Latest Miocene insectivores from Eastern Spain: Evidence for enhanced latitudinal differences during the Messinian

The fossil insectivores from Turolian sites (latest Miocene) in Spain are poorly studied, usually limited to the description of a few new species, or restricted to non-detailed faunal lists. For the first time, the insectivore fossil contents from several Turolian localities at different latitudes from the eastern area of the Iberian Peninsula have been thoroughly studied, and appropriate descriptions, measurements and photographs have been provided. The systematic characterisation of these small mammal assemblages reveals a difference between northern and southern localities, the latter including a lower number of species than the former ones. The identifications carried out are in good agreement with the previous faunal lists of Turolian insectivores, thus reinforcing the model of southward diversity decrease already noticed for older Miocene insectivore assemblages from Spain, and weakening the possibility of a sampling or a taphonomic bias. This pattern is linked to the latitudinally prevailing climatic and environmental conditions; it has not been found hitherto in any other region from Europe, Western Asia or northern Africa.