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[spa] La Formación Caspe corresponde a las facies fluviales de los depósitos de un abanico fluvial de edad oligo-miocena, referido en la literatura como Sistema aluvial del Guadalope-Matarranya. Dicho sistema tuvo su área fuente en la Zona de Enlace entre el Sistema Ibérico y los Catalánides y distribuía sedimentos radialmente hacia el N, NE y NW a lo largo de una distancia de unos 90 -100 Km. Los problemas sedimentológicos planteados han sido determinar el origen de la segmentación en storeys en los depósitos de canal, en los cuales domina la morfologia de ribbon sandstone, determinar hasta qué punto los conjuntos canal-levee formaban cinturones aluviales sobreelevados y determinar la tipología de las antiguas redes fluviales. En relación con los procesos sedimentarios y el contexto paleogeográfico, otro de los problemas a resolver ha sido la determinación del régimen hídrico y el entorno paleoclimático. El estudio estratigráfico una primera parte, de síntesis del conocimiento previo, y una segunda parte en la que presentamos una serie magnetoestratigráfica, correspondiente a los 550 m más altos que se pueden medir en la Formación, la cual ha permitido correlacionar las partes medias del sistema aluvial con las series de sistema lacustre elaboradas por autores previos. Dicha serie abarca un lapso mínimo de unos 2 Ma entre los crones C7Ar y C6n.1n. El lapso mínimo que abarca la formación es de 6.429 Ma, entre la parte superior del Rupeliense y la inferior del Aquitaniense (crones C11n a C6n.1n). Los ribbon sandstones corresponden al depósito de cinturones de canales que desarrollaban levees de poco relieve y estaban sujetos a procesos de avulsión frecuente, inducidos por colmatación y reducción de capacidad. En estos cinturones, los canales se apilaban con un marcado componente vertical como resultado del acoplamiento entre la sedimentación en la llanura de inundación y en los canales. Dicho acoplamiento se ha caracterizado mediante el número de movilidad estratigráfica, el cual presenta valores próximos a los típicos para canales turbidíticos. Las relaciones entre ribbon sandstones adyacentes y los storeys que los forman muestran que cada sección vertical puede corresponder a la superposición de litosomas de relleno de canal que pueden presentar relaciones de divergencia y convergencia respecto de la sección observada, y pueden conectar con ribbon sandstones adyacentes. La conectividad entre litosomas de arenisca es mayor que la que puede deducirse a partir de la observación de secciones verticales. El régimen hídrico habría sido marcadamente discontinuo, en un contexto paleoclimático de árido a semiárido en la Cuenca del Ebro. Los caudales formativos muestran valores máximos significativamente superiores al régimen actual. El análisis de la arquitectura a escala kilométrica muestra que los ribbon sandstones se concentran verticalmente sobre superficies de extensión plurikilométrica, separadas por intervalos dominantemente pelíticos. El análisis de las secuencias formadas por los ribbon sandstones y el resto de litofacies relacionadas, combinado con la arquitectura indicada sugiere que la estratigrafía a escala de formación corresponde al apilamiento compensacional de lóbulos deposicionales de diversas escalas. Respecto a la ruta sedimentaria, la tasa de aporte de sedimento, y la extensión y evolución del área fuente han podido calcularse en base a balances de volumen. Los valores obtenidos son de un orden de magnitud inferiores a los de sistemas de edad equivalente en el margen sur pirenaico. La ruta sedimentaria conformaría un sistema altamente reactivo. Los controles alogénicos climáticos de zona proximal podrían manifestarse a dos escalas: a escala de tiempo de la oblicuidad (46 Ka) y a escalas de tiempo de la excentricidad (superiores a los 100 Ka). A escala de la oblicuidad, la distribución del sedimento en lóbulos deposicionales distorsionaría esta señal y la desconectaría del sistema lacustre. A escalas de tiempo superiores a la oblicuidad, las variaciones de la descarga de sedimento afectarían la totalidad del sistema., [eng] The Caspe Formation corresponds to the fluvial facies of a fluvial fan of Oligo-Miocene age, referred to as the Guadalope-Matarranya alluvial system. It had its source area in the Linking Zone between the Iberian System and the Catalan Coastal Range and distributed sediments radially towards the N , NE and NW, along a distance of about 90 -100 Km. The minimum period covered by this formation is 6,429 Ma, between the upper part of the Rupelian and the lower part of the Aquitanian (chrons C11n to C6Cn.1n. Lithosomes formed by paleochannel fills are typically ribbon-shaped. The ribbon sandstones correspond to the deposit of channel belts that developed low relief levees and were subject to frequent avulsion processes, induced by aggradation and capacity reduction. The channels were stacked with a marked vertical component as a result of the coupling between sedimentation in the floodplain and in the channels. The relationships between adjacent ribbon sandstones and the storeys that form them, show that each vertical section can correspond to the superposition of canaliform bodies that can present divergence and convergence relationships with respect to the observed section, and can connect with neighboring ribbon sandstones. The water regime was probably markedly discontinuous, in an arid to semi-arid paleoclimatic context . The forming flows show maximum values significantly higher than the current regime. The ribbon sandstones are vertically clustered on surfaces of plurikilometric extension, separated by pelitic intervals. This architecture suggests that the stratigraphy at the formation scale corresponds to the compensational stacking of depositional lobes of various scales. The sediment discharge, and the extension and evolution of the source area have been calculated based on volume balances. Obtained values are an order of magnitude lower than those of age equivalent systems in the south pyrenean margin. The sediment routing system would have been highly reactive. Climatic upstream alogenic controls would be identifiable at two scales: obliquity temporal scale (46 Ka) and eccentricity scale (100 Ka). At the obliquity scale, dispersal of sediment in depositional lobes would cause the distortion of such signal, and its disconnection from the lacustrine system. Nevertheless, a purely autogenic control can not be ruled out. At temporal scales above obliquity, variations of the sediment discharge rate would affect the whole system.

Journal of South American earth sciences 120, 104055 (2022). doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2022.104055, We report a fossil geometrid moth, a male, virtually complete, preserved in a clear piece of Miocene Dominican amber dating from 19 to 16 Mya. Fore- and hindwings appear partially overlapped, and all body characters are visible externally in dorsal and ventral views, including the outer surface of the valvae of the genitalia. The scale pattern on the wing membrane is preserved, whereas the wing color pattern is not. It belongs to the genus Dolichoneura (Geometridae: Desmobathrinae) and is named Dolichoneura jorelisae Sarto i Monteys, Hausmann, Baixeras and Peñalver sp. n., based on wing features. Because of the poor fossil record of lepidopterans, both in amber and compression rocks, the description of the available well-preserved specimens is of considerable interest for phylogenetic studies. Furthermore, it could also serve for calibrating molecular clocks and for paleobiogeographic inferences., Published by Elsevier Science, Amsterdam [u.a.]

Altres ajuts: CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya. Les tasques de camp es van poder dur a terme gràcies al suport del Departament de Cultura de la Generalitat de Catalunya (projecte 2014/100584) i la National Geographic Society (beca d'exploració ref. 9640-15). Les intervencions paleontològiques recents han mostrat que el registre de vertebrats continentals del Miocè inferior de la conca del Vallès-Penedès és molt més ric i continu del que es pensava. Avui dia es coneixen una vintena de jaciments que han lliurat tant microvertebrats com macrovertebrats. Els nostres estudis biostratigràfics han permès una datació precisa dels diferents jaciments i també dels principals esdeveniments faunístics i climàtics.

The Ribesalbes-Alcora Basin (Castelló Province, Spain) contains two lower Miocene units that are rich in fossils. The Unit B contains oil-shale and laminated bituminous dolomicrite related to a palaeolake, whereas the Unit C is composed of sandstone and mudstone beds from distal deltaic and shallow lacustrine environments. The La Rinconada and San Chils localities from the Unit B have yielded a fossil assemblage of plants, molluscs, arthropods, and vertebrates, while the localities from the Unit C in the Campisano ravine (Araia/Mas d'Antolino outcrop) are rich in mammalian record. Here we study a new palaeolake deposit of laminated lacustrine limestone beds in the Unit C named Foieta la Sarra-A. This new locality has provided an assemblage of charophytes, terrestrial plants, molluscs, arthropods, and teleosteans. The latter represent the only known fish record from the Ribesalbes-Alcora Basin to date. Although the specimens are generally poorly preserved, the presence of soft-body preservation due to the action of microbial mats at the lake bottom allows considering the Foieta la Sarra-A locality as a Konservat-Lagerstätte. The Foieta la Sarra-A palaeolake had a different water chemistry compared to that represented in the Unit B. Its depth was about a few metres and the water level suffered periodic fluctuations. This new locality sheds light on the palaeoenvironmental dynamics of the Ribesalbes-Alcora Basin during the early Miocene and provides a new approach to the palaeoecological reconstruction of the basin.

A new fossil genus of the family Hybotidae is described, based on male and female specimens. The new genus is monotypic: Syneproctus caridadi gen. et sp. nov. It belongs to the subfamily Hybotinae and shares some characters with the extant genera Syneches Walker, 1852, Stenoproctus Loew, 1858 and Chillcottomyia Saigusa, 1986; however, the differences, principally in the wing venation (shortened cua cell, horizontal m-cu crossvein) and sclerotized mouthparts, support the description of a new genus. This is the first description of a new taxon of the subfamily Hybotinae from specimens preserved in Dominican amber.

