Fossil amphibians and reptiles from Tegelen (Province of Limburg) and the early Pleistocene palaeoclimate of The Netherlands

• Published in: Quaternary science reviews 2018-05, Vol.187, p.203-219
• Main Authors: Villa, Andrea, Blain, Hugues-Alexandre, van den Hoek Ostende, Lars W., Delfino, Massimo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Data analysis; Data treatment; Mutual Ecogeographic Range Method; Palaeobatrachus eurydices; Paleoclimatology; Quaternary; Tiglian; Western Europe
• ISSN: 0277-3791; 1873-457X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.03.020

Few Quaternary herpetofaunas have been recovered from The Netherlands. Among these, the one coming from the early Pleistocene site of the Russel-Tiglia-Egypte pit near Tegelen is of particular interest, because it is the type locality of the recently described, last western European palaeobatrachid anuran, Palaeobatrachus eurydices. The large number of fossil remains of amphibians and reptiles found in the pit are representative of a very diverse fauna, including at least 17 taxa: Triturus gr. T. cristatus, Lissotriton sp., Pelobates fuscus, Bufo bufo, Bombina sp., Pelophylax sp., Rana sp., Hyla gr. H. arborea, Pelodytes sp., Mauremys sp., Lacerta sp., Lacertidae indet., Anguis gr. A. fragilis, cf. Pseudopus sp., “colubrines” indet., Natrix natrix and Vipera sp. Emys orbicularis, previously reported from a different Tegelen pit, is not present in this assemblage. Palaeoclimatic conditions reconstructed based on the herpetofaunistic association indicate a humid subtropical climate (Cfa according to the Köppen-Geiger classification of climates) for Tegelen during the TC5 section of the Tiglian, with low, but fairly regular rainfalls during the year. Mean annual temperature was 13.4 ± 0.3 °C and mean annual precipitation was 542 ± 50 mm. Moreover, three dry months were present during summer and early autumn, resulting in a much drier climate than the one present at Tegelen today. Nevertheless, the occurrence of the water-dwelling P. eurydices suggests the persistence of suitable permanent water bodies during the whole year, and the survival of this taxon in this part of Europe might have been allowed by the generally humid climate. •The palaeoherpetofauna from the early Pleistocene of Tegelen is studied.•This is the type locality of the recently described Palaeobatrachus eurydices.•The diverse assemblage includes at least 17 taxa of amphibians and reptiles.•The reconstructed palaeoclimate was humid and subtropical, with a dry summer.•The humid conditions might have allowed the survival of P. eurydices in the area.