133 research outputs found
Locomotory techniques in Upper Cretaceous frogs (IharkĂșt, Hungary)
The IharkĂșt lissamphibian assamblage consists of a mixture of autochthonous Laurasian taxa
[albanerpetontid allocaudatans, discoglossid (Bakonybatrachus) and pelobatid anurans] along
with those of Gondwanan origin (the neobatrachian Hungarobatrachus). Functional anatomical
interpretations of the preserved iliac structures and taphonomical observations were used in the
reconstruction of the paleoecological conditions. Different paleoecological circumstances of
these groups are indicated by the attachment surfaces of locomotory muscles in the preserved
iliac bones of Bakonybatrachus and Hungarobatrachus and compared to recent representatives
of discoglossid and ranid frogs (i.e. Discoglossus and Rana). Large insertion surfaces for m.
gluteus maximus and for the m. iliacus externus pars externa indicates that Bakonybatrachus
had good jumping and swimming abilities pointing to a periaquatic life-style, whereas the large
m. iliacus externus and m. ilifibularis-iliofemoralis combined with a huge interiliac tubercle,
suggest that Hungarobatrachus was a strong jumper, swimmer or both
ElĆzetes eredmĂ©nyek a kĂ©sĆ kora-pleisztocĂ©n Somssich-hegy 2 (VillĂĄnyi-hegysĂ©g) Ćsgerinces lelĆhely kĂ©tĂ©ltƱinek vizsgĂĄlatĂĄban
The study of anurans from the late Early Pleistocene deposits of Somssich Hill 2 at Villany suggested the presence of six species of amphibians: Bombina cf. variegata, Pelobatesfuscus, Bufo bufo, Bufo viridis, Hyla cf. arborea es Rana cf. temporaria. This fossil assemblage consists almost entirely of isolated bones which belong to juvenile specimens. Strata of this locality demonstrate the dominance of heliophile species in the face of periaquatic taxa within the studied amphibian fauna. This suggests that the environment was mainly dry steppe during the sedimentation of these deposits but the climate became more humid at least three times. This led to the formation ofclosed forests or gallery forests where a river or lake near the locality may have formed a large permanent water surface
Bufo aff. viridis (Anura: Bufonidae) from the Middle Miocene diatomite of SzurdokpĂŒspöki, northeastern Hungary
Abstract
The excellently preserved toad fossil was found the Middle Miocene (Badenian) lower freshwater-brackish diatomite layers in SzurdokpĂŒspöki, MĂĄtra Mountains, northern Hungary. This is the first amphibian fossil of the locality. This specimen is the only toad skeleton from Hungary and possibly from the Miocene of Europe. The toothless premaxilla and maxilla denote the family Bufonidae and the ossification of the frontoparietal, prootic and exooccipital indicates the toad species Bufo viridis. The difference from other bufonid toads is the presence of a small bulge on the ventral side of the well-preserved right ilium; thus it is referred to as Bufo aff. viridis. The size of the bones of the fossil anura suggests it was probably a young specimen. Detailed taxonomic description is given
The Late Pleistocene microvertebrate fauna of the Vaskapu Cave (North Hungary) and its taphonomical, biostratigraphical and palaeoecological implications
About 60 years later than the systematic excavation in 1933 carried out by Dr. MĂĄria Mottl and her coworkers,
the Vaskapu locality in North Hungary was rediscovered by Dr. JĂĄnos HĂr. In the following 15
years, several different field surveys were take place at the site and a rich microvertebrate assemblage
were found. The aims of the present study were to review the vertebrate fauna (paying particular
attention to the previously poorly studied herpetofauna) and to summarize its taphonomical,
biostratigraphical and palaeoecological implications. The slightly mixed assemblage with elements of
the forest as well as the grassland habitat is interpreted here as the result of a mosaic or quickly shifting
environment left behind a retractive glaciation in the late WĂŒrm (namely at the time of the transition
between the PilisszĂĄntĂłian and PalĂĄnkian local biochronological stages around 15 000 years ago)
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