Turritellenplatte

Last updated March 22, 2019

The Turritellenplatte of Ermingen ("Erminger Turritellenplatte" near Ulm, Germany)^[1] is a type of very rich, fossil-bearing rock which is of particular interest to geologists and paleontologists. It occurs in a very restricted outcrop and is protected in its entirety as a natural monument.

Ulm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at almost 120,000 (2015), forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Founded around 850, Ulm is rich in history and traditions as a former free imperial city. Today, it is an economic centre due to its varied industries, and it is the seat of the University of Ulm. Internationally, Ulm is primarily known for having the church with the tallest steeple in the world, the Gothic minster, and as the birthplace of Albert Einstein.

Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central and Western Europe, lying between the Baltic and North Seas to the north, and the Alps to the south. It borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, France to the southwest, and Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands to the west.

A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes the Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, although backgrounds in physics, chemistry, biology, and other sciences are also useful. Field work is an important component of geology, although many subdisciplines incorporate laboratory work.

This outcrop of these marine sedimentary rocks is situated in the northern part of the North Alpine Foreland Basin (NAFB) and it is famous for a superabundance of shells of the sea snail Turritella turris , a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Turritellidae. ^[2] The fauna of this gastropod-rich sandstone reflects mainly near-coastal and shallow marine conditions.^[3] Petrographical and palaeontological data allow a correlation of the Turritellenplatte of Ermingen with Burdigalian (Lower Miocene). The Sr-isotope composition of shark teeth in the deposit suggests an age of about 18.5 million years for the Turritellenplatte of Ermingen.^[4]

The gastropod shell is part of the body of a gastropod or snail, a kind of mollusc. The shell is an exoskeleton, which protects from predators, mechanical damage, and dehydration, but also serves for muscle attachment and calcium storage. Some gastropods appear shell-less (slugs) but may have a remnant within the mantle, or the shell is reduced such that the body cannot be retracted within (semi-slug). Some snails also possess an operculum that seals the opening of the shell, known as the aperture, which provides further protection. The study of mollusc shells is known as conchology. The biological study of gastropods, and other molluscs in general, is malacology. Shell morphology terms vary by species group. An excellent source for terminology of the gastropod shell is "How to Know the Eastern Land Snails" by John B. Burch now freely available at the Hathi Trust Digital Library.

Sea snail is a common name for snails that normally live in salt water, in other words marine gastropods. The taxonomic class Gastropoda also includes snails that live in other habitats, such as land snails and freshwater snails. Many species of sea snails are edible and exploited as food sources by humans.

Family is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy; it is classified between order and genus. A family may be divided into subfamilies, which are intermediate ranks between the ranks of family and genus. The official family names are Latin in origin; however, popular names are often used: for example, walnut trees and hickory trees belong to the family Juglandaceae, but that family is commonly referred to as being the "walnut family".

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Aalen is a former Free Imperial City located in the eastern part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg, about 70 kilometres (43 mi) east of Stuttgart and 48 kilometres (30 mi) north of Ulm. It is the seat of the Ostalbkreis district and is its largest town. It is also the largest town in the Ostwürttemberg region. Since 1956, Aalen has had the status of Große Kreisstadt. It is noted for its many half-timbered houses constructed from the 16th century through the 18th century.

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The Swabian Jura, sometimes also named Swabian Alps in English, is a mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, extending 220 km (140 mi) from southwest to northeast and 40 to 70 km in width. It is named after the region of Swabia.

The Nördlinger Ries is an impact crater, large circular depression in western Bavaria, Germany, located north of the Danube in the district of Donau-Ries. The city of Nördlingen is located inside the depression, about 6 kilometers (3.7 mi) southwest of its centre.

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Turritella is a genus of medium-sized sea snails with an operculum, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Turritellidae.

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References

↑ Johannes Baier: Die Geologie des Ulmer Raums - Documenta Naturae, 173, 1-44; München, 2009. ISBN 978-3-86544-173-7
↑ Johannes Baier: Über die Tertiärbildungen im Ulmer Raum - Documenta Naturae, 168, 1-32; München, 2008. ISBN 978-3-86544-168-3
↑ Johannes Baier, Karl-Heinz Schmitt & Rudi Mick: Notizen zur untermiozänen Hai- und Rochenfauna der Erminger Turritellenplatte (Mittlere Schwäbische Alb, SW-Deutschland). - Jahresbericht Mitt. oberrhein. geol. Ver., N.F. 86, 361-371; Stuttgart, 2004 ISSN 0078-2947 (Abstract Archived 2011-02-15 at the Wayback Machine .)
↑ Johannes Baier: Ein Beitrag zur Erminger Turritellenplatte (Mittlere Schwäbische Alb, SW-Deutschland). - Jahresbericht Mitt. oberrhein. geol. Ver., N.F. 90, 9-17; Stuttgart, 2008. ISSN 0078-2947 (Abstract)

Coordinates: 48°23′20″N9°53′35″E / 48.389°N 9.893°E / 48.389; 9.893

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.

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[1] Johannes Baier: Die Geologie des Ulmer Raums - Documenta Naturae, 173, 1-44; München, 2009. ISBN 978-3-86544-173-7

[2] Johannes Baier: Über die Tertiärbildungen im Ulmer Raum - Documenta Naturae, 168, 1-32; München, 2008. ISBN 978-3-86544-168-3

[3] Johannes Baier, Karl-Heinz Schmitt & Rudi Mick: Notizen zur untermiozänen Hai- und Rochenfauna der Erminger Turritellenplatte (Mittlere Schwäbische Alb, SW-Deutschland). - Jahresbericht Mitt. oberrhein. geol. Ver., N.F. 86, 361-371; Stuttgart, 2004 ISSN 0078-2947 (Abstract Archived 2011-02-15 at the Wayback Machine .)

[4] Johannes Baier: Ein Beitrag zur Erminger Turritellenplatte (Mittlere Schwäbische Alb, SW-Deutschland). - Jahresbericht Mitt. oberrhein. geol. Ver., N.F. 90, 9-17; Stuttgart, 2008. ISSN 0078-2947 (Abstract)