The ''Schistes bitumineux'' (

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

for

Oil shale Oil shale is an organic-rich Granularity, fine-grained sedimentary rock containing kerogen (a solid mixture of Organic compound, organic chemical compounds) from which liquid hydrocarbons can be produced. In addition to kerogen, general compos ...

/Bituminous shale) is an

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� ...

geologic formation in

Bascharage Bascharage (; ; ) is a town and a former commune in south-western Luxembourg. Since 2012, it is part of the commune of Käerjeng. History Bascharage with the other towns like Linger, Hautcharage, and Pétange were owned by the "Hoheit Ker ...

, Luxembourg that is located within an oil shale, hence the name.Weishampel, et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution."

Geology

This formation may be part of the larger Sachrang Formation, which also outcrops in Luxembourg, among other countries. The type locality is the

Edward Steichen Edward Jean Steichen (; March 27, 1879 – March 25, 1973) was a Luxembourgish American photographer, painter and curator and a pioneer of fashion photography. His gown images for the magazine ''Art et Décoration'' in 1911 were the first modern ...

Industrial Zone near

and it is part of a near-continuous layer of hard, finely laminated, micritic

carbonate A carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid, (), characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, a polyatomic ion with the formula . The word "carbonate" may also refer to a carbonate ester, an organic compound containing the carbonate group ...

nodules. The Schistes bitumineux underlies the middle

Toarcian The Toarcian is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy, ICS' geologic timescale, an age (geology), age and stage (stratigraphy), stage in the Early Jurassic, Early or Lower Jurassic. It spans the time between 184.2 Megaannum, Ma (million ...

Marnes à Bifrons Formation, which outcrops in both Luxembourg and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

History

Fossils have been found in the Schistes bitumineux since at least the 1930s,''Bode, A. (1933). ''Chondroteuthis wunnenbergi'' n.g. n.sp''.'', eine neue Belemnoideenform, in günstiger Erhaltung. ''Sonderabdruck Aus Dem 25 Jahresbericht Des Niedersächsischen Geologischen Vereins Zu Hannover (geologische Abteilung Der Naturhistorischen Gesellschaft Zu Hannover),'' ''25'', 33–66.'' and the formation has been studied since at least 1938. The Schistes bitumineux was identified as being a unit of the Sachrang Formation shortly after its discovery. Henrotay et al. (1989) produced a detailed list of the known fossils from the Schistes bitumineux. The Serpentinum

Chronozone A chronozone or chron is a unit in chronostratigraphy, defined by events such as geomagnetic reversals (magnetozones), or based on the presence of specific fossils (biozone or biochronozone). According to the International Commission on Stratig ...

and Exaratum Subchronozone were identified by Page (2003) based on ammonite remains found in the area. In May 2022, during the Lost Ocean Digging, the Luxembourg National Museum of Natural History excavated the lower part of the formation for the first time. The lower part of the formation was described in more detail by Fuchs, Weis & Thuy (2024).

Paleofauna and paleoflora

*''

Aptychus An aptychus is a type of marine fossil. It is a hard anatomical structure, a sort of curved shelly plate, now understood to be part of the body of an ammonite. Paired aptychi have, on rare occasions, been found at or within the aperture of ammo ...

'' sp. *

Belemnitida Belemnitida (or belemnites) is an extinct order (biology), order of squid-like cephalopods that existed from the Late Triassic to Late Cretaceous (And possibly the Eocene). Unlike squid, belemnites had an internal skeleton that made up the cone ...

indet. *'' Beloteuthis'' sp. *'' Bositra buchi'' *'' Bositra'' sp. *''

Caturus ''Caturus'' (from , 'down' and 'tail') is an extinct genus of predatory marine fishes in the family Caturidae in the order Amiiformes, related to modern bowfin. It has been suggested that the genus is non-monophyletic with respect to other c ...

'' sp. *'' Chondroteuthis wunnenbergi'' *''

Cleviceras exaratum ''Cleviceras'' is an extinct genus of cephalopod belonging to the family Hildoceratidae. These cephalopods existed in the Jurassic period, during Toarcian and possibly even uppermost Pliensbachian age.M. K. Howarth 2013. Treatise on Invertebrate ...

