PBDB Collection

Enspel (Oligocene of Germany)

Where: Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany (50.6° N, 7.9° E: paleocoordinates 50.5° N, 5.0° E)

• coordinate based on nearby landmark

• outcrop-level geographic resolution

When: Enspel Formation, MP 28 (28.4 - 23.0 Ma)

• deposits "are more than 100 m thick and overlain by thick basalt"; age is MP 28 based on occurrence Eomys quercyi

•

•These deposits were classified by Storch et al. (1996) into mammal zone MP 28, and Mertz et al. (2007) dated their age as 24.79–24.56 Ma.

• group of beds-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: crater lake; volcaniclastic shale and tuff

• "a former lake"

•

•The lake was meromictic and eutrophic, had no outlet, and a mesophytic forest extended up to the lake margins (Wuttke and Poschmann 2010). The mean annual temperature was estimated as about 15–17°C, the warmest month mean as about 25°C, the coldest month mean as about 5–7°C, and the mean annual precipitation was between 900 and 1,355 mm/year (Uhl and Herrmann 2010).

• "bituminous volcanoclastic shales which are episodically intercalated with tuffs"

Size class: macrofossils

Preservation: adpression, soft parts

Collection methods: quarrying

• "Excavation since 1990 by [the government of] Rheinland-Pflaz". Repository: Landesamt fur Denkmalpflege Rheinland-Pfalz.

Primary reference: G. Storch, B. Engesser, and M. Wuttke. 1996. Oldest fossil record of gliding in rodents. Nature 379(439):439-441 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/J. Alroy]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 71942: authorized by John Alroy, entered by John Alroy on 17.05.2007, edited by Philip Mannion, Patricia Holroyd, Mark Uhen and Matthew Clapham

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

• "numerous plant, invertebrate and vertebrate fossils, including insects, fish, anurans, caudatans, crocodiles and mammals" are present

