Ayaguz (Miocene to of Kazakhstan)

Also known as Ayakoz

Where: Kazakhstan (50.4° N, 80.3° E: paleocoordinates 51.1° N, 79.1° E)

• coordinate based on nearby landmark

• small collection-level geographic resolution

When: Aquitanian to Aquitanian (23.0 - 16.0 Ma)

• Boundary between the Aquitanian and Burdigalian, MN3/MN4

•The Ayakoz clays are characterized by the presence of Tachyorictoididae, Parasminthus tongingoli, Asiacastor antecedens, and Eucricetodon cf. sajacensis, i.e., by typical early Miocene rodent species. On the other hand, typical Oligocene cylindrodontids are absent from the Ayakoz fauna (Tjutkova in press). In addition, there are some early Miocene components in a floristic complex as well, such as Lychnothamnus cf. miranda. Thus, the age of the Ayakoz should be referred to as MN 4-5

• bed-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: terrestrial; green, sandy claystone

• mixed marine/freshwater
• fossilferous horizon is a 2-3 m thick layer of green clays containing gypsum.

Size class: macrofossils

Collected by N.S. Shevyreva and V.M. Chkhikvadze in 1980; reposited in the PIN

Primary reference: A. V. Lopatin. 2004. New Early Miocene Shrews (Soricidae, Mammalia) from Kazakhstan. Paleontological Journal 38(2):211-219 [P. Mannion/P. Mannion]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 64355: authorized by Mark Uhen, entered by Mark Uhen on 06.09.2006, edited by Philip Mannion and Evangelos Vlachos

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Amphibia
 Salientia - Bufonidae
Bufo aff. viridis3 Laurenti 1768 European green toad
Right ilium (258\A-2003)
 Salientia - Ranidae
Rana sp.4 Linnaeus 1758 frog
(coll. Uni. Prague)
 Caudata - Urodela
aff. Tylototriton sp.4 Anderson 1871 crocodile salamander
(coll. IZ Tbilisi)
? Chelotriton sp.4 Pomel 1853 newt
(coll. IZ Tbilisi)
Mioproteus sp.4 Estes and Darevsky 1978 mudpuppy
(coll. IZ Tbilisi)
Mammalia
 Rodentia - Dipodidae
Heterosminthus firmus n. sp.1 Zazhigin and Lopatin 2000 rodent
 Theriamorpha - Erinaceidae
Synexallerix otus n. sp.2 Lopatin and Zazhigin 2003 hedgehog
PIN, no. 4051/150 - type
 Theriamorpha - Soricidae
Miocrocidosorex zazhigini n. gen. n. sp. Lopatin 2004 shrew
PIN, no. 4051/151 - holotype
Reptilia
 Testudines - Geoemydidae
Melanochelys sp.4 Schweigger 1812 Indian black turtles
(Chkhikvadze, 1989)
 Squamata - Boidae
Eryx sp.3 Daudin 1803 true sand boa
Caudal vertebra (272/R-2003), trunk vertebra (275/R-2003)
 Squamata - Varanidae
Varanus sp.3 Merrem 1820 monitor lizard
A trunk vertebra (273/R-2003) and four cau- dal vertebrae (268/R-2003; 269/R-2003; 270/ R-2003; 271/R-2003)