Cetacean and hipparion fossils from the upper Miocene near General Marinovo Village, NW Bulgaria

Abstract

The fossils of cetaceans are common in the Miocene marine deposits of North Bulgaria and along the Black Sea coast, however, they had received little attention until now. We report on abundant whale fossil material from the area near General Marinovo Village, NW Bulgaria. The finding of a hipparion tooth in the same area as the rest of the material implies a late Miocene age for the fossils. Taphonomical, XRD, and palaeohistological analyses reveal details about the pre-burial history and palaeobiology of part of the studied cetacean fossils.