Corona Formation | |
---|---|
Stratigraphic range: Early Gzhelian ~ | |
Type | Formation |
Unit of | Pramollo Group |
Underlies | Auernig Formation |
Overlies | Pezzul Formation |
Thickness | 300 m (980 ft) |
Lithology | |
Primary | Conglomerate |
Other | Sandstone, mudstone |
Location | |
Coordinates | 46°30′N13°18′E / 46.5°N 13.3°E |
Approximate paleocoordinates | 10°54′N23°42′E / 10.9°N 23.7°E |
Region | Kronalpe Udine |
Country | Austria Italy |
Extent | Carnian Alps |
Type section | |
Named for | Monte Corona |
The Corona Formation is a geologic formation of the Carnian Alps at the border of Austria and Italy. It preserves fossils dated to the Gzhelian stage of the Late Carboniferous period. [1]
The 300-metre (980 ft) thick formation comprises deposited in a deltaic environment. The Corona Formation has provided fossils of fish, brachiopods, a bryozoan, an insect, fossil flora including trunks and ichnofossils ascribed to Limnopus . The tracks from the Corona Formation include the oldest record of tetrapod tracks from the Southern Alps. [2] The rugose coral Amplexus coronae was named after the formation.
The Corona Formation was defined as a formation by Venturini in 1990. [3] It is the lowermost Gzhelian unit in the late Pennsylvanian Pramollo Group, overlying the Kasimovian Pizzul Formation and overlain by the Auernig Formation in the Carnian Alpine border region of Austria and Italy. The mountains Monte Auernig, Monte Carnizza and the eponymous Monte Corona are composed of the formation. The formation is a 300-metre (980 ft) thick succession, characterized by alternating quartz conglomerates, sandstones and mudstones. The conglomerates are coarse infillings of distributary channels in a deltaic environment. [4] The formation is characterized by cyclothems (parasequences) of 30 to 40 metres (98 to 131 ft) thick. [5]
The Corona Formation has provided fossils of: [1]
The tracks of Limnopus from the Corona Formation represent the oldest record of tetrapod tracks from the Southern Alps. [2]
The formation has also provided abundant, well-preserved and diverse plant assemblages in coal-rich levels of up to 30 centimetres (12 in) in the fine sandstones and shaly levels of the Corona Formation. Therein, sphenophyte trunks with a diameter of up to 20 centimetres (7.9 in) are preserved in situ. [2] The genus Lebachia , typically known from the Permian, is not found in other Carboniferous strata in the Alps. [14] The flora is of importance as one of the earliest examples of rebound after the Carboniferous rainforest collapse.
The Cisuralian is the first series/epoch of the Permian. The Cisuralian was preceded by the Pennsylvanian and followed by the Guadalupian. The Cisuralian Epoch is named after the western slopes of the Ural Mountains in Russia and Kazakhstan and dates between 298.9 ± 0.15 – 272.3 ± 0.5 Ma.
In the geologic timescale, the Artinskian is an age or stage of the Permian. It is a subdivision of the Cisuralian Epoch or Series. The Artinskian likely lasted between 290.1 and 283.5 million years ago (Ma) according to the most recent revision of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) in 2022. It was preceded by the Sakmarian and followed by the Kungurian.
The Carnian is the lowermost stage of the Upper Triassic Series. It lasted from 237 to 227 million years ago (Ma). The Carnian is preceded by the Ladinian and is followed by the Norian. Its boundaries are not characterized by major extinctions or biotic turnovers, but a climatic event occurred during the Carnian and seems to be associated with important extinctions or biotic radiations. Another extinction occurred at the Carnian-Norian boundary, ending the Carnian age.
The Ladinian is a stage and age in the Middle Triassic series or epoch. It spans the time between 242 Ma and ~237 Ma. The Ladinian was preceded by the Anisian and succeeded by the Carnian.
Caseidae are an extinct family of basal synapsids that lived from the Late Carboniferous to Middle Permian between about 300 and 265 million years ago. Fossils of these animals come from the south-central part of the United States, from various parts of Europe, and possibly from South Africa if the genus Eunotosaurus is indeed a caseid as some authors proposed in 2021. Caseids show great taxonomic and morphological diversity. The most basal taxa were small insectivorous and omnivorous forms that lived mainly in the Upper Carboniferous and Lower Permian, such as Eocasea, Callibrachion, and Martensius. This type of caseid persists until the middle Permian with Phreatophasma and may be Eunotosaurus. During the early Permian, the clade is mainly represented by many species that adopted a herbivorous diet. Some have evolved into gigantic forms that can reach 6–7 metres (20–23 ft) in length, such as Cotylorhynchus hancocki and Alierasaurus ronchii, making them the largest Permian synapsids. Caseids are considered important components of early terrestrial ecosystems in vertebrate history because the numerous herbivorous species in this family are among the first terrestrial tetrapods to occupy the role of primary consumer. The caseids experienced a significant evolutionary radiation at the end of the early Permian, becoming, with the captorhinid eureptiles, the dominant herbivores of terrestrial ecosystems in place of the edaphosaurids and diadectids.
