Ebelsberg Formation
Geologic formation in Austria
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The Ebelsberg Formation is a geologic formation in Austria. The section exposed near the town of Pucking are considered to be a Konservat-Lagerstätte. It preserves fossils dated to the Aquitanian age of the Miocene epoch.
| Ebelsberg Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: Aquitanian | |
| Type | Formation |
| Underlies | Hall Formation[1] |
| Overlies | Eferding Formation[1] |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Claystone, mudstone |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | N 48° 12′ 22″; E 14° 13′ 27″[2] |
| Region | Upper Austria |
| Country | Austria |
| Type section | |
| Named for | Ebelsberg |
  Ebelsberg Formation (Austria) | |
History of study
The marine deposits of the Ebelsberg Formation near Pucking were exposed in the 1980s[3] when a hydroelectric power plant was built across the river Traun close to Linz, the capital of Upper Austria. Initial studies considered the Ebelsberg Formation to be Oligocene in age, specifically dating it to the Chattian (Late Oligocene). However, more recent studies have shown this to be false, instead proposing a younger age corresponding with the Aquitanian stage of the Miocene. Locally, this would correspond to the Upper Egerian, making the outcrops about 22 million years old.[2]
Environment
During the Aquitanian this part of Austria was covered by the extensive Paratethys sea, with the Ebelsberg Formation specifically having been formed in the outer neritic zone.[4]
Fauna
Bivalves
| Name | Species | Locality/Member | Material | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deletopecten[5] | D. sp. | Pucking | A small pectinid bivalve. | ||
| Isognomonidae[5] | Pucking | A type of clam typically associated with driftwood. | |||
| Megaxinus[5] | M. bellardianus | Pucking | A lucinid bivalve. They were found in association with the remains of Austromola. | ||
| Nucula[5] | N. sp. | Pucking | A nuculid bivalve. | ||
| Perna[5] | P. aquitanica | Pucking | A species of mussle typically associated with driftwood. | ||
| Teredinidae[5] | Pucking | Pieces of lignite at Pucking are often found often completely penetrated by shipworms. | |||
Gastropods
| Name | Species | Locality/Member | Material | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clio[5] | C. sp. | Pucking | A pelagic pteropod snail known from mass accumulations. They are diel migrants that use mucous web to capture prey. Blooms of Clio may have been caused by nutrient increases from intensified upswellings or increased coastal runoff. | ||
| Euspira[5] | E. helicina | Pucking | A member of the Naticidae, Euspira helicina is among the predominant gastropods at Pucking. | ||
| Limacina[5] | L. sp. | Pucking | A pelagic pteropod snail known from mass accumulations. They are diel migrants that use mucous web to capture prey. Blooms of Limacina may have been caused by nutrient increases from intensified upswellings or increased coastal runoff. | ||
| Turridae[5] | Pucking | A single species of turrid is among the predominant gastropods at Pucking. | |||
Cephalopods
| Name | Species | Locality/Member | Material | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aturia[5] | Possibly a new species | Pucking | A nautiloid with a shall that is distinctly larger than that of Aturia aturi. Fossils are known from mass occurrences and always associated with brown algae. A deep water animal, its possible that remains of the Ebelsberg Aturia first drifted into coastal waters before being washed back out offshore where they were preserved. | ||
Crustaceans
Echinoderms
| Name | Species | Locality/Member | Material | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linthia[5] | L. summesbergeri | Pucking | A type of sea urchin, only a few specimen have been recovered from Pucking. | ||
| Spatangoida[5] | Pucking | A type of heart urchin, echinoderms are rare at Pucking. | |||
Chondrichthyes
| Name | Species | Locality/Member | Material | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alopias[6] | A. exigua | Pucking, Wallern | A thresher shark of the family Alopiidae. | ||
