Pleistocene forest on Tenerife's southern coast: a case study of Montana Negra

Pannell, Claire L.; Gray, Alan; Zalasiewicz, Jan A.; Branney, Michael J.; Curry, Gordon B.. 2011 Pleistocene forest on Tenerife's southern coast: a case study of Montana Negra. Journal of Quaternary Science, 26 (5). 485-490. 10.1002/jqs.1472

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Abstract/Summary

Montana Negra is a 121 m cinder cone in the Bandas del Sur region of southern Tenerife. Formed in the Middle Pleistocene, it comprises alternating phonolitic pumice deposits and scoria layers; the latter are extremely fossiliferous with good taphonomical fidelity. (40)Ar/(39)Ar age determination provides new dates of 302 +/- 7.6 ka and 299.9 +/- 11.4 ka for the Lower and Upper Aldea Blanca pumice fall deposits, respectively. This chronological constraint allows comparison of the palaeo-habitat with the global climate at the time of pyroclastic activity. Abundant terrestrial gastropod species and rare disarticulated Coleoptera fragments are to be found. The occurrence of the endemic semi-slug genus Plutonia (Family Vitrinidae) is significant in indicating a woodland habitat in the region during the Middle Pleistocene. We suggest that this may have been forest, possibly dominated by laurel, which is in stark contrast to the present-day semi-desert. Copyright (C) 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Item Type:	Article
Identification Number/DOI:	10.1002/jqs.1472
Programmes:	CEH Topics & Objectives 2009 onwards > Biodiversity
CEH Sections:	Watt
ISSN:	0267-8179
Additional Keywords:	land snails, Pleistocene, Tenerife, palaeoecology, Quaternary
NORA Subject Terms:	Earth Sciences Ecology and Environment Zoology
Date made live:	29 Aug 2012 10:20
URI:	http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/16762

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