New frogs from the latest Cretaceous of Haţeg Basin, Romania

Venczel, Márton and Csiki, Zoltán (2003) New frogs from the latest Cretaceous of Haţeg Basin, Romania. ACTA PALAEONTOLOGICA POLONICA, 48 (4). pp. 609-616. ISSN 0567-7920

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Abstract

The latest Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) fluvio−lacustrine deposits of Haţeg Basin (Romania) have yielded a number of aquatic and terrestrial microvertebrates, including dissociated skeletal remains of the following anuran taxa: Hatzegobatrachus grigorescui gen. et sp. nov., Paralatonia transylvanica gen. et sp. nov., andAnura indet. H. grigorescui sp. nov. (type species), retaining some leiopelmatid−grade anuran features, is diagnosed as a small−sized primitive frog with still unclear relationships. P. transylvanica sp. nov. (type species) is a middle−sized discoglossine frog. Based on the characters of jaw−bones andpost−cranial skeletal elements, it appears as intermediate between primitive ( Eodiscoglossus-like) andmore derived( Latonia−like) discoglossine discoglossid. In Hatzegobatrachus and Paralatonia the morphology of the hipbones shows that they differ in saltatorial abilities. Consequently, these forms may have occupied distinct ecological niches, suggesting that the latest Cretaceous microvertebrate assemblages of Haţeg Basin were connectedto more complex ecosystems than considered before.

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