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Earth Science Frontiers, Vol. 17, Special Issue, Aug. 2010 ISSN 1005-2321 Quantitative Taphonomic Patterns of the Wattendorf Plattenkalk (upper Kimmeridgian, Southern Germany) 280 P. Chellouche 1 , F.T. Fürsich 1 , M. Mäuser 2 , M. Hethke 1 1. GeoZentrum Nordbayern, Fachgruppe Paläoumwelt, Erlangen University Loewenichstr. 28, D–91054 Erlangen, Germany (E-mail: patrick.chellouche@gzn.uni-erlangen.de) 2. Naturkundemuseum Bamberg, Fleischstr. 2, D-96047 Bamberg, Germany Conservation lagerstätten such as plattenkalks, laminated limestones and stratified lacustrine silica- clastics with their characteristically exceptional fossil preservation offer a unique view of former com- munities. Analysis of exceptionally preserved fossils from laminated lagerstätten started shortly after the discovery of such lagerstätten. So far, however, most attention was paid to taxonomic, sedimentological and palaeoenvironmental aspects. Taphonomic studies were mainly limited to quail- tative analyses of fossil assemblages or to particularly famous single specimens such as Archaeopteryx or Juravenator. This is the more striking, because quantitative taphonomic data can provide us not only with a new way of understanding the formation of individual conservation lagerstätten and the exceptional preservation of their fauna and flora, but also offer tools for comparing similar modes of preservation and fossilisa- tion in laminated sediments with different sedimentological and palaeoenvironmental background. For this purpose one needs hierarchically arranged, comparable taphonomic patterns related to similar genetic processes. The upper Kimmeridgian Watten- dorf Plattenkalk, the oldest of the Solnhofen-type plattenkalks of southern Germany, allows such investi- gations because with an average thickness of 20 cm every bedding plane along which the laminated rocks split has been equally thoroughly searched for fossils. Moreover, despite the small thickness of these platen- kalks, they contain an unusually high number of fossils, many exhibiting the exceptional preservation of fishes, reptiles, cephalopods and arthropods commonly known also from other plattenkalk deposits (Fürsich et al., 2007; Mäuser, 2008). For establishing the basis for a quantitative taphonomic analysis of the Wattendorf lagerstätte, a number of different taphofacies was established with the help of a euclidean cluster analysis using Ward’s method. For this, taphonomic features of the most abundant group of fishes, primarily of the genus Tharsis, were recorded, which provide information on the quality of preservation. Percentages of the occur- rence of these features per layer were determined and clustered into groups of similar patterns. Fishes were chosen because they were collected quantitatively during six phases of excavations and they occur scattered throughout all layers of the plattenkalk. Furthermore, fishes exhibit a relatively high number of taphonomically quantifiable features, both with respect to hard parts and soft tissues. In the preliminary cluster analysis presented herein, taphonomic features utilized were bending of the spinal column, dissociation of articulated extre- mities from the trunk and overall skeletal articulation. Four different taphofacies, representing various combinations of these preservational features could be identified. Taphofacies A consists of only a small number of complete specimens with their heads and caudal fins. Half of the complete specimens are slightly bent. There is a very high amount of separate heads and of all the fish remnants over 90% are articulated. In taphofacies B, one third of all specimens are complete. Of these, over 90% are slightly bent. The rest of the individuals have a straight spinal column. There is an equal amount (ca. 20%) of separate heads and caudal fins which corresponds well with headless and/or tailless specimens. Approximately, 15% of the fishes are disarticulated. In taphofacies C, over 50% of the fish specimens are complete with heads and caudal fins. Three thirds of these are strongly bent. The amount of separate caudal fins matches well with individuals missing their tails but there are five times more separate heads than headless fish. Three thirds of the specimens are articulated. Taphofacies D is represented by only a small number of complete specimens. A relatively high amount of individuals has a broken spinal column (over 50% of measurable specimens). Although the amount of separate caudal fins and tailless fish correspond well, there are 10 times more separate heads than specimens lacking their head. Nearly 90% of the specimens in this taphofacies are disarticulated, 54% of these strongly. In future analyses it will have to be established, whether these taphofacies, deduced by means of fish taphonomy can also be reproduced by the taphonomic analysis of other taxonomic groups (such as molluscs and echinoderms). A next possible step would then be to use the quantitative data of cosmopolitan taxa from Wattendorf, and compare them with similar occur- rences in other plattenkalks and laminated sediments in order to establish general taphonomic models for these biota.
Earth Science Frontiers, Vol. 17, Special Issue, Aug. 2010 ISSN 1005-2321 Key words: Jurassic; Taphonomy; Plattenkalk; Wattendorf References: Fürsich F.T., Werner W., Schneider S., et al. Sedimen- tology, taphonomy and palaeoecology of a laminated plattenkalk from the Kimmeridgian of the northern Franconian Alb (southern Germany). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoeco- logy, 2007, 243: 92-117. Mäuser M. Frankenland am Jurastrand: Versteinerte Schätze aus der Wattendorfer Lagune. Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil, München, 2008: 19 (in German). 281
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