Miocene

m1 Cricetodon aliveriensis was first described by Hofmeijer and de Bruijn in 1988. It is a small rodent from the Early Miocene (MN 4) of Greece. The type locality of the species is the fossiliferous locality of Aliveri on the Greek Island of Evia which does not exist anymore. The subject of this study is to record and describe the material of this genus from the Greek locality of Karydia and to prove whether it belongs to the same species.

The newly collected shark and ray tooth fossils from the marine sediments of the Upper Marine Molasse close to Allerding (4.8 km SE of Schärding, Austria) allow for a review of the hitherto known diversity comprising a taxonomic update and the documentation of additional taxa. Besides ten taxa already known from the area, the following taxa were collected for the first time from the site:

Typology and internal texture analyses were performed on detrital zircons obtained from the Miocene sandstones of the Ladrilleros-Juanchaco sedimentary sequence (Colombia, Equatorial Pacific). This analysis was complemented with zircon U/Pb dating to identify typology-age associations as indicators of sediment provenance. Our results show that zircons with S and P dominant typologies have internal structures/zoning indicative of igneous, and potentially also metamorphic, origins. Morphometric results suggest limited transport from source areas. Both typology and U/Pb data point to the Western Cordillera as the principal source of detrital materials for this sedimentary sequence. A paleogeographic reconstruction shows that, during the Late Miocene, significant portions of the Western Cordillera were uplifted and actively eroding, thereby forming a fluvio-topographic barrier that prevented sediments from the Central Cordillera reaching the Pacific basins. Exhumed Miocene plutons located along the axis of the Western Cordillera may also have played a role as geomorphologically active massifs. This study demonstrates that typologic analysis on detrital zircon grains is a useful tool for establishing provenance and paleogeography in complex litho-tectonic areas where overlapping U/Pb signatures can lead to contradictory results..

The Liri Basin is one of the three Latium-Abruzzi turbidite "minor basins” and is represented by the narrow depression prevailingly included between the Carseolana-Ernico-Simbruina carbonate ridge and the Marsicana one, both pertaining to the Latium-Abruzzi Platform. This NW-SE trending depression (Apennine trend) axially extends from Tufo to Atina about 84 Km, almost parallel
to the Sacco Basin (to W) and to the Tagliacozzo Basin (to E). The study of the Liri Basin has been limited to the area between Petrella Liri and Sora plain, coinciding with the upper part of the Liri River hydrographic basin, whose geology has been illustrated bv Accordi et al. (1969).

The Miocene sequence of the Latium-Abruzzi Apennines disconformably lies above the Cretaceous Platform carbonate deposits. Il consists, from the base, of: skeletal shallow water carbonates (Calcari a Briozoi e Litotanmi; Calcari a losanga); off-shore and slope marly-pelitic deposits (Marne a Cylindrites and Marne ad Orbulina); turbidites (arenaceous-pelitic units of Sacco, Liri and Tagliacozzo basins) close almost everywhere the Miocene sedimentary cycle.

In the Liri Basin (fig. 1) localized carbonate clastic deposits (Brecce della Renga; calcarenites; fig. 2), deriving from the platform erosion, outcrop at the base of the turbidite sequence and substitute the Calcari a Briozoi e Litotamni and the Marne ad Orbulina in the western part of the basin (Simbruino-Ernico edge).

Coherentlv with the general lines imposed to the studies dealing with the "minor basins" by means of the facies analvsis and therefore of the basin analvsis, three lithologic associations have been recognized and mapped (facies map) within the Tortonian turbidites (Liri arenaceous-pelitic unit).

— Pelilic-arenaceous association (fig. 3 and 4) outcrops at the base of the turbidite sequence and consists of thin bedded fine sandstones, displaying Td-e. and Tb-e. Bouma sequences and sand/ shale ratio ranging from 0.69 to 0.79 (facies D2 according to Mutti & Ricci Lucchi, 1975). Some calcarenite thin beds and arenaceous-pelitic (facies D, and C) and arenaceous (facies A, and B) bed sets are interbedded within the pelitic-arenaceous association.

