Cretaceous Research最新文献

{"title":"Astrochronology of the terrestrial mid-Cretaceous Quantou and Denglouku formations in the SK-3 borehole from the Songliao Basin, Northeastern China","authors":"Shan Li ,&nbsp;Huaichun Wu ,&nbsp;Qiang Fang ,&nbsp;Runjian Chu ,&nbsp;Meinan Shi ,&nbsp;Guang Yang ,&nbsp;Yuan Gao ,&nbsp;Xiaojuan Ma ,&nbsp;Youfeng Gao ,&nbsp;Chengshan Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106201","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106201","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The continental scientific drilling borehole Songke 3 (SK-3) in the Songliao Basin, Northeastern China, recovers a continuous mid-Cretaceous stratigraphic record which offers a unique opportunity to study terrestrial climate and environmental change. In this study, high-resolution gamma-ray (GR) data were utilized as a paleoclimate proxy to conduct the cyclostratigraphic analysis of the Quantou Formation (K₂q) and Denglouku Formation (K₂d) within the SK-3 borehole. The cyclic variations in GR values, which reflect fluctuating clay influxes, document Cretaceous Milankovitch cycles including the 405-kyr long eccentricity, ∼100-kyr short eccentricity, ∼38-kyr obliquity, and ∼20-kyr precession cycles. Astronomical tuning of GR data series to the 405-kyr and 100-kyr eccentricity cycles yields an 8.89 ± 0.32 Myr duration for the K₂d² to K₂q interval at SK-3. Based on the age of 91.81 ± 0.22 Ma at the boundary of Qingshankou (K₂qn) and K₂q formations derived from Songke 1 south borehole (SK-1s), our newly constructed astronomical time scale (ATS) suggests that the Turonian/Cenomanian and Cenomanian/Albian boundaries are at the depth ∼1055.5 m within the mid-K₂q³ and ∼2350 m within the lower K₂d², respectively. Our study also indicates the complex processes of the sedimentary system in response to the Milankovitch cycles. The eccentricity cycles are more effectively preserved in the lacustrine-deltaic facies. In contrast, both obliquity and precession cycles exhibit better preservation in the meandering river and braided river facies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55207,"journal":{"name":"Cretaceous Research","volume":"177 ","pages":"Article 106201"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144757660","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Review and chronostratigraphic calibration of the Barremian–lower Aptian ostracod and pollen/spores biozonations of South Atlantic rift lacustrine formations (Gabon, Congo, Angola): impact on West African-Northeast Brazilian basin correlations","authors":"Nicoletta Buratti ,&nbsp;Gérard Dupont","doi":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106202","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106202","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Geological syntheses conducted over the last ten years by TotalEnergies on South Atlantic rift basins have led to a reappraisal of the taxonomy and stratigraphy of lacustrine ostracods and terrestrial palynomorphs (spores, pollen) from the Barremian–lower Aptian of West Africa. The results of this revision, based on the acquisition and reinterpretation of data from 55 wells located in North Gabon, South Gabon, Congo and southern Angola-Kwanza basins, are summarized in this publication. The original ostracod and palynological stratigraphic charts have been significantly enhanced. For ostracods, five new zones and fifteen new subzones have been defined, completing the zonation. The taxonomic composition of the assemblages from the six former palynological zones has been clarified, and seven subzones have been described for the first time. Correlations between ostracod and spore-pollen zones of the West African margin, derived from the integration of Gabon and Congo data, have been established from bioevents now considered synchronous at rift basin scale. Their chronostratigraphic calibration, based on the latest International Chronostratigraphic Chart, is improved, supported by radiometric and isotopic data from Northeastern Brazil and the occurrence of distinctive palynomorphs, used as an indirect tool for extra-regional correlation. The present zonal scheme reveals remarkable correspondence between the distribution of ostracods and microfloras on both sides of the rift and reconciles the stratigraphic nomenclature used for the Barremian–lower Aptian in West Africa and Northeastern Brazil. This provides robust correlations between sedimentary formations of basins of the two conjugate margins, especially Recôncavo <em>versus</em> Gabon Interior Basin and South Gabon, Sergipe <em>versus</em> North Gabon, and in the south, Campos <em>versus</em> Kwanza.