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Cranial bones of tailless amphibians from the Holocene of Voroncha (Belarus). (a-d) -frontoparietalia from dorsal view: (a-b) -right frontoparietalia of Bufo sp.: (a) -frontal part of the bone, (b) -lateral fragment of parietal part; (c) -left frontoparietale of Rana temporaria, (d) -right frontoparietale of Rana arvalis; (e-g) -squamosa from lateral view: (e) -left squamosum of Bufo bufo, (f) -right squamosum of Rana temporaria, (g) -left squamosum of Rana arvalis; (h-j) -parasphenoidea from ventral view: (h) -Bufo sp., (i) -Rana temporaria, (j) -Rana arvalis.
Source publication
The Voroncha site is an accumulation of Holocene small vertebrates, from which numerous amphibian and reptile remains have been recovered continuously over the course of many years. The accumulation has been said to represent a badger or fox den on a gully slope. The latest available collection contains some 11,538 herpetofauna bones suitable for s...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... our fossil material, only two remains from toads (Bufo sp.) have been identified: the frontal part of the bone (Figure 4(a)) and a lateral fragment of the parietal part (Figure 4(b)). The frontal part is weakly narrowed at the anterior end; the dorsal surface is flattened and sharply deflexed laterally. ...
Context 2
... our fossil material, only two remains from toads (Bufo sp.) have been identified: the frontal part of the bone (Figure 4(a)) and a lateral fragment of the parietal part (Figure 4(b)). The frontal part is weakly narrowed at the anterior end; the dorsal surface is flattened and sharply deflexed laterally. ...
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... are two morphological types of frogs. The first has a wide flattened dorsal surface; the sagittal edge is weakly jagged, deviating at the anterior end of the bone; and the processus occipitalis is well-developed (Figure 4(c)). The flattened dorsal surface of the second morphological type is narrower; the sagittal edge is markedly jagged, deviating laterally on the distance of a quarter of the bone length from its anterior end; and the processus occipitalis is weakly developed (Figure 4(d)). ...
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... first has a wide flattened dorsal surface; the sagittal edge is weakly jagged, deviating at the anterior end of the bone; and the processus occipitalis is well-developed (Figure 4(c)). The flattened dorsal surface of the second morphological type is narrower; the sagittal edge is markedly jagged, deviating laterally on the distance of a quarter of the bone length from its anterior end; and the processus occipitalis is weakly developed (Figure 4(d)). The first type corresponds to Rana temporaria, and the second type to Rana arvalis (Ratnikov 2001). ...
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... (bufo) sp. or Bufo bufo complex) is markedly expanded. A short ramus zygomaticus, weakly diverging edges of the ramus retrozygomaticus with an undulating bend on the upper edge (Figure 4(e)) are characteristic for the species Bufo bufo (Ratnikov 2001). ...
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... at the species level within the genus is complicated because of very small distinctions and high intraspecific variability. The end of the pars lateralis in Rana arvalis and Rana temporaria is usually markedly expanded, but the former has a narrow and long anterior process (Figure 4(g)), while the latter possesses a wide anterior process, frequently with a sharp bend on the lower edge (Figure 4(f)). ...
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... at the species level within the genus is complicated because of very small distinctions and high intraspecific variability. The end of the pars lateralis in Rana arvalis and Rana temporaria is usually markedly expanded, but the former has a narrow and long anterior process (Figure 4(g)), while the latter possesses a wide anterior process, frequently with a sharp bend on the lower edge (Figure 4(f)). ...
Context 8
... length of the parasphenoideum in toads is shorter than the distance between the two ends of the lateral processes. This bone in grey toads is rather thick, convex, with an abrupt fold on the lateral processes ( Ratnikov 2001Ratnikov , 2012 (Figure 4(h)). ...
Context 9
... have a wide anterior process characteristic of the genus Rana ( Ratnikov 2001Ratnikov , 2012. The width of the lateral processes in three specimens is close to the width of the anterior process, and these have been identified as Rana temporaria (Figure 4(i)). The lateral processes of the other three specimens are considerably narrower than the width of the anterior process (Figure 4(j)). ...
