Cretaceous Vertebrate Research Articles

First supplement to the catalogue of invertebrate and vertebrate palaeontological type specimens of the Hungarian Natural History Museum: 2008–2018

A comprehensive palaeontological type catalogue of the Hungarian Natural History Museum (Budapest) was published in 2008. In the following ten years several new type specimens were deposited in the collection, both invertebrates and vertebrates, from microscopic radiolarians to large dinosaur bone remains. Triassic radiolarians and ammonoids, Jurassic brachiopods, Cenozoic molluscs, and Cretaceous vertebrates represent the most dynamically growing parts of the type collection. This supplement to the original catalogue contains the data of 175 species and subspecies, of which 148 are new taxa for the type catalogue. Among them 125 are represented by holotypes, and an additional 199 inventory lots of their paratypes; 23 new taxa are represented only by paratypes, in an additional 74 inventory lots. The vast majority of these taxa were recently described (between 2008 and 2018), although a few of them are previously established taxa with type material that was newly recognized to exist in our collection. This supplement also contains the data of four recently designated neotypes, as well as 16 rediscovered old type specimens which were reported as missing in the 2008 catalogue. We also include the known revisions and illustration of 14 previously established species and subspecies (in three cases with lectotype designation). At the end of 2018, the invertebrate and vertebrate palaeontological collection of the Hungarian Natural History Museum holds more than 2500 inventory lots of different type specimens, including name-bearing types of 1056 nominal species and subspecies.

A review of vertebrate body fossils from the Korean Peninsula and perspectives

For the first time, a comprehensive review was presented for all Korean vertebrate body fossils reported during last 100 years. At present, Korean vertebrate faunas are characterized by no fossil report in the Paleozoic, various Cretaceous terrestrial vertebrates, and the Late Eocene to Middle Miocene mammals. Except for the old collection of land mammals of North Korea, most fossils have been found and published during the last three decades in South Korea. They are commonly incomplete and fragmentary. Articulated skeletons are rare except for fish fossils. Cretaceous vertebrate faunas include six freshwater fish orders (including Jinjuichthys cheongi), two families of turtles, an anguimorph lizard (Asprosaurus bibongriensis), a crocodyliform (“Hadongsuchus acerdentis”), an anurognathid pterosaur, various theropod remains including three kinds of birds, titanosauriform remains, a basal ornithopod (Koreanosaurus boseongensis), and a basal neoceratopsian (Koreaceratops hwaseongensis). Among them, pterosaur and bird specimens from the Sinuiju Series of North Korea have not been described in detail yet, but their fossil assemblages are very similar to those of Jehol Biota of northeastern China. A possibility of the faunal connection is discussed between two regions. Unfortunately, no additional mammal fossil has been reported from North Korea since two important land mammal localities were discovered in the late Eocene and early Miocene strata before 1943. However, new rodent and cetacean fossils were found in both terrestrial and marine Miocene strata in South Korea. Most of the valid vertebrate taxa appear to be endemic in Korea, but some clades show faunal affinities with Mongolia, China, and Japan. However, detailed faunal comparisons have not been performed among these countries. Vertebrate paleontological data of the Korean Peninsula have been rapidly accumulated and become crucial to understand evolutionary dynamics of vertebrates in East Asia. Vertebrate paleontological studies need to focus more on the Paleozoic strata for primitive fishes and early tetrapods, and Cenozoic terrestrial strata for land mammals in Korea. Further work throughout the geologic column will only improve our understanding of the evolution of life in East Asia.

First report on Cretaceous vertebrates from the Algerian Kem Kem beds. A new procoelous salamander from the Cenomanian, with remarks on African Caudata

In northwestern Africa, the Kem Kem plateau is a major source of continental Cenomanian fossils. The plateau extends across the Algerian–Moroccan border but, unlike the intensely worked Moroccan part, the Algerian side of the Kem Kem beds has received less attention. However, recent field work in Algeria resulted in the recovery of a locality that yielded a promising vertebrate assemblage. Among the fossils is a trunk vertebra belonging to a salamander, a group whose remains are extremely rare in Africa. The vertebra is procoelous and it presents combination of characters that suggest it belongs to a new taxon of unknown affinities. Although the putative new taxon is represented by a single specimen that is too poorly preserved to be formally named, the discovery is important for showing that salamanders were more diversified than expected in the Cretaceous of Africa.

