Paleontology of Mammal Faunas from Late Miocene Fossil Localities in the Veles Formation (North Macedonia)

Project no. 31985 · Status: Kapanmış · 2024

Summary

<p>Within&nbsp;the&nbsp;scope&nbsp;of&nbsp;this&nbsp;project,&nbsp;the&nbsp;Late&nbsp;Miocene&nbsp;mammalian&nbsp;fossil&nbsp;localities&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;Veles&nbsp;Formation&nbsp;in&nbsp;North&nbsp;Macedonia&nbsp;were&nbsp;evaluated&nbsp;from&nbsp;paleontological,&nbsp;systematic,&nbsp;biostratigraphic,&nbsp;and&nbsp;paleobiogeographic&nbsp;perspectives.&nbsp;The&nbsp;main&nbsp;material&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;study&nbsp;consists&nbsp;of&nbsp;historical&nbsp;fossil&nbsp;specimens&nbsp;housed&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;Paleogene&nbsp;and&nbsp;Neogene&nbsp;Large&nbsp;Mammal&nbsp;Collection&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;Natural&nbsp;History&nbsp;Museum&nbsp;in&nbsp;Belgrade,&nbsp;most&nbsp;of&nbsp;which&nbsp;derive&nbsp;from&nbsp;the&nbsp;Prevalec,&nbsp;Belushka,&nbsp;and&nbsp;Brca&nbsp;localities.&nbsp;These&nbsp;collections,&nbsp;which&nbsp;had&nbsp;not&nbsp;been&nbsp;comprehensively&nbsp;re-examined&nbsp;for&nbsp;a&nbsp;long&nbsp;time,&nbsp;were&nbsp;studied&nbsp;within&nbsp;the&nbsp;framework&nbsp;of&nbsp;modern&nbsp;systematic&nbsp;paleontology.&nbsp;Carnivora,&nbsp;Proboscidea,&nbsp;Artiodactyla,&nbsp;and&nbsp;Primates&nbsp;were&nbsp;studied&nbsp;on&nbsp;the&nbsp;basis&nbsp;of&nbsp;morphological,&nbsp;odontological,&nbsp;osteological,&nbsp;and&nbsp;biometric&nbsp;data.</p><p>The&nbsp;results&nbsp;indicate&nbsp;that&nbsp;the&nbsp;Veles&nbsp;fauna&nbsp;is&nbsp;generally&nbsp;consistent&nbsp;with&nbsp;a&nbsp;Late&nbsp;Miocene&nbsp;age&nbsp;and,&nbsp;more&nbsp;specifically,&nbsp;with&nbsp;the&nbsp;middle&nbsp;Turolian/MN12&nbsp;interval.&nbsp;The&nbsp;Belushka&nbsp;fauna&nbsp;supports&nbsp;an&nbsp;MN12&nbsp;age&nbsp;through&nbsp;the&nbsp;presence&nbsp;of&nbsp;typical&nbsp;Turolian&nbsp;elements.&nbsp;The&nbsp;occurrence&nbsp;of&nbsp;<em>Anancus</em>&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;Prevalec&nbsp;fauna&nbsp;suggests&nbsp;that&nbsp;this&nbsp;locality&nbsp;may&nbsp;represent&nbsp;a&nbsp;later&nbsp;MN12&nbsp;phase&nbsp;than&nbsp;Belushka,&nbsp;or&nbsp;may&nbsp;include&nbsp;a&nbsp;faunal&nbsp;component&nbsp;more&nbsp;strongly&nbsp;influenced&nbsp;by&nbsp;post-Pikermian&nbsp;elements.&nbsp;Although&nbsp;Brca&nbsp;is&nbsp;represented&nbsp;by&nbsp;limited&nbsp;material,&nbsp;it&nbsp;is&nbsp;considered&nbsp;an&nbsp;important&nbsp;locality&nbsp;that&nbsp;complements&nbsp;the&nbsp;biochronological&nbsp;interpretation&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;combined&nbsp;Veles&nbsp;fauna.</p><p>One&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;most&nbsp;significant&nbsp;findings&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;project&nbsp;is&nbsp;the&nbsp;identification&nbsp;of&nbsp;an&nbsp;isolated&nbsp;molar&nbsp;specimen&nbsp;from&nbsp;the&nbsp;Belushka&nbsp;locality&nbsp;as&nbsp;Graecopithecini&nbsp;indet.&nbsp;This&nbsp;specimen&nbsp;is&nbsp;interpreted&nbsp;as&nbsp;the&nbsp;first&nbsp;Late&nbsp;Miocene&nbsp;hominoid&nbsp;record&nbsp;from&nbsp;North&nbsp;Macedonia&nbsp;and&nbsp;provides&nbsp;important&nbsp;evidence&nbsp;for&nbsp;the&nbsp;Turolian&nbsp;distribution&nbsp;of&nbsp;hominoids&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;Balkans.&nbsp;In&nbsp;addition,&nbsp;new&nbsp;records&nbsp;were&nbsp;obtained&nbsp;for&nbsp;taxa&nbsp;identified&nbsp;for&nbsp;the&nbsp;first&nbsp;time&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;Veles&nbsp;fauna&nbsp;within&nbsp;the&nbsp;scope&nbsp;of&nbsp;this&nbsp;project,&nbsp;including&nbsp;<em>Plioviverrops</em>,&nbsp;<em>Propotamochoerus&nbsp;aegaeus</em>,&nbsp;<em>Dorcatherium</em>&nbsp;sp.,&nbsp;<em>Indarctos&nbsp;atticus</em>,&nbsp;cf.&nbsp;<em>Lucentia</em>&nbsp;sp.,&nbsp;<em>Anancus</em>&nbsp;sp.,&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>Deinotherium&nbsp;proavum</em>.&nbsp;These&nbsp;findings&nbsp;demonstrate&nbsp;that&nbsp;the&nbsp;Veles&nbsp;collections&nbsp;are&nbsp;not&nbsp;merely&nbsp;historical&nbsp;museum&nbsp;material,&nbsp;but&nbsp;also&nbsp;an&nbsp;important&nbsp;source&nbsp;of&nbsp;data&nbsp;contributing&nbsp;to&nbsp;current&nbsp;systematic&nbsp;and&nbsp;biogeographic&nbsp;discussions.</p><p>Paleoecological&nbsp;evidence&nbsp;indicates&nbsp;the&nbsp;presence&nbsp;of&nbsp;a&nbsp;mosaic&nbsp;environment&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;Veles&nbsp;region,&nbsp;composed&nbsp;of&nbsp;open&nbsp;grasslands,&nbsp;wooded&nbsp;areas,&nbsp;and&nbsp;more&nbsp;closed&nbsp;forested&nbsp;microhabitats.&nbsp;These&nbsp;results&nbsp;show&nbsp;that&nbsp;the&nbsp;Veles&nbsp;Formation&nbsp;occupies&nbsp;a&nbsp;key&nbsp;position&nbsp;for&nbsp;understanding&nbsp;Late&nbsp;Miocene&nbsp;faunal&nbsp;relationships&nbsp;among&nbsp;the&nbsp;Balkans,&nbsp;Anatolia,&nbsp;and&nbsp;the&nbsp;eastern&nbsp;Mediterranean</p>

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