The Quercy Phosphorites Formation ( French: ''Phosphorites du Quercy'') is a

geologic formation A geological formation, or simply formation, is a body of rock having a consistent set of physical characteristics ( lithology) that distinguishes it from adjacent bodies of rock, and which occupies a particular position in the layers of rock exp ...

and

Lagerstätte A Lagerstätte (, from ''Lager'' 'storage, lair' '' Stätte'' 'place'; plural ''Lagerstätten'') is a sedimentary deposit that exhibits extraordinary fossils with exceptional preservation—sometimes including preserved soft tissues. These f ...

Occitanie Occitanie may refer to: *Occitania, a region in southern France called ''Occitanie'' in French *Occitania (administrative region) Occitania ( ; french: Occitanie ; oc, Occitània ; ca, Occitània ) is the southernmost administrative region of ...

, southern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It preserves

fossils A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in ...

dating back to the

Paleogene The Paleogene ( ; British English, also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) is a geologic period, geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million yea ...

period Period may refer to: Common uses * Era, a length or span of time * Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...

( latest Bartonian to

Late Oligocene The Chattian is, in the geologic timescale, the younger of two ages or upper of two stages of the Oligocene Epoch/ Series. It spans the time between . The Chattian is preceded by the Rupelian and is followed by the Aquitanian (the lowest stage ...

),Quercy Phosphorites Formation
at

Fossilworks Fossilworks is a portal which provides query, download, and analysis tools to facilitate access to the Paleobiology Database The Paleobiology Database is an online resource for information on the distribution and classification of fossil animals ...

.orgPhosphorites du Quercy Formation
at

.org or MP16 to MP28 zones of the

European land mammal age The European Land Mammal Mega Zones (abbreviation: ELMMZ, more commonly known as European land mammal ages or ELMA) are zones in rock layers that have a specific assemblage of fossils (biozones) based on occurrences of fossil assemblages of Europe ...

classification, ranging from approximately 38 to 25 Ma. It qualifies as a

because beside a large variety of

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked tu ...

crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to inclu ...

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

and

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s, it also preserves the soft tissues of

amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...

s and

squamate Squamata (, Latin ''squamatus'', 'scaly, having scales') is the largest order of reptiles, comprising lizards, snakes, and amphisbaenians (worm lizards), which are collectively known as squamates or scaled reptiles. With over 10,900 species, ...

s, 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 In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid . The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phospho ...

deposits in Quercy were discovered in 1869 and published by Daubré and Trutat independently in 1871.Legendre et al., 1997, p.331 The first fossils from the formation were described by Delfortie (

1872 Events January–March * January 12 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first ruler crowned in that city in over 500 years. * February 2 – The government of the United Kingdom buys a number of forts on ...

) 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 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

.Legendre et al., 1997, p.332 The

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

ified phosphate deposits are found from the

Lot Lot or LOT or The Lot or ''similar'' may refer to: Common meanings Areas * Land lot, an area of land * Parking lot, for automobiles *Backlot, in movie production Sets of items *Lot number, in batch production *Lot, a set of goods for sale togethe ...

and

Célé The Célé is a long river in the Cantal and Lot departments in south-western France, a tributary of the Lot. Its source is near Calvinet in the Cantal. It flows generally west through the following departments and towns: * Cantal: Saint-Con ...

river valleys in the north to the left bank of the

Aveyron Aveyron (; oc, Avairon; ) is a department in the region of Occitania, Southern France. It was named after the river Aveyron. Its inhabitants are known as ''Aveyronnais'' (masculine) or ''Aveyronnaises'' (feminine) in French. The inhabitants ...

in the south and from the Villefranche Fault in the east to the

lacustrine A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

deposits of the

Aquitaine Basin The Aquitaine Basin is the second largest Mesozoic and Cenozoic sedimentary basin in France after the Paris Basin, occupying a large part of the country's southwestern quadrant. Its surface area covers 66,000 km2 onshore. It formed on Varisca ...

in the west. The formation is found in fissures (karst) incising

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...

and

Triassic The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period ...

rocks east of

Cahors Cahors (; oc, Caors ) is a commune in the western part of Southern France. It is the smallest prefecture among the 13 departments that constitute the Occitanie Region. The main city of the Lot department and the historical center of the Quer ...

