The Langental Formation, also spelled as Langetal Formation, is a

Late Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', "d ...

(

Bartonian The Bartonian is, in the ICS's geologic time scale, a stage or age in the middle Eocene Epoch or Series. The Bartonian Age spans the time between . It is preceded by the Lutetian and is followed by the Priabonian Age. Stratigraphic defin ...

Priabonian The Priabonian is, in the ICS's geologic timescale, the latest age or the upper stage of the Eocene Epoch or Series. It spans the time between . The Priabonian is preceded by the Bartonian and is followed by the Rupelian, the lowest stage ...

) geologic

formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondary ...

cropping out in the Sperrgebiet,

ǁKaras Region The ǁKaras Region (pronounced , with a lateral click) is the southernmost and least densely populated of the 14 regions of Namibia; its capital is Keetmanshoop. The name assigned to the region reflects the prominence of the Karas mountain rang ...

of southwestern

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and e ...

. The

siltstone Siltstone, also known as aleurolite, is a clastic sedimentary rock that is composed mostly of silt. It is a form of mudrock with a low clay mineral content, which can be distinguished from shale by its lack of fissility.Blatt ''et al.'' 1980, ...

s and

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

s of the formation were deposited in a shallow marine

environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

. The Langental Formation was deposited under hot and humid conditions. The formation overlies the Silica Beds unit and is overlain by the

Blaubok Conglomerate The bluebuck (Afrikaans: bloubok ) or blue antelope (''Hippotragus leucophaeus'') is an extinct species of antelope that lived in South Africa until around 1800. It was smaller than the other two species in its genus ''Hippotragus,'' the roan ...

.Dauteuil et al., 2018, p.6 The Langental Formation provides many fossil invertebrates and fish.

Fossil content

Among others, the following fossils are reported from the formation:Bogenfels
at

Fossilworks Fossilworks is a portal which provides query, download, and analysis tools to facilitate access to the Paleobiology Database, a large relational database assembled by hundreds of paleontologists from around the world. History Fossilworks was cre ...

.org ;Fish * '' Alopecias smithwoodwardi'' * '' Carcharias (Aprionodon) frequens'' * '' Carcharias (Physodon) quartus'' * ''

Carcharodon hastalis ''Cosmopolitodus'' is an extinct genus of mackerel shark that lived between thirty to one million years ago during the late Oligocene to the Early Pleistocene epochs. Its type species is ''Cosmopolitodus hastalis'', the broad-tooth mako (other ...

'' * '' Cestracion vincenti'' * '' Chrysophrys blankenhorni'' * '' Cylindracanthus cf. rectus'' * ''

Galeocerdo latidens ''Galeocerdo'' is a genus of requiem sharks that have lived since the Paleocene epoch. While these sharks were formerly diverse, only ''G. cuvier'' (the modern tiger shark) survives today. Species Species in the genus ''Galeocerdo'' include: ...

'' * '' Galeus porrectus'', '' G. robustus'' * ''

Isurus desorii ''Isurus'' is a genus of mackerel sharks in the family Lamnidae, commonly known as the mako sharks. Description The two living species are the common shortfin mako shark (''I. oxyrinchus'') and the rare longfin mako shark (''I. paucus''). They ...

'' * '' Labrodon stromeri'' * '' Lamna barnitzkei'', '' L. vincenti'' * '' Myliobatis cf. dixoni'' * '' Notidanus serratissimus'' * '' Odontaspis contortidens'', '' O. macrota'', '' O. winkleri'' * '' Odontorhytis pappenheimi'' * '' Oxypristis ferinus'' * '' Paranarrhichas damesi'' * '' Pimelodus cf. gaudryi'' * ''

Rhinoptera rasilis ''Rhinoptera'' is a genus of ray commonly known as the cownose rays. This genus is the only member of the family Rhinopteridae. Species There are currently 8 recognized extant (living) species in this genus: * ''Rhinoptera adspersa'' J. P. Mü ...

'' * '' Sphyraenodus hastatus'' * '' Squatina prima''

References

Bibliography

* {{cite LSA , last=Dauteuil , first=Olivier , last2=Picart , first2=Carole , last3=Guillocheau , first3=François , last4=Pickford , first4=Martin , last5= Senut , first5=Brigitte , year=2018 , title=Cenozoic deformation and geomorphic evolution of the Sperrgebiet (Southern Namibia) , url=http://www.mme.gov.na/files/publications/af5_Dauteuil%20et%20al2018_geomorphic%20evolution%20of%20the%20Sperrgebiet.pdf , journal=Communications of the Geological Survey of Namibia , volume=18 , pages=1–18 , accessdate=2018-08-26

Fossil content

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading