Geozentrum Nordbayern - Pal

Photo of the month August 2026: Heavily bioeroded oncoids from the Upper Jurassic of northern Germany. The fine-grained matrix has been completely dolomitized (presumably before lithification), while the shell fragments and the oncoids retain their calcite mineralogy. Some of the borings contain bivalve shell fragments (see detail in yellow rectangle). Some of the borings are filled with dolomitised matrix, others with dolomite and calcite cements (e.g. in the yellow rectangle). The left portion of the thin section is stained with Alizarin Red S.

Let’s be clear: Without Birgit Leipner-Mata, our Flügel-courses simply wouldn’t be the same. Today, we offer her our heartfelt birthday wishes 🎂 and celebrate 🎉 her long-standing service anniversary at the same time!

For many years, Birgit has ensured that our Carbonate Facies course is always supplied with new thin sections from around the world. It is only thanks to her work that we can continually breathe new life into the course content and provide exclusive insights into carbonate sedimentology.

Thank you for your tireless dedication, dear Birgit!

✨ AND THE AWARDS GO TO... ✨
We had an absolute 🎉 blast at , but the highlight was definitely seeing our team get recognized for their hard work! 🥳 Congrats to all three on well-deserved recognition! 👏
🖼️Joel Koelewijn won the Poster Award! 🎙️Aldo Benites Palomino delivered the best talk by Senior Scientists! ⭐Bastian Seidl snagged the Young Scientist Award!

Ready for ? 🏔️🦕 It kicks off this Sunday, and We are is ready! The majority of the Pal Institute will stick around with talks and even a symposium: 🔥 Monday | Symposium S3: Big Paleontology led by Prof. Kiessling and Dr. Dimitrijevic. Don't miss it! Also, if you have any questions come by, say hi, and let’s connect! 👋

🪸 Is photosymbiosis a coral superpower? Not always!

New research (https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.253224212) shows that the symbiotic relationship modern reef-building corals rely on wasn't always a winning strategy. Before the Triassic, symbiotic corals actually lagged behind non-symbiotic ones and struggled during extinctions.

Everything changed with a massive evolutionary shift in the Triassic. The rise of calcareous plankton altered global ocean chemistry, flipping the conditions for coral diversification.

The big takeaway? Evolution is context-dependent. The advantage of photosymbiosis today isn't a fixed superpower—it depends entirely on the state of the oceans. 🌊

🪨 The Mystery of Dolomite: Solved in Germany’s Franconian Alb? 🇩🇪

Even though dolomite is incredibly common worldwide, scientists still debate exactly how it forms. A new study took a deep dive into the Upper Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) rock layers of southern Germany to figure out how these ancient dolostones were made.
Science is always finding new secrets locked inside ancient reefs! 🌊🔍
PDF available here: https://t1p.de/8ft8v

📉Why are marine animals shrinking?
A new study compiling ~9,000 body size records confirms the "Lilliput Effect". The biggest driver? Warming 🥵. The hotter the ancient climate got, the smaller the species became. This has major implications for our modern warming oceans. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2505564123

Photo of the month July 2026: Thin section of a lagoonal limestone showing a gastropod with geopetal filling (arrow) and numerous small ostracods. The sediment is characterised by large degassing structures (few of them outlined with a yellow dotted line), some of which have been refilled with sediment (Silurian, Gotland, PPL).

Reminder! New MSc (ESDE) at FAU Germany! 🌍🧪
Starts Oct 2026. Interdisciplinary + Science Diplomacy. No tuition fees worldwide! 🎓
Funding: Elite Network of Bavaria.
🗓️ Deadline: July 15
Info & Reg: earthsystem-master.nat.fau.eu

MorphSim was recently featured in a publication. The article was written in collaboration with Rachel Warnock, a member of the PaleoSynthesis Scientific Advisory Board and a Summer School instructor. MorphSim is a R package simulating realistic morphological matrices for total-evidence and tip-dated phylogenetics, including taphonomic preservation biases. DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.70326