Woods of a Miocene petrified forest near Ankara, Turkey (original) (raw)

New fossil wood descriptions from the Pliocene of central Anatolia and the presence of Taxodioxylon in Turkey from the Oligocene to Pliocene

TURKISH JOURNAL OF EARTH SCIENCES, 2019

Recent paleobotanical studies on petrified woods revealed valuable information about the Miocene-period trees of Turkey. The purpose of this study is to present new descriptions from the Pliocene of central Anatolia. The materials were collected from a new fossil site of Pliocene age in the village of Yıprak (Çerkeş, Çankırı, Turkey) in central northern Turkey. With this study, a new fossil genus, Cercioxylon Ü. Akkemik, related to modern Cercis L., and a new fossil species of Cupressinoxylon were described, and a long presence of taxodioid type trees from the late Oligocene to Pliocene of Turkey were discussed. The wood composition showed that the area had a lowland riparian forest type composed of Taxodioxylon, with lowland semidry vegetation composed of Cercioxylon and Cupressinoxylon. This type of vegetation, excluding the presence of Taxodioxylon, is rather similar to modern vegetation in the Mediterranean region.

Three new silicified woods from a newly discovered earliest Miocene forest site in the Haymana Basin (Ankara, Turkey)

Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 2018

Petrified woods from Turkey have provided important information on forest composition and structure during the Miocene. This study describes a new fossil forest site at Haymana in Ankara Province, Anatolia (Turkey) and furthers our understanding of the prevailing Miocene vegetation. Woods identified from this site confirm the presence of two new fossil-species: Zelkovoxylon yesimae Ü. Akkemik & I. Poole sp. nov. and Pistacioxylon ufuki Ü. Akkemik & I. Poole sp. nov. Although Zelkovoxylon has been described from other Miocene site, Pistacioxylon is the first record of this genus in the palaeobotanical record of Turkey. The taxonomic composition hints at a xeric-low mountainous forest prevailing under a semi-dry climate.

Geology and woods of a new fossil forest from the Early Miocene of Gokceada (Turkey)

Forestist

In Gökçeada, metamorphic, sedimentary and volcanic rocks from the period covering the Paleozoic to the Upper Miocene periods have formed outcrops over time. A newly identified fossil forest site in Gökçeada covers an area of approximately 1.5 square kilometers of land situated near the coastline. Silicified trees in the area from the early Miocene period were observed to present three phases of pyroclastic deposition, namely: the complete silicification phase, the half silicification phase and the coal phase. The purpose of this study is to present the paleobiology and paleoecology of the wood flora and the geological formation of the fossil forest site, and to evaluate this information in terms of paleoclimatology. Sixteen (16) petrified pieces of wood thought to have originated from the upper slopes and found on the sea shore were collected, with three planes of thin sections taken from each one. A total of 12 types of woods were identified, as follows: three conifers (Cupressinoxylon, Sequoioxylon and Pinoxylon) and nine angiosperms (Alnoxylon, Carpinoxylon, Ostryoxylon, Palmoxylon type 1 and 2, Fagoxylon, Quercoxylon sect. Ilex, Laurinoxylon and Platanoxylon). The wood composition in Gökçeada is similar to that of the wood flora of the Miocene in Lesvos, showing the presence of riparian, well-drained lowland and coastal trees.

The early Miocene flora of Güvem (Central Anatolia, Turkey): a window into early Neogene vegetation and environments in the Eastern Mediterranean

