Ruscinian Age Research Articles

THE VERTEBRATE FAUNA OF THE LOWER PLIOCENE CONTINENTAL DEPOSITS IN THE EBRO DELTA (BAIX EBRE BASIN, NE SPAIN)

The Pliocene faunas of the northeastern Iberian Peninsula are poorly known due to the scarcity of deposits from this interval. In this context, the site of Sant Nofre-Campredó (Baix Ebre, Catalonia, Spain), comprising two contemporaneous outcrops belonging to geologically correlated sections (Sant Nofre and Campredó-Via Fèrria), makes a significant contribution to the study of Pliocene faunas in this region. The first vertebrate remains were recovered in the late 1970s in clay deposits close to the Sant Nofre Hill. Later, intensive sampling in the 1980s at the Campredó-Via Fèrria outcrop led to the recovery of more than a hundred fossil specimens, including small vertebrates and large mammals. Here, we revise these collections to expand and update the vertebrate list, better constrain the age of the continental deposits, and characterize the environment and climate around the mouth of the Ebro River during the formation of the site. Up to 24 vertebrate species have been identified at Sant Nofre-Campredó, including amphibians, reptiles, and mammals. The presence of the rodents Paraethomys baeticus Piñero & Verzi, 2020, Apocricetus barrierei (Mein & Michaux 1970), and Occitanomys brailloni Michaux, 1969 implies an early Ruscinian age (MN14 unit) for the two outcrops. Biostratigraphic correlations with other well-dated sites in the Iberian Peninsula refine the estimated age of Sant Nofre-Campredó to approximately 4.6 Ma. The ecological affinities of the identified fauna reveal a landscape dominated by woodland habitats in the surroundings of the site during the Early Pliocene, with presence of open humid meadows and water bodies under warm and moist climatic conditions.

Fossil micromammals of the early Pliocene locality of Almenara MB: biostratigraphical and palaeoecological implications

In this work, we have studied the fossil rodent, insectivore and chiropteran faunas, of a new locality from the AlmenaraCasablanca karstic complex, named ACB MB (Castellón, east Spain). We consider an early Ruscinian age for this site, close to the Miocene/Pliocene boundary, and infer warm and relatively humid conditions from the analysis of the micromammal assemblage. We remark the presence of two species of Eliomys in ACB MB, rare in localities of this age, and the lack of any gerbil remains, fossil markers of faunal interchanges between Africa and Europe in the context of the Messinian Salinity Crisis, recorded in the nearby late Miocene site of ACB M

Rodents from Baza-1 (Guadix-Baza Basin, southeast Spain): filling the gap of the early Pliocene succession in the Betics

ABSTRACTThe Guadix-Baza Basin (Granada, southern Spain) represents one of the best continental records from the late Miocene to the middle Pleistocene in western Europe, but stratigraphic gaps are present in the early Pliocene due to the scarcity of sites from this time. In this article, rodent fossils from the locality of Baza-1 are described, providing new information on a time interval that was previously poorly known. The assemblage includes representatives of the genera Ruscinomys, Apocricetus, Stephanomys, Apodemus, Castillomys, Paraethomys, Occitanomys, Eliomys, Debruijnimys, and Trilophomys, an association that indicates an early Ruscinian age (MN14). A paleoecological analysis indicates that the Guadix-Baza Basin landscape during the early Pliocene was dominated by open herbaceous habitat under warm and dry climatic conditions. Our results contribute to the continuity of the stratigraphic record from the Betic Mountain range.

The Early PliocenePlesiohipparionandProboscidipparion(Equidae, Hipparionini) from Çalta, Turkey (Ruscinian Age,c.4.0 Ma)

ABSTRACT The Early Pliocene locality of Calta, Turkey (Ruscinian Age, c. 4.0 Ma) has two species of advanced hipparionine horses that we refer to Plesiohipparion cf. longipes (Gromova, 1952) and Proboscidipparion heintzi (Eisenmann & Sondaar, 1998). Our study follows an extensive treatment of the entire mammalian fauna in 1998 and in particular an important and comprehensive work on the hipparions by Eisenmann & Sondaar in 1998. We undertake herein a morphologic and metric analysis of skulls, mandibles, dentitions and postcranial elements to segregate all elements into these two taxa. Our analysis follows and concurs with Eisenmann & Sondaar's work except for the generic attributions here which are original. Beyond the basic empirical work here, we strike comparisons to other Old World hipparion lineages and find that these two hipparion taxa compare closely, at the genus level, to Asian Plesiohipparion Qiu, Huang & Guo, 1987 and Proboscidipparion Sefve, 1927. Our comparisons further elucidate that Plesio...

Mio-Pliocene rodent assemblages from Alcoi Forn (Alcoy Basin, Eastern Spain). Biostratigraphical and palaeoclimatical inferences

In this work, we describe four new micromammal sites in the northern side of the Gormaget ravine, in the Alcoy Basin (Spain): AF-1’06, AF-1’07, AF-1A and AF-2. Based on the study of the faunal remains from these localities, we infer a latest Turolian-earliest Ruscinian age for AF-1’06 and AF-1A, and an earliest Ruscinian age for AF-1’07 and AF-2. The species assemblage of the locality AF-1’06, the only one which have yielded a sufficient number of remains to perform a palaecological analysis, shows warm and dry conditions near the Mio-Pliocene boundary in the Alcoy Basin. These data show a reduction of dry and warm indicators from older to younger localities in the Alcoy Basin, suggesting a change to colder and more humid conditions during the Early Pliocene.

