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International audience; A re-examination of the historical collections deposited at the Bordeaux Museum of Natural History and the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Bordeaux made it possible to identify new taxa of Modulidae in the Oligocene and Miocene of the Aquitaine Basin. These Modulidae belong to the American groups Modulus modulus and Trochomodulus. In addition, three new species are described: Modulus benoisti sp. nov. (Serravallian), Trochomodulus stampinicus sp. nov. (Rupelian), which is close to Trochomodulus sublaevigatus (Orbigny, 1852), a Chattian species, and Incisilabium trochiformis sp. nov. (Priabonian). The latter is the oldest known Modulidae, together with Incisilabium parisiensis (Deshayes, 1832) (Middle Eocene) that was previously classified in the Trochidae. These results show that the paleobiogeography and origin of the family Modulidae need to be reconsidered.; L'examen de collections historiques déposées au Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle de Bordeaux et à la Faculté des Sciences de l'Université de Bordeaux a permis d'identifier de nouveaux taxons de Modulidae dans l'Oligocène et le Miocène du bassin aquitain. Ces Modulidae appartiennent aux groupes américains Modulus modulus et Trochomodulus. Trois nouvelles espèces sont décrites : Modulus benoisti nov. sp. (Serravallien), Trochomodulus stampinicus nov. sp. (Rupélien), proche de Trochomodulus sublaevigatus (Orbigny, 1852), une espèce chattienne, et Incisilabium trochiformis nov. sp. (Priabonien). Ce dernier est le plus ancien Modulidae connu avec Incisilabium parisiensis (Deshayes, 1832) (Éocène moyen) précédemment classé dans les Trochidae. Ces résultats montrent que la paléobiogéographie et l'origine de la famille des Modulidae doivent être réexaminées.

Katalog Himpunan Fosil Kerang Sangiran. Makalah ini merupakan pemutakhiran himpunan fosil cangkang Sangiran di Jawa Tengah. Tujuannya untuk mendokumentasikan dan menyajikan gastropoda dan kerang dari seri Kalibeng atas dan Pucangan Bawah Kubah Sangiran dari periode Plio-Pleistosen. Tercatat 61 taksa moluska hingga tingkat genus. Informasi yang dikumpulkan dari kumpulan moluska ditentukan oleh sejarah geologi dan lingkungan Sangiran. Mereka diasosiasikan dengan fasies yang berbeda: a) napal masif dan lempung biru, b) lapisan batugamping lempung, c) lempung kelabu berlumpur, d) breksi vulkanik dan lahar dan e) lempung hitam, dan terdiri dari sedimen yang merepresentasikan lingkungan laut hingga rawa yang mengarah ke perkembangan kontinental. Pola kuantitatif yang dicatat dalam kumpulan moluska menjelaskan palaeo-lingkungan dan hubungan antara kumpulan palaeodataset yang mapan dari analisis dan tingkat variabilitas dalam data paleontologi. Selain itu, cangkang yang teridentifikasi dapat digunakan sebagai referensi untuk perwakilan taksonomi Sangiran dan moluska di lapisan Kalibeng dan Pucangan Cekungan Solo di Jawa Tengah. Abstract. This paper is an update of fossil shell assemblages of Sangiran in Central Java. It is aimed to document and present the gastropods and bivalves from the Upper Kalibeng and Lower Pucangan series of the Sangiran dome from the Plio-Pleistocene period. There are 61 mollusc taxa recorded up to the genus level. Information gathered from mollusc assemblages are determined by the geological and environmental history of the Sangiran. They are associated with different facies: a) massive marls and blue clays, b) layered clayey limestone, c) silty gray clay, d) volcanic breccia and lahars and e) black clays, and composed of sediments representing marine to swampy environments leading to continental development. The quantitative patterns recorded in mollusc assemblages elucidate the palaeoenvironment and the relationship between the established palaeodatasets of analysis and the levels of variability in palaeontological data. Moreover, the identified shells may be utilized as a reference for Sangiran and molluscan taxonomic representative in Kalibeng and Pucangan layers of Solo Basin in Central Java.

