Schmiedrued-Pfyffrüti (SP) 618: Early/Lower Miocene, Switzerland

List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
Amphibia - Temnospondyli - Urodela
Proteidae indet. Hogg 1838
Reptilia
Amphisbaenidae indet. (Gray 1865)
Reptilia - Lacertidae
Lacertidae indet. Bonaparte 1831
Reptilia - Anguidae
Ophisaurus sp. Daudin 1803
Anguis sp. Linnaeus 1758
Reptilia - Testudoolithidae
Testudoolithidae indet. Hirsch 1996
Mammalia - Lipotyphla
Lipotyphla indet. Haeckel 1866
synonym of Eulipotyphla
Mammalia - Erinaceidae
Galerix sp. Pomel 1848
Mammalia - Lagomorpha - Ochotonidae
Prolagus oeningensis (König 1825)
Mammalia - Rodentia - Cricetidae
Megacricetodon bavaricus (Fahlbusch 1964)
Noted to be very abundant (>20 specimens)
Mammalia - Rodentia - Gliridae
Miodyromys aff. aegercii Baudelot 1972
Gastropoda - Heterostropha - Limacidae
Limax sp. Linnaeus 1758
Gastropoda - Heterostropha
Helicoidea indet. Rafinesque 1815
"Helicacea indet."
Gastropoda - Heterostropha - Planorbidae
Gyraulus sp. Charpentier 1837
Gastropoda - Bithyniidae
Bithynia sp. Leach 1818
unclassified
Charophyta indet. Migula 1890
see common names

Geography
Country:Switzerland State/province:Aargau County:Schmiedrued
Coordinates: 47.3° North, 8.1° East (view map)
Paleocoordinates:47.4° North, 6.3° East
Basis of coordinate:stated in text
Geographic resolution:outcrop
Time
Period:Neogene Epoch:Miocene
10 m.y. bin:Cenozoic 5
Key time interval:Early/Lower Miocene
Age range of interval:23.03000 - 15.98000 m.y. ago
Age estimate:16.2 to 16.1 Ma (paleomagnetic)
Stratigraphy
Geological group:Upper Freshwater Molasse
Stratigraphy comments: "Based on bio- and magnetostratigraphic data, SP 618 is c. 16.1–16.2 m.y. old (late Early Miocene)"
Lithology and environment
Primary lithology:fine,medium sandstone
Secondary lithology:paleosol/pedogenic,gray,green siltstone
Lithology description: The OSM sediments of SP consist of fine to medium-grained sandstones and grey to greenishmottled silts and clays with pedogenetic overprint.
Environment:fluvial indet. Tectonic setting:foreland basin
Geology comments: Charophytes and freshwater gastropods are very rare and fish remains are completely absent. In contrast, remains of terrestrial vertebrates are abundant and generally well preserved. Thus, the fossil biota clearly indicates that SP 618 represents a terrestrial deposit, most likely a palaeo-soil. Fossorial/subterranean reptiles (Anguis sp., Amphisbaenidae indet.), together with the salamander, suggest that the soil was well oxygenated and well drained, which implies the nearby presence of a river and a humid climate. On the other hand, heliophilic taxa (Ophisaurus sp., Lacertidae indet.) point to open and drier habitats nearby. Their co-occurrence with fossorial/subterranean taxa can perhaps be explained by invoking deposition in raptor pellets, as discussed above for the mammalian tooth sample. The composition of the small-mammal fauna is comparable to those known from lake deposits such as Le Locle Sous le Stand C-13 (MN 7, Kälin et al., 2001) or Mauensee (MN 4b, Reichenbacher et al., 2005). The Upper Freshwater Molasse in general represents a large river system.
Taphonomy
Modes of preservation:body
Size of fossils:macrofossils,mesofossils
Collection methods and comments
Reason for describing collection:general faunal/floral analysis
Taxonomic list comments:Also reported but given no taxonomic name are "seeds and other remains".
Metadata
Database number:201974
Authorizer:T. Cleary Enterer:T. Cleary
Modifier:T. Cleary
Created:2019-06-13 12:22:28 Last modified:2019-06-18 04:16:33
Access level:the public Released:2019-06-13 12:22:28
Creative Commons license:CC BY
Reference information

Primary reference:
69177. J. Jost, D. Kälin, S. Börner, D. Vasilyan, D. Lawver and B. Reichenbacher. 2015. Vertebrate microfossils from the Upper Freshwater Molasse in the Swiss Molasse Basin: Implications for the evolution of the North Alpine Foreland Basin during the Miocene Climate Optimum. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 426:22-33 [T. Cleary/T. Cleary]