RT Journal Article
T1 La Piquera in central Iberian Peninsula: A new key vertebrate locality for the Early Pliocene of western Europe
A1 Piñero, Pedro
A1 Martín Perea, David Manuel
A1 Sevilla, Paloma
A1 Agustí, Jordi
A1 Blain, Hugues Alexandre
A1 Furió, Marc
A1 Laplana Conesa, César
AB We introduce the new vertebrate site of La Piquera (Duero Basin, central Iberian Peninsula), provide a detailed description of the lithostratigraphy and present a preliminary faunal list. The fossil vertebrate association includes amphibians (with representatives of the families Salamandridae, Alytidae, Pelodytidae, and Bufonidae), squamate reptiles (with members of the families Agamidae, Lacertidae, Anguidae, Scincidae, Blanidae, ?Erycidae, and Colubridae/Psammophiidae), and mammals (with representatives of the families Soricidae, Erinaceidae, Muridae, Cricetidae, Gerbillidae, Gliridae, Sciuridae, Vespertilionidae, Rhinolophidae, Miniopteridae, Megadermatidae, Leporidae, Prolagidae, and Bovidae). The association indicates an intermediate biostratigraphic position between the southern Iberian sites of Sifón-413 (at about 5.33–5.23 Ma) and Botardo-D (between 4.79 and 4.63 Ma), the new locality being correlated with the earliest Ruscinian (lower part of the MN14 unit). The ecological affinities of the identified small vertebrates suggest the presence of a landscape dominated by open herbaceous meadows in the surroundings of the fossil-site during the earliest Pliocene, with the occasional presence of woodland patches and stable water bodies under relatively dry and warm environmental conditions. La Piquera therefore enhances our knowledge on the vertebrate community recorded in central Iberian Peninsula during the earliest Pliocene. With more than 1200 remains, La Piquera becomes a key locality for the Early Pliocene of southwestern Europe, central Spain, where this time-span is poorly represented.
PB Polish Academy of Sciences, Institue of Paleobiology
SN 0567-7920
YR 2023
FD 2023
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/73361
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/73361
LA eng
NO Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
NO Generalitat de Catalunya
NO European Union Next- GenerationEU/PRTR
DS Docta Complutense
RD 26 jul 2024