Reuchenette Formation
Jurassic-era geologic formation in Switzerland
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The Reuchenette Formation is a Jurassic geologic formation in Switzerland. It is Kimmeridgian in age and predominantly consists of well stratified limestone, with lithology variable both laterally and stratigraphically including wackestones, packstones and grainstones, as well as mudstone.[1] Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation, including the Turiasaurian sauropod Amanzia greppini, alongside a theropod tooth belonging to Ceratosauria indet, originally assigned to Megalosaurus meriani.[2] teleosaurid crocodyliformes are also known, including Sericodon, Proexochokefalos and Machimosaurus.[3] The metriorhynchid thalatosuchians Torvoneustes[4] and Dakosaurus. The hybodontid shark Asteracanthus.[5] The thalassochelydian turtle Thalassemys[6] and Solnhofia is known from the formation,[7] as is the platychelyid turtles Platychelys,[8] and the plesiochelyid turtle Plesiochelys.[9]
Sub-unitsMembre de Chevenez, Membre de Courtedoux, Marne du Banné, Membre de Vabenau
UnderliesTwannbach Formation
OverliesFormation de Court, Balsthal-Formation, Membre de Porrentruy, Verena-Member, Holzflue-Member, Formation de Courgenay
| Reuchenette Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: Kimmeridgian, | |
| |
| Type | Geological formation |
| Sub-units | Membre de Chevenez, Membre de Courtedoux, Marne du Banné, Membre de Vabenau |
| Underlies | Twannbach Formation |
| Overlies | Formation de Court, Balsthal-Formation, Membre de Porrentruy, Verena-Member, Holzflue-Member, Formation de Courgenay |
| Thickness | 140 metres average, 160 m in type area. |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Limestone |
| Other | Mudstone |
| Location | |
| Region | Europe |
| Country | Switzerland |
Vertebrate fauna
Color key
|
Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; |
Ray-finned fish
| Genus | Species | Material | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Lepidotes" | "L". laevis | Jaw Fragment | Ginglymodi | |
| L. sp. | Four enameloid caps of the grinding tooth | Ginglymodia | ||
| Gyrodus | G. "jurassicus" | Lower jaw | Pycnodontidae |  |
| G. sp. | Two incisors | Pycnodontidae | ||
| Proscinetes | P. sp. 1 | Enameloid cap of grinding tooth, six vomers and four prearticulars | Pycnodontidae |  |
| P. sp. 2 | Enameloid cap of grinding tooth, vomer and three prearticulars | Pycnodontidae | ||
| Pycnodontiforme | Indeterminate | Enameloid cap of grinding tooth | Pycnodontidae | |
| Caturus | C. sp. | Seven teeth | Caturidae | |
| Callopterus | C. sp. | Tooth | Caturidae | |
| Ionoscopus | I. sp. | Tooth | Caturidae | |
| Belonostomus | B. sp. | Predentary | Aspidorhynchidae |
Cartilaginous fish
| Genus | Species | Material | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asteracanthus[10] | A. udulfensis | 149 teeth from different parts of the jaw | Acrodontine hybodontiforme with strongly ornamented dentition adapted for crushing hard-shelled prey, so far only known from the Reuchenette Formation | |
| "Hybodus"[10] | "H". sp. | 101 teeth from different parts of the jaw | Hybodontiforme with teeth similar to teeth from "Hybodus" lusitanicus, but they are smaller and slightly different in the bluntness of their main cusp | |
| "H". multicuspidatus | 19 mostly incomplete teeth | Hybodontiforme whose teeth are very similar to those of Polyacrodus brevicostatus, however that genus is considered a nomen dubium | ||
| Planohybodus[10] | P. sp. | 22 teeth | Hybodontiforme that may represent a new species |  |
| cf. Meristodonoides[10] | cf. M. sp. | 22 teeth | Hybodontiforme very similar to Meristodonoides, the teeth are too poorly preserved to properly confirm the inclusion in the genus | |
| Pseudorhina[10] | P. sp. | One partial tooth | Pseudorhina tooth displaying a unique morphology, however too fragmentary to name | |
| P. acanthoderma | 69 teeth from different parts of the jaw | Large angelshark known best by complete specimens hailing from the contemporary Nusplingen Limestone | ||
| P. alifera | 27 teeth from different parts of the jaw | Medium-sized angelshark known best by complete specimens hailing from the Solnhofen Limestone |  | |
| Protospinax[10] | P. sp. | Three teeth | Squalomorph known from complete specimens hailing from the Solnhofen Limestone, the material from the Swiss Jura is too fragmentary to identify on a species level |  |
| Heterodontidae[10] | Indeterminate | One fragment of a fin spine and 5 teeth | Indeterminate bullhead shark | |
| Heterodontus[10] | H. semirugosus | Six anterior teeth | Bullhead shark | |
| ?Paracestracion[10] | ?P. sp. | One fin spine | Heterodontiforme tentatively referred to Paracestracion | |
| Palaeoscyllium[10] | P. cf. formosum | 15 teeth from different parts of the jaw | Catshark most similar to P. formosum | |
| Corysodon[10] | C. cirinensis | Four teeth | The systematic position of this genus is disputed, its also known from Cerin and Solnhofen | |
| Rhinobatoidea[10] | Indeterminate | 25 teeth | Teeth that could either belong to Belemnobatis or Spathobathis | |
| Belemnobatis[10] | B. sismondae | 339 teeth from different parts of the jaw | Asterodermid known by more complete specimens from Cerin |  |
| B. morinicus | 55 teeth | Asterodermid known by more complete specimens from Cerin | ||
| Spathobatis[10] | S. bugesiacus | 157 teeth from different parts of the jaw | Asterodermid known by more complete specimens from Cerin |  |
| Ischyodus[10] | I. quenstedti | 16 fin spines, 34 dental plates, 9 palatine plates and 25 mandibular plates | Large chimaera with a wide distribution in Late Jurassic Europe |  |
| Laffonia[11] | L. helvetica | 1 egg capsule | Egg capsule similar to those of the modern short-nose chimaera |
Reptiles
Testudinata
| Genus | Species | Material | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Craspedochelys | C. picteti | |||
| C. jaccardi | ||||
| Plesiochelys | P. bigleri |  | ||
| Platychelys | P. oberndorferi | |||
| Portlandemys | P. gracilis | |||
| Solnhofia | S. brachyrhyncha | |||
| Tropidemys | T. langii | |||
| Thalassemys | T. bruntrutana | |||
| T. hugii | ||||
| "T." moseri |
Crocodylomorpha
| Genus | Species | Material | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dakosaurus | D. maximus | |||
| Machimosaurus | H. hugii | |||
| Proexochokefalos | P. cf. bouchardi | |||
| Sericodon | S. jugleri | |||
| Torvoneustes | T. jurensis |  |
Dinosauria
| Genus | Species | Material | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amanzia[2] | A. greppini |  | ||
| Ceratosauria | Indeterminate |
Ichnogenus Dinosaur
| Genus | Species | Material | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brontopodus | isp. | Footprint | ||
| Parabrontopodus | isp. | Footprint | ||
| Indeterminate | Indeterminate | Footprint | Breviparopus/Parabrontopodus-like footprint |
Pterosauria
| Genus | Species | Material | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pterodactyloidea | Indeterminate | Second wing phalanx (NMS 20'870) |
Invertebrate Fauna
Cephalopoda
| Genus | Species | Material | Notes | Images |
|---|
