e53c34d929f6f937bc1d67a4d6cc.jpg

Simplified geological map of Styria with the visited area west of Graz (red rectangle).

 

10km_Geologie_kompr.thumb.jpg.0931ba94af81b8b33cff06863c7cdc26.jpg

Geological map of the visited area (1:50.000), composed of two adjoining map sheets. Red numbers denote visited fossil sites (and their age in Million years). Note the fossil sign in the blue formation in the upper middle of the map. This is the upper Devonian Steinberg-formation with goniatites. These fossils are not abundant, though, so I have never explored this hill…

 

10km_Karte_kompr.thumb.jpg.52924f73b1186eafc299ed8514e67916.jpg

Topo map of the area. Red numbers denote fossil sites, A and B are sites of landscape pics.

 

Just to show off some landscape:

Kreuzegg_22102019_klein.thumb.jpg.d0afae85c9dfce149270d26bd507fe9c.jpg

View from point “A” in Steinberg towards west. K = Kreuzegg mountain (570 m, Campanian St. Bartholomä-formation) at a distance of ca. 5 km. A = Plateau-like Amering mountain (2187 m, high-grade metamorphic rocks) at a distance of ca. 40 km.

 

Kreuzegg_Pano_kompr.thumb.jpg.60886917140a54e8d70f18356b863947.jpgView from point “B” at Kreuzegg mountain towards north to southeast. Pano composed of 4 individual pics, spanning about 140°. Labeled mountains and hills in the background are: S = Schöckl (1445 m, Devonian epimetamorphic limestone) at a distance of ca. 20 km. P = Plabutsch mountain (754 m, namesake of the fossil-rich Eifelian Plabutsch-formation) and B = Buchkogel mountain (656 m), both at distance of ca. 10 km and located immediately to the west of Graz. Ölberg and Waldhof sites are between P and B, but not visible.

Note the about 1000 m high, largely deforested mountains at the left side of the pano (Mühlberg, Pleschkogel etc., lower Devonian, dolomitic Flösserkogel-formation). The severe deforestation of these hills is due to a strong storm in 2008 (“Paula”).

 

Continued...

  • I found this Informative 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This report is just to show off what you can see and find within a very short time, (mostly) only the most abundant fossils are shown.

 

Ölberg- 395 Million years

I have already presented the common fossils of the Eifelian Plabutsch-formation in these two topics:

Plabutsch-formation 1

and

Plabutsch-formation 2

A guide to the Ölberg site is here (external site, in German):

Ölberg - Plabutsch-formation

 

During this trip, I took just a few pics of the abundant Favosites; these are just lying around.

 

Oelberg_22102019_Parkplatz_klein_kompr.thumb.jpg.8876ed1297b5712f4ccd1babe5e693df.jpg

Parking at Ölberg.

 

Oelberg_22102019_Uebersicht_1_klein_kompr.thumb.jpg.b5b23f77d863b02b017c51aaf3bbbc11.jpg

Forest road with boulders of Favosites (A, B) at Ölberg.

 

Oelberg_22102019_FavositesA_klein.thumb.jpg.1373010d12a9d14b3dca1053d7ede156.jpg

Large boulder “A”, entirely composed of Favosites, the most abundant fossil of the Plabutsch-formation. Size of block is about 40 cm; I placed it on this tree stump this spring...

 

Oelberg_22102019_FavositesB_klein.thumb.jpg.647836596a30c3c5a19deee846cdbb6c.jpgSmall boulder “B”, composed of Favosites, size is about 25 cm. I took this block with me, but maybe I will bring it back…

 

Continued...

  • I found this Informative 9
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Waldhof - 12 Million years

I have not presented this formation before on TFF. The Rollsdorf-formation (= “Schichten von Waldhof”) is lower Sarmatian/Serravallian in age and composed of various coarse to very fine grained clastic rocks (gravel to clay). It contains a few thin coal seams (see Bk = lignite on the geo map), and some beds contain abundant fossils, mainly gastropods.

