Menat (Olivier collection): Selandian, France
collected by Olivier

List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
Insecta - Orthoptera - Elcanidae
Cenoelcanus menatensis n. gen., n. sp. Schubnel et al. 2020
Schubnel et al. 2020 1 specimen
MNHN.F.A71198 (1 measurement)
Insecta - Orthoptera
Caelifera informal indet. A Ander 1936
Schubnel et al. 2020 1 specimen
MNHN.F.A71197
Insecta - Mantodea - Chaeteessidae
Arvernineura insignis Piton 1940
Nel and Roy 1996 1 specimen
MNHN-LP R 10427 (3 measurements)
Insecta - Coleoptera - Gyrinidae
Orectochilus sp. Dejean 1833
1 specimen
MNHN IPM-R07723 (3 measurements)
Insecta - Coleoptera - Cupedidae
Cupedinae informal indet. 4 Lacordaire 1857
Kirejtshuk et al. 2016 2 specimens
MNHN.F.A57529, 57530
Mesocupes (Cainomerga) spp.
Kirejtshuk et al. 2016 2 specimens
spelled with current rank as Cainomerga
MNHN.F.A57520, 57521
? Mesocupes (Cainomerga) informal sp. 2 Kirejtshuk et al. 2016
Kirejtshuk et al. 2016 1 specimen
spelled with current rank as Cainomerga
MNHN.F.A57522
? Mesocupes (Cainomerga) informal sp. 3 Kirejtshuk et al. 2016
Kirejtshuk et al. 2016 1 specimen
spelled with current rank as Cainomerga
MNHN.F.A57523
Mesocupes (Cainomerga) ponti n. sp. Kirejtshuk et al. 2016
Kirejtshuk et al. 2016 1 specimen
recombined as Cainomerga ponti
MNHN.F.A51116
Mesocupes (Cainomerga) palaeocenicus n. sp. Kirejtshuk et al. 2016
Kirejtshuk et al. 2016 1 specimen
recombined as Cainomerga palaeocenica
MNHN.F.A51117
Cupes manifestus Kirejtshuk et al. 2010
Kirejtshuk et al. 2016 2 specimens
MNHN.F.A57526, 57527
Insecta - Hymenoptera - Formicidae
Tyrannomecia inopinata n. gen., n. sp. Jouault and Nel 2021
Jouault and Nel 2021 1 specimen
MNHN.FA71374 (1 measurement)
Insecta - Hymenoptera - Siricidae
Urocerus ligniticus (Piton 1940)
Nel 1988 1 specimen
MNHN IPM-R07722 (1 measurement)
see common names

Geography
Country:France State/province:Auvergne County:Puy-de-Dôme
Coordinates: 46.1° North, 2.9° East (view map)
Paleocoordinates:40.3° North, 0.7° East
Basis of coordinate:stated in text
Geographic resolution:outcrop
Time
Period:Paleogene Epoch:Paleocene
Stage:Selandian 10 m.y. bin:Cenozoic 1
Key time interval:Selandian
Age range of interval:61.60000 - 59.20000 m.y. ago
Stratigraphy
Formation:Menat
Stratigraphy comments: The estimated age of the Menat site varies. It was previously dated by pollen analysis, mammal stratigraphy, and an unpublished radiometric K/Ar analysis as late Paleocene (see Kedves & Russell 1982). However, several lines of more recent evidence indicate an older, middle Paleocene (Selandian) age, of about 60-61 Ma. Paleomagnetic studies reveal that the eruption took place during a reversed interval (Kedves & Russell 1982). Fossils of the mammal Plesiadapis from Menat enable the locality to be connected to the biostratigraphic framework established in the Western Interior USA that relies extensively on this genus (Gingerich 1976; Secord et al. 2006). The abundance of the genus, its rapid evolution, and its Holarctic dispersal history allow species of Plesiadapis to play an important role in the zonation of Paleocene continental sediments and in correlation of faunas on both sides of the North Atlantic (e.g., Gingerich 1976). Two remarkable skeletons of P. insignis, one of them nearly complete, have been found in lake deposits at Menat, and this species closely compares to P. praecursor / P. anceps in North America (pers. comm. P. Gingerich August 2008). This suggests an early Selandian age, equivalent to the early Tiffanian Ti-1/Ti-2 land mammal biozonation sensu Secord et al. (2006) (see also Gingerich 1976; Russell 1967, 1975). In North America, the Ti1 and Ti2 biozones occur within magnetic polarity Chron 26r (Secord et al. 2006), consistent with the reversed polarity of the Menat sediments.
Lithology and environment
Primary lithology: diatomite
Lithology description: spongo-diatomitic
Environment:crater lake Tectonic setting:volcanic basin
Geology comments: Volcanic Paleolake (maar) deposit
Taphonomy
Modes of preservation:mold/impression
Size of fossils:macrofossils,mesofossils
Collection methods and comments
Collection methods:survey of museum collection
Reason for describing collection:taxonomic analysis
Museum repositories:MNHN
Collectors:Olivier
Metadata
Database number:120579
Authorizer:M. Clapham Enterer:J. Karr, M. Clapham
Modifier:M. Clapham Research group:paleoentomology
Created:2011-11-18 10:35:06 Last modified:2023-07-25 23:59:51
Access level:the public Released:2011-11-18 10:35:06
Creative Commons license:CC BY
Reference information

Primary reference:
38542. A. Nel. 1989. Les Gyrinidae fossiles de France (Coleoptera). Annales de la Société Entomologique de France 25(3):321-330 [M. Clapham/J. Karr/M. Clapham]

Secondary references:

83076 C. Jouault and A. Nel. 2021. The oldest Cenozoic ant fossil: †Tyrannomecia gen. nov. (Formicidae: Myrmeciinae) from the Palaeocene Menat Formation (France). Historical Biology 34:2241-2248 [M. Clapham/M. Clapham]
63371 A. G. Kirejtshuk, A. Nel, and P. A. Kirejtshuk. 2016. Taxonomy of the reticulate beetles of the subfamily Cupedinae (Coleoptera: Archostemata), with a review of the historical development. Invertebrate Zoology 13(2):61-190 [M. Clapham/M. Clapham]
46958 A. Nel. 1988. Redescription de Eosirex ligniticus Piton, 1940 (Hymenoptera Symphyta Siricidae). L'Entomologiste 44(5):287-292 [M. Clapham/J. Karr]
39599 A. Nel and R. Roy. 1996. Revision of the fossil "mantid" and "ephemerid" species described by Piton from the Palaeocene of Menat (France) (Mantodea: Chaeteessidae, Mantidae; Ensifera: Tettigonioidea). European Journal of Entomology 93:223-234 [M. Clapham/J. Karr]
72562 T. Schubnel, L. Desutter-Grandcolas, R. Garrouste, S. Hervet, and A. Nel. 2020. Paleocene of Menat Formation, France, reveals an extraordinary diversity of orthopterans and the last known survivor of a Mesozoic Elcanidae. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 65:371-385 [M. Clapham/M. Clapham/M. Clapham]