Paleomagnetism of the Cretaceous Galula Formation and implications for vertebrate evolution

This study uses magnetostratigraphy to help constrain the age of the paleontologically important Galula Formation (Rukwa Rift Basin, southwestern Tanzania). The formation preserves a Cretaceous vertebrate fauna, including saurischian dinosaurs, a putative gondwanatherian mammal, and notosuchian crocodyliforms. With better dating, the Galula Formation and its fossils help fill a temporal gap in our understanding of vertebrate evolution in continental Africa, enabling better evaluation of competing paleobiogeographic hypotheses concerning faunal exchange throughout Gondwana during the Cretaceous. Paleomagnetic samples for this study were collected from the Namba (higher in section) and Mtuka (lower in section) members of the Galula Formation and underwent stepwise thermal demagnetization. All samples displayed a strong normal magnetic polarity overprint, and maximum unblocking temperatures at approximately 690 °C. Three short reversed intervals were identified in the Namba Member, whereas the Mtuka Member lacked any clear reversals. Given the relatively limited existing age constraints, one interpretation correlates the Namba Member to Chron C32. An alternative correlation assigns reversals in the Namba Member to recently proposed short reversals near the end of the Cretaceous Normal Superchron (Chron C34), a time that is traditionally interpreted as having stable normal polarity. The lack of reversals in the Mtuka Member supports deposition within Chron C34. These data suggest that the Namba Member is no older than Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian-Campanian), with the Mtuka Member less well constrained to the middle Cretaceous (Aptian-Cenomanian). The paleomagnetic results are supported by the application of fold and reversal tests for paleomagnetic stability, and paleomagnetic poles for the Namba (246.4°/77.9°, α95 5.9°) and Mtuka (217.1°/72.2°, α95 11.1°) members closely matching the apparent polar wander path for Africa during the Late Cretaceous. These results confidently indicate a Late Creteceous age assignment for the Namba Member of the Galula Formation, a unit that has yielded key crocodyliform (e.g., Pakasuchus; Rukwasuchus) and dinosaur (e.g., Rukwatitan; Shingopana) fossils from eastern Africa.

A tritylodontid synapsid from the Middle Jurassic of Siberia and the taxonomy of derived tritylodontids

ABSTRACTUpper and lower tritylodontid postcanine teeth from the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) Itat Formation of the Berezovsk coal mine, Krasnoyarsk Territory, Russia, are referred to Stereognathus sp. The genus Stereognathus Charlesworth, 1855 (Polistodon He and Cai, 1984, Xenocretosuchus Tatarinov and Mashenko, 1999, and Montirictus Matsuoka et al., 2016, are new synonyms), is similar to Bocatherium and differs from all other tritylodontids in having an upper postcanine cusp formula of 2:2:2. It differs from Bocatherium in the quadrangular shape of the upper postcanine teeth. Stereognathus also differs from all other tritylodontids in having a more elaborate interlocking system in the upper postcanine teeth, each of which bears a mesial cingulum connecting cups B0, M0, and L0. Stereognathus shares with Bienotheroides single-rooted lower postcanine teeth, and these two genera are closely related. Discovery of Stereognathus in the Itat Formation underlines the similarity of the vertebrate assemblage from this stratigraphic unit to the British Bathonian vertebrate assemblages and the Early Cretaceous vertebrate fauna from the Ilek Formation in Siberia. The presence of Stereognathus during an ∼40 Ma time interval in Siberia suggests a long stasis in the evolution of the vertebrate faunas of this region.Citation for this article: Averianov, A. O., T. Martin, A. V. Lopatin, J. A. Schultz, P. P. Skutschas, R. Schellhorn, and S. A. Krasnolutskii. 2017. A tritylodontid synapsid from the Middle Jurassic of Siberia and the taxonomy of derived tritylodontids. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2017.1363767.

Early twentieth-century paleontological research of Freidrich von Huene: contributions to the knowledge of Late Cretaceous vertebrates of Central Brazil

Friedrich von Huene’s important scientific research on tetrapod fossils from Central Brazil has received little attention, even though it represents a significant contribution to early studies of vertebrate paleontology in the country including the first discoveries of dinosaur fossils in Brazil. von Huene described five reptile taxa in two papers published in important German scientific journals and used these specimens to make paleogeographic inferences regarding the Cretaceous of the Southern Hemisphere. von Huene warrants recognition as the first specialist to describe in detail the fossil reptile fauna of Central Brazil, which was made possible only by his network of contacts with important and influential naturalists of the cities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.

