Dr Andrej Čerňanský

@article{Čerňanský2025,

title = {The first cranial material of \textit{Varanus} from the Miocene of India},

author = {Andrej Čerňanský and Rajeev Patnaik},

doi = {10.1002/ar.25676},

issn = {1932-8494},

year  = {2025},

date = {2025-04-29},

urldate = {2025-04-29},

journal = {The Anatomical Record},

pages = {1-8},

publisher = {Wiley},

abstract = {<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>We here report on the maxilla of <jats:italic>Varanus</jats:italic> from a site D1 exposed near Haritalyangar and dated to the Late Miocene (~9.03 mya). This find represents the first Miocene cranial element of varanids from India. All the previously reported records of these iconic reptiles are based solely on isolated vertebrae. Thus, there is a complete lack of knowledge about the skull features of these lizards in this evolutionarily and biogeographically interesting region. Moreover, the fossil record of varanids is rather sparse throughout Asia. The discovery of the first cranial material sheds more light on the population of these lizards in India during the Miocene. Although the maxilla from Haritalyangar is an important piece of the puzzle, only new finds of other cranial elements can help to resolve the exact taxonomy of these Miocene forms. In any case, the maxilla seems to be different from today's common Indian <jats:italic>Varanus bengalensis</jats:italic>, being more similar to <jats:italic>Varanus salvator</jats:italic>, but also to several other species of <jats:italic>Varanus</jats:italic>. The occurrence of this thermophilic reptile taxon at this site suggests a mean annual temperature not less than around 15°C in this area during the Late Miocene.</jats:p>},

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pubstate = {published},

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}

@article{Loréal2024,

title = {\textit{Pseudopus pannonicus} (Squamata), the largest known anguid lizard—Redescription of the type material and new specimens from the Neogene and Quaternary of Hungary and Poland},

author = {Erwan Loréal and Georgios L. Georgalis and Andrej Čerňanský},

doi = {10.1002/ar.25525},

issn = {1932-8494},

year  = {2025},

date = {2025-01-01},

urldate = {2025-01-01},

journal = {The Anatomical Record},

volume = {308},

number = {1},

pages = {45--113},

publisher = {Wiley},

abstract = {<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Herein, we revise the material of the extinct taxon <jats:italic>Pseudopus pannonicus</jats:italic> from Central Europe, the largest known anguid lizard and iconic member of herpetofaunas from the Upper Cenozoic of Europe. The geographical position of Polgárdi 2, the type locality of <jats:italic>P</jats:italic>. <jats:italic>pannonicus</jats:italic>, as well as several other closely located important localities make Central Europe a valuable area of high interest for studies regarding European Cenozoic palaeoherpetological assemblages. We clarified the nature of the type material of <jats:italic>Pseudopus pannonicus</jats:italic>, showing that it consisted not only of the five specimens originally figured. Instead, the syntype series also includes a considerable number of specimens from Polgárdi 2 that were only described or figured 12 years after the original description of <jats:italic>P</jats:italic>. <jats:italic>pannonicus</jats:italic>. Detailed osteological descriptions are provided for specimens from the type series and Polish specimens, with the aid of high‐resolution imaging (SEM and μCT scanning), and intraspecific variability is discussed. The articular surface with the lappet of the parietal overlapping the frontal is discussed as a character potentially relevant for the diagnosis of <jats:italic>P</jats:italic>. <jats:italic>pannonicus</jats:italic>. We updated the identification of several specimens of <jats:italic>P</jats:italic>. <jats:italic>pannonicus</jats:italic> and discussed the biogeographic implications of such revisions. In Poland, <jats:italic>P</jats:italic>. <jats:italic>pannonicus</jats:italic> is an abundant component of Neogene and early Quaternary herpetofaunas, known with certainty from the Middle Miocene of Przeworno (the oldest known occurrence of the species globally), the Early–Late Pliocene of Węże I, the Late Pliocene of Rębielice Królewskie I, the Late Pliocene of Węże II, and the Early Pleistocene of Kadzielnia (one of the youngest occurrences documented globally). An indeterminate anguine with <jats:italic>Anguis</jats:italic> affinities is newly reported from Rębielice Królewskie II. The taxonomic status of other large anguids from the Neogene of Europe is discussed and we conclude that most are junior synonyms of <jats:italic>P</jats:italic>. <jats:italic>pannonicus</jats:italic>. We also show that another purported synonym, that is, <jats:italic>Ophisaurus intermedius</jats:italic> from the Early Pleistocene of Romania, is instead a nomen nudum. We conducted phylogenetic analyses (18 taxa, 65 characters) to understand the relationship of <jats:italic>P</jats:italic>. <jats:italic>pannonicus</jats:italic> relative to other anguid representatives and anguid‐related group (i.e., glyptosaurids). A single most parsimonious tree (length: 134 steps) was recovered. The clade <jats:italic>Pseudopus</jats:italic> is stable, comprising the two distinct sister subclades [<jats:italic>Pseudopus laurillardi</jats:italic> + <jats:italic>Pseudopus ahnikoviensis</jats:italic>] and [<jats:italic>Pseudopus pannonicus</jats:italic> + <jats:italic>Pseudopus apodus</jats:italic>]. These phylogenetic results are in accordance with previously published works.</jats:p>},

