The Villány Hills in SW Hungary have the richest archive of Pliocene–Quaternary vertebrate faunas... more The Villány Hills in SW Hungary have the richest archive of Pliocene–Quaternary vertebrate faunas in the Pannonian Basin, mostly in karstic cavities. Here we present three new sites that extend the list of Pleistocene vertebrate locations for the area and add information to the evolution history of the region. In the northern part of the Siklós quarry, bone breccia was found coming from fissures in Jurassic or Cretaceous limestones. Its lithofacies and fossil content are similar to those of other well-known Plio-Pleistocene karst infills of the region. As it contained mostly snake vertebrae, its age could not be constrained precisely. In the southern part of the same quarry, two vertical shaft s were discovered, which are unusual in several respects. Th ey formed in a Middle Triassic dolomite succession, a rock type generally not prone to karstification. Th ey might have been created by gravitational deformation of the relatively steep slope, probably at diff erent times. One of the...
The Süttő 21 site is a fissure fill of the freshwater limestone of the Gazda quarry in Süttő. The... more The Süttő 21 site is a fissure fill of the freshwater limestone of the Gazda quarry in Süttő. The material was collected between 2017 and 2019, the results are summarised in this article, with a special focus on the small vertebrate fauna of the site and its stratigraphic and paleoecological significance. The fissure fill can be placed around the early/middle Pleistocene boundary (ca. 1.1 and 0.77 Ma). The paleoecological analysis of the herpeto- and mammal fauna of the sequence indicates the proximity of a permanent water body. The lower part of the sequence is dominated by open habitat indicator taxa indicating a cool, dry climate. Towards the upper part of the sequence, the climate remained cool but became wetter, and the vegetation gradually changed to forest-steppe/open forest. The fauna of the Süttő 21 site can be compared with the material of sites, which are of similar age, thus revealing taxonomic and paleoecological differences between different areas of the country. While...
The Nagyharsány Crystal Cave in the Villány Hills (Southern Hungary) has yielded a very rich asse... more The Nagyharsány Crystal Cave in the Villány Hills (Southern Hungary) has yielded a very rich assemblage of small vertebrate material, mainly consisting of isolated frog bones. Th e systematic collection involved sampling from several levels in three diff erent sites. During the detailed taxonomic processing of the vertebrate material, a total of 78 taxa were identifi ed. In addition to the rich herpetofauna, birds as well as small and large mammal remains were found. Preliminary palaeoecological studies have also been carried out on material from Site I. Th e small vertebrates of the lower levels indicate a warmer, moister, and more closed environment. Towards the top of the series, this gradually changes to a cooler, drier, more open one. Th e taxonomic, allometric, and palaeoecological results also allowed the stratigraphic position of the sites to be determined. We found that the material from the Nagyharsány Crystal Cave is most resembling to the material from the MIS 11 sites o...
A study carried out on the amphibian fauna of the Lower Pleistocene Somssich Hill 2 palaeovertebr... more A study carried out on the amphibian fauna of the Lower Pleistocene Somssich Hill 2 palaeovertebrate locality revealed a significant presence of frogs, among these especially green toads (Bufo viridis). Besides frogs, the presence of the family Salamandridae (Caudata) was detected in the studied material, baseg mainly on postcranial elements. Among these, the following three species were distinuished: Salamandra salamandra, Triturus cristatus and Lissotriton vulgaris. Although the bones of these moisture-preferring animals are rare, they are important in the reconstruction of the palaeoenvironment. The likewise moisture-preferring lissamphibians and reptiles are present in almost all parts of the succession, therefore taking all these factors into consideration a permanent water surface is indicated near the depositional place of the fossils.
Hantken Miksa tárgyi hagyatéka, mely magába foglalja az általa gyűjtött ősmaradványokat és a hátr... more Hantken Miksa tárgyi hagyatéka, mely magába foglalja az általa gyűjtött ősmaradványokat és a hátra maradt munkáit is, egyben egy igen jelentős, máig ható szellemi hagyaték is. Sokrétű munkásságának fennmaradt emlékei a jelenkor kutatóinak is segítségül és útmutatásul szolgálnak munkájuk során. A Koch által 1894-ben összeállított, eddig legteljesebb Hantken bibliográfiát pontosítottuk és 22 munkával egészítettük ki. Közreadjuk Hantken által leírt és a róla elnevezett taxonok listáját.
A tanulmány a magyarországi őslénytani tevékenység támogatására létrehozott, és 2005 óta működő H... more A tanulmány a magyarországi őslénytani tevékenység támogatására létrehozott, és 2005 óta működő Hantken Miksa Közhasznú Alapítványt kívánja bemutatni. Célja a névadóról való méltó megemlékezés mellett az, hogy tevékenységét – a lehetséges jövőbeni támogatók és támogatottak számának növelése érdekében – a korábbinál szélesebb körben ismertté tegye. Az alapítás óta eltelt időben, illetve még inkább a jelen visszatekintést megalapozó kutatás során számos korábban nem publikált, Hantkennel kapcsolatos adat került napvilágra. Ennek eredményeként összeállítóttuk a Hantkenről készült fényképek és művészeti alkotások listáját, és több esetben lehetőség nyílt ezek keletkezési körülményeinek tisztázására is.
<i>Hungarobatrachus szukacsi</i> Szentesi &amp; Venczel, 2010 (Figs 2-7) MATERIAL... more <i>Hungarobatrachus szukacsi</i> Szentesi &amp; Venczel, 2010 (Figs 2-7) MATERIAL EXAMINED. — 31 isolated and mostly incomplete bones (see Table 1). DISTRIBUTION. — Known exclusively from the SZÁL-6 site at the Iharkút vertebrate locality, Bakony Mountains, northwestern Hungary, in the Upper Cretaceous (Santonian) Csehbánya Formation. EMENDED DIAGNOSIS (modified and expanded from Szentesi &amp; Venczel 2010; Roček 2013). — Body size moderate (estimated 50-80 mm snout-vent length). Skull moderately hyperossified. Exostosis on external surfaces of frontoparietals, squamosals, and maxilla generally consists of pit-and-ridge ornament, with some pif weakly developed tuberculate ornament on lower portions of larger squamosals and adjacent portion of maxillae. Frontoparietals solidly fused along midline and no development of dorsal crests or ridges, at least posteriorly; posterolateral portion expanded laterally to form a large squamosal process that potentially contacts laterally with squamosal; ventral surface bears two unpaired frontoparietal incrassations, consisting of an evidently elongate anterior incrassation with a bi-lobed posterior margin and a subcircular posterior incrassation; and occipital canal completely enclosed within bone, with its foramen arteria temporalis opening ventrally between squamosal process and pars contacta. Squamosal having enlarged, ventroanteriorly directed processus zygomaticus and smaller, posteriorly directed processus posterodorsalis, both expanded to form broad lamella alaris that is tilted posteriorly, somewhat rhomboid in outline, with anterodorsal margin shallowly concave and fully enclosing posterior portion of orbit and with posteroventral margin more deeply concave; base of processus zygomaticus expanded anteroposteriorly and evidently abutted against complementary processus zygomatico-maxillaris on maxilla; anteroventral end of processus zygomaticus moderately elongate and tapered, with leading edge bearing tiny, knob-like projections. Maxilla moderately elongate, deep, and [...]
