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Diagram of Oncodella paucidentata | |
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Genus: | †Oncodella Mosher 1968 |
Oncodella is an extinct genus of Late Triassic (latest Norian to early Rhaetian) conodont. [1] [2] The genus was given the type species Oncodella idiodentica by Mosher (1968), on the basis of fossils from the Late Triassic of Austria. [3] However, Mosher (1969) later revised the species name to Oncodella paucidentata, since identical fossils from the same area were previously given the name Hindeodella paucidentata by Mostler (1967). [4] [5]
Like many genera which occupied the last phases of conodont evolution, Oncodella was atavistic and relatively simple in form, possibly due to environmental stresses. [6] The origin of the genus is poorly understood. The common type species, Oncodella paucidentata, had a rod-like lower bar hosting a row of three to five denticles (tooth-like spines). The denticles were elongated, thin, and widely-spaced. They tilted backwards, especially towards the back of the platform. [3] An extremely rare second species, Oncodella mostleri, is only known from Hungary. It had three to four smaller denticles between the first and second large denticles, as well as a short rear bar without denticles. [7]
Oncodella is most common in European outcrops corresponding to the western Tethys Ocean. It was first reported from the Someraukogel and Steinbergkogel sites near Hallstatt in Austria. [3] At outcrops B and C of Steinbergkogel, Oncodella first occurs alongside Misikella hernsteini and morphotype A of Epigondolella mosheri . These conodonts first appear near the end of the Sevatian (late Norian), only a short time before the base of the Rhaetian. This indicates that Oncodella first evolved in the latest Norian as well. [8] [9] [2] [10] Oncodella is also known from other outcrops in the Northern Calcareous Alps. These include Dachstein reef facies at Gosausee in Austria, [11] and the Donnerkogel Formation at Mount Hohes Brett in Germany. [12]
In Sicily, Oncodella is a common early Rhaetian conodont which co-occurs alongside Misikella posthernsteini. It has been found in the Portella Gebia limestone of the Pizzo Mondello section, [13] as well as the Calcari con Selce ("cherty limestone") formation at Monte Triona. [14] Calcari con Selce outcrops of the Italian mainland, such as the Pignola, Vietri di Potenza, and Pezza la Quagliara sections, have also produced Oncodella fossils. Despite being characteristic of the early Rhaetian (as defined by the first appearance of M. posthernsteini), Oncodella actually first appears in the Norian, slightly before M. posthernsteini. [15]
Reworked Oncodella fossils have been found in the Western Carpathians. Oncodella is one of several conodonts used to determine the age of limestone pebbles within Jurassic and Cretaceous-age conglomerate. Conglomerate in Slovakia is known to preserve Oncodella within Rhaetian limestone pebbles transitional between Hallstatt and Zlambach facies. [16] Turonian-age conglomerate from the Sromowce Formation of Poland preserves late Norian pebbles, as indicated by the presence of Oncodella and absence of Misikella posthernsteini. [17] Oncodella fossils have been found in non-reworked limestone in the area as well. [18] The Carnian-Rhaetian Silická Brezová sequence of Slovakia is one of the most well-studied examples of these types of sites. [19] Further south in Hungary, the Csővár Formation has produced not only the typical Norian-Rhaetian Oncodella paucidentata species, [20] [7] but also a new early Norian species, Oncodella mostleri. [7]
Oncodella is a component of Norian-Rhaetian conodont faunas in the Julian Alps of Slovenia. In the Triassic, this area was a deep basin (the Slovenian Basin) nowadays represented by the limestone-dominated Slatnik Formation, [21] as well as the Bača Dolomite. [22] At the Mount Kobla section of the Slatnik Formation, Oncodella first appears in the upper part of the Sevatian-age Parvigondolella andrusovi -Misikella hernsteini conodont zone. [23] [24] However, it only occupies a relatively short interval of time which bridges the Norian-Rhaetian Boundary. [21] Albania [25] [26] and Serbia [27] are other Balkan states known to produce Oncodella fossils. It has also been found along the Mediterranean in Turkey [28] and Cyprus. [29]
Although Oncodella has been reported from Asia, these reports are dubious. Claims of Oncodella being found in Kashmir originated from a fraudulent conodont researcher. [30] "Oncodella obuti" was named from Olenekian-age material in southern Primorye of southeast Russia, [31] but it may actually represent an S element of Neostrachanognathus . [32]