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55207,"journal":{"name":"Cretaceous Research","volume":"177 ","pages":"Article 106202"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144704728","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Revision of mid-Cretaceous Peltoperlidae (Insecta: Plecoptera) from Burmese amber, with description of two new species in a new genus","authors":"Zhi-Teng Chen ,&nbsp;Pavel Sroka ,&nbsp;Thomas van de Kamp ,&nbsp;Arnold H. Staniczek","doi":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106206","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106206","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study delves into the taxonomy of the stonefly family Peltoperlidae known from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. Based on a broad survey, the fossil family Petroperlidae Sroka, Staniczek &amp; Kondratieff, 2018 is herein considered as a subfamily (Petroperlinae stat. nov.) within Peltoperlidae; and the subfamily Borisoperlinae Chen and Xu, 2020 syn. nov. is synonymized with Petroperlinae stat. nov. The diagnostic characters of all genera of Petroperlinae stat. nov. are revised and summarized. In addition, two new petroperline stoneflies, <em>Graciloperla bulbosa</em> gen. et sp. nov. and <em>Graciloperla stylata</em> gen. et sp. nov., are described based on male adults, which exhibit well-preserved aedeagal structures, the first known for fossil Peltoperlidae.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55207,"journal":{"name":"Cretaceous Research","volume":"177 ","pages":"Article 106206"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144864882","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mono– to pauci-specific communities in the Upper Cretaceous of Wadi Qena, Egypt: The combined effect of food and oxygen deficiency","authors":"Omar El-Issawi ,&nbsp;Tarek Anan ,&nbsp;Heba El-Desouky ,&nbsp;Ahmed Abdelhady ,&nbsp;Hosni Hamama","doi":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106196","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106196","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding the dynamics of ancient marine systems is vital for assessing biodiversity changes in modern ecosystems. This study examines the paleoenvironments of the Upper Cretaceous deposits in the Wadi Qena region (Eastern Desert, Egypt), integrating lithofacies, biofacies, and taphofacies. Based on quantitative analyses of two sections, Wadi Hawashiya and Gabel Qreiya, four firm-bottom and two soft-bottom macrobenthic associations were identified. In Wadi Hawashiya, the <em>Nicaisolopha tissoti</em> association thrived in a shallow, moderate-energy inner ramp lagoonal environment of the Coniacian–Santonian, transitioning to high-energy shoals (calcareous quartz arenite). Two monospecific associations, <em>Pycnodonte</em> (<em>Ph.</em>) <em>vesicularis</em> and <em>Gyrosoria gracilis</em>, along with one pauci-specific <em>Porospherae globularis</em> association, were found in the Campanian–Maastrichtian. These associations indicate a shift to a deeper, outer low-energy ramp environment with a firm substrate and dysoxic, oligotrophic conditions. In Gabel Qreiya, the lower Campanian reflects low-energy tidal flats, while the upper Campanian–lower Maastrichtian contains the <em>Pycnodonte</em> (<em>Ph.</em>) <em>vesicularis</em> association, which lived in a low-energy, firm-bottom inner ramp lagoon. The upper Maastrichtian is dominated by the <em>Lyropecten</em> (<em>A</em>.) <em>acutiplicatus</em> association, which inhabited a deeper outer ramp environment with soft substrates and dysoxic, eutrophic conditions. Overall, the Coniacian–Santonian is marked by higher diversity, while the Campanian–Maastrichtian is characterized by reduced diversity and a dominance of suspension feeders. This shift is interpreted as the result of a combined effect of oxygen deficiency and food shortage, likely caused by a sudden deepening from inner ramp lagoons to outer ramp settings, alongside with declining trophic resources, and oxygen levels.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55207,"journal":{"name":"Cretaceous Research","volume":"176 ","pages":"Article 106196"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144580690","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The earliest parasitoid beetle (Tenebrionoidea: Ripiphoridae) and an overview of Coleoptera from the Lower Cretaceous Crato formation","authors":"Jan Batelka ,&nbsp;Rolf G. Beutel ,&nbsp;Gabriel Biffi ,&nbsp;Anderson Lepeco","doi":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106198","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106198","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A fossil beetle species from the Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation of northeastern Brazil is described. <strong>†<em>Cratovorus archaicus</em> gen. nov. et sp. nov.