Geological and Palaeontological context of three new Barremian (Lower Cretaceous) vertebrate sites in the Iberian Peninsula (Cuenca Province, Central Spain)

Three new Lower Cretaceous vertebrate sites (Vadillos-1, Vadillos-2, El Tobar) have been recently discovered and studied in the Cuenca Province (Central Spain). They are located in deposits of “Wealden” facies belonging to the El Collado Sandstone and Clay Formation. In these outcrops, micro and macroremains corresponding to plants, invertebrates and vertebrates have been collected and subsequently assigned to macrophytes, charophytes (e.g., Atopochara trivolvis triquetra, Globator maillardii trochiliscoides, Clavator harrisii harrisii), ostracods (e.g., Cypridea gr. modesta, Cypridea cf. C. isasae, Cypridea sp. aff. C. moneta, Cypridea sp. 1, Cypridea sp. 2), molluscs (Unionoida, Viviparus sp.), fishes, amphibians, turtles (cf. Eucryptodira), crocodyliforms (Neosuchia) and dinosaurs (ankylosaurs, ornithopods, theropods). Among the vertebrate remains, scales, teeth, plates, osteoderms, phalanges, ribs, vertebrae and other incomplete bones, as well as eggshell fragments have been identified. This rich and diverse assemblage was deposited in an upper Barremian alluvial-palustrine muddy floodplain crossed by braided sandy channels.

Collection of the thinnest: A unique eggshell assemblage from the Late Cretaceous vertebrate locality of Iharkút (Hungary)

As a result of several years of screen-washing activity, a remarkable assemblage of eggshell fragments has been recovered from the Late Cretaceous vertebrate locality of Iharkut, Hungary. Detailed investigation of the assemblage by multiple visualization techniques (scanning electron microscopy, polarizing light microscopy, X-ray micro-computed tomography), quantitative morphometric analyses, and micro X-ray fluorescence spectrometry revealed a diverse composition of five different eggshell morphotypes (MT I–MT V) and three subcategories within the second morphotype (MT II/a, b, c), with MT I being by far the most abundant (83%) in the assemblage. MT I, MT III, and MT V represent theropod dinosaurian eggshells, whereas MT II and MT IV show characteristics of crocodilian and squamate eggshells, respectively. Hence, despite their fragmentary nature, these eggshells represent the first clear evidence that various sauropsid taxa had nesting sites near the ancient fluvial system of Iharkut. Besides the implied...

Faunal similarity in Madagascan and South Indian Late Cretaceous vertebrate faunas

The modern-day fauna of the Indian subcontinent is a mixture of ancestral Gondwanan clades, Laurasian immigrants, and endemic radiations as a result of its complex geological history. During the latest Cretaceous, the Indian subcontinent has been reconstructed at peak isolation from other continents, having separated last from Madagascar approximately 85 million years ago. The majority of vertebrate fossils known from the Late Cretaceous of India are from the Deccan Volcanic Province, but fossil material from the Cauvery Basin in South India has provided a second diverse vertebrate fauna from this time period. Here, we use the modified Forbes and Raup-Crick faunal dissimilarity indices to demonstrate that the faunal composition of the Cauvery Basin is distinct from that of the Deccan intertrappean and infratrappean beds, and shows greater faunal similarity with the Maevarano Basin of Madagascar than other Indian localities, despite several million years having elapsed since the geological separation of the two island continents.

Dietary and environmental implications of Early Cretaceous predatory dinosaur coprolites from Teruel, Spain

Coprolites from the Early Cretaceous vertebrate bone-bed at Ariño in Teruel, Spain, were analyzed geochemically and palynologically. They contain various inclusions, such as small bone fragments, abundant plant remains, pollen, and spores. We attribute the coprolites to carnivorous dinosaurs based partly on their morphology together with the presence of bone fragments, and a high content of calcium phosphate (hydroxylapatite) with calcite. Well-preserved pollen and spore assemblages were identified in all coprolite samples and a slightly poorer assemblage was obtained from the adjacent sediments, both indicating an Early Cretaceous (Albian) age. This shows that the coprolites are in situ and also confirms previous age determinations for the host strata. The depositional environment is interpreted as a continental wetland based on the palynoflora, which includes several hydrophilic taxa, together with sparse occurrences of fresh-water algae, such as Ovoidites, and the absence of marine palynomorphs.Although the coprolites of Ariño samples generally are dominated by pollen produced by Taxodiaceae (cypress) and Cheirolepidiaceae (a family of extinct conifers), the sediment samples have a slightly higher relative abundance of fern spores. The distribution of major organic components varies between the coprolite and sediment samples, which is manifest by the considerably higher charcoal percentage within the coprolites. The high quantities of charcoal might be explained by a ground-dwelling species, feeding on smaller vertebrates that complemented its diet with plant material from a paleoenvironment were wild fires were a part of the ecosystem. The state of preservation of the spores and pollen is also more detailed in the coprolites, suggesting that encasement in calcium phosphate may inhibit degradation of sporopollenin.

