Two fossiliferous karstic fissures from the Mokrá-Western Quarry, MWQ (1/2001 Turtle Joint; 2/2003 Reptile Joint) provided a diverse vertebrate fauna from the early Miocene (Burdigalian, MN 4) including squamates. The rather warm climatic conditions during the Miocene Thermal Maximum (17.8-17.7 Ma) enabled dispersal of thermophilic lizards and snakes throughout Central Europe. In total, ten major clades have been identified in MWQ localities, including: Lacertidae (Lacertidae indet., Lacertidae tooth morphotype 1 and 2); Amphisbaenia (Amphisbaenia indet.); ? Scincoidea (? Scincoidea indet.); Anguidae (Pseudopus laurillardi (Lartet, 1851), Pseudopus sp., Ophisaurus sp., and Anguinae indet.); Varanidae (Varanus mokrensisIvanov, Klembara, Ruta & Böhme, 2018); Boidae (Bavarioboa cf. hermiSzyndlar & Schleich, 1993); Pythonidae (Python sp.); Colubridae (Colubridae gen. et sp. indet., Coluber [s.l.] sp., and “Colubrinae” indet., type 1), Natricidae (Natrix sp. and “Natricinae” indet.); Viperidae (Viperinae [‘Oriental vipers' group], Vipera sp. [‘European vipers' group]); and Elapidae (Elapidae gen. et sp. indet.). Python sp. from the MWQ represents the first known occurrence of this most thermophilic Neogene squamate taxon within the area of Central Paratethys and we assume that MAT did not fall below 18-19 °C in the vicinity of this locality during the late Burdigalian stage. These humid subtropical to paratropical climatic conditions, also documented by several full-aquatic and semi-aquatic amphibians and reptiles, were suitable for the occurrence of other thermophilic lizard and snake taxa reported from MWQ, including Varanus mokrensis, Pseudopus laurillardi, Bavarioboa, large Elapidae and ‘Oriental vipers'.

Els Casots is one of the richest fossil vertebrate sites of the Vallès-Penedès Basin (Catalonia, Spain). It was discovered in 1989 and excavated briefly during the 1990s, resulting in the recovery of thousands of remains and the erection of several new mammal species. Excavations were resumed in 2018 and continue to date. Here we provide updated results regarding the age, stratigraphy, biota and palaeoenvironment of the site. The age of the site is well constrained to ~15.9 Ma thanks to recent bio- and magnetostratigraphic data, thus coinciding with the Miocene Climatic Optimum (MCO). The stratigraphic succession at the site area indicates lacustrine to palustrine environments with cyclically oscillating water level. There are several fossiliferous layers that have yielded a vertebrate fauna comprising up to 75 different vertebrate species including amphibians, reptiles, birds and mostly mammals. The finding of several articulated partial skeletons indicate that the site records an autochthonous to parautochthonous assemblage. The abundance and completeness of the vertebrate remains together with a well-constrained age and detailed stratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental data, make els Casots a key site for understanding wetland ecosystems in southern Europe during the MCO.

The single extant species of the anuran genus Latonia lives in Israel, but in the fossil record the genus is known mainly from Europe, spanning from the Oligocene to the early Pleistocene. Here we describe new remains of Latonia from the early to late Miocene of the Vallès-Penedès Basin (NE Iberian Peninsula), coming from the following localities: Sant Mamet (MN4), Sant Quirze and Trinxera del Ferrocarril (MN7+8), and Castell de Barberà, Can Poncic 1 and Can Llobateres 1 (MN9). Fossils from the late Aragonian and early Vallesian are attributed to Latonia gigantea mainly because of the morphology of the ornamentation that covers the maxillae. In turn, an ilium from Sant Mamet is not diagnostic at the specific level and is assigned only to the genus Latonia. The newly reported remains represent the first record of L. gigantea in the Iberian Peninsula, where Latonia was previously known by a single report of Latonia cf. ragei from Navarrete del Río (MN2) and remains from other localities unassigned to species. Moreover, the Vallès-Penedès remains represent one of the southernmost records of the species known thus far. The presence of Latonia in these localities confirms the humid and warm environment suggested by the recorded mammal fauna.

