La Borie (Saint-Papoul, Aude): an exceptional early Eocene fossil locality in southern France

The fossil locality of "La Borie" has revealed a unique fauna in the early Eocene of Southern France. This preliminary study has identified 35 vertebrate taxa, including some never found before in the South of France (the crocodile Kentisuchus), Southern Europe (the tillodont Plesiesthonyx) or the western part of Eurasia (the wading bird Eogrus). A new genus of creodont, a new primate and probably a new species of Neochelys are identified. Abundant material relating to the ceratomorph Lophiaspis and the giant groundbird Gastornis is reported. The sedimentological, floral and faunal data provide a paleoenvironment of floodplain savannah with a humid tropical climate, with a weakly marked dry season. An age close to the MP 8+9 reference level is proposed, based on the presence of several taxa characteristic of the earliest Eocene.