Transcriptome-based exon capture methods provide an approach to recover several hundred markers from genomic DNA, allowing for robust phylogenetic estimation at deep timescales. We applied this method to a highly diverse group of venomous marine snails, Conoidea, for which published phylogenetic trees remain mostly unresolved for the deeper nodes. We targeted 850 protein coding genes (678,322 bp) in ca. 120 samples, spanning all (except one) known families of Conoidea and a broad selection of non-Conoidea neogastropods. The capture was successful for most samples, although capture efficiency decreased when DNA libraries were of insufficient quality and/or quantity (dried samples or low starting DNA concentration) and when targeting the most divergent lineages. An average of 75.4% of proteins was recovered, and the resulting tree, reconstructed using both supermatrix (IQ-tree) and supertree (Astral-II, combined with the Weighted Statistical Binning method) approaches, are almost fully supported. A reconstructed fossil-calibrated tree dates the origin of Conoidea to the Lower Cretaceous. We provide descriptions for two new families. The phylogeny revealed in this study provides a robust framework to reinterpret changes in Conoidea anatomy through time. Finally, we used the phylogeny to test the impact of the venom gland and radular type on diversification rates. Our analyses revealed that repeated losses of the venom gland had no effect on diversification rates, while families with a breadth of radula types showed increases in diversification rates, thus suggesting that trophic ecology may have an impact on the evolution of Conoidea.

Based on the specimens collected during three deep-sea cruises, and deposited at the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (MNHN) in Paris, we analysed the diversity of benthic communities within the EEZ of French Polynesia. The literature and the MNHN database allowed us to inventory 471 species of invertebrates, among which 169 were newly described. We mainly found data for Mollusca, Crustacea, Brachiopoda and Crinoidea. We also found samples from other taxa, which still remain unidentified within the collections of the MNHN. Although this inventory is incomplete, we demonstrate that the deep waters of French Polynesia host unique benthic communities and endemic species. Using diversity and multivariate analyses, we show that the deep-sea benthic communities are structured by depth, habitats, geography and also by the presence of polymetallic crust. Furthermore, by focusing on the molluscs of the central area of French Polynesia, we show that the spectrum of shell size differs among deep-sea habitats. Specifically, shells tend to be smaller on encrusted seamounts than on island slopes. Together with the size range of organisms, low abundance, rarity and endemism designate these habitats as sensitive. These results should thus be taken into account in the evaluation of the expected impact of mining activities on biological communities.

Biodiversity estimates through geological times are difficult because of taphonomic per- turbations that affect sedimentary records. Pristine shell assemblages, however, allow for calibration of past diversity. Diversity structures of two exceptionally preserved Miocene bivalve assemblages are quantitatively determined, compared with recent communities and used as paleoenvironmen- tal proxy. The extremely rich assemblages were collected in Aquitanian (Early Miocene) carbonate sands of the Vives Quarry (Meilhan, SW France). Both paleontological and sedimentological data indicate a coral patch-reef environment, which deposits were affected by transport processes. Among two samples more than 28.000 shells were counted and 135 species identified. Sample Vives 1 is in- terpreted as a proximal debris flow and Sample Vives 2 as a sandy shoreface/foreshore environment influenced by storms. The two Vives assemblages have a similar diversity structure despite facies differences. Rarefaction curves level off at ~600 shells. The rare species account for more than 80 % of the species pool. The high values of PIE diversity index suggest a relatively high species richness and an even distribution of abundance of the most common species within the assemblages. The fossil data are compared to death shell assemblages (family level) of a modern reefal setting (Touho area, New Caledonia). The shape of the rarefaction curves and PIE indices of Meilhan fossil assemblages compare well to modern data, especially those of deep (>10 m water depth), sandy depo- sitional environments found downward the reef slope (slope and pass settings). In addition to primary ecological signals, the similarity of the Vives samples and the Recent deep samples derives from taphonomic processes. This assumption is supported by sedimentological and paleontological obser- vations. Sediment transports gather allochthonous and in situ materials leading to mixing of various ecological niches. Such taphonomic processes are recorded in the diversity metrics. Environmental mixing and time-averaging of the shell assemblages disturb the preservation of local-scale diversity properties but favour the sampling of the regional-scale diversity.

