Paleobiodiversity in the early Paleogene greenhouse world: the fish-bearing Lagerstätten record of northeastern Italy

The Ypresian (lower Eocene) Fossil-Lagerstätten of northeastern Italy are globally renowned for their exceptionally well-preserved fish faunas. These deposits include neritic sites such as Monte Postale (Vicenza) and the Pesciara of Bolca (Verona), as well as more recently discovered bathyal localities like Solteri (Trento) and Monte Solane (Verona). Despite their different depositional settings, these sites are geographically close and stratigraphically nearly coeval. The study of fossil fishes and their evolutionary patterns may provide crucial insights into the effects of early Paleogene greenhouse climate on Tethyan ichthyofaunas. Because bony-fish communities are among the most sensitive groups to elevated temperatures, understanding how greenhouse climates influenced past ecosystems offers valuable perspectives on the potential responses of modern biodiversity to ongoing climate change. This project aims to explore the diversity and taphonomic features of the ichthyofauna from these Lagerstätten to help reconstruct the paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic dynamics of Paleogene fish communities at the demise of the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO), the longest warm interval of the entire Cenozoic