Historia naturalis bulgarica (Dec 2017)
Fossil and subfossil record of Reptiles (Reptilia Laurenti, 1768) in Bulgaria
Abstract
The paper summarizes and evaluates all scattered and scanty data on the fossil and subfossil records of reptiles from Bulgaria. A complete list of the 72 localities and the taxonomic composition and kind of reptilian findings are presented for the first time. Data cover at least 98 taxa (25 identified up to species level) of 26 genera, 22 families and 6 orders at least. Chronostratigraphically they range from the Kimmeridgian (Late Jurrasic) to the Late Holocene (subrecent), i. e. last 157.3 Ma. Two families (Varanidae and Elapidae) and one subfamily (Lygosominae) of the skinks today include only representatives of exotic distribution. About one fifth of all taxa are fossil. Three of the fossil taxa are described as new to the science. Apart from herpetologists from Bulgaria, experts from Poland and Germany have contributed most to exploration of fossil and subfossil reptiles in the country.
