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Article Reference New mammals from the marine Selandian of Maret, Belgium, and their implications for the age of the Paleocene continental deposits of Walbeck, Germany
The early to middle Selandian fossiliferous Orp Sand Member of the Heers Formation in Belgium has regularly been excavated at its type-locality Maret for its rich and diversified selachian fauna. Among the abundant vertebrate remains, extremely rare mammal specimens have been found. Three isolated teeth have been published previously, all with uncertain affinities. The purpose of this study is to present new specimens from the same deposits, including a small well-preserved dentary of an adapisoriculid attributable to “Afrodon” germanicus, a fragmentary upper molar, referred to Berrulestes sp., and a premolar of a large arctocyonid. Among the previous specimens we identified Arctocyonides cf. weigelti. The adapisoriculid dentary offers new clues that allow transferring “Afrodon” germanicus to the genus Bustylus. The five mammal taxa from Maret indicate an age intermediate between reference-levels MP1-5 of Hainin, Belgium and MP6 of Cernay, France and present the greatest correlation with the rich Walbeck fauna in Germany. The deposits from Walbeck were usually thought to be slightly older than the late Thanetian deposits of Cernay. We infer here that the age of Walbeck is likely to be Selandian. The strong differences observed between Hainin on the one hand, and Walbeck and Cernay on the other hand, document a dispersal event from North America to Europe around the Danian-Selandian boundary.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Unraveling the PETM in shallow marine Tethyan environments: the Tunisian stratigraphic record.
Despite the increasing understanding of the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM) in open marine environments, shallow marine settings remain relatively unexplored. We investigated an upper Paleocene to lower Eocene shallow-water sequence near Kalaat Senan in Tunisia (Sidi Nasseur and Wadi Mezaz sections)in order to generate a stratigraphic framework of the PETM in shallow marine fine-grained siliciclastic setting on the Southern Tethys. These sections expose the top part of the El Haria Formation (Fm.), the Chouabine Fm. and the lower part of the limestone bearing El Garia Fm., covering the upper Paleocene - lower Eocene (NP9a to NP11). The PETM interval is situated near the top of the El Haria Fm. and the regional stratigraphy is compared to the well-known Egyptian setting. The isotope record of total organic carbon (δ13Corg)reveals the characteristic negative carbon isotope excursion(CIE), comparable to the δ13Corg record of the Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point of the Eocene at Dababiya (Egypt). Although the Tunesian PETM interval is quite expanded, no anomalous beds are observed and only the "CIE" core is partly represented as the top part of the PETM is truncated. In addition to a well-expressed CIE, the position of the Paleocene-Eocene boundary is supported by the appearance of nannoplankton (Discoaster araneus)and foraminiferal (e.g. Acarinina multicamerata)marker taxa. Furthermore, ostracode and benthic foraminiferal turnovers coincide with the onset of the PETM and are characterized by the disappearance of many common Paleocene taxa (e.g. Frondicularia aff. phosphatica) in this area. The lowest occurrences of Alocopocythere attitogonensis and Buntonia ? tunisiensis (ostracodes), Reophax sp. 1 (benthic foraminifera) and Fasciculithus tonii (calcareous nannplankton) may be applicable for regional correlation. These results indicate that characteristic PETM taxa evolved and/or dispersed immediately after the main δ13Corg shift.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference New Paleocene Sepiid Coleoids (Cephalopoda) from Egypt: Evolutionary Significance and Origin of the Sepiid ‘Rostrum’.