— Arenaceous-pelitic association (fig. 5 and 6) is represented at the top of the previous association and interbedded within it. Three lithofacies are recognizeable: a prevailingly arenaceous-pelitic consisting of thick to very thick bedded medium to coarse sandstones, showing Ta-c (facies C2) and Ta-c-e. (facies С1) Bouma sequences and sand/shale ratio from 2.56 to 6.33; a pelitic-arenaceous lithofacies (facies D2); an arenaceous lithofacies composed by thick to very thick bedded coarse sandstones lacking the Bouma sequence (facies A1 and B), sometimes containing diagenetic balls (“cogoli”). The sand/shale ratio is very high to indefinite.

— Arenaceous lithofacies (fig. 7, 8 and 9) is mostly represented in the central part of the basin at the top of the previous associations but also interbedded within them. Two types of arenaceous lithofacies have been mapped representing, respectively, channelized deposits and outer fan lobe deposits.

At Canistro Superiore and Broccostella some Messinian rudites outcrop at the top of the turbidite sequence (fig. 10 and 11). According to Devoto (1967b) the rudites represent oligohaline or fresh water environment deposits. They consist of clast-supported poorly sorted conglomerates containing well rounded pebbles and cobbles partly deriving from the platform, but mostly from the allocthonous Sicilidi nappes.

The morphometric characters and the stratigraphic position of such conglomerates and their strong similitude with the coeval rudites outcropping in the Marches region allow to identify them as fan-delta deposits.

The sequential analvsis carried on four measured sections within the pelitic-arenaceous and arenaceous-pelitic associations has pointed out thickening upward (negative) and simmetrical cycles and monotonous sequence (fig. 15, 16, 17 and 18). This last one concerning pelitic-arenaceous association and lacking depositional cycles, is referred to as outer fan fringe and/or basin plain deposits. The tickening upward cycles are represented in the arenaceous-pelitic association and are typical of outer fan lobes. The symmetrical cycles are interpreted as negative type because they are lacking channalized features at the base of the beds.
The arenaceous lithofacies at the top of the turbidite sequence is referred to as channalized deposits.
The paleocurrent pattern shows that clastic materials flowed from NW to SE (fig. 19).
The most important datum from the preliminary petrographic analvsis of the turbidite sandstones is the presence of policyclic rounded quartz and of metamorphic rocks fragments pertaining to the three metamorphic grades.
A provenance from western areas is hypotized perhaps partly from the fragment of the Alpine Chain localized in the Tyrrhenian Sea during the Tertiary.
The turbidites were deposited in a narrow elongated basin whose western edge is partly covered under the Ernico-Simbruino overthrust. The shape of the basin prevented the normal submarine fan to be developed, so that the turbidites assumed the geometry of a “choked fan”, that is a depositional svstem in which the physiographic elements appear to be distorted or developed in an anomalous way.
The vertical sequence of the Liri arenaceous-pelitic unit, consisting of outer fan fringe and/or basin plain deposits outer fan lobes channelized deposits, shows a progradational turbidite suite.

We present the first comprehensive systematic-faunistic account on a Messinian gastropod assemblage from the Moncucco Torinese site in the Tertiary Piedmont Basin in Italy. In total, the samples yielded 53 gastropod species comprising 40 terrestrial and 13 aquatic species. The assemblage reflects a predominantly dry, rather open and stony landscape mixed with restricted wooded areas with some deadwood and leaf litter. Freshwater settings were present as well but may have been largely restricted to ephemeral puddles and ponds. The assemblage is outstanding in evolutionary aspects as it represents an example of the earliest post-evaporitic gastropod fauna, which has passed the Messinian Salinity Crisis. Indeed, the composition of the terrestrial Moncucco Torinese fauna suggests a biochronologic transition from Late Miocene to Pliocene faunas, supporting the dating based on mammals as late Turolian (MN 13). About 15% of the species have been known so far only from the European Miocene, 40% were described from the Pliocene and were unknown from older strata and about 42% are only known from the Late Messinian of Moncucco Torinese. This suggests that the Pliocene continental gastropod fauna is partly rooted in Messinian faunas, pointing to a rather low turnover at the Miocene/Pliocene boundary. In terms of biogeography, no evolutionary relation to coeval Pannonian-Pontian faunas of Lake Pannon or the Dacian Basin are documented for the Lago-Mare gastropods. Hydrocena moncuccoensis Harzhauser, Neubauer & Esu n. sp., Saccoia globosa Harzhauser, Neubauer & Esu n. sp., Acicula giuntellii Harzhauser, Neubauer & Esu n. sp., Platyla manganellii Harzhauser, Neubauer & Esu n. sp., Cochlicopa fassabortoloi Harzhauser, Neubauer & Esu n. sp., Lucilla miocaenica Harzhauser, Neubauer & Esu n. sp., and ?Helicopsis piedmontanica Harzhauser, Neubauer & Esu n. sp. are described as new species. Possible further new taxa are described in open nomenclature, because the poor preservation of the material does not allow formal species to be established.

