Danata Formation | |
---|---|
Stratigraphic range: Early Eocene-Mid Eocene ~ | |
Type | Geological formation |
Location | |
Coordinates | 38°38′N55°48′E / 38.633°N 55.800°E [1] |
Approximate paleocoordinates | 35°06′N51°12′E / 35.1°N 51.2°E |
Country | Turkmenistan |
The Danata Formation (or Danatinskaya, Danatinsk, Russian: Danata Svita) is an earliest Eocene to Middle Eocene sedimentary succession located in Turkmenistan. It is mostly famous for its fish-bearing horizons (Ichthyofauna). [1] The formation for example crops out in the Kopet Dag mountain range in the border region of Turkmenistan and Iran. [1] It was deposited in a far northeastern arm of the Tethys Sea. [2]
Previously, it was thought that the earliest horizons of this formation dated to the latest Paleocene (Thanetian). However, more recent studies have found the formation's sapropel to originate from a global anoxic event caused by the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, indicating that it formed just after the Paleocene-Eocene boundary, during the earliest Ypresian. [2]
The Danata Formation is famous for its ichthyofauna. The fish are found in a 9 metres (30 ft) thick clay horizon in the middle of the succession, that has been dated as earliest Ypresian, around 56 million years ago. [1] [2] This includes fossils of the family Turkmenidae. Luvarus necopinatus was first described in this formation. Other fossils of fish include the genera Eospinus, Danatinia, Exellia, Turkmene and Avitoluvarus . The snake species Archaeophis turkmenicus has also been described. [3] A similar fauna occurs in the Moler Formation in Denmark. [1] The majority of these taxa were named by prominent Russian ichthyologist Pavel Daniltshenko. [4]
The fauna is largely dominated by three species: Primisardinella genetrix , Chanos torosus , and Mene triangulum . The formation appears to have been deposited in an open-water environment as the vast majority of genera had a pelagic lifestyle, with only two very rare benthic genera ( Eolamprogrammus and Asanoa ) known. Despite some of the similarities in the taxonomic affiliation of the Danata ichthyofauna with modern-day marine ichthyofauna, only five to six genera represented in the formation ( Chanos , Seriola , Luvarus , Mene , Scomberomorus , and possibly Caesio ) also have modern representatives. Uniquely, a high diversity of luvarid fishes is known from the formation, despite this family being represented by a single, very rare species (the louvar) in the modern day. [5]
The following taxa are known: [4] [5]
Genus | Species | Notes | Image |
---|---|---|---|
" Archaeophis " | "A." turkmenicus | A palaeophiid snake. Assignment to Archaeophis disputed. [6] |
Archaeus is an extinct genus of marine jackfish from the Paleogene of Europe, where it inhabited the former Tethys Ocean. The oldest species, A. oblongus is from the early Ypresian epoch of Eocene Turkmenistan, and the last species, A. glarisianus and A. solus, are from the early to middle Rupelian, of the Matt Formation of Canton Glarus, Switzerland and the Pshekha Formation of North Caucasus, Russia.
Medusafishes are a family, Centrolophidae, of scombriform ray-finned fishes. The family includes about 31 species. They are found in temperate and tropical waters throughout the world.
The moonfish of the genus Mene, the sole extant genus of the family Menidae, are disk-shaped fish which bear a vague resemblance to gourami, thanks to their thread-like pelvic fins. Today, the genus is represented only by Mene maculata of the Indo-Pacific, where it is a popular food fish, especially in the Philippines, where it is known as bilong-bilong, chabita, hiwas or tahas.
The Fur Formation is a marine geological formation of Ypresian age which crops out in the Limfjord region of northern Denmark from Silstrup via Mors and Fur to Ertebølle, and can be seen in many cliffs and quarries in the area. The Diatomite Cliffs is on the Danish list of tentative candidates for World Heritage and may become a World Heritage site. Fossils found in the Fur Formation are primarily housed at the Fossil and Mo-clay Museum on Mors Island, the Fur Museum on Fur Island, and the Natural History Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen.
Blochius is an extinct genus of billfish from the Eocene. It is only known from the Monte Bolca deposits in Italy, and was likely restricted to shallow, tropical waters of the Tethys Ocean.
Eospinus daniltshenkoi is an extinct tetraodontid bony fish from the Eocene. Its fossils are from the Danata Formation lagerstatten of Ypresian Turkmenistan.
