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La Voulte-sur-Rhône (lagerstätte)

Coordinates: 44°47′58.3″N 4°46′42.4″E / 44.799528°N 4.778444°E / 44.799528; 4.778444
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La Voulte-sur-Rhône
Stratigraphic range: Callovian
~165 Ma
↓
The mines ravine of the Voulte lagerstätte.[1]
TypeGeological formation
Thicknessabout 100 m (330 ft)
Lithology
PrimaryClaystones and marls
Otherferruginous limestone
Location
Coordinates44°47′58.3″N 4°46′42.4″E / 44.799528°N 4.778444°E / 44.799528; 4.778444
RegionRhône-Alpes,
Ardèche department
CountryFrance
ExtentSeveral historically active
commercial quarries
Type section
Named forLa Voulte-sur-Rhône,
a nearby town
Pyritized fossil of Vampyronassa rhodanica from La Voulte-sur-Rhône

The late Middle Jurassic lagerstätte at La Voulte-sur-Rhône, in the Ardèche region of southwestern France, offers paleontologists an outstanding view of an undisturbed paleoecosystem that was preserved in fine detail as organisms died at the site and settled to the bottom of a shallow epicontinental sea, with a folded floor that in places exceeded 200 m at this site. The site preserves a marine system of the Lower Callovian stage, a little over 160 mya. The sequence is exposed in a series of quarries at La Boissine, west of the village of La Voulte-sur-Rhône. Iron pyrites in the silty shale are symptoms of an anoxic environment. The site was recognized among French paleontologists from the mid-nineteenth century for its finely detailed fossils.

Preservation

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Rhomboteuthis lehmani from La Voulte-sur-Rhône

Some soft parts of organisms are preserved as phosphatised concretions, in exceptional cases down to cellular details, e.g. retinal structures in the eyes of conchyliocarid crustacea.[2] Apart from Beecher's Trilobite Bed and the Hunsrück Slate, La Voulte-sur-Rhône is the only other locality where extensive pyritization of soft parts occurs.[3] However, pyritisation is not the only preservation pathway; several stages of mineralization (originally phosphate followed by calcite or gypsum, then pyrite and finally galena) are seen, each successive mineralization event degrades the detail preserved, with only gross morphological features preserved in the most advanced stages.[4]

Fauna and flora

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The fauna preserved can be broadly divided into the allochthonous fauna (consisting of soft-bodied organisms which lived on the sea floor (benthic) or swam freely just above it (nektobenthic)) and the in-situ mortality horizon.

The allochthonous fauna contains rare and well-preserved organisms. Fossils of pycnogonids ("sea-spiders"), the first find in Mesozoic strata in an admittedly very patchy fossil record, were identified in 2007.[5][6] A coleoid cephalopod (a single specimen of a small octopus) was described from La Voulte-sur-Rhône in 1982.[2] The marine crocodile Metriorhynchus, fish, decapod, mysid crustaceans, thylacocephalans, crinoids, and ophiuroids (most commonly Ophiopinna elegans)[2] are also to be found.

The in situ mortality horizon consists of abundant pavements of the bivalve Bositra buchi and trace fossils of suspected worm burrows.

Two specimens of plants suggest that a shoreline was not far distant, represented today by France's Massif Central.[2]

