Evidence for African–Iberian exchanges during the Messinian in the Spanish mammalian record

Abstract

The thick continental record in the Fortuna Basin enables the to establishment of an accurate chronology for the main mammalian events in the Western Mediterranean between 7.6 and 4.5 my, thus covering the whole Messinian interval. A first mammalian event at about 7.2 my records a significant turnover in the muroid rodent associations. A second mammalian event is characterized by the dispersal of the murid Paraethomys and a number of large mammals which indicates a first African–Iberian exchange at about 6.2 my. Finally, a third mammalian event dated between 5.9 and 5.3 my involved the dispersal from northern Africa of the gerbil rodents. This event is clearly associated with the Mediterranean sea level drop following the Messinian Salinity Crisis.