Exellia is a genus of extinct spadefish that lived in the Tethys Ocean during the early Paleogene. The adult form is shaped akin to a large spadefish or a short dolphinfish, with very large pelvic fins, and a long dorsal fin starting from in front of the eyes to near the base of the caudal peduncle. The juvenile form resembles a juvenile drumfish, with the dorsal fin forming a long crest on top of the head.
Avitoluvarus is a genus of extinct louvar that lived in the Peri-Tethys Sea during the early Paleogene. The first specimens were found from the Danata Formation Lagerstätten, of the Ypresian age of Turkmenistan, where they were originally thought to be smaller or juvenile individuals of the true louvar, Luvarus necopinatus. These specimens were later reexamined, and determined to be a separate genus comprising two species.
Luvarus necopinatus is a species of extinct louvar that lived in the Tethys Ocean during the early Paleogene. It differs from the modern species, L. imperialis, in that L. necopinatus has an oval body shape, and is around one foot in length when fully grown.
Turkmenidae is an extinct family of lamprids from the Paleogene of the west-central Asia, in what was formerly the Peri-Tethys Ocean. They were small, disk-shaped fish that bore a strong resemblance to their closest living relatives, the opahs.
Euzaphlegidae is a family of extinct escolar-like ray-finned fish closely related to the snake mackerels. Fossils of euzaphlegids are found from Paleocene to Late Miocene-aged marine strata of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains, India, Iran, Turkmenistan, Italy, and Southern California.
Kushlukia is an extinct genus of prehistoric bony fish, closely related to the luvar, that lived during the lower Eocene. K. permira is from Eocene portion of the Danata Formation Lagerstatten, of Turkmenistan. A second, as yet undescribed species is from the Fuller's Earth formation Lagerstatten in the Barmer District, of Ypresian Rajasthan, India.
Bolcyrus is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine eel that lived during the Early Eocene. It was a member of the family Congridae, which also contains modern conger eels.
Bregmacerina is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish, most likely a codlet, that lived during the early part of the Miocene epoch. It contains a single species, B. antiqua, from the Burdigalian Sakaraul Horizon Formation of North Caucasus, Russia.
Aluvarus praeimperialis is an extinct ray-finned fish, known from two headless larval fossil specimens found in the Pabdeh Formation, a Late Eocene stratum from the Priabonian epoch, of what is now Iran. A. praeimperialis was originally thought to be a luvar, described as "Luvarus praeimperialis", as it was thought to be a predecessor to the modern luvar. A later reexamination of the specimens showed that they were too incomplete to demonstrate such a conclusion and had no clear exclusive shared traits with luvar, and were renamed "Aluvarus", meaning "not luvar" or "different than luvar". However, some authorities still retain it as a luvar.
Platinx is an extinct genus of marine ray-finned fish that inhabited the northern Tethys Ocean during the early to middle Eocene. It was the last surviving member of the ancient order Crossognathiformes, which was a dominant and successful group throughout the preceding Mesozoic era.
Palimphyes is an extinct genus of marine ray-finned fish known from the Paleogene period. It was a euzaphlegid, an extinct family of scombroid fish related to the escolars and snake mackerels.
Ampullinopsis is an extinct taxonomic genus of deep-water sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Sorbeoconcha. These sea snails were epifaunal grazers. Sea snails of this genus lived from Paleocene epoch to Miocene epoch.
The Pabdeh Formation is a Late Eocene to Early Oligocene-aged geological formation in Iran. It outcrops along the Zagros Mountains. It was deposited in a deepwater environment in the upper bathyal zone of the Paratethys Sea, with these abyssal sediments being lifted high above sea level from the uplift of the Zagros fold and thrust belt as part of the Alpide orogeny.
Hemingwaya is an extinct genus of billfish in the monotypic family Hemingwayidae that lived during the earliest Eocene epoch, approximately 56 to 55 million years ago. It contains a single species, H. sarissa. Members of this family are characterized by their elongated, spear-like bills, a feature that defines modern billfish such as swordfish and marlins. It is known from the Danata Formation of Turkmenistan, which represented a far eastern inland arm of the Tethys Ocean, and was deposited in the earliest Eocene shortly after the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. The genus name honors famed author Ernest Hemingway, who prominently featured a marlin in his 1952 novella The Old Man and the Sea, while the species name "sarissa" originates from the Greek word for "spear".