Contribution to the Study of Microstonyx: Evidence from Bulgaria and the SE European Populations
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Contribution to the study of Microstonyx: evidence from Bulgaria and the SE European populations Dimitris S. KOSTOPOULOS University of Thessaloniki, School of Geology, Dept. of Geology, 54006 Thessaloniki (Greece) [email protected] Nikolai SPASSOV National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1 Tzar Osvoboditel Blvd., 1000 Sofia (Bulgaria) [email protected] Dimitar KOVACHEV Paleontological Museum of Assenovgrad, Branch of the NMNH Sofia (Bulgaria) Kostopoulos D. S., Spassov N. & Kovachev D. 2001. — Contribution to the study of Microstonyx: evidence from Bulgaria and the SE European populations. Geodiversitas 23 (3): 411-437. ABSTRACT The suid material from four Turolian localities (MN11-13) in Bulgaria has been studied and compared. All specimens belong to Microstonyx major (Gervais, 1848), a common faunal element of the late Miocene South-East European faunas. The Greek and Bulgarian fossil record allows several sugges- tions to be made, concerning metrical and morphological features of Microstonyx major, as well as the species-level taxonomic diversity. The elabo- ration and evaluation of several characters allow us to distinguish three groups of M. major, in the Balkan territory. The first group (MN11-12) represents a small sized form, probably related with the Maragha suid (MN11). The second group (MN12-13) includes the typical M. major erymanthius and the third one M. major major (MN13). The last two groups indicate relation bet- KEY WORDS ween them, as well as with the latest Vallesian Microstonyx major from Nikiti Mammalia, Suidae, (end of MN10). The first group of Microstonyx major from Perivolaki, Microstonyx, Kerassia and Vathylakkos probably consists in new subspecies, characterized late Miocene, by small to medium sized toothrow, small third molar and relatively elonga- Bulgaria, Greece, ted premolar row. The molar row reduces from the early to the middle fossil species. Turolian representatives of the group. GEODIVERSITAS • 2001 • 23 (3) © Publications Scientifiques du Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris. www.mnhn.fr/publication/ 411 Kostopoulos D. S., Spassov N. & Kovachev D. RÉSUMÉ Contribution à l’étude de Microstonyx: les données de Bulgarie et des populations de l’Europe du Sud-Est. Le matériel de Suidae, provenant de quatre localités bulgares du Turolien (MN11-13), a été étudié et comparé. Tous les spécimens sont attribués à l’espèce Microstonyx major (Gervais, 1848), un élement faunique assez commun dans les faunes du Miocène supérieur de l’Europe du Sud-Est. Les données des archives bulgare et grecque permettent de discuter quelques caractères métriques et mor- phologiques, ainsi que la diversité taxonomique de l’espèce dans le territoire des Balkans. Trois groupes sont considérés. Le premier groupe (MN11-12) repré- sente une petite forme, qui montre une liaison avec Microstonyx de Maragha (MN11). Les deuxième (MN12-13) et troisième groupe (MN13) correspon- dent à M. major erymanthius et M. major major respectivement. Ces deux MOTS CLÉS groupes indiquent une relation entre eux ainsi qu’avec Microstonyx major de la Mammalia, Suidae, localité du Vallésien supérieur de Nikiti (tard MN10). Microstonyx major de Microstonyx, Perivolaki, Kerassia et Vathylakkos (premier groupe) représente probablement Miocène supérieur, de nouvelles sous-espèces, caractérisées par leur série dentaire réduite, leur petite Bulgarie, Grèce, troisième molaire et relativement longue série de prémolaires. La série de espèces fossiles. molaires montre une réduction entre les formes du Turolien inférieur et moyen. INTRODUCTION Bulgaria (Fig. 1). The material was collected and prepared by D. Kovachev during the 70s and 80s Bakalov (1934) first mentioned the existence of late field missions. It is now stored in the Paleon- Miocene suids in Bulgaria. Later on, Bakalov & tological Museum of Assenovgrad (Bulgaria). Nikolov (1962) refer to a few fossil remains from two localities in the well-known late Miocene site ABBREVIATIONS of Kalimantsi as “Sus” erymanthius. A “Pontian” DTK Dytiko-1; age, in the old sense of the term, is suggested. The Ez Ezerovo; GRE Grebeniki; check-list of Tertiary mammals from Bulgaria KAL Kalimantsi; given by Nikolov (1985) included several western KER Kerassia; Bulgarian localities, where Microstonyx major was LUB Luberon; also mentioned: MAR Maragha; – Gaber (the Mine of Bolshevik, Sofia District, NETM Nova Etmekova; NKT Nikiti-1; Gnilianska Fm). A “Pontian” age was proposed PER Perivolaki; (Nikolov 1985), but a middle Turolian (late PIK Pikermi; Maeotian) age is most probable for the basal fossi- Pk Petrelik; liferous level of the locality where the suid remains PXM Proxoma; were found in association with Choerolophodon RZO Ravin de Zouaves-5; SAM Samos (new locality MTLA); and Tetralophodon longirostris (N. S. pers. obs.); Soph Sophades; – Kocherinovo (Blagoevgrad District), probably STR Stratzing; early Turolian age (middle Maeotian), zone TAR Taraklija; MN11? (N. S. pers. obs.); TOD Tudurovo; – Djurovo (Blagoevgrad District), Sandanski TVETIT Titov Veles; VTK Vathylakkos-2; Formation, ?Maeotian age. L length; The suid remains studied here come from four B breadth; distinct localities in three different basins of South DAP anteroposterior diameter. 