Bakony Mountains Research Articles

Phalacrocorax bakonyiensis n. sp., a new species of cormorant from the Late Miocene of Hungary

Abstract We describe Phalacrocorax bakonyiensis n. sp. an extinct member of the cormorants (Phalacrocoracidae). The fossil was found in 2021 by geologist János Futó in the sediments of a small cave cavity on the side of Várhegy in Sümeg, a part of the Bakony Mountains of West Hungary, where Late Miocene (MN11–12) vertebrate fossils have been found in the past decades. The total number of bone fragments collected was 14, of which only three can be identified. Two of these belong to adults and one, due to its poor preservation and size, to a very young specimen.

On a Middle Jurassic phylloceratid ammonite from the Bakony Mts (Hungary)

Unknown fossil collections from the Bakony Mts, collected by J. Nosky Jnr. during his mapping activity in the 1940s and 1950s were found in the storage facility of the Hungarian Geological Institute in the 2010s. In these materials from the Upper Bajocian (Middle Jurassic) from the Som-hegy of Bakonybél (formerly known as part of Pénzeskút) some specimens were determined by Nosky in 1959 as ‘Canaliphylloceras’ nov. gen. nov. sp.’ However, Nosky never published these faunal studies, and his designations have only been preserved as notes written on the labels of the specimens. The same form identified by Nosky was also identified as a new species from Gyenespuszta, another Middle Jurassic locality in the Bakony Mountains, in 1980 with the name Adabofoloceras hajagensen. sp. Galácz, 1980. The name suggested by Noszky is invalid; however, his distinction of these forms as representing an individual taxon is justified. This contribution is a tribute to Jenő Nosky, a great researcher of the Hungarian Jurassic by making his faunistic study known and showing his original specimens.

Multimethodological Revisit of the Surface Water and Groundwater Interaction in the Balaton Highland Region—Implications for the Overlooked Groundwater Component of Lake Balaton, Hungary

The hummocky Balaton Highland is located in western Hungary and is part of the Transdanubian Mountains, the most extensive carbonate aquifer system in Hungary. The study region also encompasses Lake Balaton, the biggest lake in central Europe, which is to the south of Balaton Highland. The surface water–groundwater interaction in the Balaton Highland–Lake Balaton region and the groundwater contribution to Lake Balaton are revisited in this paper. Hydrostratigraphic classification was performed first; then, groundwater flow directions by hydraulic head distribution were analysed, and baseflow indices of surface watercourses were calculated. Regarding hydrochemical characterisation, general hydrochemical facies were identified, natural tracers of temperature, chloride and uranium were applied, and the stable isotopic composition of oxygen and hydrogen was determined. Finally, groundwater flow and heat transport were simulated in a 2D numerical model. A high level of hydraulic interaction was evidenced between surface water and groundwater and the sub-regions of Bakony Mountains, Balaton Highland and Lake Balaton by physical and chemical parameters, numerical simulation and groundwater-flow-related natural manifestations, revealing hydraulic continuity in the study region. Based on the results, the division of legislative water bodies can be reconsidered, especially that surface water and groundwater should be regarded as interconnected, and Lake Balaton can be considered a groundwater-dependent ecosystem in any water-use planning in the region.

„Semmi különös? A Bakony ékkövei” társadalmi innováció és hálózatos együttműködés a VEB2023 programban

