Ammonites from the Navesink Formation at Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey
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Dinoflagellate Cysts and Ammonoids from Upper Cretaceous Sediments of the Pemberger Formation (Krappfeld, Carinthia, Austria)
ZOBODAT - www.zobodat.at Zoologisch-Botanische Datenbank/Zoological-Botanical Database Digitale Literatur/Digital Literature Zeitschrift/Journal: Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien Jahr/Year: 2009 Band/Volume: 110A Autor(en)/Author(s): Soliman Ali, Suttner Thomas, Lukeneder Alexander, Summesberger Herbert Artikel/Article: Dinoflagellate cysts and Ammonoids from Upper Cretaceous sediments of the Pemberger Formation (Krappfeld, Carinthia, Austria). 401-421 ©Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, download unter www.biologiezentrum.at Ann. Naturhist. Mus. Wien 110 A 401–421 Wien, Jänner 2009 Dinoflagellate cysts and Ammonoids from Upper Cretaceous sediments of the Pemberger Formation (Krappfeld, Carinthia, Austria) Ali SOLIMAN 1 2, Thomas J. SUTTNER 1, Alexander LUKENEDER 3 and Herbert SUMME S BERGER 3 (With 3 plates, 2 figures, 1 table) Manuscript submitted on September 8th 2008, the revised manuscript on November 10th 2008 Abstract Dinoflagellate cysts (dinocysts) and acritarchs are described for the first time from the Pemberger Forma- tion of the Gosau Group (Krappfeld, Carinthia, Austria). The dinoflagellate cyst assemblage is quite diverse and well preserved and compositionally similar to those described from Upper Cretaceous strata in north- ern Italy, Germany and the Czech Republic. Many stratigraphically significant taxa are documented, among them Alisogymnium nucleases, Cannosphaeropsis utinensis, Florentinia mayii, Isabelidinium cooksoniae and Xenascus ceratioides. They support a Campanian to Maastrichtian age. Ammonoids observed in this study are instead rare within the investigated section: although several taxa were previously described to occur in this area, only Pachydiscus (Pachydiscus) haldemsis and some indeterminable fragments were found in the present study. Key words: Dinoflagellata, Ammonoidea, biostratigraphy, Upper Cretaceous. Zusammenfassung Zysten von Dinoflagellaten (Dinozysten) und Arcritarchen werden zum ersten Mal aus der Pemberger- Formation der Gosau-Gruppe (Krappfeld, Kärnten, Österreich) beschrieben. -
Cozzette Sandstone, Book Cliffs, Colorado, U.S.A
Journal of Sedimentary Research, 2015, v. 85, 459–488 Research Article DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2110/jsr.2015.26 TECTONICALLY CONTROLLED NEARSHORE DEPOSITION: COZZETTE SANDSTONE, BOOK CLIFFS, COLORADO, U.S.A. 1 2 2 ANDREW S. MADOF, NICHOLAS CHRISTIE-BLICK, AND MARK H. ANDERS 1Chevron Energy Technology Company, Houston, Texas 77002-7308, U.S.A. 2Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, New York 10964-8000, U.S.A. e-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT: The Book Cliffs of eastern Utah and western Colorado have been pivotal in the development of outcrop-based sequence stratigraphic concepts for nonmarine to shallow marine siliciclastic depositional settings. Prior studies in this area, and more generally in the Cretaceous western interior foreland basin of North America, have concluded that nearshore accumulation is controlled for the most part by the interaction between oscillatory eustatic change and longer-term regional patterns of flexural subsidence. New outcrop and subsurface evidence reported here from the eastern Book Cliffs suggests that three-dimensional tectonic tilting at length scales of up to , 50 km (31 mi) and timescales of less than , 200 kyr also strongly influenced sedimentation. Continental ice sheets are thought to have been small at the time. Documented patterns of accumulation are inconsistent with those expected from interactions of eustasy and regional flexure alone. The upper Campanian Cozzette Sandstone Member of the Mount Garfield Formation consists of twelve lithofacies arranged into six lithofacies assemblages, inferred to have been deposited in shallow marine, marginal marine, and nonmarine depositional environments. -
