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Some Fossils from the Plabutsch-Formation of the Palaeozoic of Graz, Styria, Austria (Devonian – Eifelian)


FranzBernhard

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Supplementing the post in “Fossil Hunting Trips” about the Devonian Plabutsch-formation in Styria, Austria (with some background info):

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/90431-some-fossil-hunting-in-the-plabutsch-formation-of-the-palaeozoic-of-graz-styria-austria-devonian-–-eifelian/

I would like to post some more fossil specimens in this thread. More specimens will follow from time to time (hopefully).

 

The first two specimens contain abundant branches of the tabulate coral Striatopora? suessi. Field pics of these specimens are already posted in the hunting trip, but here you can see also their side views, showing the alingment of the individual coral branches.

(I don´t know why pics don´t look good here, but if you are zooming in, they are ok).

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Thamnopora boloniensis with T. reticulata. Southwest of Fürstenstand, lenght of the largest coral 49 mm, collected 10/17/2017, Nr. 3500.

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Thamnopora boloniensis growing on a stromatoporid. Southwest of Fürstenstand, width of specimen 6 cm, collected 10/17/2018, Nr. 3504.

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Probably rugosa Thamnophyllum murchisoni Penecke, 1894. Cross section and longitudinal section within one specimen.

North of Fürstenstand, outer diameter of coral 1.3 cm, collected 02/25/2016, Nr. 2751.

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Beautiful! Pictures look great and are ideal for zooming in. Thanks for showing these fine examples of your local wonders.

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"Journey through a universe ablaze with changes" Phil Ochs

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One of the rare fossils of the Plabutsch-formation, an oblique section through a gastropod from Buchkogelsattel southwest of Graz. Width of gastro is 5.3 cm, collected 12/10/2015, Nr. 2616. I have found only one of these so far (The local specialist has more of them, though).

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A Pachycanylicula barrandei from Ölberg west of Graz. It has been scratched during forest road construction, espcecially at the top. Consequently, I have ground and polished this part. Width of specimen is 11 cm, collected 01/20/2018, Nr. AN4014. One view of the top and two side views.

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Interesting stuff.

You live in another one of those places where you can find fossils from a wide range of ages in a geographically small area.

The oldest fossils we have here on Vancouver Island are Pennsylvanian (Upper Carb), but they are remote and hard to find. Lots of Mesozoic (esp. Cretaceous) and Cenozoic.

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14 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

Lovely specimens! :)

Thanks for sharing these. 

You are welcome and thanks for your appreciation!

 

14 hours ago, Innocentx said:

Beautiful! Pictures look great and are ideal for zooming in. Thanks for showing these fine examples of your local wonders.

Thanks, you are welcome! Fine, that the pics are ok!

 

2 hours ago, Wrangellian said:

Interesting stuff.

Thanks for your appreciation!

 

2 hours ago, Wrangellian said:

You live in another one of those places where you can find fossils from a wide range of ages in a geographically small area.

Yes, I am very lucky, all these formations (Eifelian, Campanian, Langhian) are within 20 km of Graz. And there are even more fossiliferous formations within this distance, but with less extensive outcrop areas or somewhat less fossiliferous: Uppermost Silurian, Upper Devonian, Sarmatian/Pannonian.

But I am missing the Triassic of the NCA and most of the upper Creataceous Gosau stuff near Graz, these are more than 100 km away... ;)

(I know, I know, Vancouver Island is about 400 km long and about double the size of Styria...;))

Franz Bernhard

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I like the way you polished the on area. It's like a little window to seeing more.

"Journey through a universe ablaze with changes" Phil Ochs

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14 hours ago, FranzBernhard said:

But I am missing the Triassic of the NCA and most of the upper Cretaceous Gosau stuff near Graz, these are more than 100 km away... ;)

(I know, I know, Vancouver Island is about 400 km long and about double the size of Styria...;))

You're right!  100km is not a lot for us in North America, but I understand Europeans are generally averse to traveling such distances. Actually 100km is a bit much for me too.

