Research projects

Prof. Dr. Christian Klug

A new Fossillagerstätte from the Late Devonian of Morocco: faunal composition, taphonomy and palaeoecology

Leadership/contacts

Dr. Linda Frey

Duration

December 2014 to December 2023

Funding sources

SNF (Personen- und Projektförderung)

Collaborations

Regions

Summary

The Devonian has been dubbed "the age of fishes" for a good reason. This time saw the rise of jaw-bearing fish including sharks, lobe-finned and ray-finned fish as well as placoderms. Near the end of the Devonian, several severe mass-extinction events occurred, which affected the above mentioned vertebrate groups to quite different extends. Although the overall effect is well-known, regional studies documenting the effects of the extinctions in detail are still missing. We thus plan to study changes in faunas, ecology, and notably fish occurrences around these extinctions. The Moroccan Anti-Atlas offers the perfect region to obtain good data for our goals.

Keywords

phylogeny, evolution, Devonian, taphonomy, paleoecology, Chondrichthyes, Sarcopterygii, Placodermi, Fossillagerstätten, alpha diversity

Publications

KLUG, C., FREY, L., POHLE, A., DE BAETS, K. & KORN, D. (2017): Palaeozoic evolution of animal mouthparts. – Bulletin of Geosciences, 92(4): 13 pp.; Praha.
KLUG, C., FREY, L., KORN, D., JATTIOT, R. & RÜCKLIN, M. (2016): The oldest Gondwanan cephalopod mandibles (Hangenberg Black Shale, Late Devonian) and the Mid-Palaeozoic rise of jaws. – Palaeontology, 59 (5): 611-629. doi: 10.1111/pala.12248
FREY, L., RÜCKLIN, M., KINDLIMANN, R. & KLUG, C. (2015): Alpha diversity and palaeoecology of a Late Devonian Fossillagerstätte of Morocco and its exceptionally preserved fish fauna. – Abstracts of the 13th Swiss Geoscience Meeting: 142, Basel.
KLUG, C., FREY, L. & RÜCKLIN, M. (2015): Preservation and taphonomy of Famennian Fossillagerstätten in the eastern Anti-Atlas of Morocco. – Abstracts of the 13th Swiss Geoscience Meeting: 144, Basel.
FREY, L., RÜCKLIN, M., KINDLIMANN, R. & KLUG, C. (2015): Alpha diversity and palaeoecology of a Late Devonian Fossillagerstätte of Morocco and its exceptionally preserved fish fauna. – 13th international Symposium on Early and Lower Vertebrates: Royal Society of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia, Abstracts with program: XX, Melbourne.
KLUG, C., FREY, L. & RÜCKLIN, M. (2015): Preservation and taphonomy of Famennian Fossillagerstätten in the eastern Anti-Atlas of Morocco. – 13th international Symposium on Early and Lower Vertebrates: Royal Society of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia, Abstracts with program: 21, Melbourne.
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