Seamounts were often considered as ‘hotspots of diversity’ and ‘centers of endemism’, but recently this opinion has been challenged. After 25 years of exploration and the work of numerous taxonomists, the Norfolk Ridge (Southwest Pacific) is probably one of the best-studied seamount chains worldwide. However, even in this intensively explored area, the richness and the geographic patterns of diversity are still poorly characterized. Among the benthic organisms, the post-mortem remains of mollusks can supplement live records to comprehensively document geographical distributions. Moreover, the accretionary growth of mollusk shells informs us about the life span of the pelagic larva. To compare diversity and level of endemism between the Norfolk Ridge seamounts and the continental slopes of New Caledonia we used species occurrence data drawn from (i) the taxonomic literature on mollusks and (ii) a raw dataset of mainly undescribed deep-sea species of the hyperdiverse Turridae. Patterns of endemism and species richness were analyzed through quantitative indices of endemism and species richness estimator metrics. To date, 403 gastropods and bivalves species have been recorded on the Norfolk Ridge seamounts. Of these, at least 38 species (∼10%) are potentially endemic to the seamounts and nearly all of 38 species have protoconchs indicating lecithotrophic larval development. Overall, our results suggest that estimates of species richness and endemism, when sampling effort is taken into account, were not significantly different between slopes and seamounts. By including in our analyses 347 undescribed morphospecies from the Norfolk Ridge, our results also demonstrate the influence of taxonomic bias on our estimates of species richness and endemism.

The seamounts chain offers a set of fragmented habitats in which species with poor dispersive ability may undergo divergence in allopatry. Such a scenario may explain the endemism often described on seamounts. In gastropods, it is possible to infer the mode of development of a species from the morphology of its larval shell. Accordingly, we examine the population genetics of several caenogastropods from the Norfolk and Lord Howe seamounts (south-west Pacific) with contrasting modes of larval development. A prerequisite to our study was to clarify the taxonomic framework. The species delimitation was ruled using an integrative approach, based on both morphological and molecular evidence. Molecular data indicate an unexpected taxonomic diversity within the existing species names. Both the clarification of the taxonomic framework and the importance of the sampling effort allow us to confidently detect cryptic diversity and micro-endemism. These results are discussed in relation to the dispersive capacities of the organisms. © 2010 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2010, 100, 420–438.

Lozouet, Pierre (2009): A new Neritopsidae (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Neritopsina) from French Polynesia. Zoosystema 31 (1): 189-198, DOI: 10.5252/z2009n1a10, URL: http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.5252/z2009n1a10

A new species of the genus Epiphaxum (family Lithotelestidae) is described and illustrated in detail, and compared to other species. Epiphaxum arbuscula sp. nov. has been collected from Upper Eocene (Priabonian), Upper Oligocene (Chattian) and Lower Miocene (Upper Burdigalian) deposits of the Aquitaine Basin, south-west France. Epiphaxum is a poorly documented genus but its fossil record extends back to the Late Cretaceous; it was previously known only from the Paleocene (Danian). Epiphaxum arbuscula differs from all others species of the genus in the form of its colony. In contrast to the creeping colonies of previously known species, it has branched colonies. It is very common at one Upper Oligocene outcrop from which an assemblage with submarine cave remains has been described. A close relationship between the three extant species (two from the Caribbean Sea and one from the Indo-West Pacific region) and the Paleogene species is also noted. These constitute a group that has not undergone any important morphological changes for the last 65 million years.

Resume Une sequence de vases lagunaires de l'etang de Grand-Case, a Saint-Martin (Petites Antilles), couvrant les quatre derniers millenaires, est analysee. Trois periodes climatiques et sedimentaires peuvent etre distinguees : (1) une periode globalement seche (4200–2300 BP), caracterisee par le depot de vases carbonatees, de gypse et de lits sableux deposes par des cyclones ; (2) une periode humide (2300–1150 BP), ou dominent des vases organiques ; (3) une periode recente (1150 BP jusqu'au present), plus complexe et marquee par les activites humaines. Ces differentes phases trouvent leur correspondance dans les enregistrements livres par d'autres lacs de l'aire Antilles–Mesoamerique. Les phenomenes climatiques impliques, d'une part, dans les variations de frequence des cyclones et, d'autre part, dans les variations de la pluviosite sur les Petites Antilles sont lies au deplacement de la zone de convergence intertropicale. Ces modifications climatiques pourraient constituer l'un des elements d'explication des changements observes dans le peuplement de l'ile de Saint-Martin. Pour citer cet article : P. Bertran et al., C. R. Geoscience 336 (2004).

