Kalfa: MN 10, Moldova

List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
Reptilia - Crotalidae
Vipera (Daboia) sarmatica n. sp. Chkhikvadse and Lungu 1987
Zerova 1992 25 elements
recombined as Vipera (Macrovipera) sarmatica
Holotype: 1 trunk vertebra (TGPI 18/72-1); paratypes: 24 trunk vertebrae (TGPI 18/72-2 to 18/72-25)
Reptilia - Varanidae
Varanus sp. Merrem 1820
Vasilyan and Bukhsianidze 2020
Reptilia - Anguidae
Pseudopus pannonicus (Kormos 1911)
Loréal et al. 2023
MN 10a): five dentaries (ZIN PH 1/277; 2/277; 3/277; 4/277; 5/277); three maxillae (ZIN PH 6/277; 7/277; 8/277); two parietals (ZIN PH 17/277, 18/277); and 57 osteoderms (ZIN PH 9-15/277; 19-68/277).
Mammalia - Proboscidea - Mammutidae
Mastodon pentelici
Belyaeva 1948
synonym of Mammut
Mammalia - Carnivora - Phocidae
? Cryptophoca maeotica (Nordmann 1860)
Mammalia - Perissodactyla - Rhinocerotidae
Aceratherium aff. incisivum (Cuvier 1824)
Belyaeva 1948
Mammalia - Primates - Hominidae
Oreopithecus sp. Gervais 1872
Belyaeva 1948
see common names

Geography
Country:Moldova State/province:Anenii Noi
Coordinates: 46.9° North, 29.4° East (view map)
Paleocoordinates:47.3° North, 28.7° East
Basis of coordinate:estimated from map
Time
Period:Neogene Epoch:Miocene
Stage:Tortonian 10 m.y. bin:Cenozoic 6
Key time interval:MN 10
Age range of interval:9.70000 - 8.70000 m.y. ago
Stratigraphy
Stratigraphy comments: "Middle Sarmatian (MN 9b)" (Zerova, 2003)
According to the stratigraphic chart of Zerova (2003), the site is located in the Kalfinsky faunistic subcomplex of the Kalfinsky faunistic complex.

According to Zerova (1993), Kalfa is more precisely of the middle Sarmatian age (=Vallesian) and correlated to the MN 9b zone. This is the consensus view based on mammalian assemblage compositions (e.g., Koretsky 2001; Krakhmalnaya 2008; Delinschi 2014). However, the exact age of Kalfa has been questioned, as only very few mammal fossils found at Kalfa hold strong biochronological signals (Sinitsa and Delinschi 2016). Moreover, recent studies based on mag- netostratigraphic analyses have tentatively suggested a slightly younger age (early MN 10) for Kalfa. As pointed out by some authors (Čermák 2016; Sinitsa and Delinschi 2016; and references therein), the magnetostratigraphic data are more congruent with the overall biochronological markers.
Lithology and environment
Primary lithology: poorly lithified sandstone
Lithology description: "avandelta [i.e. subaqueous, 'marine' part of a river delta; TL] sands and gravelits [sic!] in limestone" (Zerova, 1993)
Environment:coastal indet.
Taphonomy
Modes of preservation:body
Size of fossils:macrofossils,mesofossils
Collection methods and comments
Reason for describing collection:general faunal/floral analysis
Metadata
Also known as:Kelfa, Calfa
Database number:60268
Authorizer:M. Uhen, J. Mueller, J. Head Enterer:M. Uhen, T. Liebrecht, G. Varnham
Modifier:G. Varnham Research group:vertebrate
Created:2006-05-08 08:24:03 Last modified:2023-06-30 07:41:23
Access level:the public Released:2006-05-08 08:24:03
Creative Commons license:CC BY
Reference information

Primary reference:
17253. I. Koretsky. 2001. Morphology and systematics of Miocene Phocinae (Mammalia: Carnivora) from Paratethys and the North Atlantic region. Geologica Hungarica Series Palaeontologica 54:1-109 [M. Uhen/M. Uhen]

Secondary references:

24838 E. I. Belyaeva. 1948. Catalogue of Tertiary Fossil Sites of the Land Mammals in the U.S.S.R. [M. Uhen/M. Uhen]
85147 E. Loréal, E. V. Syromyatnikova, and I. G. Danilov and A. 2023. The easternmost record of the largest anguine lizard that has ever lived – Pseudopus pannonicus (Squamata, Anguidae): new fossils from the late Neogene of Eastern Europe. Fossil Record 26(1):51-84 [J. Head/G. Varnham]
72358 D. Vasilyan and M. Bukhsianidze. 2020. The fossil record of the genus Varanus from the Southern Caucasus (Armenia, Georgia). PeerJ 8(e8322):1-12 [E. Vlachos/E. Vlachos]
54841 G. A. Zerova. 1992. Vipera (Daboia) ukrainica – a new viper (Serpentes; Viperidae) from the Middle Sarmatian (Upper Miocene) of the Ukraine. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen 184(2):235-249 [J. Mueller/T. Liebrecht]
54848 G. A. Zerova. 1993. Late Cainozoic localities of snakes and lizards of Ukraine. Revue de Paléobiologie, Volume spéciale 7:273-280 [J. Mueller/T. Liebrecht/T. Liebrecht]