Quercy Phosphorites Formation
| Quercy Phosphorites Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: latest Bartonian-Late Oligocene ~ | |
| Type | Formation |
| Overlies | Fissure fillings in karstified Jurassic and Triassic rocks |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Phosphorite |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 44°18′N 1°36′E / 44.3°N 1.6°E |
| Approximate paleocoordinates | 42°48′N 2°00′W / 42.8°N 2.0°W |
| Region | Occitanie |
| Country |  France |
| Type section | |
| Named for | Quercy |
| Named by | Thévenin |
| Year defined | 1903 |
  Quercy Phosphorites Formation (France) | |
The Quercy Phosphorites Formation (French: Phosphorites du Quercy) is a geologic formation and Lagerstätte in Occitanie, southern France. It preserves fossils dating back to the Paleogene period (latest Bartonian to Late Oligocene),[1][2] or MP16 to MP28 zones of the European land mammal age classification, ranging from approximately 38 to 25 Ma.
It qualifies as a Lagerstätte because beside a large variety of mammals, birds, turtles, crocodiles, flora and insects, it also preserves the soft tissues of amphibians and squamates, in addition to their articulated skeleton in what has been called natural mummies.[3]
The genera Quercylurus, Quercymegapodius, Quercypsitta, Quercypodargus, Quercycerta and Quercygama, and species Mosaicomeryx quercyi, Robiacina quercyi, Palaeophyllophora quercyi, Archaeomys quercyi, Eomys quercyi, Eucricetodon quercyi and Tarnomys quercynus, as well as the lizards Paraplacosauriops quercyi and Pseudolacerta quercyini and the insect Palaeortona quercyensis were named after the formation.
Description
The first phosphate deposits in Quercy were discovered in 1869 and published by Daubré and Trutat independently in 1871.[4] The first fossils from the formation were described by Delfortie (1872) and Gervais in the same year and extensively studied by Filhol from 1877 onwards. The first geologic investigation of the formation was performed by Thévenin in 1903, and apart from a description by Gèze in 1938, the paleontological richness was not studied until a team of researchers of the Universities of Montpellier and Paris visited the site in 1965.[5]
The karstified phosphate deposits are found from the Lot and Célé River valleys in the north to the left bank of the Aveyron River in the south and from the Villefranche Fault in the east to the lacustrine deposits of the Aquitaine Basin in the west. The formation is found in fissures (karst) incising Jurassic and Triassic rocks east of Cahors.[6] The age of the fossiliferous unit, in which almost 12,000 specimens were found ranges from the MP16 to MP28 zones of the European land mammal age classification.[5] These ages correspond to the latest Bartonian to Chattian, from about 38 to 25 Ma.[7]
Paleontological significance
The Quercy Phosphorites Formation is a highly fossiliferous unit designated as a Lagerstätte due to the excellent preservation of fossils. The phosphorite conserves up to the nerves, digestive tract and stomach content,[8] insect larvae and other elements of the paleobiology in the formation. Nearly all Quercy fly pupae were preserved as isolated endocasts, of which many were still covered by the puparium, the hardened skin of the last larval instar.[9] The formation also straddles the Grande Coupure and shows diversity changes (number of species) of frog, salamander, lizard and snake fossil records across the formation.[10] It is assumed that the Quercy arthropods fossilized by a rapid fixation by phosphate-rich water followed by encrustation and mineralization.[11]
