The Turritellenplatte of Ermingen ("Erminger Turritellenplatte" near Ulm, Germany) is a type of very rich, fossil-bearing rock which is of particular interest to geologists and paleontologists. It occurs in a very restricted outcrop and is protected in its entirety as a natural monument.
This outcrop of these marine sedimentary rocks is situated in the northern part of the North Alpine Foreland Basin (NAFB) and it is famous for a superabundance of shells of the sea snail Turritella turris, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Turritellidae. The fauna of this gastropod-rich sandstone reflects mainly near-coastal and shallow marine conditions. Petrographical and palaeontological data allow a correlation of the Turritellenplatte of Ermingen with Burdigalian (Lower Miocene). The Sr-isotope composition of shark teeth in the deposit suggests an age of about 18.5 million years for the Turritellenplatte of Ermingen.
References
- Johannes Baier: Die Geologie des Ulmer Raums - Documenta Naturae, 173, 1-44; München, 2009. ISBN 978-3-86544-173-7
- Johannes Baier: Über die Tertiärbildungen im Ulmer Raum - Documenta Naturae, 168, 1-32; München, 2008. ISBN 978-3-86544-168-3
- Johannes Baier, Karl-Heinz Schmitt & Rudi Mick: Notizen zur untermiozänen Hai- und Rochenfauna der Erminger Turritellenplatte (Mittlere Schwäbische Alb, SW-Deutschland). - Jahresbericht Mitt. oberrhein. geol. Ver., N.F. 86, 361-371; Stuttgart, 2004 ISSN 0078-2947 (Abstract Archived 2011-02-15 at the Wayback Machine)
- Johannes Baier: Ein Beitrag zur Erminger Turritellenplatte (Mittlere Schwäbische Alb, SW-Deutschland). - Jahresbericht Mitt. oberrhein. geol. Ver., N.F. 90, 9-17; Stuttgart, 2008. ISSN 0078-2947 (Abstract)
48°23′20″N 9°53′35″E / 48.389°N 9.893°E / 48.389; 9.893
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