Diversity and distribution of Miocene–Pliocene sepiids (Cephalopoda) in the Mediterranean area, with new records from Italy and Turkey

Abstract

Two new records of Cenozoic sepiids from the Mediterranean area are described and discussed. While the single, fragmentary specimen from Pliocene (Zanclean) strata in northwestern Italy can only be identified generically as Sepia sp., the Turkish Sepia vandervoorti sp. nov., of late Langhian–earliest Serravallian (Middle Miocene) age, constitutes a new species. The diversity and disparity of Cenozoic sepiids from the Mediterranean area are discussed within palaeobiogeographical and stratigraphical contexts. Current cuttlefish records from the Central Paratethys, the Atlantic coast and the North Sea Basin provide indications of migration patterns of the genus Sepia during the Miocene. A synthesis of published data, complemented by the new records presented here, allows us to reconstruct sepiid distribution in time and space. The highest diversity and morphological disparity are seen during the Middle Miocene; this is followed by a rapid decrease during the Late Miocene and a renewed radiation during the Pliocene.