First Record of Non-Mineralized Cephalopod Jaws and Arm Hooks
Klug et al. Swiss J Palaeontol (2020) 139:9 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13358-020-00210-y Swiss Journal of Palaeontology RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access First record of non-mineralized cephalopod jaws and arm hooks from the latest Cretaceous of Eurytania, Greece Christian Klug1* , Donald Davesne2,3, Dirk Fuchs4 and Thodoris Argyriou5 Abstract Due to the lower fossilization potential of chitin, non-mineralized cephalopod jaws and arm hooks are much more rarely preserved as fossils than the calcitic lower jaws of ammonites or the calcitized jaw apparatuses of nautilids. Here, we report such non-mineralized fossil jaws and arm hooks from pelagic marly limestones of continental Greece. Two of the specimens lie on the same slab and are assigned to the Ammonitina; they represent upper jaws of the aptychus type, which is corroborated by fnds of aptychi. Additionally, one intermediate type and one anaptychus type are documented here. The morphology of all ammonite jaws suggest a desmoceratoid afnity. The other jaws are identifed as coleoid jaws. They share the overall U-shape and proportions of the outer and inner lamellae with Jurassic lower jaws of Trachyteuthis (Teudopseina). We also document the frst belemnoid arm hooks from the Tethyan Maastrichtian. The fossils described here document the presence of a typical Mesozoic cephalopod assemblage until the end of the Cretaceous in the eastern Tethys. Keywords: Cephalopoda, Ammonoidea, Desmoceratoidea, Coleoidea, Maastrichtian, Taphonomy Introduction as jaws, arm hooks, and radulae are occasionally found Fossil cephalopods are mainly known from preserved (Matern 1931; Mapes 1987; Fuchs 2006a; Landman et al. mineralized parts such as aragonitic phragmocones 2010; Kruta et al. -
Pterosaur Distribution in Time and Space: an Atlas 61
Zitteliana An International Journal of Palaeontology and Geobiology Series B/Reihe B Abhandlungen der Bayerischen Staatssammlung für Pa lä on to lo gie und Geologie B28 DAVID W. E. HONE & ERIC BUFFETAUT (Eds) Flugsaurier: pterosaur papers in honour of Peter Wellnhofer CONTENTS/INHALT Dedication 3 PETER WELLNHOFER A short history of pterosaur research 7 KEVIN PADIAN Were pterosaur ancestors bipedal or quadrupedal?: Morphometric, functional, and phylogenetic considerations 21 DAVID W. E. HONE & MICHAEL J. BENTON Contrasting supertree and total-evidence methods: the origin of the pterosaurs 35 PAUL M. BARRETT, RICHARD J. BUTLER, NICHOLAS P. EDWARDS & ANDREW R. MILNER Pterosaur distribution in time and space: an atlas 61 LORNA STEEL The palaeohistology of pterosaur bone: an overview 109 S. CHRISTOPHER BENNETT Morphological evolution of the wing of pterosaurs: myology and function 127 MARK P. WITTON A new approach to determining pterosaur body mass and its implications for pterosaur fl ight 143 MICHAEL B. HABIB Comparative evidence for quadrupedal launch in pterosaurs 159 ROSS A. ELGIN, CARLOS A. GRAU, COLIN PALMER, DAVID W. E. HONE, DOUGLAS GREENWELL & MICHAEL J. BENTON Aerodynamic characters of the cranial crest in Pteranodon 167 DAVID M. MARTILL & MARK P. WITTON Catastrophic failure in a pterosaur skull from the Cretaceous Santana Formation of Brazil 175 MARTIN LOCKLEY, JERALD D. HARRIS & LAURA MITCHELL A global overview of pterosaur ichnology: tracksite distribution in space and time 185 DAVID M. UNWIN & D. CHARLES DEEMING Pterosaur eggshell structure and its implications for pterosaur reproductive biology 199 DAVID M. MARTILL, MARK P. WITTON & ANDREW GALE Possible azhdarchoid pterosaur remains from the Coniacian (Late Cretaceous) of England 209 TAISSA RODRIGUES & ALEXANDER W. -
