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Mioproteus sp., Early Miocene (MN 4), Mokrá-Western Quarry, 2/2003 Reptile Joint. 1 – 4 . Precaudal vertebra (MMB-Ge29628/1). In lateral 1 , dorsal 2 , ventral 3 , and cranial 4 views. Mioproteus sp., Miocène inférieur (MN 4), carrière Ouest de Mokrá, 2/2003 « Reptile Joint ». 1 – 4 . Vert `bre pr ́caudale (MMB-Ge29628/1). Vue lat ́rale 1 , dorsale 2 , ventrale 3 , et cr ˆniale 4 .
Source publication
The Mokrá-Western Quarry exhibits the rare occurrence of Early Miocene (MN 4) vertebrate fauna within the area of the eastern part of Central Europe. In addition to a rich fauna of reptiles and mammals, two fossiliferous karst joints (Mokrá-Western Quarry, 1/2001 Turtle Joint and Mokrá-Western Quarry, 2/2003 Reptile Joint) yielded a rich fauna of a...
Context in source publication
Context 1
... typica : Mioproteus caucasicus Estes and Darevsky, 1977: 164 – 169. – Estes, 1981: 27, Fig. 5E. Middle Miocene of Germany, Caucasus, and east Kazakhstan. Mioproteus sp. Locality : Mokrá-Western Quarry, 2/2003 Reptile Joint. Material : Two precaudal vertebrae (MMB-Ge29628/1-2). Precaudal vertebrae (Fig. 3(1 – 4)): A more completely preserved vertebra is typically amphicoelous. In lateral view, the neural spine was most probably relatively high with the base of its cranial margin posteriorly inclined. The anterior zygapophyseal crest is clearly sharp, forming the dorsal border of the deep depression in front of the broken off rib-bearer. The cranial margin of the neural arch is tilted dorsally. In dorsal view, the only preserved right prezygapophyseal articular facet is widely oval. The neural spine extends as far as the anterior margin of the neural arch. The ventral surface is perforated with numerous foramina indicating damage to the bone surface structure rather than the presence of subcentral foramina. Comments: Assignment to the genus Mioproteus is based on the following features: (1), amphicoelous centrum; (2), cranial margin of the neural arch is tilted dorsally; (3), there is a distinct wide depression at the anterior base of the rib-bearer. Both fragmentary vertebrae do not differ from the Mioproteus wezei M ł ynarski, Szyndlar, Estes and Sanchíz, 1984 reported from the Middle Pliocene and questionably from the Early Pleistocene of Poland (M ł ynarski et al., 1984; M ł ynarski and Szyndlar, 1989; Ro ˇek, 2005). Order SALAMANDROIDEA Noble, 1931 Family SALAMANDRIDAE Gray, 1825 Genus Chelotriton Pomel, 1853 Species typica : Chelotriton paradoxus Pomel, 1853. Herre, 1949: 225, Fig. 8. – Estes and Hoffstetter, 1976: 307 308, Pl. X: Figs. 7, 8. – Estes, 1981: 72 – 75, Figs. 18, 19B – E. Hellmund and Böhme, 1987: 142 – 151, Figs. 1, 3, 4. – Rage and Hossini, 2000: 187 – 189, Figs. 5, 6. Early/Middle Oligocene (Suévian, MP 22) up to the Middle Miocene (Astaracian, MN 7+8). Chelotriton sp., type I Localities : Mokrá-Western Quarry, 1/2001 Turtle Joint; Mokrá-Western Quarry, 2/2003 Reptile Joint. Material : Mokrá-Western Quarry, 1/2001: one ?prefrontal (dext.) (MMB-Ge29632), one frontal (sin.) (MMB-Ge29629), one parietal (dext.) (MMB-Ge29630), two otoccipitals (sin.) (MMB-Ge29633/1-2), three unspecified fragmentary cranial bones (MMB-Ge29634/1-3), 29 precaudal vertebrae (MMB- Ge29637/1-29), one