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Miocene/Pliocene mammal faunas of southern Balkans: implications for biostratigraphy and palaeoecology

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Abstract

Even though there are numerous late Miocene mammal localities in the southern Balkans, those of late Turolian and early Ruscinian age are uncommon. Using the available data, mainly from Greece and Bulgaria, we compiled information about the faunal and palaeoenvironmental changes at the Miocene/Pliocene boundary. The analysis of the faunal elements indicates that several Miocene taxa disappeared, whereas new taxa appeared. The faunal composition of the mammal zones suggests a decrease of the bovids and giraffids and an increase of cervids and suids from MN 12 to MN 14. The available faunal assemblages from zones MN 12–MN 14 are compared with a set of modern and fossil assemblages from known environments to determine their palaeoenvironment. The results indicate an increase of the closed character of the environment from MN 12 to MN 14, suggesting a gradual increase of the humidity and the development of more forestial conditions. The rodent faunas from northern Greece ranging from MN 13 to MN 14 show a characteristic aridification of the biotopes and the introduction of African elements in the last part of the MN 13 (during the Messinian Salinity Crisis), with a subsequent return of humid-and/or-forested biotopes towards the MN 13/14 boundary. The faunal and sedimentological data for the Greek localities correlated with the Turolian/Ruscinian boundary suggests a general open landscape with several water spots of variable sizes surrounded by dense forests.

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Abbreviations

ASP:

Asprogiannos

DIT:

Dytiko 2

DKO:

Dytiko 3

DRK:

Dorkovo

DTK:

Dytiko 1

DYTI:

Dytiko

HRB:

Hrabarsko

KD:

Kardia

KES:

Kessani

KO1highA and B:

Komanos 1 high A and Komanos 1 high B

KO1lowA and B:

Komanos 1 low A and Komanos 1 low B

LAV2:

Lava 2

MAR:

Maramena

MNS:

Monasteri

MTH 2 and 3:

Ano Metochi 2 and Ano Metochi 3

PLM-A and B:

Paliambela A and Paliambela B

PSM:

Prosilion-Mercurion

PT1:

Ptolemais 1

SLT:

Silata

SPL-0 and 1:

Spilia 0 and Spilia 1

TE1 and 2:

Tomea Eksi 1 and Tomea Eksi 2

VOR1:

Vorio 1

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Acknowledgements

This article is dedicated to our dear friend and colleague Albert van der Meulen, as a memory of the good times we shared with him and as recognition of his contribution to the palaeontological knowledge of the Balkans. Albert, we shall always feel moved for your great passion for the Greek music, especially for “rebetika”. The authors want to express their gratitude to the guest editors of this issue, Lars van den Hoek Ostende, Pablo Peláez-Campomanes and Wilma Wessels, for inviting them to participate in it and for their useful remarks on the manuscript. The constructive comments of the reviewers Sevket Sen and Jordi Agustí Ballester are very much appreciated. (K.V.) Albert, I want to take this opportunity to thank you very much for your great hospitality in your office and for sharing with me your knowledge on voles and micromammalian palaeontology during my first visit to Utrecht as an Erasmus student back in 1997 and every time I visited since then.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology. Laboratory of Geology and Palaeontology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-54124, Thessaloniki, Greece

    George D. Koufos

  2. Natural History Museum of the Lesvos Petrified Forest, 17 8th November Str., Mytilene, GR-81100, Lesvos, Greece

    Katerina Vasileiadou

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  1. George D. Koufos
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  2. Katerina Vasileiadou
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Correspondence to George D. Koufos.

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This article is a contribution to the special issue “Old worlds new ideas. A tribute to Albert van der Meulen”

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Koufos, G.D., Vasileiadou, K. Miocene/Pliocene mammal faunas of southern Balkans: implications for biostratigraphy and palaeoecology. Palaeobio Palaeoenv 95, 285–303 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12549-015-0201-4

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