The upper Miocene mollusc collection from Monti Livornesi, Italy, collected more than a century ago, is confronted with new collections coming from the same localities of Popogna and Quarata. The study concerns the comparison of abundance data of three distinct fossil assemblages from the three vertically-stacked stratigraphic units called Luppiano, Rosignano and Raquese, of upper Tortonian-early Messinian age. Literature and museological data allowed to attribute most museum specimens to one and only one fossil assemblage. Museum collections preserve roughly the same dominant species, with similar ranks as the new quantitative field collections. Significant differences are however evident in the Luppiano assemblage from brackish-water, shallow subtidal bottoms, because new samples yield many species of small size, some of which with high dominance, that are completely lacking in museum collections, suggesting a bias due to size sorting and hinting at the overwhelming contribution of small-sized species to global mollusc diversity. On the other hand the Raquese assemblage, from an open marine shelf setting, can be similarly interpreted from the study of either the museum or new collection, yielding a similar species list and rank. The Rosignano mollusc assemblage, from a bioclastic bottom near a coral patch reef and characterised by fossils with a distinct taphonomic signature, is insufficiently represented in both historical and new collections. The systematics of the three assemblages are revised. The study contributes to the growing literature on museum "dark data" by showing that museum collections may yield abundance data significant for paleobiological analysis.

The Miocene elephantoid Choerolophodon from SE Europe-SW Asia is studied, based on the Greek localities of Thymiana, Axios Valley, Pikermi, Samos and Nikiti-2. Although this genus is well documented in Greece, there is no recent taxonomic study and its biostratigraphy and palaeoecology had never been examined in detail. Three choerolophodont species are recognized in SE Europe–SW Asia: the Middle Miocene C. chioticus (late Orleanian, MN 5), and the Late Miocene C. anatolicus (early Vallesian, MN 9) and C. pentelici (late Vallesian–Turolian, MN 10–MN 13). The latter species is divided into a primitive morph, dated to the late Vallesian and possibly earliest Turolian, and an advanced morph from the Turolian. At the end of the Miocene Choerolophodon disappeared. With respect to the geographical distribution of Choerolophodon, the genus is very well documented in SE Europe–SW Asia but it is unknown from Central, Western and Northern Europe, a fact which is attributed to ecological factors. The phylogenetic relationships of all known choerolophodont species from the Miocene of the Old World are examined using a cladistic analysis, and their proposed biogeography is discussed. Finally, the palaeoecology of Late Miocene Choerolophodon from Northern Greece is studied through a dental microwear analysis, revealing that Choerolophodon foraged mainly on grasses, a type of vegetation widespread in open environments. These palaeoecological results are in agreement with previous environmental reconstructions for the Late Miocene of Greece.

We investigate the distributions of representatives of the family Melanopsidae (Gastropoda: Caenogastropoda: Cerithioidea) from the late Cretaceous to present-day. The present contribution discusses and partly revises former schemes of melanopsid dispersal during the Cenozoic, all of which were based on outdated stratigraphic and tectonic concepts as well as an incompletely considered fossil record. Conflating a comprehensive and stratigraphically well-constrained fossil record, modern paleogeographical reconstructions and contemporary climate data, our goal is to present a thorough model of melanopsid distribution and its changes over the Cenozoic as well as its paleogeographical and climatic constraints. The family Melanopsidae evolved about 90 Ma ago in the late Turonian from brackish cerithioidean ancestors. Cretaceous and Paleogene species occur in marginal marine to brackish environments along the shores of the Tethys and Paratethys seas. The extant clades of Melanopsis likely derive from the evolution of freshwater Melanopsis on the Balkan Peninsula back in the late early Miocene. Up to the Pliocene, freshwater species spread toward southwestern and southeastern Europe and successively replaced brackish-water representatives, paralleling a general decline of latter systems during the late Cenozoic. The southwards expansion of Melanopsis and its simultaneous retreat from northern latitudes resulted in the disjunct distribution pattern observed today.