caudal vertebra (MMB-Ge29638), three ribs (MMB-Ge29639/1-3), two humeri (dext.) (MMB- Ge29636/1-2); Mokrá-Western Quarry, 2/2003: one nasal (dext.) (MMB-Ge29640), one prefrontal (dext.) (MMB- Ge29644), six frontals (2 sin. + 4 dext.) (MMB-Ge29641/1- 6), three parietals (2 sin. + dext.) (MMB-Ge29642/1-3), six otoccipitals (3 sin. + 3 dext.) (MMB-Ge29645/1-6), one parasphenoid (MMB-Ge29646), 40 unspecified fragmentary cranial bones (MMB-Ge29647/1-40), five atlases (MMB- Ge29651/1-5), 58 precaudal vertebrae (MMB-Ge29652/1- 58), 53 ribs (MMB-Ge29653/1-53), two humeri (dext.) (MMB-Ge29649/1-2), two ilia (sin. + dext.) (MMB- Ge29650/1-2). Nasal (Fig. 4(1a, b)): It is a paired dermal bone that covered the medial part of nasal capsules. The antero-lateral border of the bone is damaged on its ventral side. The lateral border of the bone (margo maxillaris) is slightly bent in a ventral direction. The dorsal surface of the bone is covered by a fine pustular sculpture formed by small tubercles separated by short furrows pierced by tiny pores. In ventral view, one large and several minute foramina can be observed. These foramina probably served as a passage for the terminal branches of the nervus opthalmicus profundus V (cf. Francis, 1934). Prefrontal (Fig. 4(2a, b)): The bone participates in the structure of the rostral part of orbital margin being in contact with the nasal, the frontal, and the maxilla. The margo orbitalis is smooth and the distinct foramen orbito-nasalis mediale for the mesial terminal branch of the V 1 -nerve (ramus opthalmicus profundus) is situated ventrally on the posterior wall of the bone. The dorsal surface is covered with a finely pustular sculpture similar to that of the nasal reduced in proximity to its contact with the nasal and the maxilla. Frontal (Fig. 4(3a, b)): All frontals are damaged with the preserved caudal margin of the orbital cavity and postero- lateral projection participating in the structure of the anterior part of the fronto-squamosal arch. The dorsal surface of the bone has developed a pustular sculpture with small pores within the grooves between single pustules. This sculpture becomes coarse in a shallow groove just at the base of the fronto- squamosal arch possessing more or less irregularly oriented furrows. Dense furrows run nearly parallel with the axis of the fronto-squamosal arch. In proximity to the anterior border of postorbital vacuity and the medial border of the bone the sculpture is less distinct formed only by shallow grooves. In ventral view, the short pars contacta that fixed the frontal to the neural endocranium is well developed. Parietal (Fig. 4(4a, b)): It is a paired bone connected to frontals through an unsculptured anterior process forming thus the dorsal closure of the braincase. The broken off unsculptured postero-lateral margin of the bone was ...
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Citations
... Assignment of the proximal humerus is based on overall morphological similarity with those of Lissotriton members. Unfortunately, apart from the vertebrae, no other skeletal parts in Europe have been referred to this species, considered as part of the L. vulgaris group (IVANOV, 2008;VENCZEL & HÍR, 2013;GEORGALIS et al., 2019). An atlantal specimen (MMP.2009.668), ...
