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First Cenomanian Dinosaur from Central Europe (Czech Republic)

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First Cenomanian Dinosaur from Central Europe (Czech Republic) First Cenomanian dinosaur from Central Europe (Czech Republic) OLDŘICH FEJFAR, MARTIN KOŠŤÁK, JIŘÍ KVAČEK, MARTIN MAZUCH, and MICHAL MOUČKA Fejfar, O., Košťák, M., Kvaček, J., Mazuch, M., and Moučka, M. 2005. First Cenomanian dinosaur from Central Europe (Czech Republic). Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 50 (2): 295–300. We describe the first dinosaur skeletal remains found in the Czech Republic, consisting of one complete femur and inde− terminable bone fragments. They were recovered from the upper Cenomanian near−shore marine sediments deposited on the slopes of an ancient archipelago, several kilometres north of the larger Rhenish−Bohemian Island that was situated in what is now the middle of Europe. Sediments yielding dinosaur remains are of late Cenomanian age, Inoceramus pictus–I. pictus bohemicus inoceramid zone of the local lithostratigraphic unit, the Peruc−Korycany Formation. These are the first uncontested dinosaurian fossils reported from this formation and also the first Cenomanian dinosaur record in Central Europe. They document a small ornithopod belonging to an iguanodontid species comparable with similar Late Cretaceous European forms. The herbivorous dinosaur lived among a vegetation transitional between salt marsh flora, with abundant halophytic conifer Frenelopsis alata; and an alluvial plain assemblage dominated by lauroid angiosperms. Key words: Dinosauria, Iguanodontidae, palaeoenvironment, vegetation, Cenomanian, Bohemian Cretaceous Basin, Czech Republic, Europe. Oldřich Fejfar [[email protected]], Martin Košťák [[email protected]], and Martin Mazuch [[email protected]], Ústav geologie a paleontologie, Přírodovědecká fakulta Univerzity Karlovy v Praze, Albertov 6, Praha 2, 128 43, Czech Republic; Jiří Kvaček [[email protected]], Národní Museum, Václavské náměstí 1, Praha 1, 110 00, Czech Republic; Michal Moučka [mmoucka@c−box.cz], Puškinská 657, 284 01 Kutná Hora, Czech Republic. Introduction plesiosaurid genera (also including Fritsch's Iserosaurus and Hunosaurus) with Cimoliasaurus (Leidy, 1851). Late Turo− Reptile remains are very rare in the Bohemian Cretaceous Ba− nian plesiosaur remains were reported from Třebovice near sin (BCB). All were critically revised by Ekrt et al. (2001). Česká Třebová. Also, an extraordinarily well preserved mosa− Hitherto, only remains of four turtles, a partial pterosaur skele− saurid jaw was found in Dolní Újezd near Litomyšl. The large ton, some reptilian bones doubtfully referred to Iguanodon, marine reptilian bone assemblage is dominated by plesiosaurs; a problematic lizard−like skeleton and several plesiosaurid it is stored in the National Museum in Prague and in the and/or mosasaurid remains (see below) have been reported Regional Museum of Teplice (Ekrt et. al. 2001). from the BCB. Reuss (1855) described isolated marine reptile Fritsch’s (Fritsch and Bayer 1905) “Iguanodon exogira− teeth from Bílá Hora (lower Turonian) as a then−new genus and nus” represents a poorly preserved undeterminable fragment species Aptychodon cretaceus, and Fritsch (1878) reported ad− of a hollow bone, which could also belong to a bird (a group ditional marine reptile teeth and bones from the same locality, not yet recorded from the BCB) or a pterosaur (recorded in identified as Polyptychodon interruptus Owen, 1841. Other re− the BCB). No dinosaur remains were identified during this cords of this species were reported later from Zámostí near last revision (Ekrt et. al. 2001). Mladá Boleslav. From abandoned quarries near Hudcov and Dinosaur remains have recently been recovered from the Lahošť (NW Bohemia), late Turonian plesiosaur phalanges locality of Mezholezy (between the towns of Kutná Hora and were attributed to Plesiosaurus?sp.cf.P. bernardi (Owen, Čáslav). They were discovered in 2003 by one of us (Michal Moučka) during a field visit to an abandoned quarry north of 1850). Fritsch and Bayer (1905) later revised this identification the village of Nová Lhota. The near−shore marine sediments and favoured a less precise nomenclature, referring the teeth to exposed in this area are of late Cenomanian age (see below). Mosasauridae rather than to Plesiosauria. Plesiosaur bones They represent typical beach sandy deposits, intercalated from Lysá nad Labem were described as Cimoliasaurus (Ple− with horizons containing oysters and rudists (partly alloch− siosaurus) lissaensis (Fritsch and Bayer, 1905), and Fritsch tonous). Regionally, these deposits formed on the southern (1906) recorded marine reptile remains (described as Cimolia− slopes of an ancient archipelago (Fig. 1; Malkovský et al. saurus teplicensis and C. vicinus, respectively) from Hudcov 1974; Čech and Valečka 1991). and Chrást near Mladá Boleslav. Additional finds from Hudcov were presented by Fritsch (1910). Bayer (1914) re− Institututional abbreviation.