Context 10
... width of the lateral processes in three specimens is close to the width of the anterior process, and these have been identified as Rana temporaria (Figure 4(i)). The lateral processes of the other three specimens are considerably narrower than the width of the anterior process (Figure 4(j)). They correspond to Rana arvalis. ...
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Citations
... European authors noted the difficulty in distinguishing species within this group by their vertebrae due to their morphological similarity (Blain et al., 2014;Szyndlar, 1981Szyndlar, , 1984Szyndlar, , 1991Szyndlar and Rage, 1999). Fossil vertebrae of Vipera berus are most common (Blain et al., 2014(Blain et al., , 2019(Blain et al., , 2022Böhme, 2011;Đurić et al., 2017;Holman, 1985Holman, , 1988Holman, , 1993Holman, , 1998Holman et al., 1990;Ivanov, 1996Ivanov, , 1997Ivanov, , 2005Ivanov and Čerňanský, 2017;Ivanov et al., 2004Ivanov et al., , 2014Pazonyi et al., 2021;Ratnikov, 1997aRatnikov, , 1997bRatnikov, , 2002aRatnikov, , 2002bRatnikov, , 2005Ratnikov and Blain, 2020;Ratnikov and Shiyan, 2023;Szyndlar, 1991Szyndlar, , 2003Venczel, 2001). The remains of Vipera ursinii s.l. are rarer (Blain, 2016;Ivanov, 1995;Pazonyi et al., 2021;Ratnikov, 1998Ratnikov, , 2001aRatnikov, , 2002aRatnikov, , 2002bRatnikov, , 2015Ratnikov and Shiyan, 2023;Syromyatnikova and Lopatin, 2023). ...
Fossil remains of snakes in Quaternary localities are most often represented by vertebrae. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out a comparative study of the vertebrae of modern species in the areas of interest to identify fossil materials. In this study, we examined 52 specimens of viperids (7 specimens of Gloydius intermedius, 12 specimens of Gloydius ussuriensis, 6 specimens of Gloydius halys, 4 specimens of Vipera sakhalinensis, 16 specimens of Vipera berus, and 7 specimens of Vipera renardi). The features of the trunk, cervical, cloacal and caudal vertebrae of 6 species from 2 genera are described. The vertebrae of the Viperidae are highly similar across species, with variation along the vertebral column. Nevertheless, they can be distinguished if their exact position within the vertebral column is known. The most important diagnostic feature is the shape of the hypapophysis, especially when identifying the cervical vertebrae. Among other morphological features, it is important to consider the shape of the ventral surface of the vertebra, prezygapophyseal and parapophyseal processes, neurapophysis, and zygapophysis. For the epistropheus, the position of the anterior edge of the neurapophysis in relation to the anterior edge of the neural arch is also significant. The caudal vertebrae bear the greatest resemblance. There is a significant overlap between the ratios of different measurements (indices) in different species. However, if an index is out of the overlapping zone, it is possible to identify a vertebra more or less accurately, especially when considering it in conjunction with other indices and morphological characteristics.
... Remarks-. The characters described in the SGO.PV.22205 specimen coincide with those observed in other fossil specimens referred to of Bufonidae (Frailey and Campbell, 1980;Ratnikov, 2001;Báez and Nicoli, 2004;Malakhov, 2004;Delfino et al., 2009;Ratnikov and Blain, 2020): the greater development of the ulnar epicondyle with respect to the radial, which may also have a great development of the medial crest, and the presence of a lateral crest and a humeral head slightly laterally displaced from the shaft of the diaphysis. ...