FIG. 4. — Newly referred, incomplete squamosals of Hungarobatrachus szukacsi Szentesi & Venczel, ... more FIG. 4. — Newly referred, incomplete squamosals of Hungarobatrachus szukacsi Szentesi & Venczel, 2010 from the Santonian of Iharkút, Hungary: A, B, MTM VER 2016.701.1, right squamosal in lateral (A) and medial (B) views; C, D, MTM VER 2016.697.1, left squamosal in lateral (C) and medial (D) views; E, F, MTM VER 2016.701.2, left squamosal in lateral (E) and medial (F) views; G, MTM VER 2016.695, left squamosal in lateral view; H, I, MTM VER 2016.702, left squamosal in lateral (H) and medial (I) views; J-L, MTM VER 2016.3575, right squamosal, entire specimen in lateral (J) and medial (K) views and detail (L) of anterior margin of processus zygomaticus in medial view. All images are photographs. Specimen in G dusted with ammonium chloride to enhance surface details; all other images are of undusted specimens Abbreviations: kp, tiny knob-like projections on anteroventral end of processus zygomaticus; mo, margo orbitalis; ppd, processus posterodorsalis; (ppl), broken base of processus po...
FIG. 8. — Strict consensus of four equally parsimonious trees, recovering Hungarobatrachus szukac... more FIG. 8. — Strict consensus of four equally parsimonious trees, recovering Hungarobatrachus szukacsi Szentesi & Venczel, 2010 as a neobatrachian, nested within a paraphyletic Hyloides and as sister taxon to the South American Paleogene-Recent genus Calyptocephalella. Arabic numbers at nodes denote Bremer support (= decay indices).
FIG. 1. — Location of the Santonian fossil vertebrate locality of Iharkút, Hungary: A, regional m... more FIG. 1. — Location of the Santonian fossil vertebrate locality of Iharkút, Hungary: A, regional map showing approximate location (red star) in the Bakony Mountains of northwestern Hungary; B, local map showing location of the open-pit bauxite mine (colored in red) containing the locality, between the villages of Iharkút and Németbánya.
FIG. 7. — Tentative skull reconstruction, in dorsal view, for Hungarobatrachus szukacsi Szentesi ... more FIG. 7. — Tentative skull reconstruction, in dorsal view, for Hungarobatrachus szukacsi Szentesi & Venczel, 2010. Photographs of the fused and anteriorly incomplete frontoparietals (MTM VER 2016.2546), the largest and one of the most nearly complete squamosals (MTM VER 2016.695, left squamosal), and the most nearly complete maxilla (MTM VER 2016.690, right maxilla) are overlain onto skull image of the Eocene anuran Thaumastosaurus gezei (modified from Laloy et al. 2013: fig. 3A). To improve symmetry, for the frontoparietals the intact portion from its left side was mirrored onto the right side and the left squamosal and right maxilla were mirrored onto the opposite sides of the skull. Dotted lines denote skull outline, inferred natural margins along broken surfaces for bones, and inferred contacts among bones. Although the posterior end of the maxilla is depicted as free, a shallow facet preserved on the dorsolingual surface of MTM VER 2016.690 indicates the maxilla posteriorly cont...
FIG. 5. — Newly referred, incomplete maxillae of Hungarobatrachus szukacsi Szentesi & Venczel, 20... more FIG. 5. — Newly referred, incomplete maxillae of Hungarobatrachus szukacsi Szentesi & Venczel, 2010 from the Santonian of Iharkút, Hungary: A-C, MTM VER 2016.690, nearly complete right maxilla in labial (A), lingual (B), and oblique dorsal and slightly lingual (C) views; D-F, MTM VER 2016.700.2, fragmentary right maxilla preserving region bearing processes pterygoideus (broken) in labial (D), oblique labial and slightly dorsal (E), and lingual (F) views; G, MTM VER 2016.700.1, fragmentary right maxilla preserving less of region bearing processus pterygoideus (broken) in lingual view; H-J MTM VER 2015.141.2, fragmentary right maxilla preserving posterior portion of suborbital region in labial (H), lingual (I), and dorsal (J) views; K-M MTM VER 2015.141.3, fragmentary right maxilla preserving posterior portion of tooth row in labial (K), lingual (L), and posterior (M) views. Images in A-G are photographs of specimens dusted with ammonium chloride to enhance surface details; images in ...
