Cylindracanthus (Osteichthyes, Actinopterygii) fossils from the middle–upper Eocene (Ilundain Marl Formation, Bartonian–Priabonian) of the Pamplona Basin (Navarre, Southern Pyrenean area) are described for the first time. The fossils correspond to rostral fragments from the anterior and posterior regions. The absence of alveoli and teeth allows them to be assigned to the species Cylindracanthus rectus, a species with a wide distribution in the Eocene. The rostrum is composed of francolite, in consequence of the fossil-diagenetic replacement of biogenic hydroxyapatite. Sometimes, the external surface of the rostrum, formed by ridges and grooves, is covered by a thin band of early celestite, which partially protects the original microstructure. The central channels are filled with different mineral phases, with voids corresponding to previous euhedral pyrite crystals surrounded by natrojarosite, with colloidal shapes. The whole complex was affected by late fractures filled by fibrous gypsum crystals. The possible physical-chemical processes that gave rise to the formation of pyrite, natrojarosite, celestite and gypsum in different environments during the fossil-diagenetic stage are discussed.

The family Palaeotheriidae (Perissodactyla, Equoidea) was one of the most abundant and successful Eocene mammalian groups from western Europe. Equoid perissodactyls were diverse in the Iberian Peninsula, with the presence of six genera and 19 species (mainly palaeotheres) which are unknown elsewhere in Europe. In this work, an overview of the Eocene Iberian equoid fossil record is summarised in the context of the European palaeobiogeography, including the updating of the endemic palaeotheriid taxa. The persistence of the endemism in the western Iberian region during the late Eocene could be due to an ecological barrier. There are significant dental pattern differences between the endemic Iberian and the other European palaeotheriid taxa. These differences may be the results of dietary strategies different from those of contemporary European faunas. Some dental features might indicate that the environmental changes driven by the climatic cooling of the latest Eocene in western Europe could have started earlier in western Iberia.

In this work seventeen new maxillary and mandibular dental pieces of the endemic palaeotheriids Leptolophus sp., Iberolophus jimenezi, Plagiolophus mazateronensis, Palaeotherium giganteum, Franzenium durense and Cantabrotherium casanovasae from the late middle Eocene (Bartonian, MP 16) of Mazateron (Soria, Almazan Basin) are described. The palaeotheriid fauna from Mazateron is diverse but each species is known by few specimens, and some of them by only upper or lower dentition. Here the first upper dentition of Franzenium durense and the first mandible and lower dentition of the genus Cantabrotherium are described. The new material here reported allows to a better knowledge of the endemic fauna of the western Iberian region, mainly of the genera Franzenium and Cantabrotherium and of all the fossil assemblage of Mazateron.

The Quintanilla la Ojada section (Basque-Cantabrian Region, northern Spain) has yielded two assemblages of Late Cretaceous vertebrates, deposited during the Maastrichtian in coastal environments and related to a transgressive lag at the base of the Valdenoceda Formation. Numerous teeth of Elasmobranchii and Actinopterygii are the most prevailing fossil material, although scarce teeth of marine reptiles (Mosasauridae) and dinosaurs (Hadrosauridae) also occur. The presence of one hadrosaurian tooth, a terrestrial taxon, constitutes the first report of ornithischians in the Valdenoceda Formation. The fossil vertebrate association of Quintanilla la Ojada is similar to that discovered in Albaina (Treviño County, Burgos), also located in the Basque-Cantabrian Region, although relatively younger in age. Both fossil sites are characterised by a mixture of taxa from the northern and southern margins of the Mediterranean Tethys (north-European and north-African outcrops).

