Back
s12549-025-00664-3
Journal article

Palaeocene herpetofauna of Walbeck (Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany) with a focus on lissamphibians

DOKPE

  • 2025
Published in:
  • Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments. - Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2025, vol. 105, no. 2, p. 343-375
Frogs
Germany
Lissamphibian
Salamanders
Palaeocene
Walbeck
English The Palaeocene Epoch is one of the most enigmatic intervals in Earth history, due to its limited fossil record. Lasting only 10 Ma, the Palaeocene is a transitional interval between the Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras when most extant vertebrate clades either appeared or, if they originated earlier, continued diversifying. Whereas the mammalian fauna from the Palaeocene of Europe is relatively well understood, other continental vertebrate groups such as amphibians and reptiles are not. In the present paper, we describe the non-squamate portion of the herpetofauna from the Walbeck site (early–middle Palaeocene or MP 1–5, Germany) with a special focus on the lissamphibians. The Walbeck fossil amphibian and reptile collection was considered lost for many decades. The recent rediscovery of this historically significant collection means its temporally important herpetofauna can be reevaluated. We redescribe and provide emended diagnoses for the three previously named salamander species: Wolterstorffiella wiggeri, Geyeriella mertensi and Koalliella genzeli. Phylogenetic analysis of the three salamander species suggests an unclear salamandroid affiliation for the large-sized Wolterstorffiella, whereas the small-sized Geyeriella and Koalliella are assigned to the families Proteidae and Salamandridae, respectively. For the first time, we describe the Walbeck frog fauna, which includes Palaeobatrachidae indet., a new alytid genus and species and a pelobatid (?Eopelobates). The pelobatid is the oldest record for the family in Europe. We also report on some non-diagnostic bones of a crocodile and a turtle, which, along with recently reported lizard fossils, lead to a fuller understanding of the Walbeck reptilian fauna. Thanks to its early–middle Palaeocene age and diversity of taxa, the Walbeck site provides insights into the earliest Cenozoic history of amphibians and reptiles in Europe. The Walbeck herpetofauna includes: 1) taxa known exclusively from the Palaeocene of Europe (salamandroid Wolterstorffiella, new alytid and lacertoid Camptognathosaurus), 2) the first European appearances of the extant families Proteidae (Geyeriella), Salamandridae (Koalliella), Pelobatidae and Lacertidae, and 3) continuing records for two families (Palaeobatrachidae and Alytidae) that have their roots in the European Mesozoic.
Faculty
Faculté des sciences et de médecine
Department
Département des Géosciences
Language
  • English
Classification
Palaeontology
License
Rights reserved
Open access status
bronze
Identifiers
Persistent URL
https://folia.unifr.ch/unifr/documents/332589
Statistics
Document views: 34 File downloads:
  • s12549-025-00664-3: 92