Crețești-1 (Miocene of Romania)

Also known as CR-1; Cretesti-1

Where: Ilfov, Romania (46.6° N, 28.0° E: paleocoordinates 47.0° N, 27.2° E)

• coordinate estimated from map

When: MN 12–11 mammal zone, Moldavian Platform Group, Tortonian (11.6 - 7.2 Ma)

• The geological age of this locality was previously considered Vallesian, MN 9 (sensu Vangengeim & Tesakov 2013; Codrea et al. 2017). However, subsequent finds of some micromammals have cast doubt on this date. These concern the presence of a small-sized Lophocricetodon, and also of the pika Ochotona cf. eximia (Sen 2003; Čermák 2016; see Delinschi 2014, for a discussion about the unclear status of this genus) very similar to those reported from the Maeotian locality of Taraklia, in the Republic of Moldova (Tortonian, MN 12; Sevket Sen, pers. comm., 2021). Lungu et al. (2007) considered the late Miocene ‘Proochotona eximia Chom.’, where the vertebrate localities of the Republic of Moldova are located, as ‘early Maeotian–early Pontian’.

•The Maeotian was recently reassessed. In recent stratigraphical charts (Raffi et al. 2020; Krézsek & Olariu 2021), the Maeotian in the Dacian Basin was restricted to 7.6–6.1 Ma, referring only to units MN12–MN 13 (Steininger 1999). In this context, the pika implies dating to either to Maeotian (MN 12) or Khersonian (MN 11).

•As the correlations between the MN units from western and central Europe are being reconsidered (Vangengeim & Tesakov 2008, 2013), it is possible that some age boundaries will be re-assessed also, based on future advances in the knowledge of small mammals from this part of Europe and their evolutionary trends. Therefore, the geological age of Crețești 1 is re-interpreted as younger than previously presumed, being either Maeotian (MN 12), or late Khersonian (MN 11).

Environment/lithology: "floodplain"; green mudstone and silty sandstone

• "Based on the sedimentology, these rocks may correspond to an ancient floodplain where the sedimentation progressed during periodic floods by fallout from suspension. The bones were accumulated probably by torrents, but they were not carried on too long distances. The anatomical connections are rare and refer only to partial skeletons, excepting the turtles where the limb bones and skulls are often preserved. The large mammal remains occur together with small vertebrates, indicating that there was no grading process due to the water streams. Before the definitive burial, at least part of these bones and teeth were exposed to weathering long enough to suffer damages – the enamel fragments of numerous teeth in the maxillae and mandibles were detached

•and buried at small distance from their initial origin."

• "almost horizontal sedimentary succession of about two metres depth of greenish mudstone interleaved with thin (few centimetres only) silty sand. These sediments are rich in vertebrate remains, but also in freshwater gastropods (e.g., Planorbis sp.)."

Size classes: macrofossils, mesofossils

Collection methods: surface (in situ), sieve,

Primary reference: V. Codrea, M. Venczel, L. Ursachi and B. Răţoi. 2017. A large viper from the early Vallesian (MN 9) of Moldova (Eastern Romania) with notes on the palaeobiogeography of late Miocene ‘‘Oriental vipers". Geobios 50:401-411 [T. Cleary/T. Cleary]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 199755: authorized by Terri Cleary, entered by Terri Cleary on 13.02.2019, edited by Grace Varnham and Evangelos Vlachos

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

• Sediments are rich in vertebrate remains but also in freshwater gastropods (e.g. Planorbis)
Mammalia
 Proboscidea - Choerolophodontidae
Choerolophodon pentelici Gaudry and Lartet 1856 proboscidean
 Perissodactyla - Rhinocerotidae
Acerorhinus sp. Kretzoi 1942 rhinoceros
 Perissodactyla - Equidae
"Hipparion" sp. de Christol 1832 hipparionine horse
"very frequent"
 Artiodactyla - Giraffidae
Palaeotragus sp. Gaudry 1861 giraffe
mispelled as "Paleotragus" in paper
 Artiodactyla - Bovidae
Miotragocerus leskewitschi Borissiak 1914 antelope
mispelled as "Miotragoceros" in paper
 Artiodactyla - Suidae
Hippopotamodon sp. Lydekker 1877 pig
 Carnivora - Felidae
Metailurus sp. Zdansky 1924 cat
 Carnivora - Hyaenidae
Adcrocuta eximia Roth and Wagner 1854 hyaena
 Theriamorpha - Erinaceidae
Schizogalerix sp. Engesser 1980 hedgehog
spelled "Schizogaleryx" in paper, but referred to Erinaceomorpha so presumably is a mispelling
 Lagomorpha - Ochotonidae
? Proochotona sp. Chomenko 1914 pika
 Rodentia - Sciuridae
Spermophilinus bredai von Meyer 1848 squirrel
Reptilia
 Squamata - Crotalidae
"Macrovipera sp." = Vipera (Macrovipera)
"Macrovipera sp." = Vipera (Macrovipera) Reuss 1927 pit viper
"frequent". Mentioned in paper: CR.5573/1-3, CR.5574/1-2, cervical vertebrae; CR.5575/1-9, CR.5576/1-4, CR.5577, CR.5578, CR. 5579/1-22, CR. 5580/1-16, middle trunk vertebrae; CR.5581, posterior trunk vertebra; CR.5582, cloacal vertebra; CR.5583, isolated rib
 Squamata - Colubridae
Colubridae indet.1 Oppel 1811 colubrid snake
Hierophis sp.1 Fitzinger 1843 colubrid snake
Coronella sp. Laurenti 1768 colubrid snake
Coronella cf. miocaenica1 Venczel 1998 colubrid snake
 Squamata - Anguidae
sensu lato Ophisaurus sp. Daudin 1803 glass lizard
Ophisaurus sp.1 Daudin 1803 glass lizard
 Squamata - Lacertidae
Lacerta sp. Linnaeus 1758 squamates
 Squamata - Scincidae
Chalcides sp. Linnaeus 1758 skink
Aves
  -
Aves indet. Linnaeus 1758 bird
Reptilia
 Testudines - Testudinidae
Testudo lohanica n. sp.2 Perez-Garcia et al. 2022 turtle
"extremely frequent"
Amphibia
 Salientia - Pelobatidae
Pelobates sp. Wagler 1830 spadefoot toad
 Salientia - Bufonidae
Bufonidae indet.1 Gray 1825 toad
 Caudata - Urodela
Salamandridae indet.1 Gray 1825 newt
Gastropoda
 Heterostropha - Planorbidae
Planorbis sp. Muller 1774 snail