Research Group on Cenozoic Vertebrate Palaeontology

Description

The research activity of the GI-PVC (Research Group on Cenozoic Vertebrate Palaeontology) focuses on the study of seven main lines of research:

Cenozoic Macrovertebrates (Baetic Basins and Iberian Cordillera).
Study of the Mio-Pliocene transit in continental facies in the Valencian Community.
Study of the Lower Miocene and Middle Miocene faunas of the Eastern Iberian Peninsula.
Study of the Tertiary and Quaternary faunas of Ecuador.
Isotopic analysis of fossil remains of micromammals.
Application of GIS tools (Geographic Information Systems - spatial analysis) in palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction based on fossil remains of microvertebrates.
Combined application of GIS (Geographic Information Systems - spatial analysis) and Image Analysis tools in the study of shape in Palaeontology.

The object of study of the seven aforementioned lines of research are the remains of fossil vertebrates (mammals, reptiles, amphibians) from the Cenozoic of Europe, and especially from the Iberian Peninsula, as well as from the same period in the central and western regions of Ecuador. In both geographical contexts, the aim is to approach the detailed palaeontological study of this type of remains from the different sub-disciplines of palaeontology (taphonomy, systematics, biostratigraphy, biogeography, palaeoecology, study of shape, etc.).

The main areas of study are the Tertiary and Quaternary basins of the Iberian and Baetic Domains in the Iberian Peninsula, and the areas with Eocene-Quaternary deposits in central and western Ecuador. The Iberian Peninsula is a region where a large number of palaeontological studies on Cenozoic vertebrate faunas have been carried out. Thus, since the middle of the last century, a large number of researchers from Europe and other latitudes have selected the Iberian basins as the preferred place to study this type of fossils. The magnificent exposition of the outcrops and the large palaeontological record found contributed to consider this area as the main source of palaeontological information on Cenozoic vertebrates in Europe. As a result of this work, the Spanish School of Vertebrate Palaeontologists was created, which over the years has become the largest and most powerful in our continent.

Our efforts are aimed at completing the large number of works in Vertebrate Palaeontology already existing in these basins, and especially at complementing the scarce works that have been carried out in the East of the Peninsula and which, as our latest works show, contain very relevant information that contrasts with the results from other areas of the Peninsula and the rest of Europe. Our results allow us to verify significant differences in the palaeontological record of Cenozoic vertebrates, as well as the discovery of new events of palaeoenvironmental changes hitherto unrecorded in other study areas.

In addition to deepening studies that complement existing information from other areas, our team is developing its research work on other fronts in order to create new approaches to the knowledge of the palaeoenvironmental conditions of the most recent past (Pleistocene-Holocene) and their relationship with the processes of climate change that have occurred in this time span. On the other hand, although closely related to this last point, we are developing new spatial analysis applications to handle environmental-climatic and biogeographical information that will allow us to tackle the process of paleoclimatic reconstruction of the recent past. From these new applications we analyse, for example, the extinction context of the last Neanderthal groups based on the Pleistocene microvertebrate record.

Goals CT

Study of the taphonomy, systematics, biostratigraphy, biogeography, palaeoecology and theoretical form of Cenozoic vertebrates.

Research lines

Isotopic analysis of fossil micromammal remains
Bones and teeth are the only remains located in palaeontological contexts. The analysis of their chemical composition allows us to understand the palaeobiology, palaeoecology and habitat use of these organisms, reflecting environmental parameters and palaeoclimatic conditions.
Macrovertebrates of the Cenozoic (Baetic Basins and Iberian Mountain Range)
The Taphonomy, Systematics, Biostratigraphy and Biogeography of large vertebrates are studied. Work is currently being carried out at different localities ranging from the Upper Miocene to the Pleistocene (Crevillent 2, Alicante; Venta del Moro, Valencia; Puerto de la Cadena and Quibas, Murcia).
Study of the Mio-Pliocene transit in continental facies in the Valencian Community
Several outcrops are studied in CV containing palaeontological deposits from the Upper Miocene-Lower Pliocene (5-6 Ma), which record the so-called Messinian Salinity Crisis, which involved the drying of the Mediterranean and a faunal exchange between Africa and the Iberian Peninsula.
Study of the vertebrate faunas of the Miocene of the Iberian Peninsula
In the area of Morteral (Magro) and Araia (Ribesalbes-Alcora), micromammals from the Aragonian period have been studied in high-resolution series. The results provide evidence of hitherto unknown paleontological information of great interest in the temporal context under study.
Combined application of GIS and Image Analysis tools in the study of shape in Palaeontology.
The use of image analysis tools and GIS makes it possible to recognise the shape of vertebrate cranial and postcranial skeletal remains. Vector analysis of shape, direct or based on statistical analysis, allows a novel approach to the theoretical study of shape.
Application of GIS tools in palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction based on fossil microvertebrate remains
Microvertebrates are distributed according to a few bioclimatic variables, and these conditions can be characterised according to the area occupied by their populations. GIS makes it possible to relate the area of distribution and the bioclimatic variables, which allows us to know the real conditions of the past.
Study of the Tertiary and Quaternary faunas of Ecuador
A very limited number of Neogene sites in Ecuador host a rich and spectacular micro- and macrovertebrate fauna (Eocene cetaceans, Pleistocene megafauna). The data from these sites should allow us to delve deeper into the origins of cetaceans and the extinction of the South American megafauna.