The Schistes bitumineux (French for Oil shale/Bituminous shale) is an Early Jurassic geologic formation in Bascharage, Luxembourg that is located within an oil shale, hence the name.

Geology

This formation may be part of the larger Sachrang Formation, which also outcrops in Luxembourg, among other countries. The type locality is the Edward Steichen Industrial Zone near Bascharage and it is part of a near-continuous layer of hard, finely laminated, micritic carbonate nodules. The Schistes bitumineux underlies the middle Toarcian Marnes à Bifrons Formation, which outcrops in both Luxembourg and France.

History

Fossils have been found in the Schistes bitumineux since at least the 1930s, and the formation has been studied since at least 1938. The Schistes bitumineux was identified as being a unit of the Sachrang Formation shortly after its discovery. Henrotay et al. (1989) produced a detailed list of the known fossils from the Schistes bitumineux. The Serpentinum Chronozone and Exaratum Subchronozone were identified by Page (2003) based on ammonite remains found in the area. In May 2022, during the Lost Ocean Digging, the Luxembourg National Museum of Natural History excavated the lower part of the formation for the first time. The lower part of the formation was described in more detail by Fuchs, Weis & Thuy (2024).

Paleofauna and paleoflora