Boletín de la RSEHN. Sección Geológica

segunda mitad del siglo XIX en España. En sus investigaciones geológicas en la provincia de Teruel aportó información sobre los primeros ataxioceratinos ilustrados con material recolectado en España, incluyendo su clasificación. Su contribución se contextualiza en el marco de su posicionamiento ante ideas y controversias relevantes en la Europa de su época, que Vilanova materializó siguiendo la corriente avanzada en estratigrafía –atención especial a los fósiles como herramientas valiosas en la identificación y correlación de “terrenos”. Juan Vilanova y Piera figuró varios ammonites recolectados en materiales del Jurásico Superior de Torrevelilla (Teruel) en su obra Ensayo de descripción geognóstica de la provincia de Teruel, fechada en 1863 y publicada en 1870. Entre ellos, Ammonites subfascicularis d’Orbigny y Ammonites polyplocus de Haan son los primeros ataxioceratinos del Kimmeridgiense recolectados y figurados en España. Se reinterpretan como Ardescia celtiberica [m] Moliner, 2009 y Geyericeras sp. [m], de acuerdo con los criterios seguidos en la revisión monográfica más reciente sobre ataxioceratinos. Complementariamente se han revisado ataxioceratinos no figurados de la “Colección Vilanova”, procedentes del Kimmeridgiense de Torrevelilla y conservados en el Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales de Madrid.

Juan Vilanova y Piera (1821-1893) is considered one engaged, relevant Spanish scientist focused on Geology and Paleontology during the second half of the nineteen century. The contribution made by Vilanova (1863[-1870]), improving the geological knowledge of the province of Teruel, provided paleontological identifications among which the first ataxioceratin ammonites depicted from material collected in Spain have been identified. However, ammonites were not the focus of his later research, even when he was trained during 1849 to 1853 in contact with European paleontologists that were relevant for this matter, such as A.C. d’Orbigny, E. Favre, and G.G. Gemmellaro, as well as with eminent invertebrate paleontologists ?J. Barrande, C.E. Bayle, M. Deshayes? and geologists focused on stratigraphy with uneven skill in paleontological analyses ?L.A. Cordier, P.A. Dufrénoy, J-B.L. Elie de Beaumont, E. de Verneuil? among others. Titles of contributions made by Vilanova after 1870 confirm a secondary interest on invertebrate fossils (appendix VIII in Pelayo & Gozalo, 2012). Juan Vilanova y Piera, furnished publications in France, but they were not focused on fossils.

The identification of Upper Jurassic ammonites made by Vilanova (1863 [-1870]) in their geological, stratigraphical context, as well as his related activity before 1870, is briefly contextualized in the scientific revolution affecting geology during the nineteen century in Europe, and the period of scientific training of Juan Vilanova over there. The mentioned context of European influence can be encompassed by the dissemination of ideas supporting the recognition of terrains by their content in fossils; developments in wide regional mapping activities; the incoming of new theories favouring departure from the catastrophe-creation paradigm; the commonness of geological expeditions to remote areas; the normalization of ideas and methods in geology, and specially stratigraphy; the approaches to long-distance correlation based on fossils; the dissemination of huge monographies describing and illustrating fossils interpreted in their stratigraphic contexts; the pioneer recognition of intra-species variability not only in living beings but also in fossils; the early dissemination of the Darwin-Wallace paradigm of biologic evolution, even when interpreting fossil cephalopods; and rare but very interesting reports of critical reviews of the time-meaning of biostratigraphic data and what today would be considered high-resolution biostratigraphy. Dissemination of geological knowledge incoming from Europe during the nineteen century is recognized as trigger factor favouring a step forwards in developing Spanish geology and palaeontology, especially onwards from the fifties –The Manual de Geología of Vilanova, published in 1860-61 with high recognition (Pelayo & Gozalo, 2012: 32), was one of the resulting academic contributions. In geological practice, the European influence derived in application of updated stratigraphic procedures, among which the special attention to the renovated value of fossils for recognition of “terrains” was crucial. Within the latter, the influence of French scientists in Spain was relevant and, studying fossils, followers of Alcide d’Orbigny were common (Vilanova,1863 [-1870]; Cortázar, 1884; Mallada 1887, 1892). On the negative side, in the case of Vilanova it forced acceptation of coevalness for records of assumed Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous species collected from the same stratigraphic level.

The valuable contribution Ensayo de descripción geognóstica de la provincia de Teruel made by Juan Vilanova y Piera, dated from 1863 but published in 1870, included reports and illustrations of several ammonite specimens gathered from carbonate materials belonging to the Upper Jurassic outcroping at the surroundings of Torrevelilla (Teruel). Two of these ammonites, Ammonites subfascicularis d’Orbigny and Ammonites polyplocus de Haan, are considered to be the first ataxioceratins depicted among those collected from Kimmeridgian deposits in Spain. Application of the most recent and monographic proposal for palaeobiologic and taxonomic interpretation of Lower Kimmeridgian Ataxioceratinae Spath, 1930 emend. Zeiss, 1968, made by Moliner (2009), supports the updated interpretation of these specimens indicating that they both are Lower Kimmeridgian ataxioceratins belonging to microconchiate specimens of genera Ardescia Atrops, 1984 emend. Moliner, 2009, and Geyericeras Moliner & Olóriz, 2009. The comparative analysis accomplished at the species level reveals that Ardescia celtiberica [m] Moliner, 2009 and Geyericeras sp. [m] are their proper taxonomic identification.

In order to contextualize the reinterpretation performed, a complementary revision was made of other ataxioceratin ammonites collected by Vilanova at Torrevelilla, and housed in the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales in Madrid.