The oldest freshwater neritiliid, Neritilia bisinuata, is described from the Middle Eocene of the Loire Basin. Another European species, N. neritinoides, ranging from the Lower Oligocene to Lower Miocene (Upper Burdigalian) is recognized; its habitat appears to have been freshwater, but very close to the sea. Two new marine neritiliid species from the Aquitaine Basin are described: Bourdieria favia sp. nov. from the Upper Oligocene and Pisulinella aucoini sp. nov. from the Lower Miocene. A third undescribed species from the Lower Miocene is referred to the same family and related to Pisulinella. The Oligocene species has a strong spiral sculpture, a character completely absent in previously known neritiliid species. The genus Agapilia, founded on juvenile N. neritinoides and adult Vitta picta, appears to be a junior synonym of the genus Vitta. The associated occurrence of shells of the families Neritiliidae, Neritopsidae and Pickworthiidae (well-known inhabitants of Indo-West Pacific submarine caves) at Peyrere suggest the first occurrence of a characteristic assemblage of dark submarine caves during the Oligocene. Both factorial analysis and relative abundance show that at Peyrere these families are associated with other cryptic fossils (various gastropods, bivalves, Brachiopoda, corals, Annelida). However, there are indications of other submarine cave assemblages in various Cenozoic deposits from the Palaeocene to the middle Miocene. © 2004 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2004, 140, 447–467.

The West Indian Top-shell, Cittarium pica (Linnaeus, 1758), is a very classic and common species of the Caribbean faunal province. Until now the only known fossil occurrence of Cittarium pica , and of the genus Cittarium , is from Pleistocene deposits restricted to the Caribbean province (Clench and Abbott, 1943). Despite the turbiniform shell, the monotypic genus Cittarium belongs to the family Trochidae and was assigned to the tribe Gibbilini Stoliczka, 1868 by Hickman and McLean (1990). This paper reports a new species of Cittarium and the only record outside the Caribbean province. More than twenty million years separate the single modern species of Cittarium and the new fossil species. All material collected is deposited in Museum national d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris (MNHN). The five Cittarium specimens from the Upper Oligocene were collected during extensive field work on the Oligocene and Miocene faunas of Aquitaine (southwestern France). The outcrop where they were discovered is located near Dax and St-Paul-les-Dax (Landes). In Aquitaine, Upper Oligocene deposits are accessible as outcrops only in the Adour basin situated in the southwestern part. These deposits were correlated with the calcareous nannofossil zones NP 24 and NP 25 (Cahuzac et al., 1995). They are transgressive and have been deposited after a major regression at the Rupelian (Stampian)/Chattian boundary. In the southern part of the Adour Basin, Kieken (1973) revealed a deeply incised submarine canyon, the “Paleocanyon of Saubrigues,” which is probably related to this major sea-level fall. The canyon was partially filled by Upper Oligocene deposits. The Upper Oligocene deposits of the Adour basin contain a very rich mollusk fauna (about 1,600 species) which, partially, fills an important gap in our knowledge of the Cenozoic European fauna. This fauna is currently being described and comprises numerous new records of fossil genera (Lozouet, 2000). Classic …

Earlier studies in the tropical Indo-Pacific have grossly underestimated the richness of macrofauna species at spatial scales relevant to conservation and management as a result of insufficient collecting and sorting effort. A massive collecting effort involving 400 day-persons at 42 discrete stations on a 295-km2 site on the west coast of New Caledonia, south-west Pacific, revealed 2738 species of marine molluscs. This is several times the number of species recorded from any area of comparable extension anywhere in the world. Spatial and habitat heterogeneity is high with 32% of the species collected at a single station. With 20% of the species represented by single specimens (0.4% of all catches), rare species make up a considerable proportion of the fauna. This justifies the parallel drawn between coral reefs and rain forests in terms of species diversity. The real richness of many soft-bodied marine taxa is probably underestimated, as evidenced by the fact that 28.5% of the mollusc species present at the study site are represented in the samples only by empty shells. © 2002 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2002, 75, 421–436.