This work describes the first record of a fossil anuran from the Neogene of Chile, found in miocene outcrops of the Río Pedregoso Member of the Cura-Mallín Formation, near the town of Lonquimay, Araucanía Region. The material consists of a distal half of left humerus and the proximal half of a radioulnae preserved in natural articulation. These elements present several similarities with extant members of Rhinella, which allow to confer the specimen to this genus. These similarities are the greater development of the ulnar epicondyle with respect to the radial, which may also have a great development of the medial crest, and the presence of a lateral crest and a humeral head slightly laterally displaced from the shaft of the diaphysis. Rhinella is a well-represented genus in the current batrachofauna of South America, but with a poor fossil record. The finding represents the southernmost fossil record of Bufonidae in South America for the Miocene. This discovery increases the knowledge about the distribution of the members of Rhinella during this epoch.
... The only squamosal has a typical T morphology, with the anterior and posterior extremities of the transverse process presenting a somewhat similar development. Attribution to the species level within the genus Rana is difficult because of very small distinctions and high intraspecific variability (Ratnikov and Blain 2020). The anterior process is wide, with a sharp bend on the lower edge as in R. arvalis, whereas R. temporaria has a narrow and long anterior process (Ratnikov and Blain 2020). ...
... Attribution to the species level within the genus Rana is difficult because of very small distinctions and high intraspecific variability (Ratnikov and Blain 2020). The anterior process is wide, with a sharp bend on the lower edge as in R. arvalis, whereas R. temporaria has a narrow and long anterior process (Ratnikov and Blain 2020). The parasphenoids (Fig. 2D) are thin, and their total length is greater than the distance between the ends of the lateral processes. ...
... The width of the lateral processes, though incomplete, seems to be considerably less than the width of the anterior process. This latter character permits a cautious attribution to R. arvalis, whereas in R. temporaria the lateral processes are somewhat wider (Ratnikov and Blain 2020). Of the fossil material, some 38 vertebrae have been tentatively referred to R. arvalis, based on their well-expressed dorsal flattening and their lesser robustness than usually observed in R. temporaria (Ratnikov and Blain 2020). ...
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... The presence of high dorsal crest, laterally flattened dorsal protuberance and high junctura ilioschiadica of the ilia are the characteristic of the Rana species group (Syromyatnikova 2016). The height of the dorsal crest shows variation in many species of the genus Rana: R. arvalis and R. asiatica are characterised by a high dorsal crest (= vexillum; this is also present in Pelophylax taxa formerly attributed to Rana: P. ridibundus, P. lessonae and P. nigromaculatus), whereas the low one is present in R. temporaria, R. chensinensis and R. amurensis (Ratnikov 2001;Ratnikov and Blain, 2018). The presence of tubercles in the dorsal protuberance in Rana shows some variation as well: the well-developed oblong tubercles in the middle of the dorsal protuberance can be seen in R. temporaria (Syromyatnikova 2016), whereas they are weakly developed or absent in R. arvalis, R. asiatica, R. amurensis and R. chensinensis (Ratnikov 2001;Ratnikov ans Blain, 2018). ...
... The sacrum is considered to be ranid by the presence of rounded transverse processes, a single anterior and two widely separated posterior condyles (Roček 2004). As for the genus, the dorsal crest in Rana is usually wide and vertical with a flat dorsal surface, whereas the dorsal crest in Pelophylax is usually pointed and inclined forward, and its right and left branches bend backward before fusing in the centre of the neural arch (Ratnikov 2001;Ratnikov and Blain 2018). From Ahaetuliinae indet X the above character states, the specimen from Palasava shares the following feature with the members of the genus Rana: presence of a wide dorsal crest, being vertical with a flat dorsal surface. ...
The Miocene beds of Kutch in India are well known for their mammalian assemblages including an extinct ape Sivapithecus. We here report new amphibian and snake fossils, which have been recovered from two stratigraphic levels: the older Palasava locality which is dated to the middle Miocene (~ 14 Ma), whereas the sediments of younger sites at Tappar and Pasuda representing the late Miocene (~ 11-10 Ma). The amphibian material consists only of Rana sp., Ranidae indet. and Anura indet. The snake material is much more diverse and can be allocated to several taxa: Python sp., Acrochordus dehmi, Acrochordus sp., Ahaetuliinae indet. and Alethinophidia indet. Among all these finds, the fossils of Rana sp., Ahaetuliinae indet. and Python sp. described here form the first evidence of these taxa from the Neogene of India. The ectothermic faunas are good indicators of palaeoenvironmental conditions. The ectothermic vertebrate assemblages of these Indian localities indicate a very warm, humid/wet, tropical to subtropical environmental conditions during the middle and late Miocene.
