AI Summary & Key Takeaways
AI InsightThermophile plants including Avicennia sp., Engelhardia sp., Myrica sp., Sapotaceae,Cyrillaceae-Clethraceae, and Reveesia sp. along with relatively high quantities of xerophytes and the quantitative palaeoclimate valuesimply a subtropical and dry palaeoclimate.
📌 3 Key Takeaways
Abstract
The results of palaeontological (palynological and mollusc) and sedimentological analyses of the lower Miocene depositsfrom the Bingöl minibasin, a part of the Sivas Basin, are exhibited to define the vertical shifts in sedimentation environments and plantcovers, linking to eustasy. The presence of index species Corbulomya (Lentidium) aquitanica suggests an Aquitanian age for the studiedsuccession, which can be divided into three informal units: a lower unit, a middle unit, and an upper unit. Fine-grained sediments of thelower unit were deposited in a low sea-level setting due to high quantities of terrestrial palynomorphs. This unit is overlain by the middleunit, coralgal limestone, which marks the first initiation of Aquitanian transgression. Continuing shallow marine settings in the upperunit gave rise to deposition of coarse to fine-grained sediments. Palynological data were recovered from the fine-grained sedimentsof the lower and upper units. A total of 35 spore and pollen taxa were recorded, including 2 spores from ferns, 5 gymnosperms,26 angiosperms, 1 group of undifferentiated dinoflagellate cysts, and 1 fresh water alga of Botryococcus sp. The pollen spectrum isdominated by coniferous forest, mainly undifferentiated Pinaceae, and herbaceous communities including high quantities of Poaceaeand Chenopodiaceae-Amaranthaceae, with minor contributions of Ephedra sp., Caryophyllaceae, and Asteraceae subf. Asteroidae. Highsea-level conditions, which started with sedimentation of the middle unit, survived during the deposition of the upper unit due tobeing overwhelmingly dominated by dinocysts. Thermophile plants including Avicennia sp., Engelhardia sp., Myrica sp., Sapotaceae,Cyrillaceae-Clethraceae, and Reveesia sp. along with relatively high quantities of xerophytes and the quantitative palaeoclimate valuesimply a subtropical and dry palaeoclimate.