Martin Ivanov

• Dr.
• Professor (Associate) at Masaryk University

Skeletal remains of a new early Miocene (Ottnangian, MN 4 mammal zone) monitor lizard, Varanus mokrensis sp. nov., are described from two karst fissures in the Mokrá-Western Quarry (1/2001 Turtle Joint; 2/2003 Reptile Joint), Czech Republic, providing the first documented example of a European varanid for which osteological data permit a well-support...

The Neogene snake fauna from the central and eastern regions of Eurasia is still largely unknown. This paper reports on a unique snake fauna from the late middle Miocene of the Baikadam and Malyi Kalkaman 1 and 2 localities, northeastern Kazakhstan, which represents the best-documented Miocene snake assemblage in Central Asia. Previous studies admi...

Eurasian Miocene snake taxa, localities, stratigraphy, palaeogeography, and palaeoenvironment are reviewed. Palaeogeographic evolution of Paratethys facilitated communication between European and Asiatic faunas since the early Oligocene, with at least two main routes from Asia or Africa into Europe. The early Burdigalian saw spreading of non-erycid...

Urocordylids represent a group of the late Carboniferous–early Permian basal tetrapods, with short limbs, extremely elongated bodies and a deep and distinctive tail and vertebral architecture, which is indicative of an aquatic habitat. However, the important morphological structures that would indicate their ecological preferences unambiguously (e....

The Western Palearctic harbours a diverse snake fauna, including numerous endemic species and yet unnamed clades, identified through molecular analyses. However, morphological characteristics of these clades, even of common species, often remain relatively unexplored. In this study, we provide an examination of the morphology and cranial anatomy of...

We here describe abundant new fossil material of amphibians and reptiles from different late Neogene localities of northern Greece: the Early Pliocene (MN 14) of Spilia 0, Spilia 1, and Spilia 2; the Early Pliocene (MN 15) of Spilia 3, Spilia 4, Spilia 5, and Vevi; and the Late Miocene or Pliocene of Chalicorrema and Rema Marmara. These new late Ne...

Fossils of Metatheria and Eulipotyphla from the karstic fissures MWQ2/2003, MCQ3/2005 and MWQ4/2018 of Mokrá-Quarry (South Moravia, the Czech Republic) are studied. These Early Miocene fissures have yielded remains of the herpetotheriid Amphiperatherium frequens, together with the erinaceids Amphechinus cf. baudeloti, Galerix exilis, and G. symeoni...

Diadectomorpha was a clade of large-bodied stem-amniotes or possibly early-diverging synapsids that established a successful dynasty of late Carboniferous to late Permian high-fiber herbivores. Aside from their fairly rich record of body fossils, diadectomorphs are also well-known from widely distributed tracks and trackways referred to as Ichnioth...

The taxonomy of the soft-shell turtle Rafetus bohemicus (Liebus, 1930), family Triony-chidae, subfamily Trionychinae, is revised based on new and previously mentioned material (including the type material) from the Early Miocene (Burdigalian, MN 3) sites of the Most Basin, Czechia. Given that the diagnosis was so far based only on plastral elements...

Book of Abstracts to 27th Quaternary 2022

Paleontological remains retrieved from permafrost represent the most informative records of Pleistocene ecosystems. Different levels of past microbial activity affecting fossil material preservation are presented for two selected bone samples—an almost intact Bison sp. metacarpus (45.0 ± 5.0 14C ka BP) and a weathered Equus sp. metacarpus (37.8 ± 1...

Paleontological remains retrieved from permafrost represent the most informative records of Pleistocene ecosystems. Different levels of past microbial activity affecting fossil material preservation are presented for two selected bone samples—an almost intact Bison sp. metacarpus (45.0 ± 5.0 ¹⁴ C ka BP) and a weathered Equus sp. metacarpus (37.8 ±...

Background Melissiodon is a rare cricetid genus endemic to Europe, known from the Early Oligoceneto the Early Miocene. It is usually a very rare find, and even in the few localities where Melissiodon remains are found, those are scarce and fragmentary. Only a few Central European localities have yielded rich remains of the genus. Currently, two spe...

