Middle Miocene (Badenian) fishes from the north-west of the Fore-Carpathian Basin

Abstract Diverse assemblages of cartilaginous and actinopterygian fish fossils were recovered from Middle Miocene deposits of southern Poland (north-western part of the former Fore-Carpathian Basin). Here we describe and analyse the taxonomic composition of fish assemblages from 13 Badenian localities based on materials collected in the early 1960s. A total of 423 specimens were studied, most of which belong to ray-finned fishes and sharks. The latter is the most diverse group (13 families of 5 orders), in which sand tiger sharks (Carchariidae) and requiem sharks (Carcharhinidae) predominate. Regarding actinopterygians, 92% of the specimens belong to seabreams (Sparidae). Pristiophorus sp., Araloselachus vorax, and Raja gentili have been first recorded for the Fore-Carpathian Basin, whereas Trigonodon jugleri and Diplodus sitifensis have been first documented in the north-western part of the region. The studied fossils come from localities confined to marginal marine subtidal to shallow and deeper sublittoral zones of the basin. The majority of the revealed taxa are thermophilic and occupy pelagic, benthopelagic, and benthic habitats, although species that can also be found in deeper and cooler environments are represented in the studied sample as well. This implies a complex marine ecosystem with diverse ecological niches in the north-western part of the Fore-Carpathian Basin. Taxonomically similar fish assemblages have been reported from the Burdigalian, Langhian, and Serravallian of Europe, indicating continuity and integrity in the evolution of fish faunas in different basins of the Paratethys during the Miocene.