8/11/2019 New Proboscidean Site from the High Karst Dinarides in Southern Bosnia and Hercegovina (poster)

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Distribution data for Anancus arvernensis

This European gomphothere was a browser with the peakdistribution in the late Pliocene, and the stratigraphic rangefrom the latest Miocene MN11 to the early Pleistocene MN17.Its extinction correlates with the decimation of the woodcover in Europe during the early Ice Age period. Althoughwidely distributed in the Pliocene of SE Europe from Sloveniathrough Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, to Greece this isthe first finding from southern Bosnia and Herzegovina andthe High Karst Dinarides up to now.

Fig. 4: Reconstruction of Anancus arvernensis (Croizet &Jobert 1928) in its natural habitat (from Engesser et al. 1996)

Stratigraphic interpretat ion of the Cebara site

Although the stratigraphic data does not allow a preciseinference of the age yet, the lithostratigraphic evidencesupports the correlation with the Pliocene in a phase post-dating the Miocene long-lived lake conditions.

Fig. 5: Stratigraphic correlation of the Cebara site

Implications for Dinaride evolution

The studied site with 920 m a.s.l. represents probably thetopographic highest known proboscidean locality. Inparticular, their mass occurrence in several fossiliferous layersindicates the presence of a well settled gomphotherepopulation in the study area over many generations. This isthe most striking feature of the new locality because thegomphotheres, considering their huge size preferred ratherlow-land settings rich in wood vegetation than themountainous regions. Yet, the presence of former habitats inthe Dinaride High Karst during the deposition of investigatedsuccession is well supported by tectonic reconstructionsplacing the main mountain elevation phase into the Pliocene-

Pleistocene transition interval.

1 Geological-Paleontological Department, Natural History Museum, Burgring 7, 1010 Vienna, Austria. (oleg.mandic@nhm-wien.ac.at, ursula.goehlich@nhm-wien.ac.at)2 Federal Institute for Geology Sarajevo, Ustanika 11, 71210 Ili ? a, Bosnia and Herzegovina . (hharish@bih.net.ba)

3 Institute f or Quaternary paleontology and geology, Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts , Ante Kovaia 5/II, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia. (jml@hazu.hr)4 The National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zmaja od Bosne 3, 71000 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. (bozenabc@gmail.com)

5 Elektroprivreda Hrvatske Zajednice Herceg-Bosne, Mile Budaka 106a, 88000 Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. (gglamuz@yahoo.com)6 University of Zadar, Department of Geography, Center for Karst and Coastal Research, Trg kneza Vieslava 9, HR-23000 Zadar.(drados@unizd.hr)

1 1 2 3 4 5 6Oleg Mandic , Ursula Ghlich , Hazim Hrvatovi , Jadranka Mauch , Boena vorovi, Goran Glamuzina , Denis RadoLenardi

New proboscidean site from the High Karst Dinarides in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina

Geographical position and geological setting

New late Neogene proboscidean site Cebara has beencurrently discovered by local fossil collector Vinko Ljubassouth of Tomislavgrad in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is locatedin one ~40 m deep, ~20 m high and ~17 m wide incision of theescarpment at the southwestern margin of Duvanjsko polje, atypical Dinaride karst polje. The latter represents a ~240 kmlarge and NW-SE striking intra-mountainous basin that wasinitiated in the early Miocene (~17 Ma) as the eastern part ofthe Livno-Tomislavgrad basin. The two sedimentary cyclesaccumulated more than 2500 m of coal bearing lacustrinedeposits until the latest Miocene (~6 Ma) therein.

Fig. 1: Geographical and geological setting with lithological

column from de Leeuw et al. (2010) of the infill of theTomislavgrad basin. Neogene post orogenetic intra-mountainbasins harboring the fresh-water Dinaride Lake System aremarked in dark gray, Paratethys basins, i.e. Pannonian Basin ismarked by light gray colour.

Lithology

The posterior wall of distally narrowing incision showscoarsening upward succession of clays, fluvial gravels andblock-breccia including up to 5 m diameter bouldersdeveloped through reoccurring cave roof collapses. Upwardthe incision is unroofed passing into a ~35 m wide and ~10 mdeep funnel-shaped structure.