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The early Miocene deposits of Bohemia (Czech Republic) contain numerous fragmentary crocodylian remains. Despite this abundance, a detailed taxonomical assignment of these remains was impossible due to the absence of diagnostic cranial elements. Here, we report two partially preserved skulls together with some osteoderms and a partially preserved vertebra from the Tušimice site (MN3, Most Basin, Northwest Bohemia). Though the specimens were from Bohemia, the exact placement of this site was lost during the last century. Our results confirm that the coal from the reported specimens is consistent with the Tušimice site. Based on the detailed cranial description of the new material, the crocodylian remains from the above-mentioned locality can be referred to the extinct alligatoroid Diplocynodon ratelii with confidence. Our data extend the known spatial distribution of this taxon to Central Europe. Les gisements du Miocène inférieur de la région de Bohême (République tchèque) contiennent plusieurs restes fragmentaires de crocodiles. Malgré cette abondance, une assignation taxonomique détaillée de ces restes était impossible à réaliser, du fait de l’absence d’éléments diagnostiques crâniens. Nous rapportons ici deux crânes partiellement préservés ainsi que des ostéodermes et une vertèbre incomplète du site de Tušimice (MN3, bassin du Most, Bohême du Nord-Ouest). Bien que les spécimens soient originaires de Bohême, l’emplacement exact de ce site a été perdu au cours du siècle dernier. Nos résultats ont confirmé que le charbon des spécimens signalés est compatible avec le site de Tušimice. Sur la base de la description crânienne détaillée du nouveau matériel, les restes de crocodiles du site de Tušimice peuvent être rapportés avec certitude à l’alligatoroïde éteint Diplocynodon ratelii. De plus, nos données étendent la distribution spatiale connue de ce taxon, révélant sa présence en Europe centrale.

Background Melissiodon is a rare cricetid genus endemic to Europe, known from the Early Oligoceneto the Early Miocene. It is usually a very rare find, and even in the few localities where Melissiodon remains are found, those are scarce and fragmentary. Only a few Central European localities have yielded rich remains of the genus. Currently, two species are known from the Early Miocene: Melissiodon schlosseri, which is based on two teeth from the MN2 German locality of Haslach and only found in two other sites of similar age (Ulm-Uniklinik and La Chaux, from Germany and Switzerland respectively); and Melissiodon dominans, found in MN3 and MN4 localities across Europe, even though the scarce and fragmentary remains make some of these attributions dubious. For that reason, Melissiodon dominans has become a catch-all species. However, Mokrá-Quarry represents one of the best documented findings of Melissiodon remains from MN4 localities of Europe. Methods The Melissiodon assemblage from Mokrá-Quarry has been studied thoroughly, providing metrics and detailed descriptions of all teeth positions, as well as complete comparisons with other MN3 and MN4 localities bearing Melissiodon remains. Results In this work, new remains of Melissiodon have been identified as a new morphotype that clearly differs from Melissiodon dominans by its unique m1 morphology but still shows some resemblance with Melissiodon schlosseri. Based on that, we here propose the hypothesis of an evolutionary lineage starting from Melissiodon schlosseri, diverging from the lineage leading towards Melissiodon dominans. With this finding, there are at least two different taxa of Melissiodon known during the Early Miocene, prior to the genus extinction. This study arises the certainty that the evolution history of the genus is more complex than previously thought and that more studies are necessary to elucidate it, including a complete revision of the type material of Melissiodon dominans and Melissiodon schlosseri in the light of current knowledge of the genus, which will help to elucidate the attribution of the populations from Mokrá-Quarry. For the time being, the assemblage presented here is referred as Melissiodon aff. schlosseri.