The early Burdigalian (MN3) plant assemblage of the Güvem area (northwestern Central Anatolia) is preserved in lacustrine sediments of the Dereköy pyroclastics. Its age is well constrained by radiometric dates of basaltic rocks bracketing the pyroclastics, making the Güvem flora one of the extremely few precisely dated early Miocene floras in the Mediterranean region. The rich assemblage of impression fossils comprises ferns and fern allies (2 species), gymnosperms (12 spp.) and angiosperms (129 spp.). Ilex miodipyrena sp. nov. is described as a new fossil-species. The most diverse families in the assemblage are the Fagaceae with 12 taxa and the Fabaceae with 12 leaf morphotypes and one fruit taxon. Aquatic plants are represented by seven taxa, riparian (including palms) and swamp forest elements by >35 taxa, and lianas by three taxa (Smilax spp., Chaneya). The relatively large number of aquatic and riparian/swamp elements is congruent with the rich fish, amphibian and reptile record of the Güvem area. Another characteristic feature of the plant assemblage is the presence of various lobed leaves which show similarities with modern species of different families (e.g. Alangium, various Malvales). Trees and shrubs growing on well-drained soils and forming closed-canopy and open-canopy forests are the most diversified group (>70 taxa). In terms of number of specimens in the collection and based on field observations, by far the most abundant leaf fossils belong to evergreen oaks of Quercus drymeja and Q. mediter-ranea and to various types of foliage that cannot be assigned to a particular extant or extinct genus of Fagaceae. These sclerophyllous trees must have covered vast areas surrounding the wetlands that developed during the early Miocene in the Güvem Basin. Based on a recent reassessment of the ecology and taxonomic affinity of these trees, they are considered to reflect humid temperate climatic conditions but with a brief drier season during the winter months. These forests are more similar to the laurel forests of the southeastern United States and those stretching in a narrow belt south of the Himalayas to eastern central China. The large number of Fabaceae may indicate the presence of warm subtropical environments but this is difficult to assess, as they are known for having wide ecological ranges today and in the past. All in all, a larger part of the plant taxa point to forested vegetation. This is in agreement with previous palynological studies which detected only small amounts of her-baceous and grass pollen. Open patches of vegetation may have been restricted to river banks and to rocky areas in a volcanic landscape. The biogeographic patterns detected for the early Miocene of the Güvem assemblage are manifold; most taxa are widespread Northern Hemispheric elements. A substantial part of the species migrated from Asia into Europe during the (late) Paleogene and reached Anatolia during the early Miocene (Fagus, Paliu-rus, Chaneya, Ailanthus, Quercus kubinyii, Davallia haidingeri, Acer angustilobum, A. palaeosaccharinum). Fewer taxa may have been in Anatolia before they migrated to Europe (e.g. Nerium, Smilax miohavanensis, Quercus sosnowskyi). Finally, very few taxa are Anatolian endemics (e.g. Ilex miodipyrena).

Detection of some woody plants in Late Oligocene forests of İstanbul

Turk. J. Agric. For, 2009

A paleopalynological study was performed on the fossilized pollen found in the coal and clay layers of the Akçelik Coalmine, which is one of the open lignite quarries located at the northern part of İstanbul, and 15 genera belonging to 14 families were identified from the late Oligocene of İstanbul. Of these 14 families, 4 families belong to Gymnospermae, and 10 of them belong to Angiospermae. In the study, 85.8% of pollen is arboreal (AP) (woody plants), 10.4% is non-arboreal (NAP) (herbal plants), and rest of them (3.8%) could not be identified. The middle coal layer has a significant number of pollen grains. While lower part of the middle coal layer is mainly represented by broad-leaved tree pollen and its upper part is mainly Juniperus. A clear change from plants of humid conditions to the plants of drier conditions is observed. The lower number of pine pollen grains shows that there was no forest of this genus in that site. Sequoia and Taxodium, which had wide forests during Oligocene but are completely disappeared at present, are represented with low number of pollen grains in that time.

Early Miocene climate and biomes of Turkey: Evidence from leaf fossils, dispersed pollen, and petrified wood

Early Miocene climate and biomes of Turkey: Evidence from leaf fossils, dispersed pollen, and petrified wood, 2019