Lower Jaws of Two Species of Menuites (Pachydiscidae, Ammonoidea) from the Middle Campanian (Upper Cretaceous) in the Soya Area, Northern Hokkaido, Japan
Bull. Natl. Mus. Nat. Sci., Ser. C, 45, pp. 19–27, December 27, 2019 Lower jaws of two species of Menuites (Pachydiscidae, Ammonoidea) from the middle Campanian (Upper Cretaceous) in the Soya area, northern Hokkaido, Japan Kazushige Tanabe1* and Yasunari Shigeta2 1 University Museum, The University of Tokyo, Hongo 7–3–1, Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo 113–0033, Japan 2 Department of Geology and Paleontology, National Museum of Nature and Science, 4–1–1 Amakubo, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305–0005, Japan * Author for correspondence: [email protected] Abstract The lower jaws of two pachydiscid ammonites Menuites soyaensis (Matsumoto and Miyau- chi) and Menuites sp. are described on the basis of two specimens from the middle Campanian (Upper Cretaceous) in the Soya area of northern Hokkaido, Japan. They are preserved in situ in the body cham- ber and characterized by a widely open outer lamella with a nearly flat rostral portion. The outer lamella consists of an inner “chitinous” layer sculptured by a median furrow in the anterior to mid-portions and an outer calcareous layer with prismatic microstructure. The lower jaw features of the two Menuites spe- cies are shared by other species of the Pachydiscidae described in previous works, indicating that they are diagnostic characters of this family. In view of the shovel-like shape without a pointed rostrum, the lower jaws of the two Menuites species were likely used as a scoop to feed on microorganisms. Key words: pachydiscid ammonites, middle Campanian, lower jaw, Soya area (Hokkaido) found together retaining their original life orienta- Introduction tion. Based on such well-preserved specimens and Both modern and extinct cephalopod mollusks their comparison with the jaws of modern cephalo- possess a well-developed jaw apparatus that con- pods, previous authors (e.g. -
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comptes rendus palevol 2021 20 20 iles — Jean- pt Cl re au d d n e a R s a n g a e i — b i h P p a l a m e a o f b o i o y l h o p g a y r g a o n e d g p o i a l b a o e DIRECTEURS DE LA PUBLICATION / PUBLICATION DIRECTORS : Bruno David, Président du Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle Étienne Ghys, Secrétaire perpétuel de l’Académie des sciences RÉDACTEURS EN CHEF / EDITORS-IN-CHIEF : Michel Laurin (CNRS), Philippe Taquet (Académie des sciences) ASSISTANTE DE RÉDACTION / ASSISTANT EDITOR : Adenise Lopes (Académie des sciences ; [email protected]) MISE EN PAGE / PAGE LAYOUT : Fariza Sissi (Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle ; [email protected]) RÉVISIONS LINGUISTIQUES DES TEXTES ANGLAIS / ENGLISH LANGUAGE REVISIONS : Kevin Padian (University of California at Berkeley) RÉDACTEURS ASSOCIÉS / ASSOCIATE EDITORS : Micropaléontologie/Micropalaeontology Maria Rose Petrizzo (Università di Milano, Milano) Paléobotanique/Palaeobotany Cyrille Prestianni (Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels) Métazoaires/Metazoa Annalisa Ferretti (Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Modena) Paléoichthyologie/Palaeoichthyology Philippe Janvier (Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Académie des sciences, Paris) Amniotes du Mésozoïque/Mesozoic amniotes Hans-Dieter Sues (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington) Tortues/Turtles Juliana Sterli (CONICET, Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio, Trelew) Lépidosauromorphes/Lepidosauromorphs Hussam Zaher (Universidade de São Paulo) Oiseaux/Birds Eric Buffetaut (CNRS, École Normale Supérieure, Paris) Paléomammalogie (mammifères de moyenne et grande taille)/Palaeomammalogy (large and mid-sized mammals) Lorenzo Rook* (Università degli Studi di Firenze, Firenze) Paléomammalogie (petits mammifères sauf Euarchontoglires)/Palaeomammalogy (small mammals except for Euarchontoglires) Robert Asher (Cambridge University, Cambridge) Paléomammalogie (Euarchontoglires)/Palaeomammalogy (Euarchontoglires) K. -
