Publikationer

Abstract: The fauna preserved in decalcified sandstones of the Sæterdal Formation (Cambrian Stage 4) of southern Peary Land, North Greenland (Laurentia) is dominated by the trilobites Kootenia marcoui and Bonnia brennus, which also occur in the equivalent dark carbonates and mudstones of the Henson Gletscher Formation to the west. They are associated with Olenellus and small ptychoparioid trilobites. Brachiopods compared to Nisusia ancauchensis, originally described from the Precordillera terrane in Argentina, show variation in shell morphology and the form of the pseudodeltidium. They occur together with Kutorgina cf. cingulata, which is conspicuous in the overlying Paralledal Formation, rare Matutella sp. and an indeterminate hyolithid.

Keywords: Trilobites, brachiopods, Cambrian Stage 4, North Greenland, Laurentia.

Address: John S. Peel, [john [dot] peel [at] pal [dot] uu [dot] se], Department of Earth Sciences (Palaeobiology), Uppsala University, Villavägen 16, SE–75236 Uppsala, Sweden.

Abstract: A well-defined monospecific cluster of the brachiopod Magas chitoniformis (von Schlotheim, 1813) was found in uppermost Maastrichtian chalk at Stevns Klint, Denmark. It comprises a sheet-like accumulation of 53 well-preserved adult specimens with an average length of 7.0 mm. The stratigraphical level is the ‘Sponge Bed’ named so by fossil collectors because of the wealth of imprints or skeletal elements of large sponges, commonly showing 3D-preservation. The unimodal size-frequency distribution of the brachiopod shells indicate that they represent a single successful spatfall most likely on a soft-bodied sponge. There are no signs of transport or winnowing of the chalk and the cluster is interpreted as formed by instantaneous burial of the sponge and its epifauna by a chalk ooze debris flow. The triggering mechanism was probably a major earthquake caused by movement on a nearby syndepositional fault. Another cluster dominated by Magas chitoniformis was found in the Nørre Flødal quarry in northern Jylland in an upper Maastrichtian chalk rich in imprints after sponges. A similar burial mechanism is envisaged based the position of the locality in the tectonically very active Sorgenfrei-Tornquist Zone. The clusters are excellent examples on brachiopod attachments to a soft-bodied organism, which has left no direct trace in the sediment.

Keywords: Terebratulida, Cretaceous, Stevns Klint, epifauna.

Address: Finn Surlyk [finns [at] ign [dot] ku [dot] dk]Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 10, 1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark.

Abstract: Bony fishes are among the best represented macrofossils from the earliest Eocene Fur Formation of Denmark. However, until now, otoliths from this formation have never been reported. Here we describe the first otolith from the Fur Formation, which was found isolated in a carbonate concretion. The specimen exhibits the typical features of an argentinoid otolith. To date, only a single argentiniform species, based on skeletal remains, has been documented from the Fur Formation – Surlykus longigracilis Schrøder & Carnevale, 2023 – which also represents the most abundant teleost species. Therefore, we refer the isolated otolith to Surlykus longigracilis. The discovery of this otolith offers the opportunity to review the many argentiniform otolith-based taxa known from the Paleocene of Denmark. One species is now also placed within the genus Surlykus – S. procerus (Schwarzhans, 2003) and another argentiniform otolith-based taxon from the Paleocene of Denmark is described – Pseudonansenia hauniensis n. gen., n. sp.

Keywords: north-western Limfjord area, Ypresian, carbonate concretion, Argentiniformes, Surlykus longigracilis.

Address: Ane Elise Schrøder [aes [at] ign [dot] ku [dot] dk], Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 10, 1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark; also Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Valperga Caluso 35, I-10125 Torino, Italy [aneelise [dot] schroder [at] unito [dot] it]. https://orcid. org/0000-0001-9371-400X. Giorgio Carnevale [giorgio [dot] carnevale [at] unito [dot] it], Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Valperga Caluso 35, I-10125 Torino, Italy http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3433-4127. Werner Schwarzhans [wwschwarz@ aol.com], Ahrensburger Weg 103, D-22359 Hamburg, Germany; also Natural History Museum of Denmark, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark. http:// orcid.org/0000-0003-4842-7989.

