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., Andrea VILLA, Martin IVANOV, Socrates ROUSSIAKIS, Panagiotis SKANDALOS and Massimo DELFINO. 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. Historical Biology. Spojené království: TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2019, vol. 31, No 8, p. 1045-1064. ISSN 0891-2963. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2017.1417404.

Basic information

• Original name: 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
• Authors: GEORGALIS, Georgios L. (300 Greece, guarantor), Andrea VILLA (380 Italy), Martin IVANOV (203 Czech Republic, belonging to the institution), Socrates ROUSSIAKIS (300 Greece), Panagiotis SKANDALOS (300 Greece) and Massimo DELFINO (380 Italy).
• Edition: Historical Biology, Spojené království, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2019, 0891-2963.

Other information

• Original language: English
• Type of outcome: Article in a journal
• Field of Study: 10506 Paleontology
• Country of publisher: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
• Confidentiality degree: is not subject to a state or trade secret
• WWW: Full Text
• Impact factor: Impact factor: 2.023
• RIV identification code: RIV/00216224:14310/19:00108809
• Organization unit: Faculty of Science
• Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2017.1417404
• UT WoS: 000476682900006
• Keywords in English: Amphibia;Reptilia;Miocene;taxonomy;biogeography;Greece
• Tags: rivok
• Tags: International impact, Reviewed

Abstract

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 Greece is documented for the first time. Additionally, the presence of viperids in Aliveri implies a much wider distribution for these snakes during the early Miocene of Europe. Of special interest is the presence of a peculiar colubrid that seems to possess a hitherto unknown vertebral structure, which is herein defined as the ‘paracentral ridge’. Although incomplete, the new material has important taxonomic and biogeographic implications, as it enhances our understanding of southeastern European herpetofaunas from the early Miocene, a time period that was characterised by major dispersal and extinction events and climatic change that affected the whole continent.