PBDB Collection

Canjuers-Les Bessons quarry (micronatum biozone): Early Tithonian, France
collected by Ghirardi family, MNHN crews 1960–1970, 1983–1993, 2010–2011

List of taxa

Where & when

Geology

Taphonomy & methods

Metadata & references

Taxonomic list

Malacostraca - Decapoda - Eryonidae

	Cycleryon bourseaui Audo et al. 2013	Peyer et al. 2014
Rhynchonellata - Rhynchonellida - Cyclothyrididae

	Septaliphoria obtusa	Peyer et al. 2014

	Torquirhynchia guebhardi (Jacob and Fallot 1913)	Peyer et al. 2014
Rhynchonellata - Rhynchonellida - Tetrarhynchiidae

	? Somalirhynchia sp. Weir 1925	Peyer et al. 2014
Rhynchonellata - Terebratulida - Terebrataliidae

	Ismenia pectunculoides (Schlotheim 1820)	Peyer et al. 2014
Rhynchonellata - Terebratulida - Zeilleriidae

	"Zeilleria" aff. pentagonalis	Peyer et al. 2014
Rhynchonellata - Terebratulida - Postepithyrididae

	Moeschia aff. foraminata	Peyer et al. 2014
Rhynchonellata - Terebratulida - Loboidothyrididae

	Juralina insignis (Schübler 1820)	Peyer et al. 2014
Cephalopoda - Ammonitida - Ataxioceratidae

	Dorsoplanitoides triplicatus	Peyer et al. 2014

	Usseliceras (Usseliceras) cf. franconicum	Peyer et al. 2014

	Usseliceras (Subplanitoides) altegyratum	Peyer et al. 2014

	Usseliceras (Subplanitoides) aff. spindelense	Peyer et al. 2014

	Usseliceras (Subplanitoides) cf. scwertschlageri	Peyer et al. 2014
Cephalopoda - Belemnitida - Belemnopseidae

	Hibolites sp. (Mayer-Eymar 1883)	Peyer et al. 2014
Bivalvia - Ostreida - Palaeolophidae

	Actinostreon gregareum (Sowerby 1816)	Peyer et al. 2014
Bivalvia - Ostreida - Gryphaeidae

	Nanogyra striata Smith 1817	Peyer et al. 2014
Bivalvia - Pectinida - Pectinidae

	Spondylopecten (Spondylopecten) subpunctatus	Peyer et al. 2014

	Chlamys (Chlamys) textoria (Schlotheim 1820)	Peyer et al. 2014
Bivalvia - Pectinida - Entoliidae

	Entolium (Entolium) corneolum (Young and Bird 1828)	Peyer et al. 2014
Bivalvia - Mytilida - Mytilidae

	Modiolus (Modiolus) imbricatus (Sowerby 1818)	Peyer et al. 2014
Chondrichthyes - Lamniformes

	Palaeocarcharias sp. Beaumont 1960	Peyer et al. 2014
Actinopteri - Caturidae

	Caturidae indet. Owen 1860	Peyer et al. 2014

	Caturus sp. Agassiz 1834	Peyer et al. 2014
Actinopteri - Lepisosteiformes

	Lepidotes sp. Agassiz 1832	Peyer et al. 2014
Actinopteri - Ophiopsidae

	Ophiopsidae indet. Bartram 1975	Peyer et al. 2014
Actinopteri - Pachycormiformes - Pachycormidae

	Pachycormidae indet. Woodward 1895	Peyer et al. 2014
Actinopteri - Leptolepidiformes - Leptolepididae

	Leptolepidae indet. (Owen 1859)	Peyer et al. 2014

	Leptolepis sp. Agassiz 1832	Peyer et al. 2014

	Tharsis sp. Giebel 1848	Peyer et al. 2014
Actinopteri

	Elopomorpha indet. (Greenwood et al. 1966)	Peyer et al. 2014

	Naiathaelon okkidion Poyato-Ariza and Wenz 1993	Peyer et al. 2014
Actinopteri - Elopiformes - Elopidae

	Elopidae indet. Bonaparte 1846	Peyer et al. 2014
Actinopteri - Pholidophoriformes - Pholidophoridae

	Pholidophorus sp. Agassiz 1832	Peyer et al. 2014
Actinopteri - Aspidorhynchiformes - Aspidorhynchidae

	Belonostomus sp. Agassiz 1834	Peyer et al. 2014
Actinopteri - Pycnodontiformes

	Pycnodontiformes indet. Berg 1937	Peyer et al. 2014

	Gyrodus sp. Agassiz 1833	Peyer et al. 2014
Actinopteri - Pycnodontiformes - Pycnodontidae

	Proscinetes sp. Gistel 1848	Peyer et al. 2014
Ophiopsiidae

	Ophiopsis sp. Agassiz 1834	Peyer et al. 2014
Ionoscopiformes - Furidae

	Eugnathus sp. Agassiz 1839	Peyer et al. 2014
Coelacanthimorpha - Laugiidae

	Coccoderma sp. Zittel 1887	Peyer et al. 2014
Coelacanthimorpha - Coelacanthiformes - Latimeriidae

