The Werfen Formation is a geologic formation in the Southern Limestone Alps and Dinaric Alps of Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Italy. It preserves fossils dating back to the Triassic period.

Fossil content

The formation has provided numerous fossils typical of a shallow lagoon environment, including:

Griesbachian aged layers of the formation also preserve an unexpectedly diverse ichnotaxon assemblage, including the ichnogenera Catenichnus, Helminthopsis, Lockeia, Palaeophycus, Planolites, Rhizocorallium, Spongeliomorpha, Taenidium and Thalassinoides.

See also

Bibliography

  • Thompson, Jeffrey R.; Posenato, Renato; Bottjer, David J.; Petsios, Elizabeth (2019), "Echinoids from the Tesero Member (Werfen Formation) of the Dolomites (Italy): implications for extinction and survival of echinoids in the aftermath of the end-Permian mass extinction", PeerJ, 7 e7361, doi:, PMC , PMID
  • Foster, William J.; Danise, Silvia; Price, Gregory D.; Twitchett, Richard J. (2017), "Subsequent biotic crises delayed marine recovery following the late Permian mass extinction event in northern Italy", PLOS ONE, 12 (3) e0172321, Bibcode:, doi:, PMC , PMID Bibcode:

Further reading

  • E. Farabegoli, M. C. Perri, and R. Posenato. 2007. Environmental and biotic changes across the Permian-Triassic boundary in western Tethys: The Bulla parastratotype, Italy. Global and Planetary Change 55:109-135
  • E. Kustatscher, M. Wachtler, and J.H.A. Konijnenburg-van Cittert. 2004. A number of additional and revised taxa from the Ladinian flora of the Dolomites, Northern Italy. Geo.Alp 1:57-69
  • R. Posenato. 2009. Survival patterns of macrobenthic marine assemblages during the end-Permian mass extinction in the western Tethys (Dolomites, Italy). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 280:150-167
  • A. Bittner. 1890. Brachiopoden der alpinen Trias. Abhandlungen der Kaiserlich-Königlichen Geologischen Reichsanstalt 14:1-325