New Remains of the Multituberculate Mammal Barbatodon from the Upper Cretaceous of the Hațeg Basin (Romania)

The so-called “Hațeg Island” (Transylvania, Romania) is well known for its rich and peculiar Late Cretaceous vertebrate assemblages, including dwarf dinosaurs, first reported at the end of the 19th century. Besides dinosaurs, other important members of the “Hațeg Island” terrestrial ecosystems were the multituberculate mammals. Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) multituberculates are extremely rare in Europe, being known exclusively from the “Hațeg Island.” Two genera are reported from this area: Kogaionon, with the single species K. ungureanui, and Barbatodon, with two species: B. transylvanicus and B. oardaensis. Both genera belong to the European endemic family Kogaionidae. We report herein new remains of B. transylvanicus from the Maastrichtian locality of Pui (Hunedoara District) in the Hațeg Basin, including the most complete dentaries found to date with complete cheek teeth rows. Intraspecific variability of this species in dentary shape, tooth morphology, and size difference is highlighted.

内蒙古鄂尔多斯早白垩世甲龙类胃石与鳞片印痕化石的发现

内蒙古鄂尔多斯盆地北部早白垩世志丹群陆相沉积中产有丰富的脊椎动物化石，其中包含兽脚类、剑龙类和鹦鹉嘴龙类等恐龙类群。1件不完整的甲龙类化石最近发现于杭锦旗老龙豁子罗汉洞组中，该化石保存有一团胃石以及局部鳞片印痕。至少22枚坚硬且磨圆度较好的砾石保存在联合荐椎和左肠骨前方，砾石长径为20 mm至35 mm，显示该甲龙类大体呈原位保存的胃石的存在。在颈椎附近露出有面积约为40 cm2的鳞片印痕，单个鳞片基本上呈四边形、相互不接触不叠覆，面积多在6 mm2与12 mm2之间。该标本不仅代表了鄂尔多斯盆地早白垩世甲龙类化石的首次发现，也是我国第1例保存有胃石与鳞片印痕的甲龙类化石，在研究甲龙类的生态习性方面等具有较为重要的科学价值。 The Early Cretaceous terrestrial Zhidan Group of the Ordos Basin, Inner Mongolia produced ab-undant fossil vertebrates including several dinosaur groups such as theropods, stegosaurs and psittacosaurids. Recently, an incomplete ankylosaur skeleton has been found from the Luohandong Formation at Laolonghuozi site, Hangjin Qi. Fortunately, a cluster of gastroliths and some area of scale impressions are clearly preserved. At least 22 pebbles are presented at the position just ahead of synsacrum. They are hard and rounded, with each pebble roughly 20 millimeters to 35 millimeters in long axis. These pebbles should be interpreted as gastroliths (stomach stones). More than 40 square centimeters of scale impressions are exposed near the cervical vertebrae. Each scale is generally trapezoid in outline, with the area varying from 6 square millimeters to 12 square millimeters. These scales are small and separate, compared with the relatively large and various shaped osteoderms in ankylosaurs. This specimen represents not only the first finding of ankylosaur dinosaurs among the Early Cretaceous vertebrate fauna in Ordos Basin, but also the first example of the ankylosaur gastroliths and scale impressions in China.