Fossil content
The following fossils have been reported from the formation:[1][2][12][13]
Mammals
- Primates
- Apatotheria
- Artiodactyls
- Bachitherium guirounetensis[13]
- B. lavocati[13]
- Cryptomeryx gaudryi[14]
- Dichobune sigei[13]
- Dichodon vidalenci[13]
- Iberomeryx matsoui[13]
- Mosaicomeryx quercyi[15]
- Paroxacron bergeri[16]
- Plesiomeryx cadurcensis[16]
- Prodremotherium elongatum[15]
- Pseudamphimeryx salesmei[13]
- Robiacina lavergnensis[13]
- R. quercyi[13]
- Tapirulus perrierensis[13]
- Carnivora
- Amphicynodon typicus[17]
- Cynodyctis lacustris neboulensis[13]
- Dinailurictis bonali[18][19]
- Eofelis edwardsii[20][21]
- E. giganteus[22]
- Eusmilus bidentatus[20][21]
- Mustelictis cf. major[23]
- M. aff. olivieri[23]
- Nimravus intermedius[18][19]
- Pachycynodon amphictina[24]
- P. crassirostris[25]
- P. cf. dubius[24]
- P. cf. filholi[26]
- Palaeogale sectoria[21]
- Peignictis pseudamphictis[27]
- Quercylurus major[18]
- Wangictis tedfordi[28]
- Cephalogale sp.[29]
- cf. Eofelis sp.[30]
- Chiroptera
- Creodonta
- Euarchonta
- Hyaenodonta
- Lipotyphla
- Marsupials
- Perissodactyls
- Proeutheria
- Rodents
- Archaeomys intermedius[13]
- A. quercyi[13]
- Bernardia marandati[13]
- Blainvillimys gemellus[13]
- B. gousnatensis[13]
- B. langei[13][34]
- B. rotundidens[35]
- Elfomys medius[13]
- Eomys gigas[13]
- E. minus[13]
- E. quercyi[13]
- Eucricetodon atavus[34]
- E. quercyi[13]
- Gliravus garouillensis[13]
- G. itardiensis[13]
- Issiodoromys limognensis[13]
- I. pauffiensis[13][34]
- Palaeosciurus goti[13][34]
- Paradelomys spelaeus[13]
- Patriotheridcmys altus[13]
- P. altus neboulensis[13]
- P. sudrei[13]
- Pseudoltinomys gaillardi[34]
- P. major[13]
- P. phosphoricus[13]
- Sciuromys cayluxi[36]
- S. rigali[13]
- Tarnomys quercynus[13]
- Theridomys ludensis[13]
Birds
- Horusornis vianeyliaudae[12]
- Idiornis itardiensis[12]
- Itardiornis hessae[12]
- Necrobyas minimus[12]
- Palaeoglaux perrierensis[12]
- Palaeotodus escampsiensis[12]
- P. itardiensis[12]
- Paleseyvus escampensis[12]
- Primocolius sigei[12]
- P. minor[12]
- Quercymegapodius brodkorbi[12]
- Quercypsitta ivani[12]
- Q. sudrei[12]
- Recurvirostra sanctaeneboulae[12]
- Sylphornis bretouensis[12]
- Ventivorus ragei[12]
- Ameghinornis sp.[12]
- Leptoganga sp.[12]
- Nocturnavis sp.[12]
Reptiles
- Caprimulgiformes
- Crocodiles
- Lizards
- Ayalasaurus tenuis[39]
- Brevisaurus smithi[39]
- Cadurciguana hoffstetteri[12]
- Cadurcogekko piveteaui[39]
- Dracaenosaurus croizeti[39]
- Eurheloderma gallicum[39]
- Geiseltaliellus lamandini[39]
- Mediolacerta roceki[39]
- Necrosaurus cayluxi[39]
- N. eucarinatus[39]
- Omoiotyphlops priscus[39]
- Paraplacosauriops quercyi[39]
- Placosaurus rugosus[39]
- Plesiolacerta lydekkeri[39]
- Pseudeumeces cadurcensis[39]
- Pseudolacerta mucronata[39]
- P. quercyini[39]
- Quercycerta maxima[39]
- Quercygama galliae[39]
- Uromastyx europaeus[39]
- Placosaurus sp.[39]
- Snakes
- Turtles
Amphibians
- Frogs
- Salamanders
Insects
Flora
See also
- List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in France
