Kaszab Zoltán (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 76. (Budapest 1984)

Kordos-Szakály, M.: New data to the Miocene flora of Nógrádszakál (Hungary)

ANNALES HISTORICO-N

AI URALES MUSEI NA TJONALJS HUNGARIC1 Tomus 76. Budapest, 1984 p. 43-63. New data to the Miocene flora of Nógrádszakái (Hungary) by M. KORDOS-SZAKÁLY, Budapest Abstract — The Badenian floras of Nógrádszakái came to light from the lower part of the Mátra Volcanite Formation (Bertece valley) and also from its cover (Paris stream). This paper contains description as well as discussion of the floristic position and connections of the 88 taxa of 1545 plant impressions. With 6 figures and 3 photoplates. The important localities of Nógrádszakái yielding paleontological remains and mentioned for the first time by Stur are in the left-hand side branch valley of the Ipoly river which cuts through between Litke and Nógrádszakái (Fig. 1). Lates, in 1892, Szontagh collected paleobotanical material here which is now in the collection of the Hungarian Geological Institute. According to Szontagh, the material was collected in the Northern mine at Nógrádszakái, in a pyroxene-andesite tuff formation identified by him as of Mediterranean age. The 22 samples contain the impressions of 6 taxa. In 1942 during the survey of the geological conditions ot the area between Litke, Ráróspuszta and Nógrádszakái, the occurrence of plant remains was reported from the boundary between Tortonian marine layers and andésite tuff. Between 1949 and 1980 a large number ot samples were acquired by the Paleobotanical Collection ot the Hungarian Natural History Museum which originated from the localities of Paris stream, Bertece valley and Pityi quarry. This material had not been studied hitherto. The continuous collection of plant remains, later known as the "Nógrádszakái Flora", took place between 1956-62. At first Lipthay and Andreánszky collected material in the main valley of the Paris stream. The remains found here were originally registered in the Palóc Museum of Balassagyarmat, but later, after the specialization of the Museum they were sent to the Kubinyi Ferenc Museum at Szécsény where most of them are deposited even today. According to the inventory the maiority of the material was ipentified by Andreánszky while the remains collected in 1961-62 were identified in the side-valley of the Paris stream and in the valley of Bertece (Beszterce) stream. As sporadic finds other remains from one of the cellars of the so-called Willmann-vineyard and from Rárósmulyad (Czechoslovakia) where Havasi found impressions in andésite tuff, were added to the Nógrádszakái Miocene floral assemblage. ANDREÁNSZKY in his "Die Flora der Sarmatischen Stufe in Ungarn", published in 1959, gave the overall characterization and detailed specific description of the Hungarian Sarmatian sites. This book of great significance also contains the outlined analysis of Nógrádszakái written co-authorship with Kovács. Among the taxa collected from these localities there were 5 species new to science. It is not possible to state unambiguously which Nógrádszakái plant impressions are identical with those published in the above-mentioned monograph on the Sarmatian flora. Floral remains from the main and side-branches of the Paris stream are certainly among the finds in Szécsény ; there are three holotypes in this material. At present the original remains from the Bertece valley and Rárósmulyad are unknown to me. In the great quantity of impressions which is deposited in the Paleobotanical Collection of the Botanical Department there are remains collected from the Paris and Bertece valley in 1949-50 with the label : "Kovács É. 1959". The finds collected from the Pityi quarry have not been studied. As ANDREÁNSZKY'S monograph was published in 1959, it did not contain the finds identified in 1959 by KOVÁCS. To take the first step toward a detailed analysis of the Nógrádszakái Flora, in this paper I aim to revise the localities and their geological position, as well as to survey the whole paleobotanical material collected and known up to present. For purposes of this task I identified the indeterminate material of the Paleobotanical Collection of the Botanical Department, reinvestigated the material in the same collection which was collected by KOVÁCS and surveyed the material of the Kubiny Ferenc Museum in Szécsény. During the spring of 1983, when I made field surveys in the area, I could separate the paleobotanical localities in the main branches of the Paris stream, where the remains were found in a white mostly bench-like structured tuffic material, from the site in the side-branch of the same stream where the tuff layer can be characterized by the occurrence of Populus bahamoides GOEPP. var. obesa KOVÁCS. In the Bertece valley at the level stream and 1-1,5 m above it the layers rich in plant impressions were found in rocks of varied appearence, the basic material of which is andesitic deposited