Miocene/Pliocene mammal faunas of southern Balkans: implications for biostratigraphy and palaeoecology

Even though there are numerous late Miocene mammal localities in the southern Balkans, those of late Turolian and early Ruscinian age are uncommon. Using the available data, mainly from Greece and Bulgaria, we compiled information about the faunal and palaeoenvironmental changes at the Miocene/Pliocene boundary. The analysis of the faunal elements indicates that several Miocene taxa disappeared, whereas new taxa appeared. The faunal composition of the mammal zones suggests a decrease of the bovids and giraffids and an increase of cervids and suids from MN 12 to MN 14. The available faunal assemblages from zones MN 12–MN 14 are compared with a set of modern and fossil assemblages from known environments to determine their palaeoenvironment. The results indicate an increase of the closed character of the environment from MN 12 to MN 14, suggesting a gradual increase of the humidity and the development of more forestial conditions. The rodent faunas from northern Greece ranging from MN 13 to MN 14 show a characteristic aridification of the biotopes and the introduction of African elements in the last part of the MN 13 (during the Messinian Salinity Crisis), with a subsequent return of humid-and/or-forested biotopes towards the MN 13/14 boundary. The faunal and sedimentological data for the Greek localities correlated with the Turolian/Ruscinian boundary suggests a general open landscape with several water spots of variable sizes surrounded by dense forests.

Aproximación a la correlación marino-continental del Plioceno inferior en el Sur de España. El yacimiento de micromamíferos de Alhaurín el Grande-1 (Cuenca de Málaga, Cordillera Bética, España)

Un nuevo yacimiento de micromamíferos en Alhaurín el Grande (Málaga, Sur de España) situado sobre depósitos marinos del Plioceno inferior permite una aproximación a la correlación marino-continental para esa época. El relleno sedimentario marino del Plioceno inferior en el conjunto de la cuenca de Málaga comprende tres secuencias transgresivas-regresivas (unidades Pl-1, Pl-2 y Pl-3) limitadas por discordancias. A techo de la secuencia intermedia Pl-2, sedimentos turbosos han liberado restos de Rodentia, Lagomorpha, Insectivora y Crocodylia. La presencia de Cricetus barrieri Mein & Michaux, 1970 en asociación con dos múridos, uno con morfología primitiva (Apodemus gudrunae Van de Weerd, 1976) y otros más evolucionados próximo a Occitanomys brailloni Michaux, 1969 y Stephanomys donnezani cordii Ruiz Bustos, 1986, permiten inferir una edad Rusciniense inferior (biozona MN14). En función de los foraminíferos planctónicos, los datos bioestratigráficos indican que los sedimentos marinos justo por debajo del nivel de micromamíferos pertenecen a la biozona MPL-2 del Zancliense inferior. Los datos paleomagnéticos disponibles muestran que el nivel de micromamíferos se localiza entre el subcron geomagnético normal C3n3n (4.89-4.80 Ma) y el subcron C3n2n (4.63-4.49 Ma), limitando la edad del yacimiento a la parte superior del Zancliense inferior.

Marine-continental magnetobiostratigraphic correlation of the Dolomys subzone (middle of Late Ruscinian): implications for the Late Ruscinian age

Abstract Lacustrine deposits, which form part of a continental unit cropping out in many localities of the Jerez Basin (SW Spain), have for the first time been dated. These deposits are attributed to the lower part of the Dolomys subzone, the upper part of the MN 15 Neogene Mammal Unit (late Ruscinian). This continental unit unconformably overlies a marine unit. Since the isochrony of the unconformity is not precisely established, the biostratigraphic results and palaeomagnetic data give two possibilities in correlating the Dolomys subzone with the marine magnetobiostratigraphy: (1) it can be correlated with the C2Ar reversed-polarity chron, or (2) with the C2An.2r reversed-polarity subchron (or C2An.1r ?). Therefore, the lower boundary of the MN 15 would be at the base of the C2Ar or at the very top of the Early Pliocene, respectively. In any case, considering the magnetobiostratigraphy correlation carried out in other Pliocene continental basins of the southeastern Spain, the top of MN 15 seems to be within the Late Pliocene.

Precisiones biostratigráficas y paleoecológicas en el Neogeno de la Cuenca del Bajo Segura (Cordillera Bética oriental)

In the Neogene sediments of the Lower Segura Basin (Eastern Betic Cordillera) have been studied three localities with fossil micromammals. They yielded a fauna which date the stratigraphic units MS-IV (Upper Tortonian-Messinian) and P-I (Lower Pliocene). The two older, named Castro and Pantano de Elche (Pantel) date the base of the Upper Turolian (zone MNI2) and the Ventian (zone MN13) respectively; they both belongs to the unit MS-IV. The younger one, locate in the Barranco de Fayona (Fayona) indicates a Lower Ruscinian age (zone MNI4) of the unit P-I, which was considered until now as Upper Pliocene.

A pliocene primate from Macedonia (Greece)

A cercopithecid mandible is described from the locality Megalo Emvolon in Macedonia (Greece). The main morphological characters of the mandible and teeth as well as the dimensions allow us to attribute this specimen to Dolichopithecus ruscinensis. The mandible is compared with known material from Europe. The similarity of the Megalo Emvolon specimen to the material from Perpignan indicates a late Ruscinian age (MN 15) for Megalo Emvolon. This age is also confirmed by the other faunal and stratigraphical data. Three different primate biozones in Macedonia are discussed: the Ouranopithecus biozone of the Vallesian, the Mesopithecus biozone of the Turolian and the Dolichopithecus biozone of the Ruscinian.