Venta del Moro (Miocene of Spain)

Where: Valencia, Spain (39.5° N, 1.3° W: paleocoordinates 39.6° N, 2.0° W)

• coordinate based on nearby landmark

• small collection-level geographic resolution

When: Los Isidros Member (Venta del Moro-Villatoya Formation), Turolian (8.7 - 5.3 Ma)

• MN13, Latest Miocene, Ventian. The Los Isidros member is comprised of detrital material and is 300m thick. 'The beds are deformed into anticlines and synclines of low relief with maximum dip of 16 degrees along the flanks. The fossiliferous beds occur at the core of one anticline.'

•Magnetostratigraphic correlation of VM with chron C3An indicates an estimated age of 6.23 Ma (Gibert et al., 2013), while the mammal assemblage implies a correlation with MN13 (Mein, 1990, 1999; De Bruijn et al., 1992) and, more precisely, the Teruel local biozone M3 (van Dam et al., 2006) within the late Turolian or Ventian mammal age (Morales et al., 2013).

• group of beds-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: "floodplain"; red conglomerate and lignite

• 'Red, polymictic cross bedded conglomerate, sandstone, mudstone and concretionary carbonate facies.' The fossils occur in a small lignite level in the lowest 4m of the section.

Size classes: macrofossils, mesofossils

Primary reference: M. Mathisen and J. Morales. 1981. Stratigraphy, facies and depositional environments of the Venta del Moro vertebrate locality, Valencia, Spain. Estudios Geologicos 37:199-207 [A. Turner/H. O'Regan/H. O'Regan]more details

Purpose of describing collection: general faunal/floral analysis

PaleoDB collection 40758: authorized by Alan Turner, entered by Hannah O'Regan on 30.06.2004, edited by Jonathan Marcot, Lars van den Hoek Ostende, Evangelos Vlachos, Philip Mannion and Bethany Allen

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

unclassified
  -
Angiospermae
 Fagales - Fagaceae
 Rosales - Ulmaceae
Zelkova ungeri Kovats 1865 zelkova
 Malpighiales - Salicaceae
Salix aff. lavateri Heer 1856 willow
Salix media Heer 1856 willow
Populus aff. tremula Linnaeus 1753 poplar
 Sapindales - Sapindaceae
Acer sp. Linnaeus 1753 maple
 Charales - Characea
Chara sp. Linnaeus 1753 stonewort
Crustacea
  -
Crustacea indet. Brünnich 1772
Ostracoda
 Podocopida - Ilyocyprididae
Ilyocypris gibba Ramdohr 1808 ostracod
 Podocopida - Candonidae
Candona neglecta Sars 1887 ostracod
Bivalvia
 Cardiida - Sphaeriidae
Pisidium ex gr. casertanunt pea clam
Pisidium gr, casertanunt
 Unionida - Unionidae
Unio sp. n. sp.
Unio sp. n. sp. Philipsson 1788 freshwater mussel
Two new Unio species.
Gastropoda
 Stylommatophora - Vertiginidae
Vertigo (Vertigo) sp. Müller 1773 slug
 Stylommatophora - Helicidae
Helicidae sp. Rafinesque 1815 slug
Cepaea sp. Held 1838 slug
 Heterostropha - Carychiidae
Carychium ex gr. minimum Muller 1774 snail
Carychium gr. minimum
 Heterostropha - Planorbidae
 Heterostropha - Valvatidae
 Architaenioglossa - Viviparidae
Viviparus sp. Montfort 1810 snail
 Sorbeoconcha - Hydrobiidae
Hydrobia aff. schlosseri snail
(sensu Robles and Goy, 1972)
 Sorbeoconcha - Amnicolidae
Bythinia sp. Leach 1818 snail
 Sorbeoconcha - Pomatiidae
Tudorella sp. Fischer 1885 periwinkle
 Cerithioidea - Melanopsidae
Melanopsis narsolina snail
Melanopsis narsolina gigantea
Melanopsis sp. Férussac 1807 snail
 Neritoidea - Neritidae
Reptilia
 Crocodylia - Crocodylidae
cf. Crocodylus sp.1 Laurenti 1768 crocodile
 Testudines - Testudinidae
Testudinidae indet.7 Batsch 1788 turtle
 Testudines - Emydidae
Emydidae indet. Rafinesque 1815 turtle
 Testudines - Geoemydidae
Mammalia
 Proboscidea - Gomphotheriidae
Anancus arvernensis Croizet and Jobert 1828 gomphothere
 Carnivora - Hyaenidae
 Carnivora - Felidae
Amphimachairodus giganteus Kretzoi 1929 cat
Dinofelis sp.5 Zdansky 1924 cat
"? Paramachairodus maximiliani" = Paramachaerodus cat
 Carnivora - Mustelidae
Plesiogulo monspessulanus Viret 1939 mustelid carnivore
 Carnivora - Ursidae
 Carnivora - Canidae
Eucyon debonisi n. sp.4 Montoya et al. 2009 canine
Eucyon debonisi4 Montoya et al. 2009 canine
 Perissodactyla - Equidae
Hipparion sp. de Christol 1832 hipparionine horse
Two species of Hipparion sp. I and II.
Hipparion gromovae Villalta and Crusafont 1957 hipparionine horse
 Perissodactyla - Rhinocerotidae
Aceratherium incisivum Cuvier 1824 rhinoceros
 Artiodactyla - Camelidae
Paracamelus sp.6 Schlosser 1903 camel
upper teeth: maxilla with M1-M3, 1 M2, 1 M1. Two lower P3, 1 astragalus, 1 calcaneum, 1 navicular, 2 sets of cuboides, 1 distal first phlanage, 1 first phalange.
 Artiodactyla - Hippopotamidae
Hexaprotodon sp. Falconer and Cautley 1836 pygmy hippo
 Artiodactyla - Suidae
 Artiodactyla - Cervidae
"Cervus pyrenaicus" = Croizetoceros pyrenaicus
"Cervus pyrenaicus" = Croizetoceros pyrenaicus Mennecart et al. 2017 deer
 Artiodactyla - Giraffidae
Giraffidae indet. Gray 1821 giraffe
 Artiodactyla - Bovidae
"Miotragocerus amalthea" = Tragoportax amalthea, Miotragocerus sp., Parabos sp.
"Miotragocerus amalthea" = Tragoportax amalthea Roth and Wagner 1854 antelope
Miotragocerus sp. Stromer 1928 antelope
Parabos sp. Arambourg and Piveteau 1929 antelope
 Theriamorpha - Talpidae
Talpidae indet. Fischer de Waldheim 1817 mole
 Rodentia - Castoridae
 Rodentia - Muridae
Stephanomys ramblensis van de Weerd 1976 mouse
"Apodemus primaevus" = Parapodemus gaudryi Dames 1883 mouse
Occitanomys adroveri Thaler 1966 mouse
 Rodentia - Cricetidae
Apocricetus alberti2 Freudenthal et al. 1998 mouse
 Rodentia - Hystricidae
Hystrix sp. Linnaeus 1758 porcupine
 Rodentia - Gliridae
Eliomys truci Mein and Michaux 1970 dormouse
 Lagomorpha - Ochotonidae
 Lagomorpha - Leporidae
Leporidae indet. Fischer de Waldheim 1817 rabbit
Amphibia
 Salientia - Ranidae
Rana sp. Linnaeus 1758 frog