Neogene stratigraphy of the Langenboom locality (Noord-Brabant, the Netherlands)

Abstract

The locality of Langenboom (eastern Noord-Brabant, the Netherlands), also known as Mill, is famous for its Neogene molluscs, shark teeth, teleost remains, birds and marine mammals. The stratigraphic context of the fossils, which have been collected from sand suppletions, was hitherto poorly understood. Here we report on a section which has been sampled by divers in the adjacent flooded sandpit 'De Kuilen' from which the Langenboom sands have been extracted. The studied section covers part of the marine Miocene Breda Formation and Pliocene Oosterhout Formation, and is topped by fluvial Quaternary deposits of presumably the Beegden Formation. The Breda Formation (15 -18 m below lake surface) in this section is, based on organic walled dinoflagellate cysts, of an early-middle Tortonian age. The Oosterhout Formation (7 -15 m below lake surface) comprises two depositional sequences, the lower of which (12 -15 m below lake surface) presumably is the source of most Langenboom fossils. Combined dinoflagellate cyst and benthic mollusc indicators point to an early Zanclean -early Piacenzian age for this lower cycle. Its basal transgressive lag and (to lesser extent) top comprise reworked Tortonian taxa as well. Dinoflagellate cysts and a single benthic mollusc point to a Piacenzian age for the upper Oosterhout Formation sequence (7 -12 m below lake surface).

The relationship between Neogene dinoflagellate cysts and global climate dynamics

“…The environmental preferences of modern dinoflagellate cysts can be compared to the Neogene fossil record of extant taxa, making it possible to infer palaeoenvironmental conditions (Brinkhuis et al, 1998;Sluijs et al, 2005;Masure and Vrielynck, 2009;De Schepper et al, 2011;Woods et al, 2014). However, in deeper time there is an increase in extinct species, which limits the use of the nearest living relative concept (Head, 1996(Head, , 1997Wijnker et al 2008;De Schepper et al 2015).…”

Rare Late Miocene Seal Taxa (Carnivora, Phocidae) from the North Sea Basin

“…Underwater sandpit "de Kuilen", Mill-Langenboom, province of Noord Brabant, Th e Netherlands, late Miocene -early Pliocene. S t r a t i g r a p h i c a l r a n g e. Late Miocene -early Pliocene of Mill-Langenboom, Th e Netherlands (Wijnker et al, 2008) and late Miocene (early-middle Tortonian, 8.0-11.5 ma) of Gram, Jutland, Denmark (Hansen, Hansen, 2003). E t y m o l o g y. Aft er n o r d (Danish: noun, neuter) = the North, Latinized to nordica (adj.)…”

Cetorhinuscf.C. maximus(Gunnerus) (Lamniformes: Cetorhinidae), A Basking Shark from the Late Miocene Empire Formation, Coos Bay, Oregon

“…from the Tortonian of Baja California, Mexico and Cetorhinus sp. occurs in the late Miocene-early Pliocene of Holland (Wijnker et al, 2008), and the late Miocene (Stewart, 1997;Barnes, 2008) and Pliocene (Applegate, 1978) of Baja California, Mexico. Almost all late Miocene through Pleistocene basking sharks are included in C. maximus, with occurrences in Belgium (Herman et al, 1974;Herman, 1979;Nolf, 1986;Van Der Brugghen, 2005), Italy (Lawley, 1876;Landini, 1977;Marsili, 2008;Cigala-Fulgosi et al, 2009), France (Cappetta and Nolf, 1991), Japan (Uyeno and Matsushima, 1974), the Czech Republic (Schultz et al, 2010), Chile (Long, 1993), California (Kanakoff, 1956;Fitch, 1970;Langenwalter, 1975;Long, 1994;Boessenecker, 2011), Oregon (Long, 1994;Welton, unpublished data), and Baja California, Mexico (Long, 1994).…”