Late Miocene Fauna Research Articles

Dormice (Rodentia, Gliridae) from the Middle Miocene of Hambach 6C, Northwest Germany

Glirid dental material is described from the Middle Miocene channel fill of the Hambach open-cast lignite mine in northwestern Germany. The fauna Hambach 6C shows a high diversity with seven species in six genera: Glirudinus undosus, Muscardinus thaleri, Muscardinus sansaniensis, Miodyromys aegercii, Paraglirulus werenfelsi, Microdyromys koenigswaldi, and Paraglis astaracensis, which are characteristic taxa in Middle Miocene European localities. Regarding the faunal composition and high diversity, the Hambach 6C assemblage is closest to that of the MN 5 locality Schönenberg in southern Germany, but also shares many taxa with late Middle Miocene faunas. The species richness of glirids, combined with other vertebrate remains in Hambach 6C indicates a warm, humid forested environment during the Mid-Miocene Climate Optimum (MCO).

Guefaït-1 (eastern Morocco), a new stage in the evolution of the late Miocene (Vallesian) small mammalian faunas of Northern Africa

ABSTRACT The continental Late Miocene is relatively well represented in North Africa, but stratigraphic gaps are present in the Vallesian due to the scarcity of localities from this time. In this paper, we present the small mammal association from the section of Guefaït 1, in the Aïn Beni Mathar Basin (Jerada, eastern Morocco). This sequence contains three successive fossiliferous levels: Guefaït 1A, Guefaït 1B and Guefaït 1C. The small mammal association of the richest level, Guefaït 1A, includes insectivores (Schizogalerix sp., Lartetium cf. africanum), bats (cf. Hypsugo sp.) and rodents of the families Gerbillidae (Zramys salemi, Myocricetodon seboui, Myocricetodon aff. trerki, Myocricetodon sp.), Muridae (Progonomys cathalai), Gliridae (Microdyromys cf. chaabi) and Sciuridae (Atlantoxerus sp.). Large mammals are scarcely represented by Gazella sp. and Hipparion sp. The rodent association, characterised by the occurrence of Progonomys cathalai and Zramys salemi, indicates an early Late Miocene, latest Vallesian age for the sites of Guefaït 1. The novel small mammal combination from this site constitutes a significant finding that improves our understanding of evolution of terrestrial Late Miocene faunas from northern Africa.

The apex of amphicyonid hypercarnivory: solving the riddle of Agnotherium antiquum Kaup, 1833 (Mammalia, Carnivora)

ABSTRACTSince its first description, only a single undisputed specimen, an isolated, highly abraded m1, was known from the enigmatic amphicyonid Agnotherium antiquum Kaup, 1833. Here, we describe the second specimen of A. antiquum from the type locality of Eppelsheim (early late Miocene, MN 9/10 of Germany), unearthed 184 years after the first description of A. antiquum. The specimen consists of a partial left juvenile mandible with dp3, m1 in eruption, i3, canine, p4, and a highly reduced m2 still in crypt. The p1–3 and m3 are completely reduced, as are the metaconids of m1 and m2. We confirm previous assignments of late Miocene specimens from the localities of Charmoille, Switzerland, and Pedregueras 2A, Spain, to A. antiquum, whereas a maxilla from Bled Douarah, Tunisia, can only tentatively be assigned to the species. We confirm that the monotypic genus Agnotherium is a thaumastocyonine amphicyonid, discuss other supposed thaumastocyonine specimens, and briefly review the evolutionary history of the subfamily. Agnotherium was a 275 kg, extremely powerful, strictly carnivorous ambush hunter that represents the apex of amphicyonid evolution toward carnivory. Its tooth eruption pattern resembles recent Ursus more than recent Canis, but it shows a considerable delay of eruption timing like in the ursid Agriotherium. Agnotherium antiquum is one of six carnivoran species from the Eppelsheim Formation that is heavier than 200 kg. The co-occurrence of Agnotherium (or its relatives Tomocyon and Thaumastocyon), Machairodus, and a smaller saber-toothed carnivoran is typical for early late Miocene faunas of Europe and tentatively North Africa.

