Enspel (Oligocene of Germany)

Where: Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany (50.6° N, 7.9° E: paleocoordinates 50.5° N, 5.0° E)

• coordinate based on nearby landmark

• outcrop-level geographic resolution

When: Enspel Formation, MP 28 (28.4 - 23.0 Ma)

• deposits "are more than 100 m thick and overlain by thick basalt"; age is MP 28 based on occurrence Eomys quercyi

•These deposits were classified by Storch et al. (1996) into mammal zone MP 28, and Mertz et al. (2007) dated their age as 24.79–24.56 Ma.

• group of beds-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: crater lake; volcaniclastic shale and tuff

• "a former lake"

•The lake was meromictic and eutrophic, had no outlet, and a mesophytic forest extended up to the lake margins (Wuttke and Poschmann 2010). The mean annual temperature was estimated as about 15–17°C, the warmest month mean as about 25°C, the coldest month mean as about 5–7°C, and the mean annual precipitation was between 900 and 1,355 mm/year (Uhl and Herrmann 2010).

• "bituminous volcanoclastic shales which are episodically intercalated with tuffs"

Size class: macrofossils

Preservation: adpression, soft parts

Collection methods: quarrying

• "Excavation since 1990 by [the government of] Rheinland-Pflaz". Repository: Landesamt fur Denkmalpflege Rheinland-Pfalz.

Primary reference: G. Storch, B. Engesser, and M. Wuttke. 1996. Oldest fossil record of gliding in rodents. Nature 379(439):439-441 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/J. Alroy]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 71942: authorized by John Alroy, entered by John Alroy on 17.05.2007, edited by Philip Mannion, Patricia Holroyd, Mark Uhen and Matthew Clapham

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

• "numerous plant, invertebrate and vertebrate fossils, including insects, fish, anurans, caudatans, crocodiles and mammals" are present
Insecta
 Odonata - Libellulidae
Libellulidae indet.7 Rambur 1842 common skimmer
PE 2001/5195-LS; naiad PE 2010/5637-LS
 Odonata - Gomphidae
Ictinogomphus engelorum n. sp.7 Nel et al. 2020 clubtail dragonfly
PE 2000/5006-LS, 2003/5040-LS, 2003/5039-LS
 Odonata - Aeshnidae
Oligaeschna cf. jungi7 Piton and Théobald 1939 darner dragonfly
PE 2005/5032-LS, 2000/5005-LS, 1995/217-LS, 1995/9174-LS
Epiaeschna wisseri n. sp.7 Nel et al. 2020 darner dragonfly
PE 2000/5355-LS, 1997/6211-LS
 Odonata -
Libelluloidea indet.7 true dragonfly
PE 2006/5022-LS, 2010/5657-LS
Zygoptera indet.7 Selys-Longchamps 1854 damselfly
PE 2013/5018-LS
 Odonata - Sieblosiidae
Oligolestes stoeffelensis n. sp.7 Nel et al. 2020 damselfly
PE 1995/9164-LS
 Coleoptera - Curculionidae
Igneonasus rudolphi n. gen. n. sp.2
Igneonasus rudolphi n. gen. n. sp.2 Legalov and Poschmann 2020 snout beetle
PE 2013/5017-LS
 Blattodea - Pseudophyllodromiidae
Latiblattella basaltica n. sp.10 Vršanský et al. 2021 cockroach
NHMMZ PE 2014/5228-LS, PE 1995/5078-LS, PE 2007/5004-LS, PE 2010/5278-LS
 Diptera - Bibionidae
Penthetria nigra8 Statz 1943 march fly
GDKE PE 2015 5141, 1995 6383, 2016 5128
Bibio xylophilus8 Germar 1837 march fly
GDKE PE 2010 5895, 1995 6196
Bibio castaneipennis n. sp.8 Skartveit and Wedmann 2021 march fly
Holotype GDKE PE 1997 5697
Plecia dubia8 Germar 1837 love bug
GDKE PE 1995 8363, 1995 8504, 1995 6310, 1997 5109, 1997 5738, 2008 5005, 2009 5980, 1995 6611, 1995 8265
Aves
 Gaviiformes - Gaviidae
Gaviidae indet.9 Allen 1897 loon
 Suliformes - Phalacrocoracidae
? Oligocorax sp.3, "? Borvocarbo stoeffelensis n. sp." = Oligocorax stoeffelensis4, Borvocarbo stoeffelnsis9
? Oligocorax sp.3 Lambrecht 1933 cormorant
"? Borvocarbo stoeffelensis n. sp." = Oligocorax stoeffelensis4 Mayr 2007 cormorant
 Coliiformes - Coliidae
Oligocolius psittacocephalon n. gen. n. sp.5 Mayr 2013 mousebird
 Galliformes - Phasianidae
Palaeortyx cf. gallica6 Milne-Edwards 1869 pheasant
nearly complete skeleton
Reptilia
 Loricata -
"Crocodilia indet." = Crocodylia1
"Crocodilia indet." = Crocodylia1 Owen 1842 crocodilian
PW specimens (50 teeth)
 Crocodylia -
cf. Diplocynodon sp.9 Pomel 1847 crocodilian
"likely more than one crocodile taxon"
 Testudines -
 Squamata -
Squamata indet.9 squamates
"lizard jaw from owl pellets"
Mammalia
 Carnivora -
Potamotherium vallentoni9 Geoffroy-Saint-Hillaire 1833 carnivoran
 Theriamorpha - Talpidae
Geotrypus antiquus9 de Blainville 1840 mole
 Rodentia - Eomyidae
Eomyodon sp.9 Engesser 1987 rodent
Eomyodon volkeri9 Engesser 1987 rodent
Eomys quercyi Comte and Vianey-Liaud 1987 rodent
 Rodentia - Cricetidae
Cricetidae indet.9 Fischer von Waldheim 1817 mouse
 Lagomorpha - Ochotonidae
Amphibia
 Caudata - Urodela
Chelotriton robustus9 Westphal 1979 newt
 Salientia - Pelobatidae
Pelobates cf. decheni9 spadefoot toad
 Salientia - Ranidae
Ranidae indet.9 Rafinesque 1814 frog
 Salientia - Palaeobatrachidae
Palaeobatrachidae indet.9 Cope 1865 frog
Actinopteri
 Cypriniformes - Cyprinidae