Ostracoda (Crustacea) Association And A New Species (Dolerocypris Anatolia Nov Sp.) From The Pliocene-Pleistocene Afsin-Elbistan (Kahraman Maras) Coal Basin Of Turkey

Abstract

The Afsin-Elbistan Coal Basin, which is one of the largest and most important Pliocene-Pleistocene lignite basins of Turkey, is located in Eastern Anatolia. The basin was formed between two normal faults having NE-SW direction and these faults controlled both the sedimentation and the subsidence. The coal horizon of over 50 meters in thickness indicates the balance between the sedimentation and subsidence rates, and was preserved during peat deposition. Coals were generated in this extensive and shallow freshwater lake and evolved from the Pliocene to Pleistocene. Typical faunal and floral assemblages of this ancient Afsin-Elbistan freshwater lake are Ostracoda, Mollusca (Gastropoda and Pelecypoda), spore-pollen and Characeae (gyrogonites). Eleven Cypridoidea species were identified from the investigation area. Eight of them are already known (Candona neglecta Sars, Candona iliensis Mandelstam, Candona aff. candida (Muller), Pseudocandona compressa (Koch), Cyclocypris ovum (Jurine), Ilyocypris gibba (Ramdohr), Cypris pubera Muller, Heterocypris sauna (Brady)), whereas three belong to open nomenclature - Candona sp. and Eucypris sp.; Dolerocypris anatolia nov. sp. is proposed as a new species. Dolerocypris Kaufmann is one of the largest genera among the freshwater Ostracoda. It has a very wide geographical distribution. Representatives of this genus are actively swimming species found in shallow zones of freshwater lakes and reported from small grassy water bodies with megascopic plants. Dolerocypris anatolia nov. sp. is recorded from core samples of the Pliocene-Pleistocene Afsin-Elbistan Coal Basin for the first time.