Editing Franconia (section)

=== Geology ===
==== General ====
[[File:Grube Wilhelmine 4.jpg|thumb|Opened-up, copper-ore-bearing, Spessart crystalline rock in [[Sommerkahl]] near Aschaffenburg]]
[[File:Seltenbachschlucht.jpg|thumb|Fine sandstone, siltstone and argillites of the [[bunter sandstone]] layer (Lower Triassic) in the [[Seltenbach Gorge]] in the Spessart]]
[[File:Judenhof+Turmkarst Tüchersfeld.jpg|thumb|Tower-like rocks of [[Upper Jurassic]]-[[Corallian Limestone]] in [[Tüchersfeld]], northern Franconian Jura (Franconian Switzerland)]]
Only in the extreme northeast of Franconia and in the Spessart are there [[Variscan]] [[outcrop]]s of the crystalline [[basement (geology)|basement]], which were uplifted from below the surface when the [[Alps]] exerted a northwards-oriented pressure. These are rocks of pre-[[Permian]] vintage, which were folded during various stages of [[Variscan orogeny]] in the [[Late Palaeozoic]] - before about 380 to 300&nbsp;million years ago - and, in places, were [[metamorphism (geology)|metamorphosed]] under high pressure and temperature or were crystallized by ascending [[magma]] in the [[Earth's crust]].<ref name="geobavaria_S4">Stefan Glaser, Gerhard Doppler and Klaus fword (eds.): ''GeoBavaria. 600 Millionen Jahre Bayern. Internationale Edition.'' Bayerisches Geologisches Landesamt, Munich, 2004 ([https://www.bestellen.bayern.de/shoplink/93019.htm online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304073250/http://www.bestellen.bayern.de/shoplink/93019.htm |date=2016-03-04 }}), p.&nbsp;4</ref> Rocks which were unchanged or only lightly metamorphosed, because they had been deformed at shallow crustal depths, include the [[Mississippian (geology)|Lower Carboniferous]] shale and greywacke of Franconian Forest. The Fichtel mountains, the Münchberg Plateau and the Spessart, by contrast, have more metamorphic rocks ([[phyllite]], [[schist]], [[amphibolite]], [[gneiss]]). The Fichtel mountains are also characterized by large [[granite]] bodies, called post-kinematic [[Pluton (geology)|plutons]] which, in the late phase of Variscan orogeny, intruded into the metamorphic rocks. In most cases these are S-type granites whose melting was caused by heated-up sedimentary rocks sunk deep into the Earth's crust.<ref name = "geobavaria_S24">Stefan Glaser, Gerhard Doppler and Klaus fword. (eds.): ''GeoBavaria. 600 Millionen Jahre Bayern. Internationale Edition.'' Bayerisches Geologisches Landesamt, Munich, 2004 ([https://www.bestellen.bayern.de/shoplink/93019.htm online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304073250/http://www.bestellen.bayern.de/shoplink/93019.htm |date=2016-03-04 }}), p.&nbsp;24</ref> While the Fichtel and Franconian Forest can be assigned to the Saxo-Thuringian Zone of Central European Variscan orogeny, the Spessart belongs to the Central German Crystalline Zone.<ref name="geobavaria_S4"/> The Münchberg mass is variously attributed to the Saxo-Thuringian or Moldanubian Zones.<ref>Alfons Baier, Thomas Hochsieder: ''[https://www.angewandte-geologie.geol.uni-erlangen.de/muenchbe.htm Zur Stratigraphie und Tektonik des SE-Randes der Münchberger Gneismasse (Oberfranken)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160907001253/http://www.angewandte-geologie.geol.uni-erlangen.de/muenchbe.htm |date=2016-09-07 }}.'' Website of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg with a summary of the essay of the same name in the ''Geologischen Blättern für Nordost-Bayern'', Vol. 39, No. 3/4, Erlangen, 1989</ref>

