Historischer Rückblick, Entwicklung des Kenntnisstandes und aktueller Stand der Forschung zum Tertiär Mitteldeutschlands

Research on the geology, palaeontology and biostratigraphy of the Tertiary now extends back more than 200 years in Central Germany. Research experienced its first peak when E. Beyrich defined the Oligocene as a stage of the Early Tertiary (Palaeogene) in the middle of the 19 th century. Outcrops in Central Germany played a key role during this time. Until the end of the 19 th century, numerous authors examined the fauna, depositional conditions and stratigraphy of the Central German Tertiary. Beyrich and v. Koenen wrote eminent monographs on the Oligocene mollusc faunas as a basis for biostratigraphy. After this "heroic phase", things became rather quiet from the beginning of the 20 th century onwards. The focus of research shifted to other fields and for a long time the above-mentioned works served as the definitive standard references. It was only after 1945 that a more intensive palaeontological-biostratigraphical investigation of the local Palaeogene began again. A large number of authors published material on micropalaeontological studies and step by step standard zonations based on foraminifera, nanoplankton, palynomorphs and dinocysts were established, published and continuously updated. In addition, molluscs were also revised and updated. Fish remains (selachian teeth and fish otoliths), as well as remains of fossil tetrapods, were examined in a modern way. Parallel to this, an intensive study of macrobotanical remnants was undertaken. Today, the region can be considered to have a first-class level of knowledge, to which, of course, the large open-cast lignite mines and numerous drillings for lignite exploration also contributed. Despite this enormous density of knowledge, however, questions remain unanswered. The Latdorfian mollusc fauna as a whole still needs a modern revision and despite the high level of investigation, surprising and outstanding finds are still possible, as the discovery of a rocky shore environment near Mammendorf or the drillings in the Latdorfian near Latdorf show. Moreover, the German division for decades has led to partly different views. Of course, this has to be brought together again. The article presented here is a comprehensive account of the development of knowledge concerning the Tertiary of Central Germany with a focus on geology, stratigraphy, palaeontology and palaeogeography. This finishes with a list of the literature cited. We do not include unpublished literature, such as the numerous reports on the results of lignite exploration during the GDR period, because these are not generally accessible. Furthermore, we do not take into account the countless works on mining and prospecting of mineral resources. Much of this is "grey" literature and/or outside our scope.