Up to the present, no terrestrial vertebrate fauna has been published from the pre-Pannonian Miocene of SW Hungary. In 2022 a microvertebrate assemblage was unearthed from a lime mud bed of the Middle Miocene Hidas Formation, in an abandoned coal mining field close to Hidas in the Mecsek Mts. The herpetofauna and the rodent material are described here. Fossil findings point to the Late Badenian MN 7+8 Zone, which, together with the earlier results based on the marine mollusc fauna, narrows the age of the unit to ~13.5–13.3 Ma. The amphibians and reptiles are aquatic, semiaquatic or periaquatic forms. Sedimentary features and the accompanying freshwater gastropod fauna are indicative of a shallow pond or a paludal depositional environment. Crocodylian finds reported earlier from the Hidas Formation indicate a subtropical climate, just before the end of the Miocene warm period in Central Europe. Among the rodents, glirids and flying squirrels as well as Democricetodon and Megacricetodon indicate the presence of humid arboreal vegetation around the site. The rodent taxa are well known from the Middle Miocene faunas of northern Hungary, western Romania and from the Upper Freshwater Molasse of southern Germany and Switzerland. The rodent material does not show characteristics of an insular fauna, e.g. gigantism or endemism. Consequently, although the coeval palaeogeography of the region has been described as an archipelago in the Central Paratethys, with the Mecsek Mts. being one of the islands, the area must have had ecological connections towards the northern and eastern parts of the Pannonian Basin, and the marine areas within the archipelago did not form a barrier against the distribution of microvertebrates. The corridor could have been located towards the NE from the Mecsek Mts., across the elevated basement blocks of central Hungary.
... A functional interpretation of the tuberculate vertebrae is impeded by the fact that similar structures are unknown from extant vertebrates. Even though the vertebrae of some amphibians (e.g., the early to mid Cenozoic salamander Chelotriton; Böhme, 2008;Ivanov, 2008;Roček, 2019) some sculpturing in the ventral part of some vertebrae (Báez & Rage, 1998;Gardner, 2012). More similar to the surface structures of the fossil avian cervical vertebrae are those on the skull of the anuran taxa Latonia (Roček, 1994), Pelobates (Roček et al., 2014;Syromyatnikova, 2019), Scaphiopus (Roček, 1981), the Eocene Thaumastosaurus , the Late Cretaceous Baurubatrachus santosdoroi (Muzzopappa, 2022), and some gekkotan lizards (Glynne et al., 2020). ...
We report avian cervical vertebrae from the Quercy fissure fillings in France, which are densely covered with villi‐like tubercles. Two of these vertebrae stem from a late Eocene site, another lacks exact stratigraphic data. Similar cervical vertebrae occur in avian species from Eocene fossils sites in Germany and the United Kingdom, but the new fossils are the only three‐dimensionally preserved vertebrae with pronounced surface sculpturing. So far, the evolutionary significance of this highly bizarre morphology, which is unknown from extant birds, remained elusive, and even a pathological origin was considered. We note the occurrence of similar structures on the skull of the extant African rodent Lophiomys and detail that the tubercles represent true osteological features and characterize a distinctive clade of Eocene birds (Perplexicervicidae). Micro‐computed tomography (μCT) shows the tubercles to be associated with osteosclerosis of the cervical vertebrae, which have a very thick cortex and much fewer trabecles and pneumatic spaces than the cervicals of most extant birds aside from some specialized divers. This unusual morphology is likely to have served for strengthening the vertebral spine in the neck region, and we hypothesize that it represents an anti‐predator adaptation against the craniocervical killing bite (“neck bite”) that evolved in some groups of mammalian predators. Tuberculate vertebrae are only known from the Eocene of Central Europe, which featured a low predation pressure on birds during that geological epoch, as is evidenced by high numbers of flightless avian species. Strengthening of the cranialmost neck vertebrae would have mitigated attacks by smaller predators with weak bite forces, and we interpret these vertebral specializations as the first evidence of “internal bony armor” in birds.
... Bones were photographed with a Leica M205 microscope equipped with the Leica application suite v.3.3.0 or v.4.10 at the Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra of the University of Turin. Consulted literature included the following: Wiedersheim (1875), Bolkay (1928), Francis (1934), Corsin (1966), Wake (1966), Özeti (1967), Haller-Probst & Schleich (1994), Bailon (1995), Carranza & Amat (2005), Ratnikov & Litvinchuk (2007), Ivanov (2008, Blain et al. (2009), Ratnikov (2010, Stoetzel et al. (2011), Buckely & Sanchiz (2012, Villa et al. (2014) and Jia et al. (2019). Measurements of length and height were taken at the maximal extent of the vertebrae (thus, including pre-and postzygapophyses and the haemal and neural arches and crests). ...