412 GEODIVERSITAS • 2001 • 23 (3) SE European populations of Microstonyx (Mammalia, Suidae) BULGARIA HAJ Ez KAL Ezerovo Pk Hadjidimovo Kalimantsi VTK DTK Petrelik RZO NKT GREECE Soph PER KER PIK SAM FIG. 1. — Sketch map of the Greco-Bulgarian territory, indicating the position of several localities where Microstonyx major (Gervais, 1848) is recorded. Abbreviations: KAL, Kalimantsi; HAJ, Hadjidimovo; Ez, Ezerovo; Pk, Petrelik; VTK, Vathylakkos-2; RZO, Ravin de Zouaves-5; DTK, Dytiko-1; NKT; Nikiti-1; Soph, Sophades; PER, Perivolaki; KER, Kerassia; PIK, Pikermi; SAM, Samos (locality MTLA). LOCATION AND STRATIGRAPHY metapodial are known from the locality of HADJIDIMOVO LOCALITY, MESTA BASIN Hadjidimovo. The material is not complete It is the richest know Bulgarian locality with enough for certain comparison and conclusion, Hipparion-fauna (Spassov in press). The but it comprises clear evidence for the presence of Hadjidimovo locality is situated in the Mesta Microstonyx in the locality. river valley between the town of Hadjidimovo and the Bulgarian-Greek border (Fig. 1). It repre- LOCALITY KALIMANTSI, STRUMA BASIN sents a late Miocene fossil assemblage with four The fossiliferous locality of Kalimantsi (Fig. 1) is vertebrate faunal localities. The sediments (light among the most important Bulgarian sites with clay sands) belong to the Nevrokop Formation Hipparion-fauna. It belongs to the Kalimantsi (Vatsev 1980). The preliminary faunal list of the Formation of Sandanski Graben (Kojumdgieva et locality Hadjidimovo-1 (Hadjidimovo-Girizite) al. 1982). The locality covers a large area (c. 10 km2) includes 31 mammal species (determination by where a number of fossiliferous lenses have been N. Spassov, D. Kovachev). The faunal complex found. The locality is placed in the cycle II of the shows similarities with some faunal associations Kalimantsi Formation (“svita”), located in from the Balkans, Asia Minor and Ukraine, indi- Blagoevgrad District. Nikolov (1985) mentioned cating a middle/late Maeotian age (most proba- four distinct fossiliferous sites with associated fauna: bly first half of MN12; Spassov in press). Only – Kalimantsi 1: boundary between the Kalimantsi two fragmentary Microstonyx-like molars and one Fm and the underlying strata (boundary I-II cycle): GEODIVERSITAS • 2001 • 23 (3) 413 Kostopoulos D. S., Spassov N. & Kovachev D. Aceratherium (?) zernowi, “Metaschizotherium (Fig. 1). Some undescribed and undetermined fraasi”, Hipparion cf. theobaldi, Prodeinotherium bovid, cervid and proboscidean remains were bavaricum; found by D. Kovachev, but the exact age of this – Kalimantsi 2: 50 to 150 m above the base of Turolian locality is not clear. A single skull frag- the Kalimantsi Fm: Adcrocuta eximia, Parama- ment represents a suid. chairodus gr. orientalis, Ancylotherium pentelicum, Hipparion mediterraneum, Microstonyx major, EZEROVO LOCALITY, MARITSA BASIN Tragoportax amalthea, Mesopithecus cf. pentelicus; It is located near the village of Ezerovo, Plovdiv – Kalimantsi 3: 250 to 300 m above the base: District (Fig. 1) and belongs to the Akhmatovska Dicerorhinus sp., Hipparion matthewi, Helladothe- Formation with two sedimentary cycles. The rium duvernoyi, Bohlinia attica, Gazella brevicor- fauna and stratigraphy are based on Nikolov nis, Palaeoreas lindermayeri; (1985), with some nomenclature/taxonomic – Kalimantsi 4: 400 to 450 m above the base: changes and additions by N. S.: Ictitherium orbignyi (?), Dicerorhinus sp., Hippa- – I cycle: Deinotherium giganteum (referred as rion cf. crassum, Hipparion mediterraneum, Palae- D. gigantissimum or D. thraciensis in the local oryx pallasi, Palaeoryx majori. bibliography), Choerolophodon sp., Aceratherium During the last decades, 10 new localities were incisivum, Hipparion sp. (referred as H. “micro- found in the area by D. Kovachev. Of special taton” by Nikolov 1985); importance is the locality Kalimantsi-Pehtsata – lower part of the II cycle: Choerolophodon sp., (Kovachev 1988), from where six species of Tetralophodon longirostris, Hipparion mediterra- Turolian age (most probably MN11) were neum, aff. Dicerorhinus sp. After Nikolov (1985), recently determined (Geraads et al. in press). the II cycle belongs to the “Pontian” but judging Preliminary analysis of the Kalimantsi