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]

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
Approximate paleocoordinates	40.2°N 19.6°E
Region	Bavaria
Country	Germany
Type section
Named for	Painten, near Kelheim
Painten Formation (Germany)

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.

Fossil content

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

Reptiles

• Dakosaurus maximus
• Eurysternum wagleri
• Juravenator starki
• Leptosaurus pulchellus[3]
• Solnhofia parsonsi
• Archaeopteryx sp.[4]
• Rhamphorhynchus sp.
• Eurysternidae indet.
• Ichthyosauria indet.
• Pterodactyloidea indet.[5]

Fish

Chondrichthyes

• Paracestracion viohli[6]

Osteichthyes

• Anaethalion zapporum[6]
• Ascalabothrissops voelkli[6]
• Scheenstia zappi[6]
• Undina pencillata[6]
• Voelklichthys comitatus[6]
• Allothrissops sp.[6]
• Gyrodus sp.[6]
• Leptolepis sp.[6]
• ?Elopsomolos sp.[6]

Invertebrates

Echinoids

• Pygaster sp.
• Echinoidea indet.

Crinoids

• Saccocoma tenella
• Millericrinus sp.

Corals

• Muensteria vermicularis
• Scleractinia indet.

Flora

• Crescentiella morronensis
• Cycadopteris jurensis
• Araucarites sp.
• Brachyphyllum sp.
• Goniolina sp.
• Sphenopteris sp.
• Phaeophyceae indet.

See also

• List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Germany

References

1. Painten Formation at Fossilworks.org
2. Rauhut et al., 2019
3. Fabre, 1981
4. Rauhut et al., 2018
5. Tischlinger & Frey, 2013
6. Arratia, 2000

Bibliography

• Rauhut, Oliver W.M.; Helmut Tischlinger, and Christian Foth. 2019. A non-archaeopterygid avialan theropod from the Late Jurassic of southern Germany. eLife 8. e43789. PMID 31084702 PMC 6516837 doi:10.7554/eLife.43789
• Rauhut, O. W. M.; C. Foth, and H. Tischlinger. 2018. The oldest Archaeopteryx (Theropoda: Avialiae): a new specimen from the Kimmeridgian/Tithonian boundary of Schamhaupten, Bavaria. PeerJ 6. e4191.
• Foth, C., and O. W. M. Rauhut. 2017. Re-evaluation of the Haarlem Archaeopteryx and the radiation of maniraptoran theropod dinosaurs. BMC Evolutionary Biology 17. 236.
• Tischlinger, H., and E. Frey. 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. 137–179.
• 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, 1–188. ..