Paleobiota

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Color key
Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon
Notes
Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.
Invertebrates
Genus Species Higher taxon Notes Images
Vampyronassa V. rhodanica Vampyroteuthidae Relatively similar to modern vampire squid, but an active predator instead of a detritivore[7][8]
Life reconstruction of V. rhodanica
Vampyrofugiens V. atramentum Vampyromorphida Has both ink and bioluminescent organs[9]
Proteroctopus P. ribeti Vampyropoda Originally interpreted as a basal octopus, hence the name[10]
Holotype of Proteroctopus
Rhomboteuthis R. lehmani Plesioteuthididae Has a preserved ink sac[11]
Fossil of Rhomboteuthis
Romaniteuthis R. gevreyi Plesioteuthididae Relatively similar to Plesioteuthis[11]
Gramadella G. piveteaui Myopsida One of the oldest “true” squid known[11]
Mastigophora M. brevipennis Loligosepiina (Vampyromorpha) May bear a pair of elongate tentacles, however these may be from associated Belemnotheutis fossils?[12]
Iubarenicola I. fischeri Capitellida Unclear family[13]
Paleoaphrodite P. gallica, P. briggsiana, P. adeliae Aphroditidae One of the earliest scaleworm fossils known[13]
Protopholoe P. rhodanitis Aphroditoidea Uncertain family[13]
Rhondeletia R. scutata Sipuncula One of the only Mesozoic sipunculan fossils[13]
Megaderaion M. callovianum Enteropneusta Also known from Osteno[13]
Rhodanicaris R. depereti[14] Penaeidae
Aeger A. brevirostris Aegeridae One of the most common crustaceans from La Voulte[15]
Reconstruction of A. brevirostris
Archeosolenocera A. straeleni Solenoceridae Synonymous with Antrimpos secretaniae[15]
Reconstruction of A. straeleni
Stenochirus S. vahldieki Stenochiridae The oldest record of the genus[16]
Drawings of fossils of the two Stenochirus species from Solnhofen
Glypheopsis G. voultensis[17] Glypheidae
Eryma E. ventrosum, E. cumonti, E. mandelslohi[18] Erymidae Excellent preservation has shown almost all of its internal organs[19]
Fossil of E. leptodactylina from Solnhofen
Voulteryon V. parvulus[20] Eryonidae May have been transported from shallow waters as evidenced by its eye structure[21]
V. parvulus fossil
Eryon E. ellipticus Eryonidae Formerly used for all polychelid fossils[20]
E. cuvieri from Solnhofen
Cycleryon C. romani Eryonidae Very similar to Eryon itself[20]
C. propinquus from Solnhofen
Proeryon P. giganteus, P. charbonnieri[22] Coleiidae Formerly placed in Cycleryon[20]
P. hartmanni fossil (from Solnhofen?)
Willemoesiocaris W. ovalis[20] Coleiidae
W. ovalis fossil
Hellerocaris H. falloti Polychelidae Closely related to modern polychelids[20]
H. falloti fossil
Adamanteryon A. fourneti Polychelida Uncertain family[20]
Eucopia E. praecursor Eucopiidae One of the earliest lophogastrid fossils known[18]
Lophogaster L. voultensis Lophogastridae One of the earliest lophogastrid fossils known[18]
Palaeocuma P. hessi[18] Cumacea Earliest crown-cumacean fossil known[23]
Siriella S. antiqua, S. carinata[18] Mysidae Extant genus
Drawing of S. vulgaris
Udora U. gevreyi, U. minuta[18] Procarididea
U. brevispina from Solnhofen
Palaeopycnogonides P. gracilis[24] Palaeopycnogonididae (Pycnogonida) Has a relatively unusual arrangement of head appendages[25]
Colossopantopus C. boissinensis Colossendeidae[25] A large pycnogonid with a very long proboscis[24]
Palaeoendeis P. elmii Endeidae[25] (Pycnogonida) Vaguely similar to Haliestes?[24]
Ostenocaris O. ribeti Thylacocephala Formerly classified as Clausocaris ribeti, much smaller than the type species of Ostenocaris[26]
Reconstruction of O. ribeti
Mayrocaris M. sp Thylacocephala Previously known from Solnhofen[26]
Specimen of M. bucculata (from Solnhofen?)
Dollocaris D. ingens Thylacocephala One of the largest thylacocephalans[26]
Reconstruction of Dollocaris
Paraostenia P. voultensis Thylacocephala Also known from the Triassic[26]
Reconstruction of Paraostenia
Austriocaris A. secretanae Thylacocephala Formerly classified under Dollocaris[26]
Reconstruction of A. secretanae
Kilianicaris K. lerichei[26] Thylacocephala
Reconstruction of Kilianicaris
Paraclausocaris P. harpi Thylacocephala Relatively similar to Clausocaris itself except for the carapace margin[26]
Reconstruction of Clausocaris lithographica, a close relative
Terminaster T. cancriformis Forcipulatacea Known from other localities across Europe[27]
Fossil of T. cancriformis from Solnhofen
Decacuminaster D. solaris Valvatida Name translates to “pollarded star”, as the top seems to have been “cut off” like a pollarded tree[27]
Rhodanometra R. lorioli Pterocomidae (Comatulida) One of the few complete crinoids known from La Voulte[28]

