Partners: UNIPI (P.I. Alberto Collareta), UNITO (vice-PI: Giuseppe Marramà), UNIMIB, UNICAM, UNIMORE

Duration: 29 months

Budget (€): 331.179 (total budget) / 199.985 (without co-funding)

ERC field: PE - Physical Sciences and Engineering

ERC subfields: PE10_12 Sedimentology, soil science, palaeontology, earth evolution; PE10_6 Palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology; PE10_5 Geology, tectonics, volcanology

Keywords: paleobiodiversity; chronostratigraphy; taphonomy; bioapatite; geoheritage; stratigraphy

Scope: With its rich, diverse and exceptionally preserved fossil content, the Pisco Basin of southern Peru fully documents the evolution of marine vertebrates across the Cenozoic Era, standing worldwide as an exceptional and unique window onto the marine paleobiodiversity through the Eocene, Oligocene and Miocene. To date, thousands of cetacean, fish, reptile and seabird skeletons have indeed been found by members of the present research group in the Neogene strata of this basin, and the preliminary surveying of unexplored Paleogene localities has already yielded the discovery of intriguing and scientifically unique specimens, hinting at the outstanding paleontological potential of these strata. In light of this, the sedimentary fill of the Pisco Basin stands out as a superb candidate for unveiling one of the most relevant middle Eocene–early Miocene marine vertebrate faunal associations worldwide. In this context, the main objectives of the present research project are to: 1) provide a comprehensive summary of the Eo–Miocene marine vertebrate fauna preserved within the sedimentary fill of the Pisco Basin; 2) set this paleontological record within the robust, high-resolution stratigraphic and temporal framework needed to address a number of broader issues concerning patterns and processes of marine vertebrate evolution and extinction during a crucial and discontinuously known time-frame; 3) reconstruct a precise and comprehensive taphonomic background of the association, integrated by the detection and filtering of the role played by diagenesis on biominerals; 4) assess the geological, oceanographic and climatic factors controlling the temporal distribution and diversity of the marine vertebrate assemblages; 5) elaborate reference databases and guidelines for the construction of operational instruments supporting the valorization, conservation and sustainable fruition of these outstanding paleontological sites, in order to prevent their irreplaceable loss; 6) provide a robust deep-past background for prospective applications of conservation paleobiology in contexts of highly productive, upwelling-related ecosystems inhabited by a diverse marine megafauna.

Other UniPisa participants: Giovanni Bianucci, Marco Merella, Giulia Bosio, Francesco Nobile (all at DST-UNIPI)

Facebook profile of the project: https://www.facebook.com/PISCOgeopaleontologia/