Antiquaobatis

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Antiquaobatis
Temporal range: Late Pliensbachian 183  Ma
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Antiquaobatis toothAntiquaobatis Tooth.png
Holotype tooth
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Superorder: Batoidea
Order: Rajiformes
Genus: Antiquaobatis
Stumpf & Kriwet, 2019
Species:
A. grimmenensis
Binomial name
Antiquaobatis grimmenensis
Stumpf & Kriwet, 2019

Antiquaobatis is an extinct genus of ray from the Early Jurassic (Late Pliensbachian) of Europe, containing the single species A. grimmenensis. It is the oldest known described member of the Rajiformes, and is based on a single tooth from Pliensbachian of Northern Germany. [1] It was recovered from the Grimmen Clay Pit, on Spinatum strata that belongs in the region to the Komorowo Formation. [2] The holotype is a single antero-lateral tooth, very small and slightly asymmetrical, measuring 0.25 mm in maximum height and 0.26 mm in maximum width, that has an overall morphology, that suggests a consistent referral to Batoidea, encompassing all skates and rays. [1] The tooth has an overall rather gracile crown morphology, different from any other know jurassic batomorphs, indicating closest affinities to the monotypic genus Engaibatis schultzei from the Kimmeridgian-Tithonian of Tanzania. [1]

Paleoenvironment

The Late Pliensbachian level of the Grimmen clay pit was trougth to be part of the Allenstein (Komorowo Formation), but due to be composed by sandstones there was a strong disagreement linking the fluvial Olsztyn with Germany, as comes from the Mazury area -easternmost part of the Polish basin and there is no link with the local Amaltheenton Beds, unlike the Komorowo Formation. [2] The described tooth of Antiquaobatis is considered to come from allochthonous origin, as it has suffered massively from post-mortem breakage in many cases, most probably due to extensive reworking and redistribution generated by current activities. [1] This taxon probably lived on the marine areas that were located in closer proximity to the Fennoscandian mainland, such as the paralic depositional environments of the Sorthat Formation of Bornholm, Denmark. [3] But also can have been moved from the Polish Basin, as on the deposition of this Tooth it was flooded by the sea, as proven by the find on ammonites on central Poland. [4]

A Nectobenthic lifestyle has been suggested for Jurassic batomorphs, specially complete taxa such as Belemnobatis and Spathobatis, that are superficially similar to extant members of which are generally characterized by sharing a bauplan similar to extant Rhinobatidae, adapted to eat hard-shelled prey. [1] [5] Antiquaobatis grimmenensis appears to have used different, less specialized and probably more opportunistic feeding strategies, as suggested by the gracile and high tooth morphology. [1]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tafraout Group</span> Geological formations in Morocco

The Tafraout Group is a geological group of formations of Toarcian-Aalenian age in the Azilal, Béni-Mellal, Imilchil, Zaouiat Ahansal, Ouarzazate, Tinerhir and Errachidia areas of the High Atlas of Morocco. The Group represents the remnants of a local massive Siliciclastic-Carbonate platform, best assigned to succession W-E of alluvial environment occasionally interrupted by shallow marine incursions and inner platform to open marine settings, and marks a dramatic decrease of the carbonate productivity under increasing terrigenous sedimentation. Fossils include large reef biotas with richness in "lithiotid" bivalves and coral mounts, but also by remains of vertebrates such as the sauropod Tazoudasaurus and the basal ceratosaur Berberosaurus, along with several undescribed genera. While there have been attributions of its lowermost layers to the Latest Pliensbachian, the current oldest properly measured are part of the Earliest Toarcian regression ("MRST10"), part of the Lower-Middle Palymorphum biozone. This group is composed of the following units, which extend from west to east: the Azilal Formation ; the Amezraï Formation ; the Aguerd-nˈTazoult Formation ; the Tafraout Formation & the Tagoudite Formation. They are connected with the offshore Ait Athmane Formation and the deeper shelf deposits of the Agoudim 1 Formation. Overall, this group represents a mixed carbonate-siliciclastic system of several hundred meters thick, dominated by deposits of shallow marine platforms linked to a nearby hinterland dominated by conglomerates. The strata of the group extend towards the central High Atlas, covering different anticlines and topographic features along the mountain range.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sebastian Stumpf; Jürgen Kriwet (2019). "A new Pliensbachian elasmobranch (Vertebrata, Chondrichthyes) assemblage from Europe, and its contribution to the understanding of late Early Jurassic elasmobranch diversity and distributional patterns". PalZ. 93 (4): 637–658. Bibcode:2019PalZ...93..637S. doi: 10.1007/s12542-019-00451-4 .
  2. 1 2 Menning, M.; Pieńkowski, G.; Käding, K. C.; Maletz, J.; Kemnitz, H.; Kramer, W.; Hiß, M. (2020). "Korrekturen und Ergänzungen zur Stratigraphischen Tabelle von Deutschland 2016 (STD 2016)". Zeitschrift der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Geowissenschaften. 1 (1): 1–35.
  3. Michelsen, O.; Nielsen, L. H.; Johannessen, P. N.; Andsbjerg, J.; Surlyk, F. (2003). "Jurassic lithostratigraphy and stratigraphic development onshore and offshore Denmark". Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) Bulletin. 1 (1): 145–216. doi: 10.34194/geusb.v1.4651 . S2CID   126907584.
  4. Barth, G.; Pieńkowski, G.; Zimmermann, J.; Franz, M.; Kuhlmann, G. (2018). "Palaeogeographical evolution of the Lower Jurassic: high-resolution biostratigraphy and sequence stratigraphy in the Central European Basin". Geological Society, London, Special Publications. 469 (1): 341–369. Bibcode:2018GSLSP.469..341B. doi:10.1144/SP469.8. S2CID   134043668 . Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  5. Delsate, D.; Candoni, L. (2001). "Description de nouveaux morphotypes dentaires de Batomorphii toarciens (Jurassique inférieur) du Bassin de Paris: Archaeobatidae nov. fam". Bulletin-Société des Naturalistes Luxembourgeois. 102 (1): 131–143. Retrieved 19 November 2021.