This paper describes an Early Pleistocene amphibian and squamate assemblage from the
Dacian Basin, southern Romania. The fossil sample allows for the identification of
a moderately diverse assemblage, which includes representatives of 13 genera of the
families Salamandridae (Lissotriton vulgaris, Triturus sp.), Bombinatoridae (Bombina
sp.), Hylidae (Hyla aff. Hyla arborea), Bufonidae (Bufo bufo), Pelobatidae (Pelobates
syriacus), Ranidae (Ranidae indet., Pelophylax sp., Rana ?temporaria, Rana sp.), Lacertidae
(Lacertidae indet.), Anguidae (Pseudopus sp.), Natricidae (Natrix natrix), and Colubridae
(Coronella austriaca, Zamenis longissimus). The taxonomic composition of the Early
Pleistocene amphibian and squamate assemblage from Copaceni is similar to the one
reported from other Romanian sites of the same age, and also to that of Recent Romanian
herpetofaunas. The amphibian and squamate assemblage from Copaceni supports the existence
of a permanent freshwater body, of neighbouring forests or shrubberies, and thick
soil, in an Early Pleistocene climate that was warmer than the present one.