The genus Holandriana first appeared in northern Italy in the late early Miocene. The genera Microcolpia and Esperiana both first occurred in the late Miocene and likely derive from brackish-water Melanopsis species native to peri-Paratethyan lakes. The present-day biogeographic isolation of the three latter genera and Melanopsis roots in the climatic deterioration and the disappearance of major lake systems in southeastern Europe. While thermophilous Melanopsis retreated to the warm, dry climates of the Mediterranean and Middle East, Holandriana, Microcolpia and Esperiana adapted to the seasonal, cold-temperate climate of southeastern and eastern Europe and some species became restricted to thermal springs.

The early Burdigalian (MN3) plant assemblage of the Güvem area (northwestern Central Anatolia) is preserved in lacustrine sediments of the Dereköy pyroclastics. Its age is well constrained by radiometric dates of basaltic rocks bracketing the pyroclastics, making the Güvem flora one of the extremely few precisely dated early Miocene floras in the Mediterranean region. The rich assemblage of impression fossils comprises ferns and fern allies (2 species), gymnosperms (12 spp.) and angiosperms (129 spp.). Ilex miodipyrena sp. nov. is described as a new fossil-species. The most diverse families in the assemblage are the Fagaceae with 12 taxa and the Fabaceae with 12 leaf morphotypes and one fruit taxon. Aquatic plants are represented by seven taxa, riparian (including palms) and swamp forest elements by >35 taxa, and lianas by three taxa (Smilax spp., Chaneya). The relatively large number of aquatic and riparian/swamp elements is congruent with the rich fish, amphibian and reptile record of the Güvem area. Another characteristic feature of the plant assemblage is the presence of various lobed leaves which show similarities with modern species of different families (e.g. Alangium, various Malvales). Trees and shrubs growing on well-drained soils and forming closed-canopy and open-canopy forests are the most diversified group (>70 taxa). In terms of number of specimens in the collection and based on field observations, by far the most abundant leaf fossils belong to evergreen oaks of Quercus drymeja and Q. mediter-ranea and to various types of foliage that cannot be assigned to a particular extant or extinct genus of Fagaceae. These sclerophyllous trees must have covered vast areas surrounding the wetlands that developed during the early Miocene in the Güvem Basin. Based on a recent reassessment of the ecology and taxonomic affinity of these trees, they are considered to reflect humid temperate climatic conditions but with a brief drier season during the winter months. These forests are more similar to the laurel forests of the southeastern United States and those stretching in a narrow belt south of the Himalayas to eastern central China. The large number of Fabaceae may indicate the presence of warm subtropical environments but this is difficult to assess, as they are known for having wide ecological ranges today and in the past. All in all, a larger part of the plant taxa point to forested vegetation. This is in agreement with previous palynological studies which detected only small amounts of her-baceous and grass pollen. Open patches of vegetation may have been restricted to river banks and to rocky areas in a volcanic landscape. The biogeographic patterns detected for the early Miocene of the Güvem assemblage are manifold; most taxa are widespread Northern Hemispheric elements. A substantial part of the species migrated from Asia into Europe during the (late) Paleogene and reached Anatolia during the early Miocene (Fagus, Paliu-rus, Chaneya, Ailanthus, Quercus kubinyii, Davallia haidingeri, Acer angustilobum, A. palaeosaccharinum). Fewer taxa may have been in Anatolia before they migrated to Europe (e.g. Nerium, Smilax miohavanensis, Quercus sosnowskyi). Finally, very few taxa are Anatolian endemics (e.g. Ilex miodipyrena).