Se describen por primera vez restos fósiles de cocodrilo del Mioceno Inferior (Formación Tudela, Rambliense, Biozonas MN2b-3) de las Bardenas Reales de Navarra, región situada en el sector noroccidental de la Depresión del Ebro. El material consiste en fragmentos craneales y mandibulares, dientes, huesos del esqueleto axial y apendicular y del escudo dérmico. La mayor parte dl los restos están desarticulados y pertenecen a varios individuos, habiéndose reconocido tanto formas juveniles como adultas. La escasa variabilidad morfológica observada en la asociación fósil sugiere que todos los restos pertenecen al mismo taxón. El material se atribuye a Diplocynodon sp. (Eusuchia, Alligatoroidea). Dicha atribución se basa en caracteres mandibulares, como la presencia de alveolos dentarios tercero y cuarto del mismo tamaño y confluentes, esplenial excluido de la sínfisis mandibular, y en rasgos de los osteodermos ventrales, que están formados por osificaciones pares. La principal característica de los dentarios es una sínfisis mandibular muy corta, que no sobrepasa en longitud el borde posterior del tercer alveolo. Los yacimientos de las Bardenas Reales de Navarra han proporcionado el material más abundante y diverso de Diplocynodon conocido en el Mioceno de la Península Ibérica.

En este trabajo se describen nuevos fósiles de sirenios eocénicos de la Cuenca de Pamplona (Navarra), permitiendo ampliar el registro conocido de estos mamíferos en los Pirineos occidentales. Los fósiles provienen de dos pequeñas localidades cercanas a la capital navarra, Uztarrotz y Ardanatz, ubicadas en formaciones litoestratigráficas diferentes (Margas de Pamplona y Areniscas de Ardanatz), de edad Bartoniense inferior. El material estudiado presenta un buen estado de conservación y consiste en restos de vértebras y costillas, con el aspecto robusto y la estructura compacta del hueso paquiosteosclerótico, característico, aunque no exclusivo, de los sirenios. Morfológica y biométricamente los fósiles de la Cuenca de Pamplona son comparables a las piezas homólogas asignadas por diversos autores a varias especies del género Prototherium en algunas localidades del Eoceno pirenaico y otras áreas del margen norte del Tethys mediterráneo. Algunas de las piezas también son parecidas a las de Halitherium taulannense del Priaboniense de Provenza. Sin embargo, las vértebras de Navarra son notablemente más robustas y presentan otras diferencias con respecto al género Protosiren del margen suroriental del Tethys. Las evidencias morfológicas, biogeográficas y cronológicas actualmente disponibles apuntan a que los restos de la Cuenca de Pamplona pertenecen a un dugónguido basal próximo a Prototherium.

During Eocene times the Pyrenean area may have played an important role as a paleobiogeographic link between the Western Tethys and the North Atlantic domains. However, its marine faunas are still poorly documented. This paper presents the results of a first study on the mid-upper Eocene (Lutetian to Priabonian) marine macrofossils of Navarre included in the paleontological collection of Maximo Ruiz de Gaona, a researcher whose studies on the geology and paleontology of this territory constitute an obligatory historical reference. The described fossils come from the Eocene marly formations of the Pamplona basin and the Urbasa-Andia limestone Formation and overlying deposits, in the Estella-Urbasa area, west of the Pamplona fault. Some of the specimens studied come from outcrops that do not exist any longer. This fact increases the interest of conservation and the study of this collection. The paleontological data from the Estella-Urbasa area are almost entirely new. This study has allowed the description of 24 taxa of marine macrofauna. Seven of them -Cyclolitopsis patera, Funginellastraea barcelonensis, Pycnodonte rarilamella, Metacrinus sp., Triplacidia sp., in addition to an indeterminate Cyclostomatida bryozoan and an indeterminate Serpulidae annelid- are new to the fossil record of Navarre. The macropaleontological associations described in this and previous works are not as diverse as those from other coeval European geo-logical regions. In addition to possible ecological conditions, sampling biases and, above all, taphonomic biases, specifically the loss of invertebrate species with aragonite skeletons, arise as the main explanation.