Dasyleptus is an extinct genus of wingless insects in the order Archaeognatha, and the only member of the family Dasyleptidae. They resembled their modern relatives and had a single lengthy filament projecting from the end of the abdomen. They also had a pair of leg-like cerci and some non-ambulatory abdominal appendages. The largest specimens reached 30 millimetres (1.2 in) or more, not counting the length of the filament. Dasyleptus was formerly placed in its own extinct order, Monura, but this is now treated as a suborder of Archaeognatha.
The Norian is a division of the Triassic Period. It has the rank of an age (geochronology) or stage (chronostratigraphy). It lasted from ~227 to 208.5 million years ago. It was preceded by the Carnian and succeeded by the Rhaetian.
The Tambach Formation is an Early Permian-age geologic formation in central Germany. It consists of red to brown-colored sedimentary rocks such as conglomerate, sandstone, and mudstone, and is the oldest portion of the Upper Rotliegend within the Thuringian Forest Basin.
Plicatodus is a prehistoric cartilaginous fish in the family Xenacanthidae that lived in Europe during the late Carboniferous and Early Permian Periods. It was described by Oliver Hampe in 1995, and the type species is Plicatodus jordani. The type locality for this genus is the Saar-Nahe basin.
The Sangre de Cristo Formation is a geologic formation in Colorado and New Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the late Pennsylvanian to early Permian.
The Yeso Group is a group of geologic formations in New Mexico. It contains fossils characteristic of the Kungurian Age of the early Permian Period.
The Bombaso Formation, also known as Waidegger Conglomerate, Waidegger Group, Waidegg Formation or Collendiaul Formation, is a geologic formation in the Carnic Alps in southern Austria. It preserves fossils dated to the Moscovian age of the Carboniferous period.
The Trogkofel Formation is a geologic formation in Austria, Slovenia and Italy. It preserves fossils dating back to the Sakmarian to Artinskian stages of the Permian period.
The Werfen Formation is a geologic formation in the Southern Limestone Alps and Dinaric Alps of Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Italy. It preserves fossils dating back to the Triassic period.
The Schlern Formation, also known as Schlern Dolomite, and Sciliar Formation or Sciliar Dolomite in Italy, is a limestone, marl and dolomite formation in the Southern Limestone Alps in Kärnten, Austria and South Tyrol, Italy.
Alierasaurus is an extinct genus of caseid synapsid that lived during the early Middle Permian (Roadian) in what is now Sardinia. It is represented by a single species, the type species Alierasaurus ronchii. Known from a very large partial skeleton found within the Cala del Vino Formation, Alierasaurus is one of the largest known caseids. It closely resembles Cotylorhynchus, another giant caseid from the San Angelo Formation in Texas. The dimensions of the preserved foot elements and caudal vertebrae suggest an estimated total length of about 6 or 7 m for Alierasaurus. In fact, the only anatomical features that differ between Alierasaurus and Cotylorhynchus are found in the bones of the feet; Alierasaurus has a longer and thinner fourth metatarsal and it has ungual bones at the tips of the toes that are pointed and claw-like rather than flattened as in other caseids. Alierasaurus and Cotylorhynchus both have very wide, barrel-shaped rib cages indicating that they were herbivores that fed primarily on high-fiber plant material.
This article records new taxa of trace fossils of every kind that are scheduled to be described during the year 2019, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to trace fossil paleontology that are scheduled to occur in the year 2019.
The Bajo de Véliz Formation is stratigraphic formation of the Paleozoic located in the Paganzo Basin, Argentina. This formation lies in the northwestern sector of San Luis, about 25 km west of Santa Rosa de Conlara. Containing a slice of the Carboniferous-Permian transition, it is one of the key upper Paleozoic successions characterizing that era in westernmost Gondwana, which South America was a part of in the Paleozoic.
Calcivertellinae is a subfamily of foraminifera belonging to the order Miliolida. Calcivertellids have been found in Pennsylvanian to Triassic beds and had a cosmopolitan distribution.
Tridentinosaurus is a dubious genus of extinct fossil reptile from the early Permian Regnana Formation of the Italian Alps. The genus contains a single species, T. antiquus. Tridentinosaurus represents one of the oldest known vertebrate fossils found in Italy. The only parts of the skeleton that are preserved are the long bones of the hind limbs, and the supposed soft tissue body outline is a forgery done with paint, though some genuine scales may also be preserved. Due to the poor preservation of the limb bones, the validity of the taxon is questionable.