The record of cricetid rodents across the Eocene–Oligocene transition in Transylvania, Romania: implications for the “Grande Coupure” at European scale

A number of localities in Transylvania (Romania) have yielded vertebrate microfossil remains. Two localities have been stratigraphically and biochronologically dated to the late Eocene: i.e., Treznea and Bociu. The remaining three localities are dated to the early Oligocene: Mera, Cetățuie, and Suce...

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Main Authors: Olivier Maridet, Vlad A. Codrea, Cristina Fărcaș, Alexandru A. Solomon, Márton Venczel, Jérémy Tissier
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Institute of Paleobiology PAS 2025-06-01
Series:Acta Palaeontologica Polonica
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Online Access:https://www.app.pan.pl/article/item/app012342024.html
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author Olivier Maridet
Vlad A. Codrea
Cristina Fărcaș
Alexandru A. Solomon
Márton Venczel
Jérémy Tissier
author_facet Olivier Maridet
Vlad A. Codrea
Cristina Fărcaș
Alexandru A. Solomon
Márton Venczel
Jérémy Tissier
author_sort Olivier Maridet
collection DOAJ
description A number of localities in Transylvania (Romania) have yielded vertebrate microfossil remains. Two localities have been stratigraphically and biochronologically dated to the late Eocene: i.e., Treznea and Bociu. The remaining three localities are dated to the early Oligocene: Mera, Cetățuie, and Suceag. The study of cricetid rodents corroborates the presence of this family in Eastern Europe during the late Eocene, as evidenced by the species Witenia sp., Bustrania cf. B. dissimile, and Eocricetodon cf. Eo. meridionalis. The cricetids identified in the sites of the early Oligocene age show a complete turnover and a notable increase in species richness following the Eocene/Oligocene boundary, with: Eucricetodon aff. Eu. huerzeleri, Tenuicricetodon arcemis gen. et sp. nov., Pseudocricetodon cf. Ps. montalbanensis, Paracricetodon cf. Pa. walgeri, Paracricetodon kavakderensis, Paracricetodon aff. Pa. stojonovici, and Paracricetodon wentgesi. In the context of the wider biogeographic history of Europe, these new discoveries indicate that Cricetidae arrived in Europe during at least two successive migrations from Asia in the late Eocene and earliest Oligocene. These migrations may have occurred via two different migration pathways through the north and south of Europe. In a second phase, Cricetidae arriving by the northern passway spread throughout Europe, whereas Cricetidae that arrived by the southern passway remained restricted to the central and southeastern Europe. The observations made on the Cricetidae allow for the proposal of a new, more general, scenario for the Eocene–Oligocene transition on a European scale, which is more complex than the “Grande Coupure” sensu stricto as initially proposed by Stehlin in 1909.
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spelling doaj-art-aa74a8bdffa4462f82ebc338628a20f02025-08-20T03:31:40ZengInstitute of Paleobiology PASActa Palaeontologica Polonica1732-24212025-06-0170229132710.4202/app.01234.2024The record of cricetid rodents across the Eocene–Oligocene transition in Transylvania, Romania: implications for the “Grande Coupure” at European scaleOlivier Maridet0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0956-0712Vlad A. Codrea1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3992-955XCristina Fărcaș2https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5618-1509Alexandru A. Solomon3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7264-6527Márton Venczel4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2200-3619Jérémy Tissier5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8517-1612Jurassica Museum, Rte de Fontenais 21, Porrentruy, Switzerland; Department of Geosciences, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland.Babeş-Bolyai University, STAR Institute, Laboratory of Paleotheriology and Quaternary Geology, Str. Mihail Kogălniceanu 1, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; Mureș County Museum, Department of Natural Sciences, Strada Horea 24, Târgu Mureş, Romania; Țării Crișurilor Museum, Department of Natural History, Str. Armatei Române 1/A, Oradea, Romania; Institute