The debated age of the ammonoid Durvilleoceras Waterhouse

SummaryAlthough the ammonoid Durvilleoceras is apparently very close in its morphology to early Triassic genera, it comes from a formation that underlies formations with early Triassic and late Permian faunas, and appears to be of late Middle Permian age. New occurrences of the ammonoid support this thesis. Conjecturally, the genus may have inhabited deep cold waters of the southern hemisphere during the Permian Period, before giving rise to genera found in shelf deposits of the early Triassic. Alternatively, if really Triassic in age, Durvilleoceras indicates a major low-angle thrust, previously unsuspected, that has repeated Triassic sequences for a length of over 450 km before disruption by the Alpine Fault. No evidence is yet known to support this alternative.