Folia archeologica 51.

István Vörös: A magyarországi fosszilis Elephantidák biokronológiája

FOI.IA ARCHAEC)I.()(;ICA LI. 2003-2004. BUDAPEST BIOCHRONO LOGY OF FOSSIL ELEPH ANTI DAE IN HUNGARY* István VÖRÖS In memóriám Kretzoi Miklós Mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius BLMB.) is the most frequent fossil Quaternary large herbivorous mammal in I lungary, considering the distribution of occurrence sites. On 70% of the sites of so-called Pleistocene stray finds, remains of Elephantidae were reported (

VÖRÖS 1

974; JÁNOSSY-VÖRÖS 1979, Fig. 2). The most ancient earliest elephantid finds of Elephantidae from the Carpathian Basin are the "giants' bones" known from the 17

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h century which used to be chained to gates or balls in cities, churches, castles and citv halls (KUBACSKA 1929; VÖRÖS 1983, Fig. 1-3). Finds of Elephantidae which came to light in the 18

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h century and the beginning of the 19

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h century came forth mainly from ravines, river and stream beds and it was mostly due to mere fortune that they got into the possession or notice of an interested collector. Since the eighties of the 19

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h century, intensive geological surveys, regulation of the big rivers yielded abundant palaeontological-stratigraphical material which had found their way into two great collections in Budapest, the Hungarian National Museum and the Hungarian Royal Geological Institute. The number of Upper Pleistocene stray finds, coming mainly from Upper Pleistocene surface formations and regional sediments exceeds by order that of the faunas, faunal assemblages coming from localities yielding a biostratigraphically documented fauna (KRKTZOI 1977; JÁNOSSY 1979; JÁNOSSY-VÖRÖS 1979). Using the large number of stray finds and their localities first not for a faunistical, but species evolution analyses, by the microevolutionary-macrosystematical study and revision of the large amount of mammalian macrofossils, their stratigraphical correlation we can essay the bio- and geochronological/stratigraphical "rehabilitation" of the individual species. The knowledge on Elephantidae finds collected recently by micro stratigraphical layer control allow us the species population dynamical study of the large number of finds stored in the collections as well as their use as a tool in bio- and geochronology/stratigraphy in the field work. Elephantidae are specially lit for this purpose because of their extremely endurable dentition having taxonomical importance as well as the chronosuccessional changes in the wall thickness of tooth enamel lamella. One of the characteristic trend of the species evolution of Elephantids is a gradual decrease in the thic kness of the enamel of the tooth lamella during the Pleistocene. The more archaic genera/taxa, and within the generic and taxonal units, one given species, we find a more thick enamel wall of the tooth lamella (enamel thickness), and the more evolved are the genera/taxa, or species within the taxonomical unit, we find more thin * I have written this paper at the INQUA Hungarian National Committee request back in 1991. Than, I sent through once more to Academician Márton Pécsi in 1998. In both cases my attempt proved an abortion.