Eduardo Barrón

Instituto Geológico y Minero de España | IGME · Museo Geominero

The early Miocene La Rinconada mine from eastern Iberian Peninsula contains a rich megafloral assemblage with abundant leaf fossils from a single stratigraphic level of the sedimentary succession. This has provided a good opportunity to undertake detailed comparative quantitative palaeoclimate reconstruction using different approaches, namely the C...

The Aptian to lower Cenomanian succession from the Serranía de Cuenca region (Eastern Iberia, Spain) comprises a time-span largely understudied regarding palynology and biostratigraphy. This research studies the deposits of three stratigraphic units that crop out in this region (the Contreras Formation, the El Burgal Member and the Utrillas Group),...

Dinosaur bonebeds with amber content, yet scarce, offer a superior wealth and quality of data on ancient terrestrial ecosystems. However, the preserved palaeodiversity and/or taphonomic characteristics of these exceptional localities had hitherto limited their palaeobiological potential. Here, we describe the amber from the Lower Cretaceous dinosau...

Dinosaur bonebeds with amber content, yet scarce, offer a superior wealth and quality of data on ancient terrestrial ecosystems. However, the preserved palaeodiversity and/or taphonomic characteristics of these exceptional localities had hitherto limited their palaeobiological potential. Here we describe the amber from the Lower Cretaceous dinosaur...

In this study we present a new, extensive palaeobotanical and palaeoclimatic record from 85 microfloral assemblages of Middle Miocene (late Langhian–early Serravallian) age recovered from ten localities in the Madrid Basin. A large, shallow, slightly saline lacustrine system developed in the study area, promoting the occurrence of salt-tolerant pla...

The deposits of the As Pontes Basin in north-west Spain yield extraordinarily well-preserved microfloral assemblages that have unmatched diversity within the European Oligocene. The comprehensive examination of 300 miospore taxa has led to the discovery of two new fossil pollen genera, Eucommiopsispollenites gen. nov. and Pistaciapollenites gen. no...

Many oases (wet interdunes) are characterized by sedimentary systems characterized by high-frequency water-level oscillations, marked changes in salinity and intense biological activity at their margins. They are considered to be one of the most challenging environments on Earth for ecosystem development. These dynamic, depositional settings are us...

Fossilized remains preserved in amber provide abundant data on the paleobiota surrounding the resin-producing plants, but relatively scarcer information about the resinous sources themselves. Here, dark pseudoinclusions in kidney-shaped amber pieces from the Early Cretaceous (Albian) amber from Spain are studied. This type of fossilized remain, abu...

The Cretaceous fossil record of amber provides a variety of evidence that is essential for greater understanding of early pollination strategies. Here, we describe four pieces of ca. 99-million-year-old (early Cenomanian) Myanmar amber from Kachin containing four closely related genera of short-winged flower beetles (Coleoptera: Kateretidae) associ...

Desert coasts in plate margins contain one of the most variable sedimentary records in terms of facies and stacking patterns. Reliefs in these basins together with massif palaeogeography and palaeotopography strongly control the spatial distribution of facies belts and complex lateral facies changes between very different coeval sub-environments, l...

A preliminary revision of the palynological collection of Professor Blanka Pacltová was carried out considering samples from the middle Cenomanian of the Peruc-Korycany Formation, the basal most member of the Bohemian Cretaceous Basin (the Czech Republic). This collection is mainly composed of slides with palynological residues for light microscope...

Angiosperms and their insect pollinators form a foundational symbiosis, evidence for which from the Cretaceous is mostly indirect, based on fossils of insect taxa that today are anthophilous, and of fossil insects and flowers that have apparent anthophilous and entomophilous specializations, respectively. We present exceptional direct evidence pres...

A palynological study of the Upper Cretaceous vertebrate site of Chera (Valencia, Spain) has been carried out. The occurrence of diversified Normapolles including various species of Vancampopollenites, Papillopollis and Pseudoromeinipollenites suggest a late Campanian–?early Maachtrichtian age. The palynological assemblages suggest an azonal vegeta...

Phylogenetic diversity reflects both community assembly and evolutionary diversification processes. Communities with low phylogenetic diversity might be the outcome of environmental filters favouring the occurrence and/or the diversification of lineages from particular clades. This rationale applies for regional assemblages. Here we propose to inte...