References

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  1. ^ Location as described in: Sylvain Charbonnier, Jean Vannier, Pierre Hantzpergue, Christian Gaillard. Ecological signif- icance of the arthropod fauna from the Jurassic (Callovian) La Voulte Lagerstätte. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, Polskiej Akademii Nauk, Instytut Paleobiologii, 2010, 55 (1), pp.112. Online: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00551274/document
  2. ^ a b c d Etter, Walter (2002), "La Voulte-sur-Rhône: exquisite cephalopod preservation", in David J. Bottjer; Walter Etter; James W. Hagadorn; Carol M. Tang (eds.), Exceptional Fossil Preservation: A Unique View on the Evolution of Marine Life., Columbia University Press, NY, pp. 293–306
  3. ^ Paul A. Selden; John R. Nudds (2005), Evolution of Fossil Ecosystems (PDF), University of Chicago Press, IL, p. 192, ISBN 978-0-226-74641-8, archived from the original (PDF) on July 14, 2011 see page 41
  4. ^ "La Voulte-sur-Rhone" by Sarah Joomun, Dept. of Earth Science, Bristol University
  5. ^ S. Charbonnier; J. Vannier; B. Riou (2007), "Jurassic sea spiders from the La Voulte-sur-Rhône Lagerstätte", Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, B 274: 2555–61
  6. ^ S. Charbonnier; J. Vannier; B. Riou (2008), "Jurassic sea spiders from the La Voulte-sur-Rhône Lagerstätte" (PDF), Geophysical Research Abstracts, 10
  7. ^ Fischer, Jean-Claude; Riou, Bernard (January 2002). "Vampyronassa rhodanica nov. gen. nov sp., vampyromorphe (Cephalopoda, Coleoidea) du Callovien inférieur de la Voulte-sur-Rhône (Ardèche, France)". Annales de Paléontologie. 88 (1): 1–17. doi:10.1016/S0753-3969(02)01037-6.
  8. ^ Rowe, Alison J.; Kruta, Isabelle; Landman, Neil H.; Villier, Loïc; Fernandez, Vincent; Rouget, Isabelle (23 June 2022). "Exceptional soft-tissue preservation of Jurassic Vampyronassa rhodanica provides new insights on the evolution and palaeoecology of vampyroteuthids". Scientific Reports. 12 (1). doi:10.1038/s41598-022-12269-3.
  9. ^ Rowe, Alison J.; Kruta, Isabelle; Villier, Loïc; Rouget, Isabelle (May 2023). "A new vampyromorph species from the Middle Jurassic La Voulte‐sur‐Rhône Lagerstätte". Papers in Palaeontology. 9 (3). doi:10.1002/spp2.1511.
  10. ^ Kruta, Isabelle; Rouget, Isabelle; Charbonnier, Sylvain; Bardin, Jérémie; Fernandez, Vincent; Germain, Damien; Brayard, Arnaud; Landman, Neil (November 2016). "Proteroctopus ribeti in coleoid evolution". Palaeontology. 59 (6): 767–773. doi:10.1111/pala.12265.
  11. ^ a b c Fischer, Jean-Claude; Riou, Bernard (1982). "Les teuthoïdes (Cephalopoda, Dibranchiata) du callovien inférieur de la Voulte-sur-Rhône (Ardèche, France)" (PDF). Annales de Paléontologie. 68 (4): 295–325.
  12. ^ Fuchs, Dirk (2014). "First evidence of Mastigophora (Cephalopoda: Coleoidea) from the early Callovian of La Voulte-sur-Rhône (France)". Frank Wiese. Mike Reich and Gernot Arp: 8 p. doi:10.3249/webdoc-3913.
  13. ^ a b c d e Allessandrello, Anna; Bracchi, Giacomo; Riou, Bernard (2004). "Polychaete, sipunculan and enteropneust worms from the Lower Callovian (Middle Jurassic) of La Voulte-sur-Rhône (Ardèche, France)" (PDF). Memorie della Società Italiana di Scienze Naturali e del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano. 32 (1): 3–14.
  14. ^ Charbonnier, Sylvain; Vannier, Jean; Hantzpergue, Pierre; Gaillard, Christian (March 2010). "Ecological Significance of the Arthropod Fauna from the Jurassic (Callovian) La Voulte Lagerstätte". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 55 (1): 111–132. doi:10.4202/app.2009.0036.
  15. ^ a b Jauvion, Clément; Charbonnier, Sylvain; Bernard, Sylvain (December 2017). "A new look at the shrimps (Crustacea, Decapoda, Penaeoidea) from the Middle Jurassic La Voulte-sur-Rhône Lagerstätte". Geodiversitas. 39 (4): 705–716. doi:10.5252/g2017n4a3.