Abstract: The early Eocene Fur and Ølst formations are globally renowned for their exceptionally well-preserved ichthyofaunas. Until now, only one lampridiform genus and species, Palæocentrotus böggildi, has been described from these, exclusively known from the Fur Formation. Here, we describe a new genus and species of lampridiform fish, Iratusichthys ulrikii gen. et sp. nov. from the earliest Eocene Ølst Formation. The single available specimen consists of moderately well-preserved and largely incomplete articulated skeletal remains, lacking most of the axial skeleton. It exhibits a unique set of morphological features that support its recognition as a new lampridiform genus, including a deep anterior concavity of the ethmoid region, orbitosphenoid lacking a ventral keel, presence of tiny, conical teeth in the lower and upper jaws, beryciform foramen piercing the anterior ceratohyal, unique predorsal formula (/0/0/?+1/1/), and absence of parapophyses. Moreover, these characters, especially the presence of tiny conical teeth in the lower and upper jaws might suggest that it should be regarded as a putative stem-lampridiform. However, additional comparative information would be necessary to properly define its phylogenetic position within the lampridiform fishes.

Keywords: Lampridiformes, Ypresian, Eocene, Lampridomorpha, stem-lampridiform.

Address: Ane Elise Schrøder [aes [at] ign [dot] ku [dot] dk], Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 10, 1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark; also Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Valperga Caluso 35, I-10125 Torino, Italy. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9371-400X. Giorgio Carnevale [giorgio [dot] carnevale [at] unito [dot] it], Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Valperga Caluso 35, I-10125 Torino, Italy http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3433-4127.

Abstract: A rich brachiopod fauna from the Maastrichtian chalk of Denmark is obtained from washed bulk samples from 42 localities. Two of these may, however, show uppermost Campanian chalk. A total of 44 species are recognized, represented by more than 35,000 specimens, most of them being micromorphic, millimetre-sized forms. The species are described with emphasis on their ontogenetic evolution. Their stratigraphic distribution allows recognition of 12 zones in the uppermost Campanian – Maastrichtian of the North European chalk, based on lowest and/or highest occurrence of selected species. The zonation has been applied in contemporaneous chalks of Denmark, southern Sweden, Poland, northern Germany, Belgium and eastern England.

Keywords: Brachiopoda, Maastrichtian, chalk, Denmark, taxonomy, biostratigraphy.

Address: Finn Surlyk [finns [at] ign [dot] ku [dot] dk] Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, Øster Voldgade 10, 1350 København K, Denmark.

Abstract: In Late Cretaceous and earliest Paleocene gastropod assemblages from Denmark, north-east Belgium and the south-east Netherlands, originating from white chalk and biocalcarenitic facies alike, xenophorids or ‘carrier shells’ constitute merely a minor component. The main interest of these marine gastropods lies in the fact that they attach foreign objects, such as bivalve shells, serpulid worm tubes, bryozoans, fragments of echinoid tests and spines, as well as gastropod shells to their conchs. The first specimens of xenophorid shells, with attached foreign objects, from the lower upper Maastrichtian white chalk of Hillerslev (Jylland) are here presented, assigned to Xenophora nilssoni for the time being and compared with coeval and younger material from Belgium and the Netherlands. It appears that more than one species is represented in the latter lot, but this requires more detailed assessment of larger populations. Xenophora nilssoni is here recorded to range from the lower Campanian to upper Maastrichtian in the Netherlands-Belgium border region, while Xenophora sp. 1 refers to a population from the Meerssen Member, subunit IVf-7 (lowermost Paleocene) in southern Limburg, the Netherlands. Wherever possible, attached foreign objects are identified to genus and/or species.

Keywords: Gastropoda, Stromboidea, Xenophoridae, carrier shells, attachments, taxonomy, palaeoecology.

Address: Kai Ingemann Schnetler [ingemann [at] schnetler [dot] dk], Fuglebakken 14, Stevnstrup, DK-8870 Langå, Denmark. John W.M. Jagt [john [dot] jagt [at] maastricht [dot] nl], Natuurhistorisch Museum Maastricht, De Bosquetplein 6–7, NL-6211 KJ Maastricht, the Netherlands. Paul H.M. Van Knippenberg [pavak [at] home [dot] nl], Gelrestraat 10, NL-5995 XH Kessel, the Netherlands. Henrik Madsen [henrik [dot] madsen [at] museummors [dot] dk], Fossil and Mo-clay Museum, Museum Mors, Skarrehagevej 8, DK-7900, Nykøbing Mors, Denmark. Jan Audun Rasmussen [jan [dot] rasmussen [at] museummors [dot] dk], Fossil and Mo-clay Museum, Museum Mors, Skarrehagevej 8, DK7900 Nykøbing Mors, Denmark.

Abstract: We report the first record of a brachiopod boring from the Santonian Bavnodde Green sand Formation on the south coast of the island Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. The minute, but highly characteristic boring is referred to the ichnospecies Podichnus centrifugalis Bromley & Surlyk, 1973. It occurs on a small, belemnite guard tentatively identified as Goniocamax lundgreni lundgreni (Stolley). The boring is composed of a number of small pits each formed by etching of one of the brachiopod pedicle rootlets or filaments. The pits are arranged in a small highly characteristic circle and their size increase gradually away from the centre of the circle. The Bavnodde Greensand contains a rich fauna, including five brachiopod species. ‘Terebratula ciplyensis‘ von Hanstein is interpreted as the most likely originator of the described specimen of Podichnus centrifugalis.

