Carnalpia nivosa Community in the Carnic Alps (Silurian of Austria)

Where: Austria (46.7° N, 13.0° E: paleocoordinates 46.7° N, 13.0° E)

• coordinate based on nearby landmark

• local area-level geographic resolution

When: Cyrtograptus rigidus zone, Sheinwoodian (433.4 - 430.5 Ma)

Environment/lithology: marine; ferruginous, shelly/skeletal limestone and shale

• "...bivalves, brachiopods, and trilobites occur disarticulated. All bivalves are filtrators...Epibyssate bivalves...document...together with disarticulation of shells and presence of current drift derived cephalopods, current activity. [High diversity and juvenile mollusks] indicate a well-aerated sea bottom. Sediment type and fossil preservation speak for an environment below wave base."
• "The shells occur disarticulated in biodetrital limestone which forms lenses in the dark graptolitic shales. The horizon is a part of the ferruginous limestone formation."

Collection methods: Author gives table with inferred life mode and observed abundance of bivalve species.

Primary reference: J. Kříž. 1999. Bivalvia communities of Bohemian type from the Silurian and Lower Devonian carbonate facies. In A. J. Boucot. J. D. Lawson (ed.), Paleocommunities -- A case study from the Silurian and Lower Devonian 229-252 [M. Foote/M. Foote/P. Wagner]more details

Purpose of describing collection: paleoecologic analysis

PaleoDB collection 14158: authorized by Michael Foote, entered by Michael Foote on 20.05.2002

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

• Bivalves are focus of taxon list. Other taxa mentioned but not listed in detail.
Cephalopoda
  -
Cephalopoda indet. Cuvier 1797
few
Gastropoda
  -
Gastropoda indet. Cuvier 1795 snail
common juvenile stages
 Cerithioidea - Cerithiidae
Hemicardium sp. Olsson 1944 cerith snail
genus name in quotes
Bivalvia
 Cyrtodontida - Slavidae
Slavinka sp. n. sp.
Slavinka sp. n. sp. Kříž 1982 clam
 Cyrtodontida - Cardiolidae
 Cyrtodontida - Stolidotidae
Maminka sp. Barrande 1881 clam
 Myalinida - Lunulacardiidae
Patrocardia sp. Fischer 1887 clam
  -
"Pelecypoda indet." = Bivalvia
"Pelecypoda indet." = Bivalvia Linnaeus 1758 clam
common juvenile stages
Brachiopoda
  -
Brachiopoda indet. Cuvier 1805
very rare
Trilobita
 Proetida - Proetidae
Proetidae indet. Salter 1864 trilobite
 Proetida - Aulacopleuridae
Aulacopleura sp. Hawle and Corda 1847 trilobite
 Odontopleurida - Odontopleuridae
Odontopleuridae indet. Burmeister 1843 trilobite
 Phacopida - Encrinuridae
Encrinuridae indet. Angelin 1854 trilobite
 Phacopida - Cheiruridae
Cheiruridae indet. Hawle and Corda 1847 trilobite