A new genus and species of plesiopedal mosasauroid, Portunatasaurus krambergeri, from the Cenomanian–Turonian (Late Cretaceous) of Croatia is described. An articulated skeleton, representing an ...animal roughly a meter long was found in 2008 on the island of Dugi Otok. The specimen is articulated, in approximate life position, and is well represented from the anterior cervical series to the pelvis. Preserved elements include cervical and dorsal vertebrae, rib fragments, pelvic fragments, and an exquisitely preserved right forelimb. The taxon possesses plesiomorphic characters such as terrestrial limbs and an elongate body similar to that of basal mosasauroids such as Aigialosaurus or Komensaurus, but also shares derived characteristics with mosasaurine mosasaurids such as Mosasaurus. The articulated hand exhibits a unique anatomy that appears to be transitional in form between the terrestrially capable aigialosaurs and fully aquatic mosasaurines, including 10 ossified carpal elements (as in aigialosaurs), intermediately reduced pro- and epipodials, and a broad, flattened first metacarpal (as in mosasaurines). The new and unique limb anatomy contributes to a revised scenario of mosasauroid paddle evolution, whereby the abbreviation of the forelimb and the hydrofoil shape of the paddle evolves either earlier in the mosasaur lineage than previously thought or more times than previously considered. The presence of this new genus, the third and geologically youngest species of aigialosaur from Croatia, suggests an unrealized diversity and ecological importance of this family within the shallow, Late Cretaceous Tethys Sea.
Middle Triassic deposits in the Karst Dinarides (south Lika area, near Gračac) were investigated for petrological, sedimentological and biostratigraphic determinations. Within two continuously ...recorded sections of sedimentary carbonates and interlayered pyroclastic rocks (Mali Kunovac and Kunovac sections) reflecting variable sedimentary-magmatic environments, valuable cephalopod fauna ranging from the middle Illyrian to the upper Illyrian age was found. The most significant was the recovery of the ammonoids Asseretoceras sp., indicating the upper part of the Illyrian Paraceratites trinodosus Zone, and Reitziites reitzi species which marks the upper part of the Illyrian Reitziites reitzi Zone. The discovery of the Reitziites reitzi species was not known from the Karst Dinarides until this finding.
A new genus and species of plesiopedal mosasauroid, Portunatasaurus krambergeri, from the Cenomanian– Turonian (Late Cretaceous) of Croatia is described. An articulated skeleton, representing an ...animal roughly a meter long was found in 2008 on the island of Dugi Otok. The specimen is articulated, in approximate life position, and is well represented from the anterior cervical series to the pelvis. Preserved elements include cervical and dorsal vertebrae, rib fragments, pelvic fragments, and an exquisitely preserved right forelimb. The taxon possesses plesiomorphic characters such as terrestrial limbs and an elongate body similar to that of basal mosasauroids such as Aigialosaurus or Komensaurus, but also shares derived characteristics with mosasaurine mosasaurids such as Mosasaurus. The articulated hand exhibits a unique anatomy that appears to be transitional in form between the terrestrially capable aigialosaurs and fully aquatic mosasaurines, including 10 ossified carpal elements (as in aigialosaurs), intermediately reduced pro- and epipodials, and a broad, flattened first metacarpal (as in mosasaurines). The new and unique limb anatomy contributes to a revised scenario of mosasauroid paddle evolution, whereby the abbreviation of the forelimb and the hydrofoil shape of the paddle evolves either earlier in the mosasaur lineage than previously thought or more times than previously considered. The presence of this new genus, the third and geologically youngest species of aigialosaur from Croatia, suggests an unrealized diversity and ecological importance of this family within the shallow, Late Cretaceous Tethys Sea.
Muzejska manifestacija Muzeji izvan muzeja (MIM) proslavila je u svibnju 2019. drugu godišnjicu svog postojanja. S obzirom na velik broj sudionika i otvoreni prostor na kojemu se održava, ...organizacija MIM-a zahtjevan je i složen posao s mnogo vidljivih i manje vidljivih problema koji katkad obeshrabruju. No broj posjetitelja, koji se mjeri desetcima tisuća, zanimanje kolega muzealaca koji se raspituju što će biti na sljedećemu MIM-u, kao i činjenica da su se gotovo svi prolaznici zaustavljali i fotografirali ispred paviljona ili u njemu, a te su fotografije na različite načine putem društvenih mreža obišle velik dio svijeta, daju nam poticaj za nove izazove i na neki način obvezuju.
Zaštita i čuvanje prirodoslovne građe u muzejima, osim što podrazumijeva primjerene uvjete pohrane, osjetljiv je posao koji uključuje stalan i temeljit posao kustosa te pretpostavlja niz postupaka i ...radnji kako bi se osigurala trajnost predmeta izloženih ili pohranjenih u čuvaonicama. U posljednje vrijeme sve više znanstvenika iz cijelog svijeta, u sklopu različitih projekata, dolazi u Hrvatski prirodoslovni muzej kako bi proučavalo našu vrijednu paleontološku građu. To se posebice odnosi na vrlo važne zbirke koje su svojedobno imale status zbirki tzv. nulte kategorije spomeničke vrijednosti, a to su Zbirka krapinskog pleistocena i Zbirka holotipova
Srednjotrijaske naslage u krškim Dinaridima (okolica Gračaca u južnoj Lici) istraživane su s ciljem njihove petrološke i sedimentološke odredbe te odredbe njihove biostratigrafske pripadnosti. Unutar ...dvaju snimljenih kontinuiranih sljedova koji se sastoje od izmjene karbonatnih sedimentnih stijena i piroklastita (Mali Kunovac i Kunovac), a koji odražavaju varijabilne sedimentacijsko-magmatske okoliše njihova postanka, prikupljena je relativno malobrojna, ali vrijedna kolekcija cefalopoda srednjoiliričke i gornjoiliričke starosti. Najvažniji su nalazi amonitne vrste Asseretoceras sp. koja upućuje na gornji dio iliričke Paraceratites trinodosus zone te vrste Reitziites reitzi koja označava gornjoiliričku Reitziites zonu. Pronalazak vrste Reitziites reitzi do sada nije bio zabilježen na području krških Dinarida.