Controlled excavations in the Pesciara and Monte Postale sites provide new insights about the palaeoecology and taphonomy of the fish assemblages of the Eocene Bolca Konservat-Lagerstätte, Italy

Marramà, Giuseppe; Банников, А. Ф.; Tyler, James C.; Zorzin, Roberto; Carnevale, Giorgio

doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2016.04.021

Cited by 55 publications

(91 citation statements)

References 60 publications

(96 reference statements)

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“…Free living isopods and numbfishes of the genus † Titanonarke inhabited the quiet waters of this lagoon that was periodically affected by anoxia and development of massive bacterial mats on the bottom during episodes of restricted circulation in response to relative sea‐level fluctuations (Marramà et al . ). Although it is not possible to determine if the different laminae accumulated seasonally, it is likely that the sedimentation rate of the laminated wackestone was rather sustained in a context characterized by reduced hydrodynamism and permanent oxygenation of a large part of the water column.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…This palaeoenvironmental setting is also supported by recent palaeoecological and taphonomic studies of the Monte Postale fish assemblage based on fossil material collected during controlled excavations carried out between 1999 and 2011 (Marramà et al . ). The abundance of marine and terrestrial plants, the large number of invertebrates (including abundant corals) and reef‐associated fishes, as well as the disarticulation of fish skeletons, unimodal dispersion of the fish skeletal elements, and presence of bioturbations suggest that the fossiliferous sediments of the Monte Postale site accumulated in a coral reef lagoon, which was close to an emerged coastal area and periodically affected by oxic conditions at the bottom (Marramà et al .…”

Section: The Monte Postale Sitementioning

confidence: 97%

“…The abundance of marine and terrestrial plants, the large number of invertebrates (including abundant corals) and reef‐associated fishes, as well as the disarticulation of fish skeletons, unimodal dispersion of the fish skeletal elements, and presence of bioturbations suggest that the fossiliferous sediments of the Monte Postale site accumulated in a coral reef lagoon, which was close to an emerged coastal area and periodically affected by oxic conditions at the bottom (Marramà et al . ).…”

Section: The Monte Postale Sitementioning

confidence: 97%

“…In this perspective, the presence of at least two species of † Titanonarke and the relative abundance of specimens concur to indicate a close affinity of this taxon with the shallow water habitats associated with coral reefs already hypothesized for the Monte Postale palaeobiotope (Marramà et al . ; Vescogni et al . ).…”

Section: Systematic Palaeontologymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Eocene isopods on electric rays: tracking ancient biological interactions from a complex fossil record

et al. 2018

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Isopod crustaceans have developed a variety of feeding strategies, which impact on their various life habits over time. Apart from morphological adaptations and the typical secondary deformations that some parasitic isopods inflict on their host's exoskeleton, traces of feeding behaviours involving isopods on their victim/food are seldom fossilized. Many of these rare occurrences consist of cases for which the degree of association between the isopods and their potential food source is unclear, or the interaction only very briefly explained (recently analysed cases excepted). There are two limiting problems in identifying the biological nature of fossilized associations: (1) direct associations of organisms preserved as ‘imprint’ (as opposed to inclusions in cherts or amber) are shaped by several taphonomic events difficult to identify (such as the time of death, burial and fossilization of the organism); (2) even in modern nature, differences within syn vivo interactions (like parasitism and micropredation) are poorly understood in marine systems. We report the occurrence of isopods associated with ancient chondrichthyans which also represent rare cases of the preservation of several fossil isopods on larger organisms. These organisms are adult electric rays of the genus †Titanonarke Carvalho from the late Ypresian (Eocene) of the Monte Postale site, Bolca Lagerstätte, Italy. By examining: (1) the involved lineages of rays and isopods; (2) the taphonomy of the association; (3) its environmental context; and (4) biological/adaptive features; we identify this association as a selective case, either of ancient scavenging or of micropredation on specific electric rays by isopods.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: The Monte Postale Sitementioning

confidence: 97%

Section: The Monte Postale Sitementioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Systematic Palaeontologymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Eocene isopods on electric rays: tracking ancient biological interactions from a complex fossil record

et al. 2018

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“…The preservation quality of the examined specimens, as well as the lithology of the associated sediment, suggest that skeletal material belonging to Pristigenys substriata documented herein derive from the excavations carried out at the Pesciara site (see Marramà et al, 2016). The material was examined using Wild M5A and Leica M80 stereomicroscopes equipped with camera lucida.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A reappraisal of the Eocene priacanthid fishPristigenys substriata(Blainville, 1818) from Monte Bolca, Italy

et al. 2017

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Fish‐bearing deposits from the Upper Eocene Terminal Complex of the Plana de Vic (Catalonia, NE Spain): Sedimentary context and taphonomy

et al. 2018

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The Upper Eocene fish‐bearing deposits of the Terminal Complex of the Plana de Vic (Ebro Basin, Catalonia, NE Spain) and its fish assemblage are analysed in detail from a stratigraphic and sedimentological point of view. Moreover, the taphonomic features and taxonomy of the fishes are studied for the first time. Fishes belonging to the families Clupeidae, Synodontidae, and an indeterminate percomorph have been identified, including a new lizardfish taxon, Ausonasynodus almerai gen. et sp. nov. The fish specimens are preserved in finely laminated limestones, resulting from the development of microbial mats on the seafloor. The presence of these microbially induced biolaminations favoured the good preservation of the fossil material. The combination of the stratigraphic and sedimentological context of the studied deposits, together with the taphonomic and paleobiological information obtained from the fishes, suggest that they were likely deposited in a shallow marine setting, probably in restricted or protected areas, under arid climatic conditions.

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Controlled excavations in the Pesciara and Monte Postale sites provide new insights about the palaeoecology and taphonomy of the fish assemblages of the Eocene Bolca Konservat-Lagerstätte, Italy

Cited by 55 publications

References 60 publications

Eocene isopods on electric rays: tracking ancient biological interactions from a complex fossil record

Eocene isopods on electric rays: tracking ancient biological interactions from a complex fossil record

A reappraisal of the Eocene priacanthid fishPristigenys substriata(Blainville, 1818) from Monte Bolca, Italy

Fish‐bearing deposits from the Upper Eocene Terminal Complex of the Plana de Vic (Catalonia, NE Spain): Sedimentary context and taphonomy

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