Microvertebrates from the Rhaetian basal bone bed of Saltford, near Bath, SW England. Issue 2 (April 2021)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- Microvertebrates from the Rhaetian basal bone bed of Saltford, near Bath, SW England. Issue 2 (April 2021)
- Main Title:
- Microvertebrates from the Rhaetian basal bone bed of Saltford, near Bath, SW England
- Authors:
- Moreau, Matthieu
Duffin, Christopher J.
Hildebrandt, Claudia
Hutchinson, Deborah
Parker, Adam
Carpenter, Simon
Benton, Michael J. - Abstract:
- Abstract: The famous Rhaetian bone bed (Late Triassic, 205 Ma) is well known because it marks a major switch in depositional environment from terrestrial red beds to fully marine conditions throughout the UK and much of Europe. The bone bed is generally cemented and less than 10 cm thick. However, we report here an unusual case from Saltford, near Bath, S.W. England where the bone bed is unconsolidated and up to nearly 1 m thick. The exposure of the basal beds of the Westbury Formation, Penarth Group includes a bone bed containing a diverse Rhaetian marine microvertebrate fauna dominated by sharks, actinopterygian fishes and reptiles. Despite the unusual sedimentary character of the bone bed, we find similar proportions of taxa as in other basal Rhaetian bone beds (55–59 % Lissodus teeth, 13–16 % Rhomphaiodon teeth, 12–14 % Severnichthys teeth, 6–9% Gyrolepis teeth, 3–4% undetermined sharks' teeth, 1–3% undetermined bony fish teeth, and < 1% of each of Hybodus, Parascylloides, and Sargodon ), the only differences being in the proportions of Rhomphaiodon teeth, which can represent 30–40 % of specimens elsewhere. This suggests that taphonomic bias of varying Rhaetian bone beds may be comparable despite different sedimentary settings, and that the proportions of taxa say something about their original proportions in the ecosystem.
- Is Part Of:
- Proceedings of the Geologists' Association. Volume 132:Issue 2(2021)
- Journal:
- Proceedings of the Geologists' Association
- Issue:
- Volume 132:Issue 2(2021)
- Issue Display:
- Volume 132, Issue 2 (2021)
- Year:
- 2021
- Volume:
- 132
- Issue:
- 2
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2021-0132-0002-0000
- Page Start:
- 174
- Page End:
- 187
- Publication Date:
- 2021-04
- Subjects:
- Chondrichthyes -- Osteichthyes -- Ichthyosauria -- Bristol -- Rhaetian -- Rhaetian bone bed -- Penarth Group -- Westbury Formation
Geology -- Periodicals
550 - Journal URLs:
- http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00167878 ↗
http://www.elsevier.com/journals ↗ - DOI:
- 10.1016/j.pgeola.2020.11.003 ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 0016-7878
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library DSC - 6704.000000
British Library DSC - BLDSS-3PM
British Library HMNTS - ELD Digital store - Ingest File:
- 16114.xml