Dental histology of late Miocene hipparionins compared with extant Equus, and its implications for Equidae life history

Hipparionins were a dominant element of the late Miocene faunas of Europe; however, their biology and ecology remain incompletely understood. In this paper, we explore the pace of life history of different-sized hipparionin horses, using dental histology, and compare it with extant equids. In doing so we consider (i) the size diversity of hipparionins, (ii) their generally smaller size compared to extant equids, and (iii) the allometric coupling between size and life history. In particular, we reconstruct the dental growth in lower first/second molars and in later-formed lower third molars for three hipparionin taxa: two dwarf species (Hipparion periafricanum and H. gromovae), and a larger species (H. concudense). We also analyze dental growth in an extant zebra (Equus quagga) for comparative purposes. Our results reveal that, within each species, there are differences in enamel growth parameters between the first/second molars and third molars. These results illustrate the differences in the developmental timing of these teeth and the existence of a relationship between dental growth parameters with somatic growth. We also find that hipparionin teeth grow at slower rates and tend to erupt later in time than in extant Equus. Dwarf hipparionins, moreover, exhibit lower enamel extension rates than the larger species, but similar formation and eruption times. Considering the link between dental development and life history, these results suggest a slower pace of growth of selected hipparionins compared to extant equids, and a further slower life history than expected for their size in the two dwarf forms.

A second hominoid species in the early Late Miocene fauna of Nakali (Kenya)

A second hominoid species in the early Late Miocene fauna of Nakali (Kenya)

Giant rodents from the Neotropics: diversity and dental variation of late Miocene neoepiblemid remains from Urumaco, Venezuela

Caviomorphs constitute a large evolutionary radiation of South America rodents, exhibiting a wide range of body size and ecomorphological disparity. The geological history of caviomorphs has been recorded mainly from high latitudes, besides isolated discoveries from the Neotropics. The late Miocene fauna from Urumaco, Venezuela, is noteworthy for its location and for preserving the giant rodent Phoberomys pattersoni. Previous studies of isolated postcranial remains suggested that the rodent diversity from Urumaco was higher than is currently recognized. Based on new remains we document dental variation that indicates the presence of at least two giant rodent taxa in Urumaco, including Neoepiblema. Quantitative analysis of dentition of the different neoepiblemid species supports the differentiation between Neoepiblema and Phoberomys and suggests that several recognized species of Phoberomys could represent different ontogenetic stages of one or few taxa within the genus.

Going south: Latitudinal change in mammalian biodiversity in Miocene Eurasia

For palaeontologists, the challenge is to reconstruct biodiversity patterns of the past. Mammal richness in grids is used to assess the stability of biodiversity hotspots and document changes over time in Europe for Mammal Neogene units 3 to 11 (19.5 to 7.6 Ma), early to late Miocene. The maps clearly show the patchiness of the fossil record. As the Miocene was an eventful epoch with severe environmental changes, Europe slowly became drier, and more seasonal, both in temperature and precipitation. From the early to middle Miocene an area of high biodiversity moved from higher to lower latitudes, culminating in one of the most remarkable hotspots in the history of mammals: the early late Miocene (Vallesian mammal stage) faunas from the Valles-Penedes (Catalonia, Spain). Remarkably, the surrounding areas did not exhibit similar richness. During the subsequent Vallesian turnover event (~ 9.7 Ma), the large and small mammal distribution became more equitable and the hotspots less prominent. The richest area was found in the periphery of the humid Miocene ecosystem, which experienced species influx from the drier south. The southward shift was a result of the expansion of the humid area with subsequent closed environments and related mixing of ecosystems, coming to a halt in the late Miocene, when all of Europe became equally open.

Small hyotheriine suids (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) from the late early Miocene of Turkey and a short overview of early Miocene small suoids in the Old World

Suoids are conspicuous components of late early Miocene faunas in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Strikingly, despite a rich fossil record at the Old World scale, no early Miocene suoid remains were known thus far from Anatolia, a region located at the crossroads between Africa, Arabia, Asia, and Europe. Here we describe a fragmentary cranium, mostly preserving the palate, and a dp4 of small suids from the Semsettin locality in the Cankiri-Corum Basin, north Central Anatolia. These remains document the first suoids ever recorded in the Early Miocene of Turkey. Both remains are attributed to the subfamily Hyotheriinae. The fragmentary cranium presents an original combination of characters and is attributed to Nguruwe ? galaticum sp. nov. The isolated dp4, of much smaller size, is here attributed to another hyotheriine taxon of indeterminate genus and species. Nguruwe ? galaticum sp. nov. shows equal affinity with both Asiatic and African Hyotheriinae.

