Some Reports of Paratethyan Ostracods from the CentralMediterranean Area

Short Communication

Authors: Temani R , Francesco S and Khayati AH

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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