Valles-Penedes Basin Research Articles

The Record of Prodeinotherium in the Iberian Peninsula: New Data from the Vallès-Penedès Basin

Deinotheres (Proboscidea, Deinotheriidae) are a clade of non-elephantiform proboscideans that originated in Africa and dispersed into Eurasia by the early Miocene. In Europe, deinotheres are first recorded in Greece during MN3, although they did not become a common faunal element throughout Europe until MN4. Early Miocene (MN3–MN4) deinothere remains from Europe are generally assigned to a different species (Prodeinotherium cuvieri) than those from the early middle Miocene (Prodeinotherium bavaricum; MN5–MN6). In the Valles-Penedes Basin (NE Iberian Peninsula), Prodeinotherium remains are very scarce and largely remain unpublished. To clarify their taxonomic assignment, we describe the available material and compare it with that from elsewhere in Europe. Based on size and a few diagnostic occlusal details, we tentatively recognize both Prodeinotherium cf. P. cuvieri and Prodeinotherium cf. P. bavaricum in the basin. Although all the studied sites had previously been correlated to MN4, the recognition of P. cf. P. bavaricum at els Casots and les Escletxes is consistent with ongoing litho- and magnetostratigraphic studies suggesting a slightly younger age for these sites. The lack of Prodeinotherium remains in older (MN3) localities from the Valles-Penedes Basin, where Gomphotherium is already recorded, further supports the view that deinotheres dispersed into Western Europe somewhat later than gomphotheres.

New Early Miocene Material of Iberictis, the Oldest Member of the Wolverine Lineage (Carnivora, Mustelidae, Guloninae)

We describe new dental remains of the genus Iberictis (Carnivora: Mustelidae) from the late early Miocene of the Iberian Peninsula. The new fossils of Iberictis azanzae from Artesilla (16.5–16.3 Ma, MN4; Calatayud-Teruel Basin, Zaragoza, Spain) add important morphological information about this species. Material from another species, Iberictis buloti, is described from els Casots (16.5–16.3 Ma, MN4; Valles-Penedes Basin, Barcelona, Spain). This material constitutes the most complete sample of Iberictis and the first record of I. buloti in the Iberian Peninsula. Our analyses confirm the taxonomic validity of both species, and confirm the more plesiomorphic status of I. buloti compared to I. azanzae. Re-examination of large mustelid Miocene genera (Dehmictis, Ekorus, Eomellivora, Hoplictis, Iberictis, Ischyrictis, and Plesiogulo) and their inclusion for the first time in a cladistic analysis indicate that Iberictis is the sister taxon of Plesiogulo, and that these genera constitute the sister group of the extant wolverine (Gulo gulo). Our analysis thus confirms a close relationship between the early Miocene Iberictis, the late Miocene Plesiogulo, and the Plio-Pleistocene Gulo. Iberictis is the oldest member of Gulonini, the total clade of wolverines, thereby tracking the fossil record of this clade back to the early Miocene. We further propose a new systematic arrangement for the aforementioned large Miocene mustelids into the subfamilies Guloninae, Mellivorinae, and Mustelinae.

La simiente de la evolución (1966, BAC): El desarrollo de la Paleontología Humana en España en las últimas tres décadas

La paleontologia humana en Espana ha experimentado un crecimiento extraordinario en las ultimas decadas. En este trabajo indagamos la influencia que el libro La evolucion (1966) y sus editores, Miquel Crusafont, Bermudo Melendez y Emiliano Aguirre, han podido ejercer en esta explosion de resultados. Dos areas han protagonizado un especial desarrollo: el estudio de los hominoideos del Mioceno, vinculable en su origen a la figura de Crusafont y a los yacimientos de la cuenca del Valles-Penedes (Barcelona), y el de las primeras ocupaciones humanas en Europa, intimamente relacionado con la figura de Aguirre y las excavaciones de Atapuerca (Burgos). Diferentes factores han contribuido a este progreso, pero la inercia investigadora de La evolucion y sus fundamentos conceptuales han sido clave para el desarrollo de la disciplina.

