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The Messinian Salinity Crisis and its precursor events have been the greatest environmental perturbation of the Mediterranean Sea to date, offering an opportunity to study the response of marine ecosystems to extreme hydrological change and a large-scale biological invasion. The restriction of the marine connection between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean already since the Tortonian-Messinian boundary resulted in stratification of the water column and increase water temperature and salinity variations. Here, we present a unified and revised marine fossil record of the Mediterranean that covers the Tortonian stage, the pre-evaporitic Messinian and the Zanclean stage and encompasses 22988 occurrences of calcareous nannoplankton, dinoflagellates, foraminifera, corals, ostracods, bryozoans, echinoids, mollusks, fishes, and marine mammals. This record adheres to the FAIR principles, it is updated in terms of taxonomy, and it follows the currently accepted stratigraphic framework. Based on this record, knowledge gaps are identified, which are due to spatiotemporal inconsistencies in sampling effort and the distribution of sedimentary facies, and the inherent differences in the preservation potential between the groups. Additionally, sampling bias in old records may have distorted the record in favor of larger, more impressive taxa within groups. This record is now ready to be used to answer both geological and biological questions, and is amendable when new fossil data are brought to light. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The taxonomy of some non‐marine ostracod assemblages from the Dunarobba Fossil Forest area (south Tiberino Basin, Umbria, Italy) is discussed, adding to the scientific understanding of Piacenzian–Gelasian non‐marine ostracods in central Italy and providing a palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the shallow coastal lacustrine environments of the Palaeolake Tiberino. The ostracod assemblages include Darwinula stevensoni, Vestalenula cylindrica, Candona (Candona) improvisa, Candona (Neglecandona) neglecta, Candona (Neglecandona) angulata, Candona (Neglecandona) paludinica, Caspiocypris basilicii, Caspiocypris tiberina, Candonopsis kingsleii, Cyclocypris ovum, Ilyocypris bradyi, Ilyocypris decipiens, Cypris mandelstami, Zonocypris membranae quadricella, Potamocypris fulva, Cyprideis crotonensis, Cyprideis rectangularis and two new species: Hemicypris lomastroi sp. nov. and Paralimnocythere turgida sp. nov. In addition to widespread European species, the ostracod assemblages contain some rare species that were previously known from the Pliocene Paludinian Beds of Serbia. A cluster analysis applied to the ostracod frequency matrix has lead to the identification of four separate assemblages that can be attributed to several ecological niches, including emerged hydrosols, ephemeral coastal pools and a littoral lacustrine margin, which suggest a complex coastal environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The endorheic nature of Lake Trasimeno in combination with its position in central Italy makes it a relevant site to better constrain spatial differences in Holocene climatic variability in the Mediterranean area. Herein, we present a high-resolution ostracod record from the Holocene section of an 8.59-m-long sedimentary core, which is compared with historical data to distinguish anthropogenic and climatic signals. The occurrence, abundance and vanishing of ostracod species are directly controlled by lake-level variations, which are in turn related to global and regional climatic changes (i.e. moisture variations). The total organic carbon content as well as observed lithological changes provide additional information about Lake Trasimeno's hydrological and trophic conditions in the past. Most important variations have been identified at ca. 10,000 cal. yr BP, when the lacustrine basin changed from a temporary to a permanent waterbody (from Sarsicypridopsis aculeata to Candona angulata association). The highest lake level and the total absence of ostracods occur at around 9000 cal. yr BP. The recorded humid phase persisted up to ca. 4200 cal yr BP since when a lake-level decreasing trend started and continued until the present day (Candona angulata, Cyprideis torosa and Darvinula stevensoni associations). The frequency of changes in the relative abundance of the main species shows centennial variations (i.e. C. angulata, C. torosa and Darvinula stevensoni). As historical evidences yield that human interventions to control the lake level remained unsuccessful in the past, Lake Trasimeno records an almost pristine climatic signal during most of the Holocene, which is quite unusual in the highly populated Mediterranean area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Tiberino Basin is a wide Plio-Pleistocene intermountain basin located in central Apennine (central Italy). Its sedimentary infill is made of a thick succession of Pliocene-early Quaternary continental deposits, the oldest of which can be referred to the Fosso Bianco Formation, composed of grey clays deposited in a huge (at least 500 km²) and relatively deep (not less than 50 m) lake, the Palaeolake Tiberino. We analyse the lacustrine ostracod assemblages from the Fosso Bianco Formation and provide descriptions of five new species included in the subfamily Candoninae (Caspiocypris basilicii sp. nov., Caspiocypris perusia sp. nov., Caspiocypris posteroacuta sp. nov., Caspiocypris tiberina sp. nov. and Caspiocypris tuderis sp. nov.)) and one new species included in the subfamily Limnocytherinae (Paralimnocythere umbra sp. nov.)). The five species of Caspiocypris seem to represent a species flock, i.e. Caspiocypris includes a group of closely related species characterized by monophyly, endemism and speciosity, confirming the 'ancient lake' nature of the Palaeolake Tiberino during the Piacenzian-Gelasian. The ostracod assemblage points to a relatively deep-water and low energy lacustrine environment marked by a high level of endemism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ostracod assemblages from Lake Trasimeno (Umbria, central Italy), the largest endorheic lake in Italy, were investigated relating their species distribution and ecology to modern physical, chemical and biological parameters. Nineteen living species were collected in the lake (Darwinula stevensoni, Candona (Candona) candida, Candona (Neglecandona) angulata, Fabaeformiscandona fabaeformis, Pseudocandona marchica, Cypria ophtalmica, Ilyocypris gibba, I. salebrosa, I. getica, Cypridopsis vidua, Eucypris virens, Trajancypris clavata, Herpetocypris helenae, Heterocypris salina, H. incongruens, Isocypris beauchampi, Cyprideis torosa, Limnocythere inopinata, and L. stationis). All the identified species belong to the fresh-water Italian ostracod fauna but Cyprideis torosa is documented in an oligohaline athalassic lacustrine environment in Italy for the first time. The occurrence of Ilyocypris salebrosa represents the southernmost record in Italy and the westernmost in Eurasia. The recovery of Limnocythere stationis represents the westernmost record in Eurasia. The distribution of the different ostracods recovered in Lake Trasimeno is linked to the dominant physical and chemical parameters for each ecological niche. Physical and chemical data along with substratum type, grain-size and presence of aquatic macrophytes have been related to different ostracods using a multivariate analyses approach (NMDS, CCA, Spearman's rank correlation test). These results allow to differentiate several ecological niches within the lake and indicate that the main parameters affecting the ostracod assemblages are the aquatic macrophyte coverage, the Total Organic Carbon (TOC) and, to a lesser extent, temperature and type of substrate. Cyprideis torosa and Candona (Neglecandona) angulata have been recovered both in the distal part of the lake and in the lakeshore area. In both cases they are associated with scarce or absent aquatic macrophytes and low amounts of TOC. The alternate dominance of these two species in the distal deeper assemblages seems to be mainly linked with the bottom oxygen availability, being C.(N.) angulata dominant in the most oxygen-depleted sediments and C. torosa dominant in higher oxygen conditions. Along the lakeshore area they are often discovered together with other prevailing species, such as Cypridopsis vidua that is common in very shallow to shallow (20-140 cm) sites with high TOC content, abundant macrophytes and algae, and Limnocythere inopinata, which dominates slightly deeper areas (around 150-210 cm) where the previous species are almost absent. The Spearman's rank correlation test showed significant positive correlation between some ostracods and macrophyte species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]