—IGP, Institute of Geology and viewed all reptile discoveries from the BCB and synonymised Palaeontology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague. Acta Palaeontol. Pol. 50 (2): 295–300, 2005 http://app.pan.pl/acta50/app50−295.pdf 296 ACTA PALAEONTOLOGICA POLONICA 50 (2), 2005 Geological setting Cretaceous sedimentation in the BCB started in the early Cenomanian and continued during the middle Cenomanian as a typical characteristic depositional regression sequence (Peruc Beds of the local stratigraphic column; Malkovský et al. 1974). Fluvial sedimentation with a very coarse matrix prevails; however, fine grained sandstones, siltstones and clayey siltstones are also present. Marine transgression started in the middle Cenomanian (see Fig. 2). The typical late Cenomanian marine facies are predominantly sand− 500 km stones. In addition, organodetritic limestones surround is− Fenno-Scandian lands and shallow marine slopes, with silts predominant in Massif the deeper basin (Korycany Beds of the local stratigraphic column). The boundary between the Peruc and the Korycany Beds is irregular, with paralic development of several marine incursions into terrestrial areas. During this process, erosion, material transport, and redeposition of sediment were fre− Irish quent. Therefore, we use the term Peruc−Korycany Forma− Massif East Sudetic tion to characterize the mixed lithologies deposited in this Rhenish-Bohemian Block Massif area (Houša 1987). Some marine deposits of the Korycany Anglo-Paris Beds and continental sediments of the Peruc Beds are consid− Basin ered to be isochronous (Houša 1987). Thus, the dinosaur re− mains can be described as originating from the near−shore marine sediments of the Peruc−Korycany Formation. Armorican Tethys The principal land area in the Central European Basin Massif during the Cenomanian was the large Rhenish−Bohemian Is− land that was situated in the middle of present−day Europe 50 km land biodetritic (Diedrich 2001). Several kilometres to the north, the Ceno− limestones manian topographic islands are preserved in the vicinity of lagoon Kolín, Kutná Hora, and Čáslav, where it is called the Kutná Dresden find site Hora Crystalinite in the local geologic terminology. The late Proterozoic to early Palaeozoic metamorphic rocks of these Cenomanian islands are composed mostly of para−gneisses and migmatites. The axial trend of Kutná Hora Island , as well as smaller nearby islands, is oriented in a NW−SE direc− Hradec tion (Klein 1962; Malkovský et al. 1974), which is parallel to Králové the axis of the main basin as well. The dinosaur bones were preserved in a channel between two of the larger islands (see Fig. 1) with a very irregular shoreline. This area is also lo− Praha cated between the archipelago (to the north) and the centre of the Rhenish−Bohemian Island (to the south). Sediments deposited on the shore of the archipelago are predominantly fine−grained sandstones with larger quartzitic and gneisses clasts that were washed from the Kutná Hora Fig. 1. Late Cenomanian Central European palaeogeography. Modified Cristalinite elevations. They are intercalated with organo− after Malkovský et al. (1974), Diedrich (2001), Čech and Valečka (1991). detritic sandy limestones. Klein (1962) supposed these to be a threshold facies (Schwellenfacies) and Houša (1987) inter− abundant. Sandy limestones overlie the fine grained beach preted them as fossil beaches with allochtonous material. The sandstones that yield dinosaur bones. Quartzitic and gneissic contact between the sandstones and limestones is sharp with a clasts are distributed infrequently in the fine−grained sand− typical hardground fabric. However, tempestites were also re− stone. The marine fauna of this facies is poorly preserved. The ported from here. Biodetrital sandy limestones are composed preservation of the dinosaur bone is relatively good, suggest− mainly of the large oyster Rhynchostreon suborbiculatum ing a very rapid burial combined with stable diagenetic pro− (Lamarck, 1801) and the rudist bivalve Radiolites sanctae− cesses. Traces of gnawing (apparently by sharks) are barbarae Počta, 1889. The bivalve fauna is locally rich and preserved on the surface of the bone. FEJFAR ET AL.—CENOMANIAN DINOSAUR FROM CZECH REPUBLIC 297 Stratigraphy Local lithostratigraphic units Age (Ma) Substage Stage Sediments yielding dinosaur remains are of late Cenomanian Epoch age. They represent part of the Peruc−Korycany Formation, middle part of late Cenomanian. Biostratigraphically, this horizon belongs to the Inoceramus pictus–Inoceramus pictus bohemicus inoceramid zone (Stanislav Čech, personal com− munications 2004), and/or, probably to the lower part of Metoicoceras geslinianum ammonite zone,
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