.Astruc & Pellissié, 1988, p.8 The age of the fossiliferous unit, in which almost 12,000 specimens were found ranges from the MP16 to MP28 zones of the

classification. These ages correspond to the latest

Bartonian The Bartonian is, in the ICS's geologic time scale, a stage or age in the middle Eocene Epoch or Series. The Bartonian Age spans the time between . It is preceded by the Lutetian and is followed by the Priabonian Age. Stratigraphic defini ...

Chattian The Chattian is, in the geologic timescale, the younger of two ages or upper of two stages of the Oligocene Epoch/Series. It spans the time between . The Chattian is preceded by the Rupelian and is followed by the Aquitanian (the lowest stage ...

, from about 38 to 25 Ma.Legendre et al., 1997, p.333

Paleontological significance

The Quercy Phosphorites Formation is a highly fossiliferous unit designated as a

due to the excellent preservation of fossils. The phosphorite conserves up to the nerves, digestive tract and stomach content,Tissier et al., 2017, p.6 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 Grande means "large" or "great" in many of the Romance languages. It may also refer to: Places * Grande, Germany, a municipality in Germany * Grande Communications, a telecommunications firm based in Texas * Grande-Rivière (disambiguation) * Ar ...

and shows diversity changes (number of species) of frog, salamander, lizard and snake fossil records across the formation.Vasilyan, 2018, p.19 It is assumed that the Quercy arthropods fossilized by a rapid fixation by phosphate-rich water followed by encrustation and mineralization.Van de Kamp et al., 2018, p.12

Fossil content

The following fossils have been reported from the formation:Legendre et al., 1997, p.334Legendre et al., 1997, p.335

Mammals

; Primates * '' Cryptadapis tertius'' ;

Apatotheria Apatemyidae is an extinct family of placental mammals that took part in the first placental evolutionary radiation together with other early mammals such as the leptictids. Their relationships to other mammal groups are controversial; a 2010 stu ...

* '' Heterohyus (Chardinyus) nanus'' * '' Heterohyus (Gervaisyus) pygmaeus'' * '' Chardinyus sp.'' * '' Gervaisyus sp.'' ;

Artiodactyls The even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla , ) are ungulates—hoofed animals—which bear weight equally on two (an even number) of their five toes: the third and fourth. The other three toes are either present, absent, vestigial, or pointing poster ...

* '' Bachitherium guirounetensis'' * '' B. lavocati'' * '' Cryptomeryx gaudryi''Sudre, 1984 * '' Dichobune sigei'' * '' Dichodon vidalenci'' * '' Iberomeryx matsoui'' * '' Mosaicomeryx quercyi''Mennecart & Métais, 2015 * '' Paroxacron bergeri''Blondel, 2005 * '' Plesiomeryx cadurcensis'' * '' Prodremotherium elongatum'' * '' Pseudamphimeryx salesmei'' * '' Robiacina lavergnensis'' * '' R. quercyi'' * '' Tapirulus perrierensis'' ;

Carnivora Carnivora is a Clade, monophyletic order of Placentalia, placental mammals consisting of the most recent common ancestor of all felidae, cat-like and canidae, dog-like animals, and all descendants of that ancestor. Members of this group are f ...

* '' Amphicynodon typicus''Bonis et al., 2019, p.603 * '' Cynodyctis lacustris neboulensis'' * '' Dinailurictis bonali''Peigné, 2003Bonis et al., 2019, p.616 * '' Eofelis edwardsii''Peigné & Brunet, 2001 * '' E. giganteus''Peigné, 2000 * '' Eusmilus bidentatus''Bonis et al., 2019, p.618 * '' Mustelictis cf. major''Bonis et al., 2019, p.614 * '' M. aff. olivieri'' * '' Nimravus intermedius'' * '' Pachycynodon amphictina''Bonis et al., 2019, p.610 * '' P. crassirostris''Bonis et al., 2019, p.604 * '' P. cf. dubius'' * '' P. cf. filholi''Bonis et al., 2019, p.608 * '' Palaeogale sectoria'' * '' Peignictis pseudamphictis''Bonis et al., 2019, p.615 * '' Quercylurus major'' * '' Wangictis tedfordi''Bonis et al., 2019, p.611 * '' Cephalogale sp.''Bonis et al., 2019, p.612 * '' cf. Eofelis sp.''Peigné, 2001 ;

Chiroptera Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bir ...

