Original Article
Meeting Island Dwarfs and Giants of the Cretaceous – The Hațeg Country UNESCO Global Geopark, Romania
Authors
Abstract
We review here key geological heritage elements of the Hațeg Country UNESCO Global Geopark (Southern Carpathians, western Romania) represented by latest Cretaceous continental vertebrate fossils and the sedimentary rocks enclosing them. Based on available geological and paleontological evidence, these animals were living on a tropical island. This paleogeographic setting led to the development of some unusual paleobiological traits including dwarfing of the dinosaurs, high levels of endemism, relictual characteristics, as well as uniquely derived anatomical, developmental, metabolic and/or sensory features. These unique characteristics led to the establishment of the Hațeg Country UNESCO Global Geopark over a decade ago. Recently, the Geopark implemented several projects including specific ‘Dinosaur Island’-related thematic trails and visits to key geoheritage elements. We focus on four key fossiliferous areas of the Geopark, highlighting the most important geoheritage elements of each, as well as the most significant geoproducts created based on these particular elements.
Read the full text of the articleKeywords
Main Subjects
References
Andrășanu A (2017).Geoparcul UNESCO – model de dezvoltare comunitară și construcție de brand. In Societate, Publicitate, Consumator (pp. 185–212) Bucharest: Editura ASE (in Romanian).
Andrășanu A & Palcu D&Oelerer K (2004). The heritage of the Hațeg Country. The heritage of landscape, life and time. Geomedia Centre, University of Bucharest,
http://www.hateggeoparc.ro/new/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Hateg-Geopark-Heritage.pdf, Retrieved March 20, 2021.
Andrășanu A & Ciobanu C (in preparation). Geoproducts, what and how? Defining, creating and testing geoproducts with best practice examples from Danube Geoparks.
Andrews CW (1913). On some bird remains from the Upper Cretaceous of Transylvania. Geological Magazine. 10:193–196. doi: 10.1017/S0016756800126196.
Antonescu E, Lupu D & Lupu M (1983). Correlation palinologique du Crétacé terminal du sud-est des Monts Metaliferi et des Depressions de Hațeg et de Rusca Montană. Anuarul Institutului de Geologie și Geofizică. 59:71–77.
Arouca Declaration (2011). Arouca Declaration on Geotourism, November 12, 2011, Portugal. http://www.europeangeoparks.org/?p=223.Retrieved on 20.05.2021
Bate DM (1903). Preliminary note on the discovery of a pygmy elephant in the Pleistocene of Cyprus. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. 71:498–500.
Bârzoi SC & Șeclăman M (2010). Petrographic and geochemical interpretation of the Late Cretaceous volcaniclastic deposits from the Hațeg Basin. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 293:306–318.
Benton MJ, Csiki Z, Grigorescu D, Redelstorff R, Sander PM, Stein K & Weishampel DB (2010). Dinosaurs and the island rule: the dwarfed dinosaurs from Hațeg Island. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 293:438–454.
Bojar AV, Halas S, Bojar HP, Grigorescu D & Vasile Ș (2011). Upper Cretaceous volcanoclastic deposits from the Hațeg Basin, South Carpathians (Romania): K-Ar ages and intrabasinal correlation. Geochronometria. 38:182–188.
Botfalvai G, Csiki-Sava Z, Grigorescu D & Vasile Ș (2017). Taphonomical and palaeoecological investigation of the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Tuștea vertebrate assemblage (Romania; Hateg Basin) - insights into a unique dinosaur nesting locality. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 468:228–262. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2016.12.003
Botfalvai G, Csiki-Sava Z, Kocsis L, Albert G, Magyar J, Bodor ER, Țabără D, Ulyanov A & Makádi L (2021). Sedimentological, geochemical and palaeontological investigations of Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) vertebrate fossil localities from Vălioara Valley (Densuș-Ciula Formation, Hațeg Basin, Romania). Cretaceous Research. 123:104781. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2021.104781.
Brusatte SL, Vremir M, Csiki-Sava Z, Turner AH, Watanabe A, Erickson GM & Norell MA (2013). The osteology of Balaur bondoc, an island-dwelling dromaeosaurid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Late Cretaceous of Romania. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 374:1–100.
Buffetaut E, Grigorescu D & Csiki Z (2002) A new giant pterosaur with a robust skull from the latest Cretaceous of Romania. Naturwissenschaften. 89:180–184.
