JURASSICA hosts a geosciences academic unit linked to the Department of Geosciences at the University of Fribourg. This academic unit comprises two research groups: one focusing on the Cenozoic (from 65 Ma to the present) and the other on the Mesozoic (from 252 to 65 Ma). The main geosciences research themes developed by the scientific team of JURASSICA are listed below.
Cenozoic research group
Many large mammal specimens from the Cenozoic of Europe are poorly known. The revision of European assemblages will contribute significantly to our understanding of the diversity and evolutionary patterns of Western European mammals during the Cenozoic. This line of research aims to reconstruct the evolution of terrestrial paleoecosystems in Western Europe during the Cenozoic, from the perspective of the links between global and local/regional changes, using mammal assemblages from seven key intervals: (1) European endemism during the Eocene; (2) the Grande Coupure and early Oligocene; (3) the middle Rupelian faunal renewal; (4) the Oligocene-Miocene transition; (5) the "Proboscidean Datum Event"; (6) the "Hipparion Datum Event"; (7) the late Pleistocene megafauna.
Among mammals, rodents are today the most diversified order, with almost half of the mammal species known today. Among rodents, some families are very diversified such as cricetids (family of hamsters) and Murids (family of mice) which comprise about 2/3 of all rodent species. This impressive diversification of extant rodents is not only illustrated by the high number of species but also by their ecological, anatomical and physiological diversity, together with a surprising adaptation to almost all living environments. The fossil record shows that this diversification occurred relatively fat by comparison of other groups of mammals, but the reasons of such diversification in rodents remains poorly understood. This project aims at studying and comparing evolutionary histories of different small mammals clades, including rodents, in order to identify the controling factors of this diversification. To do so, the project focusses of the Paleogene and Neogene periods (especially between -40 and -10 million years) and includes fossil localities distributed all over the eurasian continent. Different approaches, phylogenetic, macroecologic and paléobiogeographic are used to follow the evolution of small mammals at broad temporal and spatial scales. A peculiar attention is paied to the past environment and past climates which often proove to be major influencing factors over evolution and biodiversity of small mammals.
Ectothermic vertebrates (fish, amphibians, reptiles) are characterized by their dependence on external/environmental heat sources to maintain their metabolism. This makes them excellent tools for reconstructing past climates (temperature, precipitation, etc.) and environments. The formation of the Paratethys is one of the key events in the paleogeography of Eurasia during the Cenozoic. This sea had a crucial influence on the development of Eurasian climate and terrestrial ecosystems. The aim of this research project is: 1) to reconstruct the ectothermic vertebrate faunas and their development in the Paratethyan region during the Neogene; 2) to reconstruct the evolution of regional paleoclimates during the Neogene on the basis of herpetofaunal assemblages; 3) to monitor the paleohydrological evolution of the basins.
Mesozoic research group
The Mesozoic sedimentary rocks that form the Jura Mountains regularly yield the remains of the vertebrates (fish, turtles, crocodiles, ichthyosaures, pterosaurs, dinosaurs) that populated the coastal and terrestrial environments of the period. The construction of the Transjurane highway in the Canton of Jura and the numerous discoveries that it permitted notably in the layers of the Late Jurassic renewed the interest to study these assemblages. Understanding the history of these vertebrate communities through the Mesozoic will provide a new perspective on the evolution of the regional paleoecosystems and on the position of the Jura in the paleobiogeographical context of the time period.
Description coming soon.
PI: Dr Lara Sciscio
Stratigraphy is the study of sedimentological layers based on their aspect on the field, their nature (calcareous, marly, etc.), and their fossiliferous content (macro- and microfossils). At the regional scale, the accessible exposures mainly represent two stratigraphical levels: the Oxfordian in the North of the Ajoie region and the Kimmeridgian in the area between Porrentruy and Courtedoux. The concerned lithostratigraphical units extend from the St-Ursanne Formation (lower to middle Oxfordian) at the base to the Reuchenette Formation (lower to upper Kimmeridgian). The field data are mostly extracted from quarries and natural exposures, but also from the construction works of the A16 highway and numerous boreholes drilled by private geological offices along its track. These rich data provide precious information on the local stratigraphy and the correlation of the different geological levels.