Paleocorología de los mamíferos del Mioceno medio de Somosaguas (Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid)

Abstract

A palaeochorological study of the mammalian fauna from Somosaguas (Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid) during the middle Miocene (Aragonian, MN5, local biozone E, 14 Ma) has shown two main types of biogeographical distributions: endemisms and species with wide distribution. Comparison with the modern fauna from Madrid reveals that the proportion of endemic species was slightly higher 14 million years ago. Probably, this is related to the Neogene global cooling trend, which has made the Iberian Peninsula shift from the Palaeotropical biogeographic realm to the Palaearctic realm. As a result, modern Iberian faunas have become more similar to central European ones than in the Miocene.