ABSTRACT
Els Casots is one of the richest fossil vertebrate sites of the Vallès-Penedès Basin (Catalonia, Spain). It was discovered in 1989 and excavated briefly during the 1990s, resulting in the recovery of thousands of remains and the erection of several new mammal species. Excavations were resumed in 2018 and continue to date. Here we provide updated results regarding the age, stratigraphy, biota and palaeoenvironment of the site. The age of the site is well constrained to ~15.9 Ma thanks to recent bio- and magnetostratigraphic data, thus coinciding with the Miocene Climatic Optimum (MCO). The stratigraphic succession at the site area indicates lacustrine to palustrine environments with cyclically oscillating water level. There are several fossiliferous layers that have yielded a vertebrate fauna comprising up to 75 different vertebrate species including amphibians, reptiles, birds and mostly mammals. The finding of several articulated partial skeletons indicate that the site records an autochthonous to parautochthonous assemblage. The abundance and completeness of the vertebrate remains together with a well-constrained age and detailed stratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental data, make els Casots a key site for understanding wetland ecosystems in southern Europe during the MCO.
Acknowledgments
The Ajuntament de Subirats [Subirats city council] has supported the excavations from the very beginning and provided funding for the protection of the site and preparation of the fossil remains. We appreciate the interest by Caves Olivé i Batllori (Subirats), which allowed core drilling, survey and excavation in their vineyard. We thank the ICP Preparation & Conservation Area for tireless preparation of els Casots fossils. Preliminary identification of the fish remains by Tomáš Přikryl (Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague) is much appreciated. We especially thank all the colleagues, students and volunteers that have joined us in the excavations: without them this work would not have been possible. We also thank the editors of this special volume for inviting us to contribute to it. The constructive comments by H.-A. Blain, P. Montoya and a third unknown reviewer certainly improved the text. Finally, we want to express our gratitude and admiration to Jorge Morales. Back in 2011, after a visit to els Casots, Jorge spent a whole evening trying to convince some of us to excavate it again. It was a wise advice, as usual coming from Jorge, and we really appreciate it. Thanks, Jorge, for always inspiring and encouraging us.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).