Taphonomic modes in the Maastrichtian continental deposits of the Haţeg Basin, Romania—Palaeoecological and palaeobiological inferences

The uppermost Cretaceous continental deposits of the Haţeg Basin (SW Romania) have yielded a high-diversity vertebrate assemblage, including the “dwarf” insular dinosaurs of Nopcsa. In 1902, Franz Nopcsa was the first to comment on the preservation patterns of vertebrate fossils, suggesting that the most important fossil accumulations, which he simply referred to as “fossiliferous pockets”, were the result of the predatory activity of crocodilians (“crocodilian feeding grounds”). Recent investigations of the fossil occurrences within the Haţeg Basin revealed a much wider range of taphonomic modes, from microfossil bonebeds to isolated, partially articulated skeletons, than previously believed. The survey of the vertebrate accumulation types and their sedimentary context documents a wide range of processes responsible for their genesis, operating within a fluvial-dominated upland setting. Study of the individual fossil accumulations yields important information on the palaeoecology (composition of local biocenoses, trophic interactions) and palaeobiology (social behaviour, habitat preferences) of the Haţeg fossil assemblage.