The mineralogical character of a parent rock strongly affects the uranium (U) and thorium (Th) contents of soils. We have selected five representative soil profiles developed on amphibole–biotite to biotite durbachites in the Třebíč Pluton (eastern part of the Czech Republic) to characterize the radioactivity and variable-intensity weathering. The...

Squamate assemblages of the earliest Miocene (Aquitanian) are extremely rare in Europe due to the lack of well-documented (or dated) localities. We describe a small collection of squamates from the early Miocene (MN 1–2?) locality of Weißenburg 6, Germany. The community consists of four squamate taxa including Lacertidae indet., cf. Eoanilius sp.,...

Early Miocene small mammal remains (Metatheria, Chiroptera, Eulipotyphla) from Mokrá-Quarry fissures (South Moravia, Czech Republic)-preliminary results Mokrá-Quarry (South Moravia, Czech Republic) constitutes a unique fossil site with an extraordinary diversity of vertebrate remains. Most of the research on Mokrá-Quarry localities has focused on h...

This article focuses on the sciurid (Rodentia, Sciuridae) remains from the early Miocene (MN4) Mokrá-Quarry sites, Moravia, Czech Republic. The sciurid assemblage in the different fissures ranges from one genus in MWQ4/2018 to three different genera in MCQ3/2005. Regarding subfamily Sciurinae, the dentognathic remains are referred to Palaeosciurus...

Fossil turtles from Mokrá-Quarry, South Moravia Region, Czech Republic, are described in this paper. Remains come from two already known karstic fissures uncovered in Mokrá-Western Quarry (1/2001 Turtle Joint and 2/2003 Reptile Joint), as well as three new karstic fissures from Mokrá-Western Quarry (TC/2001 and 4/2018) and Mokrá-Central Quarry (3/2...

Several almost complete shells, skulls and postcranial bones of trionychid turtles from the Most Basin (NW Bohemia, MN3 mammal zone) have never been published or revised. Here we present the reappraisal of the trionychid turtles from the Most Basin (Czech Republic) together with the revision of Rafetus bohemicus from Břešťany Clay, including new di...

Czujan's sandpit is an abandoned quarry in the Vienna Basin (Mikulov, Czech Republic) that has yielded an important middle Miocene vertebrate assemblage. Here we re-describe the site from the perspective of sedimentology, taphonomy, and paleoenvironments, and further review the biochronology of the fauna to clarify the age. The updated faunal list...

Multidisciplinary research based on the interpretation of data acquired by archaeological and natural science methods and their correlation. The main objective is to reconstruct the interaction of factors of the environment and the living conditions of human communities and their development from the 6th until the early 12th century. The study will...

Fossil crocodylians from the early Miocene (Eggenburgian, MN3a) sites of Ahníkov (Most Basin, Czech Republic) are described in this paper. The new material presented here includes over 200 remains (bones, teeth and osteoderms), and therefore constitutes the largest crocodylian sample known from the fossil record of the Czech Republic. Assignment of...

The cross sections of tusks of all elephantimorph proboscideans show well-developed intersecting lines that form a conspicuous net-like structure termed the Schreger pattern. This trait is usually used to discriminate the tusks of recent elephants from those of mammoths. In Neogene elephantimorphs, however, the pattern remains largely unstudied and...

The purpose of this study was to characterize four soil profiles derived from migmatites were studied in the Moldanubicum and Svratka Crystalline Unit (eastern part of the Czech Republic). Both physical and chemical weathering biotite to muscovite-biotite migmatites produces 100 to 80 cm thick soil profiles. The silt (43–88 %) was the dominant frac...

Two fossiliferous karstic fissures from the Mokrá-Western Quarry, MWQ (1/2001 Turtle Joint; 2/2003 Reptile Joint) provided a diverse vertebrate fauna from the early Miocene (Burdigalian, MN 4) including squamates. The rather warm climatic conditions during the Miocene Thermal Maximum (17.8-17.7 Ma) enabled dispersal of thermophilic lizards and snak...