... Morphological determination of the studied specimens follows Lepiksaar (1994) for fishes, Ratnikov (2002) and Szyndlar (1984Szyndlar ( , 1987 for colubrids, Szyndlar and Rage (1999) and Ratnikov and Blain (2018) for other reptiles, Baumel et al. (1993) for birds. In cases where specific assignment to a species category was not possible, the specimens were classified according to higher taxonomic levels. ...
The paper presents the results of the study of vertebrate fossil assemblages recovered from the Grot Skeliastyi rock shelter in southwestern Crimea (Ukraine). The deposition of its fossil-bearing layers covers the time span from the Late Glacial to the early Holocene. The studied sample consists of 2,736 bones belonging to 52 species of vertebrates (including 3 fishes, 1 amphibian, 12 reptiles, 10 birds, 26 small and large mammals). Among them, the past presence of the Aesculapian snake, four-lined ratsnake, squacco heron, tree pipit, and water pipit in the region is here documented for the first time. Extinct taxa in the faunal assemblage of Grot Skeliastyi were represented by wild horse, European ass, steppe bison, and woolly mammoth. Remains of small animals were accumulated due to the feeding activity of the eagle owl, while bones of large mammals could have been a part of the prey of carnivores but mostly are associated with the hunting activity of ancient people who inhabited the rock shelter. Most of the species persisted from the Pleistocene to the Holocene without losses. Our results indicate that the Pleistocene/Holocene transition in Crimea was not characterised by drastic faunal changes unlike those in other parts of Eastern Europe.
... The presence of high dorsal crest, laterally flattened dorsal protuberance and high junctura ilioschiadica of the ilia are the characteristic of the Rana species group (Syromyatnikova 2016). The height of the dorsal crest shows variation in many species of the genus Rana: R. arvalis and R. asiatica are characterised by a high dorsal crest (= vexillum; this is also present in Pelophylax taxa formerly attributed to Rana: P. ridibundus, P. lessonae and P. nigromaculatus), whereas the low one is present in R. temporaria, R. chensinensis and R. amurensis (Ratnikov 2001;Ratnikov and Blain, 2018). The presence of tubercles in the dorsal protuberance in Rana shows some variation as well: the well-developed oblong tubercles in the middle of the dorsal protuberance can be seen in R. temporaria (Syromyatnikova 2016), whereas they are weakly developed or absent in R. arvalis, R. asiatica, R. amurensis and R. chensinensis (Ratnikov 2001;Ratnikov ans Blain, 2018). ...
... The sacrum is considered to be ranid by the presence of rounded transverse processes, a single anterior and two widely separated posterior condyles (Roček 2004). As for the genus, the dorsal crest in Rana is usually wide and vertical with a flat dorsal surface, whereas the dorsal crest in Pelophylax is usually pointed and inclined forward, and its right and left branches bend backward before fusing in the centre of the neural arch (Ratnikov 2001;Ratnikov and Blain 2018). From Ahaetuliinae indet X the above character states, the specimen from Palasava shares the following feature with the members of the genus Rana: presence of a wide dorsal crest, being vertical with a flat dorsal surface. ...
