Sansan paleontological site
Stratigraphic range:
TypeFossil site
Location
Coordinates43°31′28″N 0°37′20″E / 43.524315°N 0.622332°E / 43.524315; 0.622332
Region Occitanie
Country France
Type section
Named byLartet, 1834
Sansan paleontological site is located in France
Sansan paleontological site
Sansan paleontological site (France)

The Sansan paleontological site (locally au Campané) is a Miocene fossil deposit in Sansan, in the French department of Gers.

Searched by Edouard Lartet until 1847, it was considered useful for Science and is registered by the Inventaire national du Patrimoine Géologique (InPG) as an international-level site. It constitutes one of the most important Middle Cenozoic deposits and is well known in palaeontological circles.[1] The National Museum of Natural History bought 4 hectares (9.9 acres) of terrain in 1848[2] and oversee any research on the site since then. The research stopped in 1999. The site has been open to the public since 2018.[3]

Location

The paleontological site is located inside the commune of Sansan, on the Campané hill at 238 m (781 ft) above sea level, in the Gers department, 16 km (9.9 mi) south of Auch. The hill and its surroundings were historically called "Camp de las hossos".[4]

Recent history

The deposits were excavated regularly from 1834 to 1999. Francis Duranthon from the Toulouse Museum and Pascal Tassy from the Paris Museum were the last researchers to have worked on Sansan, specifically on the southern flank.

Outcrops were backfilled, vegetation grew back and a paleontological trail[5] was created in 2018 by the Communauté de communes du Val de Gers. Today, research have stopped but the site is open for public access.[6] A 2.5 km (1.6 mi) trail, marked by interpretive panels, helps to teach how Edouard Lartet discovered the site and how his discovery revolutionized the scientific theories of the time and exposed the richness of its Miocene fauna and flora.

Species list

The site of Sansan gave 85 mammal species from 9 orders, 30 families and 75 genera, being one of the richest Miocene sites in Europe. One of the most important discoveries on the site was the description by Edouard Lartet in 1837 of Pliopithecus, a catarrhini monkey, which was a keystone in the reject of creationism by scientists and the advance towards the evolution theory.

The first fossil was discovered in 1834 by the shepherd Joseph Débats, who lived on the hilltop. It was a proboscidean molar. He told the Gers lawyer Edouard Lartet, who explored the site. The Sansan mastodont, Archaeobelodon, was entirely reconstructed in 1851 by Laurillard, a first in Europe.

Edouard Lartet describes in 1834 a large carnivore, which he named Amphicyon major.

The first fossils of the chalicothere species Anisodon grande were also recovered in Sansan.

The following table shows all 85 species of mammals found in Sansan.

Chiroptera

GenusSpeciesOrderImages
Pteropodidae gen. indet.sp. indetPteropodidae
KerivoulaK. murinoidesVespertilionidae
PaleptesicusP. noctuloidesVespertilionidae
EptesicusE. campanensisVespertilionidae
MyotisM. ziegleriVespertilionidae
MormopterusM. helveticusMolossidae

Proboscidea

GenusSpeciesFamilyImages
GomphotheriumG. angustidensGomphotheriidae
ArchaeobelodonA. filholiGomphotheriidae
DeinotheriumD. giganteumDeinotheriidae
ProdeinotheriumP. bavaricumDeinotheriidae
ZygolophodonZ. turicensisMammutidae

Perissodactyla

GenusSpeciesFamilyImages
AnchitheriumA. aurelianense hippoidesEquidae
AnisodonA. grandeChalicotheriidae
AceratheriumA. (Alicornops) simorrenseRhinocerotidae
BrachypotheriumB. brachypusRhinocerotidae
LartetotheriumL. sansanienseRhinocerotidae

Artiodactyla

GenusSpeciesFamilyImages
MicromeryxM. flourentianusMoschidae
DicrocerusD. elegansCervidae
HeteroproxH. lartetiCervidae
EotragusE. clavatusBovidae
cf. Ampelomeryxcf. A. magnusPalaeomerycidae
ChoeromorusC. mammillatusPalaeomerycidae
DorcatheriumD. crassumTragulidae
ListriodonL. splendensSuidae
ConohyusC. simorrensisSuidae