Middle Miocene vertebrates from the Amazonian Madre de Dios Subandean Zone, Perú

A new middle Miocene vertebrate fauna from Peruvian Amazonia is described. It yields the marsupials Sipalocyon sp. (Hathliacynidae) and Marmosa (Micoureus) cf. laventica (Didelphidae), as well as an unidentified glyptodontine xenarthran and the rodents Guiomys sp. (Caviidae), Scleromys sp., cf. quadrangulatus-schurmanni-colombianus (Dinomyidae), an unidentified acaremyid, and cf. Microsteiromys sp. (Erethizontidae). Apatite Fission Track provides a detrital age (17.1 +- 2.4 Ma) for the locality, slightly older than its inferred biochronological age (Colloncuran-early Laventan South American Land Mammal Ages: ~15.6e13.0 Ma). Put together, both the mammalian assemblage and lithology of the fossil-bearing level point to a mixture of tropical rainforest environment and more open habitats under a monsoonal-like tropical climate. The fully fluvial origin of the concerned sedimentary sequence suggests that the Amazonian Madre de Dios Subandean Zone was not part of the Pebas mega-wetland System by middle Miocene times. This new assemblage seems to reveal a previously undocumented spatiotemporal transition between the late early Miocene assemblages from high latitudes (Patagonia and Southern Chile) and the late middle Miocene faunas of low latitudes (Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, and ?Brazil).

Şerefköy-2, a new Late Miocene mammal locality from the Yatağan Formation, Muğla, SW Turkey

Here we report on a new fossil locality, Şerefköy-2, from the Yatağan Basin of southwestern Turkey that preserves a well-sampled, abundant, and diverse mammal fauna. Indeed, after three field seasons, more than 1200 catalogued specimens representing 26 mammal species belonging to 14 genera make the Şerefköy-2 mammalian assemblage one of the richest Late Miocene fauna from Anatolia. Five hipparionines, six bovids, including the rare and enigmatic Urmiatherium rugosifrons and the presence of Pliohyrax graecus, strongly support affinities with Late Miocene faunas from Samos Island, Greece. Through a consideration of the identified material and the subsequent comparison with material from well-known Balkan and Anatolian faunas, a Middle Turolian (MN12) age for Şerefköy-2 is indicated.

A synopsis of the late Miocene Mammal Fauna of Samos Island, Aegean Sea, Greece

As one of the oldest known Eurasian fossil vertebrate localities, Samos late Miocene fauna attracted the interest of specialists by its richness and overall importance. Nevertheless, crucial taxonomical questions and chronological problems obscured its value. The detailed study of the local stratigraphy, the collection of new fossil material and its study, the revision of the old collections and the updated magneto-chronology of the fossiliferous deposits permited to re-discuss most of the problems in a special volume edited in 2009 by Koufos and Nagel and to provide a clearer and more precise idea about the Samos fauna and its age. A synopsis of this work is given here. The systematic study of the new collection (∼1200 identified specimens) allows the determination of 42 species from three fossil horizons, ranging from the upper part of early Turolian (MN11) to the end of middle Turolian (MN12). Taxonomic novelties are the presence of the carnivore genus Protictitherium found for the first time in Samos, the establishment of the new name Skoufotragus for Pachytragus Schlosser with the new species Skoufotragus zemalisorum, and the amended morphology of Pseudomeriones and Urmiatherium. Additionally six Hipparion and four Gazella species were recognized and a better morphometric distinction between Samotherium boissieri and Samotherium major was performed. This study also improved the correlation of the old fossiliferous sites with the new ones and with the local stratigraphy of the Mytilinii Basin, while precise ages have been obtained for the mammal localities. The new data together with the old collections indicate the presence in Samos of four chronologically successive mammal assemblages reflecting a “four stages-of-evolution” scheme. The Turolian palaeoenvironment of Samos is determined as an open bushland with thick grassy-floor of C3 graminoids with possible increase of the open and dry character from the beginning to the end of Middle Turolian. The Samos mammal faunas are palaeobiogeographically closer to the Asian ones than to those from the Greek mainland.