A general overview of the biodiversity of the marine fauna during the Tertiary period is developed in the context of the biogeographical evolution of the European realm. This study combines a reappraisal of the literature with a unique first-hand source of data on the richest marine group (the gastropods) from over a 25 million year period (Early Oligocene to Late Miocene). In total the French deposits have yielded more than 10,000 species from the Eocene to the Upper Miocene. Evidence of significant bias in the fossil record is pointed out for the Palaeocene (Danian) and Upper Eocene (Priabonian). For the period considered (Palaeocene to Late Miocene, ca 50 million years) the second highest diversity is reported in the Late Oligocene. This study reveals also the importance of pre-Miocene extinctions of genera. The Oligocene was when the latitudinal differentiation of the faunas was greatest. The local generic gastropod richness ranges from 59 (Rupelian of Belgium) to 494 (Chattian of Aquitaine). A clear trend towards homogenization appears in the Late Oligocene which leads to the development of a vast biogeographical region named Euro-West Africa. This faunal evolutionary pattern has never been demonstrated before and is a novel feature of the biogeography of the Eastern-Atlantic region.

An exceptionally well-preserved collection of Tertiary opisthobranch molluscs from the Aquitaine Basin, France, includes species of the order Notaspidea [Umbraculum sanctipaulensis sp. nov., Tylodina perversa (Gmelin), Spiricella unguiculus Rang and Des Moulins, Berthella aquitaniensis sp. nov., Berthella ateles sp. nov.], of the order Anaspidea [Akera cf. bullata Mu¨ller, Floribella corrugata (Cossmann), Floribella cossmanni sp. nov., Floribella rozieri sp. nov., Limondinia ornata gen. et sp. nov.] and of the order Sacoglossa [Volvatella faviae sp. nov.]. BerthellaaquitaniensisB. atelesV. faviae are the first fossil records of the families Volvatellidae and Pleurobranchidae. Floribella plicifera (Cossmann) and F.corrugata, originally assigned to the genus Philine, belong to the genus Floribella and constitute the oldest records of this genus. The fossil evidence indicates that in Umbraculum laudunensis and U. sanctipaulensis the shell probably covered most of the animal, whereas in the Recent U. umbraculum the shell only covers the central portion of the body. Tylodina perversa could be an old species that appeared during the early Miocene, more than 21 Ma. The Recent shells of Akera bullata are indistinguishable from fossils as old as the mid Eocene, but it may be biologically unrealistic to consider them to be the same species. The European species of Floribella evolved from the bullomorph shells of the early Eocene forms to the elongate shells of the early Miocene. The genus Volvatella is another example of marine tropical disjoint distributions and an excellent ecological indicator.

Brachiopods from the Upper Oligocene (Chattian), Aquitaine Basin, southwestern France comprise nine species in seven genera: Novocrania Lee & Brunton, 2001, Terebratulina d'Orbigny, 1847, Megathiris d'Orbigny, 1847, Argyrotheca Dall, 1900, Joania Alvarez, Brunton & Long, 2008, Megerlia King, 1850, and Lacazella Munier-Chalmas, 1880. One megathyridid is described as a new species, Joania peyrerensis n. sp., characterized by ornamentation of 6–8 distinct, sharp ribs and by triangular, plate-like teeth. With the exception of Megathiris detruncata (Gmelin, 1791) and Lacazella mediterranea (Risso, 1826), all species are recorded for the first time from the Oligocene of the Aquitaine Basin. In taxonomic composition this brachiopod fauna displays close affinity with the Miocene faunas of the Mediterranean Province and Central Paratethys. The dominance of micromorphic megathyridids and thecideides in the Peyrere assemblage, characteristic of cryptic habitats suggests the presence of submarine caves and/o...