The Villány Hills in SW Hungary have the richest archive of Pliocene–Quaternary vertebrate faunas... more The Villány Hills in SW Hungary have the richest archive of Pliocene–Quaternary vertebrate faunas in the Pannonian Basin, mostly in karstic cavities. Here we present three new sites that extend the list of Pleistocene vertebrate locations for the area and add information to the evolution history of the region. In the northern part of the Siklós quarry, bone breccia was found coming from fissures in Jurassic or Cretaceous limestones. Its lithofacies and fossil content are similar to those of other well-known Plio-Pleistocene karst infills of the region. As it contained mostly snake vertebrae, its age could not be constrained precisely. In the southern part of the same quarry, two vertical shaft s were discovered, which are unusual in several respects. Th ey formed in a Middle Triassic dolomite succession, a rock type generally not prone to karstification. Th ey might have been created by gravitational deformation of the relatively steep slope, probably at diff erent times. One of the...
The Süttő 21 site is a fissure fill of the freshwater limestone of the Gazda quarry in Süttő. The... more The Süttő 21 site is a fissure fill of the freshwater limestone of the Gazda quarry in Süttő. The material was collected between 2017 and 2019, the results are summarised in this article, with a special focus on the small vertebrate fauna of the site and its stratigraphic and paleoecological significance. The fissure fill can be placed around the early/middle Pleistocene boundary (ca. 1.1 and 0.77 Ma). The paleoecological analysis of the herpeto- and mammal fauna of the sequence indicates the proximity of a permanent water body. The lower part of the sequence is dominated by open habitat indicator taxa indicating a cool, dry climate. Towards the upper part of the sequence, the climate remained cool but became wetter, and the vegetation gradually changed to forest-steppe/open forest. The fauna of the Süttő 21 site can be compared with the material of sites, which are of similar age, thus revealing taxonomic and paleoecological differences between different areas of the country. While...
The Nagyharsány Crystal Cave in the Villány Hills (Southern Hungary) has yielded a very rich asse... more The Nagyharsány Crystal Cave in the Villány Hills (Southern Hungary) has yielded a very rich assemblage of small vertebrate material, mainly consisting of isolated frog bones. Th e systematic collection involved sampling from several levels in three diff erent sites. During the detailed taxonomic processing of the vertebrate material, a total of 78 taxa were identifi ed. In addition to the rich herpetofauna, birds as well as small and large mammal remains were found. Preliminary palaeoecological studies have also been carried out on material from Site I. Th e small vertebrates of the lower levels indicate a warmer, moister, and more closed environment. Towards the top of the series, this gradually changes to a cooler, drier, more open one. Th e taxonomic, allometric, and palaeoecological results also allowed the stratigraphic position of the sites to be determined. We found that the material from the Nagyharsány Crystal Cave is most resembling to the material from the MIS 11 sites o...
A study carried out on the amphibian fauna of the Lower Pleistocene Somssich Hill 2 palaeovertebr... more A study carried out on the amphibian fauna of the Lower Pleistocene Somssich Hill 2 palaeovertebrate locality revealed a significant presence of frogs, among these especially green toads (Bufo viridis). Besides frogs, the presence of the family Salamandridae (Caudata) was detected in the studied material, baseg mainly on postcranial elements. Among these, the following three species were distinuished: Salamandra salamandra, Triturus cristatus and Lissotriton vulgaris. Although the bones of these moisture-preferring animals are rare, they are important in the reconstruction of the palaeoenvironment. The likewise moisture-preferring lissamphibians and reptiles are present in almost all parts of the succession, therefore taking all these factors into consideration a permanent water surface is indicated near the depositional place of the fossils.
