First record of the late Campanian heteromorph ammonite Nostoceras hyatti from the Alpine Cretaceous (Grünbach, Gosau Group, Lower Austria)

Abstract

The heteromorph ammonite Nostoceras (Nostoceras) hyatti is described for the first time from the Piesting Formation (Gosau Group; Upper Cretaceous) at Grünbach along the eastern margin of the Northern Calcareous Alps, Lower Austria. This record significantly extends the geographic range of this late Campanian marker species; it was not previously known from the Alpine Cretaceous. Moreover, it corroborates earlier age assignments as late Campanian of the (lower) part of the Piesting Formation. A matrix sample taken from the specimen studied has yielded taxa whose range covers zones CC20 to CC23, or UC 15tp to UC18, of the standard nannofossil zonation.