The mammalian assemblage of Mazan (Vaucluse, France) and its position in the Early Oligocene European palaeobiogeography
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The mammalian assemblage of Mazan (Vaucluse, France) and its position in the Early Oligocene European palaeobiogeography Olivier Maridet • Marguerite Hugueney Loı¨c Costeur
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Received: 4 December 2012 / Accepted: 12 August 2013 / Published online: 16 November 2013 Ó Swiss Geological Society 2013
Abstract The locality of Mazan (Provence, South-Eastern France) yielded numerous remains of vertebrates, including numerous isolated teeth and a few bone fragments of mammals. A preliminary faunal list was published by Triat et al; the present systematic revision of the mammalian remains and the description of new specimens reveal that the assemblage comprises 18 taxa belonging to 7 orders and 10 families. Among the mammalian remains, the theridomyids and cricetids are the two most abundant groups. This revision confirms the ascription of the locality to the biochronological unit MP21, which corresponds to the very beginning of the Oligocene. As this locality overlies the Late Eocene faunas of Mormoiron, it clearly illustrates the drastic changes induced by the European ‘Grande-Coupure’ in Southeastern France like in the rest of Europe. A palaeobiogeographic analysis based on a comparison with 22
other Early Oligocene localities allows deciphering the European mammalian palaeobiogeography at the beginning of the Oligocene. The mammalian assemblage of Mazan shows significant affinities with other localities from Western Europe (especially French and Spanish localities), while localities from the eastern part of Europe (Anatolian, Bavarian and Bohemian localities) are noticeably different, even though these were not subjected to strong palaeobiogeographic differentiation nor endemism. The locality of Paguera 1 (Majorca)–possibly already insular in the Early Oligocene–shows peculiar affinities with Anatolian and Bavarian localities rather than with those in Western European. This, together with the absence of strong endemism, suggests the existence of land connections with the Anatolian region, but also between the Anatolian and the Bavarian regions, permitting faunal exchanges.
Editorial handling: D. Becker & D. Marty.
Keywords Palaeogene Europe Mormoiron Basin Mammalia Palaeobiogeography
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00015-013-0145-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. O. Maridet (&) Geologie und Pala¨ontologie Abt., Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Burgring 7, 1010 Vienna, Austria e-mail: [email protected] M. Hugueney CNRS-UMR 5276 ‘‘Laboratoire de Ge´ologie de Lyon, Terre, Plane`tes et Environnement’’, University Lyon 1, Bat. Geode, 69622 Villeurbanne Cedex, France e-mail: [email protected] L. Costeur Naturhistorisches Museum Basel, Augustinergasse 2, 4001 Basel, Switzerland e-mail: [email protected]
Abbreviations FSL Faculte´ des Sciences de Lyon, France NMB Natural History Museum, Basel, Switzerland m/M Lower/upper molars H Crown height TrW Trigonid width TaW Talonid width TaL Talonid lengt
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