Université de Fribourg

Fossil amphibians and reptiles from the Neogene locality of Maramena (Greece), the most diverse European herpetofauna at the Miocene/Pliocene transition boundary

Georgalis, Georgios L. ; Villa, Andrea ; Ivanov, Martin ; Vasilyan, Davit ; Delfino, Massimo

In: Palaeontologia Electronica, 2019, p. -

We herein describe the fossil amphibians and reptiles from the Neogene (latest Miocene or earliest Pliocene; MN 13/14) locality of Maramena, in northern Greece. The herpetofauna is shown to be extremely diverse, comprising at least 30 different taxa. Amphibians include at least six urodelan (Cryptobranchidae indet., Salamandrina sp., Lissotriton sp. [Lissotriton vulgaris group], Lissotriton sp.,...

Université de Fribourg

Early Miocene herpetofaunas from the Greek localities of Aliveri and Karydia – bridging a gap in the knowledge of amphibians and reptiles from the early Neogene of southeastern Europe

Georgalis, Georgios L. ; Villa, Andrea ; Ivanov, Martin ; Roussiakis, Socrates ; Skandalos, Panagiotis ; Delfino, Massimo

In: Historical Biology, 2019, vol. 31, no. 8, p. 1045–1064

We here describe new remains of amphibians and reptiles from the early Miocene (MN 4) of two different Greek localities, Aliveri and Karydia. The newly described material consists of urodelans, alytids, indeterminate anurans, turtles, crocodylians, lacertids, indeterminate scincomorphs, anguids, colubrids, viperids, and indeterminate snakes. The presence of the frog Latonia cf. gigantea in...

Université de Fribourg

Fossil amphibians and reptiles from Plakias, Crete: A glimpse into the earliest late Miocene herpetofaunas of southeastern Europe

Georgalis, Georgios L. ; Villa, Andrea ; Vlachos, Evangelos ; Delfino, Massimo

In: Geobios, 2016, vol. 49, no. 6, p. 433–444

Fossil amphibians and reptiles from the earliest late Miocene (early Tortonian, MN 9) of Plakias (Crete, Greece) are described in this paper. Most of the material is fragmentary, precluding precise taxonomic assignment. Nevertheless, the herpetofauna of Plakias is here shown to be diverse, comprising at least six different taxa: an alytid anuran, a crocodilian, two turtles (a pan-trionychid...

Université de Fribourg

The last amphisbaenian (Squamata) from continental Eastern Europe

Georgalis, Georgios L. ; Villa, Andrea ; Delfino, Massimo

In: Annales de Paléontologie, 2018, vol. 104, no. 2, p. 155–159

Les archives fossiles des amphisbaeniens en Europe ont récemment été augmentées grâce à la description de nouvelles découvertes à travers le continent. Il a été suggéré à plusieurs reprises que l’extension des amphisbaeniens post-Miocène a subi une réduction progressive vers le sud qui a finalement conduit à leur distribution disjointe actuelle. Nous décrivons ici une...

Université de Fribourg

Osteology, fossil record and palaeodiversity of the European lizards

Villa, Andrea ; Tschopp, Emanuel ; Georgalis, Georgios L. ; Delfino, Massimo

In: Amphibia-Reptilia, 2017, vol. 38, no. 1, p. 79–88

he capability of palaeontologists to identify fossil remains of a particular group of vertebrates strongly depends on the knowledge they have of its comparative osteology and on the actual presence of diagnostic differences among the considered taxa. This could have a relevant influence on the study of palaeodiversity, since a low recognisability causes a loss of data when trying to...

Université de Fribourg

First description of a fossil chamaeleonid from Greece and its relevance for the European biogeographic history of the group

Georgalis, Georgios L. ; Villa, Andrea ; Delfino, Massimo

In: The Science of Nature, 2016, vol. 103, no. 1–2, p. 1–12

The fossil record of Chamaeleonidae is very scarce and any new specimen is therefore considered important for our understanding of the evolutionary and biogeographic history of the group. New specimens from the early Miocene of Aliveri (Evia Island), Greece constitute the only fossils of these lizards from southeastern Europe. Skull roofing material is tentatively attributed to the Czech species...