	Undina sp. Munster 1834	Peyer et al. 2014
unclassified

	Tetrapoda indet. (Jaekel 1911)
	gastric contents
Reptilia - Teleosauridae

	Steneosaurus priscus Bronzati et al. 2012	Peyer et al. 2014
Reptilia - Compsognathidae

	Compsognathus corallestris n. sp. Bidar et al. 1972		1 individual
Reptilia - Pterosauria

	Gallodactylus canjuersensis n. gen., n. sp. Fabre 1976	Fabre 1976	1 individual
	MNHN CNJ-71, partial skeleton
Reptilia - Rhynchocephalia - Sphenodontidae

	Piocormus laticeps n. gen., n. sp. Wagner 1852	Peyer et al. 2014
	Holotype: Fig 42, pl. V; lost, but there is a cast at MNHN (nearly complete skeleton). Additional material from the MNHN.

	Leptosaurus pulchellus (Zittel 1887)	Fabre 1981	2 specimens
	MNHN CNJ 72, nearly complete skeleton; Private collection specimen, anterior skeleton
Reptilia - Homoeosauridae

	Homoeosaurus aff. solnhofensis Cocude-Michel 1963	Fabre 1973	1 individual
	= Homoeosaurus maximiliani von Meyer 1847	Peyer et al. 2014
	Collection Ghirardi, Vidauban: partial skeleton
Reptilia - Pleurosauridae

	Pleurosaurus ginsburgi n. sp. Fabre 1974	Fabre 1974	2 specimens
	Holotype (part and counterp.): "Pleurosaurus cf. goldfussi L. Ginsburg and G. Mennessier 1970" (MNHN specimen)

	Pleurosaurus goldfussi von Meyer 1831	Peyer et al. 2014
Reptilia - Plesiochelyidae

	Plesiochelyidae indet. Rütimeyer 1873	De Broin 1994	1 specimen
	CNJ 76, juvenile skeleton, "Aff. SOLNHOFIA sp." in Fabre et al. 1982.
Reptilia

	Eurysternum sp. Meyer 1839	De Broin 1994	1 specimen
	CNJ 77, carapace and skull

	Solnhofia sp. Gaffney 1975	De Broin 1994	1 specimen
	CNJ 82, disarticulated carapace and skull
Echinoidea - Hemicidaridae

	Hessotiara florescens	Peyer et al. 2014

	Hemicidaris crenularis	Peyer et al. 2014
Echinoidea - Phymosomatidae

	Pleurodiadema stutzi	Peyer et al. 2014
Echinoidea - Salenioida - Acrosaleniidae

	Pseudosalenia aspera	Peyer et al. 2014
Echinoidea - Pseudodiadematidae

	Acrocidaris nobilis	Peyer et al. 2014
Echinoidea - Arbacioida - Arbaciidae

	Acropeltis aequituberculata	Peyer et al. 2014

	Magnosia nodulosa	Peyer et al. 2014
Echinoidea - Cidaroida

	Plegiocidaris marginata	Peyer et al. 2014
Echinoidea - Cidaroida - Rhabdocidaridae

	Rhabdocidaris nobilis	Peyer et al. 2014
Echinoidea - Cidaroida - Diplocidaridae

	Diplocidaris gigantea (Agassiz 1840)	Peyer et al. 2014
Asteroidea - Paxillosida - Astropectinidae

	Pentasteria sp. Valette 1929	Peyer et al. 2014
Ophiuroidea

	Ophiurella aff. speciosa (Goldfuss 1833)	Peyer et al. 2014
Ophiuroidea - Amphilepidida - Amphiuridae

	Amphiuridae indet. Ljungman 1867	Peyer et al. 2014
Ophiuroidea - Ophiurida - Aplocomidae

	Geocoma aff. carinata (Goldfuss 1833)	Peyer et al. 2014

	Geocoma canjuersensis Roman et al. 1993	Peyer et al. 2014
Crinoidea - Roveacrinida - Saccocomidae

	Saccocoma tenella (Goldfuss 1831)	Peyer et al. 2014
Crinoidea - Comatulida - Pterocomidae

	Comaturella pinnata	Peyer et al. 2014
unclassified

	Kouphichnium lithographicum (Oppel 1862)	Peyer et al. 2014
see common names

Geography

Country:	France	State/province:	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur	County:	Var
Coordinates:	43.7° North, 6.4° East (view map)
Paleocoordinates:	26.4° North, 21.2° East (Wright 2013)
Basis of coordinate:	estimated from map
Altitude:	907 meters
Geographic resolution:	outcrop

Time

Period:	Jurassic	Epoch:	Late Jurassic
Stage:	Tithonian	10 m.y. bin:	Jurassic 6
Key time interval:	Early Tithonian	Ammonoid zone:	mucronatum
Age range of interval:	149.2 - 145.06 m.y. ago

Stratigraphy

Stratigraphic resolution:	group of beds
Stratigraphy comments: unnamed limestone bed, "Portlandian", mucronatum ammonite zone

