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KEUPER

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Originally appearing in Volume V15, Page 766 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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KEUPER , in See also:

geology the third or uppermost subdivision of the Triassic See also:system. The name is a See also:local miners' See also:term of See also:German origin; it corresponds to the See also:French marnes irisees. The formation is well exposed in See also:Swabia, See also:Franconia, See also:Alsace and See also:Lorraine and See also:Luxemburg; it extends from See also:Basel on the See also:east See also:side of the See also:Rhine into See also:Hanover, and northwards it spreads into See also:Sweden and through See also:England into See also:Scotland and See also:north-east See also:Ireland; it appears flanking the central See also:plateau of See also:France and in the See also:Pyrenees and See also:Sardinia. In the German region it is usual to See also:divide the Keuper into three See also:groups, the See also:Rhaetic or upper Keuper, the See also:middle, Hauptkeuper or gypskeuper, and the See also:lower, Kohlenkeuper or Lettenkohle. In See also:Germany the lower See also:division consists mainly of See also:grey See also:clays and schieferletten with See also:white, grey and brightly coloured See also:sandstone and dolomitic See also:limestone. The upper See also:part of this division is often a grey See also:dolomite known as the Grenz dolomite; the impure See also:coal beds—Lettenkohle—are aggregated towards the See also:base. The middle division is thicker than either of the others (at See also:Gottingen, 450 metres); it consists of a marly See also:series below, grey, red and See also:green marls with See also:gypsum and dolomite—this is the gypskeuper in its restricted sense. The higher part of the series is sandy, hence called the Steinmergel; it is comparatively See also:free from gypsum. To this division belong the Myophoria beds (M. Raibliana) with See also:galena in places; the Estheria beds (E. laxitesta); the Schelfsandstein, used as a See also:building-See also:stone; the Lehrberg and See also:Berg-gyps beds; Semionotus beds (S. Bergeri) with building-stone of See also:Coburg; and the See also:Burg-and Stubensandstein. The See also:salt,which is associated with gypsum, is exploited in See also:south Germany at Dreuze, Pettoncourt, See also:Vie in Lorraine and Wimpfen on the See also:Neckar.

AI -See also:

metre coal is found on this See also:horizon in the See also:Erzgebirge, and another, 2 metres thick, has been See also:mined in Upper See also:Silesia. The upper Keuper, Rhaetic or Avicula contorta See also:zone in Germany is mainly sandy with dark grey shales and marls; it is seldom more than 25 metres thick. The sandstones are used for building purposes at See also:Bayreuth, Culmbach and See also:Bamberg. In Swabia and the Wesergebirge are several " See also:bone-beds," thicker than those in the middle Keuper, which contain a See also:rich assemblage of fossil remains of See also:fish, See also:reptiles and the mammalian See also:teeth of Microlestes antiquus and Triglyptus Fraasi. The name Rhaetic is derived from the Rhaetic See also:Alps where the beds are well See also:developed; they occur also in central France, the Pyrenees and England. In S.See also:Tirol and the Judicarian Mountains the Rhaetic is represented by the Kossener beds. In the Alpine region the presence of See also:coral beds gives rise to the so-called " Lithodendron See also:Kalk." In See also:Great See also:Britain the Keuper contains the following sub-divisions: Rhaetic or See also:Penarth beds, grey, red and green marls, See also:black shales and so-called " white See also:lias " (10-150 ft.). Upper Keuper See also:marl, red and grey marls and shales with gypsum and 1 See also:Miller's See also:Artillery Regimental See also:History; see also H. G. See also:Farmer, op. Cit., p. 22 ; See also:illustration 1702, p.

26. 2 See also:

Memoirs of tki Royal Artillery.See also:rock salt (800-3oo ft.). Lower Keuper sandstone, marls and thin sandstones at the See also:top, red and white sandstones (including the so-called " waterstones ") below, with breccias and conglomerates at the base (150-250 ft.). The basal or " dolomitic See also:conglomerate " is a See also:shore or scree See also:breccia derived from local materials; it is well developed in the Mendip See also:district. The rock-salt beds vary from 1 in. to Too ft. in thickness; they are extensively worked (mined and pumped) in See also:Cheshire, See also:Middlesbrough and See also:Antrim. The Keuper covers a large See also:area in the midlands and around the flanks of the Pennine range; it reaches southward to the See also:Devonshire See also:coast, eastward into See also:Yorkshire and north-westward into north Ireland and south Scotland. As in Germany, there are one or more " bone beds " in the See also:English Rhaetic with a similar assemblage of fossils. In the " white lias " the upper hard limestone is known as the " See also:sun See also:bed " or " See also:Jew stone "; at the base is the Cotham or landscape See also:marble. Representatives of the Rhaetic are found in south Sweden, where the lower portion contains workable coals, in the Himalayas, See also:Japan, See also:Tibet, See also:Burma, eastern See also:Siberia and in Spitzbergen. The upper portion of the See also:Karroo beds of South See also:Africa and part of the Otapiri series of New See also:Zealand are probably of Rhaetic See also:age. The Keuper is not rich in fossils; the See also:principal See also:plants are See also:cypress-like conifers (Walchia, Voltzia) and a few calamites with such forms as Equisetum arenaceum and Pterophyllum Jaegeri, Avicula contorta, Protocardium rhaeticum, Terebratula gregaria, Myophoria costata, M. Goldfassi and Lingula tenuessima, Anoplophoria lettica may be mentioned among the invertebrates.

Fishes include Ceratodus, Hybodus and Lepidotus. Labyrinthodonts represented by the footprints of Cheirotherium and the bones of Labyrinthodon, Mastodonsaurus and Capitosaurus. Among the reptiles are Hyperodapedon, Palaeosaurus, Zanclodon, Nothosaurus and Belodon. Microlestes, the earliest known mammalian genus, has already been mentioned. See also the See also:

article TRIASSIC SYSTEM. (J. A.

End of Article: KEUPER

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