What is it about villages in East-Central Europe that makes them attractive for residents as well as visitors? How can they become communities that are able to keep up with the vast changes and challenges of our times whilst maintaining their best cultural assets and communal cohesion? These were the fundamental questions that drove our interest in conducting an interdisciplinary research project in the Bakony Mountains of Hungary, financed and supported by the Veszprém-Balaton 2023 European Capital of Culture Programme. Through the capitalization of those methodologies associated with the KRAFT (‘creative cities-sustainable regions’) program, the overall aim was to study four villages and their potential for endemic, culture-based development. As the four villages are geographically close to one another, with plenty of interaction and networks of cooperation. The research team aimed at uncovering patterns and dynamics of economic, social, cultural and environmental subsystems that have been influential in connecting these places and making them ‘a distinct region’ and highlighting these patterns. Furthermore, researchers and experts were also interested to discover and collect important cultural heritage elements –material and immaterial, natural and human alike– that might serve as fertile grounds for economic, social, or development strategies, those that locals can relate to, find familiar and those that resonate with their communities and cultural narratives. The proposed study will describe and analyse this piece of fieldwork, which was conducted in interdisciplinary teams, combining desktop research, a set of empirical methods, a diverse array of academic, artistic and practical competencies, and creative ways of cooperation with locals.

EPIPACTIS SPECIES AND THEIR HABITAT PREFERENCES IN THE WESTERN PART OF HUNGARY

With 22 taxa reported from the country so far, Epipactis is the most species-rich orchid genus in Hungary. Many of them are rare, threatened species. To protect endangered species effectively, it is crucial to explore their ecology. Our work aimed to select and examine factors that are influencing the distribution of Epipactis species. Our data collection (2014–2018) was carried out in the Keszthely Hills, in the northeastern part of the Zala Hills and the Southern Bakony Mountains. We assigned ecologically relevant data from databases of local forestries, terrain models and geological maps to each occurrence. We examined the factors that result in the best differentiation between the studied species. At 1,261 localities, a total of 5,223 individuals of 15 taxa were found. We found three factors (tree species composition of the forest, genetic soil type, bedrock type) that significantly influenced the distribution of Epipactis species. Our results can help understand the distribution patterns of these species and allow for more effective, targeted protection of their potential habitats on a regional level.

Monospecific mass occurrence of a new species of the Early Jurassic genus Arzonellina (Brachiopoda) at Fenyveskút (Bakony Mountains, Hungary)

A peculiar slab of brachiopod coquina was found at Fenyveskút locality (Lókút, Bakony Mountains, Hungary). The current investigation demonstrated that it was a mass occurrence of monospecific brachiopods which belong to the kingenoid genus Arzonellina Sulser, 2005, recently described from Switzerland. Detailed investigations of the external and internal morphology (the latter by serial sections) of the specimens proved that they represent a new species: Arzonellina bogicae n. sp. This new species is introduced, described and illustrated here in details. The age of the brachiopod coquina and the new species is considered Sinemurian on the basis of circumstantial evidence from the locality Fenyveskút, where the lithologically very similar, Sinemurian Hierlatz Limestone is frequent. The previously documented occurrences of Arzonellina in Switzerland and Montenegro are also Sinemurian in age. For better understanding the sedimentary history of the slab of brachiopod coquina with Arzonellina, the Jurassic megabreccia at the locality Fenyveskút is re-described here. The lithology and fossils of the major components (blocks) and the matrix are documented in detail, and illustrated with thin section photomicrograps. Detailed study of the sediments that accumulated in an internal open space (vug) of the formerly lithified (cemented) brachiopod coquina revealed that the piece of the Arzonellina coquina was incorporated into the megabreccia in the Bajocian. The monospecific mass accumulation of brachiopods gave a hint to an association with hydrocarbon seeps (“cold seeps”). However stable isotopic results from the Fenyveskút locality do not show any signatures that would indicate the influence of that special environment.

Magyarország faunájára új díszmolyok (Oecophoridae)

In recent years, two new concealer moth, Aplota palpella (Haworth, 1828) and Denisia albimaculea (Haworth, 1828) species (Oecophoridae) have been recorded in the fauna of Hungary in the Vértes and Bakony Mountains.