Les Cases de la Valenciana, a new early Miocene small-mammal locality from the Vallès-Penedès Basin (Catalonia, Spain)

The Valles-Penedes Basin (Catalonia, Spain) is classical area for the study of Miocene land mammal faunas. Nevertheless, the early Miocene part of the record has deserved little attention as compared to younger intervals. Most notably, the small mammals of this age have not been described in detail, consequently hampering the correlation of the Valles-Penedes record with other chronological schemes. In this work we describe the rich and diverse small mammal fauna from Les Cases de la Valenciana site (Gelida, Alt Penedès) which includes marsupials, eulipotyphlans, lagomorphs and rodents. On the basis of the presence of the cricetids Megacricetodon and Democricetodon this site is correlated with European Neogene zone MN4, yielding an age of 17–16 Ma. However, the rodent assemblage is comparable to that of chronologically close localities of the Calatayud-Montalbán Basin (Aragon, Spain), indicating that the same biochronological scheme can be applied to both areas. In this way, the coexistence of the eomyids Ligerimys ellipticus and Ligerimys florancei coupled with the presence of Megacricetodon primitivus indicates a correlation with local biozone Ca of the Calatayud-Montalban Basin, ranging from 16.3 to 16 Ma. Finally, the correlation of other early Miocene sites of the Valles-Penedes Basin is discussed and refined.

An updated biostratigraphy for the late Aragonian and Vallesian of the Vallès-Penedès Basin (Catalonia)

The Valles-Penedes Basin (Catalonia, Spain) is a classical area for the study of the Miocene land mammal faunas and comprises one of densest and most continuous records in Eurasia. Furthermore, it is the type area for the Vallesian European land mammal age. After decades of study a huge amount of bio- and magnetostratigraphical data have been collected, allowing an unprecedented dating accuracy. Here we provide an updated local biostratigraphy for the late Aragonian, Vallesian and Turolian of the Valles-Penedes Basin. This new biostratigraphic scheme is almost exclusively based on fossil rodents, which represent the most abundant and one of the best known mammal orders in the area. Our proposal represents a significant refinement compared to previous attempts and provides a formal diagnosis and description of each zone, as well as clear boundaries and a reference locality and section. The chronology of zone boundaries and main bioevents is based on detailed magnetostratigraphical data. The defined biozones allow for the correlation of the sites without associated magnetostratigraphical data. Finally, the correlation of the Valles-Penedes local zones with other detailed local biostratigraphies, such as those of the Calatayud-Montalban and Teruel basins (east-central Spain) is discussed. The order and chronology of the main bioevents is roughly comparable, although the rodent succession shows some differences between these areas, particularly during the Vallesian.

A New Skull of Hyaenictis Gaudry, 1861 (Carnivora, Hyaenidae) Shows Incipient Adaptations to Durophagy

The European Miocene records a wide diversity of hyaenid ecomorphotypes represented by multiple genera. Among these, Hyaenictis Gaudry, 1861, is one of the least known. This genus includes four species from the late Miocene and Pliocene of the Old World, but in Europe Hyaenictis is only represented by two species, recorded by scarce and fragmentary remains: Hyaenictis graeca Gaudry, 1861, from Pikermi (MN12; Greece) and Hyaenictis almerai Villalta Comella and Crusafont Pairo, 1948, from Sant Miquel de Toudell (MN10; Valles-Penedes Basin, NE Iberia). Here, we describe a new skull of Hyaenictis aff. almerai from the Valles-Penedes site of Ronda Oest Sabadell Sector D (MN10), representing the most complete European specimen of the genus. In the presence of m2 and virtual lack of m1 metaconid, the described cranium more closely resembles Hyaenictis rather than any other medium- to large-sized European hyaenid. However, the new skull does not fit well with previously known Hyaenictis species, more closely resembling the bone-cracking Adcrocuta Kretzoi, 1938, in the development of premolar accessory cuspids and the possession of relatively broad cheek teeth. These and other features (strong mandibular muscular insertions and enamel microstructure) denote more durophagous adaptations than previously documented in Hyaenictis (considered a cursorial/dog-like hyaena), and favor the inclusion of H. aff. almerai in the transitional bone-cracking hyaenid ecomorphotype.

Late Miocene flying squirrels from Can Llobateres 1 (Vallès-Penedès Basin, Catalonia): systematics and palaeobiogeography

The flying squirrels (Sciuridae, Pteromyini) from the late Miocene (MN9, early Vallesian) site of Can Llobateres 1 (Valles-Penedes Basin, Catalonia, Spain) are represented by up to five different taxa: Albanensia aff. grimmi, Miopetaurista neogrivensis, Miopetaurista crusafonti, Blackia miocaenica and cf. Pliopetaurista sp. Miopetaurista crusafonti is by far the most abundant flying squirrel, and an emended differential diagnosis for this species is proposed on the basis of the rich collection from Can Llobateres 1. The presence of Blackia miocaenica and cf. Pliopetaurista sp. at this site deserves special attention because these taxa have not been previously reported from Spain during the Vallesian. Despite their extreme rarity in the Valles-Penedes Basin, evidence indicates greater faunal affinities with the Central European forest faunas than with other regions. Indeed, flying squirrels are not recorded from any other Spanish site during the Vallesian, which supports previous studies which have shown that Catalonia represented a transitional area between Central Europe and the drier and less forested regions of inner Spain. The brief occurrence of B. miocaenica and cf. Pliopetaurista sp. at Can Llobateres 1 might be explained by the short-lasting presence of favourable environments, although the available data do not indicate any major environmental change. Alternatively, we suggest that their presence is likely related to the enormous sampling effort devoted to this site, allowing for the recovery of very rare taxa. Therefore, these flying squirrels would have a longer range in the area but would have very specific ecological requirements, which, in turn, would account for their rarity.

