The Spread of Fossil heritage: How to Valorise the Lithographic Limestones of the La Pedrera de Meia and La Cabroa Quarries in the Origens Unesco Global Geopark (Southern Pyrenees, Catalonia)

The Origens Geopark UGGp situated in Lleida (Catalonia) is characterized by a rich Early Cretaceous paleontological heritage. One of the most impressive fossil collections comes from the La Pedrera de Meia quarry (Vilanova de Meia village), which has provided a huge amount of lithographic limestone slabs with vertebrates, non-vertebrates (including insects), plants and coprolites of Barremian age (about 125 mya) preserved as two-dimensional structures that show even the soft parts and several three dimensional fossils, mainly vertebrates. This palaeontological site is known for providing one of the most primitive angiosperm plants (Montsechia vidalii (Zeiler) Teixeira, 1954) and the presence of the primitive bird Noguerornis gonzalezi Lacasa, 1989. Hitherto, the site has yielded 113 holotypes and paratypes, and 151 different species, which gives a real indication of its palaeontological importance. However, this site is almost unknown except for specialised researchers, because these fossils have been disseminated in more than ten public collections and an indeterminate number of private ones. The collection of the fossils from both European universities and local amateurs started at the beginnings of commercial exploitation as a lithographic limestone quarry, in 1898. The weak palaeontological Spanish scientific network together with the lack of heritage laws has allowed this dispersion during the first 75 years of the twentieth century. This situation changed, in the mid-seventies, with the implication of the Institut d'Estudis Ilerdencs (IEI), a scientific and cultural branch of the Diputacio de Lleida, which was involved in the fieldwork campaigns of the site and keeps in its collection more than 4000 fossils. Moreover, the implementation of the Spanish and Catalan Heritage laws, in 1985 and 1993, respectively, was fundamental to protect this heritage and to avoid the uncontrolled collection. The IEI collection is the basis of the exhibition housed in Vilanova de Meia that shows the most interesting fossils found in the two sites and its history. This exhibition should be one of the cultural attractions of this small village and a point of attraction for cultural tourism. Finally, to assign the real importance of this palaeontological site, a global European database of the spread fossils is being built to disseminate them on a virtual platform.

Automated summary

The Origens Geopark in Lleida, Catalonia, is home to a rich paleontological heritage from the Early Cretaceous period. The Meia quarry in Vilanova de Meia village is particularly notable for its fossil collection, which includes a wide range of vertebrates, non-vertebrates, plants, and coprolites preserved in lithographic limestone slabs. The site has yielded numerous significant fossils, including the most primitive angiosperm plant and a primitive bird species. However, the site remains largely unknown to the general public due to the dispersal of the fossils across multiple collections. Efforts have been made to protect and showcase these fossils, including the establishment of an exhibition in Vilanova de Meia and the development of a European database for virtual dissemination.