New Neogene Hynobiidae (Amphibia: Caudata) from Eastern Europe

Abstract

Fossil records of the Asiatic salamanders (Hynobiidae) are extremely scarce. The fossil European hynobiids come from a few localities of the Miocene-Pleistocene age and potentially suggest that in the past they were widely distributed across the European continent. This paper describes new Neogene records of Hynobiidae from the Late Miocene of Gritsev (Ukraine) and the Late Pliocene of Zhukovsky Mayak (Russia) localities. The hynobiids from Gritsev and Zhukovsky Mayak are the first records of hynobiid salamanders from certain time intervals of the corresponding regions and partly fill the existing gaps in the fossil record of the family. Morphological differences of the described hynobiids from other European forms (i.e., Parahynobius and Salamandrella) suggest a wide taxonomic diversity of the Cenozoic Asiatic salamanders.