AI Summary & Key Takeaways
AI InsightThe late Oligocene period was a time characterized by large climate changes in Anatolia; hence, it may have hosted differentecosystems and taxa.
📌 3 Key Takeaways
Abstract
The footprints in this study, which were considered to have been made by ungulates, were discovered on mudstone that wasapproximately 5 cm thick, near an abundant mud-cracked plane located on the stratigraphic subsurface of the late Oligocene KarayünFormation, which crops out over wide areas in southern Sivas (Turkey) and has terrestrial, fluvial sediment characteristics. These ungulatefootprints documented from the late Oligocene of the Karayün Formation in southern Sivas represent the first reported vertebrates inAnatolia. The footprints of three different species of ungulates were identified. The shapes, depth, and widths of the footprints providedsome basic ichnotaxonomic and TrackMaker information, but based on the poor preservation of the footprints, ichnotaxa identificationis difficult. This study aimed to use an ichnotaxonomic approach to contribute to the late Oligocene biochronology in Anatolia due tothe small amount of footprint findings in the literature. Ungulate herds left mixed footprints in wetland areas along the banks of floodingrivers. The late Oligocene period was a time characterized by large climate changes in Anatolia; hence, it may have hosted differentecosystems and taxa.