Oncodella is typically not found in areas corresponding to Panthalassa, the giant proto-Pacific Ocean. It also persists for a shorter period of time, with no late Norian record and a reduced Rhaetian record. [2] However, it is a notable part of the early Rhaetian conodont fauna of the San Hipolito Formation in Baja California Sur, Mexico. The oldest Oncodella fossils in this area are found at the INB section, a sampled section of the formation's sandstone member. At INB, it first appears in the Proparvicingla moniliformis 2a radiolarian assemblage zone. At least in the San Hipolito Formation, Oncodella has a similar stratigraphic range to Epigondolella mosheri sensu lato, a conodont often used to establish the early Rhaetian in North America. Oncodella also occurs at the COB section, although it first appears in the slightly younger moniliformis 2b zone. Oncodella goes extinct at the end of the moniliformis 2c zone in Baja California Sur. [20]
A single Oncodella specimen has been found alongside moniliformis 2a-zone radiolarians in the Sandilands Formation of Kunga Island in British Columbia, Canada. Other Tethyan-type conodonts are also extremely rare or absent from Canada. The more notable presence of Tethyan-type conodonts in Mexico may be indicative of biogeographical pressures on conodonts. Oncodella could be considered a low-latitude conodont, since it is practically absent in northern Panthalassa (now accreted onto Canada) and more common in low-latitude areas of the Panthalassa and Tethys oceans (now accreted onto Mexico and Europe, respectively). [33] [20]
The Rhaetian is the latest age of the Triassic Period or the uppermost stage of the Triassic System. It was preceded by the Norian and succeeded by the Hettangian. The base of the Rhaetian lacks a formal GSSP, though candidate sections include Steinbergkogel in Austria and Pignola-Abriola in Italy. The end of the Rhaetian is more well-defined. According to the current ICS system, the Rhaetian ended 201.4 ± 0.2 Ma.
The Hettangian is the earliest age and lowest stage of the Jurassic Period of the geologic timescale. It spans the time between 201.3 ± 0.2 Ma and 199.3 ± 0.3 Ma. The Hettangian follows the Rhaetian and is followed by the Sinemurian.
The Late Triassic is the third and final epoch of the Triassic Period in the geologic time scale, spanning the time between 237 Ma and 201.4 Ma. It is preceded by the Middle Triassic Epoch and followed by the Early Jurassic Epoch. The corresponding series of rock beds is known as the Upper Triassic. The Late Triassic is divided into the Carnian, Norian and Rhaetian ages.
Hindeodus is an extinct genus of conodonts in the family Anchignathodontidae. The generic name Hindeodus is a tribute to George Jennings Hinde, a British geologist and paleontologist from the 1800s and early 1900s. The suffix -odus typically describes the animal's teeth, essentially making Hindeodus mean Hinde-teeth.
Radiolarite is a siliceous, comparatively hard, fine-grained, chert-like, and homogeneous sedimentary rock that is composed predominantly of the microscopic remains of radiolarians. This term is also used for indurated radiolarian oozes and sometimes as a synonym of radiolarian earth. However, radiolarian earth is typically regarded by Earth scientists to be the unconsolidated equivalent of a radiolarite. A radiolarian chert is well-bedded, microcrystalline radiolarite that has a well-developed siliceous cement or groundmass.
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 Gabbs Formation is a geologic formation in Nevada. It preserves fossils dating back to the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic periods, and is one of the few formations in the United States known to include the Triassic-Jurassic boundary. In 2007, an exposure of the Gabbs Formation at New York Canyon was proposed a candidate GSSP for the Hettangian stage, the first stage of the Jurassic. However, the New York Canyon section was ultimately not selected as Hettangian GSSP, which instead went to the Kuhjoch section of Austria in 2010.
The Kössen Formation is a Late Triassic (Rhaetian-age) geological formation in the Northern Calcareous Alps of Austria and Germany, in the Tiroler-Lech Nature Park. During the Late Triassic, the area now occupied by the Northern Calcareous Alps was instead a long, passive coastline at the western tip of the Neotethys Ocean. The environment was initially dominated by a wide and shallow carbonate platform within a lagoon between the shore and a string of reefs. This carbonate platform is nowadays preserved as the Carnian to Norian-age Hauptdolomit and Dachstein Formation. The Kössen Formation represents a period of increased siliciclastic clay input into the lagoon, covering up the carbonate platform with marls and marly limestones instead of pure limestone or dolomite. The Eiberg Member of the Kössen Formation was deposited in the Eiberg basin, a narrow strip of deeper water which developed between the carbonate platform and the shoreline in the later part of the Rhaetian.
