Late Cretaceous dinosaur faunas of Europe: Some correlation problems

Abstract

A review of the main Late Cretaceous dinosaur localities of Europe shows that stratigraphic correlations are often problematic. Dinosaur occurrences in marine sediments in the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Crimea are usually well dated, but remains from such sites are often incomplete and difficult to identify with satisfactory accuracy. Dinosaur localities in nonmarine series in Portugal, Spain, France and Transylvania yield better material, but precise dating is often difficult. The Muthmannsdorf fauna of Austria is an exception, the dinosaur-bearing beds being intercalated in the essentially marine Gosau Beds; an early Campanian age can thus be deduced. Available evidence suggests that the main Late Cretaceous dinosaur localities of Europe range in age from early Campanian to late Maastrichtian. To judge from comparison with the North American record, some evolution must have occurred during this fairly long time span. Preliminary observations suggest that evolutionary changes are traceable within the Campanian to Maastrichtian dinosaur communities of Europe.