B. Papp szerk.: Studia Botanica Hungarica 32. 2001 (Budapest, 2001)

Hably, Lilla; Zastawniak, E.: Distribution, taphonomy and palaeoecology of Ulmus L. in the Hungarian Egerian

A second important Egerian locality but with less well-preserved fossil leaves, Vértesszőlős, where the content of the mudstone is 20%. HABLY ( 1990) determined in this flora two fossil elm species: Ulmus pyramidalis Goepp. (60 specimens) and U. plurinervia Ung. (= U. cf. minuta Goepp., 6 specimens). The latter small-leaved elm is an accessory element in the flora. The leaf margins are not well-preserved, but the shape, base, and dense secondary venation of the leaves is so characteristic that we can assume that U. pyramidalis was present (e.g. HABLY 1990, p. 66, Figs 84, 87; p. 67, Figs 88, 90-93), while Ulmus pseudopyramidalis could also be present in this material. Some leaf impressions, described as cf. Betula (HABLY 1990, p. 63, Figs 95-96, 98; p. 69, Fig. 103), belong rather to Ulmus. They have no preserved margin, but features such as the arched secondaries with wide spacing between them suggest that they could belong to U. pseudopyramidalis. Verőcemaros is another fossil locality with very well-preserved plant material. The bearing sediment is mudstone. In this flora was found only one specimen of U. fischeri (HABLY 1982), with U. pyramidalis completely absent. Clearly, around this site of deposition of the fossil flora, U. pyramidalis did not exist. Other Egerian floras at Andornaktálya, Nagysáp and Kesztölc contain only one species of elm, namely U. pyramidalis. At these localities the proportion of mudstone in the sediment is 55-56%. From Andornaktálya were reported 32 specimens of Ulmus pyramidalis Goepp. (HABLY 1993a), from Kesztölc 8 (HABLY 1988), but some other fragments, described as Ulmus sp., could also have been U. pyramidalis because of their dense, straight secondary venation. From Nagysáp only 2 specimens of U. pyramidalis have been mentioned (HABLY 1989). There are also floras from Rétság and Pusztaberki, where the plant bearing sediment is very sandy. The content of the mudstone is only 31% at Rétság and 19% at Pusztaberki. Most of the leaf imprints at these localities are unidentified, except for some Daphnogene sp. and cf. Ulmus sp., comprising over 10% in both floras (HABLY 2001). THE DISTRIBUTION OF FOSSIL ULMUS L. IN THE HUNGARIAN EGERIAN AND A PRESUMED PALAEOECOLOGICAL EXPLANATION There is no doubt that the most abundant and widespread elm species, Ulmus pyramidalis Goepp., existed in Hungary during the Egerian. It occurs at six localities (Pomáz, Eger-Wind brickyard, Vértesszőlős, Andornaktálya, Kesztölc, Nagysáp), and probably also at two others (Rétság, Pusztaberki). It is absent from only