New coleoid cephalopods, assignable to the order Sepiida, are recorded from the Selandian/Thanetian boundary interval (Middle to Upper Paleocene transition, c. 59.2 Ma) along the southeastern margin (Toshka Lakes) of the Western Desert in Egypt. The two genera recognised, Aegyptosaepia n. gen. and ?Anomalosaepia Weaver and Ciampaglio, are placed in the families Belosaepiidae and ?Anomalosaepiidae, respectively. They constitute the oldest record to date of sepiids with a ‘rostrum-like’ prong. In addition, a third, generically and specifically indeterminate coleoid is represented by a single rostrum-like find. The taxonomic assignment of the material is based on apical parts (as preserved), i.e., guard, apical prong (or ‘rostrum-like’ structure), phragmocone and (remains of) protoconch, plus shell mineralogy. We here confirm the shell of early sepiids to have been bimineralic, i.e., composed of both calcite and aragonite. Aegyptosaepia lugeri n. gen., n. sp. reveals some similarities to later species of Belosaepia, in particular the possession of a distinct prong. General features of the phragmocone and protoconch of the new form are similar to both Belocurta (Middle Danian [Lower Paleocene]) and Belosaepia (Eocene). However, breviconic coiling and the presence of a longer ventral conotheca indicate closer ties with late Maastrichtian–Middle Danian Ceratisepia. In this respect, Aegyptosaepia n. gen. constitutes a link between Ceratisepia and the Eocene Belosaepia. The occurrence of the new genus near the Selandian/Thanetian boundary suggests an earlier origin of belosaepiids, during the early to Middle Paleocene. These earliest known belosaepiids may have originated in the Tethyan Realm. From northeast Africa, they subsequently spread to western India, the Arabian Plate and, probably via the Mediterranean region, to Europe and North America.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Prologue
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference History of excavations, discoveries and collections.
Spy cave, also known as the Betche aux Rotches cave, is one of the most famous Palaeolithic sites in Belgium. Excavated on numerous occasions beginning in 1879, the remains of two adult Neandertals were discovered in 1886. For the first time in the history of palaeoanthropology, human fossils were found in a stratigraphic context associated with rich archaeological material including the remains of extinct megafauna. The history of work at Spy presented here is based on a review of publications concerning the various excavations, the Lohest and Vercheval-De Puydt family archives, as well as inventories and archives possessed by the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences and the Royal Museums of Art and History. This archival review clarifies several aspects concerning the discovery of the two Neandertal specimens, particularly in light of new studies concerning the Spy material which is now dispersed amongst several public and private collections.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Through the correspondence: the little story of the “Spy bones”.
In the summer 1886, the Neandertal fossils of Spy were unearthed in the so-called Betche aux Rotches cave. Ever since, they have been through many events and have been the stake of discords, sometimes impassioned, between the various protagonists of their discovery and their conservation. The succession of these events will be redrawn here and the positions of each cleared up in the light of the rereading of two archives collections coming from the discoverers, namely the correspondence collection of Maximin Lohest, which is Mrs Dallemagne-Ophoven’s property, and the correspondence collection of Marcel De Puydt, handed over to the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS), which we shall refer to as “the Vercheval collection”.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Geological context
The geological context of the Spy area is presented, from Lower Palaeozoic to Quaternary. It focuses on Upper Palaeozoic, including the Lower Carboniferous limestone in which the Spy cave opens. Special attention is also given to the Quaternary.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference The stratigraphy of Spy cave. A review of the available lithostratigraphic and archaeostratigraphic information.
This chapter presents a general review of the lithostratigraphy associated with the various excavations carried out at Spy cave since the end of the 19th century, incorporating what little information is available concerning sedimentogenesis. In addition to reviewing the types and possible causes underlying the mixed nature of the Spy archaeological material, the history of the published archaeostratigraphic interpretations of the site is presented alongside the different techno-complexes identified amongst the Spy material. Finally, the stratigraphic position of the Neandertal remains is considered and an overall stratigraphy is proposed that takes into consideration the available chronostratigraphic data.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Non-flint raw materials.
This paper presents a macroscopic and mesoscopic characterisation of different non-flint raw materials identified amongst the archaeological material from Spy cave. Already available information for each raw material is discussed before introducing relevant new terminology. Finally, a litho-stratigraphic attribution is proposed alongside a discussion of the geological and geographical origin of each raw material. More detailed information was recorded for black, finely bedded silicites using Raman spectrometry, and for fluorites by measuring strontium isotopes or LA-ICP-MS of rare-earth elements. In both cases, these analytical approaches allowed mac - roscopically similar materials to be distinguished and their outcrops identified. The Orneau Valley has a relatively high lithological diversity (outcrops and fluvial deposits) from which a large part of the raw materials utilised at Spy derive. These materials were complemented by sources found in the Brabant Massif (Ottignies) and the area surrounding Landen.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Oolithic ironstones from Spy cave.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications