The Miocene record of talpids and dimylids in south-western Europe is very scarce. In the present work, we study for the first time the talpids and complete the description of the dimylids, already started with a new species of the genus
L’enregistrement miocène de talpidés et dimylidés dans le Sud-Ouest de l’Europe est très rare. Dans le présent travail, nous étudions pour la première fois les talpidés et complétons la description des dimylidés, déjà entamée par Crespo et al. (2018), avec une nouvelle espèce du genre
Although the mammalian record of the Spanish Miocene is well known, the publications focussed on the systematic palaeontology of the insectivores are poor. Moreover, insectivores are more abundant and better represented in the palaeontological record in the North of Europe than in the South, indicating a latitudinal humidity gradient (
The record of the family Talpidae in the early Miocene from the Iberian Peninsula is very poor and generally limited to the genus
The family Dimylidae reaches its maximum diversity during the early Miocene, in central Europe (
The two families, Talpidae and Dimylidae, rarely co-occur in the same site in southwestern Europe during the early Miocene, by the scarcity in the finds of the second family. This has only been documented in Alto de Ballester 1, where the talpids
The Ribesalbes–Alcora Basin is located in an intramontane basin in eastern Spain (
Mammalian fossils in the Ribesalbes–Alcora Basin were first reported by
The studied sections can be correlated with the local biozone C, in the upper part of MN4 (lower Aragonian, early Miocene) of the Calatayud–Montalban Basin (Spain), and corresponds to the chronologic interval 16.5–16 Ma (
The photographic images of the specimens were taken with a SEM HITACHI 4800 at the “Servei Central de Suport a la Investigació Experimental” (SCSIE) of the “Universitat de València Estudi General” (UVEG). The fossil material is stored at the “Museu de la Universitat de Valencia d’Història Natural” (MUVHN), Burjassot, Spain.
For the talpids, we have used the nomenclature of
Throughout the text, the names of the localities often appear abbreviated as follows: MCX: Mas dels Coixos. MTR: Mas de Torner. BC: Barranc de Campisano. FS: Foieta la Sarra. MAB: Mas d’Antolino B. CBR: Corral de Brisca.
Family Talpidae Fischer, 1814.
Subfamily Talpidae
Genus
Localities: Mas dels Coixos 6 (MCX6); Barranc de Campisano 1 (BC1); Mas d’Antolino B 0A, 0B, 3, 5 y 11 (MAB0A, MAB0B, MAB3, MAB5 and MAB11).
Material: MCX6: 1 M2; BC1: 4 i/I, 1 i1, 1 i3, 1 P3, 1 M3; MAB0A: 1 P4, MAB0B: 1 i1, 1 i2, 1 p2, 1 I3, 1 M2, 2 M3; MAB3: 7 i/I, 1 p?, 2 p1, 1 p2, 2 m1, 1 m2, 1 I, 2 P2, 1 P4, 2 M1, 1 M2, 2 M3; MAB5: 11 i/I, 1 p1, 2 c, 2 p4, 4 m1, 1 I, 2 P2, 2 M1, 3 M2, 2 M3; MAB9: 1 p4; MAB11: 2 i/I, 1 p3, 1p4, 2 m3, 1 P1, 2 P3, 1 M2; MAB13: 1 m3.
Measurements: See
The most frequent talpid in the early and early–middle Miocene in Spain is the genus
The distinction between early Miocene
The material from the Ribesalbes–Alcora Basin is characterized by a preprotocrista connected to the base of the paracone in the upper molars and the oblique cristid connected to the central point of the posterior face of the trigonid. For these reasons, the material is ascribed to the genus
Subfamily Uropsilinae Dobson, 1883
Genus
Localities: Mas de Torner 2 (MTR2), Mas d’Antolino B 3 (MAB3).
Material: MTR2: 1 p1; 1 p2,3, 1 P1, 1 P4, 1 M1, 2 M2, 1 M3; MAB3: 1 M1,2.
Measurements:
This genus is very common in the late Miocene assemblages from the Iberian Peninsula (
The genus
The Spanish species
In the MN4 from the Iberian Peninsula, this genus is absent from the Daroca–Calamocha area, and only occurs in Montalvos 2 (Teruel Basin) as cf.
Localities: Mas dels Coixos 2 and 3 (MCX2 and MCX3), Mas de Torner 1 (MTR1), Foieta la Sarra 1 (FS1), Mas d’Antolino B 7 (MAB7), Corral de Brisca 0B and 1 (CBR0B and CBR1).
Material: MCX2: 1 p1/p2; MCX3: 1 i/I; MTR1 1 i/I; FS1: 2 i/I; MAB7: 1 i/I; CBR0B: 2 i, 3 p; CBR1: 1 i/I.
We include here very scarce non-diagnostic remains found in these sites that have been ascribed to an indeterminate form of talpidae. The small premolars similar to this tooth that were found in other sites and incisors with spade-shape allow us to classify this material as being from talpid origin. But this remains are non-diagnostic, and we cannot classify as
Family Dimylidae Schlosser, 1887
Genus
Localities: Barranc de Campisano 1 (BC1), Mas d’Antolino B 11 (MAB11).
Material: BC1: 1 m1, 1 M1 (2.91 × 2.22); MAB11: 1dp4 (1.46 × 1.07), 1 m1(trigonid only).
Outside the type locality of
The uropsiline
In sites with abundant
The bizarre dentition of the dimylids indicates that they mainly fed on snails (
The genus
The spatial distribution of this family is commonly correlated with the presence of humid conditions; this fact explains why this family is a resident form in central Europe but a transient group in southern Europe (
Talpids and dimylids are relatively abundant in the small mammal assemblages in the Ribesalbes–Alcora Basin, the talpids reach near to 10% in MAB0A and dimilids near to 15% in MAB5 (see
The remains of
On the other hand, the material of
The occurrence of both Talpidae and Dimylidae indicates an unusual humid habitat in the Ribesalbes–Alcora Basin that has not been found anywhere else in the Iberian Peninsula during MN4.
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
The prospection and excavation campaigns in the area of Araia d’Alcora have been funded by the
Spanish Cenozoic basins, with location of the Ribesalbes–Alcora Basin and the schematic distribution of sediments. La Rinconada and San Chils are the classical Fossil-Lagerstätte sites with remains of insects, plants and amphibians. Modified from
Bassins cénozoïques espagnols, avec la localisation du bassin de Ribesalbes–Alcora et la distribution schématique des sédiments . La Rinconada et San Chils sont les sites classiques de Lagerstätte à conservation de restes d’insectes, de plantes et d’amphibiens fossiles. Modifié selon
Teeth of talpids and dimylids from the Ribesalbes–Alcora Basin.
Dents de talpidés et de dimylidés du Bassin de Ribesalbes–Alcora.
Measurements of the teeth of talpids and dimylids
Mesures des dents de talpidés et dimylidés.