''Thuy & Weis, unpublished data *

Crocodyliformes Crocodyliformes is a clade of crurotarsan archosaurs, the group often traditionally referred to as "crocodilians". They are the first members of Crocodylomorpha to possess many of the features that define later relatives. They are the only pseu ...

indet. *'' Coelodiscus'' sp.Teichert, S., & Nützel, A. (2015). Early Jurassic anoxia triggered the evolution of the oldest holoplanktonic gastropod ''Coelodiscus minutus'' by means of heterochrony. ''Acta Palaeontologica Polonica,'' ''60''(2), 269–276. *''

Dactylioceras ''Dactylioceras'' was a widespread genus of ammonites from the Lower Jurassic period, approximately 180 million years ago ( mya).Like many other ammonites, the genus ''Dactylioceras'' is extremely important in biostratigraphy, being a key index ...

'' sp. *'' Dapedium'' sp. *'' Harpoceras falcifer'' *''

Harpoceras ''Harpoceras'' is an extinct genus of ammonite belonging to the family Hildoceratidae. These cephalopods existed in the Jurassic period, during the Toarcian age from the Falciferum zone to the Commune subzone of the Bifrons zone.Sepkoski, JacSep ...

'' sp. *'' Hildaites murleyi'' *''

Hildoceras ''Hildoceras'' is a genus of ammonite from the Jurassic period in the family Hildoceratidae. The shells are characterized by a narrow discoidal evolute shape, keeled venter, concave ribs along the outer flanks, and a shallow spiral groove run ...

'' sp. *'' Geopeltis'' sp. *

Ichthyosauria Ichthyosauria is an order of large extinct marine reptiles sometimes referred to as "ichthyosaurs", although the term is also used for wider clades in which the order resides. Ichthyosaurians thrived during much of the Mesozoic era; based on foss ...

indet. *'' Lepidotes elvensis'' *''

Lepidotes ''Lepidotes'' (from , 'covered with scales') (previously known as ''Lepidotus'') is an extinct genus of Mesozoic ray-finned fish. It has long been considered a wastebasket taxon, characterised by "general features, such as thick rhomboid scales ...

'' sp. *'' Leptolepis coryphenoides'' *'' Leptolepis'' sp.'''' * ''Lobolytoceras'' cf. ''ceratophagum'' *''

Macrospondylus bollensis ''Macrospondylus'' is an extinct genus of machimosaurid teleosauroid crocodyliform from the Early Jurassic (Toarcian) of Europe. Fossils are known from the Posidonia Shale of Germany, the Whitby Mudstone of the United Kingdom, and the "'' schi ...

'' *

Nautiloid Nautiloids are a group of cephalopods (Mollusca) which originated in the Late Cambrian and are represented today by the living ''Nautilus'' and ''Allonautilus''. Fossil nautiloids are diverse and species rich, with over 2,500 recorded species. Th ...

ea indet. *'' Otozamites'' sp. * Pachycormidae indet.'''' *'' Pachycormus'' sp. *'' Phthitogomphus angulatus'' *''

Pholidophorus ''Pholidophorus'' (from , 'horny scale' and , 'to bear') is an extinct genus of Stem group, stem-teleost fish. Numerous species were assigned to this genus in the past, but only the type species ''Pholidophorus latiusculus'', from the Late Tria ...

'' sp. *'' Phylloceras'' sp. *'' Proeryon'' sp. *

Pterosaur Pterosaurs are an extinct clade of flying reptiles in the order Pterosauria. They existed during most of the Mesozoic: from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous (228 million to 66 million years ago). Pterosaurs are the earli ...

ia indet. *'' Schizosphaerella punctulata'' *'' Simoniteuthis michaelyi'' *

Sternorrhyncha The Sternorrhyncha suborder of the Hemiptera contains the aphids, whitefly, whiteflies, and scale insects, groups which were traditionally included in the now-obsolete order "Homoptera". The name "Sternorrhyncha" refers to the rearward position of ...

indet.Szwedo, J., Weis, R. & A. Nel (2017). A bizarre sternorrhynchan wing from the Lower Jurassicof Luxembourg (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Pincombeomorpha?). ''Historical Biology, 31''(6), 806–812. *'' Tetragonolepis'' sp. *''

Thyon Thyon (also known as ''Thyon 2000'') is a purpose-built ski resort in the Swiss Alps, located in the canton of Valais. The resort is situated in the central part of the canton, in the region of Sion, and is associated with the village of Les Coll ...

'' sp. *'' Tiltoniceras'' sp. *

Vertebrata Vertebrates () are animals with a vertebral column (backbone or spine), and a cranium, or skull. The vertebral column surrounds and protects the spinal cord, while the cranium protects the brain. The vertebrates make up the subphylum Verte ...

indet.

References

{{Europe-geologic-formation-stub Mesozoic Erathem of Europe Jurassic System of Europe Shale formations Open marine deposits Fossiliferous stratigraphic units of Europe