Pilot excavation for exploring new sites of the Paleocene Fossillagerstätte Menat (Auvergne, France) for a planned large paleontological excavation and research program

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Dieter Uhl, Ph.D.; Dr. Sonja Wedmann
• Subject Area: Palaeontology
• Term: from 2013 to 2015
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 240941056

The early Cenozoic evolution of terrestrial ecosystems in North America, after the devastation of the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary, is marked by a rapid increase in diversity in different groups of organisms. Considered more broadly, however, knowledge concerning most geographic regions is scarce. After North America, western and central Europe is perhaps the second-best researched area for this time period, and here there is little understanding of the early Cenozoic evolution of vegetation and insects. The main reason for this is the scarcity of Paleocene fossil sites. Menat is a Paleocene Fossil-Lagerstätte in France that may provide critical new data on vegetation, insects and even vertebrates of this period.Stratigraphically highly resolved data from the Paleocene of Menat would enable detailed comparisons of Paleocene floras and faunas with the better investigated biotas of Eocene and Oligocene, particularly Messel and Enspel. The latter are former maar lake deposits just like Menat, and together with Menat they offer a temporal sequence for comparative study under roughly isotaphonomic conditions. Like in other former maar lakes, the most common macrofossils in Menat are plants and insects. In regard to its floral assemblage, Menat is one of three key sites for the Paleocene of Europe; but the data upon which the floral characterization is based upon are outdated and in strong need of revision. For many of these studies freshly collected plant material is required. For insects, it would be interesting to compare the faunal composition of different layers within Menat, but with the available material no such data were recorded. Additionally, excavations could turn up new non-fish vertebrate fossils. In June 2012, a team of Senckenberg scientists went to Menat to assess the potential for new excavations and to set up collaborations with the municipality of Menat and different local organisations. Currently, no scientific excavations are being conducted in Menat, and our initiative was well received and has local support. It was agreed that when excavations take place, most recovered fossils would enter the custody of the Museum of Menat or of the paleontological association ELDONIA, but can be taken to Germany for preparation and research. Following the success of our reconnaissance trip, we propose intensive pilot excavations for exploring further work in Menat. We plan to explore new fruitful digging sites in the Menat basin in the course of two excavation campaigns in the next two years. Experienced scientists will work together with students. Each campaign is planned to last three weeks. In the first week a geological survey of two new excavation sites will take place, followed by one week of digging at each site by a larger team. This course of action will enable us to test the potential of different sites in regard to the preservation quality of the fossils and their abundance with maximum resource efficiency.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Participating Persons: Dr. Thomas Lehmann; Dr. Stephan Schaal; Privatdozent Dr. Krister Smith