On the identity of a hominoid male upper canine from the Vallès-Penedès Basin figured by Pickford (2012)

Pickford (2012) inadvertently figured—with an incorrect catalogue number—an unpublished male upper canine of a hominoid primate from the Valles-Penedes Basin (without specifying its locality of provenance), and attributed it to the Late Miocene fossil great ape Hispanopithecus laietanus. In fact, this canine comes from the Middle Miocene local stratigraphic series of Abocador de Can Mata (ACM), and shows greater similarities with Middle Miocene hominoids than with Hispanopithecus. Here we report the correct catalogue number of this specimen (IPS41714) and provide details on its locality of provenance (ACM/C4-Ap) as well as estimated age (11.9 Ma). On morphologic grounds, we further justify the attribution of this specimen to Dryopithecus fontani, previously recorded by craniodental remains at another ACM locality with the same age, and also correct several other minor errors.

Estimating paleogeographic, hydrological and climatic conditions in the upper Burdigalian Vallès-Penedès basin (Catalunya, Spain)

During the evolution of the Valles-Penedes basin, several transgressive pulses in the upper Burdigalian led to a partial flooding of the western part of the basin, leaving locally sabkha-salina evaporite sediments in the area of the village of Vilobi. Due to its geometric configuration with a restricted access to the open sea, deeper marine evaporites do not occur in the basin. A mathematical model of fluid circulation, evaporation outflow, solute transport and evaporite deposition is applied in order to test possible paleogeographic, hydrological and climatic conditions which may have influenced salinity of sea water in the upper Burdigalian Valles-Penedes embayment. Simulation results indicate that the absence of marine gypsum sediments in the basin may be related to a significant freshwater supply. The shift from the Neogene basin drainage pattern along the complete basin axis with elevated freshwater discharge to the river drainage towards the Barcelona area occurred at later stages of the basin evolution.

Firmground ichnofacies recording high-frequency marine flooding events (Langhian transgression, Vallés-Penedés Basin, Spain)

The decapod burrow Spongeliomorpha sudolica occurs associated with transgressive firmgrounds in the transition between Aragonian continental red beds and Langhian marine units in some of the inner sectors of the Valles-Penedes Basin. This ichnospecies designates branching burrow systems with scratch marks in the walls produced by marine crustacean decapods. The occurrence of Spongeliomorpha represents an example of the Glossifungites ichnofacies. The several horizons where the traces are found are intercalated with continental red beds a few meters below the main transgressive surface, which is overlain by fossiliferous marine sandstones. The Spongeliomorpha-bioturbated layers record short, high frequency marine flooding surfaces that may be related either to actual sea-level changes or to variations in tectonic subsidence or sediment input. In any case, these flooding events punctuated the early phases of the Langhian transgression in the basin.

A reinterpretation of the taxonomy of from Vallès-Penedès, Catalonia (Spain)

Abstract The aim of this paper is to present a critical review of the morphological evidence that has been advanced to support the recognition of two species ofDryopithecus—Dryopithecus laietanusandDryopithecus crusafonti—in the collections of fossil hominoids from the Valles-Penedes basin in northeastern Spain. Based on a study of the morphological details of the dentition in the fossils, and comparisons with the ranges and patterns of variation seen in extant hominoids, an alternative interpretation of the taxonomy ofDryopithecusfrom Spain is presented. The main results of this analysis can be summarized as follows: (1) there is no convincing morphological or metrical evidence to support the recognition of more than one species ofDryopithecusin the collections from Valles-Penedes; (2) all of the material from Valles-Penedes can be attributed toD. laietanus(Villalta & Crusafont, 1944); (3) the speciesD. crusafontiBegun, 1992 is considered to be insufficiently distinct fromD. laietanus, and is recognized here as a junior synonym of the latter; and (4) the El Firal mandible from the Spanish Pyrenees is best attributed toDryopithecus fontani.