Research paper
The most representative vertebrate fossil record and palaeontological heritage from the western Pyrenees
AINARA BADIOLA
Departamento de Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU), Barrio Sarriena s/n, 48940 Leioa, País Vasco, Spain. ainara.badiola@ehu.eus
Corresponding author
MIKEL ARLEGI
Departamento de Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU), Barrio Sarriena s/n, 48940 Leioa, País Vasco, Spain. mikel.arlegui@ehu.eus
Université de Bordeaux, PACEA UMR 5199, Bâtiment B8, Allée Geoff roy Saint-Hilaire, 33615 Pessac, France.
HUMBERTO ASTIBIA
Departamento de Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU), Barrio Sarriena s/n, 48940 Leioa, País Vasco, Spain. humberto.astibia@ehu.eus
NATHALIE BARDET
CR2P, UMR 7207 CNRS-MNHN-UPMC, Département Origines et Evolution, Muséum National d’Histoire naturelle, CP 38, 57 rue Cuvier, 75005 Paris, France. nathalie.bardet@mnhn.fr
ANA BERRETEAGA
Departamento de Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU), Barrio Sarriena s/n, 48940 Leioa, País Vasco, Spain. ana.berreteaga@ehu.eus
J. CARMELO CORRAL
Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Álava/Arabako Natur Zientzien Museoa, Siervas de Jesús 24, 01001 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. jc.corral@arrakis.es
IGNACIO DÍAZ-MARTÍNEZ
CONICET – Instituto de Investigación en Paleobiología y Geología, Universidad Nacional de Río Negro, General Roca 1242,8332 Fisque Menuco (General Roca), Río Negro, Argentina. inaportu@hotmail.com
ASIER GÓMEZ-OLIVENCIA
Departamento de Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU), Barrio Sarriena s/n, 48940 Leioa, Pais Vasco, Spain. asier.gomezo@ehu.eus
IKERBASQUE. Basque Foundation for Science, 48013 Bilbao, Spain. Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos. Avda. Monforte de Lemos, 5. 28029 Madrid, Spain.
MIKEL A. LOPEZ-HORGUE
Departamento de Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU), Barrio Sarriena s/n, 48940 Leioa, País Vasco, Spain. mikel.lopezhorgue@ehu.eus
LEIRE PERALES-GOGENOLA
Departamento de Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU), Barrio Sarriena s/n, 48940 Leioa, País Vasco, Spain. leire.perales@ehu.eus
XABIER PEREDA-SUBERBIOLA
Departamento de Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU), Barrio Sarriena s/n, 48940 Leioa, País Vasco, Spain. xabier.pereda@ehu.eus
Corresponding author
ABSTRACT
The western Pyrenees is a territory with a remarkable geodiversity and an important fossil record, which constitutes a large archive of palaeobiodiversity. With respect to the vertebrate fossil record, the western Pyrenees (Basque-Cantabrian Region, Pamplona Basin and the north-western sector of the Ebro Basin) are relevant both from the point of view of palaeontological sites and fossil collections. Several vertebrate fossil sites are integrated into the Inventory of Geological Interest Sites (LIG) with high to very high palaeontological interest of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country. It is worth highlighting the Cretaceous fish sites of Zeanuri in Biscay, Eocene mammals of Zambrana and Miocene ichnites of Salinas de Añana in Araba, and the Pleistocene vertebrate fossil assemblage of Kiputz near Mutriku, in Gipuzkoa. Other highly significant sites in the study area should be subject to geoconservation initiatives. This is the case of the Laño quarry in the Condado de Treviño, which has provided continental and marine vertebrate fossil assemblages from the latest Cretaceous, Eocene to Early Miocene sites with bird and mammal tracks in Navarre, and the Pleistocene cave deposits of Santa Isabel de Ranero in Biscay, to mention only the most outstanding examples. There are also vertebrate fossil collections in the western Pyrenees that stand out for their high palaeontological interest, although some do not come from recognized LIG. These collections are deposited in several centres and institutions of Bilbao, Irun, Leioa, Pamplona-Iruñea and Vitoria-Gasteiz. The valuation of the palaeobiodiversity and fossil record is an important step for the study of palaeontological heritage of a territory and the set-up of geoconservation designations (e.g., LIG, geosites). However, the mere inclusion of the palaeontological assents in these geoconservation designations does not guarantee either their protection and conservation or the suitable management of the fossil collection. Therefore, it is necessary to design conservation strategies taking into account the particularities of each palaeontological site and/or fossil collection. The scientific and cultural dissemination of the palaeontological heritage of a territory like one studied here should have greater collaboration between the palaeontologists that have valued the palaeontological assets and the technicians and institutions that manage them. This requires the provision of specific budgetary items that enable the development of the diff erent activities of research, conservation and social dissemination of this heritage.
Key words: Fossil vertebrates, palaeontological sites and collections, Cretaceous-Cenozoic, western Pyrenees.
How to cite: Badiola, A., Arlegi, M., Astibia, H., Bardet, N., Berreteaga, A., Corral, J.C., Díaz-Martínez, I., Gómez-Olivencia, A., Lopez-Horgue, M.A., Perales-Gogenola, L. & Pereda-Suberbiola, X. 2019. The most representative vertebrate fossil record and palaeontological heritage from the western Pyrenees. Spanish Journal of Palaeontology, 34 (1), 103-120.
Received 10 February 2019, Accepted 24 May 2019, Published 30 June 2019
https://doi.org/10.7203/sjp.34.1.15297
