The East Side Story – The Transylvanian latest Cretaceous continental vertebrate record and its implications for understanding Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary events

Csiki-Sava, Zoltán; Vremir, Mátyás; Vasile, Ştefan; Brusatte, Stephen L.; Dyke, Gareth J.; Naish, Darren; Norell, Mark A.; Totoianu, Radu.

doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2015.09.003

Cited by 47 publications

(99 citation statements)

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“…Unfortunately, this fossil material was dispersed and subsequently dumped in various places, and is most probably lost. The general geological context and detailed sedimentological description of the Nălaț-Vad locality is given in several papers (Smith et al, 2002;Van Itterbeeck et al, 2004;Săsăran et al, 2011), and its stratigraphic position, paleoenvironmental interpretation and fossil content was most recently reviewed by Csiki-Sava et al (2016).…”

Section: Institutional Acronymsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…22) that includes dissociated elements of the skull together with elements of the axial and appendicular skeleton (table 1). Additionally, Godefroit et al (2009) also referred to Z. shqiperorum a second, less complete partial postcranial skeleton (UBB NVZ2: scapula, humeri, femora) from Nălaț-Vad, along with further isolated rhabdodontid remains from Nălaț-Vad (dorsal and caudal vertebrae, humerus, ulna, femora, tibiae) and the Sibișel Valley (UBB SPZ-2: associated sacrum and pelvic girdle from La Scoabă locality; see Csiki-Sava et al, 2016). However, no positive evidence was presented to support these specific referrals.…”

Section: Institutional Acronymsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus far, some of the more important results of our collaboration have been the initial report (Csiki et al, 2010a) and monographic description (Brusatte et al, 2013a) of Balaur bondoc, an aberrant double-sickle-clawed dromaeosaurid that was discovered by Mátyás Vremir in 2009; studies on the origin of the unusual Romanian dwarfed dinosaur faunas (Vremir et al, 2014) and their relevance for understanding the end-Cretaceous extinction (Csiki-Sava et al, 2016); and descriptions of new infant dinosaur (Brusatte et al, 2013b) and midsized pterosaur (Vremir et al, 2015) material.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fossils from along the Râul Mare valley (between Orlea, Vadu, Totești and Unciuc) were first noted by Nopcsa (1905), but more significant vertebrate fossils from Nălaț-Vad were reported only a century later by Smith et al (2002). Over the 15 years since, a large number of vertebrate (including dinosaur) bones, teeth, eggs, and nests have been discovered at this locality (e.g., Van Itterbeeck et al, 2004;Godefroit et al, 2009;Csiki et al, 2010b;Grigorescu et al, 2010;Wang et al, 2011;Csiki-Sava et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Transylvanian region of Romania is one of the few places in the world that yields fossils of dinosaurs and other vertebrates from the final few million years before the end-Cretaceous mass extinction (Weishampel et al, 2004;Brusatte et al, 2015;Csiki-Sava et al, 2016). These Romanian dinosaurs were highly unusual compared with species from other parts of the globe, as many were dwarf forms or had evolved bizarre morphological features, most likely because of their insular habitats (Nopcsa, 1914;Weishampel et al, 1991;Benton et al, 2010;Weishampel and Jianu, 2011;Brusatte et al, 2013a;Csiki-Sava et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Catalog ofZalmoxes(Dinosauria: Ornithopoda) Specimens from the Upper Cretaceous Nălaţ-Vad Locality, Haţeg Basin, Romania

Brusatte

Dumbravă

Vremir³

et al. 2017

American Museum Novitates

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The Transylvanian area of Romania boasts a rich fossil record of dinosaurs, which lived on an island (Haţeg Island) during the very end of the Cretaceous. Many of these are dwarfed in body size or exhibit other unusual features thought to be linked to their insular habitat. One of the most common of these dinosaurs is the rhabdodontid ornithopod Zalmoxes, an herbivorous taxon that has been found at many Upper Cretaceous sites across Transylvania. Our collaborative fieldwork has uncovered several new Zalmoxes specimens from the Nălaț-Vad (= Vadu) locality, a site along the Râul Mare River in the Haţeg Basin that dates to the "middle" to late Maastrichtian. These include a partial associated skeleton, along with various isolated bones from several additional individuals. We catalog and describe these specimens here, and compare them to other Zalmoxes fossils from Romania. They provide further evidence that Zalmoxes was one of the most common vertebrates in the latest Cretaceous of Transylvania, and add to the unusual fossil record of Nălaț-Vad, which has yielded a much greater number of associated skeletons than other Transylvanian localities. Some of the Nălaț-Vad specimens possess features characteristic of the type species, Z. robustus, whereas