The osteology of European urodeles was studied extensively in the past, but comparative analyses of isolated bones are rare, despite being the most useful tool for the identification of fossil remains. The present work is focused on the most robust skeletal elements (therefore, common in the fossil record: otic–occipitum complexes and vertebrae) and provides taxonomically significant diagnostic characters at the genus level for European genera of urodeles, including some taxa whose osteology was poorly known (e.g. Euproctus and Calotriton). Characters subject to wide variability are identified, and their use is discouraged for diagnoses of extinct species. A selection of diagnostic characters is used herein to build an identification key for each studied skeletal element and for a phylogenetic analysis to understand whether these osteological elements can convey a genuine signal. The analysis under Bayesian inference resulted in a well-supported Salamandridae clade and Pleurodelinae tribe. Salamandrina was recovered as part of the Pleurodelinae, in agreement with previous morphological phylogenetic analyses, but in contrast to the conclusion of molecular studies.
... All the available pieces of evidence suggest that the environment in Mokrá-Quarry was characterized as a karstic landscape with dry open steppes and close to more humid areas, such as large patches of woodland. The paleoecological reconstruction from MWQ 2/2003 and MCQ 3/2005 based on rodents agree with previous studies focused on herpetofauna and other small mammals (Ivanov et al., , 2020Sabol et al., 2007;Ivanov, 2008;Luján et al., 2017Luján et al., , 2021Bonilla-Salomón et al., 2021, 2022a, 2022b. Moreover, the study of the lagomorphs, chiropterans, hedgehogs, gymnures, and talpids from MWQ 2/2003, MCQ 3/2005, and MWQ 4/2018 will expand our knowledge on the paleoecological conditions in Mokrá-Quarry during the Early Miocene. ...
... The salamandrid Chelotriton is one of the most common taxa in European vertebrate assemblages, spanning the middle Eocene through to the Pliocene (figures 1 and 4c; [8,14,79,[101][102][103][104][105][106][107][108][109][110][111][112][113][114][115][116][117][118][119][120]). According to Marjanović& Witzmann [115], Chelotriton is an early-branching member of the extant salamandrid group Pleurodelinae (the sub-family including all extant 'newts'). ...
... Numerous specifically indeterminate remains have been referred to Triturus from the late Oligocene to Middle Pleistocene of Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, the UK and Ukraine [91,101,105,[108][109][110][111][112]143,144,[155][156][157][158][159][160][161][162][163][164][165][166][167] (figure 4c). The possible attribution of some of these remains to an extant species should be reassessed, given the high degree of interspecific variation shown by Triturus [95,168,169]. ...
... The species has also been reported from the Early Miocene of Austria [104]. A few remains were referred to an indeterminate species of Lissotriton, closely related to L. rohrsi, from the Early Miocene of the Czech Republic [110], Middle Miocene of Romania [111] and the Miocene/Pliocene boundary of Greece [119]. We agree with Böhme [143] that vertebrae referred to T. roehrsi by Miklas [79] from the Late Miocene of Austria do not belong to this taxon. ...
