The Quercy Phosphorites Formation (

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

: ''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 for ...

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 regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. 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 ...

dating back to the

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

period ( 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 stag ...

),Quercy Phosphorites Formation
at

Fossilworks Fossilworks is a portal which provides query, download, and analysis tools to facilitate access to the Paleobiology Database, a large relational database assembled by hundreds of paleontologists from around the world. History Fossilworks was cre ...

.orgPhosphorites du Quercy Formation
at

.org or MP16 to MP28 zones of the European land mammal age classification, ranging from approximately 38 to 25 Ma. It qualifies as a

because beside a large variety of mammals,

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 lightweig ...

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 ...

crocodile Crocodiles (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 include all extant ...

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

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 amphibians and squamates, in addition to their articulated skeleton in what has been called natural mummies. The genera ''

Quercylurus ''Quercylurus major'' is an extinct nimravid carnivoran, or "false sabre-tooth," from the early Oligocene of France. Its fossils are found from Early Oligocene strata in Quercy. ''Q. major'' was possibly the largest nimravid ever known, as its f ...

'', '' Quercymegapodius'', ''

Quercypsitta ''Quercypsitta'' is a genus of prehistoric bird from the Late Eocene (''circa'' 37-34 Mya) Quercy phosphorites in France. Known from rather fragmentary remains (some foot and wing bones for the type species ''Q. sudrei'', three coracoids for th ...

'', '' Quercypodargus'', '' Quercycerta'' and '' Quercygama'', and species '' Mosaicomeryx quercyi'', '' Robiacina quercyi'', '' Palaeophyllophora quercyi'', '' Archaeomys quercyi'', ''

Eomys quercyi ''Eomys'' is an extinct genus of eomyid rodent from the late Oligocene of France, Germany, Spain, and possibly Turkey. The species ''Eomys quercyi'' is the earliest known gliding rodent. References External links ''Eomys''in the Paleobiology ...

'', '' 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 phosph ...

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) and Gervais in the same year and extensively studied by Filhol from

1877 Events January–March * January 1 – Queen Victoria is proclaimed ''Empress of India'' by the ''Royal Titles Act 1876'', introduced by Benjamin Disraeli, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom . * January 8 – Great Sio ...

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 karstified phosphate deposits are found from the Lot and Célé 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 of ...

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 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 Que ...

.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 European land mammal age classification. These ages correspond to the latest Bartonian to

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 sta ...

, 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 Phosphorite, phosphate rock or rock phosphate is a non-detrital sedimentary rock that contains high amounts of phosphate minerals. The phosphate content of phosphorite (or grade of phosphate rock) varies greatly, from 4% to 20% phosphorus pentoxi ...

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 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 Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter includin ...

* '' Cryptadapis tertius'' ; Apatotheria * '' Heterohyus (Chardinyus) nanus'' * '' Heterohyus (Gervaisyus) pygmaeus'' * '' Chardinyus sp.'' * '' Gervaisyus sp.'' ; Artiodactyls * '' 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 monophyletic order of placental mammals consisting of the most recent common ancestor of all cat-like and dog-like animals, and all descendants of that ancestor. Members of this group are formally referred to as carnivorans, ...

* '' 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 * '' Hipposideros (Pseudorhinolophus) sehlosseri'' * '' H. (P.) trassounius'' * '' H. (P.) zbrjdi'' * ''

Leuconoe lavocati In Greek mythology, the name Leuconoe (; Ancient Greek: Λευκονόη, ) may refer to: *Leuconoe, one of the Minyads, more commonly known as Leucippe. *Leuconoe, daughter of Lucifer (Eosphorus) and mother of Philammon by Apollo. Hyginus, ''Fa ...

'' * '' 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 an ...

* '' 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" (m ...

* '' Darbonetus aubrelongensis''Hooker, 2018, p.236 ; Hyaenodonta * '' Paroxyaena pavlovi''Lavrov, 2007 ; Lipotyphla * '' Amphidozotherium cayluxi'' * '' Darbonetus aubrelongensis'' * '' D. tuberi'' * '' Myxomygale antiqua''Hugueney & Maridet, 2017 * '' Saturninia beata'' * '' S. pelissiei'' ;

Marsupials Marsupials are any members of the mammalian infraclass Marsupialia. All extant marsupials are endemic to Australasia, Wallacea and the Americas. A distinctive characteristic common to most of these species is that the young are carried in a ...

