Tuştea-Oltoane nesting site: Early/Lower Maastrichtian, Romania
collected by M. Seclaman, N. Ghinescu, D. Grigorescu 1988–1989, 1997–2009

List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
Amphibia - Anura
? Discoglossidae indet. Günther 1859
Grigorescu et al. 1999 1 specimen
tibiofibula
    = Anura indet. Fischer von Waldheim 1813
Venczel et al. 2016
Amphibia - Temnospondyli - Albanerpetontidae
Albanerpeton sp. Estes and Hoffstetter 1976
Grigorescu et al. 1999
dentaries
Reptilia
Dinosauria indet. Owen 1842
14 individuals
embryonic remains (9 measurements)
    = ? Telmatosaurus transsylvanicus Nopcsa 1900
Grigorescu et al. 1994
FGGUB R.245-246, 248-250, 1850-1853, 1979-1982
    = Telmatosaurus transsylvanicus Nopcsa 1900
Grigorescu 2006
Reptilia - Rhabdodontidae
Zalmoxes robustus (Nopcsa 1900)
Weishampel et al. 2003
Zalmoxes shqiperorum Weishampel et al. 2003
Weishampel et al. 2003 2 specimens
FGGUB R.1640, LPB (FGGUB) R.1608
Reptilia - Dromaeosauridae
Theropoda indet. Marsh 1881
Grigorescu et al. 1994 1 specimen
    = Velociraptorinae indet. Barsbold 1983
Csiki and Grigorescu 1998
    = Dromaeosauridae indet. Colbert and Russell 1969
Grigorescu et al. 1999
    = Balaur bondoc Csiki et al. 2010
Csiki et al. 2010
FGGUB R.1580-1585
Richardoestesia sp. Currie et al. 1990
Csiki et al. 2010
Reptilia - Caenagnathidae
Caenagnathidae indet. Sternberg 1940
Csiki and Grigorescu 2005 1 individual
a fragmentary humerus, ulna, metacarpal and several manual phalanges
Reptilia - Titanosauridae
Megaloolithidae indet. (Zhao 1979)
Grigorescu 2003
"close to M. siruguei" (ref. 37316)
Reptilia - Azhdarchidae
Pterosauria indet. (Kaup 1834)
Buffetaut et al. 2003 1 specimen
FGGUB R.1625, femur
    = Hatzegopteryx sp. Buffetaut et al. 2002
Csiki et al. 2010
Reptilia
Allodaposuchus sp. Nopcsa 1928
Csiki et al. 2010
cf. Allodaposuchus precedens Nopcsa 1928
Grigorescu et al. 1999
    = Allodaposuchus precedens Nopcsa 1928
Martin et al. 2010
large, isolated shed teeth
Theriosuchus sympiestodon n. sp. Martin et al. 2010
Martin et al. 2010 2 individuals
recombined as Sabresuchus sympiestodon
FGGUB R.1782 - holotype (a right maxilla bearing seven teeth) and FGGUB R.1781 - paratype (skull roof) - probably from same individual (found a few cms apart)
Reptilia - Madtsoiidae
Madtsoiidae indet. (Hoffstetter 1961)
Vasile et al. 2013 1 individual
Holotype - LPB (FGGUB) v.547/1, a wellpreserved mid-trunk vertebra, with only the posterolateral margins of the left postzygapophysis broken off
    = Nidophis insularis n. gen., n. sp. Vasile et al. 2013
Csiki and Vasile 2010
associated with megaloolithid nest no. 20
Reptilia - Testudines - Dortokidae
Rabi et al. 2013
new genus and species
Reptilia
Kallokibotion bajazidi Nopcsa 1923
Grigorescu et al. 1999
carapace fragments
Mammalia - Multituberculata
Multituberculata indet. Cope 1884
Grigorescu et al. 1999 1 specimen
    = Cimolodonta indet. McKenna 1975
Csiki and Grigorescu 2000
FGGUB M.1609
Gastropoda
Gastropoda indet. Cuvier 1795
Grigorescu et al. 1999
see common names

Geography
Country:Romania State/province:Hunedoara
Coordinates: 45.6° North, 22.8° East (view map)
Paleocoordinates:32.7° North, 21.0° East
Basis of coordinate:estimated from map
Altitude:437 meters
Geographic resolution:small collection
Time
Period:Cretaceous Epoch:Late/Upper Cretaceous
Stage:Maastrichtian 10 m.y. bin:Cretaceous 8
*Period:Late/Upper Cretaceous *Epoch:Senonian
Key time interval:Early/Lower Maastrichtian
Age range of interval:72.10000 - 66.00000 m.y. ago
* legacy (obsolete) database fields
Stratigraphy
Formation:Densuş-Ciula Member:Middle
Stratigraphic resolution:bed
Stratigraphy comments: Close to the base of the Densuș-Ciula succession, in the basal part of the ‘middle member’, and are thus most probably of earliest to early Maastrichtian in age (Csiki-Sava et al., 2016). This age assessment is congruent with the 71.3+/-1.6 Ma K-Ar radiometric age reported by Bojar et al. (2011) from a tuff layer situated slightly to the west (Botfalvai et al. 2021)
Lithology and environment
Primary lithology:paleosol/pedogenic,concretionary,micaceous,volcaniclastic,red silty,calcareous claystone
Secondary lithology:burrows,ferruginous marl
Includes fossils?Y
Lithology description: "an 0.5-m-thick layer of red, silty, clay that has since been found to contain fine volcanic ash and is sandwiched between iron-rich marls, with thin calcrete nodules and tubular burrows beneath. An erosional surface above the clay bed is topped by a thick bed of conglomerate of epi- and volcaniclastic sediments in a tufitic matrix." Bed is mica-rich and contains calcrete concretions.