The disjunct geographical range of many lineages of caudates points to a complex evolutionary and biogeographic history that cannot be disentangled by only considering the present-day distribution of salamander biodiversity. Here, we provide a critical reappraisal of the published fossil record of caudates from the Palearctic and quantitatively evaluate the quality of the group's fossil record. Stem-Urodela and Karauridae were widespread in the Palearctic in the Middle Jurassic, suggesting an earlier, unsampled diversification for this group. Cryptobranchidae reached Europe no later than the Oligocene, but this clade was subsequently extirpated from this continent, as well as from western and central Asia. The relatively recent appearance of hynobiids in the fossil record (Early Miocene) is most likely an artefact of a taphonomic bias against the preservation of high-mountain, stream-type environments which early members likely inhabited. Salamandroids first appear in Europe, expanding into Asia by the Miocene. The apparently enigmatic and disjunct distribution of extant caudate lineages is therefore explained by a wider past geographical range, as testified by the fossil record, which was fragmented during the late Cenozoic by a combination of tectonic (i.e. the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau) and climatic drivers, resulting in regional extirpations.
... The Mokrá-Quarry sites are characterized by its karstic conditions, together with patches of forest and swampy areas (Ivanov, 2008;Ivanov, Musil & Brzobohatý, 2006;Ivanov et al., 2017;Ivanov et al., 2020;Sabol et al., 2007;Luján et al., 2017;Luján et al., 2021;Bonilla-Salomón et al., 2021a). This concurs with conditions that presumably favored Melissiodon presence. ...
Background
Melissiodon is a rare cricetid genus endemic to Europe, known from the Early Oligoceneto the Early Miocene. It is usually a very rare find, and even in the few localities where Melissiodon remains are found, those are scarce and fragmentary. Only a few Central European localities have yielded rich remains of the genus. Currently, two species are known from the Early Miocene: Melissiodon schlosseri, which is based on two teeth from the MN2 German locality of Haslach and only found in two other sites of similar age (Ulm-Uniklinik and La Chaux, from Germany and Switzerland respectively); and Melissiodon dominans, found in MN3 and MN4 localities across Europe, even though the scarce and fragmentary remains make some of these attributions dubious. For that reason, Melissiodon dominans has become a catch-all species. However, Mokrá-Quarry represents one of the best documented findings of Melissiodon remains from MN4 localities of Europe.
Methods
The Melissiodon assemblage from Mokrá-Quarry has been studied thoroughly, providing metrics and detailed descriptions of all teeth positions, as well as complete comparisons with other MN3 and MN4 localities bearing Melissiodon remains.
Results
In this work, new remains of Melissiodon have been identified as a new morphotype that clearly differs from Melissiodon dominans by its unique m1 morphology but still shows some resemblance with Melissiodon schlosseri. Based on that, we here propose the hypothesis of an evolutionary lineage starting from Melissiodon schlosseri , diverging from the lineage leading towards Melissiodon dominans. With this finding, there are at least two different taxa of Melissiodon known during the Early Miocene, prior to the genus extinction. This study arises the certainty that the evolution history of the genus is more complex than previously thought and that more studies are necessary to elucidate it, including a complete revision of the type material of Melissiodon dominans and Melissiodon schlosseri in the light of current knowledge of the genus, which will help to elucidate the attribution of the populations from Mokrá-Quarry. For the time being, the assemblage presented here is referred as Melissiodon aff. schlosseri.
... 6 bones (e.g., nasal, frontal, parietal, squamosal) bearing a strong sculpture of pustular type. The neural spine of the vertebrae is extremely high bearing also a pustular sculpture; the transverse processes (= rib bearers) are robustly built and project laterally, nearly perpendicular to the main body axis; the ribs are provided with dorsal processes (Ivanov, 2008). The positions of the auditory nerve (VIII) foramina and those of the endolymphatic and perilymphatic foramina in the only oticooccipital specimen are roughly similar to those reported in the specimens of Chelotriton sp. 1, from the early Miocene (MN 4) of Mokrá-Western Quarry, Czech Republic (Ivanov, 2008) and to that of Chelotriton sp., from the middle Miocene (MN 6) of Litke, N-Hungary (Venczel and Hír, 2015). ...
