Stadthagen Formation Explained

The Stadthagen Formation is a geological formation located in Hanover, Germany, dating to the Early Cretaceous (Valanginian).^[1] The formation contains fossils of reptiles and fish, suggesting that the formation was once a shallow marine setting.^[2]

History

The Stadthagen Formation outcrops in the Engelbostel and Sachsenhagen clay pits, which operated as brickworks from 1904 to 1986. After the brickworks closed in 1986, most of the quarry area was backfilled and used as a waste dump before being abandoned.

Paleobiota of the Stadthagen Formation

!Genus!Species!Location!Stratigraphic position!Material!Notes!Image

Actinopterygii[3]	Indeterminate	Sachsenhagen
Crocodylomorpha[4]	Indeterminate	Sachsenhagen			Known from remains currently located within private collections.
Enalioetes	E. schroederi	Engelbostel		"Much of the skull as well as parts of the neck."	Previously known as Enaliosuchus "schroederi" and Cricosaurus "schroederi".[5]
Enaliosuchus[6]	E. macrospondylus			"An atlas-axis complex, three post-axial cervical vertebrae, several dorsal vertebrae, a caudal vertebra, an incomplete femur and a fragmentary sacral rib."[7]	Its remains have also been recovered from the Campylotoxus Zone of France.[8]
Gyrodus[9]	G. sp.	Engelbostel		"Nearly complete specimen."
Plesiosauria	Indeterminate	Sachsenhagen
Targaryendraco	T. wiedenrothi	Engelbostel and Sachsenhagen	Platylenticeras robustum and P. heteropleurum ammonite zones	"Partial skeleton with lower jaws."	Previously known as Ornithocheirus wiedenrothi.[10]

Notes and References

1. Sachs . S. . Young . M.T. . Hornung . J.J. . Cowgill . T. . Schwab . J.A. . Brusatte . S.L. . 2024 . A new genus of metriorhynchid crocodylomorph from the Lower Cretaceous of Germany . Journal of Systematic Palaeontology . 22 . 1 . 10.1080/14772019.2024.2359946.
2. Pêgas, R.V., Holgado, B., Leal, M.E.C., (2019). "Targaryendraco wiedenrothi gen. nov. (Pterodactyloidea, Pteranodontoidea, Lanceodontia) and recognition of a new cosmopolitan lineage of Cretaceous toothed pterodactyloids", Historical Biology, 1–15.
3. Frerichs, U. (2017a). Fische. Arbeitskreis Paläontologie Hannover 45: 59–62.
4. Frerichs, U. (2017b). Reptilien. Arbeitskreis Paläontologie Hannover 45: 63–68.
5. Young, Mark T., and Marco Brandalise de Andrade, (2009). "What is Geosaurus? Redescription of Geosaurus giganteus (Thalattosuchia: Metriorhynchidae) from the Upper Jurassic of Bayern, Germany." Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 157: 551-585.
6. Koken E. (1883). Die reptilian der norddeutschen unteren Kreide. Zeitschrift deutschen Geologischen Gesellschaft 35: 735-827.
7. Sachs . Sven . Young . Mark T. . Hornung . Jahn J. . 2020 . The enigma of Enaliosuchus, and a reassessment of the Lower Cretaceous fossil record of Metriorhynchidae . Cretaceous Research . 114 . 104479 . 10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104479 . 0195-6671 . 218996914 . free . 20.500.11820/c52d1d56-1bf3-4aae-b2e1-38c85eed44fa.
8. Hua, S., Vignaud, P., Atrops, F. & Clément, A. (2000). Enaliosuchus macrospondylus Koken, 1883 (Crocodylia, Metriorhynchidae) du Valanginien de Barret-le-Bas (Hautes Alpes, France): un cas unique de remontée des narines externes parmi les crocodiliens. Geobios 33: 467-474.
9. Hornung, Jahn & Hannover, Landesmuseum & Brandt-Allee, Willy. (2021). Pycnodont fishes (Actinopterygii: Pycnodontiformes) from the Lower Cretaceous of northern Germany - diversity and palecological relationships. 58. 4-77.
10. Wild, R. (1990). "Pterosaur remains (Reptilia, Pterosauria) from the Lower Cretaceous (Hauterivian) of Hannover (Lower Saxony)". German: Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen, 181: 241–254