Discover France and Explore the Fossils and Geodiversity of Cherves-de-Cognac in Nouvelle-Aquitaine
- Wayne Munday
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Sip back and discover France and explore the fossils and geodiversity of Cherves-de-Cognac located in the scenic Charente countryside of south west France. As an integral fossil site of the Charentese Purbeckian Sequence this site preserves fossiliferous sedimentary layers spanning the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary. Found within the active Champblanc gypsum quarry the Cherves-de-Cognac fossil site provides a rare glimpse into Early Cretaceous ecosystems. Here, sedimentary sequences document a long-term regressive transition from hypersaline coastal flats and restricted lagoons to estuarine, delta, and freshwater lake environments within the northern Aquitaine Basin. Rapid burial in fine sediments and storm-driven deposition created a depositional sink that concentrated fossils from multiple habitats, including diverse vertebrates such as fish, turtles, crocodylomorphs, lissamphibians, squamates and dinosaurs. Fish assemblages include ginglymodians like Scheenstia mantelli and durophagous Pycnodontiformes reflecting varied ecological niches, while marine predators like Caturus and Thrissops indicate episodic tidal seawater connectivity. Just a short drive from the site, Cognac offers world-famous distilleries, vineyard tours, and the Charente River’s scenic trails, while nearby limestone caves turquoise quarry lakes provide an opportunity to relax and soak in deep time over a glass of Cognac.
Cherves-de-Cognac is located in the picturesque Charente countryside of south west France. Part of the Charentese Purbeckian Sequence, this location preserves fossiliferous sedimentary layers spanning the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary found within the active industrial Champblanc gypsum quarry.
Just a short drive south west lies the historic town of Cognac home to world-renowned distilleries such as Hennessy, Rémy Martin, and Martell. Scenic tours through vineyards and along the Charente River offer immersive experiences combining cultural heritage with natural landscapes, including guided tastings and optional boat rides. Visitors can cycle or walk the “La Flow Vélo” trail, while nature enthusiasts can explore the nearby Antenne Valley, a Natura 2000-protected floodplain, or limestone caves like Grotte Marcel Clouet and Montgaudier or experience the tranquility of the intensely turquoise, crystal-clear waters of Lac de Guizengeard and Touvérac former quarries.
Berriasian Age gypsum deposits date from approximately 145 to 139.8 million years ago and represent some of the earliest sedimentary records of the Early Cretaceous. These evaporite formations typically developed in shallow hypersaline lakes or restricted marine basins under arid to semi-arid climatic conditions, where high evaporation rates concentrated dissolved minerals, allowing gypsum a soft white mineral made of calcium sulphate dihydrate to precipitate.
In Cherves-de-Cognac on the northern margin of France’s Aquitaine Basin there are alternating gypsum and dolomitic marlstone layers that preserve exceptional fossil assemblages including fish and other vertebrates. These evaporitic facies are best interpreted as sebkha-type coastal evaporitic tidal flats and restricted lagoon environments in an arid coastal belt where high evaporation led to gypsum precipitation and created harsh living. Comparable deposits occur in the Purbeck Group of southern England, the Cameros Basin of northern Spain and the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia, illustrating the global extent of Berriasian evaporite environments.
The Cherves-de-Cognac fossil site was revealed by industrial activity at the Champblanc gypsum quarry near Cherves-Richemont. Its sedimentary sequences indicate that the site functioned as a depositional sink where storm-driven high-energy surges and hummocky cross-stratification show transported terrestrial, shore and lake side littoral organisms into shallow lagoonal basins where they were rapidly buried and preserved before decay or scavenging could occur.
This taphonomic process concentrated species from multiple habitats creating a remarkably rich and diverse assemblage of vertebrate fossils. The resulting fossil record spans the Lower to Middle Berriasian Age, approximately 145–139 million years ago, and offers a detailed snapshot of ecological interactions across coastal, lagoonal and freshwater environments along the northern margin of the Aquitaine Basin.
Its sedimentary layers of the Cherves-de-Cognac fossil site include marlstone laminites, gypsum interbeds and the fossiliferous limestone captures the complex mix of brackish, estuarine and lake conditions. Notably, there is a one-metre-thick bone bed or fossil horizon that indicates repeated pulses of biological input and rapid burial under fluctuating environmental conditions.
This mosaic of coastal, lagoonal and freshwater habitats supported diverse terrestrial and aquatic communities. The brackish estuaries and protected lagoons supported abundant fish and reptile communities, while later, progressively freshwater lake conditions allowed for the establishment of brachiopods, crustaceans and gastropods and potentially acted as breeding grounds as suggested by the abundance of reptile eggshell fragments and well-preserved charophyte gyrogonites given that plant life was dominated by charophytes a freshwater green algae.
The bonebed at Cherves-de-Cognac has produced a remarkable assemblage of vertebrate fossils reflecting a wide range of habitats. Fossil assemblages include large ornithopods such as Iguanodon, Stegosauria, small theropods like Dromaeosauroides, as well as abundant fish, turtles, lissamphibians, squamates and crocodylomorph including Goniopholis and the neosuchian Pholidosaurus purbeckensis.
The Cherves-de-Cognac fossil site reveals a highly structured fish community dominated by Actinopterygians. The large quantities of teeth reflect a diversity of feeding strategies and ecological niches. Among these were ginglymodian fish called Scheenstia mantelli characterised by specialised crushing teeth adapted to processing hard food items.
Equally remarkable are the Pycnodontiformes, a benthic bottom feeding specialist with powerful jaws and a dense pavements of cobble-shaped teeth. They were adapted for durophagy or the mechanism of crushing and suction feeding their prey of molluscs, crustaceans and sea urchins. Additionally, the presence of open-marine and nearshore predators such as Caturus, Belonostomus, and Thrissops indicates episodic salt water marine incursions or tidal connectivity that allowed transient ecological corridors to open that enriched the local biodiversity.
The Angoulême Museum has a Cretaceous fossil collection with new discoveries from the Charente region. Among the several thousand specimens recovered from the Garandeau gypsum quarries in Cherves-de-Cognac, the museum selected a remarkably well-preserved crocodile skull as a highlight for public display.