Publication details
Middle Miocene Mammals from the Czujan’s Sandpit (Mikulov, Czech Republic)
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| Year of publication | 2017 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
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| Description | Czujan’s sandpit (Mikulov, Czech Republic) represents a unique locality of middle Miocene mammals, and further is known as the type locality of Tethytragus stehlini. Czujan’s sandpit is mentioned only occasionally in published sources, however, Neogene mammals from the Mikulov area come from several sites of different stratigraphical age. Therefore it is important to distinguish this specific locality from other fossil sites of Mikulov. The studied material which is housed in the Moravian Museum in Brno, the Regional Museum of Mikulov, Masaryk University and Vienna University shows that this locality is relatively rich in terrestrial vertebrates. Over the approximately 40 years (1936-1974) of its existence, this locality provided at least 53 vertebrate individuals where proboscideans are the most abundant taxa. The fossil faunal list includes in total 13 taxa: Proboscidea: Zygolophodon turicensis, Gomphotherium angustidens, Prodeinotherium bavaricum; Rhinocerotidae: Brachypotherium brachypus, Hoploaceratherium sp.; Equidae: Anchitherium sp.; Chalicotheriidae: Anisodon grande; Suidae: Conohyus simorrensis, Cervidae: Heteroprox larteti, Bovidae: Tethytragus stehlini; Palaeomerycidae indet., Carnivora: Amphicyon cf. major and Testudines: Testudo kalkburgensis. This fossil assemblage stratigraphically corresponds to the middle-late Badenian (Astaracian). Taphonomical features of studied material from fluvial sands and gravels suggest that most of fossil remains are individuals what died in the immediate vicinity of the sedimentation area. One of the pieces of evidence that supports this is that most of the skeletal remains were recovered in anatomical position (e.g., whole skeletons and forelimbs or hindlimbs). By the high biodiversity, we can place this small sandpit as the one of the richest middle Miocene terrestrial fossil sites of Central Europe. |