Some Reports of Paratethyan Ostracods from the Central Mediterranean Area

Authors: Temani R*, Francesco S and Khayati AH

Volume 2, Issue 1

Abstract

Uppermost Miocene stratigraphic sections have been sampled in Sicily and eastern Tunisia. Some of the stratigraphic levels contained in them are related to the continentalization phase (“Lago Mare”) of the Mediterranean Basin, which occurred at the end of the Messinian Salinity Crisis. Within these levels, ostracod associations reflecting fresh or brackish water environments are reported here for the first time. Species considered to be Paratethyan in affinity lived in these environments. The discovery, both in Sicily and Tunisia, of species such as C agrigentina, A propinqua, and M. punctate, suggests that the Sicilian Channel did not prevent the migration of the non-marine fauna from NW to SE in the Paleomediterranean area during the Post Evaporitic Phase.

Keywords: Late Messinian; Lago Mare; Paratethys; Ostracods; Paleoenvironmental Evolution; Tunisia; Sicily

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