Preface

The present volume of Fossilium Catalogus slowly emerged from my work on the stratigraphy of the Valanginian and the Lower Hauterivian and evolved in the database ‘Ammonite’ which was developed over the last ten years. During my work on ammonite stratigraphy I discovered the major diversity of ammonite literature: in many languages, from all parts of the world, often obscure, little known or entirely unknown.

Starting point for my search was the ‘Synopsis des ammonites néocomiennes (Infravalanginien (Berriasien) – Aptien (incl.))’ of SIMIONESCU (1900). In this publication he presents for the Lower Cretaceous (except for the Albian) from 175 sources about 900 species in 41 genera. After a century the amount of names for species and genera has to my estimation increased tenfold.

Intention of this work is to give current and future researchers an overview, as complete as possible, of genera, species and types of Lower Cretaceous ammonites with the corresponding literature. This survey can be important as a tool for the work on the actual problems like the definition of the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary, the definition of the boundaries between (sub)stages of the Lower Cretaceous and the definition of (sub)zones in the Lower Cretaceous.

There are Lower Cretaceous ammonites used as zone marker whose concept is not agreed on by the specialists. Hauterivian zone ammonites are presented without acceptable revision, without lectotype, without proper knowledge of the variety or their stratigraphical range. We find nomina nuda of species that lead their’s own life in literature and are used as markers for stratigraphical units. Geologists copy for decades lapsis calami of ammonite names. Dates of publication of ammonite species are often a source of confusion.

 

Two examples can illustrate the problems that are faced:

- the first zone of the Barremian, the Hugii Zone was introduced by BUSNARDO (1984) and defined by HOEDEMAEKER & BULOT (1990) as the biostratigraphic interval between the first appearance of Taveraidiscus hugii and that Kotetishvilia nicklesi. But the definers had another concept of the T. hugii in mind then the official one. They overlooked the designation of TZANKOV (1935) of a lectotype and overlooked also the publication of AVRAM & KUSKO (1984) in which the designation was clearly indicated. So the boundary of the Hauterivian and Barremian is yet not clearly defined and waits on the revision of Taveraidiscus hugii (HOEDEMAEKER et al., 2003).

- the ammonite Neocomites (Varlheideites) peregrinus RAWSON & KEMPER was promoted to the index of a zone in the Upper Valanginian in the standard ammonite zonation for the Lower Cretaceous Series by HOEDEMAEKER et al. (2003), found for the first time in Germany at one unique place in a quarry and described by RAWSON & KEMPER (1978). This species was after 150 years of research only recently recognized in France in 1989 (AUTRAN) and in 1997 in Spain (KLEIN) in spite of the fact that this species is very abundant in both countries.

So a lot of research has yet to be done to lay the base for a solid Lower Cretaceous ammonite standard zonation for the Mediterranean region. A good example of an approach is given by MARIA AGUIRRE-URRETA and PETER RAWSON (1995-2002) who systematically revise the Lower Cretaceous ammonite fauna from the Neuquén Basin in Argentina, which enables them to set up a solid ammonite zonation for that part of the world.

This systematic approach is also the intention of the IUGS Lower Cretaceous Ammonite Working Group, the ‘KILIAN Group’, part of the IUGS Subcommission on Cretaceous Stratigraphy, a group of specialists from all over the world, which work both individually as collective on these topics.

‘The aims of this group are to construct a standard ammonite zonation for the Lower Cretaceous Series, which is in fact the zonation for the Mediterranean Faunal Province, where all Lower Cretaceous stages except the Albian, were defined; to develop ammonite zonations for other key areas in the Tethyan, Boreal and Austral realms and to calibrate them with the ‘standard”; and to recommendate on the definitions of Lower Cretaceous stage and substage boundaries to the appropriate stage working groups of the 'IUGS Subcommission on Cretaceous Stratigraphy' (HOEDEMAEKER et al., 2003).

In the last part of the Fossilium Catalogus Lower Cretaceous Ammonites a revision will be take on the names of genera and species in ammonite standard works from the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century like D’ORBIGNY, PICTET, BAUMBERGER, UHLIG and VON KOENEN. This part will also conclude with an overview of the stratigraphy of Lower Cretaceous ammonites (specified as refined as possible in stages, zones, subzones or horizons) and with the actual correlation of the ammonite (sub)provinces in the world.

The following groups are in preparation: the Polyptychitidae (Perisphinctaceae 2), the Ancylocerataceae, the Phyllocerataceae, the Lytocerataceae & the Tetragonitaceae, the Haplocerataceae, the Desmoceratacea and the Pulchelliaceae.