Keywords: Podichnus centrifugalis, Upper Cretaceous, pedicle trace, brachiopods, Bornholm, Denmark.

Address: Finn Surlyk [finns [at] ign [dot] ku [dot] dk], Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen. Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark. Jesper Milàn [jesperm [at] oesm [dot] dk], Kalk/Østsjællands Museer, Østervej 2, DK-4640 Faxe, Denmark. Marianne Falbe Nattestad [mfnattestad [at] gmail [dot] com], Mulebyvej 43, 3700 Rønne, Denmark.

Abstract: The serpulid tubeworm genus Pentaditrupa is characterized by its gently curved tube with pentagonal cross-section, formed by five longitudinal edges or keels. Unlike most serpulid genera and unlike Jurassic species of Pentaditrupa, Cretaceous and Paleocene species of Pentaditrupa are never found attached to solid substrates, but instead inhabited soft-bottom environments of fine-grained seafloors that later lithified into chalk, limestone, or marlstone. A new species, Pentaditrupa nickcavei sp. nov., is described from the lower part of the Kerteminde Marl Formation (Selandian, middle Paleocene) of the Gundstrup gravel pit, Fyn, Denmark. This species represents the first record of the genus Pentaditrupa from the Selandian, thus extending the stratigraphic range of this genus and its temporal overlap with its presumed descendant Ditrupa by several hundred thousand years. Previously, the youngest known Pentaditrupa tubes were dated to the late Danian (early Paleocene). Moreover, comparative studies on the microstructure of an early Danian tube from Holtug quarry, Sjælland, Denmark, resulted in “revival” of the species Pentaditrupa interjuncta (Jessen & Ødum, 1923), originally introduced for early Danian tubes from Voxlev, Jylland, Denmark, but since decades considered a junior synonym of Late Cretaceous Pentaditrupa subtorquata (Münster in Goldfuss, 1831). While in the outer aspect the tubes of Cretaceous P. subtorquata and Danian P. interjuncta are in distinguishable, there are small but distinct differences in microstructure. The early Selandian P. nickcavei differs from both of these geologically older species by its larger maximal tube diameter, sharper longitudinal edges or keels, and by details in microstructure.
We also document new occurrences of the serpulid Neovermilia gundstrupensis Kočí, Milàn & Jäger, 2023 in the Gundstrup gravel pit. Neovermilia and Pentaditrupa were characteristic faunal elements already in the Late Cretaceous and Danian limestones. Their presence in the Kerteminde Marl Formation somewhat mitigates the otherwise significant faunal turnover observed between the Danian and the Selandian. Finally, we report the first occurrence of the slit worm-snail Tenagodus from the Kerteminde Marl and discuss its paleoecological interactions with associated mesofauna.

Keywords: Serpulids, Paleocene, Selandian, Kerteminde Marl, Gundstrup gravel pit.

Address: Tomáš Kočí [protula [at] seznam [dot] cz] Ivančická 581, Prague 9 – Letňany, 19900, Czech Republic, and Paleontological Department of Natural History Museum, National Museum at Prague, Cirkusová 1740, 193 00 Prague 9 Horní Počernice, Czech Republic, and Institute for Palaeobiology and Evolution, Novi trg 59, 1241 Kamnik, Slovenia. Jesper Milàn [jesperm [at] oesm [dot] dk], KALK/Museums of
East Zealand, Østervej 2, 4640 Faxe, Denmark. Sten L. Jakobsen [slj [at] oesm [dot] dk], KALK/Museums of East Zealand, Østervej 2, 4640 Faxe, Denmark. Kai Ingemann Schnetler [ingemann [at] schnetler [dot] dk], Fuglebakken 14, Stevnstrup, 8870 Langå, Denmark. Manfred Jäger [langstein [dot] jaeger [at] web [dot] de], Lindenstrasse 53, 72348 Rosenfeld, Germany. Lenka Váchová [lenka [dot] vachova [at] nm [dot] cz], Paleontological Department of Natural History Museum, National Museum at Prague, Cirkusová 1740, 193 00 Prague 9 Horní Počernice, Czech Republic. Martina Kočová Veselská [veselskamartina [at] gmail [dot] com], Institute for Palaeobiology and Evolution, Novi trg 59, 1241 Kamnik, Slovenia, and [kocovam [at] gli [dot] cas [dot] cz] Institute of Geology, the Czech Academy of Sciences, v.v.i., Rozvojová 269, 165 00 Prague 6, Czech Republic.