Early Cretaceous vertebrates from the Xinlong Formation of Guangxi (southern China): a review

AbstractThe vertebrate assemblage from the Early Cretaceous non-marine Xinlong Formation of the Napai Basin, in the south-western part of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (southern China), is reviewed. The assemblage includes chondrichthyans (at least six species of hybodont sharks includingHybodus, Thaiodus, HeteroptychodusandAcrorhizodus), actinopterygians (Halecomorphi and Ginglymodi), turtles (the adocidShachemysand the carettochelyidKizylkumemys), crocodilians (cf.Theriosuchus) and dinosaurs (the sauropodsFusuisaurusandLiubangosaurus, carcharodontosaurid and spinosaurid theropods, iguanodontians and a possible psittacosaurid). This assemblage shows many similarities to those from non-marine formations of the Khorat Group of north-eastern Thailand. It seems to be particularly close to that from the Khok Kruat Formation, considered as Aptian in age, as shown especially by sharks and turtles and by the presence of iguanodontians. An Aptian age is therefore proposed for the Xinlong Formation. A study of the stable oxygen and carbon isotope compositions of reptile apatite suggests that this part of South China experienced subtropical arid conditions during the deposition of the Xinlong Formation. In its composition, the vertebrate fauna from the Xinlong Formation seems to be more similar to coeval faunas from SE Asia than to assemblages from northern China (including the Jehol Biota). Although this may partly reflect different depositional and taphonomic environments (fluvial for the Xinlong Formation versus lacustrine for the Jehol Biota) it seems likely that, during Early Cretaceous time, southern China and SE Asia were part of a distinct zoogeographical province, different from that corresponding to northern China. This may be the result of both climatic differences (with relatively cool climates in northern China versus a subtropical climate in the south) and geographical barriers such as mountain chains.

A new Cenomanian vertebrate tracksite at Tamajón (Guadalajara, Spain): Palaeoichnology and palaeoenvironmental implications

A new Upper Cretaceous vertebrate tracksite has been discovered at Tamajón (Iberian Ranges, Guadalajara, Spain). The track level is a relatively smooth and slightly undulating sandy ferruginous crust, corresponding to an erosive surface at the base of a small meandering channel. It is incised into the underlying planar cross-bedded sandstones of coastal bars located at the middle-upper part of the Utrillas Formation (middle-upper Cenomanian). The site shows an extraordinary concentration of vertebrate tracks, among which numerous sets of two to five isolated digit impressions (“swim tracks”) and, at least, two trackways referred to crocodyliforms, and a single tridactyl footprint probably produced by a theropod dinosaur can be recognized. There are also several long traces (epichnial grooves) revealing sharp direction changes (up to 90°) which seem to be fish fin traces (Undichna unisulca), although crocodyliforms (tail marks) and/or fish invertebrates cannot be rejected as possible tracemakers. Some crocodyliform tracks reveal a thin raised rim, due to the displacement of the sediment by the pressure produced by the feet. Several impressions are moderately deformed by small sediment slides, only preserving their deepest part (claw marks). This is clearly indicative of a soft substrate with a high degree of plasticity and water content at the time of the track registration. Nevertheless, the sediment was hard enough to preserve manus and pes print morphologies and also possible crocodyliform tail and/or fish fin traces. Small rhizoliths can also be recognized and may belong to herbaceous wetland vegetation. The morphology of the palaeochannel, the sedimentary context and the track preservation seem to indicate that the tracks were impressed in a shallow channel located near the coast, under wet conditions and in different moments of time. This discovery represents the first occurrence of vertebrate ichnites in the Utrillas Formation, a stratigraphic unit where osteological and ichnological remains are relatively scarce, and it confirms that some crocodyliforms lived in near coast channels during the deposition of this unit.

A unique burial site of early cretaceous vertebrates in Western Siberia (the Shestakovo 3 locality, Kemerovo Province, Russia).

A unique burial site of early cretaceous vertebrates in Western Siberia (the Shestakovo 3 locality, Kemerovo Province, Russia).

Cretaceous vertebrate fauna of the Cauvery Basin, southern India: Palaeodiversity and palaeobiogeographic implications

Abstract The vertebrate fauna from the late Albian to Maastrichtian succession of the Cauvery Basin, south India has been known since 1845, but it received only scant attention as compared to the vertebrates already known from the Deccan volcanic province of peninsular India. Recent fossil discoveries appear to support the emergence of significantly diverse marine and non-marine vertebrates comprising fishes, frogs, reptiles (ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, turtles, crocodiles and dinosaurs) and a mammal from the Cauvery Basin have revived the interest in the fauna of the basin as it has significant implications for understanding the palaeobiogeography of India. The latest Albian to Turonian marine vertebrates such as sharks, ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs show a wide geographic distribution and marine territory, while sharks are typically cooler water fauna of high palaeolatitudes. The latest Maastrichtian non-marine vertebrates especially turtles, crocodiles, dinosaurs and a mammal are considered to show mixed Gondwanan and Laurasian affinities thus providing new lines of evidence in favour of a latest Cretaceous biotic links between India and the neighbouring continents. An overview of the vertebrate faunal diversity of the Cretaceous sequences of the Cauvery Basin and its palaeobiogeographic considerations are presented.