* '' Hipposideros (Pseudorhinolophus) sehlosseri'' * '' H. (P.) trassounius'' * '' H. (P.) zbrjdi'' * '' Leuconoe lavocati'' * '' Palaeophyllophora oltina'' * '' P. quercyi'' * '' Stehlinia bonisi'' * '' S. minor'' * '' Vaylatsia garouillasensis'' * '' Vespertiliavus gerscheli'' * '' V. gracilis'' * '' V. lapradensis'' ;

Creodonta Creodonta ("meat teeth") is a former order of extinct carnivorous placental mammals that lived from the early Paleocene to the late Miocene epochs in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Originally thought to be a single group of animals ance ...

* '' Paracynohyaenodon magnus'' * '' Parapterodon lostangensis'' ;

Euarchonta The Euarchonta are a proposed grandorder of mammals: the order Scandentia (treeshrews), and its sister Primatomorpha mirorder, containing the Dermoptera or colugos and the primates (Plesiadapiformes and descendents). The term "Euarchonta" (mea ...

* '' Darbonetus aubrelongensis''Hooker, 2018, p.236 ;

Hyaenodonta Hyaenodonta (" hyena teeth") is an extinct order of hypercarnivorous placental pan-carnivoran mammals from mirorder Ferae. Hyaenodonts were important mammalian predators that arose during the early Paleocene in Europe and persisted well into the ...

* '' Paroxyaena pavlovi''Lavrov, 2007 ;

Lipotyphla Lipotyphla is a formerly used order (biology), order of mammals, including the members of the order Eulipotyphla (i.e. the solenodons, family Solenodontidae; hedgehogs and gymnures, family Erinaceidae; desmans, moles, and shrew-like moles, family T ...

* '' Amphidozotherium cayluxi'' * '' Darbonetus aubrelongensis'' * '' D. tuberi'' * '' Myxomygale antiqua''Hugueney & Maridet, 2017 * '' Saturninia beata'' * '' S. pelissiei'' ; Marsupials * '' Amphiperatherium bourdellense'' * '' A. lamandini'' * '' Peratherium bretouense'' * '' P. cayluxi'' * '' P. lavergnense'' * '' P. perrierense'' ;

Perissodactyls Odd-toed ungulates, mammals which constitute the taxonomic order Perissodactyla (, ), are animals—ungulates—who have reduced the weight-bearing toes to three (rhinoceroses and tapirs, with tapirs still using four toes on the front legs) o ...

* '' Pachynolophus bretovense'' ; Proeutheria * '' Pseudorhyncocyon cayluxi'' ; Rodents * '' Archaeomys intermedius'' * '' A. quercyi'' * '' Bernardia marandati'' * '' Blainvillimys gemellus'' * '' B. gousnatensis'' * '' B. langei''Ginot et al., 2016, p.7 * '' B. rotundidens''Hartenberger & Vianey-Liaud, 1978 * '' Elfomys medius'' * '' Eomys gigas'' * '' E. minus'' * '' E. quercyi'' * '' Eucricetodon atavus'' * '' E. quercyi'' * '' Gliravus garouillensis'' * '' G. itardiensis'' * '' Issiodoromys limognensis'' * '' I. pauffiensis'' * '' Palaeosciurus goti'' * '' Paradelomys spelaeus'' * '' Patriotheridcmys altus'' * '' P. altus neboulensis'' * '' P. sudrei'' * '' Pseudoltinomys gaillardi'' * '' P. major'' * '' P. phosphoricus'' * '' Sciuromys cayluxi''Vianey-Liaud & Schmid, 2009 * '' S. rigali'' * '' Tarnomys quercynus'' * '' Theridomys ludensis''

Birds

* '' Horusornis vianeyliaudae'' * '' Idiornis itardiensis'' * '' Itardiornis hessae'' * '' Necrobyas minimus'' * '' Palaeoglaux perrierensis'' * '' Palaeotodus escampsiensis'' * '' P. itardiensis'' * '' Paleseyvus escampensis'' * '' Primocolius sigei'' * '' P. minor'' * '' Quercymegapodius brodkorbi'' * '' Quercypsitta ivani'' * '' Q. sudrei'' * '' Recurvirostra sanctaeneboulae'' * '' Sylphornis bretouensis'' * '' Ventivorus ragei'' * '' Ameghinornis sp.'' * '' Leptoganga sp.'' * '' Nocturnavis sp.''

