Fossil Shells from Middle Europe

The Badenian is a regional stage of the middle Miocene of the Central Paratethys. The Badenian lasted from  16.5 mio years ago  to 13 mio years ago. The Badenian base corresponds to the Langhian base, and the upper Badenian reaches to the middle horizons of the Serravallian of the Mediterranean Tethys.

The Badenian sea left a rich occurrence of marine fossils in Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Poland.

My name is Toni Breitenberger and I am living close to the locus typicus of the Badenian: Sooss, a brickyard close to the city of Baden in Austria. It has been closed for years now and it is difficult to find any fossils there. Fortunately some other locations still offer opportunities for digging fossils.

In my favorite outcrop Gainfarn, amidst today's fields and vineyards, there once was a shallow tropic sea with sandy sea bottoms covered with seaweed and small riffs. It offered living space for corals, shells, sea-urchins, crabs, fish, sharks and manatees. Many faunistic details can be compared with today's Red Sea.

In Gainfarn's marl the fossil shells are often nicely preserved. Gastropods and bivalves make up more than 99 percent of all macro fossils found. The objective of this website is to make you familiar with this "lost world".