A substantially larger part of the shallow subsurface in Franconia comprises [[Mesozoic]], unmetamorphosed, unfolded rocks of the [[South German Scarplands]].<ref name="geobavaria_S26">Stefan Glaser, Gerhard Doppler and Klaus Schwerd (eds.): ''GeoBavaria. 600 million years Bavaria. International Edition. GeoBavaria. 600 Millionen Jahre Bayern. Internationale Edition.'' Bayerisches Geologisches Landesamt, Munich, 2004 ([https://www.bestellen.bayern.de/shoplink/93019.htm online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304073250/http://www.bestellen.bayern.de/shoplink/93019.htm |date=2016-03-04 }}), p. 26</ref> The regional geological element of the South German Scarplands is the Franconian Platform (''Süddeutsche Großscholle'').<ref>Dickinson, Robert E (1964). ''Germany: A regional and economic geography'' (2nd ed.). London: Methuen, p 568. .</ref> At the so-called [[Franconian Line]], a significant [[fault (geology)|fault line]], the Saxo-Thuringian-Moldanubian basement was uplifted in places up to 2000&nbsp;m above the Franconian Platform.<ref>Walter Freudenberger: ''Tektonik: Deckgebirge nördlich der Donau.'' In: Walter Freudenberger, Klaus Schwerd (Red.): ''Erläuterungen zur Geologischen Karte von Bayern 1:500&nbsp;000.'' Bayerisches Geologisches Landesamt, Munich, 1996 ([https://www.bestellen.bayern.de/shoplink/10000.htm online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304075943/http://www.bestellen.bayern.de/shoplink/10000.htm |date=2016-03-04 }}), p.&nbsp;259-265</ref> The western two-thirds of Franconia is dominated by the [[Triassic]] with its [[sandstone]]s, [[siltstone]]s and [[claystone]]s (so-called [[siliciclastic]]s) of the [[bunter sandstone]]; the [[limestone]]s and [[marl]]s of the [[Muschelkalk]] and the mixed, but predominantly siliciclastic, sedimentary rocks of the [[Keuper]]. In the [[Rhön]], the Triassic rocks are overlain and intruded by [[vulcanite|volcanic rock]] ([[basalt]]s, [[basanite (rocks)|basanites]], [[phonolite]]s and [[trachyte]]s) of the [[Tertiary]]. The eastern third of Franconia is dominated by the [[Jurassic]] rocks of the [[Franconian Jura]], with the dark shales of the [[Black Jura]], the shales and ferruginous sandstones of the [[Brown Jura]] and, the weathering-resistant limestones and [[dolomite (rock)|dolomitic rocks]] of the [[White Jura]], which stand out from the landscape and form the actual ridge of the Franconian Jura itself.<ref name="geobavaria_S26"/> In the Jura, mostly siliciclastic sedimentary rocks formed in the [[Cretaceous (geology)|Cretaceous]] have survived.

The Mesozoic sediments have been deposited in largescale basin areas. During the Triassic, the Franconian part of these depressions was often part of the mainland, in the Jurassic it was covered for most of the time by a [[marginal sea]] of the western [[Tethys (ocean)|Tethys Ocean]]. At the time when the limestones and dolomites of the White Jura were being deposited, this sea was divided into sponge reefs and intervening lagoons. The reef bodies and the fine-grained lagoon limestones and marls are the material from which the majority of the Franconian Jura is composed today.<ref name="geobavaria_S40ff">Stefan Glaser, Gerhard Doppler and Klaus Schwerde. (eds.): Stefan Glaser, Gerhard Doppler und Klaus Schwerd (Red.): ''GeoBavaria. 600 Millionen Jahre Bayern. Internationale Edition.'' Bayerisches Geologisches Landesamt, Munich, 2004 ([https://www.bestellen.bayern.de/shoplink/93019.htm online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304073250/http://www.bestellen.bayern.de/shoplink/93019.htm |date=2016-03-04 }}), p.&nbsp;40&nbsp;ff.</ref> Following a drop in the sea level towards the end of the Upper Jurassic, larger areas also became part of the mainland at the beginning of the subsequent Cretaceous period. During the Upper Cretaceous, the sea advanced again up to the area of the Franconian Jura. At the end of the Cretaceous, the sea then retreated again from the region.<ref name="geobavaria_S40ff"/> In addition, large parts of South and Central Germany experienced a general uplift -or in areas where the basement had broken through a substantial uplift - the course of formation of the Alps during the Tertiary. Since then, Franconia has been mainly influenced by [[erosion (geology)|erosion]] and [[weathering]] (especially in the Jura in the form of [[karst]]), which has ultimately led to formation of today's landscapes.

==== 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>