Durante el Eoceno el área pirenaica pudo desempeñar un papel importante como encrucijada paleobiogeográfica entre los dominios del Tetis occidental y el Atlántico norte. Sin embargo, sus faunas marinas están todavía poco documentadas. En este trabajo se presentan los resultados de un primer estudio sobre los macrofósiles marinos del Eoceno medio–superior (Luteciense–Bartoniense–Priaboniense) de Navarra de la colección paleontológica de Máximo Ruiz de Gaona, investigador cuyos estudios sobre la geología y paleontología de este territorio constituyen una referencia histórica obligada. Los fósiles descritos provienen de las formaciones margosas del Eoceno de la cuenca de Pamplona y de la Formación Calizas de Urbasa-Andia y niveles suprayacentes, en el área de Estella-Urbasa, al oeste de la falla de Pamplona. Algunos de los especímenes estudiados provienen de afloramientos ya desaparecidos, circunstancia que aumenta el interés de la conservación y estudio de esta colección. Además, los datos paleontológicos del área de Estella–Urbasa son casi del todo novedosos. Este estudio ha permitido describir 24 taxones de macrofauna marina. Siete de ellos ─Cyclolitopsis patera, Funginellastraea barcelonensis, Pycnodonte rarilamella, Metacrinus sp., Triplacidia sp., además de un briozoo Cyclostomatida y un anélido Serpulidae indeterminados─ son nuevos para el registro fósil de Navarra. Las asociaciones macropaleontológicas descritas aquí y en otros trabajos precedentes son poco diversas si se las compara con las coetáneas de otras regiones geológicas europeas. Además de posibles condicionamientos ecológicos, se plantea la existencia de sesgos de muestreo y, sobre todo de sesgos tafonómicos, en concreto, la pérdida de las especies de invertebrados con esqueletos aragoníticos, como principal explicación de este hecho.

En este trabajo se reconoce la presencia de numerosos fósilesdel anélido serpúlido Rotularia spirulaea (Lamarck, 1818) en las formaciones Areniscas de Ardanatz y Margas de Ilundain del Eoceno (Bartoniense y (?) Priaboniense) de la Cuenca de Pamplona (Navarra). Se estudian las diferentes capas de la microestructura prismática calcítica de su tubo. El tubo está constituido por una capa externa (1) gruesa, compuesta por tres zonas en continuidad entre ellas y otra capa interna (2), de una extrema delgadez y siempre delimitando el lumen. R. spirulaea muestra una notable plasticidad ecofenotípica. La morfología trocoespiral, trocoespiralplaniespiral o planiespiral de los ejemplares podría estar relacionada con las características del sustrato –sin cohesión, medianamente cohesionado o cohesionado, respectivamente–, que condicionarían la capacidad de soportar al organismo durante su ontogenia. La disposición del tubo de R. spirulaea durante el estadio trocoespiral sería recostada. Superada esta etapa, podía pasar a una forma planiespiral, con la formación de una carena o quilla estabilizadora hasta adquirir, de forma gradual, una posición vertical dentro del sustrato fangoso. Es a partir de este estadio, cuando se formaría la parte desenrollada del tubo que, a modo de chimenea, sobresaldría parcialmente del sedimento. La cavidad del tubo (lumen) habitualmente está rellenada por sedimento y/o cementada por cristales de calcita con tres etapas reconocibles y con ejemplos de texturas geopetales, que vendrían a apoyar la idea de una posición de vida vertical en la madurez de los individuos

We report on new mosasaurid remains, namely isolated teeth, from the Upper Maastrichtian shallow marine environment of Albaina in the Laño quarry (Condado de Treviño). The new specimens belong mostly to mosasaurines, i.e., Mosasaurus hoffmanni, Prognathodon solvayi, Prognathodon sectorius, and to the russellosaurine plioplatecarpine Platecarpus cf. ictericus. Prognathodon solvayi and Platecarpus cf. ictericus were previously known from Albaina. This is the first mention in the site of Mosasaurus hoffmanni, widespread in Maastrichtian outcrops located around palaeolatidude 30- 40ºN, from New Jersey (USA) to Turkey passing through Europe where it is commonly found. Prognathodon sectorius has a comparable palaeobiogeographical distribution, though not so expanded, that M. hoffmanni, being known in the Maastrichtian of New Jersey (USA) and Europe and, since recently, in the Campanian of Navarre. With six different taxa reported here, Albaina is the richest outcrop in specific mosasaurid diversity from the Maastrichtian of southern Europe

