Fish fauna of the Camp dels Ninots locality (Pliocene; Caldes de Malavella, province of Girona, Spain) - first results with notes on palaeoecology and taphonomy
Abstract
The Konservat-Lagerstatte locality Camp dels Ninots (Late Pliocene) in north-eastern Spain was interpreted as a maar lake and its sediments produced, among others, numerous fish fossils. These are represented by articulated (and semi-articulated) specimens and isolated bones and can be classified (within open nomenclature) to two Cyprinidae species: a barb Barbus (Luciobarbus') sp. and a chub Leuciscus sp.
The selected specimens of both groups are described and main morphological characters are presented. The composition of the fish fauna clearly indicates a freshwater environment.
From the point of the view of taphonomy, it is possible to recognise two different types of preservations of the fish fossils at the locality: (i) larger specimens are preserved in good conditions, with occasional partial dislocations from their natural anatomical position, and relatively quickly buried by sediment, whereas (ii) a second type was observed in smaller specimens with supposed decomposition in the hypoxic environment and with slow burying.