The Painten Formation is a

geologic formation A geological formation, or simply formation, is a body of rock having a consistent set of physical characteristics (lithology) that distinguishes it from adjacent bodies of rock, and which occupies a particular position in the layers of rock expo ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. It preserves

fossils A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

dating back to the

Tithonian In the geological timescale, the Tithonian is the latest age of the Late Jurassic Epoch and the uppermost stage of the Upper Jurassic Series. It spans the time between 152.1 ± 4 Ma and 145.0 ± 4 Ma (million years ago). It is preceded by ...

stage of the

Late Jurassic The Late Jurassic is the third epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time from 163.5 ± 1.0 to 145.0 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata.Owen 1987. In European lithostratigraphy, the name ...

period Period may refer to: Common uses * Era, a length or span of time * Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...

.Painten Formation
at

Fossilworks Fossilworks is a portal which provides query, download, and analysis tools to facilitate access to the Paleobiology Database, a large relational database assembled by hundreds of paleontologists from around the world. History Fossilworks was crea ...

.org

Description

It is roughly contemporary with the Altmühltal Formation (which includes the true Solnhofen limestone), as they both underlay the

Mörnsheim Formation The Mörnsheim Formation is a geologic formation in Germany, near Daiting and Mörnsheim, Bavaria. It preserves fossils dating back to the Jurassic period. It overlies the older Altmühltal Formation in its northwestern extent, and the Painten ...

.Rauhut et al., 2019 The 12th specimen, or "Schamhaupten specimen", of ''

Archaeopteryx ''Archaeopteryx'' (; ), sometimes referred to by its German name, "" ( ''Primeval Bird''), is a genus of bird-like dinosaurs. The name derives from the ancient Greek (''archaīos''), meaning "ancient", and (''ptéryx''), meaning "feather" ...

'' was uncovered in the lower portion of the Painten Formation. Other dinosaurs found here include '' Juravenator'', ''

Ostromia ''Ostromia'' (''Thick feet of John Ostrom'') is a genus of anchiornithid theropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic Painten Formation of Germany. The genus contains a single species, ''O. crassipes'', named by Christian Foth and Oliver Rauhut ...

'' and possibly ''

Compsognathus ''Compsognathus'' (; Ancient Greek, Greek ''kompsos''/κομψός; "elegant", "refined" or "dainty", and ''gnathos''/γνάθος; "jaw") is a genus of small, bipedalism, bipedal, carnivore, carnivorous theropoda, theropod dinosaur. Members o ...

''.

Fossil content

The following fossils have been reported from the formation:

Reptiles

* ''

Dakosaurus maximus ''Dakosaurus'' is an extinct genus of crocodylomorph within the family Metriorhynchidae that lived during the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous. It was large, with teeth that were serrated and compressed lateromedially (flattened from side ...

'' * '' Eurysternum wagleri'' * ''

Juravenator starki ''Juravenator'' is a genus of small (75 cm long) coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur (although a 2020 study proposed it to be a hatchling megalosauroid), which lived in the area which would someday become the top of the Franconian Jura of G ...

'' * '' Leptosaurus pulchellus''Fabre, 1981 * '' Solnhofia parsonsi'' * '' Archaeopteryx sp.''Rauhut et al., 2018 * '' Rhamphorhynchus sp.'' * Eurysternidae indet. * Ichthyosauria indet. * Pterodactyloidea indet.Tischlinger & Frey, 2013

Fish

;Chondrichthyes * '' Paracestracion viohli''Arratia, 2000 ;Osteichthyes * '' Anaethalion zapporum'' * '' Ascalabothrissops voelkli'' * '' Scheenstia zappi'' * '' Undina pencillata'' * '' Voelklichthys comitatus'' * '' Allothrissops sp.'' * '' Gyrodus sp.'' * '' Leptolepis sp.'' * '' ?Elopsomolos sp.''

Invertebrates

;Echinoids * '' Pygaster sp.'' * Echinoidea indet. ;Crinoids * '' Saccocoma tenella'' * '' Millericrinus sp.'' ;Corals * '' Muensteria vermicularis'' * Scleractinia indet.

Flora

* '' Crescentiella morronensis'' * '' Cycadopteris jurensis'' * '' Araucarites sp.'' * '' Brachyphyllum sp.'' * '' Goniolina sp.'' * '' Sphenopteris sp.'' * Phaeophyceae indet.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{cite LSA , last=Fabre , first=J , year=1981 , title=Les rhynchocephales et les pterosauriens a crete parietale du Kimeridgien superieur-Berriasien d'Europe occidentale: le gisement de Canjuers (Var-France) et ses abords , publisher=. , pages=1–188 Geologic formations of Germany Jurassic System of Europe Jurassic Germany Tithonian Stage Limestone formations Mudstone formations Lagoonal deposits Shallow marine deposits Fossiliferous stratigraphic units of Europe Paleontology in Germany Formations