The early Miocene was a period of major palaeogeographic reorganization in the eastern Mediterranean region, during which time the Anatolian Plateau became subaerial and several intracontinental basins intermittently became connected to the Paratethys and Mediterranean seas. In this paper, we analyse early Miocene vegetation and climate using leaf records, palynological assemblages, and fossil wood at 36 localities from western and central Turkey, most of which have precise age control based on radiometric dating and mammal faunal ages. Using the leaf flora of Güvem (Beş Konak, Keseköy), Climate Leaf-Analysis Multivariate Program (CLAMP) analyses and Köppen signatures were employed to infer a palaeoclimate typical of modern laurel forest regions. Based on the palynological records, abundance of various pollen-taxa was used as a measure of openness of vegetation and regional presence of major tree taxa. Most pollen floras are dominated by tree pollen (ranging from 85 to 98%) and indicated widespread afforestation. In the pollen diagrams, shifts in dominance from swamp forest elements (Taxodioideae) to well-drained forests (Pinaceae) indicate changes in lake levels or phases of basin development. Such shifts may have been associated with the development of more xeric forest vegetation. Wood anatomical features such as false tree rings further may indicate seasonal climate. Pollen diagrams and macrofossils reflect zonal and azonal broadleaf and needleleaf forest and extrazonal open vegetation. The latter occurred in areas with shallow soils on volcanic rocks or limestone (e.g. cycads, Dracaena), or coastal areas (herb dominance). Taxonomic composition and biogeographic affinities suggest laurel forest as a major forest biome on well-drained soils and ecotones between laurel forest and broadleaf deciduous forest biomes. A comparison with younger floras shows that these are neither more diverse nor more warmth-loving despite an increase in global temperature (Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum) suggesting bottlenecks during previous (Oligocene) cooler times for warmth-loving taxa.

A re-examination of the angiosperm wood record from the early and middle Miocene of Turkey, and new species descriptions

Acta Palaeobotanica, 2021

The early and middle Miocene in Turkey was characterised by a warm climate and a diversified and rich vegetation. Many fossil angiosperm genera have been identified from this period. The present study re-examined previously identified genera and identifed new samples of angiosperm wood remains. The studied material included thin sections housed at the Department of Forest Botany, Division of Forest Engineering, Faculty of Forestry, Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, and also new ones. Twelve new species are described: Liquidambaroxylon efeae Akkemik sp. nov., Eucarpinoxylon kayacikii Akkemik sp. nov., Ostryoxylon gokceadaense Akkemik sp. nov., Quercoxylon yaltirikii Akkemik sp. nov., Cryptocaryoxylon grandoleaceum Akkemik sp. nov., Fraxinoxylon beypazariense Akkemik sp. nov., Prunoidoxylon prunoides Akkemik sp. nov., Populoxylon sebenense Akkemik sp. nov., Salicoxylon galatianum Akkemik sp. nov. Aceroxylon aceroides Akkemik sp. nov., Ulmoxylon kasapligilii Akkemik sp. nov. and Zelkovox...

Early Miocene Seed Like Plant Remain Fossils and Facies Associations from the Nallihan District (NW Turkey)

Bulletin Of The Mineral Research and Exploration

Seed like fossils recognized by their distinctive orbicular in shape are seen in the early Miocene of the Nallıhan area (NW Türkiye). We examined more than one hundred specimens and facies associations for interpreting of fossil morphology and its paleoenvironment. The fossils as dark crystallized dots on the bedding surface of clayey limestones are characterized by a thick edged lenticular shape with a smooth one side and concave another side with circular nucleus. Their internal structures have circular a few whorlings, too often radial calcitic lamellae on the upper side and a few circular coiling at the bottom side. SEM, EPMA and RAMAN data of soft nucleus, hard part, filling materials and surrounding sediments support its plant origin. The Paleogene aged Kızılbayır formation and early Miocene aged Karadoruk and Akpınar formations include the following facieses: non-channelized red sandstone and mudstone (F1), channelized "confined" reddish-beige pebbly sandstone and conglomerate (F2), medium to coarse siliciclastics (F3), mudstones interbedded with sandstones (F4), thin bedded clayey limestone bearing plant fossils (F5) medium to thick bedded limestone (F6) and rhythmic siliciclastics-clayey limestone including coal occurrences (F7). Abundant plant fossils indicate a planted shallow lake margin with low topography during the early Miocene.