Makádi, László

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HANTKENIANA 5 (2006)   94   Lizards from the Upper Cretaceous (Santonian) Csehbánya Formation (Iharkút, Bakony Mts, western Hungary)  László MAKÁDI  Eötvös University, Department of Paleontology, H-1117 Budapest, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/c, e-mail: iharkutia@yahoo.com   Lacertilians are poorly represented in the Late Cretaceous of Europe. Champ Garimond (southern France), Laño (northern Spain) and the localities of the Haţeg Basin (Transylvania, western Romania) produced some remains but all these localities are from the Campanian or Maastrichtian. Now the rich Late Cretaceous (Santonian) terrestrial vertebrate locality at Iharkút (western Hungary) has yielded at least three taxa since the discovery of the locality in 2000. A single fragmentary dentary belongs to an indeterminate scincomorph. This is a rather large specimen being 45 mm long measured between the symphysis and the broken posterior end. The morphology of the dentary suggests some affinities with the Scincidae or with the Paramacellodidae. The second form is represented by an 11 mm long dentary fragment. It bears six teeth from among which two have their crowns preserved. The crowns have two sharp cusps, an anterior small one and an approximately ten times larger posterior one. This dentary seems to be identical to tooth-bearing bone fragments described from Laño as an indeterminate scincomorph. The Hungarian find allows more accurate determination and shows features common among teiids. Moreover, the dentary resembles that of the extant Teiinae genus Cnemidophorus. The third and most well known lacertilian from the Iharkút locality is represented by six more or less fragmentary dentaries with sizes comparable to that of the above mentioned second type. The heterodont dentition, the cementum deposition at the bases of the teeth and the large subcircular resorption pits assign this type to the family Teiidae. The dentition has the characteristic features of the genus Bicuspidon from the subfamily Polyglyphanodontinae. This genus is known from two species, B. numerosus from the Albian-Cenomanian of Utah, and B. hatzegiensis from the Maastrichtian of the Haţeg Basin. The Hungarian specimens seem to be more similar to the Tran-sylvanian species but further examinations are needed for specific determination. A questionable seventh dentary fragment showing similar morphology to the previous Bicuspidon sp. has the four posteriormost teeth preserved and was previously also thought to be belonging to this type. On this specimen the teeth are worn. It seems very likely that the teeth of the Iharkút Bicuspidon sp. mentioned above cannot exhibit the state observed on this seventh specimen by means of wearing. Thus it is not excluded that a fourth type of lizard is also present at the locality, also belonging to the Teiidae. 

Lizards from the Upper Cretaceous (Santonian) Csehbánya Formation (Iharkút, Bakony Mts, western Hungary)

http://real.mtak.hu/156282/1/Hantkeniana_5_32.pdf

Lizards from the Upper Cretaceous (Santonian) Csehbánya Formation (Iharkút, Bakony Mts, western Hungary)

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