Ordovician sponges (Porifera) and other silicifications from Baltica in Neogene and Pleistocene fluvial deposits of the Netherlands and northern Germany

Abstract

Fluvial deposits of Miocene to Early Pleistocene age in Germany and the Netherlands were laid down in the delta of the Eridanos River System, but the exact provenance of this material continues to be a subject of discussion. The aim of the present study is twofold. Firstly, a comparison of Ordovician sponges in these deposits with those from northern Estonia and the St Petersburg region (Russia) demonstrates that these erratics originated from the drainage area of the Pra Neva, a tributary of the Eridanos. Secondly, the importance of Late Ordovician silicified boulders, which yield forms of preservation that are unknown in comparable fossils, preserved in situ, is outlined. Some recommendations for future studies are made.

Keywords

• Baltica
• Eridanos River
• erratics
• Ordovician
• Porifera
• silicifications