Bioerosion on vertebrate remains from the Upper Cretaceous of the Hateg Basin, Romania and its taphonomic implications

被引:19
作者
Augustin, Felix J. [1 ]
Matzke, Andreas T. [1 ]
Csiki-Sava, Zoltan [2 ]
Pfretzschner, Hans-Ulrich [1 ]
机构
[1] Eberhard Karls Univ Tubingen, Inst Geowissensch, Holderlinstr 12, D-72074 Tubingen, Germany
[2] Univ Bucharest, Fac Geol & Geophys, 1 Nicolae Balcescu Ave, Bucharest 010041, Romania
关键词
Trace fossils; Bite marks; Late Cretaceous; Trophic interactions; Palaeoecology; Scavenging; JURASSIC MORRISON FORMATION; BITE MARKS; SOUTH CARPATHIANS; DINOSAUR BONES; FEEDING-BEHAVIOR; TRACE FOSSILS; TOOTH MARKS; MULTITUBERCULATE MAMMALS; MAASTRICHTIAN DEPOSITS; VARANUS-KOMODOENSIS;
D O I
10.1016/j.palaeo.2019.109318
中图分类号
P9 [自然地理学];
学科分类号
0705 ; 070501 ;
摘要
Bioerosion on fossil bones offers significant insights into both trophic relationships of ancient ecosystems and vertebrate taphonomy. Here we report six distinct trace fossil categories identified on isolated turtle, crocody. liform and dinosaur remains from the Upper Cretaceous Sinpetru Formation of the Hateg Basin (Romania), for which five different probable tracemakers are identified: (1) termites, (2) dermestid beetles, (3) multituberculate mammals, (4) ziphodont theropod dinosaurs or crocodyliforms, and (5) plants. This extraordinary diversity 01 bioerosional trace fossils on vertebrate remains reveals insect-vertebrate as well as vertebrate-vertebrate in teractions previously undocumented in the continental uppermost Cretaceous of Romania. The association between different traces, especially since many of these are superimposed on top of each other, allows the reconstruction of the detailed taphonomic history of the specimens, indicating four different taphonomic pathways. The vertebrate remains with trace fossils described here were most likely exposed to post-mortem biotic interactions for a prolonged time period before they were transported and/or trampled and finally buried. In the palaeoenvironmental context of a heterogeneous braided river system with low-lying wetlands and more elevated drylands, the death of the vertebrates as well as the scavenging likely occurred on the drylands.
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页数:16
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