Diversity of vertebrate remains from the Lower Gogolin Beds (Anisian) of southern Poland

Abstract

Middle Triassic (Muschelkalk) limestones and dolostones of southern Poland contain vertebrate remains, which can be used for palaeoecological and palaeogeographical analyses. The results presented concern vertebrate remains uncovered at four localities in Upper Silesia and one on Opole Silesia, a region representing the south-eastern margin of the Germanic Basin in Middle Triassic times. The most abundant remains in this assemblage are fish remains, comprising mostly actinopterygian teeth and scales. Chondrichthyan and sauropsid remains are less common. Reptilian finds include vertebrae, teeth and fragments of long bones, belonging to aquatic or semi-aquatic reptiles, such as nothosaurids, pachypleusorosaurids, and ichthyosaurids. Also, coprolites of possibly durophagous and predacious reptiles occur. In the stratigraphic column of Mikołów, actinopterygian remains are the most numerous and no distinct changes of the taxonomic composition occur. Although this assemblage differs from those described at other localities (Ząbkowice with numerous chondrichthyans, Żyglin, and Płaza with common sauropsid fossils), sampling bias has to be considered.

Late Cretaceous coprolite from the Opole area (southern Poland) as evidence for a variable diet in shell-crushing shark Ptychodus (Elasmobranchii: Ptychodontidae)

“…Irregular and boat-shaped infilling creates a specific pattern. Similar infillings can be observed in coprolites of durophagous fishes from the Middle Triassic ( Antczak et al, 2020 ). EDS signature suggests that these are elements made of calcium carbonate.…”

Pioneer colonization, evidenced by Rhizocorallium in the Middle Triassic of Poland

“…Scolecodonts and fish scales also occur outside the burrows, but their frequency in the host sediment seems to be lower (the author's own observations; cf. Antczak et al, 2020). Some of the studied burrows show tunnels filled with faecal pellets, forming several generations (Fig.…”

First occurrence of pterosaurs in Ukraine from the Albian (Lower Cretaceous) Burim Formation, Kaniv Natural ReserveCitation for this article: Sokolskyi, T. (2023) First occurrence of pterosaurs in Ukraine from the Albian (Lower Cretaceous) Burim Formation, Kaniv Natural Reserve. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2023.2238000

“…No valid species were previously erected based on material from the Albian deposits of Eastern Europe. Some of the geographically closest pterosaur findings to Kaniv Natural Reserve are in contemporary deposits around Annopol, Poland (Machalski & Martill, 2013). Additionally, an isolated tooth was described from a Tithonian Lagerstätte in the vicinity of Owadow-Brzezinki (Kin et al, 2013).…”

“…However, an Early Cretaceous pterosaur record from Eastern Europe is largely lacking (Bakhurina & Unwin, 1995). Partial appendicular remains were described from the Albian of Annopol, Poland (Machalski & Martill, 2013), some isolated Albian material is known from the European part of Russia (Bakhurina & Unwin, 1995), and morphologically diverse remains were described from the earliest Cretaceous (Berriasian) of Romania (Dyke et al, 2011). No pterosaur fossils have been described from Ukraine prior to this study despite the fact that there are a few Cretaceous sites known to produce terrestrial vertebrate fossils.…”