The Miocene Fossillagerstatte Sandelzhausen. 16. Fish- and herpetofauna - preliminary results

The fish- and herpetofauna of Sandelzhausen (near Mainburg, South Germany) contain according to the present revision 44 species from 24 families. Due to this unusually high diversity, the locality occupies not only a particul ar position within the Upper Freshwater Molasse (upper Lower and Middle Mio cene), but contains probably also one of the richest assemblages of lower v ertebrates in the Tertiary of Europe. The aquatic fauna is characterized by 3 Palaeocarassius/ Channa association with a relatively high frequency of Triturus vulgaris, T: cf. marmoratus and Rana (ridibunda) sp. The animals a dapted to terrestrial lift: are dominated by Pelobates n. sp. which is the most frequent vertebrate in Sandelzhausen. The Lacertidae, Anguidae and Cha maeleonidae are not abundant, but show a high diversity.