Possible Middle Pontian avian and mammalian trace fossils from the Dacian Basin (Slănicul de Buzău Valley, Romania)

Abstract

The presence of bird feeding traces associated with undertracks of a small mammalian, probably similar to the European mink (Mustela lutreola), indicates the existence, unknown so far, of terrestrial fauna in the middle Pontian (Portaferrian) deposits from the Dacian Basin. The pecking and probing marks were probably produced by Charadriiformes and Anseriformes representatives, whose ichnospecies are known in the upper Oligocene and lower Miocene from Romania. Although there are no traces of invertebrates, usually associated with the footprints of birds and mammals, we assume that the described feeding traces and undertracks belong to the Scoyenia ichnofacies that is a shoreline environment with humid clay substratum and intermittent subaerian exposure.