History and Contributions of Romanian Vertebrate Paleontology: Beasts, Bioevents, Geology

Presented by Dr. Vlad Codrea, Babes-Bolyai University, Romania, April 25, 2024.
Romania is a rich territory in terms of paleontological heritage due to its geological alpine history. A number of peculiar situations have attracted the interest of the world scientific community. For examples, consider insular Cretaceous faunas in Transylvania with ‘dwarf’ representatives, especially among dinosaurs, or Cenozoic mammals’ migrations from Asia to Europe, especially in the Paleogene (Grande Coupure). In this talk, illustrative case studies are presented, focusing on certain vertebrate Romanian faunas in a European context. The contributions of Romanian vertebrate paleontologists to knowledge in the field are also highlighted.