GEOLOGICA CARPATHICA, APRIL 2019, 70, 2, 135–152 doi: 10.2478/geoca-2019-0008 Sedimentological characteristics and paleoenvironmental implication of Triassic vertebrate localities in Villány (Villány Hills, Southern Hungary) GÁBOR BOTFALVAI1, 2, , ORSOLYA GYŐRI 3, EMÍLIA POZSGAI 4, IZABELLA M. FARKAS 5, TAMÁS SÁGI 6, 7, MÁRTON SZABÓ1, 2 and ATTILA ŐSI 2 1 Department of Paleontology and Geology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Baross Street 13, H-1088, Budapest, Hungary; [email protected] 2 Department of Paleontology, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, H-1117, Budapest, Hungary; [email protected] , [email protected] 3 MTA–ELTE Geological, Geophysical and Space Science Research Group, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/c, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary; [email protected] 4 Soós Ernő Water Technology Research and Development Center, University of Pannonia, Zrínyi Miklós Street 18, H-8800 Nagykanizsa, Hungary; [email protected] 5 Laboratories MOL, MOL Plc., Szent István Street 14, H-1039, Budapest, Hungary; [email protected] 6 Department of Petrology and Geochemistry, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, H-1117, Budapest, Hungary; [email protected] 7 MTA-ELTE Volcanology Research Group, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, H-1117, Budapest, Hungary (Manuscript received September 26, 2018; accepted in revised form February 12, 2019) Abstract: There are two Triassic vertebrate sites in Villány Hills (Southern Hungary), where productive and continuous excavations have been carried out in the last six years resulting in a rich and diversified assemblage of shallow marine to coastal animals. The studied formations belong to the Villány–Bihor Unit of the Tisza Megaunit, which was located at the passive margin of the European Plate during the Triassic. The relatively diverse vertebrate assemblage was collected from a Road-cut on Templom Hill and a newly discovered site at a construction zone located on the Somssich Hill. Four main lithofacies were identified and interpreted in the newly discovered Construction vertebrate site consisting of dolomite (deposited in a shallow, restricted lagoon environment), dolomarl (shallow marine sediments with enhanced terrigenous input), reddish silty claystone (paleosol) and sandstone (terrigenous provenance) indicating that the sediments of the Construction vertebrate site were formed in a subtidal to peritidal zone of the inner ramp environment, where the main controlling factor of the alternating sedimentation was the climate change. However, the recurring paleosol formation in the middle part of the section also indicates a rapid sea-level fall when the marine sediments were repeatedly exposed to subaerial conditions. In the Road-cut site the siliciclastic sediments of the Mészhegy Sandstone Formation are exposed, representing a nearshore, shallow marine environment characterized by high siliciclastic input from the mainland. Keywords: cyclic carbonate–siliciclastic deposits, dolomite, inner ramp, peritidal zone, vertebrates, Tisza Megaunit. Introduction saurs and placodonts), and vertebrae of Tanystropheus (Ősi et al. 2013; Segesdi et al. 2017; Table 1). These Triassic fossils The vertebrate remains from the Mesozoic of Hungary are and their embedding successions are of great importance, rela tively rare, and aside from a few isolated fossils only three since according to the relevant paleoreconstructions the Tisza localities are known where productive and continuous excava- Megaunit, and within it the Villány area, was located at tions have been conducted. Two of them provide vertebrate the Northern Neotethys margin, on the shelf of the European fossils from Upper Cretaceous strata (Ajka and Csehbánya Plate southwards to the Bohemian Massif (Csontos & Vörös Formations), deposited in freshwater and terrestrial environ- 2004; Haas & Péró 2004; Pozsgai et al. 2017). ments. Fishes, amphibians, turtles, crocodiles and dinosaurs Middle to Late Triassic marine to coastal vertebrate fossil were found in these sites of the Bakony Mountains (Ősi et al. sites are well known from the Central European Basin and 2012). The third vertebrate locality is situated in Villány, Alpine successions representing the Western European realm Villány Hills (South Hungary) and includes two outcrops of of the Tethys (e.g., Pinna 1990; Rieppel 2000; Schoch 2015; the Middle to Upper Triassic formations (Fig. 1). Field work in Renesto & Dalla Vecchia 2018). However, much less is known these sites revealed rich and diverse assemblage of coastal to about the vertebrate faunal composition of the eastern regions shallow marine animals including scales and teeth of fishes, of the Northern Tethyan coast. With its abundant and relatively