A new window to the fossil herpetofauna of India: amphibians
and snakes from the Miocene localities of Kutch (Gujarat)
... The presence of high dorsal crest, laterally flattened dorsal protuberance and high junctura ilioschiadica of the ilia are the characteristic of the Rana species group (Syromyatnikova 2016). The height of the dorsal crest shows variation in many species of the genus Rana: R. arvalis and R. asiatica are characterised by a high dorsal crest (= vexillum; this is also present in Pelophylax taxa formerly attributed to Rana: P. ridibundus, P. lessonae and P. nigromaculatus), whereas the low one is present in R. temporaria, R. chensinensis and R. amurensis (Ratnikov 2001;Ratnikov and Blain, 2018). The presence of tubercles in the dorsal protuberance in Rana shows some variation as well: the well-developed oblong tubercles in the middle of the dorsal protuberance can be seen in R. temporaria (Syromyatnikova 2016), whereas they are weakly developed or absent in R. arvalis, R. asiatica, R. amurensis and R. chensinensis (Ratnikov 2001;Ratnikov ans Blain, 2018). ...
... The sacrum is considered to be ranid by the presence of rounded transverse processes, a single anterior and two widely separated posterior condyles (Roček 2004). As for the genus, the dorsal crest in Rana is usually wide and vertical with a flat dorsal surface, whereas the dorsal crest in Pelophylax is usually pointed and inclined forward, and its right and left branches bend backward before fusing in the centre of the neural arch (Ratnikov 2001;Ratnikov and Blain 2018). From Description: Only the centrum part is preserved in the sacral vertebra (Fig. 3i, j). ...
Fossil snakes are extremely rare in the Indian Neogene record. We report isolated precloacal vertebrae of a “colubrine” snake from a late Miocene site, Tappar in Kutch, Gujarat (India). This finding represents the first record of a fossil colubrine snake from Tappar, Kutch (India). Earlier, Rage et al. (2001) reported colubrids from the upper Pliocene Labli Member of Jammu and Kashmir (India). However, the present specimens differ from the colubrids of upper Pliocene Labli Member of Jammu and Kashmir by the absence of hyapophyses and also older than the later one. However, the “colubrines” snake of late Miocene (~11-10 Ma) perhaps lived in a relatively wetter environment than the present Kutch “colubrines” live in.
... The pool frog Pelophylax lessonae (Camerano, 1882) (Amphibia: Anura) is common in Europe from southern France in the west to Tatarstan and Bashkortostan (Russia) in the east (1,2,3,4). It is restricted to the forest zone, in which it inhabits plain broad leaved and mixed forests till the south taiga. ...
Objetive.
Present a modern review of the nematodes fauna of the pool frog Pelophylax lessonae (Camerano, 1882) from Volga basin populations on the basis of our own research and literature sources analysis.
Materials and methods.
Present work consolidates data from different helminthological works over the past 80 years, supported by our own research results. During the period from 1936 to 2016 different authors examined 1460 specimens of pool frog, using the method of full helminthological autopsy, from 13 regions of the Volga basin.
Results.
In total 9 nematodes species were recorded. Nematode Icosiella neglecta found for the first time in the studied host from the territory of Russia and Volga basin. Three species appeared to be more widespread: Oswaldocruzia filiformis, Cosmocerca ornata and Icosiella neglecta. For each helminth species the following information included: systematic position, areas of detection, localization, biology, list of definitive hosts, the level of host-specificity.
Conclusions.
Nematodes of pool frog, excluding I. neglecta, belong to the group of soil-transmitted helminthes (geohelminth) and parasitize in adult stages. Some species (O. filiformis, C. ornata, I. neglecta) are widespread in the host range. The latter two are able to reach high invasion indices and also to be the background parasites of the pool frog. It happens due to these nematode species life cycle specificity and the long-term connection of the amphibian with water.
... However, their d/t values, respectively 3.25 and 3.8, fall well within the range of genus Rana. The dorsal crest reaches its highest point at the level of the tuber superior, as reported by Böhme (1977), Bailon (1999), Ratnikov (2001), and Ratnikov and Blain (2018) for R. arvalis, whereas in Rana dalmatina Fitzinger, 1839 the dorsal crest is higher than the tuber superior. The dorsal margin of the dorsal crest may be somewhat eroded and does not present the typical continuously high and rounded crest morphology that, according to the consulted comparative material, must correspond to R. arvalis juveniles. ...
