Pleistocene forest on Tenerife's southern coast: a case study of Montana Negra
Pannell, Claire L.; Gray, Alan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6785-0590; 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.
https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.1472
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: | Publication - Article |
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Digital Object Identifier (DOI): | https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.1472 |
Programmes: | CEH Topics & Objectives 2009 - 2012 > Biodiversity |
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas: | 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 +0 (UTC) |
URI: | https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/16762 |
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