Hantken Miksa tárgyi hagyatéka, mely magába foglalja az általa gyűjtött ősmaradványokat és a hátr... more Hantken Miksa tárgyi hagyatéka, mely magába foglalja az általa gyűjtött ősmaradványokat és a hátra maradt munkáit is, egyben egy igen jelentős, máig ható szellemi hagyaték is. Sokrétű munkásságának fennmaradt emlékei a jelenkor kutatóinak is segítségül és útmutatásul szolgálnak munkájuk során. A Koch által 1894-ben összeállított, eddig legteljesebb Hantken bibliográfiát pontosítottuk és 22 munkával egészítettük ki. Közreadjuk Hantken által leírt és a róla elnevezett taxonok listáját.
A tanulmány a magyarországi őslénytani tevékenység támogatására létrehozott, és 2005 óta működő H... more A tanulmány a magyarországi őslénytani tevékenység támogatására létrehozott, és 2005 óta működő Hantken Miksa Közhasznú Alapítványt kívánja bemutatni. Célja a névadóról való méltó megemlékezés mellett az, hogy tevékenységét – a lehetséges jövőbeni támogatók és támogatottak számának növelése érdekében – a korábbinál szélesebb körben ismertté tegye. Az alapítás óta eltelt időben, illetve még inkább a jelen visszatekintést megalapozó kutatás során számos korábban nem publikált, Hantkennel kapcsolatos adat került napvilágra. Ennek eredményeként összeállítóttuk a Hantkenről készült fényképek és művészeti alkotások listáját, és több esetben lehetőség nyílt ezek keletkezési körülményeinek tisztázására is.
<i>Hungarobatrachus szukacsi</i> Szentesi &amp; Venczel, 2010 (Figs 2-7) MATERIAL... more <i>Hungarobatrachus szukacsi</i> Szentesi &amp; Venczel, 2010 (Figs 2-7) MATERIAL EXAMINED. — 31 isolated and mostly incomplete bones (see Table 1). DISTRIBUTION. — Known exclusively from the SZÁL-6 site at the Iharkút vertebrate locality, Bakony Mountains, northwestern Hungary, in the Upper Cretaceous (Santonian) Csehbánya Formation. EMENDED DIAGNOSIS (modified and expanded from Szentesi &amp; Venczel 2010; Roček 2013). — Body size moderate (estimated 50-80 mm snout-vent length). Skull moderately hyperossified. Exostosis on external surfaces of frontoparietals, squamosals, and maxilla generally consists of pit-and-ridge ornament, with some pif weakly developed tuberculate ornament on lower portions of larger squamosals and adjacent portion of maxillae. Frontoparietals solidly fused along midline and no development of dorsal crests or ridges, at least posteriorly; posterolateral portion expanded laterally to form a large squamosal process that potentially contacts laterally with squamosal; ventral surface bears two unpaired frontoparietal incrassations, consisting of an evidently elongate anterior incrassation with a bi-lobed posterior margin and a subcircular posterior incrassation; and occipital canal completely enclosed within bone, with its foramen arteria temporalis opening ventrally between squamosal process and pars contacta. Squamosal having enlarged, ventroanteriorly directed processus zygomaticus and smaller, posteriorly directed processus posterodorsalis, both expanded to form broad lamella alaris that is tilted posteriorly, somewhat rhomboid in outline, with anterodorsal margin shallowly concave and fully enclosing posterior portion of orbit and with posteroventral margin more deeply concave; base of processus zygomaticus expanded anteroposteriorly and evidently abutted against complementary processus zygomatico-maxillaris on maxilla; anteroventral end of processus zygomaticus moderately elongate and tapered, with leading edge bearing tiny, knob-like projections. Maxilla moderately elongate, deep, and [...]
