Nuevos enfoques sobre los vertebrados del Pérmico y Triásico de la Península Ibérica, con énfasis en las cuencas Pirenaica y Catalana

J Fortuny,À Galobart,A Bolet,A.G Sellés,J Cartanyà

doi:10.5209/rev_jige.2011.v37.n1.5

Abstract

Few studies paid attention to the Permian and Triassic vertebrates from the Iberian Peninsula and a re-evaluation of these faunas is needed in order to compare them with other European basins. As a first step, we present here the available data from the Catalonian and Pyrenean basins (NE of the Iberian Peninsula), offering new insights on the diversity and temporal distribution of their vertebrate faunas. The two basins have yielded unexpectedly abundant and diverse vertebrate assemblages, including fishes, amphibians and reptiles from continental and marine environments. The revision of classical finds and the analysis of new material provide data towards an understanding of the evolutionary and palaebiogeographical history of the Permian and Triassic vertebrate Iberian faunas. Permian remains mainly correspond to footprints recovered from alluvial deposits; the osteological record is scarce in the Iberian Peninsula. Early Triassic vertebrate localities are unknown. Middle Triassic faunas are abundant and reflect the change from continental environments to a wide diversity of coastal and marine depositional environments. During the Anisian, faunas are represented by footprints and skeletal remains of amphibians (capitosaurs) and terrestrial reptiles (archosauromorphs and procolophonoids). Ichthyofauna, sauropterygians, thalattosaurs and protorosaurians are known through the late Anisian and Ladinian. Finally, Late Triassic localities representing coastal environments have also yielded marine reptiles (sauropterygians) and a diverse ichthyofauna.

Highlights

Permian and Triassic vertebrate assemblages from the Iberian Peninsula are poorly known
Triassic fossils are lacking between the common “Thuringian” and Anisian assemblages due to the presence of a stratigraphic hiatus and/or the existence of arid environments that prevented optimal conditions for life and fossil preservation, causing difficulties with the age determination of the Early Triassic deposits
Using the maximum consensus of several paleogeographic reconstructions of the Iberian Peninsula and southern Europe during the Late Permian and the Triassic (Garrido-Mejías and Villena-Morales, 1977; Sopeña et al, 1988; Ziegler, 1990; López-Gómez et al, 2002; Vera, 2004; Sopeña et al, 2009; Linol et al, 2009), and the results obtained from the vertebrate localities above described, we propose six maps corresponding to the Iberian area during six different intervals of time (Fig. 9), in order to discuss vertebrate finds and their palaeobiogeographic significance during the analyzed time span

Summary

Introduction

Permian and Triassic vertebrate assemblages from the Iberian Peninsula are poorly known. Permian vertebrates are only represented by footprints from the Pyrenees and the Cantabrian mountains (Robles and Llompart, 1987; Gand et al, 1997; Demathieu et al, 2008; Fortuny et al, 2010), and skeletal remains are only known from the Balearic Islands (Pretus and Obrador, 1987). Triassic vertebrate assemblages are mostly represented by marine taxa (Sanz et al, 1993). Several other vertebrate-bearing sites occur in both Buntsandstein and Muschelkalk facies. Those sites yielded bones and teeth of fishes, amphibians and reptiles as well as tetrapod footprints

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Discussion

Conclusion