The palaeontological site of , in south-eastern Quebec on the southern coast of the Gaspé peninsula, is considered to be the world’s most outstanding illustration of the Devonian Period known as the ‘Age of Fishes’. Dating from 370 million years ago, the Upper Devonian Escuminac Formation represented here contains five of the six fossil fish groups associated with this period. Its significance stems from the discovery there of the highest number and best-preserved fossil specimens of the lobe-finned fishes that gave rise to the first four-legged, air-breathing terrestrial vertebrates – the tetrapods.

Brief Synthesis

Located in Canada, on the east coast of Quebec, protects and presents the Escuminac Formation, a rock formation with a rich fossil heritage recognized for the large number of exceptionally well-preserved fossil specimens it contains which are representative of the Devonian period. The fish, invertebrate and plant fossils at Miguasha bear witness to life as it existed on Earth 370 million years ago.

Criterion (viii)

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is the most outstanding fossil site in the world from the standpoint of its representation of vertebrate life and its illustration of the Devonian period known as the Age of Fishes. The site is of paramount importance because it has the largest number and the best-preserved fossil specimens in the world of sarcopterygian fish, which gave rise to the first four-legged, air-breathing terrestrial vertebrates—the tetrapods.

Integrity

 Covering an area of 87.3 hectares, the park preserves the integrity of the fossil cliff and the Escuminac Formation. Protection of the beach area strengthens this integrity by permitting the recovery of fossils that fall from the cliff and are moved by the tides. With some 13,000 specimens, the park’s national fossil collection also demonstrates the integrity of this scientific heritage. A large number of these fossils are exceptionally well preserved, with complete specimens, 3D specimens and fossilized soft tissues. The number of preserved specimens and their quality adds to the representativeness of the Devonian period and the uniqueness of the site.

Protection and management requirements

 Protection of the integrity of this heritage is guaranteed by Miguasha’s conservation park status, established by the Quebec government’s Regulation respecting the establishment of parc national de Miguasha (1985) and by the provincial Parks Act (1978). As a member of the Quebec parks network, is the sole owner of the area that it is dedicated to protect and conserve. This legislative and institutional protection ensures the integrity of the site for the benefit of present and future generations.

 In 1990, the provincial mining act decree was issued to prohibit oil, gas and mineral exploration in a 775-hectare peripheral area surrounding the park. In 2004, the province changed the status of this buffer zone to a State Reserve, which means that no development can be undertaken there without the prior authorization of the Quebec Minister of Natural Resources and Wildlife.

 The park has adopted work tools to ensure effective and informed management of Miguasha’s paleontological and environmental heritage. These management tools provide a framework for paleontological research, enforcement of the Parks Act, field operations, excavations, laboratory and collection work, patrols, the park’s education mission and its financial management.

 Over the longer term, special attention will be given to the monitoring of modifications and additions proposed to the property and its surroundings, particularly potential mineral exploration and mining activities; illegal extraction of fossils from the site; climate change; and erosion.