of Speleology Emil Racoviță, Calea 13 Septembrie 13, Bucharest, Romania.Institute of Paleobiology, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Twarda 51/55, 00-818 Warsaw, Poland; State Museum of Natural History, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Teatralna st. 18, Lviv 79008, Ukraine. CIBIO-Açores, Research Centre in Bio diversity and Genetic Resources, InBio Associate Laboratory, MPB-Marine PalaeoBiogeography Lab, University of the Azores; Faculty of Sciences and Technology, Rua da Mãe de Deus, 9500 321 Ponta Delgada, Portugal; UNESCO Chair – Land Within Sea: Biodiversity & Sustainability in Atlantic Islands, University of the Azores, Rua da Mãe de Deus, 9500 321 Ponta Delgada, Portugal.Institute of Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, ul. Żwirki i Wigury 101, 02-089 Warsaw, Poland.Institute of Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, ul. Żwirki i Wigury 101, 02-089 Warsaw, Poland.A number of localities in Transylvania (Romania) have yielded vertebrate microfossil remains. Two localities have been stratigraphically and biochronologically dated to the late Eocene: i.e., Treznea and Bociu. The remaining three localities are dated to the early Oligocene: Mera, Cetățuie, and Suceag. The study of cricetid rodents corroborates the presence of this family in Eastern Europe during the late Eocene, as evidenced by the species Witenia sp., Bustrania cf. B. dissimile, and Eocricetodon cf. Eo. meridionalis. The cricetids identified in the sites of the early Oligocene age show a complete turnover and a notable increase in species richness following the Eocene/Oligocene boundary, with: Eucricetodon aff. Eu. huerzeleri, Tenuicricetodon arcemis gen. et sp. nov., Pseudocricetodon cf. Ps. montalbanensis, Paracricetodon cf. Pa. walgeri, Paracricetodon kavakderensis, Paracricetodon aff. Pa. stojonovici, and Paracricetodon wentgesi. In the context of the wider biogeographic history of Europe, these new discoveries indicate that Cricetidae arrived in Europe during at least two successive migrations from Asia in the late Eocene and earliest Oligocene. These migrations may have occurred via two different migration pathways through the north and south of Europe. In a second phase, Cricetidae arriving by the northern passway spread throughout Europe, whereas Cricetidae that arrived by the southern passway remained restricted to the central and southeastern Europe. The observations made on the Cricetidae allow for the proposal of a new, more general, scenario for the Eocene–Oligocene transition on a European scale, which is more complex than the “Grande Coupure” sensu stricto as initially proposed by Stehlin in 1909.https://www.app.pan.pl/article/item/app012342024.htmlrodentiaeocene–oligocene transitiongrande coupureeastern europe
spellingShingle Olivier Maridet
Vlad A. Codrea
Cristina Fărcaș
Alexandru A. Solomon
Márton Venczel
Jérémy Tissier
The record of cricetid rodents across the Eocene–Oligocene transition in Transylvania, Romania: implications for the “Grande Coupure” at European scale
Acta Palaeontologica Polonica
rodentia
eocene–oligocene transition
grande coupure
eastern europe
title The record of cricetid rodents across the Eocene–Oligocene transition in Transylvania, Romania: implications for the “Grande Coupure” at European scale
title_full The record of cricetid rodents across the Eocene–Oligocene transition in Transylvania, Romania: implications for the “Grande Coupure” at European scale
title_fullStr The record of cricetid rodents across the Eocene–Oligocene transition in Transylvania, Romania: implications for the “Grande Coupure” at European scale
title_full_unstemmed The record of cricetid rodents across the Eocene–Oligocene transition in Transylvania, Romania: implications for the “Grande Coupure” at European scale
title_short The record of cricetid rodents across the Eocene–Oligocene transition in Transylvania, Romania: implications for the “Grande Coupure” at European scale
title_sort record of cricetid rodents across the eocene oligocene transition in transylvania romania implications for the grande coupure at european scale
topic rodentia
eocene–oligocene transition
grande coupure
eastern europe
url https://www.app.pan.pl/article/item/app012342024.html
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