Near-surface diagenesis has been studied in the Langhian siliciclastic rocks of the Montju&iuml, c Hill (Barcelona Plain) by means of petrographical (optical and cathodoluminescence) and geochemical (electron microprobe, &delta, 18O, &delta, 13C, &delta, 34S and 87Sr/86Sr) analyses. In the hill, these rocks are affected by strong silicification, but the same unit remains non-silicified at depth. The results reveal that fracturing took place after lithification and during uplift. Fracture cementation is clearly controlled by the previous diagenesis of the host rock. In non-silicified areas, cementation is dominated by calcite, which precipitated from meteoric waters. In silicified areas, fractures show multiepisodic cementation produced firstly by barite and secondly by silica, following the sequence opal, lussatite, chalcedony, and quartz. Barite precipitated only in fractures from the mixing of upflowing seawater and percolating meteoric fluids. The presence of silica stalactites, illuviation, and geopetal structures, and &delta, 18O values indicate that silica precipitation occurred in the vadose regime from low-temperature percolating meteoric fluids, probably during a glacial period. Moreover, the presence of alunite suggests that silica cement formed under acidic conditions. Karst features (vugs and caverns), formed by arenisation, reveal that silica was derived from the dissolution of surrounding silicified host rocks.

Recovery of two specimens of leucosioid crabs in Langhian (middle Miocene) strata at Vilafranca del Penedès (Alt Penedès, Catalonia) and a re-examination of another leucosioid from the palaeontological collections of the Vinseum (Vilafranca del Penedès, Catalonia) have led us to consider all of these as conspecific with Iphiculus eliasi Hyžný & Gross, 2016, described first from the middle Miocene of Austria. The sternal and pleonal remains preserved in one of the Catalonian specimens allows to emend the original description of the species. Likewise, a specimen from the middle Miocene of Portugal, previously described as a paguroid, is herein transferred to this species. The occurrence of I. eliasi, either in outcrops along the northeastern and southwestern coasts of the Iberian Peninsula, corroborates the close relationship between decapod assemblages which inhabited similar palaeoenvironments in the Central Paratethys, the western Mediterranean and even the nearest Atlantic waters, during the middle Miocene. Dva nova primerka leukosioidnih rakov langhijske (srednjemiocenske) starosti iz kraja Vilafranca del Penedès (Alt Penedès, Katalonija) in dodaten primerek iz muzeja Vinseum (Vilafranca del Penedès, Katalonija) smo določili kot Iphiculus eliasi Hyžný & Gross, 2016, ki je bil prvič opisan iz srednjemiocenskih plasti Avstrije. Na podlagi dobro ohranjenih morfoloških podrobnosti sternuma in pleona lahko dopolnimo originalni opis vrste. Primerek iz srednjega miocena Portugalske je določen kot I. eliasi, ki je bil opisan kot ostanek raka samotarja. Razširjenost vrste I. eliasi na iberijskem polotoku dodatno potrjuje podobnosti med fosilnimi združbami deseteronožcev, ki so v srednjem miocenu poseljevale centralno Paratetido, zahodno Sredozemlje in plitvovodna območja v Atlantskem oceanu.

For the first time, the study of the fossil record present in laminated bituminous dolostones from the San Chils locality, Lower Miocene in age (ca. 19 Ma), located at the Ribesalbes-Alcora Basin, is addressed. The identification of 11 families and three genera belonging to six insect orders (Orthoptera, Thysanoptera, Hemiptera, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera and Diptera) has been carried out. Furthermore, ephippia of cladoceran crustaceans, one bird feather, vertebrate coprolites and plant remains have been found. The San Chils palaeodiversity has been compared to that of La Rinconada, a similar outcrop in the same basin and depositional unit. Both localities correspond to lacustrine deposits and were mined during the past two centuries. This work has increased the palaeontological richness of the Ribesalbes-Alcora Basin with new findings such as specimens of the subfamily Corixinae (Hemiptera: Corixidae), some ant workers (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), a specimen assigned to the genus Exechia (Diptera: Mycetophilidae), ephippia of Daphnia (Ctenodapnia) sp. (Branchiopoda: Cladocera), the possible first report of the genus Sciocoris (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) for the Neogene fossil record and the possible presence of the family Aeolothripidae (Thysanoptera). The current collection of fossil specimens from San Chils is small, but shows that it shared similar palaeoenvironmental conditions to that of La Rinconada, both in the lake waters and in the surroundings. The preservation of the specimens is poor due to the weathering they suffered during more than a century exposed outside the mine, but the presence of delicate structures has enabled to classify the outcrop as a Konservat-Lagerstätte, like La Rinconada.

En el presente trabajo se realiza una valoración patrimonial del conjunto de yacimientos del Mioceno inferior del barranco de Campisano (cuenca de Ribesalbes-Alcora). Los resultados obtenidos al calcular los parámetros según la metodología del Inventario Español de Lugares de Interés Geológico (IELIG) ponen de manifi esto el alto valor científi co y didáctico de la zona, así como un valor turístico y recreativo medio. El riesgo de degradación es medio, por lo que debería ser tenido en cuenta para la protección de los yacimientos a corto plazo. En consonancia con estos datos, se propone la consideración de los yacimientos como LIG (Lugar de Interés Geológico) y su inclusión en el IELIG. In the present work the heritage valuation of the Spanish early Miocene localities of the Campisano ravine (RibesalbesAlcora Basin) is carried out. The results of the parameters according to the IELIG (Inventario Español de Lugares de Interés Geológico) methodology show the high value from the scientifi c and didactic points of view and the medium value from the tourist and recreational points of view. There is a medium risk of degradation, so it should be taken into account for short-term protection. Based on these data, the consideration of the localities as LIG (Lugar de Interés Geológico) and their inclusion in the IELIG are proposed. Fil: Costa Pérez, Mireia. Universidad de Valencia; España Fil: Álvarez Parra, Sergio. Universidad de Barcelona; España Fil: Paredes Aliaga, María Victoria. Universidad de Valencia; España Fil: Caballero, Oscar. Universidad de Valencia; España Fil: Bueno, Esther. Universidad de Valencia; España Fil: Vilaplana Climent, Andreu. Universidad de Valencia; España Fil: Crespo Roures, Vicente Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Paleontología Vertebrados; Argentina

The sulfur-bearing limestones interbedded in the upper Miocene diatomaceous sediments (Tripoli Formation) of the Lorca Basin (SE Spain) are typified, as other Mediterranean coeval carbonate and gypsum deposits, by filamentous, circular and rod-shaped microstructures of controversial origin. These features have been interpreted both as fecal pellets of brine shrimps and/or of copepods, remains of algae or cyanobacteria and fossilized sulfide-oxidizing bacteria. To shed light on their origin, a multidisciplinary study including optical, UV and scanning electron microscopy, Raman microspectroscopy, and geochemical (carbon and oxygen stable isotopes) analyses has been carried out on three carbonate beds exposed along the La Serrata ridge. The different composition of the filamentous and circular objects with respect to the rod-shaped microstructures suggest that the former represent remains of bacteria, while the latter fecal pellets of deposit- or suspension-feeder organisms. Size and shape of the filamentous and circular microfossils are consistent with their assignment to colorless sulfide-oxidizing bacteria like Beggiatoa (or Thioploca) and Thiomargarita, which is further supported by the presence, only within the microfossil body, of tiny pyrite grains. These grains possibly result from early diagenetic transformation of original sulfur globules stored by the bacteria, which are a diagnostic feature of this group of prokaryotes. The development of microbial communities dominated by putative sulfide-oxidizing bacteria at Lorca was favored by hydrogen sulfide flows generated through degradation of organic matter by sulfate-reducing bacteria thriving in underlying organic-rich sediments.

Castell de Barberà, located in the Vallès-Penedès Basin (NE Iberian Peninsula), is one of the few European sites where pliopithecoids (Barberapithecus) and hominoids (cf. Dryopithecus) co-occur. The dating of this Miocene site has proven controversial. A latest Aragonian (MN7+8, ca. 11.88-11.18 Ma) age was long accepted by most authors, despite subsequent reports of hipparionin remains that signaled a Vallesian age. On the latter basis, Castell de Barberà was recently correlated to the early Vallesian (MN9, ca. 11.18-10.3 Ma) on tentative grounds. Uncertainties about the provenance of the Hippotherium material and the lack of magnetostratigraphic data precluded more accurate dating. After decades of inactivity, fieldwork was resumed in 2014-2015 at Castell de Barberà, including the original layer (CB-D) that in the past delivered most of the fossils. Here we report magnetostratigraphic results for the original outcrop and another nearby section. Our results indicate that CB-D is located in a normal polarity magnetozone at about midheight of a short (~20 m-thick) stratigraphic section. The composite magnetostratigraphic section (~50 m) has as many as four to six magnetozones. These multiple reversals, coupled with the in situ recovery of a Hippotherium humerus from CB-D in 2015, make it very unlikely the correlation of any of the sampled normal polarity magnetozones with the long normal polarity subchron C5n.2n (11.056-9.984 Ma), which is characteristic of the early Vallesian. Our results support instead a correlation of CB-D with C5r.1n (11.188-11.146 Ma), where the Aragonian/Vallesian boundary is situated, and therefore indicate an earliest Vallesian age of ~11.2 Ma for Castell de Barberà. Our results settle the longstanding debate about the Aragonian vs. Vallesian age of this site, which appears roughly coeval with the Creu de Conill 20 locality (11.18 Ma), where hipparionins are first recorded in the Vallès- Penedès Basin

A detailed report of the decapod crustaceans discovered in the Middle-Late Miocene outcrops of the ‘Faluns’ of Anjou-Touraine (West of France) is here presented. The Couffon’s compendium (1908) is reviewed, and the systematics updated. A total of seven genera and eight species of eubrachyuran crabs, undetermined chelae, and one anomuran species, are reported. The varied decapod assemblage, dominated by Pilumnus mediterraneus (Lőrenthey, 1897), shows clear affinity with coeval decapod faunas from the Mediterranean and Paratethys realm. This fauna dwelt in a shallow warm and agitated environment of bryozoan meadows. The age of Hebertides jurassica Guinot, De Angeli & Garassino, 2007, is confirmed, and the probable provenance of the holotype is suggested. We also discuss the generic status of Scylla michelini A. Milne-Edwards, 1861 transferred herein to Necronectes A. MilneEdwards, 1881. Une présentation détaillée d’une série de crustacés décapodes provenant de différents affleurements des faluns du Miocène moyen-supérieur de l’Anjou-Touraine (ouest de la France) est présentée dans cet article. Un total de sept genres et huit espèces d’eubrachyures et une espèce d’anomure sont décrits ici. Cet assemblage de décapodes est varié, dominé par Pilumnus mediterraneus (Lőrenthey, 1897), montrant une affinité claire avec les faunes de décapodes contemporaines de la Mer Méditerranée et du domaine paratéthysien. Cette faune vivait dans un environnement peu profond, chaud et agité, dans des prairies à bryozoaires. L’âge de Hebertides jurassica Guinot, De Angeli & Garassino, 2007 est confirmé, et la provenance éventuelle de l’holotype est ici suggérée. Le statut générique de Scylla michelini A. Milne-Edwards, 1861 est discuté et transféré à Necronectes A. Milne-Edwards, 1881.

