Stadthagen Formation

Stadthagen Formation
Stratigraphic range: Valanginian, ~132 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Type	Geological formation
Unit of	Lower Saxony Basin
Sub-units	Platylenticeras involutum ammonite zone Platylenticeras heteropleurum ammonite zone Platylenticeras robustum ammonite zone
Overlies	Bückeberg Formation and Isterberg Formation
Location
Coordinates	52.3972°N 9.2683°E / 52.3972; 9.2683
Region	Hanover, Germany
Country	Germany
Extent	Engelbostel and Sachsenhagen clay pits

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.^[2]

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[1]	E. schroederi	Engelbostel		Much of the skull as well as parts of the neck.	Previously known as Enaliosuchus "schroederi" and Cricosaurus "schroederi".
Enaliosuchus[5]	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.	Its remains have also been recovered from the Campylotoxus Zone of France.
Gyrodus[6]	G. sp.	Engelbostel		Nearly complete specimen.
Plesiosauria[4]	Indeterminate[4]	Sachsenhagen
Targaryendraco[2]	T. wiedenrothi	Engelbostel and Sachsenhagen	Platylenticeras robustum and P. heteropleurum ammonite zones	Partial skeleton with lower jaws.	Previously known as Ornithocheirus wiedenrothi.

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). doi: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. doi:10.1080/08912963.2019.1690482
3. Frerichs, U. (2017a). Fische. Arbeitskreis Paläontologie Hannover 45: 59–62.
4. Frerichs, U. (2017b). Reptilien. Arbeitskreis Paläontologie Hannover 45: 63–68.
5. Koken E. (1883). Die reptilian der norddeutschen unteren Kreide. Zeitschrift deutschen Geologischen Gesellschaft 35: 735-827.
6. 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.