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pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{ČERŇANSKÝ2024e,

title = {The first lacertid and partly articulated snake from the Middle Miocene of the Devínska Kobyla Hill in Slovakia, from the type locality of the earliest known seal},

author = {Andrej Čerňanský},

doi = {10.5852/cr-palevol2024v23a24},

issn = {1777-571X},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-09-26},

urldate = {2024-09-26},

journal = {Comptes Rendus Palevol},

volume = {23},

number = {24},

publisher = {Museum National D'Histoire Naturelle},

abstract = {<jats:p>I here describe lacertid and snake remains from the classic Middle Miocene (MN 6) locality Bonanza of the Devínska Kobyla Hill near Bratislava (Slovakia). The locality is famous for being a type locality of an early seal Devinophoca Koretsky & Holec, 2002. During the Middle Miocene, the area of Devínska Nová Ves was part of an archipelago in the western part of the Central Paratethys in the northern part of the Vienna basin. The fossils described here comprise an incomplete left maxilla of a lacertid lizard and an articulated portion of a vertebral column of a small colubrid snake with several ribs still attached. The maxilla is tentativelly allocated here to Lacerta Linnaeus, 1758 and is a rare instance of the occurrence of the clade Lacertidae Oppel, 1811 in this environment during the Middle Miocene. Moreover, it represents the oldest known occurence of this clade in Slovakia. Articulated snake specimens from the Cenozoic are rare and although only party articulated, the specimen from Bonanza is therefore exceptional. On the basis of vertebrae alone, determination of fossil colubrids is very difficult. The morphology of the Bonanza specimen is most similar to the extant Dolichophis Gistel, 1868, as also to other small fossil snakes assigned to ‘Coluber’ Linnaeus, 1758 when that genus was a catch-all grade taxon recognised from both Europe and North America, notably ‘Coluber’ dolnicensis Szyndlar, 1987 and ‘Coluber’ pouchetii (Rochebrune, 1880). Because the potentially closest living relative of the European Miocene ‘Coluber’ is Dolichophis, I assigned tentatively the material from Bonanza to cf. Dolichophis, rather than to the wastebasket taxon ‘Coluber’.</jats:p>},

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pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Čerňanský2024b,

title = {Timing of intercontinental faunal migrations: Anguimorph lizards from the earliest Eocene (MP 7) of Dormaal, Belgium},

author = {Andrej Čerňanský and Richard Smith and Thierry Smith and Annelise Folie},

doi = {10.1093/zoolinnean/zlae082},

issn = {1096-3642},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-08-09},

urldate = {2024-08-09},

journal = {Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society},

volume = {201},

number = {4},

publisher = {Oxford University Press (OUP)},

abstract = {<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title>

               <jats:p>Here we report on anguimorph lizards from the earliest Eocene (MP 7) of the Dormaal locality in Belgium, from the time of the warmest global climate of the past 66 million years. Several clades can be identified in this site: Glyptosauridae, Varanidae, and Palaeovaranidae. Our study focuses on glyptosaurid specimens previously reported from the site, some of which had been provisionally described as a new species,?Placosaurus ragei, and some assigned to an unnamed Placosauriops-like ‘melanosaurine’. Our study presents data on new material, including an almost complete glyptosaurine frontal that has enabled us to assign much of the previously described material to a single genus and species. The specimens that had been assigned to both ?P ragei and the ‘melanosaurine’ share apomorphies (flat osteoderms and chevron-shaped osteoderms) with Gaultia, a glyptosaurid previously known from the earliest Eocene of Wyoming, USA. The Dormaal material represents the first record of this genus outside North America. In fact, the only potential evidence of the occurrence of ‘Melanosaurinae’ in Dormaal might be a single isolated vertebra described here. Here we also describe previously unfigured material of Saniwa and palaeovaranids from Dormaal. The presence of previously reported helodermatids cannot be supported in this Belgian site.</jats:p>},

