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

A revision of the trionychid turtle Procyclanorbis sardus Portis, 1901 from the late Miocene of Sardinia (Italy) = Une révision de la tortue trionychidé Procyclanorbis sardus Portis, 1901 du Miocène supérieur de Sardaigne (Italie)

Georgalis, Georgios L. ; Zoboli, Daniel ; Pillola, Gian Luigi ; Delfino, Massimo

In: Annales de Paléontologie, 2017, vol. 103, no. 2, p. 127–134

Procyclanorbis sardus Portis, 1901 est la première tortue trionychidé fossile décrite en Sardaigne. Ce taxon du Miocène supérieur a été initialement considéré comme ayant des affinités avec les cyclanorbines d’Afrique et d’Asie du Sud. Nous décrivons ici en détail et figurons l’holotype de cette espèce, qui a subi une importante dégradation depuis sa publication originale. Une...

Université de Fribourg

The last European varanid: demise and extinction of monitor lizards (Squamata, Varanidae) from Europe

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

In: Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 2017, vol. 37, no. 2, p. e1301946

Remains of a varanid lizard from the middle Pleistocene of the Tourkobounia 5 locality near Athens, Greece are described. The new material comprises cranial elements only (one maxilla, one dentary, and one tooth) and is attributed to Varanus, the genus to which all European Neogene varanid occurrences have been assigned. Previously, the youngest undisputed varanid from Europe had been...

Université de Fribourg

Fossil lizards and snakes from Ano Metochi – a diverse squamate fauna from the latest Miocene of northern Greece

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

In: Historical Biology, 2017, vol. 29, no. 6, p. 730–742

We here describe a new squamate fauna from the late Miocene (Messinian, MN 13) of Ano Metochi, northern Greece. The lizard fauna of Ano Metochi is here shown to be rather diverse, consisting of lacertids, anguids, and potential cordylids, while snakes are also abundant, consisting of scolecophidians, natricines and at least two different colubrines. If our identification is correct, the Ano...

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

New material of Laophis crotaloides, an enigmatic giant snake from Greece, with an overview of the largest fossil European vipers

Georgalis, Georgios L. ; Szyndlar, Zbigniew ; Kear, Benjamin P. ; Delfino, Massimo

In: Swiss Journal of Geosciences, 2016, vol. 109, no. 1, p. 103–116

Laophis crotaloides was described by Richard Owen as a new and very large fossil viperid snake species from Greece. The type material is apparently lost and the taxon was mostly neglected for more than a century. We here describe a new partial viperid vertebra, collected from the same locality and of equivalent size to the type material. This vertebra indicates that at least one of the three...