The Kendlbach Formation is a Late Triassic to Early Jurassic (Hettangian) geological formation in Austria and Italy. It contains the Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the Hettangian stage at the Kuhjoch section in the Karwendel Mountains of Austria.
The Allgäu Formation is a geologic formation in Austria, Germany and Slovakia. It preserves fossils dating back to the Hettangian to Sinemurian stages of the Early Jurassic period, or Raricostatum to Obtusum in the regional stratigraphy. Initially and formally defined by Jacobshagen (1965). The Allgäu Formation is formerly known as spotted marls (Lias-Fleckenmergel) and spotted marly limestones (Fleckenkalk). The formation is represented by dark-grey bioturbated limestones and marlstone interbeds. It represents basinal hemipelagic facies common in Alpine Tethys regions of Alps, Carpathians and other mountain ranges. Several horizons of the formation are particularly rich in ammonite fauna.
The Dachstein Formation or Dachstein Limestone is a geologic formation in the Alps and other Tethyan mountain ranges in Austria, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Switzerland, Slovakia and Slovenia. It preserves fossils dated to the Norian and Rhaetian stages of the Late Triassic period.
The Oberrhaet Formation, also known as the Oberrhaet Limestone, is a Late Triassic (Rhaetian-age) geological formation in Austria. It is a unit of massive dark grey bioclastic limestones, found within the Northern Calcareous Alps. The Oberrhaet Limestone was originally a series of reefs which developed on the northwest edge of the Eiberg Basin, a narrow marine waterway extending along the northwestern tip of the Neotethys Ocean. The center of the Eiberg Basin is nowadays preserved as the Eiberg Member of the Kössen Formation, which was deposited southeast of the Oberrhaet Limestone and interfingers with it in many areas. The Oberrhaet Limestone was very similar to the Dachstein Limestone, which represented carbonate platforms and reefs on the southeast edge of the Eiberg Basin. The most prominent components of the reefs were giant frond-like colonies of Retiophyllia, a scleractinian coral.
The Slatnik Formation is a stratigraphic unit in Slovenia. It was named after and defined near Mount Slatnik. The formation is defined as an alternating succession of hemipelagic limestone and resedimented limestone. It was deposited between the Upper Norian and the end of the Rhaetian.
Carnepigondolella is an extinct genus of conodonts of the Late Triassic of Italy or Canada.
Epigondolella is an extinct genus of conodonts in the family Gondolellidae.
Misikella is an extinct genus of conodonts.
The Pignola-Abriola section is a ~63 m long stratigraphic sequence of cherty limestones deposited in the Lagonegro Basin during the latest Norian and the early Rhaetian Stages. The main outcrop is on the western side of Mount Crocetta along the SP5 road connecting the villages of Pignola and Abriola. A smaller outcrop, overlapping the central part of the main section, is located near a former railway tunnel, few meters below the road level. The Pignola-Abriola section has been recently proposed as GSSP of the Rhaetian Stage.
Neohindeodella is an extinct genus of conodonts. Neohindeodella detrei, a species of Neohindeodella, has the distinction of being the last species of conodont to finally become extinct, during the Hettangian stage of the early Lower Jurassic Period.
Mockina is an extinct genus of Late Triassic conodonts. Several species of Mockina are used as index fossils for the Alaunian and Sevatian substages of the Triassic. One species, Mockina bidentata, is considered to be ancestral to Misikella and Parvigondolella, some of the last known genera of conodonts. Mockina has occasionally been synonymized with Epigondolella based on the assumption that it represents Epigondolella specimens which live in resource-poor environments. Mockina/Epigondolella multidentata has occasionally been considered to belong to its own genus, Orchardella.
Parvigondolella is an extinct genus of Late Triassic conodonts. The most common species in the genus, Parvigondolella andrusovi, is used as an index fossil for part of the Sevatian substage of the Norian stage. Kozur & Mock, 1991 named two additional species, P. rhaetica and P. vrielyncki. Moix et al. (2007) later argued that "Misikella" rhaetica was a species of Parvigondolella. In order to prevent having two different species with the same name within the genus, they renamed Kozur & Mock (1991)'s P. rhaetica to P. prorhaetica. However, this would be unnecessary if "Misikella" rhaetica was not related to Parvigondolella. Parvigondolella is typically considered a direct descendant of Mockina/Epigondolella bidentata.