First report of a Pliocene pike (Esocidae: Esox) in Transylvania, Romania

Abstract

Pliocene fish species based on skeleton remains and associated teeth ever reported from the inner Carpathian area in Romania in the Braşov Basin (Baraolt sub-basin), which refers to a pike (Esox sp.). The fish fossils illustrating a large-sized specimen originate from the South Racoş coal open pit (Racoşu de Sus, Covasna County), in the so-called “Formation with Limnocardium” (Dacian, Lower Pliocene). Comparisons with osteological material of recent pikes originating from various localities in Romania are presented. The associated mollusc fauna known from the formation that yielded the pike remains suggests the presence of a lake with a stratified water column in the Baraolt sub-basin.