Gannat

History

The most ancient discoveries in Gannat, ancestors of the rhinoceros from the end of the Oligocene and start of the Miocene, date back 23 million years. Gannat seems to have been a veritable cemetery for these creatures, so many of their remains have been discovered. Also found are fossils of fish, reptiles, tortoises, crocodiles, galliform birds, mammals, marsupials, insectivores, rodents and carnivores. The site is particularly rich in rhinoceros. From 1854, Duvernoy has even described a specimen as Acerotherium gannatense (the official name is Diaceratherium lemanense). The most complete rhinoceros skeleton was discovered in 1993 when significant fossils were uncovered at the Sichaux quarry by paleontologist François Escuillié (notable discoverer of a small proboscidian mammal, ancestor of the elephant from 50 million years ago). Escuillié was behind the establishment of the Rhinopolis Association in 1994 and founder of Eldonia, a society for those specialising in the renovation of fossils and whose activities are linked to Rhinopolis. The Rhinopolis Association is still active in the Gannat quarries and, since the 1990s, has discovered numerous rhinoceros bones. Gannat is a very important locality for paleontology. Studies on the fossilised fauna of the Oligocene and early Miocene of the region have been significant not just regionally but throughout France, Europe and internationally. From primitive occupation to the Gallo-Roman period Motorway building work around Gannat has allowed the discovery of quartz works which date back 800,000 years. Deposits at Clos de Montsala have revealed bifaces and bone fragments indicating the presence of hunters around 300,000 years ago. A structure composed of small limestone blocks containing numerous horse bones as well as…

Most-observed species

• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  617
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  584
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  572
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  552
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  534
• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  504
• Eurasian Collared-Dove

  Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky, 1838) · Aves
  483
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  403

Most recent

• M 4.2 — 2022-05-09
  5 km SW of Villebret, France
• M 2.6 — 2008-11-16
  4 km N of Saint-Georges-de-Mons, France
• M 2.6 — 2008-09-12
  5 km E of Mont-Dore, France
• M 2.5 — 2008-09-12
  9 km SSW of Saint-Sauves-d'Auvergne, France
• M 2.5 — 2008-09-11
  7 km SW of Aydat, France
• M 3 — 2008-09-10
  4 km E of Mont-Dore, France