Naturdenkmal Ottnangium

The Ottnangium natural monument
The Ottnangium is the name given to a period of time
with a duration of one million years in the area of the central
Paratethys (Molasse Sea). It extended in Upper Austria.
between the Alps in the south and the Bohemian Massif.

The importance of ottnangium in geology
In 1850, the scholar Friedrich Simony removed
30 fossils (fossilisations) from the Ottnang Schliergrube.
These finds were predominantly snails and mussels
and shells that were found during the deposition of the Ottnang Formation
( 18.3 to 17.2 million years before our time ) in the Molasse Sea.

Some of these fossils were new discoveries, which is reflected in some
species names ( e.g. Tellina Ottnangensis ).
This is how the Ottnanger Schliergrube became a place of naming.