Annales Musei historico-naturalis hungarici

Author(s): Dulai, A.
Title: Taxonomic composition and palaeoecological features of the Early Badenian (Middle Miocene) bivalve fauna of Szob (Börzsöny Mts, Hungary)
Year: 1996
Publication date: 1996-12-31
Volume: 88
Pages: 31-56.

Abstract: Taxonomic composition and palaeoecological features (life habit, feeding type, preferred substrate, depth range) of the Early Badenian bivalves of Szob were examined. The fauna is quite diverse at higher taxonomic levels, but at the same time very poor at lower taxonomic levels. The taxonomic composition of the fauna (Heterodonta subclass: 76%; Pteriomorpha subclass: 23%) corresponds to the taxonomic structure of other faunas of the Miocene sandy facies. The bivalve fauna connected with a seagrass community and dominated by suspension feeder infaunal elements (mostly corbulids). Seagrass is generally advantageous for byssally attached species but on the other hand the movement of vagile infaunal elements is hampered by the roots of seagrass. Bivalves refer to infralittoral depth in the photic zone. The soft, mixed, sandy-muddy bottom was fixed by the roots of seagrass. The bottom sediment was very poor in organic matter because it was rapidly decayed due to the high oxygen content of the sea-water inside the seagrass meadows. Some species indicate the Early Badenian age of the fauna. With 10 figures.
Subject: palaeontology

Journal: Annales historico-naturales Musei nationalis hungarici
Journal abbreviation: Annls hist.-nat. Mus. nat. hung.
ISSN: 0521-4726
Publisher: Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest
Editor(s): Matskási, I. & Merkl, O.