Booklet

We herein describe the fossil amphibians and reptiles from the Neogene (latest Miocene or earliest Pliocene; MN 13/14) locality of Maramena, in northern Greece. The herpetofauna is shown to be extremely diverse, comprising at least 30 different taxa. Amphibians include at least six urodelan (Cryptobranchidae indet., Salamandrina sp., Lissotriton sp...

First alligatoroid Diplocynodon remains from the Ahníkov/Merkur Mine site (A/MM) are described here. A/MM is the richest fossil site of the Most Basin (Eger Graben, Czech Republic), including more than 150 taxa of fossil vertebrates reported to date. Specifically, more than 300 remains of fossil crocodilians have been collected, but they have never...

Revision on historical finding of the giant turtle from the Brno Sand (middle Miocene, lower Badenian) The collections of Moravian Museum in Brno contain for decade rare find of fossil giant terrestrial tortoise of the genus Titanochelon. There was no more information about the finding with the only exception for the name of the locality "Královo P...

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 pr...

The early Miocene deposits of Bohemia (Czech Republic) contain numerous fragmentary crocodylian remains. Despite this abundance, a detailed taxonomical assignment of these remains was impossible due to the absence of diagnostic cranial elements. Here, we report two partially preserved skulls together with some osteoderms and a partially preserved v...

In this essay, we focused on the evaluation of isotope analyses (δ13Ccoll and δ15Ncoll) of the first lower molars (m1) of domestic cattle (Bostaurus) from two early medieval Pohansko-Southern bailey (Pohansko-JP) and Kostice-”Zadní hrúd” (Kostice-ZH) sites. The aim of the study is the evidence of the breast-feeding effect of calves and subsequent w...

The identification at species level of subfossil remains of lizards from tropical regions currently suffers from strong limitation linked to the lack of comprehensive work conducted on the osteology of modern taxa. The aim of this study is to provide osteological criteria allowing for the specific identification of the subfossil remains of Sundalan...

Fossils sites of Miocene mammals are quite frequent in Europe. In this work the describe the Early Miocene (MN4) assemblages from the Mokrá open-cast mine. Mokrá site is located about 12 km of the city of Brno, on the Mokrá Plateau, situated in the southern part of the Drahany Upland (Moravia, Czech Republic). The mine itself consists of three sepa...

The late early Miocene snake assemblages are well-documented from Central European localities of the MN 4 and MN 5 Zones. However, diversified snake fauna is still poorly known from MN 1 to MN 3 Zones. German Wintershof-West locality (MN3b) provided both abundant fauna with a relatively diversified snake assemblage including Boidae: Bavarioboa sp.,...

Diplocynodon ratelii is a fossil alligatoroid known from the Miocene of Europe. It is characterized by the presence of a crest-like thickening on the margin of the external naris; the anterior tip of the nasals reach externally (but do not bisect) the posterior rim of the external naris; a concavoconvex frontopari-etal suture; a shorter mandibular...

Dagmar Cave, Czech Republic, is the first locality in the Moravian Karst where sediments of Cromerian age have been discovered and it is the first locality with such a large number of species of molluscs of this age. It was originally a swallow hole initiated in the Neogene, which has since accumulated sediments. Basal sediments are palaeontologica...

El conocimiento sobre las tortugas gigantes fósiles de Europa se ha incrementado considerablemente en los últimos años y ha comportado la descripción del género Titanochelon para incluir a las especies del Neógeno europeo. Sin embargo, la inclusión de la tortuga gigante de las Islas Baleares, “Testudo” gymnesica, en este género se ha llevado a cabo...

The Dagmar Cave is situated in Moravian Karst (Czech Republic). The first original modelling of the cave corridors can be dated probably as far back as the Neogene. The water rainfalls further expanded the already existing karst joints. The base of the sedimentary sequence is formed by the layer of fluvial gravels which consist of Culmian rocks. Th...

Bones can be exposed to a variety of factors during the fossilization process that are reflected in fossil records by changes in microstructure and chemical composition of bone tissue. Based on these alterations, we can reconstruct the character of the environment and its possible role in the longterm preservation of the fossil material. One of the...

Skeletal remains of a new early Miocene (Ottnangian, MN 4 mammal zone) monitor lizard, Varanus mokrensis sp. nov., are described from two karst fissures in the Mokrá-Western Quarry (1/2001 Turtle Joint; 2/2003 Reptile Joint), Czech Republic, providing the first documented example of a European varanid for which osteological data permit a well-suppo...

Revisory research of floral and animal assemblages from the Neanderthal site of Gánovce-Hrádok confirmed the previous stratigraphic division of the travertine mound to five horizons on the basis of different petrological and palaeontological contents, indicating climatic and palaeoenvironmental changes in the vicinity, from the Saalian termination...

Czujan’s sandpit (Mikulov, Czech Republic) represents a unique locality of middle Miocene mammals, and further is known as the type locality of Tethytragus stehlini. Czujan’s sandpit is mentioned only occasionally in published sources, however, Neogene mammals from the Mikulov area come from several sites of different stratigraphical age. Therefore...

The late middle Miocene vertebrate fauna from northeastern Kazakhstan (Baikadam, Malyi Kalkaman 1 and 2; ~12.7‒12.1 Ma) provided the best documented Miocene snake assemblage in central Asia. In total 10 taxa belonging to three families have been reported including: Boidae: Albaneryx cf. volynicus, Boinae gen. et sp. indet.; Colubridae: Coluber cf....

The Miocene record of the Vallès-Penedès Basin (NE of the Iberian Peninsula) has provided a rich and diverse herpetofauna (amphibians and reptiles), which is known in the literature since the early 20th Century, thanks to the pioneering work of Bergounioux and, subsequently, Crusafont and Hoffstetter. However, the early Miocene localities have rece...

Revisory research of floral and animal assemblages from the Neanderthal site of Gánovce-Hrádok confirmed the previous stratigraphic division of the travertine mound to five horizons on the basis of different petrological and palaeontological contents, indicating climatic and palaeoenvironmental changes in the vicinity, from the Saalian termination...

This paper combines complex archaeological records from excavations of sandstone rockshelters with paleobotanical investigations in the adjacent wetlands of Northern Bohemia, Czech Republic. Several pollen diagramms from nearby peatbogs are used to document the paleoenvironmental development from the Late Glacial to the Middle Holocene. In addition...

Completely preserved specimens of fossil snakes are extremely rare and ophidian palaeontologists are usually dependent only on disarticulated elements of a postcranial skeleton. Here we present an unusually well-preserved specimen of a small viperid snake from the Late Pleistocene firm travertine at the famous Gánovce-Hrádok Neanderthal mound in Sl...

The two fossiliferous karst localities of Mokrá-Western Quarry, Czech Republic (MWQ, 1/2001 Turtle Joint and MWQ, 2/2003 Reptile Joint) have provided a rich herpetofauna (amphibians and squamates) from the Early Miocene (MN4b). Here, we describe the unpublished turtle material recovered from above-mentioned sites, as well as two other localities of...

The knowledge about the European extinct alligatoroids significantly increased during the last ten years, based on the erection of the two new species and the revision of the previously published taxa. The remains of the genus Diplocynodon are quite common in the northwest localities of Bohemian area, but they have only been referred at genus level...

The grass snake (Natrix natrix) is Europe's most widely distributed and, in many regions, most common snake species, with many morphologically defined subspecies. Yet, the taxonomy of grass snakes is relatively little studied and recent work has shown major conflicts between morphologically defined subspecies and phylogeographical differentiation....

The grass snake (Natrix natrix) occurs in many morphologically defined subspecies throughout its range from North Africa over whole Europe to Asia. This widely accepted subspecies concept was recently challenged by the molecular phylogenetic analysis of Kindler et al. (2013), who identified a high number of clades that do not match previous subdivi...

The Upper Jurassic Solnhofen Limestone of southern Germany has yielded numerous species of pterosaurs known from specimens that represent various ontogenetic stages. Many specimens of these species have been distributed across the world and, in some cases, forgotten about. Here we report on a juvenile pterosaur that was obtained from a private coll...

The intraspecific phylogeny of the grass snake (Natrix natrix) has been under discussion since many decades. Various morphological and genetic attempts yielded often conflicting results and enhanced the need for a taxonomical revision. The aim of this study was to shed more light into this topic by analyzing phylogenetic relevant differences in ost...

