Editing Franconia (section)

==== Fossils ====
[[File:Plateosaurus skull.jpg|thumb|left|Skull and forward cervical spine of ''Plateosaurus engelhardti'', probably the replica of a skeleton from [[Ellingen]]]]
[[File:Archaeopteryx lithographica, replica of London specimen, Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe, Germany - 20100925.jpg|thumb|left|The so-called London Exemplar of ''Archaeopteryx'' (here a replica) comes from the [[Langenaltheim]] Quarry, west of Solnhofen.]]
The oldest [[macrofossil]]s in Franconia, which are also the oldest in Bavaria, are [[archaeocyatha]], [[sponge]]-like, goblet-shaped marine organisms, which were discovered in 2013 in a limestone block of [[Cambrian|Late Lower Cambrian]] age, about 520&nbsp;million years old. The block comes from the vicinity [[Schwarzenbach am Wald]] from the so-called Heinersreuth Block Conglomerate (''Heinersreuther Blockkonglomerat''), a [[Mississippian (geology)|Lower Carboniferous]] [[wildflysch]]. However, the aforementioned archaeocyathids are not three-dimensional fossils, but two-dimensional [[thin section]]s. These thin sections had already been prepared and investigated in the 1970s but the archaeocyathids among them were apparently overlooked at that time.<ref>Hans-Georg Herbig, Thomas Wotte, Stefanie Becker: ''First proof of archaeocyathid-bearing Lower Cambrian in the Franconian Forest (Saxothuringian Zone, Northeast Bavaria).'' In: Jiři Žák, Gernold Zulauf, Heinz-Gerd Röhling (Hrsg.): ''Crustal evolution and geodynamic processes in Central Europe. Proceedings of the Joint conference of the Czech and German geological societies held in Plzeň (Pilsen), September 16–19, 2013.'' Schriftenreihe der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Geowissenschaften. No.&nbsp;82, 2013, p.&nbsp;50 (full text: [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261258622_First_proof_of_archaeocyathid-bearing_Lower_Cambrian_in_the_Franconian_Forest_%28Saxothuringian_Zone_Northeast_Bavaria%29 Researchgate])</ref>

Better known and more highly respected fossil finds in Franconia come from the unfolded sedimentary rocks of the Triassic and Jurassic. The [[bunter sandstone]], however, only has a relatively small number of preserved whole fossils. Much more commonly, it contains [[trace fossil]]s, especially the [[tetrapod]] footprints of ''[[Chirotherium]]''. The [[type locality (biology)|type locality]] for these [[animal track]]s is [[Hildburghausen]] in the Thuringian part of Franconia, where it occurs in the so-called Thuringian Chirotherium Sandstone (''Thüringer Chirotheriensandstein'', main Middle Bunter Sandstone).<ref>Hartmut Haubold: ''Die Saurierfährten'' Chirotherium barthii ''Kaup, 1835&nbsp;- das Typusmaterial aus dem Buntsandstein bei Hildburghausen/Thüringen und das "Chirotherium-Monument".'' Publication by the Natural History Museum, Schleusingen, vol.&nbsp;21, 2006, pp.&nbsp;3–31</ref> ''Chirotherium'' is also found in the Bavarian and Württemberg parts of Franconia. Sites include [[Aura an der Saale|Aura]] near Bad Kissingen, [[Karbach (Lower Franconia)|Karbach]], [[Gambach (Karlstadt)|Gambach]] and [[Külsheim]].<ref name="haderer95">Frank-Otto Haderer, Georges Demathieu, Ronald Böttcher: ''Wirbeltier-Fährten aus dem Rötquarzit (Oberer Buntsandstein, Mittlere Trias) von Hardheim bei Wertheim/Main (Süddeutschland).'' Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde, Serie B. No.&nbsp;230, 1995, [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/30051209 online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929183731/http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/30051209 |date=2017-09-29 }}</ref> There the deposits are somewhat younger (Upper Bunter Sandstone), and the corresponding [[stratigraphy (geology)|stratigraphic]] interval is called the Franconian Chirotherium Beds (''Fränkische Chirotherienschichten'').<ref name="haderer95"/> Among the less significant body fossil records of vertebrates are the [[Procolophonoidea|procolophonid]] ''Anomoiodon liliensterni'' from [[Reurieth]] in the Thuringian part of Franconia<ref>Laura K. Säilä: ''The Osteology and Affinities of ''Anomoiodon liliensterni'', a Procolophonid Reptile from the Lower Triassic Buntsandstein of Germany.'' Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Vol.&nbsp;28, No.&nbsp;4, 2008, pp.&nbsp;1199–1205, [[doi:10.1671/0272-4634-28.4.1199]]</ref> and ''Koiloskiosaurus coburgiensis'' from [[Rödental|Mittelberg]] near Coburg,<ref>Friedrich von Huene: ''Ueber die Procolophoniden, mit einer neuen Form aus dem Buntsandstein.'' Centralblatt für Mineralogie, Geologie und Paläontologie. 1911 issue, 1911, pp.&nbsp;78–83</ref> both from the Thuringian Chirotherium Sandstone, and the [[Temnospondyli|Temnospondyle]] ''[[Mastodonsaurus|Mastodonsaurus ingens]]'' (possibly identical with the mastodonsaurus, ''[[Heptasaurus cappelensis]]'') from the [[Röt Formation|Upper Bunter]] at Gambach.<ref>Rainer R. Schoch: ''Comparative osteology of ''Mastodonsaurus giganteus'' (Jaeger, 1828) from the Middle Triassic (Lettenkeuper: Longobardian) of Germany (Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Thüringen).'' Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde, Series&nbsp;B. No.&nbsp;278, 1999, pp.&nbsp;21 and&nbsp;27 ([https://web.archive.org/web/20110428055058/http://www-alt.naturkundemuseum-bw.de/stuttgart/pdf/b_pdf/B278.pdf PDF] 3,6&nbsp;MB)</ref><ref>Emily J. Rayfield, Paul M. Barrett, Andrew R. Milner: Utility and Validity of Middle and Late Triassic 'Land Vertebrate Faunachrons'. In: ''Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.'' Vol.&nbsp;29, 2009, No.&nbsp;1, pp.&nbsp;80–87, [[doi:10.1671/039.029.0132]].</ref>

As early as the first decade of the 19th century [[George, Count of Münster]] began systematic fossil gathering and digs and in the Upper [[Muschelkalk]] at [[Bayreuth]]. For example, the [[Oschenberg]] hill near [[Laineck]] became the type locality of two relatively well-known marine reptiles of the Triassic period, later found in other parts of Central Europe: the "flat tooth lizard", ''[[Placodus]]''<ref>Olivier Rieppel: ''The genus ''Placodus'': Systematics, Morphology, Paleobiogeography, and Paleobiology.'' Fieldiana Geology, New Series, No.&nbsp;31, 1995, [[doi:10.5962/bhl.title.3301]].</ref> and the "false lizard", ''[[Nothosaurus]]''.<ref>Olivier Rieppel, Rupert Wild. ''A Revision of the Genus ''Nothosaurus'' (Reptilia: Sauropterygia) from the Germanic Triassic, with Comments on the Status of ''Conchiosaurus clavatus. Fieldiana Geology, New Series, No.&nbsp;34, 1996. [[doi:10.5962/bhl.title.2691]]</ref>

In Franconia's middle [[Keuper]] (the [[Feuerletten]]) is one of the best known and most common species of dinosaurs of Central Europe: ''[[Plateosaurus engelhardti]]'', an early representative of the [[sauropodomorpha]]. Its type locality is located at [[Heroldsberg]] south of Nuremberg. When the remains of ''Plateosaurus'' were first discovered there in 1834, it was the first discovery of a dinosaur on German soil, and this occurred even before the name "dinosauria" was coined. Another important ''Plateosaurus'' find in Franconia was made at [[Ellingen]].<ref>Markus Moser: Plateosaurus engelhardti ''MEYER, 1837 (Dinosauria: Sauropodomorpha) aus dem Feuerletten (Mittelkeuper; Obertrias) von Bayern.'' Zitteliana, Series B: Treatises of the Bavarian State Collection for Palaeontology and Geology. Vol. 24, 2003, pp. 3-186, {{URN|nbn|de:bvb:19-epub-12711-3}}</ref>

Far more famous than ''Plateosaurus'', ''Placodus'' and ''Nothosaurus'' is the ''[[Archaeopteryx]]'', probably the first bird geologically. It was discovered in the southern Franconian Jura, ''inter alia'' at the famous fossil site of Solnhofen in the Solnhofen Platform Limestone (''Solnhofener Plattenkalk'', (Solnhofen-Formation, early [[Tithonian]], Upper Jurassic). In addition to ''Archaeopteryx'', in the very fine-grained, laminated lagoon limestones are the pterosaur ''[[Pterodactylus]]'' and various [[bony fish]]es as well as numerous extremely detailed examples of invertebrates e.g. [[feather star]]s and [[dragonflies]]. [[Eichstätt]] is the other "big" and similarly famous fossil locality in the Solnhofen Formation, situated on the southern edge of the Jura in [[Upper Bavaria]]. Here, as well as ''Archaeopteryx'', the theropod dinosaurs, ''[[Compsognathus]]'' and ''[[Juravenator]]'', were found.

An inglorious episode in the history of paleontology took place in Franconia: fake fossils, known as [[Beringer's Lying Stones]], were acquired in the 1720s by Würzburg doctor and naturalist, [[Johann Beringer]], for a lot of money and then described in a [[monograph]], along with genuine fossils from the Würzburg area. However, it is not entirely clear whether the Beringer forgeries were actually planted or whether he himself was responsible for the fraud.<ref>Birgit Niebuhr: ''Wer hat hier gelogen? Die Würzburger Lügenstein-Affaire.'' Fossilien. No.&nbsp;1/2006, 2006, S.&nbsp;15–19 ({{cite web |url=https://www.fossilien-journal.de/cms/red/download/Fo-2006-01-PalGes.pdf |title=PDF |access-date=2016-01-11 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140913060827/https://www.fossilien-journal.de/cms/red/download/Fo-2006-01-PalGes.pdf |archive-date=September 13, 2014 }} 886&nbsp;kB)</ref>