New cockles (Bivalvia: Cardiidae: Lymnocardiinae) from Late Pleistocene Lake Karapınar (Turkey): Discovery of a Pontocaspian refuge?

Abstract

Three species of lymnocardiine cockles (Bivalvia: Cardiidae) from Late Pleistocene deposits near Karapınar (Konya Basin, Anatolia, South Turkey) are reported. Two of the three species are described as new (Monodacna pseudocolorata and Adacna yaninae). A third species (Hypanis ?plicatum) is represented by two incomplete valves. Radiocarbon ages of circa 35–43 kA were obtained for the fauna. The lack of lymnocardiine cockles in Pleistocene Anatolian inland lake deposits raises the possibility that the new record represents a short lived occurrence. We raise the possibility that the Karapınar Basin cockles may have been introduced from the Black Sea region through avian dispersal, although we cannot rule out their cryptic existence in the region during the Pleistocene. The apparent absence of Monodacna colorata group of cockles in the Black Sea Basin during the last glacial raises the possibility that the Karapınar region may have served as a true refugium rather than just a sink for Pontocaspian biota.