One of the largest mass extinctions in Earth history occurred at the end of the Cretaceous Period, about 66 millions of years ago (Mya). This extinction completely wiped out the hallmark group of the Mesozoic, the non-avian dinosaurs, and also severely affected other groups of vertebrates living on land. Its tempo (whether it was a rapid and catastrophic extinction or more gradual), worldwide synchronicity, and exact causes are still debated, mainly because the most complete fossil record of these events comes from the North American Western Interior and thus might narrate a local story instead of a general extinction scenario.
ZooKeys 469: Island Life in the Cretaceous reviews the European Late Cretaceous (100 to 66 Mya) fossil record, significantly improved in recent years by discoveries spanning from Sweden to Sicily, and from the UK to Russia. This record gives new insight into the last stages of dinosaur history in Europe. Similar patterns of vertebrate evolution, extinction, and survival are seen in both Europe and North America, particularly the rapid disappearance of dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous, thus supporting a common cause behind global sudden extinctions and preferential survivals at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary.
Moreover, because the European vertebrates lived in a tropical island archipelago, they offer valuable insights into the evolution of dinosaur-dominated ecosystems under restrictive, insular conditions.
Introduction 3
Europe in the Late Cretaceous: Paleogeography and Paleotectonics of an Ancient Island Archipelago 6
The Late Cretaceous Continental Vertebrate Faunas of Europe 10
A. General Overview 10
Cenomanian 11
Turonian 19
Coniacian 20
Santonian 21
Campanian 23
Maastrichtian 25
B. Santonian, Hungary (Iharkút and Ajka) 29
History of research 29
Geological setting 29
Faunal overview 31
C. Lower Campanian, eastern Austria (Muthmannsdorf ) 36
History of research 36
Geological setting 36
Faunal overview 37
D. Santonian–Maastrichtian, Southern France 39
History of research 39
Geological setting 40
Faunal overview 42
E. Campanian–Maastrichtian, Spain and Portugal 46
History of research 46
Geological setting 47
Faunal overview 51
F. Coniacian and Campanian–Maastrichtian, Romania 57
History of research 57
Geological setting 58
Faunal overview 61
Discussion and Conclusions 69
Late Cretaceous faunal composition, evolution and paleobiogeography 69
Faunal composition: distribution, endemism and provinciality 71
Faunal composition and evolution: the history of research 75
Faunal composition and evolution: the old European core 76
Faunal composition and evolution: the Asiamerican kinship 77
Faunal composition and evolution: the Gondwanan immigrants 80
Interactions between Late Cretaceous Europe and other bioprovinces – origin, timing and route of faunal connections 82
Late Cretaceous faunal evolution in continental Europe 85
Late Cretaceous island life 92
Insularity-related features of the European Late Cretaceous vertebrate assemblages 94
Insularity-related adaptations of the European Late Cretaceous island-dwelling taxa 96
Events at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in the European Archipelago 100
Dinosaurs 100
Other vertebrates 102
Patterns of extinction and survival near the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary 105
Acknowledgements 108
References 109