The Early Pleistocene deposits of the Iberian Peninsula provided some of the oldest hominin fossil sites of Western Europe. Evidence also shows that early Homo thrived in the Mediterranean peninsulas during the Early Pleistocene ‘interglacial’ phases. To assess the role of climatic conditions on early human environments, the present work features a...

Portuguese amber has received very little attention from the paleontological and geological points of view. To our knowledge, only twelve amber outcrops or amber-bearing areas have been detected in Portugal. The first outcrops were cited in times as old as 1867 and 1910, and although some of them were considered Jurassic in age, most likely the amb...

CONCLUSIONES Las inclusiones de aspecto vacuolar son las responsables de los bandeados de color en piezas de ámbar con morfología arriñonada. Las diferentes bandas son el resultado de la acumulación reiterada de coladas de resina con distinta proporción de inclusiones de aspecto vacuolar. La ausencia de ornamentación superficial, la orientación den...

CONCLUSIONES En el área de Asturias durante el Albiense, como en otras partes de la península ibérica, se produjeron numerosos depósitos de ámbar, con presencia de algunas masas de gran tamaño y ricos en mesofósiles de plantas en los mismos niveles. No obstante, el ámbar de Asturias descubierto y estudiado hasta el momento, pese a ser relativamente...

A palynological analysis of 45 samples from six mid-Cretaceous amber-bearing outcrops from Charentes has been carried out. A total of 227 taxa have been recorded in the studied palynofloras. Palynological data support earlier evidence and indicate an early Cenomanian age for the assemblages. The heterogeneous compositions of the palynofloral assemb...

Two major structures involving the Permian-Mesozoic Asturian Basin (Llanera and Careses faults) are analysed in the Sariego area. The Llanera Fault played as a syn-sedimentary normal fault during the Upper Jurassic-lowermost Cretaceous and was inverted in Cenozoic times. Its reverse displacement was lower than the previous normal displacement and t...

Araucarian pollen cones Rabagostrobus hispanicus gen. et sp. nov. and their associated foliage Brachyphyllum obesum Heer are described from Lower Cretaceous (Albian) strata of northern Spain. Male cones consist of helically arranged microsporophylls bearing 5–8 elongate pollen sacs with in situ inaperturate Araucariacites‐type pollen. The new taxon...

All the amber outcrops of the Iberian Peninsula are Lower Cretaceous in age and, in the case of Spain, some of them have provided important arthropod specimens preserved as bioinclusions. These Spanish localities are rich in fossil taxa of phylogenetic relevance and evidence of both paleoecological interactions and paleobehaviors are also abundant....

The evolution of plant ecosystems during the Cenophytic was complex and influenced by both abiotic and biotic factors. Among abiotic forces were tectonics, the distribution of continents and seas, climate, and fires; of biotic factors were herbivores, pests, and intra- and interspecific competition. The genus QuercusL. (Quercoideae, Fagaceae) evolv...

Abundant gymnosperm pollen grains associated with the oedemerid beetle Darwinylus marcosi Peris, 2016 were found in Early Cretaceous amber from Spain. This discovery provides confirmatory evidence for a pollination mutualism during the mid Mesozoic for the family Oedemeridae (Coleoptera), which today is known to pollinate only angiosperms. As a res...

During the mid-Cretaceous, angiosperms diversified from several nondiverse lineages to their current global domination [1], replacing earlier gymnosperm lineages [2].Several hypotheses explain this extensive radiation [3], one of which involves proliferation of insect pollinator associations in the transition from gymnosperm to angiosperm dominance...

A new species of spore, Costatoperforosporites friisiae sp. nov., is described from the Early Cretaceous (late Aptian–early Albian) deposits of Catefica in the Lusitanian Basin, western Portugal. Although the morphology of the muri is clearly of the Cicatricosisporites type, the presence of micropores on these sculptural elements and within the int...

Se han revisado las escalas zonales, basadas en ammonoideos, definidas en la Península Ibérica (cordilleras Ibérica y Bética y cuencas Lusitánica y Vasco-Cantábrica) y se han comparado con la Zonación Estándar establecida para las provincias del NW de Europa y Mediterránea. Así mismo se han calibrado las escalas regionales de braquiópodos, foraminí...

BOOK IN SPANISH (201 pp) (25 euros) visit the link http://igmepublicaciones.blogspot.com.es/2016/09/paleontologia.html#!/2016/09/paleontologia.html and make an application for : publicaciones@igme.es Los lagos del pasado actuaron como grandes trampas que enterraron y conservaron muchos restos de la vida que se desarrollaba en sus aguas y en los a...

The great evolutionary success of angiosperms has traditionally been explained, in part, by the partnership of these plants with insect pollinators [1–6]. The main approach to understanding the origins of this pervasive relationship has been study of the pollinators of living cycads, gnetaleans, and basal angiosperms [7]. Among themostmorphological...

The Arcas del Villar gypsum sequence (Tagus Basin, Central Spain), previously thought to be Eocene or Oligocene in age, is here described in detail for the first time from a stratigraphic and a palaeontological viewpoint. The lower part of the sequence is composed of laminated gypsum and interbedded laminated mudstones and marls; these contain paly...

The present paper reports a complete palynological study of the Upper Turolian sediments outcropping at the Venta delMoro site (eastern Iberian Peninsula). The pollen assemblages observed mainly reflect the local and regional vegetation, which must have formed part of a wetland ecosystemwithin a general setting of open steppe, as indicated by the g...

The Lower Cretaceous deposits of the southern margin of the Basque-Cantabrian basin (northern Spain) are characterised by continental deposits interbedded with amber-bearing marine-influenced facies. These facies crop out in various localities and have yielded well-preserved palynological assemblages. The palynoflora is dominated by gymnosperm poll...

The Lower Cretaceous deposits of the southern margin of the Basque-Cantabrian basin (northern Spain) are characterised by continental deposits interbedded with amber-bearing marine-influenced facies. These facies crop out in various localities and have yielded well-preserved palynological assemblages. The palynoflora is dominated by gymnosperm poll...

The fossil-plant-bearing beds of the Tortonian (late Miocene) intramontane basin of La Cerdanya (Eastern Pyrenees, Catalonia, Spain) have been investigated for more than a century, and 165 species from 12 outcrops have been described in previous publications. The sediments with rich plant fossil assemblages, which correspond to lacustrine diatomiti...

Background and aims: Several studies show apparently contradictory findings about the functional convergence within the Mediterranean woody flora. In this context, this study evaluates the variability of functional traits within holm oak (Quercus ilex) to elucidate whether provenances corresponding to different morphotypes represent different ecot...

INTRODUCCIÓN El ámbar es una resina fosilizada, y en su interior se pueden encontrar organismos de hace mi-llones de años. La morfología de los más peque-ños (normalmente de tamaño milimétrico) puede quedar perfectamente conservada, lo que permi-te un estudio sistemático y filogenético detallado. Aun así, lo que realmente convierte al registro de á...

A study of the late early Miocene (Ramblian?–lower Aragonian) phytocoenosis of the La Rinconada mine (Ribesalbes-Alcora Basin, Province of Castellón, eastern Spain) led to the identification of 19 plant species showing mainly xeromorphic and/or sclerophyllous characteristics (three conifers and 16 dicotyledonous angiosperms). These plants mainly re...

The Peniche section in the Lusitanian Basin (western Portugal) provides an exceptional, continuous record of the Portuguese Lower Jurassic, and is the candidate for the Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point for the base of the Toarcian. This paper reports a palynological study of the Margaritatus, Spinatum, Polymorphum and Levisoni zones. Fo...

Resumen En este trabajo se realiza un estudio preliminar de la paleoflora y vegetación del sector Can Argilera del afloramiento plioceno de Camp dels Ninots, localizado en Girona (Cataluña, España). Sus materiales sedimentarios se han atribuido al Piacenziense, periodo en el cual comienza la instauración del clima mediterráneo en la Península Ibéri...

The Peniche section in the Lusitanian Basin (western Portugal) provides an exceptional, continuous record of the Portuguese Lower Jurassic, and is the candidate for the Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point for the base of the Toarcian. This paper reports a palynological study of the Margaritatus, Spinatum, Polymorphum and Levisoni zones. Fo...

