PBDB Collection

Aix-en-Provence (Coll. Nel) (Oligocene of France)

Where: Bouches-Du-Rhone, France (43.5° N, 5.5° E: paleocoordinates 43.3° N, 2.8° E)

• coordinate estimated from map

• local area-level geographic resolution

When: Niveau du gypse d'Aix Formation, Chattian (28.1 - 23.0 Ma)

• "The ‘insect formation’ is 2.5 m thick, divided in two parts that correspond to two very different environmental conditions. The first (lower) episode is remarkable by its lateral monotony of facies on a distance of 6 km at least, in the outcrops observed on the northwest of Aix-en-Provence. This lower episode is distinguished from the rest of the ‘insect formation’ and from the whole formation of Aix-en-Provence by the presence of a very numerous thin limestone laminae. The second (upper) episode is remarkable by the presence of many silici- fied laminae. The fauna in this level is also very well preserved"….This collection consists of unspecified layers

Environment/lithology: lacustrine - large; lithified limestone

• This lacustrine formation was deposited in a very large but shallow-water lake, with variable salinity and near the marine coast (Nury 1990, Nury & Thomassin 1994). Irregular basins formed during extension of the European platform in the Oligocene resulting from the formation of the West-European rift system.

• The deposit presents an alternation of limestone and marls with gypsum.

Size classes: macrofossils, mesofossils

Preservation: mold/impression, adpression

Collected by Andre Nel; reposited in the MNHN

Primary reference: A. Nel, X. Martínez-Delclòs, F. Escuillé and P. Brisac. 1994. Les Aeshnidae fossiles: Etat actuel des connaissances (Odonata, Anisoptera). Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen 194(2/3):143-186 [M. Clapham/J. Karr/M. Clapham]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 127415: authorized by Matthew Clapham, entered by Jered Karr on 13.05.2012, edited by Lindy Edwards and Matthew Clapham

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

• "This formation has yielded a diverse flora and fauna, with finely preserved fossils. The flora is represented by numerous plant remains (pollen, roots, wood, stems, leaves, seeds and flowers). The fauna of vertebrates is represented by abundant fishes (GAUDANT 1978), and some frogs, birds, and bats with preserved skin outlines. Some invertebrates are perfectly preserved, including jellyfish and shells of aquatic molluscs with original colors and ornamentations (NEL et al. 1987). Aquatic and terrestrial arthropods (insects and arachnids) are very diverse and frequently well preserved….

•In spite of this, aquatic insects remain comparatively rare among the 30,000 fossil insects one of us (A.N.) collected at the locality."

Show authors, comments, and common names

Insecta
Odonata - Calopterygidae	? Umma sp.⁸ ? Umma sp.⁸ Kirby 1896 broad-winged damselfly MNHN IPM-R.07914
Odonata - Lestidae	Lestes "sp. 1"⁹, Lestes "sp. 2"⁹, Lestes aquisextana n. sp.³ Lestes "sp. 1"⁹ Leach 1815 spread-winged damselfly MNHN-LP-R 54241 Coll. Nel Lestes "sp. 2"⁹ Leach 1815 spread-winged damselfly MNHN-LP-R 54371 Coll. Nel Lestes aquisextana n. sp.³ Nel 1985 spread-winged damselfly MNHN-LP-R 07447
Odonata - Coenagrionidae	Coenagrionidae indet.⁷ Coenagrionidae indet.⁷ Kirby 1890 narrow-winged damselfly MNHN-LP-R.55176
Odonata - Aeshnidae	Aeshna oligocenica n. sp. Aeshna oligocenica n. sp. Nel 1994 hawker dragonfly MNHN-LP-R.07895
Odonata - Lindeniidae	Lindeniidae indet.⁶ Lindeniidae indet.⁶ Jacobson and Bianchi 1905 tiger dragonfly MNHN-LP-R.55186
Odonata - Libellulidae	Palaeotramea aquisextana n. gen. n. sp.¹⁰, Caussanelia papaziani n. gen. n. sp.⁷, Sympetrum bigoti n. sp.¹¹ Palaeotramea aquisextana n. gen. n. sp.¹⁰ Nel and Papazian 1985 common skimmer isolate fore and hindwing (31 specimens given by Nel & Paicheler, 1993) Caussanelia papaziani n. gen. n. sp.⁷ Nel et al. 1997 common skimmer MNHN-LP-R.55179 Sympetrum bigoti n. sp.¹¹ Nel and Papazian 1985 common skimmer Nel 1 A2, 183A, 186A, 188A (MNHN-LP-R.07452, 07455, 07454, 07453, 07915, 07916-07924)
Coleoptera - Gyrinidae	Gyrinus aquisextanea n. sp.⁵ Gyrinus aquisextanea n. sp.⁵ Nel 1989 whirligig beetle MNHN-LP-R 07724
Coleoptera - Cupedidae	Cainocups aixensis n. gen. n. sp.² Cainocups aixensis n. gen. n. sp.² Kirejtshuk et al. 2016 reticulated beetle MNHN.F.A.51230 ("Aix 18")
Coleoptera - Hydrophilidae	Limnoxenus olenus n. sp.¹ Limnoxenus olenus n. sp.¹ Fikáček et al. 2010 water scavenger beetle MNHN A32835, A32836
Coleoptera - Curculionidae	"Hylesinus (Hylesinus) neli n. sp." = Hylesinus neli¹² "Hylesinus (Hylesinus) neli n. sp." = Hylesinus neli¹² Petrov and Zherikhin 2004 bark beetle MNHN-LP-R.55233
Blattodea - Kalotermitidae	Oligokalotermes fischeri n. gen. n. sp.⁴ Oligokalotermes fischeri n. gen. n. sp.⁴ Nel 1987 termite Coll Nel 202

¹Fikáček et al. 2010; ²Kirejtshuk et al. 2016; ³Nel 1985; ⁴Nel 1987; ⁵Nel 1989; ⁶Nel et al. 1997; ⁷Nel et al. 1997; ⁸Nel and Paicheler 1993; ⁹Nel and Paicheler 1994; ¹⁰Nel and Papazian 1985; ¹¹Nel and Papazian 1985; ¹²Petrov and Zherikhin 2004