Environment:dry floodplain
Geology comments: Oxidized well-drained floodplain deposits developed within the distal part of an alluvial plain
Taphonomy
Modes of preservation:body
Size of fossils:macrofossils
Preservation of anatomical detail:good
Associated major elements:some
Disassociated major elements:some
Disassociated minor elements:some
Fragmentation:occasional
Bioerosion:occasional
Feeding/predation traces:fractures
Temporal resolution:snapshot
Spatial resolution:autochthonous
Collection methods and comments
Collection methods:bulk,surface (in situ),mechanical,peel or thin section,sieve,field collection
Collection size:14 individuals
Reason for describing collection:taxonomic analysis
Collectors:M. Seclaman, N. Ghinescu, D. Grigorescu Collection dates:1988–1989, 1997–2009
Taxonomic list comments:The authors refer the eggs to the sauropod Magyarosaurus, but they could also belong to hadrosaurids or a large theropod.
Metadata
Also known as:Valioara; Tuştea Oltoane; Tuştea nesting site; Vălioara; Valiora; Tustea, Ultoane
Database number:13334
Authorizer:M. Carrano, P. Holroyd, P. Mannion, R. Butler Enterer:M. Carrano, P. Mannion, R. Butler, J. Tennant, P. Holroyd, K. Maguire
Modifier:M. Carrano Research group:vertebrate
Created:2002-02-26 15:39:51 Last modified:2023-10-26 13:49:17
Access level:the public Released:2002-02-26 15:39:51
Creative Commons license:CC BY
Reference information

Primary reference:
5971.5% 20100D. Grigorescu, M. Seclamen, D. B. Norman and D. B. Weishampel. 1990. Dinosaur eggs from Romania. Nature 346:417 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano/M. Carrano]

Secondary references:

35186ETE A.-V. Bojar, Z. Ciski, and D. Grigorescu. 2010. Stable isotope distribution in Maastrichtian vertebrates and paleosols from the Hateg Basin, South Carpathians. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 239:329-342 [M. Carrano/M. Oreska]
28020ETE A.-V. Bojar, D. Grigorescu, F. Ottner and Z. Csiki. 2005. Palaeoenvironmental interpretation of dinosaur- and mammal-bearing continental Maastrichtian deposits, Hateg basin, Romania. Geological Quarterly 49(2):205-222 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
76067 G. Botfalvai, Z. Csiki-Sava, L. Kocsis, G. Albert, J. Magyar, E. R. Bodor, D. Tabără, A. Ulyanov, and L. Makádi. 2021. ‘X’ marks the spot! Sedimentological, geochemical and palaeontological investigations of upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) vertebrate fossil localities from the Vălioara valley (Densuş-Ciula Formation, Hațeg basin, Romania). Cretaceous Research 104781 [P. Mannion/P. Mannion/M. Carrano]
76966 S. L. Brusatte, M. Dumbravă, M. Vremir, Z. Csiki-Sava, R. Totoianu and M. A. Norell. 2017. A catalog of Zalmoxes (Dinosauria: Ornithopoda) specimens from the Upper Cretaceous Nălaţ-Vad locality, Haţeg Basin, Romania. American Museum Novitates 3884:1-36 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
30140 E. Buffetaut, D. Grigorescu, and Z. Csiki. 2003. Giant azhdarchid pterosaurs from the terminal Cretaceous of Transylvania (western Romania). In E. Buffetaut, J.-M. Mazin (eds.), Palaeobiology and Evolution of Pterosaurs; Geological Society, London, Special Publications 217:91-104 [R. Butler/R. Butler]
14221ETE K. Carpenter and K. Alf. 1994. Global distribution of dinosaur eggs, nests, and babies. In K. Carpenter, K. F. Hirsch, and J. R. Horner (eds.), Dinosaur Eggs and Babies, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 13-30 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
46349 Z. Csiki and D. Grigorescu. 1998. Small theropods from the Late Cretaceous of the Hateg Basin (Western Romania) - an unexpected diversity at the top of the food chain. Oryctos 1:87-104 [P. Mannion/J. Tennant]
33903ETE Z. Csiki and D. Grigorescu. 2000. Teeth of multituberculate mammals from the Late Cretaceous of Romania. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 45(1):85-90 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