The logged succession is 10 m-thick with the base covered bydebris and top not reachable at present outcrop conditions. It

comprises two units of equal thickness. The lower one ischaracterized by deposition of brownish clay that includessand lenses and/or laterally grade to block-breccia. Beyondthat up to 1 m thick sand, gravel and boulder intercalations arepresent. The upper unit is composed of two conglomeratepackages both topped by cave-in breccia. The lower gravelshows through- and cross-bedding and at its base operculiaccumulations of freshwater snail Bythinia occur supportingthe inference of riverine and/or lacustrine origin of thesediment.

Fig. 2: Lithological column, samples, gamma ray (GR) andmagnetic susceptibility (MS) results. The positions of the bonebeds are indicated, position in the outcrop is indicated on thephotograph.

Bone bed taphonomy and taxonomic composition

The bone bed interval is about 1.5 m-thick and marks themiddle part of the lower unit. The bones, tusks and teethoriented horizontally to the bedding plane, are disarticulatedand concentrated in three 10 to 30 cm-thick horizons. Thelower one appears on top of one 30 cm-thick gravel bed, theother two mark lower and upper part of one 90 cm thick sandylayer. Strongly increased magnetic susceptibility values (>100x 10-6 SI) detects the black color of the bones and matrixsediments as containing iron-bearing minerals.

The inspection of up to now available fossil remains allowstheir tentative classification to Anancus arvernensis (Croizet &Jobert 1928) representing a gomphothere proboscideancharacterized by two oversized straightened tusks in theupper jaw and a body-size of present-day elephant.

Fig. 3: Molar teeth collected at Cebara and tentativelydetermined as Anancus arvernensis (Croizet & Jobert 1928)

References

De Leeuw, A., Mandic, O., Krijgsman, W., Kuiper, K., Hrvatovi , H. (2011) Achronostratigraphy for the Dinaride Lake System deposits of the Livno-Tomislavgrad Basin: the rise and fall of a long-lived lacustrine environmentin an intra-montane setting. Stratigraphy, 8/1: 29-43 .

Engesser, B., Fejfar, O., Major, P. 1996. Das Mammut und seineausgestorbenen Verwandten. Verffentlichungen aus demNaturhistorischem Museum Basel, 20: 1-187.

10 cm

Sinj b.

Livno b.

ADRIATIC SEA

DINARIDES

PANNONIAN BASIN

17E

18E 16E 17E

45N

44N

45N

44N

CROATIA

BOSNIA ANDHERZEGOVINA

Split Mostar

Bugojno

Sarajevo

Banja LukaBiha

Prijedor

30 km

EUROPE

CROATIA

Cebara site

Tomislavgrad basin

Sarajevo b.Bugojno b.

Livnobasin

1

M P l / P l

2

P l / P l

4 M

3 M

2 M

1 M

0

12

3

456

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

H e i g

h t

( m )

U n i t

10

16

Lithology

c l a y

s a n

d

g r a v e

l

b o u

l d e r

30 20 10

GR (cps)

g r a v e l - b

o u

l d e r

0 100 200

351

i r o n - p

o o r

i r o n - r

i c h

MS (10-6 SI)

c l a y - s

a n d

g2

g3

g4

g5

g6

s6

s5

s4

s3

s2

s1, c1, p1-2

c1, p3-4

c3, p5-6

Samples:

g - gravels - sandc - clayp - pal.-mag.

A

B

C

BONE-BEDS:

Quarry Cebara / S Tomislavgrad (Bosnia-Hercegovina)Position: 43.65033, 17.216617Age: Pliocene?

CE13/

C5A

C5

C4A

C4

C3B

C3A

C3

C2A

C2

C1

Tortonian

Messinian

Zanclean

Gelasian

Serravallian

Piacenzian

P l e i s t o -

c e n e

Holocene

M

L

L

E

M i o c e n e

P l i o c e n e

11.63

7.25

5.33

3.60

2.59

1.81

0.78Calabrian

Ionian

Q u a t e r n a r y

N e o g e n e

Epoch S tagePolarityChronPer.

MN19

MN18

MN17

MN16

MN15

MN14

MN13

MN12

MN11

MN10

MN9

MN7-8

Toringian

Biharian

Villanyian

Ruscinian

Turolian

Vallesian

Astaracian

0

5

10

Age(my) Mammal biostratigraphy

A n a n c u s a r v e r n e n s i s r a n g e

a n

d t h e p o s s i b

l e a g e o

f t h e

C e

b a r a

b o n e

b e

d

D u v a n j s k o p o l j e