More than just Nopcsa's Transylvanian dinosaurs: A look outside the Hateg Basin

Since the end of the 19th century the notorious palaeontologist Baron Nopcsa reported several Late Cretaceous small-sized dinosaurs in the Hateg Basin. He explained their sizes as the consequence of unusual evolution on an island he named the "Hateg Island". He found similar dinosaurs outside Hateg in other regions of Transylvania, near Alba Iulia, or nearby Jibou. Recent surveys carried out in these areas support Nopcsa's presumptions, even adding several new outcrops with dinosaur remains. In Salaj and Cluj Counties, the dinosaur fossils are rather scarce, but still obvious in the Jibou Formation. In Alba County, the main outcrops are located between Vurpar and Sard on the right bank of the Mures River, but also between Petresti and Oarda de Jos along the Sebes Valley. The majority of the taxa from Hateg are also documented in these areas. During the Palaeogene and early Miocene, several of these Mesozoic reptile bones were reworked to younger deposits. Another area with high potential for finding Maastrichtian vertebrates is the Rusca Montana Basin. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.