First Record of a Chalicothere from the Miocene of Myanmar

Here we describe the first record of a chalicothere from the Miocene of Myanmar. The chalicothere, documented by a partial mandible, was unearthed from the lower portion of the Irrawaddy Formation in the region of Magway, Central Myanmar. The Burmese material belongs to an early late Miocene fauna which recently yielded hominoid remains attributed to Khoratpithecus. The specimen, which is attributed to a chalicotheriine, does not reliably match with any described Miocene Eurasian species of this subfamily, suggesting the possibility it belongs to a new taxon. The discovery of a chalicotheriine in the surroundings of Magway contributes to the hypothesis that closed habitats were an important component of the paleoenvironment of Khoratpithecus.

Late Miocene turnover of molluscan faunas, New Zealand: Taxonomic and ecological reassessment of diversity changes at multiple spatial and temporal scales

Previous estimates of molluscan biodiversity during the Neogene in New Zealand have revealed a pattern of significant diversity decline during the latest Miocene. This study uses an occurrence-based dataset (derived from published literature) to examine this pattern in further detail with both traditional synoptic measures and subsequent sampling standardization. Synoptic analyses of regional-scale data reveal diversity trajectories similar to those previously established, and rarefaction techniques demonstrate that the inferred pattern of Late Miocene diversity decline and Early Pliocene rebound is only somewhat biased by variations in sampling intensity. The pattern is also affected by temporal variations in the preservation of shelf paleoenvironments, with representation of highly diverse shallow-water facies varying considerably between biostratigraphic stages. The sampling and corresponding synoptic genus richness of biogeographic areas within the New Zealand region is also uneven. Within a single sedimentary basin sampled at high temporal resolution (Wanganui Basin), new data suggest that Late Miocene faunas were as diverse as those of the Early Pliocene, contrasting with the pattern of diversity decrease and subsequent increase observed at the regional spatial scale in prior studies. However, an ecological analysis of the new data demonstrates that turnover and restructuring of benthic communities did take place at the end of the Late Miocene. These findings suggest that spatial scale and temporal resolution are important considerations in determining the magnitude of diversity and ecological change observed in paleontologic studies. Contemporaneous biodiversity may not be similarly expressed at varying spatial or temporal scales in the fossil record. Rather, regional patterns of diversity change are governed by a complex interplay of not only large-scale environmental factors (e.g. temperature control), but also independent basin-scale processes (e.g. basin subsidence) and local sampling intensity.

Palaeoecology of late Early Miocene fauna in the Namib based on 13C/ 12C and 18O/ 16O ratios of tooth enamel and ratite eggshell carbonate

We explored the stable light isotope ecology of a sample of extinct Namibian mammals from the early Miocene, a period when conditions are believed to have been relatively warm and moist. Where possible we compared isotope values of mammalian tooth enamel (Rhinocerotidae, Suidae, Climacoceratidae, Pliohyracidae, Gomphotheriidae and Deinotheriidae) with those of eggshells of a co-existing Aepyornithoid (19–20 Ma). In general, the isotopic values of tooth enamel in all mammalian fauna, including likely mixed feeders/grazers, are consistent with C 3 diets as expected for this period, and the ratite eggshells are consistently enriched in both 13C and 18O compared to the mammals. High eggshell carbon and oxygen isotope values at the sites of Grillental and Elisabethfeld suggest that ratite birds occupied a dry niche that possibly included CAM plants, while results for Langental suggest moister, cooler conditions. Arrisdrift (ca. 17–17.5 Ma) mammalian tooth enamel values overlap those of the 19–20 Ma sites. The dataset for Arrisdrift reveals distinctive patterning between species. In particular the two suid species differ significantly in δ 18O and δ 13C, suggesting distinct ecological niches consistent with predictions from their dental morphology. On the other hand, two distinct data populations for one species of Prohyrax may suggest different environmental conditions during the period in which the site formed.

A giant termite from the Late Miocene of Styria, Austria (Isoptera)

A giant termite is described and figured from the Late Miocene of the Styrian Basin in southeastern Austria. Gyatermes styriensis gen. n. et sp. n. is represented by a relatively complete forewing, with basal scale. The fossil approximates in size the largest of all termites today and is the largest fossil termite on record. The presence of this species in the Late Miocene fauna of Europe indicates that climatic conditions were appropriate for the persistence of species and colonies requiring relatively stable, warm conditions. The genus is primitive in overall features but shares some similarity with the dampwood termites.

