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The study of fossil coastlines is one of the most widely used methods to unravel the vertical movements of the Earth's solid surface. All along the coast of the Calabrian Subduction Arc, well preserved Pleistocene marine terrace sequences document a protracted uplift history. Although Pleistocene vertical movements have been extensively explored, the Holocene history is not well understood. Numerous uplifted coastlines of the Holocene period have been studied along the Tyrrhenian side of Calabria, but the Ionian coastal sector is considerably under-studied. Our new data from the coast of the Crotone Peninsula fill this crucial data-gap. AMS 14C dating of seventeen sea level markers, elevated above the current mean sea level, show ages between 2300 and 7000 Cal. Yr BP. The elevation of the markers was corrected for the paleo sea level using the most updated GIA models ICE-6G (VM5a) and ICE-7G (VM7). We found that a coastline dated to 7 ka shows uplift rates of 0.8 mm/yr, consistent with late Pleistocene uplift rates (≈0.8 mm/yr). In contrast, a 2.3 ka coastline was uplifted by only 1 m, resulting in lower uplift rates of ≈0.5 mm/yr. However, there are clues that the abandonment of this younger coastline may have occurred with a rapid uplift pulse. Reconstructing the past vertical movements of the Crotone Peninsula reveals an unsteady uplift history. At some times fast uplift rates are required, while for other periods, lasting as long as 3–4 kyr, the uplift rate is slower or zero. An uplift history consisting of periods of accelerated uplift, or even coseismic pulses, would also explain the difference in uplift rates between short term (<5 ka) and long term (>5 ka) markers through a metric we have defined as uplift rate sensitivity. Understanding the details of this uplift history has social relevance. The co-seismic uplift hypothesis requires further investigation but if confirmed would likely affect the seismic and tsunami hazard of the Crotone Peninsula. Similarly, the unsteady uplift rate would cause a risk given the current rapid rate of global sea level rise. Periods of sustained vertical stability would increase the risk of flooding even in areas characterized by long-term uplift and thus considered safe. • Holocene sea-level markers along the Ionian coast of Calabria (Crotone Peninsula) document active unsteady uplift. • Holocene and Pleistocene vertical velocity fields differences along the Ionian coast of Calabria. • New Holocene sea-level markers along the Ionian coast of Calabria (Crotone Peninsula) suggest seismic hazard re-assessment. • Spatio-temporal variability of the uplift field in Calabria could be explained through the concept of uplift rate sentitivity [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the Cenozoic, the constant northward movement of the African plate led to the division of the Tethys Ocean into two: the Palaeomediterranean and the Paratethyan branches. The latter was represented by a huge epicontinental sea and brackish to freshwater lakes that extended across central Europe and western Asia. Neogene and Quaternary ostracods from the Paratethys originated through major adaptive radiations, which gave rise to endemic brackish taxa. Unfortunately, much confusion surrounds their taxonomy, due to the quality of descriptions and images in the original literature and the incompleteness of the type material, making necessary a taxonomic revision. In this paper, we propose a systematic revision of several Paratethyan endemic candonid genera based on the analysis of the type material, new material collected from the type localities, and new fossil material from the Ponto-Caspian area. The study focuses on the description of the valve morphology and particularly on the geometric morphometric analysis of the valve outline. Thirty-three genera were taken into account of which four (Advenocypris, Candoniella, Graviacypris, Telekia) were considered to be junior synonyms of Typhlocypris, Pseudocandona or Candona. Moesiella is considered a nomen nudum. In the case of Caspiollina, Dacicandona, Liventalina and Turkmenella the scarcity of material and/or the poor descriptions reported in the literature prevented us from performing a full revision. The monospecific genus Thaminocypris possibly includes a teratological form. The remaining 23 genera were merged into nine valid, endemic, genera (Bakunella, Camptocypria, Caspiocypris, Hastacandona, Lineocypris, Pontoniella, Propontoniella, Typhlocyprella and Zalanyiella). Emended diagnoses and descriptions are proposed for these genera and a new species, Bakunella anae sp. nov., is described. This study considerably reduces the taxonomic uncertainty within the Paratethyan candonids, providing new data for the evaluation of the palaeobiodiversity of the Paratethyan domain. Finally, the palaeobiogeography of Paratethyan candonids during the Neogene and Quaternary is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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 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]

Freshwater ostracod assemblages from San Demetrio Synthem (L'Aquila Basin, central Apennines, Italy), dating back to the late Piacenzian–Gelasian, are studied. Six genera and eight species are recognised, six of which are new:Caspiocypris amiterniSpadi & Gliozzi sp. nov.,C. bosiiSpadi & Gliozzi sp. nov.,C. nicandroiSpadi & Gliozzi sp. nov.,C. vestinaeSpadi & Gliozzi sp. nov.,Cypria bikeratiaSpadi & Gliozzi sp. nov., andIlyocypris ilaeSpadi & Gliozzi sp. nov. Additionally, one fragmentary valve referred toParalimnocytherecf.P. dictyonalisMedici, Ceci & Gliozzi, 2011, one valve ascribed toAmnicythereex gr.stanchevaeKrstić, 1975, one fragment tentatively identified asLimnocythere? sp. and four poorly preserved valves of Cypridoidea indet. were also recovered. The genusCaspiocyprisis revised, and an emended diagnosis is provided. Comparisons are made with the most similar co-generic species occurring in the Neogene of Italy and the Paratethyan domain. The ostracod fauna of the San Demetrio Synthem shows the greatest affinity at the generic level with the Pontian (Messinian–Zanclean) ostracods of the Pannonic, Dacic and Euxinic Basins. To explain this affinity, two hypotheses are discussed: (1) passive dispersal of Paratethyan forms into the Italian Plio–Pleistocene palaeolakes; and (2) endemic evolution of several species in different Plio–Pleistocene palaeolakes from the Paratethyan-like late Messinian Lago-Mare ostracod fauna of the Palaeomediterranean area. