{{Short description|Geological formation in Austria}} {{Infobox rockunit | name = Partnach Formation | alt = Outcrop of Partnach marl west of the Partnach Gorge | image =Partnach_marl_1.jpg | caption =Outcrop of Partnach marl west of the Partnach Gorge | type = Geologic formation | age = Ladinian (Longobardian)<br>~{{fossil range|242|235}} | period = Ladinian | prilithology = Clayey shales (marls) and limestone | otherlithology = | namedfor = Partnach | namedby = Wilhelm von Gümbel | region = Carinthia, Vorarlberg | country = Austria<br>Slovakia | coordinates = {{coord|47.1|N|9.9|E|display=inline,title}} | paleocoordinates = {{coord|8.6|N|21.9|E|display=inline}} | unitof = | subunits = | underlies = Wetterstein Formation | overlies = Reifling Formation | thickness = | extent = Northern Limestone Alps | area = | map = {{Location map+ | Austria | relief = 1 | width = 250 | float = center | places = {{Location map~ | Austria | lat_deg = 47.1 | lon_deg = 9.9 | mark = Pink ff0080 pog.svg | marksize = 12 }} }} | map_caption = }}
The '''Partnach Formation''' is a Middle Triassic geologic formation in the eastern Northern Limestone Alps and Western Carpathians, within Austria and Slovakia, Central Europe.<ref name=gbooks>[https://books.google.com/books?id=0KXptTYvKv8C&dq=%27Wetterstein+Formation&pg=PA790 Google Books: ''The Geology of Central Europe: Mesozoic and Cenozoic'']; edited by Tom McCann; pgs. 790-795.</ref> The formation consists of alternating grey and green marls and shales (Partnach shales) and grey limestones (Partnach Limestone), often brecciated, oncolithic and containing clay intraclasts.<ref>Tollmann, A., 1976: Analyse des klassischen nordalpinen Mesozoikums, Wien, Franz Deuticke, 580 pp.</ref> The formation is gradually evolving from the Reifling Formation. It is usually overlain by the Lunz/Reibl Formation or Wetterstein Formation. Sediments of the Partnach Formation were deposited in intrashelf basins.
The rock unit was originally defined as ''Partnachschichten'' by Wilhelm von Gümbel in 1858.
It preserves fossils dated to the Ladinian age of the Middle Triassic Epoch of the Triassic Period.<ref name=gbooks/><ref>{{cite web|title= Fossilworks: Gateway to the Paleobiology Database|author= ((Various Contributors to the Paleobiology Database))|url= https://www.fossilworks.org/|access-date= 17 December 2021|archive-date= 25 March 2022|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220325060448/http://www.fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?action=home|url-status= dead}}</ref>
== Fossil content == * Sauropterygia ** ''Lariosaurus cf. balsami'' ** ''Neusticosaurus toeplitschi'' ** ''Microleptosaurus schlosseri'' ** ''Simosaurus gaillardoti'' * Temnospondyls ** ''Tatrasuchus sp.''
== See also == * List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Austria
== References == {{Reflist}}
== Further reading == * O. Rieppel. 1996. The status of the sauropterygian reptile ''Partanosaurus zitteli '' Skuphos from the Middle Triassic of the Austrian Alps, with comments on ''Microleptosaurus schlosseri'' Skuphos. ''Paläontologische Zeitschrift'' 70(3/4):567-577 * O. Rieppel. 1993. Status of the Pachypleurosauroid ''Psilotrachelosaurus toeplitschi'' Nopcsa (Reptilia, Sauropterygia), from the Middle Triassic of Austria. ''Fieldiana: Geology'', new series 1–17 * P. M. Sander and C. Meyer. 1991. A labyrinthodont jaw fragment from the marine Triassic of the Alps. ''Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie'', Monatshefte 1991(4):222-232
Category:Triassic System of Europe Category:Triassic Austria Category:Ladinian Stage Category:Limestone formations Category:Shallow marine deposits Category:Paleontology in Austria Category:Geology of the Alps Category:Northern Limestone Alps Category:Geologic formations of Slovakia Category:Geologic formations of Austria