Aix-en-Provence (Requien Museum collection) (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 silicified laminae. The fauna in this level is also very well preserved"

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

Collection methods: Repository: Museum Requien, Avignon

Primary reference: H. Nicolas. 1890. Insectes fossiles d'Aix - collection du Muséum Requien, à Avignon. Compte Rendus, Association Française pour l'Avancement des Sciences 18:424-432 [M. Clapham/M. Clapham]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 153412: authorized by Matthew Clapham, entered by Matthew Clapham on 15.12.2013

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Insecta
 Coleoptera - Curculionidae
Curculionidae indet. Latreille 1802 snout beetle
Cleonus sp. Schonherr 1826 snout beetle
 Hymenoptera - Formicidae
Formicidae indet. Latreille 1802 ant
 Hymenoptera - Ichneumonidae
Ichneumonidae indet. Latreille 1802 ichneumon wasp
 Hemiptera - Coreidae
Coreidae indet. Leach 1815 leaf-footed bug
 Hemiptera - Pentatomidae
Pentatomidae indet. Leach 1815 stink bug
 Orthoptera - Acrididae
Acrididae indet. Latreille 1802 short-horned grasshopper
 Odonata - Libellulidae
Libellula pourqueryi n. sp. Nicolas 1890 common skimmer
Libellula requieniana n. sp. Nicolas 1890 common skimmer
 Diptera - Bibionidae
Bibionidae indet. Fleming 1821 march fly
 Diptera - Asilidae
Asilidae indet. Latreille 1802 robber fly
Arachnida
  -
Arachnida indet. Lamarck 1801