| Süntel Formation | |
| Period: | Kimmeridgian |
| Age: | Kimmeridgian ~ |
| Type: | Geological formation |
| Prilithology: | Limestone |
| Otherlithology: | Sandstone, claystone, marl |
| Subunits: | Sand-Tonkomplex & Unterbank Members |
| Underlies: | Gigas-Schichten & Holzen Formation |
| Overlies: | Korallenoolith Formation |
| Thickness: | Variable, over 60m (200feet) at Langenberg Quarry |
| Coordinates: | 52.3°N 8.8°W |
| Paleocoordinates: | 43.4°N 16.9°W |
| Region: | Nordrhein-Westfalen, Niedersachsen |
| Extent: | Lower Saxony Basin |
| Namedfor: | Süntel |
| Location Ts: | Lower Saxon Hills |
| Region Ts: | Niedersachsen |
The Süntel Formation, previously known as the Kimmeridge Formation (German: "Mittlerer Kimmeridge"; Middle Kimmeridge),[1] is a geological formation in Germany. It is Late Jurassic in age, spanning the early to late Kimmeridgian stage. It predominantly consists of limestone deposited in shallow marine carbonate ramp conditions.[2]
The formation is part of the Lower Saxony Basin that borders the Süntel massif of the Lower Saxon Hills, part of the larger Harz Mountains. The formation is described as alternations of glauconitic marl, limestone and sandstone.[3]
The formation is known for its fossils, with the Langenberg Quarry having provided fossils of numerous vertebrates.
| Dinosaurs of the Süntel Formation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images |
| Europasaurus | E. holgeri | Langenberg Quarry | Bed 83 | Disarticulated remains representing numerous individuals | Sauropod dinosaur | |
| Allosauroidea[4] | Indeterminate | DfMMh/FV1/19, small pedal ungual, cf. DfMMh/FV/343, small pedal phalanx | ||||
| cf. Ceratosauria | DfMMh/FV/776, anterior chevron | |||||
| cf. Megalosauroidea | DfMMh/FV/287, left fibula | |||||
| cf. Tetanurae | DfMMh/FV/105, distal caudal vertebra | |||||
| Theropoda | DfMMh/FV2/19, a small pedal phalanx III-1, DfMMh/FV3/19, proximal part of a small right fibula | |||||
| Theropoda | Hannover: Lindener Berg, Tönniesberg, and Ahlem, Thüste, Marienhagen, Holzen, Kahlberg and Langenberg Quarry | 18 distinct morphotypes of teeth, referred to "Tyrannosauroidea, as well as Allosauroidea, Megalosauroidea cf. Marshosaurus, Megalosauridae cf. Torvosaurus and probably Ceratosauria"[5] | ||||
| Turtles of the Süntel Formation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images |
| Plesiochelys | Indeterminate | Langenberg Quarry | ||||
| cf. Thalassemys | Indeterminate | DFMMh/FV 296, "skull part (articulated quadrate, squamosal, basisphenoid, and pterygoid), a disarticulated 40 cm long partial carapace, plastron, and one cervical vertebra."[6] | ||||
| Eucryptodira | Indeterminate | Bed 73 | Juvenile carapace with disarticulated skull and right forelimb[7] | |||
| Crocodyliformes of the Süntel Formation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images |
| Knoetschkesuchus[10] | K. langenbergensis | Langenberg Quarry | Bed 83 | two partial skeletons and various isolated bones | Atoposaurid | |
| Machimosaurus[11] | M. hugii | |||||
| Steneosaurus | S. brevirostris[12] | Rostrum, jaw and postcranial remains | ||||
| Goniopholis | G. simus | |||||
| Mammaliaforms of the Süntel Formation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images |
| Cimbriodon [13] | C. multituberculatus | Langenberg Quarry | Bed 83 | upper and lower p3,p4 and p5 molars | Paulchoffatiid multituberculate | |
| Teutonodon[14] | T. langenbergensis | NLMH 105650, upper right M1 | Pinheirodontid multituberculate | |||
| Storchodon[15] | S. cingulatus | MH 105654, a right upper molar | A large morganucodont | |||
| Hercynodon[16] | H. germanicus | NLMH 105668, left upper molar, NLMH 105669-70 right upper molars, NLMH 105671 left lower molar | Dryolestid | |||
| Docodon[17] | D. hercynicus | two lower molars | Docodontid | |||
| D. sp | distal fragment of lower molar | Docodontid | ||||
| Paulchoffatiidae | Indeterminate | NLMH 105655, left p4, NLMH 105651; m1 | NLMH 105651 considered an Eobataarid by Martin et al 2016, considered a Paulchoffatiid by Martin et al 2019 | |||
| Dryolestida | Indeterminate | |||||
| Ichnofossils of the Süntel Formation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images |
| Megalosauripus | M. teutonicus | Bruns quarry tracksite | Sand-Tonkomplex Member | |||
| Elephantopoides[18] | E. sp. | |||||
| Strömer quarry tracksite | ||||||
| Grallator (Eubrontes) | Grallator (Eubrontes) sp. | |||||
| Iguanodontipus | ?Iguanodontipus sp. | |||||