... The neural spine of the vertebrae is extremely high bearing also a pustular sculpture; the transverse processes (= rib bearers) are robustly built and project laterally, nearly perpendicular to the main body axis; the ribs are provided with dorsal processes (Ivanov, 2008). The positions of the auditory nerve (VIII) foramina and those of the endolymphatic and perilymphatic foramina in the only oticooccipital specimen are roughly similar to those reported in the specimens of Chelotriton sp. 1, from the early Miocene (MN 4) of Mokrá-Western Quarry, Czech Republic (Ivanov, 2008) and to that of Chelotriton sp., from the middle Miocene (MN 6) of Litke, N-Hungary (Venczel and Hír, 2015). Distribution of these foramina approaches also the condition known in Salamandra (Maddin et al., 2013: fig. ...
... 6C), where the perilymphatic foramen is positioned closely posterior to the vestibulocochlear nerve foramina, whereas the much smaller endolymphatic foramen is positioned dorsally to the vestibulocochlear nerve foramina. The sculpture preserved on the fragmentary frontal is different to that reported by Ivanov (2008) and by Venczel and Hír (2015) for Chelotriton, but it approaches the condition reported by Roček (2005) for specimens of Chelotriton sp., from the late Miocene (MN 9) of Rudabánya, N-Hungary. The robustly built vertebrae with short and wide centra, the strongly laterally projected prezygapophyses, the presence of massive and doubleheaded transverse processes projecting nearly perpendicular to the axis of the vertebral centrum, the short and incompletely separated anterior condyles are typical for the genus Chelotriton. ...
A moderately diverse fossil amphibian and squamate reptile assemblage, consisting of various fragmentary cranial bones, vertebrae and appendicular elements, is reported from the late Miocene (Turolian, MN 11-12) of Fălciu-Prut 1 locality. The fossil assemblage represents a lacustrine taphonomic context, where the skeletal remains reached the burial place after a short transport from a terrestrial environment. The amphibians are represented by salamanders (Chelotriton sp., and Triturus sp.) and anurans (Latonia sp., Pelobates sp., Bufotes cf. viridis and Pelophylax sp.), whereas the squamates by lizards (Lacertidae sp. indet. 1 and 2; Anguinae sp. indet. 1 and 2) and snakes (Scolecophidia indet., Natrix sp., Colubridae indet. and Naja cf. romani). The fauna inhabited probably shrubberies and open woodlands amid mild temperate climate conditions; permanent water sources were present in the area. Zoogeographical links were possible along the northern margin of Paratethys for both the European and Asian faunal representatives. Compared to older and coeval faunas from that region the fauna suggests an environmental shift into a more open environment, resulted from climate aridification. The faunal turnover is highlighted by lack of amphibian groups permanently linked to large, well-oxygenated rivers (cryptobranchid salamanders and proteids) or marshlands (palaeobatrachid frogs) that were still present in older faunas.
... Regarding MN4 sites, Dolnice 1-3 in Cheb basin (Burdigalian, late Ottnangian-Karpatian) and Ořechov in South Moravia (Burdigalian, late Ottnangian) yielded abundant vertebrate remains (FEJFAR 1974(FEJFAR , 1990. However, one of the most recent early Miocene vertebrate-bearing sites found in the territory of the Czech Republic is the open-cast limestone mine of Mokrá-Quarry, placed 12 km ENE of Brno, see IVANOV et al. (2006) and BONILLA-SALOMÓN et al. (2021a) (IVANOV et al. 2006(IVANOV et al. , 2018(IVANOV et al. , 2020IVANOV 2008;LUJÁN et al. 2017LUJÁN et al. , 2021. Regarding mammals, the first preliminary ascriptions of medium-sized specimens were conducted by IVANOV and MUSIL (2004 have not yet been studied in detail. ...