... According to Ratnikov (2001), the morphology of these two crests allows us to distinguish R. arvalis from R. temporaria: R. arvalis has almost equally developed medial and lateral crests with converging proximal ends, whereas the medial crest in R. temporaria is appreciably higher and longer than the lateral one. The distance between the proximal ends is comparatively weaker in R. arvalis than in R. temporaria (Ratnikov and Blain, 2018). Among the lacertid material from the "Caverne Marie-Jeanne", there are two size categories. ...
Archeological sites usually provide important information about the past distribution ofsmall vertebrate fauna, and by extension about past terrestrial environments and climatein which human activities took place. In this context, Belgium has an interesting location innorthwestern Europe between the fully studied zooarcheological records of Germany andEngland. We present here the revision of the late Pleistocene (Marine Isotope Stages 3 and 2)collection of the “Caverne Marie-Jeanne” (Hastière-Lavaux, Namur), studied by Jean-ClaudeRage in the 1970s and the revision of the whole “indeterminate” small vertebrate materialsfrom the “Caverne Marie-Jeanne” stored in the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences(RBINS) Quaternary collections in search of more herpetofaunal remains. It is now by farthe largest late Pleistocene collection at RBINS with more than 20,500 recognized bonesof amphibians and reptiles and covering the last 60,000 years. The faunal list comprisestwo urodeles (Lissotriton gr. L. vulgaris and Salamandra salamandra), four anurans (Bufo gr.B. bufo-spinosus, Epidalea calamita, Rana temporaria and Rana cf. R. arvalis), three lizards(Lacerta cf. L. agilis, Zootoca vivipara and Anguis gr. A. fragilis), and three snakes (Natrix gr.N. natrix, Coronella austriaca, and Vipera berus). This study represents the first fossil record in Belgium for L. gr. L. vulgaris, R. arvalis, Z. vivipara, N. gr. N. natrix and C. austriaca. As awhole, this assemblage suggests a patchy humid landscape under colder and dryer climaticconditions in comparison with present ones. This study also underlines the necessity of aprimary separation in larger taxonomical categories by the specialist itself.
The locality is situated on the left bank of the river Vihra in the Zarechye tract near the northern outskirts of Mstislavl. Fossil remains of small vertebrates were washed from mixed-grained sands with wood remains and mollusk shells at a depth of 1.6 – 1.8 m.
Geological age and preservation of the material: The remains of small mammals belong to the following species: Sorex coecutiens, Sorex minutus, Sorex araneus, Neomys fodiens, Sicista betulina, Apodemus agrarius, Apodemus silvaticus, Apodemus flavicollis, Arvicola terrestris, Microtus oeconomus, Microtus agrestis, Microtus arvalis, Microtus subterraneus, Cllethrionomys glareolus. The ecological structure and species composition of micromammals allows us to attribute the fauna of this locality to the climatic optimum of the Middle Holocene (Atlantic).
117 bones that belonged to tailless amphibians and squamated reptiles were found in the locality.
Systematic part: A description of the most systematically important bones of amphibians and reptiles is given: Bufo bufo, Rana temporaria, Zootoca vivipara, Natrix natrix, Colubrinae indet., Vipera berus.
Discussion and conclusions. Six species from four families are present in the oryctocenosis, of which five species live in Belarus at present. Four species (Bufo bufo, Rana temporaria, Zootoca vivipara, Vipera berus) are typical inhabitants of closed biotopes. The fifth (Natrix natrix) is an intrazonal aquatic species,
most of whose range is located within the forest zone. Thus, the species composition indicates the existence of a humid forest environment.
The discovery of a vertebra of the sixth species in this collection, identified as Colubrinae indet., is very interesting. Its morphology differs from the vertebrae of Coronella austriaca, as well as from the vertebrae of other snakes whose areas are close to the territory of Belarus. It can be assumed that the oryctocenosis was formed under conditions of a warmer or less contrasting climate than currently exists in the vicinity of the locality. Such a situation could have existed here during the Atlantic period of the Holocene.
Keywords: holocene, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals, paleogeography