Jaap KLEIN, Vinkeveen 2005

 

 

Contents

 

INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................1 ABBREVIATIONS.............................................................................................................1
SUPERFAMILY PERISPHINCTACEAE STEINMANN, 1890......................................2
FAMILY HIMALAYITIDAE SPATH, 1925....................................................................2
FAMILY OLCOSTEPHANIDAE HAUG, 1910.............................................................41
Subfamily SPITICERATINAE SPATH, 1924..................................................................41
Subfamily OLCOSTEPHANINAE HAUG, 1910............................................................71
FAMILY HOLCODISCIDAE SPATH, 1923................................................................122
FAMILY HOLCODISCIDAE GENUS INCERTA .....................................................145
FAMILY NEOCOMITIDAE SALFELD, 1921.............................................................146
Subfamily
SPITIDISCINAE VERMEULEN & THIEULOY, 1999................................................146
Subfamily BERRIASELLINAE SPATH, 1922...............................................................156
Subfamily NEOCOMITINAE SALFELD, 1921............................. ................................231
Subfamily ENDEMOCERATINAE SCHINDEWOLF, 1966.........................................340
FAMILY OOSTERELLIDAE BREISTROFFER, 1940.................................................380 REFERENCES.................................................................................................................386 INDEX................................................................................................................... ......... 441

 

 

Acknowledgements

 

