Rott (MCZ coll) (Oligocene of Germany)

Where: Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany (50.7° N, 7.3° E: paleocoordinates 50.6° N, 4.3° E)

• coordinate based on nearby landmark

• outcrop-level geographic resolution

When: Rott Formation, MP 30 (28.4 - 23.0 Ma)

Environment/lithology: lacustrine - large; lithified, fine-grained, brown lignite

• According to the reconstruction of the sedimentation history. the limnic sediments of the Rott Fonnation were deposited in a single, relatively small and shallow lake (Mors, 1995). This lake was at least 3 km in diameter, and was encircled by a large accretion zone, which passed into an alluvial forest. Many small rivulets are expected to have flown into the Rott Lake, but no large river could be evidenced (MOn, 1995). The estimated mean aunual temperature (MAT) in this area at the accumulation time of lake sediments was17.5±1.2°C, based on the leaf margin analysis (Winterscheid, 2006).
• "fine layered brown coal" also called "lignites": figure of specimen indicates complete lithification

Size classes: macrofossils, mesofossils

Preservation: adpression

Reposited in the MCZ

• Obtained from Dr. Krantz (Bonn), but different from specimens described by Heyden, which were also from the Krantz collection

Primary reference: M. S. Engel. 1998. Fossil honey bees and evolution in the genus Apis (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Apidologie 29:265-281 [M. Clapham/M. Clapham]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 152455: authorized by Matthew Clapham, entered by Matthew Clapham on 21.11.2013

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Show authors, comments, and common names
Insecta
 Hymenoptera - Apidae
Apis (Synapis) henshawi n. sp.1, Apis (Synapis) henshawi2, "Apis vetustus n. sp." = Apis vetusta
Apis (Synapis) henshawi n. sp.1 Cockerell 1907 Henshaw's honey bee
MCZ 6316
Apis (Synapis) henshawi2 Cockerell 1907 Henshaw's honey bee
MCZ 7513
"Apis vetustus n. sp." = Apis vetusta Engel 1998 honey bee
MCZ 7514 (paratype of A. henshawi dormiens)
1Cockerell 1907; 2Zeuner and Manning 1976