The Vallesian age is a period of geologic time (11.6–9.0 Ma) within the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

used more specifically with

European Land Mammal Ages 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 ...

. It precedes the

Turolian The Turolian age is a period of geologic time (9.0–5.3 Ma) within the Miocene used more specifically with European Land Mammal Ages. It precedes the Ruscinian age and follows the Vallesian age. The Turolian overlaps the Tortonian The Tortoni ...

age and follows the

Astaracian The Astaracian age is a period of geologic time (), equivalent with the Middle Miocene and used more specifically with European Land Mammal Ages. It precedes the Vallesian age and follows the Orleanian age. The Astaracian overlaps the Langhian and ...

age. The so-called Vallesian Crisis resulted in the extinction of several mammalian taxa characteristic of the Middle Miocene. The term "Vallesian" was introduced by Catalan palaeontologist

Miquel Crusafont Miquel may refer to: * the Catalan form of the given name Michael * Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel (1811–1871), a Dutch botanist * Gérard Miquel (born 1946), a member of the Senate of France * Ignasi Miquel (born 1992), a Spanish football playe ...

in 1950 to mark the arrival of the

equid Equidae (sometimes known as the horse family) is the taxonomic family of horses and related animals, including the extant horses, asses, and zebras, and many other species known only from fossils. All extant species are in the genus '' Equus'', w ...

Hipparion ''Hipparion'' (Greek, "pony") is an extinct genus of horse that lived in North America, Asia, Europe, and Africa during the Miocene through Pleistocene ~23 Mya—781,000 years ago. It lived in non-forested, grassy plains, shortgrass prairie or ...

'' in Europe. The remaining European palaeofaunas, however, had been around since the

Middle Miocene The Middle Miocene is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages: the Langhian and Serravallian stages. The Middle Miocene is preceded by the Early Miocene. The sub-epoch lasted from 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma to 11.608 ± 0.005 Ma (million y ...

, including the moschid ''

Micromeryx ''Micromeryx'' is an extinct genus of musk deer that lived during the Miocene epoch (about 16-8 million years ago). Fossil remains were found in Europe and Asia. The earliest record ( MN4) of the genus comes from the Sibnica 4 paleontological s ...

'' (a musk deer), the cervid ''

Euprox ''Euprox'' is an extinct genus of deer that lived in Eurasia during the Miocene. Taxonomy The type species ''Euprox furcatus'' was originally under the genus ''Prox'', but that name was preoccupied. Depéret assigned it to the related genus ''Di ...

'', the suid '' Listriodon'', and the felids ''

Sansanosmilus ''Sansanosmilus'' is an extinct genus of carnivorous mammal of the family Barbourofelidae (false saber-tooth cats) endemic to Europe, which lived during the Miocene, 13.6—11.1 mya, existing for approximately . Taxonomy ''Sansanosmilus'' ...

'' and ''

Pseudaelurus ''Pseudaelurus'' is a prehistoric cat that lived in Europe, Asia and North America in the Miocene between approximately twenty and eight million years ago. It is considered to be a paraphyletic grade ancestral to living felines and pantherines a ...

'', and the Aragonian-Vallesian"Aragonian" is a Spanish term for a continental stage, roughly equivalent to the Middle Miocene or Astaracian (16–11 Ma). boundary does not represent a major shift in the European mammalian record. In contrast, the transition between Lower and Upper Vallesian corresponds to a major biotic crisis — the demise of most Aragonian

artiodactyl 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 ...

s, including the antelope ''

Protragocerus ''Protragocerus'' is an extinct genus of antelope from the late Serravallian age (geology), Age (around 13 to 11 million years ago) of the Miocene epoch (geology), Epoch. Fossils of the genus have been found in France, India, and Saudi Arabia. It ...

'', the bovid ''

Miotragocerus ''Miotragocerus'', also known as the European eland, is an extinct species of antelope that once lived in Europe in 10 to 8 million years ago. They were most likely browsers Browse, browser or browsing may refer to: Programs * Web browser, a ...

'', ''Listriodon'', and the suids ''

Hyotherium ''Hyotherium'' was an extinct genus of even-toed ungulates under the Hyotheriinae group (a group that also consists of '' Chicochoerus'', '' Xenohyus'' and more) of the Suidae family.It existed during the Miocene in Europe and Perim Island, Ind ...

'' and '' Parachleusastochoerus''. The crisis also affected rodents such as the family

Eomyidae Eomyidae is a family of extinct rodents from North America and Eurasia related to modern day pocket gophers and kangaroo rats. They are known from the Middle Eocene to the Late Miocene in North America and from the Late Eocene to the Pleistocene ...

and most of the cricetids and glirids. They were replaced by species arriving from the east, Turolian in character: for example the suid '' Schizochoerus'', the murid '' Progonomys'', the bovids ''

Tragoportax ''Tragoportax'' is an extinct mammal genus belonging to the Bovidae.Miocene

(

'' and '' Graecoryx'', the hyaenid '' Adcrocuta'', the felid ''

Paramachairodus ''Paramachaerodus'' is an extinct genus of saber-tooth cat of the subfamily Machairodontinae, which was endemic to Europe and Asia during the late Miocene from 15 to 9 Ma. ''Paramacheirodus'' is one of the oldest known true saber-toothed cat ...

'', and the suid ''

Microstonyx ''Microstonyx'' was an extinct genus of suid that existed during the Miocene in Asia and Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its h ...

''. The Vallesian was a crucial period for the evolution of the European terrestrial fauna. During the Middle Miocene, the highly diversified mammalian fauna of the European forests were replaced by the faunas of the Late Miocene, adapted to a dry climate and to an open terrain. The beginning of the period is marked by the appearance and dispersal of the early horse ''

'' throughout Eurasia. The so-called Vallesian Crisis resulted in the extinction of several mammalian taxa characteristic of the Middle Miocene. The end of the Vallesian, and the beginning of the Turolian, brought the extinction in the west of faunas dominated by the

bovid The Bovidae comprise the biological family of cloven-hoofed, ruminant mammals that includes cattle, bison, buffalo, antelopes, and caprines. A member of this family is called a bovid. With 143 extant species and 300 known extinct species, the ...

s and giraffids characteristic of the so-called sub- Paratethyan or Greek-Iranian province.

Notes

References

{{Neogene Footer Miocene