... In all, the small mammal fauna presented here agrees with previous studies on the palaeoecology of Mokrá-Quarry (IVANOV et al. 2006(IVANOV et al. , 2018(IVANOV et al. , 2020SABOL et al. 2007;IVANOV 2008;LUJÁN et al. 2017LUJÁN et al. , 2021BONILLA-SALOMÓN et al. 2021a), which has been characterized as a karst landscape, with patches of forest and steppes and close to water bodies. BO- NILLA-SALOMÓN et al. (2021b) described the sciurid remains from fissures MWQ 2/2003, MCQ 3/2005 and MWQ 4/2018, and noticed a higher number of flying squirrel teeth in MCQ 3/2005. ...
Early Miocene small mammal remains (Metatheria, Chiroptera, Eulipotyphla) from Mokrá-Quarry fissures (South Moravia, Czech Republic)-preliminary results Mokrá-Quarry (South Moravia, Czech Republic) constitutes a unique fossil site with an extraordinary diversity of vertebrate remains. Most of the research on Mokrá-Quarry localities has focused on herpe-to fauna and, in most recent years, also in rodent remains. However, non-rodent small mammals have not been studied in detail. In this work, preliminary results of the small mammal assemblage belonging to the orders Chiroptera and Eulipotyphla, together with remains of Amphiperatherium from Mokrá-Quarry fissures are presented for the first time. The paleoecology inferred from these taxa agrees with previous studies, depicting Mokrá-Quarry as a karst landscape with open steppes, patches of woodland and close water bodies.
... While the mammalian record is better studied, the fossil record of other tetrapod groups, such as amphibians, reptiles and birds, has received less attention. During recent years, research focussed on the early Miocene herpetofauna has been intensified and a number of studies documented so far poorly known fossil records of amphibians and reptiles (Ivanov 2008;Čerňanský et al. 2015;Čerňanský 2016;Villa et al. 2021). A better understanding of the faunistic evolution of those groups through time can be provided, taking into account the known fossil record. ...
... Each large taxonomic group is highlighted in different color. The herpetofaunistic record follows for: Wintershof West - Böhme and Ilg (2003); Ahníkov 1 (= Merkur North) -Čerňanský (2010a), Čerňanský and Bauer (2010), Čerňanský et al. (2015), Klembara et al. (2010), Villa and Delfino (2019a, b); Oberdorf -Čerňanský (2016), Čerňanský et al. (2020b), Sanchíz (1998), Szyndlar (1998), Villa and Delfino (2019a); Petersbuch 2 - Čerňanský (2011Čerňanský ( ), Ivanov (2001, Klembara et al. (2010), Szyndlar and Schleich (1993), Szyndlar and Rage (2002), Szyndlar and Rage (2003), Villa and Delfino (2019a), Villa et al. (2018); Echzell -present study;Mokrá-W Q 1/2001and Mokrá-W Q 2/ 2001-Ivanov (2008, Ivanov et al. (2020); Dolnice - Böhme and Ilg (2003), Čerňanský (2010b), Fejfar and Roček (1986), Klembara (2015), Szyndlar (1987), Villa and Delfino (2019a); Erkertshofen 1 - Klembara et al. (2010); Beon 1 - Rage and Bailon (2005); Rembach - Klembara et al. (2010); Forsthart - Klembara et al. (2010). The ecophysiological indices for Echzell assemblage are given for each taxon as well as the calculated precipitation values and errors are calculated according to Böhme et al. (2006). ...
... rather well-developed in Mertensiella); 2) the anterior zygapophyseal crest is well developed (vs. absent in Mertensiella) (Sanchíz and Młynarski 1979;Hodrová 1984;Ivanov 2008). The orientation of the dia-and parapophysis, the shape of the pterygapophyses have been mentioned as further characters allowing to distinguish these two genera (Hodrová 1984;Sanchíz 1998). ...
