Szabó János szerk.: Fragmenta Mineralogica Et Palaentologica 23. 2005. (Budapest, 2005)
4 MESZOELY, VEN* vertebrate remains of the Tokod locality probably came from owl pellets and it is known that the hunting territory of some owl species is very large. Considering these above mentioned facts it is comprehensible that in the record of a same bed we can find remains of species that had rather different habitats. For example, we can find species restricted to forested environments as Apodemus, '.VA,. & G ASP ARIK GliSy Mjodes, Sicista together with species restricted to open areas (grasslands, steppes, semi-deserts) as Spa/ax, Cricetulus, I^agurus and Allactaga. The four described snake taxa suggest also diverse palaeoenvironments. Natrix indicates aquatic habitat, Vipera (mainly the Vipera berus) prefer woodlands while Coluber and Coronella prefer more opened areas. Conclusions Four fossil snakes have been positively identified from the Late Pleistocene deposits of Tokod. The age of the layers in which the snakes were found is Early Weichselian (Würm Glaciation) and Eemian (Riss-Würm Interglacial). The age of the older layers are rather Süttőian than Varbóian as indicated by the presence of large sized shrew Crocidura cf. leucodon (MESZOELY & GASPARIK 2002). Both the micromammalian and the gastropod fauna of the lower layers from Tokod appear to indicate a climate milder than that of present day Hungary. The discovery of an agamid lizard among the reptilian fossil remains also supports the above contention (MESZOELY & GASPARIK 2002). The fossil snakes described in this paper do not only extend the Tokod Vertebrate faunal list, but they also provide clues to the environment of this locality. The specific habitat preferences of Coronella, Coluber and Vipera include scrubs, parklands and rocky areas, while Natrix is closely associated with aquatic habitats. The micromammalian fauna also shows a similar mix of woodland and open land species. The above observations suggest that the landscape of Tokod during the Eemian was essentially open land interspersed with small woodlots. Acknowledgements — We thank Laszlo MESZOELY for preparing of the illustrations to this paper. References GASPARIK, M. (1993): Late Pleistocene gastropod and vertebrate fauna from Tokod (NE Transdanubia, Hungary). — Fragmenta Mineralogica et Palaeontologica, 16: 89-116. MESZOELY, C. A. M. & GASPARIK, M. (2002): First record of an agamid lizard trom the Pleistocene of Hungary. — Fragmenta Palaeontologica Hungarica, 20: 1-2. SZYNDLAR, Z. (1984): Fossil snakes from Poland. — Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia, 28: 1—156. S/.YNDLAR, Z. (1991a): A review of Neogene and Quaternary snakes of Central and Lastern Europe. Part I. Scolecophidia, Boidae, Colubrinae. — Estudios Ceologicos, 47(1-2): 103-126. SZYNDLAR, Z. (1991b): Ancestry of the grass snake {Natrix natrix): paleontological evidence. — journal of Herpetology, 25(4): 412—418. LlNnKRWOOD, G. (1967): A contribution to the classification of snakes. — Trustees of the British Museum (Nat. Hist), London, pp. 179. Authors' addresses: Dr. Charles M. MliSZOELY Department of Biology 414 Mugar Life Science Building Northeastern University Boston, Massachusetts 02115 USA Dr. Márton VHNCZLiL Tarii Crisurilor Museum B-dul Dacia 1-3, 3700 Oradea Romania E-mail: mvenczel@rdslink.ro Dr. Mihály GASPARIK Department of Geolog)' and Palaeontology Hungarian Natural History Museum Budapest, VIII, Ludovika tér 2. Mail: 1431 Budapest, pf. 137. Hungary E-mail: ga spa ri k@nh m u s . h u