Life in the sublittoral zone of long-lived Lake Pannon: paleontological analysis of the Upper Miocene Szák Formation, Hungary

Life and depositional environments in the sublittoral zone of Lake Pannon, a large, brackish Paratethyan lake from the Late Miocene, were reconstructed from fossils and facies of the Szák Formation. This formation is exposed in several, roughly coeval (9.4–8.9 Ma) outcrops, located along strike of the paleo-shelf-break in northwestern Hungary. The silty argillaceous marl of the formation was deposited below storm wave base, at 20–30 to 80–90 m water depth. The abundance of benthic organisms indicates that the bottom water was usually well oxygenated. Interstitial dysoxia, however, may have occurred immediately below the sediment–water interface, as evidenced by occasional preservation of trace fossils such as Diplocraterion. The fauna comprised endemic mollusks, including brackish cockles of the subfamily Lymnocardiinae, dreissenid mussels (Congeria), and highly adapted, uniquely large-sized deep-water pulmonate snails (planorbids and lymnaeids). Ostracods were dominated by endemic species and, in some cases, endemic genera of candonids, leptocytherids, cypridids, and loxoconchids. Fish remnants include a sciaenid otolith and the oldest skeletal occurrence of Perca in Europe. The phytoplankton comprised exclusively endemic coccolithophorids, mostly endemic dinoflagellates (prevailingly Spiniferites), and cosmopolitan green algae. The Late Miocene fauna and flora of Lake Pannon were in many ways similar to the modern Caspian biota, and in particular cases can be regarded as its precursor.

THE MIDDLE MIOCENE (LAVENTAN) QUEBRADA HONDA FAUNA, SOUTHERN BOLIVIA and A DESCRIPTION OF ITS NOTOUNGULATES

Abstract: The Laventan Quebrada Honda Fauna of southern Bolivia is one of the best sampled middle Miocene South American faunas. The present study describes the toxodontid, interatheriid and mesotheriid notoungulates from Quebrada Honda and summarizes the present state of knowledge of the fauna. Toxodontid specimens from Quebrada Honda include two isolated molars, one upper and one lower. The upper molar compares favourably with Paratrigodon and may represent a new species, but too little material is known to make an adequate diagnosis. The lower molar may pertain to the same taxon, or to a distinct species that is even more poorly represented. A new species of the interatheriid Miocochilius is described, M. federicoi, on the basis of a partial skull. It differs from M. anomopodus in its significantly smaller size (at least 20 per cent smaller based on linear upper molar dimensions); relatively wider P4 with deeper lingual sulcus; more prominent middle lobes on upper molars; and M3 with deeper lingual sulcus and more prominent metastyle (distal lobe). The generic allocation of this new species is considered tentative, pending a better understanding of the phylogenetic relationships among currently recognized species of Miocochilius and Protypotherium. Mesotheriids are represented at Quebrada Honda by a pair of poorly preserved mandibles that are referred to Plesiotypotherium minor, a species previously recorded from slightly older deposits near Cerdas, Bolivia. A newly revised faunal list for Quebrada Honda is compiled that includes 30 species of non‐volant mammals, 27 of which have been identified to at least genus level. This revised faunal list is used to compare Quebrada Honda to other well‐sampled middle–late Miocene faunas (including La Venta, Columbia; Collón‐Curá, Argentina; and Arroyo Chasicó, Argentina) using the Simpson Index of faunal similarity. In order to compensate for inadequately identified specimens (i.e. those not identified to genus level), minimum and maximum values of faunal similarly were estimated using two different sets of assumptions. The analysis indicates that the middle‐latitude Quebrada Honda Fauna is more similar to the slightly older high‐latitude fauna of Collón‐Curá than to the contemporaneous low‐latitude fauna of La Venta, suggesting that isolating mechanisms between the low and middle latitudes were in place during the early and/or middle Miocene. The relative paucity of taxa shared between Quebrada Honda and La Venta, despite their contemporaneity, suggests that the system of South American Land Mammal ‘Ages’ (SALMAs) may not be useful for biocorrelation between low‐latitude faunas and those from elsewhere in South America.

