Fur Formation (Eocene of Denmark)

Where: Denmark (56.8° N, 8.8° E: paleocoordinates 52.3° N, 5.4° E)

• coordinate based on nearby landmark

• local area-level geographic resolution

When: Fur Formation, Ypresian (56.0 - 47.8 Ma)

• formation includes "more than 170 layers of volcanic ash" and two have been dated at "54.5 and 54.0 MYA" by "39/Ar/40Ar-dating" and the "underlying Stolleklint Clay Member of the Olst Formation" includes the Paleocene/Eocene boundary

•no details about the position of fossils in the formation are given at all

• formation-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: offshore; concretionary, volcaniclastic, argillaceous diatomite

• "deposited at water depths below the storm wave base, under anoxic or slightly oxic bottom conditions"
• formation consists of "fine-grained diatomite sediment, which consists of 45-65 weight per cent diatoms, 30-45 per cent clay minerals and approximately 10 percent volcanic dust"

Size class: macrofossils

Preservation: adpression, concretion

Collection methods: most material is in the University of Copenhagen's Geologisk Museum (MGUH)

Primary reference: B. E. K. Lindow and G. J. Dyke. 2006. Bird evolution in the Eocene: climate change in Europe and a Danish fossil fauna. Biological Reviews (Cambridge) 81(4):483-499 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/J. Alroy]more details

Purpose of describing collection: general faunal/floral analysis

PaleoDB collection 84460: authorized by John Alroy, entered by John Alroy on 21.10.2008, edited by Patricia Holroyd

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

• no details about exact localities are given at all, so the list restricted to records that cannot be exactly placed and those that can (e.g., Septentrogon madseni) are placed elsewhere

•numerous indets are listed in the text and omitted here

Show authors, comments, and common names
Reptilia
 Galliformes - Gallinuloididae
cf. Gallinuloides sp.
cf. Gallinuloides sp. Eastman 1900 fowl
Aves
 Neornithes - Lithornithidae
Lithornis sp., Lithornis vulturinus
Lithornis sp. Owen 1840 bird
Lithornis vulturinus Owen 1840 bird
 Coliiformes - Coliidae
Chascacocolius cf. oscitans
Chascacocolius cf. oscitans Houde and Olson 1992 mousebird
 Sandcoleiformes - Sandcoleidae
Eoglaucidium sp.
Eoglaucidium sp. Fischer 1987 bird
 Apodiformes - Eocypselidae
Eocypselus vincenti
Eocypselus vincenti Harrison 1984 swift
 Psittaciformes - Halcyornithidae
"Pseudasturidae indet." = Halcyornithidae2
"Pseudasturidae indet." = Halcyornithidae2 Harrison and Walker 1972 parrot
 Psittaciformes -
Mopsitta tanta n. gen. n. sp.2
Mopsitta tanta n. gen. n. sp.2 Waterhouse et al. 2008 parrot
"island of Mors"
Reptilia
 Testudines - Dermochelyidae
Egyptemys aff. eocaenus1
Egyptemys aff. eocaenus1 Andrews 1901 leatherback
specimen in Fur Museum
1Karl and Lindow 2010; 2Waterhouse et al. 2008