* '' Amphiperatherium bourdellense'' * '' A. lamandini'' * '' Peratherium bretouense'' * '' P. cayluxi'' * '' P. lavergnense'' * '' P. perrierense'' ; Perissodactyls * '' Pachynolophus bretovense'' ; Proeutheria * '' Pseudorhyncocyon cayluxi'' ;

Rodents Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...

* '' Archaeomys intermedius'' * '' A. quercyi'' * ''

Bernardia marandati ''Bernardia'' is a plant genus of the family Euphorbiaceae first described for modern science as a genus in 1754. It is native to North and South America, as well as the West Indies. ;Species ;Formerly included moved to other genera ''(Adeli ...

'' * '' 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, Pseudoltinomys gaillardi'' * ''Pseudoltinomys, P. major'' * ''Pseudoltinomys, P. phosphoricus'' * ''Sciuromys, Sciuromys cayluxi''Vianey-Liaud & Schmid, 2009 * ''Sciuromys, S. rigali'' * '' Tarnomys quercynus'' * ''Theridomys, Theridomys ludensis''

Birds

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

Reptiles

;Caprimulgiformes * ''Euronyctibius, Euronyctibius kurochkini''Mourer-Chauviré, 1989 * ''Quercypodargus, Quercypodargus olsoni'' ;Crocodiles * ''Alligator gaudryi'' ;Lizards * ''Ayalasaurus, Ayalasaurus tenuis''Augé, 2005 * ''Brevisaurus, Brevisaurus smithi'' * ''Cadurciguana, Cadurciguana hoffstetteri'' * ''Cadurcogekko, Cadurcogekko piveteaui'' * ''Dracaenosaurus, Dracaenosaurus croizeti'' * ''Eurheloderma, Eurheloderma gallicum'' * ''Geiseltaliellus, Geiseltaliellus lamandini'' * ''Mediolacerta, Mediolacerta roceki'' * ''Necrosaurus, Necrosaurus cayluxi'' * ''Necrosaurus, N. eucarinatus'' * ''Omoiotyphlops, Omoiotyphlops priscus'' * '' Paraplacosauriops quercyi'' * ''Placosaurus, Placosaurus rugosus'' * ''Plesiolacerta, Plesiolacerta lydekkeri'' * ''Pseudeumeces, Pseudeumeces cadurcensis'' * ''Pseudolacerta, Pseudolacerta mucronata'' * ''Pseudolacerta, P. quercyini'' * ''Quercycerta, Quercycerta maxima'' * ''Quercygama, Quercygama galliae'' * ''Uromastyx europaeus'' * ''Placosaurus, Placosaurus sp.'' ;Snakes * ''Cadurcoboa, Cadurcoboa insolita'' * ''Coluber cadurci'' * ''Dunnophis, Dunnophis cadurcensis'' * ''Eoanilius, Eoanilius europae'' * ''Natrix mlynarskii''Rage, 1988 * ''Palaeopython, Palaeopython cadurcensis'' * ''Palaeopython, P. filholi'' * ''Palaeopython, P. neglectus'' * ''Paleryx, Paleryx cayluxi'' * ''Platyspondylia, Platyspondylia lepta'' * ''Plesiotortrix, Plesiotortrix edwardsi'' ;Turtles * ''Ptychogaster, Ptychogaster cayluxensis''Broin, 1977 * ''Testudo phosphoritarum'' * Testudinidae, Testudinidae indet.

Amphibians

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

Insects

* ''Coptera, Coptera anka'' * ''Onthophilus intermedius''Schmied et al., 2013, p.145 * '' Palaeortona quercyensis''Van de Kamp et al., 2018, p.4 * ''Xenomorphia, Xenomorphia handschini'' * ''Xenomorphia, X. resurrecta''Van de Kamp et al., 2018, p.2 * Blattodea * Coleoptera * Diptera * Ensifera * Hymenoptera * Lepidoptera * Myriapoda

Flora

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

References

Bibliography

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

External links

{{commons category-inline, Quercy Phosphorites Formation 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 Geography of Occitania (administrative region), Formations