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5 hours ago, Wrangellian said:

but I understand Europeans are generally averse to traveling such distances.

"Generally" is correct! I have some friends in Austria that have no problem making 300km day trips - one distance! Ok, 95% of the trip on freeways, but its long driving anyways.

Franz Bernhard

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18 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

Love the Pachycanilicula! :)

I like it, too!

 

10 hours ago, Innocentx said:

I like the way you polished the on area. It's like a little window to seeing more.

Thanks! I think it´s actually called "window polishing" ;). I would not have done it, if this area had not been severely scratched by earth-moving equipment.

Franz Bernhard

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The joys of Austrian geology have long been known to me,Gratkorn,Oberdorf,the Carnic Alps,the Vienna Basin....

edit:

which reminds me

Bernhard Hubmann,Susanne Pohler,Hans-Peter Schonlaub,Fritz Messner

Paleozoic coral-sponge bearing successions in Austria

Ber.der Geologische Bundesanstalt 61/2003

About 9,5 MB

edit(=after FB's reaction):THIS IS basically A FIELD GUIDE,which has technical aspects,but MIGHT be of use to collectors

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Cross section of a rugosa Thamnophyllum stachei. Southwest of Fürstenstand, outer diamter of coral 1.7 cm, collected 10/17/2017, Nr. 3506.

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Rugosa Tryplasma devonica (Penecke, 1894) (err, still one more Penecke-species...). This is one of the not so abundant rugosa in this formation. Its a 2D specimen, but there is a kink at the surface, so the left part is more of a longitudinal section and the right part more of a cross section. Southwest of Fürstenstand, field of view 5.5 cm, collected 10/17/2017, Nr. 3501.

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Where are the crinoids? Here they are! Crinoid bits are super-abundant, but stem sections aren´t. Buchkogelsattel, field of view 4 cm, collected 12/10/2015, Nr. 2615.

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3 hours ago, doushantuo said:

The joys of Austrian geology have long been known to me,Gratkorn,Oberdorf,the Carnic Alps,the Vienna Basin....

edit:

which reminds me

Thanks for the link! That´s a very good paper with very nice pics and best of all, its in english. Highly recommended ;)!

https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/BerichteGeolBundesanstalt_61_0001-0091.pdf

edit: Thanks for explanation, @doushantuo! Lot of infos about the Plabutsch formation and even more about the Palaeozoic of the Carnic Alps.

Franz Bernhard

 

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These corals are really lovely. :)

An often undervalued group of fossils. 

Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

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

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15 hours ago, Wrangellian said:

 100km is not a lot for us in North America,

That’s only a third of the way to U-Dig fossils from Salt Lake City International airport one way :ighappy:

9 hours ago, FranzBernhard said:

"Generally" is correct! I have some friends in Austria that have no problem making 300km day trips - one distance! Ok, 95% of the trip on freeways, but its long driving anyways.

Franz Bernhard

I definitely agree, that’s a long drive but to get to some of the best sites here you’ve got a long way to drive. The petrified wood excursion I took was 350 km one way. I sometimes wish everything was a bit closer to me. To get to Zion National Park from SLC airport it’s 505 km one way!:faint: 

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Each dot is 50,000,000 years:

Hadean............Archean..............................Proterozoic.......................................Phanerozoic...........

                                                                                                                    Paleo......Meso....Ceno..

                                                                                                           Ꞓ.OSD.C.P.Tr.J.K..Pg.NgQ< You are here

Doesn't time just fly by?

 

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Polished slab with stromatoporids and Thamnopora boloniensis. Everything is very dark, very gray and has low contrast, but note the succession of stromatoporids and Th. boloniensis in the left part of the specimen. Southwest of Fürstenstand, width of specimen 12 cm, collected 10/17/2018, Nr. AN3902.

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A low-contrast Thamnopora reticulata. Southwest of Fürstenstand, length of coral 6 cm, collected 05/24/2016, Nr. 2770.

