The firstphosphatedeposits in Quercy were discovered in 1869 and published by Daubré and Trutat independently in 1871.[4]The first fossils from the formation were described by Delfortie (1872) and Gervais in the same year and extensively studied by Filhol from1877onwards. The first geologic investigation of the formation was performed by Thévenin in 1903, and apart from a description by Gèze in 1938, the paleontological richness was not studied until a team of researchers of theUniversities of Montpellierand Paris visited the site in1965.[5]
Thekarstifiedphosphate deposits are found from theLotandCélériver valleys in the north to the left bank of theAveyronin the south and from theVillefranche Faultin the east to thelacustrinedeposits of theAquitaine Basinin the west. The formation is found in fissures (karst) incisingJurassicandTriassicrocks east ofCahors.[6]The age of the fossiliferous unit, in which almost 12,000 specimens were found ranges from the MP16 to MP28 zones of theEuropean land mammal ageclassification.[5]These ages correspond to the latestBartoniantoChattian,from about 38 to 25 Ma.[7]
Paleogeography of the Late Eocene to Oligocene with biodiversity of the Quercy PhosphoritesExceptional preservation of nerves, digestive tract and stomachal content in the frog-eating salamanderPhosphotriton sigei
The Quercy Phosphorites Formation is a highlyfossiliferous unitdesignated as aLagerstättedue to the excellent preservation of fossils. Thephosphoriteconserves up to the nerves, digestive tract and stomach content,[8]insect larvae and other elements of the paleobiology in the formation. Nearly all Quercy fly pupae were preserved as isolated endocasts, of which many were still covered by the puparium, the hardened skin of the last larval instar.[9]The formation also straddles theGrande Coupureand shows diversity changes (number of species) of frog, salamander, lizard and snake fossil records across the formation.[10]It is assumed that the Quercy arthropods fossilized by a rapid fixation by phosphate-rich water followed by encrustation and mineralization.[11]
Van de Kamp, Thomas; Schwermann, Achim H.; dos Santos Rolo, Tomy; Lösel, Philipp D.; Engler, Thomas; Etter, Walter; Faragó, Tomáš; Göttlicher, Jörg; Heuveline, Andreas Kopmann, Bastian Mähler, Thomas Mörs, Janes Odar, Jes Rust, Nicholas Tan Jerome, Matthias Vogelgesang, Tilo Baumbach and Lars Krogmann, Vincent (2018), "Parasitoid biology preserved in mineralized fossils",Nature Communications,9(1): 1–14,Bibcode:2018NatCo...9.3325V,doi:10.1038/s41467-018-05654-y,PMC6113268,PMID30154438{{citation}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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Ginot, Samuel; Hautier, Lionel; Marivaux, Laurent; Vianey-Liaud, Monique (2016), "Ecomorphological analysis of the astragalo-calcaneal complex in rodents and inferences of locomotor behaviours in extinct rodent species",PeerJ,4:1–49,doi:10.7717/peerj.2393,PMC5068370,PMID27761303
Tissier, J.; Rage, J.-C.; Boistel, R.; Fernández, V.; Pollet, N.; García, G.; Laurin, M. (2016), "Synchrotron analysis of a 'mummified' salamander (Vertebrata: Caudata) from the Eocene of Quercy, France",Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society,177:147–164,doi:10.1111/zoj.12341
Schmied, Heiko; Schwermann, Achim H.; van de Kamp, Thomas; dos Santos Rolo, Tomy; Baumbach, Tilo (2013),Inside the Clown. Synchrotron X-ray microtomography reveals extraordinary details of internal and genital structures of 30 million old beetles,Joachim Reitner, Yang Qun, Wang Yongdong and Mike Reich (eds.) Palaeobiology and Geobiology of Fossil Lagerstätten through Earth History, pp. 1–218,ISBN978-3-86395-135-1
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Mourer-Chauviré, C (1989),Les Caprimulgiformes et les Coraciiformes de l'Éocène et de l'Oligocène des phosphorites du Quercy et description de deux genres nouveaux de Podargidae et Nyctibiidae,Acta XIX congressus internationalis ornithologici, pp. 2047–2055
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