Late Paleogene herpetofaunas from the crossroads between two continents – new amphibian and reptile remains from the Oligocene of southern Balkans and Anatolia

Georgios L Georgalis,Undefined Serdar Mayda,Andrej Čerňanský

doi:10.5852/cr-palevol2021v20a15

Abstract

We describe here new amphibian and reptile remains from three Oligocene localities of Turkey. Two of the localities (Kavakdere and Kocayarma) are situated in southeastern Europe and the other one (Kargi 2) in Anatolia, both areas where Oligocene herpetofauna is practically almost unknown. The material consists of albanerpetontids, pelobatid anurans, turtles, crocodylians, lacertids, scinciformatans, anguines, and “tropidophiids”. Albanerpetontids are for the first time identified in southeastern Europe, with the material being reminiscent of the younger species Albanerpeton inexpectatum Estes & Hoffstetter, 1976; the material potentially represents the oldest record of that species. Pelobatids, scinciformatans, and “tropidophiids” represent the oldest occurrences of these clades in the northeastern Mediterranean. The anguine genus Ophisaurus Daudin, 1803 is identified for the first time in the Paleogene of Eastern Europe. The “tropidophiids” are referred to two genera, Falseryx Szyndlar & Rage, 2003 and tentatively also to Platyspondylia Rage, 1974, with the latter having been so far exclusively known from western and central Europe. The role of a potential southern dispersal route of taxa among Asia and Europe, involving the area of southern Balkans and Anatolia, similarly to what has been recently demonstrated for mammals, is highlighted also for amphibians and reptiles.

Highlights

The Oligocene represents a major gap in our knowledge of Eurasian herpetofaunas (Rage 2013; Čerňanský et al 2016)
We describe here new amphibian and reptile remains from three Oligocene localities of Turkey
A number of such faunal turnovers are linked directly with dispersal events of vertebrate taxa from Asia to Europe and vice versa (e.g. Godinot & Lapparent de Broin 2003; Rage & Roček 2003; Szyndlar & Rage 2003; Rage 2013; Čerňanský & Augé 2019). As far as it regards herpetofaunal studies, it has been variously suggested that several lineages of amphibians and reptiles dispersed from Asia to Europe during the Oligocene following a relatively northern route, i.e., north of the Paratethys Sea and eventually leading to central and western Europe

Summary

INTRODUCTION

The Oligocene represents a major gap in our knowledge of Eurasian herpetofaunas (Rage 2013; Čerňanský et al 2016). Among Oligocene amphibians and reptiles from Europe, turtles are relatively more adequately known, whereas crocodylians are scarcely documented, with most occurrences being represented by incomplete remains (Szalai 1934; Bergounioux 1935, 1936; de Broin 1977; Schleich & Groessens-Van Dyck 1988; Hervet 2004; Piras & Buscalioni 2006; Böhme 2008). Oligocene herpetofaunas from the southern Balkans have been only barely documented, with our current knowledge confined solely to brief descriptions of fragmentary turtles and crocodylians (Lebküchner 1974; Schleich 1994), and more recently anguine lizards (Čerňanský et al 2017b). The palaeobiogeography and potential dispersal patterns of Oligocene amphibians and reptiles from Asia to Europe and vice versa is discussed

MATERIAL AND METHODS

DISCUSSION