Cayla N, Andrășanu A & Ciobanu C (in preparation). Le géotourisme dinosaurien: une offre mondialisée qui interroge la notion d’authenticité patrimoniale.
Codrea V, Smith T, Dica P, Folie A, Garcia G, Godefroit P & Van Itterbeeck J (2002). Dinosaur egg nests, mammals and other vertebrates from a new Maastrichtian site of the Hațeg Basin (Romania). Comptes Rendus Palevol. 1:173–180.
Csiki Z & Grigorescu D (1998). Small theropods of the Late Cretaceous of the Hațeg Basin (Western Romania) - an unexpected diversity at the top of the food chain. Oryctos. 1:87–104.
Csiki Z, Grigorescu D & Rücklin M (2005). A new multituberculate specimen from the Maastrichtian of Pui, Romania and reassessment of affinities of Barbatodon. Acta Palaeontologica Romaniae. 5:73–86.
Csiki Z, Vremir M, Brusatte SL & Norell MA (2010). An aberrant island-dwelling theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Romania: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA. 107:15357–15361.
Csiki-Sava Z, Buffetaut E, Ősi A, Pereda-Suberbiola X & Brusatte SL (2015). Island life in the Cretaceous - faunal composition, biogeography, evolution, and extinction of land-living vertebrates on the Late Cretaceous European archipelago. Zookeys. 469:1–161. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.469.8439.
Csiki-Sava Z, Vasile Ș, Grigorescu D & Vremir M (2018a) Mind the gap! - Significance of a new latest Cretaceous fossiliferous site in the northern Hațeg Basin, Romania. In Marzola M, Mateus O&Moreno-Azanza M (eds) Abstract book of the XVI Annual Meeting of the European Association of Vertebrate Palaeontology (pp. 53). Caparica, Portugal.
Csiki-Sava Z, Vremir M, Meng J, Brusatte SL & Norell MA (2018b). Dome-headed, small-brained island mammal from the Late Cretaceous of Romania. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA. 115:4857–4862. doi:10.1073/pnas.1801143115.
Csiki-Sava Z, Vremir M, Vasile Ș, Brusatte SL, Dyke G, Naish D, Norell MA & Totoianu R (2016). The East Side Story - The Transylvanian latest Cretaceous continental vertebrate record and its implications for understanding Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary events. Cretaceous Research. 57:662–698. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2015.09.003.
Dincă A (1977). Geologia Bazinului Rusca Montană. Partea de vest. Anuarul Institutului de Geologie și Geofizică. 52:99–173.
Folie A & Codrea V (2005) New lissamphibians and squamates from the Maastrichtian of Hațeg Basin, Romania. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 50:57–71.
Frey ML, Schäfer K, Büchel G & Patzak M (2006). Geoparks: A regional, European and global policy. In: Dowling RK & Newsome D (eds) Geotourism (pp. 95–117). Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann.
Gheerbrant E & Astibia H (2012). Addition to the Late Cretaceous Laño mammal faunule (Spain) and to the knowledge of European “Zhelestidae” (Lainodontinae nov.). Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France. 183:537–546.
Gonzalez-Tejada C, Du Y, Read M & Girault Y (2017). From nature conservation to geotourism development: Examining ambivalent attitudes towards UNESCO directives with the global geopark network. International Journal of Geoheritage. 5(2):1–20.
Grigorescu D (1984). New tetrapod groups in the Maastrichtian of the Hațeg Basin: Coelurosaurians and multituberculates. In Reif W-E&Westphal F (eds) Short Papers, Third Symposium on Mesozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems (pp 99–104). Tübingen: Attempo Verlag.
Grigorescu D (1992). Nonmarine Cretaceous Formations of Romania. In Matter NJ&Chen PJ (eds), Aspects of Nonmarine Cretaceous Geology (pp 142–164). Beijing: China Ocean Press.
Grigorescu D (2010). The Latest Cretaceous fauna with dinosaurs and mammals from the Hațeg Basin — A historical overview. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 293:271–282.
Grigorescu D (2017). The ‘Tuștea puzzle’ revisited: Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Megaloolithus eggs associated with Telmatosaurus hatchlings in the Hațeg Basin. Historical Biology. 29:627–640.doi: 10.1080/08912963.2016.1227327.
Grigorescu D (2020). From scientific research to geoconservation and geopark. Geoconservation Research. 3:8–31.doi: 10.30486/gcr.2020.1904340.1026.
Grigorescu D & Csiki Z (2008). A new site with megaloolithid egg remains in the Maastrichtian of the Hațeg Basin. Acta Palaeontologica Romaniae. 6:115–121.
