New data on Maastrichtian fishes of the ‘Haţeg Island’

Abstract

Some discoveries from the continental deposits of the paleogeographic landmass named the ‘Hațeg Island’ complete the fossil record of the Maastrichtian fish fauna of Europe. Teeth belonging to the Lonchidiidae and three morphotypes of Teleostei indet. are reported herein, from the uppermost Cretaceous continental formations cropping out in the Hațeg and Transylvanian sedimentary basins of Romania. These fishes document a terrestrial realm, where various aquatic environments occurred ca. 70 Ma ago, immediately after the ‘Laramian’ (latest Cretaceous) tectonic pulse. It is important to note the presence of a brackish water shark, reported for the first time in the Maastrichtian deposits of Romania. This advance in research argues for a higher Cretaceous fish diversity in Transylvania than previously suggested. Therefore, the ecology of the ancient vertebrate communities is better documented with elements unknown so far.

Keywords

• latest cretaceous
• vertebrates
• lonchidiidae
• fish teeth
• romania