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:881D73C7-E62E-460A-A465-363DAE20A8D5 [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A multidisciplinary micro-paleontological study of a sediment core (SK19) drilled in the coastal area of Lake Shkodra, northern Albania, integrated with archaeological data from the Projekti Arkeologjikë i Shkodrës (PASH), provides compelling evidence for a long-term relationship between Shkodra's natural environment and its inhabitants. Charophyte and ostracod data recovered from SK19 combined with those already studied from the distal core SK13 (Mazzini et al., 2015), reveal important information concerning the changing characteristics of the water body through time. In particular, the ostracod fauna display a truly Balkanic character with eight taxa endemic to the area. Palaeoenvironmental analysis of the two cores indicates that a wide marshland extended towards the present eastern coast of the lake, fed discontinuously both by surface- and ground-water, beginning sometime before 12,140 cal yrs BP. For about 7000 years ostracods do not record any significant changes, whereas the Characeae record in the proximal zone displays important variations. Those variations do not match any of the climatic oscillations revealed in previous studies by δ 18 O or pollen data, thereby implicating human activities. Ostracods and charophytes indicate that permanent shallow waters occurred in the Shkodra basin only around 5800 cal yrs BP. Historical sources of the Roman Empire indicate a swamp (the Palus labeatis ), crossed by the River Morača, which flowed into the River Buna. Evidence for local fires, whether natural or anthropogenic, is recorded in SK13, scattered between 4400 and 1200 yrs BP. From 4400 to 2000 yrs BP, during the Bronze and Iron Age, hill forts ringed the marsh and burial mounds marked its edges. But around 2000 cal yrs BP, a dramatic change in the water body occurred: the disappearance of Characeae. Possibly fires were used for the elimination of natural vegetation and the subsequent cultivation of olive and walnut trees, causing an increase on organic matter input into the lake and thus, resulting on the disappearance of the Characeae due to higher turbidity in lake waters. This change occurred shortly after the arrival of the Romans. At 1200 cal yrs BP the marshland evolved into the large shallow lake we know today. This change is marked in the ostracod assemblages of both cores and agrees with trends in aquatic and riparian plants and may have allowed or encouraged exponential population growth beginning in the early-middle Medieval period and peaking in the late Medieval, as indicated in PASH settlement data. The use of different but complementary methods, drawn from palaeontology and archaeology, allowed reconstruction of Shkodra's past landscapes, linking the natural evolution of a Mediterranean lacustrine basin to regional population and settlement dynamics. This is the first research project to explore the relationship between natural and cultural landscapes and environmental change in northern Albania, forming the basis for further, more detailed studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 7.5 m long SK13 sediment core, drilled at Lake Shkodra (Albania) at a bottom depth of 7 m in the central southern part of the lake, was selected for multidisciplinary analysis. The sediment core age spans from 4560 cal yr BP to present. The origin and the evolution of the lake are still debated and were never investigated in detail. In historical records, until the 15th century Lake Shkodra was never mentioned as such, but as a marshland or as a confluence between two rivers. Our research aims to reconstruct the past biodiversity and the Middle-Late Holocene palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic changes using Ostracods, Characeae, and comparing the micropaleontological data with pollens and stable isotope curves. Thirteen ostracod and five charophyte species were identified. Amongst the ostracods Candona montenigrina and Limnocythere scutariense are endemic of the lake; Candona meridionalis , Paralimnocythere georgevitschi , Metacypris cordata , Candona ex gr. bimucronata , and Cyclocypris sp. have been collected for the first time in Lake Shkodra; the last three taxa occurred only in the lower portion of the sediment core. Amongst the charophytes, Lychnothamnus barbatus and Nitella hyalina are recorded for the first time in the lake and occurs with high frequency throughout the lower portion of the core. A drastic change occurs between 1274 and 1197 cal yr BP, when 8 ostracod species out of 13 and all charophytes disappear, and the frequency of the remaining 5 species dramatically increases. The micropaleontological data suggest a decrease of the lake biodiversity since around 1200 cal yr BP linked to the transition between an ancient marshland to a lacustrine environment. This drastic event seems to be independent from any global or local climate change but linked to the complex hydrographic setting of the lake and of its only outlet, the River Bojana, discharging in the Adriatic Sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ilyocypris Brady and Norman () is a widespread freshwater ostracod genus including about 30 living and 190 fossil species. The specific identification of the living Ilyocypris relies mainly on the appendages. An identification exclusively based on valves is rather complicated because of a high intraspecific variability of their characters in several species. This study aims to test the taxonomic significance of the valves characters through the examination of specimens unambiguously identified on the basis of their soft part morphology, in order to provide useful taxonomic criteria for the identification of Ilyocypris shells in fossil assemblages. Sixty-five ilyocypridid specimens collected in mainland Italy and surrounding islands were analyzed. The patterns of valve surface ornamentation and of marginal ripplets were examined by electron microscopy. Moreover, the geometric morphometric analysis of the valve outlines was performed. Sixty-two specimens could be easily accommodated in eight Ilyocypris species ( I. bradyi, I. decipiens, I. getica, I. gibba, I. hartmanni, I. inermis, I. monstrifica, and I. salebrosa) according to the morphology of their appendages. Three additional specimens, with soft parts typical of Ilyocypris but clearly distinct valve morphology, were left in open nomenclature. Our results show that the outline analysis is often a valid tool to discriminate between different species. Conversely, valve ornamentation displays different degrees of intraspecific variability in some Ilyocypris species. The marginal ripplets are constant within each species population, but they do not always mirror the patterns reported by other authors; therefore, we do not consider them as reliable diagnostic character for specific determination. This study confirms that the identification of Ilyocypris species requires accurate description of appendages as well as external and internal carapace characteristics, and stresses the advantage of a combined neontological and paleontological investigation in solving taxonomic problems related to non-marine ostracods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present detailed Messinian paleoenvironmental reconstructions for the Adana Basin based on a multidisciplinary approach that utilizes the fossil content of the Kuzgun and Handere Formations. To reconstruct the paleoenvironmental changes that affected the Adana Basin during the Messinian, we analyzed mollusk, ostracod, planktonic and benthonic foraminifer, and calcareous nannofossil assemblages from 2 stratigraphic sections near Kabasakal village (Adana, southern Turkey). To determine if the environmental changes recognized in the Adana Basin are local or regional, and to understand the extent to which the global changes in oceanic circulation impacted the Mediterranean sedimentary basins, we compare our results with Messinian sections from other locations in the Mediterranean region (northern Italy, southern Italy, Cyprus, Algeria, and southern Turkey). The occurrence of N. humerosa, G. bulloides, G. woodi, N. acostaensis, N. atlantica (planktonic forams), S. multiflora, T. rugosa, P. elongata, C. scitula, L. lipadusensis (ostracods), R. rotaria, A. primus, and A. delicatus (calcareous nannofossils) allows us to constrain the uppermost part of the Kuzgun Formation to the early Messinian. The ostracod assemblages indicate an enclosed marine environment characterized by sporadic local freshwater inputs that decreased the salinity of the basin. In contrast, in the late Messinian Handere Formation, the presence of Paratethyan ostracods pertaining to the Loxoconcha mülleri zone and to the Loxocorniculina djafarovi zone in the Handere Formation indicates the occurrence of the Messinian brackish water Lago-Mare event in the Adana Basin, which occurred throughout the Mediterranean between 5.60 and 5.33 Ma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An abstract of the article "Late Miocene marine ostracodes from the Azores, North Atlantic," by Ricardo P. Meireles and colleagues is presented.

Abstract: In this paper the ostracod assemblages recovered from several brackish Late Miocene Italian deposits have been analysed from a palaeobiogeographical perspective. During late Tortonian-early Messinian it is possible to recognize in Italy rich ostracod assemblages characterized by a wide contingent of taxa with central European or Mediterranean affinity, while only few brackish and freshwater ostracods show Paratethyan affinity. The recognized composition of the ostracod assemblages matches the palaeogeographic setting of the palaeo-Mediterranean/Paratethys at that moment. In fact during late Tortonian-early Messinian the palaeo-Mediterranean and Paratethysian domains were divided and, even if the connection via the present Marmara Sea-Strimon Basin was still open, the different salinity between them represented an ecological barrier, preventing faunal exchanges. Since normal aquatic migration was impossible, it must be assumed that the Paratethyan-like taxa entered the palaeo-Mediterranean area via passive dispersal by aquatic birds. On the contrary, the ostracod assemblages from the Italian Lago-Mare deposits show the absolute predominance of Paratethyan taxa, which, according to the known palaeogeographic setting during the late Messinian Lago-Mare event, could actively migrate from the Paratethys domain, colonizing the palaeo-Mediterranean, whose endemic fauna was severely impoverished by the Messinian salinity crisis and the following water dilution. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In the Crete Island, late Messinian Lago-Mare facies are not well known. At present, the occurrence in Crete of the uppermost Messinian post evaporitic deposits is a matter of debate. According to several authors, the well-known late Messinian Lago-Mare facies does not occur in Crete. In this paper the preliminary results obtained from the biostratigraphical analysis of some sections sampled in the Messarà Plain will be shown. Nearby Faneromeni and Ano Akria villages, the Miocene/Pliocene boundary is well exposed. There, gypsum-bearing clay, laminated microcrystalline gypsum and gypsum-rudites characterize the evaporitic deposits of the Messinian stage. In these areas, above the Messinian evaporite, post-evaporitic fine-laminated polychrome clays, with intercalations of sandstones and conglomerates, have been found. In both the Faneromeni and Ano Akria area, the Pliocene grey clays and conglomerates rest unconformably on the uppermost Messinian post-evaporitic deposits. A 20cm-spaced sampling has been performed in both the sections, for more than 100 samples collected. The results of the micropaleontological analysis performed on the Faneromeni and Ano Akria sections point to the occurrence of ostracod assemblages containing: Loxocauda limata (Schneider in Agalarova et al.), Loxocauda sp., Cytherura pyrama Schneider, Cyprideis anlavauxensis Carbonnel, Cyprideis agrigentina Decima, Amnicythere palimpsesta (Livental), Amnicythere propinqua (Livental), Amnicythere accicularia (Olteanu), Amnicythere costata (Olteanu), Amnicythere multituberculata (Livental), Amnicythere sp. D (Miculan in Bassetti et al.), Amnicythere sp. 2 Gliozzi and Grossi, Amnicythere sp., Euxinocythere (Maeotocythere) praebaquana (Livental in Agalarova et al.), Mediocytherideini indet., Pontoniella pontica (Agalarova), Camptocypria sp. 1 Gliozzi and Grossi, Caspiocypris sp., Zalanyiella venusta (Zalanyi), Tyrrhenocythere sp., Loxoconcha rhombovalis Pokorny, Loxoconcha eichwaldi Livental, Loxoconcha sp. A (Miculan in Bassetti et al.), Loxocorniculina djafarovi (Schneider in Suzin). In the analysed samples, reworked planktonic foraminifers and well-preserved charophyte gyrogonites have been also found. The ostracod assemblages found in the Messarà Plain belong to the Loxocorniculina djafarovi Zone (sensu Carbonnel, 1978), which characterizes the uppermost Messinian deposits of the whole Mediterranean Basin. At that time, the well-known Lago-Mare biofacies was also widespread on the Crete Island. The presence of Paratethyan ostracods in the post-evaporitic Messinian deposits of both Faneromeni and Ano Akria sections suggests that in the Crete Island the latest Messinian sedimentation took place in brackish water palaeoenvironments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Late Miocene Italian brackish Loxoconchidae are herein discussed and illustrated. Three genera and two subgenera have been recognized in the brackish Italian basins: Loxoconcha, Loxocorniculina, Loxoconchissa (Loxoconchissa) and Loxoconchissa (Loxocaspia). Taking into account the diagnostic characters of several Loxoconchidae genera, in this paper Loxocorniculina is raised at a generic rank, Loxocaspia is confirmed as a subgenus within genus Loxoconchissa and several new species are established: Loxoconchissa (Loxoconchissa) kinoi nov. sp., Loxoconchissa (Loxocaspia) cosentinoi nov. sp., Loxoconchissa (Loxocaspia) nuda nov. sp., Loxoconchissa (Loxocaspia) punctata nov. sp., Loxoconchissa (Loxocaspia) reticulata nov. sp., Loxoconchissa (Loxocaspia) tuberosa nov. sp. and Loxoconchissa (Loxocaspia) velonae nov. sp. Loxocorniculina is a typical Paratethyan genus which widespread into the Palaeo-Mediterranean during the late Messinian Lago-Mare event. Loxoconchissa was known to be widespread only in the Paratethyan realm and in this paper it is signalled for the first time in the Late Tortonian-early Messinian of Italy. The palaeobiogeography of these genera is discussed and the observed continuous distribution of Loxocorniculina against the disjunct distribution of Loxoconchissa leads to suggest that this latter genus underwent a passive dispersal via aquatic birds. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

An abstract of the article "The genus Cyprideis JONES, 1857 (Crustacea, Ostracoda) in the Neogene of Italy: a geometric morphometric approach," by Silvia Ligios and Elsa Gliozzi is presented.

An abstract of the article "Paratethyan ostracod immigrants mark the biostratigraphy of the Messinian Salinity Crisis," by Francesco Grossi, Elsa Gliozzi, and Domenico Cosentino is presented.

This study presents, for the first time, a detailed quantitative reconstruction of winter (January) and summer (July) palaeotemperatures from the Late Pleistocene to Holocene transition in central Italy based on ostracod assemblages in an 8.59‐m‐long sediment core retrieved in Lake Trasimeno. Of 19 ostracod species recovered, 13 were calibrated according to their living temperature ranges, enabling us to reconstruct mean January and July temperature ranges using the mutual ostracod temperature range (MOTR) method. The occurrences of Cytheromorpha fuscata and Limnocythere suessenbornensis from 44 000 to 25 500 cal. a BP showed mean January temperatures at least 7 °C colder and mean July temperature at least 1 °C cooler in some intervals compared to present‐day temperatures. Comparison of the MOTR‐derived January minima curve with a Greenland oxygen isotope record (NGRIP) shows a remarkable correlation of warmer Greenland Interstadial and the colder Greenland Stadial events with clear peaks and troughs in the MOTR signal. These correlations were tested successfully by tuning the MOTR curve to the NGRIP record, resulting in an improved age‐depth model combining radiocarbon ages with MOTR tie points. The results demonstrate that a record of rapid climate change in the North Atlantic region is archived in lacustrine ostracod assemblages in central Italy. [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]

A multiproxy approach in a sediment core from Lake Trasimeno has been used to reconstruct the climate history of central Italy during the Late Pleistocene to Early Holocene period (ca. 47,000–9,000 cal yr B.P.). Ostracod assemblages and sedimentological data (lithology and carbonate content) have been used to infer past hydrological changes in the area. Ostracods were analyzed throughout the core using diversity indexes and multivariate statistic analyses (Cluster and PCA). Three main associations linked to lake level and salinity variations were recognized: 1) the C. torosa association, indicating permanent lacustrine conditions with high lake levels and low salinities; 2) the S. aculeata association, linked to very shallow/temporary waters with higher salinity conditions; and 3) the S. aculeata - E. mareotica association pointing to temporary water conditions and the highest salinities. Furthermore, the presence of C. fuscata and L. blankenbergensis during wide parts of the Late Pleistocene indicates temperatures lower than present days. Alternations of these three ostracod associations compares well with the oxygen isotope curve from Greenland (NGRIP) and are thus interpreted as climatically driven. At the Holocene transition (Termination 1), the ostracod associations indicate a delay in the increasing warming and humidity with respect to the NGRIP temperature record. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three parallel overlapping cores have been taken in the Albanian side of Lake Shkodra (Albania/Montenegro). The chronological frame of the record, spanning approximately the last 4500 years, has been assessed using four radiocarbon dates and four well-known tephra layers of Italian volcanoes. Multidisciplinary analyses turned out to be decisive to understand environmental, climatic changes and human impact. Here, we focus on palynology. The humidity at Shkodra was always enough to allow the developing of a luxuriant arboreal vegetation. The pollen percentage diagram does not record important changes in terrestrial plants percentages. Arboreal pollen (AP) shows only a rather slight decrease, with ‘natural forests’ replaced by intensive cultivation of chestnut and walnut in the last seven/eight centuries. The rather minimal changes in composition and dominance are because of the fact that the pollen rain comes from different vegetation belts, from the Mediterranean to the alpine one. Two major periods of humidity are found, one at the base of the pollen concentration and influx diagram, before 4100 yr BP, the other at 1300 yr BP. Minima in pollen influx and concentration occurred soon before 4000, at ca. 2900 and at ca. 1450 yr BP These minima, interpreted as aridity crises, show a temporal coincidence with the so-called Bond events 1-3 already found in other central and eastern Mediterranean records. The minimum in AP occurring after 500 yr BP could represent the record of the ‘Little Ice Age’, even if it could be the effect of a strong land use. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Seventeen layers characterized by soft-sediment deformation structures (SSDS) were identified within the "calcari di Fiumicello", an upper Messinian (Miocene) stratigraphic unit (30 m thick), cropping out in the northern sector of the Gargano Promontory (Apulia, southern Italy). Facies analysis was performed on the whole outcrop and detailed sedimentological investigations were carried out on the deformed beds, in order to interpret the deformation mechanism, the driving mechanism and the possible trigger agent. Deformed layers occur in some thin-bedded ooidal limestones, skeletal calcarenite, as well as in some pebble-size conglomerate, alternated with marls, deposited in a protected embayment or barrier-island-lagoon system, possibly characterized by high salinity, and tidal influx. SSDS can be classified as load- and slump/slide structures. The continuous exposures allow us to follow a single deformed layer along tens of meters, hence several types of lateral variations were observed that can be summarised as follows: (1) SSDS disappear within a few meters (with a decreasing pattern of their deformation or in an abrupt way); (2) deformed layers laterally change in thickness and morphology; and (3) a single deformed bed can laterally correspond to two deformed beds. Most of the soft sediment deformation features were identified as liquefaction and/or fluidization features related to seismic shocks (seismites). Seismites are often used as an indicator of seismic events, especially along small outcrops, trench excavation and core analysis. This study highlights the value of the sedimentological analysis for paleoseismic investigations, with the aim of improving criteria for identifying seismites in the sedimentary record, and their suitability as marker of seismic events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biochronology is the most widely used method for organizing the successions of continental vertebrate faunas in geological time and for allowing the correlation of continental deposits. However, due to the fragmentary nature of the paleontological record and the diachronicity of first and last occurrences of vertebrate taxa in different areas (i.e., bioevents), it is difficult to precisely define the temporal boundaries between biochronological units. That is why it is crucial to calibrate biochronological data with independent proxies wherever possible. Here, thanks to an interdisciplinary approach that combines sedimentology and stratigraphy, vertebrate paleontology, micropaleontology (ostracods), palynology, and geochronology, we provide a chronological framework and a paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the paleontological site of Pantalla (Central Italy). The combination between biochronological/biostratigraphic and geochronological (U-series/ESR dating and paleomagnetism) data allows us to refer the site to c. 2.2 Ma, i.e., in the transition phase between the Middle and Late Villafranchian in the European biochronological scheme. We reconstruct the environment as a fluvial area with a frequently flooded wet floodplain and marked (probably seasonal) variations of the water level of the channel river. The depositional system was surrounded by a conifer-dominated forest, which is suggestive of a glacial phase. • Pantalla is a paleontological site yielding well-preserved terrestrial mammals. • Geological and paleontological data are combined in an interdisciplinary approach. • A chronological and paleoenvironmental framework of Pantalla is provided. • Age of the site (c. 2.2 Ma) is close to the Middle-Late Villafranchian transition. • The environment was a fluvial area with a frequently flooded wet floodplain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study of the tectonically active L'Aquila Basin offers new insights into both the creation of the extensional intermontane basins of the central Apennines of Italy and their tectono-sedimentary evolution through time. The combination of large mammal remains, ostracods, molluscs, Mousterian tools, and 14C dating allows better definition of the onset and stratigraphic evolution of the L'Aquila Basin. Interpretation of a seismic reflection profile and well-log data allow evaluation of the subsurface setting of this sedimentary basin and its tectono-sedimentary evolution. The occurrence of a wedge-shaped seismic unit at the base of the basin sedimentary succession defines the first phase of basin fill during a late Piacenzian-Gelasian synrift stage. Activity along the main fault of the extensional fault system responsible for the onset and subsequent development of the western sector of the L'Aquila Basin (L'Aquila-Scoppito subbasin) migrated from southwest to northeast, reaching the presently active Mount Pettino normal fault only in the late Pleistocene-Holocene. The onset of sedimentation in the L'Aquila Basin was synchronous with the onset in the Tiberino Basin, and so the idea that these extensional intermontane basins become progressively younger from the Tyrrhenian toward the Adriatic side of the central Apennines is rejected. In the northern and central Apennines, only two major syndepositional extensional domains can be recognized: a late Miocene rifting area, which includes all the late Miocene extensional basins in Tuscany, and a late Pliocene to earliest Pleistocene rifting area, which possibly includes all the intermontane basins from the Tiberino Basin to the Sulmona Basin. The different time gaps between compressional and extensional deformation at any given locality in the central Apennines could indicate a partial decoupling of processes responsible for the migration of shortening and extension toward the foreland. Diachroneity between the eastward migration of shortening in the foreland and extension in the inner part of the orogen supports the notion that the central Apennines were created as a result of a partially decoupled collision zone. Study of the onset of the central Apennine extensional intermontane basins, together with their seismic activity, indicates that the central Apennine postorogenic extensional domain represents an archive of ~3 m.y. of continued crustal extension. These findings help to refine models of the long-term extensional rate of the central Apennines, and they provide a basis for more reliable seismotectonic models for one of the most seismically active sectors of the central Mediterranean area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Work on thermal pools at Poggetti Vecchi in Grosseto, Italy, exposed an up to 3-meter-thick succession of seven sedimentary units. Unit 2 in the lower portion of the succession contained vertebrate bones, mostly of the straight-tusked elephant, Palaeoloxodon antiquus, commingled with stone, bone, and wooden tools. Thermal carbonates overlying Unit 2 are radiometrically dated to the latter part of the middle Pleistocene. This time span indicates that early Neanderthals produced the human artifacts from Poggetti Vecchi. The elephant bones belong to seven individuals of different ages. Sedimentary facies analysis and paleoecological evidence suggest a narrow lacustrine-palustrine embayment affected by water-level fluctuations and, at times, by hydrothermal water. Cyclic lake-level variations were predominantly forced by the rapid climatic fluctuations that occurred at Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6–7 transition and throughout the MIS 6. Possibly an abrupt, intense, and protracted cold episode during the onset of MIS 6 led to the sudden death of the elephants, which formed an unexpected food resource for the humans of the area. The Poggetti Vecchi site adds new information on the behavioral plasticity and food procurement strategies that early Neanderthals were able to develop in Italy during the middle to the late Pleistocene transition. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We present a geological map at 1:25,000 scale of the Plio-Quaternary L’Aquila-Scoppito intermontane basin (central Italy), which corresponds to the epicentral area of the 6th April 2009 L’Aquila earthquake (Mw: 6.29). The map is derived from geological field surveys at 1:5000 scale and takes into account previously published maps. It is supported by a fine-scale LiDAR digital elevation model, paleontological analyses,14C dating, well log analyses of deep boreholes, and geophysical data interpretation. By taking into account that the remarkable historical and present-day seismicity of the area is the result of its Plio-Quaternary geological evolution, the aim of this study is to produce a fine-scale geological map of the study area through a comprehensive analysis of the occurring Plio-Quaternary synthems and the tectonic processes that are taking place within it. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A gigantic cascade of Atlantic waters, filling the deep desiccated Mediterranean basin at the beginning of the Pliocene, has commonly been envisaged to end the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC). The Mediterranean lowstand during its final “Lago-Mare” phase, however, has long been subject to major controversy and has recently been seriously questioned again. Here, we present high-resolution ostracod distribution patterns of the MSC successions in the Black Sea basin (Zheleznyi Rog section; Russia) and the Mediterranean (Cuevas del Almanzora section; Spain) to study the origin and migration history of the Lago-Mare ostracods. We conclude that two major phases of faunal migration have taken place in the Messinian. The first phase corresponds to the Maeotian–Pontian boundary interval (~ 6.1–6.0 Ma) of the Paratethys, where mainly Pannonian species suddenly invaded the Black Sea region. The second migration event corresponds to the Lago-Mare phase of the Mediterranean when first (5.55–5.47 Ma) some opportunistic taxa (species of Cyprideis and Loxoconcha genera) and then (5.40–5.33 Ma) a more diverse assemblage of Paratethyan species occupied the entire Mediterranean region. The Spanish ostracod assemblages show a high percentage of Paratethyan (Pontian) ostracods, in agreement with previously studied Italian Lago-Mare sections. The similar palaeoenvironmental changes that developed roughly synchronously in the western and central Mediterranean marginal basins provide more evidence for intrabasinal exchange at high water level during the final stage of the Lago-Mare phase. This indicates that the Mediterranean in the latest Messinian was full of water (comparable to the present Caspian Sea) and that the Zanclean deluge, if happened, only surged some tens, up to few hundred metres, into the Mediterranean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1st International Symposium on Ostracoda (ISO) was held in Naples (1963). The philosophy behind this symposium and the logical outcome of what is now known as the International Research Group on Ostracoda (IRGO) are here reviewed, namely ostracodology over the last 50 years is sociologically analysed. Three different and important historic moments for the scientific achievements of this domain are recognised. The first one, between about 1963 and 1983, is related to applied research for the oil industry as well as to the great interest in the better description of the marine environment by both zoologists and palaeontologists. Another important aspect during this period was the work by researchers dealing with Palaeozoic ostracods, who had their own discussion group, IRGPO. Gradually, the merger of this latter group with those dealing with post-Palaeozoic ostracods at various meetings improved the communication between the two groups of specialists. A second period was approximately delineated between 1983 and 2003. During this time-slice, more emphasis was addressed to environmental research with topics such as the study of global events and long-term climate change. Ostracodologists profited also from the research “politics” within national and international programmes. Large international research teams emerged using new research methods. During the third period (2003–2013), communication and collaborative research reached a global dimension. Amongst the topics of research we cite the reconstruction of palaeoclimate using transfer functions, the building of large datasets of ostracod distributions for regional and intercontinental studies, and the implementation of actions that should lead to taxonomic harmonisation. Projects within which molecular biological techniques are routinely used, combined with sophisticated morphological information, expanded now in their importance. The documentation of the ostracod description improved through new techniques to visualise morphological details, which stimulated also communication between ostracodologists. Efforts of making available ostracod information through newsletters and electronic media are evoked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between ostracod and macrophyte communities has been seldom studied, especially in urban parks. The main purpose of this research is to explore such a relationship in the area of Rome (Italy), and in particular in the Appia Antica Regional Park, to provide information about the environmental characteristics influencing both the assemblages and to document for the first time the distribution of freshwater ostracods in an area inside the city of Rome. The survey has considered different water bodies: springs, channels, ditches, and a pond. Chemical and physical parameters were measured seasonally in conjunction with the ostracod sampling in 13 sites. The ostracod assemblage includes 11 species whereas the macrophyte community is formed by 17 species. Their link with the measured abiotic parameters has been studied through statistical analyses. The results clearly separate the investigated area in one sector where COD and phosphates are the driving factors and another sector where inorganic nitron ions, pH, and conductivity are the main influencing factors. Although the macrophyte community is clearly affected by human pressure, the relationship with the ostracod assemblages seems well established and identified by exclusive pairs or groups of species. Among them, the Cypria lacustris- Lemna minuta duo is of considerable importance, being L. minuta an exotic species, known as an invasive weed in some areas of Europe and spread in Italy only recently. The fact that the 13 sites were characterized by different public access regulation has been partially mirrored by both ostracod and macrophyte distribution since the majority of the sites characterized by the highest diversity are those with restricted access. In general, notwithstanding the anthropic pressure, the occurrence of different kinds of water bodies has allowed the development of ostracod and macrophyte associations, which are rarely represented in an urban park. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Legnagnone section (North-eastern Apennines) represents one of the few shallow water records of the onset of the Messinian salinity crisis. Here we present a detailed description of a ~200kyr time interval encompassing the pre-/syn-evaporitic transition based on a multidisciplinary approach, integrating sedimentological, bio-magnetostratigraphical, palaeontological and stable isotope data. Such a shallow water setting is potentially more sensitive to the palaeoenvironmental change leading to the MSC than the more often studied deeper Mediterranean basin. The aquatic palaeoenvironmental reconstruction proposed here is based on the study of foraminifer, ostracod and mollusc assemblages. It depicts a change from infralittoral (20–50m) to inner circalittoral environment (60–100m) that, since 6.12Ma, was progressively affected by a reduction of oxygen at the sea floor punctuated by short-lived anoxic events. At least three cooling events have been recognized on the basis of relative abundance data in mid to high altitude pollen, which, before 6.03Ma, are in phase with abundance peaks of Turborotalia spp., a taxon indicating eutrophic and cool surface waters. The absence of stress-tolerant benthic foraminifers during these peaks points to strong ventilation episodes triggered by a generally cooler climate. The proximity of a deltaic system and the consequent riverine input probably caused a salinity decrease of the surface waters, hindering the proliferation of planktonic foraminifers in the water column, which prevalently occur in short influxes and disappear at ca. 6Ma. Our results suggest that the onset of the crisis occurred during a phase of relative sea level high stand, whereas no evidences of sea level drop can be envisaged. The palaeoclimatic reconstruction based on palynological data indicates the dominance of a “subtropical humid forest” vegetation type, where fresh water swamps are well represented. From 6.03Ma onward, the transition to the salinity crisis is marked by more pronounced cyclical expansions of the temperate broad-leaved deciduous forest, along with herbaceous taxa. The establishment of the strongly evaporative condition at the crisis onset is not associated with major vegetational changes towards drier conditions, but linked to a sudden increase of δ18O and the disappearance of benthic foraminifers just prior to the deposition of the 1st laminated carbonate, which represents the base of the Primary Lower Gypsum unit. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Late Miocene brackish ostracods and molluscs collected in three Italian basins show noticeable differences in their taxonomic composition, despite their capability of dispersing across wide geographic areas. In the Venetian-Friulian Basin (northern Italy), the upper Tortonian sediments contain oligotypic ostracod assemblages including Hemicyprideis dacica dacica, Hemicytheria pejinovicensis, and Loxoconcha cf. L. josephi and few gastropods referable to Planorbidae and Stenothyroides, which are typical of the central Paratethys. In central Italy, the brackish ostracods and molluscs recovered from upper Tortonian-lower Messinian deposits from four Tuscan basins (Volterra-Radicondoli, Velona, Baccinello-Cinigiano, and Valdelsa) display high affinity at a generic level but strong endemicity at a specific level. At Cessaniti (southern Italy), the upper Tortonian unit contains oligotypic brackish ostracods and molluscs: Mediocytherideis (Sylvestra) posterobursa, Cyprideis ruggierii, Loxoconcha cf. L. biformata, and Zonocypris membranae quadricella characterise the ostracod fauna, while Granulolabium bicinctum and Hydrobia frauenfeldi are the dominant molluscs. The recovered ostracods have a strong affinity with brackish species from central and eastern Palaeo-Mediterranean areas, whereas the molluscs present a Paratethyan origin. Despite the fact that the basins are all brackish and partly coeval, the systematics of these assemblages highlights the absence of common species among the three studied areas. Geochemical analyses (stable isotopes and trace elements) are performed on ostracods, and 87Sr/86Sr ratios are established in molluscs and echinoids. The results suggest brackish environments with different compositions and origins of solutes in the three different areas. The Tuscan basins are characterised by brackish waters, with NaCl-enriched waters coming from aquifers of Triassic evaporite bedrock. The brackish deposits of the Venetian-Friulian Basin and Cessaniti are true marginal marine environments, although the northern basin may have been influenced by both the Paratethyan Sava Basin and the northern portion of the Palaeo-Mediterranean water bodies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Paleoenvironmental and paleoclimate changes that occurred during the late post-evaporitic stage of the Mediterranean Basin in the Messinian foreland domain of the Adriatic region offer a new perspective on the relationship between orbital forcing and climate response. The magnetic susceptibility record of the Fonte dei Pulcini A section (Maiella Mountains, Italy) allows us to orbitally tune the record between 5.394 and 5.336 Ma and to temporally constrain the paleoenvironmental and paleoclimate changes evidenced by quantitative paleontological (palynomorphs, ostracods, and calcareous nannofossils), stable isotope (δ18O and δ13C), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses. The base of the Fonte dei Pulcini A section is characterized by Paratethyan ostracods and dinocysts, which point to the late Messinian Lago-Mare biofacies (Loxocorniculina djafarovi zone) of the Mediterranean Messinian stratigraphy. From paleontological and geochemical (δ18O) analyses, there is no evidence of a marine incursion in the Fonte dei Pulcini A section. The major changes in terms of paleodepth, paleosalinity, evaporation versus precipitation, aridity versus humidity, and reworking processes occurred in the upper part of the Fonte dei Pulcini A section, during the last Messinian insolation cycle (i-cycle 511/512), which is characterized by high-amplitude oscillations. In contrast, the lower part of the Fonte dei Pulcini A section, which was deposited during relatively low-amplitude insolation cycles, is characterized by more stable environmental conditions. Comparing summer insolation with the paleoenvironmental changes at the Fonte dei Pulcini A section, we identify delays of several thousands of years between orbital forcing and climate response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The timing and pattern of surface uplift of Miocene marine sediments capping the southern margin of the Central Anatolian Plateau in southern Turkey provide a first-order constraint on possible mechanisms of regional uplift. Nannofossil, ostracod, and planktic foraminifera biostratigraphy of the Basyayla section (Mut-Ermenek Basin) within the Mut and Köselerli Formations suggests a Tortonian age for marine sediments unconformably capping basement rocks at ~2 km elevation. The identification of biozone MMi 12a (7.81-8.35 Ma) from planktic foraminifera in the upper part of the section provides the tightest constraint on the age, which is further limited to 8.35-8.108 Ma as a result of the reverse polarity of the collected samples (chron 4r.1r or 4r.2r). This provides a limiting age for the onset of surface uplift at the margin of one of the world's major orogenic plateaus, from which an average uplift rate of 0.24-0.25 mm/yr can be calculated. Subhorizontal beds of the uppermost marine sediments exposed throughout the Mut-Ermenek Basin suggest minimal localized deformation, with just minor faulting at the basin margin and broad antiformal deformation across the basin. This implies that the post--8 Ma uplift mechanism must be rooted deep within the crust or in the upper mantle. Published Pn-wave velocity data for the region are compatible with topography compensated by asthenosphere across the southern margin of the plateau, showing a close match to the highest topography when elevations are filtered with a 100-km-wide smoothing window. Uplift along the southern margin of the Central Anatolian Plateau is also reflected by the pattern of Miocene marine sediments capping the margin, which form an asymmetric drape fold over the topography. These observations, together with tomographic evidence for slab steepening and break-off beneath the Eastern Anatolian Plateau, suggest that at least some of the ~2 km of post-8 Ma uplift of the southern Central Anatolian Plateau margin is compensated by low-density asthenospheric mantle that upwelled following slab break-off. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The historical site of the Monte Mario lower Pleistocene succession (Rome, Italy) is an important marker of the Pliocene/Pleistocene boundary. Recently, the Monte Mario site was excavated and restudied. A spectacular angular unconformity characterizes the contact between the Monte Vaticano and the Monte Mario formations, which marks the Pliocene/Pleistocene boundary. Biostratigraphical analyses carried out on ostracod, foraminifer, and calcareous nannofossil assemblages indicate an Early Pliocene age (topmost Zanclean, 3.81–3.70 Ma) for the underlying Monte Vaticano Formation, whereas the Monte Mario Formation has been dated as early Pleistocene (Santernian, 1.66–1.59 Ma). Palaeomagnetic analyses point to C2Ar and C1r2r polarity chrons for the Monte Vaticano and the Monte Mario formations, respectively. The Monte Mario Formation consists of two obliquity-forced depositional sequences (MM1 and MM2) characterized by transgressive systems tracts of littoral marine environments at depths, respectively, of 40–80 m and 15–20 m. The data obtained from foraminifer and ostracod assemblages allow us to reconstruct early Pleistocene relative sea-level changes near Rome. At the Plio/Pleistocene transition, a relative sea-level drop of at least 260 m occurred, as a result of both tectonic uplift of the central Tyrrhenian margin and glacio-eustatic changes linked to early Pleistocene glaciation (Marine Isotope Stage 58). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Two possible alternative interpretations of the claimed Zanclean age () of two historical lithostratigraphic units of the Northern Apennines, usually referred to as Late Messinian in age and recording the so called Lagomare final event of the Messinian salinity crisis (MSC), are here discussed. The wrong age attribution of the Colombacci and “tetto” Fms. is ruled out based on data from the Maccarone and other sections showing that the Colombacci-Argille Azzurre Fm. boundary is basin wide synchronous and coincident with the Miocene-Pliocene boundary as far as it has been formally defined in the Eraclea Minoa GSSP. Alternatively, the opportunity of emending the Zanclean GSSP to a stratigraphically lower horizon recording the first evidence of marine influences in the Mediterranean following the MSC peak, seems not suitable, as (1) the marine signature of uppermost Messinian deposits is weak and still controversial and (2) no significant bio- and magnetostratigraphic events, well chronologically defined and recognizable at a global scale appear to be available to such a purpose. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Mondragone 1 well, drilled in 1968 by Agip, for hydrocarbon exploration, cut across siliciclastic fine-to-coarse-grained upper Miocene–Quaternary deposits, for a total depth of 2002 m. Thirteen cores have been recovered from 495 down to 2002 m. This paper deals with both the results of the biostratigraphical analyses performed on a new sampling of the cores and the significance of the well stratigraphy in the context of the late Messinian Lago–Mare episode in central Mediterranean. The Lago–Mare biofacies has been characterised from 675 down to 2002 m by the ostracod assemblages that are made of species belonging to the Loxocorniculina djafarovi Zone, as defined by Carbonnel [Carbonnel, G., 1978. La zone a Loxoconcha djaffarovi Schneider (Ostracoda, Miocène supérieur) ou le Messinien de la Vallée du Rhône. Rev. Micropaleontol. 21, 106–118.] (e.g. L. djafarovi, Loxoconcha eichwaldi, Cyprideis anlavauxensis, Amnicythere palimpsesta, Zalanyiella venusta). Thus, the Lago–Mare deposits have a true thickness of about 938 m since the strata show a mean dip value of 45°. Similar thickness (530 m) has been measured in the pre-Pliocene sediments drilled at ODP Site 652, which can be correlated with Mondragone 1 by the occurrence of brackish-water forms. In both these areas syn-rift depositional processes have been suggested to explain the unusual thickness of the late Messinian sediments. Data from seismic lines have been used to reconstruct the geometry and the structural setting of the Garigliano Basin during the latest Messinian. Moreover, the analysis of the SP log integrated with the palaeoecological indications from the ostracod assemblages allows us to suggest a possible sequence stratigraphy evolution of the Garigliano Basin during the late Messinian Lago–Mare episode. Different tectonic behaviour with differences in subsidence rates between the northern and the southern Tyrrhenian Basin have been suggested since the uppermost Messinian syn-rift clastic wedges recognized in the onshore of northern Latium and Tuscany show thickness lower than that drilled at the ODP Site 652 and at the Mondragone 1 well. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]