Grigorescu D, Garcia G, Csiki Z, Codrea V & Bojar AV (2010). Uppermost Cretaceous megaloolithid eggs from the Hațeg Basin, Romania, associated with hadrosaur hatchlings: Search for explanation. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 293:360–374.
Grigorescu D & Andrășanu A (2000). The Hațeg Geopark in Romania and the involvement of the local communities. In Abstracts of Annual Meeting of ProGEO (pp. 13). Prague:Czech Geological Survey.
Grigorescu D, Șeclăman M, Norman DB & Weishampel DB (1990). Dinosaur eggs from Romania. Nature. 346:417.
Huene F von (1932). Die fossile Reptile-Ordnung Saurischia. ihre Entwicklung und Geschichte. Monographien zur Geologie und Palaeontologie. 1:1–361.
Iancu V & Seghedi A (2017). The South Carpathians: tectono-metamorphic units related to Variscan and Pan-African inheritance. Geo-Eco-Marina. 23:245–262.
Jianu C-M & Boekschoten GJ (1999). The Hațeg area: island or outpost? In Reumer JWF, de Vos J (eds), Elephants Have a Snorkel. Deinsea Special Volume: 195–199.
Jianu C-M & Weishampel DB (1999). The smallest of the largest: a new look at possible dwarfing in sauropod dinosaurs. Geologie en Mijnbouw. 78:335–343.
Kadić O (1916) Jelentés az 1915. évben végzett ásatásaimról. II. A valiórai dinosaurusok gyüjtése. Magyar királyi Földtani Intézet Évi jelentései. 1915-ről: 573–576.
Krause DW, Hoffmann S, Hu YM, Wible J.R, Rougier GW, Kirk C, Groenke JR, Rogers RR, Rossie JB, Schultz JA, Evans AR, von Koenigswald W & Rahantarisoa LJ (2020). Skeleton of a Cretaceous mammal from Madagascar reflects long-term insularity. Nature. 581:421–427. doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2234-8.
Le Loeuff J, Buffetaut E, Mechin P & Mechin-Salessy A (1992). The first record of dromaeosaurid dinosaurs (Saurischia, Theropoda) in the Maastrichtian of southern Europe: palaeobiogeographical implications. Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France. 163:337–343.
Martin JE, Rabi M & Csiki Z (2010). Survival of Theriosuchus (Mesoeucrocodylia: Atoposauridae) in a Late Cretaceous archipelago: a new species from the Maastrichtian of Romania. Naturwissenschaften. 97:845–854.
Melinte-Dobrinescu MC (2010). Lithology and biostratigraphy of Upper Cretaceous marine deposits from the Hațeg region (Romania): palaeoenvironmental implications. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 293:283–294.
Narváez I, Brochu CA, De Celis A, Codrea V, Escaso F, Pérez-Garcia A & Ortega F (2020). New diagnosis for Allodaposuchus precedens, the type species of the European Upper Cretaceous clade Allodaposuchidae. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 180:618–634.
Newsome D & Dowling R (2018). Geoheritage and geotourism. In Reynard E &Brilha J (eds) Geoheritage (pp. 305–321). Elsevier.
Nopcsa F (1897). Vorlaüfiger Bericht über das Auftreten von oberer Kreide im Hátszeger Tale in Siebenbürgen. Verhandlungen der Kaiserlichen Königlichen Geologischen Reichsanstalt. 1897:273–274.
Nopcsa F (1900). Dinosaurierreste aus Siebenbürgen I. Schädel von Limnosaurus transsylvanicus nov. gen. et nov. spec. Denkschriften der königlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Klasse. 68:555–591.
Nopcsa F (1902a). Über das Vorkommen von Dinosauriern bei Szentpéterfalva. Zeitschrift der deutschen geologischen Gesellschaft. 72:34–39.
Nopcsa F (1902b). Dinosaurierreste aus Siebenbürgen II. (Schädelreste von Mochlodon). Mit einem Anhange: zur Phylogenie der Ornithopodiden. Denkschriften der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Klasse. 72:149–175.
Nopcsa F (1914). Die Lebensbedingungen der obercretacischen Dinosaurier Siebenbürgens. Centralblatt für Mineralogie und Paläontologie. 18:564–574.
Nopcsa F (1915). Die Dinosaurier der Siebenbürgischen Landesteile Ungarns. Mitteilungen aus dem Jahrbuche der königlisch Ungarischen Geologischen Reichsanstalt. 23:1–24.