Anthracothere dental anatomy reveals a late Miocene Chado-Libyan bioprovince

Recent discovery of an abundant and diverse late Miocene fauna at Toros-Ménalla (Chad, central Africa) by the Mission Paléoanthropologique Franco-Tchadienne provides a unique opportunity to examine African faunal and hominid evolution relative to the early phases of the Saharan arid belt. This study presents evidence from an African Miocene anthracotheriid Libycosaurus, particularly well documented at Toros-Ménalla. Its remains reveal a large semiaquatic mammal that evolved an autapomorphic upper fifth premolar (extremely rare in Cenozoic mammals). The extra tooth appeared approximately 12 million years ago, probably in a small northern African population isolated by climate-driven fragmentation and alteration of the environments inhabited by these anthracotheriids [Flower, B. P. & Kennett, J. P. (1994) Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 108, 537-555 and Zachos, J., Pagani, M., Sloan, L., Thomas, E. & Billups, K. (2001) Science 292, 686-693]. The semiaquatic niche of Libycosaurus, combined with the distribution and relationships of its late Miocene species, indicates that by the end of the Miocene, wet environments connected the Lake Chad Basin to the Libyan Sirt Basin, across what is now the Sahara desert.

Miocene-Pliocene Foraminifera from the subsurface sections in the Yufutsu Oil and Gas Field, Hokkaido

Miocene-Pliocene foraminifera recovered from three subsurface sections in the Yufutsu Oil and Gas Field, southern Hokkaido, are studied in detail to infer paleoceanographic and paleobathymetric implications and to clarify the history of the basin. Foraminiferal faunas indicate a progressive increase in bathymetry from a brackish shallow marine to a bathyal condition during the Middle Miocene. The basin then came under the spell of volcanism and nearly 1000 m of basalt-basaltic andesite flows accumulated until the top of the volcano emerged out of the sea. After the cessation of volcanic activity, the basin subsided and cold bathyal conditions prevailed in which diatomaceous-siliceous sediment was accumulated during the Late Miocene. The periodic episodes of subsidence are inferred to have been related to the genesis of the Japan Sea. The basin witnessed a major hiatus during the Late Miocene-Early Pliocene. During the Late Pliocene, coarse clastic sediments accumulated in the region in a cold bathyal condition of deposition. The clastic sediment is thought to have derived from the eastern upland where the Upper Cretaceous and Paleogene sedimentary rocks were exposed. It is supposed that the hiatus in the Late Miocene-Early Pliocene is a result of an upheaval of central Hokkaido, which unstabilized the sediment and changed bottom current condition.The Early to Middle Miocene microfauna of the region is similar to those of the Japan Sea region, whereas the Late Miocene fauna is different in abundance of agglutinated foraminifera. Such faunal differences between the study area and Japan Sea region of Honshu in the Late Miocene are mainly due to the variable distances from the proto-Tsugaru Strait that let carbonate-saturated Pacific seawater into the Japan Sea.

The global Mio–Pliocene climatic equability and coastal ostracod faunas of southeast Australia

This study on the Mio–Pliocene ostracod successions of southeast Australia outlines several faunal events indicative of climate warming and/or increased rainfall events. Ostracod faunas associated with a late Late Miocene sea level rise event suggest that the climate of this time in southeast Australia was similar to, or slightly warmer than that of present day southeast Australia. However, it was probably wetter and significantly warmer than immediately preceding (mid Late Miocene) palaeoclimatic conditions within the region. Evidence for a change to wetter and warmer conditions during the late Late Miocene is seen in the appearance of various extant euryhaline and semi-thermophilic ostracod species in coastal ostracod faunas. The appearance of euryhaline species, which are mostly absent from older shallow marine Cenozoic strata of the Bass Strait hinterland, suggests a major influx of fresh water into coastal marine settings, which contributed to the initial phase of development of the southeast Australian late Neogene barrier coastline and associated marginal marine palaeoenvironments. During the time interval latest Miocene to earliest Pliocene, and during the early Late Pliocene, two subsequent global sea level rise events are also preserved in the southeast Australian coastal plain. Many of the species present in ostracod faunas associated with these two events are the same as in older local late Late Miocene faunas. In earliest (?) Pliocene faunas, there is minor evidence for the reappearance of semi-thermophilic ostracods. Faunas of early Late Pliocene age often exhibit a conspicuous faunal dominance by, or large abundance of euryhaline species, indicating the particularly strong influence of fresh water influxes into coastal marine palaeoenvironments. This may reflect the presence of especially wet local temperate palaeoclimatic conditions during a time of equable global climates. Succeeding estuarine, lagoonal and coastal embayment ostracod faunas of late Late Pliocene age are associated with marginal marine sediments that are interbedded with coastal dune aeolianites. This suggests an overall seaward retreat of marginal marine environments that was initiated by a major global sea level fall linked to the onset of cooler Late Pliocene and Quaternary global climates.