FIG. 4. — Newly referred, incomplete squamosals of Hungarobatrachus szukacsi Szentesi & Venczel, ... more FIG. 4. — Newly referred, incomplete squamosals of Hungarobatrachus szukacsi Szentesi & Venczel, 2010 from the Santonian of Iharkút, Hungary: A, B, MTM VER 2016.701.1, right squamosal in lateral (A) and medial (B) views; C, D, MTM VER 2016.697.1, left squamosal in lateral (C) and medial (D) views; E, F, MTM VER 2016.701.2, left squamosal in lateral (E) and medial (F) views; G, MTM VER 2016.695, left squamosal in lateral view; H, I, MTM VER 2016.702, left squamosal in lateral (H) and medial (I) views; J-L, MTM VER 2016.3575, right squamosal, entire specimen in lateral (J) and medial (K) views and detail (L) of anterior margin of processus zygomaticus in medial view. All images are photographs. Specimen in G dusted with ammonium chloride to enhance surface details; all other images are of undusted specimens Abbreviations: kp, tiny knob-like projections on anteroventral end of processus zygomaticus; mo, margo orbitalis; ppd, processus posterodorsalis; (ppl), broken base of processus po...
FIG. 8. — Strict consensus of four equally parsimonious trees, recovering Hungarobatrachus szukac... more FIG. 8. — Strict consensus of four equally parsimonious trees, recovering Hungarobatrachus szukacsi Szentesi & Venczel, 2010 as a neobatrachian, nested within a paraphyletic Hyloides and as sister taxon to the South American Paleogene-Recent genus Calyptocephalella. Arabic numbers at nodes denote Bremer support (= decay indices).
FIG. 1. — Location of the Santonian fossil vertebrate locality of Iharkút, Hungary: A, regional m... more FIG. 1. — Location of the Santonian fossil vertebrate locality of Iharkút, Hungary: A, regional map showing approximate location (red star) in the Bakony Mountains of northwestern Hungary; B, local map showing location of the open-pit bauxite mine (colored in red) containing the locality, between the villages of Iharkút and Németbánya.
FIG. 7. — Tentative skull reconstruction, in dorsal view, for Hungarobatrachus szukacsi Szentesi ... more FIG. 7. — Tentative skull reconstruction, in dorsal view, for Hungarobatrachus szukacsi Szentesi & Venczel, 2010. Photographs of the fused and anteriorly incomplete frontoparietals (MTM VER 2016.2546), the largest and one of the most nearly complete squamosals (MTM VER 2016.695, left squamosal), and the most nearly complete maxilla (MTM VER 2016.690, right maxilla) are overlain onto skull image of the Eocene anuran Thaumastosaurus gezei (modified from Laloy et al. 2013: fig. 3A). To improve symmetry, for the frontoparietals the intact portion from its left side was mirrored onto the right side and the left squamosal and right maxilla were mirrored onto the opposite sides of the skull. Dotted lines denote skull outline, inferred natural margins along broken surfaces for bones, and inferred contacts among bones. Although the posterior end of the maxilla is depicted as free, a shallow facet preserved on the dorsolingual surface of MTM VER 2016.690 indicates the maxilla posteriorly cont...
FIG. 5. — Newly referred, incomplete maxillae of Hungarobatrachus szukacsi Szentesi & Venczel, 20... more FIG. 5. — Newly referred, incomplete maxillae of Hungarobatrachus szukacsi Szentesi & Venczel, 2010 from the Santonian of Iharkút, Hungary: A-C, MTM VER 2016.690, nearly complete right maxilla in labial (A), lingual (B), and oblique dorsal and slightly lingual (C) views; D-F, MTM VER 2016.700.2, fragmentary right maxilla preserving region bearing processes pterygoideus (broken) in labial (D), oblique labial and slightly dorsal (E), and lingual (F) views; G, MTM VER 2016.700.1, fragmentary right maxilla preserving less of region bearing processus pterygoideus (broken) in lingual view; H-J MTM VER 2015.141.2, fragmentary right maxilla preserving posterior portion of suborbital region in labial (H), lingual (I), and dorsal (J) views; K-M MTM VER 2015.141.3, fragmentary right maxilla preserving posterior portion of tooth row in labial (K), lingual (L), and posterior (M) views. Images in A-G are photographs of specimens dusted with ammonium chloride to enhance surface details; images in ...
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