Nopcsa F (1923a). On the geological importance of the primitive reptilian fauna of the uppermost Cretaceous of Hungary; with a description of a new tortoise (Kallokibotium). Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London. 79:100–116.
Nopcsa F (1923b). Kallokibotion, a primitive amphichelydean tortoise from the Upper Cretaceous of Hungary. Palaeontologica Hungarica. 1:1–34.
Nopcsa F (1928) Paleontological notes on Reptilia 7. Classification of the Crocodilia. Geologica Hungarica, Ser. Palaeontologica. 1:75–84.
Nopcsa F (1929) Dinosaurierreste aus Siebenbürgen V. Geologica Hungarica, Ser. Palaeontologica. 4:1–76.
Ősi A, Codrea V, Prondvai E & Csiki-Sava Z (2014) New ankylosaurian material from the Upper Cretaceous of Transylvania. Annales de Paléontologie. 100:257–271. doi: 10.1016/j.annpal.2014.02.001.
Panaiotu CG & Panaiotu CE (2010). Palaeomagnetism of the Upper Cretaceous Sânpetru Formation (Hațeg Basin, South Carpathians). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 293:343–352.
Peláez-Campomanes P, López-Martínez N, Álvarez-Sierra MA& Daams R (2000). The earliest mammal of the European Paleocene: the multituberculate Hainina. Journal of Paleontology. 74:701–711.
Pérez-García A & Codrea V (2018) New insights on the anatomy and systematics of Kallokibotion Nopcsa, 1923, the enigmatic uppermost Cretaceous basal turtle (stem Testudines) from Transylvania. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 182:419–443. https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlx037.
Popa ME, Kvaćek J, Vasile Ș & Csiki-Sava Z (2016). Maastrichtian dicotyledons of the Rusca Montană and Hațeg basins, South Carpathians, Romania. Cretaceous Research. 57:699–712.http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2015.09.013.
Popov P, Berza T, Grubic A & Ioane D (2002). Late Cretaceous Apuseni-Banat-Timok-Srednogorie (ABTS) magmatic and metallogenic belt in the Carpathian-Balkan orogen. Geologica Balcanica. 32:145–162.
Rădulescu C & Samson PM (1986). Précisions sur les affinités des Multituberculés (Mammalia) du Crétacé supérieur de Roumanie. Comptes rendus Académie des Sciences de Paris II. 304:1825–1830.
Rădulescu C & Samson PM (1996). The first multituberculate skull from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Europe (Hațeg Basin, Romania). Anuarul Institutului Geologic Român. 69:177–178.
Seghedi A, Andrășanu A & Rădan S (2017). The Transylvanian Dinosaur Museum Project. The contribution of Geoecomar to valorize and promote the paleontological heritage of Romania. Geo-Eco-Marina. 23:145–164.
Smith T & Codrea V (2015) Red iron-pigmented tooth enamel in a multituberculate mammal from the Late Cretaceous Transylvanian “Hațeg Island”. PLoS ONE. 10:e0132550. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0132550.
Smith T, Codrea V, Săsăran E, Van Itterbeeck J, Bultynck P, Csiki Z, Dica P, Fărcaș C, Folie A, Garcia G & Godefroit P (2002). A new exceptional vertebrate site from the Late Cretaceous of the Hațeg Basin (Romania). Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai, Geologia. 1: 321–330.
Solomon A, Codrea V, Venczel M, Dumbravă M & Smith T (2016). New remains of the multituberculate mammal Barbatodon from the Upper Cretaceous of the Hațeg Basin (Romania). Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 23:319–335. doi:10.1007/s10914-016-9322-4.
Stein K, Csiki Z, Curry Rogers K, Weishampel DB, Redelstorff R, Carballido JL & Sander PM (2010). Small body size and extreme cortical bone remodeling indicate phyletic dwarfism in Magyarosaurus dacus (Sauropoda: Titanosauria). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA. 107:9258–9263.
Stilla A (1985). Géologie de la région de Hațeg-Cioclovina-Pui-Bănița (Carpathes Meridionales). Anuarul Institutului Geologic al României. 66:91–179.
Tennant JP, Mannion PD & Upchurch P (2016). Evolutionary relationships and systematics of Atoposauridae (Crocodylomorpha: Neosuchia): implications for the rise of Eusuchia. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society: 177:854–936. doi: 10.1111/zoj.12400.