Podán je detailní přehled nejdůležitějších etap vývoje společenstev plazů se zvláštním zřetelem k šupinatým (Squamata) v době od paleogénu po pleistocén. Vývoj společenstev šupinatých plazů je zasazen do kontextu paleogeografického a paleoklimatického vývoje střední Evropy.

Staré haldy po těžbě polymetalických rud představují prostředí, ve kterém můžeme ve specifických podmínkách studovat raná stadia vývoje půd. Studovány byly dva půdní profily vznikající na haldách různého stáři – lokalita Utín (2. polovina 13. stol. až 1. pol. 14 stol.) a Dlouhá Ves (60. léta 20. stol). Z odebraných vzorků jemnozemě byla v obou prof...

Old slags situated in the areas of former exploitation of polymetallic ore mineralization are places where initial steps of soil evolution in specific conditions can be investigated. Two soil profi les of different age have been studied in the Utín (2nd half of 13th century to 1st half of the 14th century) and Dlouhá Ves (60’s of 20th century) loca...

Za Hájovnou Cave (Javoříčko Karst, northen Moravia, Czech Republic) is a unique Middle Pleistocene locality. Paleontological material comes from different types of sediments in superposition of fluvial deposits of the sinkhole which was active until the maximum of the Cromerian Interglacial I, MIS 19 (B/M palaeomagnetic boundary, 781 ka). Stratigra...

Remains of fossil voles and lemmings (Arvicolinae) in two profiles in Za Hájovnou Cave, ZH P-2 (Komín I) and ZH P-8b (Narozeninová chodba, Area A), were preliminarily investigated. The assemblages from ZH P-2 layers 7 and 6 indicate Q3 biozone. Layer 7 may have been deposited during the lower part of the Saalian stage (probably MIS 8 and MIS 7) whe...

Personal ornaments are a notable feature of the Early Upper Palaeolithic in Europe and an important expression of modern human identity. The tubular bone rod from Pod Hradem Cave in the Czech Republic is the first example of its kind from Central Europe. Laboratory examination reveals the techniques used in its manufacture and underlines the skill...

Relatively high concentrations of As (up to 47 ppm), Mo (up to 26 ppm), Hg (up to 1.4 ppm) and S (0.2 wt.%) were found based on the study of the chemical composition of the topsoil (A-horizon). Areas with high concentrations of these elements are located along the western edge the Boskovice Furrow. The areal extent and degree of anthropogenic conta...

Mladeč caves is a complex cave system that includes two key paleoanthropological findspots of Early Upper Paleolithic age - Mladeč Ib, Mladeč II, and probably also site Ia, discovered during the 19th and early 20th century. The dynamics of sediment deposition and transport inside the system is still being debated. Here we contribute new field obser...

The Dolní Věstonice–Pavlov–Milovice area (Czech Republic) on the slopes of the Pavlov Hills provides an opportunity for correlating the geomorphology of the Dyje River valley with Gravettian settlement patterns. Although the sites vary in size and complexity, they create a regular chain of strategic locations at elevations between 200 m and 240 m a...

Serpents de Griesbeckerzell (Langhien, Badénien inférieur), Bassin de l'avant-pays nord-alpin (Allemagne). Commentaires sur l'évolution des faunes de serpents en Europe centrale pendant l'Optimum Climatique du Miocène. Deux niveaux fossilifères de Griesbeckerzell (partie centrale du Bassin de la Molasse du Sud de l'Allemagne, Badénien inférieur, Mi...

Příspěvek se zabývá morfometrií kraniálního a postkraniálního skeletu fosilních populací lišek (Vulpes vulpes a Alopex lagopus) z pozdně paleolitických lokalit gravettienu a magdalenienu na Moravě (Česká republika). Diskutovány jsou rozdíly v metrice mezi recentní a fosilní liškou obecnou a liškou polární a výsledky jsou konfrontovány se zahraniční...

Double-pulse laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (DP-LIBS) was optimized for microspatial analyses of fossil and recent snake vertebrae. As complimentary techniques, solution analysis by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and synchrotron radiation X-ray microtomography was utilized in order to determine the overall concentration of the s...

