Reconciling the stratigraphy and depositional history of the Lycian orogen-top basins, SW Anatolia

Terrestrial fossil records from the SWAnatolian basins are crucial both for regional correlations and palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. By reassessing biostratigraphic constraints and incorporating new fossil data, we calibrated and reconstructed the late Neogene andQuaternary palaeoenvironments within a regional palaeogeographical framework. The culmination of the Taurides inSWAnatolia was followed by a regional crustal extension from the late Tortonian onwards that created a broad array of NE-trending orogen-top basins with synchronic associations of alluvial fan, fluvial and lacustrine deposits. The terrestrial basins are superimposed on the upper Burdigalian marine units with a c. 7 myr of hiatus that corresponds to a shift from regional shortening to extension. The initial infill of these basins is documented by a transition from marginal alluvial fans and axial fluvial systems into central shallow-perennial lakes coinciding with a climatic shift from warm/humid to arid conditions. The basal alluvial fan deposits abound in fossil macro-mammals of an early Turolian (MN11–12; late Tortonian) age. The Pliocene epoch in the region was punctuated by subhumid/humid conditions resulting in a rise of local base levels and expansion of lakes as evidenced by marsh-swamp deposits containing diverse fossilmammal assemblages indicating late Ruscinian (lateMN15; late Zanclean) ageWe are grateful for the support of the international bilateral project between The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) and The Russian Scientific Foundation (RFBR) with grant a number of 111Y192. M.C.A. is grateful to the Turkish Academy of Sciences (TUBA) for a GEBIP (Young Scientist Award) grant. T.K. and S.M. are grateful to the Ege University Scientific Research Center for the TTM/002/2016 and TTM/001/2016 projects. M.C.A., H.A., S.M. and M.B. have obtained Martin and Temmick Fellowships at Naturalis Biodiversity Center (Leiden). F.A.D. is supported by a Mehmet Akif Ersoy University Scientific Research Grant. T.A.N. is supported by an Alexander-von-Humboldt Scholarship. L.H.O. received support from TUBITAK under the 2221 program for visiting scientists

Pseudodioon akyoli gen. et sp. nov., an extinct member of Cycadales from the Turkish Miocene

Fossil cycadalean leaves recorded from the Miocene plant assemblage of Soma, western Turkey, are described and assigned to an extinct genus and species, Pseudodioon akyoli. Leaf macromorphology suggests affinity with members of the Zamiaceae (subfam. Encephalartoideae), particularly with modern Dioon. Micromorphological features on the other hand indicate affinity with modern Cycas (Cycadaceae). Ordinary cells on the adaxial epidermis are isodiametric and are not differentiated into thick- and thin-walled cells. This is similar to Encephalartoideae-like fossils reported from the Cenozoic of the Northern Hemisphere, and even from the Mesozoic. Shared macromorphological traits of P. akyoli and other coeval Encephalartoideae-like fossil cycadalean leaves from Europe suggest that an extinct group of cycads inhabited southern Europe from the western part of Turkey, through Greece and France to Switzerland in the north during the Oligo-Miocene

New Geosite Candidates at the Western Termination of the Büyük Menderes Graben and their Importance on Science Education

The Buyuk Menderes Graben (BMG) is one of the best-known and the largest geological structure of the West Anatolian Extensional Province. It includes two nature conservation parks and twelve cultural heritage sites within and in its vicinity. Four geologically distinct features/locations within and in the vicinity of the BMG have been previously enlisted as geosite candidates in the provisional Geological Heritage Inventory of Turkey compiled in 2002 by the Turkish Association for the Conservation of the Geological Heritage (JEMRKO): (1) the horst-graben structure of the Buyuk Menderes region itself, (2) the tafoni from the augen-gneiss from the east of Bafa Lake, (3) the zultanite crystals from the northeast of lbir Mountain, and (4) the tourmaline (dravite) crystals from the Camzal, Cine. In the current study, we are introducing additional three new geosite candidates at the western termination of the BMG with three different main geological subjects. The first one is the Yavansu Fault. Located 2 km south of the Kuadas village, it has a clearly exposed unique fault surface which is one of the best examples of structural indicators for the WAEP with respect to the normal faulting events. The second one is located in the Hisartepe Volcanics exposed between Kuadas and Soke, and consists of basaltic lava flows with remarkable prismatic cooling joints and a gorgeous feeder dome reaching up to 150 m height. Final suggestion is the Karina marine fan-delta complex located at the south-eastern border of the Dilek Peninsula National Park. This fan-delta complex is the largest one in the Western Anatolian scale and has remarkable paragon outcrops up to 20 m high between Doanbey and Karina Lagoon