Middle Miocene vertebrate faunas from Partium

Abstract

This paper provides a brief report on known Middle Miocene vertebrate faunas from Partium (W Romania). In the
localities of Comăneşti and Tauţ (Arad County, Romania), some examples of such faunas were unearthed in the s1970s.
In recent years two new locality complexes were discovered in Tăşad and Subpiatră (Bihor County, Romania). These
fossil vertebrate faunas roughly cover three biochronological units within the European Mammal biozones
(MN6–MN7/8– MN9) and may be correlated with the Late Badenian – Sarmatian – Pannonian stages of the Central
Paratethys. The revision of the Comăneşti and Tauţ vertebrate remains revealed a distinctly higher faunal diversity than
had originallz been belived. This suggests that there could be palaeobiogeographical connections to other Middle
Miocene faunas from the Central Paratethys area. The fossil record from the studied localities is completed with data
taken from taphonomic and palaeoenvironmental contexts.