The Barremian Heteromorph Ammonite Dissimilites from Northern Italy: Taxonomy and Evolutionary Implications
The Barremian heteromorph ammonite Dissimilites from northern Italy: Taxonomy and evolutionary implications ALEXANDER LUKENEDER and SUSANNE LUKENEDER Lukeneder, A. and Lukeneder, S. 2014. The Barremian heteromorph ammonite Dissimilites from northern Italy: Taxon- omy and evolutionary implications. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 59 (3): 663–680. A new acrioceratid ammonite, Dissimilites intermedius sp. nov., from the Barremian (Lower Cretaceous) of the Puez area (Dolomites, northern Italy) is described. Dissimilites intermedius sp. nov. is an intermediate form between D. dissimilis and D. trinodosum. The new species combines the ribbing style of D. dissimilis (bifurcating with intercalating single ribs) with the tuberculation style of D. trinodosum (trituberculation on entire shell). The shallow-helical spire, entirely comprising single ribs intercalated by trituberculated main ribs, is similar to the one of the assumed ancestor Acrioceras, whereas the increasing curvation of the younger forms resembles similar patterns observed in the descendant Toxoc- eratoides. These characters support the hypothesis of a direct evolutionary lineage from Acrioceras via Dissimilites to Toxoceratoides. D. intermedius sp. nov. ranges from the upper Lower Barremian (Moutoniceras moutonianum Zone) to the lower Upper Barremian (Toxancyloceras vandenheckii Zone). The new species allows to better understand the evolu- tion of the genus Dissimilites. The genus appears within the Nicklesia pulchella Zone represented by D. duboise, which most likely evolved into D. dissimilis. In the Kotetishvilia compressissima Zone, two morphological forms developed: smaller forms very similar to Acrioceras and forms with very long shaft and juvenile spire like in D. intermedius sp. nov. The latter most likely gave rise to D. subalternatus and D. trinodosum in the M. -
AMEICA-N MUSEU- M-' NOVITATESATE,'-,0 ~No.'~28
I11 i.,- AMEICA-N MUSEU- M-' NOVITATESATE,'-,0 ~No.'~28, ....*.........................Jo.......... -.NEW SPECIES OF -AMMONITE-OFERCtJLA. FROM- THE-MESOZOIC- ROCKS 'OF ~MARJR, 0' CO -NELL 1- -.. -1 1921 I Issued December 29, 1- -.-BY OER OF TE TRia8sTS 0 - -:, -- ~~'OF. - - - - THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL -HISTOR9Y N-- :i;'-s-YoRK(x Cm 0- .~.Ty~ ~ ..~ ~.. 0 AM,9: ;MCAN* MUSEL:UMoi--!J--pRESS AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES Number 28 December 30, 1921 56.4,53 (116:729.1) NEW SPECIES OF AMMONITE OPERCULA FROM THE MESOZOIC ROCKS OF CUBA BY MARJORIE O'CONNELL INTRODUCTION Among the material collected by Mr. Barnum Brown in 1919 in the Province of Pinar del Rio, western Cuba, are seventeen specimens and numerous fragments of the small calcareous, bivalved shells which are known as aptychi. They are the opercula with which the ammonites closed up the aperture of the conch after the animal had withdrawn into the body chamber. So far as I know there has been only one occurrence noted of an Aptychus in American Mesozoic formations. Castillo and Aguilera described Aptychus mexicanus from the Jurassic rocks of Sierra de Catorce, San Luis Potosi, Mexico,' and this seems to have been a sporadic occurrence. But in Cuba there is a definite horizon which has been traced for several miles and at which nothing but aptychi and an occasional small Haploceras are found. The rocks consist of alternating shales and limestones with the former predominating. They are dark gray but weather light brown or almost white and show a considerable amount of iron stain. The aptychi occur on the surfaces of the shale and are well preserved, although very fragile on account of the iron impregnation. -
