Insectivores and marsupials from the upper Oligocene of Banovići (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Abstract

The insectivore and marsupial assemblage from the Banovići Basin (MP30/MN1, Bosnia and Herzegovina) provides, in addition to the Rodentia, a better understanding of the faunal exchange between Europe and Anatolia and the biostratigraphic, paleoecological, and paleobiogeographic interpretations of the area. The small and rather poorly preserved collection of fossil remains of insectivores and marsupials from Banovići includes three genera of Talpidae, three genera of Soricidae, one genus of Erinaceidae, one genus of Heterosoricidae, and one marsupial. At the genus level, this assemblage is a mix of genera known from the late Oligocene–early Miocene of Europe (MP29–MN3) and Anatolia (~MP30–MN3). The presence of the talpids Suleimania aff. ruemkae and Desmanodon aff. ziegleri indicates an age within the Oligocene/Miocene boundary interval (MP30/MN1), which is consonant with the age estimate based on the rodents and magnetostratigraphy. The diversity of Soricidae and the presence of Geotrypus indicate that the Banovići biotope was rather warm and humid during the late Oligocene.