RT Journal Article
T1 Taphonomy of a Mysticeti whale in the Lower Pliocene Huelva Sands Formation (Southern Spain)
A1 Esperante, Raúl
A1 Muñiz Guinea, Fernando
A1 Nick, K.E.
AB This paper reports the occurrence of an incomplete fossil baleen whale skeleton in the Lower Pliocene HuelvaSands Formation (Guadalquivir basin) near the town of Bonares, southwestern Spain. The skeleton was found inthe highly bioturbated glauconitic sandstone unit in association with Neopycnodonte cochlear shells. Severalmorphological features of the mandibles, scapula and vertebrae suggest that the specimen belongs in the suborderMysticeti, family Balaenopteridae. Most bones show abrasion due to a long exposure on the seafloor, andsome bones show shark tooth marks and both micro- and macro-bioerosion by scavengers. The position of thebones suggests that the carcass landed on the seafloor on its left side and then turned right side up. Sedimentologicaland paleontological features indicate that the whale was buried in shallow platform waters under lowsedimentation rates.
PB Institut de Ciències de la Terra "Jaume Almera"
SN 1695-6133
YR 2009
FD 2009-12
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10272/15599
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10272/15599
LA eng
NO R. Esperante, Fernando Muñiz Guinea, K.E. Nick. Taphonomy of a Mysticeti whale in the Lower Pliocene Huelva Sands Formation (Southern Spain). Geologica acta: an international earth science journal, ISSN 1695-6133, Vol. 7, Nº. 4, 2009, págs. 489-504. DOI: 10.1344/105.000001451
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
RD 31 may 2026