Betfia 13 (Pleistocene of Romania)

Also known as Betfia XIII, Somleu Hill

Where: Romania (47.0° N, 22.0° E: paleocoordinates 46.9° N, 22.0° E)

• coordinate based on nearby landmark

When: Early/Lower Pleistocene (2.6 - 0.8 Ma)

• Cave deposit. The abundance of Mimomys species and the appearance of two primitive species of arhizodont arvicolids make it possible to place this fauna at the beginning of the Biharian (Early Pleistocene, Eburonian). The large number of Villanyian survivors justifies such a dating. Is subsequent to the first Eburonian cooling, and probably corresponds to a warming phase in the middle of this glacial complex.

Environment/lithology: fissure fillcalcareous

• A calcareous, slightly cemented breccia with terra-rossa, accumulated in a karstic fissure.
• A calcareous, slightly cemented breccia with terra-rossa, accumulated in a karstic fissure.

Size classes: macrofossils, mesofossils

Collection methods: bulk,

• Caves discovered between 1966 and 1991 and excavated by the Bucharest Speleological Institute and the "Tarii Crisurilor" Museum of Oradea.

Primary reference: E. Terzea. 1996. Biochronology of the Pleistocene deposits at Betfia (Bihor, Romania). Acta Zoologica Cracovensia 39(1):531-540 [A. Behrensmeyer/H. O'Regan/H. O'Regan]more details

Purpose of describing collection: biostratigraphic analysis

PaleoDB collection 32145: authorized by Anna Behrensmeyer, entered by Hannah O'Regan on 06.06.2003

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

• Contains some thermophilous forms, such as Macaca sylvana cf. florentina and a species of flying squirrel, is subsequent to the first Eburonian cooling, and probably corresponds to a warming phase in the middle of this glacial complex.
unclassified
  -
Mammalia
 Rodentia - Gliridae
Eliomys sp. Wagner 1840 dormouse
Glis cf. minor Kowalski 1963 dormouse
Muscardinus dacicus Kormos 1930 dormouse
 Rodentia - Sciuridae
Spermophilus primigenius ground squirrel
Sciurus sp. Linnaeus 1758 squirrel
 Rodentia - Castoridae
Castor sp. Linnaeus 1758 beaver
Trogontherium boisvilletti beaver
T. b. boisvilletti
 Rodentia - Zapodidae
Sicista praeloriger Kormos 1930 birch mouse
S. praeloriger sp.
Sminthozapus betfianus jumping mouse
 Rodentia - Muridae
"Apodemus ex gr. sylvaticus" = Mus sylvaticus Linnaeus 1758 wood mouse
Micromys sp. Dehne 1841 harvest mouse
 Rodentia - Cricetidae
Ungaromys cf. nanus mouse
U. cf. nanus sp.
Mimomys pliocaenicus Forsyth Major 1889 vole
"Clethrionomys sp." = Myodes Pallas 1811 vole
"Microtus pliocaenicus" = Allophaiomys pliocaenicus Kormos 1932 vole
M. (A.) pliocaenicus deucalion
 Lagomorpha - Leporidae
 Lagomorpha - Ochotonidae
Ochotona sp. Link 1795 pika
 Primates - Cercopithecidae
"Macaca sylvana" = Macaca sylvanus
"Macaca sylvana" = Macaca sylvanus Linnaeus 1758 Barbary macaque
M. sylvana cf. florentina
 Theriamorpha - Erinaceidae
Erinaceus cf. samsonowiczi Sulimski 1959 hedgehog
 Theriamorpha - Soricidae
Beremendia fissidens Petényi 1864 shrew
Petenyia hungarica Kormos 1934 red-toothed shrew
Sorex ex gr. minutus Linnaeus 1766 Eurasian pygmy shrew
Sorex margaritodon Kormos 1930 long-tailed shrew
Crocidura sp. Wagler 1832 white-toothed shrew
 Theriamorpha - Talpidae
Desmana thermalis Kormos 1930 Russian desman
Talpa minor Freudenberg 1914 mole
Talpa minor sp.
 Placentalia -
Chiroptera indet. Blumenbach 1779 bat
 Perissodactyla - Equidae
"Equus stenonis" = Allohippus stenonis
"Equus stenonis" = Allohippus stenonis Cocchi 1867 horse
E. stenonis cf. senezensis
 Artiodactyla - Cervidae
Cervidae indet. Gray 1821 deer
 Carnivora - Felidae
Panthera sp. Oken 1816 cat
 Carnivora - Mustelidae
Pannonictis pliocaenica Kormos 1931 mustelid carnivore
 Carnivora - Ursidae
Ursus etruscus Cuvier 1823 bear
 Carnivora - Canidae
"Canis cf. falconeri" = Xenocyon falconeri
"Canis cf. falconeri" = Xenocyon falconeri Forsyth-Major 1877 canine