PBDB Collection

Eriksdal (VC11) (Cretaceous of Sweden)

Where: Scania, Sweden (59.3° N, 18.1° E: paleocoordinates 50.9° N, 23.6° E)

• coordinate based on nearby landmark

• outcrop-level geographic resolution

When: Vitaback Clay Member (Annero Formation), Berriasian (145.0 - 139.8 Ma)

• The lowermost parts of the section (beds VC1 and VC2) contained spores of the genus Cicatricosisporites, previously known only from the Early Cretaceous (V. Vajda pers.comm.). Thus, the whole section described in this work is considered to be Berriasian or possibly younger, although the lower parts of the VitabaÈ ck Clays, not treated here, are likely to be Tithonian (ErlstroÈm et al. 1991). Berriasian age is further indicated by the composition of the shark fauna, which is very similar to that of Berriasian sediments within the Purbeck Group in southern England (Underwood & Rees 2002).

Environment/lithology: fluvial-deltaic; lithified claystone and lithified siltstone

• The faunal and floral composition was studied by ErlstroÈm et al. (1991), who suggested brackish and freshwater environments with occasional marine influence.

•

•The amphibian remains occurring in VC11 suggest that this bed may have been deposited in a ¯oodplain lake (Fig. 5). The coquina bed VC3 was deposited closer to the shallow sea (Fig. 5), probably in a lagoonal environment. The erosional boundary at the bottom of VC3 may indicate that the bed is a storm concentration. The enrichment of shells in VC11 is more gradual and there is no erosional boundary at the bottom of the bed, perhaps indicating an environment such as a ¯oodplain lake or pond. The molluscs have possibly been concentrated by migration when the water in the pond evaporated (cf. Noe-Nygaard et al. 1987). The presence of amphibian remains, in combination with the rarity of shark teeth in VC7, may indicate that this bed was deposited in a freshwater environment.

• The Vitaback Clays primarily include alternating clay and silt deposits (ErlstroÈm et al. 1991). Layers of sand occur less frequently, often as thinner beds.

Size class: macrofossils

Primary reference: J. Rees. 2002. Shark fauna and depositional environment of the earliest Cretaceous Vitabäck Clays at Eriksdal, southern Sweden. Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 93:59-71 [M. Bell/M. Bell/M. Bell]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 144786: authorized by Mark Bell, entered by Mark Bell on 17.05.2013

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Show authors, comments, and common names

unclassified
-	Hybodontoid indet., Albanerpetonidae indet., Ptychostylus sp. Hybodontoid indet. Albanerpetonidae indet. Ptychostylus sp.
Gnathostomata
-	Actinopterygii indet. Actinopterygii indet. ray-finned fish
Reptilia
Loricata -	Crocodylia indet. Crocodylia indet. crocodilian
Chondrichthyes
Hybodontiformes - Lonchidiidae	Parvodus rugianus Parvodus rugianus Ansorge 1990 elasmobranch
Hybodontiformes - Polyacrodontidae	"Hybodus parvidens" = Polyacrodus parvidens "Hybodus parvidens" = Polyacrodus parvidens Woodward 1916 elasmobranch
Hybodontiformes - Hybodontidae	Egertonodus basanus Egertonodus basanus Egerton 1845 elasmobranch
Gastropoda
Architaenioglossa - Viviparidae	Viviparus sp. Viviparus sp. Montfort 1810 snail
Neritoidea - Neritidae	Neritoplica sp. Neritoplica sp. Oppenheim 1892 snail
Bivalvia
Cardiida - Neomiodontidae	Neomiodon sp. Neomiodon sp. clam
Ostreida - Malleidae	Isognomon sp. Isognomon sp. Lightfoot 1786 oyster