Ardtun Head, Isle of Mull (Paleocene of the United Kingdom)

Where: Scotland, United Kingdom (56.3° N, 6.2° W: paleocoordinates 50.9° N, 7.4° W)

• coordinate estimated from map

• outcrop-level geographic resolution

When: interbasaltic plant-beds Formation, Thanetian (59.2 - 56.0 Ma)

• "In addition, radiometric dates for the lavas above and below the Leaf Beds reveal an age of around 58 Ma (Evans, 1969; Mussett et al., 1973, 1980)."

Environment/lithology: lacustrine; claystone and silty sandstone

• " sediments and associated flora indicate deposition in a shallow temporary lake surrounded by marshland and which intermittently received sediment and plant debris from surrounding areas"
• "The finer-grained Leaf Beds may represent deposits formed during periods of stagnation when little sediment was washed into the lake and a limited freshwater fauna flourished."

Size class: macrofossils

Preservation: mold/impression

Reposited in the BMNH

• Most specimens collected by R. P. Tripp & W. N. Croft in 1938

Primary reference: F. E. Zeuner. 1941. The Eocene Insects of the Ardtun Beds, Isle of Mull, Scotland. The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Eleventh Series 7:82-100 [M. Clapham/J. Karr/M. Clapham]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 113632: authorized by Matthew Clapham, entered by Jered Karr on 03.08.2011, edited by Matthew Clapham

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

• "The rich, well-preserved flora includes temperate-climate tree species such as plane, hazel, oak and ginkgo."
Show authors, comments, and common names
Angiospermae
 Fagales - Fagaceae
Quercus sp.3
Quercus sp.3 Linnaeus 1753 oak
on same slab as Eotettigarcta scotica
 Saxifragales - Cercidiphyllaceae
Cercidiphyllum sp.3
Cercidiphyllum sp.3 Siebold and Zuccarini 1846 katsura
on same slab as Eotettigarcta scotica
Insecta
  -
Insecta indet.
Insecta indet. Linnaeus 1758 insect
 Hemiptera - Tettigarctidae
Eotettigarcta scotica n. gen. n. sp.3
Eotettigarcta scotica n. gen. n. sp.3 Zeuner 1944 hairy cicada
BMNH In 38883
 Hemiptera - Cicadellidae
Maleojassus primitivus n. gen. n. sp.
Maleojassus primitivus n. gen. n. sp. Zeuner 1941 leafhopper
BMNH In 37250 Croft Coll
 Hemiptera - Cercopidae
"Eocercopis maculata n. gen. n. sp." = Eocercopidium maculata
"Eocercopis maculata n. gen. n. sp." = Eocercopidium maculata Zeuner 1941 froghopper
BMNH In 37731 Tripp Coll
 Trichoptera -
Folindusia (Spirindusia) zeuneri n. sp.1
Folindusia (Spirindusia) zeuneri n. sp.1 Vialov and Sukacheva 1976 caddisfly
BMNH In 37732
 Dicondylia -
Coleoptera indet.
Coleoptera indet. Linnaeus 1758 beetle
 Orthoptera - Palaeorehniidae
"Palaeorehnia scotica n. gen. n. sp." = Zeuneroptera scotica2
"Palaeorehnia scotica n. gen. n. sp." = Zeuneroptera scotica2 Zeuner 1939 grasshopper
BMNH In 37251 Croft Coll.
 Dicondylia -
Odonata indet.
Odonata indet. Fabricius 1793 dragonfly
BMNH In 37269 Tripp Collection
 Diptera - Bibionidae
Plecia undans n. sp.
Plecia undans n. sp. Zeuner 1941 love bug
BMNH In 37274, 37266, 37268b
 Diptera - Limoniidae
"Stibadocerites europaeus n. gen. n. sp." = Dicranoptycha europaea
"Stibadocerites europaeus n. gen. n. sp." = Dicranoptycha europaea Zeuner 1941 crane fly
BMNH In 37268a Tripp Coll
1Sukacheva 1982; 2Zeuner 1939; 3Zeuner 1944