We analyse the late Miocene (early Tortonian) climate of the La Cerdanya Basin (Catalonia, Spain) using the Climate Leaf Analysis Multivariate Program (CLAMP) based on an assemblage comprising twenty-nine dicot leaf taxa. Results show a mean annual temperature of 11.4 ± 2.1 °C. The coldest mean monthly temperature was 1.8 ± 3.4 °C while the warmest was 21.6 ± 2.5 °C. Growing season was 6.8 ± 1.1 months in duration. Precipitation during this period was 1082 ± 317 mm, reaching 661 ± 38 mm in the three wettest consecutive months, while in the three driest months it was 194 ± 229 mm. These results indicate a permanently humid temperate climate, with warm and wet summers. Compared with published palaeoclimatic results obtained using the Coexistence Approach method, our CLAMP analysis indicates lower temperatures and higher rainfall during the driest month. The climatic parameters are consistent with the occurrence of a temperate mixed evergreen and broadleaf deciduous fossil assemblage in the late Miocene of the La Cerdanya Basin. The assemblage contains more taxa in common with coeval localities from northern and central Europe than with Mediterranean sites; its closest modern analogue is with the montane flora from Honshu Island (Japan). Palaeoaltitudinal estimation using the terrestrial lapse rate method suggests that the La Cerdanya Basin was positioned at 1100–1550 m during early Tortonian times. These results challenge previous palynological and isotopic studies that inferred a palaeoaltitude of c. 600 m in early Tortonian-Messinian times.

The crocodile of Cala Fonda. On the remains of a crocodile (Crocodylia: Tomistominae)from the Miocene marine of TarragonaEs descriuen dues dents de cocodril dels afloraments del Serraval·lià-Tortonià inferior (Miocè mitjà-superior,conca del Camp) de cala Fonda (Tarragona, Catalunya). Les troballes de restes de cocodrils, sobretotdents, són relativament freqüents, tot i que no són abundants, en els afloraments del Miocè marí de la concadel Camp i en els de l’extrem sud de la veïna conca del Vallès-Penedès, tanmateix, no hi havia fins ara capdescripció formal d’aquestes restes. Tan sols dues peces dentals aïllades es presenten aquí i la seva assignaciósistemàtica queda restringida a nivell subfamiliar, atribuint-se a Tomistominae (Crocodylia). L’estudi del’aflorament permet situar les restes estudiades en el seu context paleoambiental i permet ampliar el coneixementde la paleobiogeografia d’aquests rèptils, ratificant la distribució pan-mediterrània dels Tomistominae.Two crocodile teeth from the Serravallian (Middle Miocene, Camp basin) outcrops of Cala Fonda (Tarragona,Catalonia) are herein described. Finding crocodile remains, mainly teeth, is relatively commonplaceeven if they are not abundant, in the Miocene marine outcrops of the Camp Basin, as well as in those ofthe southern of the neighbouring Vallès-Penedès Basin. Nevertheless, no formal description of them hasbeen done hitherto. Only two isolated teeth are herein reported and thus their systematic placement is restrictedto subfamily rank, being placed within Tomistominae (Crocodylia). Geological study of the outcropenables us to better understand the paleoenvironmental context where the fossil remains were recoveredand enhances our understanding of the paleobiogeography of those reptiles, thus confirming their pan-Mediterraneandistribution.

The Oligocene-Miocene carbonate record of the Zagros Mountains, known as the Asmari Formation, constitutes an important hydrocarbon reservoir in southern Iran. This marine carbonate succession, which developed under tropical conditions, is explored in terms of larger foraminiferal biostratigraphy, facies analysis and sequence stratigraphy in a new section at Papoon cropping out in the western Fars sub‐basin, in the south‐east of the Zagros belt. Facies analysis shows evidence of re‐working and transport of skeletal components throughout the depositional system, interpreted here as a carbonate ramp. The foraminifera‐based biozones identified include the Globigerina-Turborotalia cerroazulensis-Hantkenina Zone and Nummulites vascus-Nummulites fichteli Zone, both of Rupelian age, the Archaias asmaricus-Archaias hensoni-Miogypsinoides complanatus Zone of Chattian age and the 'Indeterminate' Zone of Aquitanian age. The vertical sedimentary evolution of the formation exhibits a progressive shallowing of the facies belts and thus the succession is interpreted as a high‐rank low‐order regressive systems tract. This long‐lasting Rupelian-Aquitanian regressive event is in accordance with accepted global long‐term eustatic curves. Accordingly, long‐term eustatic trends would have been a factor controlling accommodation during the deposition of the Asmari Formation studied in the western Fars sub‐basin.

The lower Ebro is a bedrock-alluvial mixed incised valley with a persistent degradational stacking architecture developed from latest Serravallian(?) to Holocene. This degradational pattern was probably controlled by isostatic rebound in NE Iberia and punctuated by major relative sea level changes that temporally accentuated or attenuated the palaeovalley entrenchment and sediment retention. Six allostratigraphic units in the palaeovalley constitute the onshore record of its evolution and the opening and connection of the Ebro Basin with the Mediterranean. This paper deals with the analysis and reinterpretation of these units in order to precise the sequence of events that took place on the onshore part of the Catalan continental margin during the Ebro River drainage entrenchment. Plausible chronology and palaeogeographic evolution of the Neogene-Quaternary drainage incision in the lower Ebro are also proposed. The early evolutionary stages of the incised palaeovalley (Latest Serravallian?-Tortonian-Early Messinian, from 11.63–9? to near 5.6Ma) were dominated by entrenchment and intense sediment transfer from the onshore to the offshore zones (erosion surface S2). These processes were only punctuated by the sedimentation of the alluvial palaeovalley unit M2 (late Messinian). The polygenetic onshore erosion surfaces S2 and S3 are linked here with the onshore erosive processes that fed the sedimentation of the terrigenous shelf-slope system of the offshore Castellón group and considered coeval with the offshore Messinian erosion surfaces (reflectors M and m). During a further evolutionary stage (Pliocene to Early Pleistocene from 5.3 to approximately 2Ma) the Early Pliocene major Mediterranean reflooding caused some sediment retention in the incised palaeovalley (sedimentation of unit P) but sediment transfer into the offshore remained very effective. In the last evolutionary stage (Early Pleistocene-Holocene, from 2Ma to present) the palaeovalley became again mainly degradational (generation of erosion surfaces S4 to S6 and sedimentation of stepped alluvial terraces Q1-2 to Q4). The onshore stratigraphic record, including the allostratigraphic units P and Q1-2 to Q4 and the related bounding surfaces S3 to S6, is correlated with the sedimentation of the terrigenous shelf-slope system of the offshore Ebro group.

Los foraminíferos son organismos unicelulares con caparazón calcáreo y que resultan útiles en estudios de datación de rocas y permiten conocer características ambientales. Las muestras corresponden a margas del Mioceno procedentes de la Serra de Mariola y que posteriormente se han levigado para su análisis. Los resultados muestran un elevado porcentaje de foraminíferos plantónicos (≥75%), lo cual indica que se corresponde con un ambiente profundo de la plataforma externa. Este trabajo proporciona información didáctica y divulgativa para comprender mejor el proceso de formación de esta sierra. Els foraminífers són organismes unicel·lulars amb closca calcària i que resulten útils en estudis de datació de roques i permeten conèixer característiques ambientals. Les mostres corresponen a margues del Miocè procedents de la Serra de Mariola i que posteriorment s’han tamisat per a la seva anàlisi. Els resultats mostren un elevat percentatge de foraminífers planctònics (≥75%), la qual cosa indica que correspon amb un ambient profund de la plataforma externa. Aquest treball proporciona informació didàctica i divulgativa per comprendre millor el procés de formació d’aquesta serra. The foraminifera are unicellular organisms with a calcareous shell that they are useful in rock dating studies and they allow to know environmental characteristics. The samples correspond to marl sediments from the Miocene, they collected in the Serra Mariola. Samples have been washed for their later analysis. The results show a high percentage of planktonic foraminifera (≥75%), which indicates that it corresponds to a deep environment of the external platform. This work provides didactic and informative data to understand the formation process of this area.

Es descriuen dues dents de cocodril dels afloraments del Serraval·lià-Tortonià inferior (Miocè mitjà-superior, conca del Camp) de cala Fonda (Tarragona, Catalunya). Les troballes de restes de cocodrils, sobretot dents, són relativament freqüents, tot i que no són abundants, en els afloraments del Miocè marí de la conca del Camp i en els de l’extrem sud de la veïna conca del Vallès-Penedès, tanmateix, no hi havia fins ara cap descripció formal d’aquestes restes. Tan sols dues peces dentals aïllades es presenten aquí i la seva assignació sistemàtica queda restringida a nivell subfamiliar, atribuint-se a Tomistominae (Crocodylia). L’estudi de l’aflorament permet situar les restes estudiades en el seu context paleoambiental i permet ampliar el coneixement de la paleobiogeografia d’aquests rèptils, ratificant la distribució pan-mediterrània dels Tomistominae. Two crocodile teeth from the Serravallian (Middle Miocene, Camp basin) outcrops of Cala Fonda (Tarragona, Catalonia) are herein described. Finding crocodile remains, mainly teeth, is relatively commonplace even if they are not abundant, in the Miocene marine outcrops of the Camp Basin, as well as in those of the southern of the neighbouring Vallès-Penedès Basin. Nevertheless, no formal description of them has been done hitherto. Only two isolated teeth are herein reported and thus their systematic placement is restricted to subfamily rank, being placed within Tomistominae (Crocodylia). Geological study of the outcrop enables us to better understand the paleoenvironmental context where the fossil remains were recovered and enhances our understanding of the paleobiogeography of those reptiles, thus confirming their pan-Mediterranean distribution.