I have not discovered the visited site myself, I followed a paper from 2001, and the fossils of this formation are known since 1897. I have visited the site one times before, in September 2017. For a report of this first trip, with many pics and literature, see (external site, in German):

Waldhof - September 2017 

 

It’s a typical mudflat-fauna and some papers say, the Sarmatian sea was brackisch, some papers say, it was not. However, the fauna is quite similar to the intertidal fauna around St. Josef, but about 3 Million years younger. The most abundant species are considered to be the same:

Granulolabium bicinctum

Terebralia bidendata

Vitta picta

But they do not totally look the same: These younger Granulolabium have more pronounced knobs than the older ones; and the Vitta are generally larger and are more similar to each other than the older ones around St. Josef. For comparison see:

Vitta picta - St. Josef

And there are also some extra,  quite abundant species at Waldhof: Very small mud snails like Hydrobia and Rissoa.

 

Enough theory! Lets go:

Waldhof_22102019_AmWeg_klein_kompr.thumb.jpg.8f1379efb5e4e7d44696b84ab498b255.jpg

On the way, still near the parking spot.

 

Waldhof_22102019_Uebersicht_klein_kompr.thumb.jpg.2457186926d021c811ab29136a192a93.jpg

Where is the fossil site?

 

Waldhof_22102019_GrabenvonOben_klein_kompr.thumb.jpg.dfafd555f79e37d9d194408957d2f42c.jpg

Again: WHERE IS THE FOSSIL SITE!!!??? :headscratch::D

 

Waldhof_22102019_Graben_klein_kompr.thumb.jpg.079af6ce3d5f9fbf5f25cf200678ed59.jpg

Be patient, here it is, just two steps away! It’s a very, very small creek with some exposures in the creek itself and some at the banks.

 

Some fossils were already lying there:

Waldhof_22102019_SchuttmitMurex_klein_kompr.thumb.jpg.8b3dd794818c24a4af608d2904ecc41e.jpg

Situation as found, you can see some Granulolabium and, a total surprise, a muricid was also waiting for me just to be picked up. These are not super-rare, but I have not found any during my last visit.

 

Waldhof_2212019_Grabung_klein_kompr.thumb.jpg.0ea9bc1a6d38a2e1bf5a68b04364c4ee.jpg

A little digging in the banks with a screw driver promptly resulted in a nice matrix specimen with a Vitta picta. Height of red object is 12 cm.

 

Waldhof_22102019_Ausbeute_klein_kompr.thumb.jpg.751ee7f2affa361ff1ccd00054cb7d60.jpg

Recovered matrix specimens. Enough is enough! :D

 

Continued...

  • I found this Informative 9
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Specimens from Waldhof after cleaning and minimal prep:

Waldhof_22102019_Handstueck_kompr.thumb.jpg.7db64efa711a60277f3c1462c8d2f05c.jpg

 

Waldhof_22102019_Granulolabium_kompr.thumb.jpg.baa48e6f6735631461d66090a23d3a48.jpg

 

Waldhof_22102019_Murex_kompr.thumb.jpg.9c72554616ffc4cc16dd5d3fe1a2a29a.jpg

This name is mentioned in the paper from 2001.

 

St. Bartholomä - 80 Million years

The Campanian St. Bartholomä-formation is the “hard” formation – hard to pick up good specimens. I had about 1 hour left and decided to try my luck at the spot of my very last good find east of Kalchberg:

St. Bartholomä - Point 25 - 09/24/2019

I dug in the scree below the “Knödelbrekzie” for about 1 hour, as usual with bare hands. The result was quite good, I found about 5 Ok rudist specimens during that time.

 

25_22102019_Uebersicht_klein_kompr.thumb.jpg.e094e3ed3a569369f2a71887de221bc0.jpg

Dig site after 1 hour of digging. To the left the waste pile, in the middle the specimens. At the upper right the outcrop of “Knödelbrekzie” at a distance of about 2.5 m.

 

25_22102019_Ausbeute_klein_kompr.thumb.jpg.a3aa61b8b9ab3d86706475eb85b98037.jpg

“Rat hole” after my digging with the fossils I took with me.

 

The best hippuritid specimen of this day. Its just a fragment, but it has exposed pillars at both ends:
HippuritesColliciatus_25_22102019_kompr.thumb.jpg.25f39ce0b2979c6e1f2a4f422b459d98.jpg

 

In conclusion, it was possibly to collect the most abundant marine fossils west of Graz (395, 80 and 15 Million years old) within a little less than 4 hours. Sure, you have to know, where to go…;)

Thanks for all your interest and patience!
Franz Bernhard

  • I found this Informative 11
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Amazing.

An interesting experiment and a fruitful one. 

Some of the photographs are stunning. 

I love that huge Favosites too. :wub:

  • I found this Informative 2

Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160-1.png.60b8b8c07f6fa194511f8b7cfb7cc190.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the trip report

 

Southern Germany is amazing for it's abundancy in different Sites and ages

 

Have you tried cutting and polishing any of those favosites? 

 

Best Regards 

  • I found this Informative 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Tidgy's Dad, @Phevo, @RuMert, @Ludwigia.

Thanks so much for all your kind words and all your appreciation! Yes, I am a lucky fossil guy :).

 

11 hours ago, Phevo said:

Have you tried cutting and polishing any of those favosites? 

 

Yes. Here is one from Ölberg:

FavositesStyriacus_Stromatopore_Oelberg_AN4034AN4035_kompr.thumb.jpg.98a5e920254340a370c79376136ff993.jpg

 

You will find 3 more polished Favosites in this thread (end of page 1 and page 2), and also some other polished fossils from the Plabutsch-formation:

 

Contrast is usually very poor, very rarely specimen get somewhat "colorfull" like this one:

AN_Stromatopore_ThamnoporaBoloniensis_FuerstenstandSSW_AN3951_AN3952_Hoeherechts53mm_E_kompr.thumb.jpg.919096e830ac59e8110b45c8d3fa517a.jpg

Franz Bernhard

  • I found this Informative 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, caldigger said:

I can almost see Julie Andrews spinning around on this hilltop!  :)

20191123_041509.png

 

The hills are alive...with the sound of Franz digging for fossils :P

  • I found this Informative 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, caldigger said:

I can almost see Julie Andrews spinning around on this hilltop!  :)

She'd better spin slowly, she is 84 after all. 

Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160-1.png.60b8b8c07f6fa194511f8b7cfb7cc190.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

She'd better spin slowly, she is 84 after all. 

You're right, we don't want Maria breaking a hip or something! :o

  • I found this Informative 1

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 23.11.2019 at 1:18 PM, caldigger said:

I can almost see Julie Andrews spinning around on this hilltop!  :)

20191123_041509.png

Julie was spinning around on the other side of the Alps:) I exactly know the meadow where she did. It is near of my favorite hunting grounds on the "Mons Tuval"(name giving location for the Upper Triassic, Tuvalian stage) but I guess she never expected to dance/spinn her into a fossil forum.:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the great fossil trip report! It is very rare to be able to hit three productive sites from three different eras so close together. But then the melange of the Alps does provide opportunities.

 

I especially like the Vitta picta gastropod as that is wonderfully decorated. I like the blue-green polished Favosites/Stromatoporid as well.

  • I found this Informative 1

-Dave

__________________________________________________

Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPhee

If I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPhee

Check out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 22/11/2019 at 3:46 PM, FranzBernhard said:

Specimens from Waldhof after cleaning and minimal prep:

Waldhof_22102019_Handstueck_kompr.thumb.jpg.7db64efa711a60277f3c1462c8d2f05c.jpg

 

Waldhof_22102019_Granulolabium_kompr.thumb.jpg.baa48e6f6735631461d66090a23d3a48.jpg

 

Waldhof_22102019_Murex_kompr.thumb.jpg.9c72554616ffc4cc16dd5d3fe1a2a29a.jpg

This name is mentioned in the paper from 2001.

 

St. Bartholomä - 80 Million years

The Campanian St. Bartholomä-formation is the “hard” formation – hard to pick up good specimens. I had about 1 hour left and decided to try my luck at the spot of my very last good find east of Kalchberg:

St. Bartholomä - Point 25 - 09/24/2019

I dug in the scree below the “Knödelbrekzie” for about 1 hour, as usual with bare hands. The result was quite good, I found about 5 Ok rudist specimens during that time.

 

25_22102019_Uebersicht_klein_kompr.thumb.jpg.e094e3ed3a569369f2a71887de221bc0.jpg

Dig site after 1 hour of digging. To the left the waste pile, in the middle the specimens. At the upper right the outcrop of “Knödelbrekzie” at a distance of about 2.5 m.

 

25_22102019_Ausbeute_klein_kompr.thumb.jpg.a3aa61b8b9ab3d86706475eb85b98037.jpg

“Rat hole” after my digging with the fossils I took with me.

 

The best hippuritid specimen of this day. Its just a fragment, but it has exposed pillars at both ends:
HippuritesColliciatus_25_22102019_kompr.thumb.jpg.25f39ce0b2979c6e1f2a4f422b459d98.jpg

 

In conclusion, it was possibly to collect the most abundant marine fossils west of Graz (395, 80 and 15 Million years old) within a little less than 4 hours. Sure, you have to know, where to go…;)

Thanks for all your interest and patience!
Franz Bernhard

I love those gastropods

  • I found this Informative 2

theme-celtique.png.bbc4d5765974b5daba0607d157eecfed.png.7c09081f292875c94595c562a862958c.png

"On ne voit bien que par le coeur, l'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

"We only well see with the heart, the essential is invisible for the eyes."

 

In memory of Doren

photo-thumb-12286.jpg.878620deab804c0e4e53f3eab4625b4c.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 23/11/2019 at 7:48 AM, FranzBernhard said:

@Tidgy's Dad, @Phevo, @RuMert, @Ludwigia.

Thanks so much for all your kind words and all your appreciation! Yes, I am a lucky fossil guy :).

 

 

Yes. Here is one from Ölberg:

FavositesStyriacus_Stromatopore_Oelberg_AN4034AN4035_kompr.thumb.jpg.98a5e920254340a370c79376136ff993.jpg

 

You will find 3 more polished Favosites in this thread (end of page 1 and page 2), and also some other polished fossils from the Plabutsch-formation:

 

Contrast is usually very poor, very rarely specimen get somewhat "colorfull" like this one:

AN_Stromatopore_ThamnoporaBoloniensis_FuerstenstandSSW_AN3951_AN3952_Hoeherechts53mm_E_kompr.thumb.jpg.919096e830ac59e8110b45c8d3fa517a.jpg

Franz Bernhard

Nice colors !

  • I found this Informative 1

theme-celtique.png.bbc4d5765974b5daba0607d157eecfed.png.7c09081f292875c94595c562a862958c.png

"On ne voit bien que par le coeur, l'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

"We only well see with the heart, the essential is invisible for the eyes."

 

In memory of Doren

photo-thumb-12286.jpg.878620deab804c0e4e53f3eab4625b4c.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Love your posts franz. So thorough. I should really get my exploration groove going again...maybe one more trip before winter takes permanent hold. I get inspired by your quality research and results :rolleyes:

  • I found this Informative 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
On 27.11.2019 at 12:08 PM, Al Tahan said:

Love your posts franz. So thorough.

Thanks for your kind words!

On 27.11.2019 at 12:08 PM, Al Tahan said:

maybe one more trip before winter takes permanent hold.

Yeah, I am eagerly waiting for your next trip report. So different to my hunting and I am always learning something new from your trips.

 

On 27.11.2019 at 6:37 PM, jpc said:

I love the colors preserved in some of the gastropods.

Ah, another gastropod lover ;). Thanks also for your kind words!

Franz Bernhard

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...