Merkur-North (Miocene of Czech Republic)

Also known as Ahníkov I; Ahnikov I

Where: Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic (50.4° N, 13.4° E: paleocoordinates 50.6° N, 11.6° E)

• coordinate stated in text

• outcrop-level geographic resolution

When: Most Formation, Orleanian (20.0 - 16.0 Ma)

• from the "Main Brown Coal Seam," Eggenburgian, early Orleanium, zone MN3a

• group of beds-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: fluvial-lacustrine; gray, calcareous marl and brown coal

• The locality is situated in the Most Basin which, in turn, is part of the Krušné Hory Graben (Ohře Graben, German: Eger-Graben) belonging to the European Cenozoic Rift System (for further details see, e.g., Kvaček et al., 2004, J. Czech Geol. Soc. 49/1-2, 1-40).
• “The fossiliferous grey calcareous marls were found underlying and at the base of the so called ‘Main Brown Coal Seam’. This seam was recorded about 1890 in the under-ground brown coal mines Marianna and Prokopi at Skyrice. Grey marls in the Merkur-North, thought to be reworked volcanic ash, produced a rich fauna of limnic and terrestrial molluscs, plants, mammals (Fejfar and Kvacek 1993; Fejfar, Engesser, and Tomida, 1997; Fejfar, Heizmann, and Major 1997; Fejfar, Rummel, and Tomida 1998), amphibians and reptiles (Vejvalka 1997; Ivanov 1997a). The fossiliferous layer was first recovered in boreholes in the outlying area of Chomutov (Ctyroky, Fejfar, and Holy 1962). Since 1980s the layer was found in several different sections in the opencast mine Merkur-North. In the roof of the grey calcareous marls, layers with a rich fauna of cyprinid fishes was recorded in the Most area (Obrhelová 1970, 1971). (pg. 513)”

Size classes: macrofossils, mesofossils

Collected by Z. Dvořák, O. Fejfar in the 1980s-1990s

Collection methods: quarrying, surface (in situ), chemical, mechanical, sieve,

Primary reference: M. Ivanov. 2002. The oldest known Miocene snake fauna from Central Europe: Merkur-North locality, Czech Republic. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 47(3):513-534 [J. Head/J. Head/J. Head]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 48173: authorized by Jason Head, entered by Jason Head on 15.03.2005, edited by Torsten Liebrecht, Lars van den Hoek Ostende, Terri Cleary, Matthew Carrano and Philip Mannion

