Grès à Voltzia

The Grès à Voltzia is a geologic formation in France. It preserves fossils dating back to the Triassic period, more specifically the Anisian stage of the Middle Triassic epoch. It represents a lagerstatte that is well known for its palaeoflora, which shares numerous similarities with palaeobotanical assemblages in the Iberian Peninsula.^[1]

Grès à Voltzia
Stratigraphic range: Anisian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
The Grès à Voltzia in the Carrière Royale near Soultz-les-Bains
Type	Formation
Unit of	Upper Buntsandstein
Sub-units	Grès à meules, Grès à argilleux, Grès coquillier
Underlies	Grès coquillier
Overlies	Couches intermédiaires
Thickness	Over 20 metres
Lithology
Primary	Sandstone
Other	Clay, Silt, Dolomite
Location
Country	France

Paleobiota

Arthropods

Insects

Insects
Genus	Species	Higher taxon	Notes	Images
Anisinodus	A. crinitus	Chironomoidea	Earliest chironomoid known, fossils are all of larvae[2]
Archilimonia	A. vogesiana, A. grauvogeliana	Archilimoniinae (Limoniidae)[3]	Formerly placed in its own family “Archilimonidae”[4]
Archostemata indet.	Unapplicable	Coleoptera	Represented by 32 distinct forms, but unfortunately none of these can be named at present as they are only represented by isolated elytra[5]
Arlecoris	A. louisi	Arlecorinae (Naucoroidea)	Earliest water bug known[6]
Baharellinus	B. umbrosus	Blattogryllidae (Grylloblattodea)	Has a dark wing membrane[7]
Chauliodites	C. aniscus	Chaulioditidae (Grylloblattida)[7]
Dorniella	D. elcanoides, D. apectinata, D. diluta, D. ovalis	Blattogryllidae (Grylloblattodea)	Most diverse grylloblattodean from the formation[7]
Embigryllus	E. shcherbakovi	Blattogryllidae (Grylloblattodea)[7]
Gallia	G. alsatica	Stem-Brachycera	Earliest brachyceran known[8]
Galliagryllavus	G. vogesiacus	Gryllavidae (Ensifera)	Similar to Gryllavus[9]
Grauvogelia	G. arzevilleriana	Grauvogeliidae (Diptera)	Placed in an entirely separate infraorder (Grauvogeliomorpha) within Diarchineura (synonymous with the modern, broader Psychodomorpha), oldest known fly at time of discovery[10]
Laurentiptera	L. gallica	Liassophilidae (Mecoptera)	Formerly placed in its own family “Laurentipteridae”[11]
Leaphis	L. primus[6]	Creaphididae (Aphidomorpha)	Earliest aphid known, synonymous with the later named “Vosegus triassicus”[12]
Louisa	L. nova	Grauvogeliidae (Diptera)	Similar to Grauvogelia[4]
Megakhosarodes	M. vosgesicus	Megakhosaridae (Grylloblattodea)	Similar to the Permian M. zajsanicus[7]
Mesoplectopteron	M. longipes	Mesoplectopteridae (Ephemeroptera)	Redescribed in a 2005 paper[13]
Minorella	M. virgata	Ephemeroptera incertae sedis	Similar to modern Leptophlebiidae, but the fossils are not well-preserved enough for confident identification[13]
Palaeochresmoda	P. grauvogeli	Prochresmodidae (Phasmatodea)	Earliest known stick insect at the time[14]
Palaeomesorthopteron	P. pullus	Mesorthopteridae (Grylloblattodea)	Has dark wing membrane[7]
Prochoristella	P. pilosa	Permochoristidae (Mecoptera)[15]	Named after the abundance of microchaetae on the wings[16]
Pseudopolycentropus	P. triassicus	Pseudopolycentropodidae	Earliest pseudopolycentropodid known[16]
Reisia	R. guillaumei	Triadotypidae (Odonatoptera)	Formerly placed in the genus “Triadotypus”[17]
Scleroblatta	S. densa	Argentinoblattidae (Blattodea)[18]	Differentiated by a large costal vein[19]
Subioblatta	S. undulata	Subioblattidae (Blattodea)	Caused a redescription of Subioblattidae in its original paper[20]
Tanus	T. triassicus	Nadipteromorpha (Psychodomorpha)	Known from a fairly complete specimen, may be ancestral to Tanyderidae[4]
Toxodotes	T. coloratus	Toxodotidae (Ephemeroptera)	Has coloured wingtips[13]
Transitoblatta	T. reticulata	Mancusoblattidae (Blattodea)[18]	Transitional between Paleozoic and Mesozoic cockroaches[19]
Triassodotes	T. vogesiacus	Misthodotidae (Ephemeroptera)	Similar to Misthodotes, but has shorter hind wings[13]
Triassoephemera	T. punctata	Triassoephemeridae (Ephemeroptera)	Unusually has an unflattened body and double claws, unlike all modern mayfly larvae[13]
Triassomanthus	T. parvulus	Triassomanthidae (Ephemeroptera)	Has long tusks like burrowing nymphs, but has legs not adapted for burrowing[13]
Triassonurus	T. doliiformis	Siphlonuridae	Oldest siphlonurid known[13]
Triassoparacyrtophyllites	T. bifurcatus	Tuphellidae (Hagloidea)	Similar to Paracyrtophyllites[9]
Triassophyllum	T. leopardii	Tettigoniidae	Oldest tettigoniid known[21]
Vogerhypha	V. blagoderovi, V. krzeminskorum	Protorhyphidae (Bibionomorpha)	Formerly placed in “Vymrhyphus”[8]
Vogesonympha	V. ludovici	Vogesonymphidae (Sinebranchia/Panephemeroptera)[22]	Formerly classed as Pterygota incertae sedis, as it has a striking resemblance to Carbotriplura despite being vastly smaller[13]
Vosgesopterum	V. arzvillerensis	Blattogryllidae (Grylloblattodea)[7]
Voltziaephemera	V. fossoria	Voltziaephemeridae (Ephemeroptera)	Likely a burrowing nymph, as evidenced by having tusks, but different from extant ones in its long and narrow wing pads[13]
Voltziahagla	V. pseudofurcatus	Haglidae	Similar to Archaboilus[9]
Voltzialestes	V. triasicus	Voltzialestidae (Protozygoptera)	First odonate from the formation[23]
Voltziapupa	V. cornuta, V. tentata	Grauvogeliidae? (Diptera)	Known from pupae[2]

