Painten Formation

The Painten Formation is a geologic formation in Germany. It preserves fossils dating back to the Tithonian stage of the Late Jurassic period.^[1]

Sub-unitsÖchselberg member

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Painten Formation
Stratigraphic range: early Tithonian ~150–148 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Type	Formation
Sub-units	Öchselberg member
Underlies	Mörnsheim Formation
Overlies	Torleite Formation
Lithology
Primary	Limestone
Other	Mudstone
Location
Coordinates	48.9°N 11.6°E / 48.9; 11.6
Approximate paleocoordinates	40.2°N 19.6°E / 40.2; 19.6
Region	Bavaria
Country	Germany
Type section
Named for	Painten, near Kelheim
Painten Formation (Germany)

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Description

It is roughly contemporary with the Altmühltal Formation (which includes the true Solnhofen limestone), as they both underlay the Mörnsheim Formation.^[2] The 12th specimen, or "Schamhaupten specimen", of Archaeopteryx was uncovered in the lower portion of the Painten Formation.^[2] Other dinosaurs found here include Juravenator, Ostromia and possibly Compsognathus.

The following fossils have been reported from the formation:^[1]

[1]
Painten Formation at Fossilworks.org
[2]
Rauhut et al., 2019
[3]
Reisdorf, A.G.; Wuttke, M. (2012). "Re-evaluating Moodie's Opisthotonic-Posture Hypothesis in fossil vertebrates. Part I: Reptiles – The taphonomy of the bipedal dinosaurs Compsognathus longipes and Juravenator starki from the Solnhofen Archipelago (Jurassic, Germany)". Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments. 92 (1): 119–168. doi:10.1007/s12549-011-0068-y. S2CID 129785393
[4]
Fabre, 1981
[5]
Rauhut et al., 2018
[6]
Spindler, Frederik (2024-07-23). "A pterosaurian connecting link from the Late Jurassic of Germany". Palaeontologia Electronica. 27 (2): 1–27. doi:10.26879/1366. ISSN 1094-8074.
[7]
Tischlinger & Frey, 2013
[8]
Arratia, 2000

Rauhut, Oliver W.M.; Tischlinger, Helmut; Foth, Christian (2019), "A non-archaeopterygid avialan theropod from the Late Jurassic of southern Germany", eLife, 8 e43789, doi:10.7554/eLife.43789, PMC 6516837, PMID 31084702
Rauhut, O. W. M.; Foth, C.; Tischlinger, H. (2018), "The oldest Archaeopteryx (Theropoda: Avialiae): a new specimen from the Kimmeridgian/Tithonian boundary of Schamhaupten, Bavaria", PeerJ, 6 e4191, doi:10.7717/peerj.4191, PMC 5788062, PMID 29383285
Foth, C.; Rauhut, O. W. M. (2017), "Re-evaluation of the Haarlem Archaeopteryx and the radiation of maniraptoran theropod dinosaurs", BMC Evolutionary Biology, 17 (1): 236, Bibcode:2017BMCEE..17..236F, doi:10.1186/s12862-017-1076-y, PMC 5712154, PMID 29197327
Tischlinger, H.; Frey, E. (2013), "A new pterosaur with mosaic characters of basal and pterodactyloid pterosauria from the Upper Kimmeridgian of Painten (Upper Palatinate, Germany)", Archaeopteryx, 31: 1–13
Arrati, G (2000), "Remarkable teleostean fishes from the Late Jurassic of southern Germany and their phylogenetic relationships", Mitteilungen aus dem Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin, Geowissenschaften Reihe, 3 (1): 137–179, Bibcode:2000FossR...3..137A, doi:10.5194/fr-3-137-2000
Fabre, J (1981), Les rhynchocephales et les pterosauriens a crete parietale du Kimeridgien superieur-Berriasien d'Europe occidentale: le gisement de Canjuers (Var-France) et ses abords, ., pp. 1–188