</strong> is assigned with confidence to the subfamily Ripidiinae, tribe Ripidiini, of the highly specialized tenebrionoid Ripiphoridae. It is the earliest known fossil of this family at present, and also the first described Mesozoic species of Tenebrionoidea from the Southern Hemisphere. Its specialized morphology is similar to extant males of Ripidiini and it shares several apomorphies with this tribe, which strongly suggests that <strong>†<em>Cratovorus archaicus</em> gen. nov. et sp. nov.</strong> had already parasitic larvae. It is also similar to some other Cretaceous genera of the family, which were likely associated with an extant lineage of Blattodea also found in the deposit. Endoparasitic development as implied by the placement in Ripidiinae makes this the earliest record of parasitoidism in Coleoptera. An annotated list of Coleoptera described from Crato Formation and those mentioned from this deposit as <em>nomina nuda</em> is provided. The importance of beetle species from Crato Formation for understanding the evolution of the represented lineages is discussed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55207,"journal":{"name":"Cretaceous Research","volume":"176 ","pages":"Article 106198"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144588676","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Taphonomic patterns in lower cretaceous fish assemblages: Evidence from the Sergipe-Alagoas Basin, Brazil","authors":"Valéria Gallo ,&nbsp;Rafaela Petra ,&nbsp;Hanna Carolina Lins de Paiva ,&nbsp;Francisco J. de Figueiredo ,&nbsp;Hermínio Ismael de Araújo-Júnior","doi":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106195","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106195","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Taphonomic processes affecting vertebrate remains vary across environments, resulting in preservation patterns typical of different physical settings. Fish taphonomy, in particular, provides valuable insights into limnology, community composition, life history, mortality, depositional conditions, and preservation mechanisms. However, most taphonomic studies on fossil fish have focused on lacustrine deposits, leaving marine deposits comparatively underexplored. Research on marine settings often emphasizes mortality causes, such as abrupt temperature changes, cold shocks, hypothermia, and low dissolved oxygen levels. The paleoichthyofauna of the Morro do Chaves Formation (MCF) is generally regarded as diverse, abundant, and well-preserved. Despite this, most previous studies have emphasized taxonomy and systematics, with limited focus on paleoecological and taphonomic aspects. This study addresses this gap through a comprehensive taphonomic analysis of the MCF fish assemblage, integrating the latest paleobiological, sedimentological and stratigraphic data. Qualitative and quantitative analyzes from 133 specimens revealed four distinct taphofacies distributed throughout the formation. The MCF represents a seasonal lacustrine paleoenvironment, as indicated by cyclic deposits of coquinas, shales, and sandstones, along with sedimentary structures such as mud cracks. Two distinct paleoenvironmental interpretations emerge for the MCF: the Sergipe portion represents the paleolake border, while the Alagoas portion corresponds to the more distal portion of the paleolake. The occurrence of fish remains spanning various ontogenetic stages, along with bioclasts aligned parallel to bedding planes, indicates minimal reworking, short transport distances, and non-selective mortality events. Furthermore, the presence of marine taxa in MCF indicates sporadic yet intense marine incursions in the northern Sergipe-Alagoas Basin during the Early Cretaceous.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55207,"journal":{"name":"Cretaceous Research","volume":"176 ","pages":"Article 106195"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144580689","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Tithonian–Berriasian calpionellid and calcareous dinocyst biostratigraphy, and microfacies in the Torre de’ Busi section (Lombardian Basin, northern Italy)","authors":"Silviya Petrova ,&nbsp;Daniela Reháková ,&nbsp;Elisabetta Erba ,&nbsp;Jacek Grabowski","doi":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106180","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106180","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Tithonian and lower Berriasian pelagic carbonate deposits of the Torre de’ Busi section (Lombardian Basin, northern Italy) were studied in detail in terms of their microfacies, calpionellid and calcareous dinocyst biostratigraphy, and integrated with calcareous nannofossils and magnetic stratigraphy.