The ideal library for ammonite research does not exist. But the sum of all the European libraries that I have visited and consulted, came close. Hospitality was great and service perfect. Belgium: Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle, Brussels; Katholieke Universiteit Leuven; Université de Liège. France: Société Géologique de France, Paris; L’École des Mines de Paris; Musée d’Histoire Naturelle de Marseille; Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris; Université Claude Bernard, Lyon; Université de Grenoble Joseph Fourier. Germany: Bayerische Ludwigs-Maximilian-Universität, München; Eberhard-Karls-Universität, Tübingen; Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, Münster in W. Hungary: Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum, Budapest. The Netherlands: Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum, Leiden; Teylers Museum, Haarlem; Universiteit van Amsterdam; Universiteit van Leiden; Universiteit van Utrecht; Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam. Poland: Instytut Nauk Geologicznych, Warszawa. Switzerland: Musée Géologique Cantonal, Lausanne. United Kingdom: the Natural History Museum, London. Thanks to (ammonite) specialists all around the world for providing me with their publications: Dr. MARIA BEATRIZ AGUIRRE-URRETA (Universidad de Buenos Aires), Prof. Dr. HECTOR LEANZA (Museo Argentina de Ciencias Naturales, Buenos Aires), Dr. HORACIO PARENT (Universidad Nacional de Rosario), Prof. Dr. ALBERTO RICCARDI (Universidad Nacional de la Plata) and Dr. CARLOS RINALDI (Instituto Antártico Argentina, Buenos Aires) from Argentina; Dr. ROBERT A. HENDERSON (James Cook University, Queensland) and Prof. KENNETH MCNAMARA (Western Australian Museum, Perth) from Australia; Dr. ALEXANDER LUKENEDER (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) and Dr. HERBERT SUMMESBERGER (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) from Austria; Prof. Dr. TODOR NIKOLOV (Bulgarska Akademija Nauk, Sofia) and Dr. KRISTALINA STOYKOVA (Bulgarska Akademija Nauk, Sofia) from Bulgaria; Dr. AMARO MOURGUES (Departamento de Geología Regional, Santiago) from Chile; Dr. YIN JIARUN (China University of Geoscience, Beijing) from China; Prof. Dr. FERNANDO ETAYO-SERNA (Universidad Nacional, Bogotá) from Colombia; Dr. ROBERTO GUTIÉRREZ DOMECH (Instituto de Geología y Paleontologia, La Habana) from Cuba; Prof. Dr. ZDEN?K VAŠÍ?EK (Institute of Geological Engineering, Ostrava) from the Czech Republic; Dr. GÉRARD AUTRAN (Saint Etienne de Tinée), Dr. ERIC BLANC (Cambridge), Dr. LUC BULOT (Université de Provence, Marseille), Dr. BRUNO DAVID (Université de Bourgogne, Dijon), Dr. GÉRARD DELANOY (Université de Nice), Prof. Dr. RAYMOND ENAY (Université Claude Bernard, Lyon), Dr. SERGE FERRY (Université Claude Bernard, Lyon), Dr. DOMINIQUE GAYTE (Montpellier), Dr. BERNARD JOLY (Beaugency), Dr. STÉPHANE REBOULET (Université Claude Bernard, Lyon), Dr. EMMANUEL ROBERT (Université de Toulouse), PIERRE ROPOLO (Marseille), Dr. JEAN-PIERRE THIEULOY (Meylan), Prof. Dr. GÉRARD THOMEL (St. Blaise) and Dr. JEAN VERMEULEN (Barrême) from France; Prof. Dr. HARALD IMMEL (Bayerische Ludwigs-Maximilian Universität München), Dr. EDWIN KEMPER (Springe), Prof. Dr. JÖRG MUTTERLOSE (Ruhr-Universität Bochum), Dr. GÜNTER SCHWEIGERT (Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde, Stuttgart), Dr. MAX WIPPICH (Schüttorf) and Prof. Dr. ARNOLD ZEISS (Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen) from Germany; Dr. ISTVÁN FÖZY (Magyar Térmeszettudományí Múseum, Budapest) and Dr. OTTILIA SZIVES (Budapest) from Hungary; Dr. NASER RAISOSSADAT (Birjand University) from Iran; LUIGI AMBROSI (Museo dei Fossili della Lessinia), ATTILIO BENETTI (Museo dei Fossili della Lessinia), Prof. Dr. FABRIZIO CECCA (Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris), Prof. Dr. IGINIO DIENI (Università di Padova), Dr. GIOVANNI LANDRA (Milano), NICOLA PEZZONI (Museo dei Fossili della Lessinia) and Dr. CARLO SARTI (Università di Bologna) from Italy; Dr. TATSURO MATSUMOTO (Kyushu University, Fukuoka) from Japan; Dr. ABELARDO CANTÚ CHAPA (México City), Dr. CELESTINA GONZÁLEZ-ARREOLA (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México) and Dr. ANNA B. VILLASEÑOR (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México) from Mexico; Dr. MOHSSINE ETTACHFINI (Université Cadi Ayyad, Marrakech) from Morocco; Dr. PHILIP HOEDEMAEKER (Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum, Leiden) from The Netherlands; Dr. ALI NASIR FATMI (Geological Survey, Quetta) from Pakistan; Prof. Dr. JERZY DZIK (Instytut Paleobiologii PAN, Warszawa), Prof. Dr. SYLWESTER MAREK (Pa?stwowy Instytut Geologiczny, Warszawa), Dr. RYSZARD MYCZY?SKI (Instytut Nauk Geologicznych PAN, Warszawa), Dr. IZABELA PLOCH (Pa?stwowy Instytut Geologiczny, Warszawa) and Dr. ANDRZEJ WIERZBOWSKI (Instytut Nauk Geologicznych PAN, Warszawa) from Poland; Prof. Dr. EMIL AVRAM (Bucharest) from Romania; Prof. Dr. MIKHAIL KAKABADZE (Akademija Nauk Gruzii, Tbilisi), Dr. ELISO KOTETSHIVILI (Akademija Nauk Gruzii, Tbilisi), Dr. ILIA KVANTALIANI (Geologicheskii Institute, Tbilisi) and Dr. MEVLUD SHARIKADZE (Tbilisi) from the Republic of Georgia; Dr. EVGENIJ BARABOSHKIN (Moskovskii Universitet ‘Lomonosova’), Dr. TAMARA BOGDANOVA (St Petersburg), Dr. VLADIMIR EGOIAN (Saratov), Dr. ELENA KALACHEVA (St Petersburg), Prof. Dr. IRINA MIKHAILOVA (Moskovskii Universitet ‘Lomonosova’), Dr. VASILY MITTA (Paleontologicheskii Institut, Akademia Nauk, Moscow), Dr. ALEXANDER SAKHAROV (Murmansk Marine Biological Institute) & Dr. IRINA SEY (St Petersburg) from the Russian Federation; Dr. HERBERT KLINGER (South African Museum, Cape Town) from South Africa; Prof. Dr. MIGUEL COMPANY (Universidad de Granada) and Prof. Dr. MARIA TAVERA (Universidad de Granada) from Spain; Dr. CHRISTIAN MEISTER (Museum d'histoire naturelle de Genève) from Switzerland; Dr. MAROUK BOUGHDIRI (Université de Bizerte) and Dr. LUCIA MEMMI (Service Géologique, Tunis) from Tunisia; Prof. Dr. ROMAN LESHCHUKH (Geology Department, Lviv National University) from Ukraine; Dr. ALISTAIR CRAME (British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge), Dr. MICHAEL HOWARTH (Natural History Museum, London) and Prof. Dr. PETER RAWSON (University College London) from the United Kingdom; Prof. Dr. MIKE MURPHY (University of California, Berkeley) from the United States of America. Special thanks to Prof. Dr. JOHN CALLOMON (Natural History Museum, London), Dr. ABELARDO CANTÚ CHAPA, Prof. Dr. FABRIZIO CECCA and Prof. Dr. SYLWESTER MAREK for providing me with additional information and to Dr. MYETTE GUIOMAR from the ‘Réserve Naturelle Géologique de Haute-Provence, Digne, France’ for organizing my research permits in this key locality for the Lower Cretaceous. Much recognition for HENK STEEN, the developer of the database ‘Ammonite’ and for NICO JANSSEN my companion in the field in France, Spain and Colombia