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Amphibia
 Temnospondyli - Albanerpetontidae
Albanerpeton inexpectatum8 Estes and Hoffstetter 1976 tetrapod
Ah-983 SGDB, Ah-984 SGDB, Ah-495 SGDB, Ah-986 SGDB, Ah-987 SGDB, Ah-982 SGDB
Reptilia
 Crocodylia -
Diplocynodon cf. ratelii5 Pomel 1847 crocodilian
NMP Pv 11603-11605, 11607-11615, 11619, 11650-11657 (previously mentioned as Diplocynodon sp. and Diplocynodon cf. darwini)
 Choristodera -
Lazarussuchus dvoraki n. gen. n. sp.6
Lazarussuchus dvoraki n. gen. n. sp.6 Evans and Klembara 2005 choristodere
Ah 856 SGDB, Ah 950 SGDB, Ah 960-962 SGDB, Ah 975-977 SGDB, Ah 981 SGDB, Ah 996 SGDB, Ah 1004 SGDB, Ah 1006-1009 SGDB, Ah 1060-1069 SGDB, Pb 1779-1781
 Squamata - Cordylidae
? Cordylidae indet.2 Gray 1837 spinytail lizard
Ah-939 SGDB, left maxilla
aff. Palaeocordylus bohemicus2 Roček 1984 spinytail lizard
Ah-1088 SGDB, right dentary
 Squamata - Boidae
Bavarioboa sp. Szyndlar and Schleich 1993 boa
 Squamata - Elapidae
Elapidae indet. Boié 1827 snake
 Squamata - Crotalidae
Vipera sp. Laurenti 1768 pit viper
 Squamata - Colubridae
Natricinae indet. Bonaparte 1838 colubrid snake
Colubrinae indet. Oppel 1811 colubrid snake
cf. Elaphe sp. Wagler 1833 colubrid snake
Coluber caspioides Szyndlar and Schleich 1993 racer
Coluber dolnicensis Szyndlar 1987 racer
Coluber suevicus Fraas 1870 racer
 Squamata - Natricidae
Natrix merkurensis n. sp. Ivanov 2002 water snake
Natrix sansaniensis Lartet 1851 water snake
 Squamata - Amphisbaenidae
Blanus thomaskelleri4 Cernansky et al. 2015 worm lizard
Ah 771 SGDB, a left dentary (identified as Blanus sp. by Cernansky & Venczel, 2011 S. 75 fig. 2)
 Squamata - Anguidae
Anguinae "morphotype 1"11 Gray 1825 squamates
NMP Pb 01856, Pb 01871, Pb 02036, NMP Pv 10206–10208, maxillae; NMP Pb 02048, NMP Pv 10087–10100, dentaries
Anguinae "morphotype 2"11 Gray 1825 squamates
NMP Pv 10043, maxilla; NMP Pb 02049, dentary
Anguinae "morphotype 3"11 Gray 1825 squamates
NMP Pb 02035, NMP Pv 10044–10045, premaxillae; NMP Pb 02031–02034, NMP Pb 02037, MP Pv 10031–10042, maxillae; NMP Pb 02038–02040, NMP Pb 02047, NMP Pv 10046–10055, NMP Pv 10056–10064, NMP Pv 10066, dentaries
Anguinae "morphotype 4"11 Gray 1825 squamates
NMP Pb 02043, NMP Pv 10067–10070, DP FNSP 4700, pterygoids
Anguinae "morphotype 5"11 Gray 1825 squamates
NMP Pb 02041, fused articular, prearticular and surangular
Anguinae "morphotype 6"11 Gray 1825 squamates
NMP Pb 02042, fused articular, prearticular, surangular and angular
Ophisaurus "sp. 1"11 Daudin 1803 glass lizard
NMP Pv 10024–10027, frontals
Ophisaurus "sp. 2"11 Daudin 1803 glass lizard
NMP Pb 01872, frontal
Ophisaurus spinari11 Klembara 1979 glass lizard
NMP Pv 10019, parietal
Ophisaurus holeci n. sp.11 Klembara 2015 glass lizard
NMP Pb 02027 (holotype), parietal; NMP Pb 02030, NMP Pv 10020–10023, frontals; NMP Pb 02028, NMP Pv 10008–10018, DP FNSP 1026, parietals. Specimen 1026 was prev. ref'd to O. spinari
Pseudopus confertus n. sp.12 Klembara and Rummel 2018 legless lizard
NMP Pv 10028 (holotype), frontal; NMP Pv 10006, parietal
Pseudopus ahnikoviensis n. sp.10 Klembara 2012 legless lizard
holotype: NMP Pb 02026, a parietal; paratypes: Ah 665–666, two frontals; NMP Pb 02025, Pb 02029, Ah 637–641 SGDB, 643 SGDB, eight parietals; Ah 744–746 SGDB, three palatines; NMP Pb 02044, Ah 709–714 SGDB, seven pterygoids; NMP Pb 02046, Ah 703 SGBD, DP FNSP 1030–1031, four dentaries; several of these specimens have been mentioned as Pseudopus cf. moguntinus by Vejvalka (1997, unpubl. PhD-Thesis)
 Squamata -
Merkurosaurus ornatus n. gen. n. sp.9
Merkurosaurus ornatus n. gen. n. sp.9 Klembara 2008 squamates
holotype: NMP Pb 02045, a parietal; referred specimens: 4 premaxillae (NMP Pb 01852, Pb 02018; Ah 843 SGDB, 930 SGDB), 19 frontals (NMP Pb 01813, Pb 01820, Pb 01874; Ah 790–815 SGDB), 42 parietals (NMP Pb 01814–01815, Pb 01817–01819, Pb 01867, Pb 02019; Ah 775–789 SGDB, 816–819 SGDB, 823–838 SGDB), 24 maxillae (NMP Pb 01833, Pb 01854, Pb 01919, Pb 01921, Pb 02020; Ah 720–725 SGDB, 989 SGDB, 991–994 SGDB, 1015–1016 SGDB, 1018 SGDB, 1020 SGDB, 1022–1025 SGDB), 11 jugals (NMP Pb 01859; Ah 820–822 SGDB, 1026–1032 SGDB), 6 pterygoids (NMP Pb 02021–02022; Ah 839–842 SGDB). 49 dentaries (NMP Pb 01796, Pb 01823, Pb 01844, Pb 01847, Pb 01850–01851, Pb 01860–01861, Pb 01897, Pb 02023; Ah 747–770 SGDB, 934–938 SGDB, 978–980 SGDB, 995 SGDB, 997–999 SGDB, 1001–1002 SGDB, 1014 SGDB), 4 osteoderms (Ah 716–719 SGDB); several of these specimens have been mentioned as cf. Shinisaurus by Vejvalka (1997, unpubl. PhD-Thesis)
 Squamata - Chamaeleonidae
Chamaeleo caroliquarti1 Moody and Roček 1980 chameleon
right dentaries (Ah-772 SGDB, 773 SGDB, 845 SGDB, 857 SGDB, 859 SGDB, 860 SGDB, 861 SGDB), left dentaries (Ah- 774 SGDB, 844 SGDB, 846 SGDB, 847 SGDB, 858 SGDB, 862 SGDB, 863 SGDB)
 Squamata - Gekkonidae
Euleptes gallica3 Müller 2001 gecko
Ah-875 SGDB, right dentary; Ah-931 SGDB, 932 SGDB, 933 SGDB, left maxillae
Mammalia
 Rodentia - Eomyidae
Megapeomys lavocati n. gen. n. sp.7
Megapeomys lavocati n. gen. n. sp.7 Fejfar et al. 1998 rodent
 Tribosphenida - Erinaceidae
Galerix aurelianensis13 Ziegler 1990 hedgehog
 Soricomorpha - Talpidae
"Talpini indet." = Talpidae13, Desmanella gudrunae n. sp.13, Mygalea magna13, Talpa tenuidentata13, "Myxomygale minor" = Percymygale minor13
"Talpini indet." = Talpidae13 Fischer de Waldheim 1817 mole
Desmanella gudrunae n. sp.13 van den Hoek Ostende and Fejfar 2006 mole
Mygalea magna13 Ziegler 1990 mole
Talpa tenuidentata13 Ziegler 1990 mole
"Myxomygale minor" = Percymygale minor13 Ziegler 1990 mole