Nieves was born in Burgos on February 5th, 1949 and passed away, much too soon, on December 15th, 2010. She studied at Madrid’s Complutense University (UCM) from which she graduated with a degree in Biological Science in 1970 and there she met Professor Emiliano Aguirre. When he suggested starting a research project on lagomorphs (pikas, rabbits and hares) from the Spanish fossil record, Nieves threw herself into the job with her characteristic energy and enthusiasm. At a time (1971-1973) when very few scientists travelled abroad, Nieves obtained a Cooperation Grant from the French Government to do her PhD Thesis under the supervision of Dr. Thaler at Montpellier University. Her university teaching career began in 1978 as an Interim Associate Teacher at Madrid’s Autónoma University (UAM). She was an excellent teacher, and the driving force of her professional life was to a great degree her relationship with her students. She was innovative in her teaching, making use of the new technologies (virtual campus, web pages, blogs, etc.) to gain students’ attention and interest. She excelled in her research and was one of the pioneers in directing research projects of the National Plan; she directed numerous field campaigns and excavations in the continental basins of the Iberian Peninsula and participated in the stimulating and arduous campaigns in the Republic of Chad together with her French colleagues under the direction of Dr. Brunet (Poitiers University).

The western Pyrenees is a territory with a remarkable geodiversity and an important fossil record, which constitutes a large archive of palaeobiodiversity. With respect to the vertebrate fossil record, the western Pyrenees (Basque-Cantabrian Region, Pamplona Basin and the north-western sector of the Ebro Basin) are relevant both from the point of view of palaeontological sites and fossil collections. Several vertebrate fossil sites are integrated into the Inventory of Geological Interest Sites (LIG) with high to very high palaeontological interest of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country. The valuation of the palaeobiodiversity and fossil record is an important step for the study of palaeontological heritage of a territory and the set-up of geoconservation designations (e.g., LIG, geosites). However, the mere inclusion of the palaeontological assents in these geoconservation designations does not guarantee either their protection and conservation or the suitable management of the fossil collection The scientific and cultural dissemination of the palaeontological heritage of a territory like one studied here should have greater collaboration between the palaeontologists that have valued the palaeontological assets and the technicians and institutions that manage them. This requires the provision of specific budgetary items that enable the development of the different activities of research, conservation and social dissemination of this heritage.

The presence of the fossil polychaete Rotularia spirulaea (Lamarck, 1818) in Eocene deposits (middle Lutecian – upper Bartonian and (?) Priabonian) belonging to the western Pyrenean Domain is verified. In this paper, a fossildiagenetic study has been carried out. Fossils from three areas, corresponding to diff erent depositional settings, have been analysed. In area 1, sediments of the Ardanatz Sandstone and Ilundain Marls formations [Pamplona Basin and adjoining areas (Navarre)], were sampled. Here, the specimens of R. spirulaea were not substantially affected by taphonomic reworking and the original microstructure of the carbonate tube is preserved. The test consists of a thick external shell layer, composed of three zones in succession, and another extremely thin inner shell layer. The lumen of the tube is filled in by fine-grained sediment and/or calcitic cement. In area 2 , which includes the town of Anderatz and several outcrops of the Urbasa mountain range (Navarre), Urbasa-Andia Formation and overlying deposits, as well as in area 3 , located on the upper part of the calciclastic fl ysch of Punta Galea (Biscay), fossils are included in sediments deposited in high-energy environments. In this case, the microstructure of R. spirulaea tube is not completely recognized due to intense, early diagenetic silicifi cation aff ecting the tests. The lumen is filled in with fragments of foraminifera and calcareous algae, quartz-feldespathic sediment and cemented by calcite. Therefore, in zones 2 and 3 the fossildiagenetic processes are substantially different from those recognized in zone 1.