Geodiversity mapping of the Bakony–Balaton UNESCO Global Geopark, Hungary

Abstract. Geodiversity is the natural range of elements in the physical environment. The relationships, properties, and systems of geoscientific features have an impact not only on the natural world but also on cultural and societal aspects of life. Geodiversity can be considered as a quantitative variable that is unevenly distributed all over the world. This spatial variability helps to locate areas with a high degree of geodiversity. These areas can be the basis of further nature protection and geotourism purposes: high geodiversity usually means higher scientific/cultural/ecological values in an area. We present a GIS-based workflow in which we collect, evaluate, and visualize geoscientific variables to provide information on the geodiversity of the Bakony–Balaton UNESCO Global Geopark in Hungary. By using mainly freely accessible data and an open-source GIS environment, we aim to develop a method that can be applied in many areas of the world. The evaluation is built up by the determination of five sub-indices per unit area, which are related to the elements of geodiversity: geology, relief, hydrology, soil, palaeontology, and mineralogy. The geodiversity index is the sum of the sub-indices. The current tourism potential is mainly found in the high geodiversity regions: the Balaton Uplands, the Tapolca Basin, the Káli Basin, and the Bakony Mountains. The results show that the current geopark infrastructure is in accordance with the geodiversity, but it took several years to reach this state. However, new geoparks are established every year and their infrastructure is yet to be planned. The method we apply helps in this process by using open-source data in the assessment and provides a workflow in areas that have not been evaluated before.

A Unique Late Cretaceous dinosaur locality in the Bakony-Balaton Geopark of Hungary (Iharkút, Bakony Mts.)

Iharkut is a Late Cretaceous (Santonian) vertebrate-bearing locality in the Bakony Mountains of western Hungary, where productive and continuous paleontological excavations have been carried out in the last twenty years. Field work resulted in a very rich and diverse assemblage of terrestrial and freshwater animals (fishes, amphibians, turtles, lizards, a freshwater mosasaur, pterosaurs, crocodilians, dinosaurs including birds). This abundance and diversity of fossil taxa plays a significant role in the understanding of the evolutionary history of European Late Cretaceous continental vertebrate faunas. Furthermore, due to its palaeogeographic position (in the western Tethyan archipelago) and its Santonian age, the locality fills an important gap in the Late Cretaceous record of continental vertebrates in Europe. The locality is among the geological values of the Bakony-Balaton UNESCO Global Geopark. The uniqueness of the fossils raises this locality into the list of high priority geoheritage sites of the world, which draws the attention of both scientific and non-scientific geopark visitors.

Complex food preference analysis of the Late Cretaceous (Santonian) lizards from Iharkút (Bakony Mountains, Hungary)

ABSTRACT The Upper Cretaceous Iharkút vertebrate locality (Bakony Mountains, Hungary) provided a diverse lizard fauna. In order to infer their food preference, jaw and tooth morphology, as well as dental macro- and microwear, were analysed. Due to preservation, only specimens of three taxa (Chromatogenys, Bicuspidon, ‘Scincomorpha indet. A’) were studied. Extant lizards, including omnivores, durophages, insectivores, molluscivores and a herbivore, were used as analogies for interpretation. Based on morphological and dental wear studies, Chromatogenys seems to have consumed and processed hard objects regularly with its enlarged posterior teeth. In contrast, Bicuspidon with its complex bicuspid teeth might have fed on both softer and harder food items, and according to dental wear analysis, its diet can be placed between herbivory and insectivory. The sharply pointed teeth and jaw morphology of ‘Scincomorpha indet. A’ are comparable to recent insectivorous taxa though tooth crown morphology is most similar to burrowing species. This investigation is considered as a pilot study providing insight into the complexity of food chains of the Late Cretaceous Iharkút terrestrial communities. Furthermore, our results clearly demonstrate that the two-dimensional dental microwear analysis works well on the small (tooth crown diameter less than 1 mm) teeth of both extinct and extant lizards.

