First Clarkforkian equivalent Land Mammal Age in the latest Paleocene basal Sparnacian facies of Europe: fauna, flora, paleoenvironment and (bio)stratigraphy.

ABSTRACT: The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) is correlated with the first occurrences of earliest modern mammals in the Northern Hemisphere. The latest Paleocene Clarkforkian North American Land Mammal Age, that has yielded rodents and carnivorans, is the only exception to this rule. However, until now no pre-PETM localities have yielded modern mammals in Europe or Asia. We report the first Clarkforkian equivalent Land Mammal Age in the latest Paleocene deposits of the basal Sparnacian facies at Rivecourt, in the north-central part of the Paris Basin. The new terrestrial vertebrate and macroflora assemblages are analyzed through a multidisciplinary study including sedimentologic, stratigraphic, isotopic, and palynological aspects in order to reconstruct the paleoenvironment and to evaluate

SUBMITTER: Smith T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3906055 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature