Rodent palaeoecology of the Continental Upper Miocene of Crevillente (Alicante, SE Spain)

The Upper Miocene succession of Crevillente presents an alternation of continental and marine beds. The marine fossils have been studied in order to obtain a reliable correlation with other marine sections. On the basis of these data, the entire section can be dated as Upper Tortonian/Messinian. The alternation of continental and marine beds fits the known eustatic sea-level and climatic curves. These correlations are used to assign ecological preferences to the components of the micromammal faunas at species level; it becomes clear that working at the genus level does not provide valid results. With the assignments, it is possible to demonstrate consistent climatic differences between the coastal plain of Crevillente and the area of Teruel on the Meseta of Central Spain.