Gastropods and bivalve associations from the middle and ?upper Eocene (Bartonian and ?Priabonian) sedimentary succession of the Pamplona Basin are described. This succession was accumulated in the western part of the South Pyrenean peripheral foreland basin and extends from deep marine turbiditic (Ezkaba Sandstone Formation) to deltaic (Pamplona Marl, Ardanatz Sandstone and Ilundain Marl formations) and marginal marine deposits (Gendulain Formation). Fossils are generally fragmentary and many correspond to remains that have undergone taphonomic reworking. Significant effects of diagenesis are also detected, with evidence of compression or deformation, dissolution, aragonite-calcite neomorfism and cementation by celestite. Bioerosion traces and fossil encrusters are common. Fossils of 37 taxa, 25 gastropods and 12 bivalves, have been identified confidently. The number of species is probably considerably higher, as the study of some fossils, mainly the most small-sized species, is pending. One new species, Athleta (Volutospina) delvallei Astibia, Merle & Pacaud, n. sp. (Gastropoda, Volutidae), is described herein. Fossil assemblages are comparable to those from the Eocene of the Basque Coast (North Pyrenean area) and Aragon and Catalonia (west-central and eastern part of South Pyrenean area). Most of the mollusc taxa seem to be endemic to the Pyrenean area, but several Tethyan and Northern elements have also been recorded. These results enlarge the database for a better understanding of the evolution of global marine biodiversity throughout the Eocene.

Fossil associations from the middle and upper Eocene (Bartonian and Priabonian) sedimentary succession of the Pamplona Basin are described. This succession was accumulated in the western part of the South Pyrenean peripheral foreland basin and extends from deep-marine turbiditic (Ezkaba Sandstone Formation) to deltaic (Pamplona Marl, Ardanatz Sandstone and Ilundain Marl formations) and marginal marine deposits (Gendulain Formation). The micropalaeontological content is high. It is dominated by foraminifera, and common ostracods and other microfossils are also present. The fossil ichnoasssemblages include at least 23 ichnogenera and 28 ichnospecies indicative of Nereites , Cruziana , Glossifungites and ? Scoyenia-Mermia ichnofacies. Body macrofossils of 78 taxa corresponding to macroforaminifera, sponges, corals, bryozoans, brachiopods, annelids, molluscs, arthropods, echinoderms and vertebrates have been identified. Both the number of ichnotaxa and of species (e. g. bryozoans, molluscs and condrichthyans) may be considerably higher. Body fossil assemblages are comparable to those from the Eocene of the Nord Pyrenean area (Basque Coast), and also to those from the Eocene of the west-central and eastern part of South Pyrenean area (Aragon and Catalonia). At the European scale, the molluscs assemblages seem endemic from the Pyrenean area, although several Tethyan (Italy and Alps) and Northern elements (Paris basin and Normandy) have been recorded. Palaeontological data of studied sedimentary units fit well with the shallowing process that throughout the middle and late Eocene occurs in the area, according to the sedimentological and stratigraphical data.

