Marc Louis Augé, Michaël Dion, Alain Phélizon
Geodiversitas 43 (17), 645-661, (9 September 2021) https://doi.org/10.5252/geodiversitas2021v43a17
KEYWORDS: Lizards, Scincoidea, Lacertoidea, Amphisbaenia, Anguimorpha, Paleocene, Paris Basin, lézards, Scincoidea, Lacertoidea, Amphisbaena, Anguimorpha, Paléocène, bassin de Paris
Here we describe the lizard fauna from the locality of Montchenot (Paris Basin, late Paleocene, MP6). This material can be allocated to five major clades: Scincoidea, Lacertoidea (?Lacertidae), Amphisbaenia, Anguimorpha (?Anguidae and Shinisauridae). The assemblage from Monchenot is dominated by small lizard specimens and appears as highly sorted. Predation could produce such biased assemblages. The composition of the lizard fauna from Monchenot is rather similar to those of Cernay-lès-Reims and Rivecourt, two coeval localities (MP6) in the Paris Basin. However, these faunas sharply contrast (in diversity and composition) with the lizard fauna found in the early Eocene of the same area (Paris Basin and Belgian Basin). These differences highlight the impact of the Paleocene/Eocene transition on the lizard fauna of Europe.