Biosztratigráfiai és gerinctelen őslénytani kutatások a kárpát-pannon térségben

A Kárpát–Pannon-térség makroszkópikus méretű gerinctelen ősmaradványainak kutatása gazdag tudományos ismeretanyagot szolgáltatott az elmúlt mintegy másfél évszázadban. A legtöbbet tanulmányozott ősmaradványcsoport a puhatestűek voltak, a mezozoikumban leginkább az ammoniteszek, a kainozoikumban pedig a kagylók és a csigák. A legjobban megkutatott terület a Dunántúli-középhegység, azon belül pedig a Bakony, amely bizonyos korokban és ősmaradványcsoportokban világviszonylatban is kiemelkedő gazdagságú anyagot adott. A magyarországi őslénytani kutatást számos kiemelkedő egyéni teljesítmény: sokat forgatott és idézett monográfiák, rétegtani értelmezések, az adott terület geológiai fejlődését és az adott kor élővilágának fejlődését új megvilágításba helyező tanulmányok fémjelzik. Ezek mellett voltak olyan kutatócsoportok és többgenerációs tudományos iskolák, amelyek tartósan vagy ismétlődően kiemelkedően magas színvonalú, külföldön is elismert eredményeket produkáltak bizonyos kutatási területeken. Ilyen volt a Balaton-felvidéki triász kutatása, a dunántúli-középhegységi és mecseki jura kutatása, a Paratethys-tenger oligocénjének, azaz a kiscelli és egri emeletnek az őslénytani kutatása, és a késő miocén–pliocén Pannon-tó élővilágának és üledékeinek, azaz a pannóniai emeletnek a kutatása. Dolgozatunk a 150 éves fennállását ünneplő Földtani Közlöny ünnepi évfolyamában megjelenő cikkek sorához kapcsolódva, geológiai időrend szerint veszi leltárba – a teljesség igénye nélkül – a Kárpát–Pannon-térségben született legfontosabb gerinctelen őslénytani eredményeket – amelyeknek egy jelentős része éppen ebben a folyóiratban jelent meg.

Terrestrial kaolin deposits trapped in Miocene karstic sinkholes on planation surface remnants, Transdanubian Range, Pannonian Basin (Hungary)

AbstractIn the Transdanubian Range, Pannonian Basin, Hungary, karstic sinkholes on a planation surface of Triassic carbonates are filled by grey clayey–silty kaolin deposits. The provenance and accumulation age of these strongly altered terrestrial karst-filling sediments are constrained by X-ray powder diffraction, heavy mineral analysis and zircon U–Pb dating. The heavy minerals of the Southern Bakony Mountains samples are dominated by the ultra-stable zircon–rutile–tourmaline association. Zircon U–Pb data indicate accumulation between 20 and 16 Ma. Furthermore, Archaean to Palaeogene grains were also determined, reflecting the principally fluvial recycling of Eocene bauxites and their cover sequences. In contrast, the sample from the Keszthely Hills consists almost exclusively of airborne material including zircons of 18–14 Ma, reflecting a dominant contribution from the Carpathian–Pannonian Neogene volcanism. The shift in the Miocene age components is inferred to have been caused by the landscape evolution and burial history of the planation surface remnants controlled by local block tectonics.

Late Valanginian extinction and turnover of Tethyan brachiopods: A signal of the Weissert Event (Bakony Mountains, Hungary)

Brachiopods, together with ammonoids, were collected bed-by-bed from several Lower Cretaceous pelagic sections and localities in the Bakony Mountains (Transdanubian Range, Hungary), dated by detailed ammonoid and nannofossil biostratigraphy. These yielded abundant and diverse brachiopod material (1015 specimens, 25 species), and a possibility to determine the stratigraphic ranges of the brachiopod species. Two sections, including the Berriasian to Hauterivian interval, were studied in detail. In the Hárskút HK-12 section the early late Valanginian Weissert Event was documented previously by stable isotope investigations and it was biostratigraphically correlated with the Édesvíz Key section. The Lower Cretaceous brachiopod record in the Bakony was separated into four assemblages. The abundant early Berriasian brachiopod Assemblage 1 diminished and with a stepwise extinction and partial turnover passed to an impoverished Assemblage 2 in the early Valanginian. These species ultimately disappeared at the early/late Valanginian boundary. This extinction is interpreted as the effect of the global Weissert Event. The extinction horizon is marked by an almost monospecific, dwarf brachiopod fauna (Assemblage 3). In the late Valanginian an abundant and diverse brachiopod fauna appeared, with a complete turnover of species (Assemblage 4). The development of this assemblage in the late Valanginian and Hauterivian was probably controlled by environmental changes, (1) by a switch in palaeoclimate, i.e. by the late Valanginian cooling episode and (2) by the change in the sedimentary environment.