14528ETE Z. Csiki and D. Grigorescu. 2005. A new theropod from Tustea: are there oviraptorosaurs in the Upper Cretaceous of Europe?. Current Research in Vertebrate Palaeontolgy. 3rd Annual Meeting of the European Association of Vertebrate Palaeontologists (EAVP). Kaupia 14:78 [M. Carrano/K. Maguire/M. Carrano]
77788 Z. Csiki, D. Grigorescu, V. Codrea and F. Therrien. 2010. Taphonomic modes in the Maastrichtian continental deposits of the Haţeg Basin, Romania—palaeoecological and palaeobiological inferences. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 293(3-4):375-390 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
76793 Z. Csiki and S. Vasile. 2010. Our snake is like theirs: nest-raiding snakes in the Maastrichtian of the Hateg Basin, Romania?. 8th Meeting of the European Association of Vertebrate Palaeontologists. Abstract Volume 29 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
33802ETE Z. Csiki, M. Vremir, S. L. Brusatte and M. A. Norell. 2010. An aberrant island-dwelling theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Romania. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107(35):15357-15361 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
56054 F. M. Dalla Vecchia. 2014. An overview of the latest Cretaceous hadrosauroid record in Europe. In D. A. Eberth & D. C. Evans (ed.), Hadrosaurs 268-297 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
35308ETE D. Grigorescu. 2003. Dinosaurs of Romania. Comptes Rendus Palevol 2(1):97-101 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
36651ETE D. Grigorescu. 2004. Vertebrate paleontology in Romania. Noesis 29:97-116 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
78206 D. Grigorescu. 2005. Rediscovery of a “forgotten land”: the last three decades of research on the dinosaur-bearing deposits from the Haţeg Basin. Acta Palaeontologica Romaniae 5:191-204 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
76545 D. Grigorescu. 2006. Hatchlings of Telmatosaurus transsylvanicus (Ornithischia, Hadrosauridae) associated with megaloolithid eggs in the Tustea nesting site (Hateg Basin, Romania) . III International Symposium on Dinosaur Eggs, Babies, and Developmental Biology. Ameghiniana 43(4 (suppl.)):18R [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
37316 D. Grigorescu. 2010. The "Tustea Puzzle": hadrosaurid (Dinosauria, Ornithopoda) hatchlings associated with Megaloolithidae eggs in the Maastrichtian of the Hateg Basin (Romania). Ameghiniana 47(1):89-97 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
76448 D. Grigorescu and Z. Csiki. 2000. Sedimentology, paleontology, taphonomy and paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the Tustea nesting site (upper Maastrichtian, Hateg Basin, Romania) . In M.-C. Buchy (ed.), 5th European Workshop on Vertebrate Palaeontology. Program. Abstracts. Excursion Guides 33 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
41059 D. Grigorescu and Z. Csiki. 2006. Ontogenetic development of Telmatosaurus transsylvanicus (Ornitischia: Hadrosauria) from the Maastrichtian of the Haţeg Basin, Romania—evidence from the limb bones. In P. Pazonyi (ed.), 4th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Vertebrate Palaeontologists. Hantkeniana 5:20-26 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/M. Carrano]
83322 D. Grigorescu, Z. Csiki, S. Vasile and G.-A. Butiseaca. 2011. Taphonomic biases in macro‐ and microvertebrate assemblages from the Maastrichtian of the Hațeg Basin (Romania) and their relevance in the reconstruction of a fossil ecosystem. In A. van der Geer & A. Athanassiou (ed.), European Association of Vertebrate Palaeontologists, 9th Annual Meeting, Program and Abstracts 28-29 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