15 pages; International audience; The Dumont d'Urville Sea (East Antarctic region) has been less investigated for DNA barcoding and molecular taxonomy than other parts of the Southern Ocean, such as the Ross Sea and the Antarctic Peninsula. The Collaborative East Antarctic MARine Census (CEAMARC) took place in this area during the austral summer of 2007e2008. The Australian vessel RSVAurora Australis collected very diverse samples of demersal and benthic organisms. The specimens were sorted centrally, and then distributed to taxonomic experts for molecular and morphological taxonomy and identification, especially barcoding. The COI sequences generated from CEAMARC material provide a sizeable proportion of the Census of Antarctic Marine Life barcodes although the studies are still ongoing, and represent the only source of sequences for a number of species. Barcoding appears to be a valuable method for identification within most groups, despite low divergences and haplotype sharing in a few species, and it is also useful as a preliminary taxonomic exploration method. Several new species are being described. CEAMARC samples have already provided new material for phylogeographic and phylogenetic studies in cephalopods, pycnogonids, teleost fish, crinoids and sea urchins, helping these studies to provide a better insight in the patterns of evolution in the Southern Ocean.

Recent investigations into the origins of symbolism indicate that personal ornaments in the form of perforated marine shell beads were used in the Near East, North Africa, and SubSaharan Africa at least 35 ka earlier than any personal ornaments in Europe. Together with instances of pigment use, engravings, and formal bone tools, personal ornaments are used to support an early emergence of behavioral modernity in Africa, associated with the origin of our species and significantly predating the timing for its dispersal out of Africa. Criticisms have been leveled at the low numbers of recovered shells, the lack of secure dating evidence, and the fact that documented examples were not deliberately shaped. In this paper, we report on 25 additional shell beads from four Moroccan Middle Paleolithic sites. We review their stratigraphic and chronological contexts and address the issue of these shells having been deliberately modified and used. We detail the results of comparative analyses of modern, fossil, and archaeological assemblages and microscopic examinations of the Moroccan material. We conclude that Nassarius shells were consistently used for personal ornamentation in this region at the end of the last interglacial. Absence of ornaments at Middle Paleolithic sites postdating Marine Isotope Stage 5 raises the question of the possible role of climatic changes in the disappearance of this hallmark of symbolic behavior before its reinvention 40 ka ago. Our results suggest that further inquiry is necessary into the mechanisms of cultural transmission within early Homo sapiens populations.

Recent investigations into the origins of symbolism indicate that personal ornaments in the form of perforated marine shell beads were used in the Near East, North Africa, and SubSaharan Africa at least 35 ka earlier than any personal ornaments in Europe. Together with instances of pigment use, engravings, and formal bone tools, personal ornaments are used to support an early emergence of behavioral modernity in Africa, associated with the origin of our species and significantly predating the timing for its dispersal out of Africa. Criticisms have been leveled at the low numbers of recovered shells, the lack of secure dating evidence, and the fact that documented examples were not deliberately shaped. In this paper, we report on 25 additional shell beads from four Moroccan Middle Paleolithic sites. We review their stratigraphic and chronological contexts and address the issue of these shells having been deliberately modified and used. We detail the results of comparative analyses of modern, fossil, and archaeological assemblages and microscopic examinations of the Moroccan material. We conclude that Nassarius shells were consistently used for personal ornamentation in this region at the end of the last interglacial. Absence of ornaments at Middle Paleolithic sites postdating Marine Isotope Stage 5 raises the question of the possible role of climatic changes in the disappearance of this hallmark of symbolic behavior before its reinvention 40 ka ago. Our results suggest that further inquiry is necessary into the mechanisms of cultural transmission within early Homo sapiens populations.

