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Pumpellyite has been found for the first time in phyllites and synfolial veins in Permo-Triassic formations in the Beni Mezala 1 unit, part of the Federico units, Internal Zone of the Rif belt, Spain. Back-scattered images indicate that equilibrium was attained only at the millimeter scale or lower. Two main assemblages were identified in different microdomains: 1) pumpellyite -actinolite -epidote and 2) pumpellyite -muscovite -epidote. Only the second assemblage was identified in phyllites. Chlorite rarely occurs in these rocks, whereas vermiculite is abundant. Epidote is Fe-rich; actinolite contains very low Na and Al, and white mica has a mean Si content of 3.13 atoms per formula unit, all these characteristics being typical of low-pressure conditions. Assemblages in pumpellyite-bearing rocks indicate pressures of ~2 kbar and temperatures of ~250°C, in agreement with the estimates deduced from crystal-chemical parameters of white mica and chlorite from the enclosing pumpellyite-free phyllites. Nevertheless, peak conditions reached ca. 400°C and 5 kbar, as indicated by kyanite-bearing veins from the same area. Two compositionally different populations of pumpellyite occur: (i) a Fe-rich population, coexisting with actinolite, and (ii) an Al-rich population, present in actinolite-free rocks or microdomains. The mineral assemblages and phase compositions were thus mainly controlled by both reaction kinetics and microdomainal variations in composition.soMMaire Nous décrivons pour la première fois la pumpellyite dans les phyllites et les veines concordantes à la foliation des formations permo-triassiques faisant partie de l'unité Beni Mezala 1, une des unités de Federico, zone interne de la ceinture du Rif, en Espagne. Les images d'électrons rétrodiffusés démontrent que l'équilibre n'a été atteint que sur une échelle millimétrique, voire inférieure. Nous décrivons deux assemblages principaux: 1) pumpellyite -actinolite -épidote, et 2) pumpellyite -muscovite -épidote. Seul le second de ces assemblages a été identifié dans les phyllites. La chlorite est rarement développée dans ces roches, tandis que la vermiculite y est abondante. L'épidote est riche en fer, l'actinolite contient de très faibles teneurs en Na et Al, et le mica blanc possède en moyenne une teneur en Si de 3.13 atomes par formule unitaire, toutes ces caractéristiques étant typiques de conditions de faible pression. Les assemblages des roches porteuses de pumpellyite indiquent une pression d'environ 2 kbar et une température d'environ 250°C, ce qui concorde avec les estimés fondés sur la cristallochimie du mica blanc et de la chlorite dans les phyllites encaissantes dépourvues de pumpellyite. Toutefois, les conditions maximales dans la même région auraient atteint environ 400°C et 5 kbar, d'après la présence de veines à kyanite. Nous trouvons deux populations distinctes de § ZeN, e-aN (1974): Prehnite-and pumpellyite-bearing mineral assemblages, west side of Appalachian metamorphic belt, Pennsylvania to Newfoundland. J. Petrol. 15,

A detailed characterization of the mineralogy corresponding to the low-grade diagenetic-metamorphic sequence of the clastic rocks from the Beni Mezala antiform has allowed the processes implied in their origin to be stablished, integrating them in the geodynamic evolution of the Rif-Betic mountain range during the Alpine orogeny. A progressive evolution towards chemical and textural equilibrium was observed. The illite “crystallinity” (CIS) ranges from diagenetic-lower anchizone in Ghomaride complex (CIS: 1.50–0.37 Δ°2θ) to epizone in the deepest Federico units (CIS: 0.29–0.21 Δ°2θ). The main phyllosilicates in the diagenetic samples are illite (2M1-1M polytypes) and kaolinite, with mixed-layer illite/smectite and chlorite, but the mixed layers disappear in the lower anchizone samples, which show sudoite and dickite. Pyrophyllite is also present in the upper anchizone (0.43–0.29 Δ°2θ) whereas the epizone samples show muscovite (2M1-3T polytypes), chlorite, paragonite, and intermediate micas. The chlorite geothermometers give a T range of 150 to 400 °C, and the b parameter of 2M1 micas (8.992–9.029 Å) indicates low to intermediate pressure regional metamorphism (1–3 kbar) although the wide range of phengitic substitution in micas and the 3T polytype suggest a wider pressure range in coherence with the clockwise PTt evolution for the Rif Cordillera during the Alpine orogeny.

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The Early Pleistocene archeological site of Fuente Nueva-3 (FN3) preserves some of the oldest evidence of hominin presence in Western Europe, including a huge assemblage of Oldowan tools and evidence of butchering and marrow processing of large mammal bones. Moreover, there is also evidence of the regular presence of carnivores at the site, including a small proportion of bones that show tooth marks, the majority of which can be attributed to the giant, short-faced hyena Pachycrocuta brevirostris, and there are 220 coprolites, most of them from the Upper Archeological Level. In order to identify the defecating agent, we analyze here the coprolites and compare them with other specimens from the literature and with scats from zoo spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta). The morphology, color, size, and chemical composition of the FN3 coprolites allow us to attribute them to the hyena P. brevirostris, which is also represented at the site by fossil specimens. In addition, we evaluate the origin of the accumulation of coprolites and discuss on the role played by the scavenging hyenas in the accumulation and modification of the bone remains unearthed at the site, which allows evaluating the contribution of the giant hyena to this Early Pleistocene site. Finally, based on the lithology of layer 5 of the Upper Archeological Level, fine sands and clays deposited in a salt-lake environment, we hypothesize that this layer may have acted as a quicksand where large-sized animals like elephants were trapped and their carcasses lured scavenging carnivores.