Bathonian (Middle Jurassic) crinoids of the Hidas Valley (Mecsek Mountains, S Hungary) and their biogeographic significance

The Bathonian crinoid fauna that occurs in red nodular limestone and argillaceous limestones from the Hidas Valley, Mecsek Mts (southern Hungary) consists of three isocrinid and six cyrtocrinid species. Isocrinids are represented by Balanocrinus inornatus (d'Orbigny), B. berchteni Hess and Pugin and Balanocrinus sp. Cyrtocrinids are represented by Phyllocrinus stellaris ZarA (TM) czny, P. birkenmajeri Guchowski, P. malbosianus d'Orbigny, Apsidocrinus sp., Lonchocrinus sp., and the new species Psalidocrinus hidasinus sp. nov. This last species is the earliest occurrence of the genus Psalidocrinus previously known from the Early Tithonian to Valanginian. This is the first crinoid fauna described from the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) of Hungary. The co-occurrence of isocrinids and cyrtocrinids indicates an environment subject to weak currents. The stratigraphical and geographical distribution of the identified cyrtocrinid genera and species suggests a Tethyan origin and subsequent migration to the northern Tethyan shelf.