- Argiles d'lignite du Soissonnais, Ypresian
- Conglomérat de Cernay, Thanetian
- Lignites de Soissonais, Ypresian
- Marnes Rouges Inferieures Formation, Maastrichtian
- Tuffeau de St Omer, Thanetian
- La Voulte-sur-Rhône (lagerstätte), Callovian
- Phosphorite formations
- Doushantuo Formation, Ediacaran China
- Dengying and Yanjiahe Formations, Cambrian China
- Tal Formation, Cambrian India
- Maquoketa Formation, Ordovician United States
- New Albany Shale, Carboniferous United States
- Dakhla Formation, Cretaceous Egypt
- Melovatka and Rybushka Formations, Cretaceous Russia
- Mishash Formation, Cretaceous Israel
- Upper Greensand Formation, Cretaceous England
- El Cien Formation, Paleogene Mexico
- Williamsburg Formation, Paleogene United States
- Bahía Inglesa Formation, Neogene Chile
- Alachua, Marks Head, Purisima and Santa Margarita Formations, Neogene United States
References
- ^ a b Quercy Phosphorites Formation at Fossilworks.org
- ^ a b Phosphorites du Quercy Formation at Fossilworks.org
- ^ a b Laloy et al., 2013
- ^ Legendre et al., 1997, p.331
- ^ a b Legendre et al., 1997, p.332
- ^ Astruc & Pellissié, 1988, p.8
- ^ Legendre et al., 1997, p.333
- ^ Tissier et al., 2017, p.6
- ^ a b Van de Kamp et al., 2018, p.2
- ^ Vasilyan, 2018, p.19
- ^ Van de Kamp et al., 2018, p.12
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf Legendre et al., 1997, p.334
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak Legendre et al., 1997, p.335
- ^ Sudre, 1984
- ^ a b Mennecart & Métais, 2015
- ^ a b Blondel, 2005
- ^ Bonis et al., 2019, p.603
- ^ a b c Peigné, 2003
- ^ a b Bonis et al., 2019, p.616
- ^ a b Peigné & Brunet, 2001
- ^ a b c Bonis et al., 2019, p.618
- ^ Peigné, 2000
- ^ a b Bonis et al., 2019, p.614
- ^ a b Bonis et al., 2019, p.610
- ^ Bonis et al., 2019, p.604
- ^ Bonis et al., 2019, p.608
- ^ Bonis et al., 2019, p.615
- ^ Bonis et al., 2019, p.611
- ^ Bonis et al., 2019, p.612
- ^ Peigné, 2001
- ^ Hooker, 2018, p.236
- ^ Lavrov, 2007
- ^ Hugueney & Maridet, 2017
- ^ a b c d e Ginot et al., 2016, p.7
- ^ Hartenberger & Vianey-Liaud, 1978
- ^ Vianey-Liaud & Schmid, 2009
- ^ a b Mourer-Chauviré, 1989
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rage, 2006
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Augé, 2005
- ^ Rage, 1988
- ^ a b Broin, 1977
- ^ Tissier et al., 2016
- ^ a b c Van de Kamp et al., 2018, p.4
- ^ a b c d e f g h Schmied et al., 2013, p.145
- ^ De Franceschi et al., 2006, p.99
- ^ a b De Franceschi et al., 2006, p.100
- ^ a b c d e De Franceschi et al., 2006, p.101
Bibliography
- Map reports
- Paleontology
- Template:Cite LSA
- Template:Cite LSA
- Template:Cite LSA
- Template:Cite LSA
- Template:Cite LSA
- Template:Cite LSA
- Template:Cite LSA
- Template:Cite LSA
- Template:Cite LSA
- Template:Cite LSA
- Template:Cite LSA ISBN 978-3-86395-135-1
- Template:Cite LSA
- Template:Cite LSA
- Template:Cite LSA
- Template:Cite LSA
- Template:Cite LSA
- Template:Cite LSA
- Template:Cite LSA
- Template:Cite LSA
- Template:Cite LSA
- Template:Cite LSA
- Template:Cite LSA
- Template:Cite LSA
- Template:Cite LSA
- Template:Cite LSA
- Template:Cite LSA
- Template:Cite LSA
- Template:Cite LSA
- Template:Cite LSA
Further reading
External links
Media related to Quercy Phosphorites Formation at Wikimedia Commons