The present study describes a rich amphibian and reptilian assemblage from the early Miocene locality Echzell, Germany. It consists of one allocaudate, five salamander, five frog, one gecko, chamaeleonids, anguine lizards, one lacertid, one skink and five snake taxa. The entire herpetofauna of Echzell is represented by genera and/or families very broadly known from the early Miocene of Europe. Contrary to other early Miocene herpetofaunas, the Echzell assemblage includes surprisingly only one form of crocodile-newts (Chelotriton). The Echzell Palaeobatrachus robustus represents the youngest record of the species and extends its stratigraphic range to the late early Miocene. Regarding chameleons, the frontal is partly preserved, but represents the first described frontal of the extinct species Chamaeleo andrusovi. The only anguine lizard that can be identified in the assemblage is represented by a new genus and species Smithosaurus echzellensis. Our phylogenetic analyses consistently recovered it as the sister taxon to either [Ophisauriscus quadrupes + Ophisaurus holeci] + [Anguis + Ophisaurus] (in the first analysis) or [Anguis + Ophisaurus] (in the second analysis). However, the results are based on limited fossil material-the parietal-and the support for the clade is very low. Thus, the interpretation of the Smithosaurus relationship among anguines needs to be taken with caution and has to be tested in further studies. Among snakes, Natrix longivertebrata represents the oldest record of the species and extends the stratigraphic range of this fossil snake back to the early Miocene. In addition, we provide here a broader comparison of the Echzell amphibian and reptilian assemblage with their European records for the MN3 and MN4 biostratigraphical units. Besides that, the entire herpetofauna of Echzell includes very broadly known early Miocene European forms. Remains of other groups of the same period such as Bufonidae, Hylidae, Pelodytidae, Amphisbaenia, Varanidae, Cordylidae, Pseudopus, are not found in the material available to us. We also conclude that the amphibian and reptilian fossil record across MN3-MN4 is significantly biased by taphonomic and/or environmental conditions. The amphibian and reptilian assemblage of Echzell is rich in forms living in humid and warm environments with forested areas, permanent water bodies and also some open habitats. The following climatic parameters can be reconstructed based on the herpetofauna: a mean annual temperature of 17.4-28.8 °C, minimal warm month temperature 18-28.3 °C, minimal cold month temperature 8-22.2 °C, and mean annual precipitation with a value of 791±254 mm.
... According to the herpetofauna and microvertebrate assemblage recovered from Mokrá-Quarry 1/2001 Turtle Joint, this has been characterised as a karst landscape, with patches of open forests and steppe together with marshy areas (Ivanov et al. 2006(Ivanov et al. , 2018(Ivanov et al. , 2020Sabol et al. 2007;Ivanov 2008;Luján et al. 2017Luján et al. , 2021Bonilla-Salomón et al. 2021). The presence of flying squirrels, which live in forest environments and are characterised by their nocturnal activity ( de Bruijn 1999), agrees with the presence of well-developed patches of forest along the karst of the Mokrá Plateau. ...
This article focuses on the sciurid (Rodentia, Sciuridae) remains from the early Miocene (MN4) Mokrá-Quarry sites, Moravia, Czech Republic. The sciurid assemblage in the different fissures ranges from one genus in MWQ4/2018 to three different genera in MCQ3/2005. Regarding subfamily Sciurinae, the dentognathic remains are referred to Palaeosciurus aff. fissurae, which shows an intermediate stage of evolution between Palaeosciurus fissurae and Palaeosciurus sutteri according to the development of conules in both upper and lower molars. Although the sciurid postcranial remains are left unassigned, several calcanei show strong morphological features belonging to ground squirrels, and, are therefore attributed to cf. Palaeosciurus. As for Pteromyinae subfamily, three genera were recovered (Miopetaurista, Blackia and Aliveria), including a new species: Aliveria mojmiri sp. nov. The new species shows a more specialised dental pattern and could further represent the ancestral species from which several middle Miocene genera evolved. Furthermore, some of the recovered calcanei have been here identified as cf. Aliveria, representing the first postcranial remains ever belonging to the genus, and confirm its attribution as a flying squirrel. The presence of both ground and flying squirrels is in concordance with an open landscape with patches of woodland proposed for Mokrá-Quarry sites.
