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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Quercy Phosphorites Formation
The Quercy Phosphorites Formation (French: Phosphorites du Quercy) is a geologic formation and lagerstätte in Occitanie, southern France. It preserves fossils dated to the Paleogene period (latest Bartonian to Late Oligocene), or MP16 to MP28 zones of the European land mammal age classification, ranging from approximately 38 to 25 Ma.

It qualifies as a Lagerstätte because beside a large variety of mammals, birds, turtles, crocodiles, flora and insects, it also preserves the soft tissues of amphibians and squamates, in addition to their articulated skeleton in what has been called natural mummies.

The genera Quercylurus, Quercymegapodius, Quercypsitta, Quercypodargus, Quercycerta and Quercygama, and species Mosaicomeryx quercyi, Robiacina quercyi, Palaeophyllophora quercyi, Archaeomys quercyi, Eomys quercyi, Eucricetodon quercyi and Tarnomys quercynus, as well as the lizards Paraplacosauriops quercyi and Pseudolacerta quercyini and the insect Palaeortona quercyensis were named after the formation.

Description

The first phosphate deposits in Quercy were discovered in 1869 and published by Daubré and Trutat independently in 1871. The first fossils from the formation were described by Delfortie (1872) and Gervais in the same year and extensively studied by Filhol from 1877 onwards. The first geologic investigation of the formation was performed by Thévenin in 1903, and apart from a description by Gèze in 1938, the paleontological richness was not studied until a team of researchers of the Universities of Montpellier and Paris visited the site in 1965.

The karstified phosphate deposits are found from the Lot and Célé river valleys in the north to the left bank of the Aveyron in the south and from the Villefranche Fault in the east to the lacustrine deposits of the Aquitaine Basin in the west. The formation is found in fissures (karst) incising Jurassic and Triassic rocks east of Cahors. The age of the fossiliferous unit, in which almost 12,000 specimens were found ranges from the MP16 to MP28 zones of the European land mammal age classification. These ages correspond to the latest Bartonian to Chattian, from about 38 to 25 Ma.

Paleontological significance

Paleogeography of the Late Eocene to Oligocene with biodiversity of the Quercy Phosphorites
Exceptional preservation of nerves, digestive tract and stomachal content in the frog-eating salamander Phosphotriton sigei

The Quercy Phosphorites Formation is a highly fossiliferous unit designated as a Lagerstätte due to the excellent preservation of fossils. The phosphorite conserves up to the nerves, digestive tract and stomach content, insect larvae and other elements of the paleobiology in the formation. Nearly all Quercy fly pupae were preserved as isolated endocasts, of which many were still covered by the puparium, the hardened skin of the last larval instar. The formation also straddles the Grande Coupure and shows diversity changes (number of species) of frog, salamander, lizard and snake fossil records across the formation. It is assumed that the Quercy arthropods fossilized by a rapid fixation by phosphate-rich water followed by encrustation and mineralization.

Fossil content

The following fossils have been reported from the formation:

Mammals

Apatemyidae
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Note Images
Chardinyus C. sp. An apatotheria.
Heterohyus H. (Chardinyus) nanus An apatemyid.
H. (Gervaisyus) pygmaeus
Gervaisyus G. sp.
Artiodactyls
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images
Bachitherium B. guirounetensis
B. lavocati
Cryptomeryx C. gaudryi
Dichobune D. sigei
Dichodon D. vidalenci
Iberomeryx I. matsoui
Mosaicomeryx M. quercyi
Paroxacron P. bergeri
Plesiomeryx P. cadurcensis
Prodremotherium P. elongatum
Pseudamphimeryx P. salesmei
Robiacina R. lavergnensis
R. quercyi
Tapirulus Tapirulus perrierensis
Carnivora
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images
Amphicynodon A. typicus
Cephalogale C. sp.
Cynodyctis C. lacustris neboulensis
Dinailurictis D. bonali
Eofelis E. edwardsii
E. giganteus
cf. E. sp.
Eusmilus E. bidentatus
Mustelictis M. cf. major
M. aff. olivieri
Nimravus N. intermedius
Pachycynodon P. amphictina
P. crassirostris
P. cf. dubius
P. cf. filholi
Palaeogale P. sectoria
Peignictis P. pseudamphictis
Quercylurus Q. major
Wangictis W. tedfordi
Chiroptera
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images
Hipposideros Pseudorhinolophus H. P. sehlosseri
H. P. trassounius
H. P. zbrjdi
Leuconoe L. lavocati
Palaeophyllophora P. oltina
P. quercyi
Stehlinia S. bonisi
S. minor
Vaylatsia V. garouillasensis
V. gerscheli
V. gracilis
V. lapradensis
Creodonta
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Images
Paracynohyaenodon P. magnus
Parapterodon P. lostangensis
Euarchonta
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Images
Darbonetus D. aubrelongensis
Hyaenodonta
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images
Paroxyaena P. pavlovi
Lipotyphla
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images
Amphidozotherium A. cayluxi
Darbonetus D. aubrelongensis
D. tuberi
Myxomygale M. antiqua
Saturninia S. beata
S. pelissiei
Marsupials
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images
Amphiperatherium A. bourdellense
A. lamandini
Peratherium P. bretouense
P. cayluxi
P. lavergnense
P. perrierense
Perissodactyls
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Images
Pachynolophus P. bretovense
Primates
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Images
Cryptadapis C. tertius An adapiform primate.
Proeutheria
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images
Pseudorhyncocyon P. cayluxi
Rodents
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images
Archaeomys A. intermedius
A. quercyi
Bernardia B. marandati
Blainvillimys B. gemellus
B. gousnatensis
B. langei
B. rotundidens
Elfomys E. medius
Eomys E. gigas
E. minus
E. quercyi
Eucricetodon E. atavus
E. quercyi
Gliravus G. garouillensis
G. itardiensis
Issiodoromys I. limognensis
I. pauffiensis
Palaeosciurus P. goti
Paradelomys Paradelomys spelaeus
Patriotheridcmys P. altus
P. altus neboulensis
P. sudrei
Pseudoltinomys P. gaillardi
P. major
P. phosphoricus
Sciuromys S. cayluxi
S. rigali
Tarnomys T. quercynus
Theridomys T. ludensis

