Preliminary remarks on the Late Miocene herbivores of Kerassiá (Northern Euboea, Greece)

Recent systematic excavations are in progress near the village Kerassiá in Northern Euboea. Since 1992, when the first excavations were carried out by the University of Athens (Department of Historical Geology and Palaeontology), a number of fossiliferous sites have been discovered in the area of Kerassiá. In the present report we discuss the available results, mainly concerning the three richest sites until now, Kerassiá 1 (K1), Kerassiá 3 (K3) and Kerassiá 4 (K4). The fauna is characterised by the relative scarcity of the hipparions and especially of bovids. Though the presence of these taxa is significant, there are fewer specimens than usually in the Greek Late Miocene localities. The bovids are represented mainly by dental material making their identification doubtful. Most of the Giraffidae are referred to Helladotherium. The rhinocerotid findings include some very rare and impressive specimens (complete skulls and mandibles), but the postcranial material is scanty. A complete skull with articulated mandible from the K4 site is attributable to a new aceratheriine species. Another complete, but juvenile, skull from K3 has all the morphological characters of Ceratotherium neumayri, while a complete mandible from K4 is referred to ‘Dicerorhinus’ cf. pikermiensis. The available carnivore material is discussed separately in this volume. The fauna suggests a fairly open environment, as the forest elements (suids, cervids, etc.) are rare or absent. The geological correlation, the sedimentological and taphonomic studies of the Kerassiá sites are still in progress. However, according to the available data the K3 and K4 are plausibly isochronous, as they seem to belong to the same stratigraphic level; the K1 is stratigraphically younger. The locality is of great taphonomic interest, as the material has signs of sorting.