Sawflies of the Bakony Mountains and the Balaton Uplands (Hymenoptera: Symphyta)

358 species are listed from the Bakony Mountains and the Balaton Uplands. Monostegia analis (Konow, 1887) and Pristiphora cincta Newman, 1837 are new records for the Hungarian fauna. Megalodontes laticeps Konow, 1897, Gilpinia laricis (Jurine, 1807), Tenthredo arcuata Förster, 1771, Apethymus cerris (Kollar, 1850), Monostegia cingulata (Konow, 1891), Empria alector Benson, 1938, Cephalcia alpina (Klug, 1808), Nematinus luteus (Panzer, 1805), Nematus brevivalvis Thomson, 1871, Pachynematus montanus (Zaddach, 1883), Pamphilius aurantiacus (Giraud, 1857) are cancelled from the fauna-list of the Bakony Mountains.

First record of bioeroding barnacles (Cirripedia: Acrothoracica) on ammonite shells

Oval, elongated and radially orientated pits were found on specimens of a Kimmeridgian (Upper Jurassic) aspidoceratid ammonite species from Páskom Hill (Bakony Mountains, Transdanubian Range, Hungary). These trace fossils most probably represent acrothoracica (burrowing barnacles) borings, which have never been documented on ammonites before, and are described here as Paskomella acanthicola nov. igen. et nov. isp. The tiny barnacles were living together with the cephalopods; therefore, these trace fossils represent a new type of commensalism between the ammonites and the boring, host-specific, acrothoracid cirriped.

Brachiopod distribution through the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition in the western Tethyan pelagic realm: Example from the Bakony Mountains, Hungary

Brachiopods, together with ammonoids, were collected bed-by-bed from several sections in the Bakony Mountains. The sections, straddling the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition, yielded abundant and diverse brachiopod material (1277 specimens, 18 species), and this offered a possibility to determine the stratigraphic ranges of the brachiopod species. The dating of the sections by ammonoids was supported by micropalaeontological (calpionellid and nannofossil) investigations. Three sections straddling the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition with continuous record with good ammonoid biostratigraphic zonation are documented in detail. It is demonstrated that, according to the stratigraphical distribution recorded in the Bakony sections, the most abundant brachiopod species range continuously from the Tithonian to the Berriasian, i.e. no change or turnover appears at the Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary. Our results endorse those published from the Pieniny Klippen Belt of Poland and underscore that, at least in the intra-Tethyan realm, the brachiopod species invariably crossed the Tithonian/Berriasian boundary.

Моделювання поширення Epipactis tallosii (Orchidaceae) в Центральній частині Європи