cranial and postcranial elements of sauropterygians (notho- diverse fauna (chondrichthyans, osteichthyans, nothosaurs, www.geologicacarpathica.com 136 BOTFALVAI, GYŐRI , POZSGAI , FARKAS, SÁGI, SZABÓ and ŐSI extrabasinal (e.g., terrigenous siliciclastic) and intrabasinal (autochthonous carbonate) compo- nents (Morsilli et al. 2012; Caracciolo et al. 2013; Chiarella et al. 2017). The alternation of litho- facies and/or the sediment mixing can be inter- preted as the result of short-term sea-level or short-term climate changes. Thus, the investiga- tion of this type of successions is useful to under- stand short-term sea-level and climatic changes and processes (e.g., Brachert et al. 2003; Zeller et al. 2015; Blanchard et al. 2016; Reis & Suss 2016). The sedimentological characteristics of one of the vertebrate sites (Road-cut section) is well docu- mented by several authors (Rálisch-Felgenhauer 1985; Vörös 2009, 2010), but the interpretation of the depositional environment of this succes- sion remained controversial. We performed here new observations and paleontological data, which may help to determine the depositional environ- ment of this sediment accumulation. The other bone-bearing excavation site (Construction site) is less studied, because detailed paleontological and sedimentological investigations of this suc- cession has started only in 2012, when the section was industrially excavated, and one of the authors (E. Pozsgai) found a few bones and teeth in this section and the area was recognized as a potential Triassic vertebrate locality. The aim of the present study is to give an insight into the sedimentological history of Fig. 1. Map of the locality ( A) and location of the two vertebrate sites in Villány ( B). the bone-yielding successions. Based on the detai- led description and interpretation of the identified placodonts, archosauromorphs) is thus of great importance facies associations, the sedimentological and geological since it extends our geographic and faunistic knowledge on significances of the shallow marine setting are discussed, and the shallow marine to seashore vertebrates of the Northern the depositional paleoenvironments of the vertebrate sites are Tethyan coast. identified. Besides the paleogeographic uniqueness, the vertebrate fossils of the Villány sites help to gain a better understanding of the Late Ladinian to Early Carnian evolutionary events of Location and regional geology sauropterygian and prolacertiform archosauromorphs, since the record of these groups from this period of the Triassic is The Villány Hills are situated in the southwestern part of much less known than from earlier periods. Thus, a detailed the Pannonian Basin in Hungary (Fig. 1A). The studied suc- evaluation of the sedimentological features and reconstruction cessions are located 200–300 m northwest to the city of of the depositional environment of these recently discovered Villány (Fig. 1B). The Villány Hills belong to the Villány– bone-yielding beds are crucial in the paleoenvironmental Bihor Unit of the Tisza Megaunit, which formed a segment of reconstruction, which is indispensable for the upcoming the passive Neotethys margin of the European Plate during paleontological research. Furthermore, besides the paleonto- the Triassic (Csontos & Vörös 2004; Haas & Péró 2004; Feist- logical significances, the explored successions provide addi- Burkhardt et al. 2008; Fig. 2A). tional information about these sedimentological and The Lower Triassic sequence of the Villány–Bihor Unit is environmental processes. The bone-bearing successions of predominantly characterized by clastic sediments (Bunt sand- the Villány Hills were deposited in an inner ramp environment stein facies), which is overlain by Middle Triassic evaporitic (Rálisch-Felgenhauer & Török 1993; Török 2000, and see carbonate and shallow marine carbonate deposits (Röt and below) representing the transition zone between the upper Muschelkalk facies). These sequences show a close genetic shoreface and fair-weather wave base (Burchette & Wright affinity with the Germanic-type Triassic sediments (Török 1992). Mixed siliciclastic–carbonate deposits frequently 1997), while the Upper Triassic succession shows closer affi- accommodate in such environments consisting of both nities to the Carpathian Keuper facies (Bleahu et al. 1994). GEOLOGICA CARPATHICA, 2019, 70, 2, 135–152 SEDIMENTOLOGY OF TRIASSIC VERTEBRATE LOCALITIES IN VILLÁNY HILLS, SOUTHERN HUNGARY 137 Table 1: Synthetic faunal list of the Triassic marine vertebrate fauna from the Villány Hills (based on Ősi et al. 2013; Segesdi et al. 2017 and Electronic supplement II). Vertebrate assemblage Construction site Road-cut section Lifestyle Carnian Carnian Ladinian Ladinian (Mészhegy (Mészhegy Taxon (Templomhegy (Templomhegy Environment