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pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Čerňanský2024c,

title = {Green lizards (Squamata, Lacertidae) from ?Pliocene deposits of Węże I in southern Poland, with comments on cranial features for selected lacertids},

author = {Andrej Čerňanský},

doi = {10.1007/s12549-024-00619-0},

issn = {1867-1608},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-08-06},

urldate = {2024-08-06},

journal = {Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments},

publisher = {Springer Science and Business Media LLC},

abstract = {<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>I here describe lacertids from the classic Węże I locality in southern Poland (?Pliocene deposits) based on six previously undescribed jaws: an incomplete left maxilla, two dentaries and three mandibles. These jaws collectively provide considerable data on the morphology of the maxilla, dentary, teeth, coronoid, splenial, angular, surangular and prearticular. All six jaws can be unequivocally allocated to Lacertidae and five of those are allocated to European green lizards of the <jats:italic>Lacerta viridis</jats:italic> group. Currently, <jats:italic>La. viridis</jats:italic> has regionally extinct or probably extinct status in Poland. The material from Węże I provides evidence that European green lizards had a large geographic distribution in Europe, including Poland during the ?Pliocene. One mandible fragment appears to be slightly different and is allocated to Lacertidae indet. That mandible might point to a higher taxonomic diversity of lacertids in this locality. However, that interpretation needs to be viewed with caution, because based on such limited material, individual and/or ontogenetic variation cannot be ruled out. To reveal the real taxonomic palaeodiversity of lacertids in Węże I, new and more complete cranial material is needed. In addition, this article provides insights into the comparative osteology of skulls and selected cranial elements in lacertids.</jats:p>},

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pubstate = {published},

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}

@article{Kvaček2023,

title = {Early Cretaceous Equisetites from Slovakia},

author = {Jiří Kvaček and Andrej Čerňanský},

doi = {10.1007/s12549-023-00596-w},

issn = {1867-1608},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-06-01},

urldate = {2024-06-01},

journal = {Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments},

volume = {104},

number = {2},

pages = {237--243},

publisher = {Springer Science and Business Media LLC},

abstract = {<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>A new find of terrestrial plant <jats:italic>Equisetites</jats:italic> cf. <jats:italic>lyellii</jats:italic> is reported from the Early Cretaceous of Slovakia. It comes from the Mráznica Formation of the Rajec Basin in Fatricum, Zbyňov locality, Rajecké Teplice (Žilina district). The presence of a 53 mm long horsetail axis provides good evidence of terrestrial environments during sedimentation of the studied strata. According to our interpretation, such a plant strongly indicates a moist to wet habitat (even swampy environments) on the presumed dryland from where it was transported. This dryland could represent an isolated unknown small island(s) in the vicinity, or the Vindelician-Bohemian Massif that was active as a dryland for the entire period of time from the Triassic through the Late Cretaceous. However, the exact palaeogeographic position of the Fatricum during the Mesozoic in relation to the Vindelician Landmass is not entirely clear, and such an interpretation needs a bit of caution.</jats:p>},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Čerňanský2024d,

title = {Roots of the European Cenozoic ecosystems: lizards from the Paleocene (~MP 5) of Walbeck in Germany},