Cretaceous Fossils from the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal
Cretaceous S;cial Publication No. 18 Fossils from the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal A Guide for Students and Collectors Edward M. Lauginiger / /~ / CRETACEOUS FOSSILS FROM THE CHESAPEAKE AND DELAWARE CANAL: A GUIDE FOR STUDENTS AND COLLECTORS By Edward M. Lauginiger Biology Teacher Academy Park High School Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania September 1988 Reprinted 1997 CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION. • 1 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 2 PREVIOUS STUDIES. 3 FOSSILS AND FOSSILIZATION 5 Requirements for Fossilization 6 Types of Fossilization 7 GEOLOGY •• 10 CLASSIFICATON OF FOSSILS. 12 Kingdom Monera • 13 Kindgom Protista 1 3 Kingdom Plantae. 1 4 Kingdom Animalia 15 Phylum Porifera 15 Phylum Cnidaria (Coelenterata). 16 Phylum Bryozoa. 16 Phylum Brachiopoda. 17 Phylum Mollusca • 18 Phylum Annelida •. 22 Phylum Arthropoda • 23 Phylum Echinodermata. 24 Phylum Chordata 24 COLLECTING LOCALITIES 28 FOSSIL CHECK LIST 30 BIBLIOGRAPHY. 33 PLATES. ••• 39 iii FIGURES Page Figure 1 • Index map of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal Area. .. .. 2 Figure 2. Generalized stratigraphic column of the formations exposed at the C & D Canal. 11 Figure 3. Foraminifera 14 Figure 4. Porifera 16 Figure 5. Cnidaria 16 Figure 6. Bryozoa. 17 Figure 7. Brachiopoda. 18 Figure 8. Mollusca-Gastropoda. 19 Figure 9. Mollusca-Pelecypoda. 21 Figure 10. Mollusca-Cephalopoda 22 Figure 11. Annelida . 22 Figure 12. Arthropoda 23 Figure 13. Echinodermata. 25 Figure 1 4. Chordata . 27 Figure 1 5. Collecting localities at the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal . ... .. 29 v CRETACEOUS FOSSILS FROM THE CHESAPEAKE AND DELAWARE CANAL: A GUIDE FOR STUDENTS AND COLLECTORS Edward M. Lauginiger INTRODUCTION Fossil collectors have been attracted to Delaware since the late 1820s when the excavation of the Chesapeake and Delaware (C&D) Canal first exposed marine fossils of Cretaceous age (Fig. -
Aptian-Albian Boundary Interval) in North Central Tunisia Jens Lehmann, Ekbert Seibertz, Christian Spaeth, Luc Bulot
Ammonite stratigraphy and the belemnite genus Hibolithes in the higher Serdj Formation (Aptian-Albian boundary interval) in north central Tunisia Jens Lehmann, Ekbert Seibertz, Christian Spaeth, Luc Bulot To cite this version: Jens Lehmann, Ekbert Seibertz, Christian Spaeth, Luc Bulot. Ammonite stratigraphy and the belem- nite genus Hibolithes in the higher Serdj Formation (Aptian-Albian boundary interval) in north central Tunisia. Zeitschrift der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Geowissenschaften ZDGG, E Schweizerbart Science Publishers, 2020, 171 (2), pp.135-148. 10.1127/zdgg/2020/0210. hal-03016315 HAL Id: hal-03016315 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03016315 Submitted on 20 Nov 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Z. Dt. Ges. Geowiss. (Int. J. Reg. Geol.) PrePub Article Published online February 2020 Ammonite stratigraphy and the belemnite genus Hibolithes in the higher Serdj Formation (Aptian–Albian boundary interval) in north central Tunisia Jens Lehmann1, Ekbert Seibertz2, Christian Spaeth3 & Luc G. Bulot4, 5* Lehmann, J., Seibertz, E., Spaeth, C. & Bulot, L.G. (2020): Ammonite stratigraphy and the belemnite genus Hibolithes in the higher Serdj Formation (Aptian–Albian boundary interval) in north central Tunisia. – Z. Dt. -
Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections
SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIOXS. 227 AEEANGEMENT FAMILIES OF MOLLUSKS. PREPARED FOR THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION BY THEODORE GILL, M. D., Ph.D. WASHINGTON: PUBLISHED BY THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, FEBRUARY, 1871. ^^1 I ADVERTISEMENT. The following list has been prepared by Dr. Theodore Gill, at the request of the Smithsonian Institution, for the purpose of facilitating the arrangement and classification of the Mollusks and Shells of the National Museum ; and as frequent applica- tions for such a list have been received by the Institution, it has been thought advisable to publish it for more extended use. JOSEPH HENRY, Secretary S. I. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, January, 1871 ACCEPTED FOR PUBLICATION, FEBRUARY 28, 1870. (iii ) CONTENTS. VI PAGE Order 17. Monomyaria . 21 " 18. Rudista , 22 Sub-Branch Molluscoidea . 23 Class Tunicata , 23 Order 19. Saccobranchia . 23 " 20. Dactjlobranchia , 24 " 21. Taeniobranchia , 24 " 22. Larvalia , 24 Class Braehiopoda . 25 Order 23. Arthropomata , 25 " . 24. Lyopomata , 26 Class Polyzoa .... 27 Order 25. Phylactolsemata . 27 " 26. Gymnolseraata . 27 " 27. Rhabdopleurse 30 III. List op Authors referred to 31 IV. Index 45 OTRODUCTIO^. OBJECTS. The want of a complete and consistent list of the principal subdivisions of the mollusks having been experienced for some time, and such a list being at length imperatively needed for the arrangement of the collections of the Smithsonian Institution, the present arrangement has been compiled for that purpose. It must be considered simply as a provisional list, embracing the results of the most recent and approved researches into the systematic relations and anatomy of those animals, but from which innova- tions and peculiar views, affecting materially the classification, have been excluded. -
Composition and Origin of Jurassic Ammonite Concretions at Gerzen, Germany
JURASSIC AMMONITE CONCRETIONS COMPOSITION AND ORIGIN OF JURASSIC AMMONITE CONCRETIONS AT GERZEN, GERMANY. By MICHAEL DAVID GERAGHTY, B.Sc. A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science McMaster University (c) Copyright by Michael David Geraghty, April 1990 MASTER OF SCIENCE (1990) McMaster University (Geology) Hamilton, Ontario TITLE: Composition and Origin of Jurassic Ammonite Concretions at Gerzen, Germany. AUTHOR: Michael David Geraghty, B. Sc. (University of Guelph) SUPERVISOR: Professor G.E.G. Westermann NUMBER OF PAGES: xiii, 154, 17 Figs., 10 Pls. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Gerd Westermann for allowing me the privilege of studying under his supervision on a most interesting research project. His advice, support and patience were greatly appreciated. I deeply indebted to Mr. Klaus Banike of Gottingen, F. R. Germany for opening his home and his collection of concretions to me and also for his help and friendship. To Erhardt Trute and Family of Gerzen, F.R. Germany, I owe many thanks for their warm hospitality and assistance with my field work. Also Dr. Hans Jahnke of Georg-August University, Gottingen deserves thanks for his assistance and guidance. Jack Whorwood's photographic expertise was invaluable and Len Zwicker did an excellent job of preparing my thin sections. Also, Kathie Wright did a great job helping me prepare my figures. Lastly, I would like to thank all those people, they know who they are, from whom I begged and borrowed time, equipment and advice. iii ABSTRACT Study of the ecology of concretion and host sediment fossils from a shell bed in middle Bajocian clays of northwestern Germany indicates a predominantly epifaunal suspension-feeding community living on a firm mud bottom.