Upper Miocene heterozoan carbonates crop out extensively in a NE–SW-trending belt (42 km long and 1.5–8 km wide) along the so-called El Alcor topographic high, from Carmona to Dos Hermanas (Seville, S Spain). These carbonates formed at the southern active margin of the Guadalquivir Basin, the foreland basin of the Betic Cordillera. They change to marls basinward (NE) and to sands landward (SE and SW). Therefore, carbonate production was constrained to a limited area in an otherwise siliciclastic shelf. The carbonates (up to 40 m thick) overlie a gradually coarsening-upward succession of marls followed by silts and sandstones. The carbonate sequence can be divided into three subunits corresponding, from bottom to top, to lowstand, transgressive, and highstand system tract deposits. The lower subunit, exhibiting extensive trough cross-bedding, is interpreted as a shallow-water bar deposit. The intermediate subunit onlaps underlying sediments and was deposited in deeper, low-turbulence conditions. The upper subunit deposits accumulated in a well-oxygenated outer platform based on benthic foraminiferal assemblages. The presence of hummocky and swaley cross-stratification in these latter deposits suggests that they were affected by storms. Pervasive fluid-escape structures are also observed throughout the carbonates. The three subunits consist of bioclastic packstones to rudstones made up of abundant fragments of small mytilids. Isotopic data from serpulid polychaete Ditrupa tubes show 13C-depleted values (up to − 16.1‰), whereas δ18O yields normal marine values. Additional isotopic data on shells of scallops, oysters, and small mussels, as well as bulk sediment, show diagenetic alterations. Based on actualistic examples of massive concentrations of mussels, the nearly monospecific composition of the El Alcor deposits, together with negative δ13C values of Ditrupa tubes, indicates that cold seeps presumably promoted carbonate formation. However, the absence of typical features of cold-seep deposits, such as authigenic carbonates mediated by anaerobic bacterial activity and the typical chemosynthetic shelly organisms, makes the large carbonate body of El Alcor an unusual cold-seep deposit.

A new ichnotaxon, Lapillitubus montjuichensis n. i gen. n. isp., is described from the middle Miocene (Serravallian) of Montjuïc mountain (Barcelona, northeastern Spain). This ichnotaxon consists of a horizontal to vertical, cylindrical burrow with an agglutinated lining exclusively composed of lithoclasts. Lapillitubus montjuichensis is interpreted as the result of the burrowing activity of a deposit- or suspension-feeding annelid worm. This new ichnotaxon extends the record of the informal group known as clast-armored or agglutinated trace fossils. In addition, since part of its type material is located in the blocks that make up the façades of several modernist buildings in the city of Barcelona, this new ichnotaxon highlights the importance of fossils in urban settings for those cases in which natural outcrops are reduced, restricted or even missing.

[EN] Purpose: A new Iberian Konservat-Lagerstätte discovered in Tresjuncos (Cuenca, Spain) is described and interpreted based on geological and paleontological information. Methods: The samples were studied using conventional mineralogical (powder X-ray diffraction), petrographic (optical and scanning electron microscopy) and geochemical (X-ray energy-dispersive spectrometry) techniques. Results: Based upon geological context, stratigraphy, lithology, sedimentology and origin of the rocks, we describe and interpret the new fossil site as originated in a lacustrine environment. The micromammals found in the Tresjuncos 1 outcrop suggest that the main site is Turolian in age (uppermost Miocene), continental chronological unit MN13. The fossils are preserved in laminates comprising rhythmic, millimeterscale alternations of diatomites and calcareous diatomites. An analysis of the lake paleobiota includes amphibians, crustaceans, insects, plants, and diatoms. The diatoms are dominated by Cyclotella iris. The whole assemblage is indicative of a planktic community developed in somewhat alkaline waters. An extremely well preserved premetamorphic Pelobates (Pelobatidae) tadpole was discovered; it is remarkable because of its gigantic size. Its digestive tract predominantly contains the rare diatom Navicula halionata var directa, likely associated with the shore vegetation in which it presumably lived and fed. The arthropods form a typical lacustrine aquatic assemblage, lacking fish. This assemblage is made up of small filtering crustaceans and of both predator and non-predator insects of diverse sizes. Conclusions: The available evidence on Tresjuncos shows the extraordinary potential for paleontological information that can be expected from this new Konservat-Lagerstätte, which constitutes a significant finding that improves our understanding of continental late Miocene Mediterranean environments., [ES] Propósito: Se describe e interpreta un nuevo Konservat-Lagerstätte Ibérico descubierto en Tresjuncos (Cuenca, España) a partir de información geológica y paleontológica. Métodos: Las muestras se han estudiado utilizando metodologías convencionales mineralógicas (difracción de rayos X) petrográficas (microscopía óptica y electrónica) y geoquímicas (Espectrometría de energía dispersiva de rayos X). Resultados: Basados en el contexto geológico, estratigrafía, litología, sedimentología y origen de las rocas, describimos e interpretamos la nueva localidad fósil como originada en un ambiente lacustre. Los micromammíferos encontrados en el afloramiento de Tresjuncos 1 sugieren una edad Turoliense (Mioceno superior), unidad cronológica continental MN13. Los fósiles se conservan en laminaciones que comprenden alternancias rítmicas a escala milimétrica de diatomitas y diatomitas calcáreas. Un análisis de la paleobiota del lago incluye anfibios, crustáceos, insectos, plantas y diatomeas. Las diatomeas están dominadas por Cyclotella iris. Todo el conjunto es indicativo de una comunidad planctónica desarrollada en aguas algo alcalinas. Se descubrió un renacuajo de Pelobates (Pelobatidae) pre-metamorfosis muy bien conservado; remarcable debido a su enorme tamaño. Su tracto digestivo contiene predominantemente la rara diatomea Navicula halionata var directa, probablemente asociada con la vegetación de la orilla en la que presumiblemente vivía y se alimentaba. Los artrópodos forman una típica agrupación acuática lacustre, carente de peces. Este conjunto se compone de pequeños crustáceos filtrantes y de insectos predadores y no predadores de diversos tamaños. Conclusiones: La evidencia disponible sobre Tresjuncos muestra el extraordinario potencial de información paleontológica que se puede esperar de esta nueva Konservat-Lagerstätte, que constituye un hallazgo significativo que mejora nuestra comprensión de los ambientes mediterráneos del Mioceno continental., The present research was funded by Spanish Projects CGL2011-27826-CO2-02, CGL2014-54818-P and CGL2015-68333-P (Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad/FEDER, European Union).

The carbonate system studied represents an under-investigated sedimentary record formed in the western end of the Tethys during the Chattian relatively warm climate regime. These platform carbonates are examined with respect to rock fabrics, biostratigraphy, biostratinomy, paleoecology, and sequence stratigraphy. Dominant carbonate producers include scleractinian corals and echinoids, but the most prolific were symbiont-bearing benthic foraminifera and coralline algae. The presence of Miogypsinoides complanatus and Miogypsinoides formosensis indicates a late Chattian age (Shallow Benthic Zone 23). The depositional profile is consistent with a homoclinal ramp. The absence of a barrier margin and thus, of a lagoon, facilitated the transport and re-working of biogenic components throughout the platform. As a result, facies are rather homogeneous corresponding to a rudstone mainly formed by benthic foraminifera and coralline algae, which passes basinwards to deeper ramp to hemipelagic deposits rich in echinoids and planktonic foraminifera. Within this dominant facies, only subtle and gradual lateral variations on the relative abundance or absence of certain skeletal components or species are recognized, comprising two end members. A proximal biofacies of benthic foraminifera and coralline algae including corals in growth position, fragments of green algae, and seagrass dwellers where Eulepidina , Nummulites , and Operculina are absent, and a distal biofacies where corals, green algae, and seagrass dwellers are not present, but Eulepidina , Nummulites and Operculina are common. Carbonate deposition was controlled by long-term relative sea-level fluctuations including a Rupelian?–late Chattian transgression, a late Chattian regression, which ended in subaerial exposure of proximal ramp carbonates, and a latest Chattian to early Miocene transgression. The Chattian carbonate platform was finally drowned around the Oligocene/Miocene transition.