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A stromatoporid. Southwest of Fürstenstand, width of specimen 9.5 cm, collected 10/17/2017, Nr. 3520. In a paper from 1975, about 25 stromatoporid species are listed, belonging to the following genera: Actinostroma, Anostylostroma, Clathrocoilona, Stromatoporella, Ferestromatopora, Parallelopora, Taleastroma.

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A multi-species specimen with moderat contrast: To the left Favosites alpinus Penecke, 1894 (a Penecke-species again!), in the middle and to the right Thamnopora boloniensis, and a stromatoporid at the bottom, which seems to overgrow a Th. boloniensis. Southwest of Fürstenstand, field of view 9 cm, collected 08/29/2017, Nr. 3416.

image.thumb.jpeg.7c74d3c00c3cf8cbb2e10e0bfd3ae1bc.jpeg

 

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7 hours ago, UtahFossilHunter said:

That’s only a third of the way to U-Dig fossils from Salt Lake City International airport one way :ighappy:

 

I would do it if there were no traffic! And if I had a car with good mileage, and could afford the plane flight to SLC and could breeze thru Customs, and, and....

I think the traffic in Europe might explain, at least in part, why they're less willing to drive long distances over there... I was in Switzerland in 2011 so I saw it first hand. Too many people! Gas prices would be another reason. I think gas is generally cheaper in Canada than in Europe, and cheaper in the US than Canada.

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6 minutes ago, Wrangellian said:

I would do it if there were no traffic! And if I had a car with good mileage, and could afford the plane flight to SLC and could breeze thru Customs, and, and....

I think the traffic in Europe might explain, at least in part, why they're less willing to drive long distances over there... I was in Switzerland in 2011 so I saw it first hand. Too many people! Gas prices would be another reason. I think gas is generally cheaper in Canada than in Europe, and cheaper in the US than Canada.

Yeah, I know. The gas prices alone would be a good reason not to drive very far. 

Each dot is 50,000,000 years:

Hadean............Archean..............................Proterozoic.......................................Phanerozoic...........

                                                                                                                    Paleo......Meso....Ceno..

                                                                                                           Ꞓ.OSD.C.P.Tr.J.K..Pg.NgQ< You are here

Doesn't time just fly by?

 

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1 minute ago, UtahFossilHunter said:

Yeah, I know. The gas prices alone would be a good reason not to drive very far. 

True, but public transit options there are second to none. :dinothumb: Pack a light kit, of course! :P 

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...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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2 minutes ago, Kane said:

True, but public transit options there are second to none. :dinothumb: Pack a light kit, of course! :P 

I will give them that. Utah’s public transit system leaves a lot to be desired.

Each dot is 50,000,000 years:

Hadean............Archean..............................Proterozoic.......................................Phanerozoic...........

                                                                                                                    Paleo......Meso....Ceno..

                                                                                                           Ꞓ.OSD.C.P.Tr.J.K..Pg.NgQ< You are here

Doesn't time just fly by?

 

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This is the last batch for now.

Thamnopora boloniensis in a somewhat 2.5D fashion. Southwest of Fürstenstand, length of coral 2.8 cm, collected 10/17/2017, Nr. 3508.

image.thumb.jpeg.b28f58ef1c3dee267b178c4318dac3fd.jpeg

 

Favosites styriacus with cross section of a rugose coral. Ölberg, width of specimen 11 cm, collected 09/09/2017, Nr. 3527.

image.thumb.jpeg.9ef9a568cd77cee7cb62550453429b99.jpeg

 

Polished slab of Favosites styriacus. Ölberg, width of specimen 6 cm, collected 09/09/2017, Nr. AN3949

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And the last one - back to the field! An Aulopora tabulate coral as found in the field, now in collection.

Ölberg, width of specimen 12 cm, found and collected 09/09/2017, Nr. 3530.

image.thumb.jpeg.88ce23e8e4f643276f84135d19426ec8.jpeg

 

Thats all for the moment!

Thanks for your interest and all your appreciation!
Franz Bernhard

 

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