Rodentia

GenusSpeciesFamilyImages
EuroxenomysE. minutusCastoridae
SteneofiberS. sp. aff. S. eseriCastoridae
EumyarionE. mediusCricetidae
CricetodonC. sansaniensisCricetidae
DemocricetodonD. gaillardiCricetidae
D. sp. aff. D. gracilisCricetidae
MegacricetodonM. gersii
M. minorCricetidae
KeramidomysK. carpathicus octaviae
K. mohleriEomyidae
AlbanensiaA. sansaniensisSciuridae
BlackiaB. miocaenicaSciuridae
SpermophilinusS. bredaiSciuridae
HeteroxerusH. grivensisSciuridae
TamiasT. minutusSciuridae
PalaeosciurusP. sp. cf. P. minutusSciuridae
Sciuridae gen. indet.Sciuridae

Lagomorpha

GenusSpeciesFamilyImages
ProlagusP. oeningensis sansaniensisOchotonidae
LagopsisL. sp. aff. L. verusOchotonidae
Leporidae indet.

Primates

GenusSpeciesFamilyImages
PliopithecusP. antiquusPliopithecidae
PlesiopliopithecusP. auscitanensisPliopithecidae

Insectivora

GenusSpeciesFamilyImages
DinosorexD. sansaniensisSoricidae
LartetiumL. prevostianumSoricidae
MiosorexM. desnoyersianusSoricidae
HemisorexH. robustusSoricidae
PaenelimnoecusP. crouzeliSoricidae
Soricidae indet.L. prevostianumSoricidae
MygaleaM. antiquaTalpidae
ProscapanusP. sansaniensisTalpidae
P. sp.Talpidae
TalpaT. minutaTalpidae
PlesiodimylusP. sp. aff. P. chantreiDimylidae
GalerixG. exilisErinaceidae
G. sp.Erinaceidae
LanthanotheriumL. sansanienseErinaceidae
AtelerixA. deperetiErinaceidae
PostpalerinaceusP. intermediusErinaceidae

Carnivora

GenusSpeciesFamilyImages
SivanasuaD. sp. indet.Lophocyonidae
AmphicyonA. majorAmphicyonidae
PseudocyonP. sansaniensisAmphicyonidae
AlopecocyonA. goeriachensisAiluridae
HemicyonH. sansaniensisUrsidae
Ursidae gen. indet.sp. indet.Ursidae
PlithocyonP. armagnacensisUrsidae
PseudaelurusP. quadridentatusFelidae
StyriofelisS. lortetiFelidae
S. turnauensisFelidae
SansanosmilusS. palmidensNimravidae
IschyrictisI. zibethoidesMustelidae
MartesM. sansaniensisMustelidae
ProputoriusP. sansaniensisMustelidae
Mustelidae indet.Mustelidae
TaxodonT. sansaniensisMustelidae
LartetictisL. dubiaMustelidae
SemigenettaS. sansaniensisViverridae
ViverrictisV. modicaViverridae
LeptoplesictisL. atarusHerpestidae
Carnivora indet.sp. indet.Carnivora
Carnivora indet.sp. indet.Carnivora

References

  1. "Sansan - Musées, sites et collections paléontologiques". ocim.revues.org.
  2. "Classement du site de Campané : Fac-similé JO du 03/03/1949, texte 2322". www.legifrance.gouv.fr. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  3. "Inauguration du palésite de Sansan le jeudi 24 mai 2018" (PDF). www.tourisme-gers.com (pdf). Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  4. "Découverte du site paléontologique de Sansan - Regards sur le Gers". Retrieved 2022-01-17.
  5. "J'ai testé pour vous... Le Paléosite de Sansan". Grand Auch Cœur de Gascogne, site officiel de l'Office de Tourisme. 9 August 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2022..
  6. "Remontez le temps sur le sentier paléontologique de Sansan dans le Gers". ladepeche.fr. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
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