Birds

Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Images
Ameghinornis A. sp.
Euronyctibius E. kurochkini
Horusornis H. vianeyliaudae
Idiornis I. itardiensis
Itardiornis I. hessae
Leptoganga L. sp.
Necrobyas N. minimus
Nocturnavis N. sp.
Palaeoglaux P. perrierensis
Palaeotodus P. escampsiensis
P. itardiensis
Paleseyvus P. escampensis
Primocolius P. sigei
P. minor
Quercymegapodius Q. brodkorbi
Quercypodargus Q. olsoni
Quercypsitta Q. ivani
Q. sudrei
Recurvirostra R. sanctaeneboulae
Sylphornis S. bretouensis
Ventivorus V. ragei

Reptiles

Crocodiles
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images
Alligator A. gaudryi
Lizards
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images
Ayalasaurus A. tenuis
Brevisaurus B. smithi
Cadurciguana C. hoffstetteri
Cadurcogekko C. piveteaui
Dracaenosaurus D. croizeti
Eurheloderma E. gallicum
Geiseltaliellus G. lamandini
Mediolacerta M. roceki
Necrosaurus N. cayluxi
N. eucarinatus
Omoiotyphlops O. priscus
Paraplacosauriops P. quercyi
Placosaurus P. rugosus
P. sp.
Plesiolacerta P. lydekkeri
Pseudeumeces P. cadurcensis
Pseudolacerta P. mucronata
P. quercyini
Quercycerta Q. maxima
Quercygama Q. galliae
Uromastyx U. europaeus
Snakes
Turtles

Amphibians

Frogs
Salamanders

Insects

Flora

References

  1. ^ Quercy Phosphorites Formation at Fossilworks.org
  2. ^ Phosphorites du Quercy Formation at Fossilworks.org
  3. ^ Laloy et al., 2013
  4. ^ Legendre et al., 1997, p.331
  5. ^ Legendre et al., 1997, p.332
  6. ^ Astruc & Pellissié, 1988, p.8
  7. ^ Legendre et al., 1997, p.333
  8. ^ Tissier et al., 2017, p.6
  9. ^ Van de Kamp et al., 2018, p.2
  10. ^ Vasilyan, 2018, p.19
  11. ^ Van de Kamp et al., 2018, p.12
  12. ^ Legendre et al., 1997, p.334
  13. ^ Legendre et al., 1997, p.335
  14. ^ Sudre, 1984
  15. ^ Mennecart & Métais, 2015
  16. ^ Blondel, 2005
  17. ^ Bonis et al., 2019, p.603
  18. ^ Bonis et al., 2019, p.612
  19. ^ Peigné, 2003
  20. ^ Bonis et al., 2019, p.616
  21. ^ Peigné & Brunet, 2001
  22. ^ Bonis et al., 2019, p.618
  23. ^ Peigné, 2000
  24. ^ Peigné, 2001
  25. ^ Bonis et al., 2019, p.614
  26. ^ Bonis et al., 2019, p.610
  27. ^ Bonis et al., 2019, p.604
  28. ^ Bonis et al., 2019, p.608
  29. ^ Bonis et al., 2019, p.615
  30. ^ Bonis et al., 2019, p.611
  31. ^ Hooker, 2018, p.236
  32. ^ Lavrov, 2007
  33. ^ Hugueney & Maridet, 2017
  34. ^ Ginot et al., 2016, p.7
  35. ^ Hartenberger & Vianey-Liaud, 1978
  36. ^ Vianey-Liaud & Schmid, 2009
  37. ^ Mourer-Chauviré, 1989
  38. ^ Rage, 2006
  39. ^ Augé, 2005
  40. ^ Rage, 1988
  41. ^ Broin, 1977
  42. ^ Tissier et al., 2016
  43. ^ Van de Kamp et al., 2018, p.4
  44. ^ Schmied et al., 2013, p.145
  45. ^ De Franceschi et al., 2006, p.99
  46. ^ De Franceschi et al., 2006, p.100
  47. ^ De Franceschi et al., 2006, p.101

Bibliography

Map reports
  • Astruc, J.G.; Pellissié, T. (1988), Notice explicative de la feuille Cahors 1:50,000 (PDF), BRGM, pp. 1–39, retrieved 2020-09-13
Paleontology

Further reading

Media related to Quercy Phosphorites Formation at Wikimedia Commons

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