An ichnological study was carried out in the Middle–Upper Eocene sedimentary succession of the Pamplona Basin. This succession represents the molasse stage of the western part of the South Pyrenean peripheral foreland basin and extends from deep‐marine turbiditic (Ezkaba Sandstone Formation) to deltaic (Pamplona Marl, Ardanatz Sandstone and Ilundain Marl formations) and marginal marine deposits (Liédena Sandstone Member, Gendulain Formation). The tectonosedimentary evolution of the basin can also be recognized by means of the ichnoassemblages preserved throughout the succession and by the ichnofacies analysis. A total of 23 ichnogenera and at least 28 ichnospecies have been identified. The assemblage of the Ezkaba Sandstone is characteristic of the deep‐sea Nereites ichnofacies. The Ophiomorpha rudis and the Paleodictyon ichnosubfacies can be differentiated in this unit, which are typical of channel axis and off‐axis environments. Trace fossils in the Ardanatz Sandstone and Ilundain Marl formations, with dominance of Thalassinoides and especially Ophiomorpha, could be related to the Cruziana ichnofacies, developed in relatively low‐energy environments, in semicohesive muddy substrates with intercalated silt and sand. The ichnofauna of the Liédena Sandstone Member is composed of bird tracks, and invertebrate horizontal and vertical structures. Microbial mat impressions also occur. The evidence suggests that microbial mats acted as a taphonomic bias favouring the preservation of vertebrate tracks and conditioning the presence of other trace fossils. Consequently, the assignation of this ichnofauna to a specific ichnofacies is tentative, most likely a combination of the Mermia and Scoyenia ichnofacies. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The vertebrate-bearing beds of the Lano quarry (Condado de Trevino) are among the most relevant sites from the Late Cretaceous of Europe. Geologically, Lano and the adjacent region are set on the southern limb of the South-Cantabrian Synclinorium (SE Basque-Cantabrian Region, northern Iberian Peninsula). The Lano sites were discovered in 1984; thousands of bones and teeth, including microfossils, have been collected during the prospection in the field and excavation campaigns. The vertebrate remains occur at two different stratigraphic horizons within a continental to shallow marine succession of Late Campanian-Maastrichtian age. The lower horizon contains the Lano 1 and Lano 2 sites, whereas the upper horizon contains the Albaina site. In the Lano sites, three fossiliferous beds (called L1A, L1B and L2) are known within an alluvial system composed mainly of fluvial sands and silts. The sedimentary structures are consistent with channel areas within an extensive braided river system. Based mainly on stratigraphic correlations, the fluvial beds of Lano are regarded as Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian in age. These deposits have yielded a very diverse vertebrate assemblage, which consists of nearly 40 species, including actinopterygians, lissamphibians, lepidosaurs, turtles, crocodyliforms, dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and mammals. Seven genera and ten species have been erected to date in Lano. With reference to the marine vertebrate association of Albaina, it consists of at least 37 species, including sharks and rays, actinopterygians, mosasaurids, and plesiosaurs. Two genera and species of rhinobatoids (family indet.) and two new species of rhinobatids have been erected in Albaina. The fossil association indicates a Late (but not latest) Maastrichtian age. Recently, isolated turtle and dinosaur fossils have been discovered in the sublittoral beds of Albaina. The Lano quarry is one of the most noteworthy Campanian-Maastrichtian vertebrate localities of Europe by its taxonomic diversity, and provides useful information about the composition and affinities of both continental and marine vertebrate faunas from the latest Cretaceous of southwestern Europe.

espanolLa siderurgia Altos Hornos de Vizcaya vertio al mar casi 30 millones de toneladas de residuos entre 1902 y 1966. En su mayor parte se consolidaron en la plataforma marina, pero una fraccion significativa fue arrastrada al litoral por corrientes de oleaje, donde fue rapidamente cementada. Las playas resultantes tienen dos partes principales, la inferior conglomeratica y fuertemente cementada, la superior dominantemente arenosa y debilmente cementada. Tras el cese de los vertidos ambas comenzaron a erosionarse por falta de alimentacion, aunque de modo diferente: la parte inferior, por atricion y arranque de grandes bloques durante tormentas; la superior por colapso de bloques tras excavacion en sus bases y posterior desagregacion de los mismos. Actualmente la erosion progresa mas rapidamente en la parte arenosa superior, estimandose que quedara totalmente eliminada en dos o tres decadas. EnglishThe Altos Hornos de Vizcaya Siderurgy dumped into the sea nearly 30 million tons of waste between 1902 and 1966. Most of it settled and consolidated on the shelf bottom but wave currents dragged a significant fraction to the shoreline, where it became quickly cemented. The resulting beachrocks have two main parts, the lower one being conglomeratic and strongly cemented, the upper one dominantly sandy and weakly cemented. After cessation of the dumping, lack of sedimentary supply prompted the erosion of the beachrocks in two different ways: by attrition and by uprooting of large blocks during storms in the lower part; and by block collapse after excavation at its base in the upper one, followed by disaggregation of the collapsed blocks. Erosion is currently progressing more rapidly in the upper sandy part, which is estimated to be completely removed after two or three decades.