| Araloselachus[7] | A. cuspidatus | Pucking | A sand shark of the family Odontaspididae. | ||
| Dracipinna[8] | D. bracheri | Wallern | Teeth | A squaliform shark of the family Dalatiidae, the kitefin sharks. It was previously known as Bracheria wallerniensis. | |
| Carcharias[9][10] | C. acutissimus | Pucking | A species of sand tiger shark. | ||
| Galeocerdo[9] | G. aduncus | Pucking | A species of tigershark. | ||
| Heptranchias[5] | H. sp. | Pucking | A hexanchiform shark of the family Hexanchidae. Modern members of this genus are benthic animals that live close to the shelf edge at depths of around 400–1000 m. | ||
| Etmopterus[8] | Wallern, Pucking, Finklham/Graben | A squaliform shark of the family Etmopteridae, the lantern sharks. | |||
| Iago[11] | I. sp. | Wallern | A species of hound shark. | ||
| Echinorhinus[5][9] | E. pollerspoecki | Pucking | A echinorhiniform shark of the family Echinorhinidae, the bramble sharks. It would have inhabited the deep watter bottom shelf. | ||
| Keasius[12] | K. sp. | Traunpucking | An extinct relative of the basking shark. | ||
| Palaeocentroscymnus[8][9] | P. horvathi | Wallern, Pucking, Finklham/Graben | Teeth | A squaliform shark of the family Somniosidae, the sleeper sharks. | |
Actinopterygii
| Name | Species | Locality/Member | Material | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aglyptorhynchus[1] | A. sp. | Pucking | An extinct genus of billfish. | ||
| Argyropelecus[5] | A. sp. | Pucking | A species of hatchetfish, a bathypelagic animal. | ||
| Austromola[4] | A. angerhoferi | Pucking | Three specimen and skeleton parts, one of which was destroyed during excavation. | A large member of the Sunfish family, measuring up to 4 meters from fin tip to fin tip. | |
| Caproidae[5] | Pucking | Boarfish are distinctly less frequent than mackerel, herring and hakes. | |||
| Carangidae[5] | Pucking | Jack fish are distinctly less frequent than mackerel, herring and hakes. | |||
| Clupeidae[5] | Pucking | Herring are amongst the most common fish at Pucking. Modern members of the family are schooling animals of the pelagic zone. | |||
| Istiophoridae[1] | Pucking | Three specimen including a set of caudal vertebrae. | The oldest known record of the family from the Northern Alpine Foreland Basin and one of the earliest records of the group in general after their appearance in the Chandler Bridge Formation. | ||
| Merlucciidae[5] | Pucking | Modern hake are benthic animals that occur between a few tens to a few hundreds of meters and migrate up the water column at night to feed. This fits with the offshore environment inferred for the Pucking Lagerstätte. They are common at Pucking. | |||
| Myctophidae[5] | Pucking | Lanternfish are regarded as index taxa for deep waters and live a bathypelagic lifestyle, migrating up the water column at night. | |||
| Serranidae[5] | Pucking | Comber are distinctly less frequent than mackerel, herring and hakes. | |||
| Scombridae[5] | Pucking | Mackerels are open water filter feeders. They are common at Pucking. | |||
| Syngnathidae[5] | Pucking | Pipefish are known from mass occurrences at Pucking, but likely did not originate in the offshore environment. Modern pipefish prefer bays and lagoons, thus it is possible that they were washed out to sea after their deaths. | |||
| Xiphiidae[1] | Pucking | One undescribed specimen. | An underscribed swordfish. | ||
Birds
Mammals
| Name | Species | Locality/Member | Material | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| undescribed dolphin[5] | Pucking | A well preserved skeleton preserving the skull, forelimbs, ribcage and much of the vertebral column. | |||
| Romaleodelphis[3] | R. pollerspoecki | Pucking | An incomplete skull missing the tip of the rostrum and most of the basicranium. Ribs and vertebrae have also been reported, but were split among collectors with their current whereabouts unknown. | A basal odontocete and member of the "Chilcacetus-Clade", making it basal to true dolphins and beaked whales. | |