1. Se ha realizado el estudio de los minerales pesados de los materiales detríticos del Mioceno de la fosa neógena del Vallès-Penedès, así como, y con carácter comparativo, los del Holoceno más reciente que aportan los cauces fluviales actuales. 2. Se exponen consideraciones prácticas para la mejora de la metodología de trabajo de laboratorio, de identificación y separación de los minerales pesados. 3. Se cita por primera vez la presencia de minerales APS en el Mioceno y Holoceno, localizando su área fuente en la base del Triásico (Permotrias-Buntsandstein inferior). Se estudian sus propiedades físico-químicas, así como, se propone que su formación tuvo lugar dentro de un ambiente laterítico con posible enriquecimiento supergénico. 4. Se ha realizado un estudio completo (morfológico y físico-químico) de las partículas de oro obtenidas en los distintos puntos de muestreo, estimando la distancia a sus posibles áreas fuente. Se revisan los métodos tradicionales de medida del SFC y del IA, así como, se plantean alternativas para el cálculo del peso de las partículas de oro cuando el tamaño de las mismas es extremadamente pequeño y dificulta su manejo habitual. 5. Se estudian las arenas y gravas del Holoceno para compararlas con las del Mioceno por el que discurren los actuales cauces fluviales. También se describen los materiales de origen antropogénico y sus orígenes. 5.1 - Se expone graficando sobre plano de E a W, la distribución de las abundancias de los minerales pesados de mayor interés de algunos de los afloramientos más representativos situados de forma proximal o equidistante a lo largo de los relieves que delimitan la falla septentrional de la fosa. En algunos casos se pone de manifiesto el valor paleogeográfico de alguna de ellos. 5.2 - Se describen con la ayuda de fotografías las características de los minerales pesados obtenidos para facilitar su identificación visual en estudios posteriores 6. Desde el punto de vista económico, se ha constatado por las cantidades obtenidas (calculadas en gramos/tonelada) que ninguna de las partículas minerales susceptibles de ser utilizadas como recursos de valor industrial, supera el nivel de corte necesario para plantearse un mayor estudio prospectivo en esta zona, siempre teniendo en cuenta el precio actual del metal 7. Se abren nuevos frentes de investigación que se indican al acabar cada capítulo y se resumen en el apartado de conclusiones finales., 1. The present study includes a survey of the heavy metals in detrital material from Miocene collected in the Vallès-Penedès basin, and a survey of heavy metals in detrital material from the latest Holocene, so as to compare both of them. 2. Some practical considerations to improve methodology to identify and separate heavy metals in the lab. 3. It is cited for the first time the presence of APS minerals in Miocene and Holocene. Its source area has been located at the base of the Triassic (Permian-Triassic/lower Buntsandstein), their physico-chemical properties of these minerals are studied. It is proposed that their formation was within a lateritic medium, with possible supergene enrichment. 4. It has been made a comprehensive review on both morphological and physico-chemicalcharacteristics of gold particles taken in different sampling points, which were estimated according to their possible source area. Traditional methods for measuring SFC and IA are reviewed. There are proposed alternatives to measure the weight and gold particles when they are so small that is very difficult to handle them. 5. Holocene sands and gravels are studied and compared with those of Miocene along the present river beds. Anthropogenic materials and their origin are also described. 5.1- The distributions of the abundance of the most important heavy metal is shown in a EW map. Some of the most representative outcrops are located near or equidistant from the mountains that delimit the northern fault of the basin. In some cases it is shown their paleographic value. 5.2- The gathered heavy metals are described by means of words and images, so as to facilitate their visual identification in future studies. 6. From an economical point of view it has made clear that none of the mineral particles analyzed are valuable, since their amount (grams/ton) is below the minimum necessary level to think about future prospective plans in that area, regarding the current price of metal. 7. New research fronts are opened. They are exposed in the conclusions of each chapter and summarized in the final results section.

[spa] Las sucesiones sedimentarias mixtas carbonático-siliciclásticas del Mioceno Inferior que afloran en los márgenes norte y sur de la Cuenca de Falcón (noroeste de Venezuela) se analizaron mediante un enfoque multidisciplinario y multiescala. El análisis de cuenca presentado en esta tesis proporciona nuevos resultados e interpretaciones que se han sintetizado en un mapa geológico, un mapa paleogeográfico, paneles de correlación secuencial y cronoestratigráfica, y en modelos deposicionales y arquitectónicos de los sistemas mixtos carbonatico-siliciclásticos investigados. La evolución de la acomodación en la cuenca durante el Oligoceno-Mioceno, y datos de isotopía estable (C y O) también han sido evaluados. Por último, los resultados se comparan con el reservorio carbonático de gas Oligo-Mioceno de Perla (Golfo de Venezuela) para establecer analogías y diferencias entre las plataformas carbonatadas de antecosta y terrestres. Los resultados presentados en esta tesis indican que, en la Cuenca de Falcón, el Oligoceno se caracterizó por una sedimentación siliciclástica en ambientes que variaban de continentales a marinos profundos en una cuenca de rift con orientación este-oeste. Los bancos carbonatados se desarrollaron durante el Mioceno Inferior en la parte superior de bloques de falla basculados en los márgenes norte y sur de la cuenca (formaciones San Luis y Churuguara, respectivamente), mientras que en contextos de fosas y surcos, la sedimentación fue hemipelágica y pelágica. Las calizas de las formaciones San Luis y Churuguara aparecen interdigitizadas y alternadas con sistemas siliciclásticos. Los principales componentes esqueléticos que constituyen los carbonatos de rampa investigados corresponden a algas rojas, que frecuentemente forman rodolitos, macroforaminíferos, corales y equínidos. La producción de carbonato se produjo principalmente en la zona meso-oligofótica de rampas distalmente acentuadas. La subsidencia synrift fue el mecanismo más importante en la creación de acomodación pero no se sobreimpuso totalmente a la señal eustática. Seis secuencias transgresivo-regresivas de tercer orden que abarcan el intérvalo Aquitaniense-Burdigaliense fueron reconocidas en los márgenes norte y sur de la cuenca. Estas secuencias se incluyen dentro de un evento transgresivo de rango superior. Los ciclos de alta frecuencia y baja amplitud del nivel del mar relativo dieron lugar a diez tipos distintos de parasecuencias. Al igual que en el caso de los sistemas mixtos carbonático-siliciclásticos de San Luis y Churuguara, el reservorio carbonático de Perla (antecosta de Venezuela) presenta un perfil deposicional de rampa distalmente acentuada, se formó durante en contexto transgresivo y está constituido principalmente por carbonatos de rampa media ricos en algas rojas y macroforaminíferos. Sin embargo, la extensión espacial, el grosor y la arquitectura del reservorio de Perla no son comparables con los de los ejemplos estudiados aquí debido a las diferentes configuraciones geotectónicas y topografías antecedentes. Por otra parte, el paso de la rampa inferior a cuenca en San Luis es por escarpamiento, con la presencia de olistostromas en posición de cuenca, mientras que en Churuguara y Perla esta transición parece ser más gradual con carbonatos de rampa inferior que pasan a depósitos de lutitas de cuenca. La sedimentación de carbonatos en Perla y San Luis se produjo ininterrumpidamente a lo largo de la mayor parte del Mioceno Inferior, mientras que la sucesión de Churuguara exhibe un banco carbonático inferior de edad Aquitaniense y un banco superior de edad Burdigaliense separados por un intérvalo lutítico. El depósito de Perla muestra un patrón general de apilamiento retrogradante. En contraste, los carbonatos de Churuguara y San Luis se apilan en un patrón agradante. Por todo esto, los carbonatos de San Luis y Churuguara no se consideran como análogos adecuados para el depósito Perla, y esto pone de manifiesto que cada sistema deposicional y, por tanto, cada reservorio de hidrocarburo, tiene sus propias singularidades, y es físicamente único., [eng] The mixed carbonate-siliciclastic sedimentary successions of Early Miocene age outcropping in the northern and southern Falcón Basin (northwestern Venezuela) were analyzed by multidisciplinary and multiscale approaches. The basin analysis presented in this thesis provides novel results and interpretations such as a cartography and an Early Miocene palaeogeographic map of the basin, sequence- and chrono-stratigraphic frameworks for the successions studied, depositional and architectural models of the mixed carbonate-siliciclastic systems investigated, an evaluation of the evolution of accommodation (mainly controlled by subsidence, eustasy and tectonic uplift) in the basin during the Oligocene-Miocene, and stable C- and O-isotopic data. Lastly, the results are compared with the knowledge available from the Oligo-Miocene subsurface carbonate gas reservoir of Perla (Gulf of Venezuela) to establish analogies and differences between the onshore and offshore carbonate platforms. The results presented in this thesis indicate that in the Falcón Basin, the Oligocene Epoch was characterized by continental to deep-marine siliciclastic sedimentation into a west-east trending rift basin. Carbonate banks were developed during the Early Miocene on top of tilted fault blocks in the northern and southern margins of the basin (San Luis and Churuguara formations, respectively), while hemipelagic and pelagic sedimentation occurred in half-grabens and troughs. The limestones of the San Luis and Churuguara formations occur interdigitated and alternated with siliciclastic systems. Facies-diagnostic skeletal components constituting the platform carbonates investigated correspond to red algae, frequently forming rhodoliths, larger foraminifera, corals and echinoids. Carbonate production mainly occurred in the meso-oligophotic zone of distally-steepened ramps. Similarly to the San Luis and Churuguara mixed carbonate-siliciclastic systems, the carbonate reservoir of Perla, in the offshore of Venezuela, exhibits a distally-steepened ramp depositional profile, was formed during an overall major transgressive context and is mainly consituted by red algal- and larger foraminifera-rich middle ramp carbonates. However, the spatial extension, thickness and architecture of the Perla reservoir are not comparable to those from the onshore case studies due to differences in the geotectonic settings and the antecedent topographies.

The results of anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility analyses of 19 sites carried out on magnetostrigraphically-dated, Lower to Middle Miocene (20.4 to 13.7 Ma) “non-deformed” mudstones from the central part of the Ebro basin reveal the presence of a subtle tectonic overprint lasting at least until the Langhian (Middle Miocene) in the southern Pyrenean foreland. Magnetic ellipsoids show a sedimentary fabric in 42% of sites and a weak and well-defined magnetic lineation in 47% and 11% of sites. The magnetic lineation is roughly oriented around the east–west direction, compatible with a very weak deformation occurring there and related to the north–south compression linked to the convergence between Europe, Iberia and Africa during the Early–Middle Miocene. A slight variation of the magnetic parameters Km, Pj, and T exists through time, probably due to changes in the sedimentary conditions in the basin., Funding for this work came from project CGL2013-42670-P (Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Spain) and a JAE-Doc Postdoctoral (CSIC, Spain) contract for the first author.