Misc. Arthropods

Misc. Arthropods
Genus	Species	Higher taxon	Notes	Images
Anhelkocephalon	A. handlirschi	Cyclida	Formerly interpreted as an isopod[24]
Antrimpos	A. atavus	Penaeidae[25]	A fairly widespread prawn genus	A. speciosus from Solnhofen
Apudites	A. antiquus	Calmanostraca (Branchiopoda)	Formerly placed within Triops cancriformis[26]	Triops cancriformis, a modern species which Apudites was originally classed within
Clytiopsis	C. argentoratensis	Erymidae	Synonymised with two other species from the formation, which are likely larvae of this one[25]
Diaphanosoma	D. rare	Peracarida incertae sedis	Previously thought to be a larval decapod[25]
Euestheria	E. minuta minuta	Euestheriidae (Spinicaudata)	Shell valve resembles that of tellins in shape[25], formerly placed in the genus “Isaura”[27]
Euthycarcinus	E. kessleri	Euthycarcinoidea	First euthycarcinoid described, alongside the youngest and one of the most well-preserved[25]	Diagrammatic reconstruction of E. kessleri
Galloscorpio	G. voltzi	Galloscorpionidae (Scorpiones)	One of the youngest known scorpions from an extinct superfamily[28]
Grauvogelocaris	G. alsatica	Stem-Diplostraca	Resembles the Cambrian Rehbachiella somewhat in its combination of a carapace covering the head/thorax and a long abdomen[26]
Halicyne	H. ornata	Cyclida	Similar to Anhelkocephalon[24]
Hannibaliulus	H. wilsonae	Callipodida?	One of the few Mesozoic millipede fossils[29]
Limulitella	L. bronni	Limulidae?	One of the few freshwater horseshoe crabs known[30]
Olesenocaris	O. grauvogeli	Stem-Diplostraca?	Resembles the Cambrian Rehbachiella somewhat in its combination of a carapace covering the head/thorax and a long abdomen[26]
Palaega	P. pumila	Flabellifera	Had strong mandibles, likely carnivorous[25]
Palaeolimnadia	P. alsatica	Limnadiidae	Bears two different egg types; one larger and one smaller[25]
Palaeolimnadiopsis	P. dictyonata	Limnadiopsidae (Conchostraca)	Relatively large, over 1 cm long[25]
Praeleaia	P. sp	Leaiidae (Conchostraca)	Also similar to Estheriella[25]
Protobuthus	P. elegans	Protobuthidae (Buthoidea)	Earliest known buthoid scorpion[28]	Holotype fossil of P. elegans
Rosamygale	R. grauvogeli	Hexathelidae	Oldest known mygalomorph spider[31]
Schimperella	S. beneckei, S. kessleri	Mysida	Differs from modern mysids in the lack of uropod statocysts[25]
Triasocaris	T. peachi	Syncarida	Indeterminate family[25]
Triassinella	T. aff. tsorfatia	Glorianellidae (Podocopida)	Fairly small, only around 0.75 mm long[25]