author = {Andrej Čerňanský and Davit Vasilyan},

doi = {10.3897/fr.27.109123},

issn = {2193-0074},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-03-21},

urldate = {2024-03-21},

journal = {Fossil Record},

volume = {27},

number = {1},

pages = {159--186},

publisher = {Pensoft Publishers},

abstract = {<jats:p>We studied at least part of Kuhnʼs original material of lizards from the Paleocene (~MP 5) of the Walbeck locality in Germany. The collection was considered to be lost but is consistently discussed in the literature due to its importance. We restudied the type material of aff. <jats:italic>Parasauromalus paleocenicus</jats:italic> and aff. <jats:italic>Glyptosaurus walbeckensis</jats:italic> described by Kuhn in 1940. The former was originally allocated to Iguania, the latter to Anguimorpha, though later on these identifications were questioned by several authors. We show such a classification of both cannot be upheld. <jats:italic>P. paleocenicus</jats:italic> resembles the morphology of lacertids showing their presence in Europe already around MP 5. We consider the name <jats:italic>P. paleocenicus</jats:italic> as a nomen dubium. The material of aff. <jats:italic>G. walbeckensis</jats:italic> was later suggested to belong to Lacertidae and also considered as a potential amphisbaenian. Although it differs from modern amphisbaenians, it shares features with one supposed polyodontobaenid – <jats:italic>Camptognathosaurus parisiensis</jats:italic>. The Walbeck form is identical to this species. Since the Walbeck taxon was described in 1940, the principle of priority makes <jats:italic>Camptognathosaurus parisiensis</jats:italic> a junior synonym of the species erected by Kuhn. We propose a new combined name for this form, <jats:italic>Camptognathosaurus walbeckensis</jats:italic> comb. nov. The specimen figured by Kuhn is currently lost, thus we designate a neotype from Walbeck. However, this taxon differs significantly from <jats:italic>Polyodontobaena</jats:italic> and new data doubt the attribution of <jats:italic>Camptognathosaurus</jats:italic> to Amphisbaenia. This taxon is tentatively assigned here to Lacertidae, as further confirmed by phylogenetic analyses. Material of Scincoidea is also described.</jats:p>},

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pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Čerňanský2023,

title = {An early Eocene pan-gekkotan from France could represent an extra squamate group that survived the K-Pg extinction},

author = {Andrej Čerňanský and Juan Daza and Rodolphe Tabuce and Elizabeth Saxton and Dominique Vidalenc},

doi = {10.4202/app.01083.2023},

issn = {0567-7920},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-11-13},

urldate = {2023-00-00},

journal = {Acta Palaeontologica Polonica},

volume = {68},

publisher = {Polska Akademia Nauk Instytut Paleobiologii (Institute of Paleobiology, Polish Academy of Sciences)},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Čerňanský2023b,

title = {New lizard material from two Early Miocene localities in France: Montaigu-le-Blin (MN 2) and Crémat (MN 3)},

author = {Andrej Čerňanský},

doi = {10.1016/j.geobios.2023.06.007},

issn = {0016-6995},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-10-01},

urldate = {2023-10-00},

journal = {Geobios},

volume = {80},

pages = {15--28},

publisher = {Elsevier BV},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Yadav2023,

title = {The first potential cordyliform (Squamata, Scincoidea) from India (uppermost Cretaceous – lowermost Paleocene): An African lizard clade brings possible implications for Indo-Madagascar biogeographic links},

author = {Ravi Yadav and Sunil Bajpai and A.S. Maurya and Andrej Čerňanský},

doi = {10.1016/j.cretres.2023.105606},

issn = {0195-6671},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-10-01},

urldate = {2023-10-00},

journal = {Cretaceous Research},

volume = {150},

publisher = {Elsevier BV},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Čerňanský2022c,

title = {A replacement name for \textit{Sullivania} Čerňanský et al., 2023, non \textit{Sullivania} Palmer, 1947},

author = {Andrej Čerňanský and Rodolphe Tabuce and Dominique Vidalenc},

doi = {10.1080/02724634.2023.2231254},

issn = {1937-2809},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-07-24},

urldate = {2023-07-24},

journal = {Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology},

volume = {42},

number = {6},

publisher = {Informa UK Limited},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Čerňanský2022b,

title = {Anguimorph lizards from the lower Eocene (MP 10–11) of the Cos locality, Phosphorites du Quercy, France, and the early evolution of Glyptosaurinae in Europe},

author = {Andrej Čerňanský and Rodolphe Tabuce and Dominique Vidalenc},

doi = {10.1080/02724634.2023.2211646},

issn = {1937-2809},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-06-01},

urldate = {2022-11-25},

journal = {Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology},

volume = {42},

number = {5},

publisher = {Informa UK Limited},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Čerňanský2022,

title = {Iguanian lizards (Acrodonta and Pleurodonta) from the earliest Eocene (MP 7) of Dormaal, Belgium: the first stages of these iconic reptiles in Europe},

author = {Andrej Čerňanský and Richard Smith and Thierry Smith and Annelise Folie},

