Acta Palaeontologica Polonica

New frogs from the latest Cretaceous of Haţeg Basin, Romania

Márton Venczel and Zoltán Csiki

Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 48 (4), 2003: 609-616

The latest Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) fluvio-lacustrine deposits of Haţeg Basin (Romania) have yielded a number of aquatic and terrestrial microvertebrates, including dissociated skeletal remains of the following anuran taxa: Hatzegobatrachus grigorescui gen. et sp. nov., Paralatonia transylvanica gen. et sp. nov., and Anura indet. H. grigorescui sp. nov. (type species), retaining some leiopelmatid-grade anuran features, is diagnosed as a small-sized primitive frog with still unclear relationships. P. transylvanica sp. nov. (type species) is a middle-sized discoglossine frog. Based on the characters of jaw-bones and post-cranial skeletal elements, it appears as intermediate between primitive (Eodiscoglossus-like) and more derived (Latonia-like) discoglossine discoglossid. In Hatzegobatrachus and Paralatonia the morphology of the hipbones shows that they differ in saltatorial abilities. Consequently, these forms may have occupied distinct ecological niches, suggesting that the latest Cretaceous microvertebrate assemblages of Haţeg Basin were connected to more complex ecosystems than considered before.

Key words: Cretaceous, Maastrichtian, Amphibia, Anura, Romania.

Márton Venczel [mvenczel@rdslink.ro], Ţării Crişurilor Museum, B−dul Dacia 1−3, RO−410464 Oradea, Romania; Zoltán Csiki [dinozoli@geo.edu.ro], Department of Geology and Paleontology, Faculty of Geology and Geophysics, University of Bucharest, B−dul N. Bălcescu 1, RO−010041 Bucharest, Romania.


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