The majority of European orchids are of significant conservation importance, due to their specific ecological and biological requirements. The genus Epipactis Zinn. in Europe is well known for its intricate systematics and confused taxonomy. The E. tallosii A.Molnár & Robatsch was discovered and described relatively late (in 1997), it was described based on a single Hungarian population, at the southwestern foot of Bakony mountains, near the village of Nyirád. The occurrence of this species in Slovakia was known from the mid of 1990s but it was not identified until 1997. The presence of the species is also known in the Czech Republic and Romania. The E. tallosii is currently enlisted in the Endangered (EN) category of the Red List (Bilz et al., 2011), and is considered very rare, mostly represented by very small and isolated populations over its scattered distribution area. The area of occupancy of this orchid is below 500 km² and according to recent assessments the population exhibits a decreasing trend (Fay, 2011). This paper investigated the potentional spread of the rare species Epipactis tallosii in Central Europe based on currently known localities. Taxonomy of the representatives of this genus is very complicated due to the morphological differentiation of their flower. For instance, in Hungary it was found in gallery forests, oak and oak-hornbeam forests both on the lowlands and in more hilly regions, as well as in poplar plantations. According to most recent IUCN Red List E. tallosii is one of the most threatened orchids of Europe. Based on the known localities of this species, we tried to simulate potentionally distribution of the species the Central part of Europe. The spatial modeling was performed using Maxent software tools. The simulation includes 163 known localities of the species. The data sets of GIS layers corresponding to 19 ecological climatic factors, in addition to another layer – the altitude taken from the WorldClim systems. The map was built using Quantum – Gis and Diva –Gis information systems. The potentional area of occurence are established.

Újabb adatok az Alinda biplicata (Montagu, 1803) héjmorfológiájához, valamint annak klímafüggéséhez (Mollusca, Clausiliidae)

The authorsshow that the shell sizes of Alinda bipli-cata are largest in the Bakony Mountains, are the smallest in the Somogy Hillys.

The continental fish fauna of the Late Cretaceous (Santonian) Iharkút locality (Bakony Mountains, Hungary)

The Late Cretaceous (Santonian) fish fauna of the Iharkut vertebrate site (Bakony Mountains, Hungary) is described here. The ichthyofauna includes the lepisosteid Atractosteus sp., the pycnodontid cf. Coelodus sp., Vidalamiinae indet., a non-vidalamiin Amiidae indet., Elopiformes indet., two indeterminate ellimmichthyiforms, cf. Salmoniformes indet., Acanthomorpha indet., at least one indeterminate teleostean, and numerous indeterminate actinopterygians (represented by teeth). Among these taxa, the Iharkut remains of Vidalamiinae and the suggested indeterminate Salmoniformes represent their first occurrence in the Late Cretaceous of Europe. The unidentifiable specimens may suggest the presence of further fish taxa. The gar remains described here further support the Atractosteus sp. affinity of the Iharkut form. Most of the Iharkut fishes are carnivorous, but durophagous taxa are also represented. Although chondrichthyan remains have not been identified in the Iharkut vertebrate material up to now, the eco...

Tracing multiple resedimentation on an isolated karstified plateau: The bauxite-bearing Miocene red clay of the Southern Bakony Mountains, Hungary

The Vöröstó (=Red Lake) Formation, located in the Southern Bakony Mountains and the Balaton Highlands (Hungary), is a red, clayey continental assemblage containing hard, up to fist-sized bauxite pebbles, occurring in a large apparent stratigraphic gap between underlying karstified Triassic carbonates and mid’ Miocene to Quaternary cover. The origin and the exact stratigraphic position of the assemblage have been controversial for a long time. In this study, petrographic observations on the bauxite pebbles revealed common features with Cretaceous bauxite deposits known in the region, whereas heavy mineral composition of the red clay matrix is similar to those known from the Eocene bauxite horizon of the region. Single grain zircon U–Pb ages obtained from the bauxite pebbles and their red clayey matrix show similar late Archean to Jurassic age components. Additionally, Cenozoic U–Pb ages are well represented in the mostly euhedral zircon crystals separated from the red clays, whereas this volcanogenic contribution completely missing from the bauxite pebbles. SEM morphology and related EDX chemical analysis of clay minerals indicate polygenetic, detrital origin for the red clays. The main source material of the bauxite bearing Vöröstó Formation is most probably local Cretaceous and Eocene bauxite deposits exposed during the middle-late Miocene. These tropical weathering products were partly decomposed and degraded, but dilution by siliciclastic contribution is negligible. We suggest a transport mechanism dominated by local redeposition of mostly pelitic and allitic material through seasonal muddy debris flows within a karstic landscape.