Fossile Invertebrates (Tertiary and Quaternary) at the Naturkundemuseum Stuttgart

Size of the collection: ca. 1,300.000 specimens.

The dataset "Fossile Invertebrates (Tertiary and Quaternary)" features a small subsample of the total collection which mainly consists of molluscs (gastropods and pelecypods) and insects. Other invertebrates, such as echinoderms (sea urchins, starfish), crayfish, corals and sponges, are present in small quantities. The molluscs of the Tertiary and especially of the Quaternary already are quite similar to the present-day forms. Through the knowledge of the environmental requirements of the Recent molluscs their fossil relatives partly become important environmental indicators. This is especially true for the Ice Age with its intense climatic oscillations. Good exposures in Tertiary and Quaternary sediments are less frequent than in Triassic and Jurassic ones and they often are accessible for a short time only. Therefore many collections represent important, irreproducible documents of the younger earth's history.

Easy-language version

Fossil invertebrate collection

The collection has about 1,300,000 specimens.

This dataset is called “Fossil Invertebrates (Tertiary and Quaternary)”.

The dataset shows only a small part of the full collection.

What does the collection include?

Most specimens are:

• molluscs, such as snails and bivalves,
• insects.

The collection also has smaller numbers of other animals without backbones:

• echinoderms, such as sea urchins and starfish,
• crayfish,
• corals,
• sponges.

Why are these fossils important?

The fossils come from the Tertiary and Quaternary periods.

Molluscs from these periods are often quite similar to molluscs living today.

Scientists know which environments modern molluscs need. For example, some molluscs need warm water. Others need cold water.

This knowledge helps scientists understand past environments from fossil molluscs.

Fossil molluscs are especially important for studying the Ice Age.

During the Ice Age, the climate changed strongly and often.

Important records of Earth’s history

Rock layers from the Tertiary and Quaternary periods are often difficult to find.

These layers are less common than rock layers from the Triassic and Jurassic periods.

Also, places where these layers can be studied are often open for only a short time. For example, a construction site may later be built over.

For this reason, museum collections are important records of younger Earth history.

Scientists cannot collect the same fossils again at many of these sites.

Glossary

Bivalve
A bivalve is an animal with 2 shell parts. Mussels and clams are bivalves.

Environmental indicator
An environmental indicator gives information about an environment in the past. For example, it can show whether a place was warm or cold.

Fossil
A fossil is the preserved remain or trace of a plant or animal from the past.

Invertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. Insects, snails, and corals are invertebrates.

Mollusc
A mollusc is an animal such as a snail, mussel, or clam.

Quaternary
The Quaternary is the most recent period in Earth’s history. It includes the Ice Age and the present day.

Tertiary
The Tertiary is an older name for a long period in Earth’s history before the Quaternary.