De nouvelles études morphostratigraphiques et biostratigraphiques ainsi que des datations ont été entreprises sur le célèbre dépôt de tuf calcaire de La Celle-sur-Seine afin d'obtenir une reconstruction détaillée des successions paléoenvironnementales et climatiques enregistrées dans cette formation interglaciaire du Pléistocène moyen. L'approche développée a privilégié l'aspect pluridisciplinaire afin d'exploiter la richesse paléontologique du gisement, de mieux appréhender ses caractères morphostratigraphiques et de préciser sa position chronologique. Les premiers résultats obtenus à partir des études malacologiques montrent que le dépôt, composé de tufs et de niveaux limono-argileux, s'est construit en progradant le long du versant. Ainsi l'épaisseur totale de la formation atteint près de 9 mètres. Les malacofaunes permettent de reconstituer une évolution paléoenvironnementale correspondant au début puis à l'optimum d'une phase climatique interglaciaire. Les niveaux sommitaux sont, eux, caractérisés par un net recul de la couverture forestière.La création de nouveaux profils stratigraphiques a permis la découverte dans un niveau de limon gris tufacé d'une abondante faune de mammifères accompagnée par quelques silex taillés. Cet horizon appartient à la malacozone la plus riche en taxons thermophiles qui est interprétée comme la phase optimum de l'Interglaciaire. La signification environnementale et climatique du cortège mammalogique, qui comprend en particulier de l'hippopotame et du macaque, corrobore les résultats malacologiques. L'industrie lithique est de type bifaciale en cohérence avec les récoltes de bifaces acheuléens effectuées à la fin du 19ème siècle. La composition du cortège de mollusques permet de rapprocher la faune de La Celle de "l'assemblage à Lyrodiscus", caractéristique des tufs du stade 11 dans le nord-ouest de l'Europe. Cette attribution chronologique est confirmée par les premières mesures radiométriques obtenus par U-Th sur des échantillons de tuf induré et par RPE/U-Th sur une dent de cheval. Enfin la révision des collections paléontologiques d'empreintes foliaires permet, en conjonction avec les données malacologiques, d'initier la discussion sur l'interprétation paléoclimatique du biome à Lyrodiscus. L'association floristique et faunique de La Celle qui comprend quelques taxons arboréens méditerranéens et nombre de gastéropodes éteints ou de répartition actuelle centre-européenne et océanique rend compte d'un environnement tempéré de forêt humide. La présence de ces espèces allochtones dans le nord de la France est mise en parallèle avec la durée exceptionnellement longue du Stade Isotopique Marin (SIM) 11 et de faibles amplitudes de températures saisonnières, qui auraient permis à plusieurs taxons méridionaux de coloniser cette zone septentrionale, plutôt qu'avec un climat plus tempéré que l'actuel. New morpho and biostratigraphical studies have been undertaken at the famous calcareous tufa deposit of La Celle-sur-Seine in order to obtain a detailed paleoenvironmental and climatic reconstruction from this Middle Pleistocene Interglacial formation. Multiproxy approach allows to study palaeontological contain of the tufa as well as its morphostratigraphical aspects and chronological allocation. First results from malacological study show that the tufa edificated downwards the slope reaching a total thickness of 9 metres high. Moreover molluscs show palaeoenvironmental succession corresponding to the early part of an Interglacial period followed by an optimum phase. Finally, at the top of the deposit faunas clearly indicate decrease of forest biotopes.Excavation of new profiles have allowed to discover a grey silty tufa horizon (lgt) yielding abundant mammal remains and a few lithic artefacts. This level is part of the molluscs zone 3 corresponding to the climatic optimum. Palaeoenvironmental and climatic conditions inferred from mammal assemblage (including Hippopotamus and Macaca) strengthened the malacological interpretation. The lithic industry is identified as Acheulean and appears in agreement with earliest handaxes discoveries during the late 19th century.La Celle malacological fauna belongs to the well-known MIS 11 "Lyrodiscus assemblage" in north-west Europe. This chronological allocation is confirmed by first U-series radiometric measures. Finally reappraisal of leaf print collections allows together with malacological data to discuss palaeoclimatic interpretation of the "Lyrodiscus biome". Flora and fauna from La Celle include a few mediterranean trees and several extinct gastropods together with few molluscs of central Europe modern range, allowing to describe a forest and humid lanscape. Presence of these peculiar species in northern France is thought to be related with the long length of MIS 11 and lower seasonal temperature contrast, that have allowed northern colonisation by southern species, rather than with occurrence of temperature higher than today.