Sharks, rays and skates (Chondrichthyes, Elasmobranchii) from the Upper Marine Molasse (middle Burdigalian, early Miocene) of the Simssee area (Bavaria, Germany), with comments on palaeogeographic and ecological patterns
- Author(s)
- Jaime A. Villafana, Giuseppe Marrama, Stefanie Klug, Jürgen Pollerspöck, Markus Balsberger, Marcelo Rivadeneira, Jürgen Kriwet
- Abstract
Elasmobranch remains are quite common in Miocene deposits and were the subject of numerous studies since the middle of the nineteenth century. Nevertheless, the taxonomic diversity of the Marine Molasse sharks, rays and skates is still largely unknown. Here, we describe 37 taxa from the lower Miocene of the Molasse Basin: 21 taxa could be identified at species level, whereas 15 taxa could only be assigned to genus and one taxon is left as order incertae sedis. The material was collected from deposits of the Auwiesholz Member of the Achen Formation (middle Burdigalian, middle Ottnangian age, ca. 17.8 Ma) exposed near Simssee, Upper Bavaria. This faunal assemblage is a mixture of shallow marine, near-coastal, pelagic and deep-water taxa. The fauna from Simssee displays different biogeographic dynamics at local and regional scales, possibly related to the intense climatic, oceanographic and tectonic events that occurred during the Eggenburgian–Ottnangian stages. The faunal relationships of the early Miocene chondrichthyan faunas from the Mediterranean Sea and Paratethys with others regions are established on the basis of qualitative (presence/absence) data. The beta diversity (Sørensen–Dice coefficient) of the Miocene Molasse elasmobranchs was used to characterize the taxonomic differentiation between localities and regions. According to our results, the fauna from Simssee shows close similarities with those from Switzerland, Austria, France and northern Germany. Faunal similarities and differences are mainly related to tectonic events and oceanographic variables (i.e. migration through seaway passages) or might represent collecting biases.
- Organisation(s)
- Department of Palaeontology
- External organisation(s)
- Staatl Nat Wissensch Sammlungen Bayerns, Zool Staatssammlung Munchen, University of Vienna, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Universidad Católica del Norte, Universidad Bernardo O'Higgins, University of Turin, Universidad de La Serena, Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Áridas (CEAZA), Vogtsstr. 3
- Journal
- Palaeontologische Zeitschrift
- Volume
- 94
- Pages
- 725-757
- No. of pages
- 33
- ISSN
- 0031-0220
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-020-00518-7
- Publication date
- 06-2020
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 106003 Biodiversity research, 106043 Systematic zoology, 105118 Palaeontology
- Keywords
- ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Palaeontology
- Sustainable Development Goals
- SDG 14 - Life Below Water
- Portal url
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/fac986de-4f65-41f0-a59a-c94401d47e2e