Misc. Invertebrates

Misc. Invertebrates
Genus	Species	Higher taxon	Notes	Images
Enantiostreon	E. difforme	Prospondylidae (Pectinida)[32]	Formerly placed within Terquemiidae[25]
Entolium	E. discites	Entoliidae	Specimens vary in size between different localities[25]
Eunicites	E. triasicus	Leodicidae (Errantia)	Likely quite tolerant to salinity variations similar to modern eunicids[25]
Hoernesia	H. sp	Bakevelliidae	Also similar to Gervillia, but too poorly preserved to identify further[25]
Homaphrodite	H. speciosa	Aphroditidae	Also resembles polynoids[25]
Homomya	H. impressa, H. albertii	Pholadomyidae	Likely a burrower[25]
Lingula	L. tenuissima[25]	Lingulidae	Lingula is a common example of a “living fossil”, however recent evidence suggests this is a result of misidentification[33]	L. tenussima fossil from the Muschelkalk
Loxonema	L. obsoletum	Loxonematidae	Similar to L. detritum[25]	Loxonema sp. fossil
Modiolus	M. sp.	Mytilida	Similar to M. triquetra, but longer[25]	The extant species Modiolus modiolus
Myophoria	M. vulgaris	Trigoniida	Likely lived in muddy sediment like other trigoniids[25]	M. lineata fossil from Italy
Naticopsis	N. gaillardoti	Neritopsidae	Most specimens are flattened in various planes[25]	Naticopsis fossil from Italy
Pleuromya	P. elongata	Pleuromyidae (Myida)	Likely a burrower[25]
Progonionemus	P. vogesiacus	Limnomedusae	One of the oldest freshwater hydrozoans known[34]	Reconstructions of Progonionemus as an adult and juvenile
”Spirorbis”	S. pusillus	Serpulidae	Poorly preserved, despite another species assigned to the genus being common in the Muschelkalk[25]
Triadonereis	T. sp	Annelida incertae sedis	Incompletely preserved, so its assignment to the genus is only provisional[25]
Undularia	U. scalata	Protorculidae	Formerly placed in “Ptenoglossa”[25]
Velata[35]	V. albertii	Pectinidae	Formerly placed in “Eopecten”[25]

Vertebrates

Vertebrates
Genus	Species	Higher taxon	Notes	Images
Dipteronotus	D. aculeatus	Perleidiformes	Formerly placed within “Praesemionotus”[36]	D. aculeatus fossil
Dorsolepis	D. virgatus	Platysomidae (Palaeonisciformes)	While the body is well-preserved and similar to other platysomids, the head is barely known[36]
Eocyclotosaurus	E. lehmani	Heylerosauridae	Formerly placed in Stenotosaurus[37]	Reconstruction of E. wellesi
Mastodonsauridae indet.	Unapplicable	Mastodonsauroidea	Formerly classed as “Odontosaurus voltzii”, then moved into “Mastodonsaurus” vaslenensis before finally being removed from a genus altogether[38]
Mirasaura	M. grauvogeli	Drepanosauromorpha	Related to the enigmatic Longisquama from the Madygen Formation[39]	Reconstructed skull of Mirasaura based on μCT scans
Pericentrophorus	P. minimus	Semionotiformes	Resembles Acentrophorus, originally placed as a “transitional form” between Chondrostei and Holostei[36]	P. minimus fossil
Saurichthys	S. daubreei	Saurichthyidae	Similar to Saurichthys lepidosteoides from the Muschelkalk[40]	Saurichthys curionii fossil from the Middle Triassic of Monte San Giorgio, Switzerland

See also

• Earth sciences portal
• France portal
• Paleontology portal

• List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in France