Evidence of northern Turolian savanna-woodland from the Dorn-Dürkheim 1 fauna (Germany).

17 pagesInternational audienceWestern European Turolianmammalian faunas and palaeoenvironments are less well known than middle and early late Miocene ones for which more data exist at a time when major climate events occurred (Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum followed by Late Middle Miocene Climatic Cooling). In this respect, rich faunas represent exceptional windows into mammalian diversity and biogeography. They constitute key points to understand local palaeoenvironments and refine larger-scale patterns. Dorn- Dürkheim 1 is one of the richest mammalian faunas of Western Europe with at least 79 species of mammals. We investigate this fauna and compare its composition to the faunal and biogeographic context of the European late Miocene. A community-based analysis of body masses of the constituent species together with an original approach on predator-prey biomasses are also attempted to reconstruct its palaeoenvironment. While its composition reflects the known late Miocene context and fits in the biogeographic North- South pattern evidenced by earlier studies, the reconstructed landscape is different from previous hypotheses of densely forested habitats. Our results suggest the presence of a savanna-woodland biome more open than previously thought, in a subtropical-like and seasonal climate. Other palaeoecological studies on elements of the large mammal fauna confirm this interpretation