Mine soil development at abandoned coal waste pile (Kukla-Václav Nosek mine, Oslavany) represents a possibility to study initial stages of pedogenetic process. Seven soil profiles were uncovered by digging pits at the base and on the slopes and top of the waste pile. Several conclusions concerning soil development at waste pile are possible on the...

The Mokrá-Western Quarry exhibits the rare occurrence of Early Miocene (MN 4) vertebrate fauna within the area of the eastern part of Central Europe. In addition to a rich fauna of reptiles and mammals, two fossiliferous karst joints (Mokrá-Western Quarry, 1/2001 Turtle Joint and Mokrá-Western Quarry, 2/2003 Reptile Joint) yielded a rich fauna of a...

Fossil evidence of extant amphibian and reptile species is relatively well documented in the Pleistocene record. However, the early Pliocene records of extant species are much more scarce and their Miocene (or even the early Miocene) records are extremely rare. The late Pliocene Central European assemblages contain several extinct forms that surviv...

The karst phenomena in the Upper Paleozoic limestones, including continental and marine Miocene sediments with associated fauna, were studied in quarries worked by Mokrá Cement Works, Inc. Mokrá Plateau, southern part of the Drahany Upland, Czech Republic. Continental sediments in the karst joints yield vertebrates indicating the upper part of the...

Herpetologické společenstvo lokality Mladeč 2 (Mladečské jeskyně: Morava, Česká republika) je typickým příkladem výrazně interglaciálního společenstva posledního teplého výkyvu holsteinského komplexu. Doloženo je celkem 12 taxonů z této lokality: Triturus cf. cristatus, Triturus vulgaris, Rana temporaria, Bufo bufo, Anguis fragilis, Elaphe longissi...

1. vyd. Pod názvem: Ústav geologických věd Přírodovědecké fakulty Masarykovy univerzity v Brně, Česká geologická společnost

Anglické resumé

Ivanov, M. 2002. The oldest known Miocene snake fauna from Central Europe: Merkur−North locality, Czech Republic. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 47 (3): 513–534. The Early Miocene Merkur−North locality (MN 3a) represents the oldest known Miocene ophidian locality in Europe east of Germany. The snake assemblage is characterised by high species divers...

The members of the ‘modern’ snake families Colubridae, Viperidae and Elapidae (representatives of the family Colubridae appeared in Europe as the first) might have penetrated into the areas of Central Europe probably across the Mazury -Mazowsze continental bridge. The ‘modern’ families penetrated into West Europe across the Rhine Graben by several...

Publikace obsahuje krátký úvod o historii, sběru a systematickém dělení živočichů a roslin. Dále následuje stěžejní část publikace, která je věnována přehledu zkamenělin. Přehled je uspořádán systematicky (tj. podle skupin rostlin a živočichů).

The diverse snake assemblage of the lower/middle Miocene (MN 4/5) site Vieux Collonges (France) includes Boidae (Python sp., Eryx sp., Boidae B & C), Colubridae (Texasophis sp., Neonatrix cf. europaea, Natrix aff. sansaniensis, Natricinae A, B, C & D), Elapidae (Micrurus aff. gallicus, Naja cf. romani, Naja sp. 1, Elapidae A & B) and Viperidae (Vip...

Several distinct assemblages of snake are aparent in Europe: 1) mid-Cretaceous - very primitive (mostly marine) snakes 2) the latest Cretaceous snakes - including Madtsoiidae 3) Eocene - prior to the "Grande Coupure", more modern families - Russellophiidae and aquatic Palaeophiidae and Nigerophiidae 4) Oligocene - mostly small snakes of Boidae (Ery...

En Europe, trois phases se distinguent dans l'histoire des serpents. 1) Vers le milieu du Crétacé, vivaient des serpents primitifs sans relations avec les serpents actuels. Ils étaient presque tous marins. 2) Du Crétacé terminal a la limite oligo-miocene, la faune était de type plus moderne. Les Boidae dominaient. Avant la "Grande Coupure" éocene-o...