Monte Bolca is a

lagerstätte A Lagerstätte (, from ''Lager'' 'storage, lair' '' Stätte'' 'place'; plural ''Lagerstätten'') is a sedimentary deposit that exhibits extraordinary fossils with exceptional preservation—sometimes including preserved soft tissues. These for ...

near

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

that was one of the first fossil sites with high quality preservation known to Europeans, and is still an important source of fossils from the

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...

Geology

Monte Bolca was uplifted from the

Tethys Ocean The Tethys Ocean ( el, Τηθύς ''Tēthús''), also called the Tethys Sea or the Neo-Tethys, was a prehistoric ocean that covered most of the Earth during much of the Mesozoic Era and early Cenozoic Era, located between the ancient continents ...

floor during the formation of the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

, in two stages: one 24 million years ago, and one between 30 and 50 million years ago. The entire formation consists of of limestone, all of which contain fossils, but interspersed in which are the lagerstätte layers that contain the highly preserved specimens. Within these layers, the fish and other specimens are so highly preserved that their organs are often completely intact in fossil form, and even the skin colorWilliams, Matt
Taphonomy of Monte Bolca
University of Bristol can sometimes be determined. The normal rearrangement of the specimens caused by mud-dwelling organisms in the layer before it turned to stone has been avoided—it is assumed that the mud in question was low in oxygen, preventing both decay and the mixing action of scavengers.

History

Strictly speaking, the Monte Bolca site is one specific spot near the village of Bolca in Italy, known as the ''Pesciara'' ("The Fishbowl") due to its many extraordinarily well preserved

fish fossil The evolution of fish began about 530 million years ago during the Cambrian explosion. It was during this time that the early chordates developed the skull and the vertebral column, leading to the first craniates and vertebrates. The first fis ...

s. However, there are several other related outcroppings in the general vicinity that also carry similar fossils, such as Monte Postale and Monte Vegroni.Williams, Matt
Location of Monte Bolca
University of Bristol The term Monte Bolca is used interchangeably to refer to the one, original site, or to all the sites collectively. The fossils at Monte Bolca have been known since at least the 16th century, and were studied intensively in the 19th century once it was definitively proven that fossils were the remnants of dead animals. Fossils from Monte Bolca are commonly available for sale by commercial fossil dealers, and due to their popularity and preservation regularly sell for several hundred dollars.

Species in the formation

Animal fossils

Monte Bolca is rich in fish: 250 species (140 genera, 90 families and 19 orders).Williams, Matt

, University of Bristol Additionally a cephalopod, crustaceans, jellyfish and polychaete worms have been found whole, but foraminifera, molluscs, and corals are found in fragments and may have been transported. Bird feathers and tortoise shell plates have been found, as well as many insects, freshwater and land plants. Fossil animal species include *

Fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

** ''

Blochius ''Blochius'' is an extinct genus of prehistoric fish from the Eocene. It is the only genus of the family Blochiidae. It was described by Giovanni Serafino Volta (1764-1842) in 1800. Description ''Blochius'' was about 60 cm long and had a ve ...

longirostris'' an ancestral swordfish ** ''

Ceratoichthys ''Ceratoichthys pinnatiformis'' is an extinct species of lookdown-like prehistoric jackfish that lived during the Lutetian epoch, of the Middle Eocene of Monte Bolca, Italy. The dorsal and anal fins of ''C. pinnatiformis'' had very high, narro ...

'' a jack fish ** ''

Clupea ''Clupea'' is genus of planktivorous bony fish belonging to the family Clupeidae, commonly known as herrings. They are found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea. Two main ...

catopygoptera'', a

herring Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, i ...

** ''Cyclopoma gigas'', a bony-fish ** '' Eastmanalepes primaevus'', a jack fish ** '' Eolactoria sorbinii'', a

boxfish Ostraciidae is a family of squared, bony fish belonging to the order Tetraodontiformes, closely related to the pufferfishes and filefishes. Fish in the family are known variously as boxfishes, cofferfishes, cowfishes and trunkfishes. It contains ...

** ''

Eoplatax ''Eoplatax'' is an extinct genus of prehistoric spadefish that lived during the Lutetian of Monte Bolca. They are closely allied to the extant genus, ''Platax'', more commonly known as "batfish." The two genera are extremely similar in morpho ...

papilio'', a batfish ** ''

Exellia velifer ''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 ...