Reptiles

;Caprimulgiformes * '' Euronyctibius kurochkini''Mourer-Chauviré, 1989 * '' Quercypodargus olsoni'' ;Crocodiles * '' Alligator gaudryi'' ;Lizards * '' Ayalasaurus tenuis''Augé, 2005 * '' Brevisaurus smithi'' * '' Cadurciguana hoffstetteri'' * '' Cadurcogekko piveteaui'' * '' Dracaenosaurus croizeti'' * '' Eurheloderma gallicum'' * '' Geiseltaliellus lamandini'' * '' Mediolacerta roceki'' * '' Necrosaurus cayluxi'' * '' N. eucarinatus'' * '' Omoiotyphlops priscus'' * '' Paraplacosauriops quercyi'' * '' Placosaurus rugosus'' * '' Plesiolacerta lydekkeri'' * '' Pseudeumeces cadurcensis'' * '' Pseudolacerta mucronata'' * '' P. quercyini'' * '' Quercycerta maxima'' * '' Quercygama galliae'' * '' Uromastyx europaeus'' * '' Placosaurus sp.'' ;Snakes * '' Cadurcoboa insolita'' * '' Coluber cadurci'' * '' Dunnophis cadurcensis'' * '' Eoanilius europae'' * ''

Natrix mlynarskii ''Natrix'' is a genus of Old World snakes found across Eurasia (although the range of ''Dice snake, Natrix tessellata'' extends into Egypt and those of ''Natrix astreptophora, N. astreptophora'' and ''Natrix maura, N. maura'' into north-west Af ...

''Rage, 1988 * '' Palaeopython cadurcensis'' * '' P. filholi'' * '' P. neglectus'' * '' Paleryx cayluxi'' * '' Platyspondylia lepta'' * '' Plesiotortrix edwardsi'' ;Turtles * '' Ptychogaster cayluxensis''Broin, 1977 * '' Testudo phosphoritarum'' * Testudinidae indet.

Amphibians

;Frogs * '' Bufo serratus''Rage, 2006 * '' T. gezei''Laloy et al., 2013 * '' Thaumastosaurus bottii'' ;Salamanders * '' Heteroclitotriton zitteli'' * '' Megalotriton filholi'' * '' M. portisi'' * '' Phosphotriton sigei''Tissier et al., 2016

Insects

* '' Coptera anka'' * '' Onthophilus intermedius''Schmied et al., 2013, p.145 * '' Palaeortona quercyensis''Van de Kamp et al., 2018, p.4 * '' Xenomorphia handschini'' * '' X. resurrecta''Van de Kamp et al., 2018, p.2 *

Blattodea Blattodea is an order of insects that contains cockroaches and termites. Formerly, termites were considered a separate order, Isoptera, but genetic and molecular evidence suggests they evolved from within the cockroach lineage, cladistically ...

Coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

Diptera Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...

Ensifera Ensifera is a suborder of insects that includes the various types of crickets and their allies including: true crickets, camel crickets, bush crickets or katydids, grigs, weta and Cooloola monsters. This and the suborder Caelifera (grassh ...

Hymenoptera Hymenoptera is a large order (biology), order of insects, comprising the sawfly, sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are Par ...

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

Myriapoda Myriapods () are the members of subphylum Myriapoda, containing arthropods such as millipedes and centipedes. The group contains about 13,000 species, all of them terrestrial. The fossil record of myriapods reaches back into the late Silurian, a ...

Flora

* '' Palmocaulon sp.''De Franceschi et al., 2006, p.99 * Anacardiaceae indet.De Franceschi et al., 2006, p.100 * Caryophyllales indet. * Malvaceae indet.De Franceschi et al., 2006, p.101 * Menispermacae indet. * Sapotaceae indet. * Ulmaceae indet. * Vitaceae indet.

References

Bibliography

;Map reports * ;Paleontology * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

{{commons category-inline, Quercy Phosphorites Formation Geologic formations of France Eocene Series of Europe Oligocene Series of Europe Paleogene France Phosphorite formations Fossiliferous stratigraphic units of Europe Paleontology in France Formations