</div><div>Calpionellid zonation was revised, modifying the archival, unpublished data. Three calpionellid zones (Chitinoidella, Crassicollaria and Calpionella) and six subzones (<em>Longicollaria dobeni, Chitinoidella boneti, Tintinnopsella remanei</em>, <em>Crassicollaria intermedia</em>, <em>Calpionella alpina</em> and <em>Remaniella ferasini</em>) were identified, spanning from the topmost lower Tithonian to the lower Berriasian. Correlations between the calpionellid zones and magnetozones combined with calcareous nannofossil zones, are consistent with most Tethyan sections. The base of the <em>C. alpina</em> Subzone is quantitatively illustrated and based on high-resolution frequency analysis of calpionellid taxa.</div><div>Calcareous cysts were studied in the Torre de’ Busi section for the first time. Five calcareous dinoflagellate zones were distinguished. The lower Tithonian contains the <em>Committosphaera pulla</em>–<em>Carpistomiosphaera tithonica, Parastomiosphaera malmica</em> and the lowest part of <em>Colomisphaera tenuis</em> zones. In the upper Tithonian the <em>Colomisphaera tenuis</em>, <em>Colomisphaera fortis</em> and the lower part of <em>Stomiosphaerina proxima</em> zones were documented. The upper part of the <em>St</em>. <em>proxima</em> Zone is present in the lower Berriasian. The calcareous dinocyst zones and their correlation with magnetozones align well with available Tethyan records.</div><div>The Torre de’ Busi section represents a fully pelagic environment with a relatively large amount of radiolarians and sponge spicules. A major microfacies change, from radiolarian to calpionellid-dominated microfacies, occurs in the upper Tithonian (base of the <em>Cr</em>. <em>intermedia</em> Subzone, base M19r), close to the base of the Maiolica Formation. This level is characterized by a decrease in calcareous dinocyst frequencies, and an increase in calpionellids, which correlates with a major speciation phase of nannoconids.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55207,"journal":{"name":"Cretaceous Research","volume":"176 ","pages":"Article 106180"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144480263","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A new dentalite, Piscidenticulus callapezi igen. et isp. nov., on a crocodylomorph coprolite from the Upper Cretaceous of west-central Portugal","authors":"Ricardo J. Pimentel ,&nbsp;Adrian P. Hunt ,&nbsp;Fernando Barroso-Barcenilla ,&nbsp;Mélani Berrocal-Casero","doi":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106193","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106193","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Recently discovered dentalites preserved on an Upper Cretaceous coprolite are described. The coprolite was likely produced by a crocodylomorph that lived in a shallow water, marginal environment along the West Iberian Margin. The specimen was collected from an uppermost middle Cenomanian carbonate-siliciclastic marine bed, at the base of the Tentúgal Formation (Tentúgal, west-central Portugal). The dentalites exhibit unique characteristics, including sets of straight, parallel, and equidistant grooves, with separations wider than the grooves, themselves. These features support the definition of the new ichnogenus and ichnospecies <em>Piscidenticulus callapezi</em>. The dentalites are interpreted as the result of repeated fish-biting behaviour on the surface of the coprolite, likely in an attempt to obtain food, providing significant data on the scarcely known palaeoethology of Cretaceous homodont marine fishes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55207,"journal":{"name":"Cretaceous Research","volume":"176 ","pages":"Article 106193"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144523529","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Pneumatic structures of sauropod cervical vertebrae from the Lower Cretaceous Sao Khua Formation of northeastern Thailand","authors":"Kasidit Eiamlaor ,&nbsp;Suravech Suteethorn ,&nbsp;Phornphen Chanthasit ,&nbsp;Varavudh Suteethorn ,&nbsp;Kantapon Suraprasit","doi":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106189","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106189","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Internal