Montchenot East (Paleocene of France)

Also known as Les Monts-Martin; Mont-Chenot

Where: Champagne-Ardenne, France (49.3° N, 4.0° E: paleocoordinates 43.8° N, 1.6° E)

• coordinate based on nearby landmark

• small collection-level geographic resolution

When: MP6 mammal zone, Thanetian (59.2 - 56.0 Ma)

• Marnes de Montchenot

•Most fossil mammals come from levels E and F of Laurain and Henry (1968), which were also sampled most extensively, but fossils still occur further down in the section, including the top of level D.

•European mammalian reference level MP6

• group of beds-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: pond; marl

• "a calm, yet not completely stagnant, freshwater milieu"

•"in a relatively quiet environment, probably a pond behind a dune belt … where the slow movement of waves on the shorelines induced the regular turning over of the oncolithes"

•"quiet freshwater milieu and are suggestive of coastal marshes"

Size class: mesofossils

Reposited in the MNHN

Primary reference: M. Jehle, M. Godinot, D. Delsate, A. Phélizon, and J.-L. Pellouin. 2012. A new late Paleocene micromammal fauna from Montchenot (Paris Basin). Preliminary results. Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments 92:487-496 [P. Mannion/P. Mannion]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 137125: authorized by Philip Mannion, entered by Philip Mannion on 11.12.2012, edited by Grace Varnham

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

• Almost all mammal specimens found at Montchenot are isolated teeth, mainly of micromammals. A maxillary with P3–M3 of a louisinine “condylarth” and a few other specimens with associated dental remains demonstrate the potential of these sites for delivering more complete fossil remains. More than 400 dental mammal specimens identifiable at least to genus level are currently available. Only few mammalian postcranial remains have been recovered up to now.
Mammalia
 Multituberculata - Cimolodontidae
Liotomus marshi Cope 1884 multituberculate
 Multituberculata - Neoplagiaulacidae
Neoplagiaulax sylvani multituberculate
Neoplagiaulax eocaenus multituberculate
Neoplagiaulax copei multituberculate
Neoplagiaulax nicolai multituberculate
 Primates - Toliapinidae
Sarnacius gingerichi Russell 1981 primate
 Primates - Plesiadapidae
Plesiadapis tricuspidens Gervais 1877 primate
 Perissodactyla -
Teilhardimys brisswalteri Hooker and Russell 2012 odd-toed ungulate
 Procreodi - Arctocyonidae
Arctocyonides trouessarti Lemoine 1891 condylarth
Arctocyonides arenae Russell 1964 condylarth
 Condylarthra - Pleuraspidotheriidae
Orthaspidotherium edwardsi Lemoine 1885 placental
Pleuraspidotherium aumonieri Russell 1964 placental
 Macroscelidea - Adapisoricidae
Adapisorex gaudryi Lemoine 1883 elephant shrew
 Macroscelidea - Louisinidae
Walbeckodon girardi Hooker and Russell 2012 elephant shrew
Dipavali petri Russell 1964 elephant shrew
Louisina marci Hooker and Russell 2012 elephant shrew
Berrulestes phelizoni Hooker and Russell 2012 elephant shrew
Berrulestes pellouini Hooker and Russell 2012 elephant shrew
Gigarton meyeri Hooker and Russell 2012 elephant shrew
 Proteutheria -
cf. Nosella sp. López-Martínez and Peláez-Campomanes 1999 eutherian
 Theriamorpha - Adapisoriculidae
"Afrodon germanicus" = Bustylus germanicus Russell 1964 eutherian
Adapisoriculus minimus Lemoine 1883 eutherian
 Cimolesta - Pantolestidae
Reptilia
 Squamata - Lacertidae
? Lacertidae indet. Bonaparte 1831 squamates
MNHN.F.MTC246, one fragmentary jaw, possibly a dentary; MNHN.F.MTC239 distal end of a left humerus
 Squamata -
Scincoidea indet. Oppel 1811 squamates
Dentary, MNHN.F.MTC245, bears four tooth loci (the most posterior teeth); Dentary, MNHN.F.MTC244, bears four tooth loci
? Scincoidea indet. Oppel 1811 squamates
MNHN.F.MTC242, one incomplete axis
 Squamata - Polyodontobaenidae
cf. Camptognathosaurus parisiensis Folie et al. 2013 worm lizard
MNHN.F.MTC238, posterior part of a left dentary (L = 3.2 mm); it preserves only two tooth positions with one complete tooth.
 Squamata - Shinisauridae
? Shinisauridae indet. Ahl 1930 squamates
MNHN.F.MTC240-MTC242, MTC243, nearly fifty osteoderms, a few complete, most more or less severely damaged by digestive processes or post-burial damages
 Squamata - Anguidae
Anguidae indet. Gray 1825 squamates
MNHN.F.MTC241, The incomplete left dentary represents the middle and posterior parts of the bone and its ventral margin is broken.