44509 D. Grigorescu, G. Garcia, Z. Csiki, V. Codrea, and A.-V. Bojar. 2010. Uppermost Cretaceous megaloolithid eggs from the Haţeg Basin, Romania, associated with hadrosaur hatchlings: search for explanation. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 293:360-374 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
19377ETE D. Grigorescu, M. Venczel, Z. Csiki and R. Limberea. 1999. New latest Cretaceous microvertebrate fossil assemblages from the Haţeg Basin (Romania). Geologie en Mijnbouw 78:301-314 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano/P. Mannion]
13976ETE D. Grigorescu, D. B. Weishampel, D. B. Norman, M. Seclamen, M. Rusus, A. Baltres, and V. Teodorescu. 1994. Late Maastrichtian dinosaur eggs from the Hazeg Basin (Romania). In K. Carpenter, K. F. Hirsch & J. R. Horner (eds.), Dinosaur Eggs and Babies 75-87 [M. Carrano/K. Maguire/M. Carrano]
80599 E. Isasmendi, A. Torices, J. I. Canudo, P. J. Currie, and X. Pereda-Suberbiola. 2022. Upper Cretaceous European theropod palaeobiodiversity, palaeobiogeography and the intra‐Maastrichtian faunal turnover: new contributions from the Iberian fossil site of Laño. Papers in Palaeontology 8(1):e1419:1-38 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
56237 Y. Laurent. 2003. Les faunes de vertébrés continentaux du Maastrichtien supérieur d'Europe: systématique et biodiversité [The continental vertebrate faunas of the upper Maastrichtian of Europe: systematics and biodiversity]. Strata, Série 2 41:1-81 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
37047 J. E. Martin, M. Rabi, and Z. Csiki. 2010. Survival of Theriosuchus (Mesoeucrocodylia: Atoposauridae) in a Late Cretaceous archipelago: a new species from the Maastrichtian of Romania. Naturwissenschaften 97:845-854 [P. Mannion/P. Mannion]
51121 J. E. Martin, M. Rabi, Z. Csiki-Sava and S. Vasile. 2014. Cranial morphology of Theriosuchus sympiestodon (Mesoeucrocodylia, Atoposauridae) and the widespread occurrence in the Late Cretaceous of Europe. Journal of Paleontology 88(3):444-456 [P. Mannion/J. Tennant/J. Tennant]
86182 E. Prondvai. 2014. Comparative bone histology of rhabdodontid dinosaurs. Palaeovertebrata 38(2):e1:1-31 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
59665 M. Rabi, M. Vremir, and H. Tong. 2013. Preliminary Overview of Late Cretaceous Turtle Diversity in Eastern Central Europe (Austria, Hungary, and Romania). In D. B. Brinkman, P. A. Holroyd, and J. D. Gardner (eds.), Morphology and Evolution of Turtles 307-336 [P. Holroyd/P. Holroyd]
48072 S. Vasile, Z. Csiki-Sava, and M. Venczel. 2013. A new madtsoiid snake from the Upper Cretaceous of the Haţeg Basin, Western Romania. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 33(5):1100-1119 [P. Mannion/J. Tennant/P. Mannion]
65862 M. Venczel, J. D. Gardner, V. A. Codrea, Z. Csiki-Sava, S. Vasile and A. A. Solomon. 2016. New insights into Europe’s most diverse Late Cretaceous anuran assemblage from the Maastrichtian of western Romania. Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments 96(1):61-95 [P. Mannion/P. Mannion]
80644 M. Venczel, S. Vasile, and Z. Csiki-Sava. 2015. A Late Cretaceous madtsoiid snake from Romania associated with a megaloolithid egg nest – paleoecological inferences. Cretaceous Research 55:152-163 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
19380ETE D. B. Weishampel, D. Grigorescu, and D. B. Norman. 1991. The dinosaurs of Transylvania. National Geographic Research & Exploration 7(2):196-215 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
13939ETE D. B. Weishampel, C.-M. Jianu, Z. Csiki and D. B. Norman. 2003. Osteology and phylogeny of Zalmoxes (n. g.), an unusual euornithopod dinosaur from the latest Cretaceous of Romania. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 1(2):65-123 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano/M. Carrano]