Lithology and environment

Primary lithology:	very fine lime mudstone
Secondary lithology:	very fine,fine carbonaceous mudstone
Includes fossils?	Y
Includes fossils?	Y
Lithology description: "very regularly layered lithographic limestone"; "homogenous…no coarse grains, joint or vesicles are present. They exhibit conchoidal fractures and sharp edges, and are smooth to the touch." Each bed has three layers: "a basal lamina…composed of a very pure, fine microbe…an intermediate normal-graded mudstone level…with grain size decreasing from fine-grained carbonate mudstone at the base to very fine-grained carbonate mudstone at the top…a new lamina…of fine micrite carbonate similar to the basal lamina."
Environment:	lagoonal
Geology comments: "deposited in an environment of very weak hydrodynamics...an atoll lagoon, at the heart of a reef zone"; "an obrutionary stagnation deposit"

Taphonomy

Modes of preservation:	body,adpression
Lagerst�tten type:	conservation
Size of fossils:	macrofossils
Spatial orientation:	life position
Preservation of anatomical detail:	good
Articulated whole bodies:	all
Fragmentation:	none
Encrustation:	none
Temporal resolution:	snapshot
Spatial resolution:	parautochthonous

Collection methods and comments

Collection methods:	salvage,selective quarrying,surface (in situ),mechanical,field collection,survey of museum collection
Reason for describing collection:	taxonomic analysis
Museum repositories:	MNHN
Collectors:	Ghirardi family, MNHN crews	Collection dates:	1960s–1970s, 1983–1993, 2010–2011

Metadata

Also known as:	C. corallestris type site
Database number:	35262
Authorizer:	M. Carrano, R. Benson, R. Butler	Enterer:	M. Carrano, R. Butler, R. Benson
Modifier:	M. Carrano	Research group:	vertebrate
Created:	2003-11-21 07:48:22	Last modified:	2025-02-22 15:12:02
Access level:	the public	Released:	2003-11-21 07:48:22
Creative Commons license:	CC0

Reference information

Primary reference:

9478.

A. Bidar, L. Demay, and G. Thomel. 1972. Compsognathus corallestris, nouvelle espèce de dinosaurien théropode du Portlandien de Canjuers (sud-est de la France). Annales du Musée d'Histoire Naturelle de Nice 1(1):1-34 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano/M. Carrano]

Secondary references:

63563		A. Behrens. 1973. Fossils in danger. The Geographical Magazine 45(12):898-899 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
63564		A. Behrens. 1976. A dwarf dinosaur. The Geographical Magazine 48(9):531 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
9483		A. Bidar, L. Demay, and G. Thomel. 1972. Sur la présence du Dinosaurien Compsognathus dans le Portlandien de Canjuers (Var). Comptes Rendus de l'Academie des Sciences, Paris, Série D 275:2327-2329 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
45554		E. Buffetaut, G. Cuny, and J. Le Loeuff. 1991. French dinosaurs: the best record in Europe?. Modern Geology 16:17-42 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
60341		P. J. Currie and K. Padian. 1997. Institute de Paléontologie, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris. In P. J. Currie & K. Padian (ed.), Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs 368-369 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
44046		F. De Broin. 1994. Données préliminaires sur les chéloniens du Tithonien Inférieur des calcaires lithographiques de Canjeurs (Var, France). Geobios 16:167-175 [R. Benson/R. Benson]
34141	ETE	J. Fabre. 1973. Un squelette d'Homoeosaurus aff. solnhofensis (Rhynchocephalia) du Portlandian du Petit Plan de Canjuers (Var) [A skeleton of Homoeosaurus aff. solnhofensis (Rhynchocephalia) from the Portlandian of the Petit Plan de Canjuers (Var)]. Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences à Paris, Série D 276:1139-1142 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
57879		J. Fabre. 1974. Un squelette de Pleurosaurus ginsburgi nov. sp. (Rhynchocephalia) du Portlandien du Petit Plan de Canjuers (Var). Comptes Rendus des Seances de L'Academie des Sciences, Serie D 278(19):2417-2420 [P. Barrett/T. Cleary]
57877		J. Fabre. 1981. Les rhynchocephales et les pterosauriens a crete parietale du Kimeridgien superieur-Berriasien d'Europe occidentale: le gisement de Canjuers (Var-France) et ses abords. 1-188 [P. Barrett/T. Cleary]
32158		J. A. Fabre. 1976. Un nouveau Pterodactylidae du Gisement de Canjuers (Var): Gallodactylus canjuerensis, nov. gen., nov. sp. Annales de Paléontologie (Vertébrés) 62:35-70 [R. Butler/R. Butler]
19484	ETE	K. Peyer. 2006. A reconsideration of Compsognathus from the upper Tithonian of Canjuers, southeastern France. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 26(4):879-896 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
53639		K. Peyer, S. Charbonnier, R. Allain Läng and R. Vacant. 2014. A new look at the Late Jurassic Canjuers conservation Lagerstätte (Tithonian, Var, France). Comptes Rendus Palevol 13(5):403-420 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]