The Allgäu Formation is a

geologic formation A geological formation, or simply formation, is a body of rock having a consistent set of physical characteristics ( lithology) that distinguishes it from adjacent bodies of rock, and which occupies a particular position in the layers of rock exp ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. It preserves

fossils A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

dating back to the

Hettangian The Hettangian is the earliest age and lowest stage of the Jurassic Period of the geologic timescale. It spans the time between 201.3 ± 0.2 Ma and 199.3 ± 0.3 Ma (million years ago). The Hettangian follows the Rhaetian (part of the Triass ...

Sinemurian In the geologic timescale, the Sinemurian is an age (geology), age and stage (stratigraphy), stage in the Early Jurassic, Early or Lower Jurassic epoch (geology), Epoch or series (stratigraphy), Series. It spans the time between 199.5 ±0.3 annu ...

stages of the

Early Jurassic The Early Jurassic Epoch (geology), Epoch (in chronostratigraphy corresponding to the Lower Jurassic series (stratigraphy), Series) is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic Period. The Early Jurassic starts immediately after the Triassic� ...

period Period may refer to: Common uses * Period (punctuation) * Era, a length or span of time *Menstruation, commonly referred to as a "period" Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (o ...

, or Raricostatum to Obtusum in the regional stratigraphy. Initially and formally defined by Jacobshagen (1965).Jacobshagen, 1965 The Allgäu Formation is formerly known as spotted

marl Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, Clay minerals, clays, and silt. When Lithification, hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae. M ...

s (Lias-Fleckenmergel) and spotted marly limestones (Fleckenkalk). The formation is represented by dark-grey bioturbated

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

s and

marlstone Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, clays, and silt. When hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae. Marl makes up the lower part ...

interbeds. It represents basinal hemipelagic faciesGawlick et al., 2009 common in Alpine Tethys regions of

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

Carpathians The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains ...

and other mountain ranges. Several horizons of the formation are particularly rich in

ammonite Ammonoids are extinct, (typically) coiled-shelled cephalopods comprising the subclass Ammonoidea. They are more closely related to living octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish (which comprise the clade Coleoidea) than they are to nautiluses (family N ...

fauna.

Fossil content

;Fish * '' Agkistracanthus sp.''Duffin & Furrer, 1981 ;AmmonitesBlau, 1998 * '' Echioceras raricostatoides'' * '' Epophioceras landrioti'' * '' Leptechioceras meigeni'' * '' Asteroceras cf. suevicum'' * '' Juraphyllites sp.'' * '' Paltechioceras sp.'' * ''Villania sp.'' ;RhynchonellataSulser & Furrer, 2008 * '' Carapezzia engadinensis'' * '' Sulcirostra doesseggeri'' * '' Sulcirostra cf. zitteli''

References

Bibliography

* Gawlick, H.J., Missoni, S., Schlagintweit, F., Suzuki, H., Frisch, W., Krystyn, L., Blau, J. & Lein, R., 2009, Jurassic Tectonostratigraphy of the Austroalpine Domain. Journal of Alpine Geology, 50, p. 1–152 * H. Sulser and H. Furrer. 2008. Dimerelloid rhynchonellide brachiopods in the Lower Jurassic of the Engadine (Canton Graubünden, National Park, Switzerland).

Swiss Journal of Geosciences Springer Science+Business Media, commonly known as Springer, is a German multinational publishing company of books, e-books and peer-reviewed journals in science, humanities, technical and medical (STM) publishing. Originally founded in 1842 in ...

101:203-222 * J. Blau. 1998. Monographie der Ammoniten des Obersinemuriums (Lotharingium, Lias) der Lienzer Dolomiten (Österreich): Biostratigraphie, Systematik und Paläobiogeographie. Revue de Paléobiologie, Genève 17:177-285 * C. J. Duffin and H. Furrer. 1981. Myriacanthid holocephalan remains from the Rhaetian (Upper Triassic) and Hettangian (Lower Jurassic) of Graubünden (Switzerland). Eclogae Geologicae Helvetiae 74:803-829 * Jacobshagen, V. von, 1965, Die Allgäu-Schichten (Jura-Fleckenmergel) zwischen Wettersteingebirge und Rhein. Jb. Geol. B. A., 108, pp. 1–114 {{DEFAULTSORT:Allgau Formation Jurassic System of Europe Jurassic Austria Jurassic Germany Hettangian Stage Sinemurian Stage Jurassic Switzerland Marl formations Limestone formations Open marine deposits Paleontology in Austria Paleontology in Germany Paleontology in Switzerland Northern Limestone Alps Geologic formations of Austria Geologic formations of Germany Geologic formations of Switzerland

Fossil content

See also

References

Bibliography