New material of Caenagnathasia martinsoni (Dinosauria: Theropoda: Oviraptorosauria) from the Bissekty Formation (Upper Cretaceous: Turonian) of Uzbekistan

The oviraptorosaurian theropod Caenagnathasia martinsoni is the least common dinosaur taxon in the Late Cretaceous (Turonian) vertebrate assemblage from the Bissekty Formation of the Kyzylkum Desert, Uzbekistan. The dentaries show numerous caenagnathid synapomorphies, including a fused dentary symphysis bearing distinct vascular grooves and associated foramina on its lingual surface, a lingual triturating shelf on the dentary, and extensive pneumatization of the dentary. Cervical and dorsal vertebrae attributed to C. martinsoni show a structure typical for Caenagnathoidea, whereas a referred partial femur is relatively plesiomorphic in having a large, finger-like anterior (lesser) trochanter separated from the greater trochanter. A referred synsacrum has only four vertebrae but may represent an immature individual. Caenagnathasia martinsoni is closely related to the clade comprising the North American Campanian-Maastrichtian caenagnathids.

Rivers as repositories for fossil vertebrates: a case study from the Upper Cretaceous of southern France

An accumulation of vertebrate remains in Late Cretaceous continental deposits at Cruzy (Hérault, south-western France) is studied, using sedimentological (clay mineralogy, granulometry, cathodoluminescence) and taphonomic approaches, in order to reconstruct the depositional environment under which it was formed. The fossil-bearing conglomerates, sands and clays were apparently deposited during brief flood episodes affecting a braided river system, under a “tropical” type of climate with alternating dry and wet seasons. This type of depositional environment shows close similarities with those reconstructed for Late Cretaceous vertebrate sites in Romania.

A deltatheroidan mammal from the Upper Cretaceous Baynshiree Formation, eastern Mongolia

Deltatheroidans are a specialized group of basal metatherians with a long fossil history and a broad geographic distribution across Asia and North America. The group was among the first Mesozoic mammals known by relatively complete cranial material, recovered from the Gobi Desert by the American Museum expeditions in the 1920s. Deltatheroidans exhibit trends in their dentition towards apparent specializations for carnivory, including strongly developed postmetacrista, pronounced postvallum-prevallid shear, and a reduction of the ultimate molar. While the oldest undisputed deltatheroidans hail from the Early Cretaceous of North America, Upper Cretaceous rocks in central Asia have yielded the best preserved specimens and the bulk of the diversity. Here we describe a new deltatheroidan, Tsagandelta dashzevegi, gen. et sp. nov., from the Upper Cretaceous Baynshiree Formation of eastern Mongolia. This taxon adds to the diversity of the group in central Asia and provides further evidence of uniformity among the Late Cretaceous vertebrate faunas across the Gobi Desert.

Inferred bite marks on a Late Cretaceous (Santonian) bothremydid turtle and a hylaeochampsid crocodilian from Hungary

The Iharkút locality in the Bakony Mountains of western Hungary has provided a rich and diverse assemblage of Late Cretaceous vertebrates. Here we present two specimens of this assemblage, a plate fragment of the bothremydid turtle Foxemys trabanti, and a partial skull roof of the hylaeochampsid crocodilian, Iharkutosuchus makadii, that exhibit pathological traits, such as shallow and deep pits, bisected pits, and scores on their surface, and in the case of the skull roof, also a hole piercing through the entire bone thickness. Morphological and bone histological features of these pathological traits imply that they probably represent bite marks rather than deformations due to pre-mortem shell diseases, infections or post-mortem invertebrate bioerosion, and microbial activity. Morphological similarities with experimentally investigated crocodilian tooth marks suggest that both elements bear the bite marks of a crocodilian predator with typical conical teeth, possibly the Allodaposuchus-like crocodile, also known from the locality. The inferred tooth marks on the dorsal surface of the Iharkutosuchus skull roof indicate a rarely documented predator–prey interaction between two different crocodilian taxa rather than antagonistic behaviour over common resources. Nevertheless, more comparative studies are needed on different traumatic as well as non-traumatic bone pathologies that may eventuate in bite-mark-like abnormalities.