Fish‐bearing deposits from the Upper Eocene Terminal Complex of the Plana de Vic (Catalonia, NE Spain): Sedimentary context and taphonomy

Abstract

The Upper Eocene fish‐bearing deposits of the Terminal Complex of the Plana de Vic (Ebro Basin, Catalonia, NE Spain) and its fish assemblage are analysed in detail from a stratigraphic and sedimentological point of view. Moreover, the taphonomic features and taxonomy of the fishes are studied for the first time. Fishes belonging to the families Clupeidae, Synodontidae, and an indeterminate percomorph have been identified, including a new lizardfish taxon, Ausonasynodus almerai gen. et sp. nov. The fish specimens are preserved in finely laminated limestones, resulting from the development of microbial mats on the seafloor. The presence of these microbially induced biolaminations favoured the good preservation of the fossil material. The combination of the stratigraphic and sedimentological context of the studied deposits, together with the taphonomic and paleobiological information obtained from the fishes, suggest that they were likely deposited in a shallow marine setting, probably in restricted or protected areas, under arid climatic conditions.