Es revisa el registre neogen i quaternari de les tortugues terrestres i d’aigua dolça (Testudines) de Catalunya, a partir de les restes de la conca del Vallès-Penedès i del pla de Barcelona. A banda d’una revisió bibliogràfica, l’estudi es fonamenta en la descripció i atribució taxonòmica de més de 1.400 restes fòssils (majoritàriament inèdites) procedents de més de 100 localitats. S’emfatitzen aquelles restes que permeten un avenç més significatiu en el coneixement de la sistemàtica, filogènia i/o biostratigrafia de determinats tàxons extints. Respecte a les tortugues terrestres gegants, destaca la descripció dels dos primers cranis coneguts del testudínid Titanchelon richardi (anteriorment Cheirogaster), els quals permeten diferenciar adequadament aquesta espècie de Titanchelon bolivari, l’altre testudínid gegant del Miocè ibèric. Es conclou que, al Vallès-Penedès, el rang estratigràfic de Ti. bolivari (MN3–MN4) no se superposa amb el de Ti. richardi (MN7+8–MN10 i, temptativament, MN6–MN12). El tàxon nominal Cheirogaster arrahonensis és considerat un nomen vanum i el seu holotip atribuït a Testudo (Chersine) sp. També es revisen tots els testudínids de mida més petita presents a la conca del Vallès-Penedès, especialment Testudo (Chersine) catalaunica (MN6–MN9), per a la qual es presenta una diagnosi esmenada i es conclou que no pertany al subgènere extint Paleotestudo. A l’espera d’un estudi més detallat del material disponible, també es reporten nombroses restes inèdites de Testudo del Miocè del Vallès-Penedès, que són atribuïdes a “Paralichelys” catalaunicus [=T. (Chersine) sp. nov., que en el futur necessitarà un nom de reemplaçament per evitar l’homonímia amb T. catalaunica] (MN3–MN4); i Testudo (C.) aff. burgenlandica (MN9–MN11). També es descriu el material clàssic i inèdit de Testudo (Chersine) lunellensis del Plistocè mitjà de Barcelona, una espècie extinta molt propera a l’actual Testudo (Chersine) hermanni. Finalment, es presenta una filogènia revisada de les espècies actuals i extintes de Testudo, que recupera les relacions entre espècies actuals indicades per les dades moleculars, i permet dividir aquest gènere en tres subgèneres actuals i un d’extint. Quant a les tortugues d’aigua dolça, se’n revisa el material publicat i inèdit del Miocè de la conca del Vallès-Penedès. Es reporta per primera vegada la presència dels gèneres Clemmydopsis i Trionyx en aquesta conca, i s’hi constata la presència de diverses espècies de geoemídids pticogasterins del gènere Ptychogaster: Ptychogaster (Temnoclemmys) batalleri (MN6–MN9); P. (Temnoclemmys) sp. (MN3–MN4); i P. (Ptychogaster) sp. (MN4 i MN7+8–MN9). A més, es proporcionen diagnosis esmenades de P. batalleri (de la qual Testudo celonica n’és un sinònim subjectiu posterior), així com dels subgèneres Temnoclemmys i Ptychogaster s.s. En total, es constata la presència 13 espècies de testudins durant el Neogen i el Quaternari de Catalunya, a partir de l’estudi de les restes fòssils del Miocè de la conca del Vallès-Penedès i del Plistocè del pla de Barcelona. Les quelonofaunes del Miocè de Catalunya es caracteritzen per la presència de testudínids terrestres gegants (Titanchelon) i de mida més petita (Testudo), a més de tortugues d’aigua dolça de les famílies dels geoemídids (majoritàriament Ptychogaster, però també Clemmydopsis) i dels trioníquids (Tryonix sp.). Des del Miocè inferior (Ramblià i Aragonià inferior), aquestes faunes de quelonis esdevenen progressivament més riques i menys similars a les de les conques ibèriques internes durant el Miocè mitjà (Aragonià mitjà i superior), fins a assolir un màxim de diversitat en el Miocè superior (Vallesià). A partir d’aquest moment, la diversitat decreix progressivament fins al Turolià, moment a partir del qual no tenim registre fins al Plistocè, en què trobem una quelonofauna empobrida i similar a l’actual, caracteritzada per un testudínid de mida petita (Testudo lunellensis), el geoemídid actual Mauremys, i l’emídid actual Emys., The Neogene and Quaternary record of tortoises and freshwater turtles (Testudines) from Catalonia is revised based on fossil remains from the Vallès-Penedès Basin and the Barcelona Plain. Besides a review of the literature, this study builds on the description and taxonomic attribution of more than 1,400 fossil remains (mostly unpublished) from more than 100 localities. The study emphasizes those remains that enable a significant advance in the systematics, phylogeny and/or biostratigraphy of certain extinct taxa. With regard to giant tortoises, it is noteworthy the description of the two first known skulls of the testudinid Titanchelon richardi (formerly Cheirogaster), which first enable a reliable distinction between this species and Titanchelon bolivari, the other giant testudinid from the Iberian Miocene. It is concluded that, in the Vallès-Penedès, the stratigraphic range of Ti. bolivari (MN3–MN4) does not overlap that of Ti. richardi (MN7+8–MN10 and, tentatively, MN6–MN12). The nominal taxon Cheirogaster arrahonensis is considered a nomen vanum and its holotype assigned to Testudo (Chersine) sp. The smaller testudnids from the Vallès-Penedès Basin are also revised, particularly Testudo (Chersine) catalaunica (MN6–MN9), for which an emended diagnosis is presented, further concluding that it does not belong to the extinct subgenus Paleotestudo. Pending a more detailed study of the available material, numerous additional unpublished remains of other Testudo species from the Miocene of the Vallès-Penedès are reported, being ascribed to “Paralichelys” catalaunicus [=T. (Chersine) sp. nov., which in the future will need a replacement name, so as to avoid homonymy with T. catalaunica] (MN3–MN4); and Testudo (C.) aff. burgenlandica (MN9–MN11). The classical and unpublished material of Testudo (Chersine) lunellensis, an extinct species from the middle Pleistocene of Barcelona very close to the extant Testudo (Chersine) hermanni, is also described. Finally, a revised phylogeny of extant and extinct species of Testudo is provided; it recovers the relationships among extant species as indicated by molecular data, and further enables to distinguish three extant subgenera and one extinct subgenus. Regarding freshwater turtles, the published and unpublished material from the Miocene of the Vallès-Penedès Basin is revised. The presence of genera Clemmydopsis and Trionyx is first reported for this basin, where the presence of several species of ptychogasterine geoemydids is further shown: Ptychogaster (Temnoclemmys) batalleri (MN6–MN9); P. (Temnoclemmys) sp. (MN3–MN4); and P. (Ptychogaster) sp. (MN4 and MN7+8–MN9). Emended diagnoses of P. batalleri (of which Testudo celonica is a junior subjective synonym), as well as of the subgenera Temnoclemmys and Ptychogaster s.s., are further provided. Overall, it is ascertained the presence of 13 species of testunids in the Neogene and Quaternary of Catalonia, on the basis of the study of fossil remains from the Miocene of the Vallès-Penedès Basin and the Pleistocene of the Barcelona Plain. The chelonofaunas from the Miocene of Catalonia are characterized by the presence terrestrial testudinids, both giant (Titanchelon) and smaller (Testudo), as well as that of geoemydid (mostly Ptychogaster, but also Clemmydopsis) and trionychid (Tryonix sp.) freshwater turtles. Since the early Miocene (Ramblian and early Aragonian), these faunas of chelonians have progressively become richer and less similar to those from the inner Iberian basins during the middle Miocene (middle to late Aragonian), until reaching a peak of diversity in the late Miocene (Vallesian). From then onward, their diversity progressively decreases until the Turolian, and there is a gap in the record until the Pleistocene, in which the chelonofauna is impoverished and similar to the living one, being characterized by a small testudinid (Testudo lunellensis), the extant geoemydid Mauremys, and the extant emydid Emys.

A new ichnotaxon, Artichnus giberti isp. nov., is described in the marine middle Miocene (Serravallian) of the El Camp de Tarragona Basin, north eastern Spain. It is a mostly horizontal and rectilinear, tubular burrow with laminated lining. Artichnus giberti is interpreted as the result of the burrowing activity of a deposit- or suspension-feeding, worm- like animal, most likely a holothurian. This new Iberian occurrence extends the known temporal and geographical records of the ichnogenus Artichnus, which was previously restricted to the Eocene of Poland

Aquest itinerari es va fer el 13 d’abril del 20131. El recorregut del present itinerari discorrerà, en la seva totalitat per una sola unitat geològica: pel Sistema Mediterrani (i més concretament, ho farà per dues de les quatre sotsunitats que el constitueixen: per la Depressió Prelitoral Catalana (per on s’iniciarà i finalitzarà el recorregut, a la població d´Esparreguera) i per la Serralada Prelitoral Catalana (per on es desenvoluparà la major part del recorregut). Tot i així, molt breument es passarà també per la Depressió Geològica de l´Ebre, pels voltants de Collbató i molt puntualment.Així, l´itinerari s’iniciarà a la localitat d’Esparreguera, d´on s´anirà cap als voltants de la població de Collbató, per a retornar finalment a Esparreguera. Així, l´haurem iniciat dintre de la Depressió Prelitoral Catalana, entrant després a la Serralada Prelitoral Catalana, per a finalitzar el trajecte de nou a la Depressió Prelitoral Catalana. I com hem dit abans, també haurem tocat molt tangencialment la Depressió Geològica de l´Ebre, prop de Collbató.Per d’altra banda, el recorregut de l´itinerari, s´haurà desenvolupat totalment dintre de la comarca del Baix Llobregat. I més concretament, haurem circulat pels termes municipals de d´Esparreguera i de Collbató.

