The Foieta La Sarra Palaeolake from the Early Miocene of the Campisano Ravine (Ribesalbes-Alcora Basin, E Spain)

ALVAREZ PARRA; J. ALBESA; E. PEÑALVER; J. SANJUAN; GOUIRIC CAVALLI, S.; P. MONTOYA; E. BUENO; Ó. CABALLERO; M. COSTA-PÉREZ; M.V. PAREDES-ALIAGA; A. VILAPLANA-CLIMENT; V.D. CRESPO

Congreso; Paleontological Virtual Congress; 2020

The Ribesalbes-Alcora Basin is located in theeastern Iberian Peninsula (Castelló, Spain) andcorresponds to a complex graben of Neogeneage that extends over an area of 150 km2. Twodepositional units in this basin are rich in fossils: unit B, which has provided a diverse fossilassemblage including plants, molluscs, insectsand amphibians from a lacustrine/palustrine palaeoenvironment, and unit C, which has yieldedfossil mammals from 48 palaeontological sitesin the Campisano Ravine related to distal deltaic and shallow palustrine palaeoenvironments.The mammalian record makes it possible to correlate the sections to the local biozone C of theMN4 from the Calatayud-Montalbán Basin, earlyAragonian in age (16.49?15.94 Ma). Here, we report a new locality within a laminated limestonelevel named FSA of the Foieta la Sarra sectionin unit C, which is the first known fish bonebedfrom the Ribesalbes-Alcora Basin. Apart from teleostean fish remains, the fossil record of FSAincludes plants such as charophyte gyrogonites,isolated leaf remains and seeds, mollusc shells,and arthropods including ostracods, cladocerans and insects. The fish remains are currentlybeing studied and correspond to elasmoid scalesof cycloid type, ribs and fin rays. A taphonomicand palaeoecological study will address the diverse FSA assemblage to obtain an overview ofthe ancient lake. Moreover, the comparison between the inferred palaeoenvironments of thenew locality and those from other palaeontological sites from units B and C holds the potential toprovide new information for understanding theenvironmental dynamics and evolution of the Ribesalbes-Alcora Basin during the early Miocene.