Oligocene(23.03-33.9 Ma), early Oligocene 28.4-33.9 Ma
Roman occupancy along the Rupelriver mainly based itself on clay- and brickproduction, till these days some quarries still dig for clay in Rumst, Kruibeke, etc. The fossils found in the clay are of Rupelian age, though on top of the clay eroded fossils from Pleistocene , Pliocene and Miocene age can be found.
Clayworkers in the beginning of the 20th century had to mold the clay with their hands and often complained about the still sharp sharkteeth cutting their hands.
Species(Incomplete list with some representative finds)
Invertebrates
Marine plankton
Arthropoda
Brachyura
Insecta
Echinodermata
Spines
Mollusca
Gastropoda
Ficus concinnus (Beyrich, 1856)
Drepanocheilus speciosa (von Schlotheim, 1820)
Eotyphis scalaris (Braun, 1850)
Alvania cf. rupeliensis Tembrock, 1969
Turricala regularis (De Koninck, 1837)
Clio blinkae A.W. Janssen, 1989
Bivalvia
Patinopecten rupeliensis (Koenen, 1868)
Cyclocardia kickxi (Nyst & Westendorp, 1839)
Corbula (Varicobula) g. gibba (ol iVi, 1792)
Nuculana deshayesiana (Nyst, 1835)
Thyasira obtusa (Beyrich, 1848) ?
Lophophorata
Brachiopoda
Bryozoa
Pisces
Elasmobranchii
Isurus flandricus (Leriche,1910)
Carcharias acutissima (Agassiz, 1843)
Araloselachus cuspidata (Agassiz, 1843)
Cethorinus parvus (Leriche, 1908)
Physogaleus latus (Storms, 1894)
Lamna rupeliensis (Le Hon, 1871)
Squalus alsaticus (Andreae, 1892)
Woellsteinia oligocaena Reinecke, Stapf & Raisch, 2001
Lethenia vandenbroecki (Winkler, 1880)
Plants
Mammalia
Patterns on the Oligocene seafloor
Minerals
Rare insect found in the Rupelian clay, most are new to science. It's now in the custody of the Natural History museum Brussels, where further investigation is done and it will complement their collection.
Stratigraphies
Rupelian finds Schelderiver, ex-situ
Rupelian Rumst, in-situ/ex-situ
Rupelian Kruibeke, in-situ/ex-situ
Rupelian Antwerp, ex-situ
Other mines, in-situ