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Section: Institutional Acronymsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Institutional Acronymsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Catalog ofZalmoxes(Dinosauria: Ornithopoda) Specimens from the Upper Cretaceous Nălaţ-Vad Locality, Haţeg Basin, Romania

Brusatte

Dumbravă

Vremir³

et al. 2017

American Museum Novitates

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Morphometry, Microstructure, and Wear Pattern of Neornithischian Dinosaur Teeth From the Upper Cretaceous Iharkút Locality (Hungary)

Virág

Ősi

2017

The Anatomical Record

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Teeth of iguanodontian ornithopods and ceratopsians could be remarkably similar, thus the referral of isolated dental material to particular neornithischian clades can be highly problematic. These groups are represented by the rhabdodontid Mochlodon vorosi and the basal coronosaurian Ajkaceratops kozmai in the Upper Cretaceous Csehbánya Formation at Iharkút (western Hungary). Whereas teeth of the former taxonMochlodon are common elements at the locality, no dental material belonging to the latter speciesAjkaceratops was identified until now. Here we used mathematical statistical approaches, as well as tooth wear and dental microstructure analysis in order to decide whether the teeth previously referred to Mochlodon can be treated as a homogenous sample, or some remains belong rather to Ajkaceratops.According to our results, there was a striking morphological and structural convergence between the teeth of the latterboth taxa. However, the wear study revealed the existence of two different patterns within the sample. One is characterized by straight and parallel microstriations that suggest orthal movements during the jaw closure. This pattern was associated with Mochlodon. The other pattern appeared only on a few teeth, and it can be differentiated by its distinctive curved microstriations that indicate circumpalinal chewinga significant palinal component. Since Because curved striations were have never been described in ornithopods, but were are found in several neoceratopsians, this pattern was associated here with Ajkaceratops. Here we present the first teeth that can provisionally be referred to the latter genus. We believe that the methodology discussed in this paper will facilitate distinguishing ceratopsian and ornithopod teeth in other localities as well.

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Comparative crystallography suggests maniraptoran theropod affinities for latest Cretaceous European ‘geckoid’ eggshell

Choi

Moreno‐Azanza

Csiki-Sava

et al. 2020

Papers in Palaeontology

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Thin fossil eggshell from Upper Cretaceous deposits of Europe, characterized by nodular ornamentation similar to modern gekkotan eggshell, has mostly been interpreted as gekkotan (=‘geckoid’) in origin. However, in some cases, as for the oogenus Pseudogeckoolithus, a theropod affinity has also been suggested. The true affinity of these fossil ‘geckoid’ eggshells has remained controversial due to the absence of analytical methods for identifying genuine gecko eggshell in the fossil record. In this study, we apply electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) analysis to latest Cretaceous European ‘geckoid’ (including Pseudogeckoolithus) eggshell, in comparison with modern gekkotan and theropod (avian) eggshell. We found that Pseudogeckoolithus has a definite theropod eggshell‐like crystallographic configuration, in clear contrast to that seen in modern ‘gecko eggshells’. Furthermore, the crystallography of the nodular ornamentation in Pseudogeckoolithus is similar to that seen in megapode eggshell, but different from that of gecko eggshell, despite superficial morphological similarity. The remarkable morphological similarities between Pseudogeckoolithus and modern gecko eggshells are thus convergent, and the ‘gekkotan affinity’ hypothesis can be dismissed for Pseudogeckoolithus. This study provides a template for differentiating true gekkotan from dinosaurian eggshells in the fossil record. The potential functional significance of eggshell ornamentation, lost in most modern birds, requires further study, and experimental zoological approach may shed light on this issue. Finally, the present results suggest caution about the dangers of using potentially homoplastic eggshell characters in eggshell parataxonomy.

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The East Side Story – The Transylvanian latest Cretaceous continental vertebrate record and its implications for understanding Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary events

Cited by 47 publications

References 84 publications

A Catalog ofZalmoxes(Dinosauria: Ornithopoda) Specimens from the Upper Cretaceous Nălaţ-Vad Locality, Haţeg Basin, Romania

A Catalog ofZalmoxes(Dinosauria: Ornithopoda) Specimens from the Upper Cretaceous Nălaţ-Vad Locality, Haţeg Basin, Romania

Morphometry, Microstructure, and Wear Pattern of Neornithischian Dinosaur Teeth From the Upper Cretaceous Iharkút Locality (Hungary)

Comparative crystallography suggests maniraptoran theropod affinities for latest Cretaceous European ‘geckoid’ eggshell

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