Itinerari realitzat el dia 06 d’abril del 20131. El recorregut del present itinerari discorrerà, en la seva totalitat per una sola unitat geològica: pel Sistema Mediterrani (i més concretament, ho farà per dues de les quatre sotsunitats que el constitueixen: per la Depressió Prelitoral Catalana (per on s’iniciarà i finalitzarà el recorregut, a Esparreguera) i per la Serralada Prelitoral Catalana (per on es desenvoluparà la major part del recorregut). Així, l´itinerari s’iniciarà a la localitat d’Esparreguera, d´on s´anirà cap als voltants de la Colònia Sedo, per a retornar finalment a Esparreguera. Així, l´haurem iniciat dintre de la Depressió Prelitoral Catalana, entrant després a la Serralada Prelitoral Catalana, per a finalitzar el trajecte de nou a la Depressió Prelitoral Catalana.Per d’altra banda, el recorregut de l´itinerari, s´haurà desenvolupat totalment dintre de la comarca del Baix Llobregat i dintre del terme d´Esparreguera, exclusivament.

Although recent studies have revealed more widespread occurrences of magnetofossils in pre-Quaternary sediments than have been previously reported, their significance for paleomagnetic and paleoenvironmental studies is not fully understood. We present a paleo- and rock-magnetic study of late Miocene marine sediments recovered from the Guadalquivir Basin (SW Spain). Well-defined paleomagnetic directions provide a robust magnetostratigraphic chronology for the two studied sediment cores. Rock magnetic results indicate the dominance of intact magnetosome chains throughout the studied sediments. These results provide a link between the highest-quality paleomagnetic directions and higher magnetofossil abundances. We interpret that bacterial magnetite formed in the surface sediment mixed layer and that these magnetic particles gave rise to a paleomagnetic signal in the same way as detrital grains. They, therefore, carry a magnetization that is essentially identical to a post-depositional remanent magnetization, which we term a bio-depositional remanent magnetization. Some studied polarity reversals record paleomagnetic directions with an apparent 60-70 kyr recording delay. Magnetofossils in these cases are interpreted to carry a biogeochemical remanent magnetization that is locked in at greater depth in the sediment column. A sharp decrease in magnetofossil abundance toward the middle of the studied boreholes coincides broadly with a major rise in sediment accumulation rates near the onset of the Messinian salinity crisis (MSC), an event caused by interruption of the connection between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. This correlation appears to have resulted from dilution of magnetofossils by enhanced terrigenous inputs that were driven, in turn, by sedimentary changes triggered in the basin at the onset of the MSC. Our results highlight the importance of magnetofossils as carriers of high-quality paleomagnetic and paleoenvironmental signals even in dominantly terrigenous sediments., This study was funded by the Guadaltyc project(MINECO,CGL2012–30875), ARC grant DP120103952,and NSFC grant 41374073.

Itinerari realitzat el 13 d’abril del 2013. El recorregut del present itinerari discorrerà, en la seva totalitat per una sola unitat geològica: pel Sistema Mediterrani (i més concretament, ho farà per dues de les quatre sotsunitats que el constitueixen: per la Depressió Prelitoral Catalana (per on s’iniciarà i finalitzarà el recorregut, a la població d´Esparreguera) i per la Serralada Prelitoral Catalana (per on es desenvoluparà la major part del recorregut). Tot i així, molt breument es passarà també per la Depressió Geològica de l´Ebre, pels voltants de Collbató i molt puntualment.Així, l´itinerari s’iniciarà a la localitat d’Esparreguera, d´on s´anirà cap als voltants de la població de Collbató, per a retornar finalment a Esparreguera. Així, l´haurem iniciat dintre de la Depressió Prelitoral Catalana, entrant després a la Serralada Prelitoral Catalana, per a finalitzar el trajecte de nou a la Depressió Prelitoral Catalana. I com hem dit abans, també haurem tocat molt tangencialment la Depressió Geològica de l´Ebre, prop de Collbató.Per d’altra banda, el recorregut de l´itinerari, s´haurà desenvolupat totalment dintre de la comarca del Baix Llobregat. I més concretament, haurem circulat pels termes municipals de d´Esparreguera i de Collbató.

El present projecte s'ha dut a terme a l'American Museum of Natural History (AMNH, New York) entre el 31 de Desembre de 2010 i el 30 de Desembre de 2012. L'objectiu del projecte era elucidar la història evolutiva de la mà humana: traçar els canvis evolutius en la seva forma i proporcions que van propiciar la seva estructura moderna que permet als humans manipular amb precisió. El treball realitzat ha inclòs recol•lecció de dades i anàlisis, redacció de resultats i formació en mètodes analítics específics. Durant aquest temps, l'autor a completat la seva de base de dades existent en mesures lineals de la mà a hominoides. També s'han agafat dades del peu; d'aquesta forma ara mateix es compta amb una base de dades amb més de 500 individus, amb més de 200 mesures per cada un. També s'han agafat dades en tres imensions utilitzant un làser escàner. S'han après tècniques de morfometria geomètrica 3D directament dels pioners al camp a l'AMNH. Com a resultat d'aquesta feina s'han produït 10 resums (publicats a congressos internacionals) i 9 manuscrits (molts d'ells ja publicats a revistes internacionals) amb resultats de gran rellevància: La mà humana posseeix unes proporcions relativament primitives, que són més similars a les proporciones que tenien els hominoides fòssils del Miocè que no pas a la dels grans antropomorfs actuals. Els darrers tenen unes mans allargades amb un polzes molt curts que reflexen l'ús de la mà com a eina de suspensió sota les branques. En canvi, els hominoides del Miocè tenien unes mans relativament curtes amb un polze llarg que feien servir per estabilitzar el seu pes quan caminaven per sobre de les branques. Una vegada els primers homínids van aparèixer al final del Miocè (fa uns 6 Ma) i van començar a fer servir el bipedisme com a mitjà més comú de locomoció, les seves mans van ser "alliberades" de les seves funcions locomotores. La selecció natural—ara només treballant en la manipulació—va convertir les proporcions ja existents de la mà d'aquests primats en l'òrgan manipulatori que representa la mà humana avui dia. The present project was performed at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH, New York) during the lapse of time comprised between December 31st 2010 and December 30th 2012. The objective of the project was to elucidate the evolutionary history of the human hand: tracing the main shape changes and proportions that led to the current morphology that allows humans to manipulate with precision. The work included data collection and analysis, results writing, as well as methods learning. During this time, the author has improved his existint database on hand linear measurements. Data has been also collected in the foot; a huge database of more than 500 specimens is available with more than 200 measurements per individual. Data has been acquired too in threedimensions using a laser scanner. 3D geometric morphometrics techniques have been learnt from the pioneers in the field based at the AMNH. As a results of this work 10 abstracts and 9 manuscripts have been produced and results on the origins of hominins have been found: The hand proportions of humans and fossil relatives are largely primitive, more similar to those displayed by fossil Miocene apes than to those of extant great apes. The latter have elongated hands with short thumbs that are used primarily as "hooks" during below-branch suspensory behaviors. Miocene apes, on the other hand, had relatively short hands with long thumbs that were used to assist the grasping during above-branch quadrupedalism. Once earliest hominins appeared at the end of the Miocene (ca. 6 Ma) the start to rely on bipedal locomotion, their hands became largely freed from locomotor demands and natural selection—working now almost exclusively on manipulation—shaped the human hand into its corrent form.