Abstract: The Early Triassic (Olenekian) Bunter Sandstone Formation represents a major prospective reservoir for CO2 storage in southern Denmark especially in the four-way dip structure in the Rødby area (Lolland, southern Denmark), and is expected to play animportant role for reaching climate targets. The Bunter Sandstone Formation in southern Denmark formed along the northern margin of the North German Basin and is composed of terrestrial sediments and subdivided into the Volpriehausen, Detfurth and Solling members. Each member has a basal sandstone unit overlain by a mudstone unit. The sandstone units form potential reservoirs in the formation. Their thickness and composition, however, vary somewhat along the basin margin from west to east in southern Denmark. In this paper focus is on the 256 m thick Bunter Sandstone Formation in the Rødby-1 well on Lolland. Visual analysis of the gamma ray records from wireline logging of the sedimentary succession in the Rødby-1 well indicates the presence of a composite cyclicity both in sandstone and mudstone units. Spectral analysis finds identical, significant cycles both in mudstone-rich and sandstone-rich units; in mudstone-rich units cycles have the following thicknesses: 62, 16, 7.5, 5.8, 4.4, 3.6, 3.0, 2.6, and 2.3 m. Assuming that these sedimentary cycles record astronomical climate control on sedimentation and the 62 m cycle records the 405,000 years eccentricity cycle, then the remaining cycles represent the following periods: 104,500; 49,000; 38,000; 28,500; 23,500; 19,500; 17,000; and 15,000 years. Thus both a 100,000 years eccentricity as well as precession cyclicity with periods between 15,000 and 23,500 years can be identified. More surprising also a likely obliquity signal seems to be present as given by cycles with periods of 28,500, 38,000 and 49,000 years. In Rødby-1, the sandstone units vary in thickness between 23 and 29 m. The new cyclostratigraphy indicates that deposition of the sandstone units took place during the arid parts of a 405,000 years eccentricity cycle, when the central playa lake had its minimum extension. Mudstones units formed during the humid parts of these climate cycles when the central playa lake expanded in size. Internal lithological variation and thereby reservoir properties (sandstone-mudstone ratio) in the sandstone units are related to 100,000 years eccentricity variation in climate as well as to obliquity and precession variation. There is very limited core evidence on facies characteristics in the Rødby-1 well, but comparison with core data from the Tønder area in southern Jutland suggests that the sandstone unit in the Volpriehausen Member is composed of alternating aeolian and ephemeral river deposits with facies change mainly related to climate variation. A similar sedimentary facies pattern is probably also characterizing the sandstone unit of the Detfurth Member. In the Solling Member only fluvial facies are present, and it is suggested that the lithological variation primarily reflects climatic induced variation in fluvial style and transport capacity. Mudstones units that separate the sandstone units are interpreted to have formed on sabkhas and in large playa lakes.

Keywords: Bunter Sandstone Formation, Rødby area, reservoir sandstones, cyclostratigraphy, palaeolandscapes.

Address: Lars B. Clemmensen (larsc [at] ign [dot] ku [dot] dk), Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 10, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark; Malte Mau (malte-mau [at] hotmail [dot] com), Rambøll, Olof Palmes Allé 22, 8200 Aarhus N, Denmark. Ken Wesnæs, CarbonCuts. Lyngbyvej 2, Vibenshuset, 2100 København Ø, Denmark.

Abstract: Plesiosaurs were an extremely successful, globally distributed group that thrived from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous Period. The Early/Middle Jurassic faunal turnover greatly affected plesiosaur evolution, although it remains poorly understood, partly due to the scarcity of plesiosaur fossils from the Pliensbachian age (192.0–184.2 Ma). This paper describes five fossil plesiosaur skeletal elements found in the Pliensbachian aged Hasle Formation on the Danish island of Bornholm. The five specimens are isolated remains, including a tooth, spinal fragments, a rib and a propodial. The tooth can be assigned to Pliosauridae indet. due to its robust form and ornamentation, and the spinal fragments to Plesiosauria indet. The neural spine is detached and could therefore either be from an osteologically immature individual or show signs of paedomorphism. Lastly, but most importantly, an osteologically immature propodial is described. It is the first of its kind found in Denmark.

Keywords: Plesiosaur, marine reptile, juvenile, Pliensbachian, Denmark, Hasle.

Address: Zoe C. Kinzella (zokin20 [at] student [dot] sdu [dot] dk), University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M, Denmark. Laura J. Cotton (laura [dot] cotton [at] snm [dot] ku [dot] dk), Natural History Museum Denmark, Gothersgade 130, 1123 Copenhagen K, Denmark. Lene L. Delsett (l [dot] l [dot] delsett [at] nhm [dot] uio [dot] no), Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Sars’ gate 1, 0562 Oslo, Norway.