Matskási István (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 89. (Budapest 1997)

Vremir, M., Codrea, V. ; Farkas, B.: Trionyx stiriacus Peters, 1855 (Reptilia, Testudines) from the Sarmatian (Middle Miocene) of Minişu de Sus (Romania)

gated. Two incomplete reviews of recent developments in trionychid systematics and taxonomy are to be found in GARDNER & RUSSELL ( 1994) and FARKAS (1995), respectively. The mammalian fauna argues for the existence of a forested environment in the Zärand Basin in the Early Sarmatian. The water bodies of this basin included at certain moments significant elements of freshwater lakes, ponds and swamps, or slowly flowing rivers in a subtropical climate. Certainly, the distance between the place where the specimens died and the area where they were buried in the sediment had to be short. In the case of TCM 8377, the corpse decomposed before its burial, a fact which can be perfectly explained by its juvenile stage of development. As for the MTB specimens, the anatomic connections are obvious, denoting a rapid burial. The discoveries made in this area may be significant also from a paleogeographic viewpoint. Information regarding the geographic distribution of the genus Trionyx (sensu lato) in the Sarmatian of the Central Paratethys is extremely limited. A remain of T. stiriacus is mentioned with some hesitation from the Tertiary of Celje Province, Slovenia by JURKOVSEK & KOLAR-JiJRKOVSEK (1994). Only two records of soft-shelled turtles exist from the Hungarian Miocene: Eggenburgian, Trionyx sp.; Late Pannonian, 77. pseudovindobonensis SZÁLAI, 1934, a species that was recently declared an undeterminable trionychid by FARKAS (1995). The type material of 77. croaticus KOCH, 1915 (a taxon excluded from the T. stiriacus group by HUMMEL [1929]) originated from the Middle Miocene of Voca, Croatia. There are no data in our possession concerning the former presence of soft-shelled turtles in the territories of Serbia or Bulgaria. Mini§u de Sus thus constitutes a significant argument for the expansion of the established limits in the Intra-carpathian area where T. stiriacus is known from. Acknowledgements - We thank JAMES R. BUSKIRK (Field Associate, California Academy of Science) for reviewing the text. REFERENCES BARBU, O. & CODREA, V. (1996): Palaeoenvironmental interpretation of diatomitic facies from the Zärand Basin, Western Romania. - In: Abstracts, 14th InternationalDiatomite Symposium. Tokyo: 136. BROIN, F. DE (1977): Contribution à l'étude des chéloniens: chéloniens continentaux du Crétacé et du Tertiaire de France. - Mém. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. Paris (N. S.), Sér. C 38: i-ix + 1-336. CARPENTER, K. (1981): Preneural in the evolution of Trionyx. - Copeia 1981 (2): 456-457. CHEREPANOV, G. O. (1995): Ontogenetic development of the shell in Trionyx sinensis (Trionychidae, Testudinata) and some questions on the nomenclature of bony plates. -Russ. J. Herpetol. 2 (2): 129-133. CHKHIKVADZE, V. M. (1980): O sistematicheskom polozhenii presnovodnykh cherepakh neogena Moldavii, Ukrainy i nekotorykh stran Central'noi Evropy. [On the systematic status of Neogene freshwater turtles of Moldavia, Ukraine and some Central European countries.] - Soobshch. Akad. Nauk GSSR 99 (3): 721-724. CODREA, V. (1992): New mammalian remains from the Sarmatian deposits at Miniju de Sus (Tauti, Arad County). -Studia Univ. Babes-Bolyai (Geológia) 2 (37): 35-41. CODREA, V., LASLO-FAUR, A. & DUDÁS, C. (1991a): Listriodon aff. lockharti (Pome!) from the Sarmatian diatomitic-tuffaceous complex at Minisu de Sus (Arad district). - In: The Volcanic Tuffs from the Transylvanian Basin, Romania. CIuj-Napoca, pp. 93-102.