structures of sauropod vertebrae are hollowed out by pneumatic diverticular systems similar to extant birds. Their vertebral columns contain extensive air sac systems that are highly prominent in the cervical regions. Here we analyze the pneumatic structures in the cervical vertebrae of two sauropod taxa: <em>Phuwiangosaurus sirindhornae</em> and a diplodocoid sauropod, from the Lower Cretaceous Sao Khua Formation of northeastern Thailand, using a CT-scan technique. The internal pneumatic structures of <em>P. sirindhornae</em> mainly consisted of camerae within the centrum and systems of camellae in the articulation regions, representing a semicamellate pattern. The diplodocoid sauropod exhibited a camerate pattern with its centrum filled with only pneumatic camerae. The semicamallate pattern of <em>Phuwiangosaurus sirindhornae</em> is similar to that of <em>Brachiosaurus</em> sp. and <em>Giraffatitan brancai,</em> differing from previous interpretations that suggested a close relationship to somphospondyls. Due to the more primitive internal structures of <em>Phuwiangosaurus</em><em>sirindhornae</em>, we instead propose that <em>Phuwiangosaurus</em> is a non-somphospondyl titanosauriform more closely related to brachiosaurids. In the Sao Khua diplodocoid sauropod, the vertebral pneumatization was much higher than in dicraeosaurids but less intense than in most neosauropods. The presence of a semicamellate pattern in <em>Phuwiangosaurus</em> extends the temporal range of such a condition to the Early Cretaceous, while the camerate pattern of the Sao Khua diplodocoid suggests that Cretaceous dicraeosaurids likely had a varying degree of pneumaticity, which might have evolved independently in their lineages.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55207,"journal":{"name":"Cretaceous Research","volume":"176 ","pages":"Article 106189"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144492176","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"First dinosaur remains from Serbia: Sauropod and theropod material from the uppermost Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Osmakovo","authors":"Zoran Marković ,&nbsp;Miloš Milivojević ,&nbsp;Richard J. Butler ,&nbsp;Paul M. Barrett ,&nbsp;Simon Wills ,&nbsp;Andrew A. van de Weerd ,&nbsp;Wilma Wessels ,&nbsp;Predrag Radović","doi":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106177","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106177","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Diverse and abundant continental vertebrate assemblages are known from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian–Maastrichtian) of several European countries. They formed on an island archipelago and are marked by their distinctive combination of unusual endemic groups and immigrants from North America, Asia and Gondwana. Although dinosaur fossils have been described from nearby Bulgaria, body fossils of continental vertebrates were previously unknown from the Mesozoic of Serbia. Here, we describe the dinosaurian component of a new vertebrate assemblage from the uppermost Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Osmakovo in southeastern Serbia. A single larger bone represents the partial left ulna of a sauropod dinosaur. Its anatomy is suggestive of titanosaurian affinities, although it appears distinct from the titanosaurs <em>Magyarosaurus</em> and <em>Petrustitan</em> from the Maastrichtian of Romania. The small size of this element may indicate its juvenile nature or that it represents an island dwarf similar to <em>Magyarosaurus</em>, but distinguishing these possibilities will require histological work. Sixteen isolated theropod teeth, some incomplete, were recovered by screenwashing and studied using comparative anatomy and machine learning analysis. Nine of these teeth are referred to Dromaeosauridae based on both approaches. Three teeth that are strongly recurved and lack serrations were identified as Aves by machine learning but might alternatively represent dromaeosaurid premaxillary teeth and are thus referred to Paraves. The remaining teeth comprise one specimen of the enigmatic <em>Paronychodon</em> and three too poorly preserved to identify beyond Theropoda. This assemblage shows similarities to contemporaneous assemblages from Romania and suggests the potential for further discoveries in the Mesozoic of Serbia.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55207,"journal":{"name":"Cretaceous Research","volume":"176 ","pages":"Article 106177"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144307153","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}