  16. ^ Schweigert, Günter; Garassino, Alessandro (20 March 2006). "First record of Stenochirus Oppel, 1861 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Stenochiridae) from the Callovian (Middle Jurassic) of La Voulte-sur-Rhône". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Monatshefte. 2006 (2): 65–77. doi:10.1127/njgpm/2006/2006/65.
  17. ^ Sylvain Charbonnier; Alessandro Garassino; Günter Schweigert; Martin Simpson (2013). A worldwide review of fossil and extant glypheid and litogastrid lobsters (Crustacea, Decapoda, Glypheoidea). National Museum of Natural History. pp. 1–304. ISBN 978-2-85653-706-0.
  18. ^ a b c d e f Charbonnier, Sylvain; Audo, Denis; Caze, Bruno; Biot, Vincent (July 2014). "The La Voulte-sur-Rhône Lagerstätte (Middle Jurassic, France)". Comptes Rendus Palevol. 13 (5): 369–381. doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2014.03.001.
  19. ^ Charbonnier, Sylvain; Vogt, Günter; Forel, Marie-Béatrice; Hieu, Nathan; Devillez, Julien; Laville, Thomas; Poulet-Crovisier, Nathalie; King, Andrew; Briggs, Derek E. G. (31 July 2024). "The La Voulte-sur-Rhône Konservat-Lagerstätte reveals the male and female internal anatomy of the Middle Jurassic clawed lobster Eryma ventrosum". Scientific Reports. 14 (1). doi:10.1038/s41598-024-67357-3.
  20. ^ a b c d e f g Audo, Denis; Schweigert, Günter; Martin, Jean-Paul Saint; Charbonnier, Sylvain (December 2014). "High biodiversity in Polychelida crustaceans from the Jurassic La Voulte-sur-Rhône Lagerstätte". Geodiversitas. 36 (4): 489–525. doi:10.5252/g2014n4a1.
  21. ^ Audo, Denis; Robin, Ninon; Luque, Javier; Krobicki, Michal; Haug, Joachim T.; Haug, Carolin; Jauvion, Clément; Charbonnier, Sylvain (29 March 2019). "Palaeoecology of Voulteryon parvulus (Eucrustacea, Polychelida) from the Middle Jurassic of La Voulte-sur-Rhône Fossil-Lagerstätte (France)". Scientific Reports. 9 (1). doi:10.1038/s41598-019-41834-6.
  22. ^ Audo, Denis; Schweigert, Günter (10 May 2018). "Large polychelidan lobsters with a rounded carapace from the Middle Jurassic La Voulte-sur-Rhône Lagerstätte: taxonomic clarifications". Geodiversitas. 40 (2): 183. doi:10.5252/geodiversitas2018v40a9.
  23. ^ Luque, Javier; Gerken, Sarah (4 December 2019). "Exceptional preservation of comma shrimp from a mid-Cretaceous Lagerstätte of Colombia, and the origins of crown Cumacea". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 286 (1916): 20191863. doi:10.1098/rspb.2019.1863.
  24. ^ a b c Charbonnier, S; Vannier, J; Riou, B (22 October 2007). "New sea spiders from the Jurassic La Voulte-sur-Rhône Lagerstätte". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 274 (1625): 2555–2561. doi:10.1098/rspb.2007.0848.
  25. ^ a b c Sabroux, Romain; Edgecombe, Gregory D.; Pisani, Davide; Garwood, Russell J. (July 2023). "New insights into the sea spider fauna (Arthropoda, Pycnogonida) of La Voulte‐sur‐Rhône, France (Jurassic, Callovian)". Papers in Palaeontology. 9 (4). doi:10.1002/spp2.1515.
  26. ^ a b c d e f g Laville, Thomas; Forel, Marie-Béatrice; Charbonnier, Sylvain (5 October 2023). "Re-appraisal of thylacocephalans (Euarthropoda, Thylacocephala) from the Jurassic La Voulte-sur-Rhône Lagerstätte". European Journal of Taxonomy. 898. doi:10.5852/ejt.2023.898.2295.
  27. ^ a b Villier, Loic; Charbonnier, Sylvain; Riou, Bernard (May 2009). "Sea stars from Middle Jurassic lagerstätte of La Voulte-sur-Rhône (Ardèche, France)". Journal of Paleontology. 83 (3): 389–398. doi:10.1666/08-030.1.
  28. ^ Manni, Riccardo Pier Celestino; Nicosia, Umberto; Riou, B. (1987). "Rhodanometra lorioli n.gen n.sp. and the other Callovian crinoids from La Voulte-sur-Rhone (Ardeche, France)". Geologica Romana. 24: 87–100.
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