'', a

spadefish Ephippidae is a family containing the spadefishes, with about eight genera and a total of 20 marine species. Well-known species include the Atlantic spadefish (''Chaetodipterus faber'') and the reef-dwelling genus ''Platax'', the batfishes, whic ...

** '' Godsilia lanceolata'', a primitive

tuna A tuna is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae (mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bullet tuna (max length: ...

** ''

Lates ''Lates'' is a genus of freshwater and euryhaline lates perches belonging to the family Latidae. The generic name is also used as a common name, lates, for many of the species. All species are predatory, and the Nile perch (''L. niloticus''), in ...

gracilis'', a

relative Relative may refer to: General use *Kinship and family, the principle binding the most basic social units society. If two people are connected by circumstances of birth, they are said to be ''relatives'' Philosophy *Relativism, the concept that ...

of the

Nile perch The Nile perch (''Lates niloticus''), also known as the African snook, Goliath perch, African barramundi , Goliath barramundi, Giant lates or the Victoria perch, is a species of freshwater fish in family Latidae of order Perciformes. It is wid ...

** ''

Lophius brachysomus ''Lophius brachysomus'' is an extinct species of anglerfish in the family Lophiidae. It was described by Louis Agassiz in 1835 from the Monte Bolca locality. It became extinct during the middle Eocene (lowermost Lutetian). Species known from t ...

'', a primitive

anglerfish The anglerfish are fish of the teleost order Lophiiformes (). They are bony fish named for their characteristic mode of predation, in which a modified luminescent fin ray (the esca or illicium) acts as a lure for other fish. The luminescence ...

** ''

Mene rhombea ''Mene rhombea'' is an extinct perciform fish belonging to the family Menidae. During the Middle Eocene (Lutetian epoch), about 48 to 40 mya, these fishes lived in the Tethys Ocean, a large tropical sea in the area corresponding to the current Me ...

'' and ''

Mene oblonga ''Mene oblonga'' is a species of ray-finned fish that first appeared in the Monte Bolca Lagerstatten during the Lutetian epoch of the Eocene. For a menid, it has a very shallow body, especially in comparison with the sympatric '' Mene rhombea ...

'', moonfish ** '' Paranguilla tigrina'', an

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

** '' Pasaichthys pleuronectiformis'', a mooneyfish ** '' Platax altissimus'' and ''Platax macropterygius'', batfish ** '' Proaracana dubia'', an aracanid boxfish ** '' Protobalistum imperial'', a relative of boxfish and triggerfish ** '' Psettopsis subarcuatus'', a mooneyfish ** '' Pycnodus platessus'', one of the last

Pycnodontid Pycnodontidae is an extinct family of ray-finned fishes, ranging from the Triassic period until the Eocene. Genera * '' Acrotemnus'' Agassiz, 1843 * '' Anomoeodus'' Forir, 1887 * ''Athrodon'' Sauvage, 1880 * '' Callodus'' Thurmond, 1974 * '' Coc ...

ray-finned fishes ** '' Pygaeus nobilis'', a bony-fish ** ''

Serranus ''Serranus'' is a genus of fish in the family Serranidae. It is one of five genera known commonly as the "Atlantic dwarf sea basses". These fish are hermaphrodites, each individual possessing functional male and female reproductive tissues. When ...

occipitalis'', a

sea bass Sea bass is a common name for a variety of different species of marine fish. Many fish species of various families have been called sea bass. In Ireland and the United Kingdom, the fish sold and consumed as sea bass is exclusively the European ba ...

** '' Sharfia mirabilis'', an anglerfish ** ''Sphyraena bolcensis'', a

barracuda A barracuda, or cuda for short, is a large, predatory, ray-finned fish known for its fearsome appearance and ferocious behaviour. The barracuda is a saltwater fish of the genus ''Sphyraena'', the only genus in the family Sphyraenidae, which was ...

** '' Spinacanthus cuneiformis'', a

of boxfish and

triggerfish Triggerfish are about 40 species of often brightly colored fish of the family Balistidae. Often marked by lines and spots, they inhabit tropical and subtropical oceans throughout the world, with the greatest species richness in the Indo-Pacifi ...

** '' Zorzinichthys'' *

Lobster Lobsters are a family (biology), family (Nephropidae, Synonym (taxonomy), synonym Homaridae) of marine crustaceans. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs ...