Therrien F (2005). Palaeoenvironments of the latest Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) dinosaurs of Romania: insights from fluvial deposits and paleosols of the Transylvanian and Hațeg basins. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 218:15–56.
Therrien F (2006). Depositional environments and fluvial system changes in the dinosaur-bearing Sânpetru Formation (Late Cretaceous, Romania): Post-orogenic sedimentation in an active extensional basin. Sedimentary Geology. 192:183–205.
Therrien F, Zelenitsky DK & Weishampel DB (2009) Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the Late Cretaceous Sânpetru Formation (Hațeg Basin, Romania) using paleosols and implications for the “disappearance” of dinosaurs. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 272:37–52.
UNESCO (2015). What is a UNESCO Global Geopark? http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/earthsciences/
unesco-global-geoparks/frequently-asked-questions/what-is-a-unescoglobal-
geopark/. Retrieved on May 20, 2021
Van Itterbeeck J, Săsăran E, Codrea V, Săsăran L & Bultynck P (2004) Sedimentology of the Upper Cretaceous mammal- and dinosaur-bearing sites along the Râul Mare and Bărbat rivers, Hațeg Basin. Cretaceous Research. 25:517–530.
Van Itterbeeck J, Markevich VS & Codrea V (2005). Palynostratigraphy of the Maastrichtian dinosaur and mammal sites of the Râul Mare and Bărbat valleys (Hațeg Basin, Romania). Geologica Carpathica. 56:137–147.
Vasile Ș, Csiki Z & Grigorescu D (2011). Reassessment of the spatial extent of the Middle Member, Densuș-Ciula Formation (Maastrichtian), Hațeg Basin, Romania. Acta Palaeontologica Romaniae. 7:335–342.
Vasile Ș, Csiki-Sava Z & Venczel M (2013). A new madtsoiid snake from the Upper Cretaceous of the Hațeg Basin, western Romania. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 33:1100–1119.
Venczel M & Codrea VA (2016). A new teiid lizard from the Late Cretaceous of the Hațeg Basin, Romania and its phylogenetic and palaeobiogeographical relationships. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 14:219–237. doi:10.1080/14772019.2015.1025869.
Venczel M & Codrea VA (2019). A new Theriosuchus-like crocodyliform from the Maastrichtian of Romania: Cretaceous Research. 100:24–38. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2019.03.018.
Venczel M & Csiki Z (2003). New frogs from the latest Cretaceous of Hațeg Basin, Romania. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 48:599–606.
Vremir M, Bălc R, Csiki-Sava Z, Brusatte SL, Dyke G, Naish D & Norell MA (2014). Petrești-Arini - an important but ephemeral Upper Cretaceous continental vertebrate site in the southwestern Transylvanian Basin, Romania. Cretaceous Research. 49:13–38. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2014.02.002.
Vremir M, Dyke G, Csiki-Sava Z, Grigorescu D & Buffetaut E (2018). Partial mandible of a giant pterosaur from the uppermost Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of the Hațeg Basin, Romania. Lethaia. 51:493–503. doi:10.1111/let.12268.
Wang X, Csiki Z, Ősi A & Dyke GJ (2011). The first definitive record of a fossil bird from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of the Hațeg Basin, Romania. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 31:227–230.
Weishampel DB, Grigorescu D & Norman DB (1991). The Dinosaurs of Transylvania. National Geographic Research & Exploration. 7:196–215.
Weishampel DB, Norman DB & Grigorescu D (1993). Telmatosaurus transsylvanicus from the Late Cretaceous of Romania: the most basal hadrosaurid dinosaur. Palaeontology. 36:361–385.
Weishampel DB, Jianu CM, Csiki Z & Norman DB (2003). Osteology and phylogeny of Zalmoxes (n. g.), an unusual euornithopod dinosaur from the latest Cretaceous of Romania. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 1:65–123.
Weishampel DB, Csiki Z, Benton MJ, Grigorescu D & Codrea V (2010). Palaeobiogeographic relationships of the Hațeg biota — between isolation and innovation. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 293: 419–437.
Zouros N & Valliakos I (2010). Geoparks management and assessment. Bulletin of the Geological Society of Greece. 43: 965–977.
Additional Information
Geoconservation Research (Geoconserv. Res.)
Volume 4 (2021)
Issue 2, December 2021 - Paleontological Heritage and Geoconservation in the UNESCO European Geoparks (Part II) edited by Dan Grigorescu, Michael Benton, Vachik Hairapetian
Page Numbers: 471-491
Article views: 13
Share: