1. Magnetostratigraphy and paleoecology of the hominid-bearing locality Çorakyerler, Tuglu Formation (Çankiri Basin, Central Anatolia)
- Author
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Mikael Fortelius, Cesur Pehlevan, Nuretdin Kaymakci, Cor G. Langereis, Faysal Bibi, Jussi T. Eronen, Ferhat Kaya, Ahmet Cem Erkman, Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli Üniversitesi/fen-edebiyat fakültesi/felsefe bölümü/felsefe tarihi anabilim dalı, Department of Geosciences and Geography, Evolutionary Palaeontology group, and Kırşehir Ahi Evran Üniversitesi, Fen-Edebiyat Fakültesi, Antropoloji Bölümü
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1171 Geosciences ,0106 biological sciences ,010506 paleontology ,Paleomagnetism ,Range (biology) ,Fauna ,education ,Paleontology ,15. Life on land ,Structural basin ,Late Miocene ,010603 evolutionary biology ,01 natural sciences ,Biochronology ,Paleoecology ,Fosil ,Magnetostratigrafi ,Geology ,Magnetostratigraphy ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences - Abstract
WOS: 000372953300004 Ouranopithecus turkae, from the late Miocene of Corakyerler in Central Anatolia, is considered one of the last known occurrences of great ape in the eastern Mediterranean. The Corakyerler fauna has previously been correlated with MN 11 to early MN 12 on the basis of biochronology, and its faunal composition has been found to contrast with those from contemporaneous sites. In this paper, we present the magnetostratigraphy of the Corakyerler site and an expanded interpretation of its paleobiogeographical and paleoecological contexts. The paleomagnetic results reveal two intervals of normal polarity and an intervening interval of reversed polarity in the main fossiliferous section. Of the three likely age correlations spanning 8.13-7.15Ma (MN 11-MN 12), we favor correlation with chron 4n, with a possible age range of the fossiliferous deposit between 8.11 and 7.64Ma (late MN 11). The geographic distribution of genus-level faunal similarity and mean hypsodonty show that Corakyerler is a typical representative of the Pikermian chronofauna with a wide range of faunal similarity, including late Miocene localities from the eastern Mediterranean, eastern Asia, and eastern Africa. Lithological and sedimentological characteristics of the fossiliferous horizon, however, indicate a lacustrine depositional environment and relatively humid local conditions within the more arid regional context. This special setting could explain the unexpected occurrence of a hominid primate at Corakyerler.Citation for this article: Kaya, F., N. Kaymakci, F. Bibi, J. T. Eronen, C. Pehlevan, A. C. Erkman, C. G. Langereis, and M. Fortelius. 2016. Magnetostratigraphy and paleoecology of the hominid-bearing locality Corakyerler, Tulu Formation (Cankr Basin, Central Anatolia). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2015.1071710. NSF-RHOI 'Anatolian Upper Miocene Project' [0321893]; Academy of FinlandAcademy of Finland We would like to thank all the people who have dedicated their efforts to this excavation project and the magnetostratigraphic sampling of the section. F.K., C.P, and A.C.E. are grateful to A. S. Erol, project leader of the, Corakyerler excavation, for allowing them to work long years under hard conditions at, Corakyerler, and to E. S. Gulec, who played a key role in the initiation of the first, Corakyerler excavations and who provided the back-hoe for magnetostratigraphic sampling. For their valuable suggestions, we would like to thank the reviewers of this article. We thank A. H. Kaya and C. TenWolde for editing the language of the article. This work was supported by the NSF-RHOI 'Anatolian Upper Miocene Project' (grant no.: 0321893) and by a grant from the Academy of Finland to M. Fortelius.
- Published
- 2016
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