Late middle Miocene amphibians and squamate reptiles from Taut ,, Romania
Author
Venczel, Márton
Tării ‚ Crişurilor Museum, B-dul Dacia 1 - 3, RO- 410464 Oradea (Romania) mvenczel @ rdslink. ro
mvenczel@rdslink.ro
Author
Stiuc, Emanoil
Speleological Institute “ Emil Racovit, ă ”, Calea 13 Septembrie nr. 13, RO- 050711 Bucureşti (Romania) stiucaemil @ yahoo. com.
stiucaemil@yahoo.com
text
Geodiversitas
2008
30
4
731
763
journal article
10.5281/zenodo.4665621
1638-9395
4665621
Pelophylax
sp. (
Fig. 11
D-G)
MATERIAL EXAMINED. —Two premaxillae(
ISER
Tt-0420/1 and 2), one presacral vertebra (
ISER
Tt-0421/1), one sacral vertebra (
ISER
Tt-0421/2), three humeri (
ISER
Tt-0422/1-3), seven ilia (
ISER
Tt-0423/1-7).
DESCRIPTION
Premaxilla
The anterior surface is smooth and flat with a welldefined lateral crest. The tip of the alary process in both specimens is broken off. The
lamina horizontalis
is well developed, but the
pars palatina
is broken off. The number of preserved tooth positions is 11 and 12 respectively.
Presacral vertebra
The centrum is procoelous and relatively short with the condyle flattened dorsoventrally. The neural arch is of non-imbricate
type
and provided with a low but distinct neural crest. The only preserved transverse process is straight and tends to widen distally (
Fig. 11D
). Based on the latter character it is assumed that the specimen represents the third presacral vertebra.
Sacral vertebra
The centrum is procoelous and displays two posterior condyles for the articulation with the urostyle. The neural arch is extremely short and provided with a low keel extending laterally to the dorsal
surfaces of the transverse processes. Distally the latter structures are broken off but were presumably rather slender.
Humerus
Only distal parts of humeri are preserved. The distal humeral ball is round and there is a well-developed ventral cubital fossa (
Fig. 11E
). In ISER Tt-0422/1 the
epicondylus medialis
as well as the
crista medialis
is distinctly larger than in ISER Tt-0422/2.The latter two attributes may be related to sexual dimorphism.
Ilium
Based on the morphology of ISER Tt-0423/1, the supraacetabular and the preacetabular regions are roughly of equal height. The acetabulum is nearly circular with the acetabular rim projecting above the preacetabular region and the preacetabular fossa is absent or extremely shallow (
Fig. 11F, G
). The tuber superior is high and positioned anterodorsally to the acetabulum. In ISER Tt-0423/2 the tuber superior is damaged but its ventral margin is produced in a distinct overhang delimiting dorsally the
fossula tuberis superioris
. The iliac crest is thin and it was presumably high, but in all the available specimens its dorsal margin is lacking.
REMARKS All the above remains show a close morphological resemblance with those of the genus
Pelophylax
(Frost
et al.
2006)
. The variation observed in the shape and thickness of the ventral margin of the tuber superior is also reminiscent of specimens described from the late middle Miocene (MN 7) of Mátraszőlős,
Hungary
under the name
Rana esculenta
synklepton (
Venczel 2004
).
Class
REPTILIA McCartney, 1802
Order
SQUAMATA Merrem, 1820
Suborder
LACERTILIA Owen, 1842