Show authors, comments, and common names

Insecta
Odonata -	Libelluloidea indet.⁷ Libelluloidea indet.⁷ true dragonfly PE 2006/5022-LS, 2010/5657-LS
Odonata - Gomphidae	Ictinogomphus engelorum n. sp.⁷ Ictinogomphus engelorum n. sp.⁷ Nel et al. 2020 clubtail dragonfly PE 2000/5006-LS, 2003/5040-LS, 2003/5039-LS
Odonata - Libellulidae	Libellulidae indet.⁷ Libellulidae indet.⁷ Rambur 1842 common skimmer PE 2001/5195-LS; naiad PE 2010/5637-LS
Odonata - Aeshnidae	Oligaeschna cf. jungi⁷, Epiaeschna wisseri n. sp.⁷ Oligaeschna cf. jungi⁷ Piton and Théobald 1939 darner dragonfly PE 2005/5032-LS, 2000/5005-LS, 1995/217-LS, 1995/9174-LS Epiaeschna wisseri n. sp.⁷ Nel et al. 2020 darner dragonfly PE 2000/5355-LS, 1997/6211-LS
Odonata -	Zygoptera indet.⁷ Zygoptera indet.⁷ Selys-Longchamps 1854 damselfly PE 2013/5018-LS
Odonata - Sieblosiidae	Oligolestes stoeffelensis n. sp.⁷ Oligolestes stoeffelensis n. sp.⁷ Nel et al. 2020 damselfly PE 1995/9164-LS
Blattodea - Pseudophyllodromiidae	Latiblattella basaltica n. sp.¹⁰ Latiblattella basaltica n. sp.¹⁰ Vršanský et al. 2021 cockroach NHMMZ PE 2014/5228-LS, PE 1995/5078-LS, PE 2007/5004-LS, PE 2010/5278-LS
Coleoptera - Curculionidae	Igneonasus rudolphi n. gen. n. sp.² Igneonasus rudolphi n. gen. n. sp.² Legalov and Poschmann 2020 snout beetle PE 2013/5017-LS
Diptera - Bibionidae	Bibio castaneipennis n. sp.⁸, Bibio xylophilus⁸, Plecia dubia⁸, Penthetria nigra⁸ Bibio castaneipennis n. sp.⁸ Skartveit and Wedmann 2021 march fly Holotype GDKE PE 1997 5697 Bibio xylophilus⁸ Germar 1837 march fly GDKE PE 2010 5895, 1995 6196 Plecia dubia⁸ Germar 1837 love bug GDKE PE 1995 8363, 1995 8504, 1995 6310, 1997 5109, 1997 5738, 2008 5005, 2009 5980, 1995 6611, 1995 8265 Penthetria nigra⁸ Statz 1943 march fly GDKE PE 2015 5141, 1995 6383, 2016 5128
Mammalia
Soricomorpha - Talpidae	Geotrypus antiquus⁹ Geotrypus antiquus⁹ de Blainville 1840 mole
Carnivora -	Potamotherium vallentoni⁹ Potamotherium vallentoni⁹ Geoffroy-Saint-Hillaire 1833 carnivoran
Rodentia - Cricetidae	Cricetidae indet.⁹ Cricetidae indet.⁹ Fischer von Waldheim 1817 rodent
Rodentia - Eomyidae	Eomyodon sp.⁹, Eomyodon volkeri⁹, Eomys quercyi Eomyodon sp.⁹ Engesser 1987 rodent Eomyodon volkeri⁹ Engesser 1987 rodent Eomys quercyi Comte and Vianey-Liaud 1987 rodent
Lagomorpha - Ochotonidae	Amphilagus wuttkei⁹ Amphilagus wuttkei⁹ pika
Reptilia
Testudines -	Palaeomauremys mlynarski⁹ Palaeomauremys mlynarski⁹ turtle
Squamata -	Squamata indet.⁹ Squamata indet.⁹ squamates "lizard jaw from owl pellets"
Loricata -	"Crocodilia indet." = Crocodylia¹ "Crocodilia indet." = Crocodylia¹ Owen 1842 crocodilian PW specimens (50 teeth)
Crocodylia -	cf. Diplocynodon sp.⁹ cf. Diplocynodon sp.⁹ Pomel 1847 crocodilian "likely more than one crocodile taxon"
Aves
Suliformes - Phalacrocoracidae	Borvocarbo stoeffelnsis⁹, ? Oligocorax sp.³, "? Borvocarbo stoeffelensis n. sp." = Oligocorax stoeffelensis⁴ Borvocarbo stoeffelnsis⁹ cormorant ? Oligocorax sp.³ Lambrecht 1933 cormorant "? Borvocarbo stoeffelensis n. sp." = Oligocorax stoeffelensis⁴ Mayr 2007 cormorant
Gaviiformes - Gaviidae	Gaviidae indet.⁹ Gaviidae indet.⁹ Allen 1897 loon
Coliiformes - Coliidae	Oligocolius psittacocephalon n. gen. n. sp.⁵ Oligocolius psittacocephalon n. gen. n. sp.⁵ Mayr 2013 mousebird
Reptilia
Galliformes - Phasianidae	Palaeortyx cf. gallica⁶ Palaeortyx cf. gallica⁶ Milne-Edwards 1869 pheasant nearly complete skeleton
Amphibia
Caudata - Urodela	Chelotriton robustus⁹ Chelotriton robustus⁹ Westphal 1979 newt
Salientia - Ranidae	Ranidae indet.⁹ Ranidae indet.⁹ Rafinesque 1814 frog
Salientia - Palaeobatrachidae	Palaeobatrachidae indet.⁹ Palaeobatrachidae indet.⁹ Cope 1865 frog
Salientia - Pelobatidae	Pelobates cf. decheni⁹ Pelobates cf. decheni⁹ spadefoot toad
Actinopteri
Cypriniformes - Cyprinidae	Palaeorutilus enspelensis⁹ Palaeorutilus enspelensis⁹ carp-like fish

¹Frey and Monninger 2010; ²Legalov and Poschmann 2020; ³Mayr 2001; ⁴Mayr 2007; ⁵Mayr 2013; ⁶Mayr et al. 2006; ⁷Nel et al. 2020; ⁸Skartveit and Wedmann 2021; ⁹Tütken and Absolon 2015; ¹⁰Vršanský et al. 2021