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{{Short description|Geologic period}}
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| footer = The arrival of ''Hipparion'' (left) marked the demise of older taxa such as ''Micromeryx'' (right)
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The '''Vallesian''' age is a period of [[geologic time]] (11.6–9.0 [[Mya (unit)|Ma]]) within the [[Miocene]] used more specifically with [[European Land Mammal Ages]]. It precedes the [[Turolian]] age and follows the [[Astaracian]] age. The so-called Vallesian Crisis resulted in the extinction of several mammalian taxa characteristic of the [[Middle Miocene]].

The term "Vallesian" was introduced by Catalan palaeontologist [[Miquel Crusafont]] in 1950 to mark the arrival of the [[equid]] ''[[Hipparion]]'' in Europe. The remaining European palaeofaunas, however, had been around since the Middle Miocene, including the moschid ''[[Micromeryx]]'' (a musk deer), the cervid ''[[Euprox]]'', the suid ''[[Listriodon]]'', and the felids ''[[Sansanosmilus]]'' and ''[[Pseudaelurus]]'', and the Aragonian-Vallesian<ref group="Note">"Aragonian" is a Spanish term for a continental stage, roughly equivalent to the Middle Miocene or Astaracian (16–11 Ma).</ref> boundary does not represent a major shift in the European mammalian record. In contrast, the transition between Lower and Upper Vallesian corresponds to a major biotic crisis — the demise of most Aragonian [[artiodactyl]]s, including the antelope ''[[Protragocerus]]'', the bovid ''[[Miotragocerus]]'', ''Listriodon'', and the suids ''[[Hyotherium]]'' and ''[[Parachleusastochoerus]]''. The crisis also affected rodents such as the family [[Eomyidae]] and most of the [[Cricetidae|cricetids]] and [[Gliridae|glirids]]. They were replaced by species arriving from the east, Turolian in character: for example the suid ''[[Schizochoerus]]'', the murid ''[[Progonomys]]'', the bovids ''[[Tragoportax]]'' and ''[[Graecoryx]]'', the hyaenid ''[[Adcrocuta]]'', the felid ''[[Paramachairodus]]'', and the suid ''[[Microstonyx]]''.<ref>{{Cite book
| last1 = Agusti | first1 = J
| last2 = Moya-Sola | first2 = S
| title = Extinction Events in Earth History
| chapter = Mammal extinctions in the Vallesian (Upper Miocene)
| series = Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences
| volume = 30 | year = 1990 | pages = 425–432
| issn = 1613-2580 | doi = 10.1007/BFb0011163
| isbn = 3-540-52605-6
}} (Abstract)</ref>

The Vallesian was a crucial period for the evolution of the European terrestrial fauna. During the Middle Miocene, the highly diversified mammalian fauna of the European forests were replaced by the faunas of the Late Miocene, adapted to a dry climate and to an open terrain. The beginning of the period is marked by the appearance and dispersal of the early horse ''[[Hipparion]]'' throughout Eurasia. The so-called Vallesian Crisis resulted in the extinction of several mammalian taxa characteristic of the Middle Miocene. The end of the Vallesian, and the beginning of the Turolian, brought the extinction in the west of faunas dominated by the [[bovid]]s and [[Giraffidae|giraffids]] characteristic of the so-called sub-[[Paratethys|Paratethyan]] or Greek-Iranian province.<ref>{{cite web
| last = Casanovas i Vilar | first = Isaac
| title = The rodent assemblages from the Late Aragonian and the Vallesian (Middle to Late Miocene) of the Vallès-Penedès Basin (Catalonia, Spain)
| publisher = University of Barcelona | year = 2007 | page = 189
| url = http://www.tdx.cat/bitstream/handle/10803/3443/icv1de1.pdf?sequence=1
}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group=Note}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Neogene Footer}}

[[Category:Miocene]]

Vallesian - Revision history

94.246.147.217 at 18:00, 26 June 2025