Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
23rd Meeting of the Group of European Charophytologists, Riga, Letonya, 16 - 19 Ağustos 2022, cilt.16918088, sa.20, ss.129
A charophyte assemblage composed of nine species is described and illustrated, for the first time, in lower Pleistocene deposits at Dursunlu (district of Konya, Ilgın basin) in central Anatolia (Turkey). This flora has been recovered from 50 samples distributed along a 15 m thick stratigraphic section. The base of the section is constituted by organic clays and lignite beds attributed to palustrine environments. Overlying strata are composed of yellowish marls and limestones related to lacustrine facies. This sedimentary sequence ranges in age between 780–990 ka (Güleç et al. 2009). The charophyte assemblage is dominated by Chara hispida Linnaeus 1753, which co-occurs in several samples with Nitellopsis obtusa (Desvaux in Loiseleur) Groves 1919. Other associated taxa include Chara vulgaris Linnaeus 1753, Chara globularis Thuillier 1799, Chara cf. molassica notata (Straub 1952) Soulié-Märsche 1989, Chara cf. pappii Soulié-Märsche 1979, Chara sp., Lychnothamnus barbatus var. antiquus Soulié-Märsche 1989, and Sphaerochara cf. intricata Trentepohl ex Roth 1797. These species occur in minor amount throughout the section. Moreover, corticated diplostichous and haplostichous thalli were found in several samples. Several ostracod species, previously reported by Tuncer (2020), have been found associated to this flora. The ostracod assemblage is dominated by Neglecandona angulata G.W. Müller 1900, Ilyocypris bradyi Sars 1890, Heterocypris salina Brady 1868, Cypris pubera O.F. Müller 1776 and Zonocypris membranae Livental 1929. Moreover, a diverse assemblage of aquatic and terrestrial gastropods (Valvata sp., Gyraulus sp., Islamia sp., and Vertigo sp.), bivalves (Pisidium sp.), fish (teeth and bones), mammal and bird bones have been extracted from several samples. The discovery of this aquatic flora and the associated fauna sheds new light on the palaeolimnological conditions that prevailed in the lake during the early Pleistocene (lower Palaeolithic), in a glacial context (Günz glaciation). The dominance of Chara hispida associated to Nitellopsis obtusa in the lacustrine deposits suggest that permanent and stable freshwater conditions (alkaline and oligo/mesotrophic) prevailed in the palaeolake. Moreover, the presence of Nitellopsis obtusa in Dursunlu represents the first occurrence of this well-known boreal species in Anatolia.