**''

Justitia Lady Justice ( la, Iustitia) is an allegorical personification of the moral force in judicial systems. Her attributes are scales, a sword and sometimes a blindfold. She often appears as a pair with Prudentia. Lady Justice originates from the ...

desmaresti'' *

Crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to inclu ...

**'' Crocodilus vicetinus'' *

Snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...

s ** '' Archaeophis bolcaensis'' ** ''Archaeophis proavus''

Plant fossils

One of the more interesting puzzles in ichnotaxonomy, pertains to fossils from Monte Bolca, originally named ''

Zoophycos ''Zoophycos'' is a somewhat cosmopolitan ichnogenus thought to be produced by moving and feeding polychaete worms. Appearance ''Zoophycos'' occurs in two forms, one planar, and one which resembles a corkscrew. In the latter helicoidal form, ...

caput-medusae'', previously thought to be

trace fossil A trace fossil, also known as an ichnofossil (; from el, ἴχνος ''ikhnos'' "trace, track"), is a fossil record of biological activity but not the preserved remains of the plant or animal itself. Trace fossils contrast with body fossils, ...

s, were found to be plants instead and given the name Algarum by French zoologist

Henri Milne-Edwards Henri Milne-Edwards (23 October 1800 – 29 July 1885) was an eminent French zoologist. Biography Henri Milne-Edwards was the 27th child of William Edwards, an English planter and colonel of the militia in Jamaica and Elisabeth Vaux, a Frenchw ...

in 1866. The type specimen collected by Italian

paleobotanist Paleobotany, which is also spelled as palaeobotany, is the branch of botany dealing with the recovery and identification of plant remains from geological contexts, and their use for the biological reconstruction of past environments (paleogeogr ...

Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo (13 May 1824 – 25 May 1860) was an Italian paleobotanist and lichenologist. He was born in Tregnago in the Province of Verona and took a great interest in botany as a young man. Massalongo joined the faculty of me ...

before 1855 is at the Natural History Museum of

and was preserved in a

lithographic limestone Lithographic limestone is hard limestone that is sufficiently fine-grained, homogeneous and defect free to be used for lithography. Geologists use the term "lithographic texture" to refer to a grain size under 1/250 mm. The term "sublithog ...

upper and lower slab. When Italian

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

Achille Forti (28 November 1878 Verona -11 February 1937 Verona) worked on the specimens in 1926, they were reinterpreted as close relatives of the sea palm, now known to be a

brown algae Brown algae (singular: alga), comprising the class Phaeophyceae, are a large group of multicellular algae, including many seaweeds located in colder waters within the Northern Hemisphere. Brown algae are the major seaweeds of the temperate and po ...

, which had lived in the

coastal waters The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

of the Eocene sea. He renamed the species ''Postelsia caput-medusae'' which makes it related to the genus ''

Postelsia ''Postelsia palmaeformis'', also known as the sea palm (not to be confused with the southern sea palm) or palm seaweed, is a species of kelp and classified within brown algae. It is the only known species in the genus Postelsia. The sea palm is ...

'', now with only one living species, which was described by its discoverer

Franz Josef Ruprecht Franz Josef Ruprecht (1 November 1814 – 4 April 1870) was an Austrian-born physician and botanist active in the Russian Empire, where he was known as Frants Ivanovič Ruprekht (russian: link=no, Франц Ива́нович Ру́прехт). ...

in 1852 as ''Postelsia palmaeformis''. His type-specimen is from

Bodega Bay, California Bodega Bay is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 912 at the 2020 census. The town, located along State Route 1, is on the eastern side of Bodega Harbor, an inlet of Bodega ...

, but the species is found along the Pacific coast. The appearance of the plant is a holdfast on the bottom, with a stem-like stipe between there and the fronds which are about to . In life, the fronds hang vertically when the tide is in but flop over the stipe when exposed by low tide. Curiously, other specimens from this deposit collected and described by Massalongo in 1855 were actually trace fossils, only this one was a plant.

References

{{commons category, Monte Bolca

External links

PDF Les fossiles de Bolca
- Fossils of Bolca - I fossili di Bolca
PDF Fishes from the Eocene of Bolca
Bannikov, Alexandre, Geodiversitas 28 (2): 249-275 Paleontological sites of Europe Eocene Europe Lagerstätten Paleogene Italy Paleontology in Italy Archaeological sites in Veneto Geography of Veneto History of Veneto

Geology

History

Species in the formation

Animal fossils

Plant fossils

See also

References

External links