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Diplocynodon levantinicum Huene & Nikoloff, 1963 was described based on few bone fragments from the West-Maritsa lignite basin of Central Bulgaria. Huene & Nikoloff, 1963 assumed a late Pliocene age, implying that this species represents the stratigraphically youngest crocodilian of Europe. In this current study, we re-evaluate the stratigraphy of the West-Maritsa Basin and conclude a late Oligocene age of ~26 Ma for the Kipra coal-seam, the fossiliferous horizon. Furthermore, topotypical and undescribed D. levantinicum specimens are accessible now and allowed for a deeper taxonomic and phylogenetic analysis. A comparison with other Diplocynodon species reveals D. levantinicum as a valid species, having (1) a long suborbital fenestra, (2) a very short dentary symphysis, (3) a large gap between the first and second dentary alveolus, (4) an occlusion pit in line with the tooth row posterior to the 14th dentary alveolus, (5) a sulcus lateral to the glenoid fossa and, (6) a lingual foramen for the articular artery situated entirely on the surangular. The phylogenetic analyses find D. levantinicum deeply nested inside the Diplocynodontinae subfamily. After the disappearance of the Paratethyan influence (Solenovian regional stage) in the Upper Thrace Basin this species has roamed during the late Oligocene extensive freshwater lake and swamp ecosystems represented by the Maritsa Formation. Diplocynodon levantinicum represents the only nominal Diplocynodon taxon of late Oligocene (Chattian) age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A hominid tooth found in a river terrace layer from Azmaka (Bulgaria) has been biochronologically dated to ∼7 Ma. This age is younger than expected and indicates that hominids became extinct in Europe later than previously thought. In this study, authigenic 10 Be/ 9 Be is applied to potentially determine the absolute age of the Miocene river terrace layers containing the hominid tooth. Modern fluvial channel bed deposits provide the initial starting value for the geochronological clock. Homogeneity of modern fluvial channel bed deposits and closed-system behavior of the authigenic minerals in the river terrace layers are required. 10 Be/ 9 Be ratios analyzed for modern fluvial channel beds vary by a factor of two. The initial starting value for the geochronological clock is not well-constrained and age calculations uncertain. Furthermore, the 10 Be/ 9 Be ratios analyzed for different cycles of the terrace layers are variable within different layers and do not decrease with formation depth. The mean authigenic age based on the mean 10 Be/ 9 Be ratio from six terrace layers and using the mean initial ratio from measured modern fluvial channel bed samples is 5.80 ± 0.70 Ma. An authigenic 10 Be/ 9 Be age of 6.20 ± 0.41 Ma is calculated for the river terrace layer associated with the hominid tooth. Despite these first promising ages, the method of authigenic minerals to date river terrace sediments needs further and more detailed investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the first anatomical description and taxonomic interpretation of macroscopic charcoal from the Late Miocene of the Staniantsi Coal Basin in western Bulgaria. The charcoal closely resembles the wood genus Taxodioxylon and thus can most likely be assigned to taxodioid Cupressaceae. This group of plants was part of the peat-forming swamp vegetation during generally drier periods, as shown by previous studies on palynomorphs from the basin. Our report presents the first solid evidence indicating which group of plants and probably which type of vegetation were affected by wildfires during deposition of the peat, although taxodioid Cupressaceae certainly were not the only group of plants affected by these fires; it also represents the first record of taxonomically identifiable palaeobotanical macroremains from the Staniantsi Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article deals with the fossil tortoises of one of the most iconic fossil localities of the Neogene of the Old World, the upper Miocene locality of Pikermi, near Athens, Greece. We describe the type, previously published, and new material of the fossil tortoises from Pikermi, along with new material from the coeval Azmaka 6 locality in Bulgaria. This combined information results in the complete revision of the 'marble tortoise' Testudo marmorum, which is the first turtle species ever named from Greece. Besides the challenges and difficulties of working with material from the old collections of Pikermi, we present a complete revision of this species and identify its presence outside its type locality in the South Balkan Peninsula. The presence of numerous shells of the 'marble tortoise' allows us to discuss the observed variation and attempt to interpret it as the result of intraspecific variation, ontogenetic changes, or sexual dimorphism. For the first time, we observe the absence of the characteristic hypo-xiphiplastral hinge in female individuals of Testudo marmorum, which in turn challenges the traditional phylogenetic position of this species. We further describe previously published and new material of the giant tortoise Titanochelon from Pikermi. Based on the updated information, we can suggest that the Pikermian giant tortoise probably represents a distinct taxon. Our results signal Pikermi as one of the most important localities to understand the evolution of tortoises in the eastern Mediterranean during the last parts of the Neogene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A hominid upper premolar was discovered in the Azmaka quarry, near Chirpan (Bulgaria). The associated fauna, especially the co-occurrence of Choerolophodon and Anancus among the proboscideans, and Cremohipparion matthewi and Hippotherium brachypus among the hipparions, constrains the age of the locality to the second half of the middle Turolian (ca. 7 Ma), making it the latest pre-human hominid of continental Europe and Asia Minor. The available morphological and metric data are more similar to those of Ouranopithecus from the Vallesian of Greece than to those of the early to middle Turolian hominids of Turkey and Georgia, but the time gap speaks against a direct phyletic link, and Turolian migration from the east cannot be rejected. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]