Collections of Leon Mornod

Type-, reference- and study collections to Mornod, L. (1949 a). Les Globorotalidés du Crétacé supérieur du Montsalvens (Préalpes fribourgoises). Eclogae geol. Helv., 42, pp. 573-596.

For long time the holotypes to several new species described in Mornod (1949-50) were believed lost. Among these are the holotypes of Rotalipora montsalvensis Mornod (1949-59, Fig. 4, Ia-c), Globotruncana imbricata Mornod (1949-50, Fig. 5, III a-d), and Rotalipora reicheli Mornod (1949-50, Fig. 5, IVa-c). This was the reason, why Neotypes of R. montsalvensis, G. imbricata, and R. reicheli were erected by Caron, M. (1976).

In 2006, Jean Berger was informed by a telephone call from Mme. Mornod, the wife of L. Mornod, that the holotypes of these species were found in the private collection of L. Mornod. Thereafter, on June 20, 2006 the specimens were transferred by M. Caron to the Natural History Museum in Basel, where they are now deposited, see Caron, M. and Spezzaferri, S. (2006). Scanning electron microscope documentation of the lost holotypes of Mornod, 1949: Thalmanniella reicheli and Rotalipora montsalvensis. Journal of Foraminiferal Research, vol. 36(4):374-378.

The collection deposited here keeps the holotypes in new , white Fema cells. The Fema cells, where the specimens were originally deposited and with the original hand-writings (cells now empty) are deposited alongside.

Holotypes:

Dicarinella (Globotruncana) imbricata Mornod 1949

Rotalipora (Globotruncana) reicheli Mornod 1949

Rotalipora (Globotruncana) montsalvensis Mornod 1949

 

 

17 years later, on 9 February 2023, additional materials from Leon Mornod was sent in two boxes to NMB for inclusion with the now existing collection of L. Mornod. One box labelled as "Holotype materials Mornod" contained washed residues in glass tubes from Montsalvens sections II and III published in Mornod (1949 a), 3 trays of Fema-cells with picked Cretaceous planktonic foraminifers (most probably) from Montsalvens sections, 3 trays with a large number of thin sections from Montsalvens sections, 1 tray with sections (or serial sections ?) of singular specimens, and additional residues for comparison from other areas (Plattenauer Mergel of Campanian age from north of Mattsee, Salzburg, Austria, for example, see mentions in Reichel, 1949, Fig. 7b on page 614).

Unfortunately, no extra documentation was available with this material. In a number of the above thin sections, specimens could be identified that were illustrated in the drawings and Plate XV of Mornod (1949 a), however, not all illustrations were found as yet.

 

Of special interest is the observation, that labels with the residues or engraved on the thin sections are Mornod's field numbers (cited as "coll. No's" in his publication), which are different from the numbers of stratigraphic "niveaux" illustrated in sections II and III of Figures 1 and 2 in Mornod (1949 a). Due to the lack of precise information only a selection of the above samples (field numbers) could be definitely associated with the stratigraphic niveaux in Montalvens sections II and III, and for section I no samples were found or identified. A tentative list translating Mornod's (1049a) coll. No's to the published niveau numbers in sections II and III is provided in Table T_Mornod.html.

 

Eingang: 20 June 2006 and 9 February 2023

 

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Study collection to PhD thesis of Mornod. The second box of the sending from 9 February 2023 (labelled as "Mornod collection diverse residues") contained thin-sections and few foto negatives to illustrations, that obviously belong to the thesis of Mornod, L. (1949 b). Géologie de la région de Bulle (Basse-Gruyère) Molasse et bord alpin. Beiträge zur Geologischen Karte der Schweiz, Nouvelle série, 91è livraison, 119 p. The mentioned thin sections are labelled and numbered, but no list with precise sampling locations was delivered (also the geological map with the published thesis does not provide exact sampling locations to these slides).

 

Next to this material there is a small collection of residues (with labels) and thin sections (also with numbers), but unfortunately, without any information about precise provenance and relation to publications (materials of Mornod from other provenances for study and comparison ?).

Identified locations: Creux l'Enfer (=on right side of Lac de la Gruyere, vis-à-vis Tête d'élephant du Lac de la Gruyère), Jogne (La Jogne=Jaunbach), gorge between Lac de Montsalvens and Lac de la Gruère.

 

Eingang: 9 February 2023

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