doi = {10.1080/02724634.2023.2184696},

issn = {1937-2809},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-03-20},

urldate = {2022-10-28},

journal = {Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology},

volume = {42},

number = {4},

publisher = {Informa UK Limited},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Loréal2023,

title = {The easternmost record of the largest anguine lizard that has ever lived – Pseudopus pannonicus (Squamata, Anguidae): new fossils from the late Neogene of Eastern Europe},

author = {Erwan Loréal and Elena V. Syromyatnikova and Igor G. Danilov and Andrej Čerňanský},

doi = {10.3897/fr.26.100059},

issn = {2193-0074},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-03-01},

urldate = {2023-03-01},

journal = {Fossil Record},

volume = {26},

number = {1},

pages = {51--84},

publisher = {Pensoft Publishers},

abstract = {<jats:p>We here report on new material of <jats:italic>Pseudopus pannonicus</jats:italic>, the iconic and largest-known representative of the lizard clade Anguinae, from several late Neogene localities across Moldova, Ukraine, and regions of the North Caucasus – the last representing the easternmost known occurrence of this extinct species. Today, <jats:italic>Pseudopus apodus</jats:italic>, the last extant <jats:italic>Pseudopus</jats:italic> representative, is found in a variety of habitats ranging from South-East Europe to Central Asia. In the late Cenozoic of Europe, however, several extinct species of <jats:italic>Pseudopus</jats:italic> existed. Among them, interestingly, <jats:italic>P. pannonicus</jats:italic> displayed the largest spatiotemporal range of the genus, occurring from Spain to the North Caucasus and known from the Late Miocene to the Early Pleistocene. Although it has been reported in a plethora of European localities, <jats:italic>P. pannonicus</jats:italic> is a taxon “with several questionings related to its few diagnostic features vs. numerous features shared with <jats:italic>P. apodus</jats:italic>”. The elements described here exhibit some variability, but their overall morphology undoubtedly resembles that of previously described material of <jats:italic>P. pannonicus</jats:italic>. The lacrimal from Tatareshty, moreover, represents the first fossil lacrimal reported for <jats:italic>P. pannonicus</jats:italic>. Besides, the fairly complete maxilla with a length of almost 3.7 cm is the largest maxilla ever reported for this taxon, expanding our knowledge of its gigantism. In addition, several features are described and discussed regarding their diagnostic relevance for <jats:italic>P. pannonicus</jats:italic>. The relationship between body size and some of these features was tested statistically. Consequently, two cranial characters and one vertebral feature peculiar to <jats:italic>P. pannonicus</jats:italic> were retained in the diagnosis of the species.</jats:p>},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Georgalis2022,

title = {The antiquity of Asian chameleons—first potential Chamaeleonidae and associated squamate fauna from the Lower and Middle Miocene of Anatolia},

author = {Georgios L. Georgalis and Andrej Čerňanský and Fikret Göktaş and Berna Alpagut and Ayşegül Şarbak and Serdar Mayda},

doi = {10.1080/02724634.2022.2160644},

issn = {1937-2809},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-01-27},

urldate = {2022-08-31},

journal = {Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology},

volume = {42},

number = {2},

publisher = {Informa UK Limited},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Singh2022,

title = {Fossil lizards and snakes (Diapsida, Squamata) from the Late Miocene hominid locality of Haritalyangar, India},

author = {Ningthoujam Premjit Singh and Shubham Deep and Andrej Čerňanský and Ramesh Kumar Sehgal and Abhishek Pratap Singh and Navin Kumar and Piyush Uniyal and Saroj Kumar and Kewal Krishan and Rajeev Patnaik},

doi = {10.1016/j.geobios.2022.10.003},

issn = {0016-6995},

year  = {2022},

date = {2022-12-01},

urldate = {2022-12-00},

journal = {Geobios},

volume = {75},

pages = {41--51},

publisher = {Elsevier BV},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Yadav2022,

title = {Fossil lizards from the Deccan intertrappean beds (latest Cretaceous / earliest Paleocene) of lower Narmada basin, Malwa Plateau, India},

author = {Ravi Yadav and Sunil Bajpai and A.S. Maurya and Andrej Čerňanský},

doi = {10.1080/08912963.2022.2103693},

issn = {1029-2381},

year  = {2022},

date = {2022-07-24},

urldate = {2023-09-02},

journal = {Historical Biology},

volume = {35},

number = {9},

pages = {1564--1573},

publisher = {Informa UK Limited},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}