Within modern gymnosperms, conifers and Ginkgo are exclusively wind pollinated whereas many gnetaleans and cycads are insect pollinated. For cycads, thrips are specialized pollinators. We report such a specialized pollination mode from Early Cretaceous amber of Spain, wherein four female thrips representing a genus and two species in the family Mel...

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The palynological assemblages from three CenomanianeTuronian sections from the Castilian Platform are described. The 49 levels analysed yielded a well-diversified palynological content including dinoflagellate cysts, acritarchs, prasinophytes and miospores. The comparison of the terrestrial and marine assemblages from these three sections reveals s...

The sediments of La Rinconada mine (Ribesalbes-Alcora basin, Province of Castellón, Eastern Spain) have yielded one of the Early Miocene's richest megafloral assemblages in the southwestern Mediterranean. At this site, we have found a large amount of leaf compressions and impressions without preserved cuticle. We have identified a total of 31 speci...

During the Early Aptian, major palaeoenvironmental changes occurred leading to an oceanic anoxic event (OAE 1a) and a perturbation of the global carbon cycle. New detailed litho-, bio-, and chemostratigraphic (TOC, δ 13C carb, δ 13C org) records of two superbly exposed and expanded Lower Aptian sections in Cantabria (La Florida and Cuchía) allow to...

The sediments of La Rinconada mine (Ribesalbes-Alcora basin, Province of Castellón, Eastern Spain) have yielded one of the Early Miocene's richest megafloral assemblages in the southwestern Mediterranean. At this site, we have found a large amount of leaf compressions and impressions without preserved cuticle. We have identified a total of 31 speci...

The successive vegetations inhabiting the Iberian Peninsula from the Triassic/Jurassic boundary to the Cretaceous/Tertiary Boundary is reviewed based on published palynological and macrofloral data, and the vegetational changes set in a palaeogeographical and climate context. Xerophytic microphyllous coniferous forests and pteridophyte communities...

The aim of this work is to provide a first approach to the evolution of Iberia's vegetation during the Cenozoic (with the exclusion of the Quaternary). The Palaeogene was floristically defined by Palaeotropical elements forming tropical/subtropical rainforests, mangrove swamps, edaphically-mediated laurophyllous forests and leguminous-sclerophyllou...

The native or allochthonous nature of certain extant species of the Iberian Peninsula is a matter of some controversy given our lack of knowledge regarding the survival and extinction processes to which they have been subject. The aim of the present work is to provide a review of the current knowledge regarding these processes during the Quaternary...

: El Soplao outcrop, an Early Cretaceous amber deposit recently discovered in northern Spain (Cantabria), has been shown to be the largest site of amber with arthropod inclusions that has been found in Spain so far. Relevant data provided herein for biogeochemistry of the amber, palynology, taphonomy and arthropod bioinclusions complement those pre...

The Fuentelsaz Section is located in the Castilian Branch of the Iberian Range (Guadalajara, Spain). Its exceptional Lower–Middle Jurassic transition outcrops led to its designation as the Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point for the base of the Aalenian. The sediments of the Toarcian–Aalenian transition at Fuentelsaz are composed of marls...

El Soplao outcrop, an Early Cretaceous amber deposit recently discovered in northern Spain (Cantabria), has been shown to be the largest site of amber with arthropod inclusions that has been found in Spain so far. Relevant data provided herein for biogeochemistry of the amber, palynology, taphonomy and arthropod bioinclusions complement those previ...

The native or allochthonous nature of certain extant species of the Iberian Peninsula is a matter of some controversy given our lack of knowledge regarding the survival and extinction processes to which they have been subject. The aim of the present work is to provide a review of the current knowledge regarding these processes during the Quaternary...

Aim The aim of this work was to identify the main changes in the flora and vegetation of the Iberian Peninsula over the Cenozoic Era, to record the disappearance of taxa associated with these changes and to determine the influence of climate and human activity on these events. Location The Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands. Methods A critical...

Triassic carbonate rocks of the western Cantabrian Mountains, northern Spain, have long been attributed to the Muschelkalk faciès, and as such have been correlated with other Middle Triassic carbonate units of the Iberian Peninsula. Data on palynological assemblages here presented, point to a Ladinian-lower Carnian age of the upper part of the Bunt...