[spa] Esta tesis tiene por objetivo el estudio sobre los paleoambientes, y su evolución, del Mioceno marino de la cuenca de El Camp de Tarragona desde una perspectiva tafonómica e icnológica. En concreto, se han integrado los datos obtenidos a partir del análisis tafonómico de las acumulaciones esqueléticas, tanto de invertebrados como vertebrados, con la información proporcionada por el estudio de las icnoasociaciones e icnofábricas presentes a lo largo de las secciones estudiadas, para finalmente proponer un modelo que explique de la forma más completa posible la evolución sedimentaria y paleoambiental de dichas secciones. Además de introducir el contexto geológico y geográfico de la cuenca de El Camp de Tarragona, se presenta por primera vez una estratigrafía y una cartografía geológica de detalle de la mayor parte de los depósitos marinos miocenos situados a lo largo de la actual franja costera de la Cuenca de El Camp de Tarragona. En concreto de las secciones de El Miracle, Fortí de la Reina, L’Arrabassada, Sanatori, La Savinosa, Cala Romana, Waikiki, Punta de la Móra, Tamarit, Altafulla y Torredembarra. Para englobar los diferentes materiales diferenciados en esas secciones, se proponen cuatro asociaciones de facies principales: A) Facies relacionadas a paleoacantilados, consistentes en conglomerados heterométricos en los que cabe destacar la abundante bioerosión tanto en los litoclastos como en los fósiles. Apareciendo siempre depositadas sobre un sustrato pre-Mioceno, intensamente perforado a techo. B) Facies de plataforma interna, incluyen una gran variedad de facies carbonáticas. Principalmente, o niveles biocalcareníticos con mayor o menor contenido en macrofósiles, o facies con predominancia de trazas fósiles y estratificación cruzada de gran escala. C) Facies de plataforma externa, constituidas por niveles calcisiltíticos intensamente bioturbados. D) Facies siliciclásticas, consistentes en areniscas bioturbadas con estratificación cruzada asociadas a depósitos marinos someros (probablemente asociados a un ambiente estuarino), o niveles de margas relacionados a ambientes de plataforma media o mar abierto. En la cuenca de El Camp de Tarragona, el análisis tafonómico (centrado principlamente en los procesos bioestratinómicos) de los fósiles de vertebrados y sobretodo de invertebrados se ha mostrado como una herramienta muy útil a la hora de interpretar el ambiente deposicional de esos fósiles, complementando la información inferida a través de la litología, sedimentología y taxonomía. En cuanto al estudio icnológico, entre estructuras de bioturbación y bioerosión, se han reconocido 15 icnogéneros, de los cuales 10 han sido clasificados a nivel icnoespecífico. Todas estas trazas fósiles han sido atribuidas a la actividad de invertebrados marinos, principalmente crustáceos y anélidos en el caso de las estructuras de bioturbación, y de bivalvos, anélidos y esponjas en el caso de la bioerosión. Describiendo a partir de los diferentes afloramientos, 5 icnoasociaciones principales: A) Icnoasociación de Cylindrichnus, ligada a ambientes de plataforma externa con baja energía y baja sedimentación (probablemente los más distales en la cuenca de El Camp); B) Icnoasociación de Haentzschelinia/Ophiomorpha, ligada a facies terrígenas posiblemente depositadas en ambientes estuarinos; C) Icnoasociación de Ophiomorpha, ligadas a ambientes de plataforma interna sometidos a condiciones energéticas variables, y a mayor o menor tasa de sedimentación; D) Icnoasociación de Thalassinoides, presentes en ambientes de plataforma interna y externa; y E) Icnoasociación de Gastrochaenolites/Entobia, principalmente asociada a facies de paleoacantilado, aunque también es común en sustratos minerales biogénicos. Finalmente en función de las facies que presentan y de su localización geológica/geográfica, se propone agrupar las secciones estudiadas en dos dominios principales: A) Dominio periumbral, influenciado por el paleorelieve y el alto estructural existente (unidad Salou-Tarragona), y constituido por facies de paleoacantilado, de plataforma interna y siliciclásticas (secciones de El Miracle, Fortí de la Reina, L’Arrabassada, Sanatori, La Savinosa y Cala Romana). B) Dominio distal, dominado por una sedimentación carbonática en ambientes de plataforma interna a externa, y sin influencia de altos estructurales cercanos (secciones de Waikiki, Punta de la Móra, Tamarit, Altafulla y Torredembarra)., [eng] The aim of the present research was the study of the paleoenvironments recorded in the marine Miocene sediments from El Camp de Tarragona Basin, through the taphonomic and ichnological perspectives. In particular, it is intended to integrate the data obtained from the taphonomic analysis of the skeletal accumulations, both from invertebrates as vertebrates, with the information provided by the study of the ichnoassemblages and the ichnofabrics identified along the studied sections, in order to propose a general model to interpret the sedimentary and paleoenvironmental evolution of these sections. In addition to a general overview of the geology of El Camp de Tarragona Basin, detailed geological cartography and stratigraphy of the coastal outcrops of this basin are presented for the first time. In particular, in those sections named as El Miracle, Fortí de la Reina, L’Arrabassada, Sanatori, La Savinosa, Cala Romana, Waikiki, Punta de la Móra, Tamarit, Altafulla and Torredembarra. To include the various materials differentiated in these studied sections, four main facies associations are proposed: a) Facies related to paleocliffs consisting of heterometric conglomerates and complete oysters. Bioerosion is abundant both in lithoclasts and fossils. These deposits usually lay upon the pre-Miocene substrate, which is also intensely bored. b) Inner-platform facies, which include a variety of carbonate deposits. Large-scale, cross-bedded biocalcarenites record the presence of subtidal dune fields, while rhodophyte carbonates, and bivalve and echinoid (clypeasteroid) coquines constitute factory facies in different settings. c) Outer-platform facies are constituted by intensely bioturbated calcisiltites, which are rich in glauconite in most distal settings. d) Siliciclastic facies, which crop out very locally and consist of well-sorted fine- to medium-grained, quartzitic sandstones with large-scale cross-bedding and common bioturbation structures indicative of shallow marine conditions, or marly units related with open marine conditions. Finally, according to the facies identified and their geological/geographical location, the studied sections are enclosed in two main domains: a) Perihorst domain, whose sedimentation is highly influenced by the presence of a Mesozoic high or horst, and constituted by paleocliff, inner-platform and siliciclastic facies. b) Distal domain, dominated by carbonate sedimentation related to inner- and outer-platform facies, and without influence of close structural highs.

[ES] Se cita por primera vez el hallazgo de un coral colonial en Montjuich, Thegioastrea multisepta (SISMONDA) y se estudian las posibles causas de la rareza de este tipo de organismos en este yacimiento., [FR] Il est cité, pour la premiere fois, la trouvaille d'un corail colonial à Montjuich, Thegioastrea multisepta (SISMONDA). On étudie les causes possibles que ce type d'organismes en ce gisement, soit si rare.

[eng] During the Cenozoic the western Mediterranean area underwent a complex geodynamic evolution driven by the interaction between the African and Eurasian plates. The Corsica- Sardinia microplate played a central role in this evolution, which was recorded by its tectonic evolution and volcanism. During Oligo-Miocene the roll-back of the NW-wards subducting ,Apulian subduction zone caused the Corsica-Sardinia microplate to detach, drift and rotate from the European continental margin to its present position, opening the Liguro-Provençal Basin and generating abundant subduction-related calc-alkaline orogenic volcanism. After a 6 Ma-long pause in retreat, subsequent evolution of the roll-back since Pliocene left Sardinia in its current position as the trench retreated SE-ward opening the southern Tyrrhenian basin. Extensional tectonics related to this opening produced in Sardinia the generation of abundant anorogenic alkaline volcanism. In the Sulcis area, in SW Sardinia, a special volcanic suite was produced which began sharing the same calc-alkaline characteristics as the rest of the subduction-related volcanism throughout Sardinia, forming an andesitic lava domes and flows piling, but that later migrated to different compositions, mildly alkaline, including the rarely occurring peralkaline volcanism, which formed a mainly rhyolitic ignimbritic succession. In spite of the marked differences of the Sulcis magmatism, this special volcanic suite was considered to be only one more manifestation of the widespread subduction-generated orogenic volcanism of Sardinia. The present work has, at least partially, solved this situation. A thorough and detailed study of the Sulcis Oligo-Miocene volcanic suite has been carried out in this study involving the revision of the available data on volcanostratigraphy and cartography and the characterization of the geochemistry, petrography and mineral chemistry of the several units present in this suite, which has allowed us to obtain significant information on the petrogenesis of this suite and its geodynamic significance. As a result of the field and laboratory work all units have been characterised from the volcanostratigraphic, petrographic and geochemical point of view. A methodology for unit recognition based on whole rock geochemistry has been developed, which has been a fundamental tool for solving volcanostratigraphic and mapping doubts during the development of this work, and remains a powerful tool for future studies. The study of the whole rock geochemistry data has allowed us to obtain significant information on the generation of the magmas that formed the Sulcis volcanic suite and its geodynamic significance, and combination with petrographic observations has provided valuable information on the evolution of these magmas from its formation to its eruption. Isotope and trace element data have revealed the structure of the mantle beneath Sardinia, which is diffusely stratified with an upper part with an EMI signature and a lower more EARlike region, both of them having an OIB mantle source-like composition. Subduction during Oligo-Miocene released into the mantle wedge hydrous fluids and partial melts carrying sediment and MORB isotope and trace element compositions, which metasomatised this mantle, introducing mostly into the more EAR-like mantle a subduction signature. The Oligo-Miocene orogenic magmas in Sardinia, including the andesitic lower sequence in the Sulcis, were produced in the subduction-modified more EAR-like mantle portion by lowering of the melting temperature due to the input of subduction fluids. Magmas from the ignimbritic sequence in the Sulcis, though, are considered to represent a transition from orogenic to anorogenic magmatism. It is suggested that the transition was due to a change in the melting mechanism from fluid- to extension-controlled, related to the cessation in the subduction influence below the Sulcis. The mechanism proposed to explain the contemporaneous occurrence of both orogenic and anorogenic magmatisms in Sardinia during the emplacement of the Sulcis ignimbritic suite is the formation of a slab break-off which started south of Sardinia and progressed northward opening a slab window. The ignimbritic sequence in the Sulcis was formed by the arrival and differentiation of several magma batches with slightly different initial compositions, apparently at least one for each unit except for Lenzu and Seruci units, which formed by evolution of the magma that generated the immediately preceding units. Magma differentiation was dominated by crystal fractionation processes, which produced similar evolutionary trends, assimilation having a very small effect only appreciable in Pb isotopes., [cat] Durant l’Oligo-Miocè el funcionament en roll-back de la subducció sota el marge continental europeu de l’oest Mediterrani va provocar el desenganxament de la microplaca Sard-Corsa d’aquest marge i la seva migració primer amb una translació cap al SE i posteriorment amb una rotació en sentit antihorari fins a assolir la seva posició actual. Associada a aquest desplaçament es va produir l’obertura de la conca Liguro-Provençal en posició de back-arc. Com a resultat de la subducció es va produir abundant magmatisme calco-alcalí d’afinitat orogènica a l’illa de Sardenya. A la zona del Sulcis, al SW de Sardenya, el magmatisme va compartir inicialment les mateixes característiques que la resta del magmatisme sard, formant un apilament de doms i colades làviques de composicions andesítiques. Però cap als estadis finals del cicle magmàtic, els magmes generats van migrar de composició, donant lloc a un apilament d’unitats ignimbrítiques amb composicions majoritàriament riolítiques de transicionals a lleugerament alcalines. Malgrat la marcada diferència composicional entre la seqüència ignimbrítica del Sulcis i la resta del magmatisme Oligo-Miocè sard, aquesta va ser considerada com un exemple més d’aquest magmatisme. Per resoldre en part aquesta situació s’ha realitzat aquesta tesi. En aquest estudi s’ha revisat la seqüència vulcanoestratigràfica descrita així com les cartografies existents per tal de realitzar un mostreig sistemàtic de la seqüència ignimbrítica. L’estudi de les mostres recollides ha permès caracteritzar totes les unitats que formen la seqüència des del punt de vista de petrogràfic i geoquímic. Les dades obtingudes han permès desenvolupar una metodologia per al reconeixement de les unitats ignimbrítiques en base a la geoquímica de roca total, així com abordar l’estudi de la petrogènesi d’aquesta associació magmàtica. S’ha obtingut informació sobre l’àrea font dels magmes, que ha pogut ser caracteritzada, sobre els